Technology news

• Microsoft quarterly profits fall

  26-01-2015 23:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Microsoft reports falling profits but sales were helped by strong Xbox sales over the holiday season.
  
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• IBM "flatly denies" report of mass layoffs

  26-01-2015 23:04
  
  Calling it "ridiculous" and "baseless," IBM on Monday dismissed a report that said the technology giant plans to lay off 1 in 4 of its workers, or 100,000 people. The company "flatly ...
  
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• Updated: Retina MacBook Air release date, news and rumours

  26-01-2015 23:00
  
  Introduction, release date and designAs the old adage goes: the best things in life are worth waiting for, and Apple's long-awaited Retina MacBook Air has the potential to be the best all-round MacBook yet.Apple's current MacBook Air machines have excellent battery life and portability, but suffer from poor low-resolution TN displays. On the other hand, the MacBook Pro with Retina has an excellent high-resolution IPS display, but is a pound too heavy to be considered ultraportable and has good,
  
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• Taxi app Uber agrees to cap 'surge pricing' during New York blizzard

  26-01-2015 22:06
  
  Controversial service has come under fire in the past for its price hikes during foul weather but agrees to limit after warning from state attorney general Continue reading...
  
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• WikiLeaks threatens legal action against Google and US after email revelations

  26-01-2015 21:54
  
  Google handed over WikiLeaks staffers’ emails to the FBIWikiLeaks notified warrants were served two and a half years later Continue reading...
  
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• Drone crashes at White House; hobbyist says it's his

  26-01-2015 21:41
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A two-foot-long drone apparently flown by a hobbyist crashed on the White House grounds Monday in an extraordinary, if unintended, breach that raised fresh questions about the president's security — and a growing threat from the sky.
  
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• Key departure prompts leadership shake-up at Spark

  26-01-2015 21:38 via zdnet.com
  
  20-year veteran Chris Quin parts company with New Zealand's largest telecommunications retailer.
  
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• Hands-on review: Updated: Sling TV

  26-01-2015 21:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Sling TV on Roku 3 and iOSSling TV has a lot of promise. After spending a few hours with it in my house and on the road this past weekend, that was all I could think. It's more promising than Time Warner Cable's TWC TV app or Comcast's Xfinity app will ever be. And that sounds bold, but unless the money-first, consumers-second cable giants have a change of heart, those streaming apps will always come second to the live service. You see, both companies will always prioritize a traditionally expen
  
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• Law enforcement wants popular police-tracking app disabled

  26-01-2015 21:15
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement is concerned that the popular Waze mobile traffic app by Google Inc., which provides real-time road conditions, can also be used to hunt and harm police.
  
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• Review: Acer Chromebook 13

  26-01-2015 21:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Introduction and designCompared to most laptops, Chromebooks are a one-trick pony: They're good for web-based productivity and not much else. Acer has refined this simple formula with Chromebook 13, which offers a 1080p screen, an outstanding keyboard and a slim and light design. It's also the first Chromebook to feature Nvidia's energy-efficient Tegra K1 quad-core processor, which provides much longer battery life than competing notebooks.Moreover, at $249 and £219 (about AU$314) the Chromeboo
  
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• Man takes responsibility for drone over White House

  26-01-2015 20:15
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A small drone flying low to the ground crashed onto the White House grounds before dawn Monday, triggering a major emergency response and raising fresh questions about security at the presidential mansion. A man later came forward to say he was responsible and didn't mean to fly it over the complex.
  
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• Device triggers White House alert

  26-01-2015 19:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A flying device known as a "quad copter" triggered a security alert when it landed in the grounds of the White House, a US official says.
  
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• IBM denies plans to cut 26% of workforce

  26-01-2015 19:17
  
  Technology giant says US technology blogger’s claims of 110,000 job cuts are ‘ridiculous’ speculationIBM has issued a strong rebuke to a report that it is preparing to cut more than a quarter of its global workforce.A US technology blogger claimed on Forbes.com that the US technology giant was about to announce plans to slash 110,000 jobs under a scheme known internally as Project Chrome. Continue reading...
  
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• ​IBM dismisses massive layoff report as workforce remixing continues

  26-01-2015 18:55 via zdnet.com
  
  IBM's workforce rebalancing is as predictable as the seasons, but it's a stretch to think Big Blue is cutting more than 100,000 employees.
  
