Sponsoer by :

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Amazon targets the iPad: Ready, aim, Fire (AP) : Technet

Sponsored

Amazon targets the iPad: Ready, aim, Fire (AP) : Technet

Amazon targets the iPad: Ready, aim, Fire (AP)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 02:16 PM PDT

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Sep 28, 5:16 pm ET

NEW YORK – Amazon is taking on the untouchable iPad with a touch-screen tablet of its own.

The company on Wednesday introduced its entry in the rapidly expanding market for handheld computers — a device called Kindle Fire that connects to the Web, streams movies and TV, displays e-books and supports thousands of apps.

It's half the size of an iPad and will be less than half the price when it goes on sale Nov. 15. Amazon is offering the Kindle Fire for $199. The bare-bones iPad sells for $499, the most expensive for $829.

Of course, competing with the iPad won't be as easy as swiping a finger.

Analysts at one research firm, Gartner Inc., say three of every four tablets sold this year will be iPads. Apple sold almost 29 million of them from April 2010 through June of this year.

Amazon sells more than 1 million e-books, 100,000 movies and TV shows, and 17 million songs. It hopes it will succeed where other companies have failed because the tablet is designed to tap into Amazon's massive storehouse of media content.

"The reason they haven't been successful is because they made tablets. They didn't make services," CEO Jeff Bezos said in an interview.

Bezos unveiled the Kindle Fire at a New York media event that was stage-managed much the same way Apple choreographs its product launches. He walked a stage extolling the product while technology sites live-blogged the event.

The CEO also introduced three versions of its popular Kindle e-reader, all with black-and-white screens — a basic model for $79, a touch-screen version for $99 and a touch-screen with 3G wireless service for $149.

Those devices will further pressure competitors like Barnes & Noble as they try to break Amazon's dominance in electronic book sales.

The Kindle Fire's size, with a screen that measures 7 inches diagonal, makes it a close match to Barnes & Noble's Nook Color tablet, which came out last year. But while Barnes & Noble sees the Nook Color as a jazzed-up e-reader, Amazon has broader goals for the Fire as a platform for games, movies, music and other applications.

All that content makes the Fire the only credible competitor to the iPad this year, said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research.

"In theory, Sony could do something similar, but they haven't, and it doesn't look like they will," she said. "They have a tablet, but they only went halfway on the services."

Sony started shipping its first iPad-style tablet two weeks ago. It's linked to the company's music and movies stores, and the capability for some PlayStation games will be added later.

Analysts had expected the Fire to sell for about $250. Epps called the $199 price "jaw-droppingly low," and said it would be tough competition not just for Apple, but for contending tablet makers like Samsung, Motorola and HTC.

Analysts had speculated that Amazon would sell the tablet at a loss, counting on making back some money through book and movie sales. Bezos said that isn't the case, but that the company is happy with a slimmer profit margin than other manufacturers.

"We want the hardware device to be profitable and the content to be profitable. We really don't want to subsidize one with the other," Bezos said.

Epps said she believes Amazon could sell as many as 5 million Fires by the end of the year but will probably sell closer to 3 million because it's coming out so late.

The Fire will run a version of Google's Android software, used by other iPad wannabes, and will have access to apps through Amazon's Android store.

Unlike competing tablets, it will not have a camera. Bezos said the camera would be superfluous, since practically everyone has one in their phone anyway.

It also lacks a microphone and a slot for memory expansion, common features on other Android tablets. The Kindle Fire will run on Wi-Fi networks but will not connect to cellular networks, as some iPads and many Android tablets can.

The new Kindle e-readers dispense with the keyboard that the device has carried since it launched in 2007. The Kindles will come with on-screen advertising unless customers pay $30 to $40 more.

Bezos said he doesn't see the Fire as eventually replacing the Kindle, which is exclusively for reading.

"What will happen is people will buy both. Because they're really for different purposes," he said.

Theaters group upset Sony to end free 3-D glasses (AP)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 04:48 PM PDT

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima, Ap Business Writer – Wed Sep 28, 7:48 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Sony Corp.'s movie studio will save millions of dollars per movie after it told theater owners it will stop paying for 3-D glasses next May. But moviegoers could end up footing the bill.

Sony Pictures suggested in letters sent the last few days to U.S. theater owners that they adopt a "guest ownership model" prevalent in Europe and Australia and charge patrons separately for the glasses, which they can re-use on future visits.

RealD Inc., one of the main suppliers of glasses, said a pair in Europe sells for about a euro, or around $1.36 at today's exchange rate. Most patrons spend more than $3 on popcorn and sodas each, according to major theater chain Regal Entertainment Group, and the average ticket to a 3-D movie already costs a few dollars more than a ticket to a traditional showing.

There also are designer 3-D glasses that run more than $100 a pair.

The change Sony's planning would come just before Sony is to release its 3-D blockbusters for next summer, "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Men in Black III," although some of Sony's 3-D movies, including "Arthur Christmas," come out earlier.

Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer said in a statement that "there are constructive ways to deal with the cost of 3-D glasses that will not adversely impact consumers and can also help the environment." He called on theater owners to come to the table to work out the issue.

Usually, such negotiations happen behind closed doors. In this case, Sony going public with its new policy didn't sit well with theater owners. The nation's largest cinema trade group, the National Association of Theatre Owners, said the unilateral policy change was "insensitive" to consumers in a weak economy.

Regal Entertainment Group on Wednesday threatened to cut the number of screens showing 3-D films if the move means it or its patrons will have to pay more.

"To the extent that Sony seeks to change the current model in a manner that shifts costs to exhibitors, we would be forced to evaluate this new economic model and program our screens accordingly," said Regal CEO Amy Miles in a statement.

Theater association president John Fithian said Sony's decision upends a six-year old practice of splitting the costs of the rollout of digital 3-D screens across the country.

While movie studios have paid for 3-D glasses and the cost of digital projectors and equipment — expecting to save on film printing costs in the future — theaters have paid for 3-D add-on technology and labor costs.

Sony's Elzer said there has never been an agreement that studios would always bear the cost of 3-D glasses.

The squabble comes amid changes in the movie business that have hurt studios' profits. People are buying fewer DVDs and aren't paying enough for Blu-ray discs, on-demand movie downloads, or online subscriptions to make up for the decline. Studios are trying to cut costs by laying off workers and cutting movie budgets.

Fithian said the belt-tightening shouldn't result in passing the buck to theater owners or moviegoers. "It is nonsensical to say theater owners and our patrons should be paying for their mistakes in the home market," he said.

It remains to be seen if other studios will follow Sony's lead and stop paying for the glasses. Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. said it was sticking with its arrangements with theaters for now.

"We are evaluating the situation," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution for News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox.

Representatives from Viacom Inc.'s Paramount, Comcast Corp.'s Universal and The Walt Disney Co. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

One immediate result of the announced change was that RealD shares plunged $1.80, or 14.7 percent, to close at $10.42 in trading Wednesday. RealD supplies technology for about 90 percent of the 3-D screens in the U.S. and is a major supplier of the glasses, which made up about 40 percent of its revenue in the most recent quarter.

RealD spokesman Rick Heineman said the company is fine with any new model, including one in which consumers pay. He compared that system to buying headphones on an airplane. The core profit of the company comes through licensing its technology, he said.

Sony shares rose 12 cents to close at $19.34.

Yahoo touches up Flickr amid internal turmoil (AP)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 02:33 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Sep 28, 5:33 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – It isn't a pretty picture at Yahoo Inc. right now, but that's not stopping the beleaguered Internet company from touching up its popular photo-sharing service, Flickr.

Yahoo made that clear Wednesday with the introduction of a new way for friends in different locations to simultaneously browse through pictures. The company also unveiled its first official application for the millions of devices running on Google Inc.'s Android software.

It's part of a broader effort by Yahoo to recapture some of the ground that it has lost in recent years to Facebook, which has emerged as an advertising and photo-sharing hub. Yahoo touted its free Android app as a sign of its determination to become a bigger force on mobile phones and tablets.

Yahoo's product managers are making the push at a time of internal turmoil.

The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is trying to figure out whether it makes sense to sell part or all of its business after firing tough-talking Carol Bartz as CEO earlier this month. Employees were told the process could take several months in an e-mail last week from Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo. In the meantime, Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse is also filling in as interim CEO.

"Our mission is to speed innovation, to bring great new products to the market," Steve Douty, Yahoo's vice president of applications management told reporters Wednesday. "That is not going to change. We are moving ahead full steam just like we have before."

Flickr's newest sharing tool, called "Photo Session," is designed to replicate the experience of leafing through an old-fashioned photo album, even if the people who are browsing are located thousands of miles apart. Any of Flickr's nearly 170 million users can activate a session by obtaining a special link that can be sent to other invitees. A photo session can be done on iPhones, iPads and personal computers using the Safari, Firefox and Chrome browsers. The feature doesn't currently work on Internet Explorer or Opera browsers.

Photo Session also doesn't work on the new Android app, but Yahoo plans to address that shortcoming in future updates.

Until now, the millions of people with Android devices had to rely on apps designed by non-Yahoo programmers. Douty cited the Android app as just one of several that Yahoo will be releasing in the next few months to expand its reach beyond the 137 million mobile devices that currently use some of its services.

In doing so, Yahoo hopes to revive its revenue growth after several years of erosion that have contrasted with steady growth at Google and Facebook. Yahoo's financial funk has depressed its stock price and ushered out three CEOs in less than five years — Bartz, Yang and Terry Semel.

Yahoo shares fell 35 cents Wednesday to close at $14.19.

