Geschenkartikel mit Sprüchen gegen den Konkurrenten haben Microsoft zum Gespött der Internetgemeinde gemacht.
Ein Hacker hat sich Zugriff zu vertraulichen Nachrichten und persönlichen Daten von Abgeordneten des EU-Parlaments verschafft. Schuld seien unsichere Betriebssysteme.
Der Musik-Streaming-Dienst Spotify soll nach Netflix' Einstieg vier Milliarden Dollar wert sein. Dennoch sind es harte Zeiten für das schwedische Unternehmen.
Ein Klassiker verschwindet: In den 90ern war Winamp praktisch auf jedem Windows-PC installiert. Jetzt besiegeln die Entwickler das Ende des einst wohl beliebtesten Mediaplayers.
Der andauernde Patentstreit zwischen Apple und Samsung ist um ein Urteil reicher. Das Gericht in Kalifornien dem iPhone-Hersteller 290 Millionen US-Dollar zugesprochen.
In 13 Ländern ist die Xbox One heute gestartet. Rund um den Globus feiern Fans die Ankunft der neuen Microsoft-Konsole. Sony hatte vor einer Woche die PS4 in die Schlacht geworfen.
Dem Mobilfunk-Unternehmen Sunrise macht der Preiszerfall in der Branche zu schaffen. Dank zwei Übernahmen konnte der Umsatz etwas angehoben werden.
Ein kanadischer Schulabbrecher hat vor, den Smartwatch-Markt mit einem neuen Gadget zu revolutioneren. Innert zwei Tagen wurde sein Projekt mit 100'000 Dollar finanziert.
Streit um die Xbox One: Händler sprechen von Druckversuchen seitens Microsoft zum Stopp von Grauimporten. Microsoft hingegen verneint die Einflussnahme.
Analysten schätzen die Herstellungskosten der Playstation 4 auf 381 Dollar. In US-Läden kostet sie nur 18 Dollar mehr. Immerhin muss Sony nicht drauflegen wie einst bei der PS3.
Fast jeder zehnte Europäer hat ein Smartphone mit Microsoft-Betriebssystem. Jetzt ist das Angebot an Apps im Windows Phone Store erweitert worden.
Smart-TVs von LG sollen das Konsumverhalten der Zuschauer erfassen und an LG-Server senden. Mitgeschnitten wird unter anderem jeder Programmwechsel, berichtet ein Blogger.
Tobias Neukom wurde gestern zum Master of Swiss Apps gekürt. Der Weg von einer Wasser-Simulation zum abwechslungsreichen iPad-Spiel war lang und hart.
Ganz ohne Betriebssystem? Zumindest ohne klassisches: Das Chromebook läuft allein mit einem Online-Betriebssystem - und ist schnell, rank und schlank.
Retailer Walmart will sell on Black Friday an $89 Hewlett-Packard Android tablet, one of many tablets available at massive discounts this holiday season in the U.S. . The Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the biggest shopping days in the U.S. Locations of Walmart retail outlets offering the product were not immediately available. A source familiar with the plan said the tablet will have an Atom chip code-named Medfield. Further product details were not available. Intel has said that its chips will power Android tablets starting at under $100. But the Medfield chip is not Intel's latest, and it does not deliver the applications or graphics performance of Intel's latest Atom tablet chip code-named Bay Trail.
HealthCare.gov, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' troubled insurance-shopping website, will double its user capacity by the end of the month in an effort to eliminate sluggish response times when thousands of people are on the site at the same time, officials said. The site should be able to handle 50,000 concurrent users by the end of November, and the tech team working on the site expects about 800,000 visits a day by then, said Jeffrey Zients, a former acting director at the White House Office of Management and Budget overseeing fixes to the site. The site now can handle about 25,000 users at a time before it slows down, although it was unstable at lower volumes in past weeks, he said Friday during a press briefing on the website's progress. The site was originally intended to handle about 50,000 concurrent users, but fell short in the first weeks of operation, Zients said. "It's important to keep in mind here that this is not a simple website," he added. "It's a complex system doing complicated work. This is much more than a website for browsing or conducting routine transactions."
SAP has been slapped with a lawsuit by California's state controller over a payroll software implementation the office says cost taxpayers a vast sum of money, but has never worked correctly. "After three years, and paying SAP approximately $50 million to integrate its own software into a new payroll and benefits system for the state of California, all the [state controller's office] has to show for its investment is a system that could not get the payroll right even once over an eight-month period for a pilot group of only 1,500 employees," the lawsuit states. The suit, filed Thursday in Sacramento County District Court, comes after a lengthy back-and-forth between the state and SAP over the system, which was supposed to serve 240,000 workers and replace 30-year-old legacy systems. , alleging that the vendor had failed to stabilize the system. It generated "significant errors" in payroll runs conducted during the pilot program, which centered on workers in Chiang's office, including "under or over-compensation of wages" and "failure to report contributions to retirement accounts," according to the suit.
