Amazon and Google on collision course in 2013

Analysis: Amazon, Google on collision course in 2013 - Chicago Tribune: ". . . ."Amazon wants to be the one place where you buy everything. Google wants to be the one place where you find everything, of which buying things is a subset," said Chi-Hua Chien, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "So when you marry those facts I think you're going to see a natural collision." Both companies have a lot at stake. Google's market capitalization of $235 billion is about double Amazon's, largely because Google makes massive net earnings, expected by analysts to be $13.2 billion this year, based on a huge 32 percent net profit margin, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. By contrast, Amazon is seen reporting a small loss this year. Amazon shareholders have been patient as the company has invested for growth but it will have to start producing strong earnings at some stage - more likely if it grows in higher margin areas such as advertising. Google's share price, on the other hand, is vulnerable to signs of slowing margin growth. . . ."


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BlackBerry Fans Don't Like The New Keyboard Phone

Even Die-Hard BlackBerry Fans Don't Like The New Keyboard Phone
Business Insider
The phone will run BlackBerry 10, the new mobile operating system from RIM that will formally launch on Jan. 30. Now take a look at some of the comments on CrackBerry, a site dedicated to RIM news and full of readers who love BlackBerry. The reception of...

Business Insider

Samsung Year in Review: Galaxy Triumphs, Apple Losses
PC Magazine
Samsung produces a number of products – from kitchen appliances to PCs – but it was the company's mobile division that made the most headlines in 2012. The Korea-based company dominated the mobile phone space, introducing several new Galaxy ...

Chinese court orders Apple to cough £100k to writers for violating copyright
Register
Apple got a nasty post-Christmas present in China on Thursday when a Beijing court hit it with a 1.03m yuan (£102,000) fine after ruling the fruity tech titan was responsible for applications which appeared on its App Store containing unlicensed content.

Progress Where They Make iPhones
New York Times
Apple, whose products the world cannot get enough of, has been justifiably criticized for poor working conditions and low wages at the factories of its chief supplier in China, Foxconn. Now, however, there are signs that all the negative attention, including ...

Top apps to outfit a new iPad or iPad mini
Ars Technica
You know the scenario: a friend or family member got an iPad or iPad mini as a gift this week. Now they want to know what to do with the pretty slab of aluminum and glass. The App Store can be an overwhelming place, with programs that can transform the ...

Ars Technica

OUYA developers share console first-impressions
SlashGear
OUYA's Developer Console kits are winging their way to eager coders, and the first demos of the provisional interface and gameplay experience are emerging. Early game partners CodeZombieGames took some time out of tinkering with their new toy to run ...

Just in from Oort for '13: comet with 'amazing tail
Houston Chronicle (blog)
CommentsComments(1)Comments(). |. Email. E-mail. |. Print. A comet due to pass near Earth in 2013 just might outshine the moon in the night sky. Reuters reports that the comet, ISON, could appear in the sky as early as October 2013. It will be 1.2 million ...

Making way for the future at Kennedy Space Center
Florida Today
An image of the proposed Space Launch System rests amid the boxes. The heavy-lift rocket, initially, will use some shuttle-derived components. / PHOTOS BY RIK JESSE/FLORIDA TODAY. By the numbers. $18 billion: Value of shuttle property that needed to ...

The Higgs Fiasco and the Electric Sun [ w/ videos]
Guardian Express
Famed physicist and science writer Michio Kaku said it best: if physics doesn't discover the Higgs Boson Particle it would be a “disaster” for modern physics. The entire edifice of cosmology we've been taught to believe real – from the Big Bang to black holes, ...

Tech test: How to make Facebook a warmer, smaller space
Arizona Daily Star
A woman I haven't spoken to in six years is pregnant with her second son. Another college acquaintance reads the Bible a lot. A high school classmate likes to rant about politics. A college dormmate thinks he works too much. On Facebook, I'm connected to a ...

Economic wave may course through icy, but melting, Arctic
MyrtleBeachOnline.com
WASHINGTON -- In a twist to the debate over global warming, melting Arctic sea ice is making it easier to transport the fossil fuels that produce the planet-warming gases, which appear to be causing it to thaw in the first place. As a result, a record number of ...

Getting Around Safely on New Year's Eve: BART, Tipsy Tow, Broadway Shuttle
Patch.com
No designated driver? Or just don't want the hassle of driving on New Year's Eve? Here are options: BART. BART is extending its service until 3 a.m. on New Year's morning. In addition to normal weekday service of trains running every 20 minutes, BART will ...

Diablo 3 PvP Release Date Delayed Again: Team Deathmatch Development Put ...
Latinos Post
The long-awaited Diablo 3 Team Deathmatch PvP mode has been indefinitely delayed, according to the game's developer Blizzard. Diablo III released in May without a feature allowing players to battle each other. Blizzard promised a future update would ...

Latinos Post

Chippewa Valley Audobon Club participates in 60th annual Christmas bird count
The Morning Sun
On Dec. 16, almost 40 members of the Chippewa Valley Audubon Club took to their posts and spent the day counting different bird species in the area. The club has been participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count for the past 60 years, CVAC member ...

BBB Tip of the Week: Mobile apps for kids
The Spokesman Review
Companies with mobile applications focusing on kids could find themselves under Federal Trade Commission scrutiny for failing to follow the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. In a recent report from the FTC, many mobile apps for kids collect their ...

FCC Makes Internet On Airplanes Easier To Achieve
Latinos Post
In an age where many of us are tied onto the Internet in some way at almost any given point of the day, it seems almost outdated that there are still a few places, such as subways, where we lost all contact with the digital web. Recently, however, a small victory ...

Latinos Post

Endangered tigers making a comeback in Asia
GlobalPost
Tigers play at a buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand, on April 24, 2012. Worldwide, tiger stocks are estimated to have fallen to only 3,200 tigers from approximately 100,000 a century ago. (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images) ...

