Twitter launches Engage, a safer space for celebrities to tweet

<p dir="ltr"><i><b>Twitter launches Engage.</b></i></p><p dir="ltr">A standalone app for influencers, and also you.</p><p dir="ltr"><i><b>HELPING FAMOUS PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THEIR FANS</b></i></p><p dir="ltr">One thing Engage doesn't have: a timeline. Engage is for the celebrity who sees the value in tweeting, but would rather not pay attention to the broader conversation in the global town square. If reading Twitter makes you upset, but you still want to be able to broadcast the details of your latest juice cleanse, Engage may be the app for you.</p><p dir="ltr">Engage seems to be modeled on Facebook Mentions, a two-year-old app that helps celebrities find posts that are talking about them. It differs from Engage in two significant ways. Mentions requires a verified Facebook account to use, whereas Engage will be available to all Twitter users. And while Facebook's version looks more or less like the flagship app with a special section added for monitoring mentions of your name, Engage is much more focused on analytics.</p><p dir="ltr">What do you think of Engage? Tweet your opinion at me, and if you're famous, I'll see it.</p><p dir="ltr">The app is now available in the App Store.</p><p dir="ltr">As an influential celebrity on the go, you've heard about Twitter, and your handlers are always telling you about what it can do for your brand. But what are you supposed to tweet about? And what happens if a normal tweets at you? Enter Engage, a new standalone app for influential Twitter users that takes some of the guesswork out of Twitter.</p><p dir="ltr">The app, which is available today on iOS, is designed to help famous people interact with their fans and build a bigger following. The app includes three main tabs. Engage highlights the most important interactions you've had on Twitter, and includes mentions from users who are verified, followed by a lot of your followers, or interact with you a lot. An "understand" tab shows you high-level analytics for your posts, showing you how many impressions you're getting over time. And the "posts" tab shows you detailed performance numbers for individual posts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHL_AZ2wJJbAEvLUxtrKccS_bD0qLT2dK8HEFOm0FhQKQ2SVaLxTeCniZ5nvW8B7-dEqZpduwtiw-U3zAE8gR2TajAR9kn1zNYiAdfKFKXBE4tPoj1RJjSdFmKpODfCGXgSAkvGd-q2ME/s1600/IMG_20160621_103004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHL_AZ2wJJbAEvLUxtrKccS_bD0qLT2dK8HEFOm0FhQKQ2SVaLxTeCniZ5nvW8B7-dEqZpduwtiw-U3zAE8gR2TajAR9kn1zNYiAdfKFKXBE4tPoj1RJjSdFmKpODfCGXgSAkvGd-q2ME/s640/IMG_20160621_103004.jpg"> </a> </div>

Twitter launches Engage, a safer space for celebrities to tweet

Twitter launches Engage. A standalone app for influencers, and also you. HELPING FAMOUS PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THEIR FANS One thing Engage doe...

Direct Video is the new video platform Amazon to compete with YouTube

<p dir="ltr">Amazon has just released Video Direct , its new video platform for all "content creators" can upload their works and share them with the world. Basically, it 's their own version of YouTube , and now is available to all users who subscribe to Amazon Prime.</p><p dir="ltr">But the video platform YouTube Amazon is different because it is not available for everyone, for subscribers only. It is a kind of mixture of YouTube with Netflix and Vimeo, and offers those responsible for creating videos can choose one of three ways to make money: with ads in their videos and streaming , sharing profits with Amazon shopping They generate their videos or finally collect a portion of the payment of the subscription to Amazon Prime users.</p><p dir="ltr">They can also choose a combination of several of these forms, so there are many opportunities for creators to see gains as its content. But of course, we have to wait to see how well (or poorly) functions on the fly.</p><p dir="ltr">Video Direct is available immediately to all subscribers of Amazon Prime from this link . Not clear whether it will steal public to YouTube, but it will be another attractive to Prime paying, especially if they start to make own series for Direct style that option already produce for Prime. [ Amazon via Reuters ]</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEtYFnQtTqQ2NmK0AuKTRRMOSxDuzAeSzC8U2U2DWVTNm_e8qQMs3N-4YK2fJELeqQVOqKDOSUREpsDuo9TAqAeMWBKI59IrS8_LAQ__7lnVjmcD9i3n-CFOzu6UsZYIMmBcjVrzXT7g/s1600/IMG_20160510_234255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHEtYFnQtTqQ2NmK0AuKTRRMOSxDuzAeSzC8U2U2DWVTNm_e8qQMs3N-4YK2fJELeqQVOqKDOSUREpsDuo9TAqAeMWBKI59IrS8_LAQ__7lnVjmcD9i3n-CFOzu6UsZYIMmBcjVrzXT7g/s640/IMG_20160510_234255.jpg"> </a> </div>

Direct Video is the new video platform Amazon to compete with YouTube

Amazon has just released Video Direct , its new video platform for all "content creators" can upload their works and share them wi...

Facebook Messenger launches chat bot economy to take on apps

<p dir="ltr">Bots are officially taking over from apps as the primary way we communicate with our phones. </p><p dir="ltr">Facebook Messenger boss David Marcus has announced the launch of the Messenger platform - a tool that will enable developers around the world to build chat bots for the Messenger app which now has 900m users globally.</p><p dir="ltr">Speaking at Facebook's annual developer conference F8 in San Francisco, Marcus showcased three types of "bots" - entities similar to friends within the app with which you can exchange text messages to perform a task.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGVWirtxhG246Wzq0oKZ6_A0CIaYqDYq7HPwsjlqN9jclt24DW0aBboL1D3waRwamixMmGLqbufER6yxPFQs3dUWIfc8mTsRzmvwfrYvceTcpDnLkTE8L5sBw-m-TLaKBUlgqKUMzPWA/s1600/gif_20160412142527.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGVWirtxhG246Wzq0oKZ6_A0CIaYqDYq7HPwsjlqN9jclt24DW0aBboL1D3waRwamixMmGLqbufER6yxPFQs3dUWIfc8mTsRzmvwfrYvceTcpDnLkTE8L5sBw-m-TLaKBUlgqKUMzPWA/s640/gif_20160412142527.gif"> </a> </div>

Facebook Messenger launches chat bot economy to take on apps

Bots are officially taking over from apps as the primary way we communicate with our phones. Facebook Messenger boss David Marcus has announ...

UFO spotted hovering over earth on NASA live feed.

<p dir="ltr">Taken from the International Space Station, this footage shows an object steadily hovering in the distance.</p><p dir="ltr">We have to admit in the grand scheme of UFO sightings, it’s actually pretty good.<br>It was captured by Jadon Beeson, from Stourport-on-Severn, who had been watching a live feed.<br>The 20-year-old has since approached Nasa for an explanation.<br>He said:  ‘I was watching the live stream on my iPhone on Tuesday night and I popped away to see my neighbours and came back an hour later – I had left the stream on on my phone.<br>‘I looked and realised there was a metal object above the earth. It had a blue glow to it and it stayed there for about two minutes.</p><p dir="ltr">‘It was a metallic object, it looks like a Millennium Falcon from Star Wars or something from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.<br>‘I thought it was all very strange.’<br>The footage was viewed through a NASA app which allows people to watch live video from the International Space Station when a crew is on duty or earth views, at other times.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpym90-DYPOv0sk8XsScqXCFyVvYuwUCoS19nWP1pF_J8d1eRyxBtFPPjnw3CVCth06Czmgkwet4D0520VysVtuz-hJg3l4X69Q3V5vUgztOgcapLfNxNQqtUP5s3ozDsHDJkuUSkp7k/s1600/a52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOpym90-DYPOv0sk8XsScqXCFyVvYuwUCoS19nWP1pF_J8d1eRyxBtFPPjnw3CVCth06Czmgkwet4D0520VysVtuz-hJg3l4X69Q3V5vUgztOgcapLfNxNQqtUP5s3ozDsHDJkuUSkp7k/s640/a52.jpg"> </a> </div>

UFO spotted hovering over earth on NASA live feed.

