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- Insurance Co can't go back on policy once its issued
- 19 million Nintendo 3DS handhelds have been sold to date
- In wake of Inane Speculation, Swedish E-tailer Clarifies Its 'High' Microsoft Surface Pricing
- Lian Li to Launch Silent PC-B12 Computer Case for $169
- Microsoft Admits Surface Tablet is Risky Business
- Consumer dispute: Insurance firm wins appeal, claimant falsified evidence
- TSMC's 28nm Chip Production Skyrocketed Last Quarter, Will Only Get Better
- Skype Responds to Claims of Increased Involvement with Law Enforcement
- Nvidia Jumps On The Miracast Wireless Display Standard Bandwagon With A Focus On Mobile Gaming
- Facebook Stock Slides Following Second Quarter Financial Report
| Insurance Co can't go back on policy once its issued Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT Once an insurance company has issued a policy, it cannot later reject the insured person's claim on the ground that cover was given in violation of terms and conditions, the Delhi State Consumer Commission has ruled.  |
| 19 million Nintendo 3DS handhelds have been sold to date Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT Beating Nintendo's most recent sales projection, which stated that the company thought the handheld would sell some 18.5 million units, the Nintendo 3DS has now -- as of June 30 -- officially crossed the 19 million sold mark. Also revealed were software sales for the 3DS, which now exceed 52 million. Nintendo also posted Nintendo DS and Wii hardware sales, which currently stand at 152 and 96 million respectively.  |
| In wake of Inane Speculation, Swedish E-tailer Clarifies Its 'High' Microsoft Surface Pricing Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
A couple of days back, WPCentral spotted product listings for all four Surface SKUs on Swedish shopping site Webhallen. With the cheapest Surface tablet, the 32GB Windows RT model, listed for as high as 6990 SEK (around $1,000), it soon became a hot talking point and some people even went as far as writing obituaries for the Microsoft-branded slate. But turns out Webhallen was merely trying to cash in on the buzz surrounding the Surface by using a very common sales technique: that of deliberately listing a much-awaited product at a much higher price than what it is actually expected to sell for. Obviously, this is done as pre-orderers are unlikely to back out of their purchase commitments in case the actual retail price turns out to be lower than the original listing price. "Our customers are very interested in pre-ordering these products, so we have set a high preliminary pricing for the lineup so that they may be able to pre-order them," the Swedish e-tailer told Techie Buzz. "Just to clarify, we have not recieved [sic] any pricing from Microsoft regarding MRSP or purchasing net cost, and any people who have booked the Surface at this high price will of course have their order adjusted before any product is shipped. So we're not going to overcharge anyone for being an early adopter."  |
| Lian Li to Launch Silent PC-B12 Computer Case for $169 Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
The case itself is a mid-tower chassis that measures 210mm (W) by 472mm (H) by 498mm (D) and weighs 6.4kg. It's made of black aluminum and can support up to three 3.5-inch hard drives (with a hotswap option), a single 2.5-inch SSD, and up to eight expansion cards. Compatibility wise, the PC-B12 supports graphics cards up to 360mm in length, PSUs up to 240mm, and CPU coolers that stand up to 160mm. Cooling duties are handled by a pair of 140mm fans up front and a 120mm fan in the rear, all three of which are included. There are no other optional fan mounts. Lian Li neglected to mention when the PC-B12 will ship, though did say it will retail for $169. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Microsoft Admits Surface Tablet is Risky Business Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
"In addition, our Surface devices will compete with products made by our OEM partners, which may affect their commitment to our platform," Microsoft stated as one of its Risk Factors. The entry appears on page 14 of the greater than 100-page document and was first spotted by The New York Times Bits blog, which notes this is the first time Microsoft has fessed up to the obvious as it gets ready to bite the hands that feed it. Regardless, Microsoft is forging ahead with its Surface strategy, and will for the first time be competing with OEMs in what could be a major market segment. On the flip side, there's been chatter that Microsoft is employing a one-and-out strategy, whereby Surface will be the one-and-only tablet Microsoft makes. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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| Consumer dispute: Insurance firm wins appeal, claimant falsified evidence Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT An insurance company has won an appeal with the UT States Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against an earlier order, by a district court, penalising them for rejecting an insurance claim for damaged apples.  |
| TSMC's 28nm Chip Production Skyrocketed Last Quarter, Will Only Get Better Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
Xbit Labs listened to TSMC's conference call and dug through the company's financial data, then reported that the fab's 28nm output jumped by a whopping 70 percent last quarter. That's admirable, but still not anywhere near as much 28nm production as TSMC's customers are looking for. Fortunately, TSMC execs ensured investors that the company expects its 28nm shipments to double in the upcoming quarter en route to picking up steam and fully meeting OEM demand in the first quarter of 2013. Image credit: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.  |
| Skype Responds to Claims of Increased Involvement with Law Enforcement Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
