Sponsoer by :

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

AT&T gearing up for rare antitrust fight with DOJ (AP) : Technet

Sponsored

AT&T gearing up for rare antitrust fight with DOJ (AP) : Technet

AT&T gearing up for rare antitrust fight with DOJ (AP)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 03:52 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Aug 31, 6:52 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – The Justice Department's rejection of AT&T's proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA will test new federal guidelines on challenging mergers and the companies' resolve in forming the nation's largest wireless carrier.

A courtroom battle is likely and could wring out information that the companies would prefer to keep private. Still, AT&T Inc. has a big incentive to fight: If the deal is called off, the company has to pay a $3 billion breakup fee and surrender some of its unused spectrum for wireless communications.

AT&T is promising to fight the Justice Department's decision. The department filed a lawsuit Wednesday to block the $39 billion deal, saying it would reduce competition and lead to price increases for customers.

If AT&T follows through on that, it could produce the biggest antitrust showdown since business software maker Oracle Corp. squared off with the federal government seven years ago. That dispute, triggered by the government's decision to block Oracle's proposed purchase of rival PeopleSoft Inc., exposed several well-kept corporate secrets and required Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to testify before a packed courtroom.

In the end, Oracle pulled off something few companies have done in the past 30 years: It persuaded a federal judge that the Justice Department didn't have grounds to block its PeopleSoft deal. Oracle closed its $11.1 billion takeover four months after getting the favorable court ruling.

Usually, not even the most powerful companies bother to fight government regulators in an antitrust dispute. Google Inc., for example, backed off in 2008 when the Justice Department threatened to sue to block a proposed Internet search partnership with Yahoo Inc. Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, pulled out of a deal to buy Intuit Corp. in 1995 after the Justice Department objected.

The Justice Department filed 138 antitrust cases in federal courts from 1999 to 2008 and lost just four of them, according to the latest breakdown from the agency.

One reason that the Justice Department has such a good track record is because it rarely challenges a deal unless it's very confident it can win, said Joseph Bauer, a University of Notre Dame law professor and antitrust expert.

Knowing AT&T would probably go to court, the Justice Department may have wanted to signal that it intends to get tougher on corporate marriages between rivals in markets with few other competitors.

A union between AT&T and T-Mobile USA would leave Verizon and Sprint as the only other major cellphone carriers in the U.S. T-Mobile, a subsidiary of German telecom company Deutsche Telekom AG, is currently the No. 4 wireless carrier, while AT&T is second. Combined, AT&T would be the largest.

In a sign of its confidence, the Justice Department decided to strike down the deal even though it could have taken about three more months to study the pros and cons. The timing stunned AT&T, which said it didn't get any advance warning.

"It was an aggressive and impressive move by the DOJ to take the battle right at AT&T," said Daniel Wall, a San Francisco attorney who represented Oracle in its 2004 fight to win the right to buy PeopleSoft. "It sent a statement that the DOJ intends to fight this one all the way to the finish line."

Wall said AT&T may have a tougher time proving its case than Oracle did against the Justice Department. In the PeopleSoft deal, Wall said, antitrust enforcers seemed to be manipulating the definition of the business software market. "This time, it looks to me that they have a pretty solid market definition," Wall said. "They don't appear to be playing games."

University of Iowa law professor Herbert Hovenkamp said the Justice Department is being guided by a set of new guidelines, issued late last year, which make it clearer when mergers should be challenged on antitrust grounds.

"I don't think they are overreaching here," Hovenkamp said. "If there is a broader message here, it's that the government intends to enforce these new guidelines."

Besides being forced to divulge potentially damaging information, AT&T will face other risks if it doesn't settle with the Justice Department. Going to trial will take months, or even years, leaving the company in a legal limbo that could depress its stock price and cause customers and key employees to defect.

There's another risk to going to trial: as they try to prove their case, antitrust lawyers sometimes obtain confidential e-mails that contain embarrassing snippets and present other evidence that can make companies look bad.

Those are some of the reasons why AT&T mayl try to reach some kind of settlement with the government.

If AT&T persists, antitrust experts said that it's better off going up against the Justice Department than the Federal Trade Commission, which also handles antitrust reviews. That's mainly because lawsuits with the Justice Department are contested in federal courts. By contrast, the threshold for the FTC to block deals is generally lower, and the ensuing legal skirmishes occur in administrative law proceedings that drag on longer.

"The merging parties usually have a better shot when they are going up against the DOJ than the FTC," said D. Daniel Sokol, a University of Florida professor specializing in antitrust law.

Government sues to block AT&T, T-Mobile merger (AP)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 03:45 PM PDT

By JOELLE TESSLER and PETE YOST, Associated Press Joelle Tessler And Pete Yost, Associated Press – Wed Aug 31, 6:45 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department took the unusual step Wednesday to try to block AT&T's $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile USA, arguing that the proposed merger would lead to higher wireless prices, less innovation and fewer choices for consumers.

Now AT&T, the nation's No. 2 wireless carrier, and No. 4 T-Mobile are plotting a legal response to challenge federal regulators.

