Holiday sales of PCs slide for first time in five years: IDC

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Holiday season sales of personal computers fell for the first time in more than five years, according to tech industry tracker IDC, as Microsoft Corp’s new Windows 8 operating system failed to excite buyers and many opted for tablet devices and powerful smartphones instead of PCs.

PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co, Lenovo Group and Dell Inc sold 89.8 million PCs worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, down 6.4 percent from the same quarter of 2011. That was slightly worse than expected by most.

For all of 2012, 352 million PCs were sold, down 3.2 percent from 2011. That was the first annual decline since 2001, according to IDC. (Reporting By Bill Rigby; Editing by Gary Hill)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Holiday sales of PCs slide for first time in five years: IDC
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/holiday-sales-of-pcs-slide-for-first-time-in-five-years-idc/
Link To Post : Holiday sales of PCs slide for first time in five years: IDC
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Samsung sets sights on RIM’s corporate users

Now that Samsung (005930) has bested Apple in the consumer smartphone market, at least where shipment volume is concerned, the company is setting its sights on Research in Motion’s (RIMM) corporate user base. The company is investing heavily in enterprise devices that incorporate a higher level of security and reliability than consumers require. Various government agencies and corporations aren’t fully sold on RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system and are still unsure if will satisfy their needs. As a result, they have begun to explore alternatives for their employees.

[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $ 45 Straight Talk plan]

“The enterprise space has suddenly become wide open,” Kevin Packingham, chief product officer for Samsung Mobile USA, said in an interview with Reuters. “The RIM problems certainly fueled a lot of what the CIOs are going through, which is they want to get away from a lot of the proprietary solutions.”

[More from BGR: CES has sadly become a complete waste of time]

The executive revealed that Samsung’s corporate market ambitions advanced after its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone gained various security certifications. He noted that companies “want something that integrates what they are doing with their IT systems,” and that “Samsung is investing in that area.” Packingham said that enterprise has been a focus of the company for a long time and its products have finally evolved enough to “really take advantage” of the market.

“We knew we had to build more tech devices to successfully enter the enterprise market,” he said. “What really turned that needle was that we had the power of the GS3.”

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Samsung sets sights on RIM’s corporate users
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/samsung-sets-sights-on-rims-corporate-users/
Link To Post : Samsung sets sights on RIM’s corporate users
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Panasonic considers headcount savings, asset sales in revival plan

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Japan‘s Panasonic Corp may see its headcount fall further and may sell non-core money-making business units to raise cash, president Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters at the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Hammered by competition from South Korean rivals such as Samsung Electronics, Panasonic may also squeeze wages and seek joint ventures in its semiconductors and other struggling operations in a bid to rekindle profit growth, Tsuga said.

Shares in Panasonic slipped 1.4 percent to a two-week low in Tokyo morning trade, compared to a 0.4 percent increase on the benchmark Nikkei average.

The Panasonic chief said in an earlier keynote speech he would pursue strategies to expand business-to-business sales of car batteries, in-flight entertainment systems, hydrogen cells, solar panels and LED lighting.

Japan’s share of the world’s flat panel TV market this year likely contracted to 31 percent compared with 41 percent in 2010, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association.

Panasonic earlier unveiled a prototype of the world’s largest organic light-emitting display screen in a show of technological one-upmanship with its South Korean rivals Samsung and LG Electronics Inc.

Sony Corp, which is cooperating with Panasonic in OLED technology, unwrapped on Monday its own 56-inch ultra high-definition model.

Tsuga, who heads Japan’s biggest commercial employer with 300,000 staff, is also pursuing a niche strategy and bolstering the company’s appliance business in a bid to capture more profitable markets while the likes of Samsung and Apple Inc slug it out in mass-market consumer electronics.

The executive has promised to deliver the details of the revival plan by the end of March, when he plans to reorganize 88 businesses into 56 units.

