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TECH TREK
France Considers Tech Tax to Fund Arts

Tuesday - May 14, 2013

Francois Hollande, France's president, is mulling a potential tax on smartphones, laptops and tablets in order to fund the nation's cherished cultural exception. The revenue generated from such a tax would be earmarked for the cultural exception, which supports French music, film and visual art. France currently spends north of $130 million a year funding these endeavors, and the tax on Internet-capable devices is viewed as one potential way to protect the nation's creative side "in the face of digital innovation." [More...]

Consumers Warm to Infrared Grilling

Tuesday - May 14, 2013

Like many sailors, Tom Dougherty likes to grill a juicy steak on his boat. And he has found that infrared technology sears his steaks to perfection, even on a small, sailboat-sized grill. "It creates an intense heat that allows you to sear your steaks and chops and holds in the heat," said Dougherty, director of sales and marketing for boat grill manufacturer Magma Products. [More...]

Xperia ZR Takes the Plunge for Underwater Photos, HD Video

Monday - May 13, 2013

Sony on Monday announced the Xperia ZR, which can take photos and full HD videos underwater -- well, in 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes, anyway. The device is also dust-resistant. The Xperia ZR will be available in black, white, pink and mint, and will be rolled out in Q2, but Sony did not give details on release date or price. [More...]

DHS Raises Alarm Over Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure

Monday - May 13, 2013

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned American companies involved with energy and infrastructure operations to be on their guard against cyberattacks. The warning was issued by the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, which works to help protect critical infrastructure. [More...]

Samsung to Blaze 5G Wireless Trail by 2020

Monday - May 13, 2013

Samsung announced Monday that it has made a breakthrough in developing technology for a fifth-generation mobile network. It has found a way to use higher frequency millimeter-wave Ka bands, allowing massive amounts of data to be transmitted at faster speeds. Samsung has developed the world's first adaptive array transceiver technology operating in the Ka bands, it claimed. [More...]

TECH TREK
China Bashes Apple for Tax Evasion

Monday - May 13, 2013

China has been having a good go at Apple lately, having slammed the company in March for substandard post-sale service and quickly following that up with charges of copyright infringement. The latest accusation: tax evasion. Oh, and pornography. Apple's online stores in China reportedly are not paying proper import taxes for software sold to Chinese customers. [More...]

Bank Internet Links Can Give Hackers Keys to Vaults

Monday - May 13, 2013

Willie Sutton once said that he robbed banks because that's where the money was. If Sutton were living today, he might have made the career move to hacker. That would allow him to do what he liked to do best -- steal money -- on a global scale, which is what a ring of bank robbing hackers have been doing. Eight of the alleged cybercrooks were arrested in the U.S. last week. [More...]

OPINION
Joe Tucci's Magic Turnaround Formula

Monday - May 13, 2013

I've been focused on and off on turnarounds since I covered IBM's from the inside out in the 1990s, so I don't know how I missed this, but EMC²'s turnaround was clearly a success, and its unique resulting organizational structure is incredibly subtle. The company is actually far more similar in breadth to HP than most folks realize, largely because they mix up EMC and EMC². [More...]

FCC Plan to Boost Inflight WiFi Takes Off With Turbulence

Saturday - May 11, 2013

As more airlines begin to offer WiFi, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is proposing to increase the bandwidth available for inflight wireless broadband. The FCC is essentially basing its proposal on Qualcomm's submission to the government from July 2011. This raises the question of whether the FCC is perhaps too closely tied to one company in this area. [More...]

Amazon's 3D Phone Could Simply Be a Wonder to Behold

Friday - May 10, 2013

Amazon is rumored to be developing two high-end smartphones, as well as an audio-streaming device, broadening its range of branded hardware products well beyond its current Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets and its expected -- though as yet unconfirmed -- TV set-top box. The big surprise in the latest rumor is that one of the smartphones might actually support 3D video. [More...]

TECH TREK
High-Tech Plot Leads to Record-Breaking Heist

Friday - May 10, 2013

In what is believed to be one of the biggest robberies ever executed, cyberthieves stole nearly $50 million from a pair of Middle Eastern banks. Far from bullying their way into vaults, members of this crime ring reportedly hacked into credit card processing firms and withdrew money from ATMs in 27 different countries. [More...]

The App-Driven Gadget Floodgates Are Open

Friday - May 10, 2013

Peruse any big consumer electronics box-store aisles, and you can't help but notice a new style of peripherals hugging the displays. App-driven devices are appearing on store shelves that let homeowners manage and monitor home systems like thermostats and security using a smartphone or a tablet. There are sensors, styluses and add-ons. Later this year, we'll likely see a plethora of smartwatches. [More...]

A Changing Earth Is on Display in Google Timelapse

Thursday - May 9, 2013

Time, Inc., together with Google, the U.S. Geological Survey and Carnegie Mellon University's Create Lab, on Thursday launched a website featuring timelapse animations depicting changes in Earth's surface from 1984 to 2012. The animations are based on satellite images collected as part of the Landsat program, conducted jointly by the USGS and NASA since 1972. [More...]

BlueStacks Horns In on Ouya's Gaming Turf

Thursday - May 9, 2013

The war for gamers is heating up with BlueStacks' introduction of GamePop, a system that will allow users to play thousands of mobile gaming apps on a TV screen. The GamePop custom console and game controller are being offered free through the end of May to subscribers who sign up for the $6.99 per month service. Gamers can preorder the system now, with the console expected to ship in the winter. [More...]

TECH TREK
Huawei Founder Speaks

Thursday - May 9, 2013

Ren Zhengfei, the founder and CEO of Huawei Technologies, spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday. Ren, formerly a member of the Chinese military, has been the focal point of Western skepticism toward Huawei -- which resulted in the company being barred from a broadband project in Australia, as well as being labeled as untrustworthy in a U.S. House Intelligence report. [More...]

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