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Atari Releases First Official Pong Game For iOS, 40 Years After The Original

It’s been 40 years since Atari released the first Pong game, and to celebrate the milestone, the company just released the first official Pong game for iOS. Called Pong World, the title delivers a new way to play the classic arcade game, in addition to a colorful new look and a whole host of new features.

http://www.cultofmac.com/203631/atari-releases-first-official-pong-game-for-ios-40-years-after-the-original/#miverrA5zgtrqJoU.99

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Your iPad 6 Might Be Powered By Intel [Rumor]

There has been speculation about where Apple might go to supplement or replace Samsung, and one of the top contenders Apple might turn to is Intel. According to a new rumor Apple is already in talks with Intel about using them to replace Samsung.

RBC Capitol’s Doug Freedman reports that there have been advanced talks on a deal to bring Apple’s processor manufacturing needs over to Intel. Freedman even claims to know specific terms of the deal that are being discussed right now.

Intel would agree to use Apple’s preferred architecture for the iPhone — the one from Intel’s British rival, ARM Holdings.

In return, Apple would agree to switch to Intel’s x86 architecture for the iPad.

As reported by Fortune, Freedman claims that Apple’s demand for 12-inch system-on-a-chip wafers in 2013 could approach 415,000, which would outstrip Samsung’s ability to supply, giving Intel an upper-hand. Apple’s foundry business in 2013 could be worth $2 billion in 2013.

http://www.cultofmac.com/203674/your-ipad-6-might-be-powered-by-intel-rumor/#V6yWs3GQgE6BHjO7.99

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RIM changes App World to BlackBerry World

RIM has unveiled the new name for its BlackBerry App World: BlackBerry World. Not much of a change, yet the difference is there, and will be rolled out in January. The name change was announced at BlackBerry Jam Asia in Bangkok, along with a few other tidbits of info related to the name change. Expect to see the change take place before the January 30th BlackBerry 10 event.

http://www.slashgear.com/rim-changes-app-world-to-blackberry-world-30259023/

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Google Takes on Amazon, Buys Parcel Pickup Company

Google announced Friday it is buying BufferBox. It’s a startup that runs a parcel storage service similar to Amazon Locker.

Both services let you order online, then deliver your package to a locker in a local store — one that’s open more hours than a post office. Instead of requiring a key, the locker can be opened with a PIN code.

“We want to remove as much friction as possible from the shopping experience, while helping consumers save time and money,” said a Google spokesperson. “We think the BufferBox team has a lot of great ideas around how to do that.”

Indeed, BufferBox has one major advantage over its Amazon counterpart — you can pick up any package in its lockers, including UPS and Fedex. Part of the YCombinator startup class of 2012, the company is currently running a trial service in Canada.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/30/google-buys-bufferbox/

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Sources say next Xbox due before 2013 holiday season

The next Microsoft gaming console - otherwise known as the Xbox - will arrive before the 2013 holidays.

This is according to Bloomberg sources "familiar with the companies plans."

The device, likely called the Xbox 720 or Xbox Infinity, is apparently planned for Thanksgiving and Christmas sales.

We could see the new 'Box at a standalone event or at an industry shindig like June's E3, the sources noted.

Fun and games

All signs have pointed to the next Xbox arriving by Christmas 2013, so the news is really no surprise.

While a year seems like a long way off, the Xbox 360 is still selling incredibly well, with 750,000 copies flying off shelves around the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Those number trounced opening figures

BlackBerry maker RIM loses patent dispute with Nokia

Canada's Research In Motion (RIM) has lost a contract dispute over the use of Nokia patents in a case which could halt sales of its BlackBerry phones if it does not reach a deal to pay royalties to the Finnish company.

Nokia said on Wednesday a Swedish arbitrator had ruled that "RIM was in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products without first agreeing royalties with Nokia."

Wireless local access network (WLAN) technologies, usually marketed under the WiFi brand, are used across BlackBerry devices and by most other smartphones.