In its civil antitrust lawsuit, the Justice Department said the merger would stifle competition in the wireless industry. The deal, which is still under review at the Federal Communications Commission, would catapult AT&T past Verizon Wireless to become the nation's largest wireless carrier, leaving Sprint Nextel as a distant third-place player and certain to struggle.

AT&T quickly signaled that it won't abandon the transaction, leading to expectations of a fierce court battle.

AT&T has several incentives to take up a legal fight with regulators. In court, the burden is on the Justice Department — not AT&T — to show that the combination would harm competition. If the deal doesn't go through, the company will be forced to pay T-Mobile a $3 billion break-up fee and give it some wireless spectrum rights.

AT&T said it will ask for an expedited court hearing "so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed."

In a statement, T-Mobile's owner, the German company Deutsche Telekom, said it is disappointed by the Justice Department's action and "will join AT&T in defending the contemplated merger."

The companies could wage a strong defense in court.

Morgan Reed, executive director of the trade group, Association for Competitive Technology, said AT&T has at least one key fact on its side: Deutsche Telekom has said it does not plan to continue to invest in upgrading the T-Mobile network to deliver faster wireless. That means, "T-Mobile is not a competitor anymore," Reed said.

"T-Mobile has already stepped away from the table," Reed noted. "We're at three nationwide wireless carriers no matter what."

The association, which represents more than 3,000 small and independent application developers, believes the merger would benefit the wireless broadband industry.

In addition, the Justice Department lawsuit portrays T-Mobile as having been a strong competitor in the past, but merger analysis is forward looking, said Washington attorney Robert Bell, who has represented clients in mergers for over 25 years.

"To the extent AT&T can show there's good reason to believe that T-Mobile is going to be a very different kind of competitor in the future — for example, weaker financially, less innovative — then the lawsuit becomes quite a bit different," Bell said.

University of Notre Dame law professor Joseph Bauer said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the Justice Department's challenge of the deal because it has become so rare for the antitrust regulators to block major mergers during the past decade.

During a news conference, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the merger would result in "tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for mobile wireless services."

T-Mobile has been an important source of competition, including through innovation and quality enhancements such as the roll-out of the first nationwide high-speed data network, according to Sharis Pozen, acting chief of Justice's antitrust division.

AT&T and T-Mobile compete nationwide, in 97 of the largest 100 cellular marketing areas, according to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. They also vie for business and government customers.

The lawsuit says the acquisition would eliminate a company that has boosted competition with low pricing and innovation.

T-Mobile had the first handset using the Android operating system, Blackberry wireless email, the Sidekick smart phone, national Wi-Fi "hotspot" access and a variety of unlimited service plans.

In a statement, Sprint said the Justice Department's lawsuit "delivered a decisive victory for consumers, competition and our country. By filing suit to block AT&T's proposed takeover of T-Mobile, the DOJ has put consumers' interests first."

Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski said the record before his agency "raises serious concerns about the impact of the proposed transaction on competition."

Although the FCC's separate review of the proposed merger is still ongoing, the agency has never approved a significant merger that is being challenged by the Justice Department.

Commission member Michael Copps, a Democrat and a staunch opponent of industry consolidation, said he shares "the concerns about competition and have numerous other concerns about the public interest effects of the proposed transaction, including consumer choice and innovation."

Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, who heads the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, competition policy and consumer rights, said the suit was an effort to protect consumers "in a powerful and growing industry that reaches virtually every American."

The lawsuit used some of T-Mobile's own documents describing its role in the market to explain why the merger shouldn't take place. In those documents, the company calls itself "the No. 1 challenger of the established big guys in the market and as well positioned in a consolidated 4-player national market."

T-Mobile said its strategy is to attack other companies and find innovative ways to overcome the fact that it is a smaller company.

T-Mobile "will be faster, more agile and scrappy, with diligence on decisions and costs both big and small," one company document said. "Our approach to market will not be conventional, and we will push to the boundaries where possible."

Since AT&T first announced the deal in March, it has insisted that consumers would have a choice of multiple wireless providers, including Leap, Metro PCS and U.S. Cellular, in many markets even if the deal is approved.

The Justice Department rejected that argument. It said regional providers face "significant competitive limitations" because they do not have national networks. The department said the enormous investments and resources needed to acquire wireless spectrum and build a network make it very difficult for new companies to enter the wireless market.

AT&T and T-Mobile also have said the merger would reduce dropped and blocked calls, and speed mobile Internet connections for subscribers. Faster service would result by combining their limited wireless spectrum holdings at a time when both companies are running out of airwaves to handle mobile apps, online video and other bandwidth-hungry services.

Finding more airwaves to keep up with the explosive growth of wireless broadband services is a priority of the FCC and the Obama administration.

But the Justice Department said AT&T could "obtain substantially the same network enhancements ... if it simply invested in its own network without eliminating a close competitor."

___

Online:

Justice Department's lawsuit: http://tinyurl.com/44lx4qo

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Even with low prices, T-Mobile customers flee (AP)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 02:34 PM PDT

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Aug 31, 5:34 pm ET

NEW YORK – The Justice Department's move to block AT&T Inc. from buying T-Mobile USA is motivated by the desire to keep a low-priced competitor in the game. But that's a game T-Mobile is losing.

