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Apple's WWDC kicks off June 2: What to expect

Apple's WWDC kicks off June 2: What to expect

May 31, 2014 | Comments Off on Apple's WWDC kicks off June 2: What to expect

WWDC 2014

It’s that time of year again, when the Apple faithful descend on San Francisco’s Moscone Center for the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant from June 2 to 6 will give the world a glimpse of what’s coming this year. Apple has used its WWDC keynote as a chance to introduce new products in the past, but more recently has focused on software, saving new mobile device announcements for separate events. This year’s conference — and the two-hour keynote at 10 a.m. PT on June 2 — likely won’t be any different.

Full Article on CNet

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Surface Pro 3 review: Is the third time the charm?

Surface Pro 3 review: Is the third time the charm?

May 24, 2014 | Comments Off on Surface Pro 3 review: Is the third time the charm?

Surface-Pro-3-Primary_Web-1280x720

 – May 23 2014, 5:43pm EDT (Ara Tecnica)

It’s often been said (though it probably isn’t true) that Microsoft gets things right on the third try—version one sucks, version two is barely adequate, and version three is the one that finally makes a mainstream splash. Does the Surface Pro 3 have what it takes to define a market and hit the big time?

Unlike the Surface Pro 2, which essentially stuck a new processor in an old system, the Surface Pro 3 is all-new. Unlike the Surface Pro 2, the Surface Pro 3 is a reaction to and acknowledgement of at least some of the criticisms leveled at the Surface product range.

And unlike the Surface Pro 2, the Surface Pro 3 is squarely and unambiguously aimed at laptop users. Introducing the new system, Microsoft cited “proprietary Microsoft research” asserting that 96 percent of iPad users also carry laptops. Not necessarily the most credible source—we asked the company if it could provide any information on how it arrived at this figure, but none was forthcoming. Still, we feel it does capture an essential truth. The exact proportion may vary, but many tablet users are also laptop users.

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Senator Leahy Kills Patent Reform (For Now) EFF

Senator Leahy Kills Patent Reform (For Now) EFF

May 24, 2014 | Comments Off on Senator Leahy Kills Patent Reform (For Now) EFF

MAY 21, 2014 | BY ADI KAMDAR AND DANIEL NAZER AND VERA RANIERI

Sen. LeahyPatent reform suffered a massive setback when Senator Patrick Leahy, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, announced that he is taking patent reform “off the agenda.” We understand that other senators—particularly Sens. Chuck Schumer and John Cornyn—were still working hard to reach a bipartisan deal. Just as they were ready to release a new bill, Leahy stepped in to kill the process.

The Senate’s failure is especially galling given that the House overwhelmingly passed theInnovation Act in December. The strong patent reform bill passed with a 325-91 vote that included a majority of both Republicans and Democrats. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama was slated to be the “great slayer of patent trolls.” This is an issue that crosses both sides of the aisle; when small businesses are facing extortionate patent threats, politics must be set aside. And Leahy has gone ahead and thrown that all away.

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Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Has Critical Flax Unfixed Since October 2013

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Has Critical Flax Unfixed Since October 2013

May 24, 2014 | Comments Off on Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Has Critical Flax Unfixed Since October 2013

IE BrokenREDMOND – A critical security flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 has gone unfixed since October 2013, according to a new report from the Zero-Day Initiative.

The report, which was issued because of ZDI’s policy to reveal zero-day flaws that go unfixed for more than 180 days, says that the vulnerability allows an attacker to run malicious code in IE 8 when you visit a website designed to infect your computer, CNET News.Com reported.

Microsoft learned of the zero-day — the term given to a previously unknown, unpatched flaw — in October but has been unable to fix it. Whether that’s because IE 8 is the last version of the browser to support Windows XP, which Microsoft officially no longer supports, or because the flaw itself is hard to fix, Microsoft would not say.

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Ebay Hacked!

Ebay Hacked!

May 21, 2014 | Comments Off on Ebay Hacked!

(Reuters) – E-commerce company eBay Inc said hackers stole email addresses, birthdays and other identity information between late February and early March in a data breach that may have affected a “large number” of accounts.

