Even as people are sharing an increasing amount of personal data online, Internet users are still worried about digital privacy, according to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz.
“I think they are very concerned because they have a sense that information is being captured, and they’re not sure where it’s going,” Leibowitz says. “I don’t think most of us understand how it’s captured and transferred and monetized, but I think there is generally concern from consumers about that.”
Privacy has been a hot news topic recently with the CISPA debate and various breaches by top companies such as Google and Facebook.
Some believe that younger people who have grown up in the digital age are less concerned by privacy, but “I think if you drilled down a little bit on that data, it’s actually not that accurate for everyone,” suggests Leibowitz.
“Will personal privacy standards relax as social media becomes more entrenched in everyday life? Or will increased sharing mean heightened consumer vigilance about controlling personal information?” asks Mashable.
After passing the 100 million app downloads marker, Apple’s Mac App Store has now hit another milestone. According to third-party estimates, the store’s catalog now has over 10,000 apps.
“French outlet MacGeneration today posted its estimate of the tally based on its own data,” reported CNET on Friday. “Macrumors later pointed to its Appshopper site that pulls App Store data and currently lists the store’s total at 10,334 apps.”
“To put the benchmark — which an Apple spokesperson declined to confirm — in context, it took Apple’s App Store for iPhone (and later iOS) less than half a year to reach 10,000 apps,” explains the post. “At the same time, that store had pulled in more than 300 million downloads, Apple said. Worth pointing out though, is that the App Store is the only way to officially get software on the iOS platform, whereas Mac users can install from other sources.”
In future editions of Apple’s Mac OS, like the upcoming Mountain Lion to be released this summer, the App Store will play a bigger part with functions like “Gatekeeper” that protects against malware and limits new app installations to the Mac App Store.
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has passed through the U.S. House of Representatives with some important amendments added, but still leaving some concerns unaddressed.
The 248 to 168 vote shows the strong support for the ability for companies to share information freely — for the sake of protecting against cybersecurity threats — without the threat of antitrust laws. Tech and communications companies including Facebook, Microsoft, and AT&T have pledged their support for the bill.
The Obama Administration and the Center of Democracy & Technology (CDT), on the other hand, are concerned that the law could be used to aggregate private user data and to essentially police the Internet.
“The bill has three critical civil liberties problems, and we have worked with Members of Congress, Internet users, advocacy groups, and industry to address them,” the CDT said in a statement. “The first is that CISPA permits unfettered sharing of private communication with the government; second, it permits that sharing to go to any agency including the super-secret NSA; and third, it permits the government to use this information for purposes wholly unrelated to cybersecurity.”
CISPA must still pass through the Senate and again through Congress if President Obama opts to veto the bill, which has been recommended by his advisors.
By analyzing tweets, blog posts and other social media, research firm Fizziology claims it can predict box office numbers more accurately than traditional methods.
Fizziology claims to have predicted the “Twilight” opening at $140 million, which is very close to the actual $138.5 million. The firm is estimating “The Avengers” opening at between $135-$150 million.
Social media provides direct insights into consumer opinions. Twitter, for example, is useful to “turbocharge” both positive or negative word of mouth. The ratio between positive and negative sentiment can indicate the extent in which box office may fall off.
Studios may be discouraged from a wide-release strategy with the growth of microblogging among consumers.
Samsung and Cineplex Entertainment have teamed up to create a new app that “folks in Canada using Samsung’s Smart lineup of home theater equipment” can be excited about, reports Engadget.
The two companies have created Cineplex Store, a video-on-demand app that allows owners of “select models of Samsung’s Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and home theater systems” to buy or rent videos with a click from their couches.
Pricing ranges from $3-$5 for 48-hour unlimited play rentals. Buying the movie in full will cost between $10-$20. There is no monthly subscription fee.
Whether renting or purchasing, users will be able to store content in a “digital locker” and earn “Scene” points with Cineplex.
Just as Netflix and others are considering further European expansion, a group of companies in Germany — the largest television market in Europe — is preparing to launch its own video on demand service, called Gold GmbH, “that hopes to become the Hulu for Germany,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
There are 17 companies that make up Gold, including some commercial operators owned by public broadcasters, independent producers and rights groups.
