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Friday, December 2, 2011

Cable companies to resell Verizon Wireless service (AP) : Technet

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Cable companies to resell Verizon Wireless service (AP) : Technet

Cable companies to resell Verizon Wireless service (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 09:53 AM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Dec 2, 12:53 pm ET

NEW YORK – Cable companies Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks are giving up on their dreams of creating their own wireless network, opting instead to resell Verizon Wireless service.

The companies said Friday that they have agreed to sell their wireless licenses — which they haven't been using — to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion.

The deal "amounts to a partnership between formerly mortal enemies," said analyst Craig Moffett at Sanford Bernstein. The cable companies compete with Verizon Communications Inc., Verizon Wireless' parent company, for phone and cable-TV customers. Now, Verizon Wireless stores will be selling cable service.

Cable companies have long had ambitions to open a second front against AT&T Inc. and Verizon by setting up their own wireless networks. In the meantime, some of them have partnered with Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. to offer wireless service.

Lately, there had been speculation that the cable companies would try for a deeper beachhead in wireless by investing in ailing No. 3 and 4 carriers Sprint or T-Mobile USA. That talk had gained currency as it's become clear that AT&T's deal to buy T-Mobile USA is firmly opposed by regulators.

The link-up with No. 1 carrier Verizon Wireless and the sale of the spectrum appears to preclude a deal between a cable consortium and one of the weaker players in wireless. Instead, the biggest cellphone company will strengthen its hand, if the spectrum sale is approved by regulators.

"Pity poor T-Mobile. Verizon just ran off with the last pretty girl in the bar," Moffett said.

U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent of T-Mobile USA, were down 53 cents, or 4.2 percent, at $12.25 in midday trading. Sprint shares were down 3 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $2.67.

"It's really hard for a cable company to expect to compete in a highly competitive wireless market," said Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley. He pointed to Cox Communications, another cable company, which this year shut down its plans to build out a wireless network.

"We got a good price for the spectrum," Dudley said. "An arrangement like this makes a lot of sense."

The cable companies paid $2.2 billion for the spectrum in 2006, so they're getting a 64 percent gain on a five-year investment. The spectrum covers about 85 percent of the country's population, and would have been sufficient to start up an independent wireless network.

Shares of Philadelphia-based Comcast rose 97 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $23.53. New York-based Time Warner Cable shares rose $1.90, or 3.1 percent, to $62.82. Orlando, Fla.-based Bright House Networks is privately held.

Time Warner Cable currently resells access to Clearwire's wireless data network as "4G" service. Dudley said it could continue to provide service to existing subscribers, but the arrangement with Verizon Wireless is exclusive, so it will stop selling to new subscribers.

Neil Smit, the head of Comcast's cable operations, said its Clearwire service, marketed as "Xfinity 2Go," will be shut down within six months. It has about 30,000 customers.

Clearwire shares were unchanged at $2.03.

Comcast, the country's largest cable company, owned the majority of the spectrum holding company, and will get $2.3 billion from the sale. Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable company, will get $1.1 billion. Bright House, the sixth-largest, will get $189 million.

Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead said the company will combine the spectrum with some of its own unused holdings and launch service using the latest wireless data technology, dubbed LTE for Long-Term Evolution. The acquisition roughly doubles the number of airwaves Verizon Wireless would have available for LTE.

Mead said he expected the deal to close in the middle of next year, but didn't say when the spectrum would be put to use.

Moffett, the analyst, said the Federal Communications Commission would probably rather see the spectrum go to T-Mobile USA. One of the reasons its German parent company wants to sell it to AT&T is that T-Mobile USA doesn't have a lot of room on the airwaves, and can't keep up with Verizon and AT&T when it comes to expanding wireless data capacity.

But Deutsche Telekom is unwilling to plow more money into the U.S., so an outright purchase of the cable-company spectrum has not been in the cards.

The sale to Verizon does solve one problem for the FCC, Moffett said: that the cable spectrum holdings have not been put to use yet.

Under the agreement, the cable companies and Verizon Wireless will market each others' services. Billing will be separate, but the cable companies have the option to start selling Verizon Wireless service under their own brand in four years. Cox had a similar arrangement with Sprint, but gave it up last month, saying it was too small to compete with the big cellphone companies.

Verizon Communications, the New York-based phone company that owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, runs its own, competing cable-TV service called FiOS in some areas. In the rest of its local-phone territory, it resells satellite TV service from DirecTV Group Inc. based in El Segundo, Calif.

RIM writes off value of tablet inventory (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:59 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Dec 2, 6:59 pm ET

NEW YORK – Research In Motion Ltd., the struggling maker of the BlackBerry phones, is writing off much of its inventory of PlayBook tablets, since it has to sell them at a deep discount.

The Canadian company on Friday said it's taking a pre-tax charge of $485 million in the just-ended quarter to account for the declining value of the tablets. The model originally priced at $500 now costs $200.

