Facebook to show users less unwanted ads in newsfeed - InfoGeeks

San Francisco - Facebook newsfeeds will contain fewer ads for products or services that users are not interested in, Facebook Inc said on Friday, announcing changes in advertising policy.

It was the Web company's latest effort to refine the newsfeed ads that have become more important to its business.

"When deciding which ad to show to which groups of people, we are placing more emphasis on feedback we receive from people about ads, including how often people report or hide an ad," Facebook said.

"If someone always hides ads for electronics, we will reduce the number of those types of ads that we show to them," the company said.

Facebook has been trying to make ads more prominent without triggering a backlash among its 1.15 billion users.

The world's No.1 online social network, which generates roughly 85 percent of its revenue from advertising, now injects one paid ad into every 20 "stories" users see in their newsfeeds, the company said in July.

While big brands such as Toyota and AT&T advertise on Facebook, the company also makes money from marketers of weight-loss and teeth-whitening products. Analysts say some users may not welcome these less-glamorous pitches in their newsfeed.

Forrester Research analyst Nate Elliott said Facebook needs to take steps to keep the latter category of ads in the less intrusive, right-hand side of the Web page, while reserving the space within users' newsfeed for higher-quality ads.

"If Facebook allows unappealing advertising to invade that space then they're in trouble. That harms the user experience, and reduces the value of that inventory for high-quality marketers," Elliott said.

Facebook said some marketers "may see some variation in the distribution of their ads" in coming weeks. The company did not elaborate.

Shares of Facebook finished Friday's regular trading session up 1.7 percent at $51.24, the highest closing level since the company went public in May 2012.

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Microsoft unveils new Surface, fixes shortcomings - InfoGeeks

Microsoft unveils new Surface, fixes shortcoming

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New York - Microsoft refreshed its Surface tablet computers Monday, giving them longer battery life and better comfort on laps as the software giant continues its transformation into a devices and services company.

The company said it tried to address many shortcomings of the first-generation Surface models, sales of which have been slow. Microsoft needs to boost its tablet business to make up for sales declines in traditional desktop and laptop computers. IDC is forecasting a nearly 10 percent decline in PC shipments this year. The research firm also said tablets will outsell traditional PCs in the last three months of the year.

The new tablet models come with a better built-in kickstand so they can rest more firmly on users' laps while they sit on the couch. Microsoft is also making a docking station and a wireless mouse for business customers who need the mobility of tablets but also desire the traditional ways of using computers while in the office.

"We've definitely gotten a year smarter," Brian Hall, general manager of sales and marketing for Surface, said in an interview.

The redesigned Surface tablets come at a time of transition for Microsoft. Earlier this month, Microsoft struck a deal to acquire Nokia's phone and services business for $7.2 billion. The company is also searching for a new CEO to replace Steven A. Ballmer, who announced last month that he plans to retire within the next year.

The Surface Pro 2 is targeted at professionals who want the full power of a laptop in a tablet-style device. With a starting price of $899, the Pro 2 uses a full version of the upcoming Windows 8.1, meaning it can run any program written for Windows desktops and laptops.

The Pro 2 promises 75 percent more battery life than the debut Pro model, which came out in February. Microsoft, which did not specify the number of hours of expected use, said the improvement comes partly from the use of Intel's Haswell chip, which uses less energy. There's also an optional Power Cover accessory that extends battery life even further.

A cheaper model, Surface 2, offers a 25 percent improvement in battery life, which means it can get up to 10 hours of use. It also has a better screen compared with last October's Surface RT. It uses Windows RT 8.1, meaning it can run only apps specifically designed for it. Microsoft said it now has 100,000 apps, or 10 times what was available last year. Like other RT tablets, Microsoft is including a version of its Office software for free with the Surface 2. But now, the package will have the Outlook email and calendar program, not just Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Microsoft is selling the Surface 2 starting at $449 and will continue to offer last year's Surface RT for $349.

The Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2 will come with 200 gigabytes of free online storage through SkyDrive for two years, as well as free calls and Wi-Fi hotspots through Skype for a year. The new tablets will go on sale Oct 22, a few days after Microsoft releases its 8.1 update to its Windows 8 operating system on Oct 17. The screen on both new models remains at 10.6 inches, measured diagonally.

Keyboard covers will cost extra: $120 for a Touch Cover 2, which has working, printed keyboard on the inside surface but whose keys don't move when pushed, and $130 for Type Cover 2, which have keys that move. A new Power Cover with a built-in spare battery will cost about $200 when it comes out early next year.

