Got an Android 4.0 device? You might want an alternative browser, and more for Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Got an Android 4.0 device? You might want an alternative browser Kevin C. Tofel Mar 4 2015, 6:24am PDT Google won’t be updating its Chrome browser past version 42 for older Android devices, so it can better focus on its mobile browser for more current phones and tablets. The company announced that it would freeze Chrome 42 for its Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) software, which […] Read More » MindMaze’s headset brings your brainwaves into virtual reality Signe Brewster Mar 4 2015, 6:00am PDT Swiss startup MindMaze is moving its technology from the medical field to the mainstream with a virtual reality headset that reads the wearer’s brain waves and uses the data to help them relax and play. The team announced $8.5 million in angel funding today, which it […] Read More » Docker buys SocketPlane as it builds out its container-networking strategy Jonathan Vanian Mar 4 2015, 6:00am PDT You can add another acquisition to Docker’s plate with the startup set to announce on Wednesday that it has bought a small networking startup called SocketPlane. The acquisition, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is just one more step in Docker’s plans to become the de-facto […] Read More » AMC, IFC and Epix go live on Sling TV Janko Roettgers Mar 4 2015, 6:00am PDT Don Draper, meet Sling TV: The recently launched online TV subscription service started to carry AMC and IFC as well as the Epix family of movie channels Wednesday, which means that Sling TV subscribers can now tune in live for episodes of shows like The Walking […] Read More » IBM taps OpenPOWER for SoftLayer bare-metal service Barb Darrow Mar 4 2015, 5:21am PDT IBM is a big backer of the OpenPOWER open-source hardware project. And it’s the company behind the SoftLayer cloud, so it was only a matter of time before it put the two together by offering SoftLayer bare-metal servers on OpenPOWER-based hardware. The new service will come online in the second […] Read More » Let roaming fees hang around for a while longer, EU countries say David Meyer Mar 4 2015, 4:16am PDT The Council of the European Union – the part of the EU legislature that represents member states – has formally laid out its stance on changing incoming legislation around roaming and net neutrality. This means negotiations with the European Parliament can formally commence, and as some […] Read More » Why emerging markets need smart internet policies David Meyer Mar 4 2015, 2:21am PDT The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) has released its latest study into, well, the affordability of internet access. The study shows how big the challenge is on that front in emerging markets – for over two billion people there, fixed-line broadband costs on average 40 percent […] Read More » Nvidia reveals Shield, a $199 console for 4K TV and gaming Signe Brewster Mar 3 2015, 8:34pm PDT Nvidia has revealed an Android-based smart TV console and gaming system that pairs high-resolution video with an accessible interface for $199, plus a game streaming service that will offer games playable within a minute. “All of us have been working toward this day for many years,” Nvidia […] Read More » FCC official says Google, Facebook had little say on net neutrality Jeff John Roberts Mar 3 2015, 4:15pm PDT The FCC’s landmark decision on net neutrality has produced all sorts of speculation about the degree to which well-known tech giants shaped the outcome. Gawker, for instance, claimed that Americans can thank a benevolent Facebook-Google cabal for the open internet rules that were passed last Thursday. The Wall Street Journal, on the other […] Read More » Decade-old FREAK bug leaves Google and Apple device users vulnerable Jonathan Vanian Mar 3 2015, 3:47pm PDT A team of security researchers unearthed a decade-old vulnerability called the FREAK (Factoring attack on RSA-EXPORT Keys) attack, which impacts Google and Apple device users who may have visited websites, including Whitehouse.gov and NSA.gov, according to a Washington Post report. One of the researchers who spotted […] Read More » AT&T’s privacy plan may be short-lived and may not even be as bad as we think Stacey Higginbotham Mar 3 2015, 3:26pm PDT AT&T hit a nerve with its privacy-eroding Internet Preferences Plan, which lets customers surf the web at gigabit speeds but also lets the telecom giant see what sites they visit in order to serve up relevant ads. AT&T’s plan may be short-lived, however, if the FCC takes action under its new […] Read More » Apple granted patent to use wireless strength map data for vehicle navigation Katie Fehrenbacher Mar 3 2015, 2:24pm PDT Apple was issued a patent on Tuesday for vehicle navigation technology that can take wireless signal strength into account for planning a route. Apple first filed for the patent in August 2012, and Apple wireless executives Swapnil Dave and Devrim Varolgu are listed as inventors on the […] Read More » Cloudera CEO declares victory over big data competition Derrick Harris Mar 3 2015, 12:51pm PDT Cloudera CEO Tom Reilly doesn’t often mince words when it comes to describing to his competition in the Hadoop space, or Cloudera’s position among those other companies. In October 2013, Reilly told me he didn’t consider Hortonworks or MapR to be Cloudera’s real competition, but rather larger […] Read More » SolarCity sues Arizona utility over solar anti-competitive practices Katie Fehrenbacher Mar 3 2015, 11:25am PDT The solar financier and installer chaired by Elon Musk, SolarCity, has filed a lawsuit in Arizona federal court claiming that the Arizona utility Salt River Project is using anti-competitive practices to maintain a monopoly around energy and solar power and unfairly block competition. Last week the […] Read More » Broadcom’s new Wi-Fi chip turns your phone into an IoT hub Kevin Fitchard Mar 3 2015, 11:22am PDT At Mobile World Congress, Broadcom released a new chipset designed to bring Wi-Fi’s speediest technology, 802.11ac, into smartphones. What makes this particular chipset stand out is that it’s able to support simultaneous connections over both of Wi-Fi’s bands (2.4 and 5 GHz). Simultaneous dual band has […] Read More » Report: Google preparing iOS app for Android Wear smartwatches Kif Leswing Mar 3 2015, 9:28am PDT Right now, you need an Android phone to use an Android Wear smartwatch. But according to a report from French technology website 01net, Android Wear might be going cross-platform with an iOS app, possibly launching at Google’s annual developer conference in May. When Apple Watch launches […] Read More » How House of Cards helped one phone app jump up the charts Kevin C. Tofel Mar 3 2015, 7:45am PDT Spoiler alert: In episode 5 of the Netflix original series House of Cards, the U.S. President plays the mobile game Monument Valley. I’m sorry to have ruined the series for you with that big news, but truth be told, it is big news — and big business […] Read More » Your Android phone is about to get better with this update Kevin C. Tofel Mar 3 2015, 6:45am PDT One of the ways Google keeps Android fresh on a regular basis is by updating Google Play Services on handsets. This approach helps reduce fragmentation because it brings new features to both new and old Android phones without a full software update. And Google is doing that again, […] Read More » Netflix won’t count against iiNet broadband caps in Australia Janko Roettgers Mar 2 2015, 5:13pm PDT So much for net neutrality: Netflix has struck a deal with Australia’s iiNet ISP to exempt its traffic from iiNet’s broadband caps. This means that iiNet subscribers will be able to watch as much Netflix as they want, without the fear that their viewing will lead […] Read More » Patent trolls hurt R&D say scholars in letter to Congress Jeff John Roberts Mar 2 2015, 2:21pm PDT “Be careful about changing patent law — it could harm innovation,” is a favorite talking point for those who oppose plans to reform to America’s troubled patent system. But what if the opposite is true? What if it’s the status quo, in which patent trolls sock productive companies with abusive lawsuits, […] Read More »