BlackBerry for Sale; Mega to fill secure email gap left by Lavabit

Kim Dotcom developing a NSA nightmare --the more NSA tries to "control and snoop," the more technology will be developed for "workarounds"--and "ways to subvert"-- 

Mega to fill secure email gap left by Lavabit | ZDNet: "Kim Dotcom’s “privacy company” Mega is developing secure email services to run on its entirely non-US -based server network as intense pressure from US authorities force other providers to close. Last week Lavabit, which counted NSA leaker Edward Snowdon as a user, and Silent Circle both closed. Lavabit’s owner, Ladar Levison, said it he was shutting down to avoid becoming “complicit in crimes against the American people”. Last week Mega chief executive Vikram Kumar told ZDNet the company was being asked to deliver secure email and voice services. In the wake of the closures, he expanded on his plans. Kumar said work is in progress, building off the end-to-end encryption and contacts functionality already working for documents in Mega. . . ."

BlackBerry has a problem--it needs to find a buyer, and unfortunately, the most logical buyer(s) are from China (and probably would not be allowed by the Canadian government to buy)--
BlackBerry Puts Itself Formally Up for Sale - MoneyBeat - WSJ: "Almost 15 months after first announcing it had hired bankers to help hunt for “strategic alternatives,” BlackBerry Ltd. announced Monday its board of directors has formed a special committee and added a more explicit possibility of a sale to the list of “strategic alternatives.”"

Microsoft's bet on touch PCs fails to pay off - Buyers reject touchscreen notebooks, spooked by higher prices and concerns about value of Windows 8's touch UI

Computerworld - Microsoft's bet that touch would propel Windows 8 has run into a major snag, an industry analyst said Friday: Consumers see little reason to ...

Apple expected to show next iPhone on Sept. 10

USA TODAY
Since its first iPhone made its debut in 2007, Apple has faced an endless parade of smartphones running Google's Android software intended for consumers.

Google Glass Is Changing a Quadriplegic's Life

ABC News
To many, Google Glass seems like an unnecessary, very expensive, odd-looking smartphone accessory. To Aleksandra Blaszczuk, Google'sconnected glasses ...

ABC News

Microsoft adds Java to its Windows Azure cloud service

Computerworld
Microsoft will offer the Java Standard Edition (Java SE) by the end of the year, ... CloudBees, Cloud Foundry, Amazon Web Services and Google App Engine.

Apple, Vampire Wine, Stoli, Kopimi: Intellectual Property (1)

Businessweek
Apple Inc. (AAPL:US) asked a U.S. appeals court to force Samsung Electronics Co. stop using unique features and designs of the iPhone that were found by a ...

Apple, Watch Out: Xiaomi Has Overtaken You In China

Forbes
Even without the Hongmi, Xiaomi sells more smartphones than Apple Apple in China. The Canalys Q2 rankings put the Cupertino-based company in seventh ...

ERWIN SCHRODINGER: Google's 'Cat' Doodle honors physicist ...

Washington Post (blog)
But because no scientist this side of Pavlov is so closely and popularly associated with a domestic pet, Google celebrates the anniversary of Schrodinger's birth ...

Amazon.in now selling computers and computer accessories

NDTV
In a bid to consolidate its presence in the Indian market, Amazon.in has now ... Dell, Sony ,Lenovo, Acer, Sony, Samsung, Logitech, Microsoftand Belkin among ...

NDTV

Google gets TV right with its simple, inexpensive Chromecast

Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal
At the moment, the programming choices are severely limited compared with competing devices, notably the Apple TV and Roku 3 set-top boxes. But the Google ...

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Kim Dotcom Mega launch

Kim Dotcom's Mega Hits One Million Users within 24 Hours | News & Opinion | PCMag.com: "By using Mega you say no to those who want to know everything about you. By using Mega you say no to governments that want to spy on you. By using Mega you say yes to Internet freedom and your right to privacy," Dotcom said."

Digital Daredevil Behind Megaupload Has a New Venture
New York Times
AUCKLAND — At 6:48 a.m. Sunday, the Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom opened his new file-storage Web site to the public — one year to the minute after the police raided the mansion he rents in New Zealand. The raid was part of a coordinated operation with ...

Microsoft blazes trail to next PC
CNET
commentary With its serious processor, and its guts-behind-the-glass design, Microsoft's Surface Pro may well be the template for the new PC. And device makers should pay attention. Brooke Crothers. by Brooke Crothers. January 19, 2013 1:25 PM PST ...

