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Can't ban violent video sales to kids, court says (AP) : Technet |
- Can't ban violent video sales to kids, court says (AP)
- Supreme Court to review warrantless GPS tracking (AP)
- New arrest in UK phone hacking scandal (AP)
- Solar 3D printer uses only Saharan sand and sun to make actual objects (Yahoo! News)
- 11-year-old girl drives 1,325 MPG concept car (Yahoo! News)
- Superphone Battle: Galaxy S II vs Droid Bionic [INFOGRAPHIC] (Mashable)
- Microsoft puts Office in the "cloud," confronts Google (Reuters)
- US rolls out plan to protect business websites (AP)
- Cell phone of driver in Amtrak crash found (AP)
- Apple 4G not seen until 2012 (Investor's Business Daily)
- Rumor: Myspace to lay off 37.5% of workforce on Wednesday (Digital Trends)
- Skype riles execs with firings, fine print on stock options (Digital Trends)
- New Galaxy Tab 10.1? Download these apps first (Appolicious)
- German managers 'keep phones in biscuit tins' (AFP)
- Dish stands alone in TerreStar bid: sources (Reuters)
- Apple’s iPhone 4S is probably real: Here’s why (Digital Trends)
- New details emerging about Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich Nexus phone (Appolicious)
| Can't ban violent video sales to kids, court says (AP) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 06:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON – States cannot ban the sale or rental of ultraviolent video games to children, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, rejecting such limits as a violation of young people's First Amendment rights and leaving it up to parents and the multibillion-dollar gaming industry to decide what kids can buy. The high court, on a 7-2 vote, threw out California's 2005 law covering games sold or rented to those under 18, calling it an unconstitutional violation of free-speech rights. Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia, said, "Even where the protection of children is the object, the constitutional limits on governmental action apply." Scalia, who pointed out the violence in a number of children's fairy tales, said that while states have legitimate power to protect children from harm, "that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed." Justices Stephen Breyer and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision, with Breyer saying it makes no sense to legally block children's access to pornography yet allow them to buy or rent brutally violent video games. "What sense does it make to forbid selling to a 13-year-old boy a magazine with an image of a nude woman, while protecting the sale to that 13-year-old of an interactive video game in which he actively, but virtually, binds and gags the woman, then tortures and kills her?" Breyer said. Video games, said Scalia's majority opinion, fall into the same category as books, plays and movies as entertainment that "communicates ideas — and even social messages" deserving of First Amendment free-speech protection. And non-obscene speech "cannot be suppressed solely to protect the young from ideas or images that a legislative body thinks unsuitable for them," he said. This decision follows the court's recent movement on First Amendment cases, with the justices throwing out attempts to ban animal cruelty videos, protests at military funerals and political speech by businesses. The court will test those limits again next session when it takes up a new case involving government's effort to protect children from what they might see and hear. The justices agreed to review appeals court rulings that threw out Federal Communications Commission rules against the isolated use of expletives as well as fines against broadcasters who showed a woman's nude buttocks on a 2003 episode of ABC's "NYPD Blue." The decision to hear the FCC case was one of the last the full court made this session. Before leaving on their annual summer break on Monday, the justices also: • Voted 5-4 to strike down a provision of a campaign financing system in Arizona that gives extra cash to publicly funded candidates who face privately funded rivals and independent groups. • Agreed to hear arguments in the fall or winter on whether police need a warrant before using a global positioning system device to track a suspect's movements. • Refused to hear an appeal from former detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq who wanted to sue defense contractors over claims of abuse. More than 46 million American households have at least one video-game system, with the industry bringing in at least $18 billion in 2010. The industry has set up its own rating system to warn parents which video games are appropriate for which ages, with the rating "M" placed on games that are considered to be especially violent and only for mature adults. That system is voluntary, however. California's 2005 law would have prohibited anyone under 18 from buying or renting games that give players the option of "killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being." Parents would have been able to buy the games for their children, but retailers who sold directly to minors would have faced fines of up to $1,000 for each game sold. That means that children would have needed an adult to get games like "Postal 2," the first-person shooter by developer Running With Scissors that includes the ability to light unarmed bystanders on fire. It would also apply to the popular "Grand Theft Auto" games, from Rockstar Games, that allow gamers to portray carjacking, gun-toting gangsters. The California law never took effect. Lower courts have said that the law violated minors' constitutional rights, and that California lacked enough evidence to prove that violent games cause physical and psychological harm to minors. Courts in six other states, including Michigan and Illinois, reached similar conclusions, striking down similar bans. Video game makers