Technology news

• Obama urges executives to cooperate more against cyber attacks

  13-02-2015 23:51
  
  By Jeff Mason and Joseph Menn PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama asked U.S. executives on Friday for closer cooperation in defending against hackers after high-profile attacks on companies like Sony that exposed weaknesses in America's cyber defences. Speaking at Stanford University, Obama told Silicon Valley and financial services CEOs that they needed to share more information more quickly both with each other and with his administration. Obama has moved cyber security t
  
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• Updated: Best TV 2015: what TV should you buy?

  13-02-2015 23:26
  
  Best TV: all your buying questions answeredWhat TV technology is best? Which is the best LCD TV? Which screen size is best for your living room? What's the difference between LCD and LED TVs?The answers aren't always obvious. In fact, buying a new TV can be stressful even for the tech-savvy - there are so many brands, so many features, so many screen sizes, colors, technologies and flavors to choose from.So which one is right for you, your family and your living space? In this guide, we'll walk
  
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• Alibaba says received a U.S. SEC request for information

  13-02-2015 23:24
  
  Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Friday it has been asked by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to provide information concerning its interaction with a Chinese regulator. Alibaba said in a statement it was cooperating with the SEC's request, but gave no details on what the regulator specifically wanted. The SEC's request follows an unusually public fracas between Alibaba and China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce over the issue of fake products being sol
  
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• Tech firms urged to share data with US

  13-02-2015 23:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US president urges tech firms to share more information with security services, as leading figures gather for a summit in California.
  
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• Insurer Anthem offers layers of identity theft protection

  13-02-2015 23:14
  
  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Anthem Inc. is offering several levels of free identity theft protection to current and former customers after hackers broke into a database storing information for about 80 million people.
  
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• Tim Cook: 'Sacrificing our right to privacy can have dire consequences' – video

  13-02-2015 23:13 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during the White House summit on cybersecurity and consumer protection in Palo Alto, California, on Friday. Cook's remarks came Cook's remarks came as many in the tech community have expressed concerns about government attempts to weaken encryption Continue reading...
  
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• Alibaba says received U.S. SEC request for information

  13-02-2015 23:01
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alibaba Group said on Friday it has been asked by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to provide information concerning its interaction with a Chinese regulator. It said in a statement it was cooperating with the SEC's request. Alibaba did not give details about what the SEC specifically wanted. (Reporting by Noel Randewich)
  
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• Obama focuses on cybersecurity in heart of Silicon Valley

  13-02-2015 22:36
  
  President Barack Obama is asking Silicon Valley's tech elite to partner with federal authorities to thwart mounting cyber attacks while promising to make it easier for hacked companies to share information ...
  
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• Apple CEO Tim Cook challenges Obama with impassioned stand on privacy

  13-02-2015 21:59 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Highest-profile tech executive at cybersecurity summit calls privacy ‘life and death’ issue but hopes to work productively with government Continue reading...
  
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• Obama asks Silicon Valley to cooperate more against cyberattacks

  13-02-2015 21:50
  
  Speaking at Stanford University, Obama told Silicon Valley executives they needed to share more information both with each other and with his administration. Obama has moved cybersecurity towards the top of his 2015 agenda after the recent breaches. He was to meet privately with a small group of business leaders in Silicon Valley to try to mend fences with tech companies still smarting over damage to their businesses when government surveillance practices were exposed by former National Security
  
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• Obama asks help dealing with cybersecurity 'wild West'

  13-02-2015 21:46
  
  PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Cyberspace is the new "wild West," President Barack Obama said Friday, with everyone looking to the government to be the sheriff. But he said the private sector must do more to stop cyberattacks aimed at the U.S. every day.
  
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• Review: mini review: Sennheiser Momentum Wireless

  13-02-2015 21:45 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  If a product's name defines its character, Sennheiser's line of Momentum headphones is a force to be reckoned with. But what's in a name? After all, it's the quality of the product itself that matters most.Sennheiser has put forth a brilliant, modern effort for cord cutters and music die-hards alike with its Momentum Wireless Bluetooth headphones. But at a staggering $499 (£379, about AU$642), is this something that budget-minded folk should save up for? DesignThe headband of the Momentum Wirel
  
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• Google, Mattel try to bring View-Master into 21st century

  13-02-2015 21:29
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Mattel and Google are trying to bring the 75-year-old View-Master into the 21st century — with some help from smartphones and virtual reality technology.
  