Pedal-powered Hyundai Azera is the ultimate green vehicle (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 06:18 PM PDT

Just Show Me: How to redownload apps on an iPhone or iPad (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 06:12 PM PDT

Crisis Tracker Maps Atrocities in Africa (Mashable)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 04:30 PM PDT

Zachary Sniderman Zachary Sniderman – Wed Sep 28, 7:30 pm ET

Nonprofit groups Invisible Children and Resolve have created a service called Crisis Tracker to document and map atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army, a military group in Africa. Invisible Children and Resolve both seek to end the violent conflict in Uganda. The Crisis Tracker is designed to raise awareness of the assaults committed by the LRA. Information from the site comes from Invisible Children's Radio Network, local NGOs and UN agencies. Reports can then be filtered by type of attack such as looting, LRA sighting, abduction and civilian injury, among others. Users can also report attacks by emailing Invisible Children.

[More from Mashable: How Phones Are Changing Healthcare In Africa]

The tracker has an impressive PDF explaining how the map is populated and how reports are thoroughly verified. The map is searchable by date or a sliding timeline. Users can also read and sign up for text updates.

While the map is designed for public use, it could also work for government agencies looking to curb the regional violence.

[More from Mashable: World's Top Thinkers Weigh In on Social Good [VIDEO]]

Take a look at the map and let us know what you think of plotting these atrocities.

Image courtesy of Flickr, bbcworldservice

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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

Congress still a bit short on social media savvy (AP)

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:03 AM PDT

By KRISTEN BARBARESI, DAVID CHARNS and KELLY F. ZIMMERMAN, From the Medill News Service Kristen Barbaresi, David Charns And Kelly F. Zimmerman, From The Medill News Service – 34 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Eight of every 10 members of Congress are on Facebook and Twitter, but social media experts say lawmakers should be more interactive in using online communication tools to reach out to young people, one of their most elusive constituent groups.

People ages 18 to 29 — the so-called millennials — practically live online. Yet simply adopting the latest technology isn't enough to bring them into the political world of Congress, according to the experts and leaders of youth-based political groups. Lawmakers instead should be using social media to actively engage that 18-29 crowd instead of as another one-way communication tool to tout their latest talking points.

"Social media has gone from a publishing platform to a really interactive space," says Andrew Foxwell, manager of marketing and new media at iConstituent, a firm assisting congressional offices with constituent outreach. "You have to interact. That's the added value of social media."

Foxwell advises lawmakers to respond to millennials' comments on Facebook and to their tweets, the 140-character-or-less messages sent to those who follow Twitter accounts.

It can be a significant audience. Three-quarters of Americans 18 to 29 use social media, and one-third go online to connect with government officials, according to a survey by The Pew Internet and American Life Project.

In Congress, 433 members of the House and Senate, or 81 percent, use Twitter, a recent survey of members found. Eighty-three percent, or 441 members, use Facebook.

When it comes to tweeting, Republicans have an edge over Democrats in both chambers.

In the House, 86 percent of Republicans tweet compared with 75 percent of Democrats. Forty-one of the 47 Republicans in the Senate tweet, as do 41 of the 51 Senate Democrats and both independents.

Youth advocacy group leaders urge lawmakers to use social media for more than dry policy statements and talking points.

"We want to know how you're feeling," says Angela Peoples of Campus Progress, who advises members of Congress to be "genuine" in their social media usage. "If you're frustrated with the process, share that with your social media tools."

Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote, also pushes for authenticity. "Have a real conversation. Talk about the issues and engage them in authentic ways," she says. "Be yourself, use the technology and people will write back."

For Emily Bartone, an 18-year-old student at George Mason University in suburban Washington, personalizing the message is key to connecting.

"I want it to be something that's going to be valid to me as an 18-year-old, as a new voter," Bartone says. "They can talk and talk and talk about whatever their agenda is, but if they don't personalize it to their viewers and their audience, then they're not going to get anywhere with it."

Social media should be a catalyst for political dialogue, Foxwell says.

"It's what I call a 360-degree conversation," he says. "The ultimate you could have is that somebody gets an email or e-newsletter from their representative. Then, they start following that representative on Facebook or Twitter, they ask a question and the representative responds back. Then you're having a real experience, with a person."

Like other media, it can be misused. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., was forced to resign in June after sending sexually explicit messages and photos to women who were following him on Twitter.

The 2008 presidential election showed tangible benefits for a candidate who could engage young voters via social media. According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 51 percent of eligible voters ages 18-29 cast ballots, up 2 percentage points from 2004, and most voted for Barack Obama, whose campaign used social media extensively.

Three years later, some millennials say lawmakers who have yet to become social media-savvy are missing an opportunity to connect with their generation.

"We're a very underappreciated group of voters, but the thing is, when we're passionate, we're a very powerful group of voters," Bartone said. "When you're not using social media to contact us, to really get to us, you're really . neglecting an entire group of voters that could really do well for you."

Sarah Richard, a 22-year-old graduate student at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., said members of Congress who aren't using social media well are viewed as minor players, if not insignificant.

"If you're looking for the youth vote for any election coming up, you need to have social media on your side," Richard says.

Experts say lawmakers should develop specific strategies for targeting young people. Peter Levine, the director of The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, says lawmakers should hire millennials from their own congressional district or state to contribute their own content as a way to connect with others like them.

"If a staffer is writing the tweets for a member of Congress, say so," Levine says.