What A Great Job: Writing The Scripts For Apple's Siri
Forbes
One might think that those droll little witticisms that Siri sometimes comes up with a the result of a machine intelligence gaining a sense of humour. Sadly this is not the case: Siri just isn't intelligent in any manner, let alone that. She's programmed to give ...

Google's Project Glass eyes virtual keyboard control
TG Daily
One of the most interesting projects to emerge from Google's Mountain View HQ in recent years is the slick Project Glass wearable computer. Yes, the design isn't exactly perfect - yet - and there are plenty of doubts about the future viability of Project Glass.

Report: Sony PlayStation 4 may ditch DualShock gamepad design for biometric ...
TG Daily
With the next-generation PlayStation game console expected to debut later this year, rumors about the engimatic system continue to build. The latest? A report claiming the Sony PlayStation 4 will be lose the stalwart DualShock controller design we're all so ...
 
TG Daily

Lore and War: Elder Scrolls Online Has Got It All
Gamespy.com
A new developer video diary probes the MMO's backstory, and reveals some awesome concept art. The Aldmeri Dominion, the Daggerfall Covenant, and the Ebonheart Pact are the three main factions of The Elder Scrolls Online. In this developer video diary, ...

NASA's 'Mohawk Guy' Bobak Ferdowsi to march at Obama inauguration
DigitalJournal.com
NASA's celebrity flight director Bobak Ferdowsi, the "Mohawk Guy," will march in the Presidential Inaugural Parade on Monday alongside a life-size replica of the space agency's Mars Curiosity rover and the Orion space capsule. Presidential inaugurations ...

Manatee Nebula Imaged In Beautiful New Photo, By The VLA Radio Telescope
PlanetSave.com
The Manatee Nebula is the subject of a beautiful new image taken by the Very Large Array radio telescope network in New Mexico. The name for the nebula is actually brand new, the image is being released to coincide with a naming ceremony taking place ...

Climate change jeopardizing Amazon rainforest, say researchers
Science Recorder
A new NASA-led study has found that an area of the Amazon rainforest two times the size of the state of California is still suffering from the impacts of an extreme drought that started in 2005. When combined with observed recurrences of droughts every few...

Science Recorder

Experts see lower gasoline prices for Waco, nation in 2013
Waco Tribune-Herald
Gasoline prices are riding a roller coaster, up one week and down another, but experts predict prices over the long haul will run lower than those of 2012, unless the economy explodes with growth or turmoil in the Middle East disrupts supplies. That prediction ...

Sales concern to eclipse Apple results
Telegraph.co.uk
However, the strong results, due on Wednesday, are likely to be overshadowed by anxiety over the pace of growth at the company, and fears that its sleek iPod and iPhone are starting to lose their shine. Wall Street analysts predict that iPhone sales could ...

Telegraph.co.uk

Nerds on Computers: Cool new toys on display at Consumer Electronics Show
Record-Searchlight
Every January, tech enthusiasts and future-focused consumers alike converge on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show. From the innovative to the downright wacky, the newest tech gadgets are showcased. The show provides a preview of what ...

Apple Cuts iPad 4 Screen Orders from Sharp – What This Means…Or Doesn't
Eagle's Rant
Apple Cuts iPad 4 Screen Orders from Sharp – What This Means… Do we have our first sure-fire signs of an iPad 5 release date on the horizon, or yet another lesson in making mountains out of molehills? According to reports published by Reuters toward the ...

Eagle's Rant

Too Human pulled from Xbox 360's Games on Demand marketplace
GameZone
While 2008 was marked by economic downturn for the entire country, it also was marked by a number of fantastic games that are still being indulged today, including Grand Theft Auto IV and Fallout 3. However, one game that perhaps wasn't deemed “killer,” ...

GameZone

Apple might launch iPhone 5 mini
Solar Panels News
Seems like Apple Inc. is unable to take over the neck to neck competition with Samsung Corp. News is that Apple might launch the small sized version of the iPhone 5 called as iPhone 5 Mini in the future, in an urge to grow its number of customers as ...

Near tears, game developer explains why he's betting it all on a Kickstarter ...
The Verge
On January 14th Gas Powered Games launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new action role playing game called Wildman — and just a few days later the studio was hit with "substantial" layoffs. In what's described as "the wackiest video update you're ...

McLaren confirms 12C GT3 competition model details
Autoblog (blog)
McLaren has given the 12C GT3 the once over for the 2013 competition season. Those who already own one of the race-spec cars can order the tweaks as a stand-alone package, effectively updating their vehicles to 2013 spec. McLaren says the updates are ...

