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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Review: BlackBerry PlayBook strong, well-priced (AP) : Technet

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Review: BlackBerry PlayBook strong, well-priced (AP) : Technet

Review: BlackBerry PlayBook strong, well-priced (AP)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 09:04 PM PDT

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – 34 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO – You need three things to compete with Apple's iPad tablet computer: A gorgeous, easy-to-use device that people will love, a bustling app store and an attractive price tag.

Nobody has been able to match the iPad thus far. But the PlayBook, the first effort from BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion, has emerged as one of the strongest contenders.

On the surface, the PlayBook looks similar to other iPad competitors: Its slick touch screen measures 7 inches diagonally, smaller than the iPad's but comparable with those of others. It has front and rear cameras for snapping photos and video conferencing and a black rubberized plastic back and sides.

What's different is the software powering the PlayBook. Most non-iPad tablets use Google's Android software; RIM developed its own — a smart decision, yielding a device that is a pleasure to navigate and filled with cool features. Although RIM's software was built from scratch, it has hints of the BlackBerry phone's interface.

When it goes on sale on Tuesday, the cheapest version will cost $499 — the same as the cheapest iPad. It comes with Wi-Fi capabilities and 16 gigabytes of memory. A model with 32 GB will cost $599, and the 64 GB version will go for $699. Sprint plans a version that works over cellular connections this summer, rivaling the iPad's ability to connect on AT&T's network.

Unfortunately, the PlayBook isn't yet much of a competitor on the app front: There are just 3,000 applications currently optimized for the tablet, and during my testing it appeared unable to download App World apps available for BlackBerry smartphones.

By contrast, there are more than 65,000 apps available for the iPad, which can also run iPhone apps (Apple offers more than 350,000 apps total). And while it's unclear exactly how many tablet-specific Apps there are for Android, Android tablets can run any of the more than 150,000 apps in the Android Market.

But the PlayBook aims to catch up, in a way: Later this year, it will be able to run Android apps, too.

In my hands, the PlayBook felt solid and easy to use. There are just a few buttons on the top for adjusting volume and playing or pausing music or videos. There's also a tiny button for turning on the device — so teeny, in fact, that I regretted trimming my nails right before testing.

Finding my way around the PlayBook was delightfully easy and fast because it has a speedy processor.

At the top of the main page sit device settings and alerts for things such as software updates. Across the bottom, you see a scroll of apps that you can swipe through or expand to fill the screen by swiping a finger upward.

In the middle of the screen are small thumbnails of your open apps; you can slide your finger left or right to sort through these and pick or dismiss them with a tap or a flick.

One cool feature: Open apps remain active even when you're looking at them from this view. So if you open the camera and later sort through your open apps, the viewfinder will still be working in the tiny thumbnail of the camera app.

Even though the PlayBook is smaller than the iPad, its screen was bright, colors looked rich and images were sharp. I felt immersed watching videos — a combination of the excellent display and simple frame surrounding.

The PlayBook supports Flash video playback — something the iPad doesn't do — and HTML5 for rich video content. Thus, you can browse the Web much the way you do on a computer. There are a few annoying quirks: For example, the PlayBook took a long time when scrolling through long documents or Web pages.

In general, though, the PlayBook's screen was very touch sensitive, and I especially liked how the PlayBook takes advantage of it. Instead of hitting the power button to wake up the device, you can make one long swipe upward with a finger.

When using an application, a long upward swipe will bring you back to the main page that shows the settings and your applications. Make a hard swipe to the left or right to flip through your other open applications. Another neat trick: You can zoom in on Flash videos by spreading two fingers on the screen.

Like so many other tablets, the PlayBook includes cameras for taking photos and videos and for video chatting. On the rear, the PlayBook sports a pretty simple 5-megapixel camera that took decent photos (no flash, though) and videos. The 3-megapixel front camera is probably more suited to video calls. I wasn't able to try it, though, as RIM isn't planning to roll out a video chat app until after the device is available.

Of course, RIM is known for its focus on business users, and the PlayBook can do plenty of work, too. It includes word processing, spreadsheet and slideshow apps and can easily be attached to an HD TV through its Micro HDMI port (for presentations or, if you're like me, streaming online movies to a flat screen). Its onscreen virtual keyboard was surprisingly accurate and took very little time to get used to.