Taken from the International Space Station, this footage shows an object steadily hovering in the distance. We have to admit in the grand sc...

Google rolling out updated security warning system for Gmail users to avoid cyber attacks.

<p dir="ltr">Google rolling out updated security warning system for Gmail users to avoid cyber attacks.</p><p dir="ltr"> Google is rolling out an updated security warning system this week for Gmail users that the company says is designed to make sure they don't fall victim to cyber attacks.</p><p dir="ltr">The first security warning will be triggered when a user clicks on a link in Gmail that Google suspects to be dangerous. They'll be shown a full-page warning and offered several ways to get more information about the threat, along with ways to protect their computer from malicious "badware" that could undermine their online security. Alternatively, a user can proceed to the flagged website at their own risk.<br> A second enhancement gives suspected targets of state-sponsored hacking attempts a full-page warning along with information on how to protect their accounts. The new full-page alert is in addition to Google's existing warning, which shows up as a red strip with a link at the top of a suspected victim's Gmail page.</p><p dir="ltr">Suspected state-sponsored hacking attempts are rare and impact 0.1 percent of Gmail users, according to Google's online security blog.</p><p dir="ltr">The search engine giant also shared an update on a new icon it launched last month -- a broken red lock -- which tells users when they're communicating with an account that does not support encryption. Google said the amount of inbound mail sent over an encrypted connection has increased 25 percent since the icon was implemented.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94GEa812Ak5CySZ7aF0_hxx-uFaeoQ7MQ_kq0QiGJt2wMTm4osBtyIoS6MX9ZzwI9uv90jNZ9skLXp1Zn5bHgLcuY94ltmXk9gjVYFLXaDEsMacmbi2jT1srLF7-CkJe8kJUGJC-GSGs/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94GEa812Ak5CySZ7aF0_hxx-uFaeoQ7MQ_kq0QiGJt2wMTm4osBtyIoS6MX9ZzwI9uv90jNZ9skLXp1Zn5bHgLcuY94ltmXk9gjVYFLXaDEsMacmbi2jT1srLF7-CkJe8kJUGJC-GSGs/s640/8.jpg"> </a> </div>

Google rolling out updated security warning system for Gmail users to avoid cyber attacks.

Google rolling out updated security warning system for Gmail users to avoid cyber attacks.  Google is rolling out an updated security warnin...

Technology

Get used to two-factor authentication. The world of passwords is changing fast.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND59GhulGrhyphenhyphenLsf02EhlDEIrw5NnUpiXOTztHohc4aAuFAQSZhTi0D2KvLp69f2IAaWyCQ997CnJNgUJ_XTWKkkorEzWODrT_IC2bDCcVmpZjneJuem9RecQqudAr9fHFKZOXEHn4ccI/s1600/2016-03-13%25252007.58.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND59GhulGrhyphenhyphenLsf02EhlDEIrw5NnUpiXOTztHohc4aAuFAQSZhTi0D2KvLp69f2IAaWyCQ997CnJNgUJ_XTWKkkorEzWODrT_IC2bDCcVmpZjneJuem9RecQqudAr9fHFKZOXEHn4ccI/s640/2016-03-13%25252007.58.30.jpg"> </a> </div>

Technology

Get used to two-factor authentication. The world of passwords is changing fast.

Next Thursday you can ask Mark Zuckerberg anything.

f you've always wondered if Mark Zuckerberg has a favorite hoodie, or a favorite programming language, now's your chance to find out.<br /><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Facebook's chief will host his first community Q&A next Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern, giving the public a chance to ask any questions they might have for him.</b></blockquote><br /><b>The event will be livestreamed and last about an hour. It expands on the internal Q&A sessions that Zuckerberg holds each Friday with Facebook employees.</b><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe7JsjW18lsvqcMe3kO2K3Fsy5_U7P4-UZ55iTSS2xKnvp6UX7DWb3WHd7D4VEc7zq7I_u_5wwBywomXV1KM6551CXgHiP5JbZFumWGLcEa1u8bW-uHAKOkhZpB8Tfv1A8AHFoAnsyR4/s1600/zuck-skype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe7JsjW18lsvqcMe3kO2K3Fsy5_U7P4-UZ55iTSS2xKnvp6UX7DWb3WHd7D4VEc7zq7I_u_5wwBywomXV1KM6551CXgHiP5JbZFumWGLcEa1u8bW-uHAKOkhZpB8Tfv1A8AHFoAnsyR4/s1600/zuck-skype.jpg" width="320" /></a>The event is structured similar to an "Ask Me Anything" Q&A on Reddit, but could draw considerably more attention given that it involves the CEO of one of the most used services on the Internet.<br /><br />You can submit questions now as comments on the event's Facebook page, and also "like" questions posted by others.<br /><br />More than a thousand questions had already been posted within an hour of the announcement Thursday. They touch on everything from privacy, to Facebook's requirement that you download Messenger, to the absence of a "dislike" button, to Zuckerberg's thoughts about Twitter.<br /><br />Some were quite forward-looking. "How will artificial intelligence or AI play into the future of social networks and infrastructure, like our roads and even health delivery systems?" one person asked.<br /><br />Others had more frivolous, but still vexing, questions. "How many Instagrams are in a kilogram?" a person wanted to know.

Next Thursday you can ask Mark Zuckerberg anything.

f you've always wondered if Mark Zuckerberg has a favorite hoodie, or a favorite programming language, now's your chance to find out...