He also suggests that lawmakers or their representatives invite comments and responses and then reply to them to make the conversation interactive.

Lack of a social media presence is a sign of being out of touch, says Matthew Segal, 25, the co-founder and president of Our Time, an organization created to bolster the voice of young Americans. The more out of touch the lawmakers seem, he says, the more millennials feel removed from the political process.

"Members of Congress have an obligation to stay on top of new emerging trends and culture because they represent the American people," Segal says, "and that's what the American people are using and consuming every single day."

Groupon gets into online retailing with Groupon Goods (Reuters)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 07:55 PM PDT

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee Nivedita Bhattacharjee – Wed Sep 28, 10:55 pm ET

(Reuters) Groupon launched its online retail arm Groupon Goods for its American subscribers on Wednesday, moving beyond daily group discounts to compete with leaders like Amazon Inc.

The leading daily deals website sent emails to select customers on Wednesday, calling out Groupon Goods, with discounts on home furnishing products like LED TVs, coffee brewers and pilates.

"(The offer is) already seeing good results," a source close to the matter said. "Groupon Goods is the buzz around Groupon. It can add significant impact to Groupon's growth strategy."

Last Wednesday, Groupon sent a test batch of emails, with discounts on products like Ray Ban sunglasses, mattresses, and cutlery, but had not branded it under Groupon Goods at that time, the source said.

Although there is no visible presence on site, given the revenue potential and strength of offers, online retail is where Groupon is speculated to be headed for.

The source also said Groupon has brought on one of their top members of the international management team, former Citydeal co-founder and executive director of their UK team, Rajen Ruparell, to lead Groupon Goods.

Recently, Groupon moved top international executives, including Ruparell and Chris Muhr, Groupon's new sales chief, to headquarters operations.

Last week, its chief operating officer left to join Google Inc five months after joining the company, and ahead of a highly anticipated initial public offering.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Kindle Fire may force Android tablet makers to cut prices (Reuters)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 11:09 PM PDT

By Miyoung Kim Miyoung Kim – 1 hr 28 mins ago

SEOUL (Reuters) – Asian technology companies came under pressure on Thursday to slash prices of their tablet computers after Amazon.com launched its Kindle Fire at a mass market-friendly $199.

From Samsung Electronics to Sony Corp, major Asian tablet makers have ambitious plans to take on Apple, whose iPad is the gold standard in the booming market.

With their me-too type of products priced almost at the same level as the iPad's starting price of $499, none of them have however been able to gain any significant market share from Apple.

So far, Samsung has been seen as the most credible challenger to the iPad and some analysts suggest it could lose its No. 2 position to the eagerly anticipated Fire.

The South Korean company's tablet marketing campaign has also stumbled in recent months due to Apple's legal attempts to ban Samsung's tablet sales in Australia, the United States and Germany, over patent infringement, among other claims.

The Kindle Fire, while lacking many of the high-tech bells and whistles common on tablets from cameras to 3G wireless connection, may sound the death knell for a raft of devices based on Google Inc's Android operating system.

"The pricing is critical to gain traction in the tablet market... Rival manufacturers have failed to attract consumers as they have matched the iPad's price point without matching its content offering," said Adam Leach, an analyst at research firm Ovum.

"Amazon's retail-based business model allows the company to subsidize the device on the premise that consumers will buy more from Amazon, be that physical goods or its digital content."

Samsung's Galaxy Tab, Sony's S tablet, Motorola's Zoom and many others from Acer Inc and Asustek Computer Inc all run on Android, which Amazon's Fire also uses and combines with its online store.

By pricing the Fire at less than half the iPad -- yet stripping out costlier components and features -- the Internet retailer hopes to get the device into millions of consumers' hands and then into Amazon books, movies, music and other content.

TOUGH FOR SAMSUNG

Samsung's new tablet Galaxy 10.1 is priced roughly the same as the iPad. Even at that price, a slim profit margin of around 5 percent makes it difficult for Samsung to cut prices sharply, analysts say.

Worldwide tablet shipments will more than triple to 60 million units this year and surge to 275.3 million units by 2015, research firm IHS iSuppli forecasts.

Apple dominates the North American tablet market, with 80 percent of the 7.5 million units shipped during the second quarter of 2011, Strategy Analytics says.

Analysts had expected Amazon's tablet to be priced around $250, roughly half the price of Apple's iPad, which starts at $499.

Sony vowed in January to become the world's No. 2 tablet maker -- behind Apple -- by 2012 and Sony executives have since stuck to that ambitious claim.

"We expect the Amazon tablet to... put pressure on the other non-iPad competitors as they are unlikely to be able to compete on price and value," UBS analysts said in a note.

"At the $199, we believe Amazon's tablet has the potential to be disruptive to the market and, in particular, the non-iPad market...Other tablet vendors will find it difficult to match Amazon's price point."

HP's firesale of its TouchPad tablet at $99 just six weeks after its launch created strong demand for its soon-to-be-killed product, a sign of just how critical prices are in the sector.