Our Favorite PS2 Moments
MTV.com (blog)
With Sony's announcement that they would soon start saying goodby to the PS2 (in Japan, at least), it felt like a good time to revisit some of the great (and not so great) moments with the console.

MTV.com (blog)

New Curiosity Rover badge on Foursquare
TG Daily
Foursquare users can earn the Mars Curiosity Rover badge by liking NASA on Foursquare and checking into any NASA visitor center or any location described as a science museum or planetarium. The check-in is one of the few locations available on another ...

TG Daily

Apple Smart Watch reportedly in the works with Intel
TrustedReviews
Latest Apple rumours have suggested that the Cupertino company has partnered with Intel to work on a new Apple Smart Watch device, tipped for an early 2013 unveiling. Seemingly set to follow a design similar to that of the past generation iPod Nanos, the...

TrustedReviews

One Big Problem for Windows Phone Users
Entrepreneur (blog)
Everyone is talking about Microsoft's new Windows Phone milestone. It's a big one: The company announced it published a whopping 75,000 new apps for its mobile operating system. Not bad. If I remember correctly, I don't think Windows Phone had 75,000 ...

Entrepreneur (blog)

Turtles targeted by humans while crawling across roads (VIDEO)
GlobalPost
Researchers at Clemson University found that some drivers showed their dark sides by intentionally moving to hit the slow-moving reptiles....

User Privacy in turmoil as Deleted Snapchat and Poke videos resurface.
Wireless HDTV News (blog)
Snapchat has been in the news for its dependable mass use in the recent times as it deletes the shared content almost instantaneously. Facebook Poke was launched recently as a competitor with this name already prevailing in the instant messaging market.

Ford Fusion Energi Plug-in Hybrid Tops Toyota Prius- says EPA
Design & Trend
Environmental Protection Agency certified the upcoming 2013 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid as the car that provides 100 miles a gallon. The recently elected as the "Green Car of the year" has been rated Friday Dec.28, 2012 by an EPA-determined of 108 ...

Design & Trend

The Top 10 Apple Stories Of 2012 Include Some Highs And Many Lows
AppAdvice
Although 2012 wasn't quite Apple's annus horribilis, it wasn't the best year for the tech giant. Here are the Top 10 stories that made news during the year that was. The story of the year. iOS 6 Maps. For Apple, 2012 won't be remembered for the iPad mini, ...

AppAdvice

Snowmobile Trails Open in Manitowoc County
WGBA-TV
MANITOWOC COUNTY, WI— Good news for snowmobilers in Northeast Wisconsin. All snowmobile trails in Manitowoc County are open, nearly 250 miles of trails. Snowmobilers are cautioned however, portions of the public trail on plowed fields which have ...

Fujitsu: Windows 8 demand sucks
Afterdawn.com
President Masami Yamamoto said consumer demand for the new operating system has been "weak" and its own computer sales have been affected by the lackluster response. The company had initially expected PC shipments to reach seven million units, ...

Afterdawn.com

LG's 5.5-inch smartphone, 324ppi 7-inch tablet to be unveiled at CES?
IntoMobile
Looks like LG is preparing quite a show for the upcoming CES. The rumors we've got suggest the Korean company will unveil few awesome devices in Las Vegas, including the new 4.7-inch smartphone, 5.5-inch phablet and a 7-inch tablet. The first device on ...

Pakistan Lifts YouTube Ban, for 3 Minutes
New York Times
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A ban on YouTube, which Pakistan imposed after an anti-Islam video caused riots in much of the Muslim world, was lifted Saturday, only to be reinstated — after three minutes — when it was discovered that blasphemous material ...

HISTORICAL PLATES DON'T EXEMPT SMOG TESTING
U-T San Diego
QUESTION: I have a car with historical plates and thought it was exempt from a smog test. My friend said that's not so. Is this true? ANSWER: Vehicles with historical plates that are 1976 model year and newer are not exempt from smog requirements.

Cycloramic app spins phones 360 degrees to take panoramas
SmartPlanet.com (blog)
Cycloramic is one of the most dazzling apps this year, both for making tripod-quality panoramic shots possible without a tripod and for being a cool party trick. Available for $1 but functional only with the iPhone 5, the app gets your phone to swivel 360 degrees ...

MacBook Air 2012 Specs Upgraded: Apple Replaces Processor for June 2013 ...
Latinos Post
Apple's upcoming line of MacBook ultrabooks will receive a new processor, according to sources close to tech site Digitimes (via CNET). "The sources noted that pressure on ultrabook vendors mainly comes from the Air's price since Apple is likely to reduce...

Latinos Post

Lyft and its pink-mustache ride sharing service is now sniffing around Seattle
GeekWire
You might start seeing a few more pink mustaches on the streets of Seattle in 2013. Lyft, the San Francisco ride sharing service known for the pink mustaches attached to participating vehicles, is eyeing Seattle and L.A. as its next cities, TechCrunch reports.

Windows RT Ported To HTC HD2 (Handset Proves To Be Forever Young)
Mobile & Apps
The HTC HD2 is appearing to be a phone that will live on forever, despite being three years old with dated hardware. The handset is known to boot several different operating systems and now it ups the ante by firing up Windows RT. Follow us ...

Mobile & Apps

"Retro City Rampage" Sets Its Destructive Sights on XBLA in January
Crunchyroll News
PlayStation 3, Vita, and PC players have known the pure joy of Retro City Rampage since its October debut, but Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii owners are still sittin' on their hands waiting. That wait is almost over, though! The WiiWare version was recently given ...