*****

Among the conclusions, according to Nokia's petition, is that RIM "is not entitled to manufacture or sell products compatible with the WLAN standard without first agreeing with Nokia on the royalty to be paid for its manufacture and/or sale of subscriber terminals compatible with such standards."

Most of RIM's phones implement the 802.11 wireless LAN standard.

The two companies have yet to reach such an agreement, Nokia said in its petition, which was filed Monday at the U.S. District Court in San Jose.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/us-nokia-rim-idUSBRE8AR08320121128?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

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Microsoft’s Xbox Blows Wii U’s First-Week Sales Out of the Water

In a blog post, Larry Hryb — a Microsoft spokesperson who blogs under his gamer tag, Major Nelson — reported that the Xbox 360 sold more than 750,000 consoles in the U.S. last week, easily beating Wii U first-week sales of 400,000. What’s more, it exceeds the 700,000 units Nintendo sold of the Wii U and the original Wii combined.

http://allthingsd.com/20121127/microsofts-xbox-blew-the-wii-us-first-week-sales-out-of-the-water/

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Hackers steal and publish e-mails from U.N. nuclear agency

Hackers have made their way into one of the servers of the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency, according to Reuters. The agency confirmed that the hackers stole information and published it online.

"The IAEA deeply regrets this publication of information stolen from an old server that was shut down some time ago," agency spokesperson Gill Tudor told Reuters. "The IAEA's technical and security teams are continuing to analyze the situation and do everything possible to help ensure that no further information is vulnerable."

A group that calls itself "Parastoo" claimed responsibility and posted the information online in a Pastebin document, which features a list of more than 100 e-mail addresses. According to Parastoo, the e-mails belong to people who "help" IAEA and should sign a petition "demanding an open IAEA investigation into activities at Dimona."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57555539-83/hackers-steal-and-publish-e-mails-from-u.n-nuclear-agency/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

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Windows 8 hits 40M licenses landmark, upgrades outpacing Windows 7

Microsoft has claimed that upgrades to its new Windows 8 operating system are outpacing those achieved by Windows 7 in its first month on sale.

Amid reports of slow adoption and a lukewarm response from consumers, Microsoft claimed Tuesday that 40 million Windows 8 licenses have now been sold since the OS went on sale on Oct. 26.

Speaking at the Credit Suisse 2012 Annual Technology Conference, Tami Reller, chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows, said this was just the start for Windows 8.

"The journey is just beginning, but I am pleased to announce today that we have sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses so far," she said.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/windows-8-hits-40m-licenses-landmark-upgrades-outpacing-windows-7-1115790

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Foxconn rumored as Surface phone manufacturer, Amazon phone too

Microsoft's rumored Surface phone has, for lack of a better word, resurfaced with word tha

Siri to make automobile debut on Chevy Spark, Sonic

Siri's full functionality is coming to two Chevrolet cars next year, General Motors announced today at the Los Angeles International Auto Show.

Siri will be available to customers who buy the Chevrolet Spark and Sonic. The virtual personal assistant connects wirelessly with the Chevy MyLink infotainment system and allows people with the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 with iOS 6 to perform a host of Siri-related tasks.

According to Chevrolet, Siri will be available in Eyes Free mode, letting users make voice-activated calls, access their calendars, and listen to and compose text messages. However, Eyes Free mode won't allow Siri to answer "complex questions that require displaying a Web page." To further mitigate distraction, the iPhone screen won't light up when Siri is interacting with the user.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57554650-37/siri-to-make-automobile-debut-on-chevy-spark-sonic/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title

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Google hustles Android 4.2.1 onto Nexus devices to give you December back

With the rollout of a major OS upgrade like Android 4.2, we can imagine it's easy to forget something, but Google's omission of the entire month of December in the People app was certainly a doozy. The beauty of the Nexus program is that Google can rectify little issues like that post-haste, however, and Mountain View has now rolled out Jelly Bean 4.2.1, a small update that adds back that all-too-important month. So far, Nexus 4 and 10 users have reported getting the update, according to XDA Developers, though there's no evidence yet of any other fixes. Check your Nexus device (or the source) to see if it's arrived in time for, you know.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/27/google-hustles-android-4-2-1-onto-nexus-devices/

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Goodbye, Trolls? Google Brings Social Identity to “Play” Web Store.

