The Latest in Technology, Science, and Space
SCI/TECH HIGHLIGHTS 02/07/2013
Asteroid 2012 DA14 is closing in for a close encounter – and a swift kick
NBCNews.com · 3 hours ago
It may sound unsettling to hear that a potential killer known as asteroid 2012 DA14 will be coming closer to Earth than telecommunication satellites on Feb. 15, but don’t panic: Earth’s gravitational field will give it such a kick that we’ll never have to worry about it again. “It has been getting …
BlackBerry 10 Phones Will Not Come to Japan
Mashable · 2 hours ago
BlackBerry 10 might be finding early success in Canada but it won’t extend to Japan. First reported by Japanese newspaper the Nikkei business daily and confirmed by AllThingsD, Blackberry’s global roll-out for its new platform and Z10 handset will not include Japan. In a statement to AllThingsD …
Android Helps Samsung Secure ‘Colossal’ Lead Over Apple iPhone
PC Magazine · 4 hours ago
While many might consider the iPhone to be the most dominant smartphone in the land, it’s Android-based phones – particularly those from Samsung – that rule the roost. According to Thursday data from Canalys, Android smartphones made up 34 percent of global phone shipments during the fourth quarter …
Xbox 360 Gets Exclusive Console Access to Redbox Instant
Wired News · 16 hours ago
Redbox Instant by Verizon will launch the beta of its streaming service on the Xbox 360, as the company that put tall red kiosks of DVDs in your neighborhood supermarket joins the streaming-video battle currently being waged by Amazon and Netflix. Redbox Instant will launch on the console in the …
Yahoo! Finance · 1 day ago
BELMONT, CA–(Marketwire – Feb 6, 2013) – Actiance, helping organizations benefit from new forms of communications and collaboration, today announced its GM of social business Sarah Carter will present on a panel with Wells Fargo, Standards & Poor and Thompson Reuters industry experts during the …
Monopoly to get new lineup of tokens
YAHOO! · 14 hours ago
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — The classic Monopoly game is set for its most significant change in decades after fans voted to add a new token to replace either the shoe, the wheelbarrow or the iron — which ever piece received the least support in an online contest. Toy maker Hasbro Inc. is scheduled to …
Fed still gauging extent of hacker breach, FBI on case
Yahoo! News · 1 hour ago
(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it was still working to determine the extent its computer systems had been breached by hackers, adding that the incident was the subject of a criminal probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The online intrusion, which has embarrassed the U …
Liberty Global to buy Virgin Media for $16B
Denver Post · 1 day ago
NEW YORK—Liberty Global Inc., the cable TV operator controlled by media mogul John Malone, is buying U.K.-based Virgin Media Inc. in a $16 billion deal that steps up the rivalry between Malone and fellow billionaire Rupert Murdoch. Liberty Global is paying $5.9 billion in cash and the rest in …
Five things the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 needs
CNET News · 3 hours ago
With the release of the Windows 8 Surface Pro, Microsoft has reclaimed some of the good will it lost with the Surface RT. Unlike the earlier Surface product, the Pro features the full version of Windows 8, uses a powerful Intel Core i5 CPU, and can install and run just about any software app a …
Google+ Improves Bandwidth Options for Hangouts
PC Magazine · 4 hours ago
Google+ continues to fly under the social media radar, but the Web giant is still renovating the site, today adding two new features to improve the Hangouts experience. The functions will boost the experience for those in areas with low and/or unreliable connectivity, according to Google software …
LinkedIn eyes future as professional publishing hub
CNET News · 56 minutes ago
LinkedIn spent much of 2012 transforming itself into a place where workers could stay and play awhile — a strategy that paid off handsomely. But the year ahead will be all about making the site the preferred destination for professional content, a transition that could make Wall Street’s darling …
What Sony’s PS4 announcement really means
Houston Chronicle · 4 hours ago
So, an email with this image came across my junk mail folder. There are a lot of things Sony could talk about on February 20th, barely 2 weeks away. However, this Twitter tag: #playstation2013 only fuels the fire about Sony announcing the next PlayStation. Will they announce the PS4 then? No one …
Missouri researchers ID largest prime number yet
MSN · 1 day ago
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Mathematicians at the University of Central Missouri have identified the largest prime number yet, but good luck remembering it. The university said Wednesday that a group led by computer science and mathematics professor Curtis …
Twitter pushes content front and center with app updates
CNN · 1 day ago
(CNN)– Twitter is revamping its iOS and Android apps as well as the mobile version of its site to condense its many pieces of information into more steamlined sections. Mobile apps work best when they make it simple to efficiently scan and consume information, often while walking, talking or …
U.K.’s space age Antarctic base can slide across ice
USA Today · 1 day ago
A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. The station can be disassembled and towed It cost $40 million It rests on ski-clad stilts 13 feet above the ice LONDON (AP) — British researchers have unveiled a futuristic Antarctic research base that can move, sliding across the frozen surface to …
Hot Wheels: Kia Cross GT concept vehicle
Philadelphia Daily News · 3 hours ago
Kia is continuing its climb into upscale territory with a new crossover prototype unveiled Thursday at the Chicago Auto Show. The Cross GT concept borrows the fluid lines, sporty, sloped roof and long hood of Kia’s GT concept, a European-designed, rear-wheel-drive sedan the company unveiled two …
Go Daddy sued over revenge-porn site
USA Today · 21 hours ago
Suit filed by 17 women says Go Daddy conspired with Texxxan.com Legal analysts says suit against Go Daddy not likely to stand Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects Web-hosting companies PHOENIX — Go Daddy has been named lead defendant in a Texas lawsuit filed by 17 women whose nude photos …
Zynga, BlackBerry rise; Expedia slips
Marketwatch · 1 day ago
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Shares of Zynga Inc. and BlackBerry posted gains on Wednesday, but the tech sector was weighed down by losses in shares of Expedia Inc. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ:COMP) lost 3 points, or 0.1%, to close at 3,168. The spotlight was on Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA) , which …
Amazon, Overstock argue in NY court against sales tax demand
CNET News · 10 hours ago
Amazon and Overstock are duking it out with New York state in a court battle over the issue of collecting sales taxes. In a case being heard by the State of New York Court of Appeals, attorneys for both retailers claimed yesterday that a 2008 New York law requiring them to collect sales tax on …
Tech stocks: Yelp sinking, LinkedIn earnings to come
USA Today · 3 hours ago
A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Are Yelp shares still suffering an earnings hangover? What can we expect from LinkedIn as they prepare to report earnings? Here’s a look at the stocks to watch Thursday morning. Yelp sinking. Investors don’t seem jazzed about the online review website …