With the National Security Agency spying on pretty much everyone inside and out of this country, we can't be too surprised, or offended, to find out that other countries are spying on us. Besides, the cloud is such a tempting target. , "strong evidence has emerged that the Chinese government is directing and executing a large-scale cyber espionage campaign against the United States." The 465-page report goes on to explain that these practices "may present cybersecurity risks for U.S. users and providers of cloud computing services." China's willingness to combine commerce with spying "represents a potential espionage threat to foreign companies that might use cloud computing services…the Chinese government one day may be able to access data centers outside China through Chinese data centers."
Stop wasting your bitcoin on hitmen and fly to space instead. Sir Richard Branson announced Friday customers can now pay for Virgin Galactic spaceflights in bitcoin.
Microsoft struggled this week with multiple performance problems on its Azure cloud platform, while it also made the hosted load balancing service Traffic Manager generally available. Microsoft's public cloud had a rough time over the past seven days, as the compute, management, SQL database and storage services were all affected. The storage service was the hardest hit, suffering a full service interruption that started at 10:22 p.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on Thursday and affected users in Asia, Europe and the U.S. Microsoft fixed the issue in about an hour. The problem seems to have had a knock-on effect on SQL database import and export functionality, whose performance was affected in the same regions at the same time. Microsoft didn't immediately reply to questions about what caused the problems, or if the company is doing anything to improve reliability. An outage that takes down a service across the world is considered serious.
is now on sale. from Google via the Google Play store, is a universal charging system that works with the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and 2013 edition of the Nexus 7. The Wireless Charger was originally designed to ship alongside the new Nexus 5, which launched on October 31, but encountered a few delays. The Wireless Charger is a small (2.4-inches square) brick that connects via micro USB cable to a standard AC outlet (an adapter is included). The charger draws 9 watts of power. It's also magnetic, so when you drop your Nexus on top of the charging pad, it "snaps" into place, ensuring a solid alignment between the two devices, essential for getting a good charge. , designed solely for the Nexus 4, is no longer available for sale.
builds upon that (I swear version .04 is smoother than .03, though that may just be my anticipation of the upcoming 7.1). But more importantly, it also fixes a major security flaw that could have had users getting apps without actually being signed in to the store. Good for the users perhaps, but not so much for the vendors.
Google Apps now offers administrators more IT controls over Hangouts, the communications tool that includes IM, audio chats and video conferencing. . Apps administrators now have the ability to offer a partial set of Hangouts features to end users, instead of giving everybody full use of the tool. "Admins can now choose to limit Hangout chat messages to being internal-only, set chat history to off by default and decide whether users within the domain can contact each other without sending or accepting formal invitations first. Video and audio chat can also be turned off across the organization," wrote Ronald Ho, a Google Apps product manager, in a blog post.
International talks aimed at removing expensive international tariffs on IT products appear to have reached an impasse, with opposing negotiators blaming China for not budging from its position. Agreements to waive tariffs are designed to boost trade and ultimately make products cheaper for the consumer. More than 50 countries, representing 97 percent of the global IT trade, were involved in the talks in Geneva this week aimed at extending The World Trade Organization's Information Technology Agreement (ITA). Negotiators had hoped to reach an agreement this week, ahead of a ministerial level meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Bali at the beginning of December. The ITA was established in 1996 to do away with import tariffs on certain ICT products in order to stimulate trade. Many new devices are not covered by the ITA regime, prompting current efforts to add 250 products to the list of items covered. However, China disputed the inclusion of 141 of these, and demanded that 57 of them be excluded from the ITA altogether. .
The holidays may be a time for reconnecting with family, but long flights and the promise of plenty of unscheduled time make the temptation to bring work along irresistible. But the parade of planes, trains, and taxis—along with the highly coveted nature of laptops and mobile devices—put your data at immense risk. or leave your phone in a cab, and you may be looking for a new job come New Year’s. Follow these tips to secure your data while traveling this season and avoid a holiday horror story. The best way to make sure your data isn’t compromised if your laptop or mobile device is lost, stolen, or damaged is to not store your data on it in the first place. Instead, use cloud storage. You’ll be able to access your files from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection (and, if the service offers offline access, even when you don’t). Box, DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Apple iCloud, all offer free cloud storage just for setting up an account. The last three also offer online productivity tools so you can create or edit content directly from the Web. And there are for specific needs like heightened security. In the event you do get separated from your device, at least you'll know your sensitive work files are safe.
