Internet News Headlines - Yahoo! News

New Xbox more than a game console for Microsoft

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:17:07 -0400

By Malathi Nayak and Bill Rigby SAN FRANCISCO/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is set to make a splash this week with the eagerly awaited unveiling of its new Xbox game console, eight years after the last version, as it seeks a larger share of the $65 billion a year global computer gaming industry. But the small device faces some big competition from the PlayStation 4 by Sony Corp and the Wii U by Nintendo Co Ltd in a shifting market. ...

Cricket-Australia to investigate Warner's Twitter rant

Sat, 18 May 2013 01:17:08 -0400

May 18 (Reuters) - Cricket Australia is to investigate an extraordinary Twitter outburst by opening batsmen David Warner that attacked two senior Australian cricket journalists. The 26-year-old Warner criticised News Limited journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn in an expletive-filled tirade, which has created headlines in Australia. "Cricket Australia is aware of comments made on David Warner's Twitter account overnight," Cricket Australia said in a statement on Saturday. "Cricket Australia is attempting to contact Warner and will continue to investigate the matter. ...

Syria government supporters hack Financial Times

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:59:27 -0400

By Jim Finkle and Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - The Financial Times' website and Twitter feeds were hacked on Friday, renewing questions about whether the popular social media service has done enough to tighten security as cyber-attacks on the news media intensify. The Syrian Electronic Army, an online group that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was behind the incident which followed a phishing attack on the company's email accounts, FT reported on its website. The attack is the latest in which hackers commandeered the Twitter account of a prominent news organization to push their ...

U.S. authorities seize accounts of major Bitcoin operator

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:34:08 -0400

By Brett Wolf ST. LOUIS, May 17 (Thomson Reuters Accelus) - U.S. authorities have seized two accounts linked to a major operator in the booming Bitcoin digital currency market, Tokyo-based exchange Mt. Gox. The move may prevent the firm from facilitating the purchase and sale of Bitcoins in U.S. dollars at a time when use of the currency and its value has mushroomed. Bitcoin, which unlike conventional money is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of any central authority, has grown popular among users who lack faith in the established banking system. ...

After Google, Amazon to be grilled on UK tax presence

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:17:37 -0400

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc. will be called back to the British parliament to clarify how its activities in the UK justify its low corporate income tax bill, two lawmakers told Reuters. Amazon will follow search giant Google, which attended another grilling by parliament's Public Affairs Committee (PAC) over its tax affairs on Thursday. A Reuters report earlier this month raised questions over Google's earlier assertions that its UK-based staff don't sell to customers. ...

Rivals get longer to comment on Google EU antitrust offer: source

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:55:37 -0400

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have given some of Google's rivals more time to study its proposals to settle anti-competitive complaints, which could provide more leverage to pry further concessions from the Internet search giant. The European Commission last month told interested parties they had until May 26 to say if they are satisfied with the offer by the world's most popular search engine to mark out its services from rival products in Internet search results. ...

Soccer-Oceania club final showcases future of broadcasting

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:29:53 -0400

By Greg Stutchbury WELLINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - The possible future of sports broadcasting will be further highlighted on Sunday when New Zealand's Auckland City and Waitakere United play the Oceania Champions League final, with the winner qualifying for the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup. The match in Auckland, reduced to a winner-takes-all final after the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) streamlined the competition this year, will be broadcast not only on television but also live over the Internet on the OFC's YouTube channel. "The coverage will be screened live in New Zealand ... ...

China cracks down on over-the-top anti-Japan dramas

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:25:22 -0400

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. Ties have been shadowed for years by what Beijing says has been Tokyo's refusal to admit to wartime atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers in the country between 1937 and 1945, something taught to every Chinese school child and a staple of television dramas. ...

LulzSec hackers who "wreaked havoc" at Sony jailed in UK

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:50:42 -0400

By Li-mei Hoang LONDON (Reuters) - A group of British hackers who "ran riot" causing millions of dollars of damage to computer networks run by Sony, the CIA and other agencies were sentenced to jail terms on Thursday. Police said four men, members of the hacking collective known as "LulzSec", put thousands of internet users' personal data at risk through their high-profile cyber attacks in 2011. ...