Web trolls are the absolute worst. And no one knows this more than a company like Google, whose “Play” Web store is populated with nasty user reviews of Android applications.

Seeking to resolve that pesky problem, Google is integrating its Google+ social platform to the Play store, now requiring users to log in to a Google+ account in order to leave feedback on Android apps.

http://allthingsd.com/20121127/goodbye-trolls-google-brings-social-identity-to-play-web-store/

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Did Someone Really Name Their Kid Hashtag?

She's called Hashtag Jameson.

https://twitter.com/AwkwardMsgs/status/273137124600078338/photo/1

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Wii U sells over 400k units in first week

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed that in the first week of its US release, the company has sold over 400,000 Wii U consoles and plenty of accessories. That's only two thirds of how the original Wii performed, which shifted 600,000 units in an equivalent period back in 2006, but not only was that when the global economy was on a better footing, Nintendo shipped less units this time around. As Fils-Aime also stated, the initial batch of stock has effectively sold out.

The Nintendo US boss also revealed that, after initial cynicism from critics, the 3DS has outperformed the normal DS. The company has sold more than 6 million 3DS handhelds in its first 21 months, one million more than the original DS - a console deemed a massive success.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/48548/wii-u-sells-400k-first-week

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Google said to be preparing 12.85-inch Chrome OS laptop

Reports suggest that Google is soon to release its own-branded 12.85-inch laptop, running the Chrome operation system. This would not be a Chromebook, we understand, but a genuine competitor to Windows 8 and Mac notebooks.

The rumours have sprung from Chinese news site China Times, which claims that two Taiwa

Samsung’s Galaxy Note II hits 5 million channel sales, adding 2 million over the last 24 days

Samsung has announced [translation] that the Galaxy Note II, its flagship phone-meets-tablet (‘phablet’), has passed 5 million in channel sales, chalking up a further 2 million shipments since November 2.

Galaxy Note II had raced to 3 million channel sales just 24 days ago, having hit that mark just 37 days after launch.

The 5.5-inch device is expected to bring in 20 million sales, Samsung predicts, which would double that of its predecessor, The Galaxy Note, which passed the 10 million milestone within 9 months. While that may not be as fast as the Galaxy S III — which rocketed up 30 million channel sales just 150 days after the launch — the fact that the original Note was very much the first in its class, makes the feat impressive.

http://thenextweb.com/asia/2012/11/26/absolutely-phabulous-samsungs-galaxy-note-ii-passes-5m-channel-sales-adding-3m-in-24-days/

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Rumour: Nintendo to launch Wii Mini console

Nintendo may be considering another redesigned Wii console, according to speculation this weekend.

Nintendo World Report has received information from "an internal release schedule at a major retailer" claiming a Wii Mini will be launched on December 7.

The leak suggests a new, "compact" version of the original Wii console, bundled with a Nunchuk, Wii Remote Plus and jacket.

Such a release would be a surprise, given how Nintendo is focusing much of its attention on pushing its brand new Wii U console, out now in the US and out next weekend in Europe and Australia.

Imminent announcement?

However, it's plausible that the company could be seeking to squeeze a little more life out of its best-selling console, before consigning it to history.

Nintendo has already redesigned the console once, with a thinner console a year ago.

If a launch is forthcoming in early December, an announcement would need to be imminent. We'll keep you informed. As of right now, we'd be slightly sceptical on this one.

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/rumour-nintendo-to-launch-wii-mini-console-1115126

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Facebook Has Posters In Its Hallways Begging Employees To Ditch iPhones For Androids

In August we reported Facebook was pushing its employees to use Android phones because its Android app was really bad.

