Tech News, Orbital Sciences Rocket, Catastrophic Anomaly Video

An unmanned Orbital Sciences Corp. rocket burst into an orange fireball on Tuesday above NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s eastern shore. Orbital is leading an investigation into the cause of what NASA described as a “catastrophic anomaly.” (Oct. 29 Bloomberg)

TECH NEWS:

New York Times
FCC Considering Hybrid Regulatory Approach to Net Neutrality
New York Times
The future of protecting an open Internet has been the subject of fierce debate, and potential changes to the rules by the Federal Communications Commission could impact your online experience....


PCWorld
Michael Bastian Creates a Smartwatch That Looks Like a Watch
Wall Street Journal
High-tech meets high-style in the MB Chronowing from Michael Bastian and Hewlett-Packard. MB Chronowing Smartwatch. A look at the MB Chronowing, a smartwatch designed by Michael Bastian and Hewlett-Packard. fullscreen. <strong>FUTURE ...


Wall Street Journal
Amazon is largely white and male, according to company diversity data
Washington Post
Amazon.com on Friday released a report on its employee diversity that shows its workforce is mostly white and male, a finding that mirrors similar disclosures by high-tech companies such as Google and Facebook. Amazon said its total workforce is 63 percent ...


Forbes
This Man's Betting On The Technology Behind Apple Pay - And Even He Says...
Forbes
When Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled Apple Pay in September, he predicted that it would “forever change the way all of us buy things.” As I wrote in a recent post, while he ultimately might be proven right, Apple's mobile wallet is likely to take years to catch on ...


Christian Science Monitor
Microsoft to release a new version of Office for Macs
Christian Science Monitor
Microsoft promises to release a new version of its Office software for Apple computers next year. There hasn't been an update since 2010. By Associated Press October 31, 2014. close. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during a Microsoft cloud briefing ...


Android Headlines - Android News
Phone Comparisons: Motorola Droid Turbo vs. Moto X (2014)
Android Headlines - Android News
Motorola has really been busy this year releasing new flagships – a new Moto X, a new Nexus 6 for Google and now a new Motorola Droid Turbo for Verizon. Each device is unmistakably a product of Motorola, yet each one different in its own way. The Droid ...


CBS News
HP's Sprout is like no computer you've ever seen
CBS News
It has a touchscreen all-in-one monitor running Windows 8, but that's about where the familiar part of the new Sprout by HP ends. Where your keyboard should go, HP has placed a capacitive touch mat. Arching up and over the 23-inch HD screen is the Sprout ...


New York Times
Andy Rubin, Former Leader of Android Division, Leaves Google
eWeek
Andy Rubin, who was the chief developer of Google's Android mobile operating system, and who most recently headed the search giant's robotics and drone programs, is leaving the company. By Jim O'Reilly. Andy Rubin, who led the Android division of ...


Detroit Free Press
Ferrari fined $3.5M for failing to report safety issues
The Hill
Ferrari was hit with a $3.5 million fine Friday for not warning federal regulators of potential safety issues with its sports cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Ferrari's parent company, Fiat, failed to file early warning reports with ...


Computerworld
Hands on: Getting to know Google's new Nexus 6
Computerworld
The Nexus 6 is big, beautiful, and full of sweet Android Lollipop flavor. Here's an early hands-on look at Google's new flagship phone. Computerworld | Oct 31, 2014 10:15 AM PT. Google · Nexus · Motorola ...

