Chromebooks, For Everyone, Everywhere (video)

Chromebook: For Everyone, Everywhere - Chromebooks were the best selling laptops on Amazon last holiday season, and teachers and students made them the #1 device in schools last year--

For travelers. For explorers. For makers. For everyone. From $149. Find out more at http://google.com/chromebook

Google Chrome Blog: More Chromebooks, for everyone: "This summer, ASUS will launch a new type of Chrome device: the Chromebit. Smaller than a candy bar, the Chromebit is a full computer that will be available for less than $100. By simply plugging this device into any display, you can turn it into a computer. It’s the perfect upgrade for an existing desktop and will be really useful for schools and businesses."

All things Google Chrome
Download Chrome
Download Chrome for Mobile
Chromium Blog
Chromium homepage

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Carl Icahn Says Apple Shares Sell at Half Price, Wants Buyback

Carl wants his shares in Apple to increase in value--now--

Wall Street Journal
Icahn Letter Pushes Apple to Buy Back More Shares
Wall Street Journal
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, in an open letter, called on Apple CEO Tim Cook to buy back shares. Icahn also projects a new Apple HD TV set in ...
Icahn: Apple shares sell at 'half price' value - USA TODAY
One More Thing: Carl Icahn Expects Apple To Crush The 4K TV Market - Forbes


The Hindu
The Disconnect Between Yahoo Shareholders And Marissa Mayer
Forbes
I'm not the only shareholder who is critical now of Mayer as a CEO. I've spoken to many investors privately who share my frustration and have ...


Wall Street Journal
Larger Apple iPad to Be Delayed
Wall Street Journal
Suppliers of the Cupertino, Calif., company had originally planned to produce the larger iPad in mass volume beginning in December, the people said.


USA TODAY
Report: Amazon to open retail store in NYC
USA TODAY
Online retail giant Amazon will take on Macy's and other Herald Square retailers with a ... "Even the Apple Store carries non-Apple products," he says.
Amazon's first brick-and-mortar store said to open in Manhattan - Engadget


Wall Street Journal
Apple Supplier Wants to Wind Down Production
Wall Street Journal
GT Advanced Technologies, a manufacturer of synthetic sapphire that was considered for Apple's new smartphones, is looking to end production after ...


New York Times
Technology Titans Lead Ranking of Most Valuable Brands
New York Times
In addition to Apple and Google, they are Microsoft, at No. ... And Facebook — which had the highest percentage increase in value from last year, 86 percent — is, ... 45, up 27 percent; Amazon, classified as a retail brand, No. 15, up ...


New York Times
Wearable Technology That Feels Like Skin
New York Times
Apple and Samsung, for example, are betting on the wrist; Google, the face. A slew of tech companies believe clothing will simply become electronic.


New York Times
Court Hears Case on Pay for Amazon Workers Screened After Work
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments over whether workers at an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas must be paid ...

Microsoft reboots
"Lucrative irrelevance" is the phrase Vanity Fair's Bethany McLean uses to elaborate Microsoft's future under Ballmer. With Ballmer gone, though, does ...

GT Advanced Wants to Keep Issues With Apple Secret
GT Advanced Technologies, the sapphire supplier that filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, wants to keep what went wrong between it and Apple ...

The Apple Products Most Overdue For An Update
Well, it's official: Apple is holding an event on October 16 that will reportedly ... You can also follow us onFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Google Maps takes its 'street view' to the desert, uses camels instead of cars
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – (Oct. 8, 2014)– Google is taking its famous street view ... In the description of YouTube video above, Google Arabia says, “Explore the Arabian ... Photo courtesy of the Prayers for Shane Facebook page ...

How to Customize Your Google Chromecast with Personal Wallpapers and More
The Chromecast finally supports a feature users have been requesting for ages: customized wallpaper. Read on as we show you how to add custom ...

Google Chrome Blog: A simpler, faster way to use Hangouts on your desktop: "... Voice calling from your desktop. The app now has all the video and voice features you’re used to in Hangouts. We recently announced you can make phone calls to any number in the world (via Hangouts dialer) and now you can do this right from your desktop. If you use Google Voice, the app includes complete Google Voice support, so you can make and receive calls, and get your voicemails and SMS messages directly in Hangouts...."

Attn: Developers:
Chrome 39 beta arrives with new developer features, including JavaScript Generators and Web Animations control | VentureBeat 

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Android passes Apple in Web Usage, Chrome overtakes Firefox

Android Is Beating iOS In Web Usage - Business Insider: "Apple has lost yet another battle to Android.  According to the latest data from Net Applications (via 9to5Mac), Android usage is now higher than iOS, Apple's iPhone and iPad operating system. Net Applications measures web traffic across 160 million monthly visits...."Insight @Canalys | Smart phones, Worldwide, share of units (%) by platform, Q2 2014: "@Canalys: Android market share is strongest ever at 84% in Q2 2014."

Google Chrome Browser Market Share Tops 20%: Leaves Firefox In Its Dust
Forbes
Its figures show Chrome overtaking Firefox as the second most popular Internet browser, behind Microsoft's Microsoft's Internet Explorer, as early as ...

