Facebook app store launches amid mobile revenue worries

Facebook has launched its own app store to promote mobile programs that operate using the social network.

Life after Firefox: Can Mozilla regain its mojo?

Mozilla Foundation president Mitchell Baker is sitting on a ticking time bomb.

The survival of her company, which pledges to make the web a better place, is at the mercy of one of its main competitors, Google.

If you haven't heard of Mozilla, you almost certainly know - and perhaps use - its most famous product: the Firefox browser.

Icann's internet suffix application deadline looms

Organisations wishing to buy web addresses ending in their brand names have until the end of Thursday to submit applications.

For example, drinks giant Pepsi can apply for .pepsi, .gatorade or .tropicana as an alternative to existing suffixes such as .org or .com.

Parties are able to request up to 50 web address endings.

Mike Daisey took aim at Apple, now challenges Chinese translator

NEW YORK--Mike Daisey made a name for himself by taking on mighty Apple but is now challenging the credibility of a little-known Chinese translator. 

The actor and Apple critic is putting his word against hers. The woman who assisted him during a trip to China in 2010 disputes many of his claims about witnessing inhumane working conditions at factories where iPads and iPhones are assembled.

Does Google feel pain from its PR blunders? Yes and no

Google's weighted search results and revamped privacy policy have rankled Internet users, but is Google feeling any pain? Or do we just keep using it anyway?

Dell Inspiron 14R Intel Core i3 Laptop, $480

Dell's Inspiron 14R, a basic all-purpose laptop, did well in PCWorld tests, earning a 3.5-star review. Dell usually sells the Intel Core i3 configuration of its Inspiron 14R for $539. For a limited time, though, Dell is taking $59 off the price and shipping for free.

Google+ Users Spent Only 3 Minutes on Site in January

Google+ might be heading for 100 million registered users but many of them appear to be spending almost no time on the service, market analysis company ComScore has reported.

According to figures made public through the Wall Street Journal, in January Google+ users spent a trifling average of three minutes using the site during the month, slightly lower than for December.

California expected to reap Facebook windfall

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Facebook's upcoming IPO could be a golden egg for the Golden State.

California could reap as much as $2.45 billion in additional revenues over the next five years from Facebook's initial public offering, according to a new report issued by the state Legislative Analyst's Office.

France Says Google Privacy Plan Likely Violates European Law

PARIS — The French data protection authority said on Tuesday that Google’s new privacy policy appeared to violate European Union law.

Google announced the new policy last month, billing it as a way to streamline and simplify the privacy practices it employed worldwide across about 60 different online services, and to introduce greater clarity for users. 

Video game sales fall ahead of PlayStation Vita launch

Video game sales slumped in the US - their biggest market - in January.

NPD group said stores sold $1.14bn (£720m) worth of games over the month, down 34% on the previous year. It added that hardware sales were down 38%.

The consumer data provider linked the drop to a lack of major new releases.

Other analysts also pointed to worries about the economy and said this might have an impact on the upcoming launch of Sony's PlayStation Vita console.

NPD said that Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the month's best-selling title. It was followed by Just Dance 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and NBA 2K12.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 held onto its title as the top selling hardware platform for the sixth month running.

"While the lack of new launches was a major reason for software declines, games which launched in the last three months of 2011 also performed poorly in January 2012, down 31% in units compared to fourth quarter launches in January 2011," NPD analyst Liam Callahan added.

"As shoppers were not drawn to stores due to new launch activity, this potentially impacted additional software purchases made on impulse."

The video games news website, IGN, said it had noted a similar drop-off in activity in the UK market. It said sales should pick up when Mass Effect 3 goes on sale in March, but noted that shoppers were worried.

"You can't really deny that the economy is a factor," Keza MacDonald, the firm's UK games editor, told the BBC.

"The lack of big new releases is just a tiny bit of the picture. The fact people are buying less games shows up in the US, European and Japanese data.

"People are just buying fewer games because they have less money to spend. The data before Christmas was also not particularly strong."

Vita's challenge

The news comes as Sony prepares the global launch of its new PlayStation Vita games console. The device goes on sale across Europe, Australia and the Americas on 22 February.

