Microsoft has confirmed that it will be opening its flagship Microsoft Store in NYC this fall.
The new store will be located at 677 Fifth Avenue, the former location of high-end retailer Fendi.
As with their other retail locations, the store will showcase Windows and Xbox products, as well as accessories.
Apple has expanded its Apple Maps vehicle program, sending out vans to new places like France and Sweden while expanding supported U.S. cities.
The vans are all equipped with cameras and advanced sensors that Apple hopes will improve their mapping service, which is still second-best compared to Google's long standing service. Apple also hopes to improve their 3D imagery and to improve on street level views of locations.
Apple will send out vans to France throughout August, but it is unclear when you might see them in your Swedish town.
In addition, the UK and U.S. will get improved service as a number of cities are already scheduled to be surveyed.
According to new reports, CBS will live stream all the Super Bowl commercials starting next year, meaning you don't have to be next to a TV to get your fix.
Super Bowl 50 is on February 7th, 2016 and each 30 second ad is expected to cost advertisers a mini fortune at $4.5 million.
It also appears that CBS will not let advertisers opt-out of the live streaming, whereas in the past, advertisers had a choice. Many made the same choice in 2015, with just 18 out of 70 putting their commercials online.
The sources also suggested that the live stream will almost be in real-time, with potentially as little as a 20-second delay.
We've gone over Windows 10 in depth here at Afterdawn and the operating system has finally gone live; available as a free upgrade to legitimate Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers in 190 countries.
Says Microsoft: "For Microsoft, Windows 10 begins to deliver on our vision for more personal computing. In this world experiences are mobile, moving with you seamlessly and easily across your devices. Interacting with technology is as natural as interacting with people – using voice, pen, gestures and even gaze for the right interaction, in the right way, at the right time. And in our connected and transparent world, we respect your privacy and help protect your information."
The software giant has been slowly unveiling all the new features of Windows 10, and beta users have been testing it for months now. Microsoft has brought back the Start menu, introduced a new browser (Microsoft Edge), introduced the Cortana voice-activated personal assistant, Windows Hello for biometric security, Continuum to better sync your Windows 10 phone to your desktop and ensured that all your existing apps work with the new operating system.
Perhaps most importantly, Microsoft has finally created an ecosystem that can thrive on your Xbox console, your phone, your PC, your tablet and even on your Raspberry Pi. Until now, Microsoft had become pretty fractured but Microsoft seems to be ready to truly play ball.
The Nintendo Wii U, launched in 2012, has finally reached 10 million units sold.
Nintendo noted the milestone during its quarterly earnings report, which shows that there is still some demand for the console following major blockbuster releases last year like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros.
For the quarter, the company sold 470,000 consoles, lower than expectations but Nintendo says they still expect to sell 3.4 million units worldwide for the fiscal year that ends March 2016.
Many in the industry balked at that projection given the fact that Nintendo has delayed their highly anticipated Zelda title into 2016. Nintendo is now hoping that Super Mario Maker and Yoshi's Woolly World can make up some of the slack.
Gaming hardware company Razer has acquired the carcass of Ouya, including its software, tech and its technical and developer relations teams.
Razer will use Ouya and its team to help expand their own Android TV gaming business, specifically the Forge TV console and its Cortex platform.
Of note, Razer did not acquire the Ouya hardware (the set-top micro-console).
Ouya launched in 2012 after raising $8.5 million on Kickstarter but delays and lack of support ensured it could not compete when bigger players jumped into the industry, companies like Amazon and Google, for starters.
If you had an Ouya account, your games and account will be integrated into Razer's Cortex TV gaming platform. If you still have the hardware, Razer will support you for another year: "There are about 200,000 users on the OUYA platform and for the hardware users, we intend to, out of goodwill (as we didn't acquire the hardware assets), keep the lights on for their gaming service for at least 12 months as we encourage them to migrate to the Razer service which will have a lot more features, new content and new games," said the company. "We will have more follow up announcements soon on the transition to the new service."
Samsung will officially announce their next major product on August 13th at their latest 'Unpacked' event.
The anticipated devices are the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus although Samsung could have some surprises under their hat.
Samsung had previously launched new Note phones in September but this should give consumers a few extra weeks of availability before the next iPhone launches.
OnePlus officially unveiled their upcoming flagship device today during a VR event. The device appears to live up to the hype, and will be available on August 11th.
The device has a 5.5-inch 1080p display, is powered by a custom Snapdragon 810 v2.1 processor and 3 or 4GB or RAM depending on the model you choose. The selfie cam clocks in at 5MP while the standard camera is 13MP with OIS and two-tone flash.
Most importantly, OnePlus has managed to keep their margins razor thin and keep the price low, as well, with the 16GB storage/3GB RAM model selling for just $329 and the 64GB/4GB RAM model selling for just $389. Given the fact that the specs match up with any high-end phone out now, the prices are shocking and are about half the price you would pay for an unlocked Galaxy/Nexus/iPhone, etc.
The phone is also the first device to launch with the USB-C connector, so be prepared to buy all-new chargers all over again. As rumored, the phone also has a fingerprint scanner that OnePlus claims boldly is "faster than Apple's."
OnePlus is shipping the phone with Android 5.1 and their own OxygenOS user interface overlay on top.
If you are interested in purchasing, you will need to secure an invite from a OnePlus super fan, or you can sign up for their new waiting list which will offer phones on a first-come-first-served basis.
Dutch anti-piracy firm BREIN put in some serious work during the first half of the year, effectively taking down 128 file sharing sites and also obtaining injunctions against major torrent uploaders.
BREIN's main tactic was pressuring local webhosts to take down "illegal" sites, and 128 were taken down during the first six months of the year. 22 were BitTorrent sites, 37 were streaming video portals and two were cyberlockers that were distributing unauthorized music. The rest of the sites linked to content hosted via Usenet or cyberlockers.
The group, like many other anti-piracy firms have noted, says many pirate sites have tried to hide their locations using Cloudflare but that their locations can be uncovered. "BREIN believes that the services provided by CloudFlare to illegal providers should be discontinued after notification by BREIN," the group added.
Additionally, the firm managed to get 12 ex-parte injunctions so far this year (court orders where the defendant is not present), four against large torrent uploaders, one against a major Usenet uploader, one against "an important moderator" for a major torrent site, two against major eBook pirates and even one against an alleged video game pirate that was modifying consoles.
Google is continuing to remove the Google+ requirements that made the social network a necessity to use across Google services.
Google's VP of Streams, Photos, and Sharing, Bradley Horowitz, posted today that YouTube will no longer require a Google+ account to be able to comment, upload or create channels. And that's just the beginning.
Reads the post:
Thanks to yet another leak, it appears we have new leaked photos of the Galaxy Note 5, in prototype form.
Most important from the most recent leak is the photo of the S Pen release mechanism, which had been rumored for some time and debated for even longer.
The main discussion had been whether the S Pen would need to be manually released like in past devices or whether Samsung would implement "auto-eject," which the company has a patent for. If the new pictures are accurate, then there is still a bit of discussion as it looks like the S Pen ejection method will be the same as usual (using your nails) but there is a chance it will be a "push-to-release" method which would mean you just have to push the pen and it will eject itself.
What we do know for sure from previous releases is that the Galaxy Note 5 will run on 4GB of RAM, Samsung's own Exynos 7422 SoC and feature a QHD 5.7-inch display.
Samsung has unveiled a new monitor today, the SE370, one that comes with built-in wireless charging for your mobile devices.
The monitor is available as a 23.6-inch model or as a 27-inch model and Samsung promises that the monitor "declutters work areas by doing away with unnecessary cables and ports needed to charge mobile devices." This is true, as long as your mobile device can be charged wirelessly using the Qi standard.
The full specs:
••Panel Type: PLS
••Resolution: 1920×1080
••Response Time: 4ms
••Brightness: 250 cd/m2 for 23.6-inch and 300 cd/m2 for 27-inch
••Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 (typical)
••Viewing Angle (H/V): 178°/178°
••Color: White High Glossy
••Interface: 1 HDMI(1.4), 1 DP(1.2), 1 D-Sub
••OS Compatibility: Windows (including Windows 10), Mac
••Essential Features: Wireless Charging, Eco Saving Plus, Magic Bright, Magic Upscale, Game Mode, Eye Saver Mode, Flicker Free, FreeSync, Image Size
"Technology should support, not interfere with, active lifestyles," added Seok-gi Kim, senior vice president of Samsung's visual display business, said in a statement. "Our customers increasingly rely on mobile devices to obtain information and interact with others; so by doing away with the clutter on their desks, we are helping them to use their mobile devices in a smarter way."
Originally set for shipment in May, the crowdfunded Jolla Tablet has now seen its launch pushed back to September.
