What's going on in the world of TECHNOLOGY?
At Transcend Solutions, we try our best to keep up with the latest San Diego web design news and trends. It's not easy (if not impossible) but we try. We have provided this page as a resource to to share the latest technology news. You will find technology news as well as web design news that may help provide insights to your market, industry, web approach or business model. If we can help you in any way to make sense of the latest technology or technology related to your project, contact us, and we would be happy to chat!
Europe closes in on tax havens; Austria agrees to swap bank data | Wed, 22 May 2013 12:01:54 -0400
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 By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe moved closer to ending banking secrecy on Wednesday after Austria dropped objections to sharing data on foreign depositors and the EU focused on negotiating a similar agreement with Switzerland. "It's a bad day for tax cheats," Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told reporters at a meeting of EU leaders to discuss fighting tax fraud. "We will act jointly and I believe we will manage the exchange of data by the end of the year. ...
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EU leaders talk tough on tackling Amazon, Google over taxes | Wed, 22 May 2013 12:42:17 -0400
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 By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany called for stricter rules to stop companies such as Google, Apple and Amazon aggressively avoiding taxes in austerity bitten Europe, while acknowledging they had done nothing unlawful. At a summit to discuss energy and tax policy, the leaders of the three largest EU countries took the opportunity at news conferences to lament the impact of corporate tax avoidance, following several cases involving U.S. firms. ...
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British opposition leader says Google tax behavior 'wrong' | Wed, 22 May 2013 11:56:12 -0400
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 By Andrew Osborn and Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Google Inc's tax affairs came under renewed scrutiny in Britain on Wednesday when the leader of the opposition Labour party accused the Internet company of wrongly going to "extraordinary lengths" to avoid paying tax. In comments designed to politically outflank Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of next month's G8 summit on what has become a high-profile issue, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said he was disappointed that Google paid so little tax. "I can't be the only person here who feels disappointed that such a great company as Google ...
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Ireland feels the heat from Apple tax row | Wed, 22 May 2013 13:38:08 -0400
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 By Carmel Crimmins and Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland called on Wednesday for an international clampdown on multinationals shifting profits around the world to avoid tax, after criticism that Irish loopholes helped technology giant Apple to shrink its tax bill. A U.S. Senate investigation into the tax affairs of the maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers has shone an uncomfortable spotlight on Ireland's tax regime and forced the government to defend itself against accusations of being Europe's onshore tax haven. ...
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Apple CEO makes no apology for company's tax strategy | Tue, 21 May 2013 17:37:06 -0400
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 By Patrick Temple-West and Kevin Drawbaugh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook made no apology on Tuesday for the iPad maker saving billions of dollars in U.S. taxes through Irish subsidiaries and told lawmakers that his company backs corporate tax reform, even though it may end up paying more. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found that Apple in 2012 alone avoided paying $9 billion in U.S. taxes, using a strategy involving three offshore units with no discernible tax home, or "residence. ...
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The Irish loophole behind Apple's low tax bill | Wed, 22 May 2013 08:23:26 -0400
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 By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed Tuesday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, channeled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world. ...
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New Android apps worth downloading: Flickr update, GPS Navigation & Maps, Turbo Racing League | Wed, 22 May 2013 08:18:11 -0400
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| Today's first app worth downloading is great for smartphone photographers. Flickr's official Android app now comes with a terabyte of free space to use for uploading mobile images. GPS Navigation & Maps is up next and offers turn-by-turn directions and maps of the whole world. Finally, Turbo Racing League puts you in control of a high-speed snail in a 3-D racing game, and you can compete to win $1 million in a tournament hosted by Verizon. |
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The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony | Wed, 22 May 2013 13:46:15 -0400
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 NEW YORK (AP) ? Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.