And if you have a BlackBerry phone, a nifty feature called BlackBerry Bridge links the two devices over Bluetooth. When I tested it, it wasn't fully functional. But it promises to let you easily do things on the tablet such as using the BlackBerry Messenger app on your phone and accessing BlackBerry e-mails and calendar. For a business user who feels constrained by the BlackBerry's small screen, this could be a nice complement.

RIM expects the PlayBook to get eight to 10 hours of battery life while multitasking. I got about six hours while surfing the Web, streaming Internet radio, checking e-mails and streaming videos. Maybe this was actually a hint that I should limit my music video habit.

The PlayBook is an impressive tablet — it has to be, considering the iPad's head start. And if RIM can ramp up its app offerings, it will be an even heartier contender.

US Internet ad revenue hit record in 2010 (AP)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:14 PM PDT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Apr 13, 5:14 pm ET

NEW YORK – U.S. Internet advertising revenue hit a record $26 billion in 2010, boosted by the popularity of online videos and social media.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that last year's ad revenue grew 15 percent from 2009. The previous record was in 2008, when full-year revenue hit $23.4 billion.

The report, released Wednesday, said fourth-quarter advertising revenue also hit a record, at $7.4 billion. That's up 19 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009. The previous record was in the third quarter of 2010, at $6.5 billion.

The most popular ad format was search, which represented 46 percent, or $12 billion, of the year's total revenue.

Display-related ads accounted for 38 percent, or $9.9 billion, of 2010 ad revenue. That category includes banner ads, digital video ads and sponsorships.

The third-largest Internet ad category is classifieds, which accounted for $2.6 billion, or 10 percent of 2010 revenue.

PricewaterhouseCoopers partner David Silverman said more time spent online, fueled by the popularity of digital videos and social media, has helped fuel the ongoing advertising growth.

The report estimated 2010 mobile advertising revenue to be between $550 million and $650 million in the U.S. This is the first time it estimated mobile ad revenue.

Microsoft Dips Toes in Local Deal Waters -- in Sweden (Mashable)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 01:18 PM PDT

Jolie O'Dell Jolie O'dell – Wed Apr 13, 4:18 pm ET

Microsoft is hopping gingerly aboard the local deals bandwagon; its first test market is Sweden, where it is launching Lokaldealen, a service that is exactly what it sounds like.

The service is a result of the software giant's partnership with Lokaldelen (see what they did there?), a Swedish business directory.

Lokaldealen's offers are exactly what you'd expect to find on any Groupon clone's site: Users purchase limited-time-offer vouchers for discounts of popular goods and services.

For example, the current deal in Stockholm is 30 pieces of sushi for 140 kronor, a discount from the normal price of 285 kronor. The deal is running for 32 hours longer; so far, nine people have purchased vouchers.

In addition to the partnership with an established brand, the service is getting a social boost via a Facebook tie-in.

Microsoft will market the deals on the Swedish version of the MSN portal, in Hotmail and via Live. Microsoft told Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri that Lokaldealen currently employs a 300-person salesforce and is preparing to do business in 12 districts in Sweden. The service is now available in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.

Groupon has already established a presence in Sweden and is Microsoft's main competitor in that country for daily deals. If the Lokaldealen is a hit in Sweden, the rest of Europe is next on Microsoft's list.

Check out the official promo clip for the new service, and in the comments, let us know if you think Microsoft's first foray into local deals will fly or flop.

Google hones search edge to stay sharp (AFP)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 07:56 PM PDT

by Glenn Chapman Glenn Chapman – 1 hr 42 mins ago

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (AFP) – The head of Google's search evaluation team shakes his head dismissively at the idea of anyone thinking the firm's winning Internet-sifting formula is completed.

Far from it.

Software engineers reverently refine Google's search algorithm so consistently that it often ends a day a tad different from when it started.

Scott Huffman's team tested "many more than" 6,000 changes to its search engine in 2010, with 500 of them passing the grade to become permanent.

"We have changed engines on a flying plane so many times it has become second nature to us," Google fellow Amit Singhal said, referring to how Internet firms modify services while they are live online.

