Tech News Today 475

Tech News Today Episode 475

Tech News Today 475: Stop The Boat Pirates

Facebook drops $1 billion on Instagram, AOL grabs $1 billion of Microsoft's dough for patents, how iPad might be like Aspirin, and more.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com

Hosts

• Tom Merritt (@acedtect)
  • TomMerritt.com
• Sarah Lane (@SarahLane)
  • SarahLane.com
• Iyaz Akhtar (@Iyaz)
• Jason Howell (@RayGun01)
• Rafe Needleman
  • www.rafesradar.com

Top Stories

• Facebook Buys Instagram for $1 Billion
• Instagram + Facebook
• Zuckerberg blog post about acquisition
• Why Facebook plunked down $1 billion to buy Instagram
• Facebook Buys Instagram For $1 Billion. Where's The Revenue?
• Right Before Acquisition, Instagram Closed $50M At A $500M Valuation From Sequoia, Thrive, Greylock And Benchmark
• Exclusive: Instagram Facebook Deal Nets CEO Nearly Half A Billion
• Does Facebook's purchase of Instagram ensure the photo app will come to Windows Phone now?
• Insta-Backlash: Twitterverse Overreacts To Facebook’s Instagram Acquisition, Users Delete Accounts
  • Instagram to be acquired by Facebook
  • The total consideration for San Francisco-based Instagram is approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook.
  • "It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network." - CEO Instagram
  • "That's why we're committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people." - Zuck"
  • Folks like Pete Rojas and Xeni Jardin quitting on principle. They don't trust Facebook.
  • MaryJo Foley thinks this might be good news for Windows Phone users who want an Instagram app. Microsoft owns 1.6% of Facebook.
  • CEO Kevin Systrom owns 40 percent of Instagram, according to a source close to the company, who provided Wired with figures from 2011. That will net Systrom $400 million

• AOL sells patents to Microsoft in $1.1 billion deal
• AOL Sells 800 Patents For $1.1 Billion To Microsoft (Memo To Staff)
• Attention Marc Andreessen: Microsoft Just Bought (Part Of) Netscape
• AOL patents could help Microsoft battle Google Maps
• Analyzing Microsoft’s Patent Play With AOL
  • 800 Patents transferred, specifics as to which ones not released ($1.056 billion in cash)
  • The companies entered into a non-exclusive license for the patents, following an auction.
  • MS gets a non-exclusive license to 300 patents & patent applications still owned by AOL
  • "This is a valuable portfolio that we have been following for years and analyzing in detail for several months,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel
  • AOL said that it will return a “significant portion” of the sale’s proceeds to shareholders, and that the deal is expected to close by the end of 2012, after regulatory approval."
  • AllThingsD:
    • As part of the transaction, AOL announced that it was selling off “stock of an AOL subsidiary” at a loss. ATD says it's Netscape.
    • MS will buy the underlying patents for the old browser, but AOL will hang onto the brand
  • CNet:
    • Thinks the deal covers Mapquest IP (Mapquest was bought by AOL in 1999 for $1.1B)
    • (that should be true, but which batch is the Mapquest IP in, the retained AOL or the purchased ones? Either way, MS has a license)
  • Envision IP, a firm that analyzed AOL’s patent portfolio late last month, says the bulk of the patents Microsoft is buying or licensing cover things like online communications and messaging.

