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Google releases new YouTube app for iPhone and iPod touch

Trace Hagan | Software & Apps | Sep 11, 2012 1:05 PM CDT

Since Apple is removing the stock YouTube app from iOS 6, Google has been hard at work producing a new app to replace it with. Since Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone tomorrow, which is expected to come with iOS 6, Google wanted to make sure they had a new app ready in case Apple releases iOS 6 to everyone tomorrow.

According to the Google Blog post, "The new app is built by YouTube engineers, to give our iPhone and iPod touch users the best mobile experience." The new app is sure to be better than the old stock one because they now can do more of what they want and don't need Apple to sign off on all the changes. With the new app comes the following features:

Of course, there are more changes than just that, but Google wants to tease you and says just this. They then let you know it's free to download on the Apple App store. Google also notes that they are working on an iPad optimized version, which should be ready in the coming months. Of course, you'll find out about that new app first here on TweakTown.

Continue reading: Google releases new YouTube app for iPhone and iPod touch (full post)

GoDaddy denies that it was a hacking, claiming "a series of internal network events" led to the crash

Trace Hagan | Internet & Websites | Sep 11, 2012 11:46 AM CDT

GoDaddy is rejecting the claims that they were hacked in a statement released today. The statement claims that "the service outage was not caused by external influences. It was not a "hack" and it was not a denial of service attack (DDoS). We have determined the service outage was due to a series of internal network events that corrupted router data tables."

This claim refutes yesterday's claim by an Anonymous member that he was responsible for bringing GoDaddy down. The outage lasted for six hours, by GoDaddy's account, lasting from 10am PDT to around 4pm PDT. They have reiterated that since it wasn't a hack, at no time was any customer data at risk. They then proceed to admit they let customers down and apologize for doing so:

Continue reading: GoDaddy denies that it was a hacking, claiming "a series of internal network events" led to the crash (full post)

4,000 Boingo hotspots free for September, if you're not on iOS or Windows Phone

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | Sep 11, 2012 10:29 AM CDT

Google has partnered with Boingo to make 4,000 of its hotspots available nationwide for free for people accessing them with Android, OSX, or Windows. Interestingly enough, users of iOS and Windows Phone appear to be excluded from this offering, showing Google is really pushing Android with this latest stunt.

The hotspots are available across the United States in "high-traffic locations," coffee shops, hotels, and other areas. Google and Boingo are even offering this service at some of the major airports, including NY's JFK, O'Hare, and Seattle-Tacoma, along with the Boingo-enabled subway stations around Manhattan.

Dawn Callahan, vice president of consumer marketing for Boingo Wireless:

Continue reading: 4,000 Boingo hotspots free for September, if you're not on iOS or Windows Phone (full post)

Intel's Haswell-based Ultrabooks get configurations teased

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Sep 11, 2012 8:30 AM CDT

Intel are really pushing the Ultrabooks all over the world, but we haven't seen anything yet. We're beginning to hear about their 2013 models, which will include some pretty strict specs according to reports from TechEYE.net.

The site has seen some documents, where they cite that there will be some "serious difference in price and performance between the standard products and the top samples". Standard models will have a baseline Bill of Materials that most not exceed $699.

These machines at $699 BoM must contain all-day battery life at nine hours, voice command, HD video chat with a 720p resolution camera, wireless display, robust Wi-Fi, bundled anti-virus protection in the consumer model, and a multi touchpad. Minimum capacity of 16GB NAND for While Using functions, with a storage product capable of scoring more than 16,000 in PCMark Vantage's HDD Sub Score, and capable of receiving more than 80MB/sec on the same benchmark's video editing score.

Continue reading: Intel's Haswell-based Ultrabooks get configurations teased (full post)

Apple sues Polish online grocery store for using 'A.pl' domain, next stop Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Sep 11, 2012 5:28 AM CDT

Alright, this is the stop for ridiculous - anyone who wants to get out and read this news, step off the train and onto the platform, joining Apple. The company who has more lawsuits going than there are stars in the sky are now suing a Polish online grocery store over the 'A.pl' domain.

The Cupertino-based company has asked the Polish patent office, the UPRP, to cancel a trademark belonging to the store. A meeting reportedly took place in August 29, but ended up being adjourned, and deferred to a later date. Polish site Telepolis, has said that if the dispute isn't settled out of court, it could take two to three years to resolve.

Considering that A.PL have absolutely nothing to do with technology, and are an online grocery vendor, Apple are really clutching at straws here. There's no Apple-like imagery on the website, and it's all in Polish, meaning that it really is only for people who can read the language, and I'm sure it doesn't beat against the door of any Apple-owned patents.