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Ireland says does not want to become U.S. "whipping boy" on tax | Wed, 22 May 2013 13:38:08 -0400
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| DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's finance minister said on Wednesday the country did not want to become the 'whipping boy' for what he called a flawed U.S. Senate report into the level of corporate tax Apple Inc pays in Ireland. Ireland was forced to defend its corporate tax rate after the U.S. Senate said on Monday that Apple paid little or no tax on tens of billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries and that it had negotiated a special corporate tax rate of less than 2 percent. "I do not want to be the whipping boy for some misunderstanding in a hearing in the U.S. ... |
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Miliband says Google tax behaviour 'wrong' | Wed, 22 May 2013 13:34:48 -0400
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 By Andrew Osborn and Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Google Inc's tax affairs came under renewed scrutiny in Britain on Wednesday when the leader of the opposition Labour party accused the Internet company of wrongly going to "extraordinary lengths" to avoid paying tax. In comments designed to politically outflank Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of next month's G8 summit on what has become a high-profile issue, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said he was disappointed that Google paid so little tax. "I can't be the only person here who feels disappointed that such a great company as Google ...
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Fox show brings messy workplaces to television | Wed, 22 May 2013 13:27:35 -0400
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 NEW YORK (AP) ? This time "you're fired" is more than a Donald Trump catchphrase. Fox is turning the firing of real people from real jobs into prime-time entertainment starting this week.
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Google?s X Phone confirmed for Sprint | Wed, 22 May 2013 13:15:34 -0400
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| A recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission has confirmed that Google?s rumored X Phone device will be coming to Sprint later this year. The Sprint version is identified with the model number XT1056 and includes support for LTE on band 25. The device is equipped with NFC, 802.11ac Wi-Fi (or ?5G Wi-Fi?) and low-energy Bluetooth 4.0. Earlier rumors suggested the X Phone will be powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and run a stock version of Android. It was previously revealed that the Motorola-built smartphone will also arrive on AT&T and Verizon with the model numbers XT1058 and XT1060, respectively. Google and Motorola are expected to announce the X Phone later this year. |
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Pearson agrees $75 million settlement in U.S. e-books case | Wed, 22 May 2013 12:41:24 -0400
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| By Kate Holton and Nate Raymond LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - British publisher Pearson's Penguin unit said on Wednesday it would pay $75 million in damages plus costs to U.S. states and consumers as part of an agreement over alleged price-fixing in the e-book market. Pearson, which will take an extra provision on its accounts this year after setting aside $40 million in 2012, had already reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department in the e-book pricing case. ... |
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How AT&T keeps you connected after even the worst disasters | Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:49 -0400
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| Making sure that people have access to the Internet in the wake of disasters has become crucially important since it gives disaster victims the ability to communicate and learn important information that could help save lives. But what happens if an ISP?s basic infrastructure in a given area gets completely wiped out by a hurricane without any hope of being rebuilt for months? In AT&T?s case, that?s when it?s time to start rolling out its fleet of network equipment trailers that are capable of replicating the functions of a 10-story office building in the space of a small parking lot. BGR travelled to Hartford, Connecticut last week to get a first-hand look at how AT&T prepares its Network Disaster Recovery |
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It was only a matter of time: Apple says Google Now violates Siri patents | Wed, 22 May 2013 12:05:41 -0400
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| Apple has updated an earlier lawsuit filed against Samsung with claims that the Galaxy S4 and its Google Now feature violate two Apple patents covering functions of its own virtual personal assistant, Siri. Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents relayed news of the updated complaint on Wednesday, and he noted that two of the patents ? U.S. Patent 8,086,604, and U.S. Patent 6,846,959 ? cover technologies related to Siri. Both filings describe a ?universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system.? Apple also added three more patents to its earlier complaint that are not related to Siri, according to the report. |
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Clearwire board approves revised Sprint offer | Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:42 -0400
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| Clearwire?s Board of Directors has approved a revised offer from Sprint to acquire a remaining 50% stake in the company. Sprint had previously offered $2.97 per share, or $2.2 billion, for the wireless broadband wholesaler. After several shareholders voiced their concerns about the sale, Sprint decided to raise its offer to $3.40 per share. The revised bid valued Clearwire at $10.7 billion and represented a 14% premium over the original bid. The board is recommending shareholders vote in favor of the acquisition when they meet on May 31st. Clearwire?s press release follows below. CLEARWIRE?S BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS STOCKHOLDERS VOTE ?FOR? INCREASED OFFER FROM SPRINT Follows Review and Recommendation of Special Committee of the Board Offers Fair, Attractive and Certain Value |
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The HTC One Isn't Saving HTC from the Facebook Phone | Wed, 22 May 2013 11:26:34 -0400
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 Despite all the glowing reviews of the HTC One, including all the reviews for the Samsung Galaxy S IV that ended up championing all the great things about the HTC One instead, HTC is currently falling apart ? at least in part because of "disastrous" sales that wiped the HTC First (aka the Facebook phone) on its way out of the market. Two top executives have quit amid the company's decline: HTC's chief product officer, Kouji Kodera, left last week, sources tell The Verge's Chris Ziegler, while HTC Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik has also left, reports CNET. ...
