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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Pandora sings happy tune: IPO fetches $16 a share (AP) : Technet

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Pandora sings happy tune: IPO fetches $16 a share (AP) : Technet

Pandora sings happy tune: IPO fetches $16 a share (AP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 08:06 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – 1 hr 39 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO – Pandora Media Inc. sold its initial public offering of stock at $16 per share late Tuesday, fetching twice as much as the popular but unprofitable Internet radio service expected less than two weeks ago.

The IPO's completion means Pandora will make its stock market debut Wednesday morning with a market value of $2.6 billion. That's a lofty number for a company that has lost $92 million since it started as a music recommendation site called TheSavageBeast.com 11 years ago.

Since then, it has morphed into a service that streams music over high-speed Internet connections to computers and a widening array of other devices. The tunes are tailored to suit the individual tastes of Pandora's 94 million registered users.

The large audience and the amount of time that people spend listening to Pandora is the main reason money managers and institutional investors drove up the value of the company's IPO.

The next measure of Pandora's investment appeal comes Wednesday when the general public gets its first chance to buy a stake in the company. The shares will trade under the "P" ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.

The buyers of the IPO appear to be betting the recent fervor for the stock of rapidly growing Internet services will quickly drive up Pandora's trading price. That's what happened last month after the IPO of LinkedIn Corp. the company behind the world's largest site for business networking. LinkedIn's stock more than doubled on its first day of trading to mint it with a $9 billion market value.

Pandora shares are entering a stock market that has become much shakier amid signs that the economy's recovery from the Great Recession is faltering. The tech-driven Nasdaq composite index has fallen 5 percent since LinkedIn priced its IPO May 18.

Anyone thinking about buying Pandora's shares Wednesday also may want to consider this: LinkedIn shares closed Tuesday at $76.34, a 19 percent drop from where they finished on the first day of trading.

From perspective of Pandora and the insiders who sold some of their stock, this IPO already looks like a smash hit. Before expenses, the offering raised about $96 million for the company, which is based in Oakland. Existing stockholders collected a combined $139 million by selling a total of 8.7 million shares.

The IPO price represents a more than five-fold increase from what Pandora's own board thought the company was worth just six months ago. Pandora's board appraised the stock's value at $3.14 per share in December, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Earlier this month, Pandora projected its IPO would sell for $7 to $9 per share before raising the range to $10 to $12 per share at the end of last week.

The main thing Pandora has going for it is people's attention. In Pandora's last fiscal year ending in January, its audience spent a collective 3.8 billion hours listening to streamed music over the Internet. That total could more than double this year if its audience rate of engagement grows at the same pace it did in the three months ending in April.

As people spend more time listening to Pandora, the service becomes a more compelling marketing vehicle. Like most Internet services, Pandora makes most of its money from advertising. It also sells a music subscription service to listeners who want to skip the ads.

Pandora still hasn't been able to bring in enough money to cover its costs, which primarily consist of the royalties that it pays to play music. As more people listen to music, the royalty rates also rise.

Before paying dividends on preferred stock, the company lost $1.8 million on revenue of $138 million in its last fiscal year. Pandora's content acquisition costs ate up half the revenue. During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Pandora's revenue more than doubled from last year to $51 million but so did its losses, which totaled $6.8 million for the February-April period before accounting for the preferred stock dividends.

The IPOs from LinkedIn and Pandora are being viewed as warm-up acts for the stock market debuts of several bigger Internet stars.

The upcoming attractions include Internet coupon seller Groupon Inc., which filed its IPO papers earlier this month, and Web game maker Zynga, which is expected to file its plans to go public soon. Facebook, the owner of the world's largest site for socializing, has indicated it will file its IPO documents before May 2012.

Goldman Sachs Group put together an investment that valued Facebook at $50 billion at the beginning of this year.

Google invests $280 million to spur home solar (AP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 02:25 PM PDT

By JONATHAN FAHEY, AP Energy Writer Jonathan Fahey, Ap Energy Writer – Tue Jun 14, 5:25 pm ET

NEW YORK – Google is making its largest investment yet in clean energy in an effort to help private homeowners put solar panels on their rooftops.

The $280 million deal with installer SolarCity is the largest of its kind. SolarCity can use the funds to pay for a solar system that it can offer to residents for no money down. In exchange, customers agree to pay a set price for the power produced by the panels.

Google earns a return on its investment by charging SolarCity interest to use its money and reaping the benefits of federal and local renewable energy tax credits.

"It allows us to put our capital to work in a way that is very important to the founders and to Google, and we found a good business model to support," said Joel Conkling of Google's Green Business Operations in an interview before the company announced the investment Tuesday.

Google co-founder and chief executive Larry Page wants Google's operations to eventually produce no net greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, Google has invested in wind farms in North Dakota, California and Oregon, solar projects in California and Germany, and the early stages of a transmission system off the East coast meant to foster the construction of offshore wind farms. The SolarCity deal brings the total value of these investments to $680 million.