Microsoft Surface Tablet - Business Insider: "... Microsoft is bleeding cash from its Surface tablets and may soon have to consider shutting down the business altogether, Computerworld’s Gregg Keizer wrote in a compelling piece against the Surface. Keizer did his own back-of-the-envelope calculation to estimate that Microsoft has lost $1.73 billion since the Surface’s debut in 2012. The total loss for FY2014 was $680 million, and it was $1.049 million for the year before, according to Keizer. His calculations also revealed that in the June 2014 quarter alone, the Surface had lost $363 million, the largest quarterly loss for the Surface since Microsoft started releasing quarterly revenue figures..."

Google is stealing away Microsoft’s future corporate customers - Quartz: "...Among the Fortune 50, only one company—Google—had its mail records pointed at Google’s servers. Among the mid-size companies, almost 60% host their email with Google, including corporations like Twitter, Dropbox, Box, Airbnb, Square, Uber, and Etsy. And among the Y Combinator startups—mostly very small companies with some funding, but often tight budgets—92% host their email with Google."

Google shows off new Cambridge campus
Boston Globe
Google Inc.'s substantial presence in Cambridge gets even bigger Tuesday, as the ...Google opened a small advertising sales office in Boston in 2003 but ... But though it's only a few steps away from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, GoogleCambridge recruits ... Facebook · Twitter · Google+ ...


IBNLive
Google yanks BombGaza game for violating app policies
CNET
Google has removed a game from its Google Play marketplace that encouraged players to pretend they were Israeli soldiers bombing Gaza City.


CNNMoney
Microsoft vs. Samsung, Explained
InformationWeek
Though Android is a Google offering, Microsoft claims a wide range of patents related to the OS and has signed licensing agreements with many ...


Capital FM Kenya
Yahoo Now Ensures and Verifies Audience Delivery Using comScore
MarketWatch
Yahoo is the first publisher to fully integrate vCE® throughout its ad buying and reporting platforms in an effort to unify all available data for advertisers.


Forbes
Amazon Fans Stray From Script Regarding Bezos's New Phone
Forbes
What's the boldest innovation leap from Amazon's new Fire smartphone? When the phone launched June 18, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos ...


TechCrunch
Facebook Data Privacy Class Action Joined By 11000 And Counting
TechCrunch
On Friday the Europe vs Facebook privacy campaign group kicked off a new legal initiative targeting Facebook – in the form of a class action lawsuit ...

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Samsung Dominance Threatened by Xiaomi (video)

Why Samsung Dominance Is Threatened by Xiaomi: Video - Bloomberg:
(Allow video to load after clicking play or go to link above)
Andreessen Horowitz Partner Benedict Evans and IDC Director of Mobile Device Tracking Ryan Reith discuss earnings, competition and their outlook for Samsung on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg 7/31)

Samsung slips and Xiaomi takes China's mobe sales crown • The Register: "Xiaomi, the four-year-old Chinese hardware manufacturer whose CEO models himself on Steve Jobs (before he died,) has become the Middle Kingdom's largest seller of smartphones and eclipsed former market leader Samsung. "This is a phenomenal achievement for Xiaomi," said Shanghai-based Canalys Research Analyst Jingwen Wang, whose firm compiled the latest market data...."

When Will Microsoft's Nokia Handset Business Become Profitable? - Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) | Seeking Alpha: "... If Microsoft's projections are accurate, the Nokia handset [may]... start impacting positively on EPS in fiscal 2016. The Surface Tablet is, however, likely to continue losing money as Microsoft continues lowering its price points in a bid to become a ''mobile first, cloud first'' company."

Xiaomi Opens Up About Servers After Spying Allegations - Digits - WSJ: "... The company’s global vice president Hugo Barra told The Wall Street Journal that users’ personal information is not stored on the server in Beijing that sparked cyberspying rumors last month, and that Xiaomi only stores personal information on different servers with users’ permission...."

Will Android Benefit From Samsung's Woes? - Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) | Seeking Alpha: "... In the last quarter, however, Samsung saw a 15% sequential decline in operating profits, or a 25% decline from the same quarter a year earlier. A major stumble for the leading Android smartphone maker might suggest that another OS is on the rise, but a recent report from research firm IDC showed that the first quarter of 2014 saw Android market share continuing to grow, while iOS slipped...."

China Warns Microsoft Against Obstructing Probe - WSJ: "Chinese regulators on Monday publicly warned Microsoft Corp. against obstructing an antitrust investigation into the firm, in the latest sign that Beijing has turned frosty on the U.S. software maker. China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce said in a statement that Microsoft should avoid "interfering in or obstructing" the probe. The regulator also said it had questioned Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Mary Snapp as part of the investigation. About 100 SAIC investigators raided Microsoft's offices last week in four Chinese cities. The agency said Microsoft hadn't disclosed relevant information about some security features and how it ties its software products together...."

Baidu Jumps Through Hoops To Avoid Reporting Mobile Active Users - Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) | Seeking Alpha: "... Investors, analysts, and the markets seem to agree that Daily Active Users (DAU) are an important metric for evaluating online and mobile businesses. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) clearly agreed with that, when in response to an SEC inquiry last year, Baidu told the SEC that "the number of average daily active users is the primary metric that the company uses to analyze and manage its mobile search offerings" (July 2nd 2013). In the same letter to the SEC, Baidu said it would provide DAU statistics, including the average number and growth rate, in their future annual reports. Yet when the 2013 annual report was filed, there was no mention of mobile DAUs...."

