Internet Issues Doom Comcast Merger With Time Warner Cable (video)

Deals in 2014: Why $800B Is Still Pending - Comcast deal dead?

As we get ready to enter the new year, there are still $800 billion in corporate mergers and acquisitions that aren’t done yet.

As Comcast merger enters final phase, deal may be on thin ice —  "...“What makes Comcast unique is its power in three different facets — as a programmer, a distributor and an ISP.” Earlier this year, Comcast demanded that Netflix pay tolls to prevent its internet stream from being degraded. In the future, critics fear, a merger would make it easier for Comcast to exercise the same sort of control over a wide range of other over-the-top internet services, including a standalone HBO. Comcast could one day control online entertainment options in the same way that it currently controls TV channels. Such fears have led merger opponents to say the FCC or the Justice Department should step in not because of cable TV concentration, but to ensure that Comcast can’t monopolize broadband-based content...."

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X-47B Drone and F-18 Fighter Jet Take First Flight Together (video)

X-47B Drone and F-18 Fighter Jet Take First Flight Together: Video - Bloomberg:
(Allow video to load after clicking play or go to link above)
Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) –- Earlier this week, the U.S. Navy conducted an historic first: operating manned and unmanned aircraft together from an aircraft carrier. The test was conducted on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and successfully saw an F/A-18 fighter jet and a a bat-winged X-47B drone take off and land in rapid succession. (Corrects cost.) (Source: Bloomberg)

iPhone 6: Doctors Raise Concerns Over Apple HealthKit
Forbes
The iPhone 6 launch is just weeks away, but there will be much more than just one or two new phones. Of greater importance to most iPhone and iPad ...


Wall Street Journal
Amazon.com Coming to Shanghai's Free-Trade Zone
Wall Street Journal
Amazon, operating in China for a decade and delivering to about 3,000 cities and counties, has been quietly building its presence in the region.


Economic Times
Facebook Messenger gives users more control of privacy options on iOS
TechRepublic
The Android and iOS versions of Facebook Messenger offer different ... Several years ago,Apple got into some hot water because of several apps that ...


TechCrunch
European Facebook Class Action Suit Attracts 60K Users As It Passes First Court Hurdle
TechCrunch
Some developments around the class action suit filed against Facebook in Europe earlier this month over alleged privacy violations: the Austria-based ...
Facebook forced to respond to privacy complaints of 25000 Europeans - ZDNet
Facebook ordered to respond to “class action” European privacy suit - Gigaom


USA TODAY
Report: Microsoft to reveal Windows 9 next month
USA TODAY
Might Microsoft be ready to reveal the latest version of its Windows operating system? The Verge reports Microsoft is planning an event Sept.


Re/code
A Video Startup Teaches Apple TV Some New Tricks
Re/code
AirPlay is Apple's system for beaming stuff from users' phones, tablets and laptops toApple TVs, and then onto actual TV sets. A couple of years ago, ...


The Guardian
Google lobbies to test self-driving cars in Matrix-style virtual world
The Guardian
Google has built a "Matrix-style" digital simulation of the entire Californian road system in which it is testing its self-driving cars – and is lobbying the ...


TechSpot
Google Chrome is now surfable in Cuba
CNET
Google Chrome is now downloadable in Cuba -- a country known for limited Internet access. The Web giant announced Wednesday that it made the ...

Twitter details its anti-spam system, BotMaker — Tech News and Analysis: "Twitter has developed a system called BotMaker to deal with its spam problem. Essentially, BotMaker scans messages before they’re posted, after they’re posted, and as part of bulk data analyses in order to determine what’s spam and then deal with them accordingly."

UPS: We’ve Been Hacked | TIME: "The United Parcel Service announced Wednesday that customers’ credit and debit card information at 51 franchises in 24 states may have been compromised. There are 4,470 franchised center locations throughout the U.S., according to UPS."

Can anyone stop Comcast? | The Verge: "..."other options are hardly worth the money," says Bonnie Smalley, who worked in customer service at Comcast and won an award for her work tweeting as @ComcastBonnie. She quit in 2011. "Right now, [Comcast] has little incentive to provide you with decent service. Who are you going to run to when you disconnect your service? Nobody, and they know it."..."

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Will Windows 9 Save Microsoft Or Is It Too Late?

Probably too late--Windows 7 owns just over 50 percent of the PC OS market share and Windows XP owns an additional 25 percent. Windows 8 platforms and Windows Vista combined make up just 15 percent. In the trendsetting United States Apple's Mac OS is gaining ground, now accounting for more than 15 percent of domestic market share and Chromebooks are taking off (sources infra)--

Will Windows 9 Be Able To Save Microsoft? - Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) | Seeking Alpha: "Microsoft is facing challenges from Google, Apple and others on numerous fronts. Windows 8 turned out to be a flop, Windows phones are struggling, and the Xbox One launch went poorly... Despite heavy investments in its Windows Phone platforms, the company has secured only 2.7 percent of the global smartphone OS market, vs. 81.1 percent for Google and 15.2 percent for Apple... If Windows 9 turns out to be yet another flop, Microsoft could find itself in a difficult situation. The company relies on the sale of its operating systems and updated software for each system to drive revenues. Windows 8 has thus far been rejected by most consumers, depriving Microsoft of potential revenue streams...."

Why 2014 Will be the Biggest Year Yet for Google Chrome OS | Digital Trends: "... Most people just want a computer that can perform simple computing tasks without crashing, and they want to pay as little for it as possible. Netbooks failed because they only met the latter goal, but Chromebooks achieve both. Don’t just take my word for it though. Head over to Amazon’s best-seller list, where three or four Chromebooks can usually be found among the top 10 best-selling laptops. Look further and you’ll see that, excluding MacBooks, it’s rare for a notebook priced above $500 to crack the top 20. People want to pay as little for a PC as possible, and also want it to work well. Chromebooks meet both criteria...."