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• Digital Memories Are a Warehouse Fire in Wait

  13-02-2015 21:18
  
  The move to digitize vital files as well as electronically store keepsakes, letters, and photos should, in theory, safeguard future generations from the agony of losing data to a fire or flood. Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science this week, Google Vice President Vint Cerf warned of a “forgotten generation, or even a forgotten century” that awaits us when "bit rot" takes hold and our digital material gets lapped by the new hardware and software racing
  
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• A Warehouse Fire of Digital Memories

  13-02-2015 21:18
  
  Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science this week, Google Vice President Vint Cerf warned of a “forgotten generation, or even a forgotten century” that awaits us when "bit rot" takes hold and our digital material gets lapped by the new hardware and software racing around it.
  
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• Panasonic virtual reality headset joins the VR party

  13-02-2015 21:10
  
  There was a time when Oculus Rift was the only virtual reality headset that mattered. Then Sony weighed in with Project Morpheus, and for a while there was a bit of a rivalry going on.Lately it seems everyone is trying their hand at virtual reality, though, from Google and LG to toy maker Mattel - and, most recently, Panasonic.The Japanese company this week showed off its own VR headset, which is more similar to the Rift and Morpheus than Google Cardboard or Gear VR - it sports its own OLED disp
  
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• Microsoft frees up paid features for all OneNote users

  13-02-2015 20:58
  
  After having released a free version of OneNote 2013 last year for personal use last year, Microsoft is now adding more features at no charge. With the change, five features previously reserved for the paid version are now available to users of the free edition of OneNote. These features make your digital notes richer with added content options and more secure.For added security, users can now password protect select sections of their notebooks. Password protection allows users to protect privat
  
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• To combat fraud, Visa wants to track your smartphone

  13-02-2015 20:40
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Those days of calling your bank to let them know that, yes, you really are in Thailand, and yes, you really did use your credit card to buy $200 in sarongs, may be coming to an end.
  
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• Messaging app LINE releases LINE@ app for business and professional users

  13-02-2015 20:32 via zdnet.com
  
  LINE Corporation has released a new application call LINE@, an enterprise version of its popular call and messaging app.
  
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• Apple hiring auto engineers, designers - FT

  13-02-2015 20:29
  
  (Reuters) - Apple Inc is hiring automotive technology and design experts to research at a secret lab outside its Cupertino office, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing several people familiar with the iPhone maker. The background and seniority of the executives suggest that Apple may be trying to build a car, the financial daily said, citing sources. Experienced managers were leading dozens of Apple employees in researching automotive products, according to the report. "Three mont
  
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• Nike's new Fuelband app lets you ditch the wearable

  13-02-2015 20:17
  
  Nike has released an important update for its Fuelband iOS app, finally freeing it from the shackles of Nike's actual Fuelband wearable.The app can now use an iPhone's own motion sensors, meaning users with an iPhone 5S and up no longer need to wear a Fuelband on their wrists for Fuelband to track them.How will the Apple Watch change fitness?The app now also shares its NikeFuel points with Apple's iOS 8 Health app and other Nike fitness apps, so you can track your progress across multiple platfo
  
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• Apple's Cook warns of "dire consequences" of sacrificing privacy for security

  13-02-2015 20:13 via zdnet.com
  
  The Apple boss said people have entrusted the company with their most personal bits of information. "We owe them nothing less than the best protections we can possibly provide."
  
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• Correction: Obit-Carr story

  13-02-2015 20:04
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — In some versions of a story Feb. 13 about the death of media columnist David Carr, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of the college at Boston University at which Thomas Fiedler is the dean. He is the dean of the College of Communication, not the College of Community.
  
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• Review: Fitbit Charge HR

  13-02-2015 20:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Intro, battery and displayI've been scratching my head for a while trying to figure out how to review the Fitbit Charge HR. In fact, fitness trackers of this kind, from the Garmin Vivosmart to the Jawbone Up, to the ostensibly more sophisticated likes of the Microsoft Band are a very troublesome area.Here's why: on a fairly profound level, the Fitbit Charge HR and its ilk just don't work. Anyone who's used as many as I have in the last few months is aware that their step counting is generally wr
  
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• Updated: GDC 2015: what we want to see

  13-02-2015 19:34
  
  Update: Valve is bringing the latest Steam Machines to GDC 2015 in full force.GDC 2014 was full of surprises and we're hoping GDC 2015 will be too. It's still early but the panel schedule is filling up fast and it'll be March before you know it.To recap, the Game Developer's Conference takes place during March 2 - 6 and features over 400 lectures, panels, tutorials and round-table discussions with speakers from all over the gaming space. The GDC Expo is part of the conference and simultaneously
  
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• Apple opens up iWork to Windows users for free

  13-02-2015 19:29 via zdnet.com
  
  Apple is trying to tempt Microsoft Office users into jumping ship.
  
