The technology colossus behind Xbox 360 videogame consoles said that Toyota, Unilever, and Samsung Mobile USA are developing campaigns tailored for “NUads” that will be rolled out at Xbox Live in three months or so.

“NUads marks the beginning of a new era for TV advertising,” said Xbox Live entertainment and advertising general manager Ross Honey.

“It delivers the one thing traditional TV advertising is missing engagement.”

Viewers of NUads can provide feedback, such as taking surveys or answering questions, using button and toggle controllers or motion or voice control capabilities of Kinect accessories for Xbox 360 consoles.

Advertisers get the potentially insightful data, plus generalized demographic information about respondents.

“We developed NUads to breathe new life into the standard 30-second spot,” Honey said. “With NUads, brands can get real-time feedback from audiences, making TV advertising actionable for the first time.”

Microsoft expected to charge premium prices for the Internet age television ads. Global revenue from television advertising this year will top $187 billion and climb in the years ahead, according to market trackers.

Microsoft this month stepped up its quest to be at the heart of home entertainment by syncing Xbox 360 consoles to smart phones and tablets while adding more blockbuster content.

Microsoft unveiled Xbox SmartGlass software for linking the world’s leading consoles to iPhones, iPads, Android-powered gadgets and, of course, devices powered by the firm’s new Windows 8 operating system.

SmartGlass capitalizes on the growing popularity of using Xbox Live to stream movies, music and other entertainment from the Internet.

The application lets people start watching a film on a tablet and then easily switch to home television screens without breaking continuity, a demonstration showed.

After a film routes to a television, the tablet automatically begins displaying supplementary information about actors or other topics related to the movie being watched.

The Federal Communications Commission imposed the fine late on Friday, saying Google had collected personal information without permission and had then deliberately not cooperated with the FCC’s investigation.

“Google refused to identify any employees or produce any e-mails. The company could not supply compliant declarations without identifying employees it preferred not to identify,” according to an FCC order dated April 13.

“Misconduct of this nature threatens to compromise the commission’s ability to effectively investigate possible violations of the Communications Act and the commission’s rules.”

Google said in a statement said it turned over information to the agency and challenged the finding that it was uncooperative.

“As the FCC notes in their report, we provided all the materials the regulators felt they needed to conclude their investigation and we were not found to have violated any laws,” the company said in a statement.

“We disagree with the FCC’s characterization of our cooperation in their investigation and will be filing a response.”

Between May 2007 and May 2010, Google collected data from wi-fi networks throughout the United States and across the world as part of its Street View project, which gives users of Google Map and Google Earth the ability to view street-level images of structures and land adjacent to roads and highways.

But Google also collected passwords, Internet usage history and other sensitive personal data that was not needed for its location database project, the FCC said.

Google publicly acknowledged in May 2010 that it had collected the so-called payload data, leading to an FCC investigation on whether it had violated the Communications Act.

source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-44624-Google-fined-$25,000-for-impeding-probe-

The major carriers and the Federal Communications Commission answered rising pressure from US police departments with a plan for a national database for stolen phones that would prevent their use by new owners.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the four leading carriers had agreed to set up their own databases of stolen phones within six months, and aim for a common registry within 18 months, allowing those who lose their phones to prevent them from ever being used again.

“The numbers are alarming. In Washington DC, New York, and other major cities roughly 40 percent of all robberies now involve cellphones,” Genachowski said.

“It endangers the physical safety of people all over the country, as well as the safety of personal information that is on the devices.”

The aim is to allow phone users to easily report a stolen phone with carriers that will then refuse to activate it under a new owner — rendering it unusable and worthless to thieves.

“What we are doing is drying up the market for stolen cellphones… as it has in Europe,” said New York City’s Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Police departments around the country have arrested hundreds of thieves and phone resellers in coordinated crackdowns on theft rings in recent months. Nearly all of the stolen phones, they said, are resold domestically.

But they say that the thefts are still surging and are growing more violent.

“I’ve got young ladies pushing baby strollers getting their jaws broken for a phone,” said Cathy Lanier, Washington’s police chief.

Charles Ramsey, Philadelphia’s police commissioner, said that in his city: “These devices are being taken at the point of a gun, or they are being taken after a serious assault.”

The new registry comes years after similar efforts have been carried out in Australia and Europe.

The London-based GSMA, a global association of more than 800 mobile operators, has also operated a counter-theft database based on phone serial numbers for years.

Christopher Guttman-McCabe of the industry’s main trade group, CTIA-The Wireless Association, explained their sluggishness to take action as a consequence of the late rise in phone-related crime in the United States.

Cellphone thefts came much more slowly to the country because US carriers provide phones free or at hefty discounts to entice customers to commit to long-term service plans, he explained.

Genachowski said conversations with GSMA officials and British officials who operate their own registry convinced him the US could do the same.

He said the FCC will eventually push to integrate the US phone list with those of other countries to help stifle international trade in stolen phones.

“These are steps that will reduce the value of stolen smartphones and tablets,” he said. “We have called on all countries to adopt this database.”

source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-43848-US-cracks-down-on-smartphone-theft—

The deal also provides Microsoft with licenses to more than 300 additional patents and patent applications, AOL said in a statement.

AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong said the deal “unlocks current dollar value for our shareholders and enables AOL to continue to aggressively execute on our strategy to create long-term shareholder value.”

Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in the statement that the software giant is getting “a valuable portfolio that we have been following for years and analyzing in detail for several months.”