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., is emerging as one of the biggest corporate users of energy as it continues to build data centers packed with computers that run its search engine and other services.

This type of fund Google is creating is common in the residential solar industry, A typical rooftop solar system costs $25,000 to $30,000, too much for many homeowners to lay out. Instead, solar providers like SolarCity and competitors SunRun and Sungevity can pay for the system with money borrowed from a bank or a specially-designed fund. The resident then pays a set rate for the power generated. The rate is lower than or roughly the same as the local electricity price.

A typical 5-kilowatt system will generate about 7,000 kilowatt-hours of power in a year, or about 60 percent of the typical household's annual use. The homeowner buys whatever remaining electric power he needs from the local utility. The homeowner typically enjoys lower overall power bills and is protected somewhat against potentially higher traditional electricity prices in the future.

Electricity prices have not risen in recent months, unlike gasoline and heating oil. But they're expected to creep up in coming years as the cost of increasingly stringent clean-air regulations are passed on to customers.

These types of programs don't work well in all states or for all homes. In order for both the solar company to make money and the homeowner to save money there must be some combination of high local electric rates, state and local subsidies, and low installation costs.

And, of course, sunshine. A home needs a roof, preferably facing south, that is not shaded by trees or structures.

Google's $280 million is expected to pay for 10,000 rooftop systems that will be installed over the next 18 months. These types of programs originated in California, by far the nation's largest solar market, because the state has offered generous incentives, power prices are high and there is ample sunlight.

In recent months, though, SolarCity and its competitors have announced expansions to other states, and the establishment of new funds to pay for new systems. SolarCity, based in San Mateo, Calif., offers service in Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, D.C.

SolarCity established a $158 million fund in May while SunRun set up a $200 million fund, both with U.S. Bancorp. SolarCity has now raised $1.3 billion in total. Also last month, Sungevity announced it would offer services through Lowe's stores in eight states.

Customers typically choose to finance their systems. SolarCity says of the 15,000 systems it has installed, 12,000 were financed.

Google's investment generates returns three ways. Google gets a tax credit from the federal government of 30 percent of the cost of the solar projects, in this case $84 million. It also can write off the total value of the systems in the year they are built, an accounting benefit called accelerated depreciation. The value of state and local tax credits also flow to Google.

Finally, SolarCity pays Google interest for the use of the funds through the rates it charges customers, though neither company will say how much.

Google also declined to compare the return on its solar fund with the company's overall profit margin. In 2010, Google earned $8.5 billion on $29.3 billion in sales, a profit margin of 29 percent.

Google investors have questioned investments that have little to do with the company's main Internet businesses and that may be potentially risky or generate lower returns. In a meeting with investors last month, Google CFO Patrick Pinchette said tax benefits of these projects can generate high returns.

"In order for us to invest in them they have to do very well from a returns perspective," Pinchette said.

Nathaniel Bullard, a solar analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, estimates that these types of residential solar funds generate returns for the primary investor of well over 10 percent, and perhaps as high as 20 percent, including the value of the tax benefits.

Google — and solar installers — hope that this investment will inspire other corporations to establish similar funds.

"The number one constraint for the last few years has been the lack of project financing," said Lyndon Rive, CEO of SolarCity. "Once corporations start entering this space it will bring more affordable solar to millions of homes."

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://www.facebook.com/Fahey.Jonathan

.

Nokia, Apple settle drawn-out patent dispute (AP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 08:39 AM PDT

By JARI TANNER, Associated Press Jari Tanner, Associated Press – Tue Jun 14, 11:39 am ET

HELSINKI, Finland – Nokia Corp. on Tuesday notched a valuable win against rival Apple Inc., with the U.S. company agreeing to pay the Finnish handset maker a one-time sum to settle long-standing patent disputes as well as royalties for current licenses.

Espoo-based Nokia said that the deal "will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the US International Trade Commission."

The companies have been locked in a long-running legal battle over patent claims, with each side accusing the other of infringing on patents that cover features such as swiping gestures on touch screens and the built-in "app store" for downloading updated programs.

Market watchers say Tuesday's settlement is crucial for Nokia, which has been trying to restrict unlawful use of its innovation base as it struggles amid stiff competition in the smart phone sector, including from Apple's iPhone, RIM's Blackberry and Asian manufacturers.

"It's an important case disclosure for Nokia," said analyst Mikko Ervasti at Evli Bank in Helsinki. "Nokia can now move on and concentrate on developing its core business. But it will also receive its share on iPhone sales."

The financial details of Tuesday's deal were not disclosed but Nokia said the settlement will have a positive impact on its second quarter result.

"We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. "This settlement demonstrates Nokia's industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market."

The patent dispute between Apple and Nokia is one of many involving leading phone companies amid increasing competition in the fast-growing market for smartphones. Apple has sued Taiwan's HTC Corp., one of the leading producers of phones that run on Google Inc.'s Android software, a potential challenger to Apple's popular iPhone. Microsoft Corp. has sued Motorola over Android phones, too.

