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On the heels of major revisions to Microsoft's Bing search engine, Google is revamping its own. On Wednesday, the tech giant announced the launch of its Knowledge Graph, which is intended to help users quickly and easily discover new information. In a posting on the Google Official Blog, Senior Vice President of Engineering Amit Singhal wrote that, instead of primarily focusing on matching keywords to queries, the enhancement enables the search engine to use an intelligent model that "understands real-world entities and their relationships to one another: things, not strings." 'Critical First Step' Singhal said the Knowledge Graph "knows about" a variety of things, people, and places, such as landmarks, celebrities, cities, sports teams, buildings, geographical features, movies, celestial objects, works of art, and other subjects. The Graph's current inventory of knowledge, he said, is only the "critical first step" toward creating the next generation of search, which understands the world in ways closer to how people do. The Graph is more than just calling up data in Wikipedia, the CIA World Factbook, and other supplies of knowledge. It's been populated with more than 500 million knowledge objects, with more than 3.5 billion facts about the relationships between those objects. The first step in this new kind of search, Google said, is understanding the differences in meaning for a given query. For instance, is the search for "Taj Mahal" about the monument or the musician? The Graph will give choices. Next, the Graph provides summaries containing key facts that a user might want about a particular subject. The example given by Singhal is Marie Curie. The Graph will deliver birth and death dates, as well as information on her education and scientific discoveries. There's also knowledge about her relationship with other entities, such as her Nobel-prize-winning relatives. 'People Also Search for' The Graph's ability to determine what is... newsfactor.com »

Samsung is king of mobile phones, while Apple owns a not-too shabby 7.9 percent of the global phone market. And Android remains the top operating system, with more than half the market. Those are some of the findings of a report on the global mobile market in the first quarter of the year by Gartner. Nokia Is Slipping South Korea-based Samsung's sales to end users amounted to 20.7 percent of the worldwide total in the quarter, up from 16.1 percent in the same quarter last year, Gartner said. That growth comes at the expense of Nokia, the Finnish company that saw its share shrink from 25.1 percent to 19.8 percent. California-based Apple received its accustomed dose of good news with a share that doubled from 3.9 percent to 7.8 quarter over quarter. Considering that Apple makes only a single smartphone (in varying generations and storage capacity), the news is impressive. Research In Motion dropped from 3.0 percent to 2.4 percent. The Canadian BlackBerry maker lags behind China's ZTE, South Korea's LG and China's Huawei to take up seventh place. Gartner's report follows one by Strategy Analytics based on vendor surveys that put Samsung at the top of the market with a 31 percent share, toppling Nokia's 14-year reign at the top spot. Google's Android OS saw substantial growth year over year, from 36.4 percent to 56.1 percent, while Apple's iOS also grew from 16.9 percent to 22.9 percent, according to Gartner. Nokia's fading Symbian platform dropped significantly as the company switches to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, dropping from 27.7 percent to just 8.6 percent. Research In Motion's platforms fell from 13.0 percent to 6.9 percent. Windows Phone also dropped, from 2.6 percent to 1.9 percent. Overall, mobile phone sales reached 419.1 million units in the quarter, a decline of 2 percent, Gartner said, marking the first decline in sales... newsfactor.com »

With more than 50 percent of U.S. mobile phone users now equipped with smartphones, demand for mobile apps continues to soar. The average number of mobile apps per smartphone jumped from 32 apps to 41 apps during 2011 -- a 28 percent rise in comparison with 2010, according to a new report from Nielsen. However, U.S. smartphone owners spent about the same amount of time using mobile apps each day in 2011 as they had during the previous year -- 39 minutes per day versus 37 minutes per day, Nielsen said. Nielsen researchers said 70 percent of the survey's respondents expressed "concern over personal data collection" and 55 percent were "wary of sharing information about their location via smartphone apps." So we asked Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC, what developers need to do to address privacy concerns as well as prod U.S. smartphone users to spend more time using their apps. Hilwa said he expected to see the development of new app types as well as the further expansion of apps into other areas of life. "And developers will continue to chase ever narrower opportunities" while hoping to "hit areas that have not transitioned fully from Web to mobile, or aspects of life not digitized fully yet," Hilwa said Wednesday. "But at some point this pace of growth will slow down." Claiming More Minutes Privacy and security considerations definitely stop some people from using apps. "And that may be another area where the industry can move to claim more minutes of app usage by increasing the confidence in apps," Hilwa said. Clearly, users ramp up the most toward app usage in their first few months of smartphone usage. "After that, a steady state ensues, and it is a challenge for the app ecosystem to keep existing users engaged," Hilwa said. "There... newsfactor.com »

Intel just rolled out three new Xeon processor families with a range of target uses: the E5-4600 for boosted performance and flexibility, the E5-2400 for small- to mid-sized businesses, and the E3-1200 v2 with improved performance per watt, data security and graphics capabilities for entry workstation customers. Altogether, Intel introduced 28 processors. As part of the announcement, Boyd Davis, vice president and general manager of the Datacenter Infrastructure Group at Intel, said companies are increasingly dependent on IT to deliver innovative products and services to customers. Intel hopes to be the one to make IT look good. But will Intel's move to drive Xeon innovations for small business and emerging scale workloads be met with enthusiasm among server makers? If OEM adoption is any signal, Intel could see new profits as both IBM and Dell deliver Xeon-based systems to market targeting these niche audiences. The Ivy Bridge Disruption We caught up with Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, to get his take on the latest news in the x86 data center revolution. He told us the overarching story has been a tale of industry standard upward mobility, pressing and pressuring traditional systems from below. At the same time, he continued, displacement has been a constant theme in that narrative. Enter Intel's latest fab technology, widely known as Ivy Bridge. King said Ivy Bridge may look to some like just another chapter in an ongoing story but it could actually signal an entirely new era of industry-standard computing. That, King said, is because not only did Intel's revolutionary new 3D Tri-Gate fabrication technology allow the company to become the first CPU vendor to deliver commercial 22-nanometer based products, the company also executed the process in good time, speeding its traditional "tick-tock" upgrade schedule and establishing a viable, believable roadmap for future tinier transistors. Intel's... newsfactor.com »

