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Digits
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  • Dec 20, 2012
    11:34 PM

    Samsung Develops Software Update for Galaxy Malware

    Samsung Electronics Co. said it is developing a software update to address a vulnerability in its Galaxy smartphones and tablets that could allow malicious software, or malware, to target the core operations of the chip that runs them.

    Reuters
    Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note is displayed at a store in Seoul.

    The issue exists in smartphones and tablets that are run by processors Samsung itself designed and is tied to the way that the camera in the devices interacts with the processor and software.

    Since the vulnerability was made public last week, some third-party companies began to offer software that fixes it, though many of them limit camera functions as a result.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    4:54 PM

    Live Recap: Research In Motion 3Q Earnings Call

    Reuters
    Research in Motion CEO Thorsten Heins holds up a prototype of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone in May.

    BlackBerry maker Research In Motion didn’t post stellar earnings for the third quarter as expected, but it at least beat analysts’ predictions.

    RIM delivered an adjusted loss of 22 cents a share, while revenue fell nearly 50% to $2.73 billion. A Thomson Reuters’ survey of analysts forecast a loss of 35 cents a share and revenue of $2.66 billion.

    However, the company lost 1 million subscribers between its last report and three months ago after 2 million in the previous period. This is a key metric as analysts look to see if RIM can hold onto its subscriber base ahead of the new BlackBerry launch in January.

    We’re covering RIM’s third-quarter earnings call, which begins at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    4:44 PM

    Five Takeaways From Research In Motion’s 3Q Earnings

    Bloomberg

    BlackBerry maker Research In Motion just delivered its third-quarter earnings, topping analysts’ low expectations.

    RIM posted adjusted earnings per share of 22 cents, with revenue falling by half to $2.7 billion. A Thomson Reuters’ survey of analysts forecast a loss of 35 cents a share and revenue of $2.66 billion.

    We’ll be live-blogging the conference call to discuss the company’s third-quarter earnings at 5:00 p.m. eastern time on Digits. In the meantime, here are a few takeaways.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    4:22 PM

    Poll: Would You Pay $1 to Send Facebook Messages to Non-Friends?

    Facebook has long splashed the banner message, “It’s free and always will be,” on its homepage.

    While Facebook has remained free to use, the company continues to experiment with ways to charge for premium features.

    Today Facebook said it is testing a feature that lets members send messages to those outside their “friends” circle for $1 per message.

    Let us what you think about this idea.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    1:51 PM

    Your Personal Path Diary Is Now Searchable

    Path
    Path’s latest update makes it easier to search for specific entries, called “moments,” on a user’s profile.

    Path, a mobile social networking app company based in San Francisco, is rolling out a big update today that adds search to its mobile app.

    Path is basically a smaller, more intimate version of Facebook. Users can connect with a limited number of other users (150, to be exact) as friends to share their “moments.” Those moments vary from checking into locations to taking photos with a number of filters. It’s built entirely for mobile devices.

    Users will now be able to search through those moments without having to scroll through an entire timeline to find it. Search queries can be categorized by a bunch of parameters: friends, places, dates and holidays, seasons and weather, locations, birthdays, moments, and emotions, the company says.

    Following a big redesign, Path now has more than 5 million users. Though it’s not growing at the bleeding pace of a Facebook or a Twitter, that is OK, as Path was designed as a “premium” service, he said.

    The result is the app serves more the purpose of a mobile diary that users’ closest friends can view, said CEO Dave Morin in an interview. And now, it’s easier to find that specific moment a user seeks.

    Or they can still take a trip down memory lane and scroll their way to the moment, Morin says.

    We caught up with Morin for a moment to discuss the new app. Here’s an edited transcript of the interview.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    12:00 PM

    Apps to Survive Your Trip to the Airport

    Tripit
    Tripit will help mitigate the pain of keeping track of your entire travel.

    By now, you’ve likely wrapped up your holiday shopping and bought a plane ticket home. If you’re traveling this weekend, there is one last obstacle to surviving the holiday madness: the airports.

    It’s still going to be a pain, but there are a few apps that will make sure you are at least keeping track of all the important information regarding your flight.

    We’ve included a few of them below, and it’s by no means exhaustive, but these have proven to be among the most useful travel applications.

    You’re first going to need to keep track of the flight itself.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    4:38 AM

    Apple Suppliers Bring Jobs Back to Taiwan

    Bloomberg News
    Pedestrians cross a road in the business district of Xinyi in Taipei, Taiwan.

    On the same day that Apple Inc. jolted the tech world with the announcement it will manufacture some Mac computers in the U.S., another piece of tech news slid by largely unnoticed: Two of Apple’s Taiwanese suppliers were also planning to bring jobs home.

    Apple’s announcement has made bigger waves because Apple is Apple, and because outsourcing has long been a big headline-grabber in the U.S. But it’s also been bigger because, rather than trumpet their decision the way Apple has, the two Taiwanese companies – Catcher Technology Co. and Largan Precision Co. – haven’t sought the limelight.

  • Dec 20, 2012
    12:43 AM

    New Roles for Two Twitter Executives

    Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ali Rowghani essentially has been the startup’s No. 2, the Sheryl Sandberg of Twitter. Now the company is formalizing his role.

    Twitter tapped Mr. Rowghani, who joined the company from Pixar nearly three years ago, as chief operating officer. The position has been unfilled since Dick Costolo was promoted from COO to chief executive in the fall of 2010.

    As Twitter has worked to grow out of its toddler phase, one piece of its strategy has been putting well-regarded executives in key places. People who know Twitter say Mr. Costolo has leaned on Mr. Rowghani to professionalize the ranks in finance and beyond. If, as expected, Twitter will go public in the next year or so, Mr. Rowghani is likely to play an important part in the process.

  • Dec 19, 2012
    10:45 PM

    Life Inside Foxconn’s Facility in China

    Reuters

    In recent months Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., or Foxconn as it is better known, has done an about-face with its public relations policy, opening its doors to several different Western media companies, including The Wall Street Journal. In the past, the secretive assembler of electronics for global brands like  Apple Inc. and Nintendo Co. has only infrequently allowed foreign media inside its city-sized factory campuses.

    The new media blitz is the second act in Hon Hai’s public makeover, following the publication in March of findings from an audit carried out by the Fair Labor Association and an ensuing pledge by the company to improve overtime, health and safety violations found by the investigation.

  • Dec 19, 2012
    9:57 PM

    Hon Hai Eyes Expanding to Indonesia

    Apple Inc.’s major supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.  is eyeing Indonesia, but not for its cheap labor.

    Associated Press
    Foxconn recruitment area at a fair in China.

    The Taiwanese company, known by the trade name Foxconn, aims to tap strong domestic consumption in Southeast Asia’s largest economy for profit at a time when there are growing concerns about its profitability because of rising wages at its Chinese factories.

    Although analysts are skeptical about the benefits of setting up a handset factory in a country known for its forestry and mining industries rather than electronics, Hon Hai appears to be bent on expanding to Indonesia and is lobbying for support from the government.

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