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Showing posts from October, 2014

Apple Pay Rival MCX Hit by Data Breach

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They want to handle your money, but they can't hold on to your email address. Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the consortium of major retailers developing the CurrentC smartphone-payment service, and which has emerged as a major obstacle to widespread acceptance of the rival Apple Pay service, appears to have its first major security problem. 'Thank you for your interest in CurrentC,' read an email sent out today (Oct. 29). 'You are receiving this message because you are either a participant in our pilot program or requested information about CurrentC. Within the last 36 hours, we learned that unauthorized third parties obtained the email addresses of some of you.' MORE: Blocking Apple Pay Is Anti-Consumer (Op-Ed) The message goes on to warn of phishing emails purporting to come from CurrentC, asking recipients 'not to open links or attachments from unknown third parties' and stating that 'neither CurrentC nor Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) will eve

Drupal Users Had Seven Hours to Patch or Be Hacked

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By Sean Michael Kerner | Posted 2014-10-30 Email Print The open-source content management system used by the White House issues a stern warning. Whenever a security exploit is fixed, users are advised to patch quickly to reduce the risk of attack. In the case of a recent open-source Drupal content management system (CMS) vulnerability, the window in which users needed to patch before being exploited has been quantified as being only seven hours. On Oct. 15, Drupal issued its SA-CORE-2014-005 advisory, warning of a highly critical SQL injection vulnerability that is also identified as CVE-2014-3704. Drupal is a widely deployed CMS that is used by the White House and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ( FCC), among other notable organizations. On Oct. 29, the Drupal project issued a follow-up warning that it was aware of public attacks against Drupal sites that had not patched for CVE-2014-3704. 'You should proceed under the assumption that every Drupal 7 website was compro

HP Back In The Game, Reveals New 3D Printer

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Page 1 of 3 Hewlett-Packard Company ( HPQ) has announced its comeback in the world of technology by launching two brand new products; the company's first 3D-printer and a new desktop computer with built-in scanner, projector, and touchpad. With these fresh releases, HP has sent a strong signal to its competitors and skeptics who have been criticizing its diminishing sales growth for a while now. With its latest release, HP has mainly targeted big businesses that carry out jobs for smaller businesses and have tons of printing to do daily. While the best available commercial printer in the market would require 85 hours to print 1,000 gears, each two inches across, the Hewlett-Packard 3D printer can accomplish the same task within three hours only, along with tracking designs to a five-micron precision. This makes it 10 times faster than the three-dimensional printers available in the market at the moment. The product is currently in its testing phase, with its production to roll out

Sony rides high PlayStation 4 sales, Q2 losses narrower than expected

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Summary: Thanks to strong PlayStation 4 sales, Sony has posted a narrower than expected loss in Q2 -- but the firm's mobile division still suffers. Sony has reported narrower than expected losses in Q2, due to strong sales of the PlayStation 4 console. The Japanese electronic giant reported its second-quarter financial results (.PDF) on Friday. Sony reported operating loses of 85.6 billion yen ($785 million) overall in the July-September period, despite a 7.2 percent increase year-on-year in revenue across the board, a total of $17.45 billion. While Sony's operating losses reached 85.6 billion yen in Q2, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters predicted Sony would suffer operating losses of 164.3 billion yen. The company, which has lost money in six out of the last seven years, may have performed well in Q2 -- if it had not been for the struggling mobile division, which weighed down overall financial performance thanks to losses of $1.58 billion. On Thursday, Sony revealed manageme

LG Officially Ends Plasma Production

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LG Officially Ends Plasma Production Subscribe to our FREE weekly newsletter Print this article We knew it was coming. LG has officially announced that it will shut down its plasma production factory by the end of November. Samsung and Panasonic already pulled the plug on their plasma production, leaving LG as the last major TV manufacturer selling plasmas in the U.S. market. From ETNews LG Electronics held a board meeting on the same day where it resolved on withdrawal from PDP TV business and submitted the related documents to Financial Supervisory Service. As for the reasons of business withdrawal and action plans for the future, LG Electronics specified 'decreasing demand' and 'concentration of competencies on OLED LCD TV' respectively, and thus clarified that its TV production and sales strategies for the future are with organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and LCD. The industry regarded LG Electronics' withdrawal from PDP TV business as a 'scheduled move.&#