and sellers celebrated their victory, saying Monday's decision puts them on the same legal footing as other forms of entertainment. "There now can be no argument whether video games are entitled to the same protection as books, movies, music and other expressive entertainment," said Bo Andersen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Merchants Association. But the battle may not be over. Leland Yee, a child psychologist and California state senator who wrote the video game ban, told The Associated Press Monday that he was reading the dissents in hopes of finding a way to reintroduce the law in a way that would be constitutional. "It's disappointing the court didn't understand just how violent these games are," Yee told the AP. Thomas argued in his separate dissent that the nation's founders never intended for free speech rights to "include a right to speak to minors (or a right of minors to access speech) without going through the minors' parents or guardians." And at least two justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, indicated they would be willing to reconsider their votes under certain circumstances. "I would not squelch legislative efforts to deal with what is perceived by some to be a significant and developing social problem," Alito said, suggesting that a narrower state law might be upheld. States can legally ban children from getting pornography. But Scalia said in his ruling that, unlike depictions of sexual conduct, there is no tradition in the United States of restricting children's access to depictions of violence. He noted the violence in the original depictions of many popular children's fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and Snow White. Hansel and Gretel kill their captor by baking her in an oven, Cinderella's evil stepsisters have their eyes pecked out by doves and the evil queen in Snow White is forced to wear red hot slippers and dance until she is dead, Scalia said. "Certainly the books we give children to read — or read to them when they are younger — contain no shortage of gore," he said. And there is no proof that violent video games cause harm to children, or any more harm than another other form of entertainment, he said. One doctor "admits that the same effects have been found when children watch cartoons starring Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner or when they play video games like Sonic the Hedgehog that are rated `E' or even when they `view a picture of a gun," Scalia said. Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council, said the decision created a constitutionally authorized "end-run on parental authority." "I wonder what other First Amendment right does a child have against their parents' wishes?" he said. "Does a child now have a constitutional right to bear arms if their parent doesn't want them to buy a gun? How far does this extend? It's certainly concerning to us that something as simple as requiring a parental oversight to purchase an adult product has been undermined by the court." The case is Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 08-1448. ___ Associated Press writers Paul Elias and Derrik J. Lang contributed to this story from California. |
| Supreme Court to review warrantless GPS tracking (AP) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:55 AM PDT WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court will weigh in on an important privacy issue for the digital age: whether the police need a warrant before using a global positioning system device to track a suspect's movements. The justices said Monday they will hear the Obama administration's appeal of a court ruling that favored a criminal defendant. The federal appeals court in Washington overturned a criminal conviction because the police had no warrant for the GPS device they secretly installed on a man's car. Other appeals courts have ruled that search warrants aren't necessary for GPS tracking. The Justice Department argued that warrantless use of GPS devices does not violate the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches. It also said prompt resolution of the divergent court opinions is critically important to law enforcement. A three-judge panel of Democratic and Republican appointees unanimously threw out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones of Washington, D.C., a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring. Police put the GPS device on Jones' Jeep and tracked his movements for a month. The judges said the prolonged surveillance was a factor in their decision. The high court directed both sides to address whether a warrant or consent is needed, regardless of how long the surveillance might last. The government has argued that using a GPS device is no different from a beeper authorities used, with the high court's blessing in 1983, to help track a suspect to his drug lab. The court said then that people on public roads have no reasonable expectation of privacy. The Justice Department said GPS devices are especially useful in early stages of an investigation, when they can eliminate the use of time-consuming stakeouts as officers seek to gather evidence. Four other appellate judges in Washington said the entire appeals court should have heard the case, faulting their colleagues for the ruling in favor of Jones. In another case, from California, a three-judge panel in San Francisco upheld the use of a GPS device without a warrant, saying it was no different from having officers tail a suspect. That decision provoked a blistering dissent from Judge Alex Kozinski, who said the court handed "the government the power to track the movements of every one of us, every day of our lives." ___ Follow Sherman on Twitter at www.twitter.com/shermancourt |