Chuck Tennessen: We have know-how to address emissions goal
Wisconsin State Journal
The National Climate Assessment report published in Saturday's State Journal affirms the wisdom of adding the lowering of carbon emissions to the editorial board's 2013 agenda. Our country cannot continue to ignore the economic, social and environmental ...

Beijing Seeks Public Comment on Draft Rules to Curb Pollution
Bloomberg
The Beijing city government is inviting residents to comment on draft regulations aimed at controlling and preventing pollution after smog engulfed the capital this month. The public will be able to give feedback until Feb. 8, the last working day before the ...

Sci-Tech-Talk: Apple to release financial results as it battles stiff competition
UPI.com
With recent reports Apple may have cut back on orders for some iPhone 5 components, rumors ran rampant of a less than healthy demand for what has to be considered Apple's flagship product, raising a nagging question: Has the most valuable company on ...

UPI.com

Google's password-replacing YubiKey.
Irish Independent
THE struggle to remember several long and increasingly complicated passwords simply to carry out everyday web tasks could soon become a thing of the past, if Google gets its way and introduces a ring that can confirm your identity online. In a research ...

Irish Independent

Pythons attract bounty hunters to
Toledo Blade
A captured 13-foot-long Burmese python is displayed for hunters before starting the Python Challenge. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge. OCHOPEE, Fla. — A year ago, on a visit to the Big Cypress National Preserve here and to the Everglades National Park to ...

Toledo Blade

Cool Cases for Your Kindle Fire
PC Magazine
Second in popularity only to the iPad in the tablet space is Amazon's Kindle Fire. Part of the product line's appeal is its price, which starts at $159 for a basic Kindle Fire—that's less than half the cost of the $329 iPad mini. It's even less expensive than many of ...

Nokia Embraces 3-D Printing Future, Perhaps Too Soon
InformationWeek
Nokia hopes consumers will push for phone cases made with 3-D printers. But 3-D printing has been a "dismal failure" as a business for a Half Moon Bay, Calif., shop owner. Start The Discussion. Tweet; Mail Mail; Print Print · Thomas Claburn | January 19, ...

Bing Tunes Into Facebook Signals for Bing Social Sidebar Updates
eWeek
Hot on the heels of Facebook's Graph Search announcement, Microsoft unveils a revamped Bing social sidebar that dives deeper into Facebook timelines for more relevant results. It's a big week in social media, and Microsoft's Bing search engine is getting in ...

eWeek

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Tab 2 get Android Jelly Bean upgrade
IBNLive
New Delhi: Here is good news for those who own Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 tablets. Samsung has announced a software update for its tablets. The company has started the process of updating their tabs to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

IBNLive

Blizzard posts job ad for Diablo 3 game director
GamingBolt (blog)
Diablo 3′s game director post is now vacant due to Jay Wilson's shift into somewhere else within the company and Blizzard has now posted a job ad for his replacement. The game has still much to offer fans with more expansions in the pipeline along with ...

GamingBolt (blog)

Google to expand again here
Charleston Post Courier (subscription)
Gov. Nikki Haley joined Eric Wages, operations manager of Google's Berkeley County data center Brendan Kearney/StaffGov. Nikki Haley joined Eric Wages, operations manager of Google's Berkeley County data center complex, for Friday's expansion ...

New Chromebook From Lenovo
Geek WIth Laptop (blog)
With four versions of the Google Chromebook currently available, you might ask why would there be need of another! Well for one good reason this version is from Lenovo, so it comes with the classic ThinkPad look and the reliability that the brand has to offer ...

More details emerge on NASA's plan for inflatable ISS module
Gizmag
NASA announced last week that it has contracted Bigelow Aerospace to construct an inflatable module to test on the International Space Station. Following the release of more information and imagery, here's a closer look at what the plan entails. The Bigelow ...

Oracle's Java patch contains new holes, researchers warn
PCWorld
Researchers from Security Explorations, a Poland-based vulnerability research firm, claim to have found two new vulnerabilities in Java 7 Update 11 that can be exploited to bypass the software's security sandbox and execute arbitrary code on computers.

Top 5 Detroit 2013 Concepts
CarBuzz - Car News and Reviews
These are arguably the best of the concepts from the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. And they're all going to make it to production. Concepts often appear at car shows, never to be seen again. Unless the public embraces them en masse, design studies penned by...