A year ago, co-CEO Jim Balsillie said pent-up interest in the PlayBook was "really overwhelming." Companies are looking for an equivalent of the iPad of corporate use, he said.

In March, Balsillie said "The launch of the PlayBook may well be the most significant development for RIM since the launch of the of the first BlackBerry device back in 1999."

But when the tablet went on sale in April, reviewers puzzled over the lack of email software, saying the device seemed half-baked. RIM now promises updated software in February.

RIM said it shipped 150,000 PlayBooks to stores and distributors in the fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 26. "Sell-through," or the number actually bought by users, was slightly higher, reflecting sales of tablets shipped earlier. It shipped 500,000 in the first quarter and 200,000 in the second.

Apple Inc., meanwhile, sold 11.1 million iPad tablets in its most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 24.

RIM Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said RIM is still committed to the PlayBook, despite its issues.

RIM also said it sold 14.1 million BlackBerrys in the third quarter, slightly better than analysts expected. It then expects sales to fall slightly in the current quarter, roughly in line with analysts' expectations.

The company provided preliminary revenue and profit figures for the third quarter that were lower than it previously projected, but not a surprise to analysts.

RIM said it expects earnings at the "low to mid point" of the $1.20 to $1.40 per share it previously forecast. Analysts polled by FactSet have on average been expecting $1.18 per share.

The company expects revenue slightly the below the $5.3 billion to $5.6 billion in its previous forecast. Analysts had been expecting $5.27 billion, on average.

RIM shares fell $1.81, or 9.7 percent, to close Friday at $16.77. The stock hit a seven-year low of $15.98 last month.

The PlayBook charge comes as analysts have started to conclude that RIM's management has no chance of really righting the ship. They've started to value the company not on its future prospects, but on how much it would be worth if acquired, broken up, or simply run down while keeping BlackBerry service going.

The company is also taking a charge of $50 million for an embarrassing October outage of email and Web services that lasted days for millions of overseas BlackBerry users. It briefly spread to the U.S. and Canada before the company was able to contain the damage.

RIM reports fiscal third-quarter earnings on Dec. 15.

RIM's announcement is the latest in a string of bad news for the company. A widespread outage frustrated tens of millions of BlackBerry users in October. On Thursday, RIM suspended two employees after their drunken rowdiness forced an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Beijing to be diverted to Vancouver.

RIM has also delayed the launch of new phones with the company's new QNX operating system for several months. RIM disappointed many in October when the company didn't announce a clear timeline for when it would release phones with the new software which is now called BBX.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company continues to have success overseas but has increasingly lost market share in North America. Many U.S. users have moved on to phones with big touchscreens such as the iPhone and various competing models that run Google's Android software.

___

Associated Press writer Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.

Zynga hopes to raise about $1 billion in IPO (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 12:30 PM PST

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Dec 2, 3:30 pm ET

NEW YORK – Hoping to harvest some fresh cash, the online game company behind "FarmVille" said Friday that it plans to raise $1 billion in an initial public offering of up to 100 million shares.

Zynga Inc. is the latest in a spate of IPOs by Internet companies this year, ranging from professional networking service LinkedIn Corp. to the online deals site Groupon Inc. They're all precursors to Facebook's public debut expected sometime after April next year. Facebook could fetch as much as $10 billion in its offering.

Zynga, whose games are played mainly on Facebook, plans to sell its shares at $8.50 to $10 each. If the shares are priced at $10, Zynga will be valued at $7 billion based on the number of its total shares. That's a smaller valuation that the company's shares have traded recently on SharesPost, a secondary stock exchange used to trade the stock of privately held companies. There, a recent trade valued Zynga at $11.7 billion.

The company expects to sell 14.3 percent of its available stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That's a relatively high "float," which could give investors confidence that the company isn't trying to artificially inflate its value. Groupon raised some concerns when it sold just 5.5 percent of its outstanding stock. Though not unprecedented, the amount was below that of many prominent tech companies, such as Google (7.2 percent), Amazon (12.6 percent) and LinkedIn (8.2 percent).

The offering gives investors the option to buy an additional 15 million shares to cover over-allotments, bringing the total number of shares for sale to 115 million.

Newly-public tech companies aren't always a hit after their initial offering. Shares of Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc., are trading below their IPO price and Groupon is slightly above and has fluctuated wildly. Unlike those two, however, Zynga is profitable. The company makes most of its revenue by charging small amounts of money for virtual items in its games. Players pay for new crops in "FarmVille," for example, or new buildings in "CityVille," its most popular game.

The company plans to use the proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes such as game development, marketing and other expenses. It also plans to use part of it for its philanthropic venture, Zynga.org.

