Sony, DarkSeoul, Hackers, North Korea Links (video)

What's the Deal With DarkSeoul?
Sony's hackers are demanding the studio stop showing 'The Interview.' Experts say the attacks on Sony show similarities with a hacking group called DarkSeoul with suspected links to North Korea. (Source: Bloomberg)

techNEWS

Reuters
Sony's PlayStation store back online after cyber attack
Reuters
REUTERS - Sony Corp said its PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network had been disrupted by hackers in a distributed denial-of-service attack on Monday. Sony said its systems were back online and the company was investigating the cause of ...


The Week Magazine
Hackers sent Sony extortion email before security breach
The Week Magazine
The hackers behind a major attack against Sony last month reportedly emailed the company beforehand asking for money, Mashable reports. "Pay the damage, or Sony Pictures will be bombarded as a whole," the Nov. 21 email read. "You know us very well.


TechCrunch
Amazon To Let Shoppers Bargain For Lower Prices With New “Make An Offer” Option
TechCrunch
Amazon, pushing hard to pick up more business during the holiday season, wants you to make a deal. Taking a page from the likes of eBay and ...
Now you can haggle on Amazon - USA TODAY


CNET
Amazon tests delivery by bike in New York City
CNET
Amazon is testing bike messengers deliveries in New York City, which ... Google launchedGoogle Express last year in San Francisco and has since ...
Amazon wants an NYC bike messenger to bring you a package within an hour - The Verge


CNET
Facebook, Vessel put YouTube on notice: Your talent isn't safe
CNET
Over the last several months, Google has been actively striking deals with ... WhileFacebook is an obvious threat to YouTube, Google is by far more ... and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, to collect funds and target content creators. ... Don Reisinger is a technologycolumnist who has covered everything from ...


NBCNews.com
Amazon Official to FAA: Let Us Test Our Delivery Drones Outdoors
NBCNews.com
The massive flames that lit up downtown Los Angeles early Monday were terrifying, but thanks to modern firefighting technology and techniques, they ...

Google-backed password-killer crosses major milestone
The Verge
In October, Google unveiled a surprising new way to log into Chrome and ... Google's security key was one example, and another was Samsung's ... has built a program adapting Apple's now-open API to the FIDO protocols. ... Qualcomm, and Blackberry; service companies like Google, Microsoft, and ...

Facebook Video Is Driving YouTube Off Facebook
Business Insider
Outside of Facebook, YouTube still dominates in terms of video uploads and views. A Google spokeswoman told Business Insider that 300 hours of ...

Powerful, highly stealthy Linux trojan may have infected victims for years
Ars Technica
Researchers have uncovered an extremely stealthy trojan for Linux systems that attackers have been using to siphon sensitive data from governments and pharmaceutical companies around the world. The previously undiscovered malware represents a ...

more technology news below ( @ web version--link below)

Follow @expricom

New Moto Products LIVE; Microsoft Android Patents Worthless?

Join Lauren Gellman, Director of Product Marketing, and Steve Sinclair, VP of Product Marketing, for a first look at the new portfolio of Moto products.  They will be answering your questions live Friday, September 5, 2014,  at 1:30 PM CT -  time conversion. Mark your calendars and post your questions using #askmoto 

@Motorola: join us at 1:30 PM CT on Sep. 5 for our "First Look" live Q&A (post questions now using #askmoto). The details: http://bit.ly/1BdRi2Q

______________

It is estimated Microsoft gets $2 billion (US$) a year from its Android patents, but a recent analysis in wake of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's disclosure of what patents Microsoft claimed, questions the value of Microsoft's patents--

M-Cam specifically tried to answer the question of whether Microsoft owns proprietary rights to Android OS, and whether the giant software maker was unfairly taxing Android device makers....The most damning part of the M-Cam report, however, was the revelation that more than 40 of the 65 commercially viable patents had actually been preceded by other companies, and that Microsoft had failed to cite them in its patents filings as required by law. (source infra)

What Lies In Store For Microsoft's Android Patents? - Microsoft Corporation | Seeking Alpha: "...Hitherto, only Motorola has ever successfully challenged Microsoft in court regarding patent demands. Motorola won 16 of the 17 patent suits it had filed before the Germany Federal Patent Court. Microsoft's only victory in the case was in regard to U.S. Patent No. 6,370,566 for ActiveSync. All other Android manufacturers have usually elected to pay whatever Microsoft demanded from them, due to the fear of heavy litigation costs. After all, patent trolls cost the U.S. economy nearly $30 billion per year... With the Microsoft's Android patents no longer a secret, you can expect to see more disgruntled Android manufacturers taking Microsoft to court instead of simply putting up and paying up like they've always done...."


TODAYonline
Groups Accuse Apple Supplier of Labor Violations
New York Times
The allegations involve employees at a factory in the eastern China city of Suqian that is owned by Catcher Technology, a Taiwan company, and that ...


Wall Street Journal
Apple Watch to Allow Mobile Payments
Wall Street Journal
Apple also is expected to add the wireless technology to the next versions of its iPhone, people familiar with the device said, potentially simplifying the ...


CBS News
Even If You Use Apple's Two-Step Verification, Your Photos Are Still At Risk
Huffington Post
But as Michael Rose at TUAW, an Apple news site, noted on Tuesday, ... Google,Facebook, Twitter and Apple are among the companies that offer the ... I'm a technologyreporter who takes my online security very seriously, and I ...
Apple's iCloud woes come just as it doubles down on the cloud - Washington Post
How and Why to Turn On Two-Step Verification for Your Apple, Google, and Yahoo Accounts - Yahoo Tech
Apple security breach causes investor panic, stock slide ahead of iPhone 6 launch - ZDNet


Modern Readers
Apple stock plunges amid celebrity hacking, ahead of purported iWatch announcement
Washington Post
More quantifiable was the downward lurch Wednesday that pushed the market value ofApple down by $26.1 billion. That's the price tag USA Today ...

Google Hires Leading Researcher to Build a Quantum Computer | MIT Technology Review: "Google is about to begin designing and building hardware for a quantum computer, a type of machine that can exploit quantum physics to solve problems that would take a conventional computer millions of years...."

Amazon, Microsoft may invest in Cyanogen to better compete with Google - Silicon Valley Business Journal: "...The report said that Cyanogen is planning a large Series C round of funding. It has raised about $30 million to date from investors who include Andreessen Horowitz, Tencent, Benchmark and Redpoint Ventures. The company faces the usual challenges of startups that are built on open source software that is supported by enthusiastic developers. It would likely need to find services and apps that it can charge for on top of CyanogenMod. But if it is acquired by a handset maker like Microsoft or Amazon, it could become an important differentiator from makers of other Android-powered devices."

Chromebooks: Going offline to compete | ZDNet: ... quite a few apps work offline; there's even a section in the Chrome Web Store that makes them easy to find. This improvement, coupled with the fact that like PCs and Macs users are rarely offline, make Chrome work like most platforms. Google isn't content with this, and recently mandated that legacy packaged apps must go away by the end of the year, and will get kicked out of the store...

more technology news below ( @ web version--link below)

Follow @expricom