He said Microsoft “was able to achieve our two primary goals: obtaining a durable license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that complement our existing portfolio.”

AOL said that after the deal is complete, it will continue to hold “a significant patent portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications spanning core and strategic technologies, including advertising, search, content generation/management, social networking, mapping, multimedia/streaming, and security among others.”

AOL also received a license to the patents being sold to Microsoft.

The patent sale includes stock in an AOL subsidiary on which AOL expects to record a loss for tax purposes and as a result, AOL will offset most taxes in the deal.

The company said it intends “to return a significant portion of the sale proceeds to shareholders and will determine the most efficient and effective method to do so prior to the closing of the transaction.”

Earlier this year a US hedge fund with a large stake in AOL criticized the strategy of the current management for failing to deliver for shareholders and sought a shakeup.

Starboard Value said in a February letter to the AOL board it was “troubled that the company remains closed-minded to alternative value creation initiatives, and instead appears solely focused on pursuing the status quo.”

Starboard proposed five nominees for the AOL board at the next annual meeting.

AOL has been losing money since the collapse of its leadership as an Internet subscription service, and has been seeking to become a more diversified Web firm.

The company fused with news and entertainment giant Time Warner in 2001 at the height of the dotcom boom in what is seen as one of the most disastrous mergers ever. It was spun off by Time Warner in December 2009 into an independent company.

Under Armstrong, hired three years ago, the company formerly known as America online has invested heavily in online content, purchasing The Huffington Post and TechCrunch websites and putting money in local news network Patch.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, the companies said.

AOL did not release details on the patents being sold or licensed. But a report last month by the research firm Envision IP said AOL could get value from about 140 patents related to online communications, focused mainly on instant messaging and email technology.

The report said AOL also owns 77 patents related to search engine technologies, some dating back to the “formative years of Internet development” from 1995 to 2001. Also of value were 41 patents for voice communication including Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) used for Internet telephony. (AFP)

source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-43695-AOL-announces-$1.0bn-patent-deal-with-Microsoft–

“For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family,” Facebook founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg said in announcing the deal.

“Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.”

Zuckerberg called the acquisition “an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all.

“But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.”

Facebook in February filed for a stock offering and could raise as much as $10 billion in the largest flotation ever by an Internet company on Wall Street.

Facebook — the leading social network in all but six countries, notably China and Russia — said it has more than 845 million users including 483 million who log in daily.

Facebook’s value has been estimated at between $75 billion and $100 billion. (AFP)

source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-43674-Facebook-buys-Instagram-for-$1-bn–

The official documents available with The News disclosed that Auction Supervisory Committee (ASC) under chairmanship of Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh will meet on April 11 to finalize short listing of three major parties having international repute for appointment as consultant out of total 10 to 12 interested parties.

“This process may not be completed within the current fiscal year but ASC has taken decision in principle that transparency will not be compromised and Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules will be adhered to,” senior government official confided to The News here on Friday.

When contacted Secretary Ministry of Information Technology Farooq Awan said that the appointment of consultant and completion of transaction would be completed in a transparent manner.

He said that around 10 to 12 interested parties showed their interest for the slot of consultant and this process would be completed by the end of this month.

Sources said that the short-listed parties would be asked to submit RFP (Request for Proposal) and financing bidding after which the lowest bidder would be selected for appointment of consultant.

The consultant would be assigned to evaluate ‘Reserved Price’ for this transaction on the basis of his or her expertise and appointment of independent consultant would give credibility to this crucial transaction.

source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-43432-Pakistan-all-set-to-auction-3G-technology-worth-around-$1bn

Named to the board effective April 5 were John Hayes, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of American Express; Peter Liguori, former chief operating officer of Discovery Communications and former chairman and president of entertainment of Fox Broadcasting Network; and Thomas McInerney, the outgoing chief financial officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp.

“Each of these individuals impressed the search committee with their demonstrable records of significant accomplishment at the highest levels of media, advertising and marketing, finance, including corporate finance and restructuring, and further insight into customers’ perspectives,” said Patti Hart, chairman of the nominating committee.

“Together, they bring a powerful mix of exactly the right ingredients to fuel Yahoo!’s forward momentum.”

Yahoo! named Scott Thompson as its new chief executive in January and promised urgent action to turn the company around after a year of falling income and profits.

Thompson, named Yahoo! CEO only on January 4, said the web giant needed to move quickly to exploit its huge bank of user data to regain market share, especially in display ads where it has lost ground.

But the nominating committee rejected a push for a slate of nominees from hedge fund Third Point, which has taken a large stake in Yahoo, saying it chose the “best qualified” candidates.

A Yahoo! statement said the company had proposed accepting one of the Third Point candidates along with another candidate mutually acceptable to the board and the hedge fund.

But the statement said Third Point founder and chief executive Daniel Loeb “rejected this proposal and declined to end Third Point’s solicitation with respect to its own four candidates unless he personally was appointed to the board.”

The Yahoo! board said it “remains open to hearing Third Point’s ideas and to working constructively with Third Point, but believes that appointing Mr. Loeb to the board is not in the best interest of the company and its shareholders.”

After Thompson was recruited, Yahoo! co-founder and former chief executive Jerry Yang resigned from the board of directors. A few weeks later the chairman and three other directors said they would step down, opening the way for Thompson’s agenda.

souce: http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-41567-Yahoo!-board-gets-new-members—