• Lumia 900 Tops Online Sales, Network Connectivity Issues Reported
• On Release Date, Crucial Nokia Phone Is Hard to Buy in New York
• The Lumia 900 Becomes Amazon’s Best Selling Phone, Topping The RAZR MAXX And Galaxy Nexus
• Microsoft gives away 'free time' to promote Windows Phone
• Some Nokia Lumia 900 handsets having trouble connecting to data networks
  • Lumia 900 Amazon's "biggest gainer" in cell phone sales ranks in last 24 hours. Lumia 900 landed at number 5 in best sellers + service plans on Sunday, by today jumped to #1 & #2 with the black version preferred over blue.
  • Amazon priced at $50 with a 2-year service plan. $50 less than AT&T’s price and $150 less than Droid RAZR MAXX, former #1 at Amazon
  • Online purchases necessary for many due to Easter and Passover. Some AT&T/Microsoft stores were closed for the holidays. NYT called AT&T stores within 5 miles of Times Square around noon Sunday, 18 of them played an automated message saying they were closed for Easter with a short advertisement for the iPhone 4S and made no mention of the Lumia 900. 19 stores didn't answer the phone, and 2 AT&T resellers that were open didn't have the Lumia 900 yet.
  • Times Square on Friday night, Nokia sponsored a performance by the pop singer Nicki Minaj to spread the word about the phone.
  • analysts seem puzzled by timing but Amazon launch seems healthy
  • Reports of network connectivity issues. Phone Arena's workaround: Remove the SIM card > Perform a Master Reset (Settings > About) > Boot up without the SIM card > Turn off the Lumia 900 > Verify that the SIM card is LTE-enabled > Insert SIM and boot up.
  • To drum up attention for Lumia & HTC Titan II, Microsoft has set up "free-time machines" in NY, SF, and Chicago, offering freebies for meals, personal shoppers, grocery delivery, cleaning, and dog walkers. Personal concierges. point being a windows phone can be all of these things. freetimemachine.com for everyone

Discussion Stories

• AT&T's iPhone unlock process accomplished through Apple's iTunes
• AT&T’s iPhone unlock process detailed: Up to 5 devices, Apple does the unlocking, requires IMEI only
  • Starting April 8 AT&T has been unlocking iPhones. And people seem excited. Helps with switching to postpaid programs or traveling
  • You can go into a store or ATT chat to get the process started.
  • The only piece of information required by AT&T is the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, which can be found under Settings>General>About on your device.
  • The unlock code actually comes through Apple and is administered through iTunes. AT&T's instructions tell users to open iTunes on their Mac or PC, connect their iPhone via USB, and backup and restore their handset. Restoring the iPhone will unlock it for use on other carriers.

• Ailing giant Sony to axe 10,000 jobs worldwide after four years in the red
• Sony to ax 10,000 jobs in turnaround bid: Nikkei
  • Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday; Sony axing 10,000 jobs or around six per cent of its global workforce,
  • Sony has been in the red for four years
  • As of end-March 2011, Sony had 168,200 employees on a consolidated basis, according to its website.
  • Investors will closely monitor a briefing on Thursday by Hirai
  • The Nikkei said half of the latest round of job cuts would come from consolidating the firm's chemicals and small and midsize LCD operations.
  • Sony may also ask its seven executive directors who served through the fiscal year to end-March, including Stringer, who is now chairman, to return their bonuses, the Nikkei said.

• Analyst downgrades Apple stock over market concerns, high expectations
• Brand Name Goes Generic: Apple's 'iPad' Is The Only Tablet People Know
  • a report by the AP's Mae Anderson suggests iPad may be turning into a generic term for all tablets
  • Is it like iPod was or as big as Walkman or Kleenex?
  • Nilay Patel of The Verge disagrees vehemently, saying on Twitter that Apple's defense of the iPad brand is far too strong to allow for any trademark dilution that would lead to generic status. He says that the AP's story "badly distorts" trademark law.
  • Apple has been downgraded from Buy to Neutral by BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk.
  • Cites post-paid phones, an expected (by him) iPhone price cut, and lack of a 'revolutionary' product this year.

News Fuse

• RIM tried to make a lot of news last week that didn't get noticed until today. BloomBerg Business Week is reporting that during an interview on Thursday April 5, senior vice president of BlackBerry security Scott Totzke said RIM's share of the government market is probably increasing. Also last week VP of Developer Relations, Alec Saunders announced on Twitter that RIM is removing the ability to sideload apps to the BlackBerry PlayBook in order to prevent piracy. Saunders claims that there are developers who refuse to work with RIM until sideloading support is removed.
  • RIM Says Sales to U.S. Government Are Rising

• AnandTech and The Tech Report both have details on the first motherboards with Ivy Bridge compatible Panther Point chipsets. You'll finally have native USB 3.0 support, although the motherboards they looked at only had two ports. The motherboards will also bring full compliance with PCIe 3.0 as well as compatibility with DDR3L, a low-voltage version of DDR3. These motherboards are also backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge processors. However, if you want to wait, AnandTech says to expect Ivy Bridge processors in about three weeks.

