Tag Archives: Europe
‘Call of Duty’ CEO: Hurdles ahead for video game makers
Activision Blizzard reported better than expected performance during the first quarter of 2013, but a challenging rest of the year lies ahead in the video game industry.
Top U.S. video game publisher Activision Blizzard surpassed expectations in the first quarter of 2013, but warned about challenges during the rest of the year.
That forecast led to a dip in after hours trading as shares dropped 6%. Shares closed at $15.26, up $0.32 a share.
Activision Blizzard reported 18.8% higher quarterly net income of $456 million on 13.3% higher revenue. The company’s adjusted earnings per share was 17 cents a share, which was better than the 11 cents a share expected by analysts.
Its Skylanders and Call of Duty franchises were Nos. 1 and 2 in North America
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/fS_k4JotHTs/
Sore thumbs? Text messaging declines
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are saying CUL8TR to text messaging, a wireless industry group says, as Internet-based applications such as Apple’s Messages are starting to take over from what was once a cash cow for phone companies.
CTIA — The Wireless Association said Thursday that Americans sent 2.2 trillion text messages last year, down 5 percent from 2011. That’s still 19 text messages per person per day.
Text messages vaulted into the U.S. mainstream in 2007, despite often costing 10 cents each. Costs came down quickly as phone companies started selling monthly “bundles” of texts. Now, many phone companies give text messaging away for free as part of a plan that mainly meters the amount of
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/JcPdyyj-jdY/
Microsoft launches free consumer privacy tool
SEATTLE — Microsoft today launched a new online service to help consumers think smarter about online privacy, backed by a TV ad campaign airing in Washington D.C. and Kansas City, MO.
The free tool, called Your Privacy Type, requires you to take a brief quiz. Microsoft uses your answers to categorize how much you may, or may not, be concerned about online privacy. The supporting website supplies guidance on how to more proactively gain some measure of privacy.
“We know that consumers care a lot about their online privacy, but often they don’t know how to turn that interest into action,” says Mary Snapp, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel. “Our goal is to educate people about the choices they have.”
The TV commercial dramatizes the potential harm of oversharing online, without making
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/7mjcVkZy2qk/
Spammers use bombing video as lure to infect PCs
It should surprise no one that cybercriminals after fast cash today blasted out a wave of viral e-mail with subject lines related to the Boston Marathon bombings.
Messaging security firm AppRiver has been intercepting and blocking malicious e-mails with subject lines like “Video of Explosions at the Boston Marathon 2013″ and “Runner captures explosions at Boston Marathon.”
The messages contained only a link. Anyone enticed into clicking on the link would get directed to a web page containing an actual video – but also a hidden infection that slips a backdoor onto the victim’s machine, turning control over to the attacker, says AppRiver security researcher Troy Gill..
It’s a tried-and-true, lucrative enterprise. Intruders can then steal from online accounts, use the infected machine to spread more
Article source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-TechTopStories/~3/VmCsABKLQEY/
Coming to your phone: HD voice
(CNN) — Smartphone makers have long touted the appeal of their high-definition display screens. Soon they’ll be able to add high-definition sound to the mix, too.
“HD Voice,” also known as wideband audio, is a technology designed to make a caller’s voice, and other noises, sound on phone calls as close as possible to how they do in person.
On Monday, ATT Senior Vice President Kris Rinne confirmed that the company plans to roll out HD Voice later this year, making it the latest major player officially adopting a mobile feature that, unlike many in recent years, actually has to do with making phone calls.
“HD Voice is part of our voice-over-LTE strategy,” said Rinne, speaking at the
Article source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_technology/~3/AUdIC5fFnSU/index.html