Pirate Bay founder guilty in historic hacker case

Gottrid Svartholm Warg and his 21-year-old Danish co-defendant were found guilty on Thursday morning, with the Dane released on time served and Warg to be sentenced on Friday.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b> Pirate Bay founder Gottrid Svartholm Warg and his 21-year-old Danish co-defendant JLT have been found guilty by a Danish court of mounting the most serious computer hack in the country’s history. </b></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialAesgc2drQmNXlLsF9GmIfZvacPJDO5vUF-AeT-t-CCa94Ls6cAOYRPkHcNh3lVgZqlXaisrr-I6n9ciwKHW5871bICzn8WytYmBfP5T-YGToH0UiGTd7JhMZE87PF6wYKcPaKGTdeM/s1600/4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialAesgc2drQmNXlLsF9GmIfZvacPJDO5vUF-AeT-t-CCa94Ls6cAOYRPkHcNh3lVgZqlXaisrr-I6n9ciwKHW5871bICzn8WytYmBfP5T-YGToH0UiGTd7JhMZE87PF6wYKcPaKGTdeM/s1600/4a.jpg" width="320" /></a>The court said that the unauthorised access to CSC’s mainframe was of a “systematic and organised character”, dismissing the Swede’s claims that his computer was used by others to carry out the hack as “unlikely”.<br /><br />“We find it therefore unlikely that other people apart from Warg used his computer in connections with the hacking of CSC,” judge Kari Sørensen said. <br /><br />The ruling was close, with two out of six jurors disagreeing with the verdict, just one short of what would be needed to prevent the two being found guilty.<br /><br />The 21-year-old JLT, who has already served 17 months of pre-trial detention, was released immediately after the court session finished at midday to the cheers of his family and friends.<br /><br />Sørensen will deliver Warg’s sentence on Friday.<br /><br /><br />Warg, who has also worked closely with WikiLeaks, was found guilty of hacking into the mainframe of IT giant CSC between February and August of 2012, downloading social security numbers from Denmark’s national driving licence database, illegally accessing information in a Schengen Region database and hacking into police email accounts.<br /><br />Prosecutor Maria Cingari said the severity of the crime meant he should receive the maximum six-year sentence.<br /><br />“Past practice is no help in determining the sentence, as there are no precedents,” she told the court. “This is the largest hacking case to date. The crime is very serious, and this must be reflected in the sentence.”<br /><br />Cingari is also calling for Warg to be banned from re-entering Denmark, saying he is “a threat to the interests of the Danish society”.<br /><br />Svartholm Warg’s lawyer Louise Høj, however, called for a much more lenient one-year sentence.<br /><br />“This case is not the worst case one can imagine, as Maria Cingari claims. Not at all,” she argued. “It would be different if the hacking had been carried out for financial gain. If the information had been sold, or if the records had been deleted.”<br /><br /><br />Michael Juul Eriksen, the lawyer for the 21-year-old Dane, dismissed Cingari’s calls for a two-year sentence for his client as "completely crazy”.<br /><br />“We’re very relieved, because now they worst is over,” JLT’s grandfather, who had been highly critical of the Danish police’s investigation, told The Local after the session. <br /><br />During the trial, Warg claimed that the Macbook computer used for the intrusions, which had six missing keys, had not been his personal computer, but was instead a laboratory computer used by a loose group of developers to test their programmes, any of whom could have carried out the hack.<br /><br /> Pirate Bay founder Gottrid Svartholm Warg and his 21-year-old Danish co-defendant JLT have been found guilty by a Danish court of mounting the most serious computer hack in the country’s history.<br /><br />The court said that the unauthorised access to CSC’s mainframe was of a “systematic and organised character”, dismissing the Swede’s claims that his computer was used by others to carry out the hack as “unlikely”.<br /><br />“We find it therefore unlikely that other people apart from Warg used his computer in connections with the hacking of CSC,” judge Kari Sørensen said. <br /><br />The ruling was close, with two out of six jurors disagreeing with the verdict, just one short of what would be needed to prevent the two being found guilty.<br /><br />The 21-year-old JLT, who has already served 17 months of pre-trial detention, was released immediately after the court session finished at midday to the cheers of his family and friends.<br /><br />Sørensen will deliver Warg’s sentence on Friday.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwybWhG7W5gfHwyiLSPKBbEBEhR1uwN8HmU_cSMQE9RxA-4kQBoQfU4y6EtCWnIdWnk7PsWO1IbxD3FBihSKaDoYNERh9oDtIj78V16COHtwSPDynr-0g55ja1RkchAfV1CW50trElwU/s1600/v4q.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwybWhG7W5gfHwyiLSPKBbEBEhR1uwN8HmU_cSMQE9RxA-4kQBoQfU4y6EtCWnIdWnk7PsWO1IbxD3FBihSKaDoYNERh9oDtIj78V16COHtwSPDynr-0g55ja1RkchAfV1CW50trElwU/s1600/v4q.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />

Pirate Bay founder guilty in historic hacker case

Gottrid Svartholm Warg and his 21-year-old Danish co-defendant were found guilty on Thursday morning, with the Dane released on time served ...

Android co-founder Andy Rubin to leave Google

<blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Google Inc said on Thursday that Andy Rubin, co-founder of its Android mobile business and head of its nascent robotics effort is leaving the company.</b></blockquote><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCxAx3kC6uFlFelx8QDt5-YQN3jrvsKTQe3tEGxXP09odtzkDYFb-uuckuMYlAjeYUM65oMhucHDuiWmZfA7VOu4fwwKpLoEdbiwf_7tg-GralclFFSq8pqF20kLP8YS9WcLHjPhYGZU/s1600/Andyrubin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCxAx3kC6uFlFelx8QDt5-YQN3jrvsKTQe3tEGxXP09odtzkDYFb-uuckuMYlAjeYUM65oMhucHDuiWmZfA7VOu4fwwKpLoEdbiwf_7tg-GralclFFSq8pqF20kLP8YS9WcLHjPhYGZU/s1600/Andyrubin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Rubin will start a company to support startups interested in building technology-hardware products, Google said in an emailed response for comment on a Wall Street Journal report about his move.<br /><br />James Kuffner, a research scientist at Google and a member of the robotics group, will replace Rubin, the company added.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7X0f8wBdfpUB-AvV5Dle_q3-VqIcPk6qt5jpz7JYwNKCRZKL0XEdWlkZF3gZXp3Fzt3L3UN454TqV8261hrcHkoz3HfMmEy-5ZhfZK3ZEkoLMB8KU-SilvI4f5u0QgQBpkVU5_oZaMI/s1600/andy-rubin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7X0f8wBdfpUB-AvV5Dle_q3-VqIcPk6qt5jpz7JYwNKCRZKL0XEdWlkZF3gZXp3Fzt3L3UN454TqV8261hrcHkoz3HfMmEy-5ZhfZK3ZEkoLMB8KU-SilvI4f5u0QgQBpkVU5_oZaMI/s1600/andy-rubin.jpg" width="200" /></a>Last year, Google's browser and applications chief Sundar Pichai replaced Rubin as head of the Android division, bringing the firm's mobile software, applications and Chrome browser under one roof.<br /><br />Rubin built Android into a free, open-source software platform now used by most of the world's largest handset manufacturers, from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to HTC Corp.

Android co-founder Andy Rubin to leave Google

Google Inc said on Thursday that Andy Rubin, co-founder of its Android mobile business and head of its nascent robotics effort is leaving th...

Twitter will work with IBM's data analytics offerings to trace customer and then re-sell that data to corporate clients.

<h4>IBM, Twitter to partner on business data analytics.</h4><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) on Wednesday announced a partnership with Twitter (TWTR.N) to help shape business decisions using data collected from tweets worldwide.</b></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29yOJ9HONl44ojORLRVCbG4Jj48lc2PDWRQGQyLyaeU_zkJaCtCxC1kU-9H_FgOR7HvLfwgeml9C2VOgn4oLpPsmMLyMCqmOCGKfzBjRcyjxhLBxZNyeKx2cNbhzU99i7accjXrULzNQ/s1600/ibm-and-twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg29yOJ9HONl44ojORLRVCbG4Jj48lc2PDWRQGQyLyaeU_zkJaCtCxC1kU-9H_FgOR7HvLfwgeml9C2VOgn4oLpPsmMLyMCqmOCGKfzBjRcyjxhLBxZNyeKx2cNbhzU99i7accjXrULzNQ/s1600/ibm-and-twitter.jpg" /></a>IBM will help businesses predict trends in the marketplace and consumer sentiment about products and brands and will train 10,000 employees to consult businesses on the best use of Twitter data.<br /><br />IBM chief executive Ginni Rometty has been trying to shift the 100-year-old company's focus away from commoditized hardware to higher-value cloud and data analytics products.<br /><br />In April, Twitter acquired social data provider Gnip to burrow into the 500 million tweets sent daily on its network. [ID:nL3N0N743S]<br /><br />Enterprise clients will now be able to filter the data based on geography, public biographical information and the emotion expressed in the tweet.<br /><br />"We are taking this huge fire-hose of data (and) letting clients decide how to dose that down," Seth McGuire, senior business development manager at Twitter, told Reuters in an interview.<br /><br /><h4>The company previously allowed third-party firms such as Gnip, Datasift and Dataminr to buy access to the tweets and then re-sell that data to corporate clients.</h4><br />While other data analysis software for businesses exists, Twitter hopes the partnership with IBM's established businesses will draw in customers.<br /><br />IBM plans to offer Twitter data as part of its analytics services delivered through cloud computing, including cognitive computing.<br /><br />Software developers will also be able to use Twitter data in applications they are building using IBM's Bluemix and Watson Developer Cloud offering.<br /><br />"Data is the phenomenon of our time," said IBM's Rometty.<br /><br />"Twitter has created something extraordinary. When you bring this together with other kinds of information and leverage IBM's innovations in analytics, Watson and cloud, business decision making will never be the same," she told an event announcing the launch.<br /><br />"This is a huge milestone for Twitter," said Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, adding:<br /><br />"IBM brings a unique ability to integrate complex systems and data to help clients make better business decisions."<br /><br />IBM shares were off 0.12 percent at $163.40 while Twitter shares dipped 3.2 percent to $42.38.

