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Twitter beefs up security after hacking spree on media By Jim Finkle (Reuters) - Twitter Inc unveiled technology to boost security for its users, following a spate of attacks on accounts of prominent media outlets including the Associated Press, the Financial Times and The Onion. The micro blogging site, which transmits some 400 million messages a day, said on Wednesday that it had begun rolling out an optional "login verification" service to thwart hackers seeking to hijack accounts with stolen passwords. ...
'Irrational' hackers are growing U.S. security fear By Jim Finkle (Reuters) - Cybersecurity researcher HD Moore discovered he could use the Internet to access the controls of some 30 pipeline sensors around the country that were not password protected. A hacking expert who helps companies uncover network vulnerabilities, Moore said he found the sensors last month while analyzing information in huge, publicly available databases of Internet-connected devices. "We know that systems are exposed and vulnerable. ...
Apple, former Washington wallflower, now at center of tax fight By Andy Sullivan, Gabriel Debenedetti and Poornima Gupta WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For years, Apple Inc kept a low profile in Washington as it grew into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Now the iPad maker has taken the lead, perhaps inadvertently, on a top priority for U.S. business: simplifying America's tax code. Chief Executive Tim Cook, who was called before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday to answer questions about Apple's alleged tax avoidance, used his appearance to plead for an overhaul of corporate taxes. ...
New Xbox: What’s Better, What’s Missing Eight years after the debut of the Xbox 360, Microsoft has announced the Xbox One.
HP raises 2013 outlook as Whitman's plan takes hold By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co raised its 2013 earnings outlook after quarterly results beat low expectations, as CEO Meg Whitman's turnaround plan helped offset shrinking personal computer sales with enterprise computing services. While fiscal second-quarter profit plummeted 32 percent, Wall Street had braced for worse. HP shares gained 14 percent after the company projected full-year earnings per share of $3.50 to $3.60, raising the lower end by 10 cents, and fiscal third-quarter profit that topped analyst estimates. ...
China's Lenovo buys and diversifies to outshine PC rivals By Lee Chyen Yee and Umesh Desai HONG KONG (Reuters) - Lenovo Group Ltd's bold acquisitions in its flagship PC business, a foray into mobile gadgets, and a relatively light debt load are setting it apart from PC rivals as industry shipments take their steepest fall in decades. Lenovo, a sliver away from unseating Hewlett-Packard Co as the world's top PC maker by shipments, is expected on Thursday to post a two-thirds rise in quarterly profit, its fastest in 1-1/2 years, according to analysts' estimates. ...
Ireland says will not be U.S. 'whipping boy' on tax By Carmel Crimmins and Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's finance minister said the country would not be the "whipping boy" for what he called a flawed U.S. Senate report that said Irish loopholes helped technology giant Apple shrink its tax bill. Ireland has been forced to defend its corporate tax rate after the Senate said on Monday that Apple paid little or no tax on tens of billions of dollars in profits channeled through Irish subsidiaries and that it had negotiated a special corporate tax rate of less than 2 percent. ...
Android App Video Review: Toy Story: Smash It! Also on Android Apps
Microsoft confirms indie developers can’t self-publish games on Xbox One Independent game developers who are excited about selling new games on the Xbox One got some bad news on Wednesday. Microsoft confirmed to ShackNews that independent developers cannot self-publish their own games on Xbox Live Arcade, and are instead required to partner with Microsoft Game Studios or a third-party publisher. The policy is completely different from those employed by Sony and Nintendo. Sony embraces independent developers and welcomes them to create and self-publish content on the PlayStation Network. Microsoft’s upcoming console matches up with Sony’s PlayStation 4 on paper, however there are still some questions that have been left unanswered, such as the ability to play used games.
