Business

Windows-XP-Dead

Microsoft Windows XP Support Is Officially Dead

November 27, 2018April 8, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Windows-XP-Dead — photo credit reachingutopia.com

Today is the day folks. Today is the day Microsoft sticks the fork in its 12 year old operating system Windows XP. If you’re running a computer with Windows XP you will no longer be receiving any form of update to your OS. This WILL leave you open for even more malware, virus and trojan attacks. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t use your computer or its operating system, it just means you use it at your own risk. If you didn’t already know, there are some bad bad people out there looking to cause havoc and steal information. Now that XP is no longer supported, this leaves them free to find bugs and backdoors to exploit the operating system at will. It’s highly suggested that you upgrade to Windows 7 or find an alternative solution.

iPhone-5s-sales

Apple Document Hints At Worries About iPhone Sales Decline

November 27, 2018April 4, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

The folks over at Re/Code are reporting an internal document from Apple shows that some of its sales force was worried about iPhone sales and … Read more…

Typo iPhone Case Gets Hit With Court Ordered Sales Ban

November 27, 2018March 31, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Typo, the iPhone 5/5s keyboard case that brings a physical keyboard to the iPhone 5/5s has been ordered to cease sales of its case by a US district judge in San Francisco. If you remember sometime last year, Blackberry decided to sure Typo because they felt the companies case looked too similar to Blackberry’s iconic keyboard. CNET and Reuters report that US District Judge William Orrick ruled in favor of Blackberry, saying that they proved the “likelihood” of infringement and Typo had not given evidence to refute that.

Gamestop

GameStop Growing Its Business Through Tech Not Gaming

November 27, 2018March 28, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Gamestop — photo credit forbes.com

CNET is reporting that Gamestop will be opening another 300-400 stores over the next year. But these stores will be selling Apple products and other mobile devices. We all know GameStop as one of the biggest gaming retailers out there, they’re not hard to find. Well, the company is aiming for a broader growth footprint branching out from gaming products to technology products. GameStop’s “Technology Brands” division already operates 200 of these types of stores in the United States and they generate around $63 million dollars in annual revenue. And let’s face it, technology products, especially mobile, wearable and portable products, are just growing in popularity and demand so it seems a natural way to go.

Walmart_Store_Video_Game Walmart_Store_Video_Game

Wal-Mart Starting New Video Game Trade-In Program

January 23, 2017March 18, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Wal-Mart is jumping into the world of video game trade-in’s starting next week. CNBC is reporting the retail giant will start accepting used video games … Read more…

dollars

Google Facing Potential Class Action Suit Over In-App Purchases

December 28, 2015March 12, 2014 by Holland Rhodes

A mother has filed a class action complaint in California against Google over in-app purchases made by her son. The story begins with the mother buying a 99¢ game, Marvel Run Jump Smash, for her son. By buying the game, her Google account was left authenticated for 30-minutes (by design) so that in-app purchases would not require a password. In that 30-minute window, her son bought $65.95 in virtual in-game currency known as crystals.

Google+ Email Login Exploit Found And Fixed

January 23, 2017March 8, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

We’re just learning of a new exploit found that could have potentially lead hackers into your Google account and from there other accounts you might have linked to your Google+ email (the exploit has since been fixed). Tom Anthony writes about the exploit in his blog dated today. Read the tl;dr below.

xbox-live-img

Microsoft Wants To Run Political Ads On Xbox Live Based On Your Data

January 23, 2017March 8, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Microsoft wants to use their popular Xbox Live platform as well as Skype and MSN to run political ads targeted at their users based on the data collected from those services. The Washington Post is reporting that Microsoft was handing out promo materials at CPAC that outlined and presented the idea. There’s no question that there’s money to be had in political advertising, on both sides of the aisle, and the political season is upon us.

Windows-Phone

Analysts Agree, Windows Phone Has Passed Blackberry

January 23, 2017March 8, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Windows-Phone — photo courtesy windowsphonedaily.com

Most of us have already assumed that Blackberry’s position at the top (in the U.S.) was coming to an end. We also assumed that Windows Phone would likely pass Blackberry at some point. International Data Group made the call earlier that Blackberry had lost its third position to Windows Phone but not everyone agreed. But now comScore has also verified that their data points to Blackberry slipping to 4th and Windows Phone pulling into the 3rd slot behind Android and iOS, albeit a distant 3rd.

