Thursday, October 1, 2015
Chipmaker AMD to cut about 500 global jobs
Struggling chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc said it would cut about 500 jobs, or 5 percent of its global workforce, as the company looks to rein in costs amid weak demand for its chips used in personal computers and intense competition.The company said it would record $41 million of the expected $42 million charge in the third quarter ended September.AMD said it expected savings of about $58 million in 2016 from the restructuring plan.The restructuring includes outsourcing certain IT and application development services, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday. (1.usa.gov/1M4Dj2A) Sunnyvale, California-based AMD had about 9,700 employees at the end of last year, according to its latest annual filing from February.AMD, which sells central processing units and graphics chips used in personal computers, in July lowered its revenue estimate for the second quarter, citing weaker-than-expected demand for PCs. The company has also been shifting to gaming consoles and low-power servers, but progress has lagged Wall Street expectations due to intense competition from Intel Corp and newer companies. Shares of AMD were flat at $1.74 in after-hours trading. (Reporting by Sai Sachin R in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Chipmaker Micron's profit, revenue beat estimates
T-Mobile says data breach at Experian unit may have hit 15 million customers
Fitbit attracts new attention from short-sellers
Short sellers cash in Apple bets as stock declines
Verizon launches new mobile video service 'go90'
Hackers attack forex broker FXCM
FXCM Inc, an online foreign exchange broker, said its systems were hacked and a "small number" of unauthorized wire transfers were made from customer accounts, sending the company's shares down 25 percent to a record low.All funds have been returned to the accounts that were compromised, the company said on Thursday.FXCM said it received an email from a hacker claiming to have illegal access to customer information and that it had notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.An FBI spokeswoman said the bureau was "aware of the incident and is investigating." FXCM said it was working with a cybersecurity firm to determine the scale of the incident and identify affected customers.The company did not say when it was hacked or give any further details on the incident. FXCM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. FXCM is the latest U.S. corporation to become a victim of a cybersecurity attack, adding to a list that includes Target Corp, Apple Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co.Accusations against China have increased amid growing concerns about national security. Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping signed a pact to fight cyber warfare. FXCM's shares were down 4.6 percent, recouping some losses after hitting a record low of $6.51. The stock had fallen about 95 percent this year mainly due to losses stemming from the Swiss National Bank's removal of the cap on the Swiss franc in January. (Reporting By Sudarshan Varadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Savio D'Souza)
Apple appoints former Boeing CFO to its board
Autonomy's Mike Lynch counter sues HP over $11 billion deal
British entrepreneur Mike Lynch on Thursday said he would file a claim against Hewlett-Packard for $150 million in damages over allegations the U.S company made about his role in the acquisition of his software company Autonomy in 2011.Autonomy was a $11 billion bet on move into software for HP, but this strategy began to unravel only days after the deal was announced, documents have shown. Just over a year later, HP wrote off three-quarters of the deal's value, accusing Lynch and his colleagues of financial mismanagement.The two sides have been locked in an acrimonious battle ever since. (Reporting by Paul Sandle. Editing by Jane Merriman)
HP board approves split, expects completion on Nov. 1
Online retailer dreams of printing off bespoke shoes at home
The co-founder of Australian online retailer Shoes of Prey, which allows customers to design their own footwear, hopes to one day allow customers to print out pairs at home as technology improves and consumer demand grows for personalized products.Founded in 2009, Shoes of Prey allows women to create unique designs on its website, choosing from 300,000 trillion possible permutations of materials, colors, styles and sizes. It promises to deliver in four weeks but often manages two. Jodie Fox, who set up Shoes of Prey in 2009 with former Google Inc employees Michael Fox and Mike Knapp, expects consumer demand for faster delivery to keep rising."Ideally we would get to a point ... where we are able to (deliver) overnight a pair of shoes to you that you designed the day before," Fox said in a telephone interview from Sydney.That will only be possible once advances in 3-D printing technology allow the company, which currently ships worldwide from a factory in China, to set up small manufacturing hubs around the globe.Longer-term, Fox can imagine being able to check the weather, choose an outfit and design a pair of matching shoes that can print out in her wardrobe while she takes a shower."To truly marry real customization and immediacy is a way bigger challenge," she said. "My dream of the future is manufacturing in the home." CUSTOM MADE