Friday, May 31, 2013

Reuters: Technology News: Yelp open to partnering with Facebook's rival offering: CFO

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Yelp open to partnering with Facebook's rival offering: CFO
May 31st 2013, 22:39

By Chandni Doulatramani

Fri May 31, 2013 6:39pm EDT

(Reuters) - Consumer review aggregator Yelp Inc, which analysts say could face intense competition from Facebook Inc's "graph search", is open to partnering with the social networking website's latest offering, Yelp's Chief Financial Officer Rob Krolik told Reuters.

Facebook, in January, unveiled its graph search feature, available in a beta version, letting users trawl their network of friends to find everything from restaurants to movie recommendations, bringing it into direct competition with Yelp.

Analysts have viewed this as a big negative for Yelp as companies such as Facebook have a lot of opportunity to imitate smaller companies, and over a larger audience.

"We are actually happy to partner with Facebook (for graph search) if that's something that they're interested in," Krolik said.

Facebook declined to comment on any possible partnership.

Yelp's mobile app makes it easier for people to discover local businesses. It combines Yelp's reviews and other relevant information with knowledge of the consumer's location. It also allows consumers to "check-in" at local businesses.

Google Inc, through its Google Plus Local product, also recommends businesses to its users based on circles, past reviews, location and allows them to publish reviews and photos of favorite places.

"Facebook and Google and some other players really are attacking the local space via technology," Krolik said.

Krolik said Yelp, which is integrated into Apple Inc's Maps product and their Siri product, would definitely monitor Facebook's graph search and see what it's all about.

"I just don't think people go to Facebook to find a great local business. I think they connect with their friends, see a lot of photos."

Macquarie Research analyst Tom White said it was not particularly likely that the partnership would happen, because Facebook thinks they have enough data to do it themselves.

He, however said, if it was to happen, it would benefit Yelp, and would cut down competition from Facebook.

"It would mean broader distribution for their reviews, and more people reading their reviews," White said.

"It's not directly a revenue generator, but in theory it would increase the value of advertising on Yelp, just because you're getting it out to more people."

The success of graph search, which will rely heavily on local information, depends on Facebook launching a mobile app. In addition, graph search lacks the depth of review content offered by Yelp.

If Yelp were to partner with Facebook for graph search, the consumer review aggregator would be in a better position to compete with Google, Jefferies analyst Brian Fitzgerald told Reuters.

Yelp already has a tie-up with Facebook Connect, which allows users to login with their Facebook credentials without having to create separate accounts for different websites.

A Yelp user can see if a Facebook friend has reviewed a business. (r.reuters.com/fyp58t)

Jefferies' Fitzgerald said Yelp could also make a good acquisition target for Apple, Google or Facebook.

"Any one of those guys could acquire Yelp and they would be able to use it pretty productively," he said.

Yelp was founded by former PayPal engineers Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons as a start-up idea in a business incubator in 2004. It has never been profitable since its inception.

Analysts expect the company to post its first profit of 1 cent per share for the first quarter of 2014, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company's earnings quality score on Thomson Reuters StarMine rose to 7 out of 100, from 5, after it reported its earnings for the January-March quarter. This compares with a sector median of 63.

The earnings quality model rates companies according to the sustainability of their earnings.

Yelp shares, which have risen about 80 percent in the last year, closed marginally down at $29.81 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. They had fallen 6 percent on January 15, when Facebook unveiled its graph search.

(Additional reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore and Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco)

  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: DirecTV, two others bid over $1 billion for Hulu: source

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
DirecTV, two others bid over $1 billion for Hulu: source
Jun 1st 2013, 00:16

Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, participates in the Hollywood Radio and Television Society presentation of ''The Digital Chiefs: A Special Conversation on the Future of new Media in the Digital Age'' panel discussion in Los Angeles September 8, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Phil McCarten

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Dell urges shareholders to approve CEO's buyout offer

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Dell urges shareholders to approve CEO's buyout offer
May 31st 2013, 18:52

Founder and chairman of Dell computers Michael Dell passes a screen projection before speaking at a news conference in Sydney August 14, 2006.