China's Fraught IPOs - QuickTake: "... Since 2000, foreigners have poured money into initial public offerings of China’s Internet companies. The total value of Chinese Internet companies on U.S. exchanges reached $8.4 billion in July. It’s a risky business, though, because nobody knows yet whether the Chinese government considers these companies legal...."

Why Billionaires Salivate Over the U.S. Wireless Market - Bloomberg: "... The bet is that wireless data will move beyond phones and tablets to a number of other devices, from cars to smartwatches to thermostats -- all requiring a way to connect to the Internet for updates and monitoring. If that vision comes true, there could be a gold mine in owning one of the few networks capable of handling that demand in the gadget-hungry U.S., where people have proved willing to pay steadily for wireless service even as spending drops elsewhere...."

USA FREEDOM Act update: How the NSA hurts our economy, cybersecurity, and foreign policy.: "More than a year after the Snowden revelations, we’re clearly still grappling with the effects of NSA surveillance. As Congress prepares for the August recess, Sen. Patrick Leahy has just introduced a new version of the USA FREEDOM Act, which aims to curb the NSA’s bulk collection and surveillance powers. Calls for immediate, serious reforms are growing louder by the day as new evidence continues to emerge about how much NSA surveillance is costing us—in terms of both the economy and our cybersecurity...."

New Report on the Costs of NSA Surveillance | Just Security: "...In its report, the Open Technology Institute finds that the costs of NSA surveillance are indeed quite high. For example, it shows that since the initial Snowden revelations U.S. businesses have reported declining sales abroad because of growing perceptions that U.S. firms are unable to keep customer data secure.  The cloud computing industry has been hit the hardest. The report also points to weakened U.S. diplomatic political power, including eroding credibility for the U.S. Internet Freedom agenda, damages to bilateral and multilateral relations, and weakened trust in Internet security more generally..."

Meet Minilock, a powerful new encryption tool built on ChromeOS | The Verge: "... A new Chrome app called Minilock wants to change that, and it's available free in the Chrome app store starting today. Developed by Nadim Kobeissi, the program has a simple purpose: encrypting single files for specific recipients. It's solid crypto, but more than that, it makes sense in a way that few programs of its kind do. Like a padlock, Minilock makes it obvious what's locked and what's unlocked. You'll always know who can open what, and you'll never wonder if you've locked it wrong. In the confounding world of modern cryptography, that's pretty impressive...."

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You Can Say 'OK Google' to your desktop Chrome Browser

"OK Google" --

Google listens after you say 'OK Google' to your desktop Chrome | ZDNet:Google announced the arrival of the voice trigger in Chrome on Wednesday, bringing its standard voice-command for initiating a search on Android, Google Now, or actions on Glass to the desktop too. Previously, to activate a voice search in Chrome on the desktop, users would have to click on the microphone icon in the search box.The new voice command only works on google.com and is available for Chrome users outside the US and in some other languages, so long as they're on that domain — rather than, for example, Google.com.au or Google.es. The feature is supported on Chrome for Linux, Macs and Windows...

The Godzillas of cable TV have come to wreak havoc on your wallet | Money | theguardian.com: "....While there are a lot of channels, the content that we love to watch – think that NFL package, or Game of Thrones – has been getting more costly for telecom providers to purchase. (Comcast, for instance, in the two years before the proposed Time-Warner merger was announced, had seen costs soar about 20%.) Merging is one strategy these behemoths hope will help them limit (or at least cope with) the size of those costs. Cable companies aren’t swallowing all of those costs, of course. Indeed, they’ve been passing as much of them on to consumers as they feel they can: that’s why the odds are that your cable bill has risen at four times the rate of inflation of late...."

Google Developing Tablet With Advanced Vision Capabilities - WSJ.com: "...The device would come with a 7-inch screen and will be equipped with two back cameras, infrared depth sensors and advanced software that can capture precise three-dimensional images of objects, said these people. The tablet is being developed as part of a Google research effort dubbed Project Tango, according to a person familiar with that effort, and could be released ahead of the company's annual developer conference scheduled for the end of June, said this person...."

Amazon escalates standoff with Hachette
USA TODAY
Sign in with FacebookSign in with GoogleSign In FAQ ... An ongoing standoff betweenAmazon and one of the leading New York publishers has ... who on his Facebook page noted that the purchase of books written by him, ... Apple was about to launch its iBookstore and Macmillan, Hachette and other ...

Facebook offers privacy checkup to all 1.28b of its users
Boston Globe
SAN FRANCISCO — Do you know who can see what you are posting on Facebook, including your photos, birthday, and personal cellphone number?

Apple, Google, others agree to $324.5 million settlement in wage case
Los Angeles Times
Apple, Google and other tech giants accused of artificially suppressing ... however, faltered in part because executives at Facebook were reluctant to ...

Microsoft prays for service revenue with free Windows 8.1 with Bing for tablets
Computerworld
Computerworld - Microsoft today confirmed that it will be giving a new ... 2013, a far cry from the 35% of Apple's iOS and the 61% of Google's Android.

Google promises to patch Chrome OS for 5 years - Computerworld: The Chromebook end of support list can be found on Google's website. It will be updated if Google decides to again extend support for select models, and when new devices hit the market.

Microsoft Challenged Secret FBI Request for Data About Customer
Wall Street Journal
The newly disclosed documents shed unusual light on the steps tech companies have taken to combat government data requests after leaks from ...