FCC reportedly close to reclassifying ISPs as common carriers

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is reportedly close to proposing a 'hybrid approach' to network neutrality in which Internet service providers would be partially reclassified as common carriers, letting the commission take a harder stance against Internet fast lane deals. However, the proposal would not completely outlaw deals in which Web services pay for faster access to consumers. As reported Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, the broadband service that ISPs offer to consumers would be maintained as a lightly regulated information service. But the FCC would reclassify the service that ISPs offer at the other end of the network to content providers who deliver data over Internet providers' pipes. This would be a common carrier service subject to utility-style regulation under Title II of the Communications Act. 'People close to the chairman' say that Wheeler is 'close to settling on a hybrid approach,' the Journal wrote, continuin

HP Sprout desktop PC is smarter than Apple iMac with Retina 5K display: Here's ...

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Apple just released the new iMac with a 27-inch 5K Retina display for its core market of designers, but another desktop manufacturer has a brand new machine that is targeted towards Apple's market. Hewlett-Packard (HP) is cementing its reputation as an innovator with Sprout, the desktop computer system that surpasses our ingrained expectations of what a desktop computer can and cannot do. Sure, it does not have the same big, bold and beautiful graphics that one can enjoy on Apple's latest computer, but that is pretty much where the iMac's superiority over Sprout ends. Under the hood, Sprout has more or less similar components as the high-end iMac, including an Intel Core i7 processor, a top-of-the-line NVIDIA GeForce graphics card, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. However, it is what designers, filmmakers, musicians and other creative types can do with Sprout that makes the difference. Key to Sprout's game-changing new computer is the combination of an Illuminator equippe

The Google shakeup continues: Andy Rubin is out

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The corporate shakeup at Google continues and now it's Andy Rubin, the former head of the company's Android business and the current head of its robotics arm, who's out. A Google spokesperson confirmed to Computerworld Thursday night that Rubin is leaving the company, but declined to say how his departure might affect Google's robotics efforts. 'I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next,' Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page said in a statement. 'With Android, he created something truly remarkable -- with a billion-plus happy users. Thank you.' Rubin joined Google in 2005 after the company bought Android Inc., the business he had founded. He acted as a senior vice president in charge of Android for about eight years, taking on Apple's iPhones and building the Android brand into the world's most popular mobile operating system In December 2013, he was repositioned to manage Google's burgeoning robotics division. He took over the d

Pirate Bay cofounder found guilty of hacking

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Image: AP Photo/Scanpix Sweden/Bertil Ericson/Associated Press Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, a Swedish hacker and founder of file-sharing website Pirate Bay, was found guilty of hacking crimes in Denmark on Thursday. In what the prosecution called the country's biggest hacking case, Svartholm Warg, 30, was found guilty of breaking into various Danish public databases controlled by IT service provider CSC in 2012, accessing hundreds of thousands of social security numbers, criminal records and extradition agreements. Svartholm Warg allegedly committed the crime along with his accomplice, a 21-year-old Dane only known as 'JKT' (the judge asked his name not to be published) according to media reports. Throughout the trial, Svartholm Warg's lawyer argued that the hacker was innocent, and that someone else carried out the crimes by hacking into his computer. 'I have recommended that the court dismiss the case based on the remote access argument,' Svartholm Warg's lawy

FCA's Ferrari Move Likely To Make Capital Raising Exercise Run Smoothly

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Alfa Romeo 156, Ferrari look tuning by CARROZZERIA SCANNALIATO, front badge, seen in Düsseldorf, Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) shocked investors with its decision to float off 10 per cent of storied luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari and return the rest of it to shareholders, but as the dust settled on the deal, investors saw the sale more as a canny way to persuade investors to sign up to the capital raising plan, with little impact on the long-term future of FCA. FCA Wednesday announced plans to raise about $4.7 billion including an estimated around $1 billion from the sale of Ferrari, a $2.5 billion convertible bond, and the sale of shares. FCA owns 90 per cent of Ferrari. Piero Ferrari, son of the founder Enzo, owns 10 per cent. Before news of the deal, FCA was seen as the world's most indebted automobile manufacturer. After the deal is completed some investment banks don't think much will change. 'FCA will still be left with seve

