Business, Financial & Legal - Page 295

All the latest Business, Financial & Legal news as it relates to tech, gaming, and science - Page 295.

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eBay: PayPal mobile payment up over 500% on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 25, 2011 8:19 PM CST

Thanksgiving is a great time for not just consumers, but retailers. IBM reported that online Thanksgiving 2011 sales were up over 39-percent from last Thanksgiving, with mobile shopping on the rise. eBay and PayPal are seeing similar things, with PayPal Mobile announcing a 511-percent increase in global mobile payment volume when compared with the 2010 Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving in the U.S., consumers shopping through mobile via PayPal most frequently between 6pm and 7pm PST. Compared to the rest of the world where consumers shopped on mobile most frequently between 1pm and 2pm PST. There was more than a 350-percent increase in the number of global customers shopping through PayPal mobile on Thanksgiving compared to last year. These shoppers were mostly located in New York, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

eBay says that U.S.-based shoppers bought and spent more than double versus last Thanksgiving. GSI Commerce noticed a 345-percent increase in U.S. mobile sales compared to last Thanksgiving. And Searches through the local product listings platform Milo had an incredible 557-percent increase over Thanksgiving 2010.

Continue reading: eBay: PayPal mobile payment up over 500% on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday (full post)

Europe has ruled that ISPs can't be forced to block pirate sites, NZBs and torrent users cry pirated tears of joy.nzb

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 25, 2011 4:27 AM CST

This is some good news for those who are based in Europe, your ISP cannot be forced to monitor or block you from using the Web. A European court has ruled that record labels and film studios can't use the courts to instruct your broadband ISP to track or try to block you.

The European Court of Justice ruled:

Continue reading: Europe has ruled that ISPs can't be forced to block pirate sites, NZBs and torrent users cry pirated tears of joy.nzb (full post)

Microsoft still after a stake in Yahoo, is taking a closer look and has their cheque book ready

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 24, 2011 8:12 PM CST

Microsoft back in 2008, had a very public failed takeover attempt of Yahoo, where they were willing to dish out $46 billion to purchase Yahoo. It failed, and now according to reports, have signed a confidentiality agreement with Yahoo which allows them to take a closer look at the struggling company's business as they explore various options for striking a deal.

Microsoft are joined by private-equity firms such as TPG Capital and Silver Lake, where they're going line for line over Yahoo's books and operations. Microsoft this time, is not looking for a complete takeover, but is only looking to help finance a bid as part of a consortium and not buy Yahoo outright, in a move to safeguard their ongoing web-search partnership with Yahoo.

When Carol Bartz was CEO of Yahoo, Microsoft forged a 10-year agreement to provide search technology to Yahoo, which has played an important role in Bing's growth. Should Yahoo go through any issues, or have another company take the keys and change or end the deal or demands of the deal, it would not be clear skies for Microsoft. But, if Microsoft were to hold a controlling [but minority] stake in Yahoo, it might be enough to allow Microsoft the power to continue the current arrangement without having to write a cheque for the full acquisition and operational responsibility of Yahoo.

Continue reading: Microsoft still after a stake in Yahoo, is taking a closer look and has their cheque book ready (full post)

Apple is edging closer to No. 1 in PC sales, HP is on their hit list

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 24, 2011 1:26 AM CST

At it stands right now, Apple is currently the second-largest PC vendor worldwide, with Hewlett Packard sitting firmly in first place. But, come to end of 2012, this could very well change. Research outfit Canalys, says Apple's share of the PC market has grown 6-percent in the past twelve months alone.

What is driving this growth? The super-famous iPad, which Canalys considers a personal computer. Canalys Analysis (say that three times fast) Tim Coulling says:

Continue reading: Apple is edging closer to No. 1 in PC sales, HP is on their hit list (full post)

Microsoft and Bill Gates are in court, over Windows 95

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 22, 2011 4:11 AM CST

Microsoft Chairman and co-founder, Bill Gates, has donned his suit, put his hands on his hips and walked into court on Monday in a billion-dollar antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over Windows 95. Yes, Windows 95.

Microsoft did attempt to get the billion-dollar antitrust case dismissed by a federal court, but failed. Bill Gates was forced to take the witness stand on Monday to defend Microsoft. Novell filed the antitrust lawsuit and are attacking Microsoft over Word Perfect. Novell originally sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming that Microsoft violated U.S. antitrust laws and harmed Novell's range of software products.

Novell has provided an Exhibit of an e-mail from 1994, which was from former Microsoft CEO and chairman Bill Gates to his software development teams. Gates started his testimony with a history of Microsoft (or a commercial) by saying "We thought everybody would have a personal computer on every desk and in every home."