"Alongside changing the engines, the plane has become quieter, the ride got more comfortable, and we even changed your seat while you were sleeping," he continued. "We just do it in small steps that go unnoticed."

Singhal said Google's search is tweaked, on average, twice in a working day.

"On the one hand, we want to be moving quickly and we want to make great changes," Huffman told AFP. "On the other hand, we don't want people to come to Google and say they don't recognize it."

Google in February took the unusual step of spotlighting an improvement to its secret search formula in the United States.

The move was part of an ongoing duel between the search titan and low-quality websites that feature only content copied from elsewhere on the Internet or use techniques to trick their way high in results.

"The feedback has been tremendously positive from users," Singhal told AFP in an interview at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California.

"Overwhelmingly, the change raised ranks of high-quality sites and dropped ranks of low-quality sites."

Huffman's team is responsible for insuring that ideas for improving Google search results do just that.

"People are not just expecting a search engine to return every document that has most of the words typed in a query box," Huffman said. "They want the context understood; there are a lot of nuances hidden within that."

For example, someone searching with the word "Japan" is likely interested in real-time news about the tsunami tragedy there as well as other information about the nation.

One of Huffman's favorite "broken queries" from a couple of years ago was the term "Thai restaurant."

General Web searches kept giving top rank to a Thai restaurant in the upstate New York city of Schenectady.

"I used to go complain to the ranking people," Huffman recalled with a laugh. "I'm in Mountain View. It might be a great Thai restaurant, but I'm not going to Schenectady to get Pad Thai. It just isn't going to happen."

Google began letting users set locations so the search engine could factor proximity into results when appropriate.

Proposed changes to Google's formula are first tested on a separate set of computers that imitate real-world search.

Those deemed worthy are next sent to evaluators around the world who act as online searchers and rate the relevance of results in various languages and regions.

Google then does live testing, with promising algorithm enhancements carefully blended into results served up by the main search engine.

"At any given time, some percentage of our users is actually seeing experiments," Huffman said.

"It is interesting because users don't know what is happening," he continued. "Of course, we don't put things out there that are terrible; we have filters to know when something is bad."

Plenty of improvements are ahead, particularly regarding the ability to understand and derive inferences from the world's many languages, according to Huffman.

He bristles at any suggestion by Google critics that results are tampered with to favor advertisers or achieve other business ends.

"If you think of the scale of what we are talking about, it is almost absurd to say we could rig results," Huffman said, noting that Google handles more than a billion searches daily.

For five and a half years he has run weekly meetings at which changes to Google's search algorithm are decided. Revenue implications of changes have never been brought up at those meetings, according to Huffman.

"Not only do we not make decisions that way, we don't even look at those numbers," Huffman said.

Google believes that delivering the most relevant search results to people as fast as possible is best for the California company's bottom line and, by extension, steers away from useless "spam" websites and "content farms."

"If we care about our users -- don't care about money -- everything else just falls in line," Singhal said. "A healthy Web and happy users are key to our future."

Singhal pictured a day when search engines understand users so well that they predict what people wanted to know and cue them with messages on smartphones.

"That is the ultimate dream," Singhal said. "We are nowhere close to that yet."

Spotify to cut back free music in Europe (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 05:34 PM PDT

By Yinka Adegoke Yinka Adegoke – Wed Apr 13, 8:34 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Spotify, the popular European online music service, has told record labels it will cut down the free music it allows users to access without a paid subscription, according to people familiar with the plan.

London-based Spotify is set to announce the change in a blog on Thursday, these people said.

Spotify, which is in talks with labels to launch a service in the United States, typically lets users stream the 10 million songs on its service for free -- interspersed with advertising -- under its basic Spotify Open service. The listening time of about 20 hours each month will be reduced under the plan.

The paid subscription packages offer more music, which is also available on mobile phones.

Spotify executives were not immediately available to elaborate on the plan to cut back free service.

The move is seen as a drive to convert free users into paying subscribers for Spotify Premium or Spotify Unlimited, as the company tries to cover the costs of its music label licenses. Cutbacks on free music could also help the start-up reduce the rate it is spending funds raised so far.

The risk is that Spotify could alienate users who have become used to accessing a lot of their music for free through the service.

