Facebook will go public at $38 tomorrow morning, will yield largest Internet IPO ever

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | May 17, 2012 4:32 PM CDT

In what will be a huge initial public offering (IPO), Facebook is confirmed to be selling shares at $38 when it starts trading tomorrow morning. This price will value Facebook at an incredible $104 billion and raise $18.4 billion in capital. This release price is higher than what Facebook had originally aimed for in the first filing.

Facebook will go public at $38 tomorrow morning, will yield largest Internet IPO ever | TweakTown.com

MSNBC believes that the total amount raised will be flexible:

The offering will raise more than $16 billion for Facebook and selling shareholders, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and ultimately could raise up to $18.4 billion, assuming underwriters exercise their option for "overallotments" to meet strong demand.

Continue reading: Facebook will go public at $38 tomorrow morning, will yield largest Internet IPO ever (full post)

Twitter adds Do Not Track privacy feature

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | May 17, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

Twitter, just like Facebook, tracks its users. Twitter does track users less, but it is still there. The microblog has now joined Mozilla in giving its users a way to opt-out of being tracked in any way. Twitter is implementing this feature by enabling Firefox's Do Not Track feature. The Firefox feature only works if a website acknowledges it.

Twitter adds Do Not Track privacy feature | TweakTown.com

The new feature was announced by Ed Felten, chief technology officer for the Federal Trade Commission, at the New York Internet Week privacy panel. Twitter has since confirmed the announcement on its website. Carolyn Penner, a spokeswoman for Twitter, said, "As the Federal Trade Commission's CTO, Ed Felten, mentioned this morning, Twitter now supports Do Not Track. We applaud the FTC's leadership on Do Not Track, and are excited to provide the benefits of Do Not Track."

This move is just another in recent times that attempts to put power in the hands of its users. Not to long ago, Twitter filed a court motion to protect the information of one of its users who used Twitter during an Occupy protest. Mozilla shared some statistics on Do Not Track in a post. "We're excited that Twitter now supports Do Not Track and global user adoption rates continue to increase, which signifies a big step forward for Do Not Track and the Web," Mozilla said in the post.

Continue reading: Twitter adds Do Not Track privacy feature (full post)

BitFenix launches the Recon and Hydra Pro

Trace Hagan | Cases, Cooling & PSU | May 17, 2012 1:32 PM CDT

BitFenix has come out with two new fan coolers that you are sure to want. One, the Recon, allows remote management and monitoring through the internet. Whether you are on a tablet, laptop, or smartphone, you can be sure that your computer is always running cool. The Hydra Pro provides 30W per channel power and simple LED control when combined with Spectre and Spectre Pro LED fans.

BitFenix launches the Recon and Hydra Pro | TweakTown.com

The Recon is a pretty advanced piece of hardware and sports two microprocessors that constantly interacts with your motherboard to provide up-to-date information. It also is internet connected and controllable through any internet connected device with a web browser. Since it is managed through a web browser, nearly any device can manage it.

The Hydra Pro is designed to be a powerful fan and LED controller. It features 5 different thermal channels that each provide 30W. The fans are controlled by low profile sliders to make it compatible with nearly every case. The Hydra Pro really shows its worth when you combine it with Spectre and Spectre Pro LED fans as the LEDs are controllable with the touch of a button.

Continue reading: BitFenix launches the Recon and Hydra Pro (full post)

Samsung said to have been forced to launch new mobile memory chips sooner than planned

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | May 17, 2012 12:29 PM CDT

A report coming from The Korea Times is claiming that Samsung was forced to move ahead with releasing its new mobile memory chips ahead of schedule. They had to release them to calm shareholder fears that Samsung had lost a major contract to supply DRAM chips to Apple for use in Apple's products.

Samsung said to have been forced to launch new mobile memory chips sooner than planned | TweakTown.com

The Korea Times is claiming that several Samsung executives are saying that the new 4GB DRAM chips are ultra-thin and are going to be used in Apple's devices. This is contrary to the claims that Apple had moved part of its supply chain over to Japanese company Elpida. Even though Apple and Samsung are involved in lawsuits around the world, Apple needs the reliability and scale that Samsung can provide.

Claims from Digitimes that Apple had placed orders for 50% of Elpida's output from the Hiroshima factory pushed Samsung stock down 2%, or by about $10 billion market cap. These rumors are what supposedly forced Samsung's hand and made them release the announcement today, instead of Monday as originally planned.

Continue reading: Samsung said to have been forced to launch new mobile memory chips sooner than planned (full post)

A third of Netflix "new" customers are former customers who are rejoining

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | May 17, 2012 9:05 AM CDT

Netflix took a pretty big hit last year when it announced pricing changes to its plans. However, today a Netflix executive has come out and said that he believes they have taken the brand hit from those changes. Netflix has rebounded in the first quarter, but scared off investors slightly with talk of its competitors.

A third of Netflix

Netflix CFO David Wells spoke at the J.P. Morgan Technology Media and Telecom conference and talked about customer satisfaction, churn, and overall feeling towards Netflix. As Netflix nears the one year mark of the changes that consumers hated, CFO paints a bright future through the fact that one third of new customers are actually returning customers:

I think we're feeling really good about the brand, the progression that we had from last year. We think there's room to grow, but the improvements in retention and our growth in Q1 and Q2 since Q3 and Q4 of last year make us feel pretty good. Rejoined or folks rejoining the service still remain about a third of our new subscribers that are coming in. So that is an encouraging stat. We think, we've said before that the brand hit will take years to recover from and I think that's still true, with the bulk of the recovery coming in the full year and I think we still feel that way.