In April, the company initially delayed shipping the tablet due to issues with the display but those appear to have been fixed.
Reads the blog post: "Regarding the unexpected challenges with the display component we told you about in our previous Jolla Tablet update, we are happy to report that the critical issues around this component have been resolved!
The Developer Device loan program has been launched with invitations sent to selected developers. We anticipate that these developers will get their hands on Jolla Tablet developer devices from the pre-production batch very soon, as we will be shipping them in early August.
The risk of the July delivery schedule slipping which we mentioned earlier has unfortunately materialized due to the challenges with the display. Ramping up for general shipments to contributors will take about 3-5 weeks following the Developer Device program."
Backers are expected to receive their devices by mid-September.
The Jolla Tablet has a 7.85-inch display with 2048x1536 resolution, a 64-bit quad-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz, 2GB RAM, dual 5MP/2MP cameras, 32GB internal storage (expandable via microSD) and a small-ish 4300mAh battery.
Comcast has announced that it now has more Internet subscribers than it has TV customers.
For the first time ever, the giant telecom now has more broadband users than it does TV users, quite the flip given that the company originally started as a pay-TV provider before becoming an ISP.
The numbers are close, 22.5 million to 22.3 million, and they could potentially flip back by next quarter but they are not expected to as it is clear that the Internet is the future of the industry.
Comcast also announced it had lost just 69,000 TV subscribers for the quarter, a significant improvement from the 144,000 they lost last quarter.
Verizon will launch their new mobile video service this summer, dubbing the service 'Go90.'
Go90 will give subscribers access to full TV episodes from select partners as well as short content like music videos.
At launch, the service is expected to be free, although it is unclear if you must be a Verizon subscriber to access Go90.
Verizon accidentally revealed details about the service on a launch website before pulling the pages, promising that Go90 would deliver "live music, exclusive events, best of web content, sports, prime time and more." Users will be able to watch "full length shows and short highlights, all for free."
Additionally, the site said: "We didn't want to mimic TV--that's just an appliance you rearrange your living room around. Instead, we wanted to create a mobile-first, video-based app that can keep up with you and your on-the-go social life. One that features completely immersive live and on-demand content, no matter where you are or where you're going. No cord required."
A few of the previously announced content partners include DreamWorks, Scripps, AwesomenessTV, Vice, ESPN and CBS Sports and newly leaked partners Victorious, GoPro and Vevo. There also appears to be content from Fox, AMC, Viacom and the NFL, which would be a big deal if accurate. With Viacom comes Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV.
Chrysler has announced the recall of 1.4 million vehicles less than a week after a Wired report showed that hackers could remotely seize control of the cars and cut the brakes or even overtake the steering wheel.
The company's cars use the integrated UConnect system, which is clearly susceptible to a full remote hijacking.
Affected vehicles all have an 8.4-inch touchscreen and are from the following families of vehicles:
2013-2015 MY Dodge Viper specialty vehicles
2013-2015 Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups
2013-2015 Ram 3500, 4500, 5500 Chassis Cabs
2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Cherokee SUVs
2014-2015 Dodge Durango SUVs
2015 MY Chrysler 200, Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans
2015 Dodge Challenger sports coupes
Thanks to a couple new leaks, we appear to have all the details of the upcoming Moto G.
The Moto G, first launched in 2013, is a low-cost yet high-end Android device and is moving into its third generation.
According to the leaks, the device will have a 720p Gorilla Glass protected display, 2GB RAM, internal storage of either 8GB or 16GB depending on the model, be powered by an unknown quad-core Snapdragon processor and the device will be eligible to run through the Moto Maker customization site.
If customizing, there are two options for the front case - black or white - and then ten choices for the back case: Cherry, Cabernet, Blue, Raspberry, Turquoise, Black, Gold Yellow, White, Lime, and Navy. In addition, there are metallic accents you can choose from including Light chrome, blue, red, lemon lime, dark chrome, champagne, black, orange, violet, and pink.
The phone will have a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP selfie camera and the device will be water-resistant.
According to the most recent video game sales figures, it is clear that the Microsoft Xbox One is selling just as poorly, if not worse than previous generations of Microsoft consoles, in Japan.
For the week ended July 13th, the Sony PlayStation 4 led the way with 24,266 units sold, followed by the new Nintendo 3DS XL at 19,432 consoles sold. Somewhat surprisingly, the Sony PlayStation Vita was in third place, at 13,190 units sold.
The list goes on and ends with the Xbox One, which sold a shockingly low 242 units, an actual increase from the 149 that were sold the week before.
Also somewhat comically, the 3DS game Yo-kai Watch Busters (about ghost busting cats) handily beat out the blockbuster Batman: Arkham Knight.
According to a new report, Microsoft will be releasing two Windows 10 Lumia flagship devices this holiday season, both of which will include iris scanners and one of which will have Surface Pen tech.
Reportedly, the Lumia 950 will have a 5.2-inch QHD OLED screen, a 20MP PureView camera (5MP selfie cam) and come with Windows 10 Mobile pre-installed. The device will be powered by a 64-bit Hexa core Snapdragon 808, 3GB RAM, a 3000mAh removable battery, 32GB internal storage (expandable with microSD) and will also support USB Type-C and Qi wireless charging.
The Lumia 950 XL (codename: Cityman) will have a 5.7-inch QHD OLED screen, be powered by 64-bit Octa core Snapdragon 810, 3GB of RAM, a 3300mAh battery, Qi wireless charging support and USB Type-C support. Also different from its smaller brother is triple LED flash for the 20MP rear camera, aluminum side buttons and a 1mm silver ring inside the black camera pod.
On paper, both devices sound great for the operating system that is seriously lacking a flagship that people can remember.
Twitter followers are a commodity that can be turned into cash. So it is understandable that the fight for followers is fierce.
A lot of the Twitter accounts that have a tremendous amount of followers are celebrities and media who naturally have that kind of following, but it is possible to create a following for yourself even without much of a presence in the real world.
One of the ways is to have snarky commentary and witty jokes. However, since it is really hard to come up with original jokes there has been a surge of tweet thieves. Twitter is now removing the tweets on copyright grounds, The Verge reports.
A tweet by @runolgarun (Olga Lexell) has been stolen and removed at least five times, noted Twitter user @PlagiarismBad. Lexell also has confirmed on Twitter that she in fact requested the removal of these stolen tweets. She says that they were tweeted by spam bots that had also stolen other jokes, and that the tweets were removed by Twitter without further questions.
China has had an peculiar ban on video game consoles for 15 years. Since last year it hasn't affected companies registered in he Shanghai Free Trade Zone anymore, but now it's finally time to end the ban altogether, WSJ reports.
The Ministry of Culture revealed earlier this week that the ban will lift from the whole country. That means that manufacturing and selling video game consoles is again allowed. This obviously opens up the game market in a huge way.
Companies including Sony and Microsoft are surely looking to commit into China more now. Sony told Wall Street Journal this was "great news" for the company.
In 2000 China decided on the video game console ban to prevent possible harmful influences to its youth. Presumably China has noticed there hasn't been proof of such effect in other countries.
Google has decided to offer once again freebies for Chromecast users. To celebrate the second birthday of Chromecast Google is offering free movies and music.
The offers featured on this website include 90 days of free music courtesy of Google Play as well as a free movie rental from the same service.
There's no hurry to redeem the freebies though, as the movie rental will be available to redeem until the end of the year and the music pass until the end of January 2016.
One problem you wouldn't think Apple has is money. Well, it seems that that's exactly one of the problems the company has. However, it is not lack thereof but instead the location.
Apple holds much of its cash overseas where it is not as convenient as it would be in the US. Tim Cook and company have to find out a way to use it or transfer it without paying a huge amount of US taxes, Bloomberg reports.
The cupertino tech giant has now almost 90 percent of its cash stored in offshore subsidiaries. That makes this a 200 billion – yes, billion – dollar problem.
These subsidiaries are not required to pay the 35 percent corporate tax rate of United States but it also means that Apple cannot use them for acquisitions – or much of anything really.
Obviously Apple is trying to lobby a tax reform for the corporate tax that is the highest in the industrialized world while some want the cash overseas to be taxes in the same fashion as in the US.
Google has released a new version of the YouTube mobile app. The app gets a facelift in form of new three new tab layout.
The update features three new tabs: Home, Subscriptions and Account. It is now available for Android devices and iOS will get it "soon".
Home tab is for exploring the content that is customized with user behavior and other factors calculated by the recommendation engine. Subscriptions shows your favorite channels and Account tab lets you browse your playlists, history, and your uploads.
The mobile app has now also been updated to support full screen vertical video.