Nokia filed its first patent claim against the U.S. company in 2009 after which Apple countered by launching its own infringement claims.

Among other things, it claimed Apple's touch-screen iPhone used technology that was patented by the Finnish company 10 years before the 2007 launch of the Apple device. For years, Nokia has demanded Apple to pay royalties on the iPhones sold.

Evli's Ervasti said both companies are likely to be happy to leave the dispute behind them.

"In this settlement, money will flow in Nokia's direction," Ervasti said. "That's a very good thing for a troubled company. Royalties from patents will boost the company's cash flow."

In countersuits, Apple has accused Nokia of copying the iPhone in order to recapture its lost share of the high-end phone market.

Last month, Nokia warned that its second-quarter sales and margins are expected to be much lower than anticipated because of the competition on devices in both the high- and low-end markets.

Nokia shares were up 2 percent at euro4.38 ($6.17) in afternoon trading in Helsinki.

___

Online:

http://www.nokia.com

Digital Photography 101: Low-light photography, part 4 (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 05:53 PM PDT

By Tecca tecca – Tue Jun 14, 8:53 pm ET

Human beings have been fascinated by fire since the first person struck a spark between two stones, and would watch in awe as lightning ignited a forest. Whether it's a softly flickering candle, a crackling campfire, or someone creating beautiful light trails by spinning fiery balls on chains in the performance art known as fire poi, fire can certainly lend itself to beautiful photographs. In part 4 of our low-light photography series, we'll discuss some of the methods and tricks to capturing its beauty.

What type of fire?
Fire comes in all sorts of intensities, and they all require different camera techniques. That's because at the heart of fire is light, and the light produced by a single candle is vastly different than that produced by a bonfire, which is completely different from, say, the fiery blast of a space shuttle launch. So keep in mind the size of your fire and how much light it is putting out, as that will affect how your camera reacts and what settings you will need to use. For almost all cases, you'll definitely need a tripod!

Light one candle
The most basic fire photography involves candlelight. This is a good place to start, since it's pretty easy to set up and regulate. A candle doesn't put out very much light, so to capture the flame you'll need a pretty dark room. If your goal is to photograph the candle and its flame itself, then make sure you set your exposure by the light of the flame, not the room around it. That way you'll be sure not to over-expose the hot center of the flame. Use a simple composition — candles are beautiful enough in their own right, and generally can provide stunning subjects without anything else in the picture.

A bit of romance
Photographing people lit by the warm glow of candles is wonderfully romantic, but can be tricky. Since candles provide such a small amount of light, you will need to use a slow shutter speed and a wide aperture to get a bright enough exposure to see your subject. They will need to hold very still, as the slow shutter speed will pick up any movement they make and show it as blur.

It's helpful to use a white tablecloth, if your subject is sitting at a table, and either white or light-colored walls or paper backdrop. This will reflect as much light as possible back onto your subject, and help reduce the number of dark shadows around them. Also, pay attention to the positioning of your candles — if you cluster them all in a group, the light will be more direct (and create harsher shadows); if you spread them out a bit, the light will be more subdued and softer.

Pull up a marshmallow
There's something about a nicely crackling campfire that lends itself to introspection, camaraderie, and storytelling — or to wild and uninhibited dancing about, if you're so inclined. A campfire or bonfire puts out quite a bit more light than a candle, obviously, but you still have to carefully consider your exposure and what sort of composition you're going for. Using a faster shutter speed (you'll need a very wide aperture to achieve this) will freeze the flames in place, but you'll have less light to illuminate any people or objects around the fire. A slower shutter speed will give the fire softer edges but allow you to capture the light trails of embers as they float into the air, which can be a pretty fun effect. Just be aware that a longer shutter speed will blur any movement by the people in your photo.

Fire painting
The techniques for photographing the flying lights characteristic of someone spinning poi, or even just playing with sparklers, are similar to those outlined in our painting with light column. Like photographing a campfire, how you shoot such a photo depends on the effect you're trying to achieve. A faster shutter speed will come closer to freezing the moving flames and the person moving them. A slower shutter speed will turn the light into swirling lines and circles, and blur the person behind them. Both are interesting and beautiful effects.

The big burns
Other types of fire can also provide some beautiful photographs. For example, if you have the dubious luck of being somewhat close to a large wildfire (but hopefully not anywhere close to harm's way!) you might be able to capture some stunning shots at night, when you can see the true scope of the blaze. Obviously, you should never, ever put yourself in harm's way while attempting to get such photographs. These shots can still be impressive, while being safer to obtain, from a good distance away.

You'll only have one more chance to capture a U.S. space shuttle launch on film; the shuttle Atlantis is due to blast off on July 8th, 2011. Shuttle launches provide a particularly spectacular visual, but can also be challenging to photograph due to both the daytime lighting conditions and the incredible brightness of the rocket booster. For more tips on how to work around those difficulties, check out our column on photographing a shuttle launch.