Google is revising the way it rolls out new Android versions and devices, according to a new report. The move is intended to give the tech giant greater control over features and apps, and to reduce the influence of wireless carriers. According to a story in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, Google will now give new versions of Android to as many as five manufacturers at a time, and devices using the new version will be sold directly to consumers. Previously, Google's practice was to produce "lead devices" for a new version with a single manufacturer and then roll out to other makers, with devices being sold through carriers or retail stores. Nexus-Branded Products Under the new scheme -- which has not yet been confirmed by Google -- Google would sell the Nexus-brand products from the manufacturers through its Web site and possibly through some retailers. Google has tried direct sales to consumers on a limited basis previously, with limited success. The amount of involvement that wireless carriers would have in marketing and selling this wave of products is not yet clear. One might assume that phones or tablets sold directly to consumers by Google would not be subsidized by carriers, so, unless Google is ready to pick up that slack, the prices are expected to be considerably higher than what buyers have come to expect. It would be expected the phones would be sold unlocked, so that they would work on a variety of networks. Unless a contract is packaged with the sale -- something that would seem to counter Google's strategy -- the buyer then would have to find a carrier. But, potentially, a device buyer could purchase a prepaid wireless plan, making the total ownership cost less than currently and not obligating the buyer to a contract. The new Google strategy, according to the... newsfactor.com »

The newest chief of Yahoo, interim CEO Ross Levinsohn, has carved a career out of making deals. Now, as head honcho at the embattled Internet icon, he needs to make plenty. Levinsohn inherits an unenviable to-do list from a conga line of recent former Yahoo CEOs. Like Scott Thompson, who was pushed out Sunday over inaccuracies on his resume, Carol Bartz, Jerry Yang and Terry Semel, Levinsohn has to unravel Yahoo's knotty issue with Chinese Internet firm Alibaba Group, of which it owns a stake. He also needs to shore up relations with Facebook, with whom Yahoo has traded patent-infringement lawsuits. And he must figure out what to do with a quasi-successful search deal with Microsoft. To be fair, the situation isn't entirely dire. The portal attracts about 700 million visitors a month, which helped it generate nearly $1 billion in ad sales last quarter. But that business is under siege from Google, Facebook and an armada of start-ups vying for eyeballs and revenue. Yahoo's slice of the nearly $40 billion U.S. online ad market -- at 16% in 2009 -- was 9.5% in 2011 and could slide to 7.4% this year, according to eMarketer. Levinsohn, who was running Yahoo's Americas business, is familiar around Internet circles. He was president of Fox Interactive Media, when News Corp. acquired Myspace, and helped Myspace land a $900 million ad deal with Google. While in control of Yahoo's U.S. sales operations, he restaffed the team and eliminated middlemen to increase yield on ads sold. "Ross Levinsohn makes a lot of sense as CEO, because he has a lot of experience in Internet media," says Scott Kessler, analyst at S&P Capital IQ. "A lot of people are hoping he becomes the permanent CEO." Whether the new CEO and fresh board are the fix remains an open question. Analysts will be closely... newsfactor.com »

LightSquared Inc., which hoped to create an independent wireless broadband network in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday. Regulators blocked its plan this winter because of concerns that its transmissions would interfere with GPS navigation. LightSquared hasn't given up. Chief Financial Officer Marc Montagner said in a statement that the bankruptcy filing is intended to gain the company "breathing room" while it continues to work through its regulatory issues. It has said that it has invested more than $4 billion in the network. LightSquared listed assets and liabilities of more than $1 billion each in the filing Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company, which is based in Reston, Virginia, is owned by Harbinger Capital Partners, a private-equity firm that made billions betting against subprime mortgages ahead of the collapse of the housing market. Harbinger bought SkyTerra, a provider of satellite communications services to businesses, in 2010. It then lobbied the Federal Communications Commission to allow it to use the spectrum set aside for SkyTerra for ground-based communications -- essentially, a conventional wireless broadband network, rather than a satellite-based one. But SkyTerra's licenses were for spectrum adjacent to a band used by GPS satellites. On the ground, GPS units had no problem filtering out transmissions from SkyTerra's satellites, but regulators determined that they could be disrupted by strong, ground-based signals. LightSquared's CEO, telecom veteran Sanjiv Ahuja, resigned in February. The company's largest creditors are Boeing Satellite Systems Inc., owed $7.5 million, and telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent, owed $7.3 million, according to the filing. newsfactor.com »