The idea is that if the employees are actually using the app, then they'll see all its flaws and report them to the team that makes the app.

Josh Constine has a follow up report at TechCrunch, and he has two fantastic images of how much Facebook is pushing Android on its staff.

In the first on the left, Facebook asks "Do you 'droidfood?" That's a combination of dogfooding and Android. Dogfooding is a phrase for companies forcing employees to use the product so they know how to improve it.

The other one shows IDC projections of Android exploding in usage.

Constine says the iPhone is still more popular at Facebook, because that's what Facebook initially gave employees, and it's better, but that's starting to change. More employees are getting on Android.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-android-posters-2012-11#ixzz2DL3YlXsO

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Twitter CEO Dick Costolo: Users Can Download Their Entire Archive By Year-End; Now Sees 1B Tweets Every 2.5 Days

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has once again promised that Twitter users will, indeed, be able to download a full archive of their tweets in just a matter of weeks. This latest announcement was delivered in response to an audience question during a talk at Costolo’s alma mater, University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, where the CEO discussed Twitter’s role in the future of global communication and democratized access to information.

This isn’t the first time Costolo has made this promise, mind you – he said the same thing

How playing too many video games could help prepare you for a career as a surgeon

The Huffington Post reports that “scientists at University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston pitted high school sophomore gamers, college gamers, and medical residents against each other to see which group would perform better using virtual surgery tools.” The results were clear: the high school gamers performed better virtual surgery than the medical residents.

All the same, the Huffington Post says that the study “measured skills in 32 categories, including hand-eye coordination, pressure on the controls, and time,” so it seems that playing games does give people practice in useful skills that could help them one day if they choose to become medical professionals.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/23/video-game-surgery-study/

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‘Gangnam Style’ Defeats Bieber to Become Most-Viewed YouTube Video of All Time

Korean singing sensation Psy has unseated pop idol Justin Bieber on the YouTube charts.

“Gangnam Style” officially became the most-viewed video in YouTube history Saturday, beating out previous record-holder, the Biebs’ “Baby.”

Clocking in at 805 million views, the video that spawned invisible horse dancing bests “Baby,” by about 1 million views (the latter currently has close to 804 million).

“Gangnam Style” has experienced a meteoric rise since its July debut, gaining an average of 11 million views per day — the “most viral, fastest-growing video of all time” — according to data aggregator Starcount. The electronic dance hit cracked YouTube’s top 10 list just last month. “Baby,” on the other hand, was released two-and-a-half years ago.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/24/gangnam-style-most-viewed/

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Should Twitter Ban Hamas?

Should Twitter allow named terrorist groups to continue to tweet? Not according to a group of Republican House members, who have asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to force the San Francisco-based social communications company to ban accounts of organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. “The FBI and Twitter must recognize sooner rather than later that social media is a tool for the terrorists,” said a letter from Rep. Ted Poe of Texas.

http://allthingsd.com/20121124/should-twitter-ban-hamas/

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Google Maps Adds Indoor Floor Plans for Desktop

“Before heading home for the holidays or out to shop on Black Friday, check out indoor maps of the airport or shopping mall on your desktop to better plan your trip,” Google Maps posted in a message on Google+.

Floor plans for over 10,000 locations worldwide are available on your web browser, such as stores, train stations, airports and museums. You can use it to plan the fastest route through the mall, or make sure you know how to get from the taxi to the airport gate without running all over the airport.

“Simply zoom in on a building on Google Maps and you’ll automatically see a detailed floor plan with helpful labels for gates at the airport, stores within the mall, departments within a retail shop, as well as ATMs, restrooms and more,” Google wrote.

Google also offers a tool to let venue owners add their own floor plans to Google Maps. You can see a list of participating locations across the globe right here.

http://mashable.com/2012/11/23/google-maps-floor-plans/

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Searching For Hotel? Google Pushing Google Hotel Finder

There is a screen shot of me removing the 2 or 3 AdWords ads, just so I can clean up space here on this post. Note, you can click on the image to enlarge.