Crunchyroll News

Motorola Droid RAZR, RAZR MAXX Jelly Bean - First A Mistake, Now A ...
G 4 Games
We haven't heard much about the update ever since but a few days ago the story took a rather unexpected twist. To be more precise, some Droid RAZR / MAXX owners have been welcomed to the land of Jelly Bean, while others have not. A series of events ...

G 4 Games

Jimmy Westlake's 2013 Cosmic Calendar of Celestial Events
Steamboat Pilot & Today
Moon meets Jupiter on Dec. 4, 2004: The moon and the dazzling planet Jupiter will cross paths several times in 2013, but the most spectacular meeting will occur Jan. 21. Even a pair of binoculars should reveal Jupiter's two largest moons, Ganymede and ...

Refurbished Porn? 5-Year-Old Finds Naughty Photos on Nintendo 3DS ...
Latinos Post
(Photo : Reuters) Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd., poses with the new Nintendo 3DS during an interview after Nintendo's E3 presentation at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles June 15, 2010. A 5-year-old received a surprising -- and ...

Latinos Post

First True Earth-Like Alien Planet Will Be Discovered In 2013, Say Scientists ...
Latinos Post
Finding a planet like ours has been one of the cornerstones of space exploration ever since we first broke through our atmosphere. While a true Earth-like planet has yet to be found, experts are marking 2013 on their calendar as the year we finally stumble ...

Latinos Post

Death Valley Is The Hottest Place On Earth (Once Again)
LAist
Death Valley can once again bask in the triple-digit glow of being the earth's hottest place on record. That title was challenged by a reading taken in a city on the tip of Libya called Al Aziziyah on Sept. 13, 1922. It claimed to have been 136.4 degree Fahrenheit ...

Tomb Raider Multiplayer Confirmed By OXM
ZoKnowsGaming
According to OXM, the upcoming reboot of the Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider franchise on schedule to release early next year will include a multiplayer mode. The publication's February 2013 issue, which hits stands on Jan. 8 and is available now to...

ZoKnowsGaming

Take in meteor shower if weather cooperates
TheNewsTribune.com
Being a fan of winter meteor showers requires a lot of hope and patience. There are plenty of opportunities to be wowed by the celestial displays, but there also are plenty of clouds. The News Tribune. The News Tribune. Published: Dec. 30, 2012 at 12:05 a.m. ...

MyPerfectAutomobile Reports on: Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid Update ...
Melodika.net (press release)
Mitsubishi Motors is aiming for a late January launch of its Outlander plug-in hybrid, a four-wheel-drive SUV. With no competition in the segment from other hybrids, Mitsubishi spokespersons refer to the new model as a game-changer of sorts, since it is the ...

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Websites Change Prices and Deals Based on Users Info

Websites Vary Prices, Deals Based on Users' Information - WSJ.com: Presented with the Journal's findings, Staples acknowledged that it varies its online and in-store prices by geography because of "a variety of factors" including "costs of doing business." For years, the Internet, with its promise of quick comparison shopping, has granted people a certain power over retailers. At the click of a button, shoppers could find a better deal elsewhere, no travel required. But the idea of an unbiased, impersonal Internet is fast giving way to an online world that, in reality, is increasingly tailored and targeted. Websites are adopting techniques to glean information about visitors to their sites, in real time, and then deliver different versions of the Web to different people. Prices change, products get swapped out, wording is modified, and there is little way for the typical website user to spot it when it happens. The Journal identified several companies, including Staples, Discover Financial Services, DFS +0.39% Rosetta Stone Inc. RST -0.48% and Home Depot Inc., HD +0.69% that were consistently adjusting prices and displaying different product offers based on a range of characteristics that could be discovered about the user. Office Depot, for example, told the Journal that it uses "customers' browsing history and geolocation" to vary the offers and products it displays to a visitor to its site.


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Google Apps Challenges Microsoft in 2012

Report: Google Apps Challenges Microsoft in 2012
PC Magazine
Despite Microsoft's recent efforts to counter Google's portfolio of cloud-based productivity applications, the search giant continues to gain traction with business customers who once wouldn't dream of running anything but hosted email and on-premise ...

New Corvette teased and leaked ahead of January unveil
CNET
The longest lasting American supercar, the Chevy Corvette, enters its seventh generation in 2013, heralded by official and unofficial photos and specs. Wayne Cunningham. by Wayne Cunningham. December 26, 2012 11:49 AM PST Follow @way4ne ...

Iranian Government Backtracks on 'Foiled' Virus Comments
PC Magazine
The Iranian government in recent months reportedly rebuffed a Stuxnet-like Internet virus targeting infrastructure in the country's southern province of Hormuzgan but new reports indicate officials weren't 100 percent successful at containing the malware.

Samsung plans to ship half a billion handsets in 2013
CNET
This year has been a big year for Samsung, and it looks like the good times will continue well into 2013. Related stories. Will Samsung top Apple by withholding revolutionary tech? EU hits Samsung with 'potential misuse' of patents · Facebook's about-face ...

Beached Whale at Breezy Point
New York Times (blog)
Updated, 3:22 p.m. | An emaciated fin whale about 60 feet long and weighing perhaps 60 or 80 tons beached itself at Breezy Point, Queens, on Wednesday morning, and appeared near death, said experts who were preparing to try to euthanize it. The whale ...

Samsung could be fined billions over efforts to ban Apple sales in Europe
The Guardian
Samsung, the south Korean electronics giant, could face fines running to billions of pounds from the European commission over its attempts to use its "standard-essential" patents on 3G to ban sales of Apple's iPhone and iPad in Europe. The Google-owned...

The Guardian

Domestic calls through Gmail to remain free in 2013
PCWorld
Philip has covered the Mac market since 1999, with a focus on the iPhone, iPad and iOS in recent years. In all that time, he has never tested a fart app. More by Philip Michaels. In what's rapidly becoming a holiday tradition, Google announced Wednesday that ...