Apple removes weed dealing game from app store
CNNMoney
The makers of a game called Weed Firm says Apple removed the app from the ... It was also taken down from the Google (GOOGL) Play store, but the ...

Google's Settlement with European Union Faces Increased Pressure
Wall Street Journal
The pressure to revise the antitrust deal is the latest in a series of European broadsides against the Mountain View, Calif. company. Agence ...

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Do Not Call; Angela Ahrendt and Apple Retail; Google Stories

For Do Not Call violations, Sprint will pay FCC $7.5M in largest ever settlement | Ars Technica: "On Monday, Sprint agreed to pay the Federal Communications Commission $7.5 million to resolve violations of the Do Not Call registry—the largest settlement payout ever. The program first began in 2003 as a way to allow Americans to opt out of unsolicited sales calls...."
More info: https://www.fcc.gov/document/sprint-pay-record-75m-resolve-do-not-call-investigation

Do Not Call list tops 200 million, some scammers still ignore it | Ars Technica: "It's quite amazing that any of this came to pass, really. When the registry was being considered back in 2002, telemarketing opposition was fierce, and for obvious reasons. The industry was large, powerful, and willing to be unbelievably annoying. It also saw quite clearly that a tough Do Not Call rule would chop off its business at the knees...."

Angela Ahrendts’ plan for the future of Apple Retail: China emphasis, mobile payments, revamped experience | 9to5Mac: "...Ahrendts’ third critical focus for taking retail into the future is a planned revamp of the end-to-end Apple Store sales experience. From the point in which a customer finds the product he or she wants to purchase, to how they discuss the product with Apple Store employees, to how they pay for the product, Ahrendts would like to redesign the complete experience. Of course, Ahrendts’ job is not to bring Burberry to Apple Retail, but to improve Apple’s stores for the next decade—a period in which Apple will dive into wearable devices, new fashion-oriented products, and mobile services...."

Google+ Stories thinks it can top your vacation slideshow - CNET: "Google+ expands automation with the new Stories and Movies features, which create digital travelogues of your vacation...."

Official Google Blog: Google+ Stories and Movies: memories made easier: "To get started with Stories and Movies, simply back up your photos and videos to Google+. And that’s it. Auto Awesome will get to work in the background, and you’ll get notified when a story or movie is ready. In fact: if your photo library is already online, you may already have stories waiting for you. So look for the new app in Google Play, view the full list of improvements on Google+, and enjoy your walks down memory lane."

Chrome Releases: Stable Channel Update for Chrome OS - Google Chrome Releases - Blogger
By Dharani
The Stable channel has been updated to 35.0.1916.116 (Platform version: 5712.61.0) for all Chrome OS devices except ASUS Chromebox and ...
Google Chrome Releases

Google Launches Panda 4.0 - SEW
By Jennifer Slegg
It's official. Panda 4.0 has officially hit the Google search results. Google and Matt Cutts have confirmed Panda 4.0 began rolling out yesterday, and it ...
Search Engine Watch - Latest

Google Beats Apple As BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brand
Forbes
Google has usurped Apple—leader for three years in a row—on the 2014 ... Amazonranked as the world's most valuable retail brand for the second year ... Facebook grew 68 percent to a brand value of $35.7 billion, while both ... Yahoo re-entered the ranking last year and increased again this year (44 ...

Apple vs. Samsung: Imminent settlement prospects appear dim
San Jose Mercury News
Apple and Samsung have dashed hopes that last week's peace treaty between the iPhone giant and Google might be a prelude to an imminent global ...

Facebook expands 'I'm a Voter' feature to international users
Los Angeles Times
Facebook expanded its "I'm a Voter" feature to international users for the first time last month during India's general election. Facebook expanded its ...

Google eyeing up to $30 billion in foreign buyouts
Washington Post
SAN FRANCISCO — Google is amassing cash overseas to help finance a foreign shopping spree that could cost the Internet company up to $30 ...

Yahoo Close to Acquiring Video-Streaming Startup
Wall Street Journal
A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment. ... she aims to turn her video site, Screen, into a viable competitor to Google Inc.'s YouTube. ... This year, Yahoo has held talks to acquire online video services Fullscreen Inc. and ...

Exclusive: Facebook to expand video ads to seven countries outside US
Reuters
Facebook began selling the ads in the United States in March to a small group ...Facebook said the performance of the initial group of video ads in the ...

Newly discovered praying mantis hunts like a tiger
The Verge
Researchers have discovered a new type of praying mantis previously unknown to science in Rwanda's remote Nyungwe national park. Dystacta tigrifrutex — also known as the tiger bush mantis — earned its name from the hunting practices of the female ...

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John Legere on AT&T and Verizon Short-Term Trickery (video); FCC Wants To Kill the Internet

Legere: AT&T, Verizon Plans Are Short-Term Trickery: Video - Bloomberg:
(Allow video to load after clicking play)
Legere says AT&T and Verizon Plans Are Short-Term Trickery (video above) - T-Mobile US President and CEO John Legere discusses the company’s customer growth on Bloomberg Television's “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg, May 1)

T-Mobile adds another 2.4M customers in record quarter, within shouting distance of Sprint - GeekWire: T-Mobile added a net total of 2.4 million customers in the first quarter — the biggest growth in its history — including record expansion of 1.3 million customers in the coveted category of branded postpaid accounts. The continued growth takes the Bellevue-based wireless company to more than 49 million customers overall, up from 34 million a year ago. T-Mobile is now within 6 million customers of Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier....