UK politician sues for defamation in high-profile Twitter case

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:13:04 -0400

By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - A retired British politician sued the wife of the House of Commons Speaker for defamation on Thursday, accusing her of implying in a tweet that he was a pedophile guilty of sexually abusing boys living in a care home. Alistair McAlpine, an associate of the late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is seeking damages from Sally Bercow in Britain's most high-profile Twitter defamation case to date. ...

Cricket-'Jeeks', 'nuffies' and moms targeted by cricketing Facebook

Thu, 16 May 2013 02:59:52 -0400

By Greg Stutchbury WELLINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Hunched over desks staring at computer screens paid for in part by New Zealand cricket captain Brendon McCullum, employees at a small Wellington company are hard at work laying the foundations for what they hope will be the next social media revolution. Targeting the estimated billion players and fans of the English bat-and-ball game around the world, CricHQ aims to build an online community which could be crudely described as Facebook for cricket. ...

YouTube adds first paid channel for horror films

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:30:01 -0400

By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - YouTube has a new paid channel for horror junkies, adding Screampix as the first subscription channel dedicated to frightful fare. It launched on Wednesday in the US and Canada for $2.99 a month, and will rollout to the U.K., France and Brazil later this year. The channel features more than 200 hours of horror footage, including full-length features, trailers and interviews. Movies are grouped into categories such as "Women on a Rampage" and "Zombiepalooza. ...

Orlando Jones on why Machinima's geek culture works for 'Tainted Love'

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:14:46 -0400

By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Orlando Jones is a self-described comic book nerd, so when it came to finding the perfect venue for "Tainted Love," his gritty and profane love letter to graphic novels, the actor and comedian said Machinima immediately sprung to mind. The popular YouTube channel is a gathering spot for fans of geek culture and it's a destination for Jones when he wants to get his inner fanboy on. "Tainted Love" debuted two weeks ago on Machinima Prime and the third episode airs Thursday. ...

Newegg, Overstock win patent fight with Alcatel-Lucent

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:08:39 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The online shopping sites Newegg and Overstock Inc won a patent battle on Wednesday with telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA, which had accused the companies of infringing its patented technology. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears all patent appeals, upheld a lower court decision which found that Newegg and Overstock did not infringe on a software patent that allows computers to adapt the shopping web sites to their own screen size rather than having a server do the work. ...

Battered networks blow up traditional TV schedule to take on cable, streaming rivals

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:10:13 -0400

By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - One of the biggest television shows next season won't air until the season is nearly over - and that should tell you something about broadcasters' wavering loyalty to the traditional September-May broadcast season. Fox plans to debut its 12-episode "24" revival in May, and use it to launch another much-hyped, limited-run series, M. Night Shyamalan's "Wayward Pines." The network is following the lead of NBC, which used an unconventional April launch date for "The Voice" in 2011 to build it into a hit. ...

Why YouTube cover sensation Sam Tsui turned down record labels for his debut album

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:03:30 -0400

By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Michael Jackson landed Sam Tsui on Oprah, but now Tsui must rely on someone else's music - his own. A 24-year-old Pennsylvania native, Tsui blossomed into one of the most popular cover artists on YouTube while at Yale, covering everyone from Jackson to Britney Spears to Adele. His channel amassed more than 500,000 subscribers with the help of childhood friend and producer Kurt Schneider, who helped deliver Tsui's covers and mash-ups to millions of fans. ...

LulzSec hackers "at cutting edge" of cyber crime, court told

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:58:23 -0400

By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Four British hackers who took part in 2011 cyber-attacks on targets ranging from the CIA to Sony were audacious, arrogant men whose motivation was "anarchic self-amusement", a court heard on Wednesday. The men, who have pleaded guilty to a variety of offences, were members of the hacking collective LulzSec that caused millions of dollars of damage to corporate and government computer networks during an online crime spree they boasted about on Twitter. ...

