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Monday, October 3, 2011

New iPhone expected from Apple on Tuesday (AP) : Technet

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New iPhone expected from Apple on Tuesday (AP) : Technet

New iPhone expected from Apple on Tuesday (AP)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 09:07 PM PDT

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – 19 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Inc. is unveiling a new, more powerful version of its wildly popular smartphone — more than a year after it launched the iPhone 4.

Last week, Apple Inc. e-mailed invitations to a media event at its headquarters in Cupertino on Tuesday morning. The invite says "let's talk iPhone," implying the secretive company intends to show off the latest version of the device.

The first iPhone came out in 2007, and the phone's signature slick looks, high-resolution screen and intuitive software has gained millions of fans over the years. There were 39 million iPhones sold just between January and the end of June.

Beyond the iPhone itself, the Tuesday event is anticipated as Apple's first major product unveiling in years that won't be led by Steve Jobs, who resigned from the CEO post in August after being out on indefinite medical leave since January. The Apple co-founder is now its executive chairman. And though Jobs did emerge from medical leave twice this year to present Apple's innovations — most recently in June to show off its new mobile software and iCloud content storage service — his successor, Tim Cook, is expected to take the lead this time.

Though not nearly as recognizable as Jobs, Cook, formerly Apple's chief operating officer, has been running Apple since January. For years, he has been in charge of Apple's day-to-day operations, and he has long been seen as the natural successor. He also served as Apple's leader for two months in 2004 while Jobs battled cancer and again for five-and-a-half months in 2009 when Jobs received a liver transplant.

Perhaps more important to Apple fans than who is presenting is what the company will reveal on Tuesday. A new iPhone is expected to have a number of changes, the biggest of which will likely be under the hood: the inclusion of Apple's latest iOS mobile software, iOS 5, which has been slated for release this fall.

IOS 5 will include things such as wireless device setup and content syncing, and beefed-up camera, email and Web-browsing apps. A new service called iMessage will allow iOS 5 users to send text messages to each other over Wi-Fi or wireless carriers' data networks, while a folder called Newsstand will corral newspaper and magazine app subscriptions in one place to make it easier to find them. When it comes out, the software will also be available for Apple's iPad, iPhone 4 and 3GS and the two most recent generations of the iPod Touch.

A new iPhone is also expected to include Apple's forthcoming iCloud service, which will store content such as music, documents, apps and photos on Apple's servers and let you access them wirelessly on numerous devices.

As for hardware, a new iPhone isn't expected to look that much different from the iPhone 4, though it could be thinner and have a bigger screen. The existing iPhone is 0.37 inches thick and has a display measuring 3.5 inches at the diagonal.

An improved rear camera is anticipated, too. The existing iPhone has a 5-megapixel camera on its rear. A number of recently released smartphones have moved to 8-megapixel cameras.

One of the most notable hardware changes many industry watchers are predicting is the inclusion of a more powerful chip: Apple's dual-core A5 processor, which is the same chip it uses in its current iPad. The iPhone 4 runs on Apple's older A4 chip, and the move to a more capable chip should improve things such as multitasking, opening apps and gaming.

Analysts also believe Apple could also use the event to trot out new iPods and updates to its iTunes music software, which it usually does in the fall anyway. Last September, Apple announced updates to iTunes and a line of revamped iPods, which included a version of the iPod Nano with a touch screen.

Yahoo, ABC joining forces in news partnership (AP)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 02:17 PM PDT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay, Ap Technology Writer – Mon Oct 3, 5:17 pm ET

NEW YORK – ABC News and Yahoo Inc. are joining to deliver more online news to their audiences. With the deal, ABC News content will be prominently featured on Yahoo News, the most visited news website in the world. It will also show up on Yahoo's popular front page.

The partnership comes as a growing number of people turn to the Internet for news and other information. The two news organizations have a combined online audience of more than 100 million users per month in the U.S. — something ABC News president Ben Sherwood noted was "the size of the Super Bowl audience."

While, the deal helps ABC grow its online reach, Yahoo News can drive further traffic to its own site by featuring original, made-for-online content. ABC is launching Web-only news series, starting with a live interview with President Barack Obama by George Stephanopoulos Monday afternoon. That launches a series, "Newsmakers," with online interviews conducted by the likes of Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and others.

Couric said the deal offers an "incredible opportunity to do extended interviews" and delve deeper into subjects without the constraints of "TV time."

Both companies will maintain editorial control of their own content.

Yahoo and ABC News have already had agreements to share content online, but the companies say the latest venture goes deeper than that. Sherwood called it a "game-changing day" for ABC News.

Outside of Monday's announcement, there hasn't been much reason for fanfare at Yahoo lately. The company has struggled to grow advertising revenue in the last few years, in part, because of competition from Google and Facebook. The company fired its CEO, Carol Bartz, last month, and is trying to decide whether to sell all or at least part of the company.

Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGP Financial Partners said Yahoo's alliance with ABC "is not going to fix Yahoo's problems." Gillis noted: "This is a relatively small event in the broader ecosystem of what is going on with Yahoo."

Yahoo's problem, Gillis believes, is that "it doesn't have a strong voice for a lot of its content," the way AOL has Huffington Post, for example. So the ABC deal will help the company share some of ABC's news brand. But Gillis pointed out that Yahoo's bigger issue is its leadership void.

"No major deal is going to get done until that void is filled," he said.

Though the quality of its journalism is well-regarded, ABC News has suffered from a business standpoint during the past decade because it doesn't have a regular cable partner, the way NBC News has MSNBC and CNBC. The tight relationship with Yahoo could give the network a chance to step beyond that weakness. ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

"This is about the networks of the future," Sherwood said. "This is about how people get their news and information from different networks, whether it's on television, online, on mobile devices, on tablets and, quite frankly, in ways that we haven't even thought of yet."

As part of the deal, ABC and Yahoo will work together to sell advertising. ABC will sell online ads during the spring "upfront" season, when advertisers bid on commercial time for next fall's TV season. Yahoo will take care of sales during the rest of the year.

Executives would not disclose how the companies would share revenues created by the venture. Levinsohn said Yahoo has already heard from advertisers and agencies looking to be part of new programming created for the Web.

Sherwood and Levinsohn are both new in their jobs, having taken over leadership roles in their companies over the past year. Sherwood said they have known each other for a while through past digital ventures and began talking about ways to work together as soon as they began in their new positions.

Also part of the deal, Christiane Amanpour will have a Web-only series discussing the top international stories of the day and "Nightline" anchor Bill Weir will do a weekly series on innovations titled "This Could Be Big."

ABC will work together with Yahoo on political coverage heading into the election year, he said.

ABC already contributes video streams to Yahoo's news sites, but the deal deepens the relationship with far more content and makes ABC the top news source on the Web site, executives said.

"To be able to go deeper with this array of talent at ABC News is a big statement for us," said Ross Levinsohn, executive vice president of the Americas at Yahoo.

Shares of Yahoo rose 81 cents, or 6.2 percent, to $13.98 in morning trading. Investors were buying the shares after the CEO of Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said he would be "very interested" in buying Yahoo.

Year-to-date, Yahoo shares are down about 16 percent.

___

AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.

Report: Sprint to buy more than 30M iPhones (AP)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 01:42 PM PDT

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Mon Oct 3, 4:42 pm ET

NEW YORK – Sprint Nextel Corp. has committed to buying more than 30 million iPhones over the next four years, imposing a heavy burden on an already cash-strapped company, according to a report published Monday.

The Wall Street Journal's online edition attributed the report to unnamed sources. Apple Inc. is expected to a reveal the first new iPhone model in more than a year on Tuesday.

The paper previously reported that Sprint Nextel Corp. will sell the iPhone, which has been exclusive to AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

In Monday's story, the Journal said CEO Dan Hesse had told Sprint's board that the company would lose money on the deal until 2014. Sprint has posted a loss for every quarter since 2007.

Sprint shares fell 31 cents, or 10.2 percent, to close at $2.73, a three-year low.

Apple and Sprint did not respond to requests for comment.

Sprint, the country's third-largest wireless carriers, is losing subscribers to the two bigger wireless companies. The fact that Sprint hasn't been able to sell the iPhone is one of the main reasons. The Journal said the board considered the chance to sell the iPhone as a make-or-break proposition.

Sprint has 33 million subscribers on contract-based plans, so its reported commitment means it would have to convert half of them to iPhones, assuming they upgrade after two years.

At current prices 30 million iPhones would cost Sprint about $20 billion. Assuming it charges $200 for them, Sprint's iPhone sales could amount to about $6 billion. The company hopes to make up the difference on contract sales and service.

Currently, Sprint buys phones for about $7.4 billion per year. Its iPhone commitment corresponds to spending two-thirds of that on iPhones every year.

Massive hole in ozone layer leaves scientists baffled (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 05:52 PM PDT

Just Show Me: How to change your import settings in iTunes (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 05:46 PM PDT

Facebook Introduces Expandable Ad Unit (Mashable)

Posted: 02 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT

Todd Wasserman Todd Wasserman – Sun Oct 2, 5:00 pm ET

Facebook is introducing a new type of ad that will expand if a friend "liked" the brand. The ad unit, which will be announced this week at Advertising Week in New York, is subtly different from Sponsored Stories, which rolled out in January, in two ways: it won't ever appear in the News Feed and -- unlike Sponsored Stories, which merely show an interaction with a brand -- it also contains an advertiser message. It's also different from Social Ads, which tell you if a friend took an action related to the brand.