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Bad Software, Bending iPhones, Apple #FAIL (videos)

iPhone Problems Risk Making Apple Like Microsoft--Milo Yiannopoulos, author of “The Sociopaths of Silicon Valley,” discusses Apple’s crisis management as it pertains to bad software updates and bending iPhones. He speaks with Guy Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “The Pulse.” (Source: Bloomberg--Sept 25)

Bloomberg Contributing Editor Paul Kedrosky discusses both software and hardware snafus with Apple’s new products. He speaks with Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg Television's “Market Makers.” (Source: Bloomberg--Sept 25)

iPhone 6 bends less than 6 Plus but Moto X is most resilient, test shows | Technology | theguardian.com: "Users need not worry about the iPhone 6 bending in their pockets quite like the larger iPhone 6 Plus, but other competitors’ products are hardier"


Forbes
Amazon Begins Contacting Developers For Secret Smart Home Projects
Forbes
Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos presents the company's first ... “Amazon is looking at this space very intently,” said the person who wished to ... with fellow technology giants Apple Apple and Google Google in the smart ...


USA TODAY
Two Apple screw-up stories in one day: Bendgate and Updategate
Fortune
“I cannot believe that this 'bent iPhone 6 Plus' thing is becoming a thing,” wrote Daring Fireball's John Gruber, a veteran Apple watcher who can ...
Apple Pulls iOS Software Update - Wall Street Journal
Apple pulls iOS 8 update as dropped calls add to app crashes, bending phones - Kansas City Star
Apple offers fix to reverse glitchy iOS 8.0.1 update for iPhones - The Post-Standard - syracuse.com

Apple Insiders Sold $143M in Stock Through Plans
Barron's
As speculation about the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch raged and through the actual Sept. 19 launch of the device,Apple insiders were reducing ...


USA TODAY
Apple stock dinged $23B since iPhone 6
USA TODAY
Plagued with allegations of hardware that's a little too bendy for its newest iPhone and a problematic software update, shares of Apple (AAPL) are ...


The Guardian
Facebook set to become latest tech giant to abandon rightwing lobby group Alec
The Guardian
Google's chairman Eric Schmidt said this week the company could no ... In AugustMicrosoft severed its ties, saying Alec's stance on climate change ... limit our engagement to their Communications and Technology Task Force.” ... Terrell, representing Yahoo, Facebook and eBay as well as Google, told ...


Economic Times
#Bendgate: LG, BlackBerry Poke Fun at Apple's iPhone 6 Problem
NBCNews.com
Apple has been hit by #Bendgate and other companies are trying to cash in. The Internet brouhaha started when users began posting photos of their ...

Apple explains how to fix its busted iOS 8 update, new one coming soon
Mat Smith
Apple's released a statement saying that users who have lost carrier service or Touch ID functionality should reinstall the initial version of iOS 8, until ...

Apple says some bent iPhone 6/Plus phones will be replaced under warranty
Ben Lovejoy
An Apple support representative has told TNW that iPhone 6/Plus phones ... Apple was not able to provide any information on what the test involves, ... Facebook photo .... Probably Samsung, Google, LG and HTC combined. ... Amazon Student Day: Fire TV $65, free $10 Amazon App Store credit, more ...

Errata Security: Bash bug as big as Heartbleed: "Today's bash bug is as big a deal as Heartbleed. That's for many reasons. The first reason is that the bug interacts with other software in unexpected ways... "

furbo.org · In-App Browsers Considered Harmful: "There is always a tradeoff between usability and security. Doing the OAuth token exchange with an in-app browser makes it easier for a user to login, but they’ll have no idea if their personal information was captured. That is why Twitterrific did its token exchange in Safari, even though it’s a more complex user interaction and a more difficult technical implementation. As a user, I know that there’s no way for my login to be compromised when the transaction involves Safari."

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Google Android One Smartphones, Billions of Global Users (video)

Introducing Android One -
Introducing Android One--Google smartphone initiative for billions of global users (video above) The world is filled with potential: people who are ready to leave their mark and need a phone as ambitious as they are. Learn more at android.com/one. [Published on Sep 15, 2014]

While Apple [see video below] has retreated into being exclusively a luxury manufacturer and retailer of watches, smartphones, tablets, and computers (and accompanying "walled-garden" services), Google is going for billions of global users who want and need functional smartphones at low prices--Google has partnered with handset makers Micromax, Karbonn and Spice to bring phones that cost less than $100 to India and the rest of the world. (see article referenced below)

Economic Times
Android One: Google's push to rule the smartphone world
CNET
Android One is first rolling out in India, then in Indonesia, the Philippines and South Asia by the end of the year. For the launch, Google has partnered with three Indian device makers -- Micromax, Karbonn and Spice -- to create three $100 smartphones, as well as teamed up with the wireless provider Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile carrier in India, with 40 percent of smartphone users in the country on that network.. ... 