Credit: Reuters/Will Burgess

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: LinkedIn boosts security, offering similar technology as Twitter

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
LinkedIn boosts security, offering similar technology as Twitter
May 31st 2013, 20:00

The logo for LinkedIn Corporation, a social networking website for people in professional occupations, is pictured in Mountain View, California February 6, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Trade panel delays decision in Apple-Samsung fight

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Trade panel delays decision in Apple-Samsung fight
May 31st 2013, 22:45

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S4 (L) and Apple's iPhone 5 are seen in this picture illustration taken in Seoul May 13, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Carlyle, Advent, others in hunt for HP's MphasiS stake: sources

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Carlyle, Advent, others in hunt for HP's MphasiS stake: sources
May 31st 2013, 08:45

  • Tweet
  • Share this
  • Email
  • Print
A general view of the lobby outside of the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

A general view of the lobby outside of the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, May 3, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

MUMBAI | Fri May 31, 2013 4:45am EDT

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Private equity giants Carlyle Group LP and Blackstone Group LP as well as Indian outsourcers L&T Infotech and Tech Mahindra Ltd are lining up bids for Hewlett-Packard Co's $1 billion stake in India's MphasiS Ltd, several sources involved in the process said.

Buyout firms Advent International and Bain Capital LLC are also in talks to bid for HP's 60.5 percent stake in MphasiS, an IT services exporter, said the sources, who declined to be named as details of a potential deal are not yet public.

Tech Mahindra and L&T Infotech, mid-range players in India's $108 billion IT outsourcing industry, may team up with private equity firms to make bids for the MphasiS stake, two of the sources told Reuters.

MphasiS, which generates roughly half its revenue by providing services to HP's clients, has a market value of $1.8 billion. Reports of a potential stake sale to private equity firms emerged about a month ago.

HP, MphasiS, Carlyle, Blackstone, Advent, Bain, Tech Mahindra and conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, which owns L&T Infotech, all declined to comment.

(Reporting by Indulal P.M. and Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Tony Munroe)

  • Tweet this
  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment on reuters.com.

Add yours using the box above.


You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Megaupload founder wins access to evidence seized in raid

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Megaupload founder wins access to evidence seized in raid
May 31st 2013, 06:35

An actor in police costume greets Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom (L) as he launches his new file sharing site ''Mega'' in Auckland January 20, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Nigel Marple

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Apple joins other foreign brands in raising prices in Japan

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Apple joins other foreign brands in raising prices in Japan
May 31st 2013, 07:27

A man holds up a mock model of Apple's new iPad mini as he waits for the release of the tablet in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo November 1, 2012. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

A man holds up a mock model of Apple's new iPad mini as he waits for the release of the tablet in front of the Apple Store Ginza in Tokyo November 1, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai

TOKYO | Fri May 31, 2013 3:27am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc hiked prices of iPads and iPods in Japan on Friday, becoming the latest and highest-profile brand to join a growing list of foreign firms asking Japanese consumers to pay more as a weakening yen squeezes income.

The yen has fallen more than 20 percent against the U.S. dollar since mid-November when then-opposition leader Shinzo Abe prescribed a dose of radical monetary easing to reverse years of sliding consumer prices as part of a deflation-fighting policy, dubbed "Abenomics."

The Bank of Japan, under a new Abe-backed governor, in April unleashed an intense burst of stimulus in promising to inject $1.4 trillion into the economy in less than two years to meet its pledge of achieving 2 percent inflation in roughly two years.

Apple, one of the most visible foreign companies in Japan, raised the price of iPads by up to 13,000 yen ($130) at its local stores. The 64 gigabyte iPad will now cost 69,800 yen, up from 58,800 yen a day ago, an Apple store employee said. The 128 gigabyte model will cost 79,800 yen compared with 66,800 yen.

Apple also upped prices of its iPod music players by as much as 6,000 yen and its iPad Mini 8,000 yen.

Mobile phone network operators SoftBank Corp and KDDI Corp, which offer iPhones and iPads at their stores, said they had not yet decided on whether to ask its customers to pay more.

By raising prices amid a weakening yen, Apple joins luxury jewellery maker Tiffany & Co, which recently raised its prices even as sales jumped by 20 percent in Japan in local currency terms during the first quarter.

