FOXTEL users have reported their Samsung Smart TVs are making the dumb move of randomly inserting ads during movies.
The problem, which has been acknowledged on Foxtel’s website as a
Samsung problem, comes the day after the news media jumped on spying
concerns after the wording of Samsung’s privacy terms made headlines.
BIG BROTHER: Your TV could be spying on you
The
glitch, which has been reported by several people using Foxtel apps
through their Samsung smart TV, is that the TV randomly inserts a Pepsi
ad that displays silently on the screen.
A Foxtel spokesman today
said: “This was an unintentional action by Samsung that we’re working
closely with them to resolve ASAP.”
The problem came to light when Foxtel users began reporting the problem on the Foxtel support website.
Samsung released a statement this morning apologising for the glitch which it blamed on a unintended software update.
“Samsung
Electronics Australia is aware of an issue that has caused some Samsung
Smart TV users to experience program interruption in the form of a
Pepsi advertisement,” the statement said.
“This was a result of an
error that occurred as part of a recent software update that was not
intended for the Australian market.
“We can confirm that the issue
has now been rectified and that there are currently no plans to
introduce this type of advertising in Australia in the near future.
Samsung Electronics Australia would like to apologise for any
inconvenience that this has caused to our customers.”
We’ve had about six months to play with Windows 8 (like it or not) and with the first generation of hardware designed for the new OS. So now, with PCs based on Intel’s Haswell CPU poised on the horizon, it’s time to take stock of the best Windows 8 hardware available today. You may be able to snap one up for a bargain-basement price as the industry clears out inventory in anticipation of second-gen machines.
Our top picks among first-gen Windows 8 devices offer touch capability, along with something deeper: a new take on what it means to be a tablet, a laptop, or a hybrid that lies somewhere in between. As for desktops, members of the latest generation of all-in-ones provide generous screen real estate for both Live Tiles and touch features. We applaud all of the following machines for the way they’ve risen to the Windows 8 challenge.
Windows 8 tablets: The best and the boldest
Yes, the Surface Pro is the best available Windows 8 tablet. Though it’s not quite the iPad killer Microsoft should have created, it’s a huge improvement over Surface RT, thanks to a vastly better display, Ultrabook-caliber components, and a full version of Windows 8 Pro.
Surface Pro can run all of the legacy desktop applications you need for serious productivity—and run them well, outpacing many full-fledged Windows 8 hybrids. And who doesn’t love its smart industrial design? Its VaporMg chassis still inspires us today, offering a level of fit and finish missing from competing tablets.
ROBERT CARDINMicrosoft's Surface Pro tablet remains the best Windows 8 tablet, if not the iPad killer we had hoped for.
It’s no easy feat to pack a full computer into such a small space. But given Microsoft’s vast resources, we’re disappointed that the Surface Pro is so much thicker and chunkier than the new iPad and the Surface RT. Also, its display, though very nice, isn’t Retina-caliber—and is too small for serious work. And finally, Microsoft’s two keyboard options are starting to look worse compared to those that other hybrids offer.
Our other favorite Windows 8 tablet makes no apologies for what it is, and what it costs. The Razer Edge Pro is a Windows 8 gaming tablet built expressly for playing PC games on the go. The tablet’s Core i7 processor and discrete Nvidia graphics allow it to run graphics-intensive games at decent frame rates—and when playtime’s over, the Edge Pro can run legacy desktop applications too. It’s really, really fast.
ROBERT CARDINThe Razer Edge Pro gaming tablet is unapologetically powerful and expensive.
It’s also really, really expensive: $1450 for our test model, not counting the gaming accessories you’ll likely want. Not surprisingly (given the horsepower), it runs a bit hot, and its battery life falls just short of 4 hours. But this tablet isn’t interested in being practical. It just wants to play hard, and that it does.
Hybrids and laptops are merging
Tablets are just a decent keyboard away from being hybrids, and the laptop-shaped machines in this section blur the line we once drew between tablets and portable computers. You can’t knock the versatility of a machine that can fold flat like a tablet, and then unfold for more intensive work, its keyboard willing and waiting. You also can’t expect a hybrid to have quite the power or features of a full-fledged laptop, though many people will find that it comes close enough.
ROBERT CARDINThe HP Envy x2's Atom CPU is no barn burner, but this hybrid’s nice screen and long battery life are pluses.
The HP Envy x2 offers a good-size, 11.6-inch display and a keyboard dock that packs a second battery. The Envy x2 lasts about 8.5 hours when running on its main battery, and the dock’s battery provides almost 5 hours of service beyond that. Another plus: The keyboard’s pretty comfortable to use. Though the tablet’s Intel Atom processor is no barn burner, the device didn’t feel sluggish during normal use. Its brushed-aluminum case will catch envious eyes in the café.
ROBERT CARDINA quick flip of the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13's 360-degree hinge converts the machine from a laptop into a tablet.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is one of the most innovative designs we’ve seen in the first generation of Windows 8 machines. Its 360-degree hinge permits the laptop to fold over itself completely to become a tablet, or even to stand up like a tent for presentations. At 3.4 pounds, the Yoga 3 is less portable than a regular tablet, but its 13-inch, high-resolution (1600-by-900-pixel) touchscreen makes the additional burden worthwhile.
ROBERT CARDINThe Dell Inspiron 15z has a luxurious 15.6-inch touchscreen and scads of features inside its brushed-aluminum chassis.
A full-fledged laptop like the Dell Inspiron 15z offers a more luxurious—though also bigger and heavier—experience, with a 15.6-inch touchscreen display and a gray brushed-aluminum chassis. It includes four USB 3.0 ports and even a DVD+-RW drive. Our test model (equipped with Intel’s 1.7GHz Core i5-3317u CPU) delivered decent performance, and Dell subsequently upgraded the model with faster CPUs. The battery life is the only notable disappointment, at less than 3.5 hours.