Despite low prices and a peppy pitchwoman in a polka-dot dress, T-Mobile customers have been fleeing to other carriers in the last year and a half.

T-Mobile's 33.6 million customers may be relieved that the federal government is trying to block the merger, so they can keep their wireless service plans. But in the long run, T-Mobile is in an unsustainable position. Analysts say the company's past decisions have painted it into a corner.

The No. 4 wireless carrier is being squeezed by competitors from two directions. At the high end of the market, it can't compete with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc., the market leader and no. 2, respectively. At the low end, T-Mobile is struggling against competitors like Sprint Nextel Corp., which sells government-subsidized "lifeline" service, and MetroPCS Holdings Corp., which targets urban, working class consumers with cheap "unlimited" plans.

Essentially, T-Mobile is seen as a cheap brand by those who can afford better, and as an expensive one by those who pinch every penny.

"We're stuck in the middle from a brand point of view," T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm said in January.

The most valuable customers, the ones who buy smartphones and sign up for two-year contracts with lucrative data plans, are leaving T-Mobile the fastest.

It's not because T-Mobile's customers are particularly dissatisfied with the service — they like their provider better than AT&T customers theirs, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Instead, the lure of the iPhone and wider network coverage is what draws high-paying customers to AT&T and Verizon.

So, even though T-Mobile is profitable, its revenue is shrinking fast — in the latest quarter, it was down to the level of 2007.

Customer flight could speed up even more this fall, if Sprint gets to start selling the iPhone, as The Wall Street Journal reported recently. That would make T-Mobile the only one of the four national wireless carriers that doesn't sell Apple Inc.'s coveted phone.

In about two years, T-Mobile will face another problem: limited wireless spectrum, or space on the airwaves. While other carriers have been bulking up their spectrum holdings in the last five years, T-Mobile stayed mostly on the sidelines. That means growing smartphone data use could fill up T-Mobile's airwaves in a few years, according to the company's own estimates.

Even before AT&T's $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile was announced in March, T-Mobile's corporate parent, Deutsche Telekom AG of Germany, said it's not interested in investing more in its U.S. subsidiary. It gave CEO Humm a mission to stop customer flight and start growing revenue, but he'll have to do it with the U.S. subsidiary's own resources.

Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner traces T-Mobile's current troubles in part to Deutsche Telekom's unwillingness to invest in T-Mobile's spectrum and network in the last few years. It waited until 2009 to start building out a wireless broadband network, several years behind Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel Corp.

Entner said Sprint, the industry's No. 3, is a good example of a carrier that has overcome a lot of adversity. It has slowed subscriber flight in the last few years through improvements in customer service.

"The US market is competitive and companies can come back from near death when they do things right. The problem is that T-Mobile USA's parent Deutsche Telekom is not committed to the US market the same way its competitors are," Entner said.

When the AT&T deal was announced in March, it came as a surprise. Industry rumors, instead, hinted at a linkup between T-Mobile and Sprint. If AT&T fails its appeal, that buzz could reemerge. But T-Mobile and Sprint use different network technologies, which would make any merger difficult.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett also thinks the Justice Department's reasoning in the AT&T case would preclude a Sprint-T-Mobile merger.

There would be a silver lining for T-Mobile if the deal falls through. AT&T would have to pay T-Mobile $3 billion in cash and transfer to it some unused spectrum. In addition, T-Mobile would get a renegotiated roaming agreement with AT&T. None of those are likely to change Deutsche Telekom's reluctance to invest in T-Mobile.

Sprint to bump ETF charge from $200 to $350 in September (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 05:53 PM PDT

Your smartphone isn’t welcome at Pittsburgh’s Marriott Renaissance Hotel (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 05:47 PM PDT

eMusic and The Echo Nest Partner for Streaming Radio (Mashable)

Posted: 30 Aug 2011 06:34 PM PDT

Todd Olmstead Todd Olmstead – Tue Aug 30, 9:34 pm ET

Digital music retailer eMusic has teamed up with music intelligence company The Echo Nest to launch a series of music discovery applications. The first app in this series is called eMusic Radio. With Radio, eMusic offers streaming "stations" such as "Gimme Indie Rock!" and "All Things Electronic," which are curated by eMusic staff and contributors as well as other knowledgeable personalities from the music industry. The service is now available in beta and is free for eMusic members.

[More from Mashable: iTunes Match Beta Launches for Developers]

Using The Echo Nest's Playlist and Taste Profiling engines, the human curators behind the new eMusic Radio stations can augment their selections with additional tracks chosen based on artist connections, mood, and various attributes like tempo, time signature and key.

It sounds a bit like Pandora with a human touch. There are minimal social features, and eMusic is only offering 10 hours a month of free streaming. However, now seems like a good time to experiment with streaming music and discovery services, with Spotify gaining hold in the United States and iTunes in the Cloud taking advantage of streaming for Apple users. For a music retailer like eMusic, encouraging music discovery is an important, perhaps essential, part of driving sales.