| New arrest in UK phone hacking scandal (AP) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 01:56 PM PDT LONDON – Britain's Press Association news agency said Monday one of its reporters was arrested by detectives investigating a widening phone hacking scandal. Scotland Yard said that detectives questioned the 34-year-old on suspicion of intercepting private communications, after she turned herself in at a central London police station. She was released on bail hours later. Press Association identified the journalist as royal reporter Laura Elston, but did not provide any more details. Dozens of celebrities and public figures in Britain have claimed their phones were hacked by reporters, but so far the scandal has only involved the Rupert Murdoch-owned The News of the World tabloid newspaper. In 2007, the tabloid's former royal reporter Clive Goodman and private detective Glenn Mulcaire were jailed for intercepting messages from members of the royal household. Three of the paper's journalists have been arrested and questioned since police reopened a probe into its practices, but no new charges have been brought. The paper's owners have apologized, admitted wrongdoing and reached cash settlements with some of the victims, including actress Sienna Miller. |
| Solar 3D printer uses only Saharan sand and sun to make actual objects (Yahoo! News) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 06:19 PM PDT |
| 11-year-old girl drives 1,325 MPG concept car (Yahoo! News) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 04:06 PM PDT |
| Superphone Battle: Galaxy S II vs Droid Bionic [INFOGRAPHIC] (Mashable) Posted: 26 Jun 2011 10:14 AM PDT Which one of these two highly anticipated Android dual-core smartphones will be the hottest seller? The Samsung Galaxy S II and Motorola Droid Bionic have been gathering considerable buzz since at least the beginning of this year, and "social media listening firm" Mashwork wanted to find out which will emerge victorious in the discerning and fickle smartphone marketplace. [More from Mashable: 10 Creative Bar Code Designs [PICS]] Mashwork wasn't satisfied with the normal sample size of a few thousand users, so it gathered up 14,838 opinions by drilling down into unsolicited conversations about the two phones on various social media outlets between April 1 and June 21. The new company wondered, "Could we predict phone sales based on the online conversation regarding it?" To know for sure, we'll have to wait until the two phones are released this summer. By the way, the Samsung Galaxy S II is rumored to be available in the U.S. on July 29, while Motorola tweeted about its Droid Bionic: "Hang tight, Droid Bionic is coming and slated for summer release." [More from Mashable: HOW TO: Land a Job at LinkedIn]
This story originally published on Mashable here. |
| Microsoft puts Office in the "cloud," confronts Google (Reuters) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 05:49 PM PDT SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp is making its biggest move into the mobile, Internet-accessible world of 'cloud' computing this week, as it takes the wraps off a revamped online version of its hugely profitable Office software suite. The world's largest software company is heaving its two-decade old set of applications -- including Outlook email, Excel spreadsheets and SharePoint collaboration tools -- into an online format so that customers can use them on a variety of devices from wherever they can get an Internet connection. It wants to push back against Google Inc, which has stolen a small but worrying percentage of its corporate customers with cheaper, web-only alternatives, which remove the need for companies to spend time on installing software or managing servers. "It's obvious that Microsoft has to do this if they're going to remain competitive with Google," said Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of money manager YCMNET Advisors. "It's something they have to do." Microsoft shares rose 3.7 percent on Monday, the largest gain in a single trading day since September, partly buoyed by hopes that it can ultimately boost profits by extending its software dominance to the growing cloud sector. "If they execute effectively and it's adopted, it could be a game changer," said Yoshikami. "Whether or not that will happen is a whole other story." Microsoft has offered online versions of some Office programs -- chiefly Outlook email -- for its corporate customers for several years, and last year rolled out free versions for individual home users. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is set to present an overhauled and updated set of offerings -- collectively called Office 365 -- at an event in New York City on Tuesday morning, underlining the company's newfound online focus. GROWING MARKET The market for web-based software services is heating up, and every company, government department and local authority is getting pitches from Microsoft and Google whenever they reevaluate their office software. It's a new challenge for Microsoft, which built itself up on expensive versions of software installed on individual computers. That business model turned the Office unit into Microsoft's most profitable, earning more than $3 billion alone last quarter. Microsoft's plan is to make up for smaller profit margins from web-based applications -- due to the cost of handling data and keeping up servers -- by grabbing a larger slice of companies' overall technology spending. Last October, when it rolled out a test version of the new service, Microsoft said it planned to charge from $2 per user per month for basic email services to $27 per user per month for advanced offerings. Google charges a flat fee of $50 per user per year for its web-based Google Apps product, which offers email, calendars, word processing and more online. Microsoft, like Google, will host users' data remotely, and maintain all the servers in vast data centers. Unlike Google, it will also allow companies to put their data on dedicated servers if they choose, or keep the