“The group represents a wide span of the German production landscape, with programming ranging from reality shows such as ‘Undercover Boss’ (MME) to high-end series including Tom Fontana’s ‘Borgia’ (Beta) and Aussie teen show ‘H20 — Just Add Water’ (ZDF) and a large archive of documentaries, children’s programming and German feature films,” notes THR.
Gold is scheduled to launch later this year and will attempt to finance itself through ads, subscriptions and pay-per-view fees.
Philips new PicoPix 2480 projector is capable of projecting images up to 120 inches, according to the manufacturer.
The $480 compact projector uses light-emitting diodes and has an integrated MP4 player and built-in speaker. The device is ideal for use with laptops, smartphones, cameras and tablets.
“Compact enough to fit in a small bag, the PicoPix 2480 has USB, HDMI, VGA, component and composite connectivity, an SD/SDHC slot and 2GB of internal memory,” reports Pocket-lint.
“With two hours battery life you might want to have a power source nearby if you’re projecting a feature-length film, for example, but for boring — we mean showing — your friends and family your holiday snaps blown up, it should do the job,” adds the post.
According to Philips, the PicoPix 2480 uses LED tech for 854 x 480 resolution and 1000:1 contrast ratio at its maximum projection of 120 inches.
Market research firm IHS iSuppli predicts that ultrabooks priced in the $700 range will not directly compete with Apple’s MacBook Air, since they will have smaller displays and hard-disk drives instead of solid-state drives.
Higher-priced ultrabooks will feature touch screens and Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors later this year, but so will the MacBook Air, notes IHS iSuppli.
“More compromises will come in display, storage and memory. Cheap ultrabook screens will stay stuck at 1366 x 768, compared to the 13-inch MacBook Air’s 1440 x 900,” reports ReadWriteWeb. “Perhaps most significantly, storage will likely be handled by a conventional 2.5-inch hard drive instead of the pricier solid-state drives that make using a high-end ultrabook such a fast, seamless experience. Memory capacity will also be less: 2GB versus 4GB in higher-end systems.”
In order to make a profit on a $700 ultrabook, manufacturers need to get the cost of materials and production down to $500 per unit. As a result, some may seem no different than a low-end laptop.
“An ultrabook in a plastic enclosure just looks like a thin laptop, as opposed to an entirely new product,” says Kevin Keller, senior principal analyst for iSuppli.
“The real question, perhaps, is not whether PC makers can come up with $700 ultrabooks to appeal to cheapskates, but how much they’ll have to charge for upcoming high-end Windows 8 ultrabooks that really can take on the MacBook Air,” comments the article.
Despite predictions that cameras will be made obsolete by smartphones, Japanese manufacturers report that they shipped nearly three times as many cameras in January as they did during the same period in 2003.
“For several years, it has been predicted that smartphone adoption would cut into digital camera sales,” said Prashant Malaviya, associate professor of marketing at Georgetown University. “In fact, the exact opposite has happened.”
“Surveys by NPD In-Stat last November show that while more than a quarter of all American photos were taken by a smartphone, more people were buying cameras with detachable lenses or cameras with optical zooms of 10x or more,” notes Reuters.
The quality of images and the development of mirrorless cameras are among the strengths of the camera industry. However, point-and-shoot cameras are vulnerable to recent improvements in smartphone cameras.
NPD In-Stat senior digital imaging analyst Liz Cutting also notes that people generally don’t trust phones or point-and-shoots for important personal images and family photographs.
“It’s part of who you are, showing the kind of brand of camera you have,” she says. “But it’s also trusting the quality of that memory because that’s how you remember your life.”
“Camera photography is certainly not dead,” Cutting adds. “We’re just seeing a skewing towards what the smartphone can’t deliver. People are recognizing that and are going for a higher end camera.”
Microsoft plans to introduce a streaming music service at the E3 Gaming Expo in June, which is expected to be a replacement for Zune.
The Xbox-branded product, code-named “Woodstock,” will reportedly work across a range of platforms, including Android and iOS devices as well as the new Windows 8 system.
“Previously described as ‘Spotify-like,’ the service won’t require any browser plugins and is said to integrate deeply with Facebook, allowing friends to build group playlists and share tracks,” notes The Verge.
“Microsoft’s service will also include a ‘scan and match’ feature, similar to iTunes Match, which will let users find songs from their current library within the platform,” reports CNET.