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• Rocket Internet raises fresh capital after food spending spree

  13-02-2015 18:49
  
  By Eric Auchard FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Rocket Internet went to investors with a capital hike just four months after its stock flotation, asking for fresh funds following a 1 billion euro spending spree that targets online food takeaway businesses as the next big thing. So far Rocket has ploughed the bulk of the money it has raised into investments in online takeaway food and grocery delivery start-ups that it says has created the largest takeout food delivery network outside China.
  
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• Rural groups angry over Virgin plans

  13-02-2015 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Campaigners say they are disappointed that Virgin's planned £3bn investment in broadband will not benefit rural areas.
  
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• The only computer that really matters: The cloud

  13-02-2015 16:47 via zdnet.com
  
  Operating systems are a commodity; what really matters are the applications we use and the services we connect to.
  
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• Negotiators agree on early draft of UN climate deal

  13-02-2015 16:09
  
  GENEVA (AP) — U.N. negotiators have produced an early draft of what eventually should become a landmark climate deal in Paris next December, piling on pages to make sure it reflected every country's wishes.
  
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• What is 'bit rot' and is Vint Cerf right to be worried?

  13-02-2015 15:58 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Being able to access digital content in the coming decades could be less of an issue than one of the ‘fathers of the internet’ has implied.Vint Cerf, Google’s vice-president and one of the fathers of the internet, has warned that “bit rot” could lead to a “forgotten century” as our masses of digital files are lost to progress and become unreadable as technology evolves.Cerf said that the applications to read files are being lost because they will no longer run on newer computers, r
  
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• Virgin Media focusing on infrastructure over content with £3bn investment

  13-02-2015 15:33 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Chief executive Tom Mockridge says first infrastructure expansion in 15 years is overdue as company reveals it has passed the 5 million cable customer mark Continue reading...
  
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• Just Cause 3 trailer: Rico Rodriguez is a firestarter in Avalanche Studios sequel

  13-02-2015 15:00
  
  Just Cause has proven popular because of its wanton destruction and disregard for the laws of physics - after all, why let gravity spoil the fun? Game Informer provided in-depth coverage of the game's reveal last year, including a video delving behind the scenes, which you can watch below.
  
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• Xiaomi dipping its toe into the US with accessories but not smartphones

  13-02-2015 14:53 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  ‘China’s Apple’ makes its first significant move into the west as part of its plan to be the world’s number one smartphone manufacturer within five to 10 years.Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, will make its first step into western markets with a US launch this year.Five-year-old Xiaomi – dubbed “China’s Apple” by analysts – will launch its Mi Band fitness tracker, headphones and battery packs, but not its eagerly anticipated smartphones. Related: Xiaomi: It's China's Apple
  
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• YouTube is 10 years old: the evolution of online video

  13-02-2015 14:39 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Ten years is a long time on the internet, especially when 300 minutes of video are uploaded to your site every minute. On YouTube’s 10th birthday, we trace the growth and growing pains of online videoAllow me to make a bold statement: YouTube, at 10-years-old, is the most interesting place on the internet. It’s not about the platform or the brand, of course, but rather the sheer amount of content it hosts and its diversity.300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Not all of i
  
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• Nintendo New 3DS XL review

  13-02-2015 14:07 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  ‘It’s amazing, and makes 3D – a feature that used to be faintly migraine-inducing – into one you can’t believe you lived without’Although not as prolific as Nokia, Nintendo’s history of launching handheld games machines is a busy one. This year’s additions to the family are the unimaginatively named New 3DS (£149.99) and New 3DS XL (£179.99). Looking outwardly similar to their forebears, the differences are fairly subtle, and include an extra analogue stick and two ne
  
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• ​Xiaomi to launch online store in the US - but phones are off the cards

  13-02-2015 13:57 via zdnet.com
  
  Flush with venture funding Chinese handset maker Xiaomi is taking a first set towards the US but the company is moving with caution.
  