data on their own premises. The full launch of Office 365 will spice up the lively competition with Google for new users. Earlier this month, Google snagged InterContinental Hotels Group as a major customer, moving 25,000 of its employees onto Google email from Outlook. Google, which has had the most success in the small and medium-sized business range, says there are now 40 million users of online Google Apps suite. Microsoft does not publish equivalent numbers, but research firm comScore has estimated 750 million people worldwide use Office in some form. But Internet-centric Google -- whose success is based on its dominance in web search -- is confident it has the upper hand in the cloud. "Compared to what they (Microsoft) have in the market today, they have nowhere to go but up," said Dave Girouard, head of Google's worldwide enterprise business. "We feel we're years ahead of them in terms of building a viable cloud solution that just works." (Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) |
| US rolls out plan to protect business websites (AP) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 05:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON – Businesses facing a growing threat of cyberattacks against their websites will now have more tools to protect themselves and harden their Internet sites against hackers. The Homeland Security Department will help small companies and nonprofit groups avoid programming problems that allow hackers to get into the businesses' websites. The government's latest cybersecurity effort follows a series of high-profile hacking attacks against corporate and federal websites, including one that shut down the CIA's site for several hours last week. The new program was developed with the Mitre Corp. and is an effort to shore up known weaknesses in programming that give hackers a backdoor into websites. The effort began well before the recent website attacks. It includes a list of top 25 technical software problems that hackers exploit and sets up a way to rank software so that customers can see whether it meets necessary standards. Right now, when owners of small businesses buy software or hire a firm to build a website, it is difficult to know whether the programs are secure or not, said Alan Paller, director of research at SANS Institute, a computer-security organization. He said the information, which has been compiled on a special website that the public can view, will tell people what to look for in setting up a secure website and how to judge potential programming errors. It also sets up a scorecard, so that companies looking for a firm to set up a website can check their security score. The effort is aimed at the more than 1 million computer programmers and other high-tech professionals who write code, build websites and develop software. It lays out known software weaknesses and how to fix them. ___ Online: DHS/Mitre Corp.: http://cwe.mitre.org/ |
| Cell phone of driver in Amtrak crash found (AP) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:31 PM PDT RENO, Nev. – Workers wearing hazmat suits dug through burnt-out rail cars and twisted metal on Monday at the scene of a horrific collision between a tractor-trailer and an Amtrak train as new details surfaced about the spotty driving record of the man at the wheel of the truck. Records from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles revealed that truck driver Lawrence R. Valli, 43, of Winnemuca, received four speeding tickets since 2008, including three for driving a school bus over the posted speed limit in California in a 10-month period. National Transportation Safety Board member Earl Weener said Valli was going "at a considerable speed" in a 70-mph zone before the crash, and added that federal investigators were examining the truck's wheels, tires and brakes for details on the exact speed and the truck's braking capacity. Investigators are looking for clues into why he drove into the double-decker Amtrak train some 70 miles east of Reno even as the crossing's flashing lights warned him it was approaching. At least six people died and about 20 were injured. One passenger remained unaccounted for, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said, though investigators aren't sure whether the person was among the 195 passengers on the train at the time of the crash. "Everything is all blackened, and white and gray from the fire so it makes it very difficult to sort out the human remains from the rest," said Dennis Dirkmaat, a forensic anthropologist from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., speaking from the accident site. "Rather than just pulling out bodies and trying to sort through them later, we're trying to note where they're located and trying to make sure we collect all the remains." The Nevada Highway Patrol on Monday released the names of two passengers who were killed — Francis Knox, 58, and her adopted granddaughter, Karly Knox, 18, of Seward, Neb. The elder Knox was described by her pastor in Nebraska as a church-going woman who was well-known and volunteered in the youth ministry and at a community center and the Civil Air Patrol. She and her granddaughter, who was known to friends as Annie, were taking a relative back to California, where the family once lived. "She always had a smile, and was willing to help out — to do anything," said Lowell Myers, an associated pastor at Hillcrest Evangelical Free Church who is serving as the family's spokesman. The relative was able to escape the train with no serious injuries, Myers said. Forensic anthropologists, law enforcement officials and federal investigators are trying to pinpoint why Valli, who was the sole occupant of the semi with two empty gravel trailers behind it, skidded the length of a football field in the heart of the Forty-Mile Desert before ramming into the rail car. The Zephyr train, outfitted with a full glass observation