In the latest major cyber attack at a U.S. company, eBay said it had found no evidence of unauthorized access to financial or credit card information, which is stored separately in encrypted formats.

Full Article

Thanks to Ed Rudel for lead

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Google Offers a Life Line to XP Users: Chrome OS

Google Offers a Life Line to XP Users: Chrome OS

May 18, 2014 | Comments Off on Google Offers a Life Line to XP Users: Chrome OS

An interesting support option for XP users  Oct 16, 2013

Well, give them credit for an interesting ploy: Google announced today that it would extend support for its Chrome browser on Windows XP through at least April 2015. That’s a full year after Microsoft plans to end support of the operating system, opening up the remaining tens of millions of users to potential new security threats.

This is a big deal because IT is collectively scrambling now to meet the April 2014 deadline. According to the latest usage share figures, there are still 400-500 million Windows XP users out there, mostly in corporations. And while that number is dropping rapidly each month, it’s pretty clear that April 2014 is going to come and go and leave many of those users—and the companies that control their PCs—in the lurch.

What does the Google support offer mean?

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FCC moves forward with Net neutrality proposal

FCC moves forward with Net neutrality proposal

May 17, 2014 | Comments Off on FCC moves forward with Net neutrality proposal

The agency officially releases its chairman’s proposal while asking whether to reregulate broadband

By Grant Gross | IDG News Service
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has voted to release a hotly debated proposal to reinstate Net neutrality rules, asking whether it should move forward a proposal allowing broadband providers to engage in “commercially reasonable” traffic management or whether it should regulate broadband as a common-carrier utility.

The FCC’s vote Thursday to approve a notice of proposed rulemaking now opens it to public comment for 120 days. The notice, or NPRM, asks whether the commission should bar broadband providers from charging Web content providers for priority traffic, which some Net neutrality advocates have feared Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal would allow.

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Inform Yourself on Net Neutrality Debate

Inform Yourself on Net Neutrality Debate

May 17, 2014 | Comments Off on Inform Yourself on Net Neutrality Debate

What the FCC’s Net neutrality proposal really means

Puzzled about what the FCC’s Net neutrality vote is really all about, whether you’re an end user or a provider? Here’s the short version

By  | InfoWorld

What the FCC's Net neutrality proposal really means

First, the facts. The Federal Communications Commission voted today, 3-2, to move forward on the Net neutrality proposal floated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler — one that, in theory, could be used by ISPs and service providers to charge users extra for faster access to premium content.

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Online Tech Acquires Indianapolis Data Center

Online Tech Acquires Indianapolis Data Center

May 15, 2014 | Comments Off on Online Tech Acquires Indianapolis Data Center

Online Tech Logo

$10 Million Investment Brings Secure, Compliant Cloud Computing to Indiana Market

Indianapolis, Indiana and Ann Arbor, Michigan – May 14, 2014 –

Online Tech continues its expansion across the Great Lakes region with the acquisition of a data center in Indianapolis. The purpose-built corporate facility will deliver the company’s full product line of secure, compliant cloud and colocation services for healthcare, financial services, retail and other companies in regulated industries. Online Tech’s purchase of the property, planned upgrades, and enterprise-class cloud represents an investment of more than $10 million. It will also bring jobs and much-needed computing infrastructure to the expanding Indianapolis economic market.

Full Press Release

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Apple v. Samsung patent trial recap: How it all turned out (FAQ)

Apple v. Samsung patent trial recap: How it all turned out (FAQ)

May 10, 2014 | Comments Off on Apple v. Samsung patent trial recap: How it all turned out (FAQ)

apple-samsung-trial

by   May 7, 2014 4:00 AM PDT

The latest round in the Apple v. Samsung patent-infringement battle is finally over — well at least until it’s appealed.

A jury on Friday handed back a mixed verdict in the Apple v. Samsung patent-infringement case, determining that both companies were guilty in some aspects but not guilty in others.
The trial included about 52 hours of testimony, three hours of opening arguments, and four hours of closings. It covered everything from the invention of the technology at issue in the case to what damages should total. Apple argued throughout the trial that its case was about Samsung, not Google, and that Samsung copied Apple out of desperation. Samsung, meanwhile, argued that Apple’s suit was about hurting competition and Android.

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