(Editing by Anshuman Daga)

Nokia to cut 3,500 jobs, close Romania plant (Reuters)

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:18 AM PDT

– 19 mins ago

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia, the world's largest cellphone vendor by volume, said on Thursday it would close its plant in Cluj, Romania and cut 1,300 jobs in its location and commerce business unit whose products include maps for mobile phones.

"The planned closure of the Cluj factory combined with adjustments to supply chain operations is estimated to impact approximately 2,200 employees," Nokia said.

Nokia has struggled this year with falling sales and profits after the firm in February said it would switch to use Microsoft's software for its smartphones, but the first of these will reach the market only later this year.

Nokia's share price has halved since February, when it unveiled the shift to Microsoft, on worries the company will lose so much market share before the new phones come out that it might never make up lost ground.

In April Nokia unveiled a 1 billion euro cost cut plan, which included laying off 4,000 staff.

Separately on Thursday, Nokia supplier Digia said it had agreed to cut 170 jobs in its Finnish operations, and could cut up to 80 more as it revamped its business.

Most of the job cuts would come from its mobile business unit, Digia said.

(Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

A brief look at how 4 in Congress use social media (AP)

Posted: 29 Sep 2011 12:05 AM PDT

By KELLY F. ZIMMERMAN, KRISTEN BARBARESI and DAVID CHARNS, From the Medill News Service Kelly F. Zimmerman, Kristen Barbaresi And David Charns, From The Medill News Service – 32 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Advocacy groups for young people say these four members of Congress are using social media effectively:

___

SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL, D-Mo.

Twitter name: clairecmc

Number of Facebook "likes": 10,000

Number of Twitter followers: 58,000

Funnel cake and the debt ceiling. Two very different topics, yet both are mentioned on McCaskill's Twitter page. Her last tweet during the debt ceiling debate: "Taking a blanket and pillow to the Capitol. (hash)neveragoodsign."

McCaskill's office says the senator is not only responsible for the messages coming from clairecmc, her personal account, but she also responds to dozens of Facebook posts and Tweets each week.

When McCaskill exceeds the 140-character maximum on Twitter, she occasionally turns to Tumblr.

The topic of a recent blog post: Why she is not following you on Twitter. The reason: time. "I could take the easy route and say I'm following thousands of people," it says. "But that would feel dishonest because I really would not have the time to read all of their tweets."

Regardless of whether McCaskill is following you on Twitter, she still lands in the top 10 members of Congress for the highest number of Twitter followers.

___

SEN. JOHN BOOZMAN, R-Ark.

Twitter name: JohnBoozman

Number of Facebook "likes": 4,000

Number of Twitter followers: 7,000

Boozman has a new method for responding to constituents: video. The first two episodes of "From the Mailbag" feature the senator addressing questions from Arkansas residents on camera.

While he takes the spotlight in his five-minute YouTube clips, his press staff members are behind the scenes typing Twitter and Facebook posts. Communications staffer Sara Lasure says using multiple platforms is common for Boozman's office. A review of his online efforts shows website blog entries generally are posted several times a week and tweets are usually posted at least once a day.

Which platform does Boozman prefer? His Twitter followers outnumber his Facebook "likes" almost twofold, but Lasure says Facebook adds a personal touch and connects to his home base.

"Facebook is more Arkansas-oriented," Lasure said. "Twitter is kind of the gamut of people who follow us."

___

REP. PAUL RYAN, R-Wis.

Twitter name: RepPaulRyan

Number of Facebook "likes": 82,000

Number of Twitter followers: 72,000

Ryan tweets more than about 250 other members of Congress who are on Twitter, posting an average of 2.3 tweets a day. He also leads most colleagues in popularity, placing in the top 10 members of Congress for the most Facebook "likes" and Twitter followers. Yet the man behind the House budget plan for dealing with the deficit and debt follows just one Twitter account, NationalDebt.

Press secretary Kevin Seifert says Ryan's primary hub for getting his message out is his website, which features regular updates from the office and a prominent invitation to "Join Paul on Facebook."

Searching for videos? Find them on his website or YouTube page, where Ryan has more than 200 videos and about 2,500 subscribers.

Ryan does not have a designated social media staffer but manages his own Twitter account with help from his office. Seifert says social media allow the congressman to share information with people who don't have the opportunity to speak to him face to face.

___

REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-Calif.

Twitter name: NancyPelosi

Number of Facebook "likes": 45,000

Number of Twitter followers: 83,000

The House minority leader says if you aren't on Facebook, you might as well be faxing your press releases. According to one of her aides, not only is Pelosi a huge advocate for social media, but she was the first member of Congress to sign up for YouTube, in 2006.

About once a month, Pelosi's office holds technology sessions, which have featured training for House Democrats in Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. In March, her office hosted a "Speed Geeking" event, where House members had a chance to use a variety of social media tools and learn why they are important for constituent outreach. On the training docket for the fall: Google Plus.

An aide in the Pelosi office says one of her favorite social media activities is looking at who is mentioning her on Twitter because it gives her real-time feedback.

