News for today's 2018

Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery Transforms Mobile Gaming

4:07 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/logitech-powershell-controller-battery-transforms-mobile-gaming-2013-11-20/RenderImage?guid=d8878cf832144fe7906d074c700e0a27&imageID=201" width="600"/> NEWARK, Calif., Nov 20, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Logitech (six:LOGN) , a leading innovator of gaming peripherals, today introduced the Logitech(R) PowerShell(TM) Controller + Battery - providing console-style game controls and increasing game play-time on your iPhone 5s, iPhone 5, or iPod touch (5th generation) running iOS 7. <img src="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/logitech-powershell-controller-battery-transforms-mobile-gaming-2013-11-20/RenderImage?guid=d8878cf832144fe7906d074c700e0a27&imageID=202" width="600"/> To use this first-of-its-kind mobile gaming console, you simply insert your compatible iPhone or iPod touch into the controller as you would with a standard case. The analog off-screen controls of the Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery deliver a gaming experience that's familiar to console players everywhere, with a D-pad, shoulder triggers and face buttons that allow you to control game play. As a result, you can use the entire screen for viewing the game, giving you a more immersive mobile gaming experience. And thanks to the controller's comfortable shape, you can play for longer periods. The portable controller maintains a profile that fits easily in your pocket or small bag - putting intensive, complex games within your reach wherever you are. 'We designed this controller to deliver a true console-gaming experience on an iOS 7 mobile device,' said Ehtisham Rabbani, general manager of the Logitech gaming business. 'With gaming so pervasive on the mobile platform - our research shows that 87% of iPhone and iPod touch users play games on their device - it's time to revolutionize the experience.' With your iPhone or iPod touch in the controller, you'll maintain full access to power on/off, volume, camera, speakers, headphone jack and charging. And your controller's 1500 mAh battery increases the battery capacity of your iPhone 5s, iPhone 5 or fifth-generation iPod touch. Plus, you can recharge both batteries without removing the phone from the controller. The controller is compatible with the iOS 7 game controller framework for which a long and rapidly growing list of popular games are supported, including Bastion, Fast & Furious 6: The Game, MetalStorm Aces, Galaxy On Fire 2(TM) HD and Nitro(TM), among others available from the App Store. Pricing and Availability The Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery is available online beginning today for $99.99 at BestBuy.com and the Apple Online Store. The product is expected to be available with additional retailers globally in December. For more information please visit gaming.logitech.com or our blog. About Logitech Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech's combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Logitech, the Logitech logo, and other Logitech marks are registered in Switzerland and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company's website at www.logitech.com. LOGIIR Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131120005512/en/ SOURCE: Logitech Logitech Amanda Sanyal 510-713-5051 asanyal@logitech.com Copyright Business Wire 2013 </div>

Technology Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery Transforms Mobile Gaming

NEWARK, Calif., Nov 20, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Logitech (six:LOGN) , a leading innovator of gaming peripherals, today introduced the Logite...

Google's New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives

3:07 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The promise of wearable computers is that the devices themselves will go away. They'll melt into the background to deliver data as needed, all without your having to fetch or look anything up. Google announced a few new features to its Glass software developers kit on Tuesday that help its face computer both be there and go away. With a few simple third-party apps, the company showed (probably better than ever before) just how Glass will evolve into something that's invisibly integrated into your day-to-day routine. Glass' new GDK - or Glassware development kit - makes it easier for application developers to tap into the hardware, even when its offline, to perform tasks in real-time without having to go back and forth to servers in the cloud. It opens new possibilities for developers to build tools that center around either immersive or ongoing tasks (as opposed to, say, simply notifications about things like new email, or the ability to upload a photo and share it online). Immersive tasks will let you dive into an application on Glass, much as you might on a smartphone, giving it your undivided attention - think gaming, for example. An ongoing task is one where you're swapping back and forth between the app and something you're doing - think cooking. Google showed a few new apps from Strava, AllTheCooks, GolfSight, Word Lens, and Spellista meant to demonstrate how developers can now use Glass to deliver immersive experiences, or enhance ongoing ones. Spellista and Word Lens were immersive apps. The former is a simple letter jumble game and honestly it was ho-hum. Word Lens, however, was pretty amazing. It fires up with a simple voice command, 'Okay, Glass, translate this.' Then you can look at a sign written in a foreign language, and the app will automatically translate the text and overlay it on the display. This happens nearly instantly. It was straight out of the future. But the ongoing tasks were probably even more interesting than the immersive ones. Take the new Strava app for Glass. Strava, a tool for tracking bike rides or runs, is immensely popular with cyclists and gaining ground with runners. But it's the type of app that clearly benefits from not having to pull a phone from a pocket or bag to get an update - you don't want to have to pluck it from a pocket while you're in the bike lane on Market Street. The Glass app lets it deliver real-time updates on speed and distance, and deliver ride segment reports simply by letting you look up. It promises to help you be more situationally aware, more in the moment, while still getting data delivered when you want it. Similarly, GolfSight can let you know where you are on a golf course, how far you are from the green, and what hazards are between you and it without having to dive into a phone. Or take AllTheCooks, which lets you view or record recipes using Glass. One of the other promises Glass has, so far, truly failed to deliver on is the ability to do something else with your hands while still getting data updates from the device. There's been much speculation how Glass may one day be used in the operating room. But AllTheCooks shows how remarkably useful it can be in the kitchen. You can simply play the steps back without taking your attention away from what you're doing. You don't have to worry about greasy fingers on a tablet, or printed page. Meanwhile, filming step-by-step instructions without using your hands promises to be something that all manner of apps will be able to take advantage of. When people have asked me about Glass, I've often tried to explain it by saying, 'it's Google Now for your face,' (a phrase I stole from Metafilter founder Matt Haughey). That's because the Google Now functions - delivering information to you before you ask for it - have been its killer feature, even more than the ability to take photos or videos. The way it can drop an announcement on you based on where and when you are is amazing. But previously I haven't seen third party applications tap into that same functionality. Instead, you get things like breaking news alerts from the New York Times, or notifications about @ replies on Twitter. That's clearly changing now. There's been a huge over-emphasis on what Glass is (aesthetically ugly, of limited utility, socially awkward) rather than what it will be. Today, we got a glimpse of the path it's heading on - maybe our best yet. What's coming is a more technologically robust device that will enhance our situational and possibly even social awareness. And just think, one day it might even be stylish enough to wear in public. <img src="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/wp-content/gallery/biopics/mat-honan.jpg" width="600"/> Mat Honan is a senior writer for Wired's Gadget Lab and the co-founder of the Knight-Batten award-winning Longshot magazine. Read more by Mat Honan Follow @mat on Twitter. </div>

Technology Google's New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives

The promise of wearable computers is that the devices themselves will go away. They'll melt into the background to deliver data as neede...