Report: Moto X 'Pure Edition' will ditch the bloat | PCWorld: "One of the major gripes of those who buy Android phones is all the bloatware and inconsistent updates that wreck an otherwise "pure Google" experience. Motorola is taking that term and running with it, as a report says the company's non-carrier branded model will be dubbed the Moto X Pure Edition. The Moto X is very close to stock Android, with only a few Motorola-built enhancements like voice commands and gestures. Motorola also is very good about quickly updating its devices to the latest version of Android. The Moto X product page still lists the phone as "coming soon"..." 


Forbes
Microsoft To Buy Minecraft Maker Mojang For $2.5 Billion
Forbes
In the last two years, gamers have played more than 2 billion hours of Minecraft onMicrosoft's Xbox 360. Monday, Microsoft Microsoft made the ...
Microsoft buys Minecraft for $2.5 billion - CNNMoney
Microsoft Buys 'Minecraft' for $2.5 Billion but Founders Will Leave - Wall Street Journal
Microsoft to buy Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5B - CNET


Wall Street Journal
Apple Reports Record Preorders for New iPhone
Wall Street Journal
Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch ... The demand for the new smartphones exceeded the initial supply, Apple said ...

Tim Cook: Apple Watch Takes Us Into Whole New Area -
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses the Apple Watch, HealthKit, Apple Pay, and iPhone 6 on "Charlie Rose." 

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AT&T desperate, why would anyone switch from T-Mobile?

Desperate AT&T will give you $200 to switch over from big, scary T-Mobile | VentureBeat | Mobile | by Ricardo Bilton: "AT&T’s switcher credit, however, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. For one, T-Mobile rid itself of service contracts last year, so any customer who wants to leave the carrier really has nothing standing in their way. More, I suspect it’s going to take a lot more than $200 to convince T-Mobile customers to willingly go back to AT&T. To put it simply: AT&T officially sees T-Mobile a serious threat. And that’s not something I thought I’d ever write..."

Expri Editor's Note: T-Mobile is THE CARRIER if you are in the US. T-Mobile is, by far, the best choice for smart consumers -- $30 month for unlimited text and data (internet--5GB at 4G) and 100 minutes voice, OR $50 month for unlimited voice, data, and text. NOBODY can match that in the USA. Order your smartphone directly from Motorola (Moto X or Moto G) with the T-Mobile SIM already installed (#s needed to activate will be on the outside of the box) so you can activate everything with one call to T-Mobile, the Uncarrier. (Note: all expri.com editors' recommendations are unpaid and unsponsored, and based on personal experience and reviews.) 

T-Mobile CEO John Legere isn't too impressed with AT&T's latest promotion
DailyTech
Earlier today, we reported that AT&T is seriously gunning for T-Mobile customers by offering up to $450 in incentives to switch. $250 of that incentive package comes in the form of trading in your smartphone, while the other $200 is a straight cash bonus to ...

CES: Five Big Consumer Electronics Trends Hiding Behind the Gadgets
eWeek
NEWS ANALYSIS: Five big trends are shaping the consumer electronics market in 2014, but they will get lost among all the HDTVs, smartphones, tablets and other gadgets on the show floor. The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starts next week.

Google Nexus 5 Review: Top 11 Best (And Worst) Features Of The ...

International Business Times
Google and LG have teamed up again to offer the Nexus 5, the latest smartphone to offer a completely unadulterated Android experience. How does ...