car, was en route from Chicago to Emeryville, Calif., and had made several stops before beginning the long traverse through the Sierra Nevada to California. The big rig ran into the train around 11:25 a.m. Friday. A co-worker in another semi outfitted to haul gravel watched helplessly as Valli skidded more than 300 feet before smashing square into the cars, sparking a massive fire that burned so intensely it delayed investigators' search of the wreckage that includes two torched cars and another that was badly burned. The NTSB initially reported there were two co-workers in separate semis behind him, but changed that to one at a news conference Monday. "I looked up north side and I saw smoke, and I looked down the other side and I saw flames and the side of the train ripped back like a sardine can," said Jim Bickley, a property manager from El Dorado Hills, Calif., who was on the train traveling home with his wife. "People were trying to jump out of the emergency windows and there was panic going on." Records show Valli was issued a commercial driver's license in Nevada on May 6 of this year, said Tom Jacobs, spokesman for the Nevada DMV. The records show Valli's school bus violations occurred July 6, 2008; Sept. 9, 2008, and May 12, 2009. It was not immediately clear where those citations were issued in California and whether children were in the buses. He was also ticketed on in August 2008 in California for not wearing a seat belt while driving a commercial vehicle. Valli also received a speeding ticket on Sept. 22, 2009, in Alabama for exceeding the speed limit by 11-20 mph. Trooper Chuck Allen said authorities would consider all factors as they investigated the cause of the accident, including fatigue, driver inattention, and drugs or alcohol, with toxicology and autopsy results due within days. Weener said Valli's cell phone was recovered at the crash site and was being sent to NTSB's laboratory in Washington, D.C., to determine if it was a distraction. He said investigators want to know whether Valli was preparing to send a text message or talking to anyone at the time of the crash. Investigators will examine the driver's professional commercial driving record closely, Weener said. They also planned to meet with his trucking company Tuesday and review the driver's medical history, training and experience. Valli's sister, Jacquita Yu, 48, of Chino, Calif., said her brother had worked for John Davis Trucking Co. in Battle Mountain for the last six months or so and been a professional driver for 10 years. "I can't believe in my heart that he wasn't paying attention. I can't accept that," she said. "He was only halfway through his shift and I can't believe he would fall asleep. He's so meticulous and he gets his rest. My thought is there was a mechanical difficulty with the vehicle." Yu, who also is a professional driver, said her brother's life revolved around his 11-year-old daughter who lives in Reno. She described her brother, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and moved to Reno in the 1980s, as a wonderful father who worked hard to provide for his family and spent any free time he had outside with his daughter. The crash also has raised questions about the safety record of Valli's employer. Federal records reviewed by The Associated Press showed the Nevada Department of Public Safety has cited the company for crashes, unsafe driving, and most seriously, operating a truck with tire treads so exposed that it had to be taken off the road. In that January inspection, authorities deemed that rig an imminent hazard to public safety. The company was also cited for two crashes in the last two years, including one in February 2010 that injured a person in Washoe County. Federal records do not detail who was at fault. Weener said the company also was involved in a fatal single-vehicle accident last month, but provided no details. The company did not immediately return a call or email Monday. An official for the Nevada Motor Transport Association said the company is a responsible carrier and one of its top executives, John Davis, has long served on the association's board of directors. The family business has been expanding in the last few years to haul gold ore from the mines in northeastern Nevada, and has been hauling gravel since the 1970s. "He's just pretty devastated for the incident and his heart goes out to everyone involved," said Paul Enos, the association's CEO. "When you look at Mr. Davis' records, he is a pretty safe carrier." ___ Associated Press writers Sandra Chereb in Carson City and Grant Schulte in Lincoln, Neb., also contributed to this report. Burke reported from San Francisco. Follow Garance Burke at http://twitter.com/garanceburke. |
| Apple 4G not seen until 2012 (Investor's Business Daily) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 03:49 PM PDT Sterne Agee said Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) anticipated 4G version iPhone likely won't debut this year, in part due to battery issues. Instead, Apple will likely roll out another 3G iPhone this fall and upgrade to a 4G network in 2012. The analyst firm also doesn't expect a new iPad tablet until 2012. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank said it thinks Apple will address the 1-bil-user strong, pre-paid mobile phone market in September with a mid-range, contract-free iPhone, possibly called the 4S. Apple rose 1.7% to 332.04. |
| Rumor: Myspace to lay off 37.5% of workforce on Wednesday (Digital Trends) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 08:20 PM PDT
