Microsoft Schweiz hat Nicole Gassler Schwengeler zur neuen Leiterin Personal ernannt. Sie löst in dieser Funktion René Villiger ab, der Ende 2011 die Personalverantwortung für Microsoft Zentral- und Osteuropa übernommen hat, wie der Softwareriese mitteilt.

Der über 600 Millionen Euro schwere Verkauf des Kabelnetzbetreibers Tele Columbus ist Brancheninsidern zufolge noch nicht in trockenen Tüchern. Der Deal befinde sich in einem fortgeschrittenen Stadium und könnte bald abgeschlossen sein, sagten zwei mit der Sache vertraute Personen am Montag zu Reuters.

Einer der Gründer der Internet-Tauschbörse The Pirate Bay hat den Gang vor den Europäischen Gerichtshof (EuGH) angekündigt, weil der Oberste Gerichtshof Schwedens seine Klage nicht annimmt. „Wir sehen keine andere Lösung mehr", schrieb der Anwalt von Fredrik Neij in der schwedischen Zeitung „Dagens Nyheter".

Eine App für die Besucher der Expo 2012 in Yeosu, Südkorea, macht die Schweiz virtuell erlebbar. Die Zürcher Software-Schmiede Adnovum hat die App für Präsenz Schweiz, einer Abteilung im Eidgenössischen Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten EDA, implementiert.

Mit der Veröffentlichung persönlicher Daten haben unbekannte Täter die Unterschriftenaktion von Künstlern für eine Stärkung des Urheberrechts angegriffen. Auf einer Internet-Plattform für die Veröffentlichung von Dokumenten wurden unter anderem Namen, Geburtsdaten, Adressen und Telefonnummern der Unterzeichner veröffentlicht - unter ihnen prominente Schriftsteller wie Charlotte Roche und der Musiker Sven Regener, der die Debatte im März ausgelöst hatte.

Nach einer Verkaufsempfehlung der Societe Generale sind die Nokia-Papiere am Montag auf Talfahrt gegangen. Die Aktien des finnischen Handy-Herstellers brachen um bis zu 6,5 Prozent auf 2,35 Euro ein und lagen damit zur noch etwa zwei Cent über ihrem 15-1/2-Jahres-Tief der Vorwoche.

Der Kabelnetzbetreiber Kabel Deutschland hat einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge das Rennen um Tele Columbus gewonnen und die Deutsche Telekom ausgestochen. Kabel Deutschland kaufe die hoch verschuldete Kabelfirma, berichtete die "Financial Times Deutschland" am Montag ohne nähere Angaben von Quellen. Ein Sprecherin von Kabel Deutschland wollte den Bericht nicht kommentieren.

Bislang haben User von Apples Backup- und Online-Speicherdienst iCloud online Zugriff auf E-Mails, Kontakte, Kalender, iWork-Dokumente und den Service Find My iPhone. Nun soll der Web-Dienst um Erinnerungen und Notizen erweitert werden, berichtet Cult of Mac.

Beim Online-Karrierenetzwerk Xing haben im ersten Quartal Investitionen zum Geschäftsausbau auf den Gewinn gedrückt. Unter dem Strich schrumpfte der Gewinn von Jänner bis Ende März um mehr als ein Viertel auf 1,97 Mio. Euro, wie das im Tecdax notierte Unternehmen am Montag in Hamburg mitteilte.

Swisscom IT Services (SITS) hat ihre Outsourcing-Agenden konsolidiert und eine neue, schlagkräftige Outsourcing-Sparte auf die Beine gestellt. Geleitet wird sie seit Beginn des Jahres von Wolfgang Eger. Im Gespräch mit ICTkommunikation zieht er eine erste Bilanz über seine neue Tätigkeit als Leiter des Geschäftsbereichs Outsourcing-Services bei SITS und gibt Einblicke in die Befindlichkeit und die aktuellen Trends im Bereich der ICT-Dienstleistungen. Das Gespräch führte Karlheinz Pichler.

Nate the greatest writes "I'm sure you've heard about the color E-ink screen which was rumored to be used on the next Kindle. As of today, E-ink no longer has that market niche to themselves. Plastic Logic held a press conference in Russia this morning where they unveiled a new color screen that uses their plastic-based screen tech. The resolution is low (75ppi), but if the video is any sign, then this might be a better screen than the 9.7" Triton color E-ink screen used on the Jetbook Color. And that's not all Plastic Logic showed off this morning; they also developed a frontlight for their screen, and they can play video at 12 frames per second. But best of all, they cut one of their screens in half just to show that it could still work."

McGruber writes "The Rochester (NY) Democrat-Chronicle has the interesting story of the Eastman Kodak Co.'s Californium Neutron Flux Multiplier, which was housed in Building 82 of Kodak Park in Rochester, NY. The multiplier contained 3½ pounds of highly enriched (weapons-grade) uranium. Kodak used it to check chemicals and other materials for impurities, as well as for tests related to neutron radiography, an imaging technique. From the article: 'When Kodak decided six years ago to close down the device, still more scrutiny followed. Federal regulators made them submit detailed plans for removing the substance. When the highly enriched uranium was packaged into protective containers and spirited away in November 2007, armed guards were surely on hand. All of this — construction of a bunker with two-foot-thick concrete walls, decades of research and esoteric quality control work with a neutron beam, the safeguarding and ultimate removal of one of the more feared substances on earth — was done pretty much without anyone in the Rochester community having a clue.'"

fallen1 writes "Wireless broadband company LightSquared has filed for bankruptcy. In filings with U.S. Bankruptcy court, it was revealed that LightSquared had assets and debts of over $1 billion each. The decision followed a year-long fight between LightSqaured and GPS users — including some heavyweights like FedEx and UPS. Apparently Boeing and Alcatel-Lucent are heavily invested, but it would be interesting to see what the old Bell Labs could do with the technology."