[More from Mashable: YouTube Cover Song Face-Off: Katy Perry's "Firework"]

The Echo Nest has been on a tear over the last year, signing deals with companies like Rdio, 7digital, the Public Radio Exchange, MTV's Music Meter and Island Def Jam. The company is making a name for itself in the burgeoning music discovery space.

We like seeing The Echo Nest and eMusic working together and look forward to more collaborations between the two groups in the future. Will you be streaming music through eMusic Radio? Let us know in the comments.

Image Courtesy of Flickr, Robert Agthe

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Australia's Telstra moves closer to sealing broadband (Reuters)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 08:27 PM PDT

By Sonali Paul Sonali Paul – 1 hr 19 mins ago

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia's dominant phone company, Telstra Corp, will be $5 billion better off working with the government's new high-speed broadband network than competing against it, an independent expert said, paving the way for shareholder approval.

Telstra released the advice to shareholders ahead of a vote on October 18 on its plan to hand over its fixed-line assets to the government's $38 billion network, a cornerstone of one of the nation's biggest telecoms reforms.

"Overall, the advantages of the proposal outweigh the disadvantages. Accordingly, in Grant Samuel's opinion, the proposal is in the best interests of Telstra and its shareholders," independent expert Grant Samuel said.

The only alternative for Telstra would be to compete against the $38 billion network, which would require the firm to step up investment in its own networks and face losing access to new digital spectrum, as threatened by the government.

The endorsement came two days after Australia's competition regulator spooked the market by calling for changes in the terms of Telstra's plan to hand over its fixed-line assets to NBN Co, the state-owned company that will build and run the new network.

Telstra shares rose 1.3 percent to A$3.07, outpacing the broader market and recouping the week's losses as investors felt Telstra would be able to meet the concerns of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

"The fact that they've put this out and they're still trying to stick to a timetable is a positive," said Sondal Benson, an analyst at BT Investment Management.

"It also probably highlights the issue with the ACCC is not a major hurdle."

Shareholders have been waiting to vote for the company's plan to separate its fixed-line assets, looking to end two years of uncertainty that sent its shares to record lows sparked by the Labor government's shake-up of the industry.

"The majority of the market seems to be in favor of the deal. In fact, you could argue the share price has performed better the more certain the deal has become," said Michael Maughan, an analyst at Tyndall Investment Management, which owns Telstra shares.

The broadband network aims to wire up the entire country to high-speed services and provide a neutral platform on which rival firms, including Telstra, can compete for customers.

Shareholder approval is one of the last key hurdles to Telstra giving up its fixed-line assets, including ducts and access to exchanges, to NBN Co.

Telstra Chief Executive David Thodey said the board was unanimous in advising shareholders to back the plan.

"We think it is the better overall financial outcome. It does give us a more stable regulatory environment and greater strategic flexibility going forward," he told analysts and reporters.

Grant Samuel valued the payments Telstra would receive from the government for its infrastructure assets at A$12.8 billion ($13.7 billion), above the A$11 billion estimated by Telstra.

It estimated Telstra would save A$3.5 billion by not having to invest in its own networks to compete against the broadband network, while it would lose A$11.6 billion in cashflows.

Altogether, the company would be A$4.7 billion better off by cooperating with NBN Co than competing against it.

Grant Samuel considered the implications of the broadband network failing or being abandoned, and concluded that Telstra would also be better off under this scenario than one where it chose to compete with a successful broadband network.

The conservative opposition, currently favored to win the next election due in 2013, are against building the broadband network.

Rival Singapore Telecommunications' Australian arm Optus also is handing over assets to NBN Co under a plan that needs approval from the competition regulator.

(Editing by Ed Davies)

WikiLeaks denies charges it put lives in danger (Reuters)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:10 PM PDT

By Mark Hosenball Mark Hosenball – 2 hrs 36 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – WikiLeaks is defending itself against accusations that it may have put lives at risk by dumping uncensored U.S. diplomatic cables on the Internet.

In a series of cryptic Twitter messages, WikiLeaks suggested that sloppy handling by people who formerly worked with WikiLeaks and at least one mainstream media outlet resulted in the inadvertent disclosure of unredacted versions of all 251,000 State Department cables which the whistleblowing website is believed to possess.

Meanwhile, U.S. government officials have criticized WikiLeaks itself for including in its latest public release of tens of thousands of cables some documents which identify suspected militants and U.S. Embassy contacts by name.

The latest squabble among current and former WikiLeaks insiders has become increasingly heated and arcane. But the key issue is who, if anyone, released unedited documents that could put those named at risk or complicate anti-terrorism operations.

In a message on its Twitter feed, which WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is believed to control, WikiLeaks accused an unnamed "mainstream news organization" of having "disclosed all 251k unredacted cables." In an earlier message on Tuesday, WikiLeaks said: "There has been no WikiLeaks error. There has been a grossly negligent mainstream media error, to put it generously."

Earlier this week, German publications and a blog published by Wired magazine claimed that a 1.73 gigabyte password-protected file containing all the uncensored cables was "reportedly circulating somewhere on the Internet." Wired quoted the editor of German publication Der Freitag saying that his paper had found the file and "easily obtained the password to unlock it."

