Estonian pleads guilty in U.S. court to Internet advertising scam

NEW YORK (Reuters) – An Estonian man pleaded guilty on Friday in U.S. federal court for his role in a massive Internet scam that targeted well-known websites such as iTunes, Netflix and The Wall Street Journal.The scheme infected at least four million computers in more than 100 countries, including 500,000 in the United States, with malicious software, or malware, according to the indictment. It included...

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GS: Ignore the chatter, BlackBerry rebound is coming

BlackBerry’s (RIMM) next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform has received mixed reviews out of the gate, but most seem to agree that the new OS and first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones will do little to attract interest from users of rival platforms. But as analysts continue to back off BlackBerry and investors lose confidence, Goldman Sachs sees a big opportunity for clients.[More from BGR: Here...

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Nintendo chief rules out price cuts for Wii U

TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo‘s president Thursday ruled out price cuts for its new Wii U home console as a way to boost sales, vowing to become profitable again in its core businesses as smartphones and tablets increasingly threaten specialized game machines.Satoru Iwata, speaking at a Tokyo hotel to investors and reporters a day after earnings were released, acknowledged the sales momentum for the Wii U,...

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Troubled smartphone pioneer RIM prepares to raise the curtain on BlackBerry 10

NEW YORK, N.Y. – After several technical blunders, two unexpected delays and one major shakeup in its leadership, BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion is about to raise the curtain for its new smartphone devices in hopes that consumers share the excitement.The unveiling of the phones and operating system on Wednesday marks the start of an advertising blitz that will stretch to social media, the Super...

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Exxon passes Apple as most valuable company

NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter.Apple Inc.’s stock has been on the decline since the company’s quarterly earnings report Wednesday suggested that its fast growth phase, rare for a company of its size, may be coming to an end.Apple‘s stock fell 2.4 percent to close Friday at $ 439.88...

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Somalia militants’ Twitter account down after hostage threat

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Twitter account run by Somali militant group al Shabaab was unavailable on Friday, days after the al Qaeda-aligned rebels used the social media site to boast about killing a French agent and threatened to kill several Kenyan hostages.Al Shabaab often used its Twitter account to claim responsibility for attacks on African Union and Somali government troops, as well as senior officials...

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Sony fined in UK over PlayStation cyberattack

LONDON (AP) — British regulators have fined Sony 250,000 pounds ($ 396,100) for failing to prevent a 2011 cyberattack on its PlayStation Network which put millions of users’ personal information — including names, addresses, birth dates and account passwords — at risk.Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office said Thursday that security measures in place at the time “were simply not good enough.”...

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Google’s 4Q earnings rise despite Motorola woes

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google eked out slightly higher earnings in the fourth quarter, despite a financial drag caused by the Internet search leader’s expansion into device manufacturing and a decline in digital ad prices as more people gaze into the smaller screens of smartphones.The results announced Tuesday pleased investors, helping to lift Google’s stock by 5 percent in extended trading.More advertising...

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Cycling-No sympathy for Armstrong on social media

LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – Lance Armstrong’s televised doping confession has done nothing to restore his shattered reputation, a study of responses posted to the Twitter social media site showed.“What was particularly noticeable in our analysis of the Armstrong revelation was the sheer lack of sympathy out there,” said Charlie Dundas of sports market research company Repucom.“The tone of the discussion...

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Notre Dame hoax tip was emailed: Deadspin.com editor

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The tip that led to the revelation that one of the most widely recounted U.S. sports narratives of the past year was a hoax came to the editors of an online sports blog as many of their news tips do: an unsolicited email.That email led Deadspin.com assignment editor Timothy Burke on the hunt of a story that exposed the heart-wrenching tale of standout Notre Dame linebacker Manti...

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Hundreds attend NYC memorial for Internet activist Aaron Swartz

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Supporters of Aaron Swartz, the 26-year-old Internet activist who committed suicide last week, gathered in New York to remember the computer prodigy on Saturday, with some calling for changes in the criminal justice system they blame for his death.Swartz, who at 14 helped create an early version of the Web feed system RSS and believed the fruits of academic research and other...

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Samsung updates Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 to Jelly Bean

Owners of the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 2 will be happy to learn that Samsung (005930) has begun to update their tablets to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The company announced its plans earlier this week, revealing that the Note’s update includes “dramatic improvements to the multitasking and S Pen features,” while the Tab 2 will bring the company’s Premium Suite of features and productivity apps...

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Tina Fey Wants Boring People to Get a License to Twitter

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: Jimmy Kimmel Really Hates Kids; Call Me Again MaybeTina, you can be in charge of Twitter-licensing...

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PC titans take notes from tablets to regain customers

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Personal computer makers, trying to beat back a tablet mania that’s eating into their sales, are making what may be a last-ditch attempt to sway customers by mimicking the competition.Many of the laptops to be unveiled around the world in coming months will be hybrids or “convertibles” – morphing easily between portable tablets and full-powered laptops with a keyboard, industry...

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“Banshee” head Greg Yaitanes: secrets galore, but hold the olives

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Like many TV creators, Greg Yaitanes isn’t crazy about the alternate identities people adopt online – and the Emmy-winning former “House” executive producer gets to explore anonymity and becoming someone else in the new Cinemax series “Banshee.”“I’ve been harassed by ‘House’ Twitter fans for years now. I’m always kind of surprised at people’s level of saying something that...

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Verizon may be prepping a new mid-range Samsung smartphone with a 720p display

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E-Ink on a Smartphone? This Android Phone Has 2 Displays

Times UpYou can use the rear of the YotaPhone as a clock, or to display wallpapers.Click here to view this gallery.[More from Mashable: Hands On With Pebble, the Internet’s Favorite Smart Watch]LAS VEGAS — What if your phone had two displays? Announced in mid-December, YotaPhone aims to change how people use their smartphones by bringing together a full-color LCD display on one side of the phone and...

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First BlackBerry 10 smartphone may launch on February 28th

Research in Motion (RIMM) is scheduled to formally unveil its BlackBerry 10 operating system on January 30th, however it is unclear when we will see the first new BlackBerry smartphones launch. Despite the fact that all four major U.S. carriers — Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), Sprint (S) and T-Mobile — have confirmed plans to carry new BlackBerry 10 devices in 2013, RIM has remained quiet regarding...

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HP Cloud Ushers in 2013 and GA Compute Service with Reduced Pricing

HP Cloud Services is continuously working to increase efficiency in our datacenters, so we can pass these efforts along to our customers via enhanced enterprise-class service and/or lower prices.  As a result, HP Cloud Services is starting the New Year by permanently lowering the prices on Linux instances of HP Cloud Compute by 12.5% and Object Storage by as much as 25%. Furthermore, to...

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Could Alex Jones’s “revolution” actually happen?

Piers Morgan had it easy. Radio show host and author Alex Jones threatened the rest of us with a ”revolution” if the government decides to confiscate guns from the homes and glove compartments of law-abiding Americans. It’s almost too easy to dismiss Jones as a fringe figure, especially since fringe ideas make their way into the mainstream with (exciting? alarming?) frequency these...

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