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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Did the US Kick North Korea Off The Internet? (video)

Bloomberg’s Jordan Roberston discusses North Korea’s loss of access to internet networks.

Something is really not well at Google. How is it possible to trip up the amazing position Google had in the smartphone world one year ago into the abyss where it's not even capable of selling a single phone directly to the consumer today? If you want to know why Google's stock is down in 2014, vastly underperforming Apple and other companies, look no further than this fiasco. Source:
Smartphones: Apple Knows What It's Doing, Google Doesn't - Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) | Seeking Alpha: "Summary:  Every single smartphone on Google’s direct-to-consumer eCommerce site is listed as sold out, and in most cases have been for months. Other models (Google Play Edition) from Samsung and Sony have been discontinued altogether. How is it possible for the world’s smartphone market share leader to simply abdicate? This explains Google’s recent market share loss to Apple, and its resulting underperforming stock in 2014. Who is responsible for this fiasco at Google? New management is urgently needed...." (read more at the link above)

China is Planning to Purge Foreign Technology and Replace With Homegrown Suppliers - Bloomberg: "“A key government motivation is to bring China up from low-end manufacturing to the high end,” said Kitty Fok, China managing director for IDC. National security provides China a powerful rallying cry, particularly within its sprawling state sector. China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s largest energy producer, announced Nov. 26 -- during China’s first Cybersecurity Week -- that it had replaced its Microsoft e-mail with the homegrown eYou program to improve security. “The technology gap is closing,” said Mota, who advises Cisco and HP, as well as Huawei and ZTE. “In China, they have the patience to figure it out.”"

Android E-Commerce And Market Numbers - Business Insider: "Android is exploding as a mobile commerce driver. Android's share of mobile commerce orders is up 26% year-over-year. Android devices now account for just over one-fifth of all mobile e-commerce orders in the US.  The fragmentation problem is extremely overblown, from all perspectives: screen size, operating system version, and device proliferation. Globally, 80% of Android devices are running the two latest available versions of the platform. In the U.S, it's over 90%. Android Lollipop will roll out beginning this month."

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Amazon 1 Hour Delivery, Latvia, Internet Boom in Cuba? (videos)

Amazon Brings One-Hour Delivery to Manhattan Zip Code: Video - Bloomberg:
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10001, the Manhattan zip code where you can receive items from Amazon in 1 hour. Bloomberg's Alex Barinka reports on “Bloomberg West.” (Source: Bloomberg)

SecureInvestment.com Uses New Backdoor to Europe: Latvia: Video - Bloomberg:
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A website called SecureInvestment.com persuaded investors from around the world to wire their money to bank accounts in a handful of countries, including Latvia, where a web of the site's holding companies and cut-outs also seems to end. Bloomberg's Willem Marx reports.

Cuba to Expand Internet Access Under New Pact With U.S.: Video - Bloomberg:
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Former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth and Dyn Research's Doug Madory discuss Cuba's plan to expand Internet access under a new agreement with the U.S. They speak with Bloomberg's Matt Miller on "Bloomberg West." 

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Videos: NASA Orion Test Flight in 90 Seconds, Internet Challenge, Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Café

NASA's Orion successfully completed its test flight. The flight is the furthest a spacecraft built for humans has flown since the Apollo moon missions. This is the story from launch to splashdown in 90 seconds. (Edited by Alan Jeffries.) (Source: Bloomberg 12/5)



In today's "Morning Must Read," Bloomberg’s Scarlet Fu recaps the op-ed pieces and analyst notes providing insight behind today's headlines, including a comment form Facebook Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg. She speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Bloomberg 12/5)



Caffeine-addicts everywhere have a new paradise. Starbucks opened the doors to its Reserve Roastery and Café, an upscale coffee mega-store that will showcase the company's ultra-premium Reserve line of coffee. Bloomberg's Venessa Wong got a sneak peek at the Seattle-based flagship, the first of 100 high-end cafes Starbucks plans to open globally in the next five years. (Bloomberg 12/5)

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Sapphire Worth the Extra Cost for Apple iPhone? (video)

Video - Is Sapphire the Answer to the Scratched iPhone? - WSJ.com:
Is Sapphire the Answer to the Scratched iPhone?
Apple is betting $700 million that sapphire, a harder and more expensive material, can replace glass and better protect the newest iPhone. WSJ's Daisuke Wakabayashi joins the News Hub with Sara Murray.

