Facebook Woos TV Networks With Data

Sep 29, 2013

Facebook Woos TV Networks With Data

EVELYN M. RUSLI

Facebook is laying down a new gauntlet in its battle with Twitter to dominate online conversation around television: more data for broadcasters. This week, Facebook says it will begin sending weekly reports to America’s four largest television networks, offering a glimpse of how much chatter their shows are generating on the social network. The reports will reveal how many “actions” — likes, comments, or shares — a television episode has inspired on Facebook and how many members participated in an action. Read more of this post

David Teoh’s TPG becomes bigger than Qantas after jumping 21 per cent in a month

Andrew Heathcote Rich Lists editor

David Teoh’s TPG becomes bigger than Qantas after jumping 21 per cent in a month

Published 30 September 2013 11:53, Updated 30 September 2013 12:59

The personal fortune of publicity-shy billionaire David Teoh has grown to $1.3 billion after more share price growth at TPG Telecommunications, the listed telco he founded and runs. TPG stock is up 21 per cent over the past month and this rise alone has added $225 million to his net wealth. A 3 per cent fall the share price since September 19 has done little to slow the long term trend. Over the past 12 months, TPG’s stock has risen in value by 98 per cent to closer at $4.37 on September 27. In January 2009, the shares were worth as little as 15¢ each. Read more of this post

Why Aussie start-ups shouldn’t move to Silicon Valley

Adeo Ressi: why Aussie start-ups shouldn’t move to Silicon Valley

Published 30 September 2013 11:54, Updated 30 September 2013 13:49

The flight of many Aussie entrepreneurs to Silicon Valley has been well documented, so I’ll explain why I don’t understand this trend one bit. Let’s start with the obvious benefit of doing business in Australia. First, you have a largely wired and untapped market back home, with generally favourable regulation, a rapidly expanding technology sector and big opportunities in the growing domestic healthcare, transportation, education and government markets. Read more of this post

Why the company behind Candy Crush won’t be the second coming of Zynga?

Why the company behind Candy Crush won’t be the second coming of Zynga

By Roberto A. Ferdman @robferdman September 28, 2013

It hasn’t even been two years since mobile game maker Zynga went public, then promptly saw its stock plummet to a fraction of its IPO value. Now, British-based game developer King, best known for its hit game Candy Crush, has reportedly filed paperwork for an initial public offering. Have they learned nothing? It’s tempting to compare King and Zynga, but there’s actually quite a bit to differentiate the two companies. Read more of this post

When BlackBerry Reigned (the Queen Got One!), and How It Fell

Published: September 28, 2013

When BlackBerry Reigned (the Queen Got One!), and How It Fell

Coming from a tiny Canadian company, it was an almost absurdly audacious proposition. In 1998, when many corporations were leery of e-mail, Research in Motion began selling the idea of sending it wirelessly through a device that ran on a single AA battery. But thanks to a tiny, yet effective, keyboard that brought the world thumb-typing and a network that ensured security, BlackBerrys became standard equipment on Wall Street and in Washington. While BlackBerry, as the company is now known, created and dominated what became the smartphone market, competitors, notably Palm, failed. But the company’s co-chief executives missed the real threat: they initially dismissed Apple’s iPhone as little more than a toy. After that, all their efforts were too late. On Friday, BlackBerry reported a $965 million loss, and BlackBerry’s future now appears to rest with a bargain-basement, highly conditional offer from its largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial. Whatever happens to the company, many expect that BlackBerry smartphones are now destined to become relics.

By IAN AUSTEN and JENNIFER DANIEL Source: IDC

WhatsApp, from free texting to social network of its own

WhatsApp, from free texting to social network of its own

Over 25 billion messages are sent daily on the popular application, but advertisers are having trouble cutting off a slice of the action.