If you're feeling nostalgic about the days when you drank Pabst Blue Ribbon beer because it was cheap, not trendy, a new online tool from the Social Security Administration will take you on a walk down memory lane. On May 1, Social Security launched a feature on its Web site, www.socialsecurity.gov, that allows workers to view an online version of their Social Security earnings and benefits statements. The program also allows you to estimate your retirement, disability and survivors benefits. You can use this tool to show your kids how little you made when you started working (after you've reminded them that you walked 5 miles to get to school, without an iPod or cellphone). But more important, it can help you receive all of the benefits you're due, and make smart decisions about when to claim them. Social Security used to mail workers an annual earnings statement, but suspended those mailings last year to save money. Starting in February, Social Security resumed mailing paper statements to workers 60 and older who aren't already receiving benefits. Later this year, it will mail paper statements to workers in the year they turn 25. Before you can review your online earnings statement, you must go to www.ssa.gov/mystatement and create an account. The program will ask you a bunch of personal questions for security reasons, so be prepared to give up the name of your first pet and answer some multiple-choice questions about your finances. Social Security contracted with credit bureau Experian to provide information for verification purposes. Once you've established your identity, you can create an account with a user name and password. Social Security recommends reviewing it annually. Here's what you can learn from the online earnings statement: Whether your earnings have been reported correctly. It's a lot of fun to reminisce about the year you earned a... newsfactor.com »

Two much-anticipated games, Max Payne 3 and Diablo III, [could] bring respite from a five-month slump in video game retail sales. The arrival of the third-person action game and the PC-based fantasy role-playing game will be welcomed by game fans and retailers, because the release schedule of potential hits so far in 2012 has been underwhelming. Another sign of slumping sales: Retailer GameStop reported last week that first-quarter sales fell 12.5% on a drop in store traffic due to fewer blockbuster titles. Overall April retail sales were $630.4 million, down 32% from $930.9 million in April 2011, reports market tracker the NPD Group. "When we see compelling content come into the market, the games are still selling as well as ever," says NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "We just saw a lot less this April as compared to last." Other factors in the slump: growth in sales of downloadable games and add-on content, as well as a casual gamer shift to mobile and Web games. Some developers have turned design efforts to the next generation of video game consoles, even though only Nintendo's Wii U has been announced, says Geoff Keighley, host of Spike network's GameTrailers TV. "Really, the only big game this year," he says, "has been Mass Effect 3," BioWare's science-fiction role-playing game, which has sold about 4 million copies in two months. With Max Payne 3 ($60, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PCs, ages 17 and older), developer Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto) revived the police detective from two popular computer games out in 2001 and 2003. The success of the new game, coming to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PCs, "is critical for the video game market, not just for Rockstar," says EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich. Since the impact of mobile games on interest in premium-price console games is hard to quantify,... newsfactor.com »

Cisco on Wednesday offered up findings from its "bring your own device" study and used the results as a jumping off point to announce new mobility solutions. But can Cisco carve out a niche in the nascent BYOD services space? The Cisco IBSG Horizons Study surveyed 600 U.S. IT and business leaders to discover the benefits and complexities of allowing workers to use their own mobile devices on corporate networks. A whopping 95 percent of respondents say their organization allows employee-owned devices on the network. The study also revealed that the average number of connected devices per knowledge worker is expected to reach 3.3 by 2014, up from an average of 2.8 in 2012. All in all, managers are balancing security and support concerns with the very real potential to reap significant cost and productivity benefits from the BYOD trend. BYOD Meets Virtual Desktops As Cisco sees it, BYOD is here to stay and managers are seeing the need for a more holistic approach -- an approach that is scalable and addresses mobility, security, virtualization and network policy management -- in order to keep management costs in line and realize savings. According to Cisco IBSG, Cisco employees pay an average of $600 out-of-pocket for devices that will give them more control over their work experience. The benefits of BYOD vary based on an employee's role and work requirements. Cisco IBSG estimates that the annual benefits from BYOD range from $300 to $1,300 per employee. While the BYOD trend gains momentum, desktop virtualization is on the rise. Sixty-eight percent of respondents agreed that a majority of knowledge worker roles are suitable for desktop virtualization and 50 percent noted that their organization is in the process of implementing a desktop virtualization strategy. Cisco's 'Smart Solutions' Cisco's answer to the opportunity and challenge is the Cisco Unified Workspace, which allows everything... newsfactor.com »

With some 900 million user accounts, Facebook would seem to be the perfect venue for advertisers. The question is, despite the amount of time people spend logged on, posting updates, chatting with friends and sharing pictures, how much does the advertising that has made Facebook a multibillion-dollar concern in a short eight years really move products? Not enough, the nation's leading automobile manufacturer has apparently concluded. In its case, paid advertising on the world's biggest social network hasn't justified the cost. $10 Million Campaign The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that General Motors was pulling its ads for cars on Facebook, while continuing to use free pages to publicize its products. The paid advertising had reportedly amounted to $10 million. The decision may reflect a mindset of "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?" That could be troubling on some level for the Mark Zuckerberg-founded company as it heads toward an initial public stock offering Friday that hinges on future profitability and revenue growth. The company could be valued as high as $100 billion. "GM's move is certainly likely to give other advertisers pause, especially given the company's heft, its reputation for advertising savvy and its remarkable return from the grave," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told us. "There have also been numerous similar situations in the past, where an initially hot Internet property cooled swiftly -- in some cases, by Antarctic proportions -- when exposed to close scrutiny." One example, King said, was Second Life, the virtual world created by Linden Research in 2003 that allows users to interact through avatars. Virtual Showrooms Didn't Pay "At one point, the site's fast growth and its popularity among the technology elite made it a go-to venue for numerous vendors and manufacturers, many of which built virtual 'showrooms' to market and advertise their goods," King... newsfactor.com »