Zynga has about 2,300 employees. It was founded in 2007 by CEO Mark Pincus. Following the IPO, Pincus will continue to be the sole holder of Zynga's Class C stock, each share of which carries 70 votes. After the offering, Pincus, 45, will control about 36.2 percent of the total voting power at Zynga through Class B and Class C shares he owns.

Companies often split their stock into different classes to keep control of the decisions about the company in the hands of founders and early employees. But having a class of shares carry 70 votes is unusual — about 10 is more common.

__

Associated Press Writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this story.

Just Show Me: How to set the default web browser in Windows 7 (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:49 PM PST

Haptic shoes could help the blind navigate cane-free (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:39 PM PST

Nanotechnology Puts a Medical Lab in Your Hand (Mashable)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 04:00 PM PST

Zachary Sniderman Zachary Sniderman – Thu Dec 1, 7:00 pm ET

All the frills in life are shrinking in size. Laptops, cellphones and even big-screen televisions have been getting thinner and thinner. So why shouldn't necessary technology like medical labs and scientific tools get the same slimming treatment? Now they are: advances in nanotechnology have made it possible to put an entire medical lab into one high-powered chip, which not only fits in the palm of your hand, but also performs diagnostic tests in a matter of minutes.

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Researchers are gradually finding ways to create reliable, nano-sized labs that are able to perform a variety of diagnostic tests, which used to require teams of people and weeks of waiting. The tiny wafers of glass or plastic work by compressing a series of tests. For example, the Guardian reports Professor Tom Duke at the London Center for Nanotechnology is working on a "lab-on-a-chip" to test for HIV.

In Duke's chip, a drop of blood is separated by nanometer-sized pillars, which then trap larger elements such as blood cells and proteins. Virus particles pass through this trap (which acts like a nano-sieve) where they hit a series of levers coated with antibodies that bend when they are hit. The more they bend, the more virus is present.

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This is just one application for the lab-on-a-chip. Many different viruses and diseases can be tested using a similar process including genetic mutations, cancer and even biological contaminants from the battlefield. The Guardian also reports that the Simbas chip, designed by a team from the University of California, Berkeley, which can detect a biological component in blood at a concentration of approximately one part per 40 billion.

These tiny labs hold a lot of promise. Not only do they deliver results quickly, but they require very little input (just a drop of blood, for example, instead of a proper blood test). This is enormously useful for helping test and cure people in under-developed countries, which may not have access to full labs. Right now, the chips are expensive to make and accordingly have not been integrated into many hospitals. As the price and size drop, expect to hear more about these micro-labs.

Making things smaller is difficult. As the actual size of a device -- say, a phone -- decreases, its components need to become smaller while improving functionality and speed. This disproportionate relationship can put a lot of stress on your favorite gadgets. While consumer gadgets can be released with fixable flaws (for example, the iPhone 4 "antennagate" ), the same luxury cannot be afforded to medical technology.

We all witnessed the Apple-induced anger of antennagate, so imagine if a similar design flaw resulted in an incorrect diagnosis or a false-negative?

Image courtesy of Flickr, AlishaV, chip image courtesy of micronit

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Report: Google Treading Into Amazon's E-Commerce Waters (NewsFactor)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 05:27 PM PST

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 2, 8:27 pm ET

Never content to rest on its search-engine dominance alone, Google is reportedly moving into yet another industry giant's space. This time, it's Amazon that may have to look over its shoulder.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google plans to challenge the throne of the e-commerce legend, which has itself branched out into manufacturing products. Google is reportedly in talks with major retailers and shippers about developing a new service that would let consumers shop for clothes, electronics and other consumer goods online and get their order within a day.

Google's move is a direct assault against one of Amazon's competitive advantages: Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime is a membership program that gives Amazon customers unlimited fast shipping, such as free two-day shipping and one-day shipping for $3.99 per item. The annual fee is $79.

What Would Amazon Do?

"The fact that Google is getting in on the retail and shipping business is an indicator that it's a service people are willing to pay for but it's also something that they expect," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. "Offering to deliver goods within a day keeps Google in the ballpark as a direct competitor with Amazon, but it also brings up the subject of what is Amazon doing next to stay ahead of the game."

King makes a valid point. In the early days of e-commerce, Amazon differentiated itself by offering lower prices than bookstores. Amazon later aggregated similar products from various sellers and allowed consumers to choose from various price options. Amazon also gained market advantages with one-click shopping, which allows customers to make online purchases with a single click.

"As more retailers got on the bandwagon, you saw Amazon making some interesting moves in order to stay ahead of the pack. First they offered Super Saver free shipping and then later the offered Amazon Prime," King said. "The e-commerce market is a pretty lively and constantly changing one."

What's at Stake?

Constantly changing is a true assessment, especially when the likes of Google enters the mix. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is talking with Macy's, OfficeMax and UPS. Google was not immediately available for comment. The Journal reported Macy's confirmed that Google approached it with the concept. Gap and Office Max declined to comment to the Journal.