Email Is Still the Best Thing on the Internet - The Atlantic: "... Email is actually a tremendous, decentralized, open platform on which new, innovative things can and have been built. In that way, email represents a different model from the closed ecosystems we see proliferating across our computers and devices. Email is a refugee from the open, interoperable, less-controlled "web we lost." It's an exciting landscape of freedom amidst the walled gardens of social networking and messaging services. Yes, email is exciting. Get excited!..."


New York Times
German Authors Join Protest Over Amazon's Tactics in E-Book Dispute
New York Times
Amazon has grown in Germany, its largest market outside America, with this distribution center in Brieselang. It plans to open two logistics centers ...


Forbes
iPhone 6 Leaks Show New Cable Design. Apple Redesigns USB
Forbes
The joke goes: if there is a universal standard Apple Apple will find a way to make ... and Apple appears ready to forge ahead with its own version of the technology. ...


VentureBeat
Google Partners With Mesosphere - Ramps Up Its Container Commitment
Forbes
Not to be left out, Google Google was one of the vendors that introduced the ... Kubernetes has support and contributions from Microsoft Microsoft, IBM and ... Mesos (and, by extension Mesosphere) is an exciting technology. ... on fire and Google is trying hard to catch up to Amazon Web Services in the ...


Android Headlines - Android News
Google Maps is tracking everywhere you go
Vox
Google probably already knows your age, your interests, and everything you've looked at online. But now, there's proof that Google knows where you ...


Economic Times
Google acquires image-recognition startup Jetpac
CNET
Google has other plans, though: the app will disappear in a month. ... Jetpac will remove its apps from Apple's App Store on September 15, the ... It's not clear exactly what Googlewill do with Jetpac's technology for finding things ... In the past he has been CNET's beat reporter for Google, Yahoo, Linux, ...


Tech Times
Microsoft Considered Renaming Internet Explorer Due To Negative Perceptions
Forbes
I cover noteworthy technology, startups, and gadgets ... This is about triple the market share of the second-place browser, Google Google Chrome. ... The potential rebranding was revealed when engineers from Microsoft's ... dropping due to competition against Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple ...

Can Microsoft beat Apple by being rational?
CNET
Microsoft/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET I've never been too ... Apple and Samsung have both developed powerful, emotional pulls.


SavingAdvice.com
Microsoft pulls its August Windows update after users report crashes
PCWorld (blog)
Microsoft has pulled its August Update for Windows after users reported crashes and issues restarting their systems. The company is currently ...


Techaeris
Google Cardboard works on the iPhone, too
CBS News
You might recall that Google unveiled its Cardboard hardware at last ... Google intended Cardboard for Android, so Apple iPhone users were shut out ...


Firstpost
Facebook Testing 'Satire' Tags for Sites Like The Onion
Mashable
Facebook is testing out a feature that marks fake news stories from sites such as The Onion with "satire" in its News Feed, a feature requested by some ...
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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
Forbes
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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Biggest Threats to the Internet

So long to net neutrality and internet freedom?

Paul Saffo, managing director at Discern Analytics, said: "The pressures to balkanize the global Internet will continue and create new uncertainties. Government will become more skilled at blocking access to unwelcome sites." (source infra)
Researchers asked 1,400 experts to describe the biggest threats to the Web. Here’s what they said. - The Washington Post: "..."It is very possible we will see the principle of net neutrality undermined," said P.J. Rey, a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Maryland. "In a political paradigm where money equals political speech so much hinges on how much ISPs and content providers are willing and able to spend on defending their competing interests. Unfortunately, the interests of everyday users count for very little.""