Gawker spoke to a Myspace veteran with friends at the company who believes many are expecting and even hoping for the cuts. He said, "I think the management owes the employees severance because of the terrible management mistakes they presided over." There is speculation that the layoffs are an attempt to appear more attractive to potential buyers by being less bloated with costs. Myspace has already had a huge case of bulimia in January when it cut 47 percent of its 1,100 US and international employees, but that still wasn't good enough for anyone to take the social networking site off of News Corps' hands. Since 2009, Myspace has laid of more than 1,500 employees. These latest cuts will be about 37.5 percent of their staff. It's still not clear whether this will be happening on Tuesday or Wednesday, but Myspace's fiscal year ends on Wednesday. TechCrunch reports that their own source is confirming that layoffs will happen. The 150 employee cut may also be related to a rumor that Myspace is being sold. TechCrunch says that the sale will be signed tomorrow and will be announced at the end of the week. There's no word on who the buyer is, though Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick is a frontrunner in the speculation. It doesn't seem like such a bad deal for all sides. NewsCorp gets to hand over a company that lost 10 million users between January and February, and was steadily being drained of it's users by 14 percent each month. Employees that get laid off (who should have easily foreseen this) will not be pushed out into the cold. They'll get to take part in a transition plan where they can work and get paid while they job hunt, though this probably only last a few weeks. |
| Skype riles execs with firings, fine print on stock options (Digital Trends) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 06:43 PM PDT
Former employee Yee Lee wrote a personal blog entry explaining the inner workings of Skype. Lee was among the recently terminated employees let go in the wake of the Microsoft deal. He says compensation and stock policies were "very heavily tilted in the owners' favor and against the employees." He further says that the company is able to "'repurchase' any vested shares for anyone who leaves the company voluntarily or is terminated with cause." Worse yet, the company gets them back for their original price – not what they are now worth. Considering Skype's success, this could be a very significant difference. There's nothing illegal about this clause, but what is getting a rise is that it appears Skype wasn't exactly clear about it. Generally, employees expect to be paid more during their time at the company when they know that when they leave they aren't going to get any sizable parting gifts. The employees' obvious and open shock at what's happening doesn't speak well of Skype's intentions. Skype, of course, has defended itself against the onslaught of bad press resulting from the firings. The company's official statement continues to stand by the fact that it had just cause to terminate the positions of those fired. While there's been a considerable amount of Skype bad mouthing, some are also rushing to the company's defense, attributing the situation to being a by-product of large corporate mergers and acquisitions. There's also the defense that Silver Lake, the group which Skype was born out of, has a history of internal restructuring, something that carried over into Skype's own personnel procedures. In reality, it sounds like Skype and its board ran thick with internal disagreement. Perhaps all of this is so surprising for bystanders because Skype has been such a successful and important company, but it looks as if it were a duck on water: Everything smooth and calm on the surface, while underneath it's furiously paddling to keep things looking that way. When long-struggling companies fire mass amounts of staff, it's newsworthy but almost unsurprising. Nokia's own deal with Microsoft was preempted and followed by serious job cuts, but the corporation's market status has been so volatile that this wasn't exactly a shock. This simply wasn't true in Skype's case, and this is only in addition to that fact that several very important employees — high-ranking ones that we can assume held a great deal of Skype stock — were fired and all signs seem to point to little more than corporate greed. No one expects a giant corporation to have a clean white slate when it comes to business matters of this magnitude, but if Skype's implied deceit is the cause of its "restructuring," then it deserves the attention it's getting. |
| New Galaxy Tab 10.1? Download these apps first (Appolicious) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 02:30 PM PDT |
| German managers 'keep phones in biscuit tins' (AFP) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 05:13 AM PDT BERLIN (AFP) – A German chemicals company said on Monday its managers have begun keeping their mobile phones in biscuit tins during meetings in order to guard against industrial espionage. "Experts have told us that mobile phones are being eavesdropped on more and more, even when they are switched off," Alexandra Boy, spokeswoman for Essen-based speciality chemicals maker Evonik, told AFP. "The measure applies mostly when sensitive issues are being discussed, for the most part in research and development," she said, confirming a report in business weekly Wirtschaftswoche. Biscuit tins have a so-called Farraday cage effect, she said, blocking out electromagnetic radiation and therefore preventing people from hacking into mobile phones, not only for calls but also to get hold of emails. The firm, with 34,000 employees and sales of 13 billion euros ($18.5 billion), is not alone in wanting to defend itself against what experts warn are increasingly sophisticated methods of industrial espionage. This month the German government opened a new national centre in Bonn to coordinate efforts not only to protect firms from espionage but also state infrastructure from cyberattacks. |