Carriers reject kill switch for stolen smartphones

2:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/idahostatejournal.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/06/8064508a-507e-11e3-a1a7-001a4bcf887a/528a5b2eba016.preview-100.jpg" width="600"/> Want a sweet treat at your Thanksgiving table that is also a breeze to make? My honey sweetened nut treats are so tasty and delicious and yet they only have four ingredients. It is almost embarrassing how easy these are to make, and they look like something from an elegant dinner party. The light and crispy shell is simply pre-made filo cups. Filo, Phyllo- it's that Greek pastry that is so light and crispy in Baklava. You find them in the frozen dessert of pastry section of the grocery store, and that is probably the most difficult part of this recipe. You can use any nuts, but I prefer pecans or walnuts. You can buy them already finely diced and ready to go. These little treats can be a sweet appetizer when your guests arrive or part of a dessert buffet. And once you realize how easy and tasty they are, you'll be serving them at dinners, pot lucks and super bowl parties too. </div>

Technology Carriers reject kill switch for stolen smartphones

Want a sweet treat at your Thanksgiving table that is also a breeze to make? My honey sweetened nut treats are so tasty and delicious and y...

New glimpses of Apple's 'spaceship' campus

2:21 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131119144629-apple-campus-horizontal-gallery.jpg" width="600"/><cite>Apple is planning an expansion of its corporate headquarters on a 176-acre plot in Cupertino, California -- a site that was once home to HP and Compaq. This rendering shows the spaceship-like main building, which has 2.8 million square feet and room for 13,000 employees.</cite> (CNN) -- At this point, there's a good chance you've seen pictures of Apple's proposed new headquarters - a 2.8-million-square-foot spaceship parked in a verdant man-made forest in the northeast corner of Cupertino. Since the first dozen or so renderings trickled out in 2011, however, we haven't gotten a much better sense of what all the new campus will entail or what it will be like to work there. Until now. Apple may be known for its secrecy, but buried in Cupertino's municipal archive is a wealth of detail on the project - including more than 20 previously unseen renderings of the new campus. In these images, we see for the first time the space port-like entrance to the development's subterranean parking lot, a cavernous cafeteria that spills into the grassy landscape beyond, and the glass pavilion that will serve as the entrance to Apple's new underground auditorium - a secure lair where press will gather for future product launches. <img src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/111006053343-bts-jobs-cupertino-city-council-00013814-story-body.jpg" width="600"/><cite>Jobs' pitch for a new Apple campus</cite> In short, these documents give us the most complete picture of Apple's new home yet, a campus that Steve Jobs himself thought had a shot at being 'the best office building in the world.' Here's a peek at life in the mothership. The Mothership Apple Campus 2, which was approved by city officials last month, will sit on a 176-acre plot in the South Bay city of 60,000 - a site that was once home to HP and Compaq. If you're an Apple employee who drives to work, you'll enter the campus at a freshly constructed security point at North Wolfe Road, on the west edge of the site. The lucky ones will quickly be diverted into a discrete, futuristic tunnel, where a subterranean service road will give them access to a two-level, 2,000-space parking garage underneath the mothership itself. Otherwise, you'll have to wind your way to the south edge of the campus to the above-ground parking garage - a pair of emory board-shaped structures, clad with solar panels and foliage. 13 of the year's best infographics If you take advantage of Apple's shuttle buses from elsewhere in the Bay Area, you'll be dropped off at the 'Corporate Transit Center' on the eastern edge of the site. From there a walkway, flanked by two Apple Store-white staircases, will lead into the mothership itself. This massive donut of a building is the jewel of the campus. Designed by star architect Norman Foster, whose firm's well-known works include the bullet-shaped Gherkin in London and the restored Reichstag in Berlin, the four-story ring will put 13,000 engineers and designers under a single curving roof. It won't be the only place you'll find Apple employees on site - a cluster of buildings tucked away at the southern edge of the campus will be reserved for R&D. But the spaceship is definitely the main attraction, and from what we've heard so far it should be no less cutting-edge than any Apple gadget. In a video Apple presented to Cupertino city officials last month, Stefan Behling, one of the Foster and Partners architects working on the project, summed the building up as 'one of the most environmentally sustainable projects on this scale anywhere in the world.' Twitter founder reveals secret formula for getting rich online The plan is for the facility to run entirely on renewable energy, drawing largely from on-site fuel cell plants and rooftop photovoltaic arrays. Natural ventilation and radiant cooling mean that the spaceship won't need air conditioning for some 70 percent of the year. These green efforts are being overseen by Lisa Jackson, a recent addition to the company. If her name's familiar, there's good reason: Jackson headed the EPA for the Obama administration prior to joining Apple as environmental director earlier this year. The internal arrangement of the office is still something of a mystery, but it's already come in for some skepticism. Some architects have raised doubts about the wisdom of a stubborn circular floor plan at a time where more flexible, reconfigurable workspaces are in vogue. It's worth comparing Apple's new circular home to the other headquarters Jobs had a hand in designing. As Buzzfeed recently reported, Jobs was heavily involved in the layout of Pixar's campus, a 22-acre plot in Emeryville, California, that the studio has occupied since 2000. The best map ever made of America's racial segregation Most notably, Jobs insisted on a huge, central indoor meeting place known today as The Atrium. Looking at the floor plan for Apple's vast headquarters, it's hard to envision a single similar place where Apple's employees will naturally congregate. Still, the company insists that the floor plan is designed to promote collaboration. The inner and outer rims of each floor will be left open as walkways, allowing employees to circulate around the ring. 'At one point in the day you may be in offices on one side of the circle and find yourself on the other side later that day,' Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, told the San Jose Mercury News last month. 'We found that rectangles or squares or long buildings or buildings with more than four stories would inhibit collaboration...We wanted this to be a walkable building, and that's why we eventually settled on a circle.' There's no doubt, though, that it will be a beautiful place to work. The renderings show a headquarters that borrows from the spartan aesthetic of the retail stores (whether or not they'll actually fly iPod Nano banners, as shown in one of the interior scenes, remains to be seen). We're about to lose net neutrality - and the Internet as we know it Employees will enjoy a massive 90,000-square-foot cafeteria carved into a section of the building, from which they'll be able to stroll to the parkland on both the inside and outside of the ring. After that, they can head to the on-site fitness center situated just north of the main building. Earlier this year, Businessweek offered a glimpse into some of the details of the undertaking, noting 'unprecedented' 40-foot floor-to-ceiling panes of concave glass that are being manufactured for the four-story facade. 'There isn't a straight piece of glass in the whole building,' Jobs boasted in his initial presentation. The mammoth structure didn't escape Jobs' fanatical attention to the smallest details, either. According to the Businessweek report, Jobs found the industry-standard 1/8 inch breaks between surfaces too unseemly and demanded that the gaps in his new headquarters be no greater than 1/32 inch across. As Behling, the architect, says in the presentation video, 'This project is pushing the boundaries of technology in almost every aspect.' Bringing California back to Cupertino In the company's own words, the new campus will offer 'a serene environment reflecting Apple's brand values of innovation, ease of use and beauty.' Despite the mothership's sustainable credentials, though, the greenest part of the development isn't even the building itself - it's everything surrounding it. The renderings show something that hardly resembles a corporate campus it all. What it is, really, is a huge park. Apple's proposals describe the future landscape as 'an ecologically rich oak savanna reminiscent of the early Santa Clara Valley.' Norman Foster says that Jobs wanted the campus to evoke the California of his childhood, one he 'still remembered...as the fruit bowl of America.' What it all means is that David Muffly, Apple's Senior Arborist, presumably has his hands full (yes, that's his real job title). This 98-year-old man spent 13 years creating remarkable art in MS Paint Muffly and the other landscape designers on the job have plotted the site down to the very last tree. Inside the main building, not far from a sizable fountain, workers will enjoy a cluster of Apple trees. Over by the entrance to the cafeteria, you'll find rows of cherries, plums, and apricot trees, with persimmons sprinkled just beyond those. More of the same will be found outside the ring, on the other side of the cafeteria, where employees will be able to dine al fresco in an area Apple's calling 'the glade.' A dense perimeter of trees will ring the site, serving as a visual buffer from prying eyes outside. Below the main building, there will be a vast lawn, stretching down to the auditorium and parking decks below. In fact, to make room for this continuous green space, Apple is erasing Pruneridge Avenue off the map entirely (a vestigial nub will remain as an access road for an apartment complex that sits stubbornly next to the site.) At a recent planning presentation with the city, Dan Whisenhunt, Apple's senior director of real estate and facilities, put this dramatic transformation into numbers. Today, the site is 20 percent landscape - the rest covered by buildings and asphalt. By 2016, when the new Apple campus is complete, it will be 80 percent landscape. Currently, the plot has some 4,500 trees; when Apple is done there will be 7,000. The idea, Muffly the arborist says, is to 'bring California back to Cupertino.' An underground auditorium The campus won't be exclusively for the enjoyment of its employees. Every few months, a select group of outsiders will be allowed in to visit a separate structure nestled among the wildlife: Apple's new corporate auditorium. Instead of meeting the press at a venue like the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Tim Cook has said that the intention is to summon reporters to its custom-designed auditorium for all future events. And from the look of things, it will be a nice place to see a product launch. Instead of a reality distortion field, the new 1,000-seat facility sits underneath an actual one, with a grassy runway leading up to the auditorium's glass entryway. Visitors will enter through this stark glass pavilion - it's topped with a saucer-like roof of its own - and descend into a subterranean theater for the main event. These are some of the most otherworldly creatures you'll find on Earth The auditorium's design isn't altogether unlike that of the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City - one that Steve Jobs reportedly sketched himself in its earliest stages. And by all accounts, Jobs was hands-on in the development of the new campus, too. In a presentation video, Foster recalls the genesis of the collaboration, when Jobs called the architect out of the blue one day in 2009. 'Hi Norman, I need some help,' Jobs said, and three weeks later they were meeting in person. 'One of the most memorable things and perhaps vital to the project was Steve saying, 'Don't think of me as a client, think of me as one of your team,'' Foster says. As with so many of Apple's products, the unique blend of vision and precise detail won't come cheap. Earlier this year, the Businessweek report put the project's budget at $5 billion and growing. And again, the wisdom of the design is up for debate: there's no telling if the ringed design floor plan will foster collaboration or stifle it. Still, a stubborn adherence to a singular vision is what gave us trailblazing products like the iPhone and the iPad. Maybe the formula will work for a headquarters, too. As Whisenhunt, the Apple exec, told the Cupertino officials in October, when it comes to the new campus, 'You can be sure that, following Steve's lead, we've used the same care and the same meticulous attention to detail we put into every Apple product.' Subscribe to WIRED magazine for less than $1 an issue and get a FREE GIFT! Click here! Copyright 2011 Wired.com. </div>