By Yisrael Fischer | Sep. 26, 2013 | 4:25 PM |  6

WhatsApp, the smartphone app that started as a nice, free application for text messages has become a social network on its own, thanks to the function that allows users to define their own chat groups. Close-knit groups of friends and relatives stay active all the time, and provide updates in real time. Everyone is there, from cousins, to classmates to groups from the workplace and the neighborhood. WhatsApp also presents a problem for Facebook, the world’s largest social-media network. While Facebook offers many more options, when it comes to basic communication, WhatsApp wins hands down, particularly among teens. Read more of this post

NSA Internet Spying Sparks Race to Create Offshore Havens for Data Privacy; Firms Tout ‘Email Made in Germany’ as More Secure; Brazil Wants Its Own Servers

September 27, 2013, 12:15 p.m. ET

NSA Internet Spying Sparks Race to Create Offshore Havens for Data Privacy

Firms Tout ‘Email Made in Germany’ as More Secure; Brazil Wants Its Own Servers

ELIZABETH DWOSKIN And FRANCES ROBINSON

On the heels of allegations about U.S. government surveillance of Internet traffic, some foreign companies and politicians are seeing an opportunity. WSJ reporter Elizabeth Dwoskin explains.

Google Inc., GOOG -0.20% Facebook Inc. FB +1.69% and other American technology companies were put on the defensive when Edward Snowden‘s allegations about U.S.-government surveillance of Internet traffic emerged this spring. Outside the U.S., some companies and politicians saw an opportunity. Three of Germany’s largest email providers, including partly state-owned Deutsche Telekom AG, DTE.XE -0.28% teamed up to offer a new service, Email Made in Germany. The companies promise that by encrypting email through German servers and hewing to the country’s strict privacy laws, U.S. authorities won’t easily be able to pry inside. More than a hundred thousand Germans have flocked to the service since it was rolled out in August. Read more of this post

‘Lego’ Model for Exchange Software; Firm Links People, Insurers and Government Systems in Two States’ Health-Insurance Marketplaces

September 29, 2013, 7:52 p.m. ET

‘Lego’ Model for Exchange Software

Firm Links People, Insurers and Government Systems in Two States’ Health-Insurance Marketplaces

JENNIFER CORBETT DOOREN

CALVERTON, Md.—Pradeep Goel arrived from India 23 years ago to study in America. On Tuesday, Mr. Goel, now chief executive of a fast-growing technology company, faces his toughest examination yet: Making sure the software behind two new health-insurance exchanges doesn’t crash. Mr. Goel likens his work to taking Lego pieces and snapping them together in a manner that’s never been fully tried before. In the past week, he has routinely worked past midnight with his team at a command center near Baltimore on Maryland’s insurance exchange. Read more of this post

Intel and Sony Ambitions for Internet TV Services Meet Skepticism

September 29, 2013

Intel and Sony Ambitions for Internet TV Services Meet Skepticism

By BRIAN STELTER

Television services delivered via the Internet by companies like Intel and Sony could someday transform how Americans watch TV shows. But the services have to get off the ground first, and there are new doubts about whether that is going to happen. Intel’s consumer-friendly plan for a version of cable television that is streamed to paying subscribers — the same way Netflix is streamed — has been scaled back recently to satisfy channel owners, and its goal to introduce the service, called OnCue, by the end of this year has been scrapped. Intel says it now hopes to introduce it in 2014. Read more of this post

As video game players’ tastes shift toward smartphones and tablets, more and more of the money spent on console games goes to a small number of blockbusters

September 29, 2013

Shrinking List of Video Games Is Dominated by Blockbusters

By NICK WINGFIELD

Big video game makers, like their cousins in books and music, have scrambled in recent years to adapt to the digital technologies buffeting their business. Tens of millions of people now play games on smartphones and tablets, usually for a sliver of the cost of playing on a game console. But one part of the games business is thriving as never before: the blockbuster. Read more of this post

DirecTV to Help Finance Indie Films

September 29, 2013, 7:03 p.m. ET

DirecTV to Help Finance Indie Films

Deal With Independent Studio A24 Includes Early Rights to Video on Demand

SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN And BEN FRITZ

DirecTV DTV +0.03% is taking a step into the movie-financing business. The satellite operator struck a deal with startup movie studio A24 Inc. to partner with it in acquiring independent films in exchange for rights to offer them exclusively on its video-on-demand services 30 days before they hit theaters. The deal brings an unlikely player from the pay-TV industry into the world of indie film financing. DirecTV is making an initial commitment of about $40 million to co-finance and market independent movies under the initiative. The first picture it acquired alongside A24 is “Enemy,” a thriller with Jake Gyllenhaal. Read more of this post