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Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: PS4 wins on specs | Wed, 22 May 2013 11:15:27 -0400
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 With the first round of announcements behind us, the only thing that?s clear in the inevitable and perpetual Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4 battle is that there is no clear winner. Microsoft finally unveiled its next-generation video game console on Tuesday and once all the dust settled, Anandtech?s Anand Lal Shimpi took a step back and laid out everything we know about these two beastly consoles. Lal Shimpi?s analysis is extensive and thorough, as always, but it boils down to this: Based on what we know at this point, Sony has the edge in terms of specs and raw power. Lal Shimpi compiled all the known specs for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 alongside the current-generation Xbox 360 in the following
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Video game maker Atari seeks court approval for sale of assets | Wed, 22 May 2013 11:07:33 -0400
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| (Reuters) - Video game maker Atari Inc is seeking court approval for the sale of all its assets as it works its way out of bankruptcy protection. The company said on Tuesday it tried looking for a buyer with the help of its investment banker Perella Weinberg Partners, but was unable to find a "stalking horse," or initial bidder, acceptable to it. Atari has set a minimum bid of $15 million for the Atari brand. The company received a $5 million debtor-in-possession financing from Alden Global Value Recovery Master Fund LP. ... |
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Telefonica cuts handset prices to win back Spanish clients | Wed, 22 May 2013 11:06:27 -0400
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 MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish telecoms operator Telefonica lowered prices on smartphones by between 15 and 30 percent in its domestic market on Wednesday to fight increasing competition in the recession-hit country. Telefonica, which stopped subsidizing handsets for new clients last year to save cash, lost over 700,000 mobile customers in the first quarter of the year as cheaper rivals, such as Yoigo, gained market share. ...
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Video: Samsung shows how the Galaxy S4 is the perfect gadget for stalkers | Wed, 22 May 2013 10:40:21 -0400
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| The message from Samsung?s newest video for the Galaxy S4 seems to be a variation of an old Nancy Sinatra tune: That is, ?This Phone is Made for Stalking.? A five-minute music video for the Galaxy S4 shows a lovestruck man following a woman around with his new Samsung smartphone and secretly filming her while she?s sitting in class and in the library. The man then longingly watches the videos he?s filmed of her while applying photo effects to her images using the Galaxy S4?s new camera software. The man eventually does work up the nerve to talk with the woman at a party and they apparently hit it off and start dating. Of course, we don?t know if she |
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Clearwire board approves higher Sprint offer | Wed, 22 May 2013 10:27:03 -0400
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| BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) ? Clearwire wants to accept a richer buyout offer made by Sprint this week and is recommending that shareholders vote in favor of it. |
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It's Time to Stop Arguing About the Pronunciation of the GIF | Wed, 22 May 2013 10:19:02 -0400
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| It's time we took some advice from George Gershwin and stopped bickering over the right and wrong way to say words: Let's call the whole thing off on this GIF pronunciation battle. During his lifetime achievement ceremony at the Webby awards the GIF creator himself, Steve Wilhite, gave what should be the final word on the oft-argued about pronunciation of the retro file format that has made a comeback in recent years: "The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations," Wilhite conceded, per the New York Times's Amy O'Leary. "They are wrong. ... |
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Xbox One game sales and used game policies: What we know | Wed, 22 May 2013 10:05:53 -0400
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| Sony might not have revealed its console hardware during the PlayStation 4 unveiling, but at least we walked away with a pretty good idea of how buying and selling games would work. Microsoft finally took the wraps off of its next-generation Xbox One video game console on Tuesday and many people were left with more questions than answers. The gameplay demos we saw during the presentation looked fantastic, but how exactly does buying and reselling those wonderful new games work? Eurogamer on Tuesday managed to have a lengthy chat with a Microsoft PR rep in an effort to clarify Microsoft?s policies surrounding buying and selling Xbox One games. There are still plenty of open questions, but the blog managed to |