Technology New glimpses of Apple's 'spaceship' campus

Apple is planning an expansion of its corporate headquarters on a 176-acre plot in Cupertino, California -- a site that was once home to HP ...

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Rumored To Release Bigger iPad

1:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Rumor has it Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ:AAPL) has even loftier ambitions than they've had in the past. A new report from The Korea Times detailed a purported a larger iPad tablet with a 12.9 inch Retina display which is set to debut next year. This mirrors another rumor from earlier this month which reported Foxconn was testing production of a larger tablet screen. The Wall Street Journal also did a similar report this past summer. <img src="http://ify.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Apple-ipad.jpg" width="600"/> Most notebook makers saw a sales decline in 2013 Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ:AAPL) already offers the iPad in two sizes; adding a third size would give the company a distinctive edge. A larger tablet would be another step to replace laptops and ultrabooks including the company's MacBook lineup. Louis Bedigian for Benzinga pointed out declining MacBook sales as a possible bellwether. Computer shipments declined five percent during June quarter and fell an additional six percent by September quarter. And it's not just Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ:AAPL); most notebook makers saw a sales decline in 2013. The Cupertino-based tech giant is not the only company with big plans for tablets in 2014. Samsung hopes to sell more tablets next year as well as tap into the education market, a segment which Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ:AAPL) currently dominates. One security analyst explained, 'The tablet PC will greatly grow not only in the general consumer market, but also in the B2G market, e.g. electronic textbooks. In terms of market size, it seems that the touch screen panel industry will benefit the most from the expansion of the tablet PC market.' Apple is ready to transform the market once again The notion of tablets and mobile phones eventually replacing laptops is not a new idea. The current sale numbers give that notion even more weight. If the rumors are true that Apple will soon unveil a larger tablet, it could be a sign Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ:AAPL) is ready to transform the market once again. A larger tablet has the possibility of capturing the attention of tech consumers, and give Apple a much-needed leg up to continue its market lead. </div>

Technology Apple Inc. (AAPL) Rumored To Release Bigger iPad

Rumor has it Apple Inc. ( NASDAQ:AAPL) has even loftier ambitions than they've had in the past. A new report from The Korea Times detail...

Logitech PowerShell Turns iPhone Into Game Console: Hands On

1:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://media.bestofmicro.com/S/0/410544/original/Powershell-main.jpg" width="600"/> Playing mobile games with touch-screen controls can be frustrating. More often than not, the on-screen buttons take up valuable display real estate that can hinder the overall gaming experience, especially on the iPhone's smaller, 4-inch display. Logitech hopes to eliminate this issue with its PowerShell Controller + Battery - a combination game controller and external battery for the iPhone 5, 5s and fifth-generation iPod Touch. The 4.2-ounce Logitech PowerShell is among the first iPhone-focused gaming controllers to launch since iOS 7 rolled out in September. Unlike previous versions of Apple's mobile software, iOS 7 comes with support for gaming controllers - a feature that Android has supported for quite some time. The $99.99 Moga ACE Controller is the only other iOS-compatible competitor at the moment. MORE: 10 Best Mobile Games for Hardcore Gamers Logitech tells us that the iOS app store hosts 300 apps with support for hardware controllers, and that number is growing. These apps include 'Lego Lord of the Rings,' ' Dead Trigger' and 'Bastion,' among others, as Pocket Gamer reports. The $99.99 iPhone accessory houses your idevice through a cutout in the middle, and it essentially feels like snapping your phone into a case. That being said, the controller felt surprisingly secure. We turned the controller over so that its backside faced up with the phone inside, and the iPhone didn't budge from its holster. PowerShell controls The PowerShell features a directional pad on the left side of the phone and action buttons on the opposite side. Left and right bumpers can be found along the top of the case, as well, and a pause button sits just below the action buttons. Logitech has included cutouts for the volume buttons and camera, so you won't need to remove your phone to adjust sound or to snap photos. The device is called the PowerShell Controller + Battery for a reason - a switch near the bottom allows you to use the PowerShell as a charger so that you don't drain your phone's battery. The case itself comes with its own 1500mAh battery so that it doesn't need to draw power from your iPhone or iPod Touch. MORE: Xbox One Review During our time with the Logitech PowerShell, we noticed that gameplay felt fluid and responsive. We used the action buttons to create combinations in ' Real Steel World Robot Boxing,' and our character executed our commands seamlessly with no lag. The case was the same when we played the casual classic 'Pac Man.' It was much easier to zip around tight corners using directional buttons than onscreen controls. The PowerShell's buttons sported a smooth, glossy texture similar to that of the Xbox 360 controller's buttons, and the build quality didn't feel cheap. Less joy without the stick However, we were slightly disappointed with the PowerShell's lack of analog control sticks. Using direction buttons is fine for platformers, fighting games and casual gaming, but certain titles such as 'Dead Trigger' would really benefit from controls that allow for panoramic viewing. Still, the PowerShell's minimalistic design makes it sleeker and less bulky than competitors such as the Moga ACE Controller. This means you can easily slip it into your bag, and it probably feels lighter than the Moga ACE while gaming. Overall, the Logitech PowerShell offers a smooth gaming experience, an attractive design and is capable of charging your iPhone on the go. But for $99.99 we'd prefer a controller that includes analog sticks, too. The Logitech PowerShell Controller + Battery is available for preorder via Best Buy and the Apple Online Store beginning today, and Logitech says it will be available through additional retailers in early December. Follow Lisa Eadicicco @LisaEadicicco and on Google Plus. Follow us @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+. <img src="http://media.bestofmicro.com/S/0/410544/original/Powershell-main.jpg" width="600"/> Playing mobile games with touch-screen controls can be frustrating. More often than not, the on-screen buttons take up valuable display real estate that can hinder the overall gaming experience, especially on the iPhone's smaller, 4-inch display. Logitech hopes to eliminate this issue with its PowerShell Controller + Battery - a combination game controller and external battery for the iPhone 5, 5s and fifth-generation iPod Touch. MORE: Xbox One Review</div>

