Technology news

• Yahoo spins off stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba to avoid massive tax bill

  27-01-2015 23:58
  
  The plan places 15% stake in Chinese company into secondary firm called SpinCo – move spurs 10% rise in share price despite fall in fourth quarter revenues Continue reading...
  
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• Apple posts $18bn quarterly earnings, the highest in global corporate history

  27-01-2015 23:36
  
  Apple has posted the largest quarterly earnings in global corporate history, raking in $18 billion (£11.8bn) during the final three months of 2014, 40% up on the same period last year. Those earnings beat the previous record of $16.24bn, set by Russian energy company Gazprom, with Royal Dutch Shell in third at $15.68bn and fellow US company Exxon is fourth, with $14.8bn. Revenue for Apple stood at $74.6bn, up 30% on last year and well above the $67.5m predicted by analysts. Apple now has $178b
  
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• Apple Watch release date set for April

  27-01-2015 23:31
  
  The Apple Watch will ship to consumers in April, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed during the company's earnings call today.The Apple Watch's release date has been speculated on endlessly ever since Apple announced last fall that it would be released in "early 2015."Previous reports had Apple's first wearable launching in March, but Cook put those rumors to bed."The creativity and software innovation going on around Apple Watch is incredibly exciting," Cook said, as quoted by Enga
  
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• Big costs drag AT&T to 4Q loss, but revenue up 4 percent

  27-01-2015 23:30
  
  DALLAS (AP) — AT&T booked a nearly $4 billion loss for the fourth quarter because of a slew of one-time expenses that included a loss on benefit plans, but its revenue grew 4 percent to top expectations.
  
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• Turnbull ticks Telstra-NBN HFC migration plan

  27-01-2015 23:19 via zdnet.com
  
  NBN Co will be required to provide rollout information to all retailers in a bid to prevent Telstra from gaining a competitive advantage as the NBN begins taking over the company's HFC network.
  
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• VMware fourth-quarter revenue, profit beats estimates

  27-01-2015 23:13
  
  (Reuters) - Virtualisation software maker VMware Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit, on strong demand for its products that help cut the cost of moving data to the cloud. The company's shares rose 3.4 percent to $83.35 in extended trade after the company also doubled its share buyback programme to $2 billion (1£1 billion). VMware, like rival Citrix Systems Inc, makes software that enables the creation of a virtual machine that act like a real computer with an op
  
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• Record iPhone sales drive blowout quarter for Apple

  27-01-2015 22:37
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple had another blowout quarter thanks to its new plus-sized iPhones, which helped the company smash sales records for the holiday season.
  
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• Apple sells record 74.5 million iPhones in quarter, revenue beats

  27-01-2015 22:33
  
  (Reuters) - Apple Inc posted a far better-than-expected 29.5 percent jump in quarterly revenue, driven by record sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus smartphones in the holiday shopping season. The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its first quarter ended Dec. 27. Revenue rose to $74.6 billion (£49 billion) from $57.6 billion a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $67.69 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted
  
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• Man charged with murder after Georgia couple pursued Craiglist ad

  27-01-2015 22:24
  
  Bodies of Bud and June Runion identified
  Couple had sought to buy a classic car Continue reading...
  
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• OS X Yosemite update fixes security holes that Google exposed

  27-01-2015 22:12
  
  On January 23 Google's Project Zero publicly exposed some vulnerabilities in Apple's current operating system, OS X Yosemite. Today, Apple fixed them.The security holes could have let attackers take control of users' desktops, but the update to OS X 10.10.2 patches them, according to Apple's notes.These flaws also included Thunderstrike, a vulnerability that was exposed earlier in January.This isn't purely a security update, though. The newest version of Yosemite also fixes bugs with Safari page
  
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• Taylor Swift says Twitter, Instagram accounts were hacked

  27-01-2015 21:59
  
  Pop star Taylor Swift said her Twitter and Instagram accounts were hacked on Tuesday, but the rogue posts were quickly removed from the social media services. The 25-year-old "Shake It Off" singer, whose album "1989" has been atop the charts for the past three months, has built a following of young fans through social media and has the fourth-most popular Twitter account with 51.4 million followers. "My Twitter got hacked but don't worry, Twitter is deleting the hac
  
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• Google Fiber to deliver 'gigabit speeds' to four cities in US south-east

  27-01-2015 21:45
  
  Company expands service to cities including Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee as part of effort to prod existing service providers into network upgrades Continue reading...
  