AdBlock Plus from Eyeo is expanding its mission to clean up more than just annoying Flash ads. The browser add-on still blocks online ads—except for the —but ABP is now turning its attention to information overload on popular social networks. The latest social site to fall victim to ABP's editorial pen is YouTube, thanks to the new YouTube Customizer site. The feature helps you banish all the bits of the video site that annoy you, while keeping the ones you enjoy. To get started, you must have AdBlock Plus installed on Chrome, Firefox, or Opera. Next, just visit to start blocking YouTube's various "features." If you're generally annoyed with the current state of YouTube you can block everything but the video you're watching. The list of banished items includes comments, suggested videos, featured and recommended videos in the end screen, the sharing tab in the description, in-video annotations, and channel recommendations.
Just 48 percent of European Union Internet users surveyed several months ago had changed any of their online passwords during the past year, despite 76 percent believing that the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime has increased. The survey, which was carried out by Eurobarometer in May and June, questioned more than 27,000 people. It found that 52 percent think they are not sufficiently informed about cybercrime risk. Only half of those surveyed said they used the Internet to shop or bank online. Those who do not reported that they were concerned about the misuse of personal data and the security of online payments. Of the survey respondents 12 percent have had a social media or email account hacked and seven percent have been the victim of credit card or banking fraud online.
With up to 100Mbps throughput, the A3 will load infotainment services faster and let up to 8 people connect to the Internet at the same time.
Smart TVs manufactured by LG Electronics are sending information about users’ viewing habits and files back to the company’s servers. The company confirmed the behavior and said it plans to release firmware updates to correct it. that his smart TV was sharing information about what channels he was watching with LG because of an option called “collection of watching info” that was turned on by default. But even after turning off the feature, the TV continued to share viewing habits with the company, found the software developer, who uses the online alias DoctorBeet. DoctorBeet said that after seeing ads on his own TV’s landing screen he began looking into where they came from. He said he found a video on LG’s website that touted the company’s ability to analyze users’ favorite programs, online behavior, search keywords and other information to offer relevant ads to target audiences.
Five human rights groups urged the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to adopt a new resolution against indiscriminate mass surveillance. was introduced by Germany and Brazil in November in the wake of the NSA mass surveillance revelations. It calls upon states to respect and protect the right to privacy, including in the context of digital communication and to take measures to put an end to violations of those rights. sent to all members of the UN General Assembly on Thursday. That letter linked to an earlier version of the resolution that, at the time of writing, contained minor drafting differences. "Indiscriminate mass surveillance, which tramples individuals' right to privacy and undermines the social contract we all have with the State, must come to end immediately," they wrote, adding that if the resolution is adopted this would be the first major statement by the UN on privacy in 25 years.
The leading complainant against Google in a European Union competition case said Friday that the search giant’s proposed settlement of the case will “entrench, extend, and escalate its abusive practices.” British company Foundem was the first to lodge a complaint with the European Commission about Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices. In a statement Friday Foundem said that Google’s revised proposals continue to be part of its “long running strategy to transition organic traffic into paid traffic.” Google has been under investigation by the European Commission since 2010 over allegations that it has abused its dominant market position in various ways, including prioritizing its own services in search results. In an effort to avoid a fine of up to 10 percent of its annual turnover, Google has proposed labelling links to its own sites in search results and including links to three rival search engines for specialist search results that generate revenue for Google.
A Boston-based company, Abine, is beefing its anti-tracking browser extension to let users shield their real credit card details, email addresses, and phone numbers during web transactions. ,” an extension for Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari that blocks tracking technologies used by advertising and social networks and data collectors. password management tool, allow users to give out a one-time use credit card number to e-commerce vendors, along with a disposable email address and phone number. Data collection is a brisk business these days. Companies sell personal data, share it with ad networks and business partners or transfer it to new companies if they’re acquired, said Rob Shavell, Abine’s co-founder.
The console wars just got kicked up a notch with the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox One, which launched today following the Xbox 360’s eight-year run. . While Sony has focused primarily on gaming with the PS4, Microsoft sees the Xbox One as a grand entertainment hub. , lets users view an app or video in a narrow sidebar while playing games at the same time. , voice control isn’t flawless, the console can’t directly access your cable box’s DVR, and some apps that we’d like to see, such as HBO Go, are missing at launch. The console also isn’t as tightly integrated with Facebook and Twitter as the rival PS4.