"In a way, Google is trying to step up as knowledgeable partner for retailers and help them compete more effectively with disruptive first movers like Amazon," King said. "Working with a partner like Google may be a better model for some retailers to pursue than to try to create their own online commerce sites. The vast majority of those traditional big box retailers haven't done very well."

One thing is certain: there is plenty at stake. Forrester Research estimates the online retail industry will grow 12 percent, to a whopping $197 billion in 2011. Amazon is the industry giant. If The Wall Street Journal report is true, Google is vying for a piece of that growing pie.

Stealthy cellphone software stirs outcry (AP)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:43 PM PST

By JORDAN ROBERTSON and PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writers Jordan Robertson And Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writers – Fri Dec 2, 7:43 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Technology bloggers are asking if our cellphones are spying on us after a security researcher said a piece of software hidden on millions of phones was recording virtually everything people do with them.

Amid a broad outcry, Sen. Al Franken (D- Minn.) is calling for an investigation. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the software's maker, Carrier IQ Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.

The software, which Carrier IQ says is used on some 150 million mobile devices, appears relatively innocuous. It does watch what owners of Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc. smartphones do with them, including what people type and the numbers they dial. But it doesn't seem to transmit every keystroke to the company. Instead, it kicks into action when there's a problem, like a call that doesn't go through, and it lets the phone company know.

"It is software that is developed in partnership with carriers with the intent to improve network performance. As far as we can tell, it meets this description in execution," said Tim Wyatt, principal engineer at Lookout, a cellphone security company.

"In line with our privacy policy, we solely use CIQ software data to improve wireless network and service performance," AT&T said in a statement.

Carrier IQ says the data its software gathers is stored by the phone companies or at Carrier IQ's facilities. It doesn't sell the data to third parties. Phone companies, of course, already are custodians of a wealth of private information, including whom you call, where you surf and what your text messages say.

The brouhaha started a few weeks ago, when a programmer named Trevor Eckhart documented Carrier IQ's workings with videos on his blog. The software company threatened him with a lawsuit if he didn't take the information down. The Electronic Frontier Foundation took on Eckhart's case, and the company backed down.

Eckhart posted another video this week, showing Carrier IQ's software logging keystrokes on an HTC EVO 3D from Sprint.

A central privacy worry is what kind of data Carrier IQ is retaining.

Andrew Coward, a Carrier IQ vice president, said the software doesn't record every keystroke or send information about all of them back to the company. The only keystrokes it cares about are specific administrative commands, including those instructing the software to phone "home." The rest it discards, Coward said.

"We never expected to need the content of SMS messages, so we didn't code for it," Coward told The Associated Press in an interview.

Apple Inc. has said it has stopped supporting Carrier IQ in most of its products. Separately, the company came under fire last year over location-tracking features of the iPhone and made a software change to keep data on users' movements for less time.

For now, there's no easy way to uninstall the Carrier IQ software without unsanctioned third-party software. Coward said it is "too early to tell" whether the company will make any substantial changes to the software because of the uproar.

___

Svensson reported from New York.

RIM Devalues Playbook Inventory by $485 Million (NewsFactor)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 05:05 PM PST

Mark Long, newsfactor.com Mark Long, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 2, 8:05 pm ET

Research In Motion said Friday that it will record a $485 million charge on the inventory valuation of the company's BlackBerry PlayBook tablets when it reports results for its third business quarter later this month. "A number of factors have led to the need for an inventory provision in the third quarter," said RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.

However, RIM has no intention of emulating HP, which quickly sold off its remaining TouchPad tablet inventory and abandoned the market last August. The BlackBerry maker's goal is to dramatically increase the number of PlayBooks in the hands of more customers by cutting prices.

The PlayBook inventory write-down is merely the first page in RIM's new playbook for more effectively competing with lower-priced tablet models such as Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and the new $249 Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble. RIM is also aware that delays in the release of the new PlayBook OS 2.0 software featuring more advanced capabilities has hindered the BlackBerry tablet's immediate sales prospects at the old price.

Lazaridis said RIM remained committed to the PlayBook platform and believed the tablet market was still in its infancy.

"We believe the PlayBook, which will be further enhanced with the upcoming PlayBook OS 2.0 software, is a compelling tablet for consumers that also offers unique security and manageability features for the enterprise," Lazaridis said Friday.

Low-priced Promotions

Retailers such as Staples began selling the BlackBerry PlayBook for $200 on Black Friday. According to Lazaridis, low-priced sales promotions like Staples' Black Friday deal have already driven a "significant increase in demand across most channels."

By reducing the PlayBook's retail price, RIM hopes to drive the development of a vibrant application ecosystem in advance of the launch of its upgraded BlackBerry smartphones. However, the PlayBook's sales prospects -- even at sharply reduced prices -- are limited because of the relatively few applications and multimedia entertainment options available for the current PlayBook platform.