Viruses have gotten a bad rap for their role in colds, diseases and malware. But now the reputation of some viruses is being redeemed, as researchers in California have developed a way to use them for the creation of electricity. The technology works by converting mechanical energy from specially engineered, harmless viruses into electricity. To date, the research team from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has created a generator that can produce enough current to power a small LCD display. 'Viral Electronics' The research is described in a May 13 advance online publication of the Nature Nanotechnology journal. Scientist and associate professor Seung-Wuk Lee said in a statement that, while more research is needed, the results thus far represent "a promising first step toward the development of personal power generators, actuators for use in nano-devices, and other devices based on viral electronics." In the test generator, a finger tap of the postage stamp-sized electrode uses the viruses to generate an electrical charge. The electrode is coated with the viruses, and the generator is the first to create electricity by using the piezoelectric properties of biological material. The viruses self-organize on a multilayered film in the generator that measures about one square centimeter, and are then placed between two gold-plated electrodes. A wire connects the arrangement to an LCD display. When pressure is applied, about six nanoamperes of current and 400 millivolts of potential are created, equal to about 25 percent of a Triple A battery's voltage. Piezoelectricity is the build-up of a charge in a solid, as a response to mechanical stress. Potentially, electricity from this kind of generator could be produced from a variety of everyday activities, such as shutting a door, walking, or bicycling. Stack of 20 Layers The piezoelectric effect, first discovered in 1880, has been found in crystals,... newsfactor.com »

Advanced Micro Devices has launched a new A-series of accelerated processing units (APUs) designed for deployment in next-generation notebooks as well as in traditional desktop PCs. Code-named Trinity, the new series-A APUs reportedly double the performance of prior AMD offerings as well as boost processor performance by 29 percent through the addition of third-generation AMD turbo core technology. AMD's turbo core technology shifts power between each chip's central processing unit and graphics processing unit to best match each application's specific requirements. As a result, AMD said CPU frequencies are able to rise to a maximum of 3.2 gigahertz. AMD's new APUs also are capable of delivering up to 12 hours of battery life through CPU and GPU power enhancements, said AMD Corporate Vice President Chris Cloran. "Our second-generation AMD A-Series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most," Cloran said. The processing boost doesn't stop at mainstream notebooks, Cloran said. "It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics," he said. ARM No Threat This Year Given the inundation of recent media reports about ARM-based processors expected to land in value-added notebooks after Microsoft launches its Windows RT operating system for mobile computing devices, we asked AMD about how the chipmaker's new chips stack up against the ARM-based offerings coming down the pike. The A-Series APUs that AMD launched Tuesday are destined for deployment in notebooks from Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba and will likely be priced in the $500-$800 range by AMD's OEM partners, said AMD spokesman Phil Hughes. "Value based notebooks come closer to the value proposition of our E-Series platform, which is designed for essential notebooks in the $250-$500 range," Hughes... newsfactor.com »

Nokia is struggling on many fronts, but the company is performing well in emerging markets -- and it's looking to boost its chances with two new mobile phones that play on its strategy to connect the next billion consumers. The Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 aim to attract young, urban consumers who want to experience a fast, affordable online experience. Both devices incorporate social-media aspects, like Facebook and Twitter integration. And a Nokia browser promises to consume up to 90 percent less data by compressing Web sites in the cloud. "Today's mobile phone users want a quick Internet experience that allows them to discover great content and share it with their friends -- but without being held back by high data costs," said Mary T. McDowell, executive vice president of Mobile Phones at Nokia. She's betting consumers will look to the Nokia 110 and 112, which combine browsing, social media, apps, entertainment and long battery life. Casual Gaming Savvy The devices have a 1.8-inch display that Nokia characterizes as "optimized for gaming." In the months ahead, the Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 will bring free EA Games, including favorites like Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run, Monopoly Here & Now, and SimCity Deluxe. The Nokia 112 features a preloaded eBuddy instant messaging service so users can tap into popular chat services from the mobile device. And both phones offer an upgraded camera that lets users customize contacts with photos, or share images via social networks and Bluetooth. The VGA camera promises sharper, clearer pictures with support for up to 32GB of external memory, enough for more than 6,000 songs or 90,000 pictures. Consumers can tune into radio stations and share songs with friends over Bluetooth. And all this with a promised 10 hours of talk time and nearly a month of standby. The Lumia... newsfactor.com »

All eyes are on all aspects of Facebook. As the social-media darling sets its sights on an historic initial public offering, though, it's doing a little housecleaning on the privacy front. And that housecleaning is making many angry. Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, let the world know on Friday what her team was doing to help Facebook's users better understand how it uses their data. She penned a blog post that outlined how Facebook has enhanced transparency in its data use policy. For all Facebook's good intentions, though, its latest update has many users up in arms once again. In fact, privacy advocates organized flash mob protests against Facebook on Tuesday at locations in New York and San Francisco. Not exactly the kind of publicity a pre-IPO Facebook wants or needs, though it did not seem to affect offering share prices. Privacy Changes Detailed "We're adding more examples and detailed explanations to help you understand our policies. For example, we include additional tips, marked with a light bulb so you can find them easily. We've added new links to our Help Center," Egan wrote. Facebook also created a new section explaining how it uses "cookies" and similar technologies and updated the corresponding explanations about cookies in its Help Center. Facebook went on to provide more information about how it uses data to operate the social network, to advertise, and to promote safety and security for its users. Facebook also launched several new features in its Data Use Policy since its last update, including Activity Log. Egan described Activity Log as a new privacy tool that lets you see in one place the information you've posted to Facebook. From Activity Log, for example, you can control who can see each piece of information and decide whether it appears on your timeline. "We... newsfactor.com »