More recently, German appliance maker Miele raised prices of some products, such as its dishwashers, because of the weaker yen. Volkswagen AG, the biggest foreign car company in Japan, this month also increased the recommended prices of 14 car models by an average of 1.5 percent.

Pressure too is mounting on Japanese companies that shifted production overseas under a stronger yen and now import products to sell at home.

Speaking to investors on Thursday, Kazunori Takami, the head of Panasonic Corp's appliance business, said his company would have to consider shifting production of washing machines and other appliances sold in the domestic market back to Japan if the yen-dollar rate weakened to beyond 105 yen.

($1 = 100.9250 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Mari Saito and Tim Kelly; Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Matt Driskill)

  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Reuters: Technology News: Dish puts Sprint bid for Clearwire under pressure

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Dish puts Sprint bid for Clearwire under pressure
May 31st 2013, 01:15

People walk past a Sprint store in New York December 17, 2012. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

People walk past a Sprint store in New York December 17, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Andrew Kelly

By Sinead Carew and Liana B. Baker

NEW YORK | Thu May 30, 2013 8:31pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the biggest minority shareholders in Clearwire Corp, on Thursday urged the wireless company to recommend against Sprint Nextel Corp's buyout offer after Dish Network Corp made a counter bid.

Crest Financial, which holds about 8 percent of Clearwire shares, said Clearwire should open itself to competitive bidding, and said that even though Dish's bid late Wednesday appeared superior it may still prove inadequate to shareholders.

In a statement late Thursday, Clearwire said it would adjourn its Friday meeting in which shareholders were expected to vote on Sprint's $3.40 per share offer, after Dish's latest counter bid of $4.40 per share. It said the meeting will reconvene on Thursday, June 13, giving the special committee nearly two weeks to decide on Dish's latest proposal.

Clearwire also said its special committee found Dish's latest proposal to be more "actionable" than Dish's previous one.

The new offer further complicates a consolidation scenario in which Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen is also competing against Japan's SoftBank Corp to buy Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service provider.

Sprint is the majority owner of Clearwire.

Some analysts speculated as to whether the Clearwire bid indicates that Dish would be happy with an investment in the smaller company or a spectrum purchase from Clearwire.

But Dish said it was not backing down from its bid for Sprint. "Our Clearwire offer in no way diminishes our interest or vision for a combined Dish/Sprint," a Dish spokesman said.

Clearwire, which in April warned it could default on debt interest payments due June 1 if the Sprint deal did not go through, said on Thursday it plans to make those payments, totaling about $255 million, on its first-priority, second-priority and exchangeable notes.

Under Sprint's December proposal to buy out Clearwire, the smaller company had the option to draw on $800 million in convertible debt in 10 monthly installments. But Clearwire said it has decided to forego the June $80 million draw under that arrangement, upon the recommendation of its special committee.

On the same day that Dish made the bid for Clearwire, Ergen and other Dish executives involved in the Sprint bid were holding meetings at Sprint's Overland Park, Kansas, campus as part of the due diligence process for that offer, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Whatever Dish's motivation for the Clearwire bid, analysts said it spells trouble for SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and his efforts to gain approval for Softbank's $20.1 billion bid for Sprint at a shareholder vote on June 12.

Softbank had approved Sprint's bid to buy Clearwire.

BTIG telecom analyst Walter Piecyk said SoftBank should come up with a higher bid for Sprint soon, as Dish's Clearwire bid effectively reduces the value of Softbank's bid for Sprint.

"If Masa doesn't figure out how to regain control of the Clearwire process he may have a much harder time convincing Sprint shareholders that his Sprint offer is superior to Ergen's," Piecyk said.

SoftBank gained clearance to go ahead with its Sprint offer earlier this week from a key U.S. government committee but needs more regulatory approvals.

Dish, which had tried to buy Clearwire in January, appeared to strengthen its case with Clearwire by excluding conditions from the new bid that had made it very difficult for Clearwire to accept the previous offer.

Clearwire had said it could not act on the January offer from Dish for $3.30 per share because some of the bid conditions went against previous agreements that Clearwire had with Sprint.

Since Dish removed some of the conditions in its new bid, another source said that Ergen appeared to have "made a serious offer that is actionable" and that the board and its special committee will have to review the proposal carefully.

