Microsoft Surface 2 fondleslabs finally get off ground with airline order
How many of Microsoft's ARM-powered Surface 2 fondleslabs has it sold so far during the presale period leading up to the tablet's October 22 launch? At least 11,000, as it turns out, because that's how many were snapped up by US passenger carrier Delta Air Lines.
"Delta is rolling out these new tablets to replace the traditional …
US regulators seek public input on plan to investigate patent trolls
The US Federal Trade Commission is moving ahead – slowly – with plans to investigate the ways and practices of so-called Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs): patent trolls, to you and me.
On Friday, the FTC voted unanimously to seek public comments on a proposal to gather information from "approximately 25 companies that are in the …
Hey, out-of-work BlackBerry bods: How about a job at Motorola?
Those 4,500 BlackBerry employees that CEO Thorsten Heins has promised to send packing may not be out of work for long – if Google has anything to say about it.
Reuters reports that Motorola Canada – a branch of Google's Motorola Mobility division, which markets such Android devices as the recently released Moto X – has …
Redmond expands fanboi trade-in program to include iPhones
Microsoft has expanded its trade-in program for iOS devices to include iPhones, in addition to iPads.
Earlier this month, the software giant began offering customers in the US and Canada $200 gift certificates to the Microsoft Store in exchange for iPad trade-ins, in hopes that customers would spend the dough on a Surface …
PC sales shrank less than expected during back-to-school 2013
Want a shock? Sales of desktop and notebook PCs during the all-important back-to-school period were actually better than expected, according to the latest figures from research firm the NPD Group.
That doesn't mean the PC market has suddenly leapt off its sickbed and started tap dancing, mind you. The numbers are still shrinking …
Microsoft to merge Windows, Windows Phone stores in 2014
Microsoft is planning to combine the Windows Store and the Windows Phone Store into a single app store for all of its platforms as early as the spring of 2014, sources claim.
The Verge reports that Microsoft's new operating systems head, Terry Myerson, revealed the plan during an all-hands meeting in Redmond on Thursday.
The …
BlackBerry manufacturing partner Jabil looking to cut ties
When a relationship starts going badly, sometimes it's best to just move on. Case in point, Jabil Circuit, longtime manufacturing partner of battered Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, which looks to be ready to pull the plug.
"We are faced with a strong possibility of disengaging with BlackBerry," Jabil CEO Mark Mondello …
T-Mobile pulls BlackBerry products from US retail stores
As BlackBerry struggles to regain its footing following the disastrous second quarter of its fiscal 2014, US wireless carrier T-Mobile has announced that it will no longer carry the Canadian firm's smartphones in its retail stores.
T-Mobile executive VP of corporate services David Carey told Reuters that demand for BlackBerry …
T-Mobile US exec mulls merger with rival Sprint
The chief finance officer of US wireless carrier T-Mobile says further consolidation in the US mobile industry is inevitable and that a merger with Sprint would make a lot of sense.
"It's the ultimate logical combination," T-Mobile CFO Braxton Carter told Reuters at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York City on …
Surface Mini on shelves NEXT YEAR – and it will run Windows RT
Microsoft isn't done with its second round of Surface tablets, but a Mini version with an eight-inch or smaller screen and running Windows RT probably won't arrive until next year, according to the latest rumors.
Longtime Redmond-watcher Mary Jo Foley's sources say Microsoft is readying a pint-sized portable to round out its …
Google says it's sorry for Monday's hours-long Gmail delays
Google apologized on Tuesday for a networking glitch that prevented emails from reaching many Gmail users' accounts for as much as two hours or even longer.
"The message delivery delays were triggered by a dual network failure," Gmail site reliability engineer Sabrina Farmer wrote in a blog post. "This is a very rare event in …
Oracle talks performance, NoSQL, 'internet of things' at MySQL Connect
The MySQL Connect sessions may have been just a small part of the massive Oracle OpenWorld conference that they helped kick off this year, but the message from Oracle's MySQL team is that the open source database is thriving and its community is as strong as ever, despite mounting competition.