Vermont puts foot down on patent troll that targeted charities Earlier this year we learned about a patent holding firm that came up with a novel way of making money by threatening to sue small businesses that allegedly infringed upon its scanner technology patents by using scanners in their offices. Yes, you read that correctly: An entity called “Project Paperless LLC” really has been sending out letters to small and medium-sized businesses demanding licensing fees for using office scanners capable of sending PDFs via email. Ars Technica has now provided us with an update to this story and has found that Project Paperless is just one of roughly 40 shell entities owned by a company called MPHJ Technologies that’s been sending threatening letters out to small businesses demanding that they pay
Video: Infinity Ward shows how Call of Duty: Ghost will be its most realistic, immersive game yet Infinity Ward, the acclaimed developer behind hit games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and the upcoming Call of Duty: Ghost, is looking to bring strikingly realistic models and environments to the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise. The new gaming engine that will debut with Call of Duty: Ghost later this year will deliver a variety of graphical improvements such as enhanced visual fidelity, high-resolution textures and more. The company notes that one of its new technologies, known as Sub-D, greatly improves formerly blocky details by exponentially boosting polygon counts in real-time, allowing for incredibly realistic character models that can show fine hairs, bruising, cuts and even the dirt beneath finger nails. Call of Duty:
Dish on national security PR offensive against SoftBank By Alina Selyukh and Liana B. Baker WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dish Network Corp is ramping up its Washington-centric campaign to thwart Japanese firm SoftBank Corp's bid for Sprint Nextel Corp, hoping to convince lawmakers and government reviewers that it poses national security risks. On Wednesday, Dish ads appeared in Washington publications the Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, Roll Call and the National Journal as well as online news sites, including Reuters.com. ...
HP's 2Q offers hope even as revenue slump deepens SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hewlett-Packard is still scrambling to meet the growing demand for more versatile and less expensive mobile devices as a slump in its personal computer sales deepens, but the company's cost-cutting measures and focus on more profitable areas of technology appear to be easing the pain.
Samsung buys major stake in rival smartphone maker Samsung has reportedly made a major investment in rival South Korea-based smartphone maker Pantech. Yonhap News was first to report the news and it says Samsung spent roughly $50 million for 10% of the company. Samsung’s motives are unclear, though the deal will reportedly “help further solidify bilateral cooperation in smartphone and other business areas.” Pantech is currently the No.3 phone maker in South Korea behind Samsung and LG, and the new investment makes Samsung the company’s third-largest shareholder behind Qualcomm and Korea Development Bank.
MOOC University Georgia Tech will soon offer a Master's degree in Computer Science that you can receive online. This could be huge, Rob Walker writes.
Jennifer Lopez to open cellphone stores NEW YORK (AP) — "Jenny from the Block" wants the block to buy Verizon phones from her.
Wireless carriers raise alarms by selling private customer data to marketers Wireless carriers’ data collection and selling practices are increasingly setting off alarm bells among privacy advocates, The Wall Street Journal reports. In particular, the Journal notes that there’s heightened anxiety about Verizon’s Precision Market Insights product that collects, stores and sells information about users’ web browsing habits, their locations and their demographic backgrounds. Verizon insists that it’s anonymizing the data it shows to third parties and is only selling data on large groups of customers broken down by geography and other demographics. The carrier also says that it has always collected this sort of data and has always been willing to hand it over to law enforcement officials if compelled by a search warrant. All the same, the Journal’s report raises
How to Stop Worrying and Love Twitter's New Two-Factor Verification Twitter has added two-step verification to increase its security after all the recent hacks into high profile media accounts, but you should go sign up for it right this minute — because everyone's vulnerable to password attacks these days. Or maybe not right this minute, since there are some reports that Twitter is a little overwhelmed and others have reported the two steps aren't showing up for everyone. But at some point in the very near future, you get on that. Here's why, even if the new cellphone hiccup seems cumbersome.
HP's slumps deepens in 2Q as earnings fall 32 pct SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hewlett-Packard's slump is deepening as the world's largest personal computer maker scrambles to meet the growing demand for more versatile and less expensive mobile devices.
Gimme shelter Apple's latest tax dodge is yet another chink in its once-shining armor, Virginia Heffernan says
iPad App Video Review: Frozen Synapse Developed by Mode 7, this is like a smaller scale and more action oriented take on Diplomacy. You and your opponent actually put all your units moves in during the planning phase, only to watch the outcome in the action phase. The game is all about covering your bases and trying to anticipate your opponents moves by setting ambushes, destroying cover, and just making sure you're aiming in the right direction to engage. The game is pretty complex, but also simple to get into. There are about ten minutes worth of tutorial videos to prep you before you take on a real opponent.