• Lenovo showed off its new IdeaTab S2109 via a YouTube video. The ICS-powered tablet has a 9.7-inch screen, is 8.9mm thin and Lenovo crammed four speakers into it. The IdeaTab also has a front facing 1.3-megapixel front camera, although no rear camera. Lenovo claims 10 hours of battery life. When can you get it and how much will it cost? No idea, Lenovo didn't say.

• After a teenager sold his kidney on the black market to raise money to buy gadgets like the iPad, five people were arrested in China for illegal organ trading and causing intentional injury. The five person group made about $35,000 for the transplant. The teenager received approximately $3,000. The surgery was performed last year and the teenager is now suffering renal failure.

• Well those times they are a-changin' because New York City is replacing payphones with touchscreen, internet-enabled kiosks that will give you local data for free. 250 32-inch screens will be installed with the help of a company called Smart City 24x7. In related news, AT&T is selling its Yellow Pages business unit to Cerberus Capital Management for $950 million, but AT&T will retain a 47% interest in the new holding company.
  • AT&T sells off Yellow Pages business unit for $950m

• According to blogger Brian Madden, OnLive reworked its system so its offering of Windows Desktop and Office on iPad no longer runs into issues with Microsoft's Windows 7 license. Instead of running on Windows 7, the modified OnLive service is based on Windows Server 2008 R2. The Server desktop can be modified to appear like a Windows 7 desktop. The change was first noticed by folks over at the OnLiveFans.com site.

• Google tells AdAge that it will go buy a whole bunch generic TLDs related to its trademarked terms. Google didn't specify which gTLDs it would pick up, but it's a safe bet we'll see .Google and .YouTube in the near future. Google didn't mention how it plans to use those new domains either.

• More Google! The company released a new Android emulator today which includes GPU support as well as OpenGL ES 2.0 support. Google says that it will also now be possible to use any tethered Android device to provide inputs for sensors and multi-touch. Bluetooth and NFC emulation are coming soon.

• Now, children we only have a limited amount of spectrum, so you'll have to share. T-Mobile, Leap Wireless and two joint-ventures will swap spectrum in a number of markets to improve coverage. The deal would also allow for T-Mobile and Leap to build out their LTE networks. T-Mobile was able to make these swaps because it will gain spectrum from the failed AT&T merger.

Randomizer

• Navy's Robot Helicopters Will Automatically Spot Pirates

Calendar

• Microsoft says Windows Vista will get security updates until April 2017, warranty claims aren't covered though

• 41-megapixel Nokia 808 PureView up for pre-order in Italy, expected to launch in May.€599/$780 -- SIM-free, Symbian Belle-powered device

• Jack Tram-EEL, whose Commodore 64 is widely considered the best-selling personal computer in history, died Sunday at age 83. Left Commodore in 1984 and acquired Atari from Warner Communications and spun it from a console maker into a PC manufacturer.

INCOMING

Voicemail

• George from Ohio calls in about changing video game endings.

Email

"Hi TNT Crew,

I’d like to share a thought about an application or Google Glasses. I recently did an eight-year stint volunteering for a non-profit that provided day care for seniors with Alzheimer’s. It would seem to me that Google glasses married with facial recognition software would be a great benefit to people with memory disabilities. Name and relationship prompting would be a huge benefit to a memory disabled person. As well as such basic reminders of, date, year, time of day, and where there are. “It is April 9, 2012. The person looking at your is your son Bob. You are in in Bob’s house, which is in the city of…” You get the idea.

The current generation of seniors might not be able to adapt to technology like Google glasses, but people of the TNT crew’s generation would probably adapt well to Google Glasses prompts should they need them as they age.

Love the show, John Heitmuller Glen Allen, VA"

Sponsors

Gazelle

• ad times: :49-1:01 and 19:19-20:58

Production Information

• Edited by: Jason
• Notes:

This area is for use by TWiT staff only. Please do not add or edit any content within this section.