Sportswear firms such as Nike and Adidas already allow fans to personalize sneakers ordered online and Adidas hopes to be able to produce a custom-made running shoe from scratch in store by next year. A survey by consultants Deloitte shows 37 percent of consumers are interested in buying personalized footwear, rising to 48 percent for those aged between 16 and 24.Fox said Shoes of Prey's sales had risen 120 percent in the last year, helped by the six design studios the brand has opened in the United States in upscale Nordstrom department stores.Fox, 33, said customers still prefer to buy shoes in store despite the advent of e-commerce. "We want to touch it, we want to see it, we want to understand it in its physical form before we buy it. That hasn't changed," she said.The top five materials her customers choose are all black, Fox said, and the most popular style is a three-inch stiletto, often with a personal twist like a colorful lining. Fox, who prefers either totally flat shoes or a heel at least four inches high, said her typical customer is a 25- to 35-year-old professional woman with above-average income, not surprising given a price tag of about $220 per pair. "Honestly, Shoes of Prey is not about shoes. It is about this whole idea of getting you what you want, when you want it, and that will extend into many products," Fox said.She said her Italian grandmother had laughed when she described her business, noting cobblers used to make made-to-measure shoes when she grew up in Sicily."We're reimagining something that was a product of days past with the capabilities we have today," Fox said. "That is why technology is so exciting." (Editing by David Holmes)
Toshiba may lay off appliances, TV and PC workers: CEO
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
LG Electronics says handset sales to improve starting in fourth quarter
SoftBank leads $1 billion investment in U.S. fintech startup SoFi
Toronto eyes ride-sharing rules in 2016; Uber asked to halt until then
Toronto eyes ride-sharing rules in 2016; Uber asked to halt until then
Tencent, eBay join Kakao bid for new South Korean Internet bank
Kakao Corp, the operator of South Korea's largest mobile messaging app, said Tencent Holdings Ltd and eBay Inc have joined its bid for a new South Korean Internet bank license. Tencent and eBay will make their investments through subsidiaries, which are expected to take stakes of 4 percent or less in the bank should a license be gained, a Kakao spokesman said. He declined to comment on financial terms.South Korea is expected to grant one or two licenses for Internet banks this year. Kakao's bid is one of at least three known bids. An Internet bank provides banking and financial services without physical branches. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Argentina celebrates second satellite launch, technology milestone
With the launch of its second telecommunications satellite made in Argentina on Wednesday, President Cristina Fernandez celebrated the country's technology milestone and wants the South American nation to manufacture eight more over the next 20 years.Launched from French Guyana atop an Ariane 5 rocket, the satellite will provide telecommunications services across much of the western hemisphere. Argentina last year launched its first satellite which provided country-wide coverage.The geostationary satellite reduces Argentina's reliance on foreign satellites. Its construction is a source of national pride and a relatively new industry for the country, which hopes to export its technology.Fernandez's government, which has faced a drought of good news lately in view of double-digit inflation and a stagnant economy, has been celebrating the launch under the Twitter hashtag #satellitesovereignty.Argentines go to polls on Oct. 25 to elect a new president. While Fernandez cannot run for a third consecutive term, she has endorsed the candidacy of Buenos Aires Province Governor Daniel Scioli. Many Argentines expect she may run again in the future. "The future has arrived, today we saw it take off," Fernandez said in a televised speech. "And in parliament we are going to institutionalize it."Fernandez said her government was sending a new draft law to Congress to promote the satellite industry in Argentina, saying it would require investment worth $1.201 billion. She foresees building eight more satellites over the next 20 years, some of which will be sold abroad, adding that Buenos Aires had invested $1.05 billion in the satellite industry since 2003.Fernandez said the satellite launch was proof that the country had also left its 2001/02 economic crash far behind it. The president gave much of the credit to her predecessor and late husband Nestor Kirchner, who created Argentina's satellite company Arsat back in 2006 and oversaw strong economic growth during his 2003-2007 mandate. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Maximiliano Rizzi; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
As Twitter, Square interests converge, CEO Dorsey risks conflicts