These started popping up in the Google search results last December but recently they have been coming up more and more often - virtually for all hotel travel based searches.

A WebmasterWorld thread has many SEOs and Webmasters not happy. Of course, those who are in the hotel aggregation business are not happy. But some searchers are n

Google.com.pk and 284 Other .PK Domains Hacked

Start page for majority of Pakistanis – when they first visited it this morning – was found hacked and defaced. Yes, Google.Com.PK along with 284 other .PK domains were hacked today (and are still defaced).

According to Irfan Ahmed, an expert on Pakistani websites and web-servers, this defacement is due to change in DNS entries for 284 .PK domains that are managed by MarkMoniter.

Defaced domains include Microsoft.PK, apple.PK, paypal.PK, ebay.PK, blogspot.PK, chrome.PK, Cisco.PK and others.

http://propakistani.pk/2012/11/24/google-com-pk-gets-hacked/

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RIM shares play catch-up on the Nasdaq; trim gains in Toronto

RIM's Toronto-listed shares surged more than 17 percent on Thursday, after National Bank analyst Kris Thompson boosted his price target on RIM to $15 from $12. Thompson argued that there is money to be made in the stock ahead of the early 2013 launch of a make-or-break line of BlackBerry devices.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/23/us-rim-shares-idUSBRE8AL0L220121123

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Facebook makes it official — an external advertising network is coming soon

There’s been a lot of discussion over the past few days about the recent changes to Facebook’s privacy and governance policies — including the revelation that (gasp!) Facebook is not actually a democracy — but one element of the new rules has gotten less attention than it probably should: namely, the fact that the giant social network is going to use the data it has about your likes and dislikes to show you ads outside of Facebook. This is the first real confirmation that the company is going to roll out an advertising network that extends beyond just its own walled garden, and it could turn out to be one of the biggest factors in the success or failure of Facebook’s revenue-growth strategy.

It’s true that the network wants to do away with the voting process that it implemented as a way of improving its governance policies, which required it to get 30 percent of its users to support something before it could make a significant change. But this approach was mostly a failure before it could even get started, since the last vote the company held saw .03 percent of users participate — and as more than one person has pointed out, getting 30 percent of Facebook users to vote would mean 300 million people, which is more than twice as many as voted in the recent federal election in the United States.

http://gigaom.com/2012/11/23/facebook-makes-it-official-an-external-advertising-network-is-coming-soon/

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Microsoft working on its own version of Google Glass

Tech giant Microsoft is working on a set of augmented reality eyeglasses, according to a new patent application made public today.

Microsoft’s glasses are very similar to Google’s Project Glass, the sci-fi-looking glasses that let you do many of the things you do with your smartphone without the need for a separate device — things like snapping pictures, recording video, or displaying a user interface.

Microsoft’s glasses, according to the patent, seem to zero in on turning your line of sight into a true UI. For example, live events like concerts or sports games will have images and text above or beside people showing relevant statistics, trivia, and more.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/23/microsoft-working-on-its-own-version-of-google-glass/#i1IIOdOF85sCeVfl.99

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Apple Fires Samsung As MacBook, iPad Battery Maker

Apple has reportedly further distanced itself from rival Samsung by switching its suppliers for iPad and MacBook batteries. The Cupertino company has been seemingly working to avoid Samsung’s components since the companies became embroiled in various legal battles all over the world.

Chinese Business News reports that Apple is now relying on batteries from Ampe

Microsoft accidentally gives pirates the keys to Windows 8

The Media Center upgrade, which Microsoft is offering through January 31, 2013, includes Microsoft’s tools for watching and recording live TV. However, applying the upgrade has an unintended side effect: It permanently activates the copy of Windows 8 that you’ve applied it to.