CarBuzz - Car News and Reviews

Hearst Offers Magazines On iOS Newsstand Even Before Print Editions
iTechPost
It's no secret that the publishing industry has come under intense pressure during the past few years. Ever since the world's readers began moving online to get their news, traditional newspapers and magazines have struggled to prop up their physical ...

Opera Ice may finally help Opera make a dent on iOS, Android
VentureBeat
Next up from the web browser maker Opera: A new browser that aims to take full advantage of mobile and give the company a significant foothold on iOS and Android. It's called Opera Ice, and it could end up being one of the most significant moves the ...

VentureBeat

Can Apple's Growth Problem Be Fixed?
Wall St. Cheat Sheet
The company's ability to maintain its growth momentum has been a huge point of debate for watchers of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). Are the iPhone maker's main markets saturated? Can the company's products keep attracting repeat buyers? Can it leverage its ...

Slooh Space Camera To Broadcast Live Feeds Of Moon, Jupiter Dance
RedOrbit
Image Caption: Merged photo of a tiny Jupiter hovering just to the north of our waxing moon. Image Credit: Photos.com. Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online. Update: January 19, 2013. On Monday evening, astronomers (both amateurs ...

RedOrbit

Taiwan, China Complete Direct Undersea Data Cable
Voice of America
TAIPEI — Telecommunications operators in mainland China and Taiwan finished a landmark undersea fiber optic data transmission cable Friday. The 270-kilometer line from Taipei to Fuzhou in China caps more than four years of first-ever transit and ...

Voice of America

NASA sends Mona Lisa the moon -- is deep space technology here? [VIDEO]
The Space Reporter
NASA has reportedly successfully sent the world famous Mona Lisa to the moon, part of a test aimed at developing the next generation of deep space technology. The U.S. space agency announced on Friday the successful transfer of the image to the surface...

The Space Reporter

Stealth Wear: The Anti-Drone Hoodie For The Paranoid Fashionista
Inventorspot
We may be living in a world of high tech espionage, but New York artist Adam Harvey is creating a line of clothing called Stealth Wear that will allow individuals to remain invisible. It is the sort of breakthrough that will have paranoid people around the globe ...

Facebook for Android update brings voice messages
IBNLive
New Delhi: Following the big announcement of Facebook Graph, which lets you search within Facebook, Facebook has updated its Android app. While the image browsing feature has been tweaked to make it better, the update also brings two new features.

IBNLive

US Wants Gigabit Internet In All States By 2015
Coolest Gadget Reviews
For a company that started out as a basic search engine, Google has flourished and its technology can be found in many facets of our life. Today, we have smartphones that run on the Android operating system, we make use of Google maps and we see the ...

Coolest Gadget Reviews

Instagram Achieves 90 Million Users Mark
Tech News Plus
Recently there was a big hue and cry from users of Instagram over changes terms of service. However, despite these odds Instagram has been able to increase its user count by 10 per cent on month to month basis. According to a press announcement by ...

New Bill Seeks Enforcement of Video Game Ratings
Imassera News
The US House of Representatives is attempting to control video-games being sold to minors. January 19, 2013- A House of Representatives bill released earlier this week seeks to apply much stricter and more severe penalties on retailers who sell or rent ...

Imassera News

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MegaUpload is back with a plan to reopen service

Mega: MegaUpload is back with a plan to reopen their service
Generation NT (US)
The new MegaUpload site will be known as Mega. Kim Dotcom unveiled a few precautions that the company will take to avoid the fate of its predecessor. Mega-Song-Kim-Dotcom Last January, the MegaUpload files host and sharing site was closed by ...

Microsoft Earnings Show Windows 8 Pre-Sales Strong
InformationWeek
Analysts said the challenge for Microsoft and partners will be to sell Windows 8 devices that can compete with low-cost, competitive devices like Android tablets and Amazon's Kindle Fire, while still being profitable. "We remain wary of potential ...

Morning MarketBeat: Google, Microsoft Illustrate Tech's Struggles
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Google's shares dropped 8% yesterday, rattling the tech world, while Microsoft's disappointing report after the closing bell added to the gloomy sentiment. Microsoft's results were hurt by weak PC demand and slowing growth for business software, which ...

Analysts cut Google price targets but see mobile ad growth
Reuters
Google launched Nexus 7, its first tablet, earlier this year to take on Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire and Apple Inc's iPad, but the low $199 price tag and related marketing costs weighed on margins. "Marketing was higher primarily due to increased ...