The Commodore Amiga 1000 (or A1000) was released on July 23, 1985, and is still considered to have been years ahead of its time.
It stood out from the crowd for several reasons. Firstly, it sported a color graphical user interface (4096 colors) at a time when Apple's Macintosh cost considerably more (~$1000 more or so) with a black and white display. Most Amiga 1000 units were sold with an RGB monitor, but it did feature a built-in composite video output to support other monitors.
AmigaOS was a truly multitask operating system too.
Under the hood, it packed a Motorola 68000 CPU (7.16MHz NTSC, 7.09MHz PAL) upgradable officially to a 68010 and to other CPUs via third party route. While the 68000 was common in 1985, the Amiga 1000 features three additional co-processors for multimedia operations.
The Amiga 1000 had 256 KB of Amiga Chip RAM, which was officially upgradable to 512 KB and further with third party upgrades. Further hardware upgrades were possible through the included 86-pin expansion port.
When the Amiga 500 model launched a couple of years after for a cut price of $700, it established Amiga as a popular gaming system, with sales of around 6 million units.
AT&T has confirmed that it will be the first wireless carrier to offer the Microsoft Surface 3 tablet with 4G LTE support in the U.S.
The device will go on sale this week on Friday.
Of course, there are confusing pricing tiers but thankfully AT&T kind of broke it down:
"Beginning on Friday, July 24, you can purchase the Surface 3 for $0 down and $30 per month with an AT&T Tablet Installment plan. In addition, for a limited time, you can purchase a Surface 3 for $399.99 with any Lumia smartphone purchased on AT&T Next. Additionally, a commercial version of the Surface 3 will be available to business customers in the coming weeks."
The installment plan is for 20 months and has 0% APR.
After months of small leaks, we finally have a complete leak of the upcoming OnePlus 2 flagship including specs and pictures.
The handset will be officially unveiled on July 27th during a special VR event but for now we can thank Chinese regulator TENAA for publishing the details.
According to the post, the OnePlus 2 will feature a 5.5-inch display with QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution, a custom Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13MP main camera, an 8MP front-facing camera and a 3,300 mAh battery. The phone's design is metal and will feature a USB Type-C port.
Additionally, there appears to be a real home button on the front of the phone, which could suggest the rumored fingerprint sensor.
OnePlus's founder confirmed the price tag would be under $450, but with specs like that we can't expect it to be much lower than $450.
Microsoft has revealed the life cycle for its upcoming Windows 10 operating system, hoping to clear up some confusion regarding support and updates.
The software giant says that as long as you have a legit Windows 10 build installed, you will get free updates for 10 years, ensuring you stay patched and updated for the next decade.
As with past operating systems, the original "mainstream" support is five years followed by "extended" support for five years after that.
The U.S. FCC has greenlighted AT&T's proposed acquisition of DirecTV, the $48.5 billion merger that will now create the U.S.' largest pay-TV company.
For the deal to pass, it still needs approval from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) but the DOJ has already said the deal does not pose risks of an anti-competitive nature, suggesting the deal should be able to close soon. The FCC's approval will be put into writing within weeks.
The approval will require conditions. AT&T must build out broadband Internet connections for 12.5 million new customers and it must also share all "traffic exchange agreements it strikes with content and web transit companies" with the FCC.
AT&T also agreed to offer Internet in more rural areas and offer at least 6Mbit speed Internet for its customers.
FCC boss Tom Wheeler is also looking to set up an independent office to ensure AT&T complies with the conditions, a first for the consumer protection group.
Google has officially killed the Chrome browser extension Streamus, leaving its 300,000 users in the dark.
Streamus first launched two years ago and allowed users to stream music, for free, right from their Chrome browser. The service used YouTube as its catalog but didn't display any of the actual videos (or their ads).
"We encourage people to leverage the power of our open API to embed YouTube videos in creative and innovative ways that comply with our terms of service," said YouTube in a statement, suggesting that Streamus was in violation.
Of course, Streamus was in violation as it split the audio from YouTube videos from its video, which is not allowed. Google has removed the app from its Chrome Web Store, as well.
Google has been testing their own service for those that like music through YouTube, with beta users having access to YouTube Music Key since earlier this year. The service costs $10 a month, has less ads, higher quality audio and allows for background playback on mobile apps.
Source:
Variety
According to a new report, Nokia is expected to unveil their first virtual reality (VR) project at an event next week in LA.
So far there is very little known about the device although we know it is coming from Nokia Technologies, the advanced product division left behind after Nokia sold its consumer handset division to Microsoft.
Nokia Technologies has been behind the Nokia N1 tablet and the Z Launcher software but otherwise has been quiet since 2013. The division did also confirm earlier this year that they will be getting back into the handset business, sort of, via licensing agreements with OEMs.
Nokia's decision to try VR follows decisions from HTC, Sony and of course, Facebook to try the new frontier of gaming and immersive experiences.
We will know more next week.
Major German automakers Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen have all agreed in principle to purchase Nokia's HERE digital mapping service, beating out a handful of bidders that included Uber.
The car makers will pay $2.7 billion for the service and sources say the companies will invite other car makers like GM, Toyota, Ford and others to invest in HERE.
Despite the nice buyout on paper for HERE, the price is a far cry from the $8.1 billion Nokia bought mapping service Navteq for in 2008. Navteq served as the foundation for HERE maps.
For the auto industry, purchasing HERE was a make or break proposition. All the other bidders were from the tech world and the automakers feared that a company like Google or Apple could then own all the information systems inside their cars as well as the future of cars: self-driving autos.
Self-driving cars will need the most accurate maps possible to avoid potential mishaps, and we are still in the early innings of mapping software and self-driving tech.
Toshiba president Hisao Tanaka, Vice Chairman Norio Sasaki and adviser Atsutoshi Nishida have all resigned this week after it was discovered that Toshiba fraudulently inflated their earnings by $1.2 billion over the last 6 years.
An independent investigation found that the Toshiba executives set profit targets that were impossible to reach, which led to the inflated accounting. The investigators say the accounting scam was "skillfully hidden" from investors and others.
"I was shocked by the fact that one of the leading companies organizationally conducted such a thing," said Koichi Ueda, who led the investigating committee. Ueda was a former investigator with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office.
Since Toshiba announced the investigation in May, shares have fallen 18 percent and the company suspended its dividend and all quarterly forecasts.
According to a new report, Qualcomm is expected to layoff a tenth of their workforce as the chipmaker continues to struggle.
The report states that Qualcomm could layoff around 3000 of its existing 30,000-strong workforce.
Over the past year, Qualcomm's profits and growth have stagnated, thanks mainly to the botched Snapdragon 810 processor launch. The processor, which was slated to be a flagship, had overheating issues and was dropped from "one major customer" (Samsung), causing a huge drop in sales for Qualcomm. Perhaps more importantly, the follow up Snapdragon 820 is rumored to have some overheating issues, as well.
Besides their own internal struggles, rival chipmakers are beginning to bridge the gap and some like Chinese OEM MediaTek have just completely priced out Qualcomm in places like India and China.
Qualcomm recently stated that it expects its revenue to fall sequentially in the Q2 and Q3.
Source:
Reuters
Microsoft struggled this quarter following a massive write-off of its Nokia acquisition and the corresponding layoffs.
The company reported revenue of $22.2 billion, better than expected, but overall the company had a net loss of $2.1 billion, by far its largest ever. Writing down Nokia cost the company $7.6 billion and the restructuring costs of laying off 7800 employees added to the loss.
Adding to the bad news was the sale of Windows PCs, which fell 13 percent year-over-year for consumers and 8 percent for business customers. Microsoft Office revenue was also down 4 percent year-over-year. These figures were not unexpected as Windows 10 is on its way, and consumers always like waiting for deals that come with new operating systems.
Outside of the aforementioned, Microsoft's other reported numbers were rather good:
-Surface revenue grew 117% to $888 million, driven by Surface Pro 3 and launch of the Surface 3
-Total Xbox revenue grew 27% based on strong growth in consoles, Xbox Live transactions and first party games
-Search advertising revenue grew 21% with Bing U.S. market share at 20.3%, up 110 basis points over the prior year
-Office 365 Consumer subscribers increased to 15.2 million, with nearly 3 million subscribers added in the quarter
Commercial revenue increased slightly (up 4% in constant currency) to $13.5 billion
Although the company had already confirmed it would not be releasing exact sales figures for the Apple Watch, the company did leave industry watchers some tidbits during their quarterly earnings.
The company says that "sales in its first nine weeks exceeded those of the iPhone and iPad in their first nine weeks of availability." When the iPad launched, it sold 3 million units in its first 11 weeks, so we can assume that Apple Watch sold at least 2 million units for the quarter.