[More from Mashable: Facebook Says It's Looking Beyond Click-Throughs [INTERVIEW]]

Instead, the new ad unit will expand to let you comment and see other comments related to the ad. This mock-up ad for The Ides of March (no advertisers have signed on yet) shows a "like" from the user as well as the copy:

[More from Mashable: HOW TO: Subscribe to the Mashable Team on Facebook]

The ad unit is based on the belief that ads with recommendations from friends will be more effective than standard display ads and magnify a brand's reach. For instance, research Facebook undertook in May with comScore found that Starbucks fans and friends of fans spent 8% more at the coffee chain than other Internet users.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Mari Smith

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Defense puts cards on table in NYC poker case (AP)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 04:31 PM PDT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Larry Neumeister, Associated Press – Mon Oct 3, 7:31 pm ET

NEW YORK – Defense lawyers for a Utah banker and a businessman indicted on gambling charges are trying to convince a federal judge that online poker isn't really gambling, an argument aimed at crippling a prosecution that seeks to permanently shut down the three largest Internet poker companies operating in the United States.

The lawyers made their arguments in papers filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday and Monday, seeking to have charges dismissed against the bank executive, John Campos, and co-defendant Chad Elie. The government alleges that Elie persuaded Campos to let SunFirst Bank, based in St. George, Utah, process money for foreign-based online poker sites, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Both men had pleaded not guilty.

Lawyers challenged various gambling charges brought against the men for several reasons, saying the government had stretched gambling laws to bring charges against 11 individuals.

Lawyers for Elie cited the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, enacted in 1988, which they said puts poker in the same category as bingo and card games, but not with such card games as baccarat or blackjack.

The lawyers said poker differs from gambling games because the company that charges a fee or "rake" to provide a venue for the game — in this case the Internet — does not participate in the game at all. They said online poker is a game in which the players have some control over the outcome.

"The players compete against each other on a level playing field, using an array of talents and skill to prevail over their opponents," the lawyers wrote.

Court papers filed by lawyers for Campos argued the same point, saying the online poker companies were unfairly accused of engaging in the business of betting or wagering even though they had no stake in the outcome of the card games.

"The distinction between the poker companies in this case and websites that offer casino-style games and sports betting is stark. Online operators of casino-style games like roulette and slots are playing against their own patrons. Likewise, sports betting websites are also on the opposite side of their customers' bets. Those operators make profits from their customers' losses," the lawyers said. "The poker companies did not participate in the games, and had no risk or stake in the outcome of the games. Instead, the companies provided virtual facilities for the games, and collected, in exchange, a fee for each hand played."

They noted that Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee Hearing in May that deciding whether poker was a game of skill or chance was "beyond my capabilities."

The court papers were filed two weeks after Justice Department lawyers filed a revised lawsuit against Full Tilt Poker, saying the company illegally raided player accounts to fund operations and make lavish payments to its owners. The government said the company over four years used $444 million in player money to pay board members, leaving just $60 million in its bank accounts in March to cover the $390 million it owed to players.

Rhapsody Buys Music Pioneer Napster (NewsFactor)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 02:45 PM PDT

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Mon Oct 3, 5:45 pm ET

The legendary Napster is now part of Rhapsody. On Monday, Rhapsody International announced it was purchasing its rival, currently owned by Best Buy. Details of the deal were not released.

Best Buy will retain a minority stake in Rhapsody. Both Rhapsody and Napster were early into the game of subscriber-based online music services, both influenced the field, but both are seeing their positions challenged by newcomers.

Spotify, Facebook Moving In

In 2008, Best Buy bought Napster for $121 million, a point at which the online service's subscriber base was rapidly dropping. Rhapsody, co-owned by Real Networks and MTV Networks, is facing a new landscape that now includes Apple's iTunes, Amazon's music service, and smaller startups such as Spotify, Rdio, and others.

Spotify, a U.K.-based service that was launched in the U.S. in July, has become one of Rhapsody's most aggressive competitors. Users can listen to ad-supported music for free, or opt for a subscription-based, ad-free service. Spotify also recently announced a tight integration with Facebook.

In that move, Spotify is requiring every new member to also be a member of Facebook. While such a dependence on the social-networking giant has raised eyebrows, Spotify has reported that it is adding 250,000 new members each day since the deal was announced. That service now says it has 2 million paying customers over eight countries. Rhapsody, by contrast, has about 800,000 subscribers.

Rhapsody is also involved with the new Facebook Music services, although not with the kind of integration that Spotify has. Other music partners with Facebook, which could become the dominant platform for social-music listening, include Earbits, iHeartRadio, Rdio, Mog and Slacker. Facebook, with 750 million members worldwide, could dwarf any other platform for new music.

Napster Brand Continues?

In a statement, Rhapsody President Jon Irwin said the deal would bring "Napster's subscribers and robust IP portfolio to Rhapsody as we execute on our strategy to expand our business via direct acquisition of members and distribution deals."

Irwin added that the online music business is a "'go big or go home'" environment. It is not known if the Napster brand will continue in any form.