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• Facebook complies with Turkey block

  26-01-2015 18:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Facebook has blocked a page which a Turkish court claimed was offensive to the Prophet Muhammad.
  
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• Facebook's Oculus forms in-house virtual-reality film studio

  26-01-2015 18:35
  
  By Piya Sinha-Roy PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's Oculus VR is getting into movies with an in-house studio dedicated to making virtual-reality films and will show its first short movie at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday, the company said. Tapping talent from both Pixar, the animation studio behind computer graphics imagery (CGI) films including "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc," and the video gaming world, Oculus' Story Studio will develop film content
  
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• Emma Watson to be Belle of the ball in live-action Beauty and the Beast

  26-01-2015 18:28
  
  Former Harry Potter star to take lead role in Disney reworking of its classic cartoon, with the songs from the original present and correctEmma Watson at Davos: address gender inequality – video
  Emma Watson criticises ‘dangerously unhealthy’ pressure on young women Continue reading...
  
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• WikiLeaks slams Google over delay in revealing US warrants

  26-01-2015 18:19
  
  BERLIN (AP) — WikiLeaks on Monday criticized Google for failing to swiftly inform the secrets-spilling group about U.S. search warrants issued seeking emails and other personal information from three of its staff.
  
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• Hands-on review: HP Pro Tab 10 EE

  26-01-2015 17:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HP recently unveiled its newest fleet of enterprise tablets and convertibles. Leading the pack was the HP Pro Slate 12 ($529, £349, or AUS$646), a large format tablet that can turn physical pen-to-paper drawings into digital files. The Pro Slate 12 fits nicely into a category that is already jam-packed with excellent enterprise-focused devices like the Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 (starting at $699, £430, AU$795), a 1.55 pound, 11-inch device that packs 9 hours of battery life into a single charge a
  
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• IBM dismisses Forbes report of massive layoffs

  26-01-2015 17:38
  
  SEATTLE (Reuters) - An IBM spokesman dismissed a Forbes magazine report claiming the technology giant was preparing to cut about 26 percent of its workforce. IBM is in the process of layoffs, as disclosed in its latest earnings report last week, but it will affect "several thousand" employees only, according to an emailed statement from IBM to Reuters. (Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
  
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• YouTube goes to the movies with Rooster Teeth, Our 2nd Life, Nash Grier and Cameron Dallas

  26-01-2015 17:14
  
  Multi-channel network Fullscreen is producing a series of films starring or about popular YouTubers, through its new Fullscreen Film divisionRooster Teeth, Our 2nd Life, Nash Grier and Cameron Dallas are among the most prominent success stories of YouTube’s world of short-form video. Now they’re setting their sights on long-form success: films.They’re all making movies for Fullscreen Films, a new division of multi-channel network (MCN) Fullscreen that is planning to launch a series of film
  
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• Tweetbot for Mac pulled from app store after hitting Twitter's user limit

  26-01-2015 17:10
  
  Twitter’s crackdown on third-party apps, announced in 2012, takes a new victimA leading third-party Twitter app has been pulled from the Mac App store after hitting a cap imposed by the social network on the number of users it can have.Tweetbot for Mac, which launched on the Mac App Store in October 2012, is the latest application to fall foul of Twitter’s ongoing rule limiting new clients to a total of 100,000 users, ever. Continue reading...
  
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• Review: mini review: Bowers and Wilkins T7

  26-01-2015 17:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Good products put function before form. World-class products put function and form on an equal plane. In the case of headphones, few companies wield sculpting tools as keen as Bowers and Wilkins. But, as far as Bluetooth speakers go, those tools need sharpening.The T7, the company's only Bluetooth speaker available, has the chops to pump out your music a little better than you've heard it before, depending on your exposure to high-end gear. It definitely looks better than most speakers do, but i
  
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• Oculus VR forms in-house studio for virtual reality movies

  26-01-2015 17:08
  
  By Piya Sinha-Roy PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's Oculus VR is getting into movies with an in-house studio dedicated to making virtual reality films and will be showing a short movie on Monday, the company said. Tapping talent from both Pixar, the animation studio behind computer graphics imagery (CGI) films such as "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc," and the video gaming world, Oculus' Story Studio will both develop film content for virtual reality and advis
  
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• Shazam: from text-based service to $1bn app in 15 years