Analysts at IHS Screen Digest have forecast 7 million units will be sold by the end of the year. They say that would be 25% less than what its predecessor the PlayStation Portable System achieved over its initial roll-out.

"I think there is a segment of the population - potentially a narrowing segment - which is still engaged by specialist devices such as handheld consoles," said the firm's head of games, Piers Harding-Rolls.

"But it is a very price-driven situation and part of that equation is definitely the content on offer.

"Sony has hit the mark with a strong line-up at launch which should drive strong initial sales, but there's the potential that demand will drop off quite significantly after the first few weeks."

Industry watchers note that the console will have to compete for attention with Apple's latest iPad which the Wall Street Journal suggests will launch in March.

"A lot of the market for handheld gaming was kids and that market has completely shifted to iPhones, Android phones and touchscreen tablets," said Ms MacDonald.

"The Vita is a nice bit of kit - it has gadget appeal - but I'm not sure it has mainstream appeal."

http://www.bbc.co.uk

Asus Transformer Prime Successor Codenamed TF300T Appears

What looks like a new version of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime called the TF300T has surfaced on a Taiwanese website called Cool3c.

Some reports are suggesting that it could well be the followup to the Eee Pad Transformer Prime which is known as the TF201, while the original Transformer was called the TF101.

Aussie mothers protest against Facebook for removing breastfeeding photos

ANGRY mums have organised a protest at Facebook's Australian offices next week after the social network suspended users who had posted images of themselves breastfeeding.

bSydneysider Lucy Allen, 21, had her Facebook account deactivated for two days in July last year after she posted a photo of herself breastfeeding and pumping milk at the same time.

Would you like a bag for those muffins, sir?

It happened. We’ve finally ruined the Internet

We’ve done it. We’ve finally ruined the Internet with our constant rage and all-caps rants. The vibe of the place has undeniably changed. We can all feel it.

How to play it: Facebook readies its IPO

Depending on who you ask, Facebook is either the best company to go public since Google or the hallmark of another tech bubble.

But no matter the ultimate fate of the broad-reaching social network, it's clear that investors will be scrambling to pick up shares when they get the chance. Facebook filed for a $5 billion initial public offering on Wednesday. If all goes smoothly, the actual IPO would follow a few months later.

Facebook could offer 'premium' option after float, says analyst

A FACEBOOK "premium" service that you have to pay for and invasive targeted advertising are just two of the changes predicted for the social network as it goes public in the largest net company float ever.

Nobody wanted MegaUpload busted more than MPAA

Contrary to recent media reports, the FBI did not arrest MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom after being pressured by managers at the four major record companies, who supposedly feared DotCom would launch an unlicensed music service, sources close to the investigation told CNET.

What to expect from Facebook’s IPO filing

Eight years after it was launched from a Harvard dorm room, Facebook is expected to take its first major step to being a publicly traded company Wednesday. The filing is the first step toward what’s shaping up to be one of the highest-buzzed market debuts in history.
Facebook has made no secret about it plans to go public, and rumors have been circulating for months that the company would raise as much as $10 billion

Could Silicon Valley see a ‘Facebook effect’?

Things could be looking very green in Silicon Valley, thanks to an influx of cash that could come from Facebook’s initial public offering. Even the state of California is expecting a windfall from the filing — saying that hundreds of millions of dollars could help the cash-strapped state in the coming year.
Though the company is simply expected to file to go public Wednesday, according to a report from the San Jose Mercury News, the possibility of a big IPO from Facebook has generated some excitement for Silicon Valley real estate agents, especially in the company’s hometown of Menlo Park, Calif.

Brooklyn mom's Facebook page updated with picture of someone hoisting champagne just hours after her toddlers were dumped on streetcorner

A Brooklyn mom's Facebook page was updated with a photograph of someone hoisting a bottle of champagne - hours after her toddlers were dumped on a streetcorner.

Cops were still canvassing Canarsie looking for the mom about 6:15 p.m. on Sunday when the photo of the pink bubbly popped up. It was an odd time for a celebration.