So far he has said that businesses that fail to achieve a 5 percent operating margin within two years will be shuttered or sold. Sales of the weakest ones may start next business year. Panasonic in the year to March 31 is forecasting a net loss of $ 8.9 billion.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Paul Tait and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Panasonic considers headcount savings, asset sales in revival plan
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/panasonic-considers-headcount-savings-asset-sales-in-revival-plan/
Link To Post : Panasonic considers headcount savings, asset sales in revival plan
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

181,354 People on Twitter Think They’re Experts at Twitter

Do you tweet a lot? Do you post everything on Facebook? Do you #hashtag #complete #sentences #like #this? Do you describe yourself, variously, as a social media “maven”, “master”, “guru”, “freak”, “warrior”, “evangelist” or “veteran”? (Yes, a social media veteran. As if Tumblr were a deadly war you narrowly survived.) Well: you’ve got company! There are more than 181,000 such individuals on Twitter, people who adorn their profiles with credentials like “social media freak” and “social media wonk” and “social media authority.”

RELATED: Teens Hacking Their Friends’s Twitter Accounts Is All the Rage

B.L. Ochman at Advertising Age, whose heroic research produced the final tally, first noted the trend three years ago — when she recorded, among other distinctions, 68 “social media stars” and 79 “social media ninjas” on Twitter alone — and has been keeping track ever since. This isn’t just the stuff of legitimate Twitter news-breakers like Anthony DeRosa and Andy Carvin — Ohman provides a helpful breakdown of the terms she looked for — you know, like “social media warrior.” (We’re tempted to argue that such diligence makes Ochman something of a social media warrior herself.) Ochman also warns of using “guru” — a Sanskrit term — to describe oneself:

While a great many of these self-appointed gurus are no doubt taking the title with tongue firmly planted in cheek, the fact remains: a guru is something someone else calls you, not something you call yourself. Scratch that: let’s save “guru” (Sanskrit for “teacher”) for religious figures or at least people with real unique knowledge.

I’d argue, in fact, that “social media” and “guru” should never appear in the same sentence.

Whatever the term, social media seems to be a growth industry: there were only 15,740 “mavens” (or whatever) in 2009 — less than a tenth of those represented today.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: 181,354 People on Twitter Think They’re Experts at Twitter
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/181354-people-on-twitter-think-theyre-experts-at-twitter/
Link To Post : 181,354 People on Twitter Think They’re Experts at Twitter
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Samsung’s New Smart TV Software Development Kit Supports Linux and Mac O/S

 

Samsung Electronics announced that it will be releasing the Smart TV SDK (Software Development Kit) 4.0 at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) from January 8^th to 11^th, 2013. The Smart TV SDK will allow Smart TV software development on Linux and Mac, in addition to Windows O/S.

Up till now, Samsung’s Smart TV software development only supported Windows O/S. However, the new SDK 4.0 allows for the development of Smart TV software on Linux and Mac systems. This is expected to lead to active development of Smart TV software in some areas where non-Windows O/S are widely used.

Samsung is the first in the TV industry to provide a local cloud development environment. This environment enables the development of content based on connection between web services by utilizing an open API (Application Programming Interface).

Moreover, Smart TV SDK 4.0 provides a local cloud development environment that allows developers who use the Mac O/S to team up with other developers who use Windows O/S. As a result, many developers can engage in a team effort, resulting in greater software development efficiency and reduced costs.

By expanding and supporting HTML5 in the Smart TV SDK 4.0, a standard programming language, Samsung has laid the foundation for many software developers to easily take part in development of Smart TV applications.

With HTML5, Samsung has been able to build an integrated environment that supports the development of convergence applications. This enables Samsung’s Smart TVs to interact and communicate with external devices.

And to promote the active development of Smart TV software through Samsung’s Smart Interaction function, the company strengthened the voice and gesture recognition functions on its Smart TVs.

Please visit our booth to experience this future technology firsthand. Samsung’s product line will be displayed from January 8^th to 11^th at booth #12004 in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Full details, video content and product images are available at the Samsung microsite at: www.samsungces.com or mobile site at: m.samsungces.com as well.

The Samsung press conference and Samsung Tomorrow TV CES 2013 Specials will be streamed live on the Samsung Tomorrow blog at: global.samsungtomorrow.com and Samsung’s microsite site also.