Continue reading: A third of Netflix "new" customers are former customers who are rejoining (full post)

Retina-powered displays on the new MacBook Pro's would add $100 to Apple's costs

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | May 17, 2012 2:26 AM CDT

We know the new Apple MacBook Pro's are coming, we know that they will sport high-resolution "Retina", or "HiDPI" displays, and should be unveiled at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference. CNET are reporting that these new high-res panels are available available in the supply chain and that they carry a premium of up to $100 over their non-Retina counterparts.

Retina-powered displays on the new MacBook Pro's would add $100 to Apple's costs | TweakTown.com

The next question is, will Apple pass this cost onto you, and I, the customer, or would they absorb the costs themselves? Considering they're rolling around in seemingly unlimited money from their uber profits, as well as cutting the optical drive out of the new MBP's, I would expect nothing else but Apple to absorb the costs. Passing them onto the customer would just seem, cheap.

DisplaySearch Senior Analyst, Richard Shim, says that the 15.4-inch Retina MBP display would rock on with a resolution of 2880x1800, which would give a density of 220 pixels per inch (ppi), and costs approximately $160. This is a $92 increase over Apple's estimated cost of $68 for the current display in the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina display of 2560x1600 costs $134, a $65 premium over the current model's display.

Continue reading: Retina-powered displays on the new MacBook Pro's would add $100 to Apple's costs (full post)

Sony bakes Ivy Bridge into VAIO S, VAIO Z, intros new VAIO E models

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | May 17, 2012 1:41 AM CDT

Sony's business-suited notebooks, VAIO S and VAIO Z, have received Intel's latest and greatest Ivy Bridge CPUs. Sony have also outed two new VAIO E models, VAIO E Series 15 and 17 join the 14P as part of Sony's entertainment line, but unlike the smaller 14P, they won't be receiving Intel's Ivy Bridge processors.

Sony bakes Ivy Bridge into VAIO S, VAIO Z, intros new VAIO E models | TweakTown.com

The VAIO S will arrive in 13.5- and 15.5-inch display options, sporting backlight keyboards and either an aluminum, magnesium or carbon fiber frame, depending on the model. The 15.5-inch model will be on of the 1080p IPS-based displays, but what the smaller display is made from is still shrouded in mystery.

VAIO S 13 buyers will have a few choices to make, between Core i5 and i7 processors, while the larger display system will come with an Intel Core i7-3612QM, 8GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GT640 LE GPU as well as integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000. The 15 will sport a 1TB HDD, whilst both systems will have the option of a solid-state drive. Both systems are expected to weigh in at less than 4.4 pounds.

Continue reading: Sony bakes Ivy Bridge into VAIO S, VAIO Z, intros new VAIO E models (full post)

RumorTT: Google to sell Nexus devices with Android 5.0 "Jelly Bean", direct to customers

Well, this came out of nowhere, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is about to cause quite a stir with carriers across the United States with their new plans. The report says that the latest move from Google, where they've offered their Galaxy Nexus for $399 unlocked is only the beginning of a new initiative.

RumorTT: Google to sell Nexus devices with Android 5.0

The new plans will most likely be unfolded at Google I/O, where they're planning to partner up with a bunch of OEMs in roder to have up to five Pure Google devices available, all at once. All five of the devies will sport Google's next-generation Android 5.0 "Jelly Bean" operating system and will be sold directly from Google in unlocked form to end users in America, Europe and Asia. Wow.

This is huge, as it means you'll be able to buy a top-of-the-line Nexus handset directly from Google, and throw it onto a plan, only use it on Wi-Fi, or go pre-paid. Google is said to hoping to have the new Jelly Bean-powered devices on sale before Thanksgiving, right before the Black Friday and holiday sales. This would be perfect, and would combat Apple's next-gen iPhone quite well. The mobile space sure is getting interesting!

Continue reading: RumorTT: Google to sell Nexus devices with Android 5.0 "Jelly Bean", direct to customers (full post)

US Customs stop HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE shipments at ports, the reason? Pending "investigations" of Apple patent claims

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | May 16, 2012 10:40 PM CDT

US Customs have stepped in and stopped some of the shipments of HTC's One X and EVO 4G LTE smartphones as a result of an earlier ITC order won by Apple. The ordeal is over a patent lawsuit for "data tapping" (context-sensitive text-based actions) in the browser and messaging apps on some HTC phones.

US Customs stop HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE shipments at ports, the reason? Pending

HTC have said that these features have been removed from the One X and EVO 4G LTE, where HTC are "confident" that it is in compliance with the ruling:

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

Continue reading: US Customs stop HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE shipments at ports, the reason? Pending "investigations" of Apple patent claims (full post)

RunCore launches InVincible SSD that self-destructs on command

Trace Hagan | Storage | May 16, 2012 4:36 PM CDT

Have you ever had sensitive data that you didn't want to get into the wrong hands? Always marveled over those evil villain's bases which self-destruct? Well, RunCore has brought to market an SSD that self-destructs on command to permanently erase your data. You get the speed of an SSD with the cool features of an evil villain's lair.

RunCore launches InVincible SSD that self-destructs on command | TweakTown.com

In the video above, you can see an explanation of how the self-destruct function works along with the actual self-destruction happening. After the button is pressed, a puff of smoke comes out of the SSD due to how the self-destruction works. The NAND chips are over-volted so that they are physically destroyed.

A less subtle method is the physical destruction of your SSD by applying an over-current to the NAND flash memory and thereby physically destroying these. The RunCore InVincible product series is catering to embedded computer systems requiring high-speed serial switched fabric interconnects for rugged design implementation and more flexible power ranges. Delivering optimized storage options particularly in mission-critical fields such aerospace, defense and general industrial applications.

Continue reading: RunCore launches InVincible SSD that self-destructs on command (full post)

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