Google, Samsung to sell Chrome laptop for $249
Boston.com
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google is dangling a low-priced laptop computer in front of consumers as rivals Microsoft and Apple prepare to release their latest gadgets. The lightweight computer unveiled Thursday will sell for $249 and is being made in a ...

Apple's smaller iPad expected to be 'competition's worst nightmare'
Apple Insider
The main question, Wu said, is whether Apple will "go for the kill" against competitors and accept lower margins to reach the $199 price point of its competitors, such as theGoogle Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. Wu doesn't believe Apple needs to ...

Apple Insider

US Stocks Fall as Results From GE, Microsoft Disappoint
Businessweek
U.S. stocks fell, trimming the biggest weekly advance for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) in a month, as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and General Electric Co. (GE) posted sales that missed estimates and euro-area leaders agreed on a banking regulation ...

Apple vs. Samsung: A peace treaty
CNN
Apple Fanboys vow to stop taking the words of Steve Jobs (RIP) about going thermonuclear on Google over Android as personal marching orders. Samsung Fanboys agree to share some of the 50 Gigabytes of Dropbox storage that came with their Galaxy S3 ...

WA apple farmers may see boon from bad weather
The Associated Press
By MANUEL VALDES, Associated Press – 3 minutes ago. SEATTLE (AP) — First, warm spring weather in the Northeast and Midwest tricked apple trees into budding earlier. Then an untimely frost damaged the delicate blossoms. For apple farmers in ...

The Associated Press

Amazon Taps Schools and Business Users with Whispercast for Kindle.
X-bit Labs
Amazon's platform makes it easy for organizations to centrally distribute Kindle books as well as documents on an individual basis. With support for personal devices (which can range from AppleiPhone to Microsoft Windows 8 PCs), organizations can ...

Apple loses UK appeal on tablet design
USA TODAY
A jury in September agreed with Apple and ordered Samsung to pay $1 billion. Samsung has moved to set the judgment aside. In September, a German court dismissed Apple's claim that Samsung and Google Inc.'s Motorola Mobility infringed patents used in ...

The new Chromebook, for everyone | Official Google Blog
By A Googler
Starting today, the new Samsung Chromebook is available for pre-order online from Amazon, Best Buy, PC World and other retailers. Next week it will be available for sale from these same online retailers as well as the Google Play store.
Official Google Blog

Android Developers Blog: Google Play Seller Support in India
By Android Developers
Posted by Ibrahim Elbouchikhi, Product Manager on the Google Play team. Over the past year, Android device activations in India have jumped more than 400%, bringing millions of new users toGoogle Play and driving huge increases in app ...
Android Developers Blog

How can Apple sell iPad mini for less than an iPod touch? - Apple ...
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Some commentators, confronted with this grid, saw the entry price of $250 (or $249) as too high, considering that Google's (GOOG) Nexus 7 sells for $199 and Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle Fires start at $159. Others saw $249 as too low. After all ...
Fortune Tech: Technology blogs,...

Google CEO Larry Page Puts Focus On Multiscreen Experiences ...
By Darrell Etherington
Google CEO Larry Page spent a good portion of his time on today's Google company earnings call to talk about multiscreen opportunities, and how Google is addressing them. He said that just as with search back in 2000, Google has.
TechCrunch

Google announces seller support in India, now allows developers to ...
By Edgar Alvarez
On this particular occasion, it's devs in India who are on the receiving end of a grand gesture, with Google announcing it's now allowing them to cash in on their applications by adding in-app purchases / subscriptions to ones that are currently free, or simply by selling new, paid app creations on the Play store. Google says the valuable move was driven by India ... Apple announces 'Special Event' for October 23rd -- we'll be there live! 2 days ago. ASUS PadFone 2 hands-on in Taipei ...
Engadget

Google Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2012 Results – Investor ...
October 18, 2012 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2012. “We had a strong quarter.
investor.google.com/earnings/2012/Q3_google_earnings.html

Whispercast - Amazon.com
Your school or business can now extend the benefits of Kindle to its students, employees, or customers. Whether you're looking to distribute literature for class or ...
https://whispercast.amazon.com/?ref=kas_wc_2

New CNN Trends tool gives broad look at top news storiesCNN International
(CNN) -- CNN's Web and mobile users can use a new tool to follow the day's top stories as they're developing, even when that means going to other news sources for a broader perspective. CNN Trends, rolled out on CNN.com Thursday, is a news-discovery ...