After ATM heist, India's IT sector again in unwelcome spotlight

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:06:20 -0400

By Swati Pandey and Harichandan Arakali MUMBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) - A breach of security at two payment card processing companies in India that led to heists at cash machines around the world has reopened questions on the risks of outsourcing sensitive financial services to the Asian nation. Global banks that ship work to be processed in India, either in-house or to big IT services vendors, were already under pressure to step up oversight of back-office functions after a series of scandals last year. Last week, U.S. ...

GM says new data centers will improve vehicles, margins

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:35:27 -0400

By Deepa Seetharaman WARREN, Michigan (Reuters) - General Motors Co said it is investing $546 million in two new Michigan data centers in hopes it will free up millions of dollars to boost vehicle quality more quickly. The largest U.S. automaker unveiled a $288 million data center in the Detroit suburb of Warren on Monday, which went online in January. Construction of a $258 million companion center at the GM vehicle proving grounds in Milford, Michigan, will begin this summer. ...

London's Unruly snaps up viral video firm Shareifyoulike

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:40:18 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Unruly, one of London's hottest tech companies, has made its first acquisition, buying Germany's Shareifyoulike to gain the leading position in viral video marketing in the country. Unruly and Shareifyoulike work with advertisers and their agencies to create viral campaigns, whereby ads are viewed, shared and talked about on social networks, creating millions of pounds worth of marketing for brand owners. "Germany is a key market for us, it's the largest advertising economy in Europe," Unruly co-founder Sarah Wood told Reuters in an interview. ...

Disney's ABC to start first streaming of live broadcast shows

Sun, 12 May 2013 20:23:51 -0400

By Ronald Grover LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Disney's ABC network will become the first broadcast network to stream its shows live online through an ongoing service, starting with viewers of its TV stations in New York and Philadelphia on May 14 and expanding to its other stations by the end of the summer. To promote its WATCH ABC service, through the end of June Disney is allowing all viewers of its WABC station in New York and WPVI station in Philadelphia to watch live ABC programs online or on mobile devices by downloading the WATCH ABC app, Disney said in a statement. ...

India IT watchdog investigating breach in ATM heist

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:11:48 -0400

By Swati Pandey and Supantha Mukherjee MUMBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) - The Indian government's cyber watchdog is investigating how security at two companies that are part of the country's vast IT services industry was breached in a global ATM heist that saw $45 million stolen from two banks in the Middle East. EnStage Inc, which operates from Bangalore, and ElectraCard Services, based in the Indian city of Pune, processed card payments for the two banks that were hit in the theft, several people familiar with the situation said. ...

For banks in cyber heist, how to get their money back?

Sun, 12 May 2013 09:49:44 -0400

By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Because the sums were large and such attacks are relatively new, the two Middle East banks hit in a $45 million ATM heist face an uncertain path in trying to recover their losses, financial, insurance and legal experts say. Oman-based Bank of Muscat lost $40 million and United Arab Emirates-based National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah PSC (RAKBANK) lost $5 million in the global heist, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. Computer hackers broke into third-party companies that processed transactions for prepaid debit cards issued by the banks, the prosecutors said. ...

Analysis: Google+ struggles to attract brands, some neglect to update

Sun, 12 May 2013 08:02:19 -0400

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - To mark the Cinco de Mayo holiday this year, Domino's Pizza festooned its Facebook page with a string of posts, including an image of a Mexican-themed guacamole pizza that garnered over 2,000 "likes". But visitors to Domino's companion Google+ page on that day found less festive fare: The most recent post was from October 2012. Two years after introducing its social network, Google Inc is struggling to win over the brands and businesses that have been its most loyal customers in the Internet search market. ...