Flickr unveils 'Photo Session' feature and Android app (Digital Trends)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 07:26 PM PDT

Trevor Mogg Trevor Mogg – Wed Sep 28, 10:26 pm ET

Photo-sharing service Flickr unveiled Photo Session and the Flickr Android app on Thursday.

Photo Session is a feature designed to encourage friends and family to share photos at the same time, no matter where they are in the world.

Say you̢۪ve taken a thousand photos on your recent trip to Vietnam and you want to share them with relatives and friends at the same time. Well, the first thing to do is edit them down to the best 50, because you can bet your bottom dollar not one of them will want to sit through a slideshow that goes well into the night, no matter how good the pics are.

Once you've picked out the best, set up a Photo Session and then invite whoever you like to browse the photos at exactly the same time.

"When you move to the next photo it moves for everyone else too," Flickr's Zack Sheppard wrote in a post on the website's blog.

The fun part is that while you̢۪re viewing the photos, you can all chat with each other and even draw on the pictures using the built-in tools. Up to 10 others can join in the communal global slideshow, and it can be viewed on a PC, iPhone and iPad.

Flickr also launched its official Android app on Thursday. It's been a while coming, considering that the iPhone version has been around for over two years. The app enables users to take pics, jazz them up with filters, and easily post them to sites like Facebook and Twitter.

"Browsing and navigating has been custom designed for Flickr to make use of maps, tags, and activity around your photos," Sheppard explained. "You can stay up to date with the latest comments and activity on your photos and take advantage of gorgeous full screen browsing and slideshows."

There had been some fears that, with Flickr-owner Yahoo going through something of a turbulent time recently, the photo-sharing site could suffer. However, these latest additions show that, at least for now, Yahoo is keen to see the Flickrverse further evolve.

31 essential public transport Android apps to get around cities from NYC to London (Appolicious)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 02:30 PM PDT

DOJ to take closer look at Google's Motorola deal (AP)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 04:32 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Sep 28, 7:32 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Justice Department is taking a closer look at Google's proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility, raising the hurdle that must be cleared before the deal can be completed.

The extended review disclosed Wednesday had been widely expected since Google Inc. announced its plans to buy Motorola Mobility Inc. last month.

Most of Google's big acquisitions have been closely scrutinized by federal regulators in the past few years because of the power the company has gained as the Internet's search and advertising leader.

Google also makes Android, a leading software system for mobile phones. The competitive advantages that Android has given Google in the increasingly important mobile market may be one of the focal points of the Justice Department's inquiry.

Despite the increased scrutiny, Google has won government approval for all its acquisitions so far. Antitrust experts expect regulators to sign off on the Motorola Mobility deal too because there will still be plenty of other mobile phone manufacturers competing in the market. If it's approved, the Motorola purchase will be by far the largest acquisition in Google's 13-year history. It has taken the company eight months to nearly a year to gain the necessary approvals for some major deals.

"We're confident that the DOJ will conclude that the rapidly growing mobile ecosystem will remain highly competitive after this (Motorola) deal closes," Dennis Woodside, a Google senior vice president overseeing the Motorola acquisition, wrote in a Wednesday blog post.

A rejection of the deal would be expensive for Google, which has promised to pay Motorola Mobility $2.5 billion if it isn't completed.

Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., is more interested in Motorola Mobility's patent portfolio than its lineup of phones and other gadgets. With about 17,000 patents already approved, Motorola would offer Google a way to shield Android from lawsuits alleging the software is illegally using the intellectual property of other companies.

Regulators don't often dig deeper into an acquisition with the tool of the so-called "second request" for information that the Justice Department issued to Google in the Motorola Mobility deal. Last year, just 4 percent of the transactions reviewed by the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission received second requests, according to the agencies' statistics.

But it would have been a shock if Google hadn't gotten a second request in the Motorola acquisition, given the size of the deal and the intensity of the government focus already on Google.

The FTC is still in the early stages of a broader inquiry into allegations that Google is stifling Internet competition by highlighting its own services in its search results and relegating its rivals to the back pages. U.S. lawmakers are also watching; just last week, a Senate panel grilled Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt about the company's business practices.

Google says it is just trying provide people with more tools to find information they're seeking.

Infographic: A look back on the short, sweet history of the iPod (Digital Trends)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 03:28 PM PDT

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Wed Sep 28, 6:28 pm ET

The iPod revolutionized music and spawned the mass-adoption of MP3 players. And now, multi-functional smartphones might be the iPod's downfall–much like it led to the end of CD players. While the music player's fate hangs in the air, enjoy this visual history and look back in celebration of its upcoming tenth anniversary on the market.

ipod infographic

[via Vouchercodes.co.uk]

Fake iPhone ring busted in China: report (Reuters)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 07:35 PM PDT

– Wed Sep 28, 10:35 pm ET

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese police in Shanghai have arrested five people for making and selling fake versions of Apple Inc's iPhone, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.

Police said those arrested were part of an organized gang that bought components for the phones from Guangdong in southern China and assembled them in rented apartments in Shanghai, the Shanghai Daily said.