Gottfrid Svartholm Found Guilty in Hacking Trial

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Gottfrid Svartholm has today been found guilty of hacking crimes by a Danish court. The Swedish Pirate Bay founder and his 21-year-old accomplice were found to have illegally accessed systems operated by IT company CSC. It was the biggest hacking case ever conducted in Denmark. After being arrested in his Cambodian apartment in September 2012 it took two years before Gottfrid Svartholm went on trial in Denmark. The Swede and his 21-year-old co-defendant stood accused of hacking computer mainframes operated by US IT giant CSC. It developed into the largest case of its kind ever seen in the Scandinavian country. The case broadly took shape along two lines. The prosecution insisted that Gottfrid and his Danish accomplice, both experts in computer security, had launched hacker attacks against CSC back in April 2012 and maintained access to those systems until August that same year. The defense claimed it was a case of mistaken identity and that others had carried out the crimes, remotely a

Gottfrid Svartholm Found Guilty in Hacking Trial

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Gottfrid Svartholm has today been found guilty of hacking crimes by a Danish court. The Swedish Pirate Bay founder and his 21-year-old accomplice were found to have illegally accessed systems operated by IT company CSC. It was the biggest hacking case ever conducted in Denmark. After being arrested in his Cambodian apartment in September 2012 it took two years before Gottfrid Svartholm went on trial in Denmark. The Swede and his 21-year-old co-defendant stood accused of hacking computer mainframes operated by US IT giant CSC. It developed into the largest case of its kind ever seen in the Scandinavian country. The case broadly took shape along two lines. The prosecution insisted that Gottfrid and his Danish accomplice, both experts in computer security, had launched hacker attacks against CSC back in April 2012 and maintained access to those systems until August that same year. The defense claimed it was a case of mistaken identity and that others had carried out the crimes, remotely a

November's Games with Gold announced for Xbox One and Xbox 360

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Gobble gobble November 2014's Xbox Games with Gold have been announced, and even though Microsoft says they are 'no turkeys,' they are pretty much turkeys. Rather than complain about free things though, I'll just give thanks. It is November after all! Here's what's coming next month to Xbox LIVE Gold members for Xbox One and Xbox 360. Xbox One Volgar the Viking (normally $9.99) - Avialable Nov. 1-30 Volgar the Viking poses a challenge gamers haven't seen since the early days of gaming. The controls are easy to learn -- as you only need a couple of buttons -- but the challenge comes from all sides. Literally. Starting November 1, you'll be able to take on the role of the sword-swinging, shield-blocking, spear-throwing, bearded Viking and defeat enemies in gorgeous 16-bit pixel graphics. Xbox 360 Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (normally $14.99) - Avialable Nov. 1-15 A sequel to the wildly popular Viva Piñata, you are once again tasked with creati

Feds fine dating site for making fake profiles

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Laura Nubuck/SXC NEW YORK (CNNMoney) - Turns out I'm not actually that popular with the ladies of flirtcrowd.com. The Federal Trade Commission has fined UK-based JDI Dating for using fake, computer-generated profiles to trick users into upgrading to paid memberships. JDI -- which operates 18 dating websites, including cupidswand.com, flirtcrowd.com and findmelove.com -- must pay a $616,165 fine and reform its practices. The case is the first for the FTC against an online dating site. JDI allowed users to set up profiles on its sites for free, and then sent them fake messages purportedly from people living nearby who wanted to meet, according to the complaint. The users were unable to respond without setting up paid memberships, which cost between $10 and $30 per month, and JDI renewed those memberships in many cases without consent. JDI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Going forward, the company must clearly disclose to users that they will receive messages fr

Zoe Quinn: GamerGate must be condemned

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Games publishers and industry figures must 'stand-up and condemn' the movement referred to as 'GamerGate', developer Zoe Quinn has told the BBC. Ms Quinn has been at the centre of a furore which some argue is about ethics in journalism, but others consider to be a largely misogynist hate campaign. The 27-year-old was forced to leave her home after receiving death threats. She said publishers must 'say GamerGate, and what it's been doing, is wrong'. 'The fact that so much of the responsibility is offloaded to the people most harmed by it, when somebody in a much safer position than I am can stand up and condemn it... it's frustrating.' Intimate details In a highly-emotional interview, Ms Quinn told the BBC how her life had 'completely changed' after she had become embroiled in the row. In August, an ex-boyfriend of Ms Quinn published a blog post, that ran to thousands of words, detailing intimate details about their relationship. 'Star

