Phil Schiller clarifies iPad mini has stereo speakers following Amazon's Kindle comparison
When Apple's Senior Vice President of Marketing Phil Schiller unveiled the iPad mini on stage earlier this month, he didn't discuss the speaker on the new device. There were rumors …
How Hurricane Sandy Slapped the Sarcasm Out of Twitter
Twitter is often a caldron of sarcasm, much of it funny, little of it useful. But as a social medium based on short-burst communication, Twitter can change during large events — users talk about “wat...
AMBER Alerts for missing children now in Google Search and Maps
Today we are launching AMBER Alerts coordinated by National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the Google Public Alerts platform. Public Alerts are designed to bring you emergency a...
Facebook tests Timeline layout with single column of posts
Facebook is testing a new format for user Timelines, which puts all posts in a single column on the left and any activity modules in a narrower column on the right. — This layout addresses one of th...
Foursquare's Dennis Crowley Talks About Hurricane Sandy's Impact on NYC Start-Ups (Video)
While stranded in Hurricane Sandy-soaked Manhattan this week, I got a chance to chat with Foursquare co-founder and CEO Dennis Crowley about the impact of the epic storm on his social check-in company...
Apple: Motorola's essential wireless patents are at best worth $1 per iPhone
Five days ahead of a FRAND contract trial in the Western District of Wisconsin, Apple has formally declared to the court its willingness to pay Motorola Mobility for a license to its standard-essentia...
Marissa Mayer Makes a Media Deal
The Marissa Mayer messaging is that Yahoo's new CEO is about product, not media. But that doesn't mean she's shutting down everything her predecessor Ross Levinsohn was working on. — Example: Yahoo...
Facebook seeks to offer alternative to Craigslist, utilizing user networks
Facebook seeks to offer alternative to Craigslist, utilizing user networks — Facebook is testing a new service that might make Craigslist a thing of the past. — Two sources within Facebook …
RIM: More than 50 carriers testing BlackBerry 10 now
The company reiterated that it was on track for the launch of its BlackBerry 10 phones in the first quarter. — Research in Motion said today that more than 50 carriers are testing its BlackBerry 10 ...
Stolen cellphone databases switched on in US
U.S. cellphone carriers took a major step on Wednesday toward curbing the rising number of smartphone thefts with the introduction of databases that will block stolen phones from being used on domesti...
Microsoft founders Allen, Gates reconnect after year-long rift
Paul Allen's memoir, Idea Man, is out in paperback this week, and the Microsoft co-founder has penned an epilogue updating readers on some of the book's major storylines — including the status of his ...
Google explains how more data means better speech recognition
A new research paper out of Google describes in some detail the data science behind the the company's speech recognition applications, such as voice search and adding captions or tags to YouTube video...
Twilio Signs First Big International Cloud Telephony Licensing Deal With Japan's #2 Telecom KDDI
Breaking into Japan can be tough for foreign companies since its culture favors credibility and certainty. So Twilio has just struck an exclusive alliance with Japan's well-respected KDDI telecom …
Summly wants to make news summaries cool
Remember Nick D'Aloisio, the Internet wunderkind I met last year in Berlin? Well, he is back with Summly, an iOS (iPhone + iPod Touch) mobile app that takes full news pages and offers them as short a...
Rosetta Stone Agrees to Drop Google Trademark Suit
Rosetta Stone Inc. (RST), a maker of language-learning software, agreed to drop a lawsuit it brought against Google Inc. (GOOG) for selling its trademarks to other companies for search-engine advertis...
Asustek: Nexus 7 Sales Approaching 1 million a Month
Sales of Google Inc. 's Nexus 7, made by Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc. , are closing in on 1 million units a month, the Taiwanese maker revealed. — The 7-inch tablet has created a big buzz this yea...
Right on Cue: Can iTunes chief fix Apple's maps and Siri?
An executive shuffle has dropped two troubled services into the hands of Eddy Cue. CNET has a behind-the-scenes look at Apple's master negotiator and product resuscitator. — Few consumers know his ...
Uber Kills Surge Pricing In NYC For Customers, Drivers Paid 2X Rate To Meet Post-Sandy Demand
With the subway system down for the count in the wake of mega-storm Sandy, it's very, very tough to get around New York City today. And this morning, people who opened up their Uber apps to hail …
Intel working on 48-core chip for smartphones, tablets
A smartphone with 48 cores could change our concept of what it is and what it does — Intel researchers are working on a 48-core processor for smartphones and tablets but it could be five to 10 years...
Microsoft sued for infringing patent on Live Tiles
The trolls rise to the Surface — Microsoft's been touting its Live Tiles concept ever since Windows Phone 7 launched two years ago, but the launch of Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and particularly the...
Wal-Mart to Sell Boxee TVs Challenging Apple and Roku
In a coup for New York-based startup Boxee Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) will sell and promote its new Web-connected device that brings live television and online video together, the companies said...
Samsung gets official with the Galaxy Premier: 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED, 8MP camera, GS III styling
If Samsung took a wrong turn with its brand-diluting Galaxy S III Mini, then the much-leaked Galaxy Premier is where it gets back on track. The phone keeps the outward visage of the Galaxy S III …
Kickstarter crowdfunding website launches in the UK
The Kickstarter site lists projects that are seeking financial backing — Crowdsourced funding website Kickstarter has launched in the UK. — The site, on which users seek money for creative or prod...
Irked by cyberspying, Georgia outs Russia-based hacker — with photos
with photos — In an unprecedented move, Georgia reveals startling details of a hacker it says is stealing its confidential information — In one of the photos, the dark-haired, bearded hacker is pee...
Facebook Shares Drop 5 Percent As Employee Lockup Expires
At market opening today, Facebook took another hit, with shares trading at 20.94, 5.02 percent below Friday's level, the last day trades were made since Hurricane Sandy barreled over the East Coast.
More on Fusion Drive: How it works, and how to roll your own
It's not Intel SRT, it's not file-based, and it works on OS X right now. — Two blog posts by Tumblr user Jollyjinx have shed some more light on the inner workings of Apple's Fusion Drive. Announced...
Say hello to another video app: Threadlife wants to give you three seconds of fame
In launching a new social video startup, Zappos founder Nick Swinmurn and Blitz co-founder Ken Martin know they're jumping into a crowded space that hasn't exactly taken off yet.
Dave McClure's 500 Startups Chooses 33 Companies For Its Fifth Accelerator Batch, Bets Big On International
Dave McClure's 500 Startups has just announced the newest batch of companies to be accepted for its fifth accelerator class. This group is the first through which 500 Startups used …
Samsung solar-powered school shines in rural South Africa
Samsung turns a shipping container into a portable wired classroom to bridge the divide between rural and urban South African schools. — There's something new(ish) under the sun in the rural South A...
Reimagining the “Other” Windows
There has never been a more exciting time to be a developer. Today at Microsoft's Build conference, I had the opportunity to speak to thousands of developers who are key to Microsoft's goal of reimag...
Firefox lost 6-9 million downloads in EU browser choice ‘glitch’
Summary: Mozilla's general counsel estimates between 6-9 million lost Firefox browser downloads thanks to Microsoft failing to include the ‘browser choice’ screen in latest versions of Windows 7. — ...
Privacy in Ubuntu 12.10: Amazon Ads and Data Leaks
Earlier this month the eagerly awaited free software operating system Ubuntu 12.10 was released, and it includes a slew of new features (YouTube link), some of which have infuriated users because of p...