International Business Times AU

Was Microsoft's Surface Saved by Christmas?

Bloomberg
Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Chitka's Mobile Division General Manager Matt Kojalo discusses the sales of Microsoft's Surface tablet over the holiday ...

Tech Times

Apple slides late in mixed day for tech stocks

MarketWatch
Other decliners included Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) , eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) , Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Micron Technology ...

ITProPortal

'Cool' Apple iWatch Coming Out This Year: White

Bloomberg
Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Cantor Fitzgerald Global Head Technology Hardware and Software Brian White and Bloomberg's David Kirkpatrick discuss ...

Google to Discontinue Bump and Flock Services

Indiatimes.com
Google is clearly on a killing spree. 2013 was the year when some of the most remarkable Google services were killed, despite protests and even ...

Indiatimes.com

Microsoft's Xbox One Almost Went Entirely Disc-less After E3

Forbes
Microsoft was scrambling in the wake of E3 to alter the Xbox One after a wave of negative feedback about the company's policies regarding the system ...

Last Year's Apple Rumors? Mostly Bogus

TIME
Black Friday shoppers walk past an Apple Store inside the Glendale ... of evidence to prove that the majority of Apple rumors shouldn't be trusted.

Microsoft Releases Linux Integration Services 3.5 for Hyper-V

eWeek
Microsoft is making room for more Linux distros on its virtualization platform with the release of Linux Integration Services 3.5 (LIS 3.5) for Hyper-V.

eWeek

100-Million-Year Old Amber Fossil Preserves Ancient Flowers Caught In The ...
International Business Times
Researchers have discovered a “perfectly-preserved” example of sexual reproduction in flowering plants in a 100-million-year old amber fossil. Amber Fossil A 100-million-year old amber fossil contains flowering plants in the middle of sexual reproduction.

Lyrics Site Rap Genius Returns to Google Search
Entrepreneur
One site that was banned by Google is back in the search giant's good graces. Lyrics site Rap Genius tried to manipulate the way it turned up in Google search results by soliciting bloggers to link to its pages in exchange for exposure via Rap Genius' social ...

Fuhu, Inc. and DreamWorks Animation Launch the DreamTab
Wall Street Journal
EL SEGUNDO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 3, 2014) - Fuhu, Inc., creator of the award-winning nabi(R) tablet, and DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ: DWA) have joined forces to unveil the DreamTab, a state-of-the-art new tablet designed from the ground-up just ...

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Moto X unveiled (video); Microsoft Surface sales "hideous"

Moto X - Always Ready video - Moto X lets you create reminders, set alarms and more without ever touching your phone. more info: here

AnandTech | Print A Quick Look at the Moto X - Motorola's New Flagship: " . . . . My initial thoughts with the Moto X are that it's a great device, easily one of the best feeling, sized, and shaped devices of this year. The screen is big enough without the device being bulky, and Motorola says that over 70 percent of the front surface of the Moto X is display. I'm still not a fan of AMOLED, but in this case a lot of the features (active display) do need it to be power efficient. The customization options are novel and unique . . . ."

The Inside Story of the Moto X: The Reason Google Bought Motorola | Gadget Lab | Wired.com: "In the next few years, he says, a well-funded Motorola will turn itself around by taking advantage of new materials and technology that will, for instance, allow for flexible, virtually unbreakable screens. Motorola also has plans to extend the smart phone market to developing countries and innovate in low-cost plans. And then there’s the crazy stuff coming out of Motorola’s DARPA that no one will talk about yet."

Redmond reports that it upped its sales and marketing budget for the Windows Division in 2013 by a jaw-dropping $1bn, which included an $898m increase in advertising costs "associated primarily with Windows 8 and Surface." . . . Microsoft spent more in a single year advertising the Windows 8 and Surface launches than it took in from Surface sales that same year (source infra)

Microsoft Surface sales numbers revealed as SHOCKINGLY HIDEOUS • The Register: " . . . by the numbers, devices and online services remain Redmond's worst performing divisions . . . Ballmer has already hinted that a second wave of Surface slabs is in the works that will bring typical hardware upgrades. But given how poorly Microsoft's in-house hardware division has performed so far, we can't help but be reminded of what Acer CEO JT Wang said last August, when Redmond first began touting its Surface plans. "It is not something you are good at," Wang said, "so please think twice.""