Storm Clouds Over Amazon Business - WSJ: "Amazon.com Inc. has been fighting two big rivals in the world of cloud computing. But that battle shows signs of becoming a free-for-all that threatens its profitability goals for the business. Large telecom and small startups have been forging into or expanding services that let companies rent computing cycles rather than operate their own servers and data centers. The broader competition comes amid a continuing price war in the business among Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Those pressures were underscored... when the online retailer reported a wider loss for its second quarter. Part of the reason: its Amazon Web Services, or AWS, recently cut prices by between 28% and 51% for various services as gains at AWS and similar businesses slowed to 38% from 60% in its first quarter..." (read more at link above)

Zillow To Swallow Trulia For $3.5 Billion: "Online real estate giant Zillow has agreed to acquire rival Trulia in a $3.5 billion, all-stock deal, Zillow announced Monday. The transaction is expected to close next year."

Comcast Memo: Rep From “Painful” Retention Call Was Doing “What We Trained Him To Do” – Consumerist: "The agent on this call did a lot of what we trained him and paid him — and thousands of other Retention agents — to do."--Dave Watson, Chief Operating Officer, Comcast Cable

How to Make Any Smartphone or Tablet Screen out of Scratch-Proof Sapphire | MIT Technology Review: "...Sapphire, or crystalline aluminum oxide, is made in nature but can also be manufactured. It is second only to diamond in hardness, although incorrect processing can leave defects that make it brittle. Because of its scratch-proof properties, it has long been used for making LEDs, sensors on missiles, and the screens on some high-end phones that cost as much as $10,000...."

BRADENTON, Fla.: Fla. sheriff offers safe space for internet deals - Technology - MiamiHerald.com: "... The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says parking lots at each of its four district stations are available for residents to make transactions arranged online in a public and safe space. Hillsborough's program was created in response to threats of robbery or violence during the in-person cash transactions for items advertised online or in other classified ads."

BEIJING: Chinese portal Sohu reports $45 million loss - Technology - MiamiHerald.com: "... The loss for the three months ended June 30 compared with a $69 million loss in the previous quarter and an operating profit of $64 million in the same period of 2013. Profits at China's Internet companies have been squeezed by heavy spending to build a mobile presence as Chinese Web surfers shift quickly to going online wirelessly through smartphones and tablet computers. Sohu operates online media, search, gaming, community and mobile services. "For our news and video businesses, we made solid progress in mobile monetization as our large user base successfully attracted a growing number of advertisers," said chairman Charles Zhang in a statement...."

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Google's next frontier: What it means to be healthy
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Amazon Is Facing A Cloud Crisis, As Microsoft Muscles In
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Reuters
Microsoft targeted in apparent Chinese antitrust probe
Reuters
BEIJING (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp appears to be the latest U.S. company targeted by China for antitrust investigation as government officials paid ...


The Guardian
Apple to buy Swell, a talk-radio app, for $30 million, report says
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Apple Inc. is reportedly set to pay $30 million to acquire Swell, a Pandora-like app for Internet talk radio. The deal was reported late Sunday night by ...


Toronto Sun
Amazon Launches 3D Printed Products Store
InformationWeek
Amazon on Monday launched a 3D Printed Products store, a development that the ...Amazon says its 3D Printed Products store offers "modestly priced ...


The Hindu
Amazon India to expand same-day delivery capability with 5 new warehouses
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Customers who shop on online retailer Amazon can expect faster shipping times and greater availability shortly as the e-commerce player plans on ...


Forbes
Facebook Stock Is Classic Example Of Bubble
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I'm rounding these numbers because to think Facebook is not massively ... If you don't recognize today's market you can send it back to Amazon and ...


CNNMoney
Apple welcomes back top Bitcoin wallet app
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blockchain Apple banned Blockchain and other Bitcoin wallets from its App Store earlier this year. ... The world's top Bitcoin wallet program, Blockchain.info, is back on Apple'sApp Store. ... Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) mobile operating system has become a hotbed for ... Facebook launched my startup.


Ars Technica
Microsoft readying next Windows Phone update with folders, 7-inch screens
Ars Technica
Documents intended for the OEMs were accidentally made available on Microsoft'sdeveloper site for a short time, revealing details of what the patch ...

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Comcast vs Tennessee Utility, Future of the Internet

Comcast’s worst nightmare: How Tennessee could save America’s Internet - Salon.com: ".... To date, those court cases have been thwarted by EPB. However, it is a different story in state legislatures. Once again abandoning the business lobby’s typical call for less government intervention, telecom firms have successfully pushed 20 states to pass laws limiting the reach of community-owned utilities like EPB. That’s where Washington comes in. With Census figures showing more than 1 in 5 Tennessee residents having no Internet connection, EPB is now proposing to offer its ultra-fast services to new communities. But it needs the Federal Communications Commission to preempt the Tennessee statute prohibiting the utility from competing with private telecom companies outside its current market. For EPB, the good news is that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has repeatedly pledged that in the name of competition and broadband access, he will support preempting state laws like Tennessee’s. However, in a capital run by money, EPB may still be politically overpowered. After all, as a community-owned utility in a midsized city, EPB does not have the lobbyists and campaign cash to match those of behemoths like Comcast and AT&T. What the utility does have is a solid track record and a pro-consumer, pro-competition argument. The question is: Will that be enough to prevent Wheeler from backing down or being blocked by Congress? The future of the Internet may be at stake in the answer." (read more at link above)

FCC - Net Neutrality Public Comments support Title II Regulation (via Politico) - "... One key factor: the controversial proposed rules [for internet fast lanes] have touched a very intimate and personal nerve for Web users across the country, raising the political temperature at the FCC on this issue. It's also exposed deep industry divisions over the future of the Internet. 'Telecom and cable companies are mostly in agreement that the last thing they want is a heavy-handed FCC imposing rules that will restrict how they manage Internet traffic. Companies from Netflix to Etsy agree that nothing could be more detrimental to their business than rules that force them to pay more for distribution, urging the agency to use all the available tools to prohibit fast lanes.'...." 