When Best Buy purchased Napster, the service had about 700,000 subscribers, a customer service platform, mobile apps, and an online store containing DRM-less MP3s. It also said it had the largest music selection of any online service. A new version of the service was launched in 2009.

Napster began life in 1999 as a peer-to-peer site that offered MP3 files to share, a revolutionary move that helped jump-start the online music scene -- and resulted in a variety of copyright infringement suits from record companies that led to its temporary shutdown. It reopened after it was purchased by Bertlesmann AG in 2002.

Rhapsody, launched in 2001, was spun off into a separate company by Real Networks in 2010. It retained 51 percent, and sold the remainder to MTV Networks.

Apple to showcase new iPhone after 15-month hiatus (Reuters)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 09:07 PM PDT

By Poornima Gupta Poornima Gupta – 20 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc looks set to unveil a new iPhone on Tuesday after a 15-month hiatus, hoping to fend off hard-charging rivals running Google Inc's Android and safeguard its lead with the fifth incarnation of the iconic device.

Newly appointed CEO Tim Cook will do the honors this time from Apple's headquarters, running the first major product launch in years without impresario Steve Jobs as he tries to take Apple to still-loftier heights.

The iPhone 5 -- expected to be faster, thinner and larger-screened -- would arrive just in time for the crucial holiday shopping season. It should sustain Apple's smartphone momentum and help ward off a challenge from close runner-up Samsung Electronics.

Apple launches are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar, scrutinized by fans, investors, the media and industry insiders alike. Tuesday's "Let's talk iPhone" show, starting at 1 pm Eastern time, will mark Cook's unofficial debut since taking over from co-founder Jobs in August.

Some shareholders and analysts expect a cameo appearance by Jobs, now chairman, though a no-show would not be a major disappointment.

With the launch of the new phone, Apple faces the challenge of surpassing the popularity of its current iPhone 4, a 15-month-old model and bona fide hit with more than 20 million sold in the third quarter ended June 25.

Some on Wall Street also expect the company to unveil a cheaper model tailor-made for the fast-growing Asian market, one of the few arenas where Apple can accelerate its growth.

"We expect improved processing power and camera capabilities, with a potential bump in RAM, though that may not be needed with iCloud," said William Power, analyst with Baird Equity Research.

"Various sources have suggested that Apple will debut more robust voice control functionality," he added.

The new iPhone is also expected to come loaded with the updated iOS5 software that Apple unveiled in June. Some of the new features include improved notification functions and better Twitter integration.

The iPhone -- still the gold standard in the smartphone market -- has been a huge success since it debuted in 2007, transforming it into one of the world's leading consumer electronics powerhouses.

But it faces stiff competition from phones based on Google's Android operating system, which led the U.S. market with a 43 percent share, Nielsen data show. The iPhone was No. 2 with 28 percent.

Globally, according to IHS iSuppli, iPhone shipments climbed 9.1 percent in the second quarter while Nokia's plummeted more than 30 percent, handing the top spot to Apple with a market share of 18.4 percent. Samsung, whose shipments grew even faster, is coming on strong with a global market share of 17.8 percent.

The iPhone 4 pricing starts at $199 and is available on the networks of AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc. Many analysts expect Sprint will become the third U.S. operator to sell the iPhone when the next version is launched.

(Editing by Edwin Chan and Richard Chang)

Microsoft CEO bonus lags on phone, tablet results (Reuters)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 03:39 PM PDT

By Bill Rigby Bill Rigby – Mon Oct 3, 6:39 pm ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer failed to clinch his maximum bonus for the second year running due to the company's slow progress in mobile phones and adapting to the tablet computer revolution.

Ballmer, 55, got a bonus of $682,500 for the latest fiscal year, matching his annual salary, according to a filing with securities regulators on Monday. Under his bonus scheme, he was eligible to receive between zero and double his salary.

The long-time CEO, who took over from Bill Gates in 2000, has been a lightning rod for criticism of the former technology leader's static share price. One prominent shareholder called for his ouster this year, but he shows no signs of stepping down.

Last year, Ballmer also received a bonus equaling his salary, and was faulted for the failure of the Kin phone and keeping up with new forms of computing.

Microsoft's latest filing said Ballmer's performance review for fiscal 2011 -- which ended June 30 -- took into account lower than expected sales of Windows Phone 7 software and "the need for further progress in new form factors," a reference to Microsoft's inability to counter runaway sales of Apple Inc's iPad.

It also pointed to a 2 percent dip in sales at its key Windows unit, which was in line with global personal computer sales, but also shows that Apple's tablet is starting to eat away at the core PC market.

Microsoft is not expected to enter the tablet market in earnest until next year, when it releases its next operating system, code-named Windows 8.

In Ballmer's favor, the company's compensation committee recognized his success in launching the Kinect hands-free gaming system for Xbox and the online Office 365 product, while building up the Azure cloud computing platform and Bing search engine.