Obviously, fire can be dangerous. Never do anything to put yourself in danger just to get a picture. But under controlled conditions, it can be the subject of beautiful photography.

Post by Katherine Gray

[Image credits: Gabriel Serafini, Klearchos Kapoutsis, K. Gray, Mari Francille, Jeff Ruane]

digital photography 101 guide

Cellphone jammers keep our troops safe and the enemy guessing (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 02:49 PM PDT

By Mike Wehner, Tecca mike Wehner, Tecca – Tue Jun 14, 5:49 pm ET

While fighter jets, helicopters, and assault rifles saturate what many of us think of when we imagine the war in Iraq, invisible radio signals can be just as deadly of a threat. Insurgents using cell phones to set off improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have caused an untold number of casualties since the early days of the conflict, and military technology has been working to eliminate that threat ever since. Wired's Danger Room recently went deep inside the deadly face off between US military technology and the insurgents it attempts to thwart.

Most IEDs are quickly thrown together using crude radio components and outdated black market bomb materials, and are set to go off when hit with a certain radio signal. Insurgents can use just about any type of cellular device to activate these homemade weapons, and can do so from a distance, making the culprit nearly impossible to trace. However, the bomb is completely useless if the attacker can't signal the device to detonate, making radio jammer technology a key to winning the war.

Early jammer prototypes were bulky, power-hungry, and had an extremely limited range.  The U.S. military came up with a device that could block the most popular detonation frequency used by the insurgents, but once the bomb makers caught on, they simply used different gadgets to detonate the IEDs, switching the frequency in the process.

Eventually, all of the major defense contractors got involved, each one trying to create an all-encompassing jammer device. Unfortunately, testing multiple prototypes in the field caused some to recognize other jammers as the enemy, locking on and making both devices useless.

Over time, the military learned how to keep the various types of jammers from interfering with each other, and the devices began saving lives by allowing specialists the precious time needed to defuse the explosives. In 2006, the pentagon spent $3.6 billion on IED countermeasure technology, and they were just getting started.

The military became so adept at thwarting the IED threat that many insurgents gave up on what was once their greatest advantage. The enemy began using "command wire" triggers which literally used nothing but a long wire and a battery to detonate the explosives. This old school approach wasn't favored by the majority of attackers, as it meant coming face to face with the soldiers they were attempting to target.

Deaths by IEDs have dropped substantially since the early days of the war, and the military is now poised to unleash new technology that not only eliminates any chance of insurgents remotely detonating a bomb, but can also identify and locate threats before a troop ever sets foot in the area. But that tech, as you might expect, is still being kept largely under wraps.

(Source)

[Image credit: Expertinfantry]

More from Tecca:

How the GOP Debate Exploded on Twitter [STATS] (Mashable)

Posted: 13 Jun 2011 06:33 PM PDT

Jolie O'Dell Jolie O'dell – Mon Jun 13, 9:33 pm ET

Tonight's New Hampshire Republican Presidential Debate had a huge impact on the web. Current events are increasingly being mirrored in social media, and as we begin our journey down the 2012 campaign trail, it's clear that the upcoming U.S. presidential election will uphold and even magnify that trend.

[More from Mashable: Obama Suggests Weiner Resign After Twitter Scandal [VIDEO]]

CNN hosted and broadcast the debate, and before the program started, they made it clear this event was social by design. The network's Washington, DC, bureau chief stated that relevant posts from Facebook, Twitter and CNN.com would be used in the on-air debate.

The official hashtag for the debate was #CNNDebate. Without question, the promotion and management of this hashtag was a huge success.

[More from Mashable: How CNN Is Using Social Media for Tonight's GOP Debate [VIDEO]]

By around 9 p.m. Eastern Time, that term was the top non-promoted trending topic worldwide on Twitter. Users were live-tweeting the debate adding to the conversations their own thoughts, opinions and questions. A few high-profile Twitter users such as journalist Anderson Cooper were even tweeting behind-the-scenes pictures and video from the New Hampshire debate hall.

We turned to Trendistic to see just how many tweets were about the debate. An hour and a half into the debate, the official hashtag appeared in nearly 1.5% of all tweets published across the service -- that's a staggeringly high figure.

By contrast, use of the term "Republican" peaked at around .13% of tweets, and the terms "GOP" and "debate" each peaked at under .5% of all tweets published during the debate.

However, in trying to analyze the sentiments expressed around the debate, we're at a bit of a loss. Most natural language processing Twitter tools are still rather crude. Some of them pegged positive sentiment on the hashtag #CNNDebate at around 66%; however, the majority of the "positive" tweets were deeply sarcastic. For example, one typical and supposedly positive tweet reads, "Don't know who won but I think we can all agree America was the loser tonight #CNNdebate."

