South Korea is next up to inspect Qualcomm’s licensing practices, and more for Thursday, February 12, 2015

South Korea is next up to inspect Qualcomm’s licensing practices Kevin C. Tofel Feb 12 2015, 6:23am PDT Now that Qualcomm has to pay $975 million to settle an anti-trust in China, you’d think that’s the last we’d hear about it. Nope. It appears that South Korea is going to take its turn to investigate Qualcomm’s practices in that country according to Mobile World […] Read More » After years of collaboration, Microsoft reportedly buying N-trig Kevin C. Tofel Feb 12 2015, 6:03am PDT Microsoft makes tablets that use digital pens and N-trig makes those pens. The Israeli company is the brains behind the stylus included with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3. So perhaps the stories of Microsoft buying N-trig for $200 million are true. Globes Online in N-trig’s home country reported […] Read More » Facebook now offers a profile will for when you die Carmel DeAmicis Feb 12 2015, 6:00am PDT Facebook has a new feature for memorializing the news feeds of people who die: A digital will. The company will let you choose who, if anyone, has access to parts of your account after you die. Conversely, you can also tell Facebook to delete your account […] Read More » Sponsored post: A developer’s journey with Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) ActiveState Feb 12 2015, 5:55am PDT Prior to joining ActiveState as a Technology Evangelist, I was a developer at a variety of companies. During my career I was constantly fighting the same battle: getting mired in the weeds of software development. I wanted to build great applications, and I was able to […] Read More » Apple and Pinterest partner up to help users discover iOS apps Laura Hazard Owen Feb 12 2015, 4:21am PDT How do you remember the apps that you want to download, or discover new apps to try in the first place? If you’re like me, you keep a running mental list (items of which you often forget) or occasionally search the web for app roundups. It’s not […] Read More » White space broadband gets green light in UK David Meyer Feb 12 2015, 3:08am PDT The British telecoms regulator Ofcom has formally approved the deployment of white-space broadband technology in the U.K., following trials. White space broadband uses the empty buffer zones that are placed between TV channels to stop them bleeding into one another. The broadband technology glues together these […] Read More » No, you don’t need a ton of data to do deep learning Barb Darrow Feb 12 2015, 12:01am PDT There are a couple of seemingly contradictory memes rolling around the deep learning field. One is that you need a truly epic amount of data to do interesting work. The other is that in many subject areas there is a ton of data but it’s not just laying around for […] Read More » With Niche purchase, Twitter finally understands its influencers’ power Carmel DeAmicis Feb 11 2015, 1:43pm PDT Twitter has just acquired Niche, which it describes as a “service provider” for the growing “creative community” on Vine and Twitter. The company didn’t disclose the terms of the deal but Re/Code and Business Insider report it was likely between $30 million and $50 million. Niche has […] Read More » Another startup steps up to build the hyperloop Signe Brewster Feb 11 2015, 12:14pm PDT Hyperloop Technologies, a startup formed by SpaceX alumni and well-known Silicon Valley executives, came out of stealth with $8.5 million on Wednesday to make the hyperloop reality, according to a report in Forbes. The hyperloop, a transportation system that would send capsules large enough to contain people or […] Read More » The viral content problem: Many people don’t care whether it’s true Mathew Ingram Feb 11 2015, 11:33am PDT Author and journalist Craig Silverman looks at the explosion of online hoaxes, rumors and misinformation all around us -- but one of the most powerful factors behind this trend is that many people don't care whether what they share is true or not Read More » Senate renews plan to ban internet taxes forever Jeff John Roberts Feb 11 2015, 9:13am PDT Do you ever look at your phone bill and wonder, “what the heck are all those fees?” While it’s a natural impulse to blame the mendacity of the phone company, most of those items are there because various governments put them there. The good news is that federal law bans […] Read More » When it comes to smart home security, cameras are the worst Stacey Higginbotham Feb 11 2015, 8:14am PDT Don’t freak out, but the products inside your smart home have some serious security flaws, according to a new report out from enterprise security research firm Synack. The company tested 16 popular devices over the holidays and determined that connected cameras were the least secure. Products […] Read More » Study says: Don’t buy a fitness tracker, just use your phone Kif Leswing Feb 11 2015, 7:38am PDT Pretty much every fitness tracker on the market does the same thing: Using an accelerometer, it tracks how many steps you’ve taken, and from that accelerometer data, usually can extrapolate distance traveled as well as calories burned. Of course, your smartphone has an accelerometer, so why do you […] Read More » Here’s how to unlock your phone under the new rules Kif Leswing Feb 11 2015, 6:00am PDT New rules governing U.S. wireless carriers went into full effect on Wednesday, although many carriers had been following the guidelines for nearly a year. These new rules are part of a voluntary “consumer code for wireless service” administered by CTIA, the main wireless trade association. All four big carriers — including […] Read More » Samsung expected to go smaller with Galaxy S6, Note Edge screens Kevin C. Tofel Feb 11 2015, 5:29am PDT Both the Samsung Galaxy S6 and new Note Edge will have smaller displays, according to Bloomberg, which also confirms earlier reports of an Edge with screens on both the left and right side. Citing people with direct knowledge of Samsung’s plans, Bloomberg on Wednesday said the new handsets are […] Read More » Investors throw $115M at French IoT network outfit Sigfox David Meyer Feb 11 2015, 1:36am PDT Sigfox, the French startup that’s rolling out an international internet-of-things network, mostly by partnering with local network operators, has scored a massive $115 million funding round from the likes of Telefonica and NTT DoCoMo. The company provides the technology for its network of wireless networks, which […] Read More » Here’s a cancer-detecting bra that’s better than a mammogram Stacey Higginbotham Feb 10 2015, 3:28pm PDT Early detection is vital to helping halt the spread of breast cancer and permit a full recovery. That’s why many women endure the discomfort of having their breasts smooshed once a year or every few years as part of a routine mammogram. But what if instead […] Read More » Samsung TVs start inserting ads into your movies Janko Roettgers Feb 10 2015, 1:44pm PDT Thought you could watch that video on your local hard drive without ads? Think again: A number of owners of Samsung’s smart TVs are reporting this week that their TV sets started to interrupt their movie viewing with Pepsi ads, which seem to be dynamically inserted […] Read More » AT&T begins building a unified US-Mexico footprint with Cricket Kevin Fitchard Feb 10 2015, 10:30am PDT AT&T promised it would create the first pan-North American service area when it bought Mexico’s Iusacell last month, and it’s wasting no time getting started on the multinational footprint. On Tuesday, Ma Bell announced its prepaid arm Cricket Wireless will make unlimited calls to Mexico part […] Read More » Want to attract the average consumer? Skip the hardware preview Stacey Higginbotham Feb 10 2015, 10:02am PDT For the last two years I’ve been reviewing connected devices as part of my role as Gigaom’s internet of things reporter. I’ve spent hours fiddling with radio networks, sliced my fingers open attaching wireless hubs to my garage door opener, giggled with my daughter while weighing […] Read More »