EA gives weapons manufacturers the boot from Warfighter website
SlashGear
Electronic Arts made waves throughout the gaming community when it started showcasing real-world weapons in marketing for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, but today the publisher is beginning to distance itself from its relationship with arms makers. Originally ...

SlashGear

Panasonic P-02E 1080p Android smartphone hits FCC
SlashGear
The folks at Panasonic have been tipped to be smartphone-bound for years; today they've basically confirmed the idea that they're making a big effort in 2013 with the P-02E. The FCC listing appearing today has everything the Panasonic ELUGA had and a...

SlashGear

Facebook founder's sister tripped by privacy settings
AFP
SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg's sister evidently tripped on the social network's privacy settings, landing in the midst of a debate on Wednesday about "online etiquette." Randi Zuckerberg, who launched a Silicon Valley themed ...

AFP

DUI Enforcement Operations Planned in Concord for 12/28/12 and 12/29/12
San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
Officers from the Concord Police Department's DUI Enforcement Team will be deploying the weekend of December 28-29, 2012 to stop and arrest alcohol and drug-impaired drivers in the Department's ongoing traffic safety campaign. DUI Saturation Patrols ...

Facebook in 2012: A Billion Users and Counting
Mashable
Facebook is the most popular social network on the planet. It celebrated its eighth birthday on Feb. 4, 2012. Although Facebook has only been around since 2004, it certainly seems like much longer. For many of us, it feels like we've grown up habitually ...

Microsoft forges ahead with retail store expansion plans
CNET
The company is continuing its transformation from a simple software company with the announcement of its first six stores planned for 2013. Roger Cheng. by Roger Cheng. December 26, 2012 8:45 AM PST Follow @RogerWCheng. A Microsoft store in ...

Amazon outage shines light on Netflix's big bet
MarketWatch
Netflix investors seemed to shrug off the effects of a high-profile outage that crippled its streaming service on Christmas Eve — when presumably many of the company's customers were looking to settle in with a nice holiday flick only to be confronted with a ...

So You Just Got a Wii U. Now What?
Mashable
One of the most useful features of the Wii U -- and what could make it a staple of our connected living rooms -- is its ability to hook in to the entertainment ecosystem seamlessly. When you start up your Wii U for the first time, you'll be prompted to enter your ...

What to do with Your Old Gadgets
fox4kc.com
(CNN) — If you received shiny new gadgets for the holidays, you probably have some older device that is now unwanted or obsolete. If you can't regift your old computer, tablet or TV, make sure you get rid of it the smart way by selling, donating or recycling it.

fox4kc.com

Researchers: Amazon deforestation is devastating microbial communities
Science Recorder
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have uncovered evidence that suggests that Amazon deforestation is devastating microbial communities. “We found that after rainforest conversion to agricultural pastures, bacterial communities were ...

Science Recorder

Nubia Z5 unveiled in China with quad-core chip, 5-inch 1080p display and 7.6 ...
Engadget
Much like many Chinese smartphone brands these days, ZTE sub-brand Nubia had prematurely given away the main selling points of its Z5 ahead of its Beijing launch today, but there were still some surprises. As you probably already know, here's yet ...

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) Phone 'Crushes' iPhone 5: Cuban
ValueWalk
Mark Cuban has revealed that his usage of the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 5 stopped once he got his hands on the new Windows Phone 8 device from Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The news is a...

ValueWalk

Steve Jobs-Commissioned Yacht Free to Set Sail
PC Magazine
A yacht commissioned by the late Steve Jobs has been "freed" after the Apple co-founder's family reached an agreement to set aside funds to pay the boat's designer Phillpe Starck a disputed fee for his services. Starck's attorneys had impounded the ...

What we know about Acer's $99 tablet
Geek
Amazon and Google rocked the boat quite a bit this year by releasing a pair of powerful tablets for $199. Since the release of the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7, there has been no shortage of rumors surrounding a $99 device — due out this year — that ...

Geek

Rumor: Windows Blue to Maintain Metro User Interface
Hot Hardware
It feels like Windows 8 has hardly had time to breathe since being let loose by Microsoft in late October, but already the rumors for the company's next OS, "Windows 9", codenamed "Blue", are beginning to spread. On Chinese forum PCBeta, member and ...

Hot Hardware

Nokia's Windows RT Tablet Gets Detailed
Tom's Hardware Guide
10.1-inch display said to be joined by a keyboard cover featuring a battery pack. Features 10-inch screen and Qualcomm's S4 processor. Last Thursday brought rumors that Nokia was working on a Windows RT tablet. Though CES is just around the corner, ...

Erratic Environment May Be Key to Human Evolution
LiveScience.com
At Olduvai Gorge, where excavations helped to confirm Africa was the cradle of humanity, scientists now find the landscape once fluctuated rapidly, likely guiding early human evolution.These findings suggest that key mental developments within the human ...

Terrifying New Trailer Arrives For Slender: The Arrival
Dread Central
Slender: The Arrival will release in 2013 for PC from ParsecProductions and Blue Isle Studios. Players will step into a horrifying nightmare where you must escape a haunting entity. Read on to watch the first trailer and check out the improved visuals and ...

Dread Central

Instagram Hit with Class Action Lawsuit
Maximum PC
Instagram quickly backpedaled from a revised Terms of Service (ToS) agreement that said users would have to "agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos...in connection with paid or sponsored content or ...

Maximum PC

Google Music matching explicit songs with clean ones, but contains a stopgap fix
Engadget
Early iTunes Match adopters will remember the unintentional bowdlerization of their music libraries: they'd listen to their scanned music collection on a second device and lose all the colorful language. As we're quickly learning, Google Music's newly added ...