In time for spring blooming, Lenovo is out with a fresh crop of updates to its venerable ThinkPad line. The new arrivals include the X1 Carbon laptop, which the company called the lightest 14-inch Ultrabook, as well as the addition of Intel's Ivy Bridge processors to an assortment of models. The X1 joins a variety of Ultrabook models that are beginning to pop up from various manufacturers. Or, as Information Technology Intelligence Consulting analyst Laura DiDio put it, "this is like the Easter parade for Ultrabooks." Lenovo said that its X1 Carbon "exceeds Ultrabook specifications," specifically in its use of a carbon fiber rollcage that enhances durability but keeps the weight under 3 pounds. 3G, RapidCharge Other highlights of the X1 include RapidCharge for a near-full battery charge within 30 minutes and Intel vPro technology to assist with management. Senior Vice President Lu Yan said in a statement that innovative thinking extends beyond the X1 to the rest of the new ThinkPad models, which feature "a backlit keyboard, super-bright high definition display, Dolby Home Theatre and rich communications features that balance business performance with personal use." New models in the ThinkPad X, T, W, and L Series feature Ivy Bridge third-generation quad-core processors, RapidBoot, and Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3.0. The refreshed lineup is designed to start 40 percent faster than a typical Windows 7 computer, with optimized system files, processes and hardware settings. Several models offer 4G/LTE connectivity, USB 3.0, and an option for contract-free mobile broadband, purchased in time segments. The X230 Ultraportable, intended for road warriors, provides 24 hours of battery, a weight under 3 pounds, and 4G. The T430s has docking and vPro, and the T530 delivers a full 15-inch HD display. With Windows 8 coming, there has been a great deal of speculation about tablet-laptop convertibles. The ThinkPad X230t combines both with a... newsfactor.com »

Facebook is updating its data use policy in an attempt to give people more clarity on how the company uses information they share. As part of the changes, Facebook is also signaling that it may start showing people ads on sites other than Facebook, targeting the pitches to interests and hobbies that users express on Facebook. The move comes a week before Facebook Inc.'s expected initial public offering of stock. Facebook held events with potential investors this week, including one in Silicon Valley on Friday, and it has posted a version of its road show online. The offering could value Facebook at nearly $100 billion -- more than Kraft, Ford and other major brands. The policy changes are in response to an audit by Irish data-protection authorities last year, Facebook said Friday. The commission had asked Facebook to be more transparent about how it collects people's data and uses it for advertising, as well as how long it keeps such information. Facebook plans to notify its more than 900 million users of the changes through advertisements around the site and on its mobile apps. Users who want to dig deeper can read a version of the policy that highlights the changes word by word. Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, will host an online chat Monday to answer any questions. Egan said the company wasn't substantially changing its business practices, but wants to "err on the side of providing too much information." Facebook's overseas headquarters are based in Dublin, Ireland, a member of the European Union. This means the company is required to comply with European data privacy laws. Facebook said the changes were also a response to feedback from its users. As part of the changes to the policy, Facebook has created a section to explain how it uses technologies such as cookies to deliver ads,... newsfactor.com »

The death of the computer mouse is imminent, we're told, soon to be shown the door by touchscreens, track pads, gesture recognition systems and whatever new technology shows up no later than next Tuesday. I know the mouse is on its way out because I'm reading a Web article -- which I'm navigating with my mouse -- that says so in no uncertain terms. Oh. Wait. Just noticed the date -- 2008. And the humble mouse, more than 40 years old, is still here. Hmm. The mouse has had its ups and down, for sure, since it was invented at the Stanford Research Institute in 1963 by Douglas Engelbart, who named it because the cord exiting from its rear to connect to the computer looked like a rodent's tail. The technology inside the computer mouse that interacts with the surface over which it moves has gone through changes; wheels, balls, optics, lasers, even gyroscopes, but its purpose has remained more or less unchanged: moving a cursor around the screen, in combination with some number of button to accomplish other actions. Point-and-click. Drag-and-drop. It's even gone into the language. Not that companies haven't tried to find a "new" mouse design, with sometime risible results. Remember Apple's "hockey puck" mouse that came with the first iMac computer? The one that was absolutely, completely round? Attractive in an Apple sort of way, except that when you put your hand on it without looking -- because you were looking at the computer screen -- there was no way to tell if you had the X and Y axis properly aligned to vertical and horizontal, with the result that you'd move the mouse one way and the on-screen cursor would go off in some other direction, as likely as not. Oh, and for years Apple insisted that a proper mouse should have a button --... newsfactor.com »

A federal appeals court has turned down a Freedom of Information Act request to disclose National Security Agency records about the 2010 cyberattack on Google users in China. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, which focuses on privacy and civil liberties, sought communications between Google and the NSA, which conducts worldwide electronic surveillance and protects the U.S. government from such spying. But the NSA refused to confirm or deny whether it had any relationship with Google. The NSA argued that doing so could make U.S. government information systems vulnerable to attack. A federal district court judge sided with the NSA last year, and on Friday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the ruling. In 2010, Google complained about major attacks on its Web site by Chinese hackers and suggested the Chinese government may have instigated them. The Chinese government denied any involvement. Soon after, there were news reports that Google was teaming up with the NSA to analyze the attack and help prevent future ones. The privacy center's FOIA request drew a "Glomar" response, in which an agency refuses to confirm or deny the existence of records. The term refers to a case in the 1970s, when the CIA refused to confirm or deny the existence of the Glomar Explorer, a ship disguised as an ocean mining vessel that the CIA used to salvage a sunken Soviet submarine. Courts consistently have upheld Glomar responses. "In reviewing an agency's Glomar response, this court exercises caution when the information requested" involves national security, Judge Janice Rogers Brown wrote in the unanimous appeals court panel's ruling. "NSA need not make a specific showing of potential harm to national security in order to justify withholding information" under one of the law's exemptions because Congress has already, in enacting the FOIA statute,... newsfactor.com »

