AfterDawn: Tech news

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AfterDawn: News

Android hacker, dev offered job by Sony but declines

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Mar 2011 5:10

Android hacker, dev offered job by Sony but declines It appears that Sony is at least looking into acquiring talent from the hacking scene.

Sony America recruiter Sarah McRae sent an email off to Android OS hacker Koushik Datta (aka Koush) offering an interview for a position on Sony's R&D team.

Koush was grateful but responded:

I appreciate that I have been contacted. The opportunity sounds very interesting! However, given Sony’s recent treatment of a fellow hacker George Hotz (@ geohot), I could not in good conscience work at Sony


The hacker/dev also added that Android has been good to him:

To clear up any confusion, I was not offered a job, just an interview, which I declined out of principle. For those saying “I’m going to regret being principled”, etc. Probably not. Android App sales have been more than good to me. Good, enterprising, devs should never find themselves short of opportunities.





AfterDawn: News

Netflix takes 61 percent share of digital streaming and downloads market

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Mar 2011 3:33

Netflix takes 61 percent share of digital streaming and downloads market According to the latest figures from the NPD Group, Netflix has taken a large 61 percent market share of the movie/TV streaming and downloads market.

Comcast came in second at 8 percent share, followed by DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Apple each at 4 percent.

The numbers are part of NPD's VideoWatch Digital tracking service, which launched in January.

Furthermore, the firm says digital video now accounts for "one quarter of all video volume in the home."

Says NPD:

Sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs still drive most home-video revenue, but VOD and other digital options are now beginning to make inroads with consumers. Overwhelmingly digital movie buyers do not believe physical discs are out of fashion, but their digital transactions were motivated by the immediate access and ease of acquisition provided by streaming and downloading digital video files.




AfterDawn: News

Netflix for Android app leaked, some features work

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Mar 2011 2:27

Netflix for Android app leaked, some features work Android fans may be excited to learn that a working .APK file of Netflix for Android is now available, although streaming movies will not work.

The leaks comes via the upcoming LG Revolution smartphone, which had its software dumped.

Netflix will be available to select Android 2.2+ phones in the future, but the company has not confirmed which devices.

For now, anyone with 2.2 can try the APK, which will let you login and manage you queue. Trying to stream will get you hit with an error code.

It is unclear why the error code exists, but most have speculated that the official app will require some DRM check to work.

You can get the app here: Netflix.apk




AfterDawn: News

R.I.P Microsoft Zune

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Mar 2011 11:40

R.I.P Microsoft Zune According to Bloomberg, Microsoft will no longer introduce new models of the Zune line of media players, citing low demand.

The company will now focus on integrating the Zune software into Windows Phone 7 devices.

WP7 device owners will be able to use Zune for subscription unlimited music and to rent/buy movies and individual tracks.

The original Zunes were released in 2006 but did not take the market share Bill Gates hoped they would. Despite the critical success of 2009's Zune HD, the Apple iPod (in all iterations) still controls a massive 77 percent of the media player market. The Zune was only a top-10 device.

Microsoft declined to comment on the report but did offer:

We have nothing to announce about another Zune device -- but most recently have introduced Zune HD to Canada via the Zune Originals store and remain committed to supporting our devices in North America. We are thrilled by the consumer excitement for Zune across many new platforms, including Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360. Our long-term strategy focuses on the strength of the entire Zune ecosystem across Microsoft platforms.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Bon Jovi blames Apple for 'killing music business'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Mar 2011 10:58

Bon Jovi blames Apple for 'killing music business' Jon Bon Jovi has blamed Apple and CEO Steve Jobs today for "killing music" with the success of the iTunes digital music platform.

The lead singer of the band Bon Jovi says "the magical experience" of buying records in brick-and-mortar stores is now disappearing thanks to iTunes.

Says Bon Jovi (via MSN):

Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it.

God, it was a magical, magical time. I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?' Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business.


Bon Jovi's recent tour (still ongoing), was one of the top earning in 2010.




AfterDawn: News

Microsoft confirms delay of March Windows Phone 7 update

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Mar 2011 11:45

Microsoft confirms delay of March Windows Phone 7 update Microsoft has confirmed today that its March "NoDo" update for Windows Phone 7 will be postponed for weeks following the complete disaster that was the rollout of their February update.

CEO Steve Ballmer had initially said the update would be hitting smartphones the first week of March.

Spokesman Eric Hautala, the leader of the team behind the updates, says that the update will now be headed to smartphones in the last week of March, but possibly a bit earlier.

For the February update, Microsoft acknowledged that up to 10 percent of customers had issues with the update, especially those with Samsung devices.

This time around, the company will "take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners."

The March update will add copy/paste, CDMA support, and Marketplace search.




AfterDawn: News

Reuters: Apple sold about 1 million iPad 2 this weekend

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Mar 2011 2:25

Reuters: Apple sold about 1 million iPad 2 this weekend A number of analysts have posted their expected results for the launch weekend of the iPad 2 tablet.

The consensus? About 1 million units sold.

Last year, it took the iPad 28 days to surpass the 1 million milestone.

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry says he expects nearly a million sales, and that 100 percent of all iPad 2 buyers are the owners of at least one Apple product.

60 percent are existing iPad owners and the rest are first-time buyers. Some were or are current Kindle/e-reader owners.

The analyst also says AT&T's iPad 2 is selling better than Verizon's, due to better customer service.