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• A US green-energy blueprint, meant to help Liberia, fails

  27-01-2015 21:44
  
  On paper, the pitch was simple: A green energy company backed by $217 million in U.S. government loans would convert one of Africa's poorest countries into the world's first biomass-driven economy. But ...
  
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• What! Facebook's down? No storm selfies during brief outage

  27-01-2015 21:39
  
  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — No storm selfies, hookups, status updates. With Facebook and Instagram down for nearly an hour overnight, what were legions of users to do?
  
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• Sony to cut 1,000 jobs in smartphone business - Nikkei

  27-01-2015 20:30
  
  (Reuters) - Sony Corp plans to cut another 1,000 jobs in its smartphone division, mainly in Europe and China, the Nikkei business daily reported. The cuts are in addition to the 1,000 jobs Sony said it would eliminate in its mobile unit in October, the Nikkei said. Overall, Sony's mobile division workforce will shrink by about 30 percent to 5,000 by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2016, the report said. The company, which competes with Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in the
  
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• The Misfit Flash fitness band will soon control your smart home

  27-01-2015 20:10
  
  The Misfit Flash may look like a watch that someone forgot to glue the face on, but it's about to become a whole lot more.The affordable, long-battery-life (think six months!) fitness tracker will soon gain the ability to control devices in your smart connected home, from the lights to the thermostat and beyond, Misfit has announced.Misfit's Flash will be compatible with a range of different smart home platforms and services, including IFTTT, Logitech's Harmony API, Nest thermostats, August Smar
  
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• Microsoft tanks 10 percent, hit by 4 downgrades on earnings

  27-01-2015 19:59
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft shares plunged more than 10 percent Tuesday after the software giant reported quarterly revenue that beat expectations but warned that a weak PC market and a strong dollar will curb growth this year. Many analysts slashed price targets on the stock and some cut their Buy ratings to Hold.
  
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• Say goodbye to the Windows desktop on 7-inch tablets

  27-01-2015 19:50
  
  If you appreciate the ability to run full Win32 apps on a tablet form factor smaller than 8 inches, you should pick up any one of the existing 7-inch tablet models before Windows 10 officially launches. According to Microsoft Operating Systems Group corporate vice president Joe Belfiore, new Windows 10 hardware with displays smaller than 8 inches will not ship with the classic desktop environment and cannot run legacy apps."8" & up = "desktop" w/ win32 apps. < 8"
  
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• Review: Withings Pulse Ox

  27-01-2015 19:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Core functionalityI've staked a claim that 2015 is officially The Year of Moving About a Bit More. With the huge number of fitness trackers available today, there's simply never been less of an excuse to keep on top of your general health.If you read my recent review of the Garmin Vivosmart, you'll have seen that my current kick up the bum comes courtesy of jazzy straps around my wrist, and there's few more jazzy than the Withings Pulse Ox. This was previously known as the Pulse O2 – and can s
  
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• Revived snoopers' charter shelved

  27-01-2015 19:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An attempt to bring back the controversial measures is dropped, but peers demand to see the government's private draft of new legislation instead.
  
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• Obama sees need to move on drone rules now

  27-01-2015 19:09
  
  President Barack Obama says the wayward quadcopter that crashed harmlessly on the White House grounds shows that the U.S. must update its laws to manage the expanding frontier of commercial and consumer ...
  
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• Snapchat adds news, entertainment content to messaging service

  27-01-2015 19:08
  
  Snapchat has partnered with CNN, ESPN and nine other media companies to feature videos and articles on its mobile messaging service, a move that heightens the competition with social networks such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc. Snapchat's new Discover service features individual "channels" for its various media partners that include five to 10 stories a day, according to Snapchat, which announced the move on its official blog on Tuesday. The new Snapchat features reflect the gro
  
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• Facebook outage brings jokes, marketing pitches to Twitter

  27-01-2015 19:07
  
  For many, the hour without a Facebook was a golden opportunity for a joke — or a marketing pitch — on other social media sites. Facebook said the outage that made its sites inaccessible worldwide for about ...
  
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• Industry voice: Seven key trends which are shaping the workplace of the future

  27-01-2015 19:00
  
  The way we work is changing. Collaboration technologies are ushering in a next-generation workplace that is more productive, efficient, and delivers meaningful cost savings to organisations of all sizes across the globe.With new, more advanced mobile devices giving employees the freedom to work from anywhere, these technologies will only continue to reshape the look and feel of the "office." Here are my top seven technology predictions for 2015 and beyond, that I believe will transform
  
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• Twitter adds group messages and video

  27-01-2015 18:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The social network activates promised new features in an attempt to boost engagement on Twitter.
  