After the live presentations, videos will be available at http://youtube.com/SamsungTomorrow

---

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation

Linux/Open Source News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Leader of Online Movie Group IMAGiNE Gets five Years for Piracy

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Jeremiah B. Perkins, the former leader of internet movie group IMAGiNE, was sentenced to five years in prison on a piracy charge, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

Perkins, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement in August.

In addition to the prison sentence, Perkins was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $ 15,000 in restitution.

The five-year prison sentence and three years supervised release represent the maximum sentence that Perkins faced, but he could have received a maximum fine of $ 250,000.

According to the Justice Department, IMAGiNE specialized in pirating movies playing in theaters. Court documents indicated that Perkins, of Portsmouth, Va., and his cohorts used receivers and recording devices to capture the audio tracks for movies in theaters, then sync the audio tracks to illegally recorded video files. The group would then share the completed files with members of the IMAGiNE Group and others.

ExtraTorrent reports that the recipients of IMAGiNE’s pirated movies included buyers in Asia, who would then make copies and distribute the pirated films in the Asian underground market.

During Perkins’ trial, an MPAA representative testified that IMAGiNE was “the most prolific motion picture piracy release group operating on the Internet from September 2009 through September 2011,” the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department said that Perkins admitted to renting computer servers in France and other locations for IMAGiNE’s use, and also to registering internet domains for IMAGiNE and setting up PayPal and email accounts to facilitate the group’s transactions.

Three of Perkins’ co-defendants – Sean M. Lovelady, Willie O. Lambert and Gregory A. Cherwonik – also pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and received sentences ranging from 23 to 40 months.

A fifth co-defendant, Javier E. Ferrer, was charged in September and also pleaded guilty to the charge. His sentencing is scheduled for March.

Perkins and his co-defendants were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division, which also conducted the investigation.

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Leader of Online Movie Group IMAGiNE Gets five Years for Piracy
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/leader-of-online-movie-group-imagine-gets-five-years-for-piracy/
Link To Post : Leader of Online Movie Group IMAGiNE Gets five Years for Piracy
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

After much speculation, CEO Kilar to leave Hulu

(Reuters) – Hulu Chief Executive Jason Kilar will leave the streaming TV company this quarter, he wrote in a blog post on the company’s website on Friday, raising more questions about its future path under multiple owners.

Kilar has long been rumored to be exiting the company as it faces stiff competition from Netflix Inc, Amazon.com Inc as well as Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Hulu chief technology officer Rich Tom is also leaving, according to the post.

Kilar gave no reason for his departure or indicate his future plans. Hulu did not name a replacement for the executives.

Kilar, Hulu CEO since July 2007, last year steered the company to $ 700 million in revenue and grew subscribers to 3 million. More than 200,000 new subscribers have signed up with the service in the last seven days, he noted.

“My decision to depart has been one of the toughest I’ve ever made,” Kilar wrote. “The things that have clearly brought the most joy to my heart (and what I believe to be the most important inputs in our business) have been this team and the values and principles we hold dear.”

Still, the popular service, which started primarily as a free site for people to catch up on television shows they might have missed, has had a rocky path over the last five years.

Part of the problem stems from its complicated ownership structure involving media conglomerates Walt Disney Co, News Corp and Comcast NBC Universal, and how much content each should make available to Hulu.

The owners face a dilemma: The success of Hulu could potentially eat away at the lucrative business of getting cable companies to pay for programming. Furthermore, it is now building out its own stable of original content exclusive to Hulu.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that Kilar had been “an integral part of the Hulu story, transforming it from an interesting idea into an innovative business model that continues to evolve… We appreciate what he’s built, and we share his confidence in his team’s ability to drive Hulu forward from here.”

A statement from News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch said Kilar had helped build Hulu into one of the leading online video services and called the company “incredibly well positioned for the road ahead.”

BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield expects News Corp’s Fox to buy out its partners in the venture this year.

“With full ownership of Hulu, FOX accelerates Hulu‘s push into original programming and explores adding cable network content to create a virtual MVPD (multichannel video programmer distributor) service,” Greenfield said in a January 3 research note.