Snowden seeks to develop anti-surveillance technologies | Reuters: "...Snowden, who addressed conference attendees on Saturday via video link from Moscow, said he intends to devote much of his time to promoting such technologies, including ones that allow people to communicate anonymously and encrypt their messages...."

Alibaba's I.P.O. Could Be a Bonanza for the Scions of Chinese Leaders - NYTimes.com: "What Alibaba did not detail was the deep political connections of the investment firms, Boyu Capital, Citic Capital Holdings and CDB Capital, the China Development Bank’s private investment arm. Their senior executive ranks included sons or grandsons of the most powerful members of the ruling Communist Party, according to an analysis by The New York Times."

Mobile messaging platform Tango hires game publishing leader and creates $25M game investment fund | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi: "... Ying said that Tango is putting together an “attractive package” for revenue sharing. The exact percentage Tango takes depends on whether a game has been proven elsewhere before. Rather than limit distribution efforts to premier real estate within Tango, top-performing games will receive promotion through additional, off-platform marketing channels, the company said. Investments and acquisitions of game teams will also be considered, Ying said...."

More Chinese people going online via phones than PCs - The Times of India: "... China's total number of internet users crept up 2.3% to 632 million by the end of June, from 618 million at the end of 2013, said CNNIC's internet development statistics report. Of those, 527 million — or 83% — went online via mobile.... But not all internet activity saw growth. Users of microblogs such as Tencent Weibo and that offered by Weibo fell for the second six-month period in a row, by 1.9% to 275 million. They numbered 331 million at the end of June last year before the government in September started clamping down on "online rumours" which it said threatened social stability. Blockbuster mobile messaging apps such as Tencent's WeChat have since become venues of choice for users who want to express views without fear of retribution...."

Microsoft's Productivity Story: Showtime For Nadella
InformationWeek
Microsoft is Nadella's show now, and the CEO deserves high marks for ... Apple andGoogle have thumped Microsoft in the mobility arena. It may be a ...


Artesia Daily Press
Microsoft makes design central to its future
Salt Lake Tribune
Before Ralf Groene helped devise the look and feel of Microsoft's Surface tablet, ... more competitive with offerings from rivals Apple, Google, and Amazon and to ... And yes, Microsoft is even trying to make devices attractive, cool and ...


PC Advisor
Microsoft reveals bankruptcy of devices strategy by dumping Nokia feature phones
Computerworld
Computerworld - Microsoft was right to ax the feature phone business it inherited when it bought Nokia's handset business for $7.2 billion, analysts ...

Facebook Earnings Preview: Good Performance Expected to Continue
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Facebook will release its Q2 2014 results on July 23. The expectations are high considering the company's performance in recent quarters. We expect ...


New York Times
Microsoft's Top Lawyer Is the Tech World's Envoy
New York Times
Bradford Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, worked as a lawyer in ....


Re/code
Yahoo to Acquire Flurry to Strengthen Mobile Products
MarketWatch
Our agreement to acquire Flurry is a meaningful step for the company and reinforcesYahoo's commitment to building and supporting useful, inspiring ...


MarketWatch
Apple options traders aren't willing to roll the dice
MarketWatch
If investors are expecting Apple to give them something special this quarter, ... Apple will reveal results after the Tuesday's closing bell, with analysts ...


Capital FM Kenya
Google To Turn NYC Payphones Into WiFi Hotspots
InformationWeek
More than 50 companies are interested in assisting New York's bid to become more connected, including Google, Cisco, Samsung, and IBM.


Wired
Facebook Explains Why It Wants to Be a Retail Store
Wired
Why Cutting 18,000 Jobs Was Likely Microsoft's Plan All Along .... Apple, with iTunes and the App Store, is now an online retailer. ... available to a would-be consumer: clicking over to Amazon or Google or any other retail site. ... A Facebook version of PayPal or GoogleWallet may also be in the works.

Apple Releases iOS 8 Beta 4 to Developers
Juli Clover
Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 8 to developers, two weeks after ... Apple has also released Xcode 6 beta 4 and a new Apple TV beta. ... concerned with privacy and security, there's always Google and Microsoft, ...Facebook Launches Exclusive 'Mentions' App for Verified Public Figures (31).

Apple readying OS X Yosemite Public Beta for this month, new developer preview today
Mark Gurman
Apple is planning to release a publicly available beta of the upcoming OS X Yosemite later this month, according to sources briefed on the plans.

Yahoo Is Going To Buy Mobile Ad Company Flurry For Hundreds Of Millions
Steven Tweedie
Yahoo is reportedly acquiring mobile app firm Flurry for "hundreds of millions." ... 

Marin Adds Google Shopping Campaign Management
Jessica Lee
That's likely part of the fuel behind Marin's latest launch: support for Google Shopping ... Some of the features of the Google Shopping release include: ... and retarget consumers across the web, including Facebook," said Matt Ackley, ...

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Windows 7 growth almost double that of Windows 8.x

In Redmond they must be wondering WTF! -- Windows 7 has 50.06 percent market share, Windows 8.x only 12.71 percent --

Normal service is resumed as Windows 7's growth once again comfortably outpaces Windows 8.x: "... So the question is, where are XP users moving to? I think you probably know the answer to that by now. Windows 8 continued to lose market share, going from 6.36 percent in April to 6.29 percent in May for a drop of 0.07 percent. Windows 8.1 grew share, going from 5.88 percent to 6.35 percent, for an increase of 0.47 percent. You don’t need a calculator to work out that in total Windows 8.x share grew by 0.4 percent. The previous month it grew by 0.9 percent, which was its biggest market share gain since December 2013. It might be hard to get hold of Windows 7 these days, but that hasn’t stopped the OS packing on growth. It went from 49.27 percent in April to 50.06 percent in May -- finally breaking through the 50 percent barrier -- for an increase of 0.79 percent, nearly double that of Windows 8.x...."