It also mentioned his work toward the purchase of online chat company Skype, which has not yet been completed, and partnerships with Facebook and phone maker Nokia.

LOW-PAID CEO

Ballmer has long requested that he receive no stock compensation, which might otherwise boost his pay packet. He already owns 3.95 percent of the company's shares and is the 33rd richest person in the world with a fortune of $14.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Overall, Ballmer's compensation rose only about 2 percent from last year to $1.38 million, making him one of the lowest-paid leaders of a major U.S. company.

Microsoft's filing pegs Ballmer's maximum possible compensation -- if he had received twice his salary in bonus -- at about $2 million, compared to an average of $15.8 million for CEOs of peer companies. In the filing, Microsoft said its board believes Ballmer is "underpaid for his role and performance," but accepted his request to receive no stock.

Ballmer's small pay rise comes as the company increases its sales, but is struggling to keep pace with the innovation of Apple, which is now bigger in terms of sales, profit and market value. In May, Microsoft's old foe IBM also surpassed its market value for the first time since 1996.

During Microsoft's last fiscal year, its sales rose 12 percent to almost $70 billion and its operating profit rose 13 percent to $27 billion, helped by strong performance from its Office unit.

Microsoft's shares gained 13 percent in that time, compared to a 31 percent gain in the tech-heavy Nasdaq, but have retreated since. The stock closed at $24.53 on the Nasdaq on Monday, around the same level as a decade ago.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Gary Hill, Bernard Orr)

Facebook Using Websense To Fight Malicious Links (NewsFactor)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 01:24 PM PDT

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Mon Oct 3, 4:24 pm ET

Malicious activity on social networks has long been documented. Facebook user-accounts get hijacked. Malicious links lead to infected computers.

According to Sophos' Security Threat Report 2011, the number and diversity of attacks on social networks -- including malware, phishing and spam -- grew steadily throughout 2010.

When Sophos issued its report, Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at the firm, asked the question: "Why aren't Facebook and other social networks doing more to prevent spam and scams in the first place?"

In response, Facebook is making more of an effort to stop the social-media malicious madness.

Another Layer of Security

Facebook and Websense teamed up in a technology integration partnership that aims to help protect Facebook users from links that lead to malware and malicious sites.

Websense technology is adding a layer of security to the social-networking giant's existing protections in hopes of preventing users from clicking on links without understanding where that click may lead.

The solution is live now. Here's how it works: When a Facebook user clicks on a link, it is checked against a Websense database. If Websense determines the link is malicious, the user sees an intermediate page that offers the choice to continue at their own risk, return to the previous screen, or get more information on why it was flagged as suspicious.

Don't Rely on Facebook Alone

For all the buzz over the announcement, however, Sophos' Cluley doesn't believe the new solution represents a significant a change of direction by Facebook.

"Back in May, Facebook announced they had partnered with Web of Trust for the same thing. That's when those warning messages first began to appear. I imagine they'll add a number of security partners to their list. Websense is just another one for the list," Cluley said. "We would continue to recommend that users run anti-virus on their computers and not just rely on Facebook -- and its partners -- scanning the links for them."

The problem is serious. According to Sophos, 40 percent of social-networking users surveyed have been sent malware such as worms via social-networking sites, a 90 percent increase from April 2009. What's more, 67 percent say they have been spammed via social-networking sites, more than double the proportion less than two years ago, and 43 percent have been on the receiving end of phishing attacks, more than double the figure since April 2009.

"Many computer users still don't realize that you can wind up with something nasty on your machine simply by visiting a website," Cluley said. "Over the year, we saw an average of 30,000 new malicious URLs every day -- that's one every two to three seconds.

"More than 70 percent of these are legitimate websites that have been hacked. This means that businesses and website owners could inadvertently be infecting their patrons unintentionally and without knowledge."

Trial begins for man in Conn. hostage-arson case (AP)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 04:07 PM PDT

By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press Dave Collins, Associated Press – Mon Oct 3, 7:07 pm ET

HARTFORD, Conn. – Just seconds before a woman was allegedly kidnapped from a Hartford parking garage by her ex-husband and held hostage for a dozen hours, she urged a friend during a cell phone call to contact police as he approached her, the friend testified in state court Monday.

The testimony came during the first day of former advertising executive Richard Shenkman's trial in Hartford Superior Court on charges including kidnapping, assault and arson. He's accused of abducting his ex-wife, attorney Nancy Tyler, and holding her hostage in July 2009 before burning down the home they once shared. She escaped without serious injury.

At the time, Shenkman and Tyler were involved in bitter divorce proceedings.

Tyler's friend, Susanne Arnold, was the first witness and testified that Tyler called her on the morning of the alleged kidnapping, saying she was concerned because she saw Shenkman's minivan on a street near her downtown office.

Arnold said she then heard Shenkman's voice in the background saying, "Nancy, I just want to talk."

"She immediately said, `Richard, get away from me,'" Arnold testified. Tyler then told Arnold to call police before the phone went dead, Arnold testified.

