Aug 03

Korean regulator fines Apple $2,800 over iPhone location tracking controversy

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, korea, Law, lawsuit, legal, money, privacy, smartphone, South Korea, SouthKorea, Today's Chili
The iPhone location tracking saga took yet another twist today, with South Korea’s communications regulatory body ordering Apple Korea to pay three million won (about $2,828) for collecting personal information without authorization. The fine certainly won’t break Cupertino’s bank, but it does set a precedent, marking the first time that a regulator has taken Apple to task over the issue. A few weeks ago, a Korean court ordered the company to pay about $1,000 in compensation to an individual who brought action against Apple, as part of a case that is expected to blossom into a larger, class-action suit. Kim Hyung-suk, the lawyer spearheading the campaign, told Reuters that he’s looking to file the lawsuit “by next week.” Apple’s Korean unit, meanwhile, is still claiming innocence, with spokesman Steve Park saying: “Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so.” Park, however, would not say whether the company will agree to pay the fine.

Korean regulator fines Apple $2,800 over iPhone location tracking controversy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 07:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 27

The Biggest Lie the Internet Ever Told: Free Everything, All the Time

Posted in: content, free, hulu, money, Today's Chili, top

Since you clicked your first link, you were promised one thing about the internet: you may have to pay a cover charge, but once you’re in, everything’s free. Except that suddenly doesn’t seem as true anymore. You know what? Good. More »

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Jul 20

US federal government to close 800 data centers, walk into the cloud

Posted in: government, money, politics, security, Today's Chili

Sure, it’s been just a few months since the National Security Agency asked for a $900 million supercomputing complex – you know, to help out with all that internet wiretapping. But concern about deficit spending will mean shuttering 800 other federal data centers in the US, or 40 percent of total government capacity. The closures are part of a larger push toward greater efficiency and consolidation, with an estimated savings of $3 billion a year; moving services to the cloud will mean more savings in licensing fees and infrastructure. Single-digit savings might sound like chump change when you realize the federal information technology budget runs around $80 billion a year, but hey, it’s a start, right?

[Photo thanks to Adrian Levesque and Adam Koniak.]

US federal government to close 800 data centers, walk into the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 21:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Maximum PC  |  sourceNew York Times  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 19

ITC patent ruling against Apple will stand, Kodak nods approvingly

Posted in: Apple, business, lawsuit, money, patent, review, RIM, Today's Chili
July is shaping up to be a pretty good month for Kodak. Just a few weeks after granting the camera-maker a second wind in its ongoing patent battle against Apple and RIM, the ITC has issued yet another decision in its favor, determining that a May ruling against Cupertino will stand. At issue is an Apple complaint, filed in April 2010, charging Kodak with infringement of two patents on image processing and power management. On May 12, ITC Judge Robert Rogers shot down Apple’s attack, ruling that the patents were not infringed and that one of them was invalid. The full Court had been scheduled to review Rogers’ decision later this year, but that won’t be happening, now that the ITC has decided to close the investigation (see the PDF, below). Kodak was understandably pleased with the result, though its focus will now turn to August 30th, when an administrative law judge is expected to weigh in on the company’s patent offensive against both RIM and Apple.

ITC patent ruling against Apple will stand, Kodak nods approvingly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 18

7 Tools to Help You Survive the Looming American Financial Apocalypse

Posted in: money, Today's Chili, top

Washington’s got debt ceiling fever!—and the prospect of the US defaulting on its giant shitheap of foreign loans is becoming scarily real. So what happens if no deal is struck? MONEY CHAOS. Time to gear up for econo-hell. More »

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Jul 18

Bomb-sniffing crystals may save us from nuclear Armageddon, tea leaves agree

Posted in: government, money, politics, research, Today's Chili, wargadget
Worried that a nuclear attack might wipe out all of American civilization? You needn’t be, because the scientific community’s crystal ball says crystal balls may save humanity. Last week, the Department of Energy awarded a $900,000 grant to Fisk University and Wake Forest, where researchers have been busy exploring the counter-terrorist capabilities of strontium iodide crystals. Once laced with europium, these crystals can do a remarkably good job of picking up on and analyzing radiation, as the team from Fisk and other national laboratories recently discovered. Cost remains the most imposing barrier to deploying the materials at airports or national borders, though soothsaying scientists claim it’s only a matter of time before they develop a way to produce greater crystalline quantities at an affordable price. The only thing Miss Cleo sees is a glistening press release, in your very near, post-break future.