Comcast, the third partner in the venture declined to comment on Kilar’s departure. Unlike Disney and News Corp, Comcast does not have any management control of Hulu, which was a regulatory condition related to its acquisition of NBC Universal in 2011.

Hulu put itself on the block in 2011 with suitors including Google, Amazon, DirecTV Group and Dish Network Corp, Reuters reported at the time. Talks collapsed over the price of the deal.

Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners said in October last year that it had sold its 10 percent stake in Hulu to the remaining owners.

Kilar’s name surfaced as a potential candidate for the top job at Yahoo Inc after Scott Thompson resigned last year but Kilar removed himself from consideration.

(Reporting By Jennifer Saba and Liana Baker in New York; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Tim Dobbyn)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: After much speculation, CEO Kilar to leave Hulu
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/after-much-speculation-ceo-kilar-to-leave-hulu/
Link To Post : After much speculation, CEO Kilar to leave Hulu
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

This Is Anderson Cooper with Bird Poop on His Face

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  

RELATED: Yes, Someone Turned Their Dead Cat Into a Helicopter

We have some terrible news for you today: Anderson Cooper has imperfections. Weird, right? We always thought Cooper was Elvish or some otherworldly being created for the tears of stars and moonbeams, but, guys, he’s totally human. And he has under-eye bags and he’s totally unafraid to smear bird feces on them to make them go away. This is a bad sign for regular humans with regular, un-Cooper-like people problems:

RELATED: ‘Morgan Freeman’ Reads ’50 Shades’; The Science of Orgasms

RELATED: Stephenie Meyer’s Dreams Are Worth $ 750 Million Per Hour

This video will make you wish adopting parents was a thing:

RELATED: Stop-Motion Guacamole Making; Robots Will Replace Our Caricaturists

RELATED: Your Brain on Love; Whit Stillman Waited 14 Years to Make a Movie About College

This one will make you wish the same thing about grandparents: 

Rule No. 32928 of the world: Fireworks are totally awesome and spectacular and are even more awesome and spectacular in reverse. 

And finally, here are some facts that will blow your mind … or, more likely, elicit weird looks at that cocktail party you were invited to:

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: This Is Anderson Cooper with Bird Poop on His Face
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/this-is-anderson-cooper-with-bird-poop-on-his-face/
Link To Post : This Is Anderson Cooper with Bird Poop on His Face
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Poll: Would you buy a blue, pink or yellow iPhone 5S?

Title Post: Poll: Would you buy a blue, pink or yellow iPhone 5S?
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/poll-would-you-buy-a-blue-pink-or-yellow-iphone-5s/
Link To Post : Poll: Would you buy a blue, pink or yellow iPhone 5S?
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video

We realize there’s only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cell phone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:  

RELATED: ‘Roseanne’ Predicted Internet Addiction; A Weather Alert from Hell

Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak boiled down the biggest stories of 2012 into four minutes. And, yes, Honey Boo Boo made it in there:

RELATED: Even Batman Gets Tripped up by Apple Maps

RELATED: The Videos You Shouldn’t (and Probably Couldn’t) Try at Home

So, raise your hand if you knew Patrick Stewart and company were having this much fun behind the scenes at Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

RELATED: Here’s a Video of George Takei Reading ’50 Shades of Grey’

RELATED: Cookie Monster Batman and the Dog You Wish You Had

Marvel’s Stan Lee — the guy who created characters like the Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and the X-Men — turned 90 the other day. In honor of him and his heroes, here are all his cameos from all of the Marvel movies he helped create: 

And, finally, it’s 2013 somewhere… right? Please take caution when announcing that news to this very excitable baby. Happy New Year!

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: All of 2012 in One 4-Minute Video
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

20 WTF New Year’s Resolutions

Ringing in 2013 properly requires a few things: bottom-shelf champagne, “I survived the apocalypse” t-shirts, excessive sequins and — most importantly — New Year’s resolutions that may or may not last beyond February.