Most computer users live in fear of a crashed computer and lost data, or are frustrated by a computer that seems to take hours to perform the simplest task. The trick is to learn from these problems and either fix the computer before the worst happens, or at least make sure it never happens again. This is not work that can only be performed by experts. Even a blue screen can be helpful, since Windows uses it to deliver a Bug Check Code, which gives some hint about the cause of the problem. Thus, the message KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED indicates a problem with a driver. Microsoft provides a complete list of all check codes -- and possible solutions -- online. Such tips are necessary; otherwise any effort to fix a computer can quickly turn into a waste of time. "Unfortunately, the diagnosis is anything but easy," says Hans Ludwig Stahl, director of the Institute for Computer Science at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Problems can stem from issues with either hardware or software. Or the PC could be having resource issues related to working memory or hard drive space. Viruses and other forms of malware can also make the computer unusable, which is why everyone should have up-to-date anti-virus software. Stahl recommends seeking the source of the problem in the recent past. "Maybe the problem cropped up right after putting in a new piece of hardware or installation of some new software." If that's the case, remove the potential source of the problem as a test. Maybe the computer will work fine without it. Sometimes combinations of hardware, software and operating system simply don't work, says Stahl. "That can always happen with open systems like Windows." In a worst case scenario, that can mean living without the problem hardware or software. Sometimes a patch or a new driver... newsfactor.com »

Throw another Apple on the barbie, mates. In a concession to complaints from consumers down under, Apple is no longer claiming overseas that its newest iPad can deliver 4G long-term evolution high-speed data. New iPads equipped for mobile broadband access are now labeled for sale as "Wi-Fi + Cellular." The change came after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (similar to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission) took the computer giant to court because the iPad's top mobile connection speed doesn't meet that country's definition of 4G. 'A Simple Term' The Financial Times of London reported that the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority had been in ongoing discussions with Apple about whether its ads promising 4G were truthful since 4G networks are only in the initial stages in much of the world. Apple argued that the iPad connects with HSPA+ networks, which are marketed sometimes as 4G in the U.S. The Sydney Morning Herald cited the change as a victory for the ACCC, saying Apple released "a statement that because telecommunications companies "do not all refer to their high-speed networks with the same terminology" it had therefore "decided to use 'Wi-Fi + Cellular' as a simple term" which describes all of the networks supported by the new iPad." The International Telecommunications Union, a United Nations-affiliated agency, in 2008 classified 4G as data speed of 100 megabits per second for fast mobility and 1 gigabit per second for pedestrians. Few carriers today can deliver that kind of speed. AT&T and Verizon Wireless promise LTE speed of 5 to 12 megabits per second for uplink and 2 to 5 mbps for downloads. Sprint promises up to 10 mbps for its WiMAX network . The ITU definition seems to be in flux, however. In October 2010, it announced that two new technologies, "LTE-Advanced" and "WirelessMAN-Advanced" had "successfully met all of the... newsfactor.com »

Apple's Macs have been subject to a variety of high-profile security threats in recent months. Now, according to Kaspersky Labs, Apple has asked the security firm for a vulnerability analysis. According to the chief technology officer for Kaspersky, Apple has approached his company to analyze its platform. Nikolay Grebrennikov told reporters about this development and added that, in his opinion, the computer maker had not previously taken security issues "seriously enough." Apple has not confirmed the arrangement. '10 Years Behind Microsoft' As one example, Grebrennikov cited a vulnerability in Java, which was exploited by the Flashback Trojan earlier this year and which infected a reported 600,000 Macs. Apple, he said, released its Java fix several months after Oracle did. In April, shortly after the extent of the widely distributed Flashback Trojan on Macs became known, Kaspersky Lab CEO and co-founder Eugene Kaspersky charged that Apple was "10 years behind Microsoft in security," and he predicted that Apple products would increasingly become a more inviting target for malware. While the comments of Kaspersky executives could well be seen as self-serving, Apple appears to have gotten at least some of this message. In February, developer previews of the new OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion included a new feature called Gatekeeper. This optional setting will enable Mac owners to allow only apps that have a free, signed certificate provided to legitimate developers by Apple. For years, Macs have enjoyed a reputation -- undeserved, according to most experts -- of being virtually impervious to malware. But, as their sales have increased, so has their appeal as a target. Last month, security firm Sophos reported that it had conducted a study which showed that as many as 20 percent of all Macs had some form of malware -- which had actually been designed for Windows machines. In addition, the study, which surveyed 100,000... newsfactor.com »

Google bought IBM patents. Microsoft bought AOL patents, then sold many of them to Facebook. Now, Nvidia is buying IPWireless patents as the industry continues playing patent musical chairs in an increasingly litigious environment. Nvidia and Intellectual Ventures on Monday announced a partnership to acquire a set of patents IPWireless developed and owns. The portfolio spans about 500 patents granted and pending in the wireless communication realm. Patents cover essential concepts in LTE, LTE-Advanced and 3G and 4G technologies. "This acquisition complements our ownership of extensive fundamental patents in graphics, visual and mobile computing," said David Shannon, executive vice president and general counsel at Nvidia. "These patents, acquired in collaboration with Intellectual Ventures, will help support our rapidly expanding efforts in the mobile business." Nvidia's LTE Processor Play Nvidia announced in February that it joined GCT Semiconductor and Renesas Mobile, two suppliers of cellular silicon solutions, to support and jointly develop LTE modems and Tegra 3 mobile processors. At the time, Phil Carmack, head of Nvidia's mobile business, said OEM partners could now create next-gen LTE products with a fast time to market, and that Nvidia was equipped to help "push the envelope" on the overall mobile experience. We asked Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, his thoughts on the patent grab. He agreed that many technology companies are taking a more proactive stance on the intellectual property front and that could be partially motivating Nvidia's buy. But Nvidia is likely also looking to bolster its capabilities on the mobile chip front amid a growing opportunity with smartphones and tablets. "Nvidia has promised to deliver a Tegra chip that will be LTE compatible. The company's plan is to pursue more opportunities in the mobile and smartphone space, and these patents could play a role in that," King said. "Pursuing this type of IP purchase probably makes... newsfactor.com »