Twitter will work with IBM's data analytics offerings to trace customer and then re-sell that data to corporate clients.

IBM, Twitter to partner on business data analytics. International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) on Wednesday announced a partnership with T...

Wall Street Disappointed in Twitter’s Slow User Growth; Opportunities Loom amid Low Shares.

Twitter's publicity campaign, such as the World Cup live update in July and enhanced user-friendly sign ups, the San Francisco-based company suffered another 8 percent decrease in stock price.  As of the third quarter report, Twitter lost US$175 million in sales compared with US$64.6 million last year.<br /><br />On a positive note, revenue growth doubled to US$361 million, exceeding analysts' expectation of US$351.5 million, FactSet said.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJ2mHE_-6gs-qGQY-Mh9hgZDOI6kG1yM0BkfGsvwdZU7SXjmqWcNq8hq19kY1AT9Nz08US-hkUw8K9aadBKTJQDd7puX-ewghoKiXrvf_hMez7NPKv3rlf_rfYxLJaYn4z-abwzwTIJA/s1600/Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJ2mHE_-6gs-qGQY-Mh9hgZDOI6kG1yM0BkfGsvwdZU7SXjmqWcNq8hq19kY1AT9Nz08US-hkUw8K9aadBKTJQDd7puX-ewghoKiXrvf_hMez7NPKv3rlf_rfYxLJaYn4z-abwzwTIJA/s1600/Twitter.jpg" width="320" /></a>One year after it converted itself as a public entity in November 2013, Twitter still has a hard time convincing Wall Street gurus of its financial success.  A case in point is that the wider the audience reach, the more effective advertisements are, which is identified as Twitter's main source of income.<br /><br />Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Dick Costolo said that while they have performed beyond the financial target, it has become more critical to "increase [their] overall pace of execution."<br /><br />Costolo described Twitter's audiences "as a series of geometrically eccentric circles," specifically the ones with active user accounts (core group), those who do not log in, and those who leverage contents across different platforms (syndicated).<br /><br />Twitter said that they are in the process rolling out programs to improve interaction among Twitter users, including the one implemented on Apple iOS where notification are given even when on logged out users.<br /><br />RAPP senior vice president Craig Elimeliah said Twitter's newest mobile software, which allows marketers to embed their apps on tweets, makes them more attractive to other companies.<br /><br />Twitter's price in stock today might actually be a blessing in disguise, Forbes wrote.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Costolo clarified that although experts tend to compare Facebook's reach against Twitter, one will not be the same as the other.</b></blockquote><br /><b>Twitter's publicity campaign, such as the World Cup live update in July and enhanced user-friendly sign ups, the San Francisco-based company suffered another 8 percent decrease in stock price.  </b><br /><b><br /></b><b>As of the third quarter report, Twitter lost US$175 million in sales compared with US$64.6 million last year.</b><br /><br />On a positive note, revenue growth doubled to US$361 million, exceeding analysts' expectation of US$351.5 million, FactSet said.<br /><br />One year after it converted itself as a public entity in November 2013, Twitter still has a hard time convincing Wall Street gurus of its financial success.  A case in point is that the wider the audience reach, the more effective advertisements are, which is identified as Twitter's main source of income.<br /><br />Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Dick Costolo said that while they have performed beyond the financial target, it has become more critical to "increase [their] overall pace of execution."<br /><br /><b>Costolo described Twitter's audiences "as a series of geometrically eccentric circles," specifically the ones with active user accounts (core group), those who do not log in, and those who leverage contents across different platforms (syndicated).</b><br /><br />Twitter said that they are in the process rolling out programs to improve interaction among Twitter users, including the one implemented on Apple iOS where notification are given even when on logged out users.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_kg36Z2a9xkqQzITHqOhKzZEXxjO77wRsaimL9zEzx8uPFCuB4AopCgSWYeLYo7pr9cAsHd2ZynErzSPE5sgAehYUfTo0e4NsX_QnonRkpUIZLzth7rMjs0PYhLcU-9u0SvN70hC2ac/s1600/twitter-shares1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_kg36Z2a9xkqQzITHqOhKzZEXxjO77wRsaimL9zEzx8uPFCuB4AopCgSWYeLYo7pr9cAsHd2ZynErzSPE5sgAehYUfTo0e4NsX_QnonRkpUIZLzth7rMjs0PYhLcU-9u0SvN70hC2ac/s1600/twitter-shares1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />RAPP senior vice president Craig Elimeliah said Twitter's newest mobile software, which allows marketers to embed their apps on tweets, makes them more attractive to other companies.<br /><br />Twitter's price in stock today might actually be a blessing in disguise, Forbes wrote.  Costolo clarified that although experts tend to compare Facebook's reach against Twitter, one will not be the same as the other.

Wall Street Disappointed in Twitter’s Slow User Growth; Opportunities Loom amid Low Shares.

Twitter's publicity campaign, such as the World Cup live update in July and enhanced user-friendly sign ups, the San Francisco-based com...

Twitter not working: Social network says problem with tweets not showing is fixed

Tweets were not showing up on feeds or even loading for some users on Saturday, according to hundreds of people reporting problems with the social network.<br /><br />Twitter reported a problem on its status page at 3am but later said the issue had been "identified".<br /><br />"Between 18:49 and 19:23 PDT (2.49am and 3.23am) today, some users may have experienced issues viewing and sending Tweets on twitter.com and Twitter's mobile apps," a spokesperson said.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDm2HChFXMf1ty_jYGNL9nHk1E1oVME-Y4rKx99Z7JKKE69RpSYsEFHRKdF5W6fFIjVFN4TfwhQrmlNbt0FIUpYnqO8mp5kQzT20Z0MWNGNAlDCYTOKpULgA_7nGcg2bew6iFBTwhxfIM/s1600/twitter-bran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDm2HChFXMf1ty_jYGNL9nHk1E1oVME-Y4rKx99Z7JKKE69RpSYsEFHRKdF5W6fFIjVFN4TfwhQrmlNbt0FIUpYnqO8mp5kQzT20Z0MWNGNAlDCYTOKpULgA_7nGcg2bew6iFBTwhxfIM/s1600/twitter-bran.jpg" width="320" /></a>"The source of this issue has been identified, and we apologise for any inconvenience."<br /><br />But the problems seemed to continue into Saturday morning, with hundreds of users around the world venting their frustration.<br /><br />Feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez wrote: "Twitter is boring when it's broken", while another annoyed user suggested people "sit in separate rooms and pass each other notes under the door" instead.<br /><br />Many people reported feeds missing tweets that appeared to have been posted and profiles not showing any recent posts.<br /><br />The issues were reported in countries including the UK, US, Germany, France, Poland, Spain and Turkey.<br /><br />Shortly after 1.45pm, Twitter said the problem had been solved.<br /><br />"The delay with tweets showing up in timelines has now been resolved," a spokesperson said. "Thank you for your patience."<br /><br />Meanwhile, there were also reports of a problem with the link shortening service bit.ly.