[More from Mashable: These Are the Worst Case Scenarios for New Year’s Eve]

You promise to lose weight or quit smoking or stop stalking your ex on Facebook, but what about those people that shoot for a slightly different goal in the new year? Sometimes these resolution-makers come up with brilliant challenges and other times — well, ummm — they share goals that are more “WTF?” than an adult dressed like the New Year’s baby.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

BONUS: 14 Solutions to Your New Year’s Midnight Kiss

Find a Baby

There’s got to be one crawling around somewhere. What’s cuter than kissing a baby’s fat cheek? Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

Click here to view this gallery.

Image Credit: Mashable composite. Photos via iStockphoto, Adventure_photo and Seanicer

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: 20 WTF New Year’s Resolutions
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Top 5 Kids Apps: Best Games

1. Bugs and Bubbles

Ages 3-up Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars Why we like it: Fun, fast and good for building emerging math skills, Bugs and Bubbles contains 18 leveled sorting, classification games set in Uncle Bob’s Bubble Factory. The goal is to collect stickers by harvesting bubbles, requiring kids to apply skills of counting, sorting and remembering patterns in an elegant fashion. Need to know: The better you do, the greater the challenge, and progress can be saved over time on different devices. Watch a video review of this app here. Ease of use: 10/10 Educational: 10/10 Entertaining: 10/10 $ 2.99

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: 7 Bad Moves That Hurt Facebook in 2012]

Chris Crowell is a veteran kindergarten teacher and contributing editor to Children’s Technology Review, a web-based archive of articles and reviews on apps, technology toys and video games. Download a free issue of CTR here.

While you’re at the grownup table this holiday season, the kids could be eating their vegetables and sitting quietly — what’s more likely is they’ll be playing on their smart devices.

[More from Mashable: 40 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed]

So we’ve rounded up the best 5 games that were included in this year’s Top 5 Kids Apps. All these games are not only a lot of fun, they’re also educational for your kids. The top game, Bugs and Bubbles, got 5 stars out of 5 for its perfect mix of entertainment and math teaching. There’s also room for pure fun with games like Build and Play and Rush Hour.

SEE ALSO: Mobile Apps Under Scrutiny: Is Your Kid’s Privacy at Risk?

Our friends at Children’s Technology Review shared with us these 5 top apps from their comprehensive monthly database of kid-tested reviews. The site covers everything from math and counting to reading and phonics.

Check back next week for more Top Kids Apps from Children’s Technology Review

Photo via Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Top 5 Kids Apps: Best Games
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Michigan Passes Law to Protect Social Media Accounts

Michigan passed a bill on Friday that prohibits employers and schools from asking employees and students for login information to their personal social media accounts.

House Bill 5523, signed by Governor Rick Snyder and introduced by state Rep. Aric Nesbitt, “prohibit[s] employers and educational institutions from requiring certain individuals to grant access to, allow observation of, or disclose information that allows access to or observation of personal internet accounts.”

[More from Mashable: An Epic Walk From Beijing to London Fueled by Social Media]

This means an employer or institution cannot require that you provide them with your username or passwords for sites like Facebook and Twitter. The bill is known as the “internet privacy protection act.”

“Potential employees and students should be judged on their skills and abilities, not private online activity,” Snyder said in a press release.

[More from Mashable: Facebook in 2013: More Growing Pains Ahead]

Michigan isn’t alone in adapting laws to the changing Internet social sphere.

Earlier this year, Delaware banned public and private schools from requiring students’ social media account information. The bill passed through the House in a unanimous vote. Months earlier, Maryland introduced a similar bill that would particularly benefit student athletes.

In September, California passed a law that barred companies from asking its workers to surrender their social media account passwords.

Will bills and acts similar to these become more commonplace in our local and national legislature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

1. Alcohol Overload

You’re out of college, it’s not cool anymore – just ask your boss.

Click here to view this gallery.

Photo via iStockphoto, DNY59

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Michigan Passes Law to Protect Social Media Accounts
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Twitter Fans Marvel at Stan Lee’s 90th Birthday

William Shatner

Another legend of nerd culture, Shatner was one of the first on Twitter to wish Lee a happy birthday.