Rare frog sports thumb-spikes for sex and combat
NBCNews.com
A rare Japanese frog sports spikes protruding from a set of pseudo-thumbs, a scientist has discovered. The built-in weaponry helps the males grab onto females during sex and duel with competitors over mates, the researcher said. Unlike most four-toed frogs,...

NBCNews.com

HSBC is Latest Target in Cyber Attack Spree
Fox Business
HSBC (HBC) experienced widespread disruptions to several of its websites Thursday, becoming one of the highest-profile victims yet in a series of attacks by a group claiming to be allied with Islamic terrorism. “HSBC servers came under a denial of service ...

iPhone sales may be better than expected, says analyst
CNET
Apple's iPhone sales in the third quarter probably won't break the bank, but they may be higher than anticipated, says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Based on the number of iPhones activated by Verizon last quarter, the analyst believes Apple's ...

Apple 'iPad mini': Place your bets on a price
Washington Post
There's one game in town as tech pundits prep for Apple's expected announcement Tuesday of an iPad mini: Name your price. Estimates have varied quite a bit. The consensus is that the smaller iPad has to cost less than the iPad, but things get considerably ...

First Twitter Fiction Festival Might Mutate Storytelling Forever
Wired
Twitter has already changed the way we communicate. Now the microblogging service is inviting creative writers to transform the way stories get told on Twitter. The first Twitter Fiction Festival, announced Thursday, will start Nov. 28 and run five days.

Wired

"Lethally Hot" Earth Was Devoid of Life—Could It Happen Again?
National Geographic
Extinctions during the early Triassic period left Earth a virtual wasteland, largely because life literally couldn't take the heat, a new study suggests. Between 247 to 252 million years ago, Earth was reeling from a mass extinction called the end-Permian event.

National Geographic

Windows 8: Are PC People Out Of Touch?
InformationWeek
This post-PC era we've embarked on sure seems to have a lot of PCs in it. That's what I think every time I'm in a shared space where people do work--coffeehouses, airports, co-working offices, and so forth. Take the coffee joint I visit a couple of times a week.

Stanford Ovshinsky, hybrid car battery inventor, dies
BBC News
Stanford Ovshinsky, a self-taught American physicist who designed the battery now used in hybrid cars, has died aged 89 from prostate cancer. The electronics field of ovonics was named after Mr Ovshinsky, who owned over 200 patents and has been ...

BBC News

Samsung Chromebook in 3G slips out for $330
ZDNet
Samsung Chromebook in 3G slips out for $330. Summary: The new Samsung Chromebook announced yesterday has Wi-Fi connectivity only, with 3G coming in the future. The future is now as Samsung is already offering a 3G model with 2 years of Verizon ...

ZDNet

Uber rolls out taxi-hailing app in SF
San Francisco Chronicle
Ride-sharing app company Uber began testing a smartphone taxi hailing service in San Francisco just two days after pulling the plug on a similar but controversial test in New York City. Uber is rolling out cab service in its own home city despite the fact that ...

San Francisco Chronicle

Nokia: After Q3 Results, More Grim Tidings From The Street
Forbes
While Nokia yesterday reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter, the results did little to improve to Street's dire view of the company's current condition. Q3 results featured some signs of recovery at Nokia Siemens Networks, but very weak ...

Sony announces Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for 2012 Xperia smartphones
BetaNews
What happens if you're interested in getting one of the latest Sony smartphones, but you wantAndroid 4.1 Jelly Bean instead of the slightly older Ice Cream Sandwich build? According to a Sony, you'll have to wait until the first quarter of 2013 (that's right) to ...

BetaNews

Google threatens to exclude French media from Search in protest
SlashGear
Google has threatened to exclude French media websites from search results as a protest against an upcoming French law. What has the mega company so riled? The law would force search engines to shell out cold hard cash for content. Google responded ...

Time lapse video shows space shuttle Endeavour's final mission
SlashGear
We've been covering the space shuttle Endeavour as it has made its way from NASA's ownership to its final resting place in California for the public to view. The space shuttle made a number of flyovers in the California area and other places on its way to the ...

SlashGear

Yelp cracks down on fake reviews
TG Daily
Fed up with business owners paying for fake reviews, Yelp is to introduce a system to warn users when it believes they're being misled. It plans to place a Consumer Alert, triggered by the company's automated review filter, on the pages of businesses it thinks ...