| Dish stands alone in TerreStar bid: sources (Reuters) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 05:24 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) – TerreStar Networks Inc (TSTRT.UL) did not receive any competing bids for its assets Monday, clearing the way for Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) to acquire the company for about $1.38 billion, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation. A 5 p.m. deadline came and went with Dish's $1.375 billion minimum or "stalking horse" bid, submitted June 15, remaining the only offer on the table, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale process is private. Potential challengers to Dish had included TerreStar's senior bondholders, which had sought unsuccessfully to become the stalking horse bidder, and MetroPCS Communications Inc (PCS.N), which had said it would explore all options for acquiring new spectrum. But both groups remained quiet on Monday, according to the sources. While unlikely, it is possible a bid could come in after deadline, one of the sources said. It is unclear whether such a bid would be allowed by the court. If no bids are received, TerreStar would likely cancel its auction initially planned for Thursday, the sources said. A sale hearing is scheduled for July 7. TerreStar, which tried to market the first satellite smartphone, is coveted for its roughly 20 megahertz of spectrum. It filed for bankruptcy in October with more than $1 billion in debt. If consummated, the sale would be at least the third major acquisition in 2011 for Dish, controlled by billionaire Charles Ergen. The company in March won the right to acquire bankrupt DBSD North America for about $1.4 billion, and recently closed a $320 million deal for Blockbuster Inc (BLOAQ.PK). Ergen, whose burgeoning satellite empire continues to expand, also controls EchoStar Corp (SATS.O), which earlier in June completed the $1.33 billion purchase of Hughes Communications Inc (HUGH.O). Representatives for TerreStar did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Dish declined to comment. Any superior bid for TerreStar would have had to top Dish's offer by $55.5 million under procedures set by the bankruptcy court. A $27.5 million breakup fee would have been paid to Dish if it had lost to a higher bidder. The deal is expected to be made public late on Monday, sources said. The case is in re: TerreStar Networks Inc., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-15446. (Reporting by Nick Brown; editing by Carol Bishopric) (This story is corrected to fix number in paragraph 9) |
| Apple’s iPhone 4S is probably real: Here’s why (Digital Trends) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 05:29 PM PDT
The tech rumor mill ramped into overdrive Monday morning with predictions from two leading market analysts that Apple has a less-expensive model of its highly popular iPhone handset in the works. In fact, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore, Apple plans to release not one, but two new iPhones this year: The first, a full-revamped 'superphone,' presumably called iPhone 5; the other, a moderate upgrade from the iPhone 4, possibly called iPhone 4S, which will be sold unlocked, with a pre-paid voice plan option, and cost around $350. This second device is meant to compete with the variety of lower-priced Nokia and BlackBerry handsets available, Whitmore says, as well as the Goliath competition from devices running Google's Android operating system. While it's nearly impossible for anyone outside the walled garden of Cupertino to know for sure what Apple has in the works, the mounting evidence suggests the rumored cheaper iPhone is all but a sure thing. Here's a look at the past reports, and why they should be believed.
'iPhone Nano' rumors aboundThe first believable reports of a less expensive iPhone popped up in early February of this year. According to an unnamed Bloomberg source, who claimed to have seen a prototype version of the device sometime in 2010, the prototype 'iPhone Nano' measured about one-third the size of the 3.5-inch iPhone 4 and had no "home" button. It also had a screen similar to the current iPhone, as opposed to new, more expensive components. The source said that Apple was considering selling the handset for $200 without a contract.This report, published on February 10, was followed just days later by a Wall Street Journal piece that offered more evidence that Apple had a mini-iPhone up its sleeve. In the WSJ version, the device measured about half the size of the iPhone 4. It would also cost somewhere around half as much as the current iPhone — about $300 to $350. Sources said that the low cost of the device would allow carriers to offer the cheaper iPhone for free, or at least close to it. It should be noted that, while the WSJ piece didn't have any sources willing to go on record (who does these days?), the article also included a few other predictions that turned out to be correct, namely that Apple would transform MobileMe into a part of a new iTunes streaming, i.e. iCloud. Of course, just because the report was more or less right about one prediction doesn't mean everything is correct — but it does increase the likelihood of its accuracy. Amidst the iPhone Nano rumors, The New York Times reported on February 17 — five days after the WSJ report — that Apple would release a less expensive (but not smaller) version of the iPhone, citing an anonymous source who "worked on multiple versions of the device." To further corroborate these reports, Apple chief operating office Tim Cook told Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi that Apple didn't want its products to be "just for the rich," and that the company is "not ceding any market." While these comments far from confirm the existence of a less expensive iPhone, they do show that Apple knows it has a weakness — its gadgets just cost too much. It also shows that the company has plans to deal with that issue, and was willing to admit as much soon after the aforementioned reports about a smaller, cheaper iPhone brought talk of such a device front and center of the tech world stage.