Charging a Smartphone, No Wires Required | MIT Technology Review: ".... Energous is the latest in a long line of companies fixated on the idea that life would be easier if we didn’t have so many wires and gadgets to plug in. Yet many of the wireless charging products that have come to market have relied on special charging mats that juice up devices at a short distance, and they’re still not that popular with consumers. “There’s not very many people that want to take their phone and go leave it somewhere while it charges,” Energous CEO Stephen Rizzone argues. “If they’re going to leave it somewhere while it charges, they’re going to plug it into a wall.”..."

How Advanced Socialbots Have Infiltrated Twitter | MIT Technology Review: "....Freitas and co also monitored the Klout score of each of their social bots to see how they fared. (Klout is an online service that measures the influence of Twitter accounts, giving them a score between 0 and 100). “We find that the socialbots achieved Klout scores of the same order of (or, at times, even higher than) several well-known academicians and social network researchers,” they say...."

What's New And Different About Apple's New Swift Programming Language? "....There are performance improvements, too, but White says the sandbox feature--"where you can run stuff in Playgrounds to be able to change code on the fly without recompiling"--is an even bigger boon. "The overall syntax is very JavaScripty in a way--they're moving toward not having hard type variables," White says. He calls it a mishmash of a scripting language, with all the power of a compiled language. "It's still native, it still compiles, but it's a style of programming that a lot of people--especially backend developers--are used to...."

Secret Global Strike Kills 2 Malicious Web Viruses - NYTimes.com: "Federal agents over the weekend secretly seized control of two computer networks that hackers used to steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims. In doing so, the Justice Department disrupted the circulation of two of the world’s most pernicious viruses and turned a 30-year-old Russian computer hacker into a most-wanted fugitive. The strike, coordinated with the European authorities, was aimed at malware called GameOver Zeus, which is known to steal bank information and send it to overseas hackers, and CryptoLocker, which burrows into computers and encrypts personal data. The hackers then demand a ransom to unlock the files... Together, the Justice Department estimates, the two malicious programs have infected between 500,000 and a million computers and cost people more than $100 million in direct and indirect losses. Authorities had been investigating the two viruses separately, but along the way, they realized that GameOver Zeus was the main vehicle by which CryptoLocker was spread, the Justice Department said...."

Apple counters Microsoft's convergence strategy with Continuity
Computerworld
Computerworld - Apple yesterday unveiled its answer to Microsoft's vision of the future, where multiple devices collapse into one, where compromises ...

Google testing super-secure email
CNNMoney
End-to-End encryption will soon be available Google Chrome, and it's the best ... Googleis working on the ultimate security and privacy feature.

Facebook to Small Businesses: Buy More Ads
TIME
There will be no summer vacation for Facebook — the company is spending the season trying to convince small businesses to buy more ads on the ...

Apple Dumps Google Search For Microsoft's Bing
InformationWeek
Facebook · Twitter · LinkedIn · Google+ · RSS ... Apple has dealt Google another blow by announcing a new default Web search provider ... Last year, the company struck a deal with Microsoft to name Bing as the default ... to its list of default search engines, which also include Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Apple Needs More Than Dr. Dre to Cure Chronic P/E Discount
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As the headlines coming out of Apple's developers' conference show, the competition between Apple and Google is as fierce as ever in the ...

Amazon and Hachette: The dispute in 13 easy steps
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An unusually public battle is being waged between Amazon and one of ... booksellers nationwide; other retailers include Apple, Google and Kobo.

Apple Allows Virtual Currencies in Apps, Opening Door to Bitcoin
Bloomberg
June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Mary Turner, Chief Executive Officer at Alertme, discusses the importance of Apple's move into the internet of things and the ...

Amazon Opens On-Ramp For VMware Workloads
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Amazon Web Services makes a bid for VMware-based workloads by giving vCenter virtual machine admins a direct link to its EC2 cloud. 6 Models Of ...

Google looks to shed Glass 'geek' with designer chic
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"In 2012, we gave you an insider's view of [von Furstenberg's] Spring 2013 runway show [through Google Glass]," the Google Glass team wrote in a ...

How Apple's new iCloud pricing compares to rivals
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Apple on Monday announced it will soon offer cheaper iCloud plans. ... Apple's new pricing makes it a more affordable option than Microsoft, Box and Dropbox. The new pricing also makes it more comparable to Google's pricing.

64-bit beta Chrome Web browser arrives for Windows
ZDNet
On June 3, Google announced that it had released a 64-bit version of its Chrome Web browser for Windows 7 and 8. A 64-bit Chrome Web browser has long been available on Linux. 64-bit-Chrome Google's 64-bit Chrome for Windows 7 and 8 is still very ...

Comcast to Encrypt Email For Security
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The move came just hours after Google called out email providers, including Comcast, for not using encryption. Google Tuesday publicized for the first time the share of its email traffic with other providers that remains encrypted. According to Google, fewer ...

Great artists steal: The iOS 8 features inspired by Android
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Photo: Hubble captures 'most colorful' view of the universe
San Jose Mercury News
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have assembled a comprehensive picture of the evolving universe -- among the most colorful deep space images ever captured by the 24-year-old telescope, NASA said Tuesday. This handout composite ...

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Ask the FCC Why Comcast, Verizon and AT&T Can Not Be Like Google Fiber!

Google Fiber: we don’t charge for peering, don’t have fast lanes - Hear that Tom Wheeler, FCC, US Congress, Barack Obama? What is WRONG with Washington DC and the industry incumbents is they all have their heads up their _____. At this point, the incumbents and the US government (including FCC) have done such a poor job providing low-cost, fast internet for the US, let's just turn it all over to Google!