Stay tuned for more info on how each Republican debater performed on Facebook.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Maradona sues Chinese firms over online game (AFP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 09:29 PM PDT

– 16 mins ago

BEIJING (AFP) – Argentine football icon Diego Maradona is suing popular Chinese web portal Sina and an Internet company for using his name and image to promote an online game, state media said Wednesday.

Maradona is seeking 20 million yuan ($3 million) in compensation from Sina and The9 Limited which designed the game "Winning Goal", the Global Times quoted an official from the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court as saying.

"The case was accepted yesterday (Monday)," said Chen Shi, a spokesman for the court.

Officials at the court in the Chinese capital would not respond to AFP requests for comment and calls to The9 went unanswered.

A Sina spokeswoman who declined to be named said the matter "is a legal procedure. We cannot comment."

The9 and Sina launched the game last June claiming Maradona was a celebrity spokesman, the report said.

But Maradona says he never gave permission to the Chinese companies to use his image, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier this month, citing a statement from the football legend.

The9 apologised and said they had been tricked by a Chinese football agent who told them Maradona had signed an endorsement contract, Xinhua said.

"I do not accept the apology from The9 Limited, and I will continue to protect my legitimate interests through legal procedures," Maradona said in the statement.

Maradona is extremely popular among China's legions of football fans, with state media hailing the World Cup-winning former captain the "King of Football" during a vist to Beijing last November.

Seoul to offer free wifi in public areas (AFP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 09:13 PM PDT

– 33 mins ago

SEOUL (AFP) – The South Korean metropolis of Seoul said on Wednesday it would offer free wifi in outdoor spaces in a $44 million project to give residents and visitors Internet access on every street corner.

Seoul will make its network available in 10,430 parks, streets and other public places by 2015, the city government said in a statement.

Demand for wifi is booming amid the rapid spread of smartphones and tablet computers but outdoor coverage in the South Korean capital has so far been limited.

"Wifi service is unavailable at 83 percent of outdoor areas in Seoul... but it soon will be available at every street corner of the city," the city government said.

Three local wireless operators will invest 47.7 billion won ($44 million) for the project.

All buses, subway trains and taxis in the city will be equipped to offer wireless Internet to passengers by the end of this year.

Telecommunication authorities say the world's most-wired country will have more than 20 million smartphone users by the end of this year out of a population of 48.6 million.

US cable TV giant adding Skype calls (AFP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 05:59 PM PDT

by Glenn Chapman Glenn Chapman – Tue Jun 14, 8:59 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – US cable TV giant Comcast announced plans to add video chat to television viewing through a partnership with Skype.

Comcast said customers would soon be able to make and receive video calls through high-definition televisions using Skype.

"TV has evolved into a social experience, and Comcast and Skype will be delivering a product that personalizes the TV experience even more," said cable company president Neil Smit.

"Our unique relationship with Skype not only will change how our customers interact with their TV, but also will create new and meaningful ways to bring our customers closer to the people they care about," he added.

Comcast envisioned enabling people to make low-cost Internet video calls on "the biggest screen in the house" while watching big televised events or celebrating special occasions.

"We can bring video calling to the heart of the home, allowing people to share life's experiences both big and small," said Skype chief executive Tony Bates.

The service will work on high-definition television screens using an adaptor box, a video camera, and a TV remote control adapted for text messaging.

Comcast planned to begin testing the Skype service with customers in the coming months.

The partnership came in the wake of Microsoft cutting a deal to buy Internet voice and video leader Skype for $8.5 billion dollars.

The purchase of Skype, which reportedly also attracted interest from Cisco, Facebook and Google, is the largest ever by Microsoft and gives it control of one of the few companies whose name has become a verb, as in to "Skype."

Skype, one of the top applications on Apple's iPhone and on smartphones powered by Google's Android software, has some 170 million users who will now be able to "Skype" using Windows-powered phones or even Xbox game consoles.

"Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world," Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer vowed while announcing the Skype acquisition last month.

Microsoft said Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft with Skype CEO Bates assuming the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Ballmer.

Skype users can make low-cost or free phone calls over the Internet using their computers or smartphones. Skype bypasses the standard telephone network by channeling voice and video calls over the Web.

"At Microsoft we see tremendous opportunity to bring together what people want all on a single screen," Ballmer said. "We are committed to optimize Skype for TV with Xbox and Kinect, for the phone and for the PC."

Skype was founded in 2003 and acquired by online auction giant eBay in September 2005. It was sold to the investment group led by Silver Lake in November 2009 in a deal that valued the company at $2.75 billion.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals which the companies said they expect to obtain this year.

As printing industry enters a new frame, LifePics updates Android app (Appolicious)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 06:00 PM PDT

Court rules for students in Pennsylvania speech cases (Reuters)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 06:27 PM PDT

The next Xbox console may be debuted at E3 2012, according to Crytek (Digital Trends)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 03:01 PM PDT

Ryan Fleming Ryan Fleming – Tue Jun 14, 6:01 pm ET

Consider this a rumor. Consider this a big whopping rumor. A big whopping rumor with cheese. Even if it is correct, so much could happen between now and next year that it becomes a footnote in the inevitable unveiling of what most are calling the Xbox 720, the next generation of Microsoft console. That being said, it may actually be dead on the money.