Senate Judiciary Committee staff have launched a preliminary probe into whether Windows RT, the coming version of Windows 8 for ARM processors, is anticompetitive because it gives preferential treatment to Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser. Mozilla, maker of the Firefox Web browser, alleged last week that Microsoft intentionally is building advantages for IE into Windows RT over other browsers. An aide to Judiciary antitrust subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., told reporters that Mozilla's charges will be examined by subcommittee staff. The initial efforts will be exploratory rather than a full-blown official inquiry involving hearings, the aide said. Microsoft refuses to give Mozilla and other third-party software developers access to the requisite APIs for building browsers that can fully access Windows RT's complete set of capabilities when running in Metro mode. The rival browser maker claims that this violates a 2006 antitrust settlement between Microsoft and the U.S. Department of Justice. Google is also wary concerning how Microsoft's Windows RT strategy may affect Google's Chrome browser. "We share the concerns Mozilla has raised regarding the Windows 8 environment restricting user choice and innovation," a Google spokesperson said in an e-mail. Locking Out Competitors Google noted that it has always welcomed innovation in the browser space across all platforms and strongly believes that having great competitors makes everyone work harder. "In the end, consumers and developers benefit the most from robust competition," Google's spokesperson said. However, that won't happen if Microsoft succeeds in locking out competing browsers when it comes to Windows running on mobile computing devices such as laptops as well as media tablets equipped with ARM-based chips. "Microsoft made legally binding commitments around antitrust [which doesn't] go away because Microsoft wishes them away," said Asa Dotzler, the community coordinator for Firefox marketing projects. "None of the commitments talk about hardware -- tablet or laptop, ARM or x86... newsfactor.com »

He famously wears a hoodie, jeans and sneakers, and he was born the year Apple introduced the Macintosh. But Mark Zuckerberg is no boy-CEO. Facebook's chief executive turned 28 on Monday, setting in motion the social network's biggest week ever. The company is expected to start selling stock to the public for the first time and begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday. The IPO could value Facebook at nearly $100 billion, making it worth more than such iconic companies as Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods. At 28, Zuckerberg is exactly half the age of the average S&P 500 CEO, according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart. With eight years on the job, he's logged more time as leader than the average CEO, whose tenure is a little more than seven years, according to Spencer Stuart. Even so, the pressures of running a public company will undoubtedly take some getting used to. Once Facebook begins selling stock, Zuckerberg will be expected to please a host of new stakeholders, including Wall Street investment firms, hedge funds and pension funds who will pressure him to keep the company growing. Young as he may seem -- especially in that hooded sweatshirt -- Zuckerberg will be about the same age as Michael Dell and older than Steve Jobs when those two took their companies, Dell Inc. and Apple Inc., public. In his years as Facebook's CEO he's met world leaders, rode a bull in Vietnam while on vacation, started learning Mandarin Chinese and as a personal challenge, wore a tie for the better part of a year. Facebook, of course, got its start in Zuckerberg's messy Harvard dorm room in early 2004. Known as Thefacebook.com in those days, the site was created to help Harvard students -- and later other college students -- connect with one another... newsfactor.com »

Rumors about coming MacBook releases are swirling around the Web. Key predictions include a new Intel Ivy Bridge Core quad-core processor, a very thin 15-inch MacBook Pro, super-fast USB 3.0 and Retina displays. Some of the reports are based on the appearance on various sites of benchmarks that purport to be from a new MacBook Pro prototype. The benchmarks indicates that the machine is running a new, unreleased version of OS X Mountain Lion, using an Ivy Bridge processor. 50 Percent Faster According to the alleged specs, a new 13-inch MacBook Pro will use the recently-released Intel Core i7-3820QM, running at 2.7 GHz. One reason for excitement about the possible incorporation of the new processor is that its integrated graphics processing is said to run about 50 percent faster than the Sandy Bridge processors currently in the MacBook Pro. However, some observers have speculated that, while an Ivy Bridge processor may be planned for the next MacBook Pro, it may not be the 3820QM, but a more recent Intel chip designed specifically for the product. There are also purported benchmarks for new all-in-one iMacs floating around, which point to a 27-inch iMac running an Ivy Bridge quad-core processor, the i7-3770, at 3.4GHz. A new 15-inch MacBook Pro is reportedly being readied, based on information from supply-chain sources, and some observers expect it to resemble a souped-up MacBook Air, while others suggest a much thinner version of the current Pro. Another data point backing the idea that new Macs will soon be released is that retailers appear to be cutting prices to move existing inventory, such as discounts of up to $200 by Best Buy. Retina Display? A key feature of one or more new Mac models, according to reports, will be a so-called Retina display, the next step in spectacular high-resolution technology launched on the iPhone... newsfactor.com »