  26-01-2015 16:52
  
  Founded in 2000, the song-recognition service claims to be responsible for a tenth of all downloaded musicCall a company “Shazam”, and it needs to be doing something magical.Last week, the 15-year-old British business managed that, at least in part: a $30m (£19.9m) investment for just under 3% of its shares. That meant it became one of only half a dozen UK technology startups valued at $1bn or more – joining Powa, Wonga, Monitise, Zoopla and, as of Monday, money transmission business
  
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• Carrefour invests in European tech start-ups fund

  26-01-2015 16:35
  
  Investment firm Partech Ventures has raised 200 million euros (149.64 million pounds) from investors, including French retailer Carrefour, for a new fund that will invest in European technology and digital start-ups. The creation of the Partech Growth Fund is in response to the lack of availability of funding in Europe in this area, which often forces start-ups to look elsewhere for money, notably in the United States, Partech said in a statement on Monday. Carrefour, Europe's largest retai
  
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• Too much useless CCTV, says watchdog

  26-01-2015 16:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Too many CCTV cameras are ineffective and the public does not have a true understanding of them, the surveillance camera commissioner warns.
  
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• Small drone crashes at White House complex, origin unclear

  26-01-2015 16:15
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A small drone flying at low altitude crashed into the White House complex before dawn Monday, the Secret Service said. President Barack Obama was not at home.
  
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• Lego robot controlled by artificial worm brain developed by OpenWorm project

  26-01-2015 16:05
  
  Artificial intelligence researchers are developing a digital version of a worm brain that can be uploaded into a LEGO robot and reproduce the creature's thoughts and actions. The OpenWorm project is dedicated to creating the world's first digital organism by mapping the mind - or connectome - of a Caernorhabditis (C.Elegans) worm.
  
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• VIDEO: How was Malaysia Airlines 'hacked'?

  26-01-2015 15:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The website for Malaysia Airlines was rendered inaccessible thanks to a cyber-attack. But how did it happen? BBC technology reporter Dave Lee explains.
  
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• Police urge Google to turn off 'stalking' feature on mobile app for drivers

  26-01-2015 15:28
  
  Authorities claim popular app Waze poses a threat to law enforcement and encourages would-be cop-killers by warning drivers when officers are nearbySheriffs are campaigning to pressure Google Inc to turn off a feature on its Waze traffic software that warns drivers when police are nearby. They say one of the technology industry’s most popular mobile apps could put officers’ lives in danger from would-be police killers who can find where their targets are parked.Waze, which Google purchased f
  
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• SoftMaker Office HD for Android hands-on: Desktop level functionality in the palm of your hands

  26-01-2015 15:21 via zdnet.com
  
  Microsoft markets the power of Office in your hands with the Surface Pro 3, but with SoftMaker Office HD for Android you can get desktop-level functionality on your Android tablet too.
  
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• Hands on with Vessel, the app providing a 'first window' for YouTube stars

  26-01-2015 15:02
  
  New short-form video service is promising 72-hour exclusives on new content from creators, but are those exclusives worth watching? YouTube is massive. More than one billion people visit its site and apps every month, watching more than 6bn hours of video. Its top channels count their annual views in billions.That’s why even though some grumble about the amount of money they make from ads on YouTube, for now the idea of those stars ditching Google’s online video service for a rival isn’t a
  
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• Cuban youth build secret computer network despite Wi-Fi ban

  26-01-2015 14:07
  
  HAVANA (AP) — Young Cubans may be cut off from the Internet, but they have quietly linked thousands of computers into a hidden network that stretches miles across Havana. It lets them chat with friends, play games and download hit movies in a mini-replica of the online world that most can't access.
  
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• ​Google: Why we won't patch pre-KitKat Android WebView

  26-01-2015 14:02 via zdnet.com
  
  Google finally explains why it's wiping its hands clean of patches for flaws in WebView running on Android 4.3 and below - and what users should do to stay safe.
  
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• Razer Nabu X now on sale

  26-01-2015 14:01
  
  Razer's latest fitness band was only announced a few weeks ago at CES 2015, but it is already out of the starting blocks.The Razer Nabu X keeps a similar design flow to the original Nabu, but even more minimalist, with the text display from the original gone, replaced by a line of three LEDs. These can be customised to different colours for different alerts, and there's also vibration for notifications.The detachable tracking module inside the band keeps tabs on your distance travelled, steps ta
  
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• TalkTalk forces porn filter choice

  26-01-2015 13:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  TalkTalk says customers who have not yet chosen whether to activate net filters must opt out of its safety system if they wish to continue viewing adult material online.
  