Meanwhile the FCC is trying to kill the internet with "fast and slow lanes" OR internet for the rich --
Netflix brings net neutrality concerns to U.S. regulators | Reuters: "..."Tolls coming for the Web thanks to FCC. What is the FCC thinking?" Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings posted on his Facebook page last week when the news of the proposal leaked out. In a blog post on March 20, Hastings took a sharp stance against allowing Internet providers to charge fees for connections, including in deals known as "interconnection" or "peering" agreements that have traditionally been outside the scope of net neutrality as regulated by the FCC...."

I'm worried about how Net Neutrality will affect gaming! | The Tech Guy: "       Episode 1079 Rusty from Los Angeles, CA Rusty makes video games and he's concerne with the FCCs new Net Neutrality rules. Leo says that the FCC is now taking public comments via email at openinternet@fcc.gov. Leo says that latency through buffering would kill video gaming as players would be too frustrated with it. So a free and open internet would be vital for gaming. And the big guys would be able to pay for unhindered access, but the indy's won't be able to. And innovation doesn't work that way."

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s lame excuses for his net neutrality proposal.: " . . . . his proposal is the same plan offered by the largest cable and phone companies, which have tried to kill network neutrality for almost a decade. Since 2006, the phone and cable industries have proposed a world where they won’t “block” any websites, but they will simply create a lane for all websites and then charge anyone who wants better service for a fast lane....the cable and phone giants want this world to have no clear rules—just vague principles about what might be “commercially reasonable,” which is an invitation for small companies to sue the giants if they’re unhappy. Since the cable and telephone companies have more FCC lawyers than most companies have employees, they will scare off most potential companies suing and then beat the rest in “FCC court.” That’s basically what the chairman is backing—the often proposed AT&T/Verizon plan. It’s the plan that President Obama repeatedly opposed, beginning in 2006. It’s the plan that network neutrality advocates have fought against for eight years...."

Hate Chrome hiding Web addresses? It may be the future - CNET: "...Chrome today shows the complete address, but with the new approach shows it only when you click the origin chip. You also can continue use the existing keyboard shortcuts of Ctrl/Cmd-L to reveal the full address. The origin chip itself changes from gray to green to signify a Web site with valid security credentials. The feature has been activated for some users of the Chrome browser. "This is a new UI experiment that's deployed to a small fraction of users," said Paul Irish, a Google developer advocate, in a Hacker News discussion about the feature Thursday. Change often generates a backlash, and that's exactly what happened here. One newly filed Chrome bug seeks to excise the origin chip. "This change is not needed at all, and I don't find it convenient at all. It's the newest crap that Google made after the 'great' idea of removing the scrollbar arrows. Glad that the scrollbar arrows are back. Now I would like the address bar to be back too," the bug submitter complained. More people are piling on to reinforce the opinion, too...."

Facebook's mobile ad network is shockingly unambitious
GigaOM
Facebook's first real ad network has a surprisingly narrow scope. App developers will probably take to it, but other advertisers should stick with Google ...

Why Is Facebook Promoting Bogus Stories in Its Related Links? | Mediaite
By Luke O'Neil
It's well established that Facebook is where we go to find phony news stories and misleading clickbait, but you may have noticed in recent months that ...
Mediaite

Scientists Confirm The Existence Of Element 117
Forbes
The official Periodic Table of the Elements is one step closer to adding element 117 to its ranks. That's thanks to an international team of scientists that was able to successfully create several atoms of element 117, which is currently known as Ununseptium ...

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Chrome gets Faster; Windows 8 a Big #FAIL compared to Windows 7

Google still ascendant, Microsoft fading --

Google: Under-the-hood change helps Web apps on Chrome | Internet & Media - CNET News: "...The newest Chrome beta version, 33, includes a feature called concurrent compilation that means the browser takes a smoother, faster trip to an optimized version of the Web page code it's running. "Concurrent code compilation is another step towards reducing latency in Chrome," said Chrome programmer Yang Guo in a blog post Thursday...." more info: http://blog.chromium.org/2014/02/compiling-in-background-for-smoother.html

After 15 months, Windows 8 has sold 100 million fewer copies than Windows 7 did - The Next Web: "Windows 8 launched on October 26, 2012. In February 2014, Microsoft revealed that it had sold over 200 million Windows 8 licenses in the operating system’s 15 months. No matter how you slice it, that’s not good news for the company."

Not even Steve Jobs could sell live tiles on iOS 8 | ZDNet: "... an [idiot] analyst with JP Morgan believes that Apple needs to radically change iOS, presumably starting with iOS 8, to be more like Windows 8. The new iOS would blend OS X and iOS into a single operating system, much along the lines of Windows 8. The thought of an Apple mobile OS with live tiles shows it is not likely something the folks in Cupertino would do...."

Slow cable Internet service providers lobby to kill local broadband | BGR: " . . . Ars Technica’s Jon Brodkin writes that that ISPs have successfully lobbied legislatures in 20 different states to pass laws that make it more difficult or even impossible for individual municipalities to build their own broadband networks. What’s more, ISPs apparently aren’t satisfied with their current winnings and are pushing for fresh restrictions in two of the three states where Google has just happened to launch its Google Fiber services. . . ."