Additionally, we know that Apple added the Watch to its "Other" sales category, which houses the iPod and also includes accessories like the Apple TV and Beats headphones. That category totaled $1.7 billion in revenue for the Q1 and jumped to $2.64 billion this quarter. Apple was nice enough to confirm that the Watch made up the difference in revenue and then some as iPod sales fell again.
Tim Cook, during the earnings call, had a few things to add:
Apple shares are down a whopping 7 percent today following an earnings report that disappointed investors.
Overall revenue was up 33 percent year-over-year to $49.6 billion and profits increased 45 percent year-over-year to $10.7 billion.
Surprisingly, iPhone sales were a bit soft, at 47.5 million compared to analyst expectations of 48.8-50 million, which is part of the reason why the stock is getting killed. iPads continued their decline, down 18 percent year-over-year to 10.9 million units sold. Macs were slightly lower than expectations, as well, at 4.8 million units sold compared to 4.9 million analyst expectations.
The big hit came when Apple had to forecast their revenue for next quarter. Analysts were expecting $51 billion or higher but Apple guided a range of $49 billion to $51 billion, a rare pessimistic forecast for the tech giant.
Pebble's latest update to their Pebble smartwatch line is finally available via a major retailer.
Until today, the device was available directly only from Pebble but is now available online and in-store from Best Buy in all three colors (red, white and black). For the time being, Best Buy is shipping only to U.S. buyers.
The company also confirmed that Target will begin selling the smartwatch on August 17th.
Launched on Kickstarter earlier this year, the Pebble Time offers improved battery life (up to 7 days), a color e-paper display, a newly remade Pebble operating system and 30m water resistance.
Just a few months after the streaming music site settled with the record labels and officially shut down, one of its young founders has passed away.
Josh Greenberg was 28 and was found dead in his bed at home last night. The police said they found no evidence of foul play, suicide or drugs.
Greenberg and Sam Tarantino founded the service in 2006 as college freshman and at its peak the site had 40 million users. The major record labels all sued Grooveshark over copyright violations. Grooveshark allowed users to upload their own digital audio files which could then be streamed or turned into playlists. Grooveshark offered a powerful music discovery engine as well as a search engine.
On April 30th, Grooveshark and the major labels settled the long-standing lawsuit, and Grooveshark was officially shut down for good. According to Greenberg's mother, the settlement was a 'relief' more than anything and that he was excited to move forward.
Since creating Grooveshark, Greenberg became a mentor to programmers in Gainesville, Florida and also created internship programs and classes for would-be entrepreneurs and programmers.
It would appear that email spam is not as lucrative a business as it used to be.
According to a new Symantec report, junk mail now accounts for 49.7 percent of all emails, the first time that figure has fallen under 50 percent since September 2003.
At its peak, in June 2009, the figure was 90.4 percent, with a shocking 5.7 trillion of the 6.3 trillion emails sent being spam.
The number has been ticking down for months, and was as high as 52.1 percent in April.
Symantec attributed the decline to the increase in legal prosecution against botnets, improved spam filters and blockers and faster reaction times by network providers.
Here is the full security report:
Back in March, HTC and Under Armour announced a fitness wearable, the Grip, which it had planned for release sometime during the spring.
Here we are well into the summer months and there is still no release of the Grip, but we finally have word from the company as to why. HTC says the company has "decided to align Grip with the entire product portfolio for health and fitness launching later this year" after "extensive wear testing and user feedback."
What that means most likely is that the original Grip that was unveiled is dead but an improved model is coming in a few months.
The original was GPS-enabled, used Under Armour's 'UA Record' interface to track workouts, runs, pace and steps and had five total sensors, excluding a heart-rate monitor.
Following this week's leak of Cortana for Android, Microsoft has confirmed the official version will be available later this month.
Microsoft says it has been testing the personal assistant software for a few months for Android.
"In the spirit of the Windows Insider Program, we're testing the Cortana for Android beta with a limited number of users in the U.S. and China before releasing the beta publicly in the next few weeks," added Microsoft.
Cortana competes directly with Android's own Google Now service, and later, with iOS' Siri. For Windows users, Cortana has been very popular, but the Android user base is significantly larger.
According to market data and analytics firm App Annie, Android users downloaded 85 percent more apps from the Google Play Store than Apple users did from the Apple App Store, but Apple continues to dominate in revenue.
For the Q2 2015, the App Store saw 70 percent higher revenue than the Google Play Store, as Apple continues to attract premium apps from developers.
Seeing the huge difference in downloads was unsurprising given the healthy lead Android has in the smartphone market. By most accounts, Android is on over 80 percent of all shipped smartphones, and sometimes higher in emerging markets where iPhones are not affordable.
Also unsurprisingly, China and U.S. were the top countries for App Store downloads, followed by Japan, Russia and the UK. Google Play was most popular in the U.S., Brazil, India, Russia and Mexico.
Microsoft has confirmed that an upcoming update for the Xbox One will allow gamers to stream the games via their Windows 10 PCs and tablets.
Reads the post: "This means you can play the great library of games you've built for Xbox One on your Windows 10 PCs when you're not in front of your console. To get started, on your Xbox One console, go to Settings > Preferences > Allow game streaming to other devices and then install the latest version of the Xbox app on your Windows 10 PC or tablet.
In the Xbox app on Windows 10, select Connect > + Add a device from the menu on the left side of the app, then select your Xbox One console. Attach a wired Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller to your Windows 10 PC or tablet. Then, go to Home > Recently Played to select an Xbox One game and then select Play from Console to start your streaming session. Another way to do this is to simply select your Xbox One console under Home > Game Streaming in the Xbox app to take full control of your Xbox One console from your Windows 10 PC. A notification will appear on your Xbox One that a game streaming session was started by a specific user. During game streaming, the Xbox One console will appear "in use" as though the person streaming was in the room."
The British government decided last year that CD and DVD ripping, amongst other format changes, are allowed as long as the copy is not redistributed and the original piece has been acquired legally. This isn't the case anymore as High Court reverts the decision.
The High Court took the case after music industry claimed it was illegal to copy material without a fair compensation. And indeed the court ruled that copies without proper payment to the right holders is illegal.
The music and movie industry rejoice but the result might hinder the job of some teachers and researchers. It is however highly unlikely that the ruling will be enforced upon the masses.
The government's view on the subject was that the backups of individuals do not create a significant financial deficit to the creators and therefore didn't need to be funded.
Motorola has sent out press invites to an event at 9AM on July 28th.
During the event, the company is expected to unveil the new generation of the Moto X flagship smartphone, and also an update to the aging Moto 360 smartwatch.
In addition, Motorola may also use the event to unveil a new Verizon Droid, and potentially a new Moto G, the low priced mid-range phone that has been very popular with consumers.
Subtly added to the press invite are the letters 'XGX' in a place where a hugs and kisses 'XoXo' might normally be seen, suggesting the aforementioned Moto X and Moto G updates.
Microsoft has confirmed that it will sell Windows 10 on USB drives, finally offering an alternative to DVDs for those that like to own a "physical" copy of the operating system.
The offering is great for notebook owners, as the DVD drive is no longer a standard found in every computer. Additionally, those with operating system issues will have an alternative way to repair their devices or reformat.
Although it is unclear if the pricing is final, Windows 10 Home is already available for pre-order on Amazon for $119.99 and Windows 10 Pro is available for $199.99.
"Windows 10 will be available on USB drives for purchase in retail channels shortly after launch," a Microsoft spokesperson added. "The suggested retail prices for Windows 10 in the U.S. are the same as Windows 8.1."
Microsoft also confirmed that Amazon will not be the only retailer to offer the devices, and Microsoft will offer it themselves through the Microsoft Store.
Six years after the original launched for mobile in 2009, Finnish games developer Rovio has announced 'Angry Birds 2' - the long-awaited sequel.
The original game has been downloaded over 2 billion times for Android, iOS, Windows, PC and Mac but popularity of the game has waned for years.
Rovio tried to spice up sales via spinoff games, totaling 14 since the launch of the first game. The more popular spinoffs include Angry Birds Star Wars and Angry Birds Space, and many of the titles have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times. None have been able to match the success of the original, however, a game that basically created the casual mobile gaming industry.
The developer will unveil more on July 28th at a press event in San Francisco, but so far the details are scarce other than that the game will be "bigger, badder and birdier."
SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards have existed for decades and even though they are gradually getting smaller they are still around. Maybe not for long though if GSMA and the likes of Samsung and Apple have their way.
According to Financial Times Samsung and Apple are in talks with telecom representing GSM Association to launch a new kind of electronic SIM card. Even though nothing is written in stone yet, GSMA says that operators including Vodafone, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, and Orange are joining the world's two largest smartphone companies in supporting the eSIM.