Comixology Website Hacked Email And Passwords Compromised

January 23, 2017March 6, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Looks like yet another website has been a victim of hackers. This time the hacked victims are Comixology and their users. In an email sent … Read more…

m-mayer-google-yahoo-flickr

Yahoo Nixing Google And Facebook Authentication

January 23, 2017March 5, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

m-mayer-google-yahoo-flickr — photo courtesy www.businessinsider.com

Reuters is reporting that Yahoo is going to stop users from accessing its web services, such as Flickr and Fantasy Sports, with their Google or Facebook credentials. Currently you have an option to sign into Yahoo services with those options but it’s coming to an end. Once this is rolled out, the next time you try and login you will be asked to create a Yahoo ID or enter your Yahoo ID. Marissa Mayer is forging ahead to make Yahoo relevant again and allowing logins from competing companies is something she’s ready to do away with.

tim-cook-energy

Apple’s Tim Cook On Renewable Energy: I Don’t Consider The Bloody ROI

March 3, 2014 by Holland Rhodes

if-tim-cook-doesnt-like-what-you-say-in-a-meeting-hell-change-how-he-rocks-in-his-chair-and-skewer-you-in-one-sentence — photo courtesy of www.businessinsider.com

According to the Mac Observer, at Apple’s yearly shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook resoundingly rejected a suggestion by the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research that Apple not invest in renewable energy if it wasn’t profitable. In what is described as an emotional response Cook said of the suggestion:

Bill-Gates-Richest-2014

Bill Gates Regains Top Spot As World’s Richest

January 23, 2017March 3, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

The founder of Microsoft Corporation and now billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates, has once again made it to the top of Forbes richest people list. Gates … Read more…

imo-support

imo Discontinues Support For All Third-Party Messaging Networks

January 23, 2017March 1, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

imo-support — photo courtesy www.blogdoandroid.com

In an email sent out to imo users, the company has decided to discontinue support for third-party messaging services. The company says it wants to concentrate on strengthing its own services and effective March 3rd support for all others will terminate. With all of the available messaging services on the market it makes some sense that imo would want to focus on its own development. Although some users do enjoy having a place to concentrate all of their services in one place. We will see what user reaction is to this announcement, could go either way. Read the full email after the break.

Stephen Elop Takes The Reigns Of Microsoft’s Devices and Studios Division

January 23, 2017February 25, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Stephen-Elop — photo courtesy of trustedreviews.com

Microsoft is experience some high level management shake ups this morning. First Julie Larson-Green has been moved to the position of Chief Experience Officer and now ex Nokia man Stephen Elop is taking the helm at the devices and studios division. This division includes Xbox and the Surface lineup. Larson-Green sent out a memo explaining the moves to her team (find that below). One things for certain, Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella, seems to be working fast to restructure and place people where he feels they’ll be of best use. It remains to be seen if these choices are good or bad but at least there seems to be a battle plan. Not quiet sure what Elop has to offer in the gaming sector of Microsoft but I’m sure he has some good ideas for the Surface products. Elop has worked for Microsoft in the past as President of the Business division so he has insight and experience into Microsoft culture. What do you guys think of the upper management shake up at Microsoft? Let us know in the comments below! Read Larson-Green’s full memo after the break.

Google Lobbying Against Distracted Driver Legislation

January 23, 2017February 25, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Sergey-Brin-with-Google-Glasses — photo courtesy of extremetech.com

Reuters is reporting that Google is actively lobbying at least three states (Illinois, Missouri and Delaware) to stop suggested laws against driving with devices such as Google Glass. This is likely just the start of these types of legislative battles that Google is likely going to face. There are eight other states that are also considering such legislation against wearable computing such as Google Glass. Lawmakers are saying, users could become preoccupied with data coming into Glass rather than paying attention to the road which could lead to accidents. New York, Maryland and West Virginia also are in the midst of such legislation but Google has yet to deploy lobbyists to those states to defend their product.

Google Buys spider.io British Ad Fraud Company

January 23, 2017February 21, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

photo from http://www.wallpaper.ge/

Google continues to reach into its pockets to buy yet another tech company. In this case they’ve purchased a British company that detects ad fraud in online advertisements. We know Google is built on advertising online, it’s their bread and butter. So it makes perfect sense to continue to strengthen that investment by implementing this software that is supposed to detect fraudulent advertising practices. This will not only benefit Google but also their advertising partners as well as those websites using Google’s ad program. Probably won’t make the any of those people trying to take advantage of the system very happy but we’re not worried about them. DoubleClick/Google’s full press release is below.