That provides a neat workaround for pirates who exploit a weakness in Microsoft’s Key Management Service (KMS) to get temporary access to copies of Windows 8. Normally, KMS provides a way for corporate IT people to activate copies of Windows on a local network, without having to make each PC contact Microsoft directly for authentication during the install process, but it has also given rise to pirate KMS servers, which hand out activation keys over the internet. With KMS, you need to re-activate Windows every 180 days, making this sort of piracy rather limited in effectiveness.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2012/11/20/microsoft-accidentally-gives-pirates-the-keys-to-windows-8/#5Eurw8Zq6bQDpiCy.99

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Jolla details Sailfish OS: A look at its unique multitasking, menu and personalization features

Soon after it announced that it had signed its first carrier deal with Finnish operator DNA, Jolla has finally provided the world with a look at its new Sailfish OS, detailing enhanced multitasking features, effortless interaction and a number of new personalisation options.

Jolla is ensuring that Sailfish — which is a based on Mer, an open source operating system for phones, tablets, TVs and other connected devices which was a key part of the MeeGo project — will be supported by multiple chipsets but as of today, the platform will launch with support for ST Ericsson’s Novathor chipsets.

“ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor platform combined with Sailfish OS will enable vendors to bring highly competitive mobile products to the market. We welcome other players in the mobile industry to join and contribute to this game changing movement” said Jolla CEO Marc Dillon. “We also target to announce other chipset provider partnerships soon.”

For the first time, Jolla gave attendees at Finnish technology conference Slush a look at its new Sailfish UI, which has been created with “the most recent consumer needs in mind.” The OS will feature “effortless multitasking,” allowing users to switch between running applications directly on the homescreen, “ending a call, pausing a song or without needing to enter the application.”

http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2012/11/21/jolla-details-sailfish-os-a-look-at-its-unique-multitasking-menu-and-personalization-features/

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Nokia Completes Acquisition Of 3D Street-Level Imaging Specialist Earthmine

Nokia has just announced it’s completed the acquisition of earthmine, a 3D street-level imaging specialist. Nokia has previously said it plans to use earthmine’s technology to bolster its digital mapping service – with the earthmine team joining Nokia’s Location and Commerce business division. Terms of the acquisition have not been announced. The transaction had been expected to close by the end of 2012.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/21/nokia-completes-acquisition-of-3d-street-level-imaging-specialist-earthmine/

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Samsung Galaxy S4 specifications rumours and leaks ramp up

There have been several Samsung Galaxy S4 rumours floating about of late. One suggests that the new Android handset will be launched at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, the other that it will be announced even sooner, at CES in Las Vegas in January.

However, there's now also murmurings through a number of sources, including Korean language site asiae.co.kr, that there will be a 13-megapixel camera. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was supposedly to come with a similar sensor, but was downscaled before release due to a limit as to how many sensors Samsung cou

Cisco to buy US cloud computing firm Meraki for $1.2bn

Cisco, the world's largest maker of networking equipment, has agreed to acquire the cloud computing company Meraki for $1.2bn (£750m).

Meraki offers services that help firms to manage their networks using the internet.

Meraki's services, targeted at mid-sized businesses, are used by more than 10,000 companies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20389492

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‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 2′ Sales Smash Records, Makes $500M in One Day

Call of Duty: Black Ops II delivered the “biggest entertainment launch of the year,” after sales of the popular video game hit $500 million worldwide in 24 hours, according to publisher Activision.

“We believe Call of Duty is the biggest entertainment launch of the year for the fourth year in a row,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a release Friday. “Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for Harry Potter and Star Wars, the two most successful movie franchises of all time.”

http://mashable.com/2012/11/18/black-ops-2/

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Google planning AirPlay rival for Android

Google is working on a rival content streaming technology to Apple's AirPlay.

Having already integrated video and audio sending abilities to its YouTube app for Android, which will "send" a clip to your Google TV set or set-top-box, the company is to explore more extravagant wireless functionality.

Speaking to GigaOm, Google product manager Timbo Drayson said that the YouTube Google TV compatibility was simply the first step in company plans. "We really want to move the whole industry forward," he said.