Even with the special promotions, RIM said Friday that it only sold 150,000 PlayBook units to retailers and distributors during the business quarter which ended on Nov. 26. On the other hand, RIM said its own internal numbers indicate that the actual sell-through to consumers was even higher as distributors presumably moved to clear their store shelves.

Still, it remains unclear whether RIM's new PlayBook strategy will put into play enough units to encourage software developers to create more apps for the company's PlayBook OS 2.0 platform, which is expected to launch in February.

Outage Aftershocks

RIM's BlackBerry platform held an 11 percent share of the global smartphone market at the end of September -- down from 15.4 percent in September 2010, according to Gartner. What's more, RIM's mobile market prospects worsened in early October, when the BlackBerry platform suffered a four-day global outage. The timing was potentially disastrous for RIM.

"The same week of the outage, the iPhone 4S hit the stores and users coming to the end of their contracts will now have a reason to think beyond BlackBerry," said Francisco Jeronimo, IDC's research manager for European mobile devices. "This outage harms BlackBerry's brand reputation."

According to Net Applications, a significant number of former BlackBerry users switched to Apple's iPhone 4S and new Android handset models during October. So even if RIM's PlayBook is offered at heavily discounted prices, RIM will find it difficult to regain lost customers who are now using handsets running iOS or Android.

Lawmaker calls for FTC probe into Carrier IQ (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 12:19 PM PST

By Jasmin Melvin Jasmin Melvin – Fri Dec 2, 3:19 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Representative Edward Markey on Friday asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether software maker Carrier IQ violated millions of mobile phone users' privacy rights.

Carrier IQ makes software that companies including AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel install in mobile devices. It runs in the background, transmitting data that the software maker says its customer companies use to better understand their devices and networks, which allows them to improve their services.

Carrier IQ came under fire following reports that its software collects and transmits potentially sensitive data about the phone users.

"Consumers and families need to understand who is siphoning off and storing their personal information every time they use their smart phone," Markey said in a statement.

Hacking expert Trevor Eckhart this week released a 17-minute YouTube video showing software tracking when he turns his HTC smartphone - powered by Google Inc's Android operating system - on and off, punches numbers to make a call and writes a text message.

In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Markey asked the agency to investigate this under its mandate to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

Senator Al Franken on Thursday sent a letter to Carrier IQ, asking for details on the types of data its software collects and what it does with that information.

The company said in a statement on Thursday that its software collects data needed to diagnose network and device problems, but does not record, store or transmit the contents of text messages, email, photographs, audio or video.

"Our software makes your phone better by delivering intelligence on the performance of mobile devices and networks to help (mobile) operators provide optimal service efficiency," the company statement said.

Carrier IQ has denied accusations of wiretap law violations and allegations that its software tracks keystrokes made on mobile devices.

The company could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

Research In Motion said it does not install or authorize its carrier partners to install Carrier IQ's software on its BlackBerry smartphones. Nokia also said its phones do not use the software.

Apple Inc said that some devices, including iPhones, that run on its iOS 4 operating system use the Carrier IQ software, but that it does not work with the newer iOS 5.

An FTC spokeswoman said the agency had received Markey's letter but had no further comment.

(Reporting by Jasmin Melvin; Editing by Gary Hill)

Facebook acquires Gowalla to help with Timeline (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 06:25 PM PST

Mike Flacy Mike Flacy – Fri Dec 2, 9:25 pm ET

gowalla

According to a report from CNN, Austin-based Gowalla was purchased today by Facebook. Two years ago, Gowalla attempted to compete with Foursquare in building a social network that promoted user locations. While Foursquare dominated Gowalla in regards to adding users, the company shifted directions to travel discovery guides that provide a visual look at various landmarks and cities around the globe as well as telling a story about each location. According to the CNN article, Gowalla founder Josh Williams and many employees will be relocated to Palo Alto to work in Facebook's offices. However, some employees will remain in Austin, Texas and work from a satellite Facebook office.

Gowalla-Mural-2-450x300The team will be working directly on Timeline, the revision of the Facebook wall that was announced earlier this year. Facebook Timeline was scheduled to be released over a month ago, but has fallen behind schedule. Based on previous acquisitions, it's highly unlikely that Facebook will continue to run Gowalla in the current state. Facebook typically purchases companies like Snaptu and Hot Potato to integrate talented developers and engineers into the Facebook family. No official announcement has been made on the fate of the Gowalla site or the Gowalla mobile application available for iPhone and Android phones.

