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The National Security Agency (NSA) may have been using cookies from web advertisements in order to track individuals, according to a report. A PREF cookie, a unique identifier typically used in Google's advertising system, has apparently been used by the NSA alongside location data, in order to locate individuals of interest to the agency.
Japan has reportedly taken the lead position in mobile app revenue for both iOS and Android platforms, according to data collected by analyst firm App Annie. The US previously held the top spot, however Japan's four-fold jump in revenue from mobile game sales has helped the country maintain a stronger growth rate over the past year.
Spotify has rolled out its free music streaming service to tablets and smartphones, just as speculated by reports last week, along with a number of other announcements. While the tablet version of the app will have a similar service to that of the free desktop version, smartphone users will be forced to use a new free "Shuffle" mode instead.
Felix has released its latest phone cases for the iPhone 5 and 5s today: the HandHold, and the CrossWay. Both designed to be minimalist, the cases protect the phone as well as store thin items such as credit cards, a license, or cash.
The Apple TV set-top device got a wave of new content on Wednesday, with Bloomberg TV making its debut on the Apple streaming device, alongside a number of other new channels. As well as the new Bloomberg app, Apple TV owners will now have access to Crackle, Watch ABC, and KORTV. The apps should be available now via a background update.
Rovio has released the latest addition to its Angry Birds series of Apps on iOS with Angry Birds Go! The new entry in the popular franchise is a Mario Kart-like downhill racer with the eponymous fowls facing off against each other, as well as their ever-present porcine nemeses. The entry also brings into play a number of physical toys that open up new items in the game's virtual world.
Chinese supplier Pegatron is facing renewed criticism following a spate of employee deaths associated with its iPhone 5c production factory. In a particularly disturbing example, 15-year-old Shi Zhaokun succumbed to pneumonia after working nearly 280 hours in his first month at the plant, in apparent violation of local labor regulations and Apple's supplier code of conduct, according to a New York Times report.
Rdio has expanded its reach to include 20 more markets, bringing its total coverage to 51 territories across six continents. The areas the streaming audio service now operates in include Argentina, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Panama, South Africa, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Hungary. It is not clear if Rdio will be offering a free account option alongside the subscription version in these countries, something users in the United States, Canada, and Australia already enjoy.
Workplace-ranking website Glassdoor.com has unveiled its annual "Best Places to Work" looking ahead to 2014, and Apple remains well inside the top 50, but dropped a spot from its 2013 ranking of 34th among companies with 1,000 or more employees. The point score, however, only dropped one-tenth of a point in the "Satisfaction" category, scoring a 3.8 out of five in the new poll. The rating comes from employee's own anonymous ratings of the company over the past 12 months.
An annual shootout between Google's Google Now and Apple's Siri voice-assisted virtual assitants conducted by Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray has resulted in a virtual tie, with both services receiving the same overall grade. Siri barely edged out Google Now by virtual of its better integration with OS commands -- an advantage that comes with the program's deep OS integration -- but both programs got the same overall grade (C+) and percentage of questions correct (79 percent).
America's fourth-largest carrier, T-Mobile, has announced a holiday season special that allows buyers to sign up for a 16GB iPhone 5s or 5c with no down payment for a limited time. The up-front costs of the iPhones were previously $149 for the 5s and $49 for the 5c. T-Mobile suspended down payments previously over the Black Friday event, but resumed charging the down payments afterwards. The suspension of down payments applies to "well-qualified new and existing customers," the company says.
What are probably the last two Apple Store openings for 2013 will take place this Saturday, December 14 with openings of the expanded and remodelled Stonestown store in San Francisco, and an all-new store in Düsseldorf, Germany. The Stonestown location has more than doubled its original square footage by moving to a location near the original store, which opened in 2004. The Düsseldorf store is said to be located in the upscale Kö-Bogen mall in the Königsallee shopping district.
Twitter on Tuesday released updates for both the iOS and Android versions of its mobile app, bringing a redesign and new features for users. The updates pack a number of enhancements, and they give users the ability to share photos via Direct Message. The updates also add new capabilities with regard to push notifications, letting users keep better track of their closer friends on Twitter.
New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg today announced the launch of a new outdoor public Wi-Fi network in Harlem accessible to all users at no cost. The Harlem Wi-Fi network will extend 95 city blocks, from 110th to 138th streets between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Madison Avenue -- making it the largest continuous free outdoor public wireless network in the nation.