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: What to Do With Your New Android]

Comics icon Stan Lee celebrated his 90th birthday Friday, inspiring a flood of congratulations on Twitter, where he posts as @TheRealStanLee. Fans, celebrities, colleagues and even a few superheroes sent their love to Marvel Comics’ “Generalissimo,” and Lee’s trademark catchphrase, “Excelsior,” got the hashtag treatment.

This was a busy year for Lee: The legendary co-creator of classic characters like the X-Men, Iron Man and the Hulk launched a YouTube channel, Stan Lee’s World of Heroes, this summer. He also hosted his own comic convention, Comikaze, in September. This year also marked the 50th birthday of perhaps Lee’s most famous creation: the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

[More from Mashable: Airbnb’s Quest to Make Traveling Less Touristy]

Mashable talked with Stan “The Man” twice this year about his ongoing web projects: once at the launch of his YouTube channel, and again at New York Comic-Con. Check out the gallery above to see who else was talking about Lee on his big day.

Can you remember all of Lee’s cameos in Marvel movies? Who is your favorite superhero or heroine? Let us know in the comments section below.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, Gage Skidmore

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Twitter Fans Marvel at Stan Lee’s 90th Birthday
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Instagram gains users in December despite recent uproar as Zynga gets pecked to death by rivals

Zynga (ZNGA), the Facebook (FB) app behemoth, still reigns supreme on its most important platform. But the erosion of its dominant position continues as smaller rivals keep chipping away at its market share. On December 26, Zynga-owned Facebook applications had 267 million Monthly Active Users, down 20 million in two weeks. Far behind it followed Microsoft (MSFT) with 70 million MAU, King.com with 65 million MAU and Instagram with 43 million MAU.

[More from BGR: Samsung looks to address its biggest weakness in 2013]

But whereas Zynga lost nearly 7% of its Monthly Active Users in the two-week run-up to Christmas, Microsoft managed to inch up by 700,000 users, King.com by 600,000 users and Instagram by 2.1 million users.

[More from BGR: New purported BlackBerry Z10 specs emerge: 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera]

Of course, the Facebook crackdown on aggressive customer acquisition techniques has limited the growth of all third-party app developers. But the most important of Zynga’s smaller rivals have been able to avoid the kind of MAU erosion that is now plaguing the Facebook app champion.

What really pops out from Christmas Facebook app trends is the way Instagram has been able to ride a wave of negative publicity to perky 5% monthly user growth over the past two weeks.

The tsunami of wrath and sarcasm unleashed on Twitter has not reversed Instagram’s momentum. It might even be possible that floating an outrageous-sounding privacy policy and then quickly reversing it could have simply increased Instagram’s brand recognition and piqued consumer interest among those who are not deeply involved in app trends.

This certainly adds some piquancy to the breathless commentary about Instagram’s “fatal blunder” and “possibly irreversible damage.”

This article was originally published by BGR

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Instagram gains users in December despite recent uproar as Zynga gets pecked to death by rivals
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Acer’s $99 Android tablet might not launch in the U.S.

Title Post: Acer’s $99 Android tablet might not launch in the U.S.
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Saudi website editor could face death for apostasy-rights group

RIYADH (Reuters) – The editor of a Saudi Arabian website could be sentenced to death after a judge cited him for apostasy and moved his case to a higher court, the monitoring group Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.

Raif Badawi, who started the Free Saudi Liberals website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, was arrested in June, Human Rights Watch said.

Badawi had initially been charged with the less serious offence of insulting Islam through electronic channels, but at a December 17 hearing a judge referred him to a more senior court and recommended he be tried for apostasy, the monitoring group said.

Apostasy, the act of changing religious affiliation, carries an automatic death sentence in Saudi Arabia, along with crimes including blasphemy.

Badawi’s website included articles that were critical of senior religious figures, the monitoring group said.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Justice Ministry was not available to comment.

The world’s top oil exporter follows the strict Wahhabi school of Islam and applies Islamic law, or sharia.

Judges base their decisions on their own interpretation of religious law rather than on a written legal code or on precedent.