After the revelation that his resume was puffed up with unearned educational credentials, Yahoo on Sunday announced the resignation of CEO Scott Thompson. Thompson replaced the ousted Carol Bartz as chief just four months ago, in January. The controversy began earlier this month when Daniel Loeb, CEO of Third Point, took issue with Thompson and the board. Loeb, whose fund owns a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo, was reportedly trying to shake up the board with the revelation that Thompson doesn't have a bachelor's degree in computer science as is indicated on his resume. If that was his intention, it worked. In addition to Thompson resigning, Ross Levinsohn moved from non-executive chair to interim CEO, and director Fred Amoroso will become chairman, replacing Roy Bostock, the non-executive chairman, who is leaving the board immediately. Those moves helped Yahoo reach an agreement with Third Point to settle a pending proxy contest related to its 2012 annual meeting of shareholders. Was Thompson Too Impolitic? Under the board's settlement agreement with Third Point, three Third Point nominees -- Loeb, Harry J. Wilson, and Michael J. Wolf -- will join the Yahoo board. As interim CEO, Levinsohn will manage the company's day-to-day operations. We caught up with Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, to get his thoughts on Thompson's resignation. When news of the resume issue first arose, Sterling, among many others, didn't think it would derail Thompson's role at Yahoo. "I think there are a number of things going on in Scott Thompson's resignation-termination, or forced resignation, if you prefer. The scandal over his resume wouldn't go away," Sterling said. "That was in part because it was being used by hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb as part of a proxy fight with Yahoo. Loeb helped create and fueled the PR crisis to gain leverage in negotiations. He now... newsfactor.com »

Cash, coins and credit cards are so Twentieth Century. At least, that's the opinion of the electronics manufacturers, phone companies, banks and credit card issuers that expect cellphones to be the main way consumers pay for purchases in the not-so-distant future. The trouble is, that vision-of-tomorrow is somewhat blurry, as evidenced at the U.S. cellphone industry trade show held this week in New Orleans. There are a lot of ideas, but little agreement. The stakes, however, are high. "Eighty-five percent of the world's transactions are still made with cash and checks. We have a wonderful opportunity to convert those," said Gary Flood, MasterCard's president of global products and solutions, in a keynote speech at the show. One concept that gets a lot of attention is the "digital wallet" -- a virtual repository for our credit card numbers, receipts, coupons. It's not much different from a PayPal account, which can be linked to different cards. A lot of companies see the wallet as the key to influence in the world of mobile payments, especially if it sits on a cellphone, not just on a PC. Google introduced its Wallet last year. It's available on a few phones that can be tapped against certain payment terminals to complete a payment. Andrew Lorentz, a lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP who works with the payments industry, said at the show that if he had a dime for every digital wallet that's been announced, he'd be rich. "I can have more wallets than cards," he said. At the show, MasterCard announced a service that could speed up wallet proliferation even more. The company's idea is to let any company that wants to set up its own wallet. "The idea behind this is: How do we get more wallets and more innovation?" said Ed Olebe, MasterCard's senior vice president of e-commerce development. Consumers trust... newsfactor.com »

A handful of people have seen the car of the near-future, and it looks suspiciously like a lunar land rover. Or a plane. Or a driverless vehicle. Take your choice. At auto shows and tech conferences around the globe, prototypes of whiz-bang cars offer a visual narrative into what to expect on the nation's streets a decade from now. Some already are in production; others will be shortly, carmakers say. But in technology laboratories and engineering facilities worldwide, the imaginings don't stop there. Think 15 to 20 years out. By 2030, city streets will teem with small, driverless cars whose wireless capabilities direct traffic flow smoothly, rendering traffic lights unnecessary, car designers and automotive visionaries say. The cars themselves will be made of collapsible, lightweight material, allowing them to be tucked into the tiniest parking crevices. Cloud computing will enable riders to work or play games during their commutes while listening to their favorite music as chosen by the car, says Kevin Dallas, general manager of Microsoft Windows Embedded. The software giant is working with Ford, BMW and others to make vehicles more connected. For years, we've heard predictions about the cars of the future and seen them depicted in pop culture from the writings of Jules Verne to TV's The Jetsons. But advances in wireless communications and battery technology have made what once was a far-off idea a near-reality, says Mark Boyadjis, senior analyst at market researcher IHS Automotive, an industry consulting firm. Changes in transportation infrastructure and policy, coupled with technology advances, could make this all possible in the not-too-distant future, say auto executives, analysts and scientists. Within 20 years, not as many people will own cars. In fact, they will share them, Boyadjis predicts. The future took a step closer to reality this year when Nevada became the first place anywhere to issue license plates... newsfactor.com »

Google Wallet hopes to make a comeback -- or at least turn some heads -- when it debuts on its second device. After a poor reception on Sprint in September, Google Wallet is about to show up on the LG Optimus Elite through Virgin Mobile. Google Wallet is a free Android app that lets customers turn their smartphones into wallets and make purchases with the tap of the phone. The app stores virtual versions of your credit cards, offers and loyalty cards on the smartphone. Google Wallet currently supports Citi MasterCard credit cards and the Google Prepaid MasterCard, powered by First Data. Google plans to support additional cards. Some of the hundreds of thousands of participating retailers include American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Macy's, Foot Locker and Subway. Google Wallet's Slow Take-Off The Optimus Elite debuted on Sprint's network on Sept. 20. Now, Virgin Mobile is getting into the Google Wallet game by offering the device, which features Android 2.3 Gingerbread. In order to run Google Wallet, smartphones need NFC, or near-field communication, capability. NFC is a short-range communication protocol that's similar to Bluetooth. The Optimus Elite also offers a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, 800 MHz processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and camcorder with flash, virtual QWERTY keyboard and mobile hotspot capability. Consumers can also download Box on LG Optimus Elite and get 50 GB of free cloud storage and sharing directly from LG. We asked Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, how Google Wallet is performing in the marketplace. His answer: Adoption is still slow. "Because Google owns Android, we thought Google Wallet was going to be a bigger thing sooner," Enderle told us. "But the fact that this phone is coming out from LG might indicate that we are on the front edge of what could be a Google Wallet movement. On... newsfactor.com »