Yahoo's interim CEO, Ross Levinsohn, leaves the company

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jul 31, 2012 4:25 AM CDT

Yahoo have been in the news quite a lot lately, for all the right reasons, with ex-Google exec Marissa Mayer appointed the new CEO and president of the company. But, interim CEO, Ross Levinsohn has confirmed that he's leaving the company after not being named for the permanent position.

Levinsohn had allegedly been telling candidates for senior positions that he would be the next CEO, and according to reports, Yahoo employees were hoping that he would stay on with the company in some capacity, as well as help guide the company itself. But, over the weekend, Levinsohn e-mailed, saying:

I wanted to let you know that my time at Yahoo has come to an end. It has been an incredible journey for me and I could not be prouder of what we accomplished over the past few years helping define Yahoo as a leader in digital media and advertising. Yahoo is an amazing brand and company, and I leave knowing we did all we could to help inform and entertain more than 700 million users each month. Leading this company has been one of the best experiences of my career, but it is time for me to look for the next challenge.

Continue reading: Yahoo's interim CEO, Ross Levinsohn, leaves the company (full post)

US smartphone numbers for Q2 2012: Android sales drop, iOS rises

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jul 31, 2012 3:23 AM CDT

Research firm Strategy Analytics has some new numbers for everyone to peer at, with the US Android handset sales dropping in Q2, but iOS sales went up. Overall, smartphone shipments for all manufacturers fell a little, by 5-percent to 23.8 million, compared to 25.2 million from the same quarter last year.

These changes in numbers are attributed to a combination of things, such as a volatile economy, and changes in upgrade policies by major carriers. Android sales in Q2 2011 were 15.3 million, taking up 60.6-percent of the market. This year, with the launch of flagship models such as Samsung's Galaxy S III, Android-based phones managed just 13.4 million sales, with 56.3-percent of the market, representing a drop of almost two million handsets over the period.

iOS was the only platform to not lose its footing, where it rose by nearly two million units, the same number Android lost, to reach 7.9 million units sold. It also increased Apple's marketshare from 23.2- to 33.2-percent, even with rumors of a new iPhone coming in the next few months. BlackBerry OS lost a million sales or so, and shrank to 1.6 million, or just 6.5-percent of the current market. This is believed to be the lowest market share RIM has ever had in recent history.

Continue reading: US smartphone numbers for Q2 2012: Android sales drop, iOS rises (full post)

Fan remake of GTA III is nearly here, Grand Theft Auto III: Rage Classic, built on the GTA IV engine

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 31, 2012 1:29 AM CDT

The original Grand Theft Auto III is set to be released on the PSN store tomorrow, which is part of the PlayStation 2 Classics series. One of the seriously huge letdowns is that its being released without much change at all, so no HD support or trophy system. The game will sell for $10.

But, there's a fan remake on its way in the form of Grand Theft Auto III: Rage Classic. The Rage Classic version of the game is built from the RAGE engine that powered GTA IV, where the cars will reportedly drive better, and the on-foot combat is said to be world's better than the semi-mess GTA III was.

Rage Classic is built by the same people who bought you Vice City Rage, and San Andreas Rage with a forum thread for the project started last July, but doesn't have a release date for the first beta. If you'd like to read more on it, check out the 80-page thread for more details.

Continue reading: Fan remake of GTA III is nearly here, Grand Theft Auto III: Rage Classic, built on the GTA IV engine (full post)

Blizzard: Windows 8 'not awesome for Blizzard either'

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Jul 31, 2012 12:14 AM CDT

Hot on the heels of Valve's founder, Gabe Newell, and his comments on Windows 8 being a "catastrophe", we have Blizzard's Executive Vice President of Game Design, Rob Pardo, sharing a similar feeling on the upcoming OS from Microsoft.

Pardo took to Twitter to call Windows 8 "not awesome for Blizzard either", but this is another PC-centric game developer who doesn't seem to like Windows 8. Both Newell and Pardo haven't gone into detail of what exactly they don't like about the OS, but maybe its the new direction Microsoft are taking? Could it be that the company is trying to compete with Apple, and not really push the OS design, or introduce any new ground-breaking features?

PC gaming has been on the decline, as for technological improvements and jumps, for years. Consoles have pushed this nail into the coffin slowly, and yes, PC gaming isn't dying, but there's not much of a need for 3- or 4-way GPU setups, and the like. Not that these companies respective games really push technological boundaries, but Windows 8 is a future OS, for the next three or so years. Valve could be looking to release a next-gen game or five, hoping for a leap in features from the OS, the same goes for Blizzard.

Continue reading: Blizzard: Windows 8 'not awesome for Blizzard either' (full post)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 PC system requirements released, won't need to sell a liver to play the game

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Jul 30, 2012 11:35 PM CDT

BT Games have sneakily posted the PC system requirements for the upcoming Treyarch-made Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The system requirements are very modest meaning the game should run on even older systems:

Can you wait for COD: Black Ops 2? I don't think people will be buying it for the graphics, but the amount of production money that this games budget would be, could afford Activision to spend some money on a new graphics engine, don't you think?

