65039913
submission
jfruh writes:
Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, or WinHEC, was an annual staple of the '90s and '00s: every year, execs from Redmond would tell OEMs what to expect when it came to Windows servers and PCs. The conference was wrapped with software into Build in 2009, but now it's being revived to deal with not just computers but also the tablets and cell phone Microsoft has found itself in the business of selling and even making. It's also being moved from the U.S. to China, as an acknowledgement of where the heart of the tech hardware business is now.
65039835
submission
jfruh writes:
Softbank is the scrappy number three mobile phone company in Japan, and, since it bought Sprint last year, fills a similar niche in the United States. Dreamworks Animation has produced hits like "Shrek" and "Kung Fu Panda" but has never matched its rival Pixar. They seem to make an unlikely pair, but that hasn't stopped Softbank from trying to buy the animation studio.
64896087
submission
itwbennett writes:
In a letter to Google (PDF) that was published Thursday, the Article 29 Working Party, an umbrella group for European data protection authorities, said Google's privacy policy, in addition to being clear and unambiguous, should also include an exhaustive list of the types of personal data processed. But if all that information is overwhelming to users, Google should personalize the privacy policy to show users only the data processing it is performing on their data.
64890915
submission
jfruh writes:
Yahoo has seen a marked decline recently in government requests for the variety of personal data it stores about users of services ranging from Yahoo Mail to Flickr to Yahoo Answers. While it might be tempting to say that the government is laying off on the spying, Google saw an increase in requests during that period, which might just mean that Yahoo's declining popularity is a boon to its remaining users' privacy.
64890843
submission
jfruh writes:
The U-blox SARA-U260 chip module is only 16 by 26 millimeters — and it's just been certified to work with AT&T's 3G network. While consumers want 4G speeds for their browsing needs, 3G is plenty fast for the innumerable automated systems that will be necessary for the Internet of Things to work. So look out, because with chips this tiny, pretty much everything's going to be online soon.
64833939
submission
jfruh writes:
Tech companies in the U.S. Midwest have had a problem retaining talented young workers who migrate to the coasts seeking excitement and cultural offerings. But many are discovering that the solution was nearby all along, and are moving from suburban campuses to downtown offices, where the excitement of city life can happily co-exist with a reasonable Midwest cost of living.
64722669
submission
jfruh writes:
The so-called Internet of Things (IoT), under which tens of thousands of smart objects will interact with each other seamlessly, has a problem: a lack of uniform communication standards that will allow all those things to speak a common language. The IEEE is embarking on an ambitious effort to solve this problem, creating a standards group to bring order to IoT chaos.
64722607
submission
jfruh writes:
The U.S. Navy isn't spying on you, supposedly, but they are testing their new MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone, which has unprecedented range. Last week the unmanned aircraft flew at 50,000 feet across the entire continental United States.
64636019
submission
jfruh writes:
Do you think sitting on a cold sidewalk for a few days in a true testament to how much someone wants to be the first to get a new iPhone? But people lining up outside an Apple Store in Tokyo have an extra hazard to deal with: Japan's first outbreak of Dengue fever in 70 years, spread by mosquitos making their home in a nearby park.
64634309
submission
itwbennett writes:
Apple has yet to say when the new iPhones might arrive in China, but grey market dealers in Beijing expect unofficial shipments of the iPhone 6 from Hong Kong and Australia to start arriving in China this weekend. Saying 'Chinese people will buy anything,' Beijing electronics dealer Wang Qingyun said he expects initial prices will reach over 20,000 yuan ($3,251) and perhaps up to 25,000 yuan, depending on how many iPhone 6 units actually make it to Beijing.
64601681
submission
jfruh writes:
Trying to prove that it's about more than just downloading movies, and taking advantage in a spike of interest in privacy issues, BitTorrent is now beta-testing Bleep, a distributed, peer-to-peer chat service. Users can download clients for OS X, Windows, and Android.
64601593
submission
jfruh writes:
You may think your IT department runs on copious amounts of caffiene, but according to one survey in the UK, nurses, cops, and even plumbers drink more coffee than techies. Maybe if Mountain Dew were factored into the equation?
64598951
submission
itwbennett writes:
As part of its work testing electronic components, the Japanese National Institute for Technology and Evaluation (NITE) tested batteries about the size of those used in cellphones. They were struck with a hammer then left on a work bench, unconnected from any apparatus. Later — the period of time is unclear from the edited footage — one of the batteries ruptures with a bang, flying across the laboratory. A second clip shows a similar battery erupting in a shower of sparks.
64595549
submission
itwbennett writes:
The Senate Armed Service Committee released on Wednesday an unclassified version of a report (PDF) commissioned last year to investigate cyberattacks against contractors for the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM). The report alleges that the Chinese military successfully stole emails, documents, login credentials and more from contractors, but few of those incidents were ever reported to TRANSCOM. During a one-year period starting in June 2012, TRANSCOM contractors endured more than 50 intrusions, 20 of which were successful in planting malware. TRANSCOM learned of only two of the incidents. The FBI, however, was aware of 10 of the attacks.
64576365
submission
jfruh writes:
As Microsoft's planned mass layoffs — which were announced months ago though no details as to exactly who will be laid off were clear at the time — kick into high gear, it is looking more and more like former Nokia staffers will be feeling the brunt of the purge. Rumor is that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella never thought the Nokia merger was a good idea inthe first place, and may be looking to get out of the handset business Microsoft so recently got into.