Huge touchscreen all-in-ones let Windows 8 spread out
Dell also sells one of the best touchscreen all-in-one PCs we’ve seen, the office-readyOptiPlex 9010. Its 23.6-inch, 1920-by-1080-pixel widescreen provides a very sharp picture, but the coolest part of the design is a double-jointed arm that lets you move the display up and down and slightly forward, as well as tile it in the traditional fashion. It even has a standard VESA mount point so you can hang it on a wall.
DELLDell's office-ready OptiPlex 9010 has a double-jointed display arm that lets you bring the monitor closer to you, for easier touch interaction.
The high-end configuration of our test model included a fast Intel Core i7-3770S CPU and 8GB of DDR3/1600 memory. The system’s integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics managed playable frame rates at lower resolutions.
ROBERT CARDINThe HP Envy 23 has a 23-inch touch display and all the desktop fixings.
The HP Envy 23 TouchSmart is a consumer all-in-one that stuffs a lot into its 23-inch touchscreen design: A third-generation Intel Core i7-3770S processor, 12GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card, and an impressively large 3TB hard drive. Its low-voltage processor reduces its power potential a bit, but the Envy 23 still outperforms other desktops in its class. It comes with a Blu-ray Disc optical drive, built-in Bluetooth 4.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n. The stand, though sleek, can be a bit annoying, since it prevents you from storing any peripherals (such as the keyboard) under the screen.
The best Windows 8 machines are touch-friendly and increasingly versatile
Whatever else you can say about Windows 8, it has changed the way we look at computers and what we want to do with them. You can’t enjoy the full Windows 8 experience without a touchscreen, though nontouch displays remain available in lower-cost models.
Tablets have definitely changed the way we look at laptops, making hybrids an increasingly popular middle-ground choice. We’re looking forward to whatever comes next. Even if a Windows 8 watch seems far-fetched at this point, everything is still on the table.
Big Auto is watching you behind the wheel of that hackable car
A new study of the mobile data and wireless electronic systems proliferating in cars says they present serious security problems as well as potential threats to individual privacy. The report coming Monday from Senator Ed Markey’s office is based on information from 16 car makers, the New York Times says, and looks at not only how wireless systems leave vehicle electronics vulnerable to hacking, but also at the wholesale collection of data on driving history.
ARM puts IoT security center stage with Offspark acquisition
The microprocessor design company that plays a dominant role in the mobile space has bought what it calls the leading security company in the Internet of Things arena. ARM Holdings said Monday it’s buying Dutch company Offspark, developer of the PolarSSL embedded Transport Layer Security technology.
Alibaba funds Chinese phonemaker to support its own mobile OS
Alibaba is investing US$590 million in a small phone maker in China that’s put its hardware behind Alibaba’s YunOS operating system. Meizu is a little-known handset vendor but it has a phone that runs Alibaba’s mobile OS—an Android competitor which the e-commerce giant sees as a platform for popularizing its own Internet services.
Pols want Verizon’s supercookies probed
Three U.S. senators want an investigation into whether Verizon Wireless’ use of so-called supercookies to track the online activities of its subscribers amount to privacy violations. They’re also considering new legislation targeting such tactics. Verizon has said it will let consumers opt out, but privacy advocates favor requiring an opt-in.
Corning has a followup to Gorilla Glass
The developer of the super-tough Gorilla Glass that’s made it less traumatic to accidentally drop your mobile device has an even hardier substance waiting in the wings. Corning Glass told an investor conference that it has a product that’s as drop-resistant as Gorilla Glass, with a scratch-resistance that “approaches” synthetic sapphire, Cnet reported.
Medical fraud worries on the rise with Anthem hack
The breach of U.S. health insurer Anthem that was revealed last week may reflect a trend for hackers to go where the richest information is—and with the move to electronic health records, the spotlight may be on medical targets. Not only do the records frequently have a broad and deep set of personal and credit information, but they also provide the data to enable medical identity theft. Meanwhile, healthcare as an industry is under-invested in cybersecurity relative to other businesses like banks.
Mobile wallets have a trust problem
If mobile wallets and payment apps have been slow to take off, it may be because consumers’ trust in them is eroding, not growing, according to a recent survey of 15,000 mobile users in 15 countries. Not only do many mobile users believe the systems aren’t secure, they are also concerned about having to share too much personal information when enabling an app.
Watch now
DARPA is planning fast, cheap satellite launches: it wants to send orbiters weighing 100 pounds or less into low earth orbit within 24 hours for less than $1 million per launch.
The chipmaker won't contest the record fine as part of the resolution,
and agrees to make several changes to its patent-licensing business in
China.
Qualcomm agreed Monday to pay $975 million to resolve a long-standing
antimonopoly investigation in China, opting to settle the matter and
move on rather than fight the enormous penalty.
The country's
National Development and Reform Commission found that Qualcomm, the
world's biggest smartphone chipmaker, had violated local antitrust laws
in how it runs its patent-licensing business there. Qualcomm said
it won't contest the findings and agreed to start offering certain
communications licenses for use in China at a significant discount than
what it offers elsewhere.
"We're pleased to have concluded this
matter, which we think removes a major uncertainty clouding our
business, and we will now focus on the sizable opportunities in China,"
CEO Steve Mollenkopf said on a call with analysts Monday, though he
added that the company is "disappointed" with the investigation's
results.
Earlier Monday, several news outlets reported that a resolution was coming soon,
with a roughly $1 billion fine expected. The penalty dwarfs just about
every past fine imposed in China, including a nearly $500 million
bribery fine on British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in
September.
The resolution should bring some measure of stability
-- albeit at a high price -- for Qualcomm, with investors relieved the
investigation will be behind the company. The NDRC spent the past 14
months looking into Qualcomm's business in China, the biggest smartphone
market in the world by users and the country where the company
generates half its revenue. Additionally, Qualcomm should be able to pay
the fine without much pain, thanks to its total cash and marketable
securities of $31.6 billion, as of December.
Shares rose 2.5 percent after-hours to $68.80, after rising about 1 percent during regular trading Monday.