Technology Logitech PowerShell Turns iPhone Into Game Console: Hands On

Playing mobile games with touch-screen controls can be frustrating. More often than not, the on-screen buttons take up valuable display rea...

US carriers reportedly rejected anti

11:07 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net//art/events/Apple_Sep_2013/fingerprint%20sensor%20up%20close-578-80.jpg" width="600"/>Is hardware the only way to get around the latest carrier block? The 1.6 million US smartphone owners who had their handset stolen last year may think that a 'kill switch' feature to disable the phone would be a good deterrent, but carriers reportedly don't agree. Major carriers AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are said to have rejected anti-theft software in Samsung smartphones sold in the US, according to a New York Times report today. The reason? Carriers are more concerned about profiting from the insurance programs bundled with high-end phones, suggested San Francisco's District Attorney George Gascón. 'Corporate profits cannot be allowed to guide decisions that have life-or-death consequences,' Gascón told the Times after reviewing emails between a Samsung executive and a software developer. 'This solution has the potential to safeguard Samsung customers, but these emails suggest the carriers rejected it so they can continue to make money hand over fist on insurance premiums.' A no way from the CTIA The CTIA, the industry trade group that represents wireless carriers, didn't address the accusation that networks are opposed to a kill switch for profits. Instead, it pointed out to the Times its concerns with such an anti-theft feature, like the fact that it could be hijacked by hackers who could use the security measure against officials in the Department of Defense and law enforcement. Alternate solutions brought up by the CTIA included having carriers and law enforcement continue to work on a stolen phone database. 'One of the components of the efforts was to create an integrated database designed to prevent stolen phones from being reactivated,' said the CTIA in a statement sent to TechRadar. A debased database The CTIA acknowledged that this database isn't as far reaching as a 'kill switch' could be, especially outside of the US, but it's confident in solving that problem. 'As more countries and more carriers around the world participate in the database, criminals will have fewer outlets for their stolen devices,' it said in its statement. 'We're pleased the carriers met all of the deadlines so far, and are on track to meet the final one to integrate the 4G/LTE databases by November 30, 2013.' Consumer obligation Still, a lot of the onus seems to fall on consumers, whether it's reporting the phone as stolen or downloading anti-theft apps to begin with. Google's Android Device Manager app, for example, isn't pre-loaded onto its phones and neither is Apple's similarly merely 'suggested' Find My iPhone app. The Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the new iPhone 5S is one hardware solution to this software blockade. However, networks would probably love consumers to pony up for their protection plans like the overpriced AT&T Next and Verizon Edge upgrade programs. </div>

Technology US carriers reportedly rejected anti

Is hardware the only way to get around the latest carrier block? The 1.6 million US smartphone owners who had their handset stolen last year...

Google agrees to $17 million settlement in Safari privacy case

10:37 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/c224a8c7b954f0319d5e4ffdb8a38ebc/google%20logo%20safari%20story.jpg" width="600"/> It's sometimes easy to forget, what with all of Google's various ventures and services, that the search giant's impressive revenue stream comes almost entirely from advertising revenue. To that end, Google has an extremely strong interest in keeping tabs on what users are up to online so that they can serve up targeted ads and keep that money train rolling. Google's zeal in keeping up with user browsing habits backfired when a February 2012 report in the Wall Street Journal detailed how Google was skirting around a private web browsing setting in Safari. The report explained how Google was using specialized code that worked to keep track of a user's web activity even when privacy settings to block such tracking were enabled. The code in question affected both the desktop and mobile versions of Safari. Notably, no other web browsers were affected. With that quick refresher now out of the way, Macworld is reporting that Google yesterday reached a $17 million settlement deal with the District of Columbia and 37 other states over the privacy misstep which Google claimed was more of an accident than anything else. In a press release announcing the settlement deal, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said: Consumers should be able to know whether there are other eyes surfing the web with them. By tracking millions of people without their knowledge, Google violated not only their privacy, but also their trust. In addition to forking over $17 million, Google also agreed to the following terms: Not deploy the type of code used in this case to override a browser's cookie blocking settings without the consumer's consent unless it is necessary to do so in order to detect, prevent or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues. Not misrepresent or omit material information to consumers about how they can use any particular Google product, service, or tool to directly manage how Google serves advertisements to their browsers. Improve the information it gives consumers regarding cookies, their purpose, and how the cookies are managed by consumers using Google's products or services and tools. Maintain systems designed to ensure the expiration of the third-party cookies set on Safari Web browsers while their default settings had been circumvented. Further, Macworld relayed a statement from Google via email about the settlement. It reads: 'We work hard to get privacy right at Google and have taken steps to remove the ad cookies, which collected no personal information, from Apple's browsers.' Lastly, it's worth noting that Google already paid out $22.5 million to the Federal Trade Commission for its little Safari adventure. </div>

Technology Google agrees to $17 million settlement in Safari privacy case

It's sometimes easy to forget, what with all of Google's various ventures and services, that the search giant's impressive reven...