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• TalkTalk filters now on by default

  26-01-2015 13:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The internet service provider follows Sky in announcing that its service will be filtered unless customers specifically opt out.
  
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• Lenovo's Motorola looks to take market share from China rivals

  26-01-2015 13:22
  
  By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) - Motorola, the mobile handset maker bought by China's Lenovo Group Ltd from Google Inc for $2.9 billion (1.93 billion pounds), is optimistic about its prospects in the Chinese market, its president told Reuters. Lenovo's acquisition, completed three months ago, ended Google's move into the consumer mobile handset business. The deal has turned personal computer-maker Lenovo into a challenger in the higher-end smartphone market, competing with Sams
  
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• The Pirate Bay set to return on 1 February

  26-01-2015 13:18
  
  Notorious piracy site taken offline by Swedish police raid hints rise from the ashes with phoenix Pirate Bay’s revival seems certain after the torrent site has started to display a logo of phoenix with a timer counting down to 1 February.
  The timer was unveiled last week along with a revived but non-functioning site. Now the phoenix, a symbol of rebirth used by the Pirate Bay in previous relaunches of the site, has replaced the iconic battleship logo and the animated waving pirate flag. Cont
  
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• Silver surfers join UK mobile banking boom

  26-01-2015 13:13
  
  Some British banks are seeing stronger growth in mobile and internet banking from customers in their 70s and 80s than younger generations, a study showed on Monday. Nearly 2.3 million people aged over 70 are now using internet banking, or 30 percent of that age group, according to a study released by the British Bankers' Association. Mobile banking has boomed in Britain and other countries in the past two years, prompting banks to ramp up services and change their distribution strategy more
  
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• Games industry will be 'really dull' in 2015

  26-01-2015 13:03
  
  The author of games industry book The Curve reckons this year will be able consolidation rather than revolution. And free-to-play will be the growth area Continue reading...
  
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• What is Trivia Crack and why are 100m people playing it?

  26-01-2015 12:45
  
  The latest mobile game craze has launched in the UK, complete with questions about Prince George and Cheryl Cole for local tastes.From Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga to Draw Something, Clash of Clans and SongPop: the mobile gaming world has had its fair share of crazes since Apple and Google launched their app stores in 2008. Now you can add Trivia Crack to the list.The game has only just launched in the UK, but it’s already hugely popular in the US and Latin America, with more than 100m dow
  
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• Cease fire: Samsung may make the brains of the iPhone 6S

  26-01-2015 12:38
  Rivals don't get much fiercer than Samsung and Apple, but Samsung will reportedly make the majority of CPUs for the upcoming iPhone 6S, expected later this year.Samsung is to make 75% of the core processors for the iPhone 6S, according to South Korean publication Maeil Business Newspaper. It cites sources from within the semiconductor industry that suggest 2015 is going to be a Samsung-Apple love-in. Like old timesThere are precedents for this move, though: it's not as odd as it may first appear
  
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• Google silent on WikiLeaks email warrant for nearly three years

  26-01-2015 12:37 via zdnet.com
  
  The whistleblower organisation is demanding answers from Google over why it took so long to disclose that it had handed over details of three WikiLeaks' staffers' emails to the US government.
  
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• Seven insane ways tech will change news

  26-01-2015 12:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How Rory thinks gadgets will change news forever
  
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• Pinterest to 'unlock' data to help ads

  26-01-2015 12:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pinterest plans to make more use of its members' data to help marketers target their adverts.
  
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• Malaysia Air site hacked, some customer data appears online

  26-01-2015 12:16
  
  Hackers defaced the website of Malaysia Airlines on Monday and threatened to dump stolen information online after posting a glimpse of customer data obtained in the attack. The airline's site was down ...
  
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• China blocks virtual network use

  26-01-2015 12:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China has blocked several popular services that let citizens skirt state censorship systems and reach banned sites.
  
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• John Bercow calls for online voting in 2020 general election

  26-01-2015 12:11
  
  Commission set up by House of Commons Speaker also says there should be live social media coverage of debates
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