"It has been suggested that Skype made changes in its architecture at the behest of Microsoft in order to provide law enforcement with greater access to our users' communications," Gillett wrote. "False." Nor, Gillett claims, did Skype change its policy for cooperating with government information requests, stop encrypting Skype communications, or start recording users' audio and video calls. (Given the nature of the service, it isn't even technically possible for Skype to record calls.) Skype's supernode changes were simply to improve service performance and were set in motion long before Microsoft bought the company, Gillett explains. As far as the Washington Post's claim that the update allows Skype to provide IM details to law enforcement, Gillett says the following: In order to provide for the delivery and synchronization of instant messages across multiple devices, and in order to manage the delivery of messages between clients situated behind some firewalls which prevent direct connections between clients, some messages are stored temporarily on our (Skype/Microsoft) servers for immediate or later delivery to a user. Skype has employees whose sole purpose is handling legal requests for information, however, and Gillett stresses that the temporary IM data stored on Skype's servers will only be given to authorities if Skype finds the request to be both "legally required and technically feasible." Skype's privacy policy has always stated as such -- and it's right in line with that of pretty much every service provider around the world. The message from Skype seems exceptionally clear-cut and straightforward, especially in a world of PR speak and corporate communications that are full of words, but really say nothing. Do Gillett's comments comfort your Skype communication worries?  |
| Nvidia Jumps On The Miracast Wireless Display Standard Bandwagon With A Focus On Mobile Gaming Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT Move over, AirPlay, and keep your closed ecosystem and pricey adapters to yourself, Wi-Di; there's a new streaming display solution coming to town. The Wi-Fi Alliance plans on finalizing the Miracast wireless display standard in the next few months, enabling cord-and dongle-free streaming to monitors and TVs, and a big new partner just announced it was onboard: Nvidia. Even better, Big Green's bringing the Tegra 3 processor along for the ride, which could help to quickly spur adoption of the standard. Miracast operates similarly to Wi-Fi Direct, allowing Miracast-compatible devices to connect directly and bypass the need to piggyback on a working Wi-Fi network. Several companies have hopped onboard the Miracast train, but Nvidia's positioning its Tegra 3 tablets and smartphones as a unique offering thanks to the mobile processor's excellent CPU/GPU combo chops. At the heart of every Tegra chip is a high-performance CPU and GPU, which means you can use Tegra to play amazing games on the big screen. We're not just talking about flinging Angry Birds but racing a super-charged jet ski in the game Riptide THD and playing heart-pounding first-person shooter games like Shadowgun THD. You can even take mobile gaming to the next level by pairing a Tegra device with a console controller for the ultimate wireless display experience. Nvidia's also striving to keep Tegra's Miracast solution low-latency. Latency woes have plagued Intel's Wi-Di. Tablet on the table, Shadowgun on the big screen and controller in hand, with no wires or adapters anywhere to be found? Sounds like a good time to us. Nvidia has a whitepaper outlining the basic principles behind its Miracast support, but the details are scarce; the company promises to release more info when the Miracast standard becomes ratified as an official spec.  |
| Facebook Stock Slides Following Second Quarter Financial Report Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:01 AM PDT
Facebook, which debuted at $38 per share when it went public, is down to just over $23. This is despite the fact that Facebook's revenue grew 32 percent in Q2, according to a report in The Washington Post. Facebook's revenue was higher than expected, but the devil is in the details. Profits weren't all that great, and Facebook's membership hasn't grown as quickly as investors would like, which is worrisome in terms of long-term growth potential. Investors were also concerned that revenue growth has slowed overall, at least compared to a few quarters ago when revenue more than doubled, the LA Times reports. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
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Will Microsoft's Surface tablet really start at over $1,000? That is the question that has been on everyone's mind ever since a listing for the upcoming Microsoft-branded tablet surfaced on Swedish site 
Luxury case designer Lian Li 
Microsoft can no longer stick its head in the sand and claim ignorance to the fact that its Surface tablet could, and probably will, incite anger among its OEM partners who aren't keen on the idea of competing with the company in the tablet space. That luxury went out the window when Microsoft filed a Form 10-K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, admitting in black and white print what's been obvious since the get-go.
The industry-wide move to the 28nm manufacturing process has been slowed by the 28nm manufacturing struggles suffered by TSMC and other for-hire chip fabricators. Poor 28nm yields have adversely affected product availability for several of TSMC's partners, to the point that Nvidia and Qualcomm were rumored to be threatening to take their business elsewhere. Those dark days may be (mostly) behind, however, as TSMC's 28nm production skyrocketed in the second quarter.
Ever since Skype updated its network to transfer the supernodes that power the service away from a P2P system and onto secure, Skype-run data servers, rumors have run rampant that the update occurred solely to make Skype more amicable to government wiretapping requests. Yesterday, 
Confidence in Mark Zuckerberg's ability to navigate his social networking ship through rough financial waters is beginning to waver. Investors reacted negatively to Facebook's second quarter financial report, sending shares of the social network down almost 15 percent in after market trading, after it had already dipped 8 percent during regular trading hours on Thursday.| You are subscribed to email updates from Home To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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