Two people familiar with behind-the-scenes machinations involving Assange and his former associates said that privately, Assange was blaming the alleged website security slip-up on his former WikiLeaks collaborator, Daniel Domscheit-Berg. Assange also was accusing London's Guardian newspaper of making public the key to the alleged password-protected file in a book on WikiLeaks published earlier this year by two of the paper's journalists.

A Guardian spokesperson said: "It's nonsense to suggest the Guardian's WikiLeaks book has compromised security in any way. Our book about WikiLeaks was published last February. It contained a password, but no details of the location of the files and we were told it was a temporary password which would expire and be deleted in a matter of hours."

RELEASES ACCELERATED

Former Assange collaborators suggest that the allegation by WikiLeaks that a mainstream media outlet made public uncensored cables is an attempt to divert attention from WikiLeaks' own release, in its most recent public dump of State Department cables, of documents from which names should have been, but were not, deleted.

Several news organizations, including Reuters, have had complete sets of the cables for months. But WikiLeaks had only made a few thousand public until last week when it sharply speeded up the release. As of Wednesday, the website said it had released nearly 143,000 cables.

In a Twitter message on Wednesday, WikiLeaks claimed that it "has not released the names of any 'informants.'" The website suggested that all the material it was releasing was "unclassified and previously released by mainstream media."

A former WikiLeaks activist who reviewed the deluge of newly released material said the vast proportion of it was labeled "Unclassified." But two media sources who reviewed the material said it also contained some unredacted classified documents.

Reuters examined two such documents, posted on the WikiLeaks website, where a U.S. government source was identified; in one case the cable, classified "Secret," contained a clear notation: "protect source."

U.S. and Australian officials also condemned WikiLeaks for releasing a cable, classified "Secret," which identified by name 23 people in Australia whom U.S. and Australian authorities believed should be subjected to U.S. air travel curbs due to alleged contacts with Islamic militants in Yemen.

A U.S. counter-terrorism official said the disclosure would have "real consequences for counterterrorism activities around the globe. Giving our adversaries any advantage by releasing this information is simply insane."

Neither Assange nor his principal antagonist, Domscheit-Berg, could be immediately reached for comment.

But Stephen Aftergood, an anti-secrecy activist at the Federation of American Scientists, noted that WikiLeaks lately seemed to be surrounded by "a lot of melodrama." He added: "When criticized, the standard WL response is to deny error, shift responsibility to someone else, and attack the critic. It does not inspire much confidence."

(Additional reporting by Maurice Tamman and Eric Auchard; Editing by Warren Strobel and Eric Walsh)

Amazon adds the ability to quiz authors through the Kindle (Digital Trends)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 09:05 PM PDT

Mike Flacy Mike Flacy – 40 mins ago

reading-kindle

Announced today, Amazon is testing a new feature of the Kindle that allows readers to directly ask questions to the author of a book. Borrowing a page from Twitter, the program is called @author and allows readers to post questions from the Kindle. Readers can also visit the Amazon Author page to post questions on the Web. Questions are published on the Amazon Author page and readers interested in the author can read all questions. Using the 5-way controller, the reader can highlight a specific passage on the page and ask a question by typing '@author' previous to the query. Readers are limited to 100 characters as Amazon is tweeting the question to the author. 

amazon-authorSince the high-tech program is currently in beta form, there are only twelve authors participating in the process. Popular authors include action-adventure writer James Rollins, The 4-Hour Workweek author Timothy Ferriss, staff writer for The New Yorker Susan Orlean, suspense novelist C.J. Lyons, Rich Dad, Poor Dad scribe Robert Kiyosaki, Brad Meltzer of Identity Crisis fame and thriller, suspense writer Ted Dekker. Amazon is encouraging readers to ask specific questions about characters and situations within novels as well as an author's personal influences and background on how they got started writing. Amazon is also attempting to dissuade readers from posting inflammatory or negative comments.  

This new program from Amazon is designed to help self-publishing authors open up a new venue for online marketing and accessibility. Traditional publishers have been slow to catch up to online promotion and successful authors that are publishing exclusively on the Kindle continue to be approached by large publishers that wish to purchase rights of publication for print. For instance, John Locke, one of the authors in the Amazon promotion, recently signed a deal with Simon & Schuster that allows the company to handle the promotion and sales of the print version of his works. However, Locke can continue selling digital versions without paying any piece of revenue to Simon & Schuster.

Android App Tablet Review: Evernote (Appolicious)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:14 PM PDT

Rumor: Facebook launching music service in late September with Spotify, MOG and Rdio (Digital Trends)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:51 PM PDT

Jeff Hughes Jeff Hughes – 1 hr 55 mins ago

facebook music via slashgearFacebook's been working hard at making the social network site a one-stop-shop; games already run amok, Miramax recently began offering streaming movies and soon we may see that Facebook music platform we've been hearing rumors about.

Mashable reports that Facebook's music and media platform will be announced September 22 in San Francisco, coinciding with the f8 developer conference. The three launch partners on-board with the service will include Spotify of course, as well as MOG and Rdio. It's likely that more third-party developers will get a crack at the music platform in time.