A $200 docking station also will come out early next year and will work only with Pro models, including the older one already out. Hall said Microsoft chose not to make the Pro 2 smaller so that accessories would be compatible.

In an interview, Hall said the company will fine-tune its marketing strategy by showing specific things that the Surface can do in ads. Last year's ads, he said, tried to create an energetic feeling, but failed to show consumers what the tablets did.

Hall also said Microsoft won't try to compete directly with Apple's popular iPad. Microsoft is positioning the Surface as ideal for tasks people normally tackle on laptops, such as creating documents and editing movies. That's also the reason the Redmond, Washington, company opted not to make models with smaller screens, Hall said, as those tend to be used more for entertainment and content consumption.

"We have to get people to think of it as a little different (from) an iPad," he said."iPads are great, but these are a different device. ... We're building a product for a different set of people."

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Valve announces new Steam operating system - InfoGeeks

Valve announces new Steam operating system

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Valve, the maker of the Steam gaming device for personal computers had said earlier this week that it would be making three announcements charting its mooted expansion path from the computer to a home entertainment system in 2014. Today, the first announcement was revealed; the development of a new operating system, the SteamOS, which will bring the gaming experience to big screens.

While the release date for the new operating system, which is based on Linux architecture, has not yet been announced, Valve claims that the SteamOS will allow users to stream music, television and movies as well as use your home wi-fi network to stream Windows and Mac games straight to your tv.

SteamOS is also designed to be a collaborative platform, with users allowed to modify and alter parts of the software, allowing content creators to connect directly with their customers. The creators wish for the operating system to “remain an environment designed to foster innovation.

BlackBerry warns of big loss, 4,500 job cuts - InfoGeeks

Toronto, Sept 20, 2013 - BlackBerry Ltd warned on Friday it expects to report a huge quarterly operating loss next week and that it will cut more than a third of its global workforce, rekindling fears of the company's demise and sending its shares into a tailspin

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The company, which has struggled to claw back market share from the likes of Apple Inc's iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Galaxy phones, said it expects to report a net operating loss of between $950 million and $995 million in the quarter ended August 31, due to write-downs and other factors.

The results will put more pressure on BlackBerry to find a buyer for either some parts of the company, or for all of it. It said last month it is weighing its options, including an outright sale, in the face of persistently lackluster sales of its new smartphones, which run on the BlackBerry 10 operating system.

"The company has sailed off a cliff," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis. "What do you expect when you announce you're up for sale? Who wants to commit to a platform that could possibly be shut down?"

BlackBerry's Toronto-listed shares fell as much as 23.7 percent to C$8.25 on Friday, their lowest this year, before closing down 16 percent at C$9.08. The company's Nasdaq-listed shares ended 17 percent lower at $8.73, after falling as low as $8.01.

The company said it plans to shave its operating costs by some 50 percent over the next nine months, as it aims to focus its attention on the enterprise market and become a more niche player. But some analysts are skeptical that the company can cut its way back to prosperity.

"We believe the most likely outcome is a break-up or sale in total or in parts," said UBS analyst Amitabh Passi.

A source at a potential suitor said the warning on Friday may speed up the sale process, but it also adds more risks.

"I think most will view it as pretty scary. It's a melting ice cube," said the source.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, on Friday said the company's former head Mike Lazaridis has been talking with private-equity firms about possibly mounting a joint bid for the struggling smartphone maker.

Lazaridis, who owns a 5.7 percent stake in the company, has reached out to private equity firms that include the Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group, said the report.

Lazaridis was not immediately reachable for comment and BlackBerry declined to comment.

Blackberry 10 sales weak

Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry, once Canada's premier technology company, said it expects to book a $930 million to $960 million writedown in its fiscal second quarter owing to a ballooning stockpile of unsold BlackBerry Z10 devices.

The company had bet much of its future on the popularity of the Z10 touchscreen device - the first of the smartphones to be powered by its new BlackBerry 10 operating system. While the device drew favorable reviews, it has failed to gain traction among consumers since its introduction earlier this year.

For the second quarter, the company expects to have sold about 3.7 million BlackBerry smartphones to end users. BlackBerry said it is changing the way it accounts for device sales, now booking revenue only after a device is sold to the end customer, and not to carriers.

