Peter Kafka for AllThingsD: Research In Motion isn’t broken, so no need to break it up. But it needs better internal focus, and better external focus, too. That’s the takeaway from new RIM CEO Thorsten Heins, who told analysts this … Continued
E.O. Wilson calls iPad textbooks ‘a miracle’
Apple’s education event in New York on Thursday revealed the company’s plans to change the way textbooks are used by students in both K-12 and college environments using iPads. But is Apple overstepping its bounds? iPads in schools are still … Continued
Sen. Reid postpones PIPA vote
Thomas Lane for Talking Points Memo, quoting from a statement from Sen. Harry Reid: “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act. Reid says he’s “optimistic that we can reach a … Continued
SOPA Web blackout wouldn’t have happened in China
David Pierson for the Los Angeles Times: As websites including Wikipedia shut down and millions of Americans complained to lawmakers about the potential for government censorship, Chinese netizens spoke admiringly of the public rebellion. Such a display in China would … Continued
A look at the fed takedown of Megaupload
Nate Anderson for Ars Technica: “… the government asserts that Megaupload merely wanted the veneer of legitimacy, while its employees knew full well that the site’s main use was to distribute infringing content. Indeed, the government points to numerous internal … Continued
Apple education event – live coverage
The Loop liveblogged Apple’s education event, where Apple has introduced iBooks textbooks, iBooks Author, a creation app, and the new iTunes U app. Please read on for details.
In-app purchases to lead app market revenue by 2015
Steve Peterson for Industrygamers: Market research firm IHS iSuppli is projecting that in-app purchases will account for 64% of total app market revenue by 2015, up from 39% in 2011. These percentages reflect the total from both iOS and Android … Continued
Co-founder and former CEO Jerry Yang leaves Yahoo
Wall Street Journal: Yahoo Inc. said its co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from its board of directors, severing all ties with the Internet company he founded about 17 years ago. It’s worth underscoring that Yang has severed “all ties” with … Continued
CEA president calls complaint about CES booth babe ‘irrelevant’
Mat Honan, for Gizmodo: But the second issue is arguably more important. It’s the cluelessness. To demean the concerns about booth babes as “cute” and “irrelevant” shows a huge disconnect with, I dunno… this century. The drumbeat against booth babes … Continued
Supreme Court rejects social media cases involving students
David Kravets for Wired: The Supreme Court declined Tuesday to clarify on what grounds public schools may punish students for their off-campus, online speech. The justices have not squarely addressed the student-speech issue as it applies to the digital world … Continued
Mac game maker looks for beta testers
Virtual Programming, maker of Mac versions of commercial games like Supreme Commander 2 and X3: Terran Conflict, is on the prowl for beta testers. If you have what you think it takes, you can get in touch with them. You … Continued
Apple doubles iTunes Match footprint
MacRumors: But as Apple now details on its iTunes Match availability page, the service actually launched in 19 new countries today, focusing on Latin America, the Baltic states, and the Netherlands. That brings the total to 37, almost doubling the … Continued
UltraViolet movies still have no Apple support
Daniel Frankel, paidContent.org: That speed to get into the market was second-guessed at CES this week, with accounts of early adopters frustrated by UlraViolet’s extensive digital rights management, which requires users to register at two different websites. Singer boiled down … Continued
Samsung ships Microsoft Surface 2.0 table
Engadget: Samsung’s SUR40 has been a long time coming. The 40-inch next-gen Surface was unveiled at CES 2011, but it’s only just now starting to ship, following the 2012 edition of that gadget show. If you’ve never had a chance … Continued
Creepy Steve Jobs doll won’t go into production
Inicons: “Though we still believe that we have not overstepped any legal boundaries, we have decided to completely stop the offer, production and sale of the Steve Jobs figurine out of our heartfelt sensitivity to the feelings of the Jobs … Continued
Obama opposition turns the tide against SOPA