About 200 fake iPhones were found during the crackdown.

The cost to make one fake iPhone, which used some genuine parts, was around 2,000 yuan ($313). It was sold on unauthorized markets and on the Internet for around 4,000 yuan, only a few hundred yuan cheaper than the real iPhone, the newspaper said.

The fake iPhones had the same functions as the genuine ones but had a shorter battery life, it quoted the police as saying.

"It's really hard for customers to distinguish the fake ones from the genuine ones," an officer was quoted as saying.

Officials from Apple could not be reached for comment.

China has been repeatedly criticized for widespread violation of intellectual property rights, but pirated goods from expensive brands of watches, bags and computer software can be easily found in shops.

Various pirated versions of iPhones can also be easily found. 'hiPhone 5' phones, which are based on leaked images of the yet-to-be-launched iPhone 5, are being sold in markets and on the Internet.

An American blogger set off a media storm in July after she posted pictures of an elaborate fake Apple Store in Kunming, selling genuine if unauthorized iPhones, Macbooks and other widely popular Apple products.

Apple, which is expected to roll out the latest version of the iPhone 5 smartphone within a few months, sold a record 20.34 million iPhones worldwide during the last quarter, even though its newest model is over a year old.

(Reporting by Kazunori Takada; Editing by Ken Wills and Sanjeev Miglani)

Microsoft, Samsung expand smartphone partnership (AP)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 12:11 PM PDT

– Wed Sep 28, 3:11 pm ET

NEW YORK – Microsoft and Samsung Electronics have agreed to cross-license one another's patent portfolios, with Microsoft getting royalties for the mobile phones and tablets Samsung sells that run Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

Microsoft Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that they also will work together to develop and market Microsoft's Windows Phone software, which is likely to increase exposure for the Windows Phone.

It's the seventh deal Microsoft has signed in the past three months with hardware makers that use Android for their smartphones and tablets, according to Brad Smith and Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's general counsel and deputy general counsel, who made the comment in a blog post. Other hardware makers it's working with include Acer and Onkyo, and a year and a half ago Microsoft signed a similar deal with HTC — all without filing lawsuits.

Financial terms were not disclosed, though Evercore Partners analyst Kirk Materne said Microsoft probably will get a "fairly low" amount per phone. More importantly, he said, the Redmond, Wash., company is bolstering its relationships with phone manufacturers so it has an advantage when it comes out with its own operating system.

Research firm IDC says Samsung was the No. 2 smartphone maker in the world in the second quarter, behind Apple Inc. Samsung's Galaxy phones, which propelled it to No. 2 from No. 4 in the smartphone market, run on Android.

Microsoft is scrambling to build a mobile version of Windows that will be more widely embraced in the smartphone market, where its operating system has fallen behind Android and Apple Inc.'s iPhone operating system.

For Samsung, Materne said the deal likely signals a recognition that, once Google bought Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., a key competitor for Samsung, diversifying what operating systems Samsung phones run could only be a positive.

"The deal helps cover their bases," Materne said.

Together, HTC and Samsung "accounted for more than half of all Android phones sold in the U.S. over the past year," Smith and Gutierrez wrote.

"That leaves Motorola Mobility, with which Microsoft is currently in litigation, as the only major Android smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. without a (Microsoft) license."

A representative for Google could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Shares of Microsoft rose 36 cents to $26.03 in midday trading.

AP Enterprise: UK tabloid paid spies for scoops (AP)

Posted: 28 Sep 2011 12:17 AM PDT

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press – Wed Sep 28, 3:17 am ET

LONDON – No one suspected the secretary.

Efficient, well-dressed and well-liked, Sue Harris was at the heart of the Sunday People, the smallest of Britain's weekly tabloids. She booked flights, reserved accommodation, and tallied expenses for the populist paper's dozen or so full-time reporters. A petite, 40-something south Londoner who'd spent most if not all of her working life at the tabloid, journalists there trusted her implicitly.

Maybe they shouldn't have.

In 1995 Harris was dismissed over an allegation that she'd been feeding her paper's juiciest scoops to Piers Morgan's News of the World, betraying her co-workers for a weekly payoff of 250 pounds — then worth about $375. Although People journalists had long believed there was a traitor in their midst, they were shocked when Harris was exposed.

"Everybody knew there was a mole," said a former senior journalist with the People. "We never thought the person we were looking for was her."

The journalist, who was there when Harris was fired, was among three former colleagues who recounted her story to The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they still work in the media industry.

Harris' alleged spying on behalf of the News of the World wasn't unique, an AP investigation has found. Interviews with three more former journalists and published accounts suggest that Rupert Murdoch's flagship Sunday tabloid engaged in a pattern of payoffs aimed at rival newspaper employees.

The News of the World was closed in July as evidence of illegal conduct there became inescapable. Although accusations that the paper hacked into phones and corrupted police officers to win scoops have been widely aired, the paper's efforts to subvert rival newspaper employees have seen less attention.

American investigators are already examining whether the News of the World's parent company, New York-based News Corp., broke U.S. anti-corruption laws by bribing British officials. Legal experts now say that payments made to rival journalists could make it more difficult for the media conglomerate to defend itself against any potential prosecution.