Google Fiber: we don’t charge for peering, don’t have fast lanes — Tech News and Analysis: "....Of course, this was more than Google gloating about how fast Fiber is. The post also comes at a time where Netflix sees itself pressured to strike paid peering deals with companies like Comcast and Verizon to improve an otherwise subpar video streaming experience for the customers of those ISPs."

Google Fiber Blog: "Google Fiber provides the ‘last-mile’ Internet connection to your home. Meanwhile, content providers spend a lot of money (many billions of dollars) building their own networks to transport their content all the way to those ‘last-mile’ connections....we invite content providers to hook up their networks directly to ours. This is called ‘peering,’ and it gives you a more direct connection to the content that you want. We have also worked with services like Netflix so that they can ‘colocate’ their equipment in our Fiber facilities. What does that mean for you? Usually, when you go to Netflix and click on the video that you want to watch, your request needs to travel to and from the closest Netflix data center, which might be a roundtrip of hundreds or thousands of miles. Instead, Netflix has placed their own servers within our facilities (in the same place where we keep our own video-on-demand content). Because the servers are closer to where you live, your content will get to you faster and should be a higher quality."

Google Plans Low-Cost, High Quality Wi-Fi Networks For Small- And Medium-Sized Businesses, Report Says | TechCrunch: "Google is apparently planning to offers subsidized, commercial-grade Wi-Fi hardware to small and medium-sized businesses, The Information reports, alongside software to help greatly improve the quality of the Wi-Fi experience at places like doctors’ offices, restaurants, gyms and more. The hardware would be the only cost involved, as it would use the businesses’ existing Internet connections, unlike the Google-provided Wi-Fi networks running at Starbucks businesses across the U.S."

Wheeler Says F.C.C. Will Examine Peering Arrangements - NYTimes.com: "The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that the agency would examine the type of paid-priority arrangements that Netflix recently entered into with Comcast, a deal that created an uproar of accusations that the F.C.C. was allowing companies to buy fast-lane Internet access to consumers. The chairman, Tom Wheeler, told a House panel Tuesday that the commission “needs to be looking at and will be looking at” those types of agreements, which are business-to-business contracts known as peering arrangements. Mr. Wheeler also stated that position last week after the commission voted to release its open Internet proposal for public comment. The stance is significant because Mr. Wheeler has long said that peering agreements do not fall under the umbrella of what is commonly referred to as “net neutrality,” which is the focus of the commission’s open Internet proposals introduced last week..."

Google Backs Netflix in Epic Battle With Comcast
Wired
Netflix is now paying Comcast for a direct connection to the internet service provider, as it seeks to ensure that Comcast customers experience fewer ...

House of Representatives passes 'gutted' NSA surveillance reform | The Verge: "Privacy watchdogs hope Senate will roll back amendments to USA Freedom Act"

HP: Cheapest quad-core tablet yet comes in at just $99.99 | BGR: "The HP 7 Plus features a 1GHz quad-core processor, a 7-inch, 1024 x 600 resolution display, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage (and microSD card slot), 2-megapixel rear camera, 0.3-megapixel front camera, 2800 mAh battery and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. If you purchase the tablet from HP’s website, you’ll also receive 25GB of lifetime storage with Box and Kingsoft Office software."

JD.com Is Latest Chinese Company to Soar In U.S. Trading Debut - MoneyBeat - WSJ: "Investors are going shopping for JD.com Inc.JD 0.00%, the newly public e-commerce juggernaut, adding to a mostly buoyant market for Chinese companies listing in the U.S."

Heard on the Street: Sina Spreads Gloom Amid Chinese Internet Boom - WSJ.com: "Chinese Internet portal operator Sina SINA -9.38% is giving investors plenty to worry about, and not much to look forward to."

Google feels political wind shift against it in Europe - FT.com

Marc Andreessen: Tech companies are still fuming over the NSA: "....Chief executives from leading companies including Netflix, Google and Facebook met with senior White House officials in December, and again in March. While the Obama administration said at the time that the meetings helped clear the air on intelligence reforms, Andreessen argued Monday that the White House has not done enough to mitigate the NSA's impact on tech companies' reputations, particularly overseas. "The level of trust in U.S. companies has been seriously damaged, especially but not exclusively outside the U.S.," said Andreessen. "Every time a new shoe drops — and there are 10,000 of them — it serves a blow to the U.S." Some estimates suggest the news about the NSA's surveillance practices may have cost tech companies tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue...."

How the Internet of Things Will Change Business | MIT Technology Review: "....Gordon Bell, a Microsoft researcher and a pioneer of the original computer revolution, believes no one knows exactly what form computing will take on the Internet of things. But he says that’s unsurprising. The importance of the PC and the smartphone became clear only after their development. “The ‘Internet of things’ is a way of saying that more of the world will become part of the network,” he says. “That is what is going on. We are assimilating the world into the computer. It’s just more and more computers.”"

Samsung Music will close its doors on July 1 | News | TechRadar: "Samsung is encouraging anyone using the service to "take the time to download all purchased content and use any remaining vouchers for Samsung Music before July 1, 2014 - after that date they will no longer be available." 