Videogamer.com is reporting that a "high-ranking industry source as Crytek" has told the website to expect the debut of the Xbox 720 at next year's E3, if not sooner.

According to the report, Crytek is currently working on TimeSplitters 4 using Microsoft's DirectX 11 as the basis for all next-gen development. The DirectX 11 interface is known for three main features: First is the GPGPU support, which is a specific technique for improving computer graphics that takes some of the strain off of the CPU. The second feature is tessellation, which put simply, converts and renders low-detail graphics into high-detail, which also saves the CPU by moving things to the GPU. Third, it improves multi-threading support to better utilize multi-core processors (yes, computer programmers, this is a very simplified look at DirectX 11).

So in other words, the next generation of Xbox will feature better power efficiency, improved graphics, and faster and more powerful processors. According to the unnamed source, Crytek has been developing for the next-gen Xbox for quite a while now, long enough to have been at this year's E3, privately showing off video of their work on TimeSplitters 4.

Of course, none of this in itself is really all that surprising. Microsoft would naturally want more graphics and power from a next-gen console, and the DirectX 11 is an obvious base to build off of. What is surprising is to hear how far along it may be, and that an announcement may be as soon as next year. Most evidence seemed to suggest a 2015 release for the Xbox 720, and even that was just based on scraps of information.

Of course, even if everything is correct, and even if the Xbox 720 (or whatever it ends up being called) is debuted within the next 12 months, that doesn't mean we will see it anytime soon.

It has almost become standard operating procedure to announce new hardware at least a year in advance—just look at the recently announced Wii U, which won't be out until sometime next year. That would put the 720 into 2013. Assuming that Microsoft will make the announcement atE3, which is by far the most likely place to announce it, it may take more than a year before the hardware is released — always assuming it isn't delayed along the way, of course. Plus, Microsoft released both the Xbox and Xbox 360 in November just in time for the holidays, and there doesn't seem to be any reason to think it won't do so again. So barring the release of the Xbox 720 next holiday — which seems unlikely, but not out of the question — we may see the Xbox 720 in November of 2013. And that makes sense.

Although originally we had the date of the 720 as 2015, possibly 2014, a 2013 release would fit. With the Wii U coming next year, if Microsoft can make its announcement of a new system just before or immediately after Nintendo's system launches, Microsoft could steal Nintendo's thunder and finally wrest back some of the market share that the Wii took. (The Wii U should be slightly more powerful than the 360 and PS3, but not by much.) In fact, this leak may even have been privately encouraged by Microsoft just to take a little attention off of Nintendo's new console, which was the E3 show stealer.

It is also possible for a late 2013 release date, if that gets the Xbox 720 out in front of the PS4. Although the Japanese market has remained loyal to Sony over Microsoft, in America the head start that the 360 had over the PS3 gave them an advantage that Sony has yet to overcome. Sony did manage to make a late push and has closed the gap significantly, but the last few months have belonged to the Xbox 360. The Kinect has given the system a shot in the arm, and sales are actually steadily improving. Still, although Xbox 360 sales are blooming now, Microsoft has to feel the pressure from Sony and Nintendo regarding the next generation. Between Microsoft and Sony, whoever gets a box out first may end up with an unbeatable advantage between the two. How the Wii U does is still anyone's guess.

Both Microsoft and Crytek have refused comment. Again, this is all rumor at the moment, albeit and intriguing, and very plausible one.

Find shows on the go with these cable, satellite TV and video streaming apps (Appolicious)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 02:00 PM PDT

Apple brings us closer to quality camera phone photos with iOS 5 (Digital Trends)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 05:19 PM PDT

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Tue Jun 14, 8:19 pm ET

The iPhone has become an important part of every camera-happy customer out there. Mobile photos have revolutionized the way we share images as well as the hardware we use. The pocket cam has become ubiquitous with the camera phone for some, and the consistent ease and steady spec upgrades are making it more and more attractive as a primary picture-taking device. Of course, the iPhone camera hasn't been without its faults, and there have been plenty of things that land it below point-and-shoots. But Apple's noticed our fanaticism with the camera phone and responded with a slew of new features to iOS 5 that will make your iOS photography sessions more and more like the real thing. Of course if you've got anything other than an iPhone 4, you'll have to make do with the smartphone's current photo capabilities.