Flappy Bird game pulled from online stores by creator
BBC News
After more than 50 million downloads mobile phone game Flappy Bird has been removed from online stores by its creator, Dong Nguyen. He said its fame "ruins my simple life". Online security company Cloudflare has warned of "the start of ugly things to ...

Mystery of 'jelly doughnut' Martian rock solved
Houston Chronicle
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Scientists have solved the mystery of the "jelly doughnut" rock on Mars that appeared to come out of nowhere. NASA said Friday that a wheel of the rover Opportunity broke it off a larger rock and then kicked it into the field of view.

Android Contract Raises Questions
EE Times
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Is Google playing fair in its Android agreements? That's what I'd like to hear from the community of smartphone and tablet makers. A leaked copy of a 2011 Android agreement between Google and HTC raises questions about the amount ...

Robots Inspired by Termites Build Complicated Structures
Guardian Liberty Voice
Harvard University engineers have used termites as inspiration for a new breed of robot. These small robots are able to build complicated structures without a centralized plan by following simple rules of organization. Using a process called stigmergy, which ...

Ants With Formic Acid Are Invading North America! (Video)
Guardian Liberty Voice
For a long time, red fire ants have been the raining kings of the ant world because of their large stingers that secrete a deadly dose of venom to their competition. Different types of ants compete and attack each other over resources and nest space. However ...

Rakuten acquires Viber web phone/messaging service for $900 million
The Japan Times
Rakuten Inc., the Japanese online retailer controlled by billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani, is buying the Viber Internet messaging and calling service for $900 million as it moves into social networking. Viber will provide a distribution channel for Rakuten's digital ...

How to Survive the Next Wave of Technology Extinction - NYTimes ...
Technologies have always gone belly up, but tech extinctions may become even more common over the next few years. We're living through an exhilarating and ...

www.nytimes.com/.../how-to-survive-the-next-wave-of-techno...

Lithium Technologies to buy Klout - CNN Money
Customer engagement service Lithium Technologies has agreed to buy Klout, a service that measures users' online influence.
money.cnn.com/2014/02/11/.../lithium-technolgies-klout/

Snowden used simple technology to mine NSA computer networks ...
Snowden was a technology contractor working at an agency outpost in Hawaii that had yet to be equipped with modern monitors which might have sounded the ...
www.theguardian.com/.../edward-snowden-used-simple-techn...

Emerging Nations Embrace Internet, Mobile Technology | Pew ...
In a remarkably short period of time, internet and mobile technology have become a part of everyday life for some in the emerging and developing world.
www.pewglobal.org/.../emerging-nations-embrace-internet-mo...

Bitcoin Trading Technology In Question As Currency Dives After ...
A software glitch, enabling Bitcoin traders to effectively defraud exchanges, has prompted a severe war of words – between the currency organisation and a ...
www.forbes.com/.../bitcoin-trading-technology-in-question-as...

1 in 4 Americans Don't Know Earth Orbits the Sun. Yes, Really. : Discovery News: "the National Science Foundation (NSF) delivered news of a pretty shocking poll result: around one in four Americans (yes, that's 25 percent) are unaware that the Earth orbits the sun. Let’s repeat that: One in four Americans — that represents one quarter of the population — when asked probably the most basic question in science (except, perhaps, “Is the Earth flat?” Hint: No.), got the answer incorrect."
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Google Tries to Put Lipstick on the Windows 8 Pig

Let's be honest, Microsoft's Windows 8 is, and always will be, a Pig, (a very, very ugly OS), but give Google credit, their new Chrome release tries to put lipstick on the pig which may ameliorate some pain for the multitude of Windows 8 sufferers --

Google’s latest Chrome release tries to replace the Windows 8 desktop | ZDNet: "This week's Google Chrome update added some significant new features to its Windows 8 mode, effectively turning the browser into a stripped-down version of Chrome OS, with its own taskbar and window-management tools..."

more info on Chrome for Windows 8 and 8.1: http://www.google.com/homepage/windows8/

Microsoft Windows 8 Vista comparison made by employees | BGR: "....Thurrott says that Microsoft employees are internally referring to Windows 8 as “the new Vista,” which is a seeming admission that the platform has not achieved its goals of reigniting interest in PCs and needs some serious changes. In a followup tweet, Thurrott explains that the view from within Microsoft is that Windows 8 has been at least as bad as Vista in terms of sales and market acceptance while adding that Vista might actually have sold better than Windows 8 when it was at this point in its life cycle...."

Is it not time to ditch the pig. (Windows 8.x) - Microsoft Community: "... whichever team or person came up with this unified idea, please sack them for damaging the desktop environment in such a lacklustre way. With apparent disregard for the user base ... I guess I'm going to have to go back to Windows 7 again. But be careful, as there are so many issues with Windows 8, that people don't start looking elsewhere...." (read more at link above)

Google Crafting Contact Lenses for Diabetes
WebMD - Jan. 17, 2014 -- Google is working on contact lenses with special sensors to monitor diabetes blood sugar levels. The lens measures blood sugar ...