Continue reading: Apple sues Polish online grocery store for using 'A.pl' domain, next stop Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit (full post)

EA have tried to buy Valve "over the years"

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Sep 11, 2012 3:00 AM CDT

The New York Times are reporting that "over the years", EA have tried to buy Valve. If these talks between the two companies ever reached negotiation, would've valued Valve at "well over $1 billion", the Times reports.

But, that $1 billion figure is a huge understatement, as no one truly knows what Valve are worth. Valve are a private company, controlled by founder Gabe Newell, who doesn't release any financial information. Wedbush Securities analyst, Michael Pachter, has estimated that Valve are worth $2.5 billion today.

Newell have said that Valve's employees would scatter, and that Valve would "disintegrate" before they'd be sold. Newell adds:

Continue reading: EA have tried to buy Valve "over the years" (full post)

HP revise their restructuring figures, more layoffs than expected

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Sep 11, 2012 2:26 AM CDT

HP's global staff numbers are expected to get slashed nearly 10% more than previous reports, where up to 29,000 people will lose their jobs with the company. Previous figures pegged HP at cutting 27,000 jobs from their workforce, according to the company's 10-Q quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where they said they will "eliminate approximately 29,000 positions in connection with the 2012 Plan through fiscal year 2014."

Back in May, HP said that they would cut roughly 8% of their global workforce, which would see 27,000 jobs cut, saving around $3-$5 billion which would then be thrown into R&D. The cuts would be done over a two-year period, but overall R&D spending will increase from the 3% of revenue which it stands at now. The filing note also touches on their multi-year restructuring plan, which HP call the "2012 Plan", and is aimed to "simplify business processes, accelerate innovation and deliver better results for customers, employees, and stockholders".

HP also expects charges of around $3.7 billion through the end of the company's fiscal 2014 calendar, with $3.3 billion of this coming from workforce reductions, and $400 million on "other items", including datacenter consolidation. HP have already slashed 3,800 jobs by the end of July 2012, which represents around 7% of the now revised 29,000 figure.

Continue reading: HP revise their restructuring figures, more layoffs than expected (full post)

Hustler founder, Larry Flynt, offers $1 million reward for Mitt Romney's tax information

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Sep 11, 2012 2:20 AM CDT

There are some people who think that potential future President of the United States, Republican nominee Mitt Romney is hiding something. There have been various reports, and you can Google (or Bing) it yourself for some more information.

Last week we reported that hackers had gotten their hands on Mitt Romney's previous tax returns, and are asking for $1 million Bitcoin's or they'd release them. Now we have founder and publisher of Hustler magazine, Larry Flynt, hitting the wire that he is offering $1 million as a reward to anyone who can give him Romney's tax information.

Flynt took out a full-page ad in the Sunday's edition of The Washington Post, promising "up to $1 million" for the dirt on Romney's "unreleased tax returns and/or details of his offshore assets, bank accounts and business partnerships." When money is being thrown around like this, someone might step forward. But, if you had this type of information, and it did involve, and prove that Romney has something very sinister to hide, that is completely provable, would you really want to share it?

Continue reading: Hustler founder, Larry Flynt, offers $1 million reward for Mitt Romney's tax information (full post)

Steam's Big Picture mode is now open for business, wants to be on your big-screen TV

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Sep 11, 2012 1:27 AM CDT

Valve's first real big push into gamers' lounge rooms is with "Big Picture" mode, which makes Steam much more TV and controller friendly. Valve are known to not really agree, or like the state of PC hardware and console technology, where they've even been rumored to be working on their own console, Steam Box.

Big Picture is looking to compete on the TV with consoles, with Valve's attempt to make their Steam UI look great on the big screen. Big Picture is designed for your PC to be connected to your TV, you can still use the new mode with your keyboard and mouse. At the moment, Big Picture mode is only available on the PC version of Steam, with the Mac-based version coming soon. In order to enable Big Picture mode, you'll have to go into Settings:

Opt-in to the beta, and update your client:

Continue reading: Steam's Big Picture mode is now open for business, wants to be on your big-screen TV (full post)

Alibaba set to sell more merchandise this year than Amazon and eBay combined

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Sep 10, 2012 11:30 PM CDT

Alibaba Group is China's largest e-commerce firm, which is looking to have a massive year for 2012. The group expects to sell more merchandise than competitors Amazon and eBay, combined. This is according to Alibaba's chief strategy officer, Zeng Ming.

The group is aiming for around 3 trillion yuan ($473 billion) in annual transaction value from their Taobao e-commerce units in the next 5 to 7 years, says Ming. Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder, said that in 2011, Taobao's transaction value for 2012 would reach 1 trillion yuan. Alibaba have not revealed what percentage of online sales come from Taobao, but it seems to be the number one source of the company's profit engine.

Zeng talks of Amazon and eBay, America's top online retailer and auction site, respectively:

Continue reading: Alibaba set to sell more merchandise this year than Amazon and eBay combined (full post)

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