Spotify was founded by Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in 2006, and already has more than 1 million paying subscribers and 10 million registered users in Europe including the UK, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.

The company has been in talks for nearly two years with the U.S. arms of major labels but they remain concerned that Spotify's free service will cannibalize paid services like market leader iTunes as well as other subscription services like Rhapsody and MOG.

So far Spotify has inked U.S. deals with Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Music and is close to announcing a deal with market leader Universal Music Group. It has yet to reach a deal with Warner Music Group.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; Editing by Richard Chang)

Five free tax apps for preparing and filing your 2010 returns (Digital Trends)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 05:14 PM PDT

Jeffrey Van Camp Jeffrey Van Camp – Wed Apr 13, 8:14 pm ET

turbo-tax-snap-tax-app

It's that time of the year again, when you have two days left and you're taxes still aren't done. Luckily, mine are, so I have time to share a few apps with you. We've compiled five of the best Android and iPhone apps (and one for BlackBerry) for managing different aspects of filing your taxes on the go. Some of these apps help estimating taxes or checking on refunds, one will actually file your taxes, and two contain helpful reference material. In any case, make sure you e-file your taxes if you'd like to get your refund within 10 days.

IRS2Go

The IRS needs to learn how the Web works. It does not yet know how to remove the "www." from its Web address (heading to http://irs.gov is a dead end). With that said, it's lack of Internet prowess hasn't stopped it from releasing an official IRS smartphone app this year for Android and iOS devices. While the app is pretty bare bones and doesn't allow you to file your taxes on your smartphone, it does let you check the status of your tax refund and get updates from the IRS. It also has numbers and times when you can call and ask questions. If you e-filed your 2010 taxes, you can check on their status in this app within 72 hours. You can download IRS2Go for free on the Android Market and iPhone App Store.

H&R Block Tax Central

If the IRS app isn't doing it for you, H&R Block has a free, more fully featured, app available on Android and iPhone. Tax Central will let you check your refund status, but also has a Help section full of terms and answers to basic tax questions and a checklist feature that helps you create a tax filing to-do list for yourself. Many users have complained that the Tax Estimator is a bit inaccurate. We recommend you use it for broad purposes only. The Tax Quiz is purely there for entertainment. Still, if you have some basic questions that you want to research on the go, H&R Block's Tax Central may be a good option. More information and links to download it on the various app stores can be found here.

hr-block-tax-central-app

TurboTax SnapTax

If you're taxes are excessively simple (just one job, one state of employment, no deductions, make you less than $80,000, etc), the TurboTax SnapTax may be the best way for you to file your taxes. It allows you to answer some basic questions, make a profile, and take a photo of your W-2. In theory, you could finish your taxes in minutes. Not sure if you're qualified? It's a free download and after you answer some basic questions, it will tell you if you can use the mobile app to continue or if you need to use the full online version of TurboTax to proceed. If you are capable of using the phone, you'll have to download a $19.99 key to file.

The only downside to SnapTax is its simplicity. Sometimes the app doesn't explain, in full, why it has rejected your application and it only gives you two options once you finish: continue online or start over. Starting over erases all of the, admittedly short, work you've just done. Still, SnapTax is the best option (and possibly only) for filing taxes on a smartphone. It is available on the Android and iPhone app stores. Download SnapTax here.

Another thing to keep in mind: if you've been rejected from the smartphone app, TurboTax does have a fully-featured iPad app that will let anyone file complex tax returns. It is available in the App Store.

BNA Quick Tax Reference

Like IRS2Go, this app isn't pretty and it doesn't explain itself well. However, it does provide some valuable reference material, should you need it. Mileage rates, corporate tax rate schedules, individual tax rate schedules, standard deductions, retirement plan limits, and more are all in here in unfiltered tables. The best thing about Quick Tax Reference is that it's available on BlackBerry as well. Head here for links to download or to learn more.

bna-quick-tax-reference-app

TaxCaster 2010

Yes, this is another TurboTax app, but it is a bit easier to use and more detailed than H&R Block's Tax Central Tax Calculator. TurboTax is the leader in its category for a reason; its apps are functional, pretty, and easy to use. Obviously, this is an app for those with relatively simple taxes and a single job. You don't have to sign up to use it. Simply enter your wages, marital status, earnings, and deductions and TaxCaster pumps out a quick estimate of what you kind of refund you might receive. The app is available on Android and iPhone, but if you're bored, an online version is available as well.