Shutter

shutterSteve Jobs hates buttons, we get it, but photographers are rather attached to the bells and whistles of a camera. We're beginning to see many new pocket cams featuring touchscreen functions, but the tried and true devices have at least some sort of physical controls, the most natural of them being the shutter. Its spot atop the upper right-hand corner of a camera has been solidified, and while the camera icon on the iPhone gets the job done, its position at the center bottom of the screen just feels wrong. With the iOS 5 upgrade, users will now have the option of leaving the iPhone locked and holding it in landscape mode (like you would naturally pick up a camera) and clicking the volume button on the side to capture an image. Of course seeing as the iPhone is slimmer than your average point-and-shoot, you need to take care not to block the lens. Its a sacrifice we're willing to make for less camera shake and a more tangible picture-taking experience.

Bringing a little iPhoto to iPhone

enhanceNo matter how much you love your iPhone (and if you have one you probably love it), it doesn't have the processing power of your desktop. Unfortunately nothing about iOS 5 is going to change that, but a few new features will bring a little of iPhoto's capabilities to your handset. Before iOS 5, iPhone users had to rely on third party apps for all editing needs. And if that didn't quite fit the bill, you could also upload your photos to the desktop and edit it them there. Now, users have a few options for immediately manipulating photos: Crop, Enhance, Rotate, and Red-eye are all built-in. These definitely fulfill your basic editing needs, but is actually a bonus seeing as the better outside apps are more filter-focused.

Photo Stream

Being able to use iCloud's Photo Stream feature means you can sync content – including images – across various devices. Now your photo library doesn't have to be separated by hardware type, and (given you're an iPhoto user) you will be able to have one very complete collection of all your pictures. Sharing photos on social sites or via email with the iPhone is definitely one of its most popular uses, but given the new abilities that will come with iOS 5, you may find yourself taking some personal database worthy pictures. And now adding them to said database will be something you don't even need to think about. Of course, Photo Stream only keeps new photos for 30 days, but they can be saved for longer with Camera Roll, and your desktop or laptop will save them permanently. IPhone photos are becoming more and more personal and important the more prevalent these devices become, and losing them could be pretty devastating for some. This makes it difficult to lose that library entirely.

"Manual" options

gridYou can only get so manual with an iPhone camera, but iOS 5 makes controlling image composition much more possible. Users can now touch and hold to lock focus and exposure, and newly implemented grid lines downplay the hazards of ill-aligned, on-the-go shooting. IPhone photographers will now be more able to obey the rule-of-thirds, and we'll come across less cringe-worthy composition on Facebook and Flickr as a result. The virtual zoom toggle on your camera remains an option when you open the app normally, but in lock screen you now use the pinch gesture to determine zoom. The lure of the camera phone is its accessibility and ease, but that often results in too-quickly taken, blurry, crooked, all-around poor shots. The new composition features mean you won't have to sacrifice (as much) quality for convenience.

Exclusive: Terrestar nears bid pact: sources (Reuters)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 04:26 PM PDT

By Caroline Humer and Nick Brown Caroline Humer And Nick Brown – Tue Jun 14, 7:26 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bankrupt telecommunications company Terrestar Networks Inc (TSTRT.UL) is nearing a minimum bid agreement of $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion, likely with billionaire Charlie Ergen, chairman of Dish Network Corp (DISH.O), according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Ergen, who also controls EchoStar Corp (SATS.O), has been competing against other interested bidders, including a group of senior noteholders and wireless communications company MetroPCS Communications Inc (PCS.N), sources said.

A MetroPCS spokesman said the company had no comment.

The noteholder group, made up of holders of TerreStar's 15 percent senior secured notes, is made up of several investment funds, including Solus Alternative Asset Management, Archer Capital Management LP and Redwood Capital Group LLC, according to court papers.

Terrestar, which filed for bankruptcy in October, faces a Wednesday deadline for bids. Its most sought-after assets include wireless airwaves, which enable wireless service providers to offer services.

A Terrestar spokeswoman declined to comment. A spokesman for Dish declined to comment. Representatives for EchoStar were not immediately available for comment.

The negotiations on the agreement were extended and have continued after Terrestar moved the bid deadline in its auction from June 8 to June 15, saying that it needed more time to negotiate a stalking horse offer. Its auction is slated to be held on June 22, with a sale hearing scheduled for June 28.

Those dates may have to be pushed back again, however, according to sources. If the company reaches a stalking horse agreement, it will need additional time to make that offer public, they said.

This is the third trip this year back to bankruptcy court for Ergen, whose Dish business already agreed to buy similar assets for $1.4 billion from bankrupt DBSD North America in March. Dish also bought Blockbuster Inc (BLOAQ.PK) in April in a bankruptcy auction.

EchoStar, which is also a creditor of Terrestar's, had a proposed debt-for-equity deal in place earlier this year but walked away from it in February shortly after announcing another telecom deal to buy broadband services provider Hughes Communications Inc (HUGH.O) for $1.33 billion.

(Additional reporting by Megan Davies and Matt Goldstein; editing by Andre Grenon, Gary Hill)

Garmin to expand in Europe (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 03:18 PM PDT

– Tue Jun 14, 6:18 pm ET

The maker of GPS systems bought German navigation provider Navigon to expand in Europe as well as compete with rival TomTom and smartphone companies offering free navigation. Terms weren't disclosed. Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN - News) said it can expand its automotive presence with Navigon, which also has applications for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) iPhone and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG - News) Android devices. Garmin's core automotive segment has been shrinking for two years. Shares gained 0.9% to 32.84.