The huge fine may serve as a cautionary tale for some foreign
companies looking to take advantage of China's massive consumer market,
but are worried about the country's strict and sometimes opaque
government oversight. Qualcomm, based in San Diego, Calif., has been one
of the highest-profile targets of China's 2008 antimonopoly laws, but
several other major companies, including Microsoft and Daimler, are
facing similar investigations. These antitrust laws have been criticized
by some businesses for being used unfairly against foreign companies
there.
Qualcomm has for years been the top dog in mobile chips,
providing the processors or radio chips, or both, inside most major
smartphones, including Apple's iPhone, Samsung's Galaxy line, and some
of Chinese handset maker Xiaomi's phones. That dominance in mobile may
have ultimately made it a target for competition agencies, including
China's NDRC. Along with Chinese regulators, European and US officials
are also looking into Qualcomm's business practices.
The end of
the China probe should allow Qualcomm to refocus on fighting
fast-growing competitors in China, such as MediaTek and Spreadtrum.
Also, the resolution lifts a cloud over Qualcomm's lucrative licensing
business. Qualcomm makes its revenue both by selling chipsets to
manufacturers, and taking in royalties for its patents through its
licensing segment. The licensing unit provides about a third of revenue
but two-thirds of profit for the company.
A security investigation finds that nearly 100 percent of new cars on
the market today may be vulnerable to security and privacy violations,
and automakers have done little to plug the holes.
With smarter cars comes improved safety, better performance and all
the benefits of a smartphone baked into your dashboard. Yet automakers
have been slow to recognize how hackers can take advantage of
on-the-road computers or how best to protect our privacy, according to a
new report.
The report, released Monday by Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.),
detailed lax cybersecurity that opens vehicles to potential hacking and
drivers to privacy breaches as automakers collect more data on our
driving habits.
Markey's office sent a lengthy questionnaire to 20
automakers more than a year ago to compile the report, and 16
responded. The survey found that a majority of automakers questioned
were unaware of or failed to report past hacking incidents. Only two of
the companies said they had systems in place to fend off hacking attacks
in real-time and only two confirmed they could remotely slow down or
stop a vehicle under the control of a hacker.
The findings were released following a "60 Minutes" segment on Sunday
detailing how the US government's Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency, or DARPA, was able to hack General Motors' OnStar system to
remote control a Chevrolet Impala, including its brake and acceleration
systems.
Almost every new car
on the market today have some type of network capacity such as Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth or cellular connectivity that could "pose vulnerabilities to
hacking or privacy intrusions," the report warned.
Although nearly every car maker is adding
sophisticated technology, there are no standards governing how
automakers secure vehicles' wireless networks, respond to threats and
handle confidential driver data. While security experts have long
recognized the vulnerability of these systems, it's now starting to get
legislative attention.
"These findings reveal that there is a
clear lack of appropriate security measures to protect drivers against
hackers who may be able to take control of a vehicle or against those
who may wish to collect and use personal driver information," the report
reads.
Markey's report detailed how, as opposed to past hacking
demonstrations, hackers no longer need a direct connection to the
vehicle to take over its systems. DARPA demonstrated how malware from
Bluetooth-connected smartphones and security holes in onboard software,
like OnStar, provide numerous avenues to take control remotely. Because
examples of hacks happening to everyday drivers remain largely
undocumented, the report added, automakers are not taking them
seriously.
"That stuff is very straightforward to protect against,
but until you get hacked, you don't do anything about it," said Scott
McGregor, the CEO of chipmaker Broadcom, which is partnered with
automakers like Hyundai and BMW to wire their cars with Internet
connectivity.
Beyond the more malicious threat of a hacker gaining
control of your steering wheel or gas pedal, automakers are constantly
gathering information about drivers, including locations traveled to and
how long the car remains parked. Companies then store that data with
little protection, sometimes even in third-party data centers whose own
security may not have proper safeguards. The report said automakers
rarely inform consumers about the information they've collected.
The report also found that automakers collectively have no consistent
policy on how long to store data and what exactly it can be used it for.
Few companies inform drivers of this data collection or have effective
opt-out policies that do not disable key features like navigation.
The
report concluded: "The alarmingly inconsistent and incomplete state of
industry security and privacy practices ... raises a need for the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in consultation with the
Federal Trade Commission on privacy issues, to promulgate new standards
that will protect the data, security and privacy of drivers in the
modern age of increasingly connected vehicles."
Microsoft says the companies have settled a contract dispute over
Android patent-licensing but offers no specifics about the terms.
Microsoft and Samsung have settled their contract dispute over Android patent-licensing, according to a brief statement issued Monday by Microsoft.
Microsoft officials declined to qualify or comment in any way on the settlement terms. Microsoft filed an Android patent-royalty suit against Samsung
on August 1. Microsoft claimed there was a breach of contract by
Samsung involving Android patent royalties, following reported "months"
of attempts between the two companies to resolve their issues.
The
contract in question was the September 2011 multi-year IP agreement
Samsung signed with Microsoft via which Samsung has been paying
Microsoft per-device royalties for its Android phones. Under that 2011
agreement, Samsung and Microsoft agreed to cross-license their intellectual property, with Samsung paying Microsoft an undisclosed amount for each Android-based phone and tablet it sold.
I know nothing about wine other than reds give me an unfairly severe
hangover if I drink more than two glasses of it. Thus, I tend to shy
away from wine except for holiday dinners and special occasions. For
Valentine's Day, particularly one that allows me to recuperate on a
Sunday, I will look for a good bottle of red for my wife and I to drink
with dinner.
Since I don't buy wine with regularity, I am quickly
overwhelmed by the selection of wines at my local wine store or by any
wine list at a restaurant. Armed with a wine app however, I have become a
more confident wine buyer.
Vivino Wine Scanner
I will
never walk into a wine store without this app. There are a number of
apps that let you scan a wine label to get information about the wine,
but I found the Vivino Wine Scanner app provides the most useful
information.