Annual Bay Area Bird Count is Thursday
NBC Bay Area
A bird viewed via your binoculars is worth not just one in the bush, but vital climate-change data. The annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count is Thursday. This year's viewing, in which "avian aficiondos" will scour parks, woods, neighborhoods and parking lots ...

NBC Bay Area

Apple Wins Patent On Micro-SIM Card Connector
RTT News
Apple has been granted a new patent for a SIM card connector device. The California tech giant filed for the U.S. patent in 2010 and has since been issued patent number 8,337,223. According to a report from slashgear.com the patent is named "Mini-SIM ...

RTT News

CES 2013: LG to demo laser-powered front projector
ConsumerReports.org (blog)
Looking for a new big-screen front projection system that would be right at home in Dr. Evil's living room? LG is heading to CES promising the first demos of its new "Hecto" Laser TV projection system, which includes a new 1080p front projector lit by lasers, ...

Where to point that Christmas telescope…
Fayetteville Observer (blog)
If you found a telescope under the tree Christmas morning…and since skies have cleared for later today, there are several interesting objects to check out in your eyepiece tonight. The moon will be tonight's most prominent object. It's almost full…becoming so ...

Here's How to Get the 'Dead Space 3' Demo a Week Early
Complex.com (blog)
EA sent out a press release today to let everyone know that the demo for Dead Space 3 will be available starting Jan. 22 on Xbox 360 and PS3. Unless you go todemo.deadspace.com and sign up for early access, in which case you're going to get access a ...

Complex.com (blog)

SpaceX Tests Rocket That Can Hover Like Helicopter
KTLA
MCGREGOR, TX. (CNN) — The company SpaceX recently launched a successful test flight of its “Grasshopper” rocket, and released this video late Sunday. After launch, it hovers in the air — and lands vertically and very softly instead of breaking up. It has the ...

iPhone 6 Release Date: New iPhone Rumors Heat Up as 2013 Looms [Photos]
BostInno (blog)
Christmas has come and gone and the iPhone 5 is still a hot commodity. However, the Apple [NASDAQ: AAPL] rumor mill is starting to heat up again. Rumors of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S have begun. According to DigiTimes, we should expect to see the ...

BostInno (blog)

Should We Expect Other Earth-like Planets At All?
Scientific American (blog)
This year has been a spectacular one for exoplanets. New discoveries and new insights have truly pushed the gateway to other worlds even further open. In the past 12 months we've gained increasingly good statistics on the incredible abundance of planets ...

Scientific American (blog)

Photos of upcoming BlackBerry phone with keyboard hit the Web
Los Angeles Times
Pictures of what is believed to be the next BlackBerry smartphone with a keyboard are making the rounds on the Internet. The photos, which were posted on the Web earlier this week by Chinese website cnBeta, show a BlackBerry device with a full QWERTY ...

Motorola Droid RAZR and Droid RAZR MAXX get updated to Android 4.1 Jelly ...
Unwired View
The internationally sold HTC One S isn't the only smartphone to get a software update right around the holidays this year. It's been joined by Verizon's Motorola Droid RAZR and Droid RAZR MAXX. We're talking about the originals here, not the HD variants ...

Biggest in the universe: Scientists discover black holes weighing 40 billion suns
RT
This NASA image shows a new image of a ring - not of jewels - but of black holes. This composite image of Arp 147, a pair of interacting galaxies located about 430 million light years from Earth, shows X-rays from the NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (pink)...

RT

Will Verizon Stay Strong in 2013?
Motley Fool
Verizon (NYSE: VZ ) is coming off a terrific 2012. Sales and free cash flows are running at record highs; the margin damage that followed from introducing the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) iPhone in 2011 has been repaired; and the stock has crushed its fellow ...

Microsoft Hands Key Role to Technical Strategy Chief
Wall Street Journal
Craig Mundie, Microsoft Corp.'s chief research and strategy officer, is handing over responsibilities as he prepares to retire. Mr. Mundie has become a senior adviser to Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. Mr. Mundie, who has worked at Microsoft for 20 years,...

Wall Street Journal

Asteroid '2011 AG5' no longer a risk says NASA
TG Daily
So the world didn't end on December 21, and it's more good news for the future of humanity with the announcement that Asteroid 2011 AG5 is no longer an impact risk. NASA has downgraded the potential threat of Asteroid 2011 AG5, a near-Earth asteroid...

TG Daily

Central West Antarctica found to be one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth
The Verge
As world-wide climate change has been an increasing focus for scientists, the frozen continent of Antarctica has been of particular concern — and now new research shows that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is contributing to rising sea levels due to some ...

POP charger is a go… again
SlashGear
A project was on Kickstarter a while back called the POP charger. This was a charging device for portable gadgets such as tablets and smartphones that had an integrated Apple 30-pin charger connector and a USB port. The device funded on Kickstarter and ...

Seattle And Washington State Residents To Pay Yearly $100 EV Fee Starting ...
InsideEVs
Although seen as a “EV-friendly” state, and the final leg on the West Coast Electric Highway, Washington state electric vehicle owners are soon going to be the first in the nation to face a $100 yearly fee to own and operate the cars. West Coast Electric ...

2012 Climate Change News That Made Headlines This Year
Huffington Post
Perhaps the most unavoidable climate story of 2012 was the warmth that gripped much of the United States, and to a lesser degree, the planet, throughout the entire year. Heat waves brought "spring in March" to parts of the country, and broke all-time ...

Get ready for a thinner, lighter iPad in March
Firstpost
The fourth-generation iPad was just released last month — just eight months after the third-generation iPad — but it seems Apple believes that the market is ready for a thinner, lighter iPad already. And come March 2012, you might just see it on the shelves, ...