Twitter not working: Social network says problem with tweets not showing is fixed

Tweets were not showing up on feeds or even loading for some users on Saturday, according to hundreds of people reporting problems with the ...

Twitpic links, photo archive will 'stay alive' due to deal with Twitter

The popular service for sharing photos on Twitter is set to close today, but its founder says the Twitpic domain and photo archive have been "given" to Twitter, so photos and links will be around awhile.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b> Users of Twitpic -- the popular tool for sharing photos on Twitter -- have been given a reprieve.</b></blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzIgX_VXrZ-5Nv_3ugRu7C9jZSM-v0gL0tAb93itwDIHjCeN355fHS1yOzFb6gWcSBa7ipaAZPOTM49uhUC870Wzp4r8L3z38Ykiq5xb97gYEGxjfHK3CSCMowMhNSILY3R8qucUT59g/s1600/twitpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzIgX_VXrZ-5Nv_3ugRu7C9jZSM-v0gL0tAb93itwDIHjCeN355fHS1yOzFb6gWcSBa7ipaAZPOTM49uhUC870Wzp4r8L3z38Ykiq5xb97gYEGxjfHK3CSCMowMhNSILY3R8qucUT59g/s1600/twitpic.jpg" width="320" /></a>The service, set to shut down today, said at the beginning of September that users had until the shutdown date to export their photos from the Twitpic domain -- where they'd upload shots before linking to them in tweets. But TwitPic founder Noah Everett has announced that because of an agreement with Twitter, photos and links will be kept alive "for the time being."<br /><br />"We weren't able to find a way to keep Twitpic independent," Everettt wrote in a blog item on the Twitpic site Saturday. "However, I'm happy to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to give them the Twitpic domain and photo archive, thus keeping the photos and links alive for the time being. Twitter shares our goal of protecting our users and this data. Also, since Twitpic's user base consists of Twitter users, it makes sense to keep this data with Twitter."<br /><br />Launched in 2008, Twitpic was perhaps the best-established third-party image-sharing service for Twitter users, letting them link to photos in tweets. It was a source of citizen journalism as tweeters spotted newsworthy events -- such as the Hudson River plane crash -- captured the action on their phone, uploaded images to Twitpic and shared the link on Twitter.<br /><br />In his blog post today, Everett didn't elaborate on the agreement with Twitter, and a Twitter spokesman said the company was not providing any details beyond the information in Everett's post.<br /><br />Everett also said the blog post and agreement would be his "final chapter" with Twitpic and thanked users for their patience during the last few months, saying it's been "quite the roller coaster ride."<br /><br />It has indeed. After announcing on September 4 that Twitpic would shutter its service on September 24 due to a legal dispute with Twitter, Everett sent out a tweet -- on September 18 -- saying Twitpic had been acquired and would remain in business, with details to come. But on October 16, Everett updated the original shutdown announcement and said Twitpic would close after all, having "worked through a handful of potential acquirers and exhausted all potential options."<br /><br /><h4>In today's post, Everett outlined what the new agreement with Twitter means for Twitpic users:<br />    -- Twitpic will no longer be taking on new photos or data (the site will be in a read-only mode)<br />    -- The iOS and Android apps have been removed from the app stores and will no longer be supported<br />    -- You will still be able to login to your profile to delete content or delete your account on Twitpic.com<br />    -- You can still export and download your data / photo archive on Twitpic.com </h4><br />In the September 4 shutdown announcement, Everett called the decision to close "unexpected and hard," but said that Twitter threatened to cut off Twitpic's access to its application programming interface -- the tools that allow developers to tap into Twitter's platform -- if the 6-year-old startup did not abandon its trademark.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Noting that protecting the company's trademark is a concern, a Twitter representative said at the time that it was "sad to see Twitpic is shutting down."</b></blockquote>

Twitpic links, photo archive will 'stay alive' due to deal with Twitter

The popular service for sharing photos on Twitter is set to close today, but its founder says the Twitpic domain and photo archive have been...

FEMA Erroneous emergency warnings irk AT&T U-verse subscribers

AT&T U-verse subscribers were seething when bogus federal agency emergency warnings had them waiting in anticipation. False alerts asked AT&T U-verse fiber optic subscribers to standby for a message from the White House. The false alerts were erroneously injected into the U-verse network by FEMA broadcasts.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiU416ESEn4LyETfJjIjUEWe7Lf6rZVeoUNw0WNW30_XmQDTRpNLtUghhGO5JDD-TCAcom4os34I7IQDlDjTqBqh_yos82i5Dr9NjlXolxqEHw8yVPH3IfPpFp1ZSgYG-pP6BSNeD5HOM/s1600/1025-FEMA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiU416ESEn4LyETfJjIjUEWe7Lf6rZVeoUNw0WNW30_XmQDTRpNLtUghhGO5JDD-TCAcom4os34I7IQDlDjTqBqh_yos82i5Dr9NjlXolxqEHw8yVPH3IfPpFp1ZSgYG-pP6BSNeD5HOM/s1600/1025-FEMA.jpg" width="200" /></a>AT&T has confirmed that it has accidently transmitted an emergency alert message from FEMA to U-Verse consumers. The message was transmitted to U-Verse consumers in parts of Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan and Mississippi.<br /><br />U-Verse is the fiber optic service of AT&T and consumer’s Television screens were adorned with red banners in the affected areas alerting them that there was an important message inbounds.<br /><br />AT&T spokeswoman stated, “A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) investigation indicates that a nationally syndicated radio show not affiliated with AT&T accidentally sent a message over the National Emergency Alert System. This false message was carried on our network, as well as some other providers. We apologize to our customers.”<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLgYHjQljWkd4bRJYZX8E1eIKxTgCAA_G-GQuZT8kiV-sm7J3BPQGErtxzRyqRHRVzy7shmAxsOoWghlfpxOb72OyUwy-XgNqk2WEkZ0IFDicpcapB_KOd7uHMLuv253_po07P956jMY/s1600/emergency-alert_24259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLgYHjQljWkd4bRJYZX8E1eIKxTgCAA_G-GQuZT8kiV-sm7J3BPQGErtxzRyqRHRVzy7shmAxsOoWghlfpxOb72OyUwy-XgNqk2WEkZ0IFDicpcapB_KOd7uHMLuv253_po07P956jMY/s1600/emergency-alert_24259.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The false message could be best described as a nuisance since it did not cause much damage or panic. The alert led to consumers rooted near their phone lines waiting for the nonexistent message from White House.<br /><br />The alert message read,  “We interrupt our programming at the request of the White House. This is the Emergency Alert System. All normal programming has been discontinued during this emergency.”<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3kKemdbW9Fg0oQuodJu1WKG1VWoshNDExWamaxMvz3YTIZG0_LgIMtEKU5DHAnmenMAbfo9VVcFGUjhAb94MpqKYHmVhmGtgvP6VwoYV6E0TSIS9Yxx0Jm43AdR9hSL0iyA0nyfg7jI/s1600/U-Verse-EAS-message.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3kKemdbW9Fg0oQuodJu1WKG1VWoshNDExWamaxMvz3YTIZG0_LgIMtEKU5DHAnmenMAbfo9VVcFGUjhAb94MpqKYHmVhmGtgvP6VwoYV6E0TSIS9Yxx0Jm43AdR9hSL0iyA0nyfg7jI/s1600/U-Verse-EAS-message.jpg" width="320" /></a>The alert message started popping up on screens around 10 A.M on October 24th.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxdm-7aX5T0u-D62eHkXed0Xfu_uK5FYsxoIe1-SfwF7s-A5giqL9UmaQX8aJUepd40U1BOj1kCUQNnjwh7HbIFIQw1k_pySw9qpKRtGCS9WRMrrCyv-fycexK2qRhEnKXYx-Wy-0dQ4/s1600/fema.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSxdm-7aX5T0u-D62eHkXed0Xfu_uK5FYsxoIe1-SfwF7s-A5giqL9UmaQX8aJUepd40U1BOj1kCUQNnjwh7HbIFIQw1k_pySw9qpKRtGCS9WRMrrCyv-fycexK2qRhEnKXYx-Wy-0dQ4/s1600/fema.jpg" width="150" /></a>FEMA spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre stated, “This morning, there was an inappropriate playing of the national emergency alert notification tones on a syndicated radio broadcast. There is not a national emergency. Today’s broadcast triggered alert notification in states where the alert has been played.”<br /><br />FEMA spokesperson stated that the organization was working in tandem with FCC to calculate the gravity of the situation.<br /><br />FEMA spokesperson further added, “Certain alerts, like the one broadcast today, are designed to be automatically picked up and rebroadcast by other radio and TV stations. FEMA and the FCC are currently working with broadcasters to determine the full scope of the situation.”