Hewlett

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Tech giant Hewlett-Packard yesterday launched a new 3D scanner device aimed at those who work in creative industries like engineers, advertisers and artists. The device named Sprout is an all in one desktop computer that features a 23 inch diagonal display and a 4 camera sensory display that will capture the details of 2D and 3D objects for scanning. In place of a keyboard and mouse, the computer can instead come with a 20 point touch pad. It has been promoted as a great way for people to easily create scrapbooks or photo collages of real life items like certificates and awards. By placing the item over the scanner, it will be scanned and a rendition immediately appears on the display which you can manipulate the way you want. It has also been touted as a great choice for professionals looking to share their work with others and allow online communities to make real time changes to projects. The company is offering a software called MyRoom to help in this effort. This device is set to

Why the US Has Fallen Behind in Internet Speed and Affordability

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America's slow and expensive Internet is more than just an annoyance for people trying to watch 'Happy Gilmore' on Netflix. Largely a consequence of monopoly providers, the sluggish service could have long-term economic consequences for American competitiveness. Downloading a high-definition movie takes about seven seconds in Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Zurich, Bucharest and Paris, and people pay as little as $30 a month for that connection. In Los Angeles, New York and Washington, downloading the same movie takes 1.4 minutes for people with the fastest Internet available, and they pay $300 a month for the privilege, according to The Cost of Connectivity, a report published Thursday by the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute. The report compares Internet access in big American cities with access in Europe and Asia. Some surprising smaller American cities - Chattanooga, Tenn.; Kansas City (in both Kansas and Missouri); Lafayette, La.; and Bristol, Va. - tied

Is HP's latest the PC of the future?

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An all-in-one PC with an integrated 3D scanner, a projector and a 20-inch touch mat where the keyboard would traditionally sit, the Sprout is meant to represent what HP calls the latest in 'blended reality'. What that means is that you can place an object on the mat and the scanner will capture it in three dimensions. Then the projector will project the digitized image onto the mat and you can manipulate it with your hands. 'Touch' it, turn it around, pull it and stretch it -- think Iron Man -- the computer uses an array of cameras to track your position relative to the object so that everything moves and flows smoothly. The computer also offers an interesting take on the concept of the second screen -- the 20-inch touch mat also works as a display that can show everything from graphics to palettes and control nobs in editing and manipulation applications, minimizing clutter on the PC's main 23-inch display. But creating and manipulating digital images is just the s

Tim Cook Comes Out As Gay In Powerful Businessweek Essay

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Posted: Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay in a powerful essay for Bloomberg's Businessweek. In the essay, published Thursday, Cook said that he has never denied being gay, but has not publicly discussed his sexuality until now: 'So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.' He described how his sexuality has given him an acute social perspective. Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It's made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It's been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It's also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you're the CEO of Apple. Head over to Businessweek to read Cook's full ess

Lenovo closes acquisition of Motorola Mobility from Google

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Motorola will continue to operate in Chicago under the leadership of President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Osterloh. Lenovo said on Thursday that it had closed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, gaining a larger foothold in the US and other developed markets. CNET Under the agreement, Lenovo will pay former parent Google $2.91 billion, including $660 million in cash and $750 million in newly issued Lenovo stock. The remaining $1.5 billion will be paid to Google in the form of a three-year promissory note. While Lenovo gets Motorola's mobile device business, Google keeps the patent portfolio. The transfer of Motorola to Lenovo from Google marks the end of a short chapter for the storied handset vendor. Credited with the invention of the cellphone, Motorola's brand had taken a hit over the last several years as Apple's iPhone and Samsung rose in prominence. Under Google, Motorola had refined its product portfolio to just a few devices, and developed a focus on the lo

Android 5.0 Lollipop Update Confirmed for Asus ZenFone Smartphones

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Asus has confirmed on its official forum that six of its devices (and their variants) will be receiving an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop next year. The list of devices scheduled to receive the Android 5.0 Lollipop includes the popular Asus ZenFone series of smartphones - ZenFone 4, ZenFone 5, and ZenFone 6 - alongside Padfone S and Padfone Infinity (second gen). According to the official listing (via a Taiwanese publication), the ZenFone 4 (A400CG/ A450CG), ZenFone 5 (A500CG/ A501CG), ZenFone 5 LTE (A500KL), ZenFone 6 (A600CG/ A601CG), and PadFone S (PF500KL) will be receiving the Android 5.0 Lollipop update starting April 2015. The refreshed Asus Padfone Infinity (A86), on the other hand, will receive the update in June. Asus, starting early October, rolled out the Android 4.4 KitKat OS update for the ZenFone 4 A400CG, ZenFone 5 (A501CG) and ZenFone 6 (A601CG) handsets worldwide. Notably, Google, Motorola, Sony, HTC and LG have already revealed the list of devices expected to receiv

HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printer: 10X Faster Speeds

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NEW YORK - HP has long been a household name in traditional ink printers, and now the company is going 3D. At a special event in New York, HP today (Oct 29th) announced its new Multi Jet Fusion technology, which is designed to allow for low-cost 3D printing at faster speeds than anything on the market when it arrives in 2016. An open platform built for use across different types of 3D printers, Multi Jet Fusion aims to be 10 times faster and significantly more affordable than competing devices. The technology uses a print bar that produces over 350 drops per second at 21 microns, which, according to HP, is able to print 1,000 working gears in 3 hours. In addition to these gears, HP showcased a heavy duty chain link that was created with a Multi Jet Fusion printer. MORE: Best 3D Printers 2014 Multi Jet Fusion starts with a material coating process, after which a fusion agent is applied via a print bar that scans over the material. The material is then detailed, and finally exposed to a

Must watch: working Project Ara prototype shown off in behind the scenes video

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Still in its infancy, Project Ara still has a ways to go before it reaches a consumer release. Over the past few months, we've watch as more information surrounding the project continually trickled out, the most recent being a second round of Project Ara developer's conferences slated for January in both the US and Singapore. Some might be surprised to know that although Project Ara runs Android, it isn't actually an official Android project or even a Nexus device. In fact, it's not even a Google project. This was made clear in Phonebloks' latest blog post which clears up some confusion about their involvement in the project. The Ara team wants to make it clear that Dutch designer Dave Hakkens who came up with the Phonebloks concept we showed you guys awhile back is more of a community manager, creating videos and giving sneak peeks at Ara development. That's all good and dandy, but we're sure many of you are dying to see more of the actual prototype and in

HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D Printer: 10X Faster Speeds

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NEW YORK - HP has long been a household name in traditional ink printers, and now the company is going 3D. At a special event in New York, HP today (Oct 29th) announced its new Multi Jet Fusion technology, which is designed to allow for low-cost 3D printing at faster speeds than anything on the market when it arrives in 2016. An open platform built for use across different types of 3D printers, Multi Jet Fusion aims to be 10 times faster and significantly more affordable than competing devices. The technology uses a print bar that produces over 350 drops per second at 21 microns, which, according to HP, is able to print 1,000 working gears in 3 hours. In addition to these gears, HP showcased a heavy duty chain link that was created with a Multi Jet Fusion printer. MORE: Best 3D Printers 2014 Multi Jet Fusion starts with a material coating process, after which a fusion agent is applied via a print bar that scans over the material. The material is then detailed, and finally exposed to a

Project Ara boots up! DevCon2 set for 14 January 2015

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When Phonebloks revealed its vision last year, people swooned at the dream but they stopped at just that: a dream. A pipe dream even. But now, more than 12 months later, with Google also at the helm, that dream is almost a reality. Phonebloks went to Boston to visit NK Labs, the guys designing Google's Project Ara, to see how things are coming along with the prototype . And guess what? It works! It's far from done, of course, but this is the first functional prototype of Project Ara seen in a form that closely resembles the vision that the likes of Phonebloks and Motorola, now Google, ATAP had for the modular smartphone. You plug in modules, functional components, as needed. For the first prototype, the modules consist of the LED display module, battery, application processor, loudspeakers, and a USB charging port. And voila! You get the first public demonstration of a Project Ara device booting up, caught on video! Impressive and exciting as that may seem, there's still a

Project Ara boots up! DevCon2 set for 14 January 2015

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When Phonebloks revealed its vision last year, people swooned at the dream but they stopped at just that: a dream. A pipe dream even. But now, more than 12 months later, with Google also at the helm, that dream is almost a reality. Phonebloks went to Boston to visit NK Labs, the guys designing Google's Project Ara, to see how things are coming along with the prototype . And guess what? It works! It's far from done, of course, but this is the first functional prototype of Project Ara seen in a form that closely resembles the vision that the likes of Phonebloks and Motorola, now Google, ATAP had for the modular smartphone. You plug in modules, functional components, as needed. For the first prototype, the modules consist of the LED display module, battery, application processor, loudspeakers, and a USB charging port. And voila! You get the first public demonstration of a Project Ara device booting up, caught on video! Impressive and exciting as that may seem, there's still a