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• Snapchat adds entertainment and news with Discover

  27-01-2015 18:31
  
  App aims to broaden horizons from self-destructing messages with content from 11 partners including Comedy Central, MTV and People magazineSnapchat is aiming to become much more than a social media app by making content from the likes of Vice Media, Cosmopolitan magazine and CNN available to users.Discover is billed as “a new way to explore Stories” that “puts the narrative first. This is not social media.”
  Continue reading...
  
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• Uber says ride services reduce drunk driving

  27-01-2015 18:26
  
  Uber, a ride service facing legal challenges around the world, on Tuesday released a survey showing that people are less likely to drive home after drinking alcohol after such businesses started operating in their cities. The results of the survey, done with advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, were based on a December poll of 807 adults in the largest U.S. cities where Uber operates. Uber customers who request rides over the upcoming Super Bowl weekend, a time that traditionally sees a
  
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• The computer-generated cookbook: just the thing for a hungry digital age

  27-01-2015 18:20
  
  IBM’s game show-winning computer Watson turns its hand to helping chefs generate startling taste sensations ‘man alone might never imagine’ Continue reading...
  
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• Hands-on review: HP Pro Tablet 408 G1

  27-01-2015 18:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  HP's new lineup of enterprise tablets and convertibles is led by 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.Well below the Pro Slate 12 is the HP Pro Tab 10 EE ($279, £184, AUS$340), a 10.10-inch tablet geared toward the education market. Although neither of these devices will compete with enterprise-focused tablets like the Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 (starting at $699, £430, AU$795), and the Samsung Galaxy T
  
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• Apple takes top spot in Chinese smartphone market - data firm

  27-01-2015 17:58
  
  (Reuters) - Apple Inc has shipped the most number of smartphones in China in the fourth quarter, overtaking Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and homegrown companies such as Xiaomi [XTC.UL] for the first time, according to data firm Canalys. Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched last September have proved to be popular in Asia despite being costlier than most handsets. Samsung was shunted to the third place, the report said. Apple captured a record 33 percent market share in South Korea in November
  
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• Wired dazed after offer goes viral

  27-01-2015 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Wired magazine apologises to subscribers after becoming "overwhelmed" by demand for a fitness tracker gift offer that went viral on the internet.
  
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• Facebook blocks Turkish page that 'insults prophet Muhammad'

  27-01-2015 17:24
  
  Social network bows to court order in Turkey to avoid possible nationwide ban in latest compliance with local legal demandsFacebook has blocked a page after a Turkish court ruled it was insulting to the prophet Muhammad.The order was made by a Golbasi duty magistrate court following a request by the prosecutor Harun Ceylan, who was investigating a number of pages on the social media network. Continue reading...
  
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• VIDEO: Future of News - BBC Editors look at Technology, People and Stories

  27-01-2015 16:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Future of News - BBC Editors look at Technology, People and Stories
  
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• Asus ZenWatch review: Bulky and bad battery but still better than the rest

  27-01-2015 16:26
  
  The first ever Asus smartwatch is on the market, and while it may have been beaten to the punch by the likes of Sony, Samsung and Motorola, the Taiwanese firm will be hoping that the extra development time has given it an edge over its competitors. To find out if Asus has overcome these shortcomings IBTimes UK took the ZenWatch on a trial run to see if it actually is a wearable worth wearing. Unfortunately, like the Moto 360, the large size of the Asus ZenWatch means it looks better off the wr
  
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• Rethinking muffaletta as a thin-crust pizza for Mardi Gras

  27-01-2015 16:08
  
  We love pizza. We love muffaletta. We decided they probably would be easy to love together. So we decided to combine them. In honor of Mardi Gras, we created a muffaletta flatbread, a basic thin-crust ...
  
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• Thailand draws up tough drone laws

  27-01-2015 16:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Transport Ministry in Thailand is seeking to ban all unlicensed drone flights, local media reports.
  
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• Restoration Partners explains why UK's PM is hailing its project as cybersecurity landscape shaping

  27-01-2015 15:53
  
  UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 16 January that Britain would team up with US to better tackle cybersecurity threats while expanding its technological capabilities. Cameron revealed that a new cyber security envoy would be appointed to help British small businesses while Andy Williams, the head of the government-funded UK cyber start-up and small business champion, would be based in the British Embassy in Washington and help boost UK-US cyber security deals.
  