The Gowalla application has about 10,000 daily active users, but that's a pittance compared to rival Foursquare with over half a million daily active users. According to Mashable, Foursquare officials released the follow statement about the acquisition: "Congrats to Josh and the team in Austin. Here at Foursquare, we continue to focus on building an amazing product and growing our 15,000,000-strong community." Gowalla raised about 10 million dollars during two rounds of funding and notable investors include Digg founder Kevin Rose, wine aficionado Gary Vaynerchuk and Mahalo founder Jason Calacanis as well as some venture capitalist firms.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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What Smartphone Owners Learned from the Carrier IQ Scandal (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 04:30 PM PST

Jared Spurbeck Jared Spurbeck – Fri Dec 2, 7:30 pm ET
Contribute content like this. Start here.

Maybe it's too early to use the past tense. Because the scandal, which involved a rootkit discovered by Android security researcher Trevor Eckhart, is still ongoing, leaving companies like RIM and Nokia to explain themselves.

If nothing else, though, it's been very educational. Here are a few things us smartphone owners have learned from it:

What rootkits are

A person or program that has root access to your smartphone can basically do whatever it wants to it, without being noticed or caught. In this case, it's the Carrier IQ software, which is called a rootkit because it's put on your phone with root access (and without your knowledge). As Eckhart discovered, the software can log pretty much everything you do on your phone, and send it off to someone else without your knowledge or consent.

Most Android smartphone owners don't have root access; the manufacturer and carrier lock you out to keep you from breaking or deleting things that they consider vital. Like, say, the Carrier IQ rootkit, and the free trials and carrier apps that you can't delete. Android experts and hobbyists root their phones manually sometimes, but as I discovered, the process is complicated and not for newbies.

What hackers are for

Not "hackers" in the Hollywood movie sense, that crack open security systems and copy data from corporate mainframes. These people call themselves hackers in the sense of "hacking" solutions to difficult problems that they enjoy solving ... like, say, figuring out how to root their Android smartphones.

Hacker experts like Eckhart were the first to discover and blow the whistle on the Carrier IQ rootkit. And the hacker hangout XDA-Developers published an expose based on his and others' work, calling it "The Rootkit Of All Evil." The wireless carriers' and smartphone manufacturers' acknowledgements of Carrier IQ, and the media blitz surrounding it, only came after these enthusiasts published their findings ... and Carrier IQ actually sent a cease-and-desist letter to Eckhart, only retracting it after the Electronic Frontier Foundation's legal defense team challenged it.

Apple "jailbreak" hackers, who legally root their own iPhones, even confirmed the presence of Carrier IQ on some iPhones, before Apple issued its own statement to The Verge about how it was phasing out the software's use. They also said that it wasn't doing as much as on other smartphones, though, which Apple confirmed.

How powerful Apple is

Alone among smartphone manufacturers, Apple's phones don't have carrier logos, or non-uninstallable demos and apps placed on iPhones by the carriers. And with AT&T and Sprint confirming to ComputerWorld's Jaikumar Vijayan that they ordered the Carrier IQ software installed, the fact that its most controversial features were turned off on Apple's iPhones only underscores the company's clout with wireless carriers.

Android smartphone manufacturer HTC said in a statement that it was looking at ways to let HTC smartphone owners opt out of Carrier IQ.

FarmVille, Words With Friends publisher Zynga files for $1.15 billion IPO (Appolicious)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 11:20 AM PST

Verizon Spends $3.6 Billion To Buy Cable's Spectrum (NewsFactor)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:15 PM PST

Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 2, 6:15 pm ET

In a $3.6 billion deal, three top cable companies have agreed to sell spectrum to Verizon Wireless and to sell each other's products. The agreement will have a big impact on the wireless industry as it shifts into the next generation of high-speed data access,

The deal for 122 advanced wireless system licenses is widely viewed as capitulation by companies who have tried unsuccessfully to gain a foothold in a market dominated by Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.

"It's really hard for a cable company to expect to compete in a highly competitive wireless market," Time Warner Cable spokesman Alex Dudley told the Associated Press. "We got a good price for the spectrum. An arrangement like this makes a lot of sense."

Reaching 259 Million

The other cable companies in the deal are Comcast Corp. and Bright House Networks. The trio formed SpectrumCo, LLC as a joint venture to try to break into the exploding wireless industry. Smartphone use has grown from 46 percent in the third quarter of 2010 to 59 percent during the same quarter this year, according to figures from NPD Group.

The deal, which Verizon noted is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission and review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, includes spectrum that reaches 259 million Americans and allows the cable companies to sell Verizon services and products. It also puts Verizon at an even bigger advantage over top rival AT&T as it struggles to salvage its $39 billion merger deal with T-Mobile. The Justice Department has filed suit to block the deal, saying it will hurt fair competition.

Acquisition of T-Mobile's wireless spectrum was a prime motivation for the proposed merger, as the No. 2 carrier launches a long-term evolution (LTE) high-speed data network for 4G phones, to compete with Verizon's year-old LTE network.

In addition to beefing up Verizon's capacity, the deal also takes spectrum off the shelf that could be used by competitors.