FEMA Erroneous emergency warnings irk AT&T U-verse subscribers

AT&T U-verse subscribers were seething when bogus federal agency emergency warnings had them waiting in anticipation. False alerts asked...

U.S. appeals court rules for GM over Spyker's Saab sale

General Motors Co (GM.N) persuaded a federal appeals court to uphold the dismissal of a $3 billion lawsuit in which Spyker NV (SPYKF.PK) accused it of derailing a plan to sell the Swedish automaker Saab to a Chinese company.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohO4lbBI3r4gS38GjVQr1plI-sewAr8bUbSIsC7xJ9LZkBpHgC4NoAE2Rsap5P4grvgBArZPFiyrGYfuGZdxGSeulIkVe16dLU7rryU3MATGgqQ5E9JNih44NhKWZ3C5JSrs11TzyaaI/s1600/053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohO4lbBI3r4gS38GjVQr1plI-sewAr8bUbSIsC7xJ9LZkBpHgC4NoAE2Rsap5P4grvgBArZPFiyrGYfuGZdxGSeulIkVe16dLU7rryU3MATGgqQ5E9JNih44NhKWZ3C5JSrs11TzyaaI/s1600/053.jpg" width="200" /></a>The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Friday said Spyker failed to show GM intentionally interfered with the Dutch company's effort to sell Saab to Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co, leading to Saab's bankruptcy.<br /><br />GM had sold a majority of Saab to Spyker in 2010. As part of that sale, it licensed Saab to build vehicles using the Detroit-based automaker's intellectual property, and retained a right to end the license if Saab were sold without its consent.<br /><br />Spyker said it was in sale talks with Youngman in December 2011 when a GM spokesman made statements suggesting that consent would not be provided, and that a sale might hurt GM. Youngman said it decided to back out "due to GM's position."<br /><br />Writing for a three-judge 6th Circuit panel, Circuit Judge Eugene Siler said GM's statements were not malicious, and that it had "legitimate business concerns" about the sale, including who would benefit from Saab's use of its technology.<br /><br />Siler also called Spyker's claim "fatally flawed" because it assumed that GM misinterpreted the license agreement, meaning the spokesman's statements "would have at most amounted to a mistake."<br /><br />Friday's decision upheld a June 2013 ruling by U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain in Flint, Michigan.<br /><br /><b>A lawyer for Spyker declined to comment immediately.</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vw7FApR14sDaRDcx6kqUm02sYH5DD4OhqptRxYe3n39CSpQUEazrYTgQHZWlrtHbu51Uk5iO4w5O-4fiJNkVgMuIJSCrI9jlFkfWzks2tc8CeyPt6CaibOwMPpR-a7M7EPIGShw-RUA/s1600/Saab_Aero-X.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vw7FApR14sDaRDcx6kqUm02sYH5DD4OhqptRxYe3n39CSpQUEazrYTgQHZWlrtHbu51Uk5iO4w5O-4fiJNkVgMuIJSCrI9jlFkfWzks2tc8CeyPt6CaibOwMPpR-a7M7EPIGShw-RUA/s1600/Saab_Aero-X.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>GM spokesman Alan Adler said in an emailed statement: "GM is very pleased that both the district court and now the Court of Appeals have determined that GM acted properly."<br /><br />Saab's assets were bought out of bankruptcy in 2012 by China's National Electric Vehicle Sweden.<br /><br />NEVS stopped building cars in May because of a lack of money, and in August won creditor protection in Sweden so it could seek new funds.<br /><br />GM shares closed down 89 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $30.04 on Friday.<br /><br />The case is Saab Automobile AB et al v. General Motors Co, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 13-1899.

U.S. appeals court rules for GM over Spyker's Saab sale

General Motors Co (GM.N) persuaded a federal appeals court to uphold the dismissal of a $3 billion lawsuit in which Spyker NV (SPYKF.PK) acc...

U.S. delays 'incentive' airwaves auction to early 2016

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission expects a major auction of low-frequency airwaves to be pushed back to early 2016 from mid-2015 because of its complexity and a pending court challenge, an FCC official said in a blog post on Friday.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5c-YxvzbYocq1VDU8G87d71FGyZjI14tfBtEzCndhdPRBtzDkFaCpVFQcOcMHZs3QbNmMzTfVZVmwHjcH-TG68f8OdTobFOFd7rUd4Xo1XKWsDVO6aqnojvcq8ZwNFtJMZUv4pU7iL8/s1600/retina_parallax.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG5c-YxvzbYocq1VDU8G87d71FGyZjI14tfBtEzCndhdPRBtzDkFaCpVFQcOcMHZs3QbNmMzTfVZVmwHjcH-TG68f8OdTobFOFd7rUd4Xo1XKWsDVO6aqnojvcq8ZwNFtJMZUv4pU7iL8/s1600/retina_parallax.jpg" width="320" /></a>The FCC is working on rules for the so-called incentive auction, in which wireless carriers would get the first opportunity since 2008 to purchase airwaves that are considered the "beach-front property" of radio spectrum for their reach and strength.<br /><br />The auction is regarded as the FCC's most complex undertaking to date, balancing numerous economic, engineering and political considerations, including the need to woo broadcasters to give up the airwaves in the first place.<br /><br />The delay gives the FCC more time to sway TV station owners to participate and T-Mobile US Inc to argue for bidding restrictions on larger rivals AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc.<br /><br />The National Association of Broadcasters, concerned about the potential impact on TV stations, has petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review elements of the FCC's planned auction process.<br /><br />The court has pushed back the deadline on final briefs in the case until late January 2015.<br /><br />"We are confident we will prevail in court, but given the reality of that schedule, the complexity of designing and implementing the auction, and the need for all auction participants to have certainty well in advance of the auction, we now anticipate accepting applications for the auction in the fall of 2015 and starting the auction in early 2016," Gary Epstein, who chairs the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force, wrote in the blog post.<br /><br />The NAB rejected the notion that its lawsuit was the cause of the delay.<br /><br />"We look forward to a speedy resolution of our legal challenge and a successful auction that preserves access to free and local TV for every American," NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton said in a statement.<br /><br />The FCC plans a road show this fall to convince TV station owners to participate in the auction, for example by going off the air or sharing frequencies with another station.<br /><br />Wireless carriers said the auction delay was unfortunate, but they added that they welcomed the effort to get it right.<br /><br />Although all large carriers are expected to participate, AT&T so far has been the only one to pledge a specific amount, at least $9 billion.<br /><br />BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk, in a note, said the delay could "re-open the door for T-Mobile and Sprint to argue for more favorable bidding conditions, particularly given that they have abandoned their merger discussions."<br /><br />Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and satellite provider Dish Network Corp also plan to bid in the FCC's AWS-3 auction, which is scheduled for Nov. 3.<br /><br />The anticipated start of the incentive auction was pushed back once before, to mid-2015 from 2014, because of its complexity.