Twitter adds security measure to logins NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter is adding an extra security measure to users' accounts in an effort to prevent unauthorized logins.
A world without wires: LTE will cover the majority of the world by 2018 As people continue to look for ways to “cut the cord” and move away from traditional cable services, right now they largely have no choice but to continue subscribing to ISPs’ Internet services even if they cancel pay-TV. Over the next few years, however, that need might fade in many regions. According to new research from ABI, LTE-FDD (frequency-division duplex) will expand to cover 57% of the global population by 2018 while LTE-TDD (time-division duplex) will cover 52% of the population by that point in time. Putting aside the differences between the two technologies, the interesting part is how the proliferation of high-speed wireless data will impact consumers and businesses. While there will certainly be overlapping coverage, LTE-FDD and LTE-TDD will combine
Restaurant learns online reviews can make or break SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet.
Greek Yogurt Creates a Crazy Amount of Waste See full coverage
Xbox One supports Ultra HD 4K gaming New details continue to trickle out following Microsoft’s Xbox One unveiling. Some new tidbits answer burning questions and some simply raise new questions, but there are also a few key features being discovered that Microsoft was oddly quiet about during its presentation but happily confirmed after the show. For one example, Forbes’ Matt Hickey was able to learn after the presentation that the new Xbox One will indeed support “Ultra HD” gaming at 4K resolution. “The video and interface portions, absolutely,” Microsoft marketing boss Yusuf Mehdi responded when asked whether or not the new Xbox would offer 4K gaming. It looks like games will be 1080p at launch, though 4K games will certainly be available down the road once Ultra HD TV sales
What Google's X Lab Is Cooking Up Next For the latest goings-ons inside Google's not-so-secret "secret" X lab, Bloomberg Businessweek's Brad Stone spent some time there, giving us a peak at the futuristic "moon shot" ideas the Google geeks are working on these days. While the X lab houses a lot of cooky ideas that never see the light of day, the "top-secret" innovation hub birthed the world's favorite face computer, Google Glass, and Google's controversial driverless cars. ...
Bike-Hating Yuppy Vandals Save Their Streets but Can't Stop NYC Bike-Sharing New York's well-to-do bike-sharing naysayers are on a roll. Opponents of the city's long-awaited Citibike program, which has been in development for years and will begin service on Memorial Day — no matter what these preservationist condo owners have to say — notched several significant victories against New York's Department of Transportation over the past week, after a month-plus of delirious outrage, a small journalism scandal, and destructive vandalism to the solar-powered bike racks installed throughout posh Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan. ...
Lazaridis: iPhone, Android users will abandon iMessage and WhatsApp for BBM BlackBerry announced earlier this month that its BlackBerry Messenger service will be coming to Android smartphones and the iPhone in the coming months. The company was initially criticized for once again being late to the game, with services like iMessage, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp having taken over the mobile messaging market. BlackBerry cofounder and former co-CEO Mike Lazaridis is optimistic about BBM’s future, however. The former executive told Bloomberg that he believes iPhone and Android users will be quick to embrace the once popular service. “BBM is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social-networking environment,” Lazaridis said. “Not only is BlackBerry back in a big way with BB10, [Heins is] also showing he can expand that vision to
Europe targets Switzerland in fight against bank secrecy By John O'Donnell and Martin Santa BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe edged closer to lifting banking secrecy on Wednesday after Austria said it was ready to share data on foreign depositors but Vienna's support could fade should efforts to strike a similar deal with Switzerland fail. Austria's dropping of objections allowed EU leaders to commit to an exchange of bank information between countries by the end of the year, as cash-strapped states seek to stop tax evasion and close loopholes highlighted by Apple Inc's use of a base in Ireland. ...
Former Yahoo executive Shashi Seth to head Tribune digital (Reuters) - Former Yahoo Inc executive Shashi Seth has joined Tribune Co to lead its digital ventures as the newspaper and broadcast company seeks new revenue sources. The company said on Wednesday that Seth was named president of Tribune Digital Ventures, a newly created stand-alone company that will operate out of Silicon Valley rather than Tribune's Chicago headquarters. Seth said in an interview that he would not have taken the job if it were not based in Silicon Valley. "If you want the kind of innovation you are talking about you have to be in Silicon Valley," he said. ...