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America's most influential tech innovators

MarketWatch 's Christopher Noble and Dan Gallagher talk about America's most influential tech innovators from this year's 'Power 30,' MarketWatch's annual list of the players shaping economic currents around the world.http://on.wsj.com/T6AVCo

A guide to Europe's tech hubs — Cloud Computing News
By Bobbie Johnson
From London's expanding Tech City to the more bucolic Silicon Glen, and from Tallinn, Estonia, to Berlin, here's our guide to European's hottest tech hubs (listed in alphabetical order). We'll be talking more about Europe's tech scene at Structure: Europe, our cloud-computing conference in ... Greentechnology is an increasing specialty here, along with healthcare, and smart materials. Major funding sources. Much of the region's access to cash comes through corporate investment or ...
GigaOM

Kodak's Missed Opportunities - Technology Review: " The wheels of fate that led the photography company into Chapter 11 began spinning in 1975. . . No one is really surprised that Eastman Kodak has filed for bankruptcy protection. What might surprise some people, though, is that the digital camera, the device that led to the company's undoing, was invented at Kodak in 1975. Here is a 2005 piece that includes an interview with the engineer behind it. We also explored Kodak's spiral last month in our Business Impact package on Disruptive Innovation. Some charts in that piece really stood out to me, and are reprinted below. These show how quickly Kodak's business fell apart, and how big of an opportunity it missed. . . . "

Death is the default for startups, and your little idea means nothing
Memeburn
By Matthew Buckland: Publisher Death is the default for startups, reckons Amazon Web Services Technology Evangelist Simone Brunozzi. Apart from having a really cool Twitter handle @Simon, Brunozzi has founded a few startups himself, so speaks with some ...

The Worst Apple Rumors of 2012: Apple Televisions, Huge iPhones And More ...
Huffington Post
The Internet practically overflows with rumors about Apple. Rumors about the next iPhone, the next iPad, the next iPod, the next iMac; whispers of an iTV, or an iCar, an iRoboticHorse; gossip about upcoming software features, and hardware features and ...

Google, Apple show off technology in holiday ads
PCWorld
Technology giants Google and Apple shared some holiday cheer and a little self-promotion online in the form of ads recently posted on YouTube. GoogleMobile's ad -- a cheesy production that has garnered more than 125,000 views -- stars the little green ...

Apple v. Samsung: Who's been editing the judge's Wikipedia entry?
Fortune (blog)
He or she also edited tech specs in the entry for the Nexus 10 -- a joint Samsung-Google (GOOG) project -- and sprinkled disparagements in the entry forApple's A6 processor. But the world's largest crowd-sourced encyclopedia is nothing if not ...

Fortune (blog)

Apple's Merry Christmas message from the fiscal cliff
Fortune (blog)
FORTUNE -- More than one TV viewer tuning in to CNN Friday morning for House Speaker John Boehner's grim press conference was surprised to see it punctuated with a new, cheery, Christmas-themed Apple (AAPL) ad. The spot, which has since gone into ...

Tech giant Microsoft faces fragile period
The Seattle Times
Apple, Google and other competitors have leaped ahead as the computing world changed from standard PCs to iPods, iPhones, the android operating system and the cloud. Then there was The Article. In August, Kurt Eichenwald, a former business reporter ...

Google Music UK: everything you need to know
TechRadar UK
Music on Google Play service has been live in the UK since November 2012, when we finally got a chance to use it after the Americans had very kindly spent the best part of a year beta testing it for us. ... install Google's Music Manager tool to kick ...

Amazon To Rival Netflix And Hulu With Original Programming
Seeking Alpha
That brings me to Amazon (AMZN). When you think of who might be second in this space,Amazon's Prime gets a lot of votes. With Prime, subscribers pay a flat yearly rate, $79, but get tons of benefits. They get access to Prime Instant Video, which has ...

Google working on an 'X phone' and 'X tablet' to take on rivals Apple and Samsung
Daily Mail
Google and Microsoft are both power-hungry cannibals without any ethics. Keep your distance with them and their associates. - Prof. Hudson McLean , London, 23/12/2012 11:15 =============You forgot Apple, one of the biggest power-hungry cannibals,...

Daily Mail

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US Congress up for another SOPA/PIPA fight?

US Congress may not have stomach for another SOPA/PIPA fight
PCWorld (blog)
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. More by Grant Gross. As a new session of the U.S. Congress convenes in early 2013, don't expect lawmakers to rush out a new version of the Stop Online ...

Nokia Windows RT tablet will include keyboard cover with built-in battery
ZDNet
Summary: The cell phone giant will offer a case that goes one better than Microsoft's own Type Cover for its Surface tablet. Sean Portnoy. By Sean Portnoy for Laptops & Desktops | December 25, 2012 -- 13:59 GMT (05:59 PST). Follow @teklust ...

Facebook adds photo drag-and-drop to desktop app
PCWorld
If you've ever uploaded a photo to a Facebook status update from your desktop, you're well aware of the number of steps it takes to do so. You'll also be glad to know that the social network has eliminated those steps and replaced them with simple ...

Hacker Claims to Have Scooped 3M Verizon Customer Records, Verizon Denies
DailyTech
The mystery is growing in the case of a hacker named TibitXimer, who claimed to have copied (probably illegally) 3 million records from Verizon Wireless's customer database (records which included passwords, names, home addresses, email addresses, ...

DailyTech

The Ultimate Internet Yule Log Showdown
PC Magazine
Turn your TV into a fake fireplace and experience the magic of the Yule Log in HD, on-demand, and without the bio-fluorocarbons of real fire. Dan Costa By Dan Costa. December 25, 2012; ...

POP is back: cancelled Kickstarter campaign back on after Apple changes policy
VentureBeat
Four days ago, the popular Kickstarter project to provide portable power for almost any mobile device — Apple, Android, or other — was cancelled when Apple refused to allow any accessories to incorporate both its old 30-pin connector and its new Lightning ...