Yum! Curiosity Eats Mars Dirt
Discovery News
Chemin. NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has tasted Mars dirt for the first time, dropping a small sample of regolith into its onboard chemistry lab. The sample -- measuring no bigger than a crushed baby aspirin tablet and sieved to remove any large pieces of ...

Orionid meteor shower: Best times to watch
Los Angeles Times
Alert sky watchers may already be spotting signs that the annual Orionid meteor shower is back, but experts say the best time to see the streaking meteors won't be until this weekend. In Los Angeles, the Griffith Observatory said the brightest meteors would ...

Meet Alto, The Gmail Replacement You Won't Believe Was Made By AOL
Business Insider
AOL's problem is it largely depends on two declining sources of traffic, people who use AOL to get online and Web-based AOL.com email users. The numbers seem to show declines in Web-based email aren't worth fighting. Teens don't like to use email and ...

Business Insider

When galaxies strip for each other
Discover Magazine (blog)
It's been a while since I've posted a gorgeous shot of a weird and beautiful galaxy, and I have one that fits the bill perfectly: NGC 660, what's called a polar ring galaxy: How awesome is that? [Click to galactenate.] This picture, taken using the Gemini 8-meter...

Discover Magazine (blog)

Mobile Point-Of-Sale Payments On Staggering Growth Path
MediaPost Communications
Strap yourselves in, boys and girls -- the m-payment rocket is about to ignite. So say eMarketer analysts in their latest projections of growth in using mobile phones as a personal point-of-sale at retail. They are expecting “proximity payments” (using phones as ...

MediaPost Communications

Apple Fired Its Resident iPhone Hacker for Not Answering an Email
The Atlantic Wire
After a little over a year of working in the belly of the Apple beast, the infamous wunderkind iPhone hacker known as Comex, a.k.a. Nicholas Allegra, is "no longer associated with Apple," he announced on his Twitter last night. The reason: "(As for why?

The Atlantic Wire

FTC Robocall Challenge Offers $50K Bounty for Innovative Solutions to Block ...
Hot Hardware
There are few things more annoying than rushing to answer the phone at the most inopportune time only to find out that the caller is just a prerecorded message. These so-called "robocalls" have become the bane of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), ...

Hot Hardware

Ultra HD gives 4K TV a brand of its own
SlashGear
The next generation of super-resolution TVs you'll be guilted into feeling bad for not shelling out for at Best Buy has been named, with 4K getting its final branding as “Ultra High Definition.” Sets will need to deliver at least 3,840 x 2,160 resolution in order to ...

SlashGear

Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine Introduce The 'Beat Pill'
MTV.com (blog)
By Rahman J. Dukes. Legendary producer Dr. Dre and Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine landed in New York City this week to hold a special press conference where the Beats By Dre founders unveiled their latest prized posession in the next chapter ...

A Rogue Climate Experiment Outrages Scientists
New York Times
A California businessman chartered a fishing boat in July, loaded it with 100 tons of iron dust and cruised through Pacific waters off western Canada, spewing his cargo into the sea in an ecological experiment that has outraged scientists and government ...

The Halo 4 Launch Trailer: Do We Really Need 'Live Action' Trailers?
TIME
The Halo 4 Launch Trailer: Do We Really Need 'Live Action' Trailers? By Matt Peckham | @mattpeckham | October 19, 2012 | +. Tweet. I don't know how I feel about live action trailers. While they're certainly movie-like and sometimes even well-directed, ...

TIME

Amazon Goes to School on Growing Kindle Sales
RetailWire
It's clear that Jeff Bezos learned something from Steve Jobs. Amazon rival Apple had a long history, well before the successes of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, of keeping its products in the conversation through partnerships with school systems across the U.S. ...

It's OFFICIAL: The Cadillac ELR Has Been Given The GREEN Light
AutoSpies.com
After all, with a larger profit margin, perhaps it could reap back more of the Research and Development costs, plus have a bit of a "sex" factor that the Volt clearly lacked. After all, the Volt went from being a badass, squared-off concept to a tame and ...

AutoSpies.com

AMC-Dish Lawsuit Calendar Entry Reads 'Poss. Settlement'
Bloomberg
The court calendar in AMC Networks Inc. (AMCX)'s $2.4 billion lawsuit against Dish Network Corp. (DISH) over a scuttled programming deal had an Oct. 22 entry for a “poss. settlement.” The entry in the calendar posted today indicated that the two sides were ...