Just in time for the holiday rush, Apple's online store has moved the popular iPhone 5s -- even in the coveted gold color option -- to a shipping estimate of 24 hours, the best time the sought-after premiere model has ever seen. Since its debut in September, the iPhone 5s has seen constraints on availability, causing a worldwide frenzy for the advanced smartphone in the first days of its debut. Retail partners, online resellers and Apple itself appear to have overcome supply issues for all configurations.
Sprint announced it will begin delivery of the Samsung Galaxy S4 with the enhanced LTE Sprint Spark to its sales channels in the next few weeks. Sprint Spark allows tri-band devices, like the the S4, to support active hands-off mode between 800MHz, 1.9GHz and 2.5GHz, and provide data session continuity as the devices move between spectrum bands.
Addressing a friendly crowd of investors in New York City, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson noted that with cellphone adoption at 75 percent and climbing, networks would likely soon stop offering large subsidies for devices. The move comes on the heels of AT&T's new pricing plan, that offers customers discounts of up to $15 per month if users retain an older device, rather than upgrade it after two years of use.
On sale at BestBuy.com is the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro which has been reduced from $1,199 down to $999. That $200 discount makes this the best price we've seen on this Mac model by about $50. Free shipping is included, but sales tax applies for residents of most states. This MBP features a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. A one-year limited warranty on parts and labor is included from Apple.
Today at Apple's online store, save up to 27 percent off refurbished MacBook Air models. The 11.6-inch MacBook Air with a 1.3GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage has been reduced to $849. A $170 discount is offered on the 13.3-inch MacBook Air with a 1.3GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of flash storage from June 2013, now priced at $929.
It has been rather quiet this week in the MacNN forums, however there are still unresolved issues plaguing many users. Yesterday, one Forum Regular realized that a bunch of emails that had been stored on iCloud have gone missing. After using Time Machine they discovered a claimed 500GB of lost messages, but they are unable to restore them. One frustrated forum-goer turned to the forums looking for help with ongoing DropBox issues.
SugarSync, a premium service that lets users back up, access, sync and share all files and folders across all their computers and mobile devices announced today that it will transition to a paid-only service model beginning on February 8. Customers can still try the SugarSync service with a 90-day 5GB trial, or a 30-day trial with upwards of 60GB.
ProgeCAD has unveiled the new version of iCADMac 2014, an AutoCAD alternative tailored to OS X users. The software provides full compatibility with DWG files -- the CAD standard format recognized officially worldwide -- as well as a vast range of tools and features to enhance 2D design and 3D modeling. Additionally, drawings created with iCADMac can be visualised and edited on iOS devices in both the DWG and PDF file formats.
Escape Motions has announced the official release of Amberlight for Windows and Mac OS. Described as similar to fractal programs, Amberlight is equipped with original mathematics and an easy-to-use interface, and is intended to be accessible to beginner artists as well as useful for advanced users. Featuring unique math algorithms, Amberlight can produce complex visual patterns and gradients for one's images. The art tool can create high-resolution pictures for print media, and includes a high-performance renderer.
Internet giant Yahoo has acquired yet another small company, this time QuikIO, which provided cross-platform video streaming services, as well as an app for Apple's iOS platform. Pando Daily confirmed the acquisition this week, pointing out that the service will be shutting down by December 31 of this year. The acquisition is the latest in a string that has seen Yahoo snapping up smaller companies as it attempts to retool for a push to regain mindshare in the coming months.
The half moon design speaks about what to expect overall from the Pure Contour i1 Air Dock: it is a speaker that looks to blend into surroundings while being an everyday tool in your home or office environment. Compatible with a large range of Apple products, one is left to wonder if Pure was throwing the dock out there to see who it might stick to. Will the Contour earn its place on the desktops and workstations of the world? Or will it fall to the pressure of delivering a satisfactory stereo experience while charging your iPhone or iPad? Read our review of the speaker set and find out.
A startup offering cable TV streaming over the Internet has opened its service to everyone in New York, following a successful test period in the city. In a similar manner to Aereo's service, NimbleTV will offer cable subscribers access to the same channels but over the Internet, along with the ability to record programs via the cloud-based DVR.
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