Later, after police surrounded the home in South Windsor, about 9 miles northeast of Hartford, Shenkman called Arnold three times, she testified. In the first call, he sounded agitated and said police were "jerking him around," she said. In a second call, Arnold testified that Shenkman asked for help in getting a priest to go to the house to administer last rites. Arnold said she declined to answer the third call on the advice of police.

Tyler escaped about an hour before Shenkman surrendered to police as the house went up in flames. Police said Shenkman had threatened to blow up the house and kill Tyler while demanding that the media remove his and his wife's names from their stories.

Tyler has said that she spent much of the time handcuffed to Shenkman. She said she escaped after Shenkman handcuffed her to an eyebolt in a basement wall while he went upstairs to check on police activity, and she managed to unscrew the bolt.

Shenkman, who appeared in court wearing a black suit, a white shirt and no tie, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyer, Hugh Keefe, said Shenkman was legally insane at the time and will mount a mental-illness defense. Keefe also suggested Monday while cross-examining a police official that Shenkman was trying to get police to kill him.

Tyler is expected to testify later in the week, perhaps as early as Wednesday. The trial, which is expected to take several weeks, is to resume Tuesday before a jury of four men and two women and Judge Julia DiCocco Dewey.

At the time of the incidents, Shenkman was an advertising executive whose Bloomfield firm once produced "The Gayle King Show" starring Oprah Winfrey's best friend and did commercials for state government.

His brother, Mark Shenkman, is founder and president of one of the nation's largest money management firms, Shenkman Capital Management Inc., which has offices in Stamford and New York City.

Authorities say Shenkman kidnapped Tyler just before they were due in state Family Court for a hearing related to their divorce. Lawyers said Shenkman was supposed to pay Tyler $100,000 for legal fees or turn over the South Windsor home.

The couple married in 1993 and divorced in July 2008 after two years of court proceedings. But the court case continued as Shenkman filed appeals.

As part of the divorce, Tyler was awarded the couple's beach home in the Niantic section of East Lyme. Police say Shenkman burned that house down in 2007 hours before he was to hand it over to Tyler. Shenkman awaits trial on an arson charge in that case.

Court records also allege Shenkman frequently violated a protective order and repeatedly threatened Tyler's life and his own, saying the only way they would be divorced was if one of them died.

South Windsor Police Chief Matthew Reed testified Monday that 80 to 100 police officers and other authorities responded to the scene, including regional SWAT team members and National Guardsmen. He said police snipers had the "green light" to shoot Shenkman up until the time Tyler escaped.

Keefe then suggested while cross-examining Reed that Shenkman was on a "suicide mission" and wanted police to kill him.

Reed responded, "In my mind, he felt that by the end of the event he would be dead."

Reed also testified that he saw six cameras set up outside the house. Tyler told police that Shenkman monitored video feeds wired into televisions inside the home, talked of suicide and had printed information from the Internet on carbon monoxide poisoning and how to blow up a house with explosives. Police did not find any explosives at the scene.

Another police officer testified that he heard a single gunshot go off inside the home.

Gear up for the MLB playoffs with these apps (Appolicious)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 02:00 PM PDT

iPhone 5 Could Shake Up Wireless-Carrier War (NewsFactor)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 01:53 PM PDT

Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com – Mon Oct 3, 4:53 pm ET

Even before Apple answers the insatiable desire for a new iPhone, as its expected to do Tuesday, analysts and the media are sorting out the winners and losers.

One of the biggest questions is how the latest smartphone from the computing giant, almost predestined to be another smash hit, will affect the war among the top U.S. carriers.

AT&T Has the Edge

On the theory that a rising tide lifts all boats, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and, if reports are accurate, Sprint Nextel are likely to get a bounce from the iPhone 5, and possibly another lower-cost smartphone that could be debuted by new Apple CEO Tim Cook.

> Currently loaded up with Android, BlackBerry, Palm and Windows Phone 7 devices, Sprint needs the iPhone to achieve some parity with its top rivals in offering all the top-rated operating systems. Verizon won that mantle earlier this year when Apple partnered with the carrier to offer an iPhone that ran on its CDMA network.

But AT&T, which enjoyed three years of iPhone exclusivity, is likely to maintain an edge with iPhone users for some time because so many of them are still locked into two-year contracts.

The company insists its doing well with new iPhone users, too, and activated 3.6 million of them during the first quarter of 2011 -- up 33 percent from the same quarter of 2010, though that was slightly down sequentially from the end of 2010.

But AT&T, which declined a request for comment on the iPhone 5 Monday, as did Verizon, has long been plagued with low consumer satisfaction and connectivity problems for the iPhone in some areas.

Open To Change

"Folks are pretty upset with AT&T's network," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group. "While AT&T has been building out furiously they are still having capacity issues, particularly in city centers, and their customer satisfaction scores are very low. This means folks are likely willing to explore Sprint and Verizon."