Chinese companies move into supply chain for Apple components; Threat to Taiwanese, Japanese and South Korean suppliers

September 29, 2013 12:40 pm

Chinese companies move into supply chain for Apple components

By Sarah Mishkin in Hong Kong

Chinese companies are increasingly designing sophisticated components for Apple’s iPhones and iPads instead of just supplying low-cost labour for assembling the high-tech devices. The shift is an indication of how Chinese companies’ rising technological capabilities are threatening the Taiwanese, Japanese and South Korean companies that now dominate the global electronics supply chain. Read more of this post

China Mobile Brands Boosts Wistron to FIH as Sony Falters; “China’s home brands are getting stronger and grabbing market share from traditional global brands that used to outsource assembly”

China Mobile Brands Boosts Wistron to FIH as Sony Falters

As Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) and Sony Corp. (6758) stumble, the companies that supply their factories have suffered. Now, those suppliers are finding relief from a new quarter: Chinese brands with growing appeal to domestic buyers. Five of the top six mobile-phone brands in China — the world’s largest handset market — are domestic. Only Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) still outsells them, while Apple Inc. (AAPL) dropped to seventh place in the second quarter and neither Nokia nor Sony was in the top 10, according to researcher Canalys. Read more of this post

Hailing a Cab in Kuala Lumpur — With a Smartphone

September 28, 2013, 7:01 AM

Hailing a Cab in Kuala Lumpur — With a Smartphone

By Shie-Lynn Lim

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia— Richard James, a British expat working for a multinational company, says he has found a simple solution — an app on his smartphone — to  trying to get a taxi in this city, a task that used to be a predictable headache. MyTeksi product head Aaron Gill sees technology as a solution to issues faced by both passengers and taxi drivers in Malaysia. Mr. James uses MyTeksi, a popular smartphone app that matches taxis to passengers in Kuala Lumpur. Teksi is Bahasa Malaysia for taxi. To qualify to be part of MyTeksi’s pool of vehicles, cabs have to be clean and use a meter. Meanwhile, customers rate their cab service. The goal is to create a win-win: passengers get a quicker, friendlier, safer and more reliable service, while cab drivers stay busier because they are notified of the nearest person looking for a ride.

Read more of this post

SPH teams up with Telenor and Schibsted in online classifieds

SPH teams up with Telenor and Schibsted in online classifieds

Monday, September 30, 2013 – 08:28

AsiaOne

SINGAPORE – 701Search, Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) JV media company specialising in building and growing online marketplaces in regional emerging markets, will have a new partner in Telenor ASA, Norway’s leading telecommunications operator. 701Search was established in 2006 with SPH Interactive International Pte Ltd (SPHI) and Norway’s Schibsted Classified Media AS as equal partners. It operates the online classified companies Mudah.my (Malaysia), Berniaga.com (Indonesia), Ayosdito.ph (The Philippines) and Chotot.vn (Vietnam). Read more of this post

Is BlackBerry Ltd too Canadian to fail?

Is BlackBerry Ltd too Canadian to fail?

Terence Corcoran | 27/09/13 5:33 PM ET
More from Terence Corcoran | @terencecorcoran

Saving BlackBerry to keep it Canadian ignores the success in our history of failure

Some already call him the Warren Buffett of Canada, but if Prem Watsa hopes to hold on to that flattering label he might want to drop the Canadian nationalism that seems to be driving his attempt to take control of BlackBerry Ltd. A big nationalist spirit pops up whenever the head of Fairfax Financial talks about his US$4.7-billion plan to buy all the outstanding shares of the world famous smart phone maker. As he put it the other day, “One of the reasons I went on the [BlackBerry] board, and I said it publicly, was to keep the company in Canada and to make sure it survives and exists in Canada. It is one of Canada’s most successful companies. Companies do fall on hard times and they come back again and we expect this company to do the same.” Read more of this post

In BlackBerry’s hometown, coming layoffs hardly the economy killing tragedy many might have expected; the Kitchener-Waterloo region is now a fluid tech hub and appears to be capable of not only weathering the storm, but finding a silver lining to the clouds hovering over BlackBerry