After you take a photo of a label, it gives you an
average rating and price so you know if you are holding a good wine and a
good price. You can also scan the text of a wine list should you find
yourself clueless in a restaurant. In addition to rating and price,
Vivino provides notes about the type of grape used in the wine, info
about the winery which made the wine and a variety of additional
rankings that rank the wine within its winery, region, country and
world. You can read reviews from other Vivino users and add your own,
but what I find fun and interesting are the winemaker's notes (as in,
"notes of toffee, cherry, fig, chocolate"), vintage comparison (how it
stacks up to other years), and food pairing suggestions (beef, lamb,
spicy food).
The wines you scan are saved to a My Wines list
and will eventually build a taste profile for you. You can also build a
feed, where you can follow friends who use the app as well as wine
enthusiasts and pros. The app also lists nearby places that sell wine,
showing you how many different wines are offered at each store and
restaurant. Lastly, there is a Top Lists section that features lists
such as "Best wines under $20 right now" and "Five wines from the
world's smallest wine country."
Vivino Wine Scanner is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
Wine Spectator WineRatings+
If
I ever begin to amass a wine cellar's worth of wine, the WineRatings+
app from Wine Spectator magazine will prove useful. As it stands right
now, it offers useful how-to articles and videos along with interesting
vintage charts. These two items are free, along with a news feed of
wine-related news articles. If you sign up for the monthly subscription
($2.99, £2.29, AU$3.79), you'll also get Wine Spectator's ratings and
reviews.
Of the free content, I like perusing the vintage charts
to see if the bottle I'm considering buying is from a good year for that
particular region and grape. Since I'm a wine novice, I found a number
of the how-to articles and videos to be illuminating, particularly those
on how to pair wine and food.
Wine Spectator WineRatings+ is available for iOS and Android.
Delectable
Delectable
provides the same ability to scan wine labels as Vivino, and while it
provides far less information than Vivino about the wines you scan, it
does something Vivino can't. With Delectable you can buy wines for
delivery through the app, whereas Vivino only shows you places nearby
that sell wine. Wine delivery is certainly convenient, and it appears as
though orders of four or more bottles ship for free.
Delectable
saves your scans and lets you add a comment and rating along with useful
info like where you enjoyed a certain wine and with whom. You can share
your wine thoughts via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and you can
also recommend wines to a friend via text. Also like Vivino, Delectable
lets you build a feed of friends, winemakers, sommeliers and critics.
Microsoft is busy prepping its upcoming Window 10 Technical Preview
for smartphones. But which phones will get the preview, and which ones
will receive all the features of the new OS, is a key question.
In a series of tweets posted Sunday, Joe Belfiore, vice president for
Microsoft's Operating Systems Group, laid out the plans for the rollout
of the Windows 10 Technical Preview for Windows handsets.
The first tweet aimed to allay some anxieties: "Hey all: we ARE working on Win10 for 512MB, including 520. Our ambition is to make #Win10 available for these devices but features may vary, including 520."
Several Lumia phones, which Microsoft now sells courtesy of its buyout of Nokia's handset division,
come with only half a gigabyte of memory. Those phones include the
Lumia 520, Lumia 630, Lumia 625 and Lumia 530. Many owners of these and
other phones with only 512MB of RAM have complained in the past that
certain Windows Phone apps and features require more memory and
therefore won't run on their devices. Belfiore's tweet implies that the
same limitation may hold true for Windows 10, which may fuel more
complaints from users of affected devices.
Windows 10 is a next
leap forward for a marquee operating system that has long been a
mainstay of desktop computing, but that seemed to lose its way with the
last big version, Windows 8. At the same time, Microsoft's efforts to
attract consumers to its mobile OS have largely gone unheeded -- in
2014, Windows Phone hovered at about 3 percent of the worldwide market for smartphones, far behind Apple's iOS and market leader Android.
Now, with the upcoming Windows 10, Microsoft will drop the Windows Phone distinction altogether, aiming to make clear that all Windows-powered devices, from phones and tablets
to desktops and laptops, will run on a single platform. At its big
coming-out party for Windows 10 on January 21, Microsoft said it plans
to have a version of the operating system tailored for devices with
screen sizes below 8 inches.
What has yet to be fully set out is when exactly everything will fall into place.
On Sunday, a second tweet
from Belfiore said: "Timing for various phones may be variable as well.
When we first launch insider program, it'll be a subset of phones with
more coming latr." He didn't indicate which subset of phones would be
first on the list. But considering the issues with 512MB phones, the
first batch that qualify could be those equipped with more RAM.
In a third tweet, Belfiore promised that the first build of Windows 10 for phones is still slated for this month:
"Also, we're on track for Insider build coming 'in Feb' as Terry said
at our 1/21 event. We need to complete internal testing 1st, hang in!"
Microsoft naturally wants to eliminate as many bugs as possible before
it rolls out the technical preview. Many Microsoft insiders who were
supposed to test Windows 10 build 12492 on their phones last week weren't even able to upgrade their devices,
a source at Microsoft revealed to Neowin. Those kinds of bugs are
obviously best discovered by Microsoft employees rather than the large
number of users who'll be playing with the Technical Preview.
The Windows 10 Technical Preview has already been available for PCs and
tablets, giving people the ability to check out the new OS. Microsoft's
goal with Windows 10 is to provide more consistency across PCs, tablets
and mobile phones as one way to increase customer interest and demand
for all three types of devices.
LG is teaming up with Google to try bringing virtual reality to the masses.
The
South Korean electronics company said Monday that it'll soon kick off a
new promotion that offers a virtual-reality headset -- the VR for G3 --
for free for new buyers of its G3 flagship smartphone. The headset,
which is based on Google's Cardboard device, uses the G3 as the screen,
allowing owners to use it for VR apps and games downloaded from the
Google Play store.
"This is just the beginning of the virtual
reality movement, which until recently was expensive and inaccessible to
everyday consumers," Chris Yie, an LG marketing executive, said in a
statement.