Microsoft slates critical IE, Windows patches for Tuesday
Computerworld
Computerworld - Microsoft today said it will ship six security updates to customers next week, patching all versions of Internet Explorer (IE) and nearly ...

Facebook experiment becomes a debate over power and consent
Los Angeles Times
When Facebook performed an experiment to see if it could secretly affect users' emotions, were you really surprised? Academics were galled ...

Google reverses decision to delete British newspaper links
Chicago Tribune
(Reuters) - Google Inc on Thursday reversed its decision to remove several links to stories in ... It was unclear who asked Google to remove the stories.

Facebook may not have obtained 'informed consent,' scientific journal says
San Jose Mercury News
Facebook confronted more criticism Thursday as the editor of a scientific journal issued a statement suggesting the company failed to obtain "informed ...

Apple poaches another luxury executive as iWatch nears
Chicago Tribune
It is in a race against Samsung Electronics and Google to turn computers into wearable fashion and must-have items as smartphones, increasingly ...

Microsoft Taxes Said to Face Scrutiny as EU Quizzes Luxembourg
Businessweek
Amazon.com Inc.'s tax affairs there are also being looked at, the Financial ... The EU's investigations of Apple, Starbucks and Fiat Finance focus on ...

Microsoft fitness band rumour: Another way to sell services to Android users?
ZDNet
According to a report by Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott, this autumn the company will ... It's not surprising that Microsoft is looking at the wearables market — Google has certainly been ... And, of course, Apple is still yet to release anything you can wear on your wrist (well, not since .... Facebook Activity ...

Facebook To Improve Video Ads Through LiveRail Acquisition
Forbes
Facebook has announced that it has acquired San Francisco, California-based online video advertising company LiveRail. LiveRail offers premium ...

Google's embattled Webspam Chief Matt Cutts is taking a 'few months' off
ZDNet
After 15 years as head of the webspam team at Google, Matt Cutts says he is taking a long break, to spend more time with his wife and family.

Apple is looking for an 'iCup Technician' to keep its workforce caffeinated
San Jose Mercury News
One of the benefits of working at Apple, it appears, is easy access to a strong cup of joe from its in-house brew team. But what sort of perks do those ...

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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:
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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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Apple-Samsung Trial (video); Android Smartphones 71% Top EU Marketshare

Apple-Samsung Trial Is All About Messages: Feldman: Video - Bloomberg:
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UC Hastings' Robin Feldman, author of "Rethinking Patent Law," discusses Apple and Samsung's $2 billion trial with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg April 25)

Apple makes final pitch to US jury in Samsung trial
Fox Business
SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Samsung transformed the smartphone market only by copying iPhone technology, an Apple attorney said on ...

Kantar: Windows Phone ‘Stutters’ Amid Android Price Competition, iPhone 5S Is Apple’s Buffer | TechCrunch: "According to the latest 12-week figures from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech — a market research division of WPP — Windows Phone accounted for 8.1% of smartphone sales in the 12 weeks to the end of March across the top five markets in Europe (the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany), with Android taking 70.7% of sales and iOS 19.2%."

Viral Twitter protest targets Mexico Internet law: Activists are worried that the law, proposed by President Pena Nieto, would allow the government to restrict access to the Internet and increase surveillance. There are also concerns that the government could block communication signals at protests, reportedly for security reasons, potentially stopping activists and journalists from tweeting and live-streaming.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Will Talk Net Neutrality With Congress On May 20 | TechCrunch: "Mark your calendars: May 20 should provide fireworks. On that date, Tom Wheeler, current chairman of the Federal Communications Commission FCC will sit down in front of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and testify."