Samsung's offer to install 'kill switch' in its smartphones rejected

10:07 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://cdn.ndtv.com/tech/images/gadgets/samsung-white-635.jpg" width="600"/> Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, has proposed installing a built-in anti-theft measure known as a 'kill switch' that would render stolen or lost phones inoperable, but the nation's biggest carriers have rejected the idea, according to San Francisco's top prosecutor. District Attorney George Gascon said Monday that AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, United States Cellular Corp., Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. rebuffed Samsung's proposal to preload its phones with Absolute LoJack anti-theft software as a standard feature. The wireless industry says a kill switch isn't the answer because it could allow a hacker to disable someone's phone. Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement officials have been demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country. Almost 1 in 3 U.S. robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Lost and stolen mobile devices - mostly smartphones - cost consumers more than $30 billion last year, according to a study cited by Schneiderman in June. Samsung officials told the San Francisco district attorney's office in July that carriers were resisting kill switches, and prosecutors have recently reviewed emails between a senior vice president at Samsung and a software developer about the issue. One email in August said Samsung had pre-installed kill switch software in some smartphones ready for shipment, but carriers ordered their removal as a standard feature. 'These emails suggest that the carriers are rejecting a technological solution so they can continue to shake down their customers for billions of dollars in (theft) insurance premiums,' Gascon said. 'I'm incensed. ... This is a solution that has the potential to end the victimization of their customers.' Samsung said it is cooperating with Gascon, Schneiderman and the carriers on an anti-theft solution but declined to comment specifically about the emails. 'We are working with the leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (SOS) Initiative to incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies,' said Samsung spokeswoman Jessica Redman. 'We will continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners toward our common goal of stopping smartphone theft.' Although the popular Samsung Galaxy smartphones are shipped across the country without LoJack as a standard feature, users can pay a subscription fee for the service. CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers, said it has been working with the FCC, law enforcement agencies and elected officials on a national stolen phone database scheduled to launch Nov. 30. The CTIA says a permanent kill switch has serious risks, including potential vulnerability to hackers who could disable mobile devices and lock out not only individuals' phones but also phones used by entities such as the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies. 'The problem is how to you trigger a kill switch in a secure manner and not be compromised by a third party and be subjected to hacking,' said James Moran, a security adviser with the GSMA, a United Kingdom wireless trade group that has overseen a global stolen mobile phone database and is helping to create the U.S. version. Last year, about 121 million smartphones were sold in the U.S., according to International Data Corp., a Massachusetts-based researcher. About 725 million smartphones were sold worldwide, accounting for $281 billion in sales, IDC said. Samsung Electronics Co., with its popular Galaxy S4 smartphone, shipped 81 million phones - more than the next four manufacturers combined - during the most recent sales quarter for a market share of 31 percent, IDC reported in October. Apple Inc. shipped 34 million iPhones for a market share of 13 percent. ( Also see: Android's smartphone marketshare rises to nearly 80 percent: IDC) In June, Gascon and Schneiderman held a 'Smartphone Summit' in New York City to call on representatives from smartphone makers Apple, Samsung, Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to adopt kill switches that would be free to consumers. That week, Apple said such a feature, an 'activation lock,' would be part of its iOS 7 software that was eventually released this fall. The new activation lock feature is designed to prevent thieves from turning off the Find My iPhone application, which allows owners to track their phone on a map, remotely lock the device and delete its data. The activation lock requires someone to know the user's Apple ID and password to reactivate a phone, even after all the data on the device is erased. In July, prosecutors brought federal and state security experts to San Francisco to test Apple's iPhone 5 with its activation lock and Samsung's Galaxy S4 with LoJack. Treating the phones as if they were stolen, experts tried to circumvent their anti-theft features to evaluate their effectiveness, and that work is continuing. One Silicon Valley technology security expert said he thinks Apple's activation lock is the first kill switch that meets law enforcement's desire to protect iPhone users and other smartphone manufacturers should follow suit. 'Thieves cannot do anything with the device unless they have the user's ID, which they don't,' said Ojas Rege, vice president of strategy at Mobile Iron, a technology software security company in Mountain View, Calif. 'The activation lock addresses this issue without the carriers having to do anything,' Rege said, adding that he does not believe resistance to implementing kill switch technology is fueled by profits. 'That is not the number one priority for manufacturers. They're driven by creating the next great feature for their smartphones,' he said. </div>

Technology Samsung's offer to install 'kill switch' in its smartphones rejected

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, has proposed installing a built-in anti-theft measure known as a &#...

Porsche Macan Chases Land Rover as SUVs Dwarf 911 Demand: Cars

9:52 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Bloomberg News <img src="http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iOYJBgboF0A8.jpg" width="600"/> Starting next year, the chances are that the next Porsche you see will be a sport-utility vehicle. The maker of the iconic 911 sports car is accelerating expansion beyond its traditional niche with the new Macan, which debuts today at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Vying with the Range Rover Evoque for wealthy suburban moms, the compact model will probably become Porsche's best seller by 2015 as SUVs account for a majority of the brand's sales, according to estimates from IHS Automotive. To lure drivers seeking a more practical vehicle, Porsche is outfitting the Macan with features like an electronic trunk hatch and as much as 1,500 liters (53 cubic feet) of cargo space. The model, which goes on sale April 5 in Germany, has a starting price of 57,930 euros ($78,190) for the 340-horsepower Macan S version, 24 percent cheaper than a comparably equipped Porsche Cayenne SUV. 'One doesn't need sports cars to be premium,' said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst with International Strategy & Investment Group in London. 'There will always be the 911, but the growth is happening elsewhere.' The goal is to boost Porsche's total deliveries by 38 percent to more than 200,000 vehicles in the coming years. The Stuttgart, Germany-based carmaker's growth and outsized profits are a key part of parent Volkswagen AG (VOW)'s effort to overtake and Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) as the world's largest carmaker by 2018. 911 Slump The shift into pragmatic vehicles for suburban shopping trips is a reaction to volatile sports-car demand. Sales of the 911, the brand's flagship, tumbled after the financial crunch and have yet to recover to pre-crisis levels, according to figures from industry consultancy IHS. 'Porsche has the potential to move into a somewhat lower-priced segment, but it has to be careful to not overdo it,' said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany. Porsche's expansion will add pressure on Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT)'s Land Rover. The upscale SUV brand, which already competes with the Cayenne, entered the compact SUV market in 2011 with the aggressively styled Evoque, helping to spur record sales. The base version is 34 centimeters shorter than the Macan and starts at 33,400 euros in Germany. SUV demand continues to grow around the world, especially in China where street racers are less popular. In Europe, the Macan is seen as an option for everyday use in crowded streets. Around Town 'I'm waiting for the Macan,' said Andreas Bauer, 50, who runs a heating company outside Frankfurt and owns a Cayenne as well as a 911. 'When my wife drives around town with the kids, the Cayenne is a bit too big.' Together with the Cayenne, which is 16.5 centimeters longer than the Macan, SUVs will account for 64 percent of Porsche sales in two years, while the share of sports cars including the Boxster roadster will drop to 24 percent of the brand's deliveries, according to IHS. Sports cars accounted for the majority of Porsche sales before the introduction of the Panamera coupe in 2009. The growth drive has clear benefits for Volkswagen. Porsche accounted for 22 percent of the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company's 8.56 billion euros in operating profit in the first nine months, even though it sold just 1.6 percent of the group's vehicles. A push for volume will be forgiven if the company stays true to its sports-car heritage. Macan Performance 'As long as it allows them to continue producing the Porsches we really love, it can only be a good thing,' said Ian Fletcher, a London-based analyst with IHS Automotive. Porsche hasn't neglected performance when designing the Macan, whose name stems from an Indonesian term for tiger. The 79,826-euro Turbo variant accelerates to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in as little as 4.6 seconds, beating the base version of the 911 and the top-of-the-line Cayenne Turbo S. Porsche invested 500 million euros to add an assembly line for the Macan at a factory in the eastern German city of Leipzig. The plant has a capacity to make 50,000 cars a year, equivalent to a quarter of the brand's sales goal. Executives shrug off concerns the SUV will water down the carmaker's image. When the Cayenne was introduced in 2002, 'there were calls back then that Porsche was diluting its profile,' said Siegfried Buelow, head of the Leipzig plant, which also makes the Panamera. 'Today, we work three shifts a day and are struggling to keep up with demand.' To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net </div>

Technology Porsche Macan Chases Land Rover as SUVs Dwarf 911 Demand: Cars

Bloomberg News Starting next year, the chances are that the next Porsche you see will be a sport-utility vehicle. The maker of the iconic 91...