Review: Google's official Nexus 7 Cover disappoints
TechHive
Dan FrakesSenior Editor, TechHive. Follow @danfrakes. Dan writes about OS X, iOS, troubleshooting, utilities, and cool apps, and he covers hardware, mobile and AV gear, input devices, and accessories. He's been writing about tech since 1994, and he's ...

TechHive

Kindle Fire, not iPad, leading shift in news media consumption
Fiercemobilecontent
author name. Newsweek made news of its own this week with the announcement that it will halt publication of its print edition with the Dec. 31 issue and transition to an all-digital, tablet-optimized version early next year. "Our business has been increasingly ...

Google's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
TIME
Google stunned Wall Street Thursday by accidentally releasing its third-quarter earnings report four hours ahead of schedule. Even worse, the search giant's financial figures came in well below analyst expectations on both overall revenue and profit.

TIME

25 Million New Buildings Added To Google Maps
Search Engine Roundtable
The Google Maps blog announced that Google has extended their maps details to add over 25 million new buildings footprints to Google Maps across the United States. The new building footprints are the outlines you see on Google Maps of buildings as you ...

Search Engine Roundtable

Surface's Success Will Sink Windows RT OEMs
PC Magazine
Microsoft Surface Tablet. This week I spent some time at Microsoft headquarters talking to the designers, developers, and engineers who created the Surface with Windows RT, the company's response to the Apple iPad . The event was a rare, ...

Taking a spin with GoPro's Hero3
San Francisco Chronicle
On Wednesday afternoon, I found myself in a heavy leather racing suit on the back of a motorcycle zipping around Sonoma Raceway. Earlier in the day, an instructor had described the 2.5-mile track with 12 twists as "a bit of a doozy." It felt like incredible ...

San Francisco Chronicle

Americans increasingly believe in global warming, Yale report says
Los Angeles Times
For the first time since the United States entered a deep recession five years ago, 70% of Americans now say they believe global warming is a reality, according to researchers. In a report released Thursday by the Yale Project on Climate Change ...

Apple Loses UK iPad Appeal, Must Publicly Apologize to Samsung
PC Magazine
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Verizon). Apple this week lost a patent appeal in the U.K., which means Cupertino will now be forced to publicly state that Samsung did not copy the iPad with its Galaxy lineup of tablets. As noted by Reuters, the U.K.'s Court of ...

Apple Makes OS X Safer By Removing Java
Forbes
Apple has taken another step towards making OS X safer on the web. An update released on Wednesday sees the Java plugin removed from all Mac-compatible browsers installed on the system. The latest update — which you only need to install if you have ...

Forbes

Nintendo Comments on Foxconn's Underage Workers
Tom's Hardware Guide
Nintendo says it will conduct an investigation into how underage students came to work as interns at Foxconn. Earlier this week, Foxconn admitted to hiring underage workers as part of an internship program it was running at one of its factories. The company's ...

SlashGear iOS app gets 2.0 update for iPhone 5
SlashGear
If you've not seen the iOS app version of the SlashGear experience, now is a better time than ever as the whole system gets an upgrade to version 2.0 for the iPhone 5. This app is made for both the iPad and the iPhone, able to handle essentially any iOS...
 
SlashGear

Apple and Samsung remain leaders as smartphone use tops a billion
AppPicker.com
Apple and Samsung remain leaders as smartphone use tops a billion Last quarter, over a billion smartphones were in use across the world. It's the highest number since records began 16 years ago by Strategy Analytics (when the smartphone market started, ...

AppPicker.com

alien planet could spur interstellar exploration
CBS News
The recent discovery of an Earth-size alien planet right next door to us could help spark humanity's first true steps beyond our own solar system, scientists say. On Tuesday (Oct. 16), a European team announced the existence of Alpha Centauri Bb, ...

Lake Sediment Could Better Date Ancient Finds
Voice of America
Core samples found at the bottom of a Japanese lake could provide much more precise timelines for important archeological finds and climate-history questions. Radiocarbon dating is the best-known and most widely used method to determine the age of ...

Voice of America

Why Apple acquiring Color makes sense in Silicon Valley: the strange logic of ...
The Verge
Color, a photo sharing app that launched in August of 2010, has the unpleasant distinction of having raised $41 million before it even launched, by far one of the largest sums bestowed on any software company prior to them acquiring a single customer.

Dell ramps up converged infrastructure push with Active Systems
ITworld.com
October 18, 2012, 12:58 PM — Dell on Thursday will outline the next phase of its strategy to move up the IT value chain and sell higher-value systems that combine hardware and software for building out data center infrastructure. The new head of Dell's ...

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