King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s ruler, has pushed for reforms to the legal system, including improved training for judges and the introduction of precedent to standardize verdicts and make courts more transparent.

However, Saudi lawyers say that conservatives in the Justice Ministry and the judiciary have resisted implementing many of the changes that he announced in 2007. (Reporting By Angus McDowall; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Saudi website editor could face death for apostasy-rights group
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

North Korea’s first video game: A boring version of ‘Crazy Taxi’ that nitpicks your bad driving

In theory, a driving game set in North Korea could be fun — it could revolve around delivering kidnapped movie stars from the airport to Dear Leader’s headquarters, for instance. In reality, though, it looks as though playing a driving game set in North Korea is about as much fun as actually living in North Korea. Business Insider’s Gus Lubin has posted his first impressions of “Welcome to Pyongyang,” an online game that’s “produced by Nosotek, a western IT company based in North Korea,” and he’s found that it’s pretty lame.

[More from BGR: Years after cashing out, MySpace cofounder mocks people who work for a living]

The goal of the game is to drive around the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and become familiar with all the great tourist attractions it has to offer. But unlike action-driving classics such as Crazy Taxi and the Grand Theft Auto series, Welcome to Pyongyang is annoyingly authoritarian and won’t put up with you crashing into cars or mowing down civilians. To make matters worse, the game doesn’t even give you the satisfaction dying at the hands of bloody-minded authorities if you break the rules too often — rather, it sends out a fascistic meter maid to simply tell you that you have been “stopped for bad driving.” We’re not sure what the actual penalty is for reckless is in North Korea, but we get the feeling it’s more severe than getting nitpicked by an annoying digital character.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: North Korea’s first video game: A boring version of ‘Crazy Taxi’ that nitpicks your bad driving
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Windows already threatening iPhone in Southern Europe

Kantar Worldpanel’s report for November came out and much has been made of the iPhone market share surge in the United States. What I find interesting in the November numbers is just how ice cold the iPhone has gone in so many international markets, from Australia to Brazil to Southern Europe. The iOS market share showed hefty declines outside in many major markets: down 5.4 percentage points in Australia to 35.9% and down 1.6 points in Brazil to 1.6%. That’s right — the iPhone market share has halved in the most important South American market over the past year. And this happened while BlackBerry and Symbian market shares absolutely caved in. This should have been the period for Apple (AAPL) to pick up points while RIM (RIMM) and Nokia (NOK) floundered. Instead, the sky-high pricing of the iPhone models has effectively started reversing Apple’s market share gains across several major markets.

[More from BGR: Fan-made tweak gives Apple a blueprint for better multitasking in iOS 7 [video]]

In November, the burden of the stiff iPhone pricing was highlighted by how rapidly Windows has started closing the market share gap in Spain, Italy and France. Because Nokia has had trouble ramping up the production of the new Lumia 920 and 820 Windows models, it chose to crank out older Windows models like 800 and 610 for remarkably aggressive Christmas promotions. As European markets are now hitting 50% smartphone market penetration, consumer demand is shifting towards cheap models, and Apple cannot compete in the budget category. The new first-time smartphone buyers have a lot lower household income than the consumers who bought smartphones in 2010. In the recession-ravaged Europe, the upgrade cycle is lengthening and prepaid smartphones are a more important part of the overall product mix.

[More from BGR: RIM’s biggest problem: It’s still scrambling to catch yesterday’s hottest mobile app]

As a result, Windows market share in Italy hit a stunning 11.8% in November despite the razor thin availability of the Lumia 920. Windows has already erased most of the market share lead iPhone had in Italy. The iOS market share slipped to 20.6% during the last month. In Spain, Windows market share vaulted to 3% from 0.4% a year earlier while iOS share faded to 4.4%. As the affordable HTC (2498) 8S ramps up and the even cheaper Lumia 620 launches at the end of January, Windows may overtake iPhone in Spain already in February.