A Samsung Electronics patent the company has declared essential to the implementation of 3G mobile standards is likely to be invalid, the Regional Court of Mannheim in Germany said Friday. Because the patent is likely to be invalid, the court postponed a decision in a lawsuit Samsung brought against Apple, court spokesman Joachim Bock said in an email. A decision will have to wait until the Federal Patent Court has decided on the validity of the patent, he added. "The suspension of the proceeding requires a high probability that the patent is invalid. In these cases the court has to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a suspension," Bock said. If the patent is declared valid, Mannheim court is likely to rule that Apple infringes on it, he said. Samsung is seeking damages from Apple for the alleged infringement. is titled "Method for configuring gain factors for uplink service in radio telecommunication system" and relates to a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) telecommunication system, a standard used in 3G networks.
OS X Mavericks boasts a much improved built-in dictation tool. But how improved is it, really? David Sparks pits it against the established Mac transcription champ, Dragon Dictate.
Buying a new Windows 8 device isn’t as simple as, say, picking up a new Android tablet. The device-spanning nature of the overhauled operating system means Windows works on a vast array of hardware, from laptops to tablets to desktops to genre-straddling hybrids. Saying “I want a Windows 8 device” is just the first step of this particular purchasing journey. Our guide will clue you in to everything you need to know while you’re on the hunt for a new Windows 8 device, from design differences to the little details you need to consider once you’ve settled on a device type. Heck, we’ll even toss in a few buying recommendations—and you can find more in our chart of available right now. Got it? Good. Let’s get educated. The first decision you have to make is easy: Do you need a desktop or a mobile device?
Don't expect any U.S.-made iPhones yet, but electronics supplier Foxconn Technology Group is expanding its manufacturing presence in the nation with a new $40 million investment to tap research and talent in Pennsylvania. The manufacturing giant made the announcement late on Thursday, at a time when its CEO Terry Gou has been visiting the U.S. as part of a Taiwanese trade delegation. Foxconn, best known as the maker of Apple's iPhone and iPad, plans to spend $30 million over the next two years to expand its existing office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The investment will involve hiring 500 employees, the company said in an email. In addition, Foxconn wants to draw upon robotics research at Pennsylvania's Carnegie Mellon University, by giving $10 million in funding to the institution.
Nokia has asked a court in Delhi to revoke a freeze on its factory in India over a tax dispute, ahead of the proposed acquisition by Microsoft of its handset business. The Delhi High Court had earlier ordered the country's Income Tax Department to release bank accounts held by Nokia, but continued a freeze on the factory in Chennai in south India in connection with a $331 million demand from tax authorities over taxes for mobile phone software licenses. Nokia has now asked the court to lift the freeze by Dec. 12 at the latest in view of the Microsoft acquisition, which it still expects will close in the first quarter of 2014. "Should the freeze be lifted, Nokia expects a successful transfer of its Indian factory assets to Microsoft," the company said in a statement. "If, however, the freeze continues, Nokia must prepare for the eventuality that the Indian factory assets do not transfer to Microsoft," it added.
A New York federal court denied bail on Thursday to Ross William Ulbricht, the 29-year-old accused of running the Silk Road underground marketplace, deeming him a flight risk and a danger to the community. Ulbricht’s friends and family had agreed to post $1 million in assets and co-sign a bail bond. Seventy letters in support of Ulbricht were presented, and he had also agreed to electronic monitoring, said his attorney, Joshua L. Dratel, in a phone interview. But Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis rejected the bail application based in part on allegations that Ulbricht tried to commission six murders over four months earlier this year. “We’re disappointed because we felt we had presented a sufficient package for bail,” Dratel said.
With memory, as with real estate, location matters. A group of researchers from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory have found that the altitude at which SRAM (static random access memory) resides can influence how many random errors the memory produces. In a field study of two high-performance computers, the researchers found that L2 and L3 caches had more transient errors on the supercomputer located at a higher altitude, compared with the one closer to sea level. They attributed the disparity largely to lower air pressure and higher cosmic ray-induced neutron strikes. Strangely, higher elevation even led to more errors within a rack of servers, the researchers found. Their tests showed that memory modules on the top of a server rack had 20 percent more transient errors than those closer to the bottom of the rack. However, it’s not clear what causes this smaller-scale effect. Vilas Sridharan, an AMD technical staff member, supercomputing conference, being held this week in the mile-high city of Denver.