The new headset is a way for LG to answer its long-time
South Korean rival, Samsung, with a similar but no-cost virtual-reality
product. The VR for G3 follows the lead of Samsung's Gear VR, released in December, which uses the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as the display and can cost several hundred dollars ($310 on Amazon).
Also, both Samsung and LG are looking for ways to build up smartphone
sales, which have been slowing in mature markets, and could be using
their VR headsets to do just that.
The LG headset could be an early sign of how
competition and cooperation will shape up in the world of mobile virtual
reality -- Samsung aligning with Facebook's VR-goggle maker Oculus on
the Gear VR, and LG working with Google.
Both headsets are just
one part of a growing list of virtual-reality and augmented-reality
products being created, as tech firms work to add new technologies into
those previously unrealized markets. The intent of virtual reality is to
provide an immersive experience for gaming or other applications, while
augmented reality offers an overlay of the real world to provide extra
information for the user.
Google has been a major player in AR and VR lately, last year unveiling the cheap, do-it-yourself virtual reality kit called Cardboard,
which it has continued to develop with additional features and apps.
Google's Glass wearable headset project has faced a a bumpier start,
with government officials asking about privacy issues and Google
eventually taking the product off the market, at least temporarily.
Microsoft became the latest giant tech firm to jump into augmented
reality, announcing last month it's working on a headset called HoloLens.
The VR for G3 promotion will roll out this month in certain markets. Buyers of the LG G3 can also download a free VR game, "Robobliteration," using an in-box code.
Microsoft (MSFT) Monday filed plans to sell a massive amount of debt, the latest in borrowing by rich tech companies.
The computing giant is negotiating with potential buyers of $10.75
billion in debt with maturities ranging from five to 40 years, says
Richard Lane of Moody’s Investors Service. Demand is strong as the
rating agency Standard & Poor’s as reaffirmed Microsoft’s pristine
AAA-credit rating and the deal size could grow, says Reuters. Microsoft
is one of just three companies with the perfect AAA credit rating.
Microsoft’s bond offering follows another from tech giant Apple, which sold $6.5 billion in debt
last week. These tech companies are using debt to deal with a tax
problem. Both Microsoft and Apple have huge cash piles of cash sitting
overseas. U.S. investors want the cash back, in the form of stock
buybacks and dividends. But if these companies bring overseas cash to
U.S. shores, a tax bill could be due.
So rather than bringing cash to the U.S., these companies can avail
themselves of the super-low interest rates and borrow. Those borrowed
funds can be used to fund share buybacks and dividends – without
triggering a tax event.
Microsoft has bold plans to return cash to investors – even as a
great deal is stored overseas, according to a report from Moody’s
Investors Service to clients. The computer company plans to finish the
rest of its $31 billion share buyback by the end of December 2016.
Microsoft is certainly not hurting for cash. The company ended 2014
with cash and investments of $102 billion – making it one of the most
well-funded companies in the world. Before the current offering,
Microsoft was carrying $18.2 billion in long-term debt, which is up 52%
from two years ago, says S&P Capital IQ.
The trouble is only $8.1 billion is “reported to be maintained
domestically,” Moody’s says. And about half of Microsoft’s expected $36
billion in cash from operations over the next year will come from
foreign sources, Moody’s says.
S&P said is doesn’t plan to downgrade Microsoft due to the latest
debt offering. Our ‘AAA’ corporate credit rating and stable outlook on
Microsoft remain unchanged,” according to an S&P statement to
investors. “The corporate credit rating incorporates our assumption that
Microsoft will maintain a “minimal” financial risk profile assessment,
with adjusted leverage below 0.5x.”
Moody’s, too, doesn’t expect any change to the company’s rating over
the next 12 to 18 months. Much further in the future that could change
if the company continues to use debt to return cash to stockholders.
Microsoft’s stock price rose 22 cents, or 0.5%, to $42.63.
Peter Pham was furious.
An alleged hate
crime had taken place in Manhattan Beach, California, a Los Angeles
suburb six blocks from his home, and he wanted to do something to help,
quick.
Pham, the co-founder of Santa Monica based incubator Science, Inc.
(Dollar Shave Club, Dog Vacay) was in San Francisco at the time,
raising money for one of his startups, and the only tool at his disposal
was his Samsung Galaxy Note 3 smartphone.
So he started working it, sending out tweets on Twitter and using the Nextdoor neighborhood website to broadcast to locals.
Pham
helped organize a weekend candlelight vigil attended by 500 people and
has raised over $27,000 as a reward to catch the person who committed
the crime, from 268 individual donors.
"These are amazing times we live in," notes Pham. "Being able to do all of this via a cell phone."
It
started early Thursday when a 2:15 a.m. fire erupted at Pham's
neighbors home, an African-American family. Police suspect it was a hate
crime.
Pham is a heavy user of Nextdoor as a
digital neighborhood watch service. In Manhattan Beach, a city of
35,000, some 8,000 locals are on Nextdoor.
NextDoor calls itself "the private social network for neighborhoods," and acts as a replacement for local posters on signposts.
The
site suggests being used to get the word out about break-ins, ask for
help finding a lost dog or simply ask for recommendations on reliable
housepainters or babysitters. It's Yelp for hyper-local services and
events.
Pham likes Nextdoor as a way "to get to know
my neighbors a little better," find good local services, and better
yet--go beyond police alerts to get neighbors mobilized.
He subscribes to police alerts via the Nixle
service, which simply reported the fire and noted dryly that there was
something suspicious about it. Pham did some research, and found out
what happened. A tire doused with gasoline was thrown on the doorstep in
the middle of the night as the family and their three children were
sleeping.
"You couldn't get that in a police alert," he says. "This is where Nextdoor really helps."
Through Nextdoor, Pham let people know the details of the story, and folks got into action, using the site to contact local media and get the word out--which they hoped would help the police find the perpetrator. The area TV stations responded quickly.