Mark.JUK writes "The Open Rights Group (ORG), which works to raise awareness of digital rights and civil liberties issues, has published a new report that examines the impact of internet censorship on UK mobile networks and lists an example of 10 legitimate websites that often get unfairly blocked (PDF) by adult content filters (over-blocking). The study is important because similar measures could soon be forced upon fixed-line broadband ISP subscribers by the UK government. Some of the allegedly unfair blocks include censorship of the 'Tor' system, a privacy tool used by activists and campaigners across the globe, and the website of French 'digital rights' advocacy group 'La Quadrature du Net.'"

An anonymous reader writes "Last week we heard complaints from Mozilla that Windows RT would restrict users' choice in web browsers, unfairly favoring Internet Explorer over alternatives like Firefox and Chrome. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the situation is now on the Senate Judiciary Committee's radar, and they will look into claims that Microsoft is engaging in anti-competitive behavior. That said, it could be a difficult case to make, since Windows RT is destined for ARM-based tablets, and Apple currently dominates that market. 'When it comes to proving abuse of monopoly power, an important question is determining the market in which a monopolist has power — the relevant market, in antitrust legal terms. In the [late '90s] DOJ case, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's findings of fact concluded Microsoft had a monopoly in the market for "Intel-compatible PC operating systems." Windows on ARM doesn't run on x86 chips, so by Jackson's standards, Windows RT hasn't been judged to be part of Microsoft's monopoly.' Microsoft addressed some of these issues in a blog post in February."

netbuzz writes "Crowd-funding startup Kickstarter is taking a public-relations hit today after it was reported that some 70,000 not-yet-public project ideas were left exposed on the company's Web site for more than two weeks. Kickstarter insists that no financial information was compromised and that only a few dozen of the projects were actually accessed. 'Obviously our users' data is incredibly important to us, the company said in a blog post. 'Even though limited information was made accessible through this bug, it is completely unacceptable.'"

New submitter bzzfzz writes "The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is beginning a $20 million upgrade of its surveillance system. The upgrade will include 1800 high-definition cameras, facial recognition systems, and digital archiving to replace the analog tape system in use since the 1980s. The system will serve both security and operational goals. The MAC asserts that improved camera technology yields improved security as though the connection between the two is so strong that no proof is required."

An anonymous reader writes "It was inevitable that Intel launching the 22nm Ivy Bridge processors would lead to Apple using them in its laptops and desktop machines. While Apple never leaks details early, someone using pre-release hardware has managed to upload details of the new machine to Geekbench's database. We can definitely expect a Core i7 Ivy Bridge MacBook Pro and iMac later this year."

MrSeb writes "A group of American researchers from MIT, Indiana University, and Tufts University, led by Erin Treacy Solovey, have developed Brainput — a system that can detect when your brain is trying to multitask, and offload some of that workload to a computer. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which is basically a portable, poor man's version of fMRI, Brainput measures the activity of your brain. This data is analyzed, and if Brainput detects that you're multitasking, the software kicks in and helps you out. In the case of the Brainput research paper (PDF), Solovey and her team set up a maze with two remotely controlled robots. The operator, equipped with fNIRS headgear, has to navigate both robots through the maze simultaneously, constantly switching back and forth between them. When Brainput detects that the driver is multitasking, it tells the robots to use their own sensors to help with navigation. Overall, with Brainput turned on, operator performance improved — and yet they didn't generally notice that the robots were partially autonomous. Moving forward, Solovey wants to investigate other cognitive states that can be reliably detected using fNIRS. Imagine a computer that increases the size of buttons and text when you're tired, or a video game that slows down when you're stressed. Your Xbox might detect that you're in the mood for fighting games, and change its splash screen accordingly. Eventually, computer interfaces might completely remold themselves to your mental state."

Diggester writes "The satellite, known as Elektro-L No.1, took an image from its stationary point over 35,000 kilometers above the Indian Ocean. This is the most detailed image of the Earth yet available, capturing the Earth in a single shot with 121-megapixels. NASA satellites use a collection of pictures from multiple flybys stitched together. The detail in the pic is just amazing."

aesoteric writes "Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has voiced a renewed desire to see the company open its architecture to the masses, allowing savvy users to expand and add to their products at will. However, Wozniak qualified his desire for a more open Apple by arguing that openness should not impinge on the quality of the products themselves. He also sees any change of heart on openness as a challenge when Apple continues to rake in huge cash with its current model."

wasimkadak writes in with an interview with Anonymous member "Commander X" in which he talks about how the hacktivists are the most powerful group on the planet. "Christopher Doyon, a.k.a. Commander X, sits atop a hillside in an undisclosed location in Canada, watching a reporter and photographer make their way along a narrow path to join him, away from the prying eyes of law enforcement. It's been a few weeks of encrypted emails back and forth, working out the security protocol to follow for interviewing Doyon, one of the brains behind Anonymous, now a fugitive from the FBI. Doyon, who readily admits taking part in some of the highest-profile hacktivist attacks on websites last year — from Tunisia to Orlando, Sony to PayPal — was arrested in September for a comparatively minor assault on the county website of Santa Cruz, Calif., where he was living, in retaliation for the town forcibly removing a homeless encampment on the courthouse steps. The 'virtual sit-in' lasted half an hour. For that, Doyon is facing 15 years in jail."