Google's New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives

8:39 PM Tukiyooo 0

Technology Google's New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives

The promise of wearable computers is that the devices themselves will go away. They'll melt into the background to deliver data as neede...

Marissa Mayer's grand vision rattled by protesters

8:39 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/h/v/3/n/5/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1384920830745.jpg" width="600"/> A protester shouts as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer speaks in conversation with Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff at the 2013 Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. <cite>Photo: Justin Sullivan </cite> Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer was targeted by protesters during a speech in which she was to articulate the company's grand vision. Just six minutes into a conversation with Salesforce boss Marc Benioff during the Dreamforce annual conference in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon, Mayer and Benioff appeared anything but cosy as a group of protesters rose from their seats and chanted at the Yahoo boss in front of a full house at the Moscone Convention Center. The group was protesting against Mayer's role as a director of controversial American supermarket giant Walmart and the company's labour practices. Mayer has previously turned down requests by Walmart employees to meet and discuss the company's policies. Employees are fighting for improved wages and working conditions. Two thirds of Walmart employees reportedly earn less than $US25,000 per year and 60 workers are currently taking legal action against the company after they were fired or disciplined for taking part in activities that brought attention to Walmart's contentious conditions. After the protesters were removed by security, Benioff said: 'If you want to protest, first go outside. That's number one. Number two, it's also better to split up because less people get arrested... I'm just saying. If I were to do it that is how I would do it.' With the conversation experiencing a touch of reality to the common tech term 'disruption', Mayer said that, like Apple hardware, the design of Yahoo products had been a key consideration since the former Googler took over as CEO but that the company had consciously reinvented itself with a focus on mobile platforms. 'We don't think of ourselves as design first, we think of ourselves as mobile first,' Mayer said. 'When you look at what is happening in the mobile trend overall in the industry, it is clear that it is really large enough that you can ride it to reinvention. 'Yahoo, like many companies, has to constantly reinvent itself and the scary part of reinvention is that it happens fastest with platform shift. Salesforce made a platform shift to the cloud and with Yahoo the platform shift was to mobile. 'If you look at what people do on the phone and set aside voice and text, then it is mail, maps, news, weather, stock quotes, games, share photos - the list goes on and on. 'If you list all those things out you are looking at Yahoo products or something that Yahoo has done from the beginning. So it is a little back to the future.' 'Mobile took a lot of people by surprise. It is really is amazing at how quickly it happened.' </div>

Technology Marissa Mayer's grand vision rattled by protesters

A protester shouts as Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer speaks in conversation with Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff at the 2013 Dreamforce co...

Microsoft's Bill Gates highlights tough requirements for new CEO

8:39 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www.livemint.com/rf/Image-621x414/LiveMint/Period1/2013/11/21/Photos/bill_gates--621x414.jpg" width="600"/> Gates is part of the four-man committee that gave itself a year to find a successor to CEO Steve Ballmer. Photo: AFP Bellevue, Washington: Chairman said on Tuesday he was pleased with Microsoft Corp 's progress in finding a new chief executive but outlined the difficulties in picking the next leader of the world's largest software company as it seeks to reinvent itself as a mobile computing power. Gates is part of the four-man committee that gave itself a year to find a successor to chief executive officer Steve Ballmer after he announced his plan to retire in August. Sources close to the process have said the search is down to a handful of candidates, but the company itself has been largely silent. 'We've been doing a lot of meetings with both internal and external candidates and we're pleased with the progress,' said Gates at Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Washington. 'We're looking at a number of candidates and I'm not going to give a timeline today.' Ballmer said in August he planned to retire within 12 months, and the CEO search committee - headed by lead independent director and former IBM executive John Thompson - tasked itself with finding a replacement by the end of that period. Sources close to the company expect an appointment no later than January. Gates, who in previous years did not address the shareholders' meeting with prepared remarks, went on to describe the challenges of finding the right person to lead Microsoft. 'It's a complex role to fill - a lot of different skills, experience and capabilities that we need,' he said. 'It's a complex global business the new CEO will have to lead. The person has to have a lot of comfort in leading a highly technical organization and have an ability to work with our top technical talent to seize the opportunities.' Gates paused briefly and choked up with emotion after he thanked Ballmer for his work at the company, saying both he and Ballmer have a commitment 'to make sure the next CEO is the right person, for the right time, for the company we both love.' Gates and Ballmer are the only two CEOs in Microsoft's 38-year history. Gates, who co-founded Microsoft with in 1975, then left the stage and sat in the front row of an audience of around 400 people, alongside other members of the board. That was a departure from previous years when he remained onstage and occasionally answered questions. Microsoft has not shed much light on its CEO search, but sources close to the process have told Reuters the company has narrowed its shortlist of candidates to just a handful, including Ford Motor Co chief Alan Mulally and former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, as well as former Skype CEO and internal candidate , now responsible for Microsoft's business development. Microsoft remains highly profitable and last month beat Wall Street's quarterly profit and revenue forecasts. But the company has come under criticism for missing some of the largest technology shifts in the past few years from Internet search to social networking, and and are now at the vanguard of a mobile computing revolution that is eroding its core PC-based business. Microsoft's shares closed down 0.5% at $36.74 on Nasdaq. Reuters </div>

Technology Microsoft's Bill Gates highlights tough requirements for new CEO

Gates is part of the four-man committee that gave itself a year to find a successor to CEO Steve Ballmer. Photo: AFP Bellevue, Washington: C...