Rogers Pays Over $3billion In Canadian 700 MHz Spectrum Auction

February 19, 2014February 19, 2014 by Shaun Aston

courtesy of quebec.huffingtonpost.ca

Canada’s Wireless landscape is lighting up with Rogers paying over 3 billion dollars for 22 licences and Bell paying just under 566 million. Telus comes in at 1.1 billion while the not so surprising news is Videotron winning licences in British Colombia, Alberta, Southern & Northern Ontario as well as Quebec. Could this mean a forth Canadian national provider? Check out the entire Canadian Government’s report after the break.

Google Looking To Expand Its Fiber Availability To 34 More Cities

January 23, 2017February 19, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

San Jose Mercury News is reporting Google is courting the city of San Jose to receive its Google Fiber services along with 33 other cities. For those who do not know what Google Fiber is, in a nutshell, it’s supersonic internet. With speeds up to 1000mbps it pretty much blows your current ISP speeds out of the water. Hopefully these 34 cities are not a stopping point for the service, there are many more people who love to get this kind of speed.

Samsung

Samsung Pokes Some Pencil Humor At Apple In Their Latest Ad

January 23, 2017February 19, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

By now most everyone is aware of the Apple and Samsung wars, well most everyone who’s a mobile phone geek that is. The rest of the world generally goes on about their daily lives because none of this is that important. But I digress. Let’s get back to the lighthearted mud slinging shall we. We all know (us geeks) about Apple’s iPad Air commercial in which they used a pencil to show how thin the device really was.

Dashlane

Google Makes Advertising Deal With Magna Global

January 23, 2017February 18, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Google has struck up an advertising deal withe Magna Global, an arm of Interpublic Group. Magna Global currently spends about $37 billion in advertising and is … Read more…

Huawei Pokes Fun At Apple And Samsung In Its MWC Short

January 23, 2017February 17, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Huawei-1024x682 — photo courtesy of http://www.investinyork.ca/

Huawei unveiled some really nice hardware and software features on its new phone lineup at CES 2014, we were impressed. Now with Mobile World Congress (MWC) getting ready to kick off it looks like their riding in with a bit of humor and fun. Check out the video below as Huawei makes a quick poke at Apple and Samsung.

Googles-Moutain-View-Headquarters

Google Continues Its Acquisition Spree By Buying SlickLogin

January 23, 2017February 16, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Googles-Moutain-View-Headquarters — photo from http://www.techiedas.blogspot.com

Israeli security startup, SlickLogin had been scooped up by Google in what seems like a field day of acquisition (s) for the search giant. SlickLogin has developed technology using your smartphone and high-frequency sounds to allow you to login to web services such as email and social sites. Google grabbed these guys fairly quickly into their journey so they must have something worth looking at. Founders Or Zelig, Eran Galili and Ori Kabeli began this project last August 2013, an infant company and idea indeed.

kickstarter

Kickstarter Advises Users To Change Passwords After Being Hacked

October 6, 2017February 15, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

Gigaom is reporting that Kickstarter is the latest victim of hackers and is advising users change their passwords right away. Kickstarter says no credit card … Read more…

Google Withholds Acquisition Numbers For The First Time In Annual Report

January 23, 2017February 14, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

photo from The Huffington Post

As competition gets fierce in the technology space companies generally find it important to protect their interests. Those interests also include information. In this case it seems Google has withheld its acquisition numbers on its annual report, IBN Live reported. This is the first time Google has ever withheld this information from its annual report,

comcast time

BREAKING – Comcast Set To Acquire Time Warner Cable

December 14, 2017February 12, 2014 by Justin Jelinek

Bloomberg Technology is reporting that Comcast and Time Warner Cable have agreed to a merger, with Comcast paying $159USD per share for TWC in an … Read more…

Upper Crust Virgin Atlantic Passengers To Be Checked In Using Google Glass

January 23, 2017February 10, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

photo from dailymailuk

The DailyMail is reporting that Virgin Atlantic is running some trials using Google Glass. The idea is to know the customer before they even hand over their boarding pass. The host/hostess will already have all your details using Glass, name, destination and even dietary information. The trial begins at the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class lounge at London Heathrow.

Report: Apple Reduces MFi Licensing Fee Which Could Mean Cheaper Accessories

January 23, 2017February 7, 2014 by Alex Hernandez

lightning-cables — photo from 9to5 Mac

9to5 Mac is reporting via Macotakara that Apple has or may be reducing the fees and minimum quantities purchased on MFi (Made For iPod, iPhone, iPad) licenses for third party accessory makers. This would certainly not only be welcome for the manufactures but consumers as well. Assuming manufacturers will pass the savings along. For those of you not in the know. Apple began its MFi program back in 2005 with the iPod.