HP Shares Fall on Light Results; Plans to Cut up to 16,000 More Jobs | Re/code

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Alibaba Valuation Fair (video); Cogent Blasts Comcast

Alibaba's Valuation Is Very Fair: Oberweis' Papp: Video - Bloomberg:
(Allow video to load after clicking play)
Oberweis Asset Management's Jeff Papp and Bloomberg's Cory Johnson discuss Alibaba's landmark IPO with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg May 7)

Cogent Blasts Comcast--
Comcast is the one who should pay for network connections, Cogent claims | Ars Technica: "... Internet backbone operator Cogent has long expressed its displeasure with Comcast's demands for payment in exchange for accepting Netflix video and other traffic... Today, Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer made a different argument, saying that Comcast is the one who should be paying for connectivity. He did so while testifying in front of a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Comcast's planned acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Schaeffer pointed to the fact that Comcast is not considered to be a so-called "Tier 1" network. There are a dozen or so Tier 1 networks that make up the closest thing the Internet has to a backbone. Tier 1 networks can reach every part of the Internet simply by peering with one another. Other networks buy "transit" in order to access the rest of the Internet. Peering is a point-to-point connection only, which doesn't necessarily guarantee passage of traffic to any networks beyond the two involved in the connection. "Comcast does not operate a global network. In fact, it should be buying connectivity to the global Internet but has used its market scale and scope to extract an unusual concession," Schaeffer told members of Congress. "It wanted free connectivity, peering to the Internet, even though it didn't operate a global network... A larger Comcast will be able to demand even greater payments...." [apparently with the help of former Comcast lobbyist, now FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler - see below]

"Net neutrality advocates...are still underwhelmed by Wheeler's reported plan for creating an "open Internet" that they said falls far short of true net neutrality. And they likely won't be pleased until Wheeler takes a tough political step opposed by those same broadband executives. "A lot of politicians want their cake and to eat it, too," said Marvin Ammori, a lawyer who has been vocal in his support of net neutrality. "He's still trying to back off and trying to explain that he's trying to do the right thing. He fooled some people... broadband companies like Comcast have marshaled intensive lobbying efforts, hiring numerous former FCC employees. "Folks in D.C. are surrounded by their own bubble," Ammori said. "A bubble where there are lots of telecom lobbyists walking around who describe net neutrality as politically toxic."..."

Objections from inside, outside FCC shake net-neutrality proposal
Washington Post
The government's plan to let Internet providers charge Netflix, Google and others for faster access to customers has been thrown into turmoil, as the agency responsible for the rule has been riven by internal dissent and faces mounting opposition from the ...

House intel surprises on NSA surveillance - POLITICO.com: "....The Intelligence committee passage of the USA Freedom Act indicates that it will be the legislative vehicle for further activity in the House on surveillance reform. However, it does not rule out that members, including those on the Intelligence committee, may seek to amend the bill later in the legislative process. In addition, there are no signs at the moment that the Senate has broken a legislative logjam on the issue...."

Yes, we're in a tech bubble. Here's how I know it - Fortune Tech: "... I can also gauge the tech bubble by the flow of dinner, drinks, and other social invitations in my inbox. The PTA at my daughter's school is hosting a really neat fundraiser this week in San Francisco, the kind of event that appeals to an audience far beyond our school community. I personally know of no fewer than four other significant functions happening that night elsewhere in San Francisco, and that's not counting straight-ahead business functions. I could easily dine out four nights a week on the dime of some public relations firm that is hosting a dinner in an attempt to drum up publicity for its client. And I'm not invited to nearly the number of swanky gatherings that my younger, more receptive colleagues are...."

State Senate OKs cellphone 'kill switch' legislation to deter theft
Los Angeles Times
The California Senate passed a bill this week requiring cellphones sold in the state to be equipped with anti-theft technology. The California Senate passed a bill this week requiring cellphones sold in the state to be equipped with anti-theft technology.

Google Talking to Auto Makers About Self-Driving Car
Wall Street Journal (blog)
He and others said Google hasn't decided whether to design its own car, or make its software and operating system available to auto makers. “We're ...

Yahoo buys mobile 'self-destruct' messaging app Blink
Reuters
Blink is a product of Meh Labs, a company founded by ex-Google employees Kevin Stephens and Michelle Norgan. Meh Labs is best known for its ...

Apple to introduce iPad app split-screen feature in iOS 8, report says
Los Angeles Times
A mock image of what the Apple iPad split-screen feature could look like. (9to5Mac) ... IsApple copying Microsoft, Samsung? Maker of the iPad is ...

Microsoft Had No Choice but to Yank Kinect From Xbox One
Wired
This would seem to confirm the widely held assumption that the reason that Microsoft'sconsole cost $500, compared to PlayStation 4 at $400, was the ...

Google gets tougher on suspicious Google Apps logins
CNET
 ... In an effort to block unauthorized use of its Google Apps services, Google plans to ... security significantly, it's arriving at sites including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Twitter, ... Google Apps is a $50-per-person-per-year service under which ...

Google Search 4.0.0 for iOS adds conversations, embarrasses Siri
ZDNet (blog)
What's astounding is how far the Google Search app has come and how woefully inadequate Apple's built-in Siri has become. I've had the Google ...

Google Search for iOS updated with conversational voice input — Tech News and Analysis - Gigaom
By Kif Leswing
Google pushed out an update to its iOS Google Search app on Tuesday, bringing the version number up to 4.0. The update improves Google's voice ...
Gigaom

iPhone Won't Deliver iMessage Texts To Android - Business Insider: "....Now an Apple customer support employee has admitted to Lifehacker's Adam Pash that, in fact, "a lot" of users have this problem: If you switch from an iPhone to an Android, iMessage won't deliver texts from iPhone users to your new Android phone. There is no fix in sight, Pash says he was told...."