Not For Amateurs

"Wireless is confusing," said technology consultant and analyst Jeff Kagan. "It is growing so rapidly and it looks like it is such an easy business, but only if you understand the rules of the game.

"The cable television industry has tried to get into wireless in recent years and they have failed. This is the end of the big speculations that the cable television industry would become a powerhouse in wireless."

The approximate breakdown gives Comcast, which owns 63.6 percent of SpectrumCo, $2.3 billion from the deal, while Time Warner, which owns 31.2 percent, would get $1.1 billion, and Bright House, which owns 5.3 percent will get $189 million.

"Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the AWS spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future, and will enable us to bring even better 4G LTE products and services to our customers," said Dan Mead, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless.

YouTube's big redesign is all about you (Digital Trends)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:50 PM PST

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Fri Dec 2, 6:50 pm ET

new youtubeJust a few weeks ago, the new YouTube makeover was leaked, giving us another look at Google's long-term plans of taking the site from amateur hour to professional platform. While we're not quite there yet, Google has officially announced the new look, which definitely gives us a peak at the overall direction.

The overall theme Google seems to be going for is less like the Internet, more like TV—and hopefully it will strike the perfect chord in between these two mediums. Both are changing and evolving (especially when it comes to consuming content) and many outlets are pouring ample time and attention into finding the perfect balance while also making production studios happy.

And it's been quite the evolution for YouTube. Does anyone remember what the site's homepage used to look like? The focus was predominantly on videos: recently uploaded videos, the most played videos, sponsored videos. And while some of this had to do with your personal profile, that clearly wasn't the main priority. Now, Google's injecting a whole lot more customization into your immediate YouTube experience.

The first thing you see upon logging in are the channels you're subscribed to, your right-hand navigation sidebar, and the videos that are recommended to you. Then, underneath your personal information in the sidebar is a "From YouTube" section. This is what YouTube used to revolve around, but now is more of an afterthought. When you aren't logged in (or don't have an account), the "From YouTube" section is front and center, although you are definitely pointed toward making a profile.

Personalization also extends to Channels. You can now choose between different templates to give your channel its own distinct look.

This is all good news for the avid YouTube users. Those who consistently use the platform to create and share content and really involve themselves in the community aspects of the site will benefit from these improvements. But what about everyone else—everyone who just wants to randomly discover YouTube videos? It isn't really geared for unearthing random videos anymore, and aimlessly finding some gem isn't as easy as it used to be. YouTube seems hell-bent on using your profile to suggest content so you don't actually have to do it yourself.

Users can also link other social networking sites, like Google+ and Facebook. This means that all your publicly uploaded videos will be automatically shared to these two sites, and show you what videos are being shared via these platforms.

The new redesign is inarguably polished thanks to the Cosmic Panda upgrade we saw earlier this year. And it is obvious that YouTube is putting emphasis on video creation, making things cleaner, easier, and customized. Will this lead to higher quality, more professional content? That remains to be seen. But cutting down on clutter and retooling the UI to focus on channels definitely translate well to TV-viewing habits. 

 

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Google hits us with yet another YouTube redesign

YouTube planning to launch scheduled video channels in 2012

Rumor: Google also wants to buy Hulu

Google TV continues with software upgrades, refreshes Photos and YouTube

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

Judge rejects Apple bid to halt Galaxy sales (Reuters)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 08:51 PM PST

By Dan Levine Dan Levine – 1 hr 12 mins ago

(Reuters) – Apple failed to convince a U.S. judge to block Samsung Electronics from selling some Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the U.S. market, depriving the iPhone and iPad maker of crucial leverage in a global patent battle between the two companies.

In a ruling released late on Friday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction against Samsung.

Representatives for Apple and Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two companies are engaged in a bruising legal battle that includes more than 20 cases in 10 countries as they jostle for the top spot in the smartphone and tablet markets.

Apple sued Samsung in the United States in April, saying the South Korean company's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad.

But on Friday Koh rejected Apple's bid to ban sales of three smartphone models, as well as the Samsung Tab 10.1.

"It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung's accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed," Koh wrote.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.

(Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Fallout Continues for Carrier IQ Tracking Software (NewsFactor)

Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:53 PM PST

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 2, 6:53 pm ET

The fallout following the discovery of Carrier IQ's monitoring software on millions of smartphones continues to build. European privacy officials are investigating, the company said it has not violated wiretap laws, three class-action lawsuits have been filed, and a U.S. senator wants answers.

Connecticut-based security researcher Trevor Eckhart recently posted a video showing that software from Carrier IQ, pre-installed on as many as 141 million Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia smartphones, sends text messages, searches, and other user actions to the carrier without the user's knowledge or consent. Eckhart said that "every button you press in the dialer" is sent even before a call is made, and even when the owner is using Wi-Fi and not the carrier's network.