U.S. delays 'incentive' airwaves auction to early 2016

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission expects a major auction of low-frequency airwaves to be pushed back to early 2016 from mid-2015 b...

America Movil says not in talks over T-Mobile US

America Movil is not talking to anybody at this stage about a possible purchase of T-Mobile US, Chief Executive Daniel Hajj told a conference call on Friday.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzo-XQGUyrp4RcwNZuKRUNzf0SGXaYsxeCas0RBmeT92jYamwwKmj3shGB1jgRDktxo2U2tqVcaMXenuWAZhopavoQ8Zg35-NLX-ewYz-5s8j1UkPM5drhCZztgAwfoYwHvvzYQUUC5w/s1600/attamericamovil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzo-XQGUyrp4RcwNZuKRUNzf0SGXaYsxeCas0RBmeT92jYamwwKmj3shGB1jgRDktxo2U2tqVcaMXenuWAZhopavoQ8Zg35-NLX-ewYz-5s8j1UkPM5drhCZztgAwfoYwHvvzYQUUC5w/s1600/attamericamovil.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_E3vfYNGcCK9oV_OnIvhlZD74MThX4IifKXtJCiHcCGBChXj1_1TgXdgEV1r8cB7S8SPVzVNux9skVs-_MCeywoKPtyyjsbcGQ4JQH_MRMPTpKG_LkGXf2Z22_3mCIhArIgQ1DvQLTk/s1600/mapa_claro.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_E3vfYNGcCK9oV_OnIvhlZD74MThX4IifKXtJCiHcCGBChXj1_1TgXdgEV1r8cB7S8SPVzVNux9skVs-_MCeywoKPtyyjsbcGQ4JQH_MRMPTpKG_LkGXf2Z22_3mCIhArIgQ1DvQLTk/s1600/mapa_claro.gif" /></a>Germany's Monthly Manager Magazin on Thursday said America Movil was a possible buyer of the company, citing people familiar with Deutsche Telekom.<br /><br />Deutsche Telekom owns close to 67 percent of T-Mobile US.<br /><br /><br />

America Movil says not in talks over T-Mobile US

America Movil is not talking to anybody at this stage about a possible purchase of T-Mobile US, Chief Executive Daniel Hajj told a conferenc...

SecTor Speaker Shows How Credit Card Thieves Get Caught.

<blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>Credit card theft is a common digital crime, but there are a few ways law enforcement tracks down carders, a Nuix consultant says. </b></blockquote><br /><br />TORONTO-Credit card theft continues to be among the most common and widespread forms of digital crime.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2oiLZ6do4mXwqcmHjv0vPpDt1jVmyapXiCwYvrpJfN919eayeevgAb2U3gZQFbncYW-M-PoiaEy8nWayJW_Ans2xm45CC49UfHyj7nfg1Vn_jwhXocKFSduep0LTIIVyJZE1gQ-ZQZQ/s1600/1unti1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2oiLZ6do4mXwqcmHjv0vPpDt1jVmyapXiCwYvrpJfN919eayeevgAb2U3gZQFbncYW-M-PoiaEy8nWayJW_Ans2xm45CC49UfHyj7nfg1Vn_jwhXocKFSduep0LTIIVyJZE1gQ-ZQZQ/s1600/1unti1.png" width="320" /></a>Speaking at the SecTor security conference here Oct. 22, Grayson Lenik, principal security consultant at Nuix, outlined how these credit card thieves—known as "carders"—operate and how they eventually get caught.<br /><br />The world of carders is a highly hierarchical one of carding forums and carding groups.<br /><br />The business of credit card theft is discussed and taught in these online carding forums, which are sites that provide users with information and tools on how to steal credit card numbers.<br /><br />Lenik noted that one of the most popular carding forums is a site called Carding Mafia, though he suspects that most of site's viewers are law enforcement professionals looking to track down thieves and obtain information. "Probably 70 percent of the users are law enforcement at this point," Lenik said. In terms of how carding groups operate, there is an organizational hierarchy in place.<br /><br />At the top is the leadership—the people who actually own the carding forums and write the malware that is used to steal user information. Lenik said it's unlikely that leadership of carding groups is a state-sponsored activity, though he noted that carding might well be state condoned in certain countries, such as Russia, for example.<br /><br />Underneath the carding leadership are the middlemen, who keep the carding forums full with fresh dumps of credit card information and credentials. The middlemen in turn employ the services of what are known as "money mules," who are essentially the common criminals of the carding world.<br /><br /><b>"Money mules are people looking to make a quick buck," Lenik said.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>Getting Caught</b><br /><br />When carders do get caught, several common reasons why and how may factor in, Lenik said.<br /><br />The first reason is laziness. Some carders hold the misplaced belief that they won't get caught, and that false sense of security leads them to not taking the necessary precautions to hide their locations or identities, Lenik said. Lazy activities that lead to carders being caught include hacking from home, not using some form of anonymizing service and hard-coding their IP addresses in malware.<br /><br />Carders can also get caught by virtue of bad luck. For example, a carder might be stopped by police officer for a traffic violation and the officer sees carding equipment in the car. Lenik also said carders who have been caught often will give up their accomplices and other members of their group in order to receive a better deal from law enforcement.<br /><br /><b>Use of social media is another way carders can be caught. Lenik said he has seen carders post things to their Facebook or Twitter accounts that reveal information about where they are going. </b><br /><br />That information sometimes can be used by law enforcement officials to track down the carder.<br /><br /><b>The Carder Who Loved Me</b><br /><b><br /></b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcpGv2dWD8xNkP1Wj-S7G1EXVPO31_NNrdk3WJ_cvOqhkycVFoMaTMRIP4MBjNsuHeDdafMT_f-4QexfsW-JuuiOOn29m-1pRb0YDOSJjIFBxwf-OAeBEKEbxmsWxwAZxfu7hJQ-NfhP8/s1600/1QDABKP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcpGv2dWD8xNkP1Wj-S7G1EXVPO31_NNrdk3WJ_cvOqhkycVFoMaTMRIP4MBjNsuHeDdafMT_f-4QexfsW-JuuiOOn29m-1pRb0YDOSJjIFBxwf-OAeBEKEbxmsWxwAZxfu7hJQ-NfhP8/s1600/1QDABKP.jpg" width="320" /></a>One particularly interesting case of how a carder was apprehended involved a law enforcement professional who was working undercover in the carding world.<br /><br />The female agent befriended a carder and over time developed a relationship.<br /><br />As the relationship matured, the female agent convinced the carder to come to Las Vegas to marry her.<br /><br />Once the carder arrived in the United States, he was apprehended. However, that wasn't the end of the story. The agent took her carder "fiancé" to various locations in Las Vegas and took pictures of both of them at various landmarks, and later posted the photos on social media.<br /><br />The agent then invited the carder's friends to come to the wedding in Las Vegas. In total, Lenik said, four people were arrested after traveling to Las Vegas for the wedding.