Nokia and BlackBerry’s market share in India dives, as domestic rivals see tenfold annual growth - The Next Web: " . . . Whereas last year domestic makers accounted for only 3 percent of the market, they now account for about 30 percent. Local manufacturer Micromax sits behind Samsung with 19 percent of total unit shipments, followed by Bangalore-based Karbonn Mobiles with 11 percent. . . . As for operating systems, according to IDC, 90 percent of devices run on Google’s Android operating system."

Obamacare technology testing slated for September -official

Reuters
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - The Obama administration is preparing to subject the information technology backbone of the new state and federal ...

Microsoft Releases Office Mobile For Android Smartphones

InformationWeek
Microsoft on Wednesday released Office Mobile for Android. The product includes ... It can be downloaded from the Google Play store. The release closely ...

Apple's Next iPad Mini Will Likely Have 'Retina' Display From ...

Wall Street Journal

Apple suppliers are gearing up for mass production of a new iPad mini that will ... an iPad mini with a retina display appears more likely, particularly after Google ...

Wall Street Journal

Apple fixing bug that allows fake charging stations to hack iPhonesReuters
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Apple Inc's next software update for its iPhones and ... Lau said that devices running Google Inc's Android operating system are not ...

Google Gets TV Right With Chromecast: Rich Jaroslovsky

Businessweek
At the moment, the programming choices are severely limited compared to competing devices, notably the Apple TV and Roku 3 set-top boxes. But the Google ...

Amazon to produce five additional children's TV pilots

Los Angeles Times
Amazon Studios will produce five additional original pilots for children, including a pair of animated shows from Emmy Award-winning television industry ...

Apple Losing Tablet Market Share But Still Dominates North ...

Forbes
Note that my family and I own Apple shares. ... Amazon, Google and White-Box tablets which, despite the fact that branded OEMs are lowering price-points and ...

Microsoft Names Perficient 2013 Healthcare Provider Partner of the ...

HispanicBusiness.com
ST. LOUIS --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Perficient, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRFT), a leading information technology consulting firm serving Global 2000 and other large ...

Microsoft to drop 'SkyDrive' in trademark settlement

The Seattle Times
SkyDrive, the Microsoft online storage service, is playing an increasingly big role in the company's push toward becoming a devices-and-services company.

Google Now “hyper-local” cards in testing

SlashGear
Google is experimenting with a “hyper-local news card” for Google Now that flags up ... The new card, currently in internal testing as Google works on the overall ...

SlashGear

Apple Reportedly Ramping Up For New iPad Mini With Retina ...

Darrell Etherington
Apple is indeed gearing up to put a Retina display in next version of the iPad mini, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. The new version ...

TechCrunch 

Google Calendar for Android gets cross-device notification sync

Jon Fingas
The simplest updates are sometimes the best. See the latest update to Google Calendar for Android as an example: the release adds notification syncing.Engadget RSS Feed 

Starbucks Ditches AT&T Wi-Fi for Google - Liz Gannes - Mobile ...

Liz Gannes
... yourself with a computer -- will soon have Wi-Fi that's up to 10 times faster than before, courtesy of new provider Google. ... 

AllThingsD 

Microsoft confirms it will change SkyDrive name after trademark suit ...Sean Ludwig
Dropcam lands $30M to be the Apple of the future connected home ... Microsoft has done a lot of work to make SkyDrive one of the most ... SkyDrive competes with Dropbox, Google Drive, SugarSync, and other cloud storage providers. It offers ...VentureBeat

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