India government IT watchdog investigating breach in ATM heist

Sun, 12 May 2013 05:22:54 -0400

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian government's cyber watchdog is looking into how the computer systems of two companies were breached in a sophisticated global ATM heist that saw $45 million stolen from two banks in the Middle East. EnStage Inc, which operates from Bangalore, and ElectraCard Services, which is based in the Indian city of Pune, processed card payments for the two banks that were hit in the theft, according to several people familiar with the situation. ...

Indian companies at center of global cyber heist

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:05:59 -0400

By Dinesh Nair and Jim Finkle DUBAI/BOSTON (Reuters) - Two companies with major operations in India were the weak links that opened the door to a $45 million global cyber heist brought to light by U.S. authorities this week. EnStage Inc, which operates from Bangalore, and ElectraCard Services, which is based in Pune, processed card payments for the two Middle Eastern banks that were hit in the theft, according to several people familiar with the situation. U.S. ...

Sudanese security pulls plug on Khartoum Web conference

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:11:23 -0400

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The organizer of a forum on promoting ideas through the Internet accused Sudanese state security agents on Saturday of shutting down the event in Khartoum by cutting off the power. The local branch of New York-based TED, an independent group that spreads knowledge about the Internet and social media, drew 900 people to its 'Knowledge into Action' conference in a luxury hotel, its founder Anwar Dafa-Alla said. After the first speech, a security agent came and asked to halt the event, saying there was no permit for it, Dafa-Alla told Reuters. ...

Alleged Dominican head of New York ATM thefts was shot dead

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:49:07 -0400

By Manuel Jimenez SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - An alleged leader of the New York arm of a global cyber crime ring, which stole $45 million from two Middle Eastern banks, was shot dead during an attempted robbery in the Dominican Republic last month, Dominican police said on Friday. Alberto Lajud-Pena, 23, was killed on April 27 in a house in the city of San Francisco de Macoris about 100 miles northeast of the capital, Santo Domingo, according to police. ...

Exclusive: SoftBank asks banks not to finance Dish's Sprint bid

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:54:50 -0400

By Soyoung Kim and Olivia Oran NEW YORK (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp is playing it rough in its attempt to keep Dish Network Corp from breaking up its $20.1 billion deal to take control of Sprint Nextel Corp. The Japanese telecom company, which owns 33 percent of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, has told banks that their financing of Dish's $25.5 billion rival offer for Sprint could hurt their chances of landing a role in a highly anticipated public offering of the Chinese e-commerce giant, two sources familiar with the situation said. SoftBank, Dish and Sprint declined to comment. ...

Prepaid debit cards: a weak link in bank security

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:40:01 -0400

By Emily Flitter and Tanya Agrawal (Reuters) - A brazen gang of cyber criminals, who stole $45 million from bank ATMs in 27 countries, exposes an Achilles heel in the global financial industry: prepaid debit cards. Cyber security experts and industry analysts say the burgeoning use of prepaid debit cards for everything from gift certificates to disaster relief handouts is making it easier for hackers to withdraw large amounts of money before detection. Prepaid cards have fewer controls on them than on regular credit and debit cards issued by banks. ...

Germany arrests two Dutch citizens in cyber bank heist

Fri, 10 May 2013 19:38:09 -0400

By Alexander Hübner FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German prosecutors said on Friday they had arrested two Dutch citizens suspected of taking part in a $45 million global cyber heist unveiled the previous day by U.S. authorities. A 35-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman were caught on February 19 withdrawing 170,000 euros ($220,500) in Düsseldorf using Bank of Muscat credit cards. In total, $2.4 million dollars was withdrawn in seven German cities, the prosecutors said. On Thursday, U.S. ...

Exclusive: Elon Musk quits Zuckerberg's immigration advocacy group

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:53:42 -0400

By Sarah McBride and Alina Selyukh SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire environmentalist Elon Musk has quit a Silicon Valley advocacy group formed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg after the group funded ads for senators touting their support for an oil pipeline and oil drilling in Alaska. Musk leads one of the world's best known "green" companies, electric carmaker Tesla. A Tesla spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday that the South African-born entrepreneur preferred not to elaborate on his reasons for leaving FWD.us. Zuckerberg announced the formation of FWD. ...