The electronic SIM card would allow instant switching of operators without physically fiddling with the device. Apple tested the concept on its LTE equipped iPads but the support from the operatorss for the "Apple SIM" remained relatively weak.
The electronic SIM is said to possible enter the consumer markets as soon as 2016.
Microsoft has finalized the Windows 10 software and the Windows Insider Program members are now able to try out the commercial version.
The Verge reports that build 10240 is the final release which will be installed by the PC manufacturers on their first Windows 10 computers. The same version is the one that Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will be able to upgrade on July 29th – unless last minute fixes are released.
Microsoft doesn't want to call the version finished for obvious reasons. There might still be smaller bug fixes and other tweaks before the launch date. And even after that the operating system continues to evolve.
Apple has announced a new iPod Touch earlier this week. The company hasn't been updating the iPod portfolio since 2012 but now, after the release of Apple Music, the time was right.
The new iPod Touch features the same A8 processor from latest generation iPhones but the display is only four inches diagonally. The resolution is 1136 x 640.
There are two cameras aboard: 8 megapixel snapper in the back and a 1.2 megapixel FaceTime camera in the front. Fifth generation Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 4.1 are supported. However, no GPS or NFC support.
You can choose between 16, 32, 64, or 128 gigabytes of storage and the prices are $199, $249, $299, and $399 respectively. Apple also refreshed iPod shuffle and iPod nano with new color options.
Nokia released a statement earlier this week addressing the rumors of a possible future smartphone. The Finnish company had earlier suggested that it would be interested in creating a smartphone but now the new press release makes it official – or more so.
Ever since Nokia sold the mobile phone business to Microsoft there has been chatter in the media about a possibility for Nokia to re-enter the market. After the unveiling of N1 (pictured), an Android tablet, Nokia as a company has been more involved in the discussion about a possible phone as well.
The statement comes conveniently just after Microsoft has told about layoffs that affect most harshlly towns in Finland. Microsoft, however, still holds the rights for Nokia name in smartphones.
At earliest Nokia could launch a new smartphone under that name in the last quarter of 2016. So there is more than enough time to find a licensing partner – after all Nokia doesn't own the manufacturing plants anymore.
Microsoft has announced a "Windows 10 Lights up New Devices" event for IFA on September 4th in which the company will unveil new devices running on the upcoming operating system.
Running the keynote is Nick Parker, VP of Microsoft's OEM division, which is interesting as the exec does not work on Surface or Lumia.
Parker will "demonstrate a breadth of new Windows 10 devices, including tablets, 2-in-1s, premium notebooks, gaming devices and all-in-ones that will light up the Windows 10 experience for customers."
"It's about the software and the experiences it enables on devices!" said Jens Heithecker, IFA Executive Director. "Windows 10 is coming – with new capabilities and experiences for consumers and businesses. "We are excited to see Microsoft take the keynote stage at IFA to give us a glimpse at how its partners plan to incorporate that future into the devices we rely on for work, home and play."
In a sad press release tonight, Nintendo has announced that its CEO and president Satoru Iwata has passed away from a bile duct growth.
He was just 55.
The executive became a director at Nintendo in 2000 and then president in 2002, following Nintendo legend Hiroshi Yamauchi. Previously, he worked as a coder for Nintendo's subsidiary HAL working on games like NES Tournament Golf and Kirby. More recently, he was named CEO of Nintendo America in 2013.
Iwata was instrumental in major hits like the Wii and Nintendo DS/DSi/3DS but more recently the company had run into issues following the flop of the Wii U. Nintendo just announced initiatives to get into mobile and a new console scheduled to launch next year, for which there are still little details.
Despite health issues in the past, his death comes as a serious shock as his ailments were not expected to be terminal and Iwata has been a very visible Nintendo figure over the years, speaking at investor meetings, E3 keynotes and more.
The U.S. FTC has begun an initial investigation into Apple's treatment of rival music streaming apps and whether the practices are illegal under current antitrust law.
Apple takes a 30 percent cut on every in-app purchase for digital goods, including streaming subscriptions, causing a big issue for companies like Spotify, Deezer and Rdio.
Each streaming service charges $9.99 a month for a premium subscription but with Apple taking a 30 percent cut, many of the services have complained that they have to raise their rates, which then in turn makes them non-competitive in the marketplace. If they do not raise the price, most of their margins are gone after Apple takes their cut.
The FTC has had multiple meetings with "concerned parties" and will likely start a formal investigation in time.
The team over at OnePlus has revealed yet another detail about the upcoming OnePlus 2 flagship this weekend during an AMA on reddit.
Confirmed is the fact that the company will use a 3300mAh battery for their upcoming smartphone, larger than its predecessor's 3100mAh battery.
The company also confirmed that the camera is a high priority and that there will be a fingerprint sensor, which has also been rumored for some time.
Sadly, in order to get the new phone you will have to go through the arcane invite system, but OnePlus says the system has been improved. Additionally, OnePlus One buyers will get priority.
Finally, the company is adding more band support and will ship three separate models - one for NA, one for China and one for Europe. The NA model will work on GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz, WCDMA bands 1/2/4/5/8, and FDD-LTE bands 1/2/4/5/7/8/12/17. The other models will work on GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz, WCDMA bands 1/2/5/8, and FDD-LTE bands 1/3/5/7/8/20 giving plenty of options for the unlocked device.
The OnePlus 2 becomes official on July 27th via a virtual reality launch.
Update: I have been in contact with the project's founder, Ashok, since I wrote this review. Despite the harsh words for the EzeeCube, Ashok has been gracious enough to provide assistance and updates to me on a weekly basis. I was recently sent an updated media center with the latest firmware to test, and I will be doing so this week.
As of this weekend, Google's popular Chrome browser is now blocking a few popular torrent sites if you try to access them directly.
At one point, KickassTorrents, ExtraTorrent, Torrentz and RARBG were all blocked if you tried to go to them directly from your URL bar, with each marked as a site that contains "harmful programs."
A few of the sites were able to solve the problems directly through Google's webmaster tools but some like Torrentz are still blocked.
"The site ahead contains harmful programs," reads the page. "Attackers on torrentz.eu might attempt to trick you into installing programs that harm your browsing experience (for example, by changing your homepage or showing extra ads on sites you visit)."
All the sites have denied hosting malicious software and are expected to be back and available by the end of the weekend.
Yesterday, the saga of Ellen Pao took a somewhat unexpected turn as the executive resigned as CEO of reddit.
She is being replaced by reddit's founder Steve Huffman, who was also the company's original CEO.
Pao was heavily criticized in her 9 months as interim CEO for reddit, with users calling for her resignation for some time. All hell broke loose earlier this month when a popular staff member was let go, and moderators shut down some of the most popular areas of reddit. A change.org petition for Pao to resign saw over 200,000 signatures.
Here is the full statement from Reddit:
Ellen Pao resigned from reddit today by mutual agreement. I'm delighted to announce that Steve Huffman, founder and the original reddit CEO, is returning as CEO.
We are thankful for Ellen's many contributions to reddit and the technology industry generally. She brought focus to chaos, recruited a world-class team of executives, and drove growth. She brought a face to reddit that changed perceptions, and is a pioneer for women in the tech industry. She will remain as an advisor to the board through the end of 2015. I look forward to seeing the great things she does beyond that.
We're very happy to have Steve back. Product and community are the two legs of reddit, and the board was very focused on finding a candidate who excels at both (truthfully, community is harder), which Steve does. He has the added bonus of being a founder with ten years of reddit history in his head. Steve is rejoining Alexis, who will work alongside Steve with the new title of "cofounder".
Microsoft has created an interesting new app this week, 'Tossup,' an app that promises to help you organize plans with friends and family easier than even Facebook.
"Aiming to advance Microsoft's mission of helping people achieve more in life and work, Tossup is a lightweight and fast mobile experience that helps groups plan and make decisions by giving them the ability to vote and suggest choices. It's an ideal tool to make decisions about timing, availability, what to do, nearby venues and spending limits. Information for restaurants is pulled from Bing – opening hours, reviews, addresses, etc. – to help make decisions. To get answers quickly, groups can add a countdown clock, then save the event to their calendars, turning those plans into reality," says Microsoft.
The software giant notes that Tossup extends beyond planning and allows you to ask just about anything.
"We're creating apps that make it easy and even fun to get more done, both at work and in your personal life," says Ashok Kuppusamy, a group program manager whose team is focused on building mobile apps. "Take Tossup, for example. Everyone has been through the tedious experience of planning a get-together which results in long email threads or text messages that go on and on without any resolution. We've built an app that helps people in these everyday scenarios."
The BBC has unveiled the final design for their mini PC, the "Micro Bit," which will be given out to one million UK students in October to help them learn to program from an early age.