"There's nothing new to announce," A spokesperson said in response to reports of Facebook's music platform. "Many of the most popular music services around the world are integrated with Facebook and we're constantly talking to our partners about ways to improve these integrations."

Spotify representatives declined to comment on the rumor.

Facebook users can already publish activity, and share playlists from the three launch services, however, that's not the same as being able to listen to the music using Facebook. The three services all offer free music, with unlimited streaming for a montly fee. Facebook's 750 million user base could mean a lot both to third-party music services, music publishers and musicians.

The new music platform will contrast the cloud music service of Google and Amazon and Apple where users upload music to listen. Facebook's plan hopes to mirror its social gaming success; instead of streaming or directly hosting, the company will become a platform for content just like the Zynga games. It's great for Facebook as it won't have to worry about licensing. The music will be delivered through through a third-party, with perhaps a media player within Facebook, and require users to log in to their accounts—allowing friends to listen to each others playlists.

In July, rumors about the music service were strengthened when a programmer found evidence of a music application called Vibes within the Skype install code.

Sprint raises early termination fee to $350 (Digital Trends)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 04:43 PM PDT

Mike Dunn Mike Dunn – Wed Aug 31, 7:43 pm ET

Sprint storeWe can't say this news is a big surprise, but Sprint will be raising its early termination fee. On September 9 Sprint will be increasing its ETF to $350 for advanced devices such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and notebooks. This change will bring Sprint up to tie Verizon with the highest early termination fee, with AT&T right behind them at $315.

Yesterday Sprint officially announced it will be releasing its version of the Samsung Galaxy S II on September 16, so the timing of the policy change makes sense. There are also rumors that the iPhone will be coming to Sprint's network, whenever it is launched. With two high end devices coming to the Now Network in a short period of time it makes sense that Sprint would want to protect itself from people signing up and breaking their contract.

Early termination fees are in place to protect cell phone companies from people signing a long contract to get a discounted phone and canceling the service before the company makes its money back. Or in some cases companies use ETFs to charge customers more money than is due. All cell phone companies have ETFs, and all of them pro-rate over the life of the contract. The further you are into your contract the less money you are charged if you cancel your service early.

Now that Sprint will have some devices that people will really want to get their hands on, without re-signing a long contract it makes sense for them to increase the ETF. We are sure you will still be able to find Sprint iPhones and Galaxy S IIs on ebay and Craigslist, but the price for those devices just went up.

 

A Skitch in time saves a mediocre photo (Appolicious)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 01:30 PM PDT

Hands on with the new Samsung Galaxy S II (Digital Trends)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 04:15 PM PDT

Jeffrey Van Camp Jeffrey Van Camp – Wed Aug 31, 7:15 pm ET

Samsung Galaxy S II AT&T

Yesterday, Samsung unveiled three new models of its flagship Galaxy S II phone, each variant destined for a different carrier (Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile). We were on hand and took the time to try out both the AT&T and Sprint versions of the S II, which are, oddly, different from one another in a few ways. Samsung is clearly trying to build a universal brand with its Galaxy S phones, but it looks like each wireless carrier made a few of its own design tweaks to the phone. The Sprint model, for example, has a 4.5-inch screen, while the AT&T model is closer to resembling the 4.3-inch original Galaxy S II we've been seeing at trade shows all year. T-Mobile is withholding information on its own version, but from behind the plastic we noticed that it has more rounded corners and a brushed plastic back instead of a textured back like every other version. All three versions run Android Gingerbread, which is nice considering "Ice Cream Sandwich" is about to come out. 

Less iPhone, more Android

The first thing we noticed about all of these models is that Samsung appears to be finally ending its love affair with the iPhone. Apple is currently suing the Korean manufacturer for blatantly trying to trick customers into thinking its phones were iPhones and we have to say, Apple actually had a point here. With these models, Samsung has gotten rid of the iPhone-like square app icons and abandoned its big Home button, a staple of the S II world phone. 

Samsung Galaxy S II: Sprint version vs World version

The new version of TouchWiz  that ships with all three of these phones also brings some notable innovations to the world of Android–we aren't used to Samsung impressing us with software. Most impressive are the new types of motion gestures. Now, to do certain tasks, like zooming in on a webpage, you can hold your fingers on the page and tilt the phone up and down, which zooms in and out. Likewise, if you hold an icon or widget on your homepage and move your phone around, you can move it to other desktop pages. On the floor, these innovations were rather cool and exciting, but we're not yet convinced they have actual staying power. I mean, do you really want to flail your phone around to zoom? We'll see in time. 

Samsung Galaxy S II U.S. unveiling

Samsung has also ditched Google's voice recognition (you can turn it back on in the menus) for Flingo voice recognition. We couldn't properly test this feature because the room was too loud, but the goal is for voice recognition to be more natural and easy. Samsung's TVs will soon integrate Flingo. 

Samsung's Social and Media hubs have also gotten small revamps. Both look somewhat useful, but not nearly as good as the Social hubs in Windows Phone devices.