Exclusive: SoftBank asks banks not to finance Dish's Sprint bid - sources

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:58:50 -0400

By Soyoung Kim and Olivia Oran (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp has asked investment banks not to finance a rival bid for Sprint Nextel Corp by Dish Network Corp, saying this could hurt the banks' chances of gaining a role in the highly anticipated public offering of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Japanese telecom company SoftBank, which is a big shareholder in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba with a 33 percent stake, is locked in an escalating bidding war with Dish, after the U.S. satellite TV provider made a $25. ...

U.S. appeals court issues divided ruling in software patent case

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:29:53 -0400

By Erin Geiger Smith (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that Australia's Alice Corp does not hold valid patents on a computerized trading platform, but it remained unclear how the decision would affect other software patents. The software industry had been watching the case for a clue to legal protection of intellectual property rights that generate much of the sector's profits. But the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals failed to reach a consensus on how to determine what software is patentable. ...

Twitter eyes big business in Brazil's World Cup, Olympics

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:54:00 -0400

By Esteban Israel SAO PAULO (Reuters) - While Brazil struggles to finish its stadiums in time for the 2014 World Cup, Twitter is already working to cash in on what the U.S. company's head of revenue, Adam Bain, sees as a potentially huge business opportunity. Robust consumer spending, growth potential from still-low Internet penetration and fast adoption of smart phones have turned this nation of 194 million people into an attractive market for Twitter and other online giants. ...

Justin Bieber weighs in on Nelson Mandela: he's 'the Man!'

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:22:14 -0400

By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Justin Bieber is once again airing his thoughts on history-making figures. With about as much success as he did last time. "Boyfriend" singer Bieber, who caught heat last month when he wondered whether Anne Frank would have been a fan of his, has now turned his gaze toward anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. Bieber's deep thoughts on Mandela? He's "the man. ...

Priceline sees second-quarter profit below estimates, shares fall

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:30:42 -0400

By Karen Jacobs (Reuters) - Online travel agency Priceline.com on Thursday gave a forecast for second-quarter profit that was below analysts' estimates, as it cited the effects of global expansion costs, and its shares slid 3 percent in after-hours trading. Priceline made the comments as it reported a first-quarter profit that topped estimates on improved hotel and car-rental reservations. Chief Executive Jeffery Boyd said the second-quarter outlook reflects an expected decline in operating margins as the company invests in global growth. ...

U.S. charges eight in $45 million cyber crime scheme

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:16:42 -0400

By Jessica Dye, Joseph Ax and Jim Finkle NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - In one of the biggest ever bank heists, a global cyber crime ring stole $45 million from two Middle Eastern banks by hacking into their credit card processing firms and withdrawing money from ATMs in 27 countries, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. New York federal prosecutors accused eight men of allegedly forming the New York-based cell of the organization, and said seven of them have been arrested. The eighth defendant was reported to have been murdered in the Dominican Republic on April 27, according to U.S. prosecutors. ...

Lawmakers go online for grassroots push on tax reform

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:01:26 -0400

By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The political goal is the same as it was in the mid-1980s: grassroots support for an overhaul of the U.S. tax code. But lawmakers' approach this time is thoroughly modern. The chairmen of Congress's tax-writing committees on Thursday launched a website they hope will boost public support for overhauling the tax code in the same way that a "Write Rosty" letter-writing campaign did a quarter-century ago. TaxReform.gov, created by U.S. ...

UK lawmakers set date for Google, Ernst & Young tax grilling

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:56:38 -0400

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - A panel of UK lawmakers will next week grill representatives from Google Inc and its auditor, Ernst & Young, following a Reuters report that highlighted inconsistencies in Google's statements about its UK activities. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said on its website that the representatives would testify on May 16. Google has attracted the ire of British lawmakers for the way it pays almost no income tax on billions of dollars of UK sales each year. ...