The data coming from cell phones carries with it a huge amount of information about users’ real-world activities and has for years been under lock and key. But now an increasing number of wireless carriers are mining and repurposing that subscriber data to track statistics about how people are living their lives and selling the data to businesses and city planners. This is information that experts believe could change societies. Continue reading Wireless Carriers Selling Subscriber Data to Businesses

Eastman Kodak announced yesterday that it has entered into an agreement with Brother Industries for the proposed sale of its Document Imaging business. The deal includes a cash purchase price of approximately $210 million and about $67 million in deferred service revenue liability. If a better deal is not offered by another company, Brother will likely take control of Kodak’s scanning hardware and software products. Continue reading Kodak to Sell Scanning Business to Brother for $210 Million

A number of interesting camera and related 4K technologies were on display at last week’s NAB show in Las Vegas including Blackmagic’s new $995 Pocket Cinema Camera, the Production Camera 4K from Blackmagic, Phantom’s Flex4K Digital Cinema camera, two new 4K projectors from Christie capable of 60 frames-per-second, and a proof of concept trifocal camera system from Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute. Continue reading NAB 2013: Compelling New Camera and Projection Systems

Twitter launched a standalone music app this weekend for a handful of “influencers.” The app, expected to be publicly available in a week, uses technology from music discovery site “We Are Hunted.” The Australian startup has been working with the social media giant to create an app called “Twitter Music,” which suggests music based on which accounts a user follows, and offers new tracks from favorite artists and up-and-coming musicians. Continue reading Twitter Music: New App Powered by We Are Hunted Site

The team behind DJ-focused music service Turntable.fm debuted a new smart-radio service called Piki last week that offers a new take on music discovery. Unlike other streaming music sites such as Pandora, Piki creates playlists based on what your friends are currently listening to. Other developers like Rdio and Fuzz have created similar services, but have yet to make a significant impact. Continue reading Music Streaming App Piki Lets Friends Pick Music for You

Soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children,” which ABC cancelled in 2011, will have a digital revival starting later this month when they return online. Production company Prospect Park licensed the soaps from ABC and plans to launch new episodes via Hulu Plus, iTunes and its own Online Network. The revamped shows are said to have more provocative content in order to attract a younger, contemporary audience. Continue reading Cancelled Soap Operas Return as Online Only Programs

Hewlett-Packard’s “Generation 2” Project Moonshot server is now available, based on the Intel Atom Series 1200 chip — also known as the Intel 64-bit Centerton chip. Project Moonshot’s overarching goal is to create compact, energy-efficient servers able to run workloads at a mere fraction of the cost of currently available hardware. Other versions that run chips from Calxeda, AMD, Applied Micro and Texas Instruments will follow. Continue reading Project Moonshot Intends to Create Energy Efficient Servers

With Internet users posting an increasing amount of information online, the question has arisen regarding what happens to that data once an individual passes on. Google may now have an answer with its new Inactive Account Manager. With this technology, users of any Google service can set a time to delete their “digital life” or send selected elements to a person of their choosing, after the account or accounts become permanently inactive. Continue reading Google Creates Manager for Permanently Inactive Accounts

Reed Hastings announced on his Facebook page yesterday that Netflix subscribers viewed 4 billion hours of video during the first quarter. Media analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research suggests that subscribers are viewing an average of 87 minutes of streaming content per day via the video-on-demand service, up from 79 minutes in June 2012. “Netflix is now likely the most-watched cable network,” said Greenfield. Continue reading Netflix CEO Says 4 Billion Hours of Video Streamed in Q1

During Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam’s speech at the NAB conference on Tuesday in Las Vegas, he noted that roughly half of the traffic on Verizon’s mobile networks currently involves video. And by 2017, Verizon expects that percentage to grow to two-thirds. Is this the average trend across mobile consumption or is Verizon an exception? The answer may lie in LTE. Continue reading Verizon CEO Says LTE is Steering Rise in Mobile Video

On Wednesday, General Electric announced a partnership with Quirky, a New York-based startup that acts as a kind of social network for inventors. This makes sense for GE as it continues making its push into the so-called Internet of Things, which encompasses various types of devices connected to the Internet – all of which combine to create a constant stream of data regarding how they operate together. Continue reading General Electric Licenses Patents to Quirky Community

The team at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) recently demonstrated a concept in which slivers of silicon, or electronic circuits called “chiplets,” dance around under a microscope until commanded to settle accurately on a pattern of circuit wires — each settling at an exact point of contact. These chiplets are part of a new system Xerox envisions for making electronics that take advantage of the laser printer. Continue reading Xerox PARC Tests Silicon Chiplets for Micro Manufacturing

A group of academics, business executives and journalists recently gathered at the MIT Media Lab to discuss the concept of Data-Driven Societies. Alex Pentland, a computational social scientist at the Media Lab and a leading mind in the area of Big Data, hosted the meeting and discussed how increasing amounts of important information are becoming readily available on vast scales and are often all about consumer behavior. Continue reading Meeting of the Minds: Discussion on Data-Driven Societies

The Federal Trade Commission has made changes to the COPPA laws in regards to the definition of a “children’s app.” Changes to the online privacy rules will go into effect July 1, with an emphasis on data collection practices, which could mean that requesting information or images from mobile devices could be viewed as a violation. Several developers are scaling back on game production in order to avoid being penalized by the FTC. Continue reading COPPA Changes Could Affect Mobile Game Development

The National Digital Public Library has scheduled its official launch for April 18. Students, educators and researchers will have access to a wide variety of research tools, archives, museums and an extensive database of publications. All of these resources will be available for free. However, this is just the first stepping stone for the creators of the digital library. Continue reading National Digital Public Library Slated to Launch This Month