GLENN’S SHOWNOTES

 Microsoft rebrands SkyDrive after legal defeat

 Microsoft will soon be changing the name of its SkyDrive cloud storage service to OneDrive

 Ryan Gavin, Microsoft’s general manager of consumer apps and services, acknowledged in a blog post that changing the SkyDrive brand “wasn’t easy” because the SkyDrive name was so well-loved.

 But Gavin also made it sound like OneDrive is a better way to describe a service that unites data storage across PCs, tablets and smartphones.

 “We believe the new OneDrive name conveys the value we can deliver for you and best represents our vision for the future. We are excited about what is to come, and can’t wait to share more,” Gavin said in the blog post.

 

---

 

Strong Surface sales help Microsoft beat forecasts

 Microsoft also sold more than double the number of Surfaces it sold last quarter,

attributed the growth to “improved execution at retail and favorable reviews” of the Surface 2 and Surface 2 Pro tablets, which debuted in October.

For its fiscal third quarter, Microsoft is expecting revenue of $20.25 billion, whereas Wall Street analysts have forecast $20.47 billion.

 

Apple misses Wall Street’s iPhone sales forecast, shares hammered

 

This year, Wall Street was expecting Apple to sell around 55 million iPhones in the holiday quarter. Instead, Apple sold 51 million iPhones, after selling 47.8 million iPhones during last year’s quarter.

Investors didn’t like the sound of this much, and Apple shares dropped nearly 8 percent at US$506.70 in Monday after-hours trading.

For years, Microsoft used to report eye-popping revenue and profit figures that failed to move the stock. While circumstances are different, Apple is now in a similar position, offering up record-setting sales figures that aren’t enough to satisfy Wall Street’s voracious appetite for growth.

 

---

 

Angry Birds website hacked after NSA-GCHQ leaks

The attack followed the publication of leaks that indicated the US spy agency and its British counterpart GCHQ had obtained data released by at least one of the Finnish firm’s games.

The company said it did not “collaborate or collude” with any government spy agency.

On Monday, the New York Times, ProPublica and the Guardian all posted copies of documents obtained from whistle-blower Edward Snowden that suggested the NSA and Britain’s GCHQ had worked together since 2007 to develop ways to gain access to information from applications for mobile phones and tablets.

They said that a GCHQ report, dated 2012, had specifically referred to their ability to snatch details about a user if they had installed Angry Birds on to an Android device.

The report said that the data could include information about the owner’s age, sex, location and even if they were currently listening to music or making a call. It added that the range of information depended in part on which online advertising network Rovio sent the details to.

Following the news, Rovio posted a blog saying it would now reconsider how it shared data with its partners.

 

 

Apple’s iPod: is the end nigh?

12 years, and 26 devices, the generation-defining iPod range looks like it’s about to fade into history without so much as a whimper.

When the iPhone was launched in 2007, Steve Jobs joked that it was “the best iPod we’ve ever made”.

 

Prince fans’ shock at $22m piracy action

Fans of Prince have expressed shock at the musician’s $22m (£13m) legal action against 22 people for posting copies of live performances online.

 

Bootleg recordings are a bone of contention within his fan base, who are, frustrated that the material has not been made commercially available

 

In 2007, Prince launched a legal action against the Pirate Bay, a well-known website offering links to pirated material. The case was never followed through.

 

SHAYNE’S SHOWNOTES

 

VIDEO – http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_5g1bIKjtOM

 The PIN system is an ageing and not entirely secure technique, especially when it comes to ATMs. But a new system that uses colour and shape may go at least some way to solving the problem.

 With many ATM hacks recording PIN button presses using a small camera, TRI-PIN claims to have a solution that will foil such snooping tactics. Admittedly, it sounds a little like a child designed it, but hear it out.

 Wikipedia’s Adding Voice Recordings To Famous People’s Biographies

 Imagine being able to hear a great historical figure’s voice. It would add such richness to the facts and dates about her or his life. Starting today, Wikipedia will make that possible with the Wikipedia Voice Intro Project, adding short voice recordings to the online encyclopaedia. And that’s truly awesome.

 WikiVIP announced the program with a demo recording from British personality Stephen Fry. Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke’s page also boasts a voice recording. The project page says it was undertaken “so that we know what notable people sound like; and how they pronounce their own names.” A simple, goal, but infinitely profound.