"We all know there's a critical and growing digital skills gap in this country and that's why it's so important that we come together and do something about it," said BBC's director general Tony Hall.
Of note, the final design has removed the slot for a thin battery, thus killing the device for wearables, but it has added two buttons and a built-in motion sensor along with its 25 LED array. To use the Micro Bit as a standalone product you will need to try the AA battery-powered add-on power pack.
Children given the device will be encouraged and taught to code on the Micro Bit website. The code can be saved and tested and then transferred to the device via Bluetooth or USB.
The Micro Bit can be coded to make its 25 LEDs flash in different patterns and if the child would like to code more complex tasks the Micro Bit can be connected to the Raspberry Pi or Arduino, mini PCs that sell for $30-$50 and are remarkably tiny and powerful.
Scheduled for release on March 25, 2016, we finally have a true trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and it looks incredible.
We finally get a look into the story and a close look at Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor.
I have nothing else to say. Just check out the trailer:
The founders of infamous torrent tracker Pirate Bay have been acquitted in a Belgian court of criminal copyright infringement and abusing electronic communications.
Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström have spent the last decade in legal issues across the planet but at least they can breath easy now on one case.
The alleged crimes were committed between September 2011 and November 2013, and this appears to be the most important note of the case as the founders have staunchly denied having anything to do with the site since its sale to Reservella in 2006.
In fact, Svartholm was in prison for most of the period in question and Lundstrom has not been connected to the site since he helped finance it in 2003. The judge was unable to connect the four to the operation of the site during the time frame and rejected the case outright.
Microsoft has confirmed it will be shutting down a number of MSN-branded apps (also once known as Bing apps) over the next few weeks and months.
Windows, iOS and Android users will soon receive notices that their MSN Health & Fitness, MSN Travel and MSN Food & Drink apps will be shutting down in the very near future.
Microsoft recently sold off its display ad business and sold its Bing map-data collection division to Uber, so it's clear that Microsoft is doing a bit of a cleanup of their non-essential businesses.
The company did confirm that its more popular MSN apps - News, Weather, Sports and Money - will continue to run and will actually be built for the upcoming Windows 10, as well.
J.J. Abrams and the cast of the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens absolutely took over Comic-Con yesterday, unveiling a behind-the-scenes video and even inviting all the attendees to a surprise concert behind the convention center, giving everyone a lightsaber in the process.
The new cast appeared for a panel, as did stars of the original films including Harrison Ford, Carrie Fischer and Mark Hamill.
Oh, and btw, Simon Pegg will play an alien.
Check out the video here:
According to research firm Gartner, global PC shipments totaled 68.4 million in the Q2 2015, a 9.5 percent decline year-over-year (YoY).
For the year, the firm expects an overall decline of 4.4 percent.
Gartner pinpointed three reasons for the decline, and all appear to be more temporary than permanent issues for the market: "The price hike of PCs became more apparent in some regions due to a sharp appreciation of the U.S. dollar against local currencies," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "The price hike could hinder PC demand in these regions. Secondly, the worldwide PC market experienced unusually positive desk-based growth last year due to the end of Windows XP support. After the XP impact was phased out, there have not been any major growth drivers to stimulate a PC refresh. Lastly, the Windows 10 launch scheduled for 3Q15 has created self-regulated inventory control. PC vendors and the channels tried clearing inventory as much as possible before the Windows 10 launch."
Lenovo remained the world's top PC maker, shipping 13.46 million units, good for 19.7 percent share. HP was close behind at 11.92 million units (17.4 percent share) followed by Dell at 9.6 million units (14 percent). The only brig loser for the quarter was Acer, who saw a 20.2 percent drop quarter-over-quarter.
For the second time this year, we have a viable rumor that Huawei will be building Google's upcoming Nexus flagship device.
The Information reports that the Chinese company will produce the device, although it's expected to be smaller than the current 6-inch Nexus 6.
Previous rumors had claimed that Huawei would build a 5.7-inch device and LG would build a 5.2-inch device, meaning Google would offer two models similar to how Apple created the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Besides the phone, a partnership would also help Google to get their mobile app store and ecosystem into China, says the report, a massive development if true.
(Mock pictured)
With the OnePlus 2 scheduled to launch on July 27th, we have yet another major reveal thanks to the OnePlus team.
The company has announced that the smartphone will feature the fastest mobile RAM on the market, LPDDR4, and the flagship device will have 4GB RAM.
"Why did we choose LPDDR4 for the OnePlus 2? Another notable benefit is lower power consumption for better battery efficiency. That means you'll be able to use your favorite apps (and more) without draining the battery. With LPDDR4, you get twice the bandwidth performance as the LPDDR3 at the same power consumption profile. The RAM of the OnePlus 2 uses a lower operating voltage than its predecessor, decreasing from 1.2V to 1.1V. And with speeds up to 32 GB/s, it is also twice as fast as the LPDDR3. It offers optimal support for power-saving low frequency mode that brings clock speeds down when performing those everyday and necessary tasks," noted OnePlus.
Among the specs that have already been revealed include a custom 64-bit Snapdragon 810 processor and a fingerprint reader.
Treyarch's latest, 'Call of Duty: Black Ops III,' will have its own zombie game mode, entitled 'Shadows of Evil.'
The developer introduced the mode today at Comic-Con, and also released some info on the voice cast and the story line. Shadows of Evil will be set in a 1940s noir realm and feature four characters: The Magician, The Femme-Fatale, The Cop and The Boxer. The characters will face situations "masterminded by the mysterious Shadow Man."
Added studio head Mark Lamia: "Treyarch has crafted a totally unique and face-melting gameplay experience for our loyal Zombies community, with Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Zombies – Shadows of Evil. The development team has packed Shadows of Evil with more gameplay and fun than any other experience before it, and has an appropriately twisted and deep narrative, performed by fantastic acting talent, that will keep our fans spinning."
COD: Black Ops III is scheduled for release on November 6th.
Check out the first trailer here:
Admitting that the acquisition was a brutal mistake, Microsoft has written off its entire acquisition of Nokia's handset business, taking a $7.6 billion loss in less than two years.
Additionally, the company will cut 7800 jobs from its phone business, with a lot of former Nokia execs getting laid off.
New Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella confirmed what everyone already knew - that former CEO Steve Ballmer made a horrible purchase - and it is clear that Windows Phone is still relevant at Microsoft, but not necessarily a huge priority.
"We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem including our first-party device family," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. "In the near-term, we'll run a more effective and focused phone portfolio while retaining capability for long-term reinvention in mobility."
In the past few weeks, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has left Microsoft as has phones boss Jo Harlow so it appears that Microsoft has finally conceded that the smartphone industry is a duopoly.
According to new reports, Paramount is looking to shorten the time between when a movie is released in theaters and when it is available on demand.
If successful, the studio would like to have all their films available on demand just two weeks after their theatrical debut, showing how important digital downloads, rentals and streaming are to the business.
The studio will release two small films this fall using the shorter window, but it will move its entire schedule to the shorter window over time.
"What other product creates its most attention at launch and then creates a significant period of time where the consumer can't acquire that product?" Rob Moore, Paramount's vice chairman, said of major motion pictures.
The theory is that a shorter window between theater and home release will help lower marketing costs and also put a dent in piracy, which still remains a problem for the studios, especially on blockbuster films that normally do not make it to home media for months after they have left theaters.
According to a new report, Apple is preparing to ramp up production of its next generation iPhone to record levels.
Apple is allegedly asking manufacturers to have up to 90 million units produced by the end of the year, with screen sizes equal to those of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Last year, Apple ordered a quarterly production run of up to 80 million units, then a record for the smartphone.
There is little known about the upcoming iPhone 6S, although it is expected to add Force Touch technology. The tech was added to the most recent Mac computers and the Apple Watch and allows users to control their device differently depending on how light or hard they touch the screen.
Besides the Force Touch addition, there is not expected to be any other drastic changes although the phone will most likely be available in at least one new color.
Netflix has announced that its first feature film, "Beasts of No Nation," will premier in all Netflix territories and in a few theaters on October 16th, 2015.
In addition, Netflix has announced the release date for a few more original movies, as well.
Beasts of No Nation is already being billed as a possible Oscar contender, starring Idris Elba telling the story of a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Looking ahead, Adam Sandler's first exclusive film, "The Ridiculous Six" will debut on December 11th and feature Adam Sandler, Terry Crews, Jorge Garcia, Rob Schneider, Taylor Lautner, Luke Wilson and Nick Nolte in a Western comedy.
Pee-wee Herman is back with "Pee-wee's Big Holiday," scheduled to debut in March 2016 followed by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend, which will be released in IMAX theaters and Netflix sometime in the Q1 2016.