Microsoft Jumps Into the Growing Market for Wearable Fitness Technology

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REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft has a place on desks, in living rooms and pockets. Now, like many other big technology companies, Microsoft believes it belongs on wrists. The company has created a wrist-worn fitness device, Microsoft Band, and a related online service, Microsoft Health, that will analyze the data from the band and other devices to help people with their fitness goals. Microsoft is joining a stampede of companies creating wearable technology products for collecting personal health and exercise data. Technology companies see wearables as a way into the huge wellness business without all the red tape that comes from being a true medical company. Microsoft's black rubber bracelet resembles other products that have come before it. It contains a display that will show text messages from a cellphone, Facebook alerts and even bar codes that allow people to pay for coffee at a Starbucks from their wrists. Sensors in the device will continuously track heart rate, sleep quality an

Zoe Quinn: GamerGate must be condemned

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Games publishers and industry figures must 'stand-up and condemn' the movement referred to as 'GamerGate', developer Zoe Quinn has told the BBC. Ms Quinn has been at the centre of a furore which some argue is about ethics in journalism, but others consider to be a largely misogynist hate campaign. The 27-year-old was forced to leave her home after receiving death threats. She said publishers must 'say GamerGate, and what it's been doing, is wrong'. 'The fact that so much of the responsibility is offloaded to the people most harmed by it, when somebody in a much safer position than I am can stand up and condemn it... it's frustrating.' Intimate details In a highly-emotional interview, Ms Quinn told the BBC how her life had 'completely changed' after she had become embroiled in the row. In August, an ex-boyfriend of Ms Quinn published a blog post, that ran to thousands of words, detailing intimate details about their relationship. 'Star

HP Reveals New, Ultra

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HP today announced Multi Jet Fusion, a new 3D-printing technology that, according to the company, can print objects in 3D at much faster speeds and lower costs than existing methods. Its speed is due to the fact that it can quickly apply and fuse large areas of material rather than extruding it point by point. HP's 3D-printing system is geared to commercial use in short-run manufacturing, at least for now. According to HP, the new technology is 10 times faster than the existing 3D-printing methods of fused deposition modeling, in which acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), or similar molten plastic is extruded through a nozzle, and selective laser sintering (SLS). It is designed to produce output that is beautiful and mechanically useful, with the ability to manipulate part and material properties, including form, texture, friction, strength, elasticity, electrical and thermal properties. HP Multi Jet Fusion incorporates the company's Thermal Inkjet tec

Microsoft Cuts 3000 Jobs, Finishing Layoffs

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The bad news: Microsoft cut another 3,000 employees today. The good news: this is pretty much the last of the layoffs announced by CEO Satya Nadella this summer. In a statement to PCMag, a Microsoft spokesperson said the reductions are taking place across a variety of teams in many different countries, though there's no word as to which departments will be hit hardest. 'We've taken another step that will complete almost all the 18,000 reductions announced in July,' the spokesperson said. Today's cuts follow two previous rounds of layoffs. Microsoft kicked things off in July, axing 13,000 in the first wave before cutting another 2,100 workers in September. GeekWire reported that about 638 of today's layoffs were in the Seattle area, for a total of 2,700 layoffs in Microsoft's home region, where the company employed some 42,500 people at the end of September. The report noted that many of the downsized positions were in support roles, including finance, human

IBM Working To Be Hip With Twitter

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Source: Twitter press release IBM and Twitter announced a partnership where Twitter's data will be utilized in cloud-based analytics, customer engagement platforms and consulting services. It makes total sense for these two companies to partner since Twitter has a treasure trove of data and IBM has the chops, including IBM Watson and Bluemix platform-as-a-service, to make use of it. IBM also has the industry expertise to develop specific solutions using Twitter data. From Twitter's blog 'From a data perspective, Twitter represents an enormous public archive of human thought that captures the ideas, opinions and debates taking place around the world on almost any topic at any moment in time. While companies have long listened to what their customers are saying on Twitter, complex enterprise decisions often require input from a lot of different systems. IBM's expertise is in integrating complex systems and data to make better decisions.' It also included 'And to e