Just three months after Facebook cut off the messaging capabilities from its mobile app, the company’s standalone messaging app, Facebook Messenger, now has 500 million monthly active users. That’s a 150 percent increase over last year. Much of the success is thanks to David Marcus, the former CEO of PayPal that took over the Messenger operation. In the future, Marcus and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plan to integrate payments and possibly advertising into the Messenger app. Continue reading Facebook Messenger Growing Rapidly with 500 Million Users

As the market for cloud computing continues to expand, customers can expect to pay less for more. Increased competition in cloud computing is leading to greater storage at lower prices. And at the given rate at which customers are being offered lower prices, tech companies await their greatest challenge — “the race to zero” — or the moment when unlimited storage will be available at no cost. Amazon is one of the first companies to reflect this trend with the cost of its Web Services. Continue reading Race to Zero: Reduced Costs of Cloud Storage and Services

In a statement and video posted on the White House website, President Obama formally announced his support of an open Internet, urging the FCC to treat consumer broadband service as a public utility. The president is proposing a strict net neutrality policy that opposes any need for content providers to pay broadband companies extra for faster access. Service providers including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon were quick to respond, suggesting that the proposal would not stand up in court. Continue reading President Obama Calls for New Rules Protecting Net Neutrality

Technicolor’s Rennes Research & Innovation Lab is a 193,750-square-foot facility located in France’s version of Silicon Valley — Rennes’ Via Silva eco-city. Initially launched by CEO Frederic Rose in 2012, the facility grouped colorists, researchers and engineers together at one site. Today, teams at the R&D lab are working on a host of technologies for content creators and consumers related to virtual reality, augmented reality, stereoscopic video, 3D audio, the Internet of Things, and much more. Continue reading Technicolor Imagines the Future at Research & Innovation Lab

LG debuted plastic OLED tech with its recently launched G Watch R smartwatch, and introduced a version on its G Flex curved smartphone. The company has revealed future plans for P-OLED displays, likely to involve screens for smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs. The tech enables lighter, thinner, more durable screens, which opens a range of possibilities. We should expect to see P-OLED used in foldable computers, tablets with rollable displays, small screens for wearables and bendable screens for automobiles. Continue reading LG Plans P-OLED Bendable Screens for Range of CE Gadgets

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has developed a rubric designed to assess which social and communication apps and tools are best at keeping our messages secure. In an era of growing concern regarding our digital privacy, the EFF believes everyone is entitled to a practical and secure way to communicate via the Internet and mobile phones. This assessment of security, or scorecard for each app and tool, is the initial step of an ongoing campaign to educate and inspire. Continue reading EFF Designs a Scorecard to Help Measure Secure Messaging

Google is re-evaluating its privacy standards with a new open source tool that is designed to maintain confidentiality among participants being evaluated in heavy data sets. The ongoing project, known as RAPPOR, stems from a 1960’s technique that disrupts the correlation between a given data point and the individual behind that data point. The project is set to preserve the privacy and identity of the individual that is often vulnerable in the hands of companies today. Continue reading Google Experiments with New Approach to Individual Privacy

Google is integrating OpenTable’s booking service into its Maps mobile platform feature. Not only can users view turn-by-turn directions, reviews for businesses, and related photographs, but the addition will allow them to reserve a table at a restaurant from inside the application. Google has used other services in similar ways, such as displaying Uber fares, times of arrival and times to destination inside its app. The latest addition is a result of Google’s growing partnership with OpenTable parent Priceline.

Continue reading Google Maps App Includes OpenTable’s Reservation Service

Third quarter reports indicate a greater reduction in the number of pay TV customers as compared to the previous year. The decline in pay TV customers suggest that a growing number of consumers are taking to “cord cutting” when it comes to media consumption. With a number of viable streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon currently available, customers are choosing to abandon traditional pay TV to avoid paying the steep cost of cable and satellite packages. Continue reading Report: TV Viewers Continue to Drop Cable and Satellite Subs

Microsoft announced that it will offer the mobile version of its Office suite featuring Word, Excel and Powerpoint for free. This is a major departure for Microsoft, which usually charges a premium for its software. However, with people doing less on their desktops and more on their smartphones, Microsoft is finally focusing on today’s push into cloud computing. The company hopes that the free mobile apps will entice new users to buy the desktop software, too. Continue reading New Direction: Microsoft Offers Office Suite Free for Mobile

Snapchat is in talks with Buzzfeed, ESPN, CNN, Vevo and others to help launch a new feature for its popular app that offers a much wider variety of content than friends’ selfies. These media companies will produce articles, music and video for the upcoming “Discover” section of the Snapchat app, making it more of an all-inclusive media consumption app. No date has been announced regarding when the “Discover” section will make its debut on the popular photo- and video-messaging app. Continue reading Snapchat Teams with Major Media Companies on New Feature

Users can listen to music through Amazon’s new Echo speakers, but more importantly, this new device listens to users as well. Similar to Siri, users can ask the Echo speakers (which go by the name Alexa) about the weather, news, math problems, definitions, and anything else that can be looked up on Wikipedia. They can also set timers and make shopping lists. Someday those shopping lists may make it possible for Amazon to create an online ordering service through voice commands. Continue reading Amazon’s New $199 Echo Speaker Interacts with Shoppers

Scribd recently announced that in addition to its collection of e-books, subscribers now have access to a compilation of over 30,000 audiobooks. The company is one of the first e-book companies to have implemented a monthly subscription fee in exchange for unlimited access to its content. Joining the likes of models offered by Netflix and Spotify, Scribd subscribers can pay a monthly fee of $8.99 to access all available e-books and audiobooks belonging to the service’s catalog.  Continue reading Scribd Offers Unlimited Access to Audiobooks via Subscription

While Intel did not match its usual pace of introducing new microprocessors this year, the company did report significant signs of growth for PCs. At a Southern California event on Tuesday, Kirk Skaugen of the company’s PC chip business discussed three key strategies, including the elimination of external wires, ways to make passwords obsolete, and enabling new types of user interface. Skaugen also addressed Intel’s focus on changing the way users command PCs, including the use of 3D camera tech. Continue reading Intel Showcases Three Key Areas of Focus for Future PC Tech

Disney has secured a patent for a new search engine that will not highlight sites featuring pirated content in the search results. The search engine filters the results based on “authenticity,” so that illicit content will be more difficult to find. Disney and other companies have been unsatisfied with Google’s efforts to hide pirated sites. Disney’s new search technology also goes a step further by making the authentic trademark holder’s page rank higher than product reviews or Wikipedia entries. Continue reading Disney Creates a Search Engine That Filters Pirated Results