That's about it…

While we're impressed by the array of smartphone apps that TurboTax offers — SnapTax, MyTaxRefund, and TaxCaster — no other apps currently offer the ability to file using your phone. We're not quite sure you want to file on your smartphone, but with more and more larger-screened tablets on the market, it's a shame that only TurboTax offers a tablet app. Few apps available are useful, and fewer still are useful for anything outside of excessively basic questions. Hopefully app makers will get on the ball when 2011 tax season rolls around.

Zoom Technologies (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 03:43 PM PDT

– Wed Apr 13, 6:43 pm ET

Zoom Technologies (NASDAQ:ZOOM - News) soared 31% to 4.07 after the Chinese handset maker licensed to use Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM - News) chips for its 3G smartphones. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) and HTC also use Qualcomm chips. Qualcomm rose 0.8%.

April WordPress Hack latest in long line of similar attacks (Digital Trends)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 08:19 PM PDT

Jeff Hughes Jeff Hughes – 1 hr 19 mins ago

WordPress LogoAutomattic, the purveyors of fine blogging services, has suffered a recent security breach according to founder Matt Mullenweg. He wrote on the WordPress blog, April 13, "Automattic had a low-level (root) break-in to several of our servers, and potentially anything on those servers could have been revealed."

Mullenweg goes on to write that they are reviewing the logs and suspect their source code was copied. The company has little advice for users other than to strengthen their passwords. Not only is the WordPress blog hosting affected but many of Automattic's other services are potentially at-risk.

The consequences of this attack by hackers will be felt definitely be felt by the major VIP members of the WordPress service such as NASA, CBS and The New York Times. Alexia Tsosis from TechCrunch (who are also VIP members) says "VIP customers are all on 'code red' and in the process of changing all the passwords/API keys they've left in the source code."  Tsosis says that Automattic is downplaying the potential severity of this attack.

There has been a bevy of hack attacks occurring lately against big name companies such as the DDoS attacks against Sony Playstation by Anonymous, as well as the EMC breach, Epsilon and lets not forget that this isn't the first time WordPress has been attacked.

WordPress was hit hard in 2009 when hidden Admin accounts were creating back doors. Just last month WordPress also suffered a huge DDoS attack, affecting 10 percent of its hosted sites. Let's remember that WordPress serves some 18 million sites. Mullenweg originally believed the March Distributed Denial of Service attack was motivated politically by China, though later he changed his thoughts on who the culprits may be. There's no word yet that this April root break-in is politically motivated but these attacks may be building to some sort of crescendo.

How the AP-GfK poll was conducted (AP)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 03:34 PM PDT

By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Wed Apr 13, 6:34 pm ET

The Associated Press-GfK Poll on taxes was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications from Mar. 24-28. It is based on landline and cellular telephone interviews with a nationally representative random sample of 1,001 adults. Interviews were conducted with 701 respondents on landline telephones and 300 on cellular phones.

Digits in the phone numbers dialed were generated randomly to reach households with unlisted and listed landline and cellphone numbers.

Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.

As is done routinely in surveys, results were weighted, or adjusted, to ensure that responses accurately reflect the population's makeup by factors such as age, sex, education and race. In addition, the weighting took into account patterns of phone use — landline only, cell only and both types — by region.

No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than plus or minus 4.2 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all adults in the U.S. were polled.

There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions.

The questions and results are available at http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com.

Gmail Graduates A Couple of Bobs (Mashable)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 12:21 PM PDT

Jennifer Van Grove Jennifer Van Grove – Wed Apr 13, 3:21 pm ET

Poor Bob. If he's not being left out of emails, he's being confused with other Bobs. But Google's got Bob's back; it's graduating its two Gmail Labs features -- "Don't forget Bob" and "Got the wrong Bob?" -- Wednesday and turning them on for all Gmail users.

If the Bobs don't ring a bell, here's a refresher: Don't forget Bob automatically suggests contacts to include in the To field based on the groups of people you email post. "Got the wrong Bob?" identifies included message recipients that you may have confused with the wrong people.