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Survey: Verizon tops all other major carriers in customer service | Wed, 22 May 2013 09:30:06 -0400
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| When it comes to U.S. carriers, just about everyone dreads the thought of having to call customer service to resolve an issue. Some carriers are certainly worse than others, of course, and the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index survey found that Verizon Wireless once again was ranked highest in customer service quality by subscribers. The company scored 73 points out of a possible 100, up 3 points from 2012. Sprint was flat in the No.2 spot with 71 points while AT&T gained a point to hit 70. T-Mobile remained the lowest-ranked major carrier as its score slid to 68 in 2013 from 69 last year. The full press release follows below. ACSI: Customer Satisfaction with Wireless Phone Service, Subscription TV Improves; |
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Talks over Vimpelcom's Djezzy at delicate stage: source | Wed, 22 May 2013 09:13:04 -0400
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| MOSCOW/CAIRO (Reuters) - Russia-focused telecoms firm Vimpelcom's talks to sell a controlling stake in its Algerian mobile business Djezzy to Algeria are at a delicate stage but have not failed, a source with knowledge of the discussions said on Wednesday. Algeria wants to nationalize Djezzy and has pushed Vimpelcom into discussing a sale of a 51 percent stake. A report by Dow Jones earlier said that talks had ended in failure, citing two officials close to the matter. The source told Reuters that there might be further clarity on the issue in coming days. Vimpelcom declined comment. ... |
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Factbox: Apple, Amazon, Google and tax avoidance schemes | Wed, 22 May 2013 08:48:20 -0400
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| BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders meet on Wednesday to discuss tax policy and specifically their concerns over how a number of high-profile international companies have managed to pay next to no tax on their vast sales revenue generated in Europe. Following is a summary of several recent cases and links to the Reuters stories on each one. APPLE INC. An investigation by the U.S. Senate showed this week that the maker of iPads and iPhones had paid just 2 percent tax on income of $74 billion over the past three years, largely by exploiting an unusual loophole in Ireland's tax code. ... |
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HTC reportedly in ?utter freefall? | Wed, 22 May 2013 08:45:35 -0400
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| Any hopes that the HTC One would lead to a rapid turnaround for struggling electronics manufacturer HTC have apparently vanished. Unnamed sources have told The Verge that HTC is in a state of chaos and that high-profile employees are fleeing left and right. Among the recently departed at HTC are former chief product officer Kouji Kodera, former vice president of global communications Jason Gordon, former global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, former director of digital marketing John Starkweather and former product strategy manager Eric Lin. The Verge?s sources say that morale at HTC is very low because employees see that the company is in ?utter freefall.? It seems a bit dramatic, but one reason for this ?freefall? has been the abject failure of |
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?Pandora Premiers? streams full albums a week before they launch | Wed, 22 May 2013 07:50:26 -0400
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| As Pandora struggles to fight off a new wave of competition from the likes of industry giants like Google and Apple, the company recently announced a new feature that could definitely boost interest in its services. Dubbed ?Pandora Premieres,? the new feature allows users to stream new albums in their entirety a week before they are released to the public. Upcoming albums can be streamed on-demand from start to finish for one week until they are released, and then they will be mixed in with Pandora?s standard streaming radio offering. Pandora Premieres is available to Pandora subscribers at pandora.com/premieres, and the company?s full press release follows below. Pandora Introduces New Album Previews with Launch of Pandora Premieres Station Listeners can be |
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Ahead of the Bell: HP's 2Q results likely to sag | Wed, 22 May 2013 06:36:23 -0400
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| SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Hewlett-Packard will provide an update on its efforts to rise above the sinking PC market when it releases quarterly earnings Wednesday after the closing bell. |
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