If Jack Dorsey becomes permanent CEO of both Twitter Inc and mobile payments company Square, he could struggle with conflicts of interest in the business that is key to both companies' futures: e-commerce.Corporate governance experts and some investors have already expressed concern that Dorsey faced tough choices in his role as interim Twitter chief and head of Square. That intensified on Wednesday after a report by technology news website Re/code that Dorsey is expected to be named permanent chief executive at Twitter as early as Thursday, while keeping his job at Square. “The biggest conflict would simply be the allocation of his time,” Esther Dyson, an early Square investor who holds several board and advisory positions at tech companies, told in an email on Tuesday. “CEO is a full-time job.” Neither company commented on the Re/code report. Dorsey has acknowledged the risk of a conflict of interest, publicly saying he recuses himself from decisions involving both companies. Still, that leaves him out of discussions in a key area of growth.Twitter has increased its payments and e-commerce options since Dorsey took the helm as acting Twitter chief on July 1. Earlier this month, Twitter announced a partnership with Square that would enable users to make political donations directly through the site. And on Wednesday, Twitter said it was partnering with U.S. retailers to help them sell products through a "buy now" button in tweets, a feature that does not involve Square, and relies on potential rivals to Square's service. The clearest conflict would be if Twitter continues to roll out payments and e-commerce features in partnership with Square. Dorsey would have a fiduciary duty to pursue both parties' best interests, lawyers said, which could pose problems."The list of conflicts is as long as the imagination will permit," said Lawrence Hamermesh, professor of corporate and business law at Widener University School of Law. "Every waking moment, Dorsey is going to have to decide, 'Am I going to work on Twitter or Square?'"Slow user growth and muted response to a new advertising feature led Twitter to lower its revenue forecast for the year in April. Its shares went public in 2013 and gained as much as 60 percent that year but have since fallen to near the initial public offering price. "There might come a time where (accepting payments) is so important to (Twitter's) strategic vision that the challenge becomes too great," said Stanford law and business professor Robert Daines. Both companies declined to comment on the conflict of interest issue.DUAL CEOS Dorsey would not be the first person to run two major companies. Steve Jobs led Apple Inc and animated movie studio Pixar for several years. Elon Musk runs electric car pioneer Tesla Motors Inc and rocket maker SpaceX. Twitter shares rose on the Re/code report, and some investors voiced confidence that Dorsey could run both companies long term, pointing to faster product rollouts at Twitter since he returned as interim leader."After watching Jack execute on his vision at Square, and more recently at Twitter as CEO, we are highly confident in Jack's ability to serve as CEO of both companies," said Justin Dini, spokesman for Rizvi Traverse Management, an investor in both Square and Twitter. Yet Twitter and Square's interests overlap more frequently than those juggled by Jobs and Musk, corporate lawyers and payments executives said. Square is also expected to file for an IPO later this year, which will require substantial time from Dorsey.Moreover, Twitter's president of global revenue and partnerships, Adam Bain, is a clear number two to Dorsey, while Square's management structure has no such backup. One potential solution is for the two companies to merge or form a deeper partnership. "It could result in the two companies combining at some point," said FBN Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi. (Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Additional reporting by Heather Somerville and Devika Krishna Kumar; Editing by Peter Henderson and Bill Rigby)
News Corp sells digital education brand Amplify
News Corp said it sold its digital education brand, Amplify, to a management team supported by a group of private investors following slowing growth in the digital curriculum market.The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal.News Corp said in August that it was reviewing strategic options for Amplify and that it was in the final phase of talks with a potential acquirer for the business. Larry Berger, chief executive of Amplify Learning division, will lead the new company, according to an internal memo seen by . Amplify also said there were job cuts but did not specify the number. (Reporting By Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Microsoft, Google stand down in patent battles
Berlin candy store offers 3D printed sweet treats
A German candy maker is hoping to tempt the taste-buds of Berliners with customized fruit gum sweets made with a 3D printer.German company Katjes (pron. CUT-yes) say they have developed a way to produce food from a 3D printer. A Katjes store in Berlin's trendy Mitte district showcases the Magic Candy Factory where sweet-lovers young and old can choose from 3D template designs that include individual fruit gum animals and shapes, as well as letters and words.The 3D printer at Cafe Gruen Ohr (Cafe Green Ear) is the first ever to produce fruit gum candy, according to Katjes.The makers hope that allowing customers to choose their own custom-made sweets will give the printed product a sense of magic."Candy is the perfect medium to bring this really cool concept to the consumer in a friendly and fun way," explained managing director for Magic Katjes UK, Melissa Snover. "The Magic Candy Factory focuses on the idea that science