Continue reading Bomb-sniffing crystals may save us from nuclear Armageddon, tea leaves agree

Bomb-sniffing crystals may save us from nuclear Armageddon, tea leaves agree originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 15

Sony Ericsson posts surprising Q2 loss, blames Japanese earthquake

Posted in: business, ericsson, industry, Japan, money, sales, sony, Sony Ericsson, SonyEricsson, Today's Chili

Many analysts and market watchers were expecting a strong Q2 earnings report from Sony Ericsson today, but the company took them by surprise, posting a net loss of some €50 million (about $70.5 million), compared with a net gain of €12 million (around $17 million) at the same time last year. The manufacturer also sold only 7.6 million phones during the quarter, marking a 31 percent year-on-year decrease, while overall revenue fell from €1.76 billion (about $2.5 billion) last year to €1.19 billion (almost $1.7 billion) during Q2 2011. CEO Bert Nordberg attributed much of the decline to the Japanese earthquake, which disrupted the venture’s supply chain, resulting in the loss of around 1.5 million devices. The report comes after Sony Ericsson launched a widespread cost-cutting campaign and re-focused its efforts on smartphone production, which comprised more than 70 percent of all sales during Q2, compared with just 40 percent at the end of last year. For a more thorough breakdown, head past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Sony Ericsson posts surprising Q2 loss, blames Japanese earthquake

Sony Ericsson posts surprising Q2 loss, blames Japanese earthquake originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 14

IDC and Gartner: US PC sales still sluggish, Apple, Toshiba see jumps in market share

Posted in: Apple, business, HP, ipad, lenovo, market, market share, marketshare, money, PC, statistics, tablet, Today's Chili, Toshiba
IDC and Gartner have once again released dueling reports on the state of the PC market and, according to their numbers, the landscape’s looking a little different. Gartner estimates that overall PC shipments during Q2 of this year increased by 2.3 percent from the same period last year, more or less concurring with the 2.6 percent global increase that IDC found. Things are looking a bit bleaker in the US, however, where quarterly year-to-year shipments are down (5.6 percent for Gartner, 4.2 percent for IDC), but have increased from Q1 of this year. On the corporate level, HP continues to dominate global shipments according to both reports, followed by Dell and Lenovo, which overtook Acer for third place.

Stateside statistics, on the other hand, show a bit more severe shuffling among the top five, with Apple’s US market share jumping to nearly 11 percent (good for third place) and Acer tumbling to fifth, thanks to a greater than 20 percent year-to-year decline in market share (see the table, above). In fact, among the top five, only Apple and fourth-place Toshiba increased their market share from Q2 of 2010 — something that both research firms attributed, in part, to a weak consumer PC market and the rising popularity of tablets, led by the iPad. For a more thorough statistical breakdown, head past the break for a pair of comprehensive press releases.

Continue reading IDC and Gartner: US PC sales still sluggish, Apple, Toshiba see jumps in market share

IDC and Gartner: US PC sales still sluggish, Apple, Toshiba see jumps in market share originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 13

Nokia prepping $120 million ad campaign ahead of Windows Phone launch?

Posted in: ad, advertising, cellphone, commercial, Microsoft, mobile, money, nokia, phone, smartphone, Today's Chili, Windows, windows phone, WindowsPhone

With the dust from its Microsoft partnership having somewhat settled, Nokia is reportedly looking to kick off its forthcoming line of Windows Phones with a major marketing campaign. According to Marketing Magazine, Elop & Co. have already devoted some £80 million (about $127 million) to the six-month ad endeavor, which is expected to launch in October. Considering all the job cuts and downwardly revised corporate forecasts, an advertising refresh would seem like a logical way for Nokia to embark on a new era. But the company is remaining rather mum on the subject, saying, “We are excited about the Nokia with Windows phone, but it’s not our policy to comment on specific campaigns for unannounced products.” Awkwardly executed “leaks,” on the other hand, are an entirely different matter.

[Thanks, John]

Nokia prepping $120 million ad campaign ahead of Windows Phone launch? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Next Web  |  sourceMarketing Magazine  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 13

Report: Touchscreen demand to grow by 90-percent, led by mobile, tablet markets

Posted in: app, business, capacitive, gaming, market, mobile, money, research, tablet, tablet pc, TabletPc, Today's Chili, touch, touchscreen

This just in: people really like touchscreens, and their tastes aren’t going to change anytime soon. That’s the takeaway from a new report from market research firm DisplaySearch, which predicts that revenue from touch panel sales will hit the $13.4 billion mark by the end of this year, before soaring to nearly $24 billion by 2017. Shipments of capacitive touch displays, in particular, are expected to increase by 100-percent over last year, accounting for a full 70-percent of all tactile revenues. The mobile market still accounts for most of this industry-wide growth, but demand for touch-based tablets is accelerating considerably, with more than 72 million panels expected to ship this year, and 100 million projected in 2012. Jonesing for more numbers? Better gallop past the break to get your hands on the full PR.

Continue reading Report: Touchscreen demand to grow by 90-percent, led by mobile, tablet markets

Report: Touchscreen demand to grow by 90-percent, led by mobile, tablet markets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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