BlackBerry Deathwatch: Goodbye Playbook

BlackBerry is dying a slow, painful death--from the dismal quarterly results, disappointing sales, end of the Playbook, and plans of US Department of Defense to go Android and iOS--

BlackBerry PlayBook will not be upgraded to BlackBerry 10 | The Verge: "Reneging on a promise made in January, BlackBerry has just announced that it will not, in fact, be upgrading the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to its latest mobile OS, BlackBerry 10. CEO Thorsten Heins revealed the sour news on the company's investor call relating to today's earnings report . . . "

BlackBerry Shares Plunge After Touch-Screen Model Flops - Bloomberg: "BlackBerry (BBRY)’s shares tumbled the most since 2001 after the company reported a surprise loss and weak sales of a new touch-screen model, underscoring its challenges in competing directly with the iPhone and Android devices. . . ."

No sign of BlackBerry turnaround in results, shares plunge | Reuters: "BlackBerry's market capitalization plunged by more than 25 percent on Friday after the smartphone maker reported dismal quarterly results, prompting deeper investor skepticism of the company's long-promised turnaround. . . ."

US Defense Department developing secure 4G network and updating rules for cyberwarfare | The Verge: " . . . he said that the Department was also working on a "a secure 4G wireless network that will get iPads, iPhones, and Android devices online by mid-2014," and that he had one such secure phone on his person during the speech . . ."

Microsoft promises IE11 on Windows 7
Computerworld
Earlier this month, Microsoft declined to confirm or deny that IE11 would make it to Windows 7, the most popular edition in the company's OS platform that now powers an estimated 49% of all Windows systems. Microsoft launched a beta of IE11 Wednesday ...

Google Is Developing Android Game Console
Wall Street Journal
With the game machine and digital watch, Google is hoping to combat similar devices that AppleInc. may release in the future, according to the people. Google is ... Android laptops would thus compete with those powered by Microsoft's Windows software.

Apple, Facebook, Google salute marriage equality
Los Angeles Times
Wednesday's "decision turns the page on a law that made it more difficult for us to treat all of our employees, regardless of sexual orientation, equally," said Microsoft's Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president of legal and corporate ...

Microsoft wants to disclose data on FISA orders
Boston.com
Microsoft made the request in a motion filed June 19 with the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and unsealed this week. The company's action comes after Google filed a similar motion asking permission to disclose the number of data ...
First renders of Google's $1.6 billion London HQ emerge | The Verge: "The first images of Google's new London headquarters have emerged. The company recently spent $1 billion on a plot of land for the development, and has enlisted architecture firm Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) to design its new London home. The proposed headquarters, which are expected to be valued at over $1.6 billion when completed, would stretch 330 meters (the length of three and a half football fields) and rise to eleven storys in height . . ."

Google Sues IRS for $83.5 Million Tax Refund
Bloomberg
Google Inc. (GOOG), owner of the most popular Internet search engine, sued the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for an $83.5 million refund, claiming it was improperly denied a deduction for a 2004 stock transaction with America Online Inc. The IRS erred ...

Microsoft Touts Azure To iOS, Android Developers
InformationWeek
During Thursday's keynote at Microsoft's Build conference, the company announced several new services for Windows Azure, its cloud computing platform. Microsoft hopes the offerings will inspire developers to make Azure the cloud infrastructure of ...

Microsoft's Cloud-Based Office Shifts to Perpetual Update
Businessweek
“So far those who are hesitant about going to the cloud, they're willing to put their trust in Microsoft. No other competitor—Google, Box—has that established trust.” Raman Padmanabhan, chief information officer for Xerox's (XRX) business services ...

Google, Yahoo, Cisco CEOs hail US immigration bill
Times of India
WASHINGTON: CEOs representing top American technology companies including Google, Yahoo,Microsoft and Cisco have hailed the passage of the comprehensive immigration reform bill by US Senate, arguing that this would give a big boost to the ...

Google gooses Chrome with network speed-boost idea: 'QUIC'
CNET
Even Microsoft, an early skeptic, is on board with IE 11. Google has a powerful interest in a faster Internet. Lower delays mean Web pages and services respond faster, and that generally means people use the Internet more. That means, of course, that ...

Google Lat Long: Apply now to be the next Google Maps Trekker
By Lat Long
Today we're kicking off a pilot program that enables third party organizations to borrow the Street View Trekker and contribute imagery to Google Maps. For the first time ever, this program will enable organizations to use our camera equipment ...
Google Lat Long

Microsoft Adds Auto Scaling To Windows Azure | TechCrunch
By Frederic Lardinois
... feature on for their accounts. Autoscale for Windows Azure is in preview now and will be available for free for a limited time. It's worth noting that Amazon Web Services has long offered auto scaling for its EC2 cloud computing platform, too, so Microsoft, which was relatively late to cloud computing, is mostly playing catch-up here. P1110711 ... Crunch With Us. Download the TechCrunch App for iPad in the Apple App Store · Download the TechCrunch App for Android in Google Play ...
TechCrunch

With an eye on Apple, Google is planning a smart watch, video ...
By Erica Ogg
Google is also said to be taking another crack at the doomed Nexus Q, a home media device that was scuttled almost as quickly as it was announced last year.
Apple

Walk Through Japanese Island That Inspired Skyfall on Google Maps
By Kaylene Hong
Google Maps is now letting users immerse themselves in Battleship island's sinister atmosphere via Street View. ... Take a walk through the eerie Japanese island that inspired Skyfall villain's hideout on Google Maps....
The Next Web

Amazon Studios now accepting short video bids for feature films
By Steve Dent
Amazon Studios is hell-bent on developing movies and TV series, and on top of script submissions, it's now asking filmmakers to send in 2-15 minute long.
Engadget RSS Feed

Skype for iPhone for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad ... - iTunes - Apple
Description. Say “hello” to friends and family with an instant message, voice or video call on Skype for free. There's so much you can do, right from the palm of ...
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skype-for.../id304878510?mt...

Official Blog: Only clear skies on Google Maps and Earth
To celebrate the sunny days of summer (in the northern hemisphere at least), today we're launching new satellite imagery for Google's mapping products.
googleblog.blogspot.com/.../only-clear-skies-on-google-maps-...

more technology news below

Follow @expricom