'Deeply Troubling'

In the furor that has erupted, some observers have suggested that federal wiretap laws may have been violated. But Mountain View, Calif.-based Carrier IQ has denied this.

In a statement on its Web site, the company said that, while there is a "great deal of information available to the Carrier IQ software inside the handset, our software does not record, store or transmit the content of SMS messages, e-mail, photographs, audio or video." As an example, the company said that its software knows that a SMS was sent accurately, but it does not record or transmit its content.

Similarly, the company said its software knows which apps are draining the battery, but screenshots are not captured. The company has also denied that every keystroke is being collected. AT&T and Sprint Nextel issued statements Thursday that the software is used to improve service.

But some governmental officials want more information. Privacy regulators in Germany, the U.K., France, Ireland and Italy have reportedly been looking into the use of Carrier IQ by smartphones and carriers in those countries.

In the U.S., Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., has asked Carrier IQ for more information about what data is collected and shared. "The revelation that the locations and other sensitive data of millions of Americans are being secretly recorded and possibly transmitted is deeply troubling," he said in a news release, adding that Congress needs to act quickly to protect "private, sensitive information of consumers."

Three Class-Action Lawsuits

Initial reports indicated that the software is present on phones from HTC, Nokia, Research In Motion and Samsung. There have also been reports that references to Carrier IQ have been found in Apple's iOS 5, but it does not appear to be enabled to record keystrokes, as it is on devices from other manufacturers.

In a statement Thursday, Apple, which has been questioned about the software by German authorities, said that it had stopped supporting Carrier IQ in iOS 5 for most of its products, and will completely remove it in a future update.

Three class-action lawsuits alleging Carrier IQ violates federal wiretap laws have been filed in Chicago, St. Louis and Northern California. The lawsuits could be costly, according to Forbes, as the federal Wiretap Act provides for penalties of $100 a day or $10,000 per violation. Carrier IQ boats on its Web site that its software is on 141 million smartphones.

The Northern California suit names Samsung and HTC as well as Carrier IQ. The lawsuit contends that, contrary to Carrier IQ's statements, the software "does record keystrokes and the content of messages, and could transmit the information to third parties." It accuses the three companies of violating the federal Wiretap Act and California's Unfair Business Practice Act.

New BlackBerry Mobile Fusion also Manages Android, iOS Devices (NewsFactor)

Posted: 01 Dec 2011 05:21 PM PST

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Thu Dec 1, 8:21 pm ET

If you can't beat them, secure them. That seems to be the philosophy behind Research In Motion's latest market move. RIM just launched BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, an enterprise mobility solution that marks its entrance into the multi-platform mobile-device management space.

BlackBerry Mobile Fusion plays on RIM's strength: enterprise security. The company is using what it has learned over the past decade to manage smartphones and tablets running not only BlackBerry, but also Google Android and Apple iOS operating systems. RIM's aim so to win the business of companies and government agencies looking to manage the various mobile device workers tote.

Alan Panezic, vice president, Enterprise Product Management and Marketing at RIM, said the new solution offers the "necessary management capabilities to allow IT departments to confidently oversee the use of both company-owned and employee-owned mobile devices within their organizations."

Managing Worker Mobility

RIM's smartphone sales may be suffering in the face of competition from Apple and Android, but it is nevertheless the undisputed leader in enterprise mobility solutions. More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies provision BlackBerry devices.

With its BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, however, RIM is tapping into a felt need of today's enterprise. Not only is the smartphone and tablet market continuing to grow, IT admins have to manage both company-provisioned and employee-owned devices.

It's well documented how employee-owned devices have introduced new challenges for CIOs and IT departments as they work to manage and control wireless access to confidential company information on the corporate network.

In competition with companies like Mobile Iron, Sybase and Symantec, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion will offer asset and configuration management, security and policy definition and management, application and software management and connectivity management. RIM said the new offering also secures and protects lost or stolen devices, features user- and group-based administration, high scalability and a centralized console.

RIM's New Beginning?

RIM announced its plans for a multi-platform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution in May. The technology is based on assets RIM acquired when it purchased Ubitexx. Certain features are expected to remain exclusive, including RIM's push technology, network and data usage efficiency, and behind-the-firewall access to enterprise applications and systems.

"RIM knows it is losing market share as well as an opportunity to sell the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, which is the gold standard for mobile-device management. Name something it doesn't do," said Michael Disabato, managing vice president of Network and Telecom at Gartner. "Now, RIM has the mechanics in place to manage iOS and Android devices. RIM is going to be a competitor as soon as they get past version one."

Although RIM is late to market, Disabato said the solution nevertheless could be attractive to companies that need a mobile-device management solution and prefer to expand an existing relationship rather than add and maintain another layer of infrastructure. Disabato sees it as a potential win for RIM, but the success is in the execution of the details.
at 10:14 PM

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