The corporate espionage campaign also calls into question the ethics of Morgan, who edited the News of the World between 1994 and 1995 and who once boasted that having rivals on his payroll meant that he and his colleagues "always know exactly what our competitors are doing."

Story theft has long been a big worry for Britain's Sunday tabloids, who only get one shot a week at making an impression on their readership. Particular concern surrounds the "splash" — the front page story which acts as an advertisement for a paper's journalism.

At the People as with other tabloids, journalists took extreme measures to keep a potential splash under wraps. Sources would be paid compensation in return for exclusive access or sequestered at out-of-the way hotels for days at a time to keep them away from rival reporters.

Keeping the splash secret was particularly important for the cash-strapped People. If the News of the World got wind of a story, the Murdoch tabloid's massive budget meant it could easily outbid the People for interview rights.

But no secret was safe from Harris, who spent years sitting a few feet from the People's senior editors. Former journalists say that, thanks to the weekly payments made by the News of the World, the People's powerful rival knew everything too.

The effect on reporters was devastating. A People journalist sent by plane to Edinburgh was disconsolate when he found a News of the World team on the same flight. A writer huddled with his source at an obscure hotel outside of London was shocked to discover his paper's biggest rival at the downstairs bar. A team of People reporters who'd spent days staking out the home of a young woman seethed when they saw their competitors walk up to the front door.

People journalists would routinely spend days putting together a splash only to be ambushed at the last minute by the News of the World, who would outbid them for the story. Suspicion grew as exclusives kept getting spoiled.

"It was a kind of frustrating paranoia," said a journalist who held a mid-ranking job at the paper at the time. "There had to be a mole. But everyone looked around the office and at who sat next to them, and no one believed it could be anyone there."

Something similar was happening at one of the People's sister papers, the Sunday Mirror, where reporter Chris House was accepting about 1,000 pounds a month to leak his colleagues' stories.

In his 2005 book, "The Insider," Morgan recalled one of the disclosures: The news that a popular British television presenter was having an affair.

Morgan said the Sunday Mirror had spent three months working on the story only to have it stolen out from under them the day before it was due to run.

"If I was their editor I'd want to top myself," he crowed, using British slang for "suicide."

It isn't clear when the News of the World began paying for rivals' stories, although Morgan's book suggests that the practice predated his installment as editor there. The senior journalist at the People said he was warned as far back as 1992 that there was a mole on the paper.

Morgan turned on his informants when he became editor of the Daily Mirror, which shares the same publisher, Trinity Mirror PLC, as the Sunday Mirror and the People. Now working for the other side, he said he gave the pair a month to stop taking bribes.

"Incredibly they had just carried on, so I fired them," he wrote.

House, who now lives in the English cathedral city of Winchester, declined comment when reached by the AP. Contact information for Harris couldn't be located, and attempts to trace her through her former colleagues were unsuccessful.

The loss of two of its informants didn't deter the News of the World. In 1999, Trinity Mirror threatened to sue the paper over an alleged attempt to bribe Sunday Mirror investigative correspondent Dennis Rice.

Rice turned down the bribe, and the matter was settled out of court amid claim and counter-claim. The Sunday Mirror's then-editor Colin Myler later fired off a letter to the Evening Standard complaining that "this is the third time the News of the World has offered money to Mirror Group employees for our confidential information."

A former News of the World reporter who worked at the paper through all three episodes said that bribery would have been "business as usual" at the newspaper.

"No one would have thought it was ethically dodgy," he said, speaking anonymously because he too still works in the media industry. "It was dog eat dog and whatever got results was welcomed."

Buying the loyalty of rival journalists would not have broken British bribery laws, which were only recently updated to cover payments made to competitors. Nor would they have run up against the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — which only applies to foreign officials.

But legal experts say that if a prosecution were brought under the act for bribing police, then the payments offered to House, Harris or Rice could be entered into evidence.

Previous misbehavior can be used "to prove certain things such as intent, motive, absence of mistake, or pattern," said Anthony Barkow, who directs New York University's Center on the Administration of Criminal Law.

Another expert said that past allegations of bribery "may go to corporate culture and 'tone at the top.'"

"Practices like this as far back as the '90s undermine the argument that senior management wasn't aware," said Alexandra Wrage, the president of TRACE, an association that advises multinationals on anti-bribery compliance.

News Corp. declined comment on any of the allegations made in this article.

Piers Morgan, whose career has since taken him to a top spot as CNN's celebrity interviewer, also declined comment.

The 46-year-old's past is already under scrutiny thanks in part to suggestive statements he's made about listening in on other people's voicemails. Morgan has denied ordering anyone to hack a phone or knowingly publishing stories based on hacked information, but he was in charge at the News of the World when it was bribing people for information and freely acknowledged that the practice was wrong.

"It's a disgrace, of course, and totally unethical," he wrote. "But very handy."

___

Online:

Raphael G. Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael
at 12:37 AM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

My Blog List