actually is magic and if we look at it that way and we focus on the amazing ability to create, and not the cold technology side, then we create an incredible experience for the customer and start getting people warmed up to 3D-printed food," she added, showcasing the fruit gum creations in Berlin.Customers can choose from a range of designs and flavors on a tablet. The trade-marked 3D printer then extrudes lines of the heated fruit gum mixture to build the design into a 3D product. "The heated fruit gum mixture is transmitted via a nozzle and line by line, it creates a shape or a word. Because the fruit gum mixture dries immediately, we are able to put one layer on top of the other. This is how we achieve the 3D effect," said Stephanie Speckmann, from Katjes' public relations company.According to Snover, her company has been making candy "in a traditional way for a long time. But one of the limitations of that is that you can't really make anything unless you are willing to make a million of it." Using the popular new production method of 3D printing means customers can personalize their candy."What the Magic Candy Factory allows us to do is make a different candy customized every single time so every single customer walks out with exactly what they want. So to me, that's a dream come true, that's where the inspiration came from," she said.Katjes currently stocks 14 designs of the fruit gum treats, retailing at a cost of five euros (around $5.60 USD). Sweets that features words or names cost ten euros ($11 USD) each.While the Magic Candy factory's parent company Katjes International had a turnover of 146 million euros ($163 million USD) in 2014, 3D printed sweets are only available in Berlin at the moment. The company plans to expand its technology beyond Cafe Gruen Ohr to other European cities.
Chipmaker Synaptics rejects Chinese firm's offer: Bloomberg
Touchscreen chip maker Synaptics Inc rejected an offer from a Chinese investment group valuing the company at nearly $4 billion, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.The Chinese state-backed group bid $110 per share for Synaptics, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The offer price is a near 70 percent premium to Synaptics' Tuesday close. The company's shares rose as much as 26 percent to $81.86 on Wednesday. Synaptics is not interested in selling at that level, one person told Bloomberg, and added that Synaptics might be holding out for a bid as high as $125 per share.A $125 per share bid would value Synaptics at $4.5 billion, based on the company's outstanding shares on Aug. 14. The Bloomberg report did not name the Chinese company.A Synaptics spokesman declined to comment. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. data storage company Western Digital Corp said a unit of Tsinghua Holdings Co Ltd would buy a 15 percent stake in the company for $3.78 billion. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)
Twitter likely to name Dorsey permanent CEO: Re/code
Facebook updates profile options for mobile users, adds videos
Thousands of companies await EU ruling on U.S. data privacy pact
Twitter partners with retailers for 'Buy Now' button
U.S. car buyers unwilling to pay for automatic safety systems: study
U.S. car buyers are not willing to pay for a new generation of automatic safety devices without an extra push from legislators, regulators, manufacturers, dealers and insurers, according to a new study. The survey, released on Tuesday, covered a range of new safety features, from automatic parking, typically a $395 option, to infrared night vision ($2,260)."These technologies are not inexpensive," said Steve Handschuh, chief executive officer of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association.The Boston Consulting Group, which conducted the survey for the association, estimated the cost of seven automated safety systems at $8,240 but said consumers were willing to pay only 25 percent to 70 percent of that. U.S. car buyers are more willing to spend money on convenience ahead of safety, said Xavier Mosquet, who heads Boston Consulting's North American automotive practice. Advanced safety systems such as adaptive cruise control, that are partially automated but relieve some of the tedium of driving, are therefore more attractive, he said.Because many advanced driver assistance features are still so expensive, their adoption in the United States continues to grow slowly, at an annual rate of 2 percent to 5 percent, Boston Consulting said. "Motivation is obviously needed" to boost those rates, which in turn could dramatically reduce costs, Handschuh said.Without such motivation, from lower insurance rates to new government regulations, it will take 20 to 25 years for widespread adoption, he said. Boston Consulting said automated driver assistance systems could help U.S. drivers avert 28 percent of vehicle crashes and save 9,900 lives each year.Suppliers of advanced driver assistance systems include Robert Bosch GmbH [ROBG.UL], Autoliv Inc, Continental AG, Delphi Automotive PLC, Valeo SA and Denso Corp. (Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
London proposes tougher rules for app-based taxi firms like Uber
Italy's Renzi faces uphill struggle over Google Tax plan
China's Unisplendour to invest $3.78 billion in Western Digital