On Twitter, Pham said he wanted to raise money for a reward to catch the man or woman who did it--and he was turned onto Fundly,
a San Francisco crowdfunder which charges 4.9% flat fee for using its
services. He could have chosen other, more well-established brands like
Kickstarter or fundanything, but a friend recommended Fundly, and he
found he could set it up on his phone within minutes, so he was sold.
In two days, he brought in $27,000, with links generated on Nextdoor and Twitter.
The transportation revolution isn't some elusive vision on the horizon. It has already begun, and we have smartphones to thank.
From
Tesla to Uber, the most exciting innovations in automobile
transportation are all arriving in the form of streamlined user
experiences. But thus far the major breakthroughs have been squarely in
the world of cars. What about, say, scooters?
If you live in
suburban America, driving a scooter probably makes about as much sense
as riding a horse to work. But in large cities around the world,
scooters are an enormously popular and effective means of
transportation. The problem is, they're heavy polluters.
The
Gogoro Smartscooter is an ingenious solution to that problem, as well
as the frustrating patchwork of existing EV charging networks.
Instead
of relying on third-party charging stations, Gogoro plans to launch a
battery-swapping network that will allow users to roll up, grab a new
battery (installation takes just six seconds), and deposit their old
one, which then gets charged for the next person.
The company is
partnering with Panasonic to get the job done, and its design involves a
twin-battery system that provides enough power for 62 miles of travel
and a top speed of 60 mph.
The biggest benefit of this system is
the total lack of greenhouse emissions—a feature that could drastically
alter the energy infrastructure of urban transit systems. Horace Luke,
co-founder and CEO of Gogoro, sees the Smartscooter and EVs like it as
an imperative for coming generations.
"It
is essential that we reimagine the energy infrastructure and create a
renewed mindset for change in tomorrow's urban generation," he said at
the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the Smartscooter was
unveiled.
"The Smartscooter and Gogoro Energy Network will capture
the hearts of the next generation and become a catalyst for more
efficient, cleaner, and smarter energy choices in our cities."
A
zero-emission battery-swapping system is clever, but the scooter's smart
infrastructure is equally impressive. The scooter itself features 55
sensors, cloud connectivity, an integrated app, and Bluetooth and NFC
connectivity.
The Gogoro App, which syncs with the scooter via
Bluetooth, locates "GoStations" throughout your city. You can also use
it to reserve batteries and track ride details like top speed and range.
One
of the coolest features, simply called "Smart Mode," uses data gathered
on your individual riding pattern and style to optimize your power
consumption. For example, it might dim the lights to ensure your battery
lasts long enough to get you home.
Gogoro hasn't skimped on
hardware, either. The Smartscooter features an ultra-lightweight
aluminum chassis, high-performance race suspension, an aerodynamic
frame, hybrid racing tires, and a motor controller with digital
processing.
That's pretty impressive, but if you're looking for
speed and power, the Gogoro's 8.58 horsepower and 60 mph max speed are
no match for what larger electric motorcycles can do. Harley-Davidson's
LiveWire electric motorcycle, for example, boasts 74 HP and a top speed
of 95 mph. But the Smartscooter is about efficiency above all else.
It's
fair to remain skeptical that a company like Gogoro can pull all of
this off. After all, you can't currently buy a Smartscooter, and the
Energy Network is still in the planning stages. But the company does
have a generous funding base.
When Gogoro first launched in 2011,
it secured $50 million in Series A funding from a number of important
Asian investors. The company is currently involved in a $100 million
round of funding to bolster its planned 2015 rollout.
Gogoro has
yet to announce where it plans to launch its first Energy Network. But
given the popularity of scooters in Europe and the company's funding
base in Asia, you can probably expect the U.S. to be far down the list.
VENICE BEACH, Calif. - Every day we're being asked to post our phone
numbers on websites that are viewable to the public, whether that be for
job resumes, Craigslist ads or dating sites.
Greg Cohn has
the solution for those who might not like the idea of putting those 10
digits out there to the larger community: use a fake number.
He's the co-founder of Burner,
the app that describes itself as a "privacy layer" for your phone. Cohn
was my guest recently on the audio edition of #TalkingTech, where we
spoke about how apps like Burner can be one of many steps used to
protect your online identity.
In the wake of recent attacks against Anthem health insurance,
Home Depot, Target and others, "a lot of our data is out there in the
world, and it's vulnerable," says Cohn. Folks need to be "aware of what
information they're giving out." Like your social security and phone
number.
Because so many of us have ditched the
landlines, and live now on our cellphones, "we're all consolidated
around this one device," says Cohn. "Now everybody is calling us and
texting us here all the time, and we need ways to partition that a bit."
Consider Burner as that other number you give out when you don't want to hand out your real one--or be connected forever.
Hence the name "burn." When you're ready, you can "burn" the number and get a new one.
Burner
is a free download for Apple and Android devices, and gives you a free
phone number to use for a week. That new number can be forwarded to your
main number and be set up with voicemail as well.
Burner
competes with Google Voice, which offers a secondary phone number for
free, and the Line 2 app, which charges $9.99 monthly for a second
number.
The costs are incredibly confusing, and
based on paying for credits that will give you more time to use the
phone. They start at $1.99 for 3 credits, which will get you 20 minutes
of talk time over 7 days.
If
you prefer your vacations with a minimum of human interaction, you might
try a hotel that's opening in Japan this summer. The Henn-na Hotel's
human staff will number just 10, but that doesn't mean you won't get
speedy service: Robots will be ready to help you with everything from
reception to cleaning to carrying your bags, the Telegraph
reports. Developed at Osaka University, the eerily human-like robots
are known as actroids. Most look like young Japanese women. They can
speak several languages and move their eyes to correspond with yours—a
feature that could be pretty disturbing, LiveScience notes, and indeed, the hotel's name means "strange hotel."
The
hotel will be located in the Huis Ten Bosch theme park near Nagasaki.
Rooms will start at $60 a night; robots don't generally ask to be paid,
and that will help reduce the hotel's costs, SlashGear
reports. The goal, says a Huis Ten Bosch rep, is a "smart hotel,"
complete with facial-recognition door locks. "We will make the most
efficient hotel in the world,” company president Hideo Sawada says, per
the Japan Times.