Microsoft has started their 'Ultimate Game Sale' 2015, placing major discounts on a hundred titles for Xbox One and Xbox 360.
If you are a gamer, this is as good a time as any to pickup that game you've been looking for.
Let's take a look at the list, starting with Xbox One and a Silver Xbox Live subscription (Name, Content Type, Discount):
OnePlus has been slowly trickling out information about their upcoming flagship OnePlus 2 device, and now we have the first confirmation on price.
CEO Pete Lau has promised that the phone will sell for less than $450, adding that for them, "it's never been about the price."
Previously, the company had said the device will cost more than $325, so we now have a pretty reasonable expectation as to the price of the phone.
Here's to hoping it is towards the bottom end of the range.
Microsoft has announced updates to its Windows 10 entertainment apps, including one major rebranding.
The software giant has renamed Xbox Music as 'Groove,' as apparently the old name was confusing consumers.
Here's a rundown of the new features:
The Look and Feel: Groove provides an improved experience for listening to and managing your music in Windows 10. Getting into music is faster than ever with easy-to-use menus and navigation controls that work well with both mouse/keyboard, and with familiar touch gestures on touch-screen devices. Pinch to zoom in or out of different views, drag your favorite tracks in to playlists, hover over the Taskbar icon for playback controls, or right click for contextual menus to pin an album to your Start menu. And you can also infuse your personality in to Groove – choose a light or dark theme for the app depending on your mood, or pick an accent color in Windows Settings and the Groove app makes it shine.
Accessing Your Music on your favorite devices: We're also making it easy to access your content across your favorite devices – with built-in OneDrive integration making your favorite songs only a few clicks away. Upload all your MP3's to OneDrive, even songs purchased from iTunes, and access them all for free with the Groove app on your Windows devices, Xbox, the web -- and even on your Android phones and iPhones (coming soon).
Amazon is celebrating their 20th anniversary with the aptly named "Prime Day," a shopping day that the retailer hopes will trump Black Friday.
Says the company: "Next week, Amazon turns 20 and on the eve of its birthday, the company introduces Prime Day, a global shopping event, offering more deals than Black Friday, exclusively for Prime members in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria.
On Wednesday, July 15, new and existing members in the U.S. will find deals starting at midnight, with new deals starting as often as every ten minutes. They can shop thousands of Lightning Deals, seven popular Deals of the Day and receive unlimited fast, free shipping."
Amazon is even extending the festivities to new customers who sign up for the 30-day free trial of Prime, as long as they've signed up before the 15th. Amazon has promised Lightning Deals from nearly every category, so there could certainly be some great deals available.
Source:
Amazon
According to Nielsen, consumers in the U.S. are streaming almost twice as much music as they were last year.
For the first half of 2015, streaming jumped 92 percent year-over-year to 135.2 billion songs streamed. Digital downloads fell 10 percent year-over-year, as the medium is slowly being replaced.
Interestingly, video streams increased 109 percent to 76.6 billion, suggesting more music fans prefer to watch music videos or the convenience of sites like YouTube to streaming audio.
Overall, there were 160 million individual songs downloaded and 116.1 million total albums downloaded, still strong numbers for a format that brings the record labels and artists much more money than individual streams do.
Japanese watchmaker Casio is ready to jump into the smartwatch market.
Casio says its watch will be a watch first and foremost, one that tries to be smart. The company says other watch makers have made smart devices that have tried to be watches, and have therefore failed.
The watch maker first introduced digital watches 40 years ago, and is the maker of the extremely popular G-Shock series. Casio's watch have included schedule managers, heart-rate monitors and other messaging features in the past, but so far the company has stayed away from the smart watch arena.
"We are trying to bring our smartwatch to a level of watch perfection: a device that won't break easily, is simple to put on and feels good to wear," said Kazuhiro Kashio, the company's new president. It turns out the company has been working on a device for 4 years with the same team but prototype after prototype has been rejected.
Casio is expected to launch the smartwatch for around $400 during the Spring of 2016.
Back in the early 1990's, Sony tried to partner with Nintendo to create a console that would have allowed SNES gamers to gain CD-ROM support while still playing older cartridge titles.
Over time, the partnership broke up over licensing issues and Sony went on to create the PlayStation console in 1994 and become the undisputed king of the gaming market.
A few days ago, we got a glimpse into the SNES-CD PlayStation console (the Nintendo Play Station), thanks to a lucky gamer who found a prototype sitting in a box. Reddit user Analogueboy posted photos and a video of the device, claiming he found it in a box of his dad's old things. His dad had worked with someone "named Olaf I think" who had worked for Nintendo and left the box behind.
There is a chance that Olaf could be Sony Interactive Entertainment founder Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson, which would make perfect sense, but it will be hard to prove. For now, check out the photos and video and see one of the rarest items in the gaming world in action.
Earlier this week, Google announced that Gmail would be getting hundreds of new themes, emojis and background image choices and as of writing all Gmail users should now have them.
Read Google's original post: "Your inbox is home to some of your most meaningful and entertaining messages--from that acceptance letter, to those throwback photos--so we think it's important for Gmail to feel just as personal (and fun!). That's why we offer lots of ways to customize your experience--from inbox categories, to email formatting, to shareable selfies--and why today we're expanding your options with additional themes, and emoji."
There are hundreds of new HQ photos taken by "fellow Googlers" and you have the option to upload your own, as well. You can also now use editing tools and add text to your background image.
The emojis will look very familiar to Android and Hangouts users, and they update the very old emoticons that Gmail used to include.
The Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission has filed lawsuits against Samsung and Oppo this week, specifically over the large amount of "bloatware" that comes pre-installed on the company's smartphones.
Both manufacturer's devices have apps that come pre-installed and cannot be removed, allege the suits, and many of them even "steal" cellular data without users knowing.
For example, the Oppo X9007 came pre-installed with 71 apps and the Samsung SM-N9008S (Galaxy Note 3) had 44 pre-installed apps.
The Commission filed the suits after complaints from consumers. The lawsuit is seeking to force smartphone makers to "clearly state on the product's packaging what apps have been installed, and give consumers instructions on how to remove unwanted software. It also wants to compel the companies to inform consumers about the amount of memory that pre-installed apps take up."
In order to "manage demand" Microsoft has decided to roll out Windows 10 in phases, meaning not everyone with an eligible PC will actually receive it on launch day: July 29th.
The first fans to receive the update are those who have signed up to be Windows Insiders and are currently beta testing the operating system.
Microsoft expects 100 million upgrades to Windows 10, so it does make sense to have a phased roll out but it won't make everyone happy especially if you have reserved a copy for months now.
Says the company: "Starting on July 29, we will start rolling out Windows 10 to our Windows Insiders. From there, we will start notifying reserved systems in waves, slowly scaling up after July 29th. Each day of the roll-out, we will listen, learn and update the experience for all Windows 10 users.
If you reserved your copy of Windows 10, we will notify you once our compatibility work confirms you will have a great experience, and Windows 10 has been downloaded on your system."
You can read more about the phased roll out here: Microsoft
Microsoft has effectively killed off its own Silverlight browser media player, confirming that its upcoming Microsoft Edge browser will not support the framework.
The software giant had noted in the past that Edge will kill off support for ActiveX-based plug-ins but had never specifically mentioned Silverlight.
Says the company: "Support for ActiveX has been discontinued in Microsoft Edge, and that includes removing support for Silverlight. The reasons for this have been discussed in previous blogs and include the emergence of viable and secure media solutions based on HTML5 extensions. Microsoft continues to support Silverlight, and Silverlight out-of-browser apps can continue to use it. Silverlight will also continue to be supported in Internet Explorer 11, so sites continue to have Silverlight options in Windows 10. At the same time, we encourage companies that are using Silverlight for media to begin the transition to DASH/MSE/CENC/EME based designs and to follow a single, DRM-interoperable encoding work flow enabled by CENC. This represents the most broadly interoperable solution across browsers, platforms, content and devices going forward."
Silverlight was first introduced in 2007 and grew popular thanks to Netflix selecting it for its desktop streaming service. Microsoft continued to update the framework until Silverlight 5 in 2011. Silverlight is no longer widely used and Netflix has transitioned to HTML5.
AT&T is expected to get U.S. regulatory approval later this month for its proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of satellite TV giant DirecTV.
According to source, the U.S Department of Justice has already completed their review into whether the deal breaks anti-trust laws and is just waiting on the Federal Communications Commission to do the same.
The FCC is expected to approve the deal with numerous conditions as early as next week.
AT&T is the #2 carrier in the U.S. and DirecTV is the largest pay-tv satellite company in the nation. Combined, they will form the country's biggest pay-tv company and the move will give DirecTV access to a broadband product that they can offer as part of a bundle.