LG outs seven-strong 2013 Google TV range
SlashGear
LG's Google TV line has always taken a back-seat to the company's homegrown smart TV platform, but all that could change with the firm's 2013 line set to debut at CES 2013. LG plans seven Google TV models – spanning five screen sizes – for the new year, ...

SlashGear

Christmas Eve AWS outage stings Netflix but not Amazon Prime
GigaOM
Big problems with Amazon Web Services' Elastic Load Balancing service in its US-East data center nailed Netflix and Heroku on Christmas Eve and carried over into Christmas. Netflix competitor Amazon Prime Instant Video appeared to be unaffected.

GigaOM

How Netflix Built Its Wii U App: First, It Built a Fake GamePad
TIME
Netlix's paper "GamePad" and the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet which it covered during consumer testing. Email · Print; Share. Facebook · Twitter · Tumblr · LinkedIn · StumbleUpon · Reddit · Digg · Mixx · Delicious · Google+. Comment. Follow @techland ...

TIME

Official Slender sequel gets teased, Slender: The Arrival coming early 2013
Neoseeker
In case you like a good scare for the holidays, Blue Isle Studios, working with Slender's original developer Parsec Productions, has release the first official teaser for Slender: The Arrival. Yes, if you were unaware, Slender is getting its very own ...

Continue to expect Internet restrictions in China
CNET
With the Chinese, Gregorian and Mayan calendars all ending in the span of three months, this is the time of year for new resolutions. If you're RIM, perhaps your resolution is to keep Blackberry 10 from failing? If you're the Chinese government, you probably ...

CNET

Today's Apps Gone Free: AppStart For iPhone, DailyCost, Dart Meister And More
AppAdvice
Discover and learn about the very best apps for your iPhone and iPod touch with today's AppBump featured app, AppStart for iPhone. We also have a finance app that allows you to track your daily expenses, and a gorgeous and intuitive dart scoring app.

AppAdvice

US delivers message to storks: you're no longer endangered
Hilton Head Island Packet
COLUMBIA -- Wood storks were once rare in South Carolina, but the gawky wading birds now routinely call the Palmetto State home. It's a similar story in other Southeastern states -- and why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said last week the wood stork ...

Hilton Head Island Packet

Apple Smartphone Share Tops 50 Percent in U.S.
eWeek
Apple's rise in the U.S. has not been replicated in quite the same way across Europe, where Android still takes the lead. Apple achieved its highest ever share in the U.S. smartphone market, 53.3 percent, in the latest 12 weeks (ending Nov. 25), with the ...

eWeek

Samsung Sues Apple Over iOS Notification Center
ValueWalk
Samsung filed another patent lawsuit against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). This time it is over the iOS Notification Center, reports iNews24. The lawsuit was filed in Korea. apple and samsung patent war. The patent in question is similar to the Status Bar feature ...

ValueWalk

Earn Xbox Live achievements on your iPhone and iPad with Wordament
Gamezebo
Wouldn't it be nice if you could earn Xbox Live achievement points in an iOS game? Well, Merry Christmas. Wordament, a Windows Phone game that recently made the jump to iOS, is letting players earn Xbox-style achievements as they play. What's next?

Ethereal Sky Show Christmas Night
Indian Country Today Media Network.com
The moon-Jupiter conjunction of December 25, 2012, will be even more spectacular than this, as the moon will be nearly full. (Photo: NASA Video) ...

One small hop for SpaceX, a giant leap towards rocket reusability
io9
One small hop for SpaceX, a giant leap towards rocket reusability SpaceX has just taken a major step closer to achieving the world's first reusable launch vehicle. The private space-firm has just released a video showing its Grasshopper Vertical Take Off and ...

Google Nexus 10 Supply Scarce
Mobile Magazine
Wanting to get your hands on a Google Nexus 10 for the holidays? You are not alone, and unfortunately it seems you won't be able to snag one in time. The Nexus 10 was listed on Staples site yesterday and has been struck with the sold out curse. Walmart ...

Vermonters head to woods for Christmas bird count
Seattle Post Intelligencer
WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — While some Vermonters spend the day opening presents, eating a big meal or going to church, others take to the woods for a tradition from 1900. It's the annual Christmas Bird Count. Vermont Fish and Wildlife biologist Steve Parren ...

"Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2" Crowned the Biggest YouTube Trailer of 2012
Complex.com (blog)
After breaking numerous records with the release of Call Of Duty: Black Ops II in November, Activision just received one more accolade: Creating the most popular YouTube trailer of 2012. Anticipation was so high for the latest Call of Duty release that it ...

IOS6.1 Is a Trap: What You Should Know Before You Upgrade
StudentNewsIE.com
Have you ever wanted to jailbreak your iPhone? If you have had iPhones in the past, you know what it's like to finally free your iPhone and customize it to make it the device of your artistic expression. Even now, according to the ruling from the US Copyright ...

Acer Iconia B1 7-in Tablet to Cost $99
Sawf News
December 25, 2012, (Sawf News) - A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) source has confirmed recent reports that Acer is planning to launch an ultra budget Android tablet. The source, a "person with direct knowledge," says the tablet named Iconia B1 will have ...

Sawf News

BlackBerry 10 QWERTY device spotted online
NDTV
There have plenty of leaked photos and videos available for the touchscreen BlackBerry 10 smartphone and now the QWERTY BlackBerry 10 smartphone has surfaced online. Two blurry photos of what appears to be the N-Series BlackBerry 10 smartphone ...

NDTV

Astronomers find planets in our cosmic backyard
Catholic Online
As Catholic Online reported last week, a new astronomical discovery has the scientific community abuzz. Five more planets have been discovered around a star that closely resembles our sun. And at least one of them is within the star's "Goldilocks zone." ...

