Oct 18
If you see a lot of purple on Facebook tomorrow, don’t worry, it’s not because Facebook got hacked by Barneynonymous. Instead, Facebook and sites like Yahoo and Tumblr are turning purple tomorrow to take a stand against bullying. More »
Oct 18
RIM has announced that 7digital will be its official music download service for the upcoming Blackberry 10 smartphones. According to the press release, the Blackberry App World will offer 7digital’s catalog of over 22 million tracks, which includes new releases, independent artists, regional selections, and a back catalog of content. The Blackberry PlayBook and Blackberry smartphones’ respective music stores are currently powered by 7digital.
The 7digital-powered music service will be available to users in the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, South Africa, Malaysia, and Singapore. The music catalog is composed of DRM-free 320kbps MP3s, making it convenient for those who like to scatter their music amongst several devices and computers. According to the press release, this partnership between RIM and 7digital will be integrated into the Blackberry 10 devices with features like social integration and a recommendation system.
The first Blackberry 10 smartphone is currently slated for release in Q1 of 2013, with current reports indicating March. For now, RIM is having a bit of a tumultuous time, with partners who are unlikely to license from the company until the new device is launched. Back in September, RIM’s CEO Thorsten Heins stated that it was aiming for number three, behind iOS and Android, in the world of mobile operating systems.
On October 10th, the Blackberry App World starting taking submissions for the Blackberry 10. Two days later, the Blackberry 10 L-series smartphone was prematurely revealed when a rep using the handset to demonstrate the upcoming operating system. RIM is targeting the mid-to-high end smartphone market with the upcoming models.
RIM partners with 7digital for the Blackberry 10 music store is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 18
From the ashes of Megaupload, Kim Dotcom is launching a new file-sharing service: Mega. Mega is like Megaupload but will be safe from raids and government interference because it has “ironclad safe harbors” in place to protect Mega. How does it work? More »
Oct 18
Apple says no Java for you, removes plugin from browsers on OS X 10.7 and up
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Apple has recently released a Mac update for OS X Lion and Mountain Lion that removes its Java plugin from all OS X browsers. If you install the update, you’ll find a region labeled “Missing plug-in” in place of a Java applet; of course, Apple can’t stop you from clicking on it to download a Java plug-in directly from Oracle. The Cupertino-based company had previously halted pre-installing Java in OS X partially due to the exploitable factors of the platform, so this update signifies further distancing from Larry Ellison’s pride and joy.
Apple says no Java for you, removes plugin from browsers on OS X 10.7 and up originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 18
AMD delivered its financial results for Q3 2012 today, and it’s safe to say that things could have gone a lot better. GAAP revenue came in $1.27 billion, which is a 10% decline from the last quarter and a significant 25% decrease from the same time last year. AMD also posted a GAAP operating loss of $131 million, and a net loss of $157 million, which equates to a loss per share of $0.21.
Non-GAAP revenue for the quarter was at $1.27 billion – the same as GAAP revenue. AMD posted a non-GAAP operating loss of $126 million, compared to a non-GAAP operating income of $146 million for the same quarter a year ago. The company also had a non-GAAP net loss of $150 million and a loss per share of $0.20 – as you can probably imagine, that isn’t good. Both AMD’s Computer Solutions sector and Graphics unit were down sequentially and year-over-year, with Computer Solutions posting an operating loss of $114 million and and AMD’s Graphics segment hitting an operating income of $18 million for the quarter.
AMD blames the poor performance this quarter to a “weaker consumer buying environment” and indeed, we’ve been hearing that PC sales on the decline while smartphone and tablet sales continue to grow. Because of this disappointing quarter, AMD has announced that it will be laying off approximately 15% of its global workforce, and this round of layoffs is expected to be mostly complete before the end of Q4 2012. In addition to laying off those workers, AMD will also be consolidating some of its worksites. Altogether, these restructuring efforts are expected to save the company $20 million in Q4 and $190 million in 2013.
Looking forward, AMD doesn’t expect things to get much better. The company says it expects revenue to decrease a further 9% (plus or minus 4%) in Q4, so things will actually get a bit worse for AMD sequentially. It is, of course, never good to hear that people will be losing their jobs, but at this point, it sounds like those measures are necessary if AMD wants to climb out of this rut.
AMD announces layoffs after disappointing Q3 results is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Oct 18
Star Wars fans tend to accumulate a lot of books because there have been so many expanded universe adventures and special collectors editions over the years. What do you do with all of these books? You put them between a pair of AT-AT bookends, that’s what.
How awesome do these Imperial Walker bookends from Gentle Giant look? They sell for $225(USD), and are cast from polystone and hand-painted. They just look amazing. They will hold your books, cds, whatever. They also look great displayed by themselves.
As far as I’m concerned, there’s really no cooler vehicle in the Star Wars universe. Even if a snowspeeder could take it down with some cable in like two minutes, I’d pilot an AT-AT through the snow if I could.
[via Nerd Approved]
Oct 18
My dog’s bed is in the living room. He’s very smart—he even knows how to use an iPhone—so while he is not playing he ignores it. He prefers to sneak under the sofa like a ninja. Or jump on top of it. Which is why I think he—and any other small dog—will love the Dog House Sofa. This thing is great. More »
Oct 18
RIM is already well acquainted with 7Digital thanks to joint efforts on smartphones and tablets, and now its chosen the firm to power the official music store of BlackBerry 10. Not only does 7Digital bring its tech and catalog of downloads to the table, but the duo are promising to integrate the service with BB10 to provide features including recommendations and social integration. When RIM’s fresh slate of devices launch next year, folks in the Americas, Australia, Europe, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa will be able to purchase tunes from the new storefront.
Continue reading RIM taps 7Digital to power official BB10 music store
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, RIM
RIM taps 7Digital to power official BB10 music store originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 18:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Oct 18
The future of automobiles is upon us. Or at least it’s getting a lot closer. This week, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International announced the first official charging plug standard for North American cars. The brand new plugs may arrive as early as next year, meaning that, someday soon, the new American dream could come with a chicken in every pot and a J1772 plug in every garage outlet. More »
Oct 18
With the dawn of Windows 8 coming in this next quarter, it’s time for Microsoft to brace itself for a big change – or what they hope will be a big change after a rather modest financial report here in their Q1 report for 2012. This report has them coming in at $16.01 billion in revenue, which is good, with $5.31 billion in profit, which is certainly OK, but not spectacular for the beast of a company. This update has them coming up over their Q4 report just one quarter ago, but compared to last year at this time, the big M isn’t doing nearly so well.
Last year in this quarter, Microsoft reported a $7.2 billion dollar profit. That’s nearly $2 billion more than what they’ve reported here, and certainly has something to do with the same situation that basically every hardware company has reported this year thus far – low PC sales. It’s time for the next page though, Microsoft must hope, with Windows 8 coming out in just about a week from now.
This update has Microsoft setting aside a lovely $1.36 billion in revenue for Windows and Office upgrades, and the real wave must be coming. Once we’re another quarter in, it’ll be the real test – with the release of Windows 8 and Window Phone 8 could come either a brand new high point for the company or a rather unprecedented low. We’re guessing the former, especially considering the pre-sale sell-out status of the Surface tablets the company is placing so much faith in here before their big launch.
Have a peek at the timeline below for some additional insight in to Windows 8 and the next generation that’ll be popping up by the end of the month. Are you ready for Microsoft to open a new page for the PC world? We certainly hope so.
Microsoft Q1 earnings report swings Windows 8 in like a lamb is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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