"This is a much improved offer from Dish, not just the dollar amount," said the source who asked not to be named. "He's got himself in the game now."

A money manager at one big Clearwire shareholder sounded happy with the latest offer from Dish on Thursday even as the person declined to comment specifically on the price.

Five months ago, when Dish made its first bid for Clearwire, "I don't think anybody on the special committee would have thought that we would be where we are today," the money manager said. "That's largely because of the resolve of Clearwire independent shareholders."

Clearwire shares closed up 29 percent at $4.50 on Thursday, above Dish's latest offer of $4.40, after Ergen started advertising his tender offer to Clearwire shareholders.

Any purchase of Clearwire would need approval from more than 50 percent of Clearwire's majority shareholders.

Before the latest Dish offer, many shareholders had said they were unhappy with Sprint's bid for Clearwire - even after it recently raised the price per share to $3.40 from $2.97. Crest Financial has been leading a proxy battle against the deal.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Additional reporting by Zeba Siddiqui; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)

  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Intel scores major win in new Samsung Galaxy tablet: source

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Intel scores major win in new Samsung Galaxy tablet: source
May 30th 2013, 21:39

The company logo is displayed at the Samsung news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 7, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Rick Wilking

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Telecom Italia takes first step to spin off network

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Telecom Italia takes first step to spin off network
May 30th 2013, 16:52

  • Tweet
  • Share this
  • Email
  • Print
Franco Bernabe, Telecom Italia chairman and CEO, poses in his office in Rome, April 19, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Franco Bernabe, Telecom Italia chairman and CEO, poses in his office in Rome, April 19, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi

By Danilo Masoni

MILAN | Thu May 30, 2013 12:52pm EDT

MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia took a first step to spin off its domestic fixed-line access network on Thursday, a move that could allow the debt-laden Italian telecoms group to raise cash to fund investments.

This could also help Italy speed up broadband development and give Telecom Italia more commercial flexibility.

Telecom Italia said its board had agreed to put some of its network assets, valued 13-15 billion euros, into a separate company with a view to selling a stake in the new entity to state-backed fund Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP).

"Contacts continue with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti," Telecom Italia said, without giving a timing for the possible deal.

Putting Telecom Italia's fixed-line copper and fiber network into a separate company follows political concerns over a possible tie-up with Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa.

Hutchison is targeting a majority stake in Telecom Italia in a deal that would involve merging its local unit 3 Italia into the Italian telecoms giant.

Telecom Italia and CDP have been in talks for months over a possible sale of a minority stake in the future network company but differences remain over governance issues and price, sources familiar with the issue have told Reuters.

Telecom Italia also said it would immediately inform Italy's communications regulator about the project and said the new network entity would guarantee equal access to all telecoms operators.

(Reporting By Danilo Masoni; Editing by Lisa Jucca and Jane Merriman)

  • Tweet this
  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment on reuters.com.

Add yours using the box above.


You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Facebook shares jump as brokers say usage concerns overblown

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Facebook shares jump as brokers say usage concerns overblown
May 30th 2013, 17:40

A smartphone user shows the Facebook application on his phone in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, in this photo illustration, May 2, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: U.S. to loosen sanctions on Iran for mobile phones, gadgets

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
U.S. to loosen sanctions on Iran for mobile phones, gadgets
May 30th 2013, 18:03

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. An Iranian woman talks on her mobile phone while visiting an Islamic fashion exhibition in central Tehran March 1, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Morteza Nikoubazl

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Facebook shares jump as brokers say usage concerns overblown

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Facebook shares jump as brokers say usage concerns overblown
May 30th 2013, 16:15

A smartphone user shows the Facebook application on his phone in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, in this photo illustration, May 2, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Dado Ruvic

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Microsoft brings back 'start' button, seeks to spur Windows sales

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Microsoft brings back 'start' button, seeks to spur Windows sales
May 30th 2013, 13:20

An attendant checks a computer during the launch of Microsoft Windows 8 operating system in Hong Kong October 26, 2012. REUTERS/Bobby Yip

An attendant checks a computer during the launch of Microsoft Windows 8 operating system in Hong Kong October 26, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Bobby Yip

By Bill Rigby

SEATTLE | Thu May 30, 2013 9:20am EDT

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is bringing back the Windows "start" button, offering a stripped-down version among a slew of improvements aimed at winning over tablet users and placating PC customers alienated by Windows 8.