"A lot of people thought that …
Oracle's Ellison talks up 'ungodly speeds' of in-memory database. SAP: *Cough* Hana
Oracle headman Larry Ellison kicked off this year's OpenWorld conference on Sunday by touting the lightning-fast performance of the Oracle 12c database's new in-memory database caching option, and he brought along some brand-new hardware to prove his point.
In-memory databases are nothing new, of course. SAP has long flaunted …
No luck at all for BlackBerry as Messenger apps launch stalls
For BlackBerry, it seems, it never rains but it pours. On Wednesday, the woebegone smartphone vendor announced that its long-awaited BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) apps for Android and iOS would be made available over the weekend – but logistical problems have halted that launch for now.
"Prior to launching BBM for Android, an …
Microsoft: Surface a failure? No, it made us STRONGER
Microsoft's Surface fondleslabs haven't been selling as well as it or its retail partners would have liked, but top execs say that building hardware in-house is an essential part of Redmond's strategy, and one that has already paid off.
Speaking at a meeting with financial analysts on Thursday, Microsoft chief operating officer …
BlackBerry BLOODBATH! Company warns of nearly $1bn quarterly loss
BlackBerry surprised Wall Street by releasing its second quarter earnings early on Friday, but it was hardly the kind of surprise where a dancer jumps out of a cake.
The Canadian smartphone maker warned the market that it expects to post revenues of around $1.6bn when it files its formal earnings report on September 27 – a …
Microsoft explains its new financial reporting structure – sort of
In a meeting with financial analysts on Thursday, Microsoft for the first time disclosed details of its new financial reporting structure, in light of the radical organizational restructuring that CEO Steve Ballmer announced in July.
As we were told, gone are the classic five business groups units – Windows, Server and Tools, …
Ex-CEO Elop's plunder to total $25m in voyage from Nokia to Microsoft
Outgoing Nokia CEO Stephen Elop will receive compensation and bonuses totaling approximately $25.4m as he departs the company for his new position at Microsoft.
The payout was revealed in proxy materials for the Finnish firm's "Extraordinary General Meeting" to be held on November 19, during which shareholders are expected to …
BlackBerry's Heins readies the hatchet yet again
BlackBerry plans to make significant staffing cuts by the end of the year, sources claim, which will see the Canadian firm shed as much as 40 per cent of its total workforce.
As many as 5,080 of BlackBerry's approximately 12,700 employees could get the axe under the plan, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing …
BlackBerry Messenger to launch on Android, iOS this weekend
BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be available for download on Android and iOS devices beginning this weekend, the struggling Canadian smartphone maker has announced.
BlackBerry has been teasing the idea of separating its popular social messaging app from its smartphone platform since May, and it even made the app available on …
Open source Android fork Cyanogen becomes $7m company
Independent Android firmware project CyanogenMod has become a company, thanks to a $7m Series A financing round led by Silicon Valley venture firms Benchmark Capital and Redpoint Ventures.
The new company, Cyanogen, will be based in Seattle and led by chief exec Kirt McMaster, described as "a Canadian-Californian technology …
Study finds fraudsters foist one-third of all Tor traffic
People who access the internet through the anonymizing Tor network are much more likely to be up to no good than are typical internet users, according to a study by online reputation–tracking firm Iovation.
The company announced on Tuesday that 30.2 per cent of the transactions it logged as coming from the Tor network during the …
Microsoft relents: 'Go ahead, install Windows 8.1 on clean PCs'
Microsoft says that in addition to offering Windows 8.1 as a free update for Windows 8 users in October, it will also be easier for customers to buy versions of Windows 8.1 that don't require an upgrade from a previous edition of the OS.
Redmond launched Windows 8 in October 2012 as essentially an upgrade-only product. "System …
Former! Android! Open! Source! Boss! Takes! Job! At! Yahoo!
The former head of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) at Google has jumped ship to the competition.
Jean-Baptiste Quéru announced that he has accepted a job at Yahoo! via his Twitter feed on Tuesday, and the Purple Palace quickly responded with a welcome tweet.
Quéru rattled the Android community in August when he made it …
Jolla Sailfish OS to support Android hardware, apps
Finnish smartphone startup Jolla has announced that its Linux-based Sailfish OS mobile platform will be both software and hardware compatible with Android.