In one scenario, Enderle said, AT&T may keep its marketing advantage if Apple rolls out an iPhone 5 capable of using HSPA+, sometimes referred to as "4G lite," but not a version capable of the faster speed offered by long-term evolution 4G data networks. AT&T is the only one of the three carriers now using HSPA+. Both AT&T and Verizon are building 4G LTE networks; it is unclear if the rumored Sprint iPhone will use its high-speed WiMAX network.

Still, the novelty of a Sprint iPhone -- a new model as well as the iPhone 4 -- may also have some cache, and the carrier is bound to offer some perks for differentiation.

"Sprint is likely to be very aggressive on service price and iPhones are considered a premium product," Enderle said. "They will likely lead with aggressively priced older models on very affordable plans and put pricing pressure on the other providers. Their network has more headroom as well, so folks should generally see more reliable data speeds [compared with] AT&T."

Rhapsody buys Napster subscribers from Best Buy (AP)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 04:00 PM PDT

– Mon Oct 3, 7:00 pm ET

SEATTLE – Electronics retailer Best Buy Inc. is tuning out of Napster, a digital music service that has struggled to evolve from its renegade origins as a free file-sharing network that riled the recording industry.

Napster's subscribers and other assets will be sold to another digital music service, Rhapsody, as part of a deal announced Monday.

Best Buy will get an undisclosed stake in Rhapsody after the swap is completed. The exchange is expected to be completed by end of November.

The deal ends Best Buy's efforts to groom Napster into a brand that would have broad appeal to shoppers buying mobile phones and computers at its nearly 1,400 stores. Best Buy, which is based in Richfield, Minn., bought Napster for $122 million in cash in October 2008.

Since then, other music services, such as Internet radio station Pandora Media Inc. and Spotify, have emerged as more popular channels.

After starting out as a dorm-room project in the late 1990s, Napster morphed into a notorious outlet for people looking to get free music. Recording artists and studios launched a legal crusade that eventually crippled Napster. Gadget maker Roxio Inc. bought Napster's name and other intellectual property in a 2002 bankruptcy auction. Roxio revived Napster as a subscription service and eventually adopted the Napster name as its corporate identity.

Rhapsody, which is based in Seattle, has gone through its ups and downs, too, since it started in 1999 as Listen.com. The service was spun off as a separate entity last year by its previous owners, RealNetworks Inc. and Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks. Rhapsody's monthly subscriptions start at $10 per month for access to a library of more than 12 million songs.

Apple rejects Samsung offer to end Australia tablet row (Reuters)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 08:28 PM PDT

By Narayanan Somasundaram and Amy Pyett Narayanan Somasundaram And Amy Pyett – 59 mins ago

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Apple Inc rejected an offer from Samsung Electronics Co to help settle their tablet computer row in Australia, hoping for an important court victory there in its global campaign of patent litigation.

Apple claims Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad and has launched an international legal battle which is expected to hurt growth at one of the South Korean firm's fastest-growing businesses.

Samsung has rejected the accusations and has shot back with claims of its own. The Galaxy gadgets, powered by Google's Android operating system, are seen as the biggest challengers to Apple's mobile devices.

Apple has already secured a block on the latest Galaxy tablets in Germany and some Samsung smartphone models in the Netherlands.

A win in Australia could hurt Samsung's bid to close the gap with Apple in the global tablet market, with another high-stakes ruling expected from a U.S. court next week.

Samsung approached Apple last week, offering to help secure a quick court ruling in their Australian dispute, in return for being able to immediately launch the new Galaxy tablet there.

But Apple told the Federal Court in Sydney Tuesday that Samsung's proposal provided no basis for a settlement.

"It is one we don't accept and there is no surprise. The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch and maintain the status quo," Apple lawyer Steven Burley said.

He said Samsung should anyway agree to an expedited court process, not impose conditions on its cooperation to that end.

"The decision as to not being available to conduct an early final hearing is no more than a tactical one -- a tactical one which is designed to maximise the chances of Samsung launching what we would submit is an infringing product," Burley said.

Samsung suggested to the court that the prospects of an immediate settlement were now bleak.

"It is not going to be achievable your honor, given the positions advanced by each party," a Samsung lawyer said.

CRUCIAL U.S. COURT RULING

Samsung had hoped to launch the new Galaxy tablet in Australia in late August or early September but this has been repeatedly delayed as it awaits the Australian court's ruling.

Last week, Samsung agreed to withdraw two features from the Galaxy 10.1, leaving just one disputed Apple patent over touch-screen display technology. This patent deals with how finger movements are used on tablets to generate a software command.

Samsung and Apple are suing each other in nine countries over 20 cases, with few of them holding as much significance as the California court ruling expected next week.

Samsung may seek legal measures to ban sales of Apple's new iPhone, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters. The highly anticipated iPhone 5 is to be unveiled later Tuesday.