SecTor Speaker Shows How Credit Card Thieves Get Caught.

Credit card theft is a common digital crime, but there are a few ways law enforcement tracks down carders, a Nuix consultant says.  TORONTO-...

U.S. senator asks Internet providers to commit to no 'fast lanes'

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy on Thursday pressed large Internet providers to pledge that they will not strike deals that may help some websites load faster than others or give similar "fast lanes" to affiliated services.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">As regulators work on new so-called "net neutrality" rules, Leahy wrote to chiefs of AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc, Time Warner Cable Inc and Charter Communications Inc.</blockquote><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0wp_FHcTfFDnHmlalF9TLaJ0S9EEXDSnWPhAOYgrg1FyHH_YZi3YINwFYXQ1PPnjaT1YUER5cC_4IAGPKBELsJTV7Y1kouo4pJ_ewj_s5GETTIJ3lBgEDcB8IDGQCkbogEvTAduPH-Y/s1600/mrl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib0wp_FHcTfFDnHmlalF9TLaJ0S9EEXDSnWPhAOYgrg1FyHH_YZi3YINwFYXQ1PPnjaT1YUER5cC_4IAGPKBELsJTV7Y1kouo4pJ_ewj_s5GETTIJ3lBgEDcB8IDGQCkbogEvTAduPH-Y/s1600/mrl.jpg" width="320" /></a>In his letters, similar to one sent to Comcast Corp on Monday, Leahy asked the leading Internet service providers (ISPs) to formally commit to no so-called "paid prioritization" deals in which content companies could pay Internet providers to ensure smooth and fast delivery of their traffic.<br /><br />The Federal Communications Commission has received 3.9 million comments after it proposed new web traffic rules that would prohibit ISPs from blocking content, but suggested allowing some "commercially reasonable" paid prioritization deals.<br /><br />Large ISPs, including Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, have been asserting that they had no plans for such paid prioritization arrangements and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has said he would not tolerate anti-competitive or anti-consumer prioritization deals.<br /><br />Nonetheless, consumer advocates and other critics are concerned that opening the door for paid prioritization, could create "fast lanes" for some content and so relegate other websites and applications to "slow lanes."<br /><br />"These types of arrangements pose a significant threat of dividing the Internet into those who can afford to compete and those who cannot," Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, wrote in his letters.<br /><br />Comcast has said it was reviewing Leahy's letter and a Verizon representative did not comment on Thursday. Spokespeople for AT&T, Time Warner Cable and Charter did not immediately have comment.<br /><br />Letters from Leahy, a key lawmaker on antitrust issues, come at a time when the Justice Department and the FCC are reviewing two major merger proposals: a $45 billion deal between Comcast and Time Warner Cable and a $48.5 billion deal between AT&T and satellite TV provider DirecTV.<br /><br />As part of its merger deal, Comcast planned to sell a portion of its subscribers to Charter.<br /><br />Comcast is the only large ISP bound by the 2010 version of net neutrality rules, which discouraged paid prioritization but were struck down in court in January over another issue. Comcast has to continue abiding by those rules until 2018 as a condition of a merger with NBC Universal.

U.S. senator asks Internet providers to commit to no 'fast lanes'

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy on Thursday pressed large Internet providers to pledge that they will not strike deal...

Microsoft sales beat Street hopes, cloud profits up

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by stronger sales of its phones, Surface tablets and cloud-computing products for companies, while keeping its profit margins largely intact.<br /><br /><a href="http://us.mobile.reuters.com/do/getNewsImages?n=technologyNews&u=USKCN0IC2EZ20141023&i=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://us.mobile.reuters.com/do/getNewsImages?n=technologyNews&u=USKCN0IC2EZ20141023&i=1" /></a>The results on Thursday allayed fears of investors in recent days that the industry shift toward lower-margin cloud services was proving hard for established technology leaders to master.<br /><br />Microsoft shares, which have climbed 33 percent over the past year, rose another 3 percent in after-hours trading to $46.36.<br /><br />"In light of recent negative earnings results from tech bellwethers Oracle, IBM, SAP, VMware, and EMC, Microsoft is bucking the trend and we would label these September results as a solid accomplishment," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.<br /><br />Investors were keenly watching Microsoft after harsh warnings from International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) and SAP (SAPG.DE) about operating profits as they make tentative inroads into the cloud, which generally yields thinner margins than technology companies are used to.<br /><br />Microsoft did not disclose its cloud-based revenue for the fiscal first quarter, but said commercial cloud sales rose 128 percent, while sales of services based on its Azure cloud platform rose 121 percent.<br /><br />Perhaps more importantly, it said gross profit margin in the unit that includes Azure rose 194 percent, despite rising infrastructure costs, which includes the huge expense of building and operating datacenters.<br /><br />In the last four years, Microsoft's gross profit margin has drifted down to about 65 percent from above 80 percent, largely due to its move into the less profitable business of making tablets and phones, but accelerated by the move to the cloud.<br /><br />Nomura analyst Rick Sherlund figures Microsoft is on track to hit $6 billion a year in cloud revenue soon, which would make it the industry's largest cloud vendor by his calculations. That represents only about 6 percent of overall expected revenue this fiscal year, but investors are highly sensitive to a business they see as key to the future.<br /><br />"We're the only company with cloud revenue at our scale that is growing at triple digit rates," said Satya Nadella, on a conference call with analysts.<br /><br />Nadella was keen to stress that Microsoft is more focused on selling higher-margin services via the cloud to its commercial customers rather than just storage and computing power. "Our premium services on Azure create new monetization opportunities in media, data, machine learning, fast analytics, and enterprise mobility," he said.<br /><br /><b>PROFIT FELL ON CHARGE</b><br /><br />Microsoft's fiscal first-quarter profit actually fell 13 percent, largely due to an expected $1.1 billion charge related to mass layoffs announced in July, which lopped 11 cents per share off earnings.<br /><br />Including that charge, the world's largest software company reported profit of $4.5 billion, or 54 cents per share, compared with $5.2 billion, or 62 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.<br /><br />Still, it easily beat Wall Street's forecast of 49 cents per share, including the charge, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8jhSFrKkGu3ELUubqBEefrnsa9e16EdlbbTjVML28luSV7De_aQfmW7hw7O6B-m8_G4BidW_-__bhlOWFaOKWFt3pFSGLJA2Ihdq0zo5KzAuLMuJIYG7S_PEbVr7HD-3assktluhbR8/s1600/nothumbnail.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8jhSFrKkGu3ELUubqBEefrnsa9e16EdlbbTjVML28luSV7De_aQfmW7hw7O6B-m8_G4BidW_-__bhlOWFaOKWFt3pFSGLJA2Ihdq0zo5KzAuLMuJIYG7S_PEbVr7HD-3assktluhbR8/s1600/nothumbnail.gif" width="200" /></a>The charge resulted from Microsoft's plan, launched in July, to cut 18,000 jobs, or about 14 percent of its workforce, with most of those cuts coming from its newly acquired Nokia phone business.<br /><br />Revenue rose 25 percent to $23.2 billion, helped by the phone business it bought from Nokia in April, handily exceeding analysts' average estimate of $22 billion.<br /><br />Sales of its Lumia smartphones hit 9.3 million in the first full quarter since the close of the Nokia deal. Sales of the Surface tablet more than doubled to $908 million from $400 million in the year-ago quarter.

Microsoft sales beat Street hopes, cloud profits up

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, helped by stronger sales of its phones, Surface tablets and cloud-c...