U.S. data storage company Western Digital Corp said Chinese state-backed Unisplendour Corp Ltd would invest $3.78 billion in the company for a 15 percent stake.Western Digital shares rose about 10 percent to $75.99 in premarket trading on Wednesday.The company will issue new shares to Unisplendour at $92.50 each, a 33.3 percent premium to Western Digital's Tuesday close.Unisplendour, owned by Tsinghua Holdings, will have the right to nominate one representative to Western Digital's board. The board representative right terminates if Unisplendour's ownership falls below 10 percent. Unisplendour has agreed to a five-year lock-up on the shares, during which it would have voting restrictions, Western Digital said. Western technology companies have struggled to win customers in China after former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden's revelations of cyberspying program involving U.S. firms. Many companies are now seeking local partners in China or looking to sell off assets altogether to Chinese buyers. (Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)
Montage Technology offers to buy Pericom
Analog chip maker Montage Technology Group Ltd said it has offered to buy Pericom Semiconductor Corp in a deal valued at $430 million.Montage Technology's all-cash offer of $18.50 per share is at a premium of 9.5 percent to Pericom's Tuesday close of $16.90.Earlier this month, chipmaker Diodes Inc proposed to buy Pericom in a deal valued at about $400 million to boost its analog and mixed-signal chip businesses. (Reporting By Lehar Maan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
Average Apple Watch sells for $529, at top end of estimates: report
Top U.S. spy says skeptical about U.S.-China cyber agreement
Target to match online prices with over two dozen online rivals: AP
Rocket Internet start-ups see revenue jump, losses mount
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Tesla delivers Model X electric SUV to take on luxury carmakers
Telsa Motors delivered the first of its long-awaited Model X electric sports-utility vehicles on Tuesday, a product investors are counting on to make the pioneering company profitable after years of losses.The launch of the Model X represents a milestone for the loss-making Silicon Valley automaker during a period of high spending and modest growth, because it can now boast a second model in production beyond its Model S sedan, launched in 2012."I think we got a little carried away with the X," Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk told reporters ahead of a launch event near the company's Fremont factory, where luxury Model Xs have been moving down the production line in recent weeks, nearly two years behind the company's original schedule.Musk estimated that 25,000 customers had pre-ordered the crossover online or in its stores and that it would take 8-12 months for those ordering from now to receive the SUV.In retrospect, the company may have done less, Musk said."There is far more there than is really necessary to sell a car. And some of the things are so difficult, they make the car better but the difficulty of engineering those parts is so high." Between 4,000-6,000 guests filled a cavernous space for the launch. Invited to the event were Model X reservation holders, Tesla employees and Model S and Roadster owners. The Roadster sportscar, which is no longer in production, was the company's first vehicle.Musk has said the all-wheel drive Model X - with two electric motors, the ability to travel about 250 miles (about 400 km) on a single charge and seating for seven people - was "the hardest car to build in the world". Priced as high as $144,000, it features so-called "falcon-wing" doors that open upward rather than to the side - controlled by sensors that can modulate the height to clear garage ceilings - seats that can be adjusted separately and a panoramic windshield that extends overhead. Musk said the biggest challenges were making the doors open in a graceful "balletic" manner, the expansive windshield - which he said was the largest piece of glass ever used in a car - plus its sun visor and the moveable seats, which he said were deceptively tricky."One of the hardest things to design is a good seat," he said. Although global adoption of electric vehicles has been slow, Tesla has been the U.S. pioneer in luxury electric cars charged by batteries. It is betting that high-performance and stylish offerings will boost acceptance amid a sea of alternatives, such as hybrids or electric vehicles powered by hydrogen. Tesla predicted its SUV would receive 5-star safety ratings in all categories, based on data from its crash tests, due to its low center of gravity, which helps reduce rollovers. The Model X, like the Model S, will be continuously improved, Tesla said, due to software transmitted "over the air". A highly anticipated update expected within the next month will allow for an auto-pilot function, in which cars can be driven hands-free on freeways.AHEAD OF PACKThe buzz surrounding Tesla's Model S sedan - whose P85D variant won a top score of 100 from Consumer Reports magazine in August - has managed to preempt high-end German rivals such as Volkswagen's Audi and Porsche, BMW and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz.At the Frankfurt Auto Show earlier this month, Audi unveiled its e-tron quattro sport-utility vehicle, and Porsche showed off its first battery-powered sports car, although neither will be available before 2018. But spending on the Model X, a new Nevada battery factory