Drayson also explained that the software giant is working with device and audio equipment manufacturers in order to unify the Google system as an open standard. The company is "actively working with other companies", he explained.

Of course, Android devices are already - on the whole - DLNA capable, which already allows them to talk and stream content back and forth amongst similarly capable devices. However, it is believed that a large quantity of consumers still find this confusing and that a single platform would help them identify which of their devices can talk to each other through a single badge.

And, as Drayson pointed out, the more companies that jump on board, the better.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/48487/google-planning-airplay-rival-android

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Nokia's Here Maps finds its way to Apple's App Store

The company yesterday launched Here Maps, a free application that provides a host of features for travelers. The mapping application is powered by Navteq data, the same information used in the majority of in-car navigation systems. Users are able to view maps and get real-time traffic data on a particular area. Here Maps also includes a satellite view and the ability to save map areas for later.

To add a social flavor, Here Maps lets users create and save maps that can be accessed by others. Users can also share points of interest.

Here Maps for iOS comes with step-by-step voice-guided navigation for travelers on foot. The app also features walk navigation through pedestrian walkways and parks. Considering it's a mapping application, Nokia has of course bundled driving directions into the program.

Nokia's push to iOS is a thinly veiled attempt to capitalize on the mapping kerfuffle impacting iOS 6 users. With that launch, Apple decided to nix Google Maps in favor of its own Maps application. But it wasn't long after launch that Apple CEO Tim Cook was forced to apologize to users, citing Maps' many issues, including incorrect maps, duplicate landmarks, and other odd errors. Apple suggested competing mapping applications available in the App Store for users to consider while it works out the kinks.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-5

Intel CEO Paul Otellini to Retire in May

Chipmaker Intel just announced that CEO Paul Otellini, who has been on the job for eight years, will be retiring in May. A successor has not been named.

But the bigger problems stem from the emergence of a fundamentally new computing environment over the last five years. When Otellini was promoted into the CEO job in 2005, Intel essentially set much of the computing industry’s agenda.

http://allthingsd.com/20121119/intel-ceo-paul-otellini-to-retire-in-may/

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Emirates rolls out Windows 8 tablets to on-board staff

Airline Emirates has become one of the first big Microsoft customers to deploy a large number of Windows 8 tablets alongside its own bespoke Windows 8 app.

TechRadar was one of the first to see the new app in action, which enables the on-board flight purser to drill down through information about passengers and crew, as well as receive urgent messages. A purser is responsible for all the crew on board the aircraft.

At the heart of the move over to Windows 8 is the ElitePad 900, announced last month by HP - the tablet will launch commercially in January. Emirates is planning to roll out 1,000 devices in total next year.

The app is designed to give staff members the key information they need; on board a large airliner such as the Airbus A380 there can be as many as 26 members of the passenger-facing crew, so a purser may not always know exactly who will be on board or other details about them, such as what languages they can speak.

"I might have a crew member who is American, but who speaks Filipino," explained purser Yara, one of the staff members who demonstrated the app to us. "This is a great resource to have, to get to know the team immediately. We can also do staff reviews on board and this information is relayed very quickly."

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/emirates-rolls-out-windows-8-tablets-to-on-board-staff-1113634

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Google Nexus 4 is 4G after all... kind of

The chaps over at iFixIt uncovered that the Nexus 4 sports a Qualcomm WTR1605L Seven-Band 4G LTE chip on its motherboard, as well as an Avago ACPM-7251 Quad-Band GSM/EDGE chip for all your 3G activity.

During our Google Nexus 4 review, one of few things which disappointed us was the fact the LG-made handset didn't support the latest generation of mobile network.

Not all good news

There's no 4G antenna or power amplifier, which means the chip is lying dormant inside the handset, with no obvious way of enabling it.

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/google-nexus-4-is-4g-after-all-kind-of-1113610

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Wanted For Murder And In Hiding, Antivirus Software Inventor John McAfee Is...Keeping A Blog

Antivirus software pioneer John McAfee is on the run from police in Belize. They say they want to question him about the murder of his neighbor. He says they want to kill him, and that the police were the ones who murdered his neighbor.

