Filed under: Computers

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Facebook rolling out new security features

Associated Press | Facebook’s users are a lucrative target for Internet criminals looking to steal
passwords and more. To combat malicious attacks, phishing scams and
spam, the online social network is rolling out new security features.

First, users can choose to be notified when their account
is accessed from a computer or mobile device they haven’t used before.
To do this, go to “account settings,” then “account security,” then
click change. There you can choose to be notified of logins by e-mail or
text message.

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Microsoft rolls out Web-friendly Office 2010

Dow Jones Newswires | Microsoft Corp. Wednesday officially
launched the latest version of its Office suite of software, adding new
features aimed at fending off a challenge from Google Inc.

Office 2010, which is available for purchase today for business
customers, adds Web friendly features to one of Microsoft’s most
popular and profitable products. The new release includes
social-networking features embedded in its Outlook email program.
People also will be able to run word-processing software Word,
spreadsheet-maker Excel and other applications through Web browsers,
and edit documents together with other users.

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Google, Verizon working on iPad rival

McClatchy-Tribune Newspapers | Verizon Wireless said it is working with Google on a new tablet computer to compete with
Apple’s iPad, whose early success has sent rival tech companies
scrambling to catch the next big wave in mobile computing.

Dell and Toshiba have also said they’re working on tablets that would
run on Google’s Android software. Hewlett-Packard, meanwhile, recently
announced plans to buy Palm and use that smart-phone maker’s software
in its own line of tablets and similar devices.

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Kraft tries ‘Bring Your Own Computer’ program

By Alejandra Cancino |
It started with the smartphones. Last year, Kraft Foods Inc. offered a
stipend to employees who wanted to use their own iPhone, Android or
BlackBerry and ditch their company-issued phone.

That idea gave way to the creation of the “Bring Your Own Computer”
program, in which the company gives some employees a “substantial”
stipend to buy a computer of their choice, said Ana Paula Cruz, a Kraft
spokeswoman. In turn, employees will solve their own problems with help
from blogs and discussion boards written by the company’s information
systems department.

Cruz said the program will give flexibility to thousands of U.S. salary
employees who don’t deal with sensitive or confidential information and
use a computer to perform their job.

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Twitter fixes glitch that afflicted followers

Associated Press | Twitter says it has fixed a glitch that has
allowed users to seem more popular by making it appear that celebrities
had subscribed to read their mini-blog postings known as tweets.

The flaw allowed some Twitter users to game the popularity contest. It
allowed users to add anyone else as a follower of their tweets.
Normally, the other person has to initiate such “following.”

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Nokia lodges another complaint against Apple

Associated Press | Finnish cell phone maker Nokia Corp. said
Friday that it has extended its patent-infringement claims against
Apple Inc. to include the new iPad.

The latest complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis.,
follows other lawsuits by Nokia claiming that a broad swath of Apple
products violate Nokia patents. Nokia says the disputed technologies
help reduce the size and cost of electronic gadgets.

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Estimated 300K 3G iPads sold in 1st weekend

Dow Jones Newswire | Apple Inc. on Friday began selling a
version of its iPad tablet computer with cellular capabilities, and
consumers had cleaned out many stores by Sunday.  Apple put its iPad 3G
on sale in the U.S. late Friday afternoon at prices starting at $629,
compared with the $499 bottom price for the version without cellular
connectivity that launched a month ago.

Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co., estimated Apple
sold 300,000 iPad 3Gs over the weekend, including preorders and online
sales. While that would be about the same as the original iPad’s first
weekend, he said, the original version had a shorter preorder period
and went on sale on a Saturday rather than a Friday.

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Motorola, Skyhook partner on Android software

From the Boston Globe | Motorola Inc. will work with Boston-based Skyhook on its Android operating software. Skyhook software locates phones using Wi-Fi signals.

Get the full story: boston.com

Facebook expansion has Senators concerned

Associated Press | Four U.S. senators want Facebook to make it
easier for its more than 400 million users to protect their privacy as
the website develops new outlets to share personal information.

The call for simpler privacy controls came in a letter that the
senators plan to send Tuesday to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The
Associated Press obtained a draft of the letter signed by Sen. Charles
Schumer of New York; Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Sen. Mark Begich
of Alaska; and Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota.

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Google opens YouTube rental store

Dow Jones Newswires | Google Inc.’s  YouTube on Thursday opened a
video rental store, the company’s latest step in its effort to
transform the popular video Web site into a profitable business.

The rental store features a variety of independent movies, Bollywood
content and television episodes. Rentals cost 99 cents to $3.99, with
fees paid through Google Check-out. Customers can view their rentals for
48 hours.

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McAfee antiviral hiccups, computers reboot

Associated Press | Workplace computers across the world got stuck
rebooting themselves Wednesday after an antivirus program identified a
normal Windows file as a virus.

Antivirus vendor McAfee Inc. confirmed that a software update caused its
antivirus program for corporate customers to misidentify a harmless
file. It has posted a replacement update for download.

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Apple shares soar as 2Q profit leaps 90%

Associated Press | Blockbuster iPhone sales helped Apple Inc.
blow past Wall Street’s expectations with a 90 percent leap in net
income for the most recent quarter. Shares skyrocketed in extended
trading Tuesday. Apple said it sold nearly 9 million of its popular
iPhone smart phones in the three months that ended March 27, more than
double sales from a year ago.

After a brief trading halt, investors sent Apple’s stock bounding up
$17.31, or 7.1 percent, to $261.90 in after-hours trading. Earlier, the
stock had shed $2.48 to close at $244.59.

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Blogs claim to have pictures of new iPhone

Associated Press | Technology bloggers have posted photos of
what may be the next version of the iPhone. If the gadget is real,
Apple’s next iPhone could have a longer battery life and be used for
video chatting. Analysts expect an updated iPhone this summer.

AOL blog Engadget posted photos
of the device
over the weekend.
Gizmodo, a competing gadget blog, obtained the phone itself and
published details Monday. Both blogs say the phone was found in a
Silicon Valley bar.

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Apple delaying international iPad launch

Dow Jones Newswires | Apple Inc. said it will postpone its international iPad sales launch by one month to the end of May because higher-than-expected U.S. demand will likely exceed its supply of the device for the next several weeks.

U.S. demand is “far higher” than it predicted, it said. The company delivered 500,000 iPads during its first week of availability. It has also taken a “large number” of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.

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Intel: Companies buying computers again

Associated Press | Intel Corp. executives say the chip maker’s
first-quarter results revealed a surprising and encouraging trend:
Companies are finally starting to upgrade their workers’ laptops. The
news boosted Intel shares to a new high for the year.

But there’s a catch, according to Intel CEO Paul Otellini: Many
companies are buying PCs again because it’s simply less expensive than
hanging on to older machines that need frequent maintenance. He said
many customers were buying computers with older Intel chips, which are
less profitable for the company than the newer products.

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