and the lower-cost Model 3 due by late 2017, have all increased capital expenses, which totaled $831.2 million in the first half of the year. The Model X, he said, "gives us a cashflow stream we can use to develop and facilitate" Tesla's three vehicles either in production or development. Six new cars were delivered on Tuesday to a group made up of Tesla board members, investors and friends of Musk who had pre-ordered. In August, Musk said Tesla would make between 50,000-55,000 Model S and Model X vehicles this year, with the capacity for 1,600-1,800 vehicles per week on its production line next year.Tuesday's unveiling showcased the top-of-the-line "Signature" Model X, priced between $132,000 and $144,000, with optional add-ons such as acceleration upgrades, packages for subzero weather package or towing.The company has not disclosed pricing for the base model, but Musk said that in the future, there would be a "lower-cost" Model X. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage; Editing by Ken Wills)
Apple launches Apple Music in China
Former U.S. spy agency contractor Snowden draws crowd with Twitter debut
Edward Snowden has come in from the cold - on Twitter.Snowden, the fugitive former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details about the U.S. government's massive surveillance programs, started a Twitter account on Tuesday from exile in Russia with a simple handle - @snowden.He attracted more than 171,000 followers in about an hour and had 740,000 by Tuesday evening. But Snowden himself was following only one other Twitter account - his former employer's."Meanwhile, a thousand people at Fort Meade just opened Twitter," Snowden said in a tweet, referring to the U.S. Army base in Maryland that is the home of the NSA.Snowden's initial tweet was "Can you hear me now?" The message, a take-off on a cellphone provider television commercial, was retweeted 25,000 times within an hour. In his Twitter profile, Snowden described himself by saying: "I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public." Supporters see Snowden as a whistleblower who boldly exposed government excess. But the U.S. government has filed espionage charges against him for leaking intelligence information. Snowden fled the United States in May 2013 and has been living in Russia since being granted asylum there later that year.Initial reaction on social media to Snowden was more positive than negative. Based on a Thomson proprietary algorithm that looked at Twitter posts mentioning Snowden or his official Twitter handle, there were about 1,109 positive tweets versus 156 negative, a ratio of about 7 to 1, within the first hour of his initial tweet. The counts were from a representative sample. In his earlier hours on Twitter, Snowden exchanged tweets with prominent astrophysicist and radio talk-show host Neil deGrasse Tyson, who had encouraged Snowden to try Twitter during an interview on his show this month.On Twitter, the two discussed the discovery of water on Mars, and Snowden joked that his work for the Freedom of the Press Foundation keeps him busy, "but I still find time for cat pictures."Tyson asked how he felt about being considered a traitor as well as a hero, noting that "you're a geek to me." Snowden responded that he was "just a citizen with a voice." The user name @Snowden had already been claimed by someone who had not used it in three years. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Snowden, said Twitter officials were contacted and agreed to turn over the handle to Snowden. (Writing and reporting by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by Peter Cooney; Data compiled by Connie Yee, Thomson F&R; Editing by Richard Chang and Leslie Adler)
China's cabinet promotes online-offline business links
China's State Council, or cabinet, has issued guidelines encouraging deeper links between online businesses and bricks-and-mortar stores, pledging to cut red tape and promote tax and financial support to make it happen.The guidelines, dated Sept. 18 and published late on Tuesday, were cast as a way to spur consumption and economic activity. They come at a time when China's economic growth is at its slowest in years."Online-offline interaction has become one of the most dynamic forms of economic activity. It is a new channel for promoting consumption and a bright spot in innovation and development of the flow of commerce," it said."Developing online-offline interaction is very important to the transformation of physical stores, the promotion of business model innovation, the enhancement of new driving forces in economic development and in serving the entrepreneurship and innovation among the masses." The guidelines encouraged quicker uptake of mobile Internet, big data, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, the made-in-China Beidou Navigation System, global positioning, and biological identification in authentication, direct payment and logistics.The government encouraged partnerships between Internet companies and physical stores in order to combine their advantages. It also promoted the development of e-commerce and improved logistics in rural areas, and encouraged the merging of domestic and overseas markets via the Internet. State news agency Xinhua said the government would also unveil financial support for the sector. (Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Paul Tait)
Rio de Janeiro mayor bans Uber, open to debating regulation