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• Smartphone users boost Reliance Communications profit

  13-02-2015 13:42
  
  Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), India's fourth-biggest mobile carrier by customers, saw quarterly profit rise 86 percent over the year before as more subscribers used smartphones to surf the internet. The company, which tied up with Facebook on Feb. 10 to provide basic internet services on mobile phones for free, said on Friday consolidated net profit for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31 was 2.01 billion rupees (21.01 million pounds), compared with 1.08 billion rupees in the same
  
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• Obama heads to Silicon Valley to discuss hacking threats with CEOs

  13-02-2015 13:06
  
  By Jeff Mason SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with chief executive officers on Friday at a summit in Silicon Valley held by the White House that aims to build support for beefing up cybersecurity laws in the wake of massive hacks at Target Corp, Sony Corp and Anthem Inc. Obama will make the case that the private sector and government need to do more to share data about cyber threats in a speech before a crowd of more than 1,000 people from corporations as well as priva
  
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• Windows RT: The odd birth, brief life, and quiet death of Microsoft's ugly ducking operating system

  13-02-2015 13:02 via zdnet.com
  
  Microsoft hoped Windows RT could narrow the gap on the iPad and Android. What went wrong and why?
  
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• Police shut 2,000 'fake goods' sites

  13-02-2015 13:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two thousand websites selling fake luxury goods have been removed by UK police since the start of the year.
  
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• Windows RT: The odd birth, brief life, and quiet death of Microsoft's ugly duckling operating system

  13-02-2015 13:02 via zdnet.com
  
  Microsoft hoped Windows RT could narrow the gap on the iPad and Android. What went wrong and why?
  
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• Candy Crush Saga players spent £865m on the game in 2014 alone

  13-02-2015 12:45 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  But in the final quarter of the year, publisher King made more money from other games as it reduces its reliance on sweet-swapping hitQuarterly spending on mobile game Candy Crush Saga fell steadily over the course of 2014, but its players still spent $1.33bn (£865.2m) on in-app purchases for the sweet-swapping hit.Analysis by the Guardian of publisher King’s latest financial results, as well as previous filings, reveals that Candy Crush Saga’s “gross bookings” – the term used to
  
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• ​Nokia's Here for Android exits beta with offline navigation, 3D venue maps

  13-02-2015 12:35 via zdnet.com
  
  Nokia's Here maps have moved out of beta with a number of improvements, as it sets out to prove itself a worthy contender to Google Maps.
  
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• VIDEO: Sir Paul McCartney on music making

  13-02-2015 12:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  McCartney on why making music was easier in the low-tech era
  
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• If dishwashers were iPhones

  13-02-2015 12:31 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Apple’s business practices are seldom challenged in the tech world, but would consumers accept the same terms from any other kind of business?Dear Members of the Speckless Community,We’re not big believers in responding to our critics here at Absterge. We like to think that our products speak for themselves, and we know that you agree – that’s why you’ve helped turn us into the most successful kitchen appliance company in the history of the world. Continue reading...
  
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• Net pioneer warns of data Dark Age

  13-02-2015 12:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Vint Cerf, a "father of the internet", says a way must be found to stop all our images and documents being lost through technological obsolescence.
  
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• Peter Molyneux interview: 'It's over, I will not speak to the press again'

  13-02-2015 11:43 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  The veteran game designer is at the centre of a raging controversy over his new game Godus. He says he is finished with the pressWhen things go wrong for modern game developers they go spectacularly wrong. This is an era of endless rolling news and mass social media judgement. There is no respite. Peter Molyneux knows this now – if he didn’t before. The veteran designer, famed for inventing the “god game” genre with his 1989 title, Populous, has spent the last three days under intense pr
  
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• Qualcomm deal sparks China smartphone patent skirmishes

  13-02-2015 11:33
  
  By Gerry Shih BEIJING (Reuters) - Last summer, lawyers from Chinese telecoms gear maker ZTE Corp began writing to half a dozen local handset makers it believed used its patents. ZTE's efforts to collect patent royalties - months ahead of Qualcomm Inc's China antitrust settlement this week, according to people with knowledge of the matter - shows how that deal has already changed the way China's booming smartphone industry does business. As anticipated by ZTE, a key term in the set
  
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• Guarding against natural disasters

  13-02-2015 11:32 via zdnet.com
  
  The flood-prone Asian regions should have public safety assets, like a large network of intelligent monitoring stations.
  
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