As part of the expected conditions, AT&T will be forced to offer affordable high-speed Internet of at least 6Mbit/s as a standalone product without a TV bundle, and AT&T has already agreed to such a condition.
Xiaomi, the world's third-largest smartphone maker, has sold 34.7 million phones in the first half of 2015, representing 33 percent growth year-over-year.
The company is aiming to sell 100 million smartphones this year so it looks like they will need a massive holiday quarter to do so, but whether or not they do hit the internal target, Xiaomi is certainly having a solid year.
Last year, the company sold 61 million, after selling 18.7 million in 2013. It's growth is far better than Samsung and Apple, although both are starting at massive baseline numbers.
Perhaps more impressively is the fact that Xiaomi only sells smartphones in eight nations, all in Asia, and will begin selling an entry-level phone in Brazil later this month. There have been no talks of expansion to Western Europe or North America, but the company did begin selling accessories like the Mi Band across the globe recently.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has filed the paperwork necessary to split the company on November 1st.
The filing, with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, details the balance sheets of the two new split companies, based on their past performances.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will sell servers, storage and network gear and also provide professional services, financial services, and software. HP Inc. will sell computers and printers and will be considered the parent company.
"We needed to be smaller, more nimble, we needed to be more focused," said CEO Meg Whitman during the company's announcement of the plans. "And we needed to have a capital structure for each company that would allow them to pursue their objectives."
HP, pre-split, is a massive company. There are over 300,000 employees spread out over 170 countries and there are currently 500 employees working solely on making sure the split goes smoothly.
In a storyline made for the movies, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent has plead guilty to extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice for his part in stealing Bitcoins from black market bazaar Silk Road.
The Silk Road operated for over two years before it was raided and shut down. During its time, the site and its owner generated over $200 million in sales, most of which came from drug and weapons sales. Ross Ulbricht was charged and convicted of creating and running the marketplace, and will now spend the rest of his life in prison.
Carl Force, the former agent, will be sentenced in October. Force's plea follows that of former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges, who also stole Bitcoins from Ulbricht and the Silk Road during their investigation.
Force, pretending to be a drug dealer, extorted a $50,000 payment from Ulbricht during the investigation and never reported it to the DEA. He also offered Ulbricht information about the investigation for another payment of $100,000.
Musician Prince has sent take down notices to most of the major streaming services to have his music removed.
As of writing, Spotify, Rdio, Google and Deezer have already removed the tracks while Tidal still had them available. Apple Music did not have Prince's music to start with.
"Prince's publisher has asked all streaming services to remove his catalog. We have cooperated with the request, and hope to bring his music back as soon as possible," read Spotify's page.
The artist's choice follows that of Taylor Swift, who has vocally been against free streaming music.
Supercell, the major mobile game maker, is shutting down 'Smash Land' this month, a surprise flop for the company.
The developer behind Clash of Clans, Boom Beach and Hay Day will completely discontinue the game on September 1st.
Smash Land launched just three months ago but could not gain any traction. Clash of Clans remains the top-grossing game for Android and iOS, Boom Beach is #6 and Hay Day is #16, and Supercell was hopeful they had another hit.
"Despite its popularity and positive feedback from players, it was proving difficult to reach the high standards set by our other games," the company said. "We did not want to continue for the sake of continuing as that is not the Supercell way. We won't be accepting any new purchases from today (Wednesday 1 July 2015) and the game will fully shut down on Tuesday 1 September 2015."
Microsoft has announced that their Surface 3 tablet with 4G LTE will now be available in more nations.
The device had been available for the past few weeks in Japan and will now be available in Germany and the UK followed by the U.S., France and Spain later in the year for both business and retail customers.
Says the company: "We see particular excitement for our LTE-enabled Surface 3 with businesses and their sales forces, which is why this initial announcement is focused on business availability. We're already hearing from customers that have deployed Surface Pro 3 that sellers are saving hours per week in many cases. Having a more mobile option in Surface 3 (4G LTE) is only going to create more opportunities."
The devices will run Windows 8.1 Pro and will be upgradeable to Windows 10 later in July. Microsoft is offering two models, each of which has 4GB of RAM and has either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.
Earlier this week, Facebook introduced a new updated logo, although there have been minimal changes.
"When Facebook's logo was first created in 2005, the company was just getting started and we wanted the logo to feel grown up and to be taken seriously. Now that we are established, we set out to modernize the logo to make it feel more friendly and approachable. While we explored many directions, ultimately we decided that we only needed an update, and not a full redesign. We worked with Eric Olson -- whose typeface Klavika was used in the original logo -- and developed a custom typeface to reflect where we are now and where we are headed," said the company.
Most of the changes are very subtle including the double-story "A" now being single-story, but otherwise the logo is relatively the same with a more "grown up" presence.
Source:
Underconsideration
According to a new report, Microsoft is looking into acquiring struggling chip maker AMD, a move that would help the software giant to revive its own chip operations and save on costs.
Microsoft had its own chip design division nearly a decade ago, but has since moved on to AMD and Nvidia for its consoles and other hardware. Microsoft uses a specialized AMD SoC for its Xbox One.
AMD was once valued at over $20 billion, but now has a market value of just $1.8 billion, a figure that would be nothing to Microsoft who has a value of $350 billion including over $90 billion in cash.
For its Xbox One console, Microsoft pays an estimated $100 to AMD for use the SoC, and at nearly 13 million units sold to date, AMD appears to only be alive thanks to its Xbox One partnership. If Microsoft were to acquire and integrate AMD, it could save money on its consoles and potentially in the future save on smartphones and tablet if they can get AMD chips on par with Qualcomm and Intel in the mobile realm.
Amazon has announced today the launch of retail operations in Mexico, giving customers in the nation the chance to buy millions of items.
Until now, Mexicans only had access to the Kindle e-book store, and today's launch was Amazon's largest ever, internationally.
The site is Spanish language and Amazon has also rolled out iOS and Android apps as well as fulfillment services for marketplace users.
Due to a notoriously shaky postal system in Mexico, Amazon has also made it possible to pick up many of your items from hundreds of locations across the nation. These will not be Amazon Lockers, but rather pickup location operated by trusted business partners.
"The expansion of Amazon.com.mx represents Amazon's biggest international launch ever," said Juan Carlos García, Amazon's Country Manager for Amazon Mexico. "With convenient and secure payment options and fast delivery, our goal is to deliver a world-class shopping experience for customers in Mexico."
Chinese startup giant Xiaomi has released their first smartphone outside of Asia today with the Redmi 2 now available in Brazil.
Besides being sold in Brazil, the company is also manufacturing the devices there. By doing so, Xiaomi gets to avoid the massive taxation electronics companies face on imports. However, the labor and parts are much more expensive in Brazil than they would be back in China.
Brazilian smartphone sales are expected to jump to 64 million this year, making it one of the largest markets on the planet, coveted by all the major smartphone makers.
"It's a major undertaking because up until today, we didn't have that complexity in our supply chain," said Xiaomi's global VP Hugo Barra. Brazil is tough because "it requires re-architecting a lot of our supply chain from the components suppliers to financial systems to everything else."
The Redmi 2 will sell for just 499 reais ($159 USD). The device runs on Xiaomi's own Android-based MIUI operating system, a 720p 4.7-inch IPS display, a Snapdragon 410 64-bit processor and 2MP/8MP cameras.
Following its initial rollout to users in New York City, Facebook's Messenger payment platform is now available to all U.S. users.
Says the company: "To pay friends via Messenger, all you have to do is add a debit card so you can pay straight from your checking account without fees. To request payments, simply type the dollar amount and it will hyperlink users to a payment window. Alternatively, you can click the coin icon below the text box."
Facebook recommends keeping your checking accounts synced to Messenger (of course they do), but if you do not feel comfortable doing so you can enter your information anytime you make or receive a payment.
Notably, you do not even need a Facebook account any longer to use Messenger, making it even easier to pay your friends.
The Internet seemed to take offense to a 'sassy' response from Siri when asked "what is zero divided by zero."
Siri has been known to be sarcastic, but this answer goes right for your self-esteem.
This is what Siri will respond: "Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn't make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends."
Media and content giant Vivendi has announced their acquisition of an 80 percent share in video sharing site Dailymotion.
The company paid 217 million euros for the stake, which is owned by European telco Orange.
Vivendi says the acquisition will give them access to "particularly attractive music and audiovisual content." Dailymotion offers content from independent producers, premium partners and millions of regular users.
The content behemoth also owns Universal Music Group and Canal+ Group, and adding Dailymotion to the mix will allow for "the joint development of original and distinctive content and formats that will meet the expectations of a whole new generation of digital consumers."
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