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• Uber scraps commissions for its New Delhi taxis

  27-01-2015 15:45
  
  By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Uber, the U.S.-based online taxi-hailing company, will not take any commission from its drivers in New Delhi until uncertainty over how it can operate in the country's capital city is cleared up, it said on Tuesday. Uber said on Tuesday it had adopted a business model similar to a government-approved smartphone app called 'Pooch-O', which connects customers with commercially-licensed auto-rickshaws and does not charge any fee. "This allow
  
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• Zoe Keating v YouTube: key sticking points in Google's latest music row

  27-01-2015 15:44
  
  Content ID technology is key to independent musician’s contractual dispute with online video service, as well as other restrictionsIf you can watch the video above, Zoe Keating’s channel hasn’t been blocked by YouTube. But according to the musician, that’s the threat hanging over her if she refuses to sign a new contract relating to the recently-launched YouTube Music Key service.Keating went public with her concerns in a blog post last week, with YouTube contacting reporters afterwards
  
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• Foxconn denies it will cut jobs due to falling smartphone prices and rising wages

  27-01-2015 15:31
  
  Foxconn says it has no plans to reduce headcount after a Reuters report said the Apple supplier planned to cut its workforce significantlyTaiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, has come out swinging with a strong denial of a report that it plans to cut jobs.
  Reuters reported that Foxconn will cut its massive workforce as the Apple supplier faces declining revenue growth and rising wages in China. According to Reuters, which interviewed sp
  
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• Lyft cars still think pink, but streamline the 'stache

  27-01-2015 15:14
  
  The pink mustache is out. Ride-hailing company Lyft has pulled the pink furry mustache that drivers display on the front of their cars and replaced it with a 5-inch-long pink "glowstache" that ...
  
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• Facebook blames internal glitch for hourlong global outage

  27-01-2015 15:07
  
  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Facebook said the outage that made its social media sites inaccessible worldwide for about an hour Tuesday was self-inflicted.
  
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• Twitter's new 30-second video platform: 'A big day for tweeters' – video

  27-01-2015 15:05
  
  Alex Hern discusses the new features offered by Twitter from Tuesday. They include a video-hosting platform for clips of up to 30 seconds and the ability to send direct messages to groups of users. The video offering will be a direct competitor to Vine (which allows six seconds of video per clip) and Instagram (15 seconds) Continue reading...
  
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• Obama says US must catch up to ensure drones are safe

  27-01-2015 14:59
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says U.S. laws and regulations haven't yet caught up with technological developments that have made drones readily available.
  
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• VIDEO: Peers try to revive 'snooping' powers

  27-01-2015 14:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Four Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem peers try re-introduce Communications Data Bill powers to aid security services.
  
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• Web attacks 'growing' in volume

  27-01-2015 14:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Hacktivists and angry gamers are becoming the main users of net attacks that knock sites offline by bombarding them with data, suggests a report
  
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• Twitter launches video uploads and group DMs

  27-01-2015 14:38
  
  Mobile video uploads of up to 30 seconds and private group direct messaging are being rolled out by TwitterMobile video uploads and group direct messages are coming to Twitter, as the social network tries to counter competitors by expanding its features.The new video functionality will let users upload 30-second non-looping videos, which can be played directly in their timelines. The company describes it as existing “alongside”, rather than instead of, Twitter-owned six-second video service
  
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• PlayStation 4 v Xbox One – where do they really stand?

  27-01-2015 14:32
  
  Microsoft has revealed its Xbox One shipping figures for the close of 2014 – and they’re good. But PlayStation 4 still seems to have the edgeMicrosoft has reported its earnings for the final three months of 2014, and while net income is down 10% to $5.86bn, compared with the same period the previous year, Xbox One seems to be consolidating its position against Sony’s PlayStation 4 console. So where do both the machines stand right now?From its own figures, Microsoft says that it shipped 6.
  
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• Internet of Things: A security threat to business by the backdoor?

  27-01-2015 14:19 via zdnet.com
  
  Tech chiefs are worried by the threat posed by IoT devices, which could provide a new way of attacking corporate networks.
  
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• Is Facebook down? A history of outages

  27-01-2015 14:15
  
  Facebook is a juggernaut that leaves a void for billions when it goes offline, but back in 2010, the only answer was to turn the whole thing off and on againWhen Facebook goes down it’s a serious issue: bored office workers are bereft of distractions, children are obliged to talk to their families, media executives cry over lost traffic and nobody gets poked … (no seriously, that still exists).
  In addition, Facebook engineers frantically rush to get everything back online – but it wasn�
  
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