Reuters: In a potential problem for the movie industry, the White House has issued a warning about the anti-piracy legislation in Congress. While agreeing that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem and requires a serious legislative response, … Continued
On Final Cut Pro X’s professional exodus
Jacqui Cheng, for Ars Technica: Which came first: Apple’s creative pro market shrinking, which might have led to dramatic changes in Final Cut Pro; or Apple’s cavalier attitude toward legacy features, which might have frightened video editors? According to the … Continued
2011 was record bad year for PC sales, except for Apple
Arik Hesseldahl, for AllThingsD: For the full year, HP saw its shipments fall by nearly 5 percent; Dell’s fell by more than 8 percent; and Acer’s fell 30 percent in the U.S. So who grew? Apple. It saw its shipments … Continued
Classic arcade shooter Rayforce comes to iPhone
Taito has announced the release of Rayforce, the classic arcade game shooter, now available for the iPhone and iPod touch. It costs $11.99. Rayforce firs appeared in coin-op arcades in 1993 and spawned two sequels. It’s a fast and frantic … Continued
Sony says no PlayStation 4 unveiling at E3
Engadget: In a roundtable with reporters at CES, Sony’s Kaz Hirai responded to a question about recent comments attributed to gaming division head Andrew House by stating that “Andy is absolutely right in that we are not making any announcements … Continued
T-Mobile blames spectrum for iPhone absence
AllThingsD: “The key reason we didn’t have the iPhone in the past is we are on different band than globally the market was,” Humm said. “That is something which will change over time. Chipsets are also evolving to be able … Continued
Corel aims at Aperture with AfterShot Pro
Corel has introduced AfterShot Pro, a new digital photography editing and organization application compatible with Mac OS X, Windows and Linux operating systems. The software ships at the end of the month and costs $99. A trial version is now … Continued
Apple confirms Anobit flash memory company acquisition
Bloomberg Businessweek: Apple Inc. said it acquired Anobit Technologies Ltd., an Israeli company that makes a flash-memory drive part for the iPhone and iPad, confirming a press report from last month. The acquisition has been rumored since December, when Israeli … Continued
Apple may not be able to stop Steve Jobs doll
Paidcontent.org: A UK newspaper caused a stir yesterday when it reported that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) had threatened legal action against a Chinese company that plans to sell an eerie replica of its late founder starting next month. The Daily Telegraph … Continued
Infinity Blade franchise makes $30M
Gameindustry.biz: Infinity Blade developer Chair, owned by Epic, has made over $30 million from the franchise in just one year since the original game’s launch on iOS. Infinity Blade II, which runs only on the new iPhone 4s and the … Continued
Apple threatens Steve Jobs action figure maker
The Telegraph: The 12-inch figurine, which comes complete with Jobs’s trademark blue jeans, sneakers and black turtleneck sweater, was created by Chinese company In Icons and was set for release in February. But ‘their efforts have reportedly met with’ a … Continued
TransGaming expands interactive TV footprint with Oberon acquisition
IndustryGamers: TransGaming has announced that it has acquired the Interactive TV & Connected TV division of Oberon Media for $7 million in stocks and cash. This will grant the company additional revenue via distribution agreements with a number of leading … Continued
On gaming on the Mac
The Globe and Mail: The important thing, though, is that I found the MacBook Pro with both Mac OS X and Windows 7 installed felt like a more complete computing solution than anything I’d ever had before. And it made … Continued
Report says Kodak preparing bankruptcy filing
Wall Street Journal: Eastman Kodak Co. is preparing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection filing in the coming weeks should efforts to sell a trove of digital patents fall through, people familiar with the matter said. Kodak has had a ridiculously … Continued
In defense of Atari
Technologizer: I’m all in favor of developers drawing upon old games for inspiration, improving them and turning them into entirely new ideas. And I like fan-made homages when they expand significantly on the original and–this is important–are not sold for … Continued