The world's largest software company is looking to re-energize sales of its latest Windows version, which has not made the splash with computer users it was hoping for. Executives say the plan is now to update Windows periodically, rather than waiting three years or so between big releases.

Although Microsoft has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses since October, broadly in line with Windows 7 three years ago, the company must tackle a dwindling PC user base and its inability to make a mark in the exploding tablet market.

Shipments of traditional PCs - the most reliable gauge of Windows' popularity - are expected to fall almost 8 percent this year, while Microsoft's Surface has taken less than 2 percent of the tablet market.

Windows 8 was designed to be used both on touch-screen tablets and traditional PCs. But while touch-screen users tend to like the new "tile"-based interface, many mouse and keyboard users complained that the new design was confusing.

Confirming speculation, Microsoft said the Windows 8.1 update will have a button in the bottom left corner of the screen that acts like the "start" button in previous versions of Windows. Although it will not be labeled "start", it features the Windows logo and takes the user straight to a grid of applications.

"The work you are seeing us do here is continuing to advance the modern (interface), while really taking into account some of the things we've learned from people who still want to use the desktop, to make the transition easier," Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of the Windows unit, said in an advance briefing on the Windows 8.1 update last week.

Microsoft is only making features of the new software public on Thursday.

FREE UPDATE

Windows 8.1, previously known by the code name "Blue", will be available for free to all Windows 8 users some time later this year. Microsoft will make a test version available at its annual developer conference on June 26.

Windows 8.1 also includes a vastly improved "search" function, which allows a user to search for documents, apps, or items on the Internet from a single search bar, like a souped-up version of Apple Inc's Spotlight feature.

It also allows users to see all their applications immediately in a grid by swiping down or pressing a button on-screen, which should make it easy for unfamiliar users to get to the app they want quickly.

Users can also customize the start screen much more easily, changing sizes of app icon "tiles" or controlling which apps appear. For the first time, it will be possible to open two windows simultaneously in the new-look interface.

Windows 8.1 includes Microsoft's latest browser, Internet Explorer 11, and lets the user restore the address bar and tabs to the screen view. That feature was missing in the initial version of Windows 8, which was designed to make the most of limited screen space on a tablet but tended to disorient traditional mouse and keyboard users.

Users will also no longer have to switch to the old desktop view to make changes in their default settings.

But they will still have to switch back to a traditional desktop set-up to use some programs such as Word or Excel, which have not been redesigned to function in the new Windows 8 style.

(Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Rogers, Videotron reach network-sharing, spectrum deal

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Rogers, Videotron reach network-sharing, spectrum deal
May 30th 2013, 12:56

TORONTO | Thu May 30, 2013 8:56am EDT

TORONTO (Reuters) - Rogers Communications Inc and Quebecor Inc's Videotron wireless arm said they would team up to build and operate a shared high-speed wireless network in and around the province of Quebec.

The 20-year agreement, announced late Wednesday, will bring a high-speed wireless technology known as long-term evolution, or LTE, to more customers in Québec and the Ottawa region.

Under this agreement, Videotron and Rogers will share the cost of deploying and operating the LTE network, allowing the companies to reduce capital costs.

Besides the network-sharing deal, the companies also came to an agreement on Videotron's unused Advanced Wireless Service spectrum for mobile and data services in the Greater Toronto Area.

As of January 1, Videotron will have the option to sell its Toronto spectrum license to Rogers, subject to regulatory approvals, for about $180 million. Rogers said it intended to use the spectrum to keep pace with customer needs in the densely populated Toronto area.

RBC Dominion Securities analyst Drew McReynolds said the deals were a "material win" for Quebecor and "directionally positive" for Rogers.

This side deal, however, may face regulatory obstacles. Last month, Canada's industry minister signaled his unhappiness with Shaw Communications Inc's plans to sell wireless spectrum to Rogers.

Rogers is already one of three dominant players in the market, along with Telus Corp and BCE Inc's Bell Canada.