In BlackBerry’s hometown, coming layoffs hardly the economy killing tragedy many might have expected

Matt Hartley | 28/09/13 | Last Updated: 27/09/13 6:34 PM ET

Since its inception, there has always existed an inextricable link between the legend of Research In Motion and the small Southern Ontario city that plays home to the now struggling Canadian technology company’s global headquarters: Waterloo, Ontario. RIM’s emergence as a powerful force in the mobile world, thanks to the success of its BlackBerry smartphones, not only mirrored, but helped accelerate the elevation of Waterloo’s status to that of an internationally recognized hub for technology and innovation. There’s no question that BlackBerry — formerly known as Research In Motion — helped put Waterloo on the map as a technology hub, and just a few years ago, the spectre of substantial layoffs at the smartphone company could have proved disastrous for the local tech industry. Read more of this post

China still relies heavily on the import of core techniques and technologies, with 80% of the integrated circuit (IC) chips used in the country being sourced from abroad

China relies heavily on IC chip imports

Staff Reporter

2013-09-29

China still relies heavily on the import of core techniques and technologies, with 80% of the integrated circuit (IC) chips used in the country being sourced from abroad, the Shanghai-based First Financial Daily reports. Gu Wenjun, a senior analyst at market-research firm HIS iSuppli, said China’s imports of IC chips amounted to US$192 billion last year, far more than the US$120 billion spent on oil imports. He added that the country has an acute shortage of high-end chips and its domestic enterprises still cannot develop them due to their weak research and development capabilities, limited capital investment, and lack of production experience. Read more of this post

Asian social networks move to conquer Europe

Asian social networks move to conquer Europe

POSTED: 29 Sep 2013 12:08
Move aside Facebook and Skype. Asian social networks, already hugely popular on their continent, have set their sights on Europe where they could prove stiff competition for their US rivals. China’s WeChat and Japan’s Line, which let users make free calls, send instant messages and post funny short videos and photos, take attributes from Facebook, Skype and and WhatsApp and roll them all together. This week, Line executives travelled to France and Italy for a public relations offensive aimed at raising awareness of the mobile app, which already counts some 230 million users around the world including 47 million in Japan alone. Read more of this post

50 Powerful Statistics About Tech Mega Trends Affecting Every Business

by ValaAfshar on Sep 23, 2013

There are five mega trends impacting the IT departments of every company: Mobile, Social, Cloud, Apps and Big Data. In this presentation, Vala Afshar reveals ten startling stats for each mega trend.

Jack Ma, the head of China’s Alibaba, heading to Wall Street with global ambitions in online commerce

September 27, 2013 7:17 pm

Jack Ma, the mogul heading to Wall Street

By Jamil Anderlini

The head of China’s Alibaba has global ambitions in online commerce, says Jamil Anderlini

Jack Ma may, at first glance, look a slightly geeky-looking retailer. But in his native China the 49-year-old founder of Alibaba Group enjoys the status of a rock star, as the symbol of a generation on the move. And like many rockstars Mr Ma is prone to bouts of petulance – something the former English teacher proved again this week when he picked a fight with Hong Kong’s stock market authorities. The world’s largest e-commerce marketplace wants to sell shares in an initial public offering in Hong Kong that bankers say could raise $15bn and value it at up to $120bn. But after Hong Kong regulators refused to agreeto its terms, Alibaba quit the stage and started the process of listing in the US instead. Read more of this post

Online retailers go hi-tech to size up shoppers and cut returns

Online retailers go hi-tech to size up shoppers and cut returns

9:58am EDT

By Emma Thomasson

BERLIN (Reuters) – Online retailers are trying to cajole consumers into revealing their vital statistics with new sizing technology tailored to turn back a tide of returned garments that is hurting profits. Up to half of the clothes bought online are sent back, many due to poor fit, squeezing retailers’ margins and creating logistical problems in recovering and re-selling rejected stock. Read more of this post

HTC, the Taiwanese smartphone vendor whose stock has plunged 90 percent since 2011, is selling its remaining stake in headphone maker Beats Electronics LLC for $265 million after buying it for $300m two years ago