“In the future, we’d like to have more than 90% of hotel services
operated by robots.” (Maybe you'll even be able to get a ride there from a robot.)
You know Mark Zuckerberg, and if you've seen The Social Network, you're familiar with Eduardo Saverin. Then there's Dustin Moskovitz, as well as Chris Hughes, owner of the New Republic. But the fifth figure in the birth of Facebook isn't listed on its founders page, even if Wikipedia calls him a co-founder."I try to fly sort of below the radar intentionally," Andrew McCollum tells Mashable.
At Harvard, Zuckerberg enlisted McCollum to help with the site's
appearance, he says. (As a computer science major not a graphic
designer, he initially protested. "There's no one else to do it. You
just have to figure it out," is what he says Zuckerberg told him.) He
was responsible for what was once the face of Facebook, a picture of a
young man peppered with binary code. He went on to be responsible for a
lot more, working in the team's first California headquarters. But in
2005, McCollum decided it was time to go back to college.
Philo, as CEO. It's a streaming TV service which, like Facebook, was founded by Harvard students. According to its site,
it's "now the only way to watch TV at Harvard," and it exists at other
colleges across the country; indeed, its target audience of students is
something else it shares with the early Facebook. "One of the major
things I bring to the company is the understanding of how to build
products that appeal to this market," McCollum told Boston Business Journal in December.
"I
did Facebook as a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it was amazing," the
31-year-old says. But "I also viewed finishing school as an important
experience that I wanted to have. I knew if I didn't leave when I did,
it was not going to happen." Since then, he's stayed largely away from
the media, Mashable reports. But he recently joined a four-year-old
Boston-area company,
Getting ahead of the announcement cycle at CP+, Olympus took the wraps off a brand-spankin' new OM-D E-M5 Mark II among other things. With a slew of improvements and brand new screen, the new E-M5 gives Micro Four Thirds users a lot to talk about.
Olympus fans will be happy to know that the Micro Four Thirds camera
body is dustproof, splashproof, and retains much of the same stylings
that made the E-M5 so appealing to camera enthusiasts. The improvements
include better-feeling buttons, a new 5-axis in-body image stabilization
system, as well as WiFi.
The O-MD E-M5 Mark II can use its stabilization system to stack multiple shots at once to create a 40-megapixel image.
We had some hands-on time with a prototype of the E-M5 Mark II at CES
2015. While the updates are subtle, the sum total is a fantastic
addition to the Micro Four Thirds family and a camera that handles
significantly better than its predecessor.
The new OM-D E-M5 Mark II is built around a special 16-megapixel
sensor backed up by a TruePic VII processor that can use its
stabilization system to stack multiple shots at once to create a
40-megapixel image.
The E-M5 Mark II looks dashing in silver.
To do this, it uses its voice-coil motor to move the sensor around in
half-pixel increments in eight sequential shots to capture the
information, then combines it to create an enormous picture. It must be
done on a tripod, but the printed samples we've seen boasted incredible
detail on par with medium format cameras.
On the outside, Olympus gifted the E-M5 Mark II with an articulating
1.04m-dot LCD with capacitive touchscreen. This is great for
videographers, as well as grabbing that tough-to-reach shot.
Additionally, it makes a great partner with focus-peaking—as you can
easily get the shot you want, even in manual. For those preferring a
viewfinder, the E-M5 Mark II also sports a 2.36m-dot electronic
viewfinder.
An articulating screen means much easier shooting at extremes.
Speed freaks will appreciate the ample buffer and fast shutter. The
new E-M5 Mark II offers a mechanical shutter for speeds up to 1/8000th of a second, and an electronic shutter that can capture photos at 1/16000th
of a second. You can also rip off a bunch of shots while shooting in
RAW—Olympus claims you can take up to 10fps using S-AF, and 5fps using
continuous AF.
If you need your system camera to shoot video, Olympus has you
covered. The new E-M5 Mark II shoots 1080p video at 60 frames per
second, with a bitrate up to 77Mbps. Pros will appreciate the mic jack,
and focus peaking offered by the camera body.
A true Micro Four Thirds workhorse, the E-M5 Mark II has a killer list of features.
Users looking for a bit more to latch onto will probably want to
check out Olympus' grip options for the E-M5 Mark II. In particular, you
could pick up the external metal grip, or you could mix and match
options from the non-powered grips and battery holder for more serious
shooting.
If you end up grabbing the HLD-8G non-powered grip, you'll also gain a
headphone jack useful for realtime levels monitoring in video. This
also lets you swap the battery in and out, though if you have an
existing E-M5 grip you'll also be able to use that.
Pricing has been set at $1,099.99 body-only in black or silver, and the camera will hit shelves in late February 2015.
For those interested, pricing has been set at $1,099.99 body-only in
black or silver, and the camera will hit shelves in late February 2015.
As of now there are no official kits being announced, though that may
change at a later time.
We'll be at CP+ in full force next week, bringing you all the latest
news, video and hands-on impressions right from the Pacifico Yokohama.
Check back next week for more on the OM-D E-M5 Mark II.
On a screen in front of 80-plus onlookers Thursday, an undeveloped
green field in south St. Cloud morphed into a new Technical High School
campus.
The onlookers were the St. Cloud school district's high school task force.
The
group held it latest workshop on the high school issue — this one
focused on the site named by the St. Cloud school board as its preferred
location for a new Technical High School. Upgrades to Apollo High
School also were discussed.
The task force coalesced behind a
concept that puts the new Tech High School on the north edge of the
site, located near 33rd Street South and Stearns County Road 74.
Athletic fields and parking would be to the south.
Students,
faculty and visitors would enter the building through an administrative
checkpoint and into a central commons area. Gyms, locker rooms and a
pool would be to the right and an auditorium to the left. Classrooms and
other learning spaces would be beyond the commons, facing a tract of
oak woodlands.