Some consumer and advocacy groups have already appealed to the government to block that deal. All such spectrum license transfers must be approved by the federal industry ministry, giving Ottawa an effective veto.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

Reuters: Technology News: Governments confront rising threat to ships from signal jamming

Reuters: Technology News
Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Governments confront rising threat to ships from signal jamming
May 30th 2013, 14:24

Ships lie at anchor outside the harbour at Durban, South Africa as a full moon rises on Boxing Day December 26, 2004. REUTERS/Howard Burditt

Ships lie at anchor outside the harbour at Durban, South Africa as a full moon rises on Boxing Day December 26, 2004.

Credit: Reuters/Howard Burditt

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON | Thu May 30, 2013 10:24am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Ships on the world's busiest waterways face growing threats to their satellite navigation systems, including jamming attacks, prompting Britain and South Korea to deploy back-up devices to avert potential disasters at sea.

South Korea has already experienced waves of signal jamming since 2010 on ships and aircraft, its officials said.

Vessels increasingly rely on systems that employ satellite signals to find a location or keep exact time, including the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Experts say GPS is vulnerable to signal loss from solar weather effects or radio and satellite interference and can also be affected by intentional jamming by criminal gangs, nation states or potentially from militant groups.

"When a ship loses GPS, multiple systems go down altogether and there is nothing which tells the captain this is due to jamming. The danger of a grounding or a collision is then ever present," said David Last, strategic advisor to the General Lighthouse Authorities of the UK and Ireland (GLA).

"GPS failure on a dark night with low visibility is simply terrifying for a crew," Last said.

Earlier this year the GLA launched a radio-based back-up system called eLoran in the Dover Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. It plans a prototype roll-out of eLoran at another six locations along Britain's east coast by mid 2014.

The eLoran system works on earth-based radio systems to provide alternative position and timing signals for navigation. Ships need to install receiver equipment.

The GLA said vessels also had to contend with increasing numbers of obstacles such as oil rigs and wind farms.

"Ships are larger these days and pass through hub routes with multiple choke points. They may be in oceans but there are still queues of ships moving through them," Last said.

"Unless we have e-navigation supported by a resilient back-up system, the risks will grow."

JAMMING ATTACKS

GPS systems are vulnerable to jamming as disabling devices can be bought cheaply. Criminal gangs have been active on land around the English port of Dover, for instance, disabling trackers on high-value stolen cars. Signal jamming can also be used by countries.

NATO defense ministers will hold a first-ever session on cyber security at talks in Brussels next week.

While its focus has been on protecting its own communication systems, the Western alliance has been looking at expanding its role in protecting vital infrastructure such as ports, electricity grids and pipelines, fearing they are vulnerable to attacks from militants or hackers.

Captain Tim Gallaudet of the U.S. Naval Observatory, citing a U.S. navy sailor recently returned from a deployment in the Middle East Gulf, pointed to signal disruptions close to Iran.

"When transiting near the Iranian territorial sea limit in the northern Arabian Gulf, his ship consistently experienced interference with the vessel's GPS receivers, almost certainly due to intentional jamming," Gallaudet told a forum last month.

He did not say who was responsible for the jamming.

"I have navigated in that region on three different U.S. navy ships, and there are numerous oil platforms, areas of shoal water, and of course the Iranian territorial sea limit. So, the importance of assured PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) capability in the region should be readily apparent."

Following jamming attacks by North Korea, which South Korean officials say began about three years ago, Seoul saw the need for a back-up system and it is working to deploy eLoran.

During 2012 alone, 1,016 airplanes and 254 ships experienced GPS disruptions during 16 days of jamming by North Korea, Seoul officials said.

Jiwon Seo at South Korea's Yonsei University, who is working with the government on its eLoran program, said Seoul expected an initial prototype system in 2016.

"eLoran is a very high-power terrestrial navigation system and it is virtually impossible to jam it," he said.

"Once the Korean eLoran system is operational, any neighbor countries receiving enough signal strength can use the signals for navigation. If Russia, China, and Japan also deploy eLoran in the future, the eLoran service coverage can be expanded to the entire northeast Asia."

(Editing by Anthony Barker)

  • Link this
  • Share this
  • Digg this
  • Email
  • Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com.

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
Read more »

 
Great HTML Templates from easytemplates.com.