Amazon Wants to Ship Your Package Before You Buy It
.. Amazon.com knows you so well it wants to ship your next package before you ... So Amazon says it may box and ship products it expects customers in a ... televisions that predict which shows to record and

Microsoft Researchers Seek Performance-Based Cloud Pricing Patent
InformationWeek - Two Microsoft employees have applied for a patent on a cloud pricing scheme ... A common criticism of on-demand pricing, such as that used by Amazon ... of Google Cloud Platform in December, along with an Amazon-like price cut.

Apple, Google Gear Up to Lobby Congress on NSA Reform
Bloomberg - Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc. (GOOG) and other technology companies are gearing up to bring ...

Amazon Publishing Announces Seventh Annual Amazon ...
MarketWatch - Amazon Publishing will award one Grand Prize $50,000 advance and publishing contract and four $15,000 advances and publishing contracts across ...

Google is mapping the history of modern music - Engadget
Timothy J. Seppala - It's no surprise that Google has been tracking music uploads, but what's ... Amazon is thinking about shipping you packages you haven't ordered yet.

Google banned over 350M ads in 2013 (infographic) | VentureBeat ...
Tom Cheredar - When you operate one of the largest advertising networks in the world, it's important to maintain the credibility of that network, which means removing ...

Adware vendors buy Chrome Extensions to send ad- and malware-filled updates | Ars Technica: "The reality, though, is that while it's extremely easy for a novice user to install an extension, it's nearly impossible for them to diagnose and remove an extension that has turned sour, and Chrome Sync will make sure that extension hangs around on all their devices for a long time. The author of Add to Feedly stated that his extension had around 30,000 users before it was sold and packed full of ads. Today, despite the flood of unhappy user reviews, the Chrome Web Store shows 31,548 users. Auto-updating from a trusted source is one thing, but when that user trust can be bought and sold—and extension ownership can change hands without the users being informed—something needs to be done..."

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Why Windows is Dying: "Chrome and Android represent $46 billion of opportunity, growing at 12 percent"

HP doesn't need a crystal ball to figure this out --

Hewlett-Packard saw the future this week, and that future has more and more Android and Chrome devices in it. -- HP gets serious about Android and Chrome | Mobile - CNET News: "Dion Weisler, executive vice president of printing and personal systems at HP, chimed in too. "Chrome and Android represent $46 billion of opportunity and it's growing at 12 percent," he said, speaking at the same event" (read more at link above)

Amazon Web Services wins court case over CIA cloud contract

Washington Post
Amazon Web Services has prevailed in its lawsuit against the government over a cloud computing contract with the CIA, but competitor IBM has vowed to appeal ...

Malaysia Sun

Microsoft's phone update to feature driving mode

Fox News
Apple has a Do Not Disturb feature for iPhones, but that needs to be turned on ... software holds a distant third place behind Apple's iOS and Google'sAndroid, ...

Economic Times

Apple Loop: iPhone's Blue Screen of Death, iPad Trade Ins, Apple's ...

Forbes
Ironic since the BSOD is most associated with Microsoft Windows' software crashes. In any case, The Verge says the reboots are most associated with Apple's ...

Modern Readers

Microsoft Hints At Cross-Platform Opportunities Between Xbox One ...

Forbes
But new console generation, new rules, and Microsoft's Microsoft's Phil Spencer recently spoke in depth about the idea to AusGamers, while simultaneously not ...

VGChartz

Google Jousts With Wired South Korea Over Quirky Internet Rules

New York Times
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is one of the world's most digitally advanced countries. It has ubiquitous broadband, running at speeds that many ...

Microsoft ships tool to block IE11 on Windows 7

Computerworld
....Individuals can also use the toolkit to keep IE11 off their Windows machines without disabling Automatic Updates for all other Microsoft software. ...

Google To Give WOM and Buzz Marketing A New Spin. What's In It ...

Forbes
Now comes Google Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), leveraging its enormous user-base to give a new spin to WOM and Buzz marketing — by selling users' ...

Chicago Tribune

Wolverton: Apple's spaceship is landing in the wrong place

San Jose Mercury News
To fans of Apple's (AAPL) proposed spaceship headquarters in Cupertino, the most important thing is that it will provide Silicon Valley with the landmark it's long ...

Microsoft awards hacking expert, repairs browser bug

Reuters
BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday it is paying a well-known hacking expert more than $100,000 for finding security holes in its software, one ...

Financial Post

Apple, Google, Pirates, Take-Two: Intellectual Property

Bloomberg
Apple Inc. (AAPL), maker of the iPod and iPhone, has applied for a patent on a ... Ashley Candler shot the video in December 2010 and posted in on Google Inc...

As Microsoft Updates Mobile Software, a Cautionary Tale - NYTimes ...

By NICK WINGFIELD
If Microsoft has learned anything while competing against Google in the Internet ... Its share in the United States, where Apple and Samsung reign supreme, ...

NYT Bits 

Weekly Roundup: Apple iMac review, BlackBerry Z30 ... - Engadget

David Fishman
This has been an incremental year for Apple across the board -- but despite ... Google's latest addition to the Chrome OS line -- the Chromebook 11 -- is an ...

Engadget RSS Feed 

New Martin Hajek renders show iPad 5 in Apple Store setting ...

Ben Lovejoy
If you're impatiently waiting to see the new iPad 5 in the Apple Store, your ... Google increasing visibility of apps “Designed for tablets” on Google Play starting…

9to5Mac 

Google Play Store To Put Apps Designed For Tablets Front And ...