Business folk, you'll be happy to know that the Galaxy S II(s) also have on-device encryption of user data, Exchange ActiveSync support, Cisco VPN, Sybase MDM, and Cisco WebEx mobile conferencing. Or maybe you won't. If anybody is a system administrator, do these features make the Galaxy S II more attractive? 

Look & feel

Samsung Galaxy S II U.S. unveiling

Overall, we're still quite impressed with how thin and lightweight the Galaxy S II is. It's almost too light–it doesn't feel heavy enough to do as much as it does. But hey, I think we'd get over that problem pretty quickly. Samsung's 4.5-inch Super AMOLED screens are still industry leading, though we wish the resolution would bump up from 800×480 to 960×540, which is the new standard. Likewise, the phone was snappy thanks to the custom Samsung Exynos 1.2GHz dual-core processor, which Samsung took every opportunity to brag about. From what we experienced, it may be industry-leading, just as representatives frequently claimed. 

Overall, the Galaxy S II won't be the most powerful handset for long (if it is now), but it will be a great option for those buying a smartphone this autumn. It's good to see Samsung catching up with HTC with its TouchWiz interface and we applaud their attempt to create a singular brand across all carriers. Hopefully Verizon will get on board so we can try out that 4G LTE Galaxy S II we've been reading about.

For more pictures of the event, check out our gallery. 

Panasonic announces 3D camcorder, Lumix compact camera (Digital Trends)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 11:03 AM PDT

Geoff Duncan Geoff Duncan – Wed Aug 31, 2:03 pm ET

Panasonic HDC-Z10000 2D/3D camcorder

Although 3D technology still hasn't taken off strongly with consumers, Panasonic is betting that, with just the right gear, everyday photographers and video fans will embrace that technology. To that end, Panasonic has announced its new HDC-Z10000 2D/3D camcorder, and has begun teasing a twin-lens 3D-capable Lumix 3D compact camera, both of which could reach consumers by the end of the year.

First up, the Panasonic Lumix 3D compact camera will be able to shoot 3D photos like a traditional point-and-shoot, but with its twin lenses it will also be able to shot 3D stills and high-definition 3D video. The Lumix 3D gets its small size from two 4× zoom lenses with folded optics and optical image stabilization that operates in 2D, 3D, and video modes. The camera will be able to shoot 2D stills and video at the same time, while the side-by-side lenses will also be able to capture 3D video in AVCHD format. Users can then pop the videos over to their 3D-capable Panasonic Viera TV via an HDMI cable.

Panasonic will be showing the Lumix 3D at the IFA trade show in Berlin this week, but has not announced any pricing information. The Lumix 3D should eb available for sale this winter.

Folks looking for a more robust 3D video solution could check out Panasonic's upcoming HDC-Z10000 (yes, that's four zeroes!) 2D/3D video camcorder. With a twin-lens design, Panasonic claims it has the closest 3D video macro setting on the market, able to produce 3D images from as little as 17.8 inches away from a subject—great for animals, small objects, and flowers. Moreover, users won't have to wear 3D glasses to see their subjects previewed in 3D: The HDC-Z10000′s 3.5-inch LCD viewfinder lens uses a parallax barrier to send slightly different images to the left and right eye, creating a 3D effect—that means videographers can check 3D images while they're shooting. Of course, the display can toggle between 3D and 2D modes.

The HDC-Z10000 features two 32–320mmm ƒ1.5–2.7 10× optical zoom lenses, optical image stabilization, separate adjustment rings for focus, zoom, and iris, built-in mics that support Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and standard stereo (along with two XLR inputs with phantom power for external mics), dual SD memory card slots, and the ability to shoot 2.1 megapixel stills and shoot 3D still images while recording video.

Panasonic says it'll announce pricing within 30 days of the HDC-Z10000 hitting the market; expect to see it before the end of the year.

New iPhone app offers rewards for exercising (Reuters)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 06:06 PM PDT

By Natasha Baker Natasha Baker – Wed Aug 31, 9:06 pm ET

TORONTO (Reuters) – Need some motivation to hit the gym? Perhaps some free merchandise will do the trick.

At least this is the premise that Nexercise is built upon, a free iPhone app that tracks activities ranging from running and weightlifting to fencing and polo and rewards users with free and discounted merchandise in the hopes that users will adopt long-term exercise habits.

"We're trying to create a lifestyle - not a quick fix," said co-founder Benjamin Young. "We don't focus on how many miles you ran or how many pounds you've lifted. You get points in the game for healthy behaviors."

Users can accumulate points based on the length of their workouts and for other behaviors that reinforce frequent exercise habits. Exercising with a friend or on a rainy day, for instance, allows users to accumulate bonus points.

"A lot of it is driven by research studies. If you exercise with someone, you're more likely to continue to exercise." said Young.

Receiving prizes is more of a lottery rather than direct redemption. Users with more points have greater chances of winning prizes, and those that have reached higher levels have access to more valuable prizes.

According to Young, the chances of winning a prize at the lowest level are about 25 percent, with prizes ranging from $5 gift cards and coupons for items such as energy bars, up to $250 gift cards.