Sailfish OS will be able to run unmodified Android apps alongside native Sailfish ones, the company said in a press release on Monday. In addition, Sailfish will be …
Microsoft no longer a top Linux kernel contributor
After making headlines with its unexpectedly voluminous contributions to the Linux kernel in 2012, Microsoft has all but disappeared from the Linux development scene, according the latest report from the Linux Foundation.
The last edition of the Foundation's annual Linux kernel development report saw Microsoft break into the top …
Dev delays push ship date of Metro-ized Firefox to January 2014
The Mozilla Foundation has quietly delayed the release of the version of its Firefox browser for Windows 8's Start Screen yet again, citing slower-than-expected development.
According to notes posted from the most recent Mozilla planning meeting, which took place on Thursday, the velocity of the Firefox Metro team decreased by …
Teen buys WikiLeaks server for $33,000 – with dad's eBay account
The eBay auction of a server formerly used by WikiLeaks has ended with a closing bid of more than $30,000, but the 17-year-old winner will not receive his goods because he bid on the equipment using his father's eBay account without his permission.
The youth, whose name has been withheld, bid eight times during the ten-day …
It's about time: Java update includes tool for blocking drive-by exploits
Oracle's latest update to the Java SE Development Kit (JDK) version 7 adds new security features designed to help businesses avoid being stung by critical vulnerabilities in out-of-date versions of Java.
After a string of embarrassing Java security flaws was disclosed by independent researchers, Oracle has made addressing …
Cold-blooded, INHUMAN visitor hitches ride on NASA moon rocket
Recently released footage has revealed that an unexpected traveler hitched a ride during the launch of NASA's LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) rocket last Friday.
A dramatic photo published to the space agency's Instagram feed on Thursday depicts LADEE hurtling into the sky atop a column of flame – and …
ZTE Open: This dirt-cheap smartphone is a swing and a miss
Of the various open source Android challengers currently under development, the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox OS was the first to reach the market with actual, commercially available products. The ZTE Open smartphone is one such product. Unfortunately, that's about all it's got going for it.
When ZTE started selling the Open via …
Oracle ships Java 8 Developer Preview for testing, 18 months late
Oracle has shipped the Developer Preview of the much-delayed Java Development Kit (JDK) Version 8, the reference implementation of the Java SE 8 Platform.
"If you've been watching JDK 8 evolve from afar then now is an excellent time to download a build and try it out – the sooner the better!" Oracle's chief Java architect Mark …
Apple ships new iPods in 'SPAAAAACE ... Gray'
Apple has quietly updated several of its iPod media players with a new color option to match its latest flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5S.
The new mobe, which debuted at a media event in Cupertino on Tuesday, comes in three different color schemes: the rather prosaic Silver and Gold, and the oddly named "Space Gray". Now a few …
Apple seeds final iOS 7 code to devs, announces September 18 ship date
Most of the attention on Apple's Tuesday event in Cupertino was focused on the company's latest iPhones, but Tim Cook & Co did have some news under their hats regarding iOS 7 and Apple's iLife and iWork suites of iOS apps, as well.
Unsurprisingly, both the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S will ship with iOS 7 preinstalled. But owners of …
New iPhones: C certainly DOESN'T stand for 'Cheap'
You wanted new iPhones and you got them. But if anything, the most surprising thing about Apple's big Tuesday reveal was just how little it managed to keep secret from the tech media ahead of the event.
As predicted, Cupertino unveiled not one but two new iPhone models – a first – and just like everyone thought, they are named …
Microsoft to unveil new Surface slabs at September 23 event
Microsoft will launch the second generation of its Surface fondleslabs at an invitation-only event to be held in New York City on September 23.
The company teased the event with invites emailed to media on Monday that gave few details, other than making very plain that Surface will be in the limelight. Even the invitation's text …
Malware culprit fingered in mysterious Tor traffic spike
Security researchers believe they have identified the botnet responsible for a recent spike in traffic on the anonymizing Tor network, but the exact purpose of the malware remains unclear.