The Gmail extras, both introduced in 2009, were designed to save the email sender from two common, but oh-so-embarrassing mistakes.

The features have proved their merit in email college, and they're now ready to enter the real Gmail workforce and share the alumni title with other Labs graduates. You may recall fellow overachievers YouTube Previews, Custom Label Colors and Forgotten Attachment Detector -- the later is a great friend of mine.

Google will upgrade Gmail with the graduated Bobs labs in a gradual rollout over the course of the next few days. Congrats to the Bobs!

[caption id="attachment_588541" align="alignnone" width="525" caption="Got the wrong Bob? Gmail suggests the right one."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_588543" align="alignnone" width="525" caption="Don't forget Bob. Gmail suggests the people you might want to include."][/caption]

Farewell Flip cam, as smartphones overtake market for single-use devices (Appolicious)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 02:30 PM PDT

Motorola, Huawei settle tiff (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 03:43 PM PDT

– Wed Apr 13, 6:43 pm ET

The wireless gear maker will pay an unspecified sum to China's Huawei as part of the settlement, which clears the way for Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI - News) to sell its networks unit to a joint venture of Nokia (NYSE:NOK - News) and Siemens (NYSE:SI - News). But the price tag will be $975 mil vs. the original $1.2 bil deal. Huawei had said its longtime partner could disclose trade secrets by selling its networks unit. The U.S. gov't has blocked Huawei, which has some Chinese military ties, from some takeovers of U.S. firms. Motorola shares rose less than 1%.

Amazon, labels to meet for locker talks: sources (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 05:05 PM PDT

By Yinka Adegoke Yinka Adegoke – Wed Apr 13, 8:05 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc is due to meet with music label executives on Thursday to hash out deals over the online retailer's controversial cloud-based media locker service that has sparked a music business uproar.

Amazon launched the free digital locker Cloud Drive in March as a way for its customers to store songs and play them on mobile phones and other devices. They can also store photos and documents.

Music labels are furious that Amazon has not paid for licensing rights to stream music to consumers. They argue that Amazon only has licensing rights to sell digital downloads.

Several of Amazon's music licensing executives were in New York from Seattle this week to discuss a deal with the labels, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential.

In a letter to music labels on Monday, Amazon's Music team said that early indications had shown that the Cloud Player part of the service had boosted sales of digital songs in its MP3 store.

The letter, obtained by Reuters, said Amazon does not need a license for Cloud Drive because it is a general online storage service for all digital files, not unlike Google Docs or Microsoft's SkyDrive. Amazon also compared its Cloud Player to Microsoft's Windows Media Player.

"We don't publicly discuss our meetings with partners, and we have not announced any changes to Amazon Cloud Drive or Amazon Cloud Player since the launch," said Amazon spokeswoman Cat Griffin.

While Amazon has publicly contended that Cloud Drive is legal, the company is likely to want to smooth things over with the music industry, with which it has closely worked on CD and MP3 sales.

The risk for the music industry is that other companies might follow Amazon's lead and launch a similar service if they believe it to be legal.

Apple Inc and Google Inc are planning to launch music locker services, sources have said.

Music labels do not want to miss out on new revenue sources, so they are concerned over any new services involving music that do not require licenses.

Most of the discussions between the music industry and online companies have involved major label owners including Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke)

Apple suppliers begin making white iPhones: sources (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 08:51 PM PDT

By Kelvin Soh Kelvin Soh – 47 mins ago

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Suppliers to Apple Inc have begun production of white iPhones after a delay of almost 10 months, pointing to a launch date of within a month, two people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, would assemble the iPhone, one of the people said. They declined to be named because the information was not public.

An Apple spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment, while calls to a Hon Hai spokesman went unanswered.

Apple Senior Vice-President of Marketing Phil Schiller first said in a Twitter post in March that the white iPhone would be available for sale by Spring, which ends in May in the northern hemisphere.

The white iPhone would be available from AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc by the end of April, Bloomberg News reported on its website, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs first unveiled the white version of the smartphone when the iPhone 4 was launched in June last year, but it has been delayed because of a manufacturing issue that the company has not elaborated on.