Google's New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives

12:37 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The promise of wearable computers is that the devices themselves will go away. They'll melt into the background to deliver data as needed, all without your having to fetch or look it up. Google announced a few new features to its Glass software developers kit on Tuesday that give its face computer a greater ability to both be there and go away. With a few simple third-party apps, the company showed (probably better than ever before) just how Glass will evolve into something that's invisibly integrated into your day-to-day routine. Glass' new GDK - or Glassware development kit - makes it easier for application developers to tap into the hardware, even when its offline, to perform tasks in real time without having to go back and forth to servers in the cloud. It opens new possibilities for developers to build tools that center around either immersive or ongoing tasks (as opposed to, say, simply notifications about things like new email, or the ability to upload a photo and share it online). Immersive tasks will let you dive into an application on Glass, much as you might on a smartphone, giving it your undivided attention - think gaming, for example. An ongoing task is one where you're swapping back and forth between the app and something you're doing - think cooking. Google showed a few new apps from Strava, AllTheCooks, GolfSight, Word Lens, and Spellista meant to demonstrate how developers can now use Glass to deliver immersive experiences, or enhance ongoing ones. Spellista and Word Lens were immersive apps. The former is a simple letter jumble game and honestly it was ho-hum. Word Lens, however, was pretty amazing. It fires up with a simple voice command, 'Okay, Glass, translate this.' Then you can look at a sign written in a foreign language, and the app will automatically translate the text and overlay it on the display. This happens nearly instantly. It was straight out of the future. But the ongoing tasks were probably even more interesting than the immersive ones. Take the new Strava app for Glass. Strava, a tool for tracking bike rides or runs, is immensely popular with cyclists and gaining ground with runners. But it's the type of app that clearly benefits from not having to pull a phone from a pocket or bag to get an update - you don't want to have to pluck it from a pocket while you're in the bike lane on Market Street. The Glass app lets it deliver real-time updates on speed and distance, and deliver ride segment reports simply by letting you look up. It promises to help you be more situationally aware, more in the moment, while still getting data delivered when you want it. Similarly, Golf Sight can let you know where you are on a golf course, how far you are from the green, and what hazards are between you and it without having to dive into a phone. Or take AllTheCooks, which lets you view or record recipes using Glass. One of the other promises Glass has, so far, truly failed to deliver on is the ability to do something else with your hands while still getting data updates from the device. There's been much speculation how Glass may one day be used in the operating room. But AllTheCooks shows how remarkably useful it can be in the kitchen. You can simply play the steps back without taking your attention away from what you're doing. You don't have to worry about greasy fingers on a tablet, or printed page. Meanwhile filming step-by-step instructions without using your hands, promises to be something that all manner of apps will be able to take advantage of. When people have asked me about Glass, I've often tried to explain it by saying, 'it's Google Now for your face,' (a phrase I stole from Metafilter founder Matt Haughey). That's because the Google Now functions -delivering information to you before you ask for it - have been its killer feature, even more than the ability to take photos or videos. The way it can drop an announcement on you based on where and when you are is amazing. But previously I haven't seen third party applications tap into that same functionality. Instead, you get things like breaking news alerts from the New York Times, or notifications about @ replies on Twitter. But that's clearly changing. There's been a huge over-emphasis on what Glass is (aesthetically ugly, of limited utility, socially awkward) rather than what it will be. Today we got a glimpse of the path it's heading on, maybe our best yet. What's coming is a more technologically robust device that will enhance our situational and possibly even social awareness. And just think, one day it might even be stylish enough to wear in public. <img src="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/wp-content/gallery/biopics/mat-honan.jpg" width="600"/> Mat Honan is a senior writer for Wired's Gadget Lab and the co-founder of the Knight-Batten award-winning Longshot magazine. Read more by Mat Honan Follow @mat on Twitter. </div>

Technology Google's New Tools Show How Deep Glass Will Embed in Our Lives

The promise of wearable computers is that the devices themselves will go away. They'll melt into the background to deliver data as neede...

jury set to determine how much Samsung owes Apple

11:06 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/cms/binary/9161200.jpg" width="600"/> SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Silicon Valley jury is set Tuesday to begin deciding behind closed doors how much Samsung Electronics owes Apple for copying key features of the iPhone and iPad. Apple is demanding $380 million. Samsung counters that it only owes $52 million for using features such as 'pinch-to-zoom' in 13 older-generation products. The jury is expected to begin deliberations Tuesday after lawyers deliver their closing arguments and the judge reads instructions. The one week trial was held to determine only damages. An earlier jury found Samsung had infringed Apple's patents in making and selling 26 products and awarded Apple $1.05 billion. But U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled that the jury miscalculated damages for 13 products. The two companies have each won and lost legal skirmishes over the past couple of years, and analysts predict continued litigation for months to come. The current proceedings are somewhat of a warm-up for a much larger trial scheduled for March. That's when Apple's claims that Samsung's newer and current products are also copying the iPhone and iPad will be considered by a jury. Apple's attempts to ban Samsung from selling some of the devices in question got a leg up on Monday. The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. ordered Koh to reconsider Apple's demands that some of the products a jury found infringed Apple's patents be barred for sale in the United States. Koh in December turned down Apple, ruling that the company didn't prove that consumers bought Samsung devices instead of Apple devices because of the infringement. The appeals court told Koh to apply a different legal standard that favours Apple's arguments. The ruling could come into play next year if Apple prevails at trial and seeks another sales ban on the newer products. The two companies are locked in legal battles around the globe for supremacy in the more than $300 billion smartphone market. </div>

Technology jury set to determine how much Samsung owes Apple

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Silicon Valley jury is set Tuesday to begin deciding behind closed doors how much Samsung Electronics owes Apple for co...

iPad Paper App Maker FiftyThree Unveils 'Pencil' Stylus

10:37 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www2.pcmag.com/media/images/408051-fifty-three-paper-pencil.jpg?thumb=y" width="600"/> Artists can now put Pencil to virtual Paper with FiftyThree's new stylus, now available in the U.S. and Canada for $49.95. Dubbed Pencil, the new mobile hardware accessory works just as its name suggests — write, erase, and create directly on your iPad. 'Pencil is the most natural and expressive tool for getting ideas on Paper,' FiftyThree said in a blog post, which called the stylus 'a beautiful blend of advanced technology and artisanal craft.' With features like palm rejection, a built-in eraser, and hands-on blending, Pencil seamlessly connects to the iPad-only app Paper. Users can rest their hand on the screen as they write, draw, and color from any angle without interference. And when they get a little overexcited, the unique built-in eraser makes it easy to start over. The Paper app can determine the difference between the stylus and your finger, allowing for hands-on blending directly on the page. 'On top of the expressive features, we've radically simplified critical details,' FiftyThree boasted, citing Pencil's long-lasting battery, simple Bluetooth connection, and additional tools available for free with Pencil. A full charge of the Pencil should last one month with normal use; owners can remove the rechargeable lithium-polymer battery to charge on any USB port. The sleek stylus connects only to the iPad Air, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad mini, and Retina iPad mini; it is not tuned for the iPad 2. It will, however, work as a non-connected stylus in any other app and on any touch-screen device. Available in two models — the sustainable hardwood Walnut (with iPad Smart Cover-compatible magnetic snap for an added $10) and black-brushed aluminum Graphite — Pencil is now available to purchase online. Orders are expected to ship within two to three weeks; U.S. orders placed before Dec. 6 will arrive before Christmas. Included in the package are the Pencil, a rechargeable battery, an extra tip and an extra eraser. 'It's been a long road to bring Pencil into the world,' FiftyThree said. 'You'll find the same thoughtful attention to detail that you appreciate in our software has been applied in equal measure to every aspect of Pencil.' Paper hit the Apple iTunes Store in March 2012, earning the title of 2012 iPad App of the Year, before maker FiftyThree received a $15 million investor boost in June. Check out the Pencil in action in the video below. </div>

Technology iPad Paper App Maker FiftyThree Unveils 'Pencil' Stylus

Artists can now put Pencil to virtual Paper with FiftyThree's new stylus, now available in the U.S. and Canada for $49.95. Dubbed Pencil...