Apple rolls out new, cheaper MacBook Airs
CNN
(CNN) -- Apple has refreshed its line of MacBook Air notebooks, dropping in more powerful processors and knocking $100 off the price. The 11-inch ...

Microsoft Office For iPad Gains Printing
InformationWeek
Users can wirelessly print Office documents using Apple's AirPrint feature. In Word ...Microsoft also promised bug fixes and stability improvements.

Google: Driverless cars are mastering city streets
Washington Post
LOS ANGELES — Google says that cars it is programming to drive themselves have started to master the navigation of city streets and the challenges ...

Google: Weapon of Choice in the Cloud
Wall Street Journal
Google: Weapon of Choice in the Cloud .... Valuations at companies such as Google,Facebook, and Amazon are, in large part, bets on the ability of ...

Microsoft boosts OneDrive for Business storage
PCWorld
Microsoft is currently offering the first year's subscription at half the price. ... As part of its free Google account for individual consumers, Google offers ...

Apple Plans $12 Billion Bond Sale to Keep Cash Overseas
Bloomberg
Apple Inc. (AAPL) is marketing $12 billion of bonds in the U.S. as the iPhone maker seeks a cheaper alternative to reward shareholders than overseas ...

Google acquires a taste for Power -- IBM's processors, that is
CNET
An effort to license IBM processor designs bears fruit as one of the most powerful computing companies on the Net shows its own server using Big ...

Facebook Launches Business Manager Tool
InformationWeek
Business Manager streamlines workflows for large advertisers and provides one dashboard to manage accounts, pages, permissions, and more.

AOL probing security breach
Washington Post
CYBERSECURITY. AOL probing security breach. Those passwords you just changed? It's time to change at least one of them again — that is, if you use AOL. The company said Monday that it is “investigating a security incident” after being notified that ...

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

Is Mobile Keeping Tech Alive?: Video -
(Allow video to load after clicking play)
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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FCC Plans to Destroy the Internet as We Know It

FCC proposal for fast lanes / slow lanes on the internet should be killed IMMEDIATELY

How the FCC Plans to Save the Internet By Destroying It: An Explainer — Medium:

1) The FCC has a very simple way to create simple, fair and enforceable rules to protect innovation, free speech and commerce. It lacks the courage and (perhaps) political capital to re-grant itself this power.2) Lacking this power, the FCC is relying on a small loophole given to it by the courts.

3) That loophole requires the FCC to allow Verizon, Comcast and AT&T to create slow and fast lanes.
4) The loophole also allows ISPs have to strike individual deals with sites and apps. The rates for non-slow service can vary hugely. Those services that don’t pay will get relegated to the slow lane.
5) The FCC wants to call this “net neutrality.” It’s nothing of the sort and the proposal needs to be killed. It’s a bargain that will kill innovation on the net.
6) Even if you are a progressive who loves Obama, the best thing you can do is help kill this proposal and show there is political will for real internet protection

(read more at link above)

Apple Mobile Payments E-Commerce - Business Insider: "In fact, Apple is trying to build out its iTunes business into a full-blown e-commerce and mobile payments business, according to Re/code. The company is looking to hire a head of product and head of business development for mobile payments. On top of that, Apple is building out two other pieces of e-commerce/mobile payment infrastructure: Touch ID and iBeacons."

Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe Escape Cheaply From The Engineers' Class Action Suit
Forbes
Here's the background: it was alleged that the major tech firms in Silicon Valley, Google Google, Apple Apple, Intel Intel and Adobe (Facebook was an ...

​Comixology cuts Apple, Google out of digital-comics kickback
CNET
Following Amazon's purchase of the digital-comics marketplace, Comixology updates its Comics apps to prevent Apple and Google from taking a cut....

Google's Top Social Networking Exec Hits the Road
CIO Today
Gundotra had been in charge of Google Plus as the company's Senior VP of ... a nearly eight-year stint highlighted by an audacious challenge to Facebook. ... Gundotra originally joined Microsoft in 1991 and later became the ... Billions of Bytes · Mobile Device Now ·Apple Info Center · TopTechWire.com ...