Enter the "iPhone 4S"While the iPhone Nano rumors died down, reports of a new device filled their place: the "iPhone 4S." We first learned of this alleged device in the middle of April. A knowledgeable source told 9to5Mac that game app developers had received models of a prototype, dubbed the iPhone 4S, which was outfitted with Apple's powerful A5 processor, the same CPU that drives the iPad 2.Aside from the upgrade from the A4 CPU to the A5, sources said the iPhone 4S looked nearly identical to the iPhone 4, so much so that "there is no way anyone can tell it's not an iPhone 4 based on the phone's exterior," 9to5Mac reported. On April 25, Chinese tech blog MIC Gadget posted pictures of what appeared to be a white iPhone 4S. The device, which looked like a prototype, had the proximity sensor in a different place than the iPhone 4, and the bezel around the screen was about half has wide as the current iPhone, making the display slightly larger. The site claimed it was an iPhone 4S. That assertion, of course, went unconfirmed.
iPhone Nano, iPhone 4S rumors combineSlightly less than a month after the iPhone 4S revelation, market analyst Peter Misek told Forbes that the next iPhone would, in fact, be the iPhone 4S — not the iPhone Nano, and not the iPhone 5. Like the earlier source, Misek said that the 4S would "include minor cosmetic changes," rather than a full redesign, as well as an A5 processor. He added that device would also sport "better cameras" and support HSPA+ connectivity (the type of 4G currently used by T-Mobile and AT&T). Also, the iPhone 4S would work on all US carriers.Misek said that Apple also had originally planned to release the iPhone 5 in the fall, along side the iPhone 4S, but that the Qualcomm 4G LTE chip it hoped to put in the iPhone 5 wasn't ready for mass production due to performance issues. So, the iPhone 5 would wait until 2012 and the 4S would serve as Apple's 2011 update. This was far from the last we heard of the iPhone 4S, but no new major developments about the device appeared between the above report on May 13 and Monday.
iPhone 5Despite the oft-mentioned rumor that the iPhone 5 wouldn't appear until 2012, a BGR report from June 21 suggested that a 2011 release of the "radically redesigned" device — not the moderately upgraded iPhone 4S — was still within the realm of possibility. The BRG report, however, pointed to an August release. If Monday's analyst predictions are true, that's far too soon to expect the iPhone 5 — though an August announcement isn't entirely out of the question.What will these redesigns include? Here's the rumor run-down, thus far: The iPhone 5 will have a larger, 4-inch, edge-to-edge screen; an aluminum back; a curved "tear drop" design (similar to the MacBook Air); and a curved glass screen. To recap: The iPhone 4S, by comparison, is said to have a similar design to the iPhone 4, but possibly with a larger screen. It will likely also include the A5 processor, and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera (up from the 5-megapixel specification of the iPhone 4's camera). If all the most recent rumors prove accurate (and they very well might), the device will cost significantly less than the iPhone 5 — possibly half as much — and will sell unlocked, without a contract.
The competitionThe entire reason for the iPhone 4S's purported existence is that the festering hoard of lower-priced Android handsets are eating Apple for lunch. While reports indicate that Android's meteoric rise has started to come back toward Earth, it remains a far wider-used OS. (As of March, Android held on to about 49.5 percent market share, compared to Apple's 29.5 percent.) On top of that, some say that even Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, once it's on board the Nokia juggernaut, will easily surpass Apple in the next three or four years. The only way to beat back the surrounding forces, experts say, is for Apple to plunge into the lower consumer pools with the rest. Thus, the iPhone 4S.
ConclusionThe near-constant and surprisingly consistent flow of iPhone 4S rumors doesn't make the device real. And even if it is real, and Apple plans to release it, that doesn't mean we'll see it anytime soon. That said, the nature of the rumors (they make sense financially and logistically for Apple), and their sources (Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, even Apple's COO Tim Cook) all add heaping handfuls of validity the hearsay reports. Plus, if Apple plans to release two new iPhones — something that's hard to believe mostly because they've never done it before — it clears up a lot of the confusion that's surrounded many of these reports.We will all still have to wait to find out what, if any, of this is true. But right now, we'd place our bets on Apple unveiling a less expensive iPhone to the world come this fall. |
| New details emerging about Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich Nexus phone (Appolicious) Posted: 27 Jun 2011 01:33 PM PDT |
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