Adnan Farooqui
There a perception out there that the Google Play Store doesn't really have that many apps designed exclusively for tablets, despite the fact that there are a ...

Ubergizmo 

Google to bring its augmented-reality game 'Ingress' to iOS next year

Cody Lee
Google has begun work on an iOS version of its mobile augmented-reality game Ingress, according to a new report from AllThingsD.

Archaeological Areas of Pompei - Google Cultural Institute
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the 1st century AD buried the towns of Pompei, Herculaneum and Oplontis (modern-day Torre Annunziata), which were ...

Nokia Design Guru Urges Apple To End Cable Chaos - Slashdot
An anonymous reader writes "Nokia's former head designer has called on Apple to work with the broader technology industry and end its policy of having ...apple.slashdot.org/.../nokia-design-guru-urges-apple-to-end-ca... 

Apple's Latest iPhones Could Be the Most Disappointing in the ...
However, the dominance of Google's platform is certainly not good for Apple ..... less than a year ago the iPad was dead-in-the-water because the Microsoft ...www.fool.com/.../apples-latest-iphones-could-be-the-most-disa... 

Apple iPhone 5s Sales Beat 5c

InformationWeek
Analysts are weighing in on sales of Apple's new iPhones, and the news isn't much of a surprise: The high-end 5s is outselling the 5c. Further, some believe Apple is prepared to slash orders for the 5c amidst weaker-than-expected demand. What's going ...

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Google + HP Chromebooks, who needs Microsoft?

HP Chromebook 11 now available, HP Chromebook 14 coming soon --
Given Google’s had so much practice, it’s not surprising that there are a couple of lovely touches on the HP Chromebook 11 ($279.99) that make it seriously tempting. It charges with a USB port, like your phone, finally minimising the number of chargers you need to take with you on a trip. It also now comes pre-installed with the offline apps that make Google a serious rival to Office - previously, you needed to download a whole load of Chrome apps before you could do anything like email or word processing without an internet connection. . . .and an even better Chromebook is coming before the end of the year --- HP Chromebook 14 ($299.99)

HP Admits What We Already Knew: Microsoft Is At War With Its OEM Partners | TechCrunch: "As a company, Microsoft will speak to you in loud tones about how much it loves its OEM partners, such as HP. But its tone shifts when conversation turns to its Surface line of tablets, which, in its view, is top-notch. Hang out with Microsoft teams and you’ll see an encroaching level of Surface usage that will in short order overtake ThinkPad’s former preeminence among the company’s employees."

BlackBerry Is Said to Warm to Idea of a Breakup - Bloomberg: "Companies such as SAP AG (SAP), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), which were approached last week by BlackBerry advisers, have indicated they’re only interested in parts of the company, people familiar with the discussions said. A breakup would let parties bid for BlackBerry’s most valuable pieces, such as its patents or enterprise network, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private."

Google cozies up to Apple developers with cloud platform

PCWorld
For Apple developers that want an easy way to add cloud storage or device-to-device push notifications to their apps, Google has announced Mobile Backend ...

eWeek

Google Maps adds multi-destination directions and searchable ...

PCWorld
If the features sound familiar, that's because Google rolled out some of the same functions for its regular search engine in August. Still, the Maps features ...

NDTV

Apple's Mac sales slide as PCs fall again

MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc. saw a sharp drop in Mac sales in the U.S. as global PC shipments fell again in the third quarter, IDC said ...

MiamiHerald.com

Google to pay rewards for open-source code security fixes

PCWorld
Google said Wednesday it plans to reward developers for developing proactive security improvements for some of the most widely used open-source software ...

Washington Post (blog)

Can Google Be Trusted As A Cloud Infrastructure Vendor?

Forbes
Ever since Google Google lifted the wraps earlier this year from its Cloud Platform, ... way of Google actually executing upon this opportunity and giving Amazon Web ... At the same time Microsoft Microsoft is committed to Azure and focused on ...

ITworld.com

Judge: Google's Tracking Not Harmful

Wall Street Journal (blog)
The plaintiffs were users of web browsers from Apple and Microsoft, which... The plaintiffs alleged that Google, and online advertisers Vibrant Media and the ...

Wall Street Journal (blog)

Google wants you to gesture when you drive (but not THAT gesture)

NBCNews.com
Google has filed a patent for technology that would allow drivers to control many ... Google recently filed for a patent that might make controlling a car similar to ...

Apple's iPad Announcement Leads To PR Disruption For Nokia and ...

Chicago Tribune
To suggest that there's a nefarious plan from Apple to disrupt Nokia's farewell party and Microsoft's latest salvo to try and grab relevant mindshare in the tablet ...

Chicago Tribune

Microsoft India announces three Xbox 360 Holiday Value Bundles

NDTV
Three Microsoft Xbox 360 Holiday Value Bundles have been announced, two featuring Kinect, and all featuring bundled games. The one without Kinect, called ...

NDTV

Google aims at universities; can students give Google+ a boost?

ZDNet
Summary: Google is making it easier for universities and colleges to sign up for ... Search-to-smartphones giant Google has drawn up a framework agreement ...

Times Higher Education

Google Maps preview now handles multi-point routes, upcoming ...

Jon Fingas
When the Google Maps web preview launched, it omitted the previous version's multi-point directions -- a big setback for tourists and other frequent. . . .

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