Microsoft Just Solved One Of The Biggest Mysteries In Video Game History (MSFT)
Chron.com
Microsoft dug up a bunch of "E.T." Atari video game cartridges in the New Mexico desert Saturday afternoon that had been buried there for over 30 ...

Apple to Fix iPhone 5 Sleep/Wake Button Issues for Free
PC Magazine
Apple realizes as well, for the company has just launched a new program that will allow the "small percentage" of those affected by this issue to have ...

The Amazon Deal With HBO
Forbes
The recently announced deal between Amazon and HBO in which Amazon will offer to itsAmazon Primes customers much of HBO's classic ...

Facebook Acquires Maker of Mobile Fitness App Moves
Top Tech News
The cross-platform Moves mobile app that Facebook just acquired ... been circulating about Apple's interest in fitness, not to mention Nike's and others.

Microsoft-Nokia deal: US software giant eyes $50-billion market
India Today
Looking at $50 billion-mobile market, US software giant Microsoft has ... Nokia lost market share to Samsung and Apple as it struggled to position itself ...

Apple's Quick-Links May Lessen Samsung Fine
EE Times
SAN JOSE — Judge Lucy Koh took center stage in the Apple-Samsung patent infringement case on Friday. She arrived at the bench with the daily ...

Apple Has Dazzling Sideshow, But Main Event Is Boring
Forbes
Imagine. Steve Jobs comes onstage, firing up his iPad to project beautiful tables and charts of money. From the stage sofa, he announces Apple ...

Curiosity prepares to carry out some Mars drilling
Science Recorder
The Mars Curiosity rover team has begun the process of finding improved drill sites on Mars. Curiosity prepares to carry out some Mars drilling. Science Recorder | Rick Docksai | Sunday, April 27, 2014. NASA's Mars Curiosity rover is preparing to make the ...

Mobile application ad race heats up
Buffalo News
The competition for advertising on mobile applications is in full swing, with Twitter Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. ramping up efforts. Twitter said last week it will offer ads across the mobile Web that are customized to blend into a site's content. Facebook ...

New Microsoft VP consigns the PC to irrelevance
CNET
With the Nokia acquisition, Microsoft hardly sees the PC as its future. Upcoming devices will likely further distance Microsoft from its PC past....

Sony: Xperia Z2 will arrive in the US this summer
PhoneDog
When Sony took the wraps off of the Xperia Z2 back in February, the company teased that its new flagship smartphone would begin rolling out around the globe in March. Now we're here nearing the end of April and the Xperia Z2 is nowhere to be found in the ...

Google Search: A visual history
Engadget
That was one of the primary goals Larry Page and Sergey Brin set when they launched Google in 1998 as a privately owned search company. Since then, the Mountain View-based outfit has branched out, creating a mobile operating system, mapping service, ...

10 ways to extend your smartphone's battery life
Detroit Free Press
It really doesn't matter what kind of smartphone you rely on for work or play — be it an iPhone, Android device, Windows Phone or BlackBerry — the more these pocket-sized computers can do, the more pressure it can put on the battery. If you're finding your ...

Windows Phone's music app now lets you start playlists using your voice
Engadget
When the Windows Phone 8.1 preview rolled out, its music app was underwhelming; you couldn't use Cortana voice commands for everything, and it was fairly buggy. Both of those gripes are gone now that Microsoft has updated the music client with its latest ...

Top 10 Secret Reasons Microsoft CEO Ballmer Retired
InformationWeek
Steve Ballmer didn't get the credit he deserved, as evidenced by Microsoft's strong financial position when he resigned. Here are 10 reasons you've never heard about why he stepped down. Previous. 1 of 11. Next. (Source: Wikimedia Commons). I'm going to ...

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