New 'Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII' video released; shows past story
Examiner.com
Related topics. Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII. Advertisement. A new video has been released by the Japanese branch of Square Enix on Saturday for the upcoming multiplatform title, “Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.” The footage takes a look at the ...

Steve Jobs' estate pays to free impounded superyacht
Times LIVE
THE economy, already weakened by the eurozone crisis, has in recent months been blitzed by a series of devastating strikes in the mining sector, downgradings by international ratings agencies, fears about the nationalisation of mines and other sectors, and ...

China Will Start Cracking Down On Trademark Infringement
RedOrbit
It's a different world in China, one where intellectual property and trademarks aren't as closely guarded as they are in the United States. Apple in 2012 had one such issue with trademark infringement in China as the bankrupt and failing Proview Technology ...

Motorola X smartphone and tablet coming next year?
IntoMobile
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece, talking about the upcoming Google Motorola X phone which should apparently be released at some point next year. Dennis Woodside, a former Google top sales turned Motorola's chief executive, didn't want ...

Facebook's 2012: IPO, a billion users and a shift to mobile
Washington Post
Facebook had what may be the most eventful year in its history in 2012. After months of preparation, the company went public in May -- with some unexpected results. As the site hit a billion users, it also struggled with the pressure to make money without ...

Why startups shouldn't be afraid of Facebook cloning them
CNET
It takes a lot more than a clone to take out a scrappy startup with dedication to its vision. Ben Parr. by Ben Parr. December 24, 2012 10:03 AM PST Follow @benparr. It'll take more than a Poke to knock out Snapchat. (Credit: Screenshot by Ben Parr/CNET) ...

time for global warming's just deserts
The Age
VICTORIA will be a hotter and drier place by mid-century, with more desert and fewer temperate regions because of the impacts of global warming, new scientific analysis has found. In a major report, Victoria's Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability,...

The Age

Don't mark your doomsday calendars: 2040 asteroid won't hit Earth
Los Angeles Times
For those of you disappointed that the world didn't end last week, there's more bad news: The world probably won't be ending in 2040, either – not from a certain giant asteroid, anyway. Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii have found that ...

Microsoft's strategy chief limits role, will retire in 2014
CNET
Craig Mundie, who inherited some of Bill Gates' duties when Gates left his full-time position at Microsoft, will take on the role of "senior adviser to CEO." Roger Cheng. by Roger Cheng. December 24, 2012 9:28 AM PST Follow @RogerWCheng. Microsoft's ...

Facebook Testing New Pay-Per-Message System
Infopackets
Facebook is testing a new messaging system that will cost people $1 to send a message to a stranger. It's designed to deter spammers from using the site to annoy Facebook members, but some analysts have suggested Facebook could also be looking to ...

Rumored iPad 5 to be thinner -- and land in March
Los Angeles Times
That iPad 3 you got last March? Forget it. It's like the eight-track tape of tablets. (Kids: Ask your parents what that means.) Even that iPad 4 you're about to unwrap Christmas morning that you think is so darn new is about to become yesterday's news. At least ...

Updated COPPA Rule - "Strong, Stronger And Yet Stronger" Or Just More ...
Mondaq News Alerts (registration)
After years of consideration and feedback the Federal Trade Commission released the final revision to the 14-year old Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) Rule. The FTC began its review of the Rule back in April 2010 and we reported on the ...

Free Flickr Pro Account service for three months offered by Yahoo on this ...
PC-Tablet
Chirstmas day is about to come, and you guys must be having fun in the holidays. To take these fun meter to an extreme level, popular online photo sharing service 'Flickr' has Christmas gift for you. This well-renowned online photo sharing service, owned by ...

Amazon Says Its Customer Review Guidelines Haven't Changed, But It Is ...
TechCrunch
Good news, everyone! We can totally start trusting Amazon reviews again. The company has been conducting a “sweeping but hazy purge” of customer reviews, according to a recent story in The New York Times. And while Amazon is only barely commenting ...

Review: Nokia Lumia 920. Is Nokia Back In The Game?
Techtree.com
The idiomatic million dollar question in the smartphone market is, has Nokia managed to bring a worthy entrant to the smartphone war currently waged by Apple and Samsung? reviews · Chandrakant 'CK' Isi, 25th Dec 2012 - 18:54. Recommended By ...

Techtree.com

Gifts That Keep Giving (If Not Exploding)
New York Times
Ask scientists of a certain age about their childhood memories, and odds are they'll start yarning about the stink bombs and gunpowder they concocted with their chemistry sets. Dangerous? Yes, but fun. Science Times Subscribe ...

New York Times

Hurricane Sandy Almost Destroyed Grand Theft Auto's Radio Masters
Gameranx
There are many reasons to enjoy Grand Theft Auto. A favorite for many (myself included) is the programming found on the in-game radio, which is mostly the brainchild of Lazlow Jones. The music is great and all, but the real highlight is all the talking that goes ...

Gameranx

Foxconn Investment Turns GoPro Camera Inventor Into A Billionaire
Mobile & Apps
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has bought an 8.88% stake in Woodman Labs for $200 million - an investment which values the company behind the GoPro camera at $2.25 billion, according to Forbes. Follow us ...

Mobile & Apps

Scientists: West Antarctica Is Warming at an Alarming Rate
The Atlantic
Rebecca J. Rosen - Rebecca J. Rosen is a senior associate editor at The Atlantic. She was previously an associate editor at The Wilson Quarterly, where she spearheaded the magazine's In Essence section. All Posts · Email Rosen ...

Samsung Galaxy Camera review
Hindu Business Line
Talk about tables being turned! The first step to integrating multimedia functions on a smartphone was enabling the handset to take pictures. Samsung is now playing the game the other way around. The new Samsung Galaxy Camera is a shooter, based on...

Hindu Business Line

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