Continue reading: Microsoft and Bill Gates are in court, over Windows 95 (full post)

You have 30 days to pay me $5,000,000

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 21, 2011 3:16 AM CST

I found this video on my stumbles through the [sometimes] strange corners of the Internet, where YouTube user 'n0w1kn0w' posted a video with the title "You have 30 days to pay me $5,000,000...", the video is below, watch it first and then read more below:

Now, it starts off all boring - at one point I thought he was building a mobile bomb that he was going to place in some Government building and then keep it there for 30 days waiting for his $5,000,000, but then the video gets quite serious with n0w1kn0w visiting a pyramid in Egypt, and rolling his remote control car into it.

The video is quite well done and I like the music (usually YouTube videos like this have really bad music tracks). But, lets think of it logically. Let's say he found something secret that The Powers That Be didn't want us to see, proof of aliens? A scroll? A device? Let's assume he found something, that YouTube video would be ripped off the Internet and he'd be thrown in the biggest, darkest hole you could imagine.

Continue reading: You have 30 days to pay me $5,000,000 (full post)

Seagate CEO says drive production won't return to pre-flood levels until at least the end of 2012

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 18, 2011 3:26 AM CST

The on-going flooding problem in Thailand is only getting worse for the technology industry, with hard drive pricing skyrocketing past what most people would have been able to dream of two weeks ago. People are expecting pricing to rebound soon, but they are wrong, very wrong.

Seagate CEO Stephen Luczo was talking to Bloomberg, where he labels "nonsense" estimates that drive production will return to "pre-flood levels" by next summer. He adds:

Continue reading: Seagate CEO says drive production won't return to pre-flood levels until at least the end of 2012 (full post)

Rambus loses $4 billion antitrust lawsuit again Micron and Hynix

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 18, 2011 12:01 AM CST

Well, it's finally settled. Rambus was dealt with a pretty big defeat on Wednesday, as a San Francisco jury rejected its claim in a $4 billion antitrust lawsuit against Micron Technology and Hynix Semiconductor. The IP licensing company lost more than 60-percent of its market value following the ruling, where investors' fear that the company won't be able to sustain its business model.

If you didn't know, the case revolved around allegations that Micron, Hynix and others had engaged in price-fixing to keep Rambus' RDRAM memory technology from gaining widespread adoption. If you remember, Intel used RDRAM with the Pentium III and 820 chipset, as well as the Pentium 4 and 850 chipset. If you remember that, you'll also remember how it was quite expensive at the time and DDR ram was just too much of a bully for RDRAM to take off.

According to Rambus, Micron and Hynix conspired to ensure Rambus memory would be more expensive, and therefore a less attractive option to OEMs. The defendants maintained that it was "design flaws, higher manufacturing costs and other drawbacks associated with RDRAM along with Rambus' business practices" that prevented RDRAM from succeeding.

Continue reading: Rambus loses $4 billion antitrust lawsuit again Micron and Hynix (full post)

JB Hi-Fi's Direct Import, online-only store

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 17, 2011 7:51 PM CST

The Australian retail market has always been a funny thing, something available online for say $19.99 (like the t-shirt I'm wearing) is $49.99 here in stores, if not more. It's ridiculous and it seems that even a powerhouse retailer like JB Hi-Fi is feeling that pinch.

Today they very quietly launched an online-only direct sales model, at first just selling DSLR cameras and accessories. These prices won't be offered in-store, with only the online store the only way to take advantage of the super-cheap pricing. The store is dubbed "direct import" and offers DSLR camera, lenses, flashes and grips. Funnily enough, it's undercutting its own bricks and mortar JB Hi-Fi stores in the process.

For example, a Nikon D3100 with a single lens through JB Hi-Fi's online store is $777. The direct import price? $596. This kind of pricing really shows how much price-gouging is done at a wholesale level in Australia.

Continue reading: JB Hi-Fi's Direct Import, online-only store (full post)

"Google X", secret underground labs full of unicorn tears and rainbow skittle rides

Anthony Garreffa | Nov 15, 2011 12:21 AM CST

Now, if I had to fly somewhere in the world to do a story, it would be Google X. Most large enterprises like Google have something similar, Apple has reportedly had their room where Steve Jobs would tinker with unreleased, or fantasy products, but Google X... wow.

Only a handful of people even know where this secret facility is located, and even less is known about the lab itself, or the people involved. Google will no doubt be working on some super secret and mind-blowing creations and concepts behind its closed, air-locked, arm-guarded doors. The New York Times reports that when Google employees were asked about the project, very few knew anything at all about it.

Sergey Brin is rumored to be involved with the project, and when Larry Page was announced as CEO, Sergey was appointed as "head of special projects". Internally, Sergey is known as the "Head of Google X", sources close to Google told the Business Insider. Both Larry Page and Eric Schmidt are also known to participate, having contributed many of the current 100 ideas found on Google X's research and development list.

Continue reading: "Google X", secret underground labs full of unicorn tears and rainbow skittle rides (full post)

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