Worryingly, most of the unit sales being recognized in the quarter are older-generation BlackBerry 7 devices. The company said it could not recognize BlackBerry 10 devices shipped in the quarter until those devices are sold through to end customers. That suggests carriers have been having difficulty moving the new line of devices.

Major job cuts

BlackBerry said it expects its adjusted net loss, before giving effect to the inventory and restructuring provisions, will be in a range of about $250 million to $265 million, or a loss of 47 cents to 51 cents a share.

BlackBerry sees about $1.6 billion of revenue in the second quarter, of which roughly 50 percent is expected to be revenue from its services unit.

Analysts, on average, had forecast a loss of 15 cents a share on revenue of $3.06 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"The revenue and device shipment numbers are pretty surprising given how weak it is," said UBS analyst Passi. "I think many of us were expecting a pretty difficult quarter, but this is much worse than we anticipated."

The company, which had warned that job cuts were in the offing, plans to shed 4,500 jobs. BlackBerry has already undergone a major round of job cuts over the last 12 months. It employed 12,700 people as of March, and once had close to 20,000 employees.

BlackBerry said its cash position as of the end of the fiscal second quarter is estimated to be about $2.6 billion, down from about $3.1 billion three months earlier.

"It makes it even more difficult for somebody to step in and buy the company. If you look at what's been happening, they've burnt through approximately half a billion dollars in cash in the last three months," said Veritas Investment Research analyst Neeraj Monga.

US Senator Al Franken concerned about Apple's fingerprint Tech - InfoGeeks

US Senator Al Franken concerned about Apple's fingerprint Tech

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New York - US Senator Al Franken is asking Apple for more clarity on privacy and security concerns he has with its use of fingerprint recognition technology in the new iPhone 5S.

The iPhone 5S, which went on sale Friday, includes a fingerprint sensor that lets users tap the phone's home button to unlock their phone, rather than enter a four-digit passcode.

But Franken said that the fingerprint system could be potentially disastrous for users if someone does eventually hack it. While a password can be kept a secret and changed if it's hacked, he said, fingerprints are permanent and are left on everything a person touches, making them far from a secret.

"Let me put it this way: if hackers get a hold of your thumbprint, they could use it to identify and impersonate you for the rest of your life," the Minnesota Democrat said in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Apple Inc. officials didn't immediately return an email seeking comment on Franken's letter.

But the Cupertino, Calif., company has said that this kind of technology significantly boosts security for users.

According to Apple, the fingerprint data is stored on the phone in a place that's inaccessible to other apps and to Apple's remote servers. Apple also has put in a number of safeguards, including requiring a passcode after a restart and 48 hours of inactivity. In addition, Apple says it's not possible to take an existing fingerprint and convert it into something the phone will recognize, as the sensor reads a sub-epidermal layer of the finger.

Joe Schumacher, security consultant at Neohapsis, said Apple's fingerprint technology seems different and possibly more accurate than older readers, so most people shouldn't need to worry. But he said it could still be "a risk for any possible targeted individual," and much of the risk comes from not knowing many details.

"There is a big security risk with Touch ID without explicit understanding of how Apple is handling this data from storage to sharing with other entities," he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, anyone worried about fingerprint scan has the option of disabling the feature and sticking with the passcode.

PSA: Microsoft Designed the Xbox One Console to Lay Flat - InfoGeeks

Go vertical at your own risk

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Here's a heads up for any of you who may have pre-ordered or otherwise plan on purchasing an Xbox One game console. Depending on how adventurous you're feeling, you may need to rearrange your AV cabinet if you've already made room for the console and assumed it would be okay place it vertically. Turns out it's not okay and you could actually damage the console if you don't lay it flat.

So says Albert Panello, senior director of product management and planning at Xbox, who spoke with GameSpot at the Tokyo Game Show this week.

"We don't support vertical orientation; do it at your own risk," Panello said. "It wouldn't be a cooling problem, we just didn't design the drive for vertical. Because it's a slot loading drive, we just didn't design it for both."

To us, that seems like a major oversight, especially since the Xbox One is the most expensive of all three next generation consoles (it also comes with a Kinect motion controller, so it's not an arbitrary price difference). And it's not like Microsoft is breaking new ground here. Both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 sport similar designs with slot-loading optical drives, but you're free to orient them vertically or horizontally.

Panello reasons that through Microsoft's own research, the company found that 80 percent of people situate their Xbox console horizontally anyway. Even if true, 20 percent is a big chunk to flip the finger at.