You might imagine that, being on the run, McAfee would be keeping a low profile, hoping that the police would just forget about him.

He is actually keeping a blog.

It's called "The Hinterland: The Official Blog Of John McAfee," and the domain is whoisjohnmcafee.com.

http://www.businessinsider.com/wanted-for-murder-and-in-hiding-antivirus-software-inventor-john-mcafee-iskeeping-a-blog-2012-11#ixzz2ChfobF8p

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Xbox 720 to offer Kinect 2.0 and Blu-ray drive, says Xbox World

Microsoft's Xbox 720 will unveil a new version of Kinect, a Blu-ray drive, and an A/V port for watching and recording broadcast TV, at least according to details leaked by Xbox World.

First off, the Xbox 720 will introduce Kinect 2.0.

A Blu-ray drive will also be part of the package, a rumor that's been arou

New malware variant recognizes Windows 8, uses Google Docs as a proxy to phone home

Symantec believes the threat has been updated by the malware author to include the Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 references, but doesn’t do anything specific for them (yet). This is no surprise: the two operating systems were released less than a month ago but of course they are already popular, and cybercriminals are acting fast.

Yet the more interesting part is the Google Docs addition. Backdoor.Makadocs gathers information from the compromised computer (such as host name and OS type) and then receives and executes commands from a C&C server to do further damage.

In order to do so, the malware authors have decided to leverage Google Docs to ensure crystal clear communications. As Google Docs becomes more and more popular, and as businesses continue to accept it and allow the service through their firewalls, this method is a clever move.

The reason this works is because Google Docs includes a “viewer” function that retrieves resources of another URL and displays it, allowing the user to view a variety of file types in the browser. In violation of Google’s policies, Backdoor.Makadocs uses this function to access its C&C server, likely in the hopes of preventing the link to the C&C from being discovered since Google Docs encrypts its connection over HTTPS.

http://thenextweb.com/google/2012/11/17/new-malware-variant-recognizes-windows-8-uses-google-docs-as-a-proxy-to-phone-home/

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Anonymous takes sides in Gaza conflict, launches offensive against Israeli websites

Hacker group Anonymous is claiming to have successfully knocked offline and in some cases erased a number of prominent Israeli websites. The comprehensive attack, dubbed operation "OpIsrael," comes in direct retaliation to threats from Israel's government that it may shutter internet access to and from Gaza as violence between its Israel Defence Force (IDF) and Hamas continues to escalate. "For far too long, Anonymous has stood by with the rest of the world and watched in despair the barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people in the so called 'Occupied Territories' by the Israel Defence Force," reads a statement from the group. "But when the government of Israel publicly threatened to sever all Internet and other telecommunications into and out of Gaza they crossed a line in the sand."

A document publicly made available on Pastebin lists well over 600 URLs that the group has reportedly targeted, and The Verge can confirm that many of the specified sites are currently unavailable. Anonymous also claims to have deleted databases belonging to both Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bank of Jerusalem — the latter remains unreachable though the Ministry's site appears to be functioning normally.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/17/3659410/anonymous-hacks-israel-websites

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Qeexo's FingerSense lets touchscreens listen, makes any object an input device (video)

While the humble touchscreen has become the standard interface for most smartphones, and capacitive displays make it a painless experience, the folk at start-up Qeexo think things could still be improved. It's developed a technology called FingerSense that could add even more functionality. Essentially, by using a small acoustic sensor, it measures the vibrations as objects tap the screen, and can tell the difference between them. So, for example, a knuckle tap could be used for "right-click." The tech is able to spot the difference between materials, too, so even when no finger is involved, it can register input, a great assistance to those with longer fingernails. The fun doesn't stop there, though, with the demo video after the break showing a Galaxy SIII with a modified display, able to register stylus input, even without official support for it. More input options can never be a bad thing, and if nothing else