The Xbox One likely won’t be a cable killer Microsoft is trying to differentiate the Xbox One from rival consoles by giving it several key set-top box features for television sets but that doesn’t mean it’s going to take away your need to subscribe to cable services anytime soon. As AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka notes, Microsoft is limiting the amount of live television content Xbox One users can access without a cable subscription, thus ensuring that cable providers don’t feel threatened. “In order to get the TV part of Xbox One to work, you’ll essentially end up plugging it into your existing cable box, via another box that lets you perform an ‘HDMI pass-through,’” writes Kafka. “In essence, Xbox One is acting as a sort of custom remote for your cable box, which will
SAP looks to recruit people with autism as programmers FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German software company SAP is looking to recruit people with autism as programmers and product testers, drawing on skills that can include a close attention to detail and an ability to solve complex problems. SAP has asked start-up Danish recruitment company Specialisterne to help it find, train and manage employees diagnosed with the disability. "They bring a special set of skills to the table, which fits with SAP," said a spokesman for the company, which has already hired people with autism in India and Ireland. ...
Teens turn to Tumblr to escape parents on Facebook When you’re a tween or teen who just has to repost that great porn GIF you just found, Facebook really isn’t the place to do it. It’s not that porn GIFs are any less appreciated by Facebook users, of course, but rather that young users are often tracked by their parents on the world’s top social network. As a result, a recent Pew Research study found that teenagers are moving away from Facebook and finding a new home on Tumblr. Of course, the freedom to post porn isn’t Tumblr’s only allure. “I have a Facebook, a Tumblr, and Twitter,” an anonymous 15-year-old girl told Pew. “I don’t use Facebook or Twitter much. I rather use Tumblr to look for interesting stories. I

Yahoo! News - Latest News & Headlines
Firefighters unprepared for Texas blast A report shows responders didn't adequately train for the situation.
Youth violence in Stockholm shock Sweden Hundreds of youth have torched cars and attacked police in four nights of riots in immigrant suburbs of Sweden's capital, shocking a country that dodged the worst of the financial crisis but failed to solve youth unemployment and resentment among asylum seekers.
What's next for the immigration bill? It seeks to legalize most of the country's 11 million unauthorized residents.
Cruise industry adopts passenger bill of rights It promises full refunds for trips that are canceled due to mechanical failure.
Heffernan: Latest tax dodge dulls Apple's luster Even teens who once craved iPhones are turning on the company.
Teen who penned web-hit farewell song dies Zach Sobiech's "Clouds" became a YouTube sensation with more than 4 million views.
Woman praised for distracting attack suspects in London The horrific attack that left a U.K. soldier dead on the streets of London could have been worse.
Holder: U.S. killed four Americans overseas in drone strikes Attorney General Eric Holder informed Congress on Wednesday that the U.S. had killed four Americans in drone strikes since 2009 – radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and three others who were “not specifically targeted.”
1 child dead, 1 missing in park landslide A fourth-grade field trip to a Mississippi River park popular with fossil hunters turned deadly Wednesday when gravel saturated by persistent rain gave way, killing one child and injuring two others.
Chicago board approves largest school closing The Chicago Board of Education voted on Wednesday to close 50 schools - including about 10 percent of all elementary schools - in the largest mass school closing in the nation. The closings in mainly Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods have drawn protests by parents and teachers union leaders who say the closures will expose children to greater gang violence in a city that recorded 506 murders in 2012. ...
Arias jury adjourns for day after impasse Jurors in the Jodi Arias murder trial said Wednesday they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether she should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
FBI make arrest in Wash. ricin letter scare A 37-year-old man arrested Wednesday has pleaded not guilty to mailing a threatening communication, after a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin were discovered in Washington state last week.
Faith healers charged with murder after second son's death
Sources: Florida man shot by FBI about to confess Ibragim Todashev was linked to bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and an unsolved triple murder.
House subcommittee moves to curb military sexual assaults The panel considers a change that may encourage more victims to step forward.
Police recover backpacks of two kidnapped girls Investigators continue to search for a 15-year-old Iowa girl abducted this week.
IRS's Lerner: ‘I have not done anything wrong’ IRS official Lois Lerner pleads the Fifth Amendment before Congress.

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