HTC to Sell Back Stake in Beats Electronics for $265 Million

HTC Corp. (2498), the Taiwanese smartphone vendor whose stock has plunged 90 percent since 2011, is selling its remaining stake in headphone maker Beats Electronics LLC for $265 million. HTC will close the sale of its 24.84 percent stake in the closely held company in the fourth quarter, and it expects a NT$2.52 billion ($85 million) pretax profit, according to a statement to Taiwan’s stock exchange. Beats, founded by music producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper Dr. Dre, also will repay a $150 million promissory note, plus accrued interest. Read more of this post

Hertz Adds Tesla Electric Cars at Two California Airports

Hertz Adds Tesla Electric Cars at Two California Airports

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ), adding more upscale autos to its fleet, said it will begin offering Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) electric cars at two airports in California. Hertz is introducing Tesla Model S and Roadster rechargeable cars to its fleet at Los Angeles and San Francisco airports, the Park Ridge, New Jersey-based company said today in a statement. Hertz didn’t say how many cars from Palo Alto, California-based Tesla will be available or when. The Tesla models expand on a lineup of higher-priced cars that Hertz has added to its fleet under its Dream Cars program, that includes Ferrari and Lamborghini cars. In July, Hertz won final regulatory approval for its $2.3 billion acquisition of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. The merged companies compete with closely held Enterprise Holdings Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc. (CAR). Tesla, which has seen its market value top $20 billion this year, is intent on becoming the world’s most profitable seller of battery-powered cars. The company plans this year to deliver 21,000 of its flagship Model S sedans, priced from about $70,000, and double that volume next year as sales in Europe and Asia expand.

To contact the reporters on this story: Craig Trudell in Southfield, Michigan, at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net;

Toray, maker of the carbon fiber used in Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner, agreed to buy U.S. Carbon Fiber Maker Zoltek for $584 Million

Toray to Buy U.S. Carbon Fiber Maker Zoltek for $584 Million

Toray Industries Inc. (3402), the maker of the carbon fiber used in Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner, agreed to buy Zoltek Companies Inc. (ZOLT) for $584 million to expand into markets including windmill blades and auto parts. Toray, based in Tokyo and the world’s largest producer of carbon fiber, will acquire all outstanding shares of St. Louis-based Zoltek for $16.75 a share in cash, according to a statement filed with the Tokyo Stock Exchange today. The companies plan to complete the deal by early 2014, according to a statement from Zoltek. Zoltek, founded in 1975 by Chief Executive Officer Zsolt Rumy, had faced pressure to make changes since March when activist investor Quinpario Partners LLC bought a 10 percent stake and offered to acquire the company. Today’s deal should help Toray strengthen its sales franchise in the U.S., said Yoshihiro Azuma, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. Read more of this post

Intel Said to Seek Web-TV Service Partner in Shift

Intel Said to Seek Web-TV Service Partner in Shift

Intel Corp. (INTC), shifting strategy for its planned Web-based television service, is now seeking partnerships to jumpstart the project, said a person with knowledge of the situation. The company may miss a stated goal of starting service by year-end, said the person, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, is looking for a partner with a base of Internet subscribers or rights to films and television shows, the person said. Intel’s TV efforts have slowed under Chief Executive Officer Brian M. Krzanich, according to the person. The new CEO, who took the reins in May, has emphasized getting Intel chips into mobile devices. The shift in strategy for its TV effort reflects a view within Intel that the company, which has built an advanced set-top box, needs a partner with existing customers and marketing experience to be successful. Read more of this post

Sony’s Lost Generation Risks Push to Restore Walkman Mojo: Tech

Sony’s Lost Generation Risks Push to Restore Walkman Mojo: Tech

To hear Yoshinori Onoue tell it, designing the perfect TV requires more than just engineering acumen. It also takes the eye of an artist. “There’s a canvas on which you paint the picture, and that’s the panel. It has to be absolutely clean,” the veteran Sony Corp. (6758) engineer explained. “Then you apply the colors,” he said, describing the three years it took to fine tune contrast and crispness. “There’s no equation for it.” Read more of this post