The concept is tentative and includes only bare-bones details about the high school building.
But it's the first public glimpse of how a new high school might take shape in south St. Cloud.
"To actually see it on the physical site ... that's what's exciting," task force member Joy Ottem said.
The
sprawling, 102-acre high school site provides plenty of layout options,
architects told the task force. Matt Glaesman, community development
director for the city of the St. Cloud, said the site could accommodate
500 homes.
"You have a lot of land to play with," Glaesman told the task force.
Most of the site is an open field. But it also includes a trout stream, Neenah Creek, and wetlands and woods.
Access
to the site is expected to come from County Road 74. Glaesman said it
would be difficult to create an access point from 33rd Street South
because much of the wooded land between the site and the street is
environmentally sensitive.
The district doesn't yet own the
proposed high school site. But district officials say they have a plan
to acquire it. They have an option to buy a portion of the land that is
privately owned and have discussed a land swap with the city of St.
Cloud to acquire the remaining acreage.
The currently undeveloped
Neenah Creek Park borders the high school site to the east. The city has
a master plan to build softball, baseball and soccer fields and other
amenities there. The park was one factor cited by the task force in
recommending the site for a new high school.
Also Thursday, the
task force discussed concepts for expanding Apollo High School and
renovating much of its existing space. Consensus emerged behind adding
more natural light to the building and a new main entry, commons area
and lab space.
District officials have said they hope to make
sufficient upgrades to Apollo to put the facility on even footing with a
new Tech High School.
The architects and task force
representatives will make a presentation to the school board at its
March 11 meeting. That presentation is expected to include a more
detailed rendering of a new Tech and renovated Apollo.
The school
district hopes to hold a referendum vote this fall to authorize
property-tax increases to fund the high school projects.
The technology world went berserk last year when some publications reported that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk had been spotted at Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL)
headquarters in Cupertino, California. That meeting was quickly
revealed to be a non-formal meet-up, and Mr. Musk confirmed that it was
not about Apple potentially snapping up Tesla.
But a latest report from Patently Apple, a website that tracks
Apple’s patent activity, may have just sparked another wave of
speculations. Patently Apple has reportedly spotted an anomalous entry
in
Apple’s granted patent list. The patent goes by the name “Apple
Electric Car, Inc.”, which popped up as part of the search triggered
with routine keywords like “Apple” and “Inc”. It further concludes that
this occurrence may just have been a “database quirk”, given that a
simple Google and trademark search did not reveal any specific company
linked with it, especially not Apple.
The
patent, however, relates to technology that could enable and adjust a
mounted computer screen in a high-tech gold cart. Patently Apple
believes the patent may well have been acquired as one of the inventors
directly associated with the golf cart computer screen invention has no
connection to Apple Electric Car, Inc. Nothing except the striking name
tag of the patent seems to point to Apple actually willing to take on
Tesla. But patents aside, the two companies (both proven disruptors in
their own space) have enough similarities to intrigue several technology
analysts to think of a synergistic Apple-Tesla tie-up.
Both companies offer products that are a class apart from rivals, and
are based on smart and distinctive technology. Mr. Musk even modeled
Tesla’s direct sales method after Apple’s own direct distribution model
involving characteristic Apple stores, instead of selling
through franchisors; even though a direct-to-consumer business model is
almost unheard off in the auto industry.
Speculations
had particularly peaked last year when Apple displayed a keen interest
in medical devices and the auto industry as part of future growth
trajectories. The tech giant’s entry into medicine panned out as health
related apps, as part of its HealthKit launched midway last year. As for
the company’s interest in cars, all that has materialized by now is a
really cool app on the Apple Watch that allows users to control Tesla
EVs, such as checking on the available battery charge and temperature,
the performance of basic functions like locking and unlocking the doors
of the Model S, and controlling headlights.
While the patent in Apple’s name may not have confirmed its move into
electric cars just yet, the possibility of the maker of iPhones either
collaborating with Tesla or surprising the world with an iCar cannot be
ruled off. Or maybe Apple may want to stay within the confines of its
present technology edge and delve into related auto development aspects
instead, such as an autonomous driving imitative similar to the one
recently announced by app-based transportation network and taxi
company Uber. Either ways, the waiting time to a high-profile entry by
Apple into the auto industry just keeps extending for now.
A car leased to Apple and covered in cameras and scanning equipment has been spotted driving around San Francisco.
The people carrier with system of 12 cameras and a lidar sensor, which scans the environment using a spinning laser, attached to its roof was spotted by a Bay Area local blog called Claycord news and talk.
The unmarked vehicle was confirmed as having been leased to Apple via
its number plate, and it could indicate that the company is preparing a
large update to its maps app for the iPhone and iPad, similar to the
street-level photography within Google Maps.
Apple’s update to its operating system for the iPhone
and iPad, iOS 9, is expected to debut in the summer and could introduce
the new feature. That would require a significant investment from Apple
and a fleet of cars to photograph and map roads.
A similar car to the one spotted in San Francisco was also captured on video in New York last year.
Google’s Street View was introduced in 2006 across five major US
cities before expanding to the rest of the UK and Europe in 2008. It
marked the switch for Google from relying on other providers for maps to
building its own.
Apple has invested heavily in its maps app and made it the default mapping application on the company’s smartphones and tablets.
Apple Maps was notoriously buggy with inaccurate data on its launch in 2012, prompting the chief executive Tim Cook to publicly apologise for user frustration stating that the company was “doing everything we can to make Maps better”.
Street View was a crucial step in improving the accuracy of Google Maps
as part of the company’s “Ground Truth” project, adding context such as
no access roads, traffic signs and the context not available from
satellite or aerial photography.
Tracking the cars route with GPS and other sensors not associated
with photography verified routes and brought local knowledge to the
standard map.
A similar project from Apple could boost the accuracy of its map
application and bring it up to par with competitors from Google and
Nokia’s Here maps.
ROBERT CARDIN
ROBERT CARDIN
DELL