On Friday, security firm Fox-IT called out the culprit as a variant of a botnet sometimes known as "Mevade.A", which has been making the …
Microsoft does a U-turn, releases Windows 8.1 to developers early after all
After facing a backlash from developers concerned that they wouldn't get early access to the latest versions of Windows, Microsoft has released builds of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 to its MSDN and TechNet subscription programs, more than a month ahead of the updates' official launch date.
"We heard from you that our …
Canadian family gives up modern tech to live like it's 1986
Disappointed that their children seemed to enjoy using iPhones and iPads more than playing outdoors, a couple in Guelph, Ontario, Canada has chosen to spend a year using only technology invented before 1986.
Photo of Blair McMillan and Morgan Patey of Guelph, Canada Deprived of iPads, a Canadian family experiences an atavistic …
Want the latest Android version? Good luck with that
The latest stats from Google show that Android "Jelly Bean" continues to gain ground as the most popular version of the platform, but the very latest releases of Google's smartphone OS continue to face slow adoption.
Jelly Bean is a bit unusual as Android codenames go, because Android versions 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 all bear that …
Yahoo! Comes! Clean! On! Global! Government! Data! Requests!
Yahoo! has joined such companies as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter in pledging to release semiannual reports on how often it responds to requests from governments for information about its users.
The first such report, published on Friday, summarizes data compiled from January 1 through June 30, 2013, and it shows …
Tor traffic torrent: It ain't the Syrians, it's the BOTS
The recent spike in traffic on the Tor anonymizing relay network is probably due to botnet activity rather than any recent political developments, research by Tor Project members has concluded.
The overall number of clients accessing the Tor network on a daily basis has more than doubled since around mid-August, but so far …
Second-gen Surface and Surface Pro rumored to be minor upgrades
More details have begun to trickle out regarding Microsoft's second-generation Surface fondleslabs, which are expected to ship in the fall.
On Wednesday, Neowin reported that new versions of both the Intel-based Surface Pro and the ARM-based Surface running Windows RT were in the works.
Windows-watcher Paul Thurrot later …
Kim Dotcom quits Mega to head new political party, fight extradition
Internet mogul Kim Dotcom has stepped down from his position as managing director of file-sharing site Mega to focus on his legal battles and his political ambitions.
The loquacious entrepreneur says he plans to form a new political party in New Zealand, of which he will be head, and will lobby for "a new submarine cable, fair …
AT&T helping US drug cops in 'vast, troubling' phone snoop scheme
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has enlisted telecom giant AT&T to develop a massive telephone records database that may put the National Security Agency's domestic phone surveillance to shame.
Dubbed the Hemisphere Project, the partnership sees AT&T employees working closely alongside DEA agents to supply them with phone …
Kindle Matchbook offers cheap digital copies of Amazon print purchases
Amazon on Tuesday announced a new program that offers customers discounted digital copies of select print books purchased through its website.
Called Kindle Matchbook – in a continuation of Amazon's eerily Fahrenheit 451–esque branding for its ebook line – the program will allow customers to purchase ebook versions of their …
Give us a break: Next Android version to be called 'KitKat'
Google has announced that the next version of its Android operating system will be codenamed "KitKat", after the iconic chocolate-covered wafer candy bar.
Photo of the KitKat mascot among the Android lawn statues The Chocolate Factory needs a break from 'Jelly Bean', it seems
Previously, the leading speculation among the …
Indian government to bar politicians from using Gmail for official business
The government of India is reportedly planning to bar its employees from using Gmail and other foreign-based email services, amid concerns over surveillance by US spy agencies.
"Gmail data of Indian users resides in other countries as the servers are located outside," J Satyanarayana, India's secretary of electronics and …
Apple to accept iPhone trade-ins at US Retail Stores
With the rumored launch date of the next iPhone fast approaching, Apple on Friday began allowing iPhone owners to trade in their old handsets at the company's Apple Retail Stores in the US.
"iPhones hold great value," an Apple spokeswoman told the AFP news service. "So, Apple Retail Stores are launching a new program to assist …
NSA: NOBODY could stop Snowden – he was A SYSADMIN
The US National Security Agency may have some of the most sophisticated cyber-surveillance programs in the world, but it was trivial for former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to walk off with sensitive data, sources say, owing to the agency's antiquated internal security.
"The [Defense Department] and especially NSA are known for …