The strong performance Apple had in France and the United Kingdom kept its overall European market share climbing by 2.5 percentage points in November. But in Southern Europe, Latin America and parts of Asia, iPhone is slipping badly due to the lack of a low-end version. This is what is driving the Google (GOOG) Play revenue surge globally as Android apps now narrow the huge lead Apple built in the app market before the year 2012. Apple may well have to reconsider its iPhone pricing strategy in a fundamental way. Maintaining $ 620 ASP level globally could lead to a scenario where Android has 10-to-1 volume lead outside the United States and Northern Europe, and Windows actually has a shot at pulling well ahead of Apple in lower income countries from Spain to Brazil to South-East Asia.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Windows already threatening iPhone in Southern Europe
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company

According to Japanese gaming bible Famitsu, Nintendo 3DS sold 333,000 units in the week ending December 16. Sony’s PS Vita limped along at 13’000 units. The new Wii U did an OK 130,000 units and PS3 managed 46,000 units.  The utter hardware domination of the 3DS is reshaping the Japanese software market. Franchises that were thought to be fading have been revitalized in their portable versions. The 3DS version of the ancient “Animal Crossing” series, famed for being the game where nothing happens, hit a staggering 1.7 million units last week in Japan. “Inazuma Eleven” sold 170,000 units in its launch week, up from 140’000 units its DS version managed in 2011.

[More from BGR: RIM, HTC and Nokia could all be headed the way of Palm]

Nintendo’s portable console 3DS had a muted start in its home market in the spring of 2011. Many thought that Sony would have a fair shot at competing with Nintendo once Playstation Vita launched at the end of 2011. But once Nintendo executed an aggressive price cut for 3DS in the summer of 2011 and then launched a large-screen version of the console in mid-2012, the gadget has grown into a godzilla in Japan, demolishing both Sony Vita and aging tabletop console competition.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry 10 browser smokes iOS 6 and Windows Phone 8 in comparison test [video]]

3DS is doing well also in America, where its lifetime sales are moving close to the 6 million unit mark this holiday season. According to NPD, the 3DS sales in the US market topped 500,000 units in November. That’s a decent number, though far from the torrid volume the portable is racking up in its home market. The US November video game software chart was dominated by massive home console juggernauts: new installments of Call of Duty, Halo and Assassin’s Creed franchises  shifted more than 13 million units in retail. At the same time, the Japanese software chart remains in a Nineties time warp,  dominated by Nintendo’s musty masterpieces: Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, etc.

Japanese and American tastes have always been different. But what we are witnessing now is a particularly fascinating divergence. American consumers are spending more of their time and money on smartphone and tablet games, while console game spending is increasingly focusing on massive, graphically stunning blockbuster titles on Xbox360 and PS3. The casual gamers are shifting to mobile games, while hardcore gamers remain attracted to sprawling epics on home consoles. The overall video game spending in America keeps declining month after month, as casual titles and mid-list games slide. But the Triple A whales like Call of Duty series are doing better than ever.

In Japan, Nintendo has been able to battle back iPhone and Android game invasion with a nostalgic series of portable games that basically recycle the biggest hits of Eighties and early Nineties. Mario, Pokemons and other portable heroes are slowly losing their grip on US and European consumers. But in Japan, some form of national nostalgia is keeping Nintendo on track.

The problem here is that the Japanese success of the 3DS may now be convincing Nintendo that it does not have to rethink its business strategy. The smartphone and tablet game spending continues growing explosively across the world. Unlike console games, mobile game sales in China are legal. The global gaming spending is shifting towards new hardware platforms even as console mammoths like Halo still reign in America. At this critical juncture, Nintendo has managed to cocoon its home market in a web of nostalgia, turning the 3DS console and its Eighties left-over franchises into epic bestsellers yet again.

This means that there is no sense of urgency to push Nintendo into rethinking its long-term plans. The company may continue simply ignoring the smartphone and tablet challenge, designing new portable consoles and the 28th Mario game to support it. 20 years ago, Japan’s insularity doomed its chances to succeed in the mobile phone business. Ithe idiosyncratic nature of Japan may now be leading its biggest entertainment industry success astray.

This article was originally published by BGR

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Nintendo’s amazing triumph in Japan may doom the company
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..