Many telecommunications operators have been eager to sell the iPhone, hoping that the feature-jammed device will help boost data network use and increase revenue. For example, China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest mobile operator, has been in talks with Apple for more than a year on distribution rights for the handset.

More than 16 million iPhones were sold in the last quarter of 2010, accounting for more than a third of Apple's sales in those three months.

(Editing by Chris Lewis)

Ex-AllianceBernstein worker in NY charged in theft (Reuters)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 04:41 PM PDT

– Wed Apr 13, 7:41 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former AllianceBernstein Holding LP brokerage worker has been charged with stealing software the company used to transmit messages containing data about customers and transactions, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said on Wednesday.

Peter Jan, a 35-year-old Queens, New York resident, was charged with four counts of computer trespass and one count each of grand larceny and unlawful duplication of computer-related materials. Each is a felony charge punishable by up to four years in prison.

"The defendant, who was leaving his job and moving to a new firm, saw and took an opportunity to steal AllianceBernstein's software," Vance said in a statement. "Employees who take advantage of their access to sensitive information will face criminal prosecution for data theft."

It was unclear if Jan had retained a lawyer, and he could not be reached for comment.

Vance said Jan was an AllianceBernstein application support specialist who downloaded software without permission on at least four dates prior to his planned March 19 resignation.

AllianceBernstein fired Jan on March 15, Vance said.

A spokesman for the New York-based company did not immediately return a call seeking comment on what information was stolen or how it may have been used.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)

US disables 'Coreflood' botnet, seizes servers (AFP)

Posted: 13 Apr 2011 03:31 PM PDT

by Chris Lefkow Chris Lefkow – Wed Apr 13, 6:31 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US authorities on Wednesday announced the disabling of a vast network of virus-infected computers used by cyber criminals to steal millions of dollars.

The "Coreflood" botnet is believed to have operated for nearly a decade and to have infected more than two million computers around the world, the Justice Department and FBI said in a joint statement.

They said charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal interception of electronic communications had been filed against 13 suspects identified in court papers only as John Doe 1, John Doe 2, etc.

The complaint said they were all "foreign nationals" but provided no further information about their identities or nationalities.

Five "command and control" computer servers and 29 Internet domain names were seized as part of the operation, described as the "most complete and comprehensive enforcement action ever taken by US authorities to disable an international botnet."

A botnet is a network of malware-infected computers that can be controlled remotely from other computers.

Coreflood, which exploited a vulnerability in computers running Microsoft's Windows operating systems, was used to steal usernames, passwords and other private personal and financial information, US officials said.

As of February 2010, some 2.33 million computers were part of the Coreflood botnet, including 1.85 million in the United States, according to the complaint filed with the US District Court for the District of Connecticut.

"Infected computers in the Coreflood botnet automatically recorded the keystrokes and Internet communications of unsuspecting users, including online banking credentials and passwords," the complaint said.

"The defendants and their co-conspirators used the stolen data, including online banking credentials and passwords, to direct fraudulent wire transfers from the bank accounts of their victims," it added.

The complaint said the full extent of the financial loss is not known but it provided details on a number of victims.

They included a real estate company in Michigan hit for $115,771 in fraudulent wire transfers, an investment company in North Carolina taken for $151,201 and a defense contractor in Tennessee which lost $241,866.

Dave Marcus, research and communications director at McAfee Labs, said the cyber criminals behind Coreflood were apparently able to "turn the botnet into a money making machine."

"It is hard to estimate the actual loot, but the criminals likely made tens of millions of dollars, based on the estimates in the complaint filed by the Department of Justice," Marcus said. "It is not outside of the realm of possibility that they netted more than $100 million."

US attorney David Fein said the seizure of the Coreflood servers and the Internet domain names "is expected to prevent criminals from using Coreflood or computers infected by Coreflood for their nefarious purposes."

"These actions to mitigate the threat posed by the Coreflood botnet are the first of their kind in the United States and reflect our commitment to being creative and proactive in making the Internet more secure," added Shawn Henry of the FBI's Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch.

In July of last year, US, Spanish and Slovenian law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of the suspected creator of the "Mariposa Botnet," which may have infected as many as eight million to 12 million computers around the world.
at 9:49 PM

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