Category Archives: USAtoday.com
How to survive without an unlimited data plan
Mobile consumers are inching closer to a world where unlimited data doesn’t flow as freely.
The decision by Verizon Wireless to drop unlimited data plans is the latest move by carriers to get customers to pay a little extra for all those Web pages, songs and videos they’re consuming.
But with some careful planning, the impact might not be as significant as you think. Here are a couple tips for coping with life after an unlimited data plan.
Wi-Fi is your best friend. Use reliable wireless broadband networks any chance you get. All data consumption via Wi-Fi will not count against wireless plans, so surf the Web or download apps freely.
Get to know the data hogs. If you’re Tweeting, updating Facebook, checking out websites or sending e-mails, there’s usually little impact to your data plan. Heavier tasks such as watching videos, streaming music, uploading photos
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/ANWGyqJILB8/1
World’s first Wikipedia town to launch in Wales
On Saturday, visitors will be able to use smartphones to scan barcodes at points of interest in Monmouth in Wales’ southeast, instantly bringing up a Wikipedia page about the landmark on their phones, in whatever language they are set to.
Wikimedia UK —which works to support, develop and promote Wikimedia Foundation projects such as Wikipedia — says hundreds of articles about the life and history of the town will be available online in more than 26 languages, from Hindi to Hungarian.
Around 1,000 different bar codes plaques and stickers now decorate its schools, museums, historical sites and even pubs.
The project — dubbed “Monmouthpedia” — has been in the works for six months, helped along by the local council’s installation of town-wide free Wi-Fi.
Local residents and businesses have created and edited articles about Monmouth that are linked to the barcodes, while
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/kUrHtKL0UO8/1
Report: Hewlett-Packard to slash 25,000 workers
The cuts could include 10,000 to 15,000 from HP’s enterprise services group, which sells information technology services but has been bedeviled by shrinking profits, according to a report by Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources. USA TODAY could not confirm the report.
HP (HPQ) is mulling reductions to its 349,600-person workforce through early-retirement packages, Bloomberg reported.
Purging 18,000 jobs could result in $1.2 billion in savings and add 50 cents to annual per-share earnings, Brian Marshall, an analyst at ISI Group, estimated in a research note this month.
HP spokesman Michael Thacker declined to comment.
The 73-year-old company, the original garage start-up in Silicon Valley, could announce the layoffs Wednesday when it reports fiscal second-quarter earnings.
Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO since
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/uNlEEo89_dc/1
Wireless carriers to roll out data share plans
In a bid to sell and connect more devices to their wireless networks — and generate more money per subscriber — major carriers are preparing to introduce “data share” plans that will likely require more coordination among family members.
In such plans, customers will pay for a fixed bucket of monthly data and share it among family members. If you live alone, the data in the bucket can be shared among various devices capable of receiving over-the-air signals, such as tablets, smartphones, security monitors in the car and other connected devices. For example, a customer can choose a plan with 5 gigabytes for two devices, instead of 3 GB for one.
A typical current wireless family plan allows you to share voice minutes, but any data allotment has to be assigned to individual devices.
The changes come as the industry is trying to improve profit margins even as companies
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/iNJs_FEromc/1
Facebook prices its IPO at $38, could raise $16 billion
Priced at $38 a share on Thursday, the 8-year-old social-networking company, fronted by hoodie-wearing CEO Mark Zuckerberg, could raise $16 billion in funding, not including an overallotment option. It could end its first day of trading worth up to $104 billion. That would make it worth more than Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods. It would be the second-largest U.S.-listed IPO behind only Visa. Facebook’s market debut, the biggest tech company IPO ever, should create 1,000 millionaires overnight.
The mega-offering signals a seminal event in the Internet’s maturation as a fundamental cog in the world economy, says Dave Morin, CEO of Path, a social network of 3 million and a former Facebook executive. “It sets the tone for long-term, product-driven Internet companies,” he says.