AppDynamics names Adobe's David Wadhwani CEO
From pixels to pixies: the future of touch is sound
Ultrasound - inaudible sound waves normally associated with cancer treatments and monitoring the unborn - may change the way we interact with our mobile devices.Couple that with a different kind of wave - light, in the form of lasers - and we're edging towards a world of 3D, holographic displays hovering in the air that we can touch, feel and control.UK start-up Ultrahaptics, for example, is working with premium car maker Jaguar Land Rover [TAMOJL.UL] to create invisible air-based controls that drivers can feel and tweak. Instead of fumbling for the dashboard radio volume or temperature slider, and taking your eyes off the road, ultrasound waves would form the controls around your hand."You don't have to actually make it all the way to a surface, the controls find you in the middle of the air and let you operate them," says Tom Carter, co-founder and chief technology officer of Ultrahaptics.Such technologies, proponents argue, are an advance on devices we can control via gesture - like Nintendo's Wii or Leap Motion's sensor device that allows users to control computers with hand gestures. That's because they mimic the tactile feel of real objects by firing pulses of inaudible sound to a spot in mid air. They also move beyond the latest generation of tactile mobile interfaces, where companies such as Apple and Huawei [HWT.UL] are building more response into the cold glass of a mobile device screen.Ultrasound promises to move interaction from the flat and physical to the three dimensional and air-bound. And that's just for starters. By applying similar theories about waves to light, some companies hope to not only reproduce the feel of a mid-air interface, but to make it visible, too.Japanese start-up Pixie Dust Technologies, for example, wants to match mid-air haptics with tiny lasers that create visible holograms of those controls. This would allow users to interact, say, with large sets of data in a 3D aerial interface."It would be like the movie 'Iron Man'," says Takayuki Hoshi, a co-founder, referencing a sequence in the film where the lead character played by Robert Downey Jr. projects holographic images and data in mid-air from his computer, which he is then able to manipulate by hand. BROKEN PROMISESJapan has long been at the forefront of this technology. Hiroyuki Shinoda, considered the father of mid-air haptics, said he first had the idea of an ultrasound tactile display in the 1990s and filed his first patent in 2001.His team at the University of Tokyo is using ultrasound technology to allow people to remotely see, touch and interact with things or each other. For now, the distance between the two is limited by the use of mirrors, but one of its inventors, Keisuke Hasegawa, says this could eventually be converted to a signal, making it possible to interact whatever the distance.For sure, promises of sci-fi interfaces have been broken before. And even the more modest parts of this technology are some way off. Lee Skrypchuk, Jaguar Land Rovers' Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist, said technology like Ultrahaptics' was still 5-7 years away from being in their cars. And Hoshi, whose Pixie Dust has made promotional videos of people touching tiny mid-air sylphs, says the cost of components needs to fall further to make this technology commercially viable. "Our task for now is to tell the world about this technology," he says.Pixie Dust is in the meantime also using ultrasound to form particles into mid-air shapes, so-called acoustic levitation, and speakers that direct sound to some people in a space and not others - useful in museums or at road crossings, says Hoshi.FROM KITCHEN TO CARBut the holy grail remains a mid-air interface that combines touch and visuals. Hoshi says touching his laser plasma sylphs feels like a tiny explosion on the fingertips, and would best be replaced by a more natural ultrasound technology. And even laser technology itself is a work in progress.Another Japanese company, Burton Inc, offers live outdoor demonstrations of mid-air laser displays fluttering like fireflies. But founder Hidei Kimura says he's still trying to interest local governments in using it to project signs that float in the sky alongside the country's usual loudspeaker alerts during a natural disaster.Perhaps the biggest obstacle to commercializing mid-air interfaces is making a pitch that appeals not just to consumers' fantasies but to the customer's bottom line.Norwegian start-up Elliptic Labs, for example, says the world's biggest smartphone and appliance manufacturers are interested in its mid-air gesture interface because it requires no special chip and removes the need for a phone's optical sensor.Elliptic CEO Laila Danielsen says her ultrasound technology uses existing microphones and speakers, allowing users to take a selfie, say, by waving at the screen.Gesture interfaces, she concedes, are nothing new. Samsung Electronics had infra-red gesture sensors in its phones, but says "people didn't use it". Danielsen says her technology is better because it's cheaper and broadens the field in which users can control their devices. Next stop, she says, is including touchless gestures into the kitchen, or cars. (Reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
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