Recent integration earlier this month with Kiip, a San Francisco-based advertising startup, provides access to prizes from retailers such as makeup company Sephora and vitamin and supplements maker GNC among many others.

Having recently completed an experimental run at the University of Maryland, the app is still quite new and has some kinks.

It has been criticized for the quality of its rewards, which Young said have improved with its recent integration with Kiip, and will continually improve as the app matures.

"It's a function of growth. We're growing and the more we grow, the more likely we'll have bigger vendors getting on board," he explained.

Another common complaint is that the app can't run in the background, which means the app has to be open at all times in order to fully track physical activity. Young said the problem is scheduled to be fixed in the fall.

Other upcoming plans for the app include a contextual notification system to increase engagement. For instance, if the app detects that a user is motivated by competition, it will notify them when their friends have surpassed them in the game.

A website, called Earndit, has partnered with some of the same prize providers. Other popular fitness apps include Runkeeper and Nike+, which count calories and map trails, but do not provide prizes as incentives.

Nexercise is available worldwide on the App Store.

Windows 8 To Offer Both Desktop, Tablet Interface (NewsFactor)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 03:15 PM PDT

Mark Long, newsfactor.com Mark Long, newsfactor.com – Wed Aug 31, 6:15 pm ET

Users of the coming Windows 8 operating system will be able to switch between a traditional desktop PC user interface and a tablet-friendly look patterned after Microsoft's Windows Phone platform.

Some industry observers clearly have been worried about the dumbing down of the next Windows OS release. However, users who highly value the full-blown desktop experience will have the full set of PC capabilities at their fingertips, said Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft's Windows division, writing in a blog.

"If you want to, you can seamlessly switch between Metro style apps and the improved Windows desktop," Sinofsky wrote. "Essentially, you can think of the Windows desktop as just another app."

Windows 8 tablet users who prefer Windows Phone's Metro-style UI for accomplishing tasks on the fly will never even need to see the platform's desktop version.

"We won't even load it -- literally the code will not be loaded -- unless you explicitly choose to go there," Sinofsky said.

Moreover, the new Metro-style UI "is much more than the visual design -- [it is] fast and fluid, immersive, beautiful, and app-centric," Sinofsky said. And tablet users who do not need the full-blown Windows desktop experience won't have to comply with its more stringent memory, battery life and hardware requirements, he added.

The Innovator's Dilemma

Microsoft has to negotiate an innovator's dilemma with Windows 8, said Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC.

"They have to create a product which is appealing to an apparently large segment of the user population who loves a simpler touch-first approach to computing, while maintaining Window's existing user-base that is comfortable with the precise control a keyboard, a mouse and a file-oriented interface provides," Hilwa said.

Just how Microsoft will go about accomplishing the delicate balancing act of having both Windows 8 user interfaces operating together harmoniously remains unclear right now. However, more concrete details are expected to emerge at Microsoft's Build conference for developers beginning Sept. 13 in Anaheim, Calif.

The bottom line is that Microsoft will need to ensure that both user segments remain happy with Windows 8, Hilwa said. The software giant also will need to "maintain two parallel application development models until these begin to blend more naturally down the road," he added.

The Ribbon Users Love To Hate

Already featured in the 2007 and 2010 releases of Microsoft's Office business productivity suite, the ribbon is one design element that some Office users love to hate. This helps explain this week's flurry of negative comments about the addition of a ribbon to the new file management tool for Windows 8.

Still, Sinofsky pointed out that the addition of a ribbon will enable the platform's designers to create an optimized file manager that positions the most frequently used commands at reliable, logical locations.

"The flexibility of the ribbon with many icon options, tabs, flexible layout and groupings also ensured that we could respect [Windows] Explorer's heritage," Sinofsky said.

What's more, the Windows Explorer ribbon provides for a much more reliable and usable touch-only interface than pull-down-menu or context-menu designs could provide, Sinofsky said. Though some critics have complained about the additional screen real estate that this feature would occupy, Sinofsky said users would be able to display the Windows Explorer ribbon in either an open or minimized state.

IBM buys British security analytics firm i2 (Reuters)

Posted: 31 Aug 2011 10:27 AM PDT

– Wed Aug 31, 1:27 pm ET

(Reuters) – IBM (IBM.N) has agreed to buy British security analytics software firm i2 for an undisclosed sum, it said Wednesday, as it continues to devour companies that can help its clients deal with growing mountains of data.

Privately held i2, which says its software helped U.S. forces track down former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2003, is based in the English university town of Cambridge and has 350 staff in Britain, the United States, Canada and Australia.

In five years, IBM has spent more than $14 billion on 25 acquisitions focused on analytics to help its customers deal with exponentially growing amounts of unstructured data from sources such as social media, biometrics and criminal databases.

So-called "big data" presents an increasingly urgent challenge to companies in all sectors and has been a major driver of mergers and acquisitions among technology companies in recent years.

Like its Cambridge neighbor Autonomy (AUTN.L), which Hewlett-Packard agreed to buy earlier this month for $11.7 billion, i2 is at the cutting edge of analyzing huge amounts of data intercepted by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore and Georgina Prodhan in London; Editing by Will Waterman)
at 9:46 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

My Blog List