Staff Writer - itbusinessdirect

Edward Snowden: The Biggest Revelations Are Yet to Come

March 21, 2014June 20, 2014 Staff Writer

VANCOUVER, Canada — Edward Snowden on Tuesday said the biggest revelations have yet to come out of the estimated 1.7 million documents he acquired from the National Security Agency. In a surprise appearance via satellite robot at the 2014 TED conference in Vancouver, Snowden said there is still a lot of reporting to be done, including diving deeper into the accusation that the NSA tricks companies into building backdoors into their systems that make data vulnerable to hackers across the world. “Is it really terrorism that we’re stopping? I say…

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Microsoft May Introduce Office for Apple’s iPad Next Week

March 18, 2014 Staff Writer

Newly appointed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is said to be announcing a version of the company’s popular Office productivity suite, including Word, Excel and Powerpoint for Apple’s iPad tablet devices at an event next week Microsoft may finally introduce a version of its Office software suite for Apple’s iPad devices at an event next Thursday, according to multiple reports. Sources close to Reuters, ZDNet and The Verge have said Microsoft’s about to introduce a suite of Microsoft Office applications designed for the Apple tablet. The suite is expected to include…

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Aereo’s CEO Chet Kanojia has the TV Industry Scared To Death

March 13, 2014June 20, 2014 Staff Writer

CBS Threatens To Cut Off Broadcast Signal If Aereo Wins Aereo, a company that lets you stream live network TV (NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, etc.) to your computer, smartphone or tablet, is gearing up for a big Supreme Court battle this spring with those networks that could dismantle the startup. The networks claim Aereo violates copyright by allowing customers to record TV shows in a virtual DVR that lets you stream shows later to your device. Aereo charges $8 per month to use the service and it’s available in a handful…

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Edward Snowden Warns Us of the Dark Path Ahead

March 11, 2014March 11, 2014 Staff Writer

In written testimony to the European Union (EU), Edward Snowden explained in patient, well-written, detailed prose exactly why what the NSA is doing is so dangerous. Snowden reveals himself an articulate writer, and through that moves from mere whistleblower into an almost philosophical role. His testimony deserves your full read, so you should best stop right here and just go read it. For those who prefer some highlights, with commentary, please follow me deeper down the rabbit hole. Snowden says: The suspicionless surveillance programs of the NSA, GCHQ, and so…

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Facebook’s shot at WhatsApp data gets both companies an FTC complaint

March 7, 2014 Staff Writer

The Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Center for Digital Democracy have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Facebook’s $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp based on privacy concerns, according to a document released Thursday. EPIC and CDD’s problems with the acquisition center around the fact that WhatsApp staked its reputation on—that it’s a company keeping a reasonable distance from its customers’ data. Now that it will fall under the aegis of Facebook, its users stand to lose those privacy guarantees, even though WhatsApp told its users nothing…

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Facebook-WhatsApp Deal Haunted by Past Web Merger Flops

February 28, 2014 Staff Writer

Facebook Inc. (FB) investors who pushed the company’s shares to a record after it unveiled the $19 billion deal for WhatsApp Inc. would be well served to remember — every Internet takeover of more than $10 billion has flopped. Last week’s proposed purchase would be the biggest Web acquisition in more than a decade and only the fifth ever to top that threshold, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That puts it in the same category as AOL’s merger with Time Warner and Terra Network SA’s takeover of Lycos, which…

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Microsoft Targets Cheaper Phones for Global Internet Growth

February 27, 2014 Staff Writer

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), under new Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella, will accelerate a push into mobile software, joining forces with hardware manufacturers and Qualcomm (QCOM) Inc. to develop cheaper phones for emerging markets. Microsoft said yesterday it’s working with Qualcomm on a low-cost phone design that developers and handset makers can use to build their own devices, and added partners including Lenovo Group Ltd. to make Windows smartphones. Nokia Oyj (NOK1V), whose mobile-phone business will become part of Microsoft, unveiled lower-priced handsets at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today.…

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Facebook to Pay $19 Billion for WhatsApp

February 20, 2014 Staff Writer

Messaging Startup to Operate Independently, Retain Brand, Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of the WhatsApp mobile messaging service ranks as the largest-ever purchase of a company backed by venture capital. Facebook Inc. FB +1.13% agreed to buy messaging company WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, a blockbuster transaction that dwarfs the already sky-high prices that other startups have been able to recently command. The 55-employee company, which acts as a kind of replacement for text messaging, has seen its use more than double in the past nine months to…

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The ‘Internet Of Things’ Will Be Bigger Than The Smartphone, Tablet, And PC Markets Combined

February 19, 2014March 3, 2016 Staff Writer

The numbers being forecast for the Internet of Things (IoT) are truly mind-boggling. BI Intelligence finds that the number of everyday and enterprise devices that will soon be connected to the Internet — from parking meters to home thermostats — will be huge. BII 1.9 billion devices today, and 9 billion by 2018, according to BII estimates, roughly equal to the number of smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, wearable computers, and PCs combined. It will drive trillions in economic value as it permeates consumer and business life. In the consumer space, many products…

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