September Apple Retail holiday restrictions make August launch of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 even ...
By Ben Lovejoy
German site ifun is reporting that local Apple Store staff have been banned from taking any leave in September, the usual month for the launch of a ...
9to5Mac

Google Lat Long: Hop on board—and go almost anywhere—with public transit on GoogleMaps
By Lat Long
Millions of people rely on public transit to get around. That's why, since 2007, we've worked to include public transit routes and schedules in Google ...
Google LatLong

Chrome Releases: Stable Channel Update - Google Chrome Releases - Blogger
By Daniel xie
Security Fixes and Rewards This update includes 3 security fixes. Below, we highlight fixes that were either contributed by external researchers or ...
Google Chrome Releases

Real Estate Developer Sues Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg | AOL Real Estate
By The Associated Press
A Northern California real estate developer is suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over a deal involving property behind Zuckerberg's home.
ExcitingAds! AOL Real Estate

Facebook, Google, Yahoo — How Hackers Can Use Everyday Sites for Reflection & Amplification ...
By David Hobbs
Reflection and amplification attacks are used to extend DDoS harm. Recently, I discussed how the most recent unwelcome arrival of HTTP-based ...
Radware Blog

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Mobile Keeping Tech Alive? (video); the iPad Fad

Is Mobile Keeping Tech Alive?: Video -
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Telsey Advisory Group Analyst Tom Forte discusses tech companies becoming phone companies with Trish Regan and Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg April 25)

The Astonishing, Disappointing iPad — Five Hundred Words — Medium: "If the iPad is a fad, it’s the greatest fad in the history of American business. And so I repeat: the iPad got too successful, too quickly. And everyone (including Apple) got spoiled by those insane numbers."

Former Comcast and Verizon Attorneys Now Manage the FCC and Are About to Kill the Internet | VICE United States: "The open Internet may soon become a thing of the past. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal dropped something of a bombshell with leaked news that the Federal Communications Commission is planning to abandon so-called “net neutrality” regulations—rules to ensure that Internet providers are prevented from discriminating based on content. Under the new proposed system, companies such as Comcast or Verizon will be able to create a tiered Internet, in which websites will have to pay more money for faster speeds, a change that observers predict will curb free speech, stifle innovation and increase costs for consumers...."

Why the government should provide internet access - Vox: "...Ezra: What is constraining cities now from building public internet options? Is the problem money? Regulation? Susan: It's almost funny. Twenty states have passed laws saying, "Cities don't have the choice to do this." These laws have been rammed through by incumbents happy with the way things are. One thing that needs to happen is we need to block these state laws so that cities can make these decision for themselves. FCC Chairman Wheeler has announced that this would be a good direction to investigate....."

Congress screwed up net neutrality, not the FCC - Vox: "...A better way to resolve the controversy over the FCC's authority would be for Congress to pass a new telecommunications law that either clearly authorizes network neutrality regulations or clearly prohibits them. A clear statement from Congress authorizing network neutrality rules would make it easier for the FCC to write rules that pass muster with the courts. A clear statement prohibiting network neutrality regulations would end the decade-long uncertainty about how broadband networks would be regulated. Either way, the nation would be spared another decade of legal Calvinball as the courts struggle to interpret a statute that gets more outdated with each passing year...."

Microsoft: No IE Patch For Windows XP
InformationWeek
Microsoft confirmed over the weekend that Internet Explorer (IE) versions 6 through 11 are susceptible to a newly discovered vulnerability, and that ...

Google: Self-driving cars are mastering city streets
CNN
(CNN) -- Long a veteran of the highways of rural California, Google's self-driving car is working on becoming safer in the city. Over the past year or so, ...

Google Now and Cortana are the future, not Siri
CNNMoney
Now that our gadgets are plenty fast and powerful, and most software is easy enough for babies to use, everyone is searching for the Next Big Thing in ...

Apple vs. Samsung: Google haunts the courtroom arguments
San Jose Mercury News
When an eight-member federal jury retreats behind closed doors this week to decide the outcome of the latest Apple v. Samsung patent showdown, a ...

Google Plus is turning negative, but don't bet on it going away
ZDNet
Gundotra spent most of his career at Microsoft (15 years from 1991) and ... Facebook has more global reach than Google Search or Gmail, Amazon, ...

Facebook Vies With Google and Apple for Mobile-App Makers
Bloomberg
The social network recently reached out to Helsinki-based Huuuge Inc., the maker of the game, to convince the team to build mobile applications with ...

Microsoft Goes Hollywood With Slate Of 'Xbox Originals' TV Shows
Forbes
Microsoft opened a new front in its war to control consumers' living rooms on Monday, announcing that it is developing a dozen original television ...

Amazon banishes Apple's comic cut with new ComiXology app
ZDNet
The new version of the app does not allow iOS users to purchase comics in-app and no longer allows Google Play customers to use their Google ...

Amazon Faces Profit Pressure: Honeymoon Over?
InformationWeek
Amazon touts growth, but investor patience grows thin as shareholders ... may not show much growth at all, since Google kicked in 30% to 40% price ... last March across several basic services, and Microsoft soon followed suit. .....

Google Boosts Encryption In Chrome For Android
InformationWeek
Yahoo, long a laggard in computer security, committed last year to adding ... And in December, Microsoft, acknowledging customers' concerns about ... include Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel ...

Microsoft fan goes Pro
Boston Herald
RETURN OF THE MAC: Phil Schiller, above, the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, introduces the new MacBook laptops last ...

Apple Shares Diverge From Nasdaq After Stock Split
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Apple is no longer following the pack, but it's no leader of the pack, either. Shares of the iPhone and iPad maker have surged since last week's ...

Great Google-y Moogly: Internet Giant Slapped With Huge Tax Bill
Forbes
For years, multinational companies like Google Google, Apple Apple and Microsoft Microsoft have been thwarting attempts by government authorities ...

Microsoft's Mobile First, Cloud First Strategy, Explained
InformationWeek
After laying low during the first seven weeks of his tenure, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made four high-profile appearances in April: the Office for iPad ...

Microsoft announces price cuts for Xbox 360 consoles in India
NDTV
There is some good news for those awaiting a price drop on Xbox 360 consoles with the launch of the Xbox One - they will not have to wait for the ...

Microsoft Wins Antitrust Case as Top Court Rejects Novell
Bloomberg
The U.S. Supreme Court ended a lawsuit that accused Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) of illegally protecting its Windows computer operating system from ...

Microsoft vows to appeal federal email privacy ruling
Computerworld
IDG News Service - Email providers have to turn over a user's emails and other data to U.S. law enforcement when issued a search warrant, even if ...