Continue reading: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 PC system requirements released, won't need to sell a liver to play the game (full post)

Optus to unleash its 4G network in Sydney and Perth

Anthony Garreffa | Networking | Jul 30, 2012 10:17 PM CDT

Optus have today announced that their 4G network will go live across Sydney and Perth, and have promised that Melbourne will receive the same 4G treatment once the company's spectrum refarming operations of their new 3G Plus network are completed.

Optus' 4G network is available as of right now for small-to-medium businesses, as well as corporate customers. No consumer-based plans are here yet, but the company has plans to roll it out "shortly". Business customers can grab a 4G data card or 4G Wi-Fi hotspot from today, with an offer of 10GB per month for $40 per month, full pricing is said to be coming soon. Optus have also said that it won't be charging a premium for its 4G network at the moment.

Coverage-wise, 4G will blast over Sydney and Perth spans a 20km radius around the respective CBDs, with Melbourne's network (when it goes live) set to span 30km east-to-west, and 16km north-to-south. Melbourne misses out for now as the telco needs to complete their 2G refarming operations for the creation of the enhanced 3G Plus network before it flicks the switch on 4G for Victoria. As soon as the refarming to 3G Plus is complete, Melbourne will have 4G from Optus.

Continue reading: Optus to unleash its 4G network in Sydney and Perth (full post)

RumorTT: Apple's new iPhone to be announced September 12, released September 21

iMore is reporting that they've learnt that Apple is planning to announce the new iPhone (I really don't think we're going to see a number-based name, I think we're going to see Apple use the same naming scheme as the 'new iPad') on September 12. This announcement would be followed by a release 9 days later on September 21.

The site also reports that the iPad mini would be announced on the same day, as well as the new iPod nano. There's no release date rumor on the new iPad mini, but it would most likely fall on the same day as the new iPhone. As for the new iPod, that date could be anywhere, but I would place bets that Apple will concentrate on the new iPhone and iPad mini first.

The dates do line up with previous Apple announcements, and releases shortly after. The iPhone 4S was announced on October 4, 2011 and released 10 days later on October 14. This event also included slight updates to the iPod line, including the white iPod touch 4. This year, we saw the third-generation 'new iPad' announced on March 7, and released 9 days later on March 16. This also included the 1080p Apple TV during the same event.

Continue reading: RumorTT: Apple's new iPhone to be announced September 12, released September 21 (full post)

RumorTT: Seagate want to acquire an SSD maker, could it still be OCZ?

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jul 30, 2012 8:32 PM CDT

Seagate have been rumored to be looking at scooping up an SSD maker, where it piled up into a RumorTT post regarding Seagate acquiring OCZ. The news flared up again this week with tech blog side the Bright Side of News reporting that the deal between the companies was "done". But, it appears that it is not actually done and that Seagate might not acquire OCZ at all, at least, not right now.

Since the BSN post, OCZ shares jumped up 30-percent on Friday, and up 66-percent since mid-July all based on speculation that Seagate were to acquire the company. But, it looks like those highs are over, and OCZ's share prices are falling back down to more reasonable levels. OCZ shares topped at $7.60, and have now dropped to $6.36. On Thursday, the prices were hovering at around $5.40 a share.

Then we have a Reuters article who quoted Seagate CFO Pat O'Malley, who said that the company would be interested in acquiring an SSD maker that has a "significant" share of the enterprise market, where he adds:

Continue reading: RumorTT: Seagate want to acquire an SSD maker, could it still be OCZ? (full post)

Distracted walking injuries 'quadruple'

Trace Hagan | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Jul 30, 2012 6:29 PM CDT

I'm sure you've all been walking down the street texting or playing a game on your phone and walked into someone or something. I know I have and I know I'm not alone. According to the Associated Press, the number of citizens walking into poles, ditches, on-coming cars, and each other while using electronic devices has 'quadrupled.'

The internet has nearly as many bloopers of this as it does cat videos, including the one above of a man walking into a black bear while texting. While it's hilarious to watch, it's most certainly a serious problem and is implicated in the 4.2% rise in pedestrian fatalities in 2010. Some states are even trying to outlaw distracted walking.

A whopping 1,152 people went to the emergency room last year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Some highlights of the sad and hilarious stories:

Continue reading: Distracted walking injuries 'quadruple' (full post)

Microsoft Surface to land October 26 with release of Windows 8

Trace Hagan | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | Jul 30, 2012 2:27 PM CDT

Microsoft has been keeping some information about Surface secret, namely it's price and launch date. Thanks to a filing with the SEC, we can now report the launch date of the upcoming Surface tablets. According to the filing, the new Surface tablets will go on sale October 26 alongside the launch of Windows 8.

In Microsoft's annual filing, you can find the following: "The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012. At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices." We still don't have any numbers on the price.

A typically ambitious Microsoft is looking to sell "a few million Surface PCs" in the coming year", but this could prove easier said than done. Apple has a major stronghold on the tablet market and Google is adding to the competition with its newly released Nexus 7. Not knowing the price could cause people to write the tablets off before they even launch so it's important for Microsoft to get that information out.

Continue reading: Microsoft Surface to land October 26 with release of Windows 8 (full post)