Apple fired its first salvo in April by suing Samsung in California, saying the Galaxy lineup devices infringed on its mobile technology patents and design.

Samsung's smartphone business has been growing furiously, powered by its flagship Galaxy lineups. Some analysts expect Samsung to overtake Apple in unit terms as the world's No.1 smartphone vendor and report record profits from mobile business in July-September.

Samsung, due to report its third-quarter earnings guidance later this week, saw smartphone sales soar more than 500 percent in the second quarter, easily eclipsing Apple's 142 percent growth, though Apple sold about 1 million more units.

(Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim; Writing by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Anshuman Daga)

HP closes Autonomy deal (Reuters)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 01:44 PM PDT

– Mon Oct 3, 4:44 pm ET

(Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard completed its $12 billion buy of British software firm Autonomy on Monday, the centerpiece of a botched strategy shift that cost ex-chief executive Leo Apotheker his job last month.

HP said its 25.50 pounds-per-share cash offer -- representing a 79 percent premium that many HP shareholders found excessive -- had been accepted by investors representing 87.34 percent of the company's shares, well ahead of the 75 percent threshold needed.

Buying the Cambridge, England-based firm, whose software searches unstructured data like emails, phone calls and tweets that do not fit into traditional databases, was one of a raft of surprise radical reforms announced by HP's Apotheker in August.

Apotheker also decided to close HP's Palm Web OS tablet and smartphone unit and sell or spin off its PC division.

The rushed announcements and concerns about the lofty price offered for Autonomy sent HP's stock, and Apotheker's credibility, plunging.

But according to analysts, it would have been nearly impossible under British takeover rules for HP to extract itself from the Autonomy deal.

Former eBay Inc CEO Meg Whitman said after being installed to replace Apotheker that Autonomy was integral to HP's software expansion, and the acquisition was proceeding as planned.

Controversy about the deal was further stoked by an extraordinary spat between Autonomy's founder Mike Lynch and HP's rival Oracle last week.

Oracle's outspoken CEO Larry Ellison said he had also been approached but had no interest in buying Autonomy at what he called an "absurdly high" price.

Autonomy will operate as a separate business unit with Lynch leading the division, the company said.

HP's offer to purchase the remaining Autonomy shares also remains open, it said.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta in San Francisco and Paul Sandle in London, editing by Bernard Orr) .

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Pushes All-in-One Data Center (NewsFactor)

Posted: 03 Oct 2011 11:18 AM PDT

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Mon Oct 3, 2:18 pm ET

In a move to beef up Oracle's hardware line, CEO Larry Ellison has introduced the concept of the all-in-one data center. Ellison offered his take on the new products at Oracle OpenWorld on Sunday that combine the server, storage and network in a single, highly integrated box.

In his talk to 40,000 conference-goers, Ellison spelled out the advantages of parallel computing and demonstrated the latest and greatest Sparc Solaris computer. He also took the lid off Oracle's new Exalytics Business Intelligence Machine.

"How do we make this thing to go 10 times faster? Parallel everything," Ellison said. "Lots and lots of parallel network connections moving enormous amounts of data in parallel. That's how you make this thing go faster."

Parallel Computing Power

Oracle is positioning Exalytics as the first engineered system featuring in-memory software and hardware and an optimized Business Intelligence platform with advanced visualization. Internal tests comparing Oracle Exalytics with standard BI software and off-the-shelf hardware show relational online analytical processing (ROLAP) reporting and dashboard performance improvements of up to 20 times, and multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP) modeling performance gains of up to 79 times.

"Oracle has been doing a lot of work in parallel computing, which has improved performance, particularly in the T4 Sparc systems that were announced last week," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "With the Exalytics solution, Oracle has a product it can put up against the IBM Smart Analytics System that has been out for two years now."

As King sees it, IBM, as well as other vendors, have demonstrated that improving data throughput and database performance is a viable business model. With Exalytics, Oracle is working to carve out a bigger piece of the market. But King isn't sure Ellison is taking the right approach with his OracleWorld presentation.

Ellison's Engineering Rhetoric

"What's interesting about it is that the rhetoric coming out of Oracle is purely focused on engineering issues. That's kind of common practice in the IT industry, but the market is more complex than that," King said. "Business customers are less amenable to a pure engineering play like the one that Larry Ellison has been talking up for the last 24 hours."

The problem with that approach is this: The IT industry is littered with the bones of companies that had the best engineering but either weren't able to get a foothold in the market or gave it away when they did. King points to Sun, which Oracle acquired last year, as a strong example of the point.

"When a company starts circling the drain in the way that Sun did prior to the Oracle acquisition, it takes a special kind of effort to rouse that sort of badly damaged organization," King said. "Ellison seems to believe that simply by claiming to have the fastest box on the planet that the market will flock to Oracle. That hasn't proven to be the case in the past and I don't suspect it will be the case this time around."
at 9:40 PM

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