Microsoft Research Special Projects group tipped to take on Google X
ZDNet (blog)
There's a new Special Projects Group in Microsoft Research (MSR) that is tasked with working on "disruptive technologies that could benefit the ...

Facebook announces second phase of Altoona data center
DesMoinesRegister.com
Facebook today announced plans to begin construction of the second ... center projects — Facebook in Altoona and Microsoft in West Des Moines.

Facebook open sourcing Paper's animation engine Pop
ZDNet
Facebook is kicking off the week with opening up and sharing a framework behind one of its newer products, Paper...

Center the Subject for Best Results with Google Camera's Lens Blur - Lifehacker
By Ed Rhee
Android: Google's new built-in camera app for Android includes a new feature that simulates the blur effect of SLR and compact system cameras.
Lifehacker

Google's self-driving car gets much better at navigating cities — Tech News and Analysis - Gigaom
By Barb Darrow
Google says its self-driving cars have passed the 700000-mile mark navigating city streets -- without incident.
Gigaom

Apple MacBook Air Update - Business Insider
By Lisa Eadicicco
Apple may launch two new MacBook Air models with new processors and storage ... Login With Facebook Login With Twitter Login With Google.
Business Insider

How Google's Self-Driving Car Is Tackling the Chaos of City Streets - Gizmodo
By Adam Clark Estes
We've all heard about how well Google's self-driving car does on the highway. But is that so impressive? Heck, put on cruise control and an audiobook ...
Gizmodo

Closing arguments set in Apple-Samsung trial - Phys.org
At stake: $2 billion if Samsung loses, a few hundred million if Apple loses. ... But Samsung fought back, using Google's Android system, offering less expensive smartphones with larger screens. Closing arguments set ... Phys.org on facebook ... Nokia, Microsoft complete $7.5B cellphone deal (Update 2).
Phys.org - latest science and...

Apple's Maps App Gets 3-D Flyover Support For Mysterious Stonehenge -- AppAdvice
By Bryan M. Wolfe
You can now visit Stonehenge via your iOS device.
App Advice

Conversations LIVE: Ask me anything with Stephen Elop - Conversations - Nokia Conversations
By Tiina Jaatinen
Microsoft Mobile uses cookies and similar technologies to manage, enhance and personalize your experience. We also use them to display ...
Conversations - Posts

Apple paying $80 more for iPhone 5 with faulty sleep/wake button - iDownloadBlog
By Christian Zibreg
Apple last week put forth a new replacement program dealing with the malfunctioning sleep/wake button on some iPhone 5 devices. Apple has ...
iDownloadBlog.com

Siri coming to Apple TV? - FanSided - Sports News, Entertainment, Lifestyle & Technology - 270+ ...
By Ted Schwerzler
Sony to force Microsoft's hand? ... Voice commands from your couch to your Apple TV via your favorite voice? Yes indeed, Siri could be coming ... The recently announced Amazonproduct already includes voice commands. The new ...
FanSided

A look into Facebook's f8 - Inside Facebook
By Justin Lafferty
On Wednesday, Facebook's f8 — a developer's haven — will return to San Francisco after a three-year absence, this time powered by Parse.
Inside Facebook

As Its Domestic Cash Plunges By Record To Early 2010 Levels, Apple Prepares Massive $17 ...
By Tyler Durden
While Apple's earnings report last week left little to be desired, one of the more notable observations was that the company's cash hoard, relentlessly ...
zerohedge.com

UPDATE: See Microsoft dig up landfilled E.T. Atari cartridges – video | VG247 - VG247.com
By Phil Owen
Today is the day that some enterprising folks are visiting that landfill in New Mexico where legend says millions of Atari E.T. game cartridges were ...
VG247

ComiXology Update for Android Removes Google Payments | Droid Life
By Tim-o-tato
It was only three weeks ago when Amazon purchased ComiXology, and at the time, ... purchases to be made through a single account, such as their Google Wallet. ... I completely understand the thinking, wanting to keep Google/Apple from taking a ...Facebook Google+ YouTube Twitter Subscribe.
Droid Life

Microsoft warns of Internet Explorer flaw affecting 1/4 of all web browsers | SiliconANGLE
By Mike Wheatley
small__35407674 Microsoft is warning customers of a newly discovered vulnerability affecting its Internet Explorer browser, from versions 6 through to ...
SiliconANGLE

Microsoft Issues Advisory For Internet Explorer Vulnerability - Slashdot
slashdot.org
jones_supa (887896) writes "Neowin reports how Microsoft made a rare weekend post on its Security Response Center blog to announce an advisory ...
it.slashdot.org/.../microsoft-issues-advisory-for-internet-explor...

Google Draw: The Perfect Google Glass Accessory - MakeUseOf
makeuseof.com
What if you're not in the position to speak commands out loud to your Google Glass?
www.makeuseof.com/.../google-draw-perfect-google-glass-acc...

Now back at Microsoft, Stephen Elop says Nokia X's forked Android is here to stay | 9to5Google
9to5google.com
As Microsoft completed its acquisition of Nokia's smartphone and handheld ... Nokia X uses the MSFT cloud, not Google's. ...
9to5google.com/.../now-back-at-microsoft-stephen-elop-says-...

In 2014, Google Aims To Train 20,000 Third-Party Sales Reps To Sell Local - Marketing Land
marketingland.com
When small businesses see Google as the "Wild Wild West" of confusing ... He can be found on Facebook, Google + and microblogs on Twitter as ...
marketingland.com/google-directories-kristin-coit-lsa-81873

SpaceX launches lawsuit over spy satellite contracts
Daily Digest
SpaceX, a company that creates space launch materials for NASA, is suing the government over an Air Force deal with United Launch Alliance (ULA). ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, is being given contracts for U.S. Air Force's Evolved ...
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