Sony has announced plans to introduce its cloud-based Music Unlimited service this year, featuring a catalog of 15 million songs.
“Music content could be a key factor to revive Sony,” said Takashi Watanabe, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group in Tokyo.“The time is over where an electronics company can excel just because it has a good device. You have to have a very good platform to capture your clients within your system.”
Content from Sony’s own music units includes songs from artists such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen. The catalog offerings also include tracks from Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
Apple’s iTunes currently offers approximately 20 million titles, while Spotify offers more than 16 million songs.
“Music Unlimited lets users stream songs via Web-connected Bravia televisions, some Walkman models, PlayStation game players, personal computers and Android-based mobile phones. The service was expanded to the PlayStation Vita in March after being enabled on Sony Tablets and other Android-based tablets in October,” according to Bloomberg.
Google has officially released its Drive cloud storage solution that gives users access to cloud-connected storage across all their devices.
The service will compete with the likes of Dropbox, SugarSync, Box and Microsoft’s SkyDrive.
“The company will give every Drive user 5GB of free storage. If you need more room for files, you can get 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month, or 1TB for $49.99/month,” reports VentureBeat. “Google says that when upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage for e-mails will also expand to 25GB, meaning more storage for all those huge e-mail attachments your boss likes to send.”
Google Drive has Google Docs built in, includes a powerful search feature and photo recognition and has a screen reader feature for blind users.
The search giant is still working on an iOS app, but is already capable on Macs or PCs and Android.
LinkedIn launched its much-anticipated iPad app on Wednesday. “Redesigned from the ground up, the tablet version looks nothing like the LinkedIn website; it’s more akin to a social news aggregator,” comments Mashable.
The professional social network’s 150 million users can now use the Flipboard-influenced design to access three options: updates, profile and inbox.
While profile and inbox are self-explanatory, updates will include stories shared by friends and details regarding friends changing jobs.
Additionally, the app provides info from a user’s Google Calendar or Exchange calendar.
“More than 22 percent of LinkedIn traffic comes from mobile devices; a year ago, that figure was 8 percent,” reports Mashable.
Sprint Nextel will continue to offer unlimited data plans for those who purchase iPhones through the carrier, even promising the same deal for the next model, whenever that comes out.
According to CNET, even if “the next iteration of the iPhone arrives with LTE, Sprint will continue to offer a no-strings unlimited plan.”
“I’m not anticipating the unlimited plan would change by that point,” said CEO Dan Hesse. “That’s our distinctive differentiator.”
Hesse believes that the unlimited data plan attracts customers who may have otherwise gone with a different carrier. “Frankly, it’s a marriage made in heaven,” he said. “We’re clearly attracting customers from our competitors.”
In its first quarter report, Sprint Nextel announced it had activated 1.5 million iPhones, 44 percent of which came from new customers.
Android users who install the new version of the Facebook app will now have two other obligatory apps — Camera and Messenger — also installed.
The two apps look and work similar to the phone’s default apps but if users don’t want them, too bad: there’s no getting rid of the two additions without uninstalling the Facebook app entirely.
The Facebook camera app actually operates less efficiently than the native camera function, taking lower quality pictures. When using the app, it is not immediately clear that it is Facebook-specific. Unlike other photo apps like Instagram, the only benefit to Facebook’s Camera app is improved tagging of friends.
“People love Instagram, but almost nobody loves Facebook,” Jeffrey Van Camp writes for Digital Trends. “We all use it because we must (everyone is on it), but gutsy moves like these are why it lacks love. If someone wants to install a Facebook camera app, they can, but forcing three apps on users who only signed up to install one is not cool.”
“Trying to trick them into using the Facebook Messaging and Camera alternatives through deceptive icon designs and names is just sad,” he adds. “Well, sad and a bit savvy. Facebook may not be very lovable, but it does know how to insert itself deeper into your life.”
In a related Facebook story, the social network is taking steps to address security concerns. On Wednesday, it announced partnerships with Microsoft, McAfee, TrendMicro, Sophos, and Norton/Symantec “to enhance its own URL blacklisting system; and it is launching a new service, the Antivirus Marketplace, with these five companies, to offer a selection of antivirus software to protect users even further. That software will be free of charge for the first six months of use,” details TechCrunch.