Xbox One Twitch streaming coming in early 2014

9:51 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>News Twitch streaming on Xbox One is not expected to arrive until the 'first part of 2014,' Microsoft confirmed today. This means Xbox One users will be unable to broadcast live gameplay natively from the console when it launches this Friday, November 22. 'We know the ability to instantly broadcast gameplay is something the gaming community is excited about, and we are too,' Microsoft said. 'We are working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community, so while this feature won't be available right away, we'll let you know as soon as it is ready. The Twitch app on Xbox One will enable Xbox LIVE Gold members to view content from PC and console broadcasters on the Twitch platform. It will even come with its own set of Achievements you can earn by interacting with the app. But unfortunately, it won't be ready at launch. 'Our goal is to deliver it during the first part of 2014,' Microsoft confirmed. Twitch integration with Xbox One was first announced back at E3 2013 in June. It was never said that streaming would be available at launch on the console, but many expected it would be. After all, PlayStation 4 users can already livestream their games to Twitch or UStream using the built-in Share button. They can even watch other PS4 users' streams with the Live From PlayStation app. However, there is no Twitch app that allows a user to watch channels on the PS4 that aren't being already being broadcasted from other PS4 users. While Xbox One owners can't livestream at launch, they can at least easily share their gameplay videos to YouTube easily. Using Xbox One's built-in record feature, users can edit their clips and upload them to the SkyDrive, where they can then choose to upload it to Facebook or YouTube. Currently, PlayStation 4 only supports the ability to upload to Facebook, but there are workarounds to get your clip up on YouTube as well. <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1156408/listing_Xbox_One_editing.JPG" width="600"/> Recording gameplay on your Xbox One is super easy <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1152965/listing_Xbox_One_console.JPG" width="600"/> You can still buy an Xbox One at launch; here's how <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1156373/listing_Xbox_One_Achievement_example.JPG" width="600"/> Xbox One changes the way you'll view Achievements <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1156361/listing_Xbox_One_amazon.JPG" width="600"/> Xbox One takes over Amazon's warehouse <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1156241/listing_Xbox_One_internet_explorer_browsing.JPG" width="600"/> Why Xbox One's Internet Explorer will be the 'best web on TV' <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1152626/listing_xbox_one.jpg" width="600"/> GZ News Update 11/14/13: Free games coming to Xbox One and PS4s are breaking <img src="http://download.gamezone.com/uploads/image/data/1156015/listing_Xbox_One_PS4_size_comparison.JPG" width="600"/> The Xbox One can eat the PS4</div>

Technology Xbox One Twitch streaming coming in early 2014

News Twitch streaming on Xbox One is not expected to arrive until the 'first part of 2014,' Microsoft confirmed today. This means Xb...

Apple releases iOS 7.1 to developers

8:07 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><img src="http://www.theinquirer.net/IMG/807/271807/ios-7-iphone-5-iphone-5c-270x167.png?1380885413" width="600"/> SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Apple has released iOS 7.1 to developers, adding a bunch of minor changes to its mobile operating system. iOS 7.1, build number 11D5099e, is available for registered iOS developers to download from Apple's Developer Center, with a full rollout likely before the end of 2013. Cult of Mac has highlighed all of the main changes in Apple's iOS 7.1, and there's nothing included that is likely to change your life. However, there are some subtle tweaks that might be welcomed by iPhone and iPad users. Among these updates is a new toggle for the 'dark keyboard' in the accessibility settings, allowing users to permanantely switch to Apple's redesigned keyboard layout. iOS 7.1 also brings improved contrasts to the accessibility menu, a switch that darkens the entire interface, adding darker backgrounds to folders, and deepening the background on the dock. A new high dynamic range (HDR) Auto mode is also included in the iOS 7.1 beta, a feature that automatically chooses the best photo from your HDR image, alongside the ability to save Burst Mode images to Photo Stream and a redesigned Flickr logo that matches the overall 'flat' look of iOS 7. Notifications is the final aspect of the software to get a refresh in iOS 7.1, with Apple reportedly making it easier to clear notifications and updating the menu dialog. Beyond that, there's not much to report yet, other than the usual improvements and bug fixes. If speculation is to be believed, iOS 7.1 will arrive on your iPhone or iPad in time for Christmas. Apple has yet to confirm this. µ </div>

Technology Apple releases iOS 7.1 to developers

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Apple has released iOS 7.1 to developers, adding a bunch of minor changes to its mobile operating system. iOS 7.1, build...

Apple releases iOS 7.1 to developers

5:51 AM Tukiyooo 0

Technology Apple releases iOS 7.1 to developers

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Apple has released iOS 7.1 to developers, adding a bunch of minor changes to its mobile operating system. iOS 7.1, build...

Dropbox seeks funding, values firm at $8 billion

3:21 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Summary: According to reports, the file-sharing service is seeking an additional round of investor funding. <img src="http://cdn-static.zdnet.com/i/r/story/70/00/023367/dropboxlogo-v1-200x126.jpg?hash=MzZ5Z2R3Mw&upscale=1" width="600"/> Dropbox is attempting to raise $250 million in funding this year, which would value the firm at $8 billion. The file-sharing service, used to transfer files across the Web through virtual folders, is looking to raise the funds within the next few weeks, according to Bloomberg. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, the publication says that while Dropbox is yet to use up $250 million generated from its previous funding round in Oct 2011, the firm wants additional capital to expand the corporate side of the business. In the consumer realm, Dropbox is a popular method for transferring and sharing files for free. The service is available for free, and there is an option to open a premium account -- depending on how much space you require and what additional features you need. To date, over 200 million accounts have been opened. However, the company wants to gain traction in the business realm. Besieged by rival services including Box and Google Drive, despite Dropbox's rapid growth, consumers may not cut it alone if the firm is going to establish itself and survive long in to the future. Dropbox spokesperson Ana Andreescu told the publication that the firm currently caters for four million businesses. Earlier this month, the company launched a service aimed directly at corporate users, offering features including unlimited space, sync and file sharing, 256-bit AES and SSL encryption, two-step verification, central control and file recovery for $795 a year for 5 users, and $125 per additional user. In a blog post announcing the service, founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi said: 'On one hand, people wanted to access their personal stuff at work; meanwhile, IT admins wanted to keep company data separate and free of personal files. Both needs were real, but people had to choose between two Dropboxes. It'll be like having your house keys and your work keycard on the same keychain.' While much of this will be useful for businesses to keep their data safe and control what users have access to information, obviously the features and pricing are overboard for the consumer space -- and while that side of the business maintains steady growth, the corporate side will need additional technology to cope with demand, as well as a dedicated sales desk and development team. According to the publication's sources, sales have also slowed as Amazon and Google entered the market with their cloud-storage services. Dropbox is not the only Silicon Valley startup hustling for attention and funds. Twitter, even though the microblogging platform is making a loss, was valued at more than $20 billion after its debut, while photo-sharer Pinterest has managed to raise additional funds in an investment round that valued the company at $3.8 billion. According to Reuters, Box is set to go public next year. </div>

Technology Dropbox seeks funding, values firm at $8 billion

Summary: According to reports, the file-sharing service is seeking an additional round of investor funding. Dropbox is attempting to raise ...

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Apple releases iOS 7.1 to developers

Apple releases iOS 7.1 to developers

Dropbox seeks funding, values firm at $8 billion

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