Ericsson to buy software firm Telcordia for $1.15 bn (AFP)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 10:42 AM PDT

– Tue Jun 14, 1:42 pm ET

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Sweden's Ericsson, the world's biggest mobile network equipment maker, said Tuesday it would pay $1.15 billion (796 million euros) in cash for US communications software developer Telcordia.

Ericsson said the transaction was a key move in reinforcing and expanding the company's position in operation support systems and business support systems.

The Swedish giant described Telcordia, based in the US state of New jersey, as a "global leader in the development of mobile, broadband and enterprise communications software and services."

Currently held by private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Warburg Pincus, Telcordia has about 2,600 employees who will transfer over to Ericsson. It generated revenues of $739 million in the fiscal year ending January.

"The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced," Ericsson chief executive Hans Vestberg said in a statement.

"Telcordia brings the good customer footprint, leading service fulfillment and service assurance and a strong presence in North America," he added in a conference call, describing the transaction as "a strong business case."

Telcordia chief executive Mark Greenquist also hailed the deal.

"The combination of Ericsson's global leadership position and Telcordia's long-standing expertise in solving the most complex communications challenges will benefit customers through new services and expanded capabilities," he said in the statement.

Lars Soderfjall, an analyst with Aalandsbanken, told Dow Jones Newswires that Ericsson's acquisitions were "generally positive for its earnings."

Bernstein analysts agreed, describing the deal as "positive for shareholders."

"Ericsson can make a very profitable use of Telcordia's 2,600 employees and its global reach will surely improve Telcordia's growth potential," Bernstein said.

Ericsson said the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approvals, was scheduled to close in the last quarter of 2011 and come into effect at the beginning of 2012.

Ericsson shares closed up 1.66 percent to 88.70 kronor (9.70 euros, $14.05).

HP Moves Enterprise Chief To Board in Shake-Up (NewsFactor)

Posted: 14 Jun 2011 01:52 PM PDT

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Tue Jun 14, 4:52 pm ET

Let the shake-up begin. In a move to more closely align its corporate structure with the strategy it announced in March, Hewlett-Packard is making sweeping organizational changes. The company said the goal is to increase transparency, sharpen focus, enable synergy, and position HP for market opportunities.

As part of the shake-up, Ann Livermore is joining the HP board of directors. After serving HP for 29 years, Livermore will step down from her day-to-day management of HP Enterprise Business. HP also has appointed executive sponsors for two of its most important growth markets.

"Ann's distinguished role as a leader of our largest business, deep relationships with our most important customers, institutional knowledge of the company and its employees, and insights on the technology industry will be tremendous assets to our board of directors," said Ray Lane, nonexecutive chairman of HP's board. "On behalf of HP's 320,000-plus employees, I would like to congratulate Ann on her election and offer our heartfelt gratitude for her long service and dedication to this company."

Executive Shake-Ups

In other changes, Dave Donatelli, executive vice president of HP's Enterprise Servers, Storage, Networking and Technology Services, and Bill Veghte, executive vice president of HP's Software division, will now report directly to HP CEO Léo Apotheker in a move to drive transparency in customer-facing businesses. Similarly, Jan Zadak, executive vice president of HP's global sales, will report to Apotheker, facilitating efforts to better leverage the full HP portfolio to deliver integrated solutions for customers and partners.

HP is eliminating the chief administration officer role and broadening the role of chief information officer. Pete Bocian, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, is leaving HP. Randy Mott, executive vice president and CIO, is also leaving HP, effective immediately. The company will conduct a search for a successor.

In other moves, Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP's Personal Systems Group, will lead cross-business initiatives focused on expanding HP's market share in China, and Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president for the imaging and printing group, will lead similar efforts in India.

Livermore's CEO Speculation

"You expect the new executive to come in and take a look around and see who is doing the work, how they are progressing in their jobs, and which of the existing executive core really fits in with the strategy that the new guy has in mind," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "It's also reasonable to expect Apotheker to make hires that he feels are either better aligned with his strategy or can provide him higher-level support than he might receive from the old guard."

One area of concern for HP is its services division. Services continues to grow, but at a slower pace than its competitors' service groups. The buck on the services division stopped at Livermore's door. For that reason, King said, Apotheker may have decided it was time to hand the day-to-day running of the enterprise business to others.

"Livermore's service to the company has been so steady and has been so sterling in so many ways that an outright firing is not something the board of directors would have sanctioned or approved," King said. "She was mentioned as a potential CEO candidate back when Carly Fiorina came to town. With so much musical chairs going on in the CEO seat at HP over the last 10 years, it's worth speculation as to what might have been with Livermore at the helm."
at 9:56 PM

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