AfterDawn: News

The iPhone still can't figure out daylight savings time

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Mar 2011 1:41

The iPhone still can't figure out daylight savings time Once again, the iPhone has managed to mess up daylight savings time, frustrating smartphone owners.

The smartphone sent time back one hour instead of "springing" it forward one hour, leaving iPhone owners two hours behind.

Last fall, when the phones were supposed to "fall" an hour back, they didn't.

Problems were cited in North America, Europe and Australia.

Earlier this year iPhone owners said their phone alarm clocks stopped working following the New Year.

For now, the fix is simple. Turn on "airplane mode" for a second and then turn it back off.




AfterDawn: News

Sean Parker to buy Warner Music label?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Mar 2011 12:39

Sean Parker to buy Warner Music label? According to the WSJ, billionaire Sean Parker is getting a group together to purchase Warner Music Group, one of the "Big 4" labels.

Parker is best-known for creating Napster, the original music sharing client which started the secular decline in the music industry. He was also the former president of Facebook and still a large shareholder.

Warner put itself up for sale last year and is expecting a minimum $2.5 billion bid.

Investors Ron Burkle and Doug Teitelbaum will be the real buyers, with Parker not putting in any of his vast wealth, says the source.

The latest group is one of five bidders expected to throw formal bids at Warner in the coming weeks.




AfterDawn: News

AT&T adds bandwidth caps to DSL lines

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Mar 2011 11:57

AT&T adds bandwidth caps to DSL lines AT&T has confirmed today that it will be adding bandwidth caps to its DSL and U-Verse services.

DSL users will have a 150GB cap while U-Verse subscribers will have a 250GB cap.

Anyone who exceeds the limit three times will be charged $10 for every extra 50GB of data consumed.

The new policy goes into effect May 2nd for new and existing customers.

AT&T says it will send notifications when you reach 65 percent of the cap, 90 percent and finally when you hit the full cap. The company will also give all subscribers software to help them track their usage.

The caps will affect under 2 percent of users, says the ISP, subscribers who use "a disproportionate" amount of data and slow down networks for others.




AfterDawn: News

Man facing jail time for embedding video

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Mar 2011 2:07

Man facing jail time for embedding video Brian McCarthy, the owner of channelsurfing.net, is now facing up to five years in prison after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused him of linking to copyrighted material.

The site linked to copyrighted material, none of which was hosted by the site or its owner.

Regardless the DHS, along with ICE took the domain, leaving this message:


This domain has been seized by ICE - Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent in Charge, New York Office.

It is unlawful to reproduce copyrighted material, such as movies, music, software or games, without authorization... First-time offenders convicted of a criminal felony copyright law will face up to five years in federal prison, restitution, forfeiture and fine.


If the government is successful in their case, it could set a precedent that would mean all users who have ever even linked to copyrighted content (sharing a video link via email, etc) could be prosecuted.

You can view the complaint here: New York man faces five years in jail for ‘linking’ to online videos




AfterDawn: News

Hulu Plus headed to 'select' Android 2.2 devices

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Mar 2011 6:13

Hulu Plus headed to 'select' Android 2.2 devices In January, Hulu announced that its premium Hulu Plus service was eventually headed to Android devices, although it was never disclosed when, or to what devices.

This weekend, the company has updated their devices page with a picture of the Nexus S and a note that says "Select Android OS 2.2 phones" and "Coming Soon."

The Nexus runs on Gingerbread 2.3, so it seems like Hulu Plus will be available on 2.2 and higher devices.

There was no word on Android tablets.

It is unclear what "coming soon" implies, but it is at least good to see the company has not forgotten about its promise for Android phone support.




AfterDawn: News

Wi-Fi-only Xoom coming on March 27th?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Mar 2011 4:40

Wi-Fi-only Xoom coming on March 27th? Droid Life has posted a leaked ad from Staples which shows the Wi-Fi-only model of the Motorola Xoom coming on March 27th.

The tablet will have a retail price of $600.

At the leaked price, the Xoom will sell for $100 more than the cheapest iPad 2, which has half the onboard storage at 16GB.

The launch of the Wi-Fi model is most notable as buyers will not be locked down into an expensive Verizon contract if they want to try out the Honeycomb tablet.

March 27th has not been confirmed by Motorola, or anyone else.




AfterDawn: News

Video Daily: Student sells her spot on iPad 2 line for $900

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Mar 2011 4:04

Video Daily: Student sells her spot on iPad 2 line for $900 Amanda Foote, a student at Manhattan Community College spent 41 hours in line at the flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue in New York City before selling her spot to an app developer for $900.

Foote began waiting on line at 5pm on Wednesday, and was there (through a huge downpour on Thursday) before giving up the spot to Hazem Sayed at 9am on Friday, hours before the 5pm launch.

Sayed said he was willing to pay the large premium for the spot because he wanted to take the tablet on a business trip for which he was leaving on Friday night.

After the sale, Foote says she will probably use the money to see Lady Gaga in concert.




AfterDawn: News

Rovio secures $42 million in funding

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 13 Mar 2011 3:36

Rovio secures $42 million in funding Rovio, the developer behind blockbuster sensation 'Angry Birds,' has raised $42 million during a round of funding led by venture capitalist firms.

One of the firms is Accel Partners, which has vested interests in Facebook, Groupon and AdMob, among other mobile or social companies.

Angry Birds currently has 40 million active players across Android, iOS and PC platforms, and downloads have topped 75 million.

Outside of game downloads, Angry Birds plush toy sales have surpassed 2 million, breaking into the mainstream retail channels.

The developer will use the money for "strategic expansions."





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