A Closer Look at Public Cloud Security

 There are all sorts of fears and concerns swirling around the very idea of cloud computing, and many sound like this: “What about security? Where’s the data? Who’s protecting it?”

The fact is, all these questions were valid--when cloud computing was first introduced and not well understood. Survey after survey showed that companies were concerned about data location, access control, regulatory compliance, encryption, auditing rights, service-level agreements, reliability and disaster recovery.

All those concerns made some organizations hesitate before embracing the cloud. People were simply afraid--especially in highly regulated industries.

The fact is, though, that public cloud services from major providers use leading-edge security technologies to protect the data on their systems, and they offer competitive service-level agreements to guarantee their consistent performance. With a little due diligence, companies can find a service package that meets their IT needs and conforms to their security requirements.

For example, major cloud-computing providers have redundant set-ups in disparate locations for high availability, plus tight physical security for their data center locations. From video surveillance to intrusion-detection systems, and multifactor authentication required to gain access to equipment areas, these service providers make sure that unauthorized personnel aren’t welcome. Read More

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IBM Completes Acquisition of Analytics Provider Varicent Software

IBM finalizes its acquisition of Varicent Software, a provider of analytics software for compensation and sales performance management. IBM initially announced its plans to acquire Varicent in April.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced the completion of its acquisition of Varicent Software, a provider of analytics software for compensation and sales performance management.

IBM has been on a buying spree of analytics software providers, with Varicent its latest acquisition. IBM also has been beefing up its commerce play with the company’s Smarter Commerce strategy. Varicent's software automates and analyzes data across sales, finance, human resources and IT departments to uncover trends and improve sales performance and operations.

The acquisition enhances IBM's Smarter Analytics capabilities across line-of-business operations in all industries. IBM initially announced plans to acquire Varicent in April.

"Varicent advances IBM’s efforts to deliver analytics directly into the hands of front-line employees, helping them uncover new ways to remain competitive and stay ahead of increasing demand,” said Les Rechan, IBM’s general manager of business analytics, in a statement. "The combination of Varicent’s software and IBM's deep analytics expertise delivers a comprehensive approach to managing sales performance, allowing clients to make more informed decisions faster."  Read More

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Six Degrees acquires Datahop; fiberoptic datacenter network

British cloud services provider Six Degrees Group announced this morning that it has acquired Data hop, an international data center interconnection company also located in the U.K., for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition comes just seven months after Six Degrees came into being, fueled by $95 million in venture capital from Penta Capital. It’s been on a buying spree since then: last week it purchased two cloud hosting firms in London; it acquired another back in February after securing a credit line of $39.5 million.

Its interest in Datahop is simple: the company has 200 customers and a network of high-speed fiberoptic cable linking datacenters in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris. Read More

 

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Don't forget the guys in the networking trenches...

 Summary: Portable network analysis tools are still an important part of datacenter operations.

Every now and then I get a reminder that not all IT personnel get to enjoy the 20,000 foot view of their datacenters. While infrastructure management tools and converged DCIM solutions get a lot of attention, it’s important not to forget that many of the problems that network engineers have had to deal with over the years still exist. There are still a huge number of IT folks whose job is to get down in the trenches and try to figure out what is going on with the physical network, and that means they need to have portable tools that can plug into the network where necessary, with both physical connections and wireless access. And these tools need to be able to understand how the latest in network technologies work, which includes dealing with virtualization.

Fortunately the tools to deal with networking cabling and wireless connectivity issues have gotten significantly more sophisticated. Long-time network test and analysis tool maker Fluke Networks, who’s products I used back in the dark ages when I was one of those guys who keep the corporate networks running, is still fighting the good fight, designing and delivering the tools that the network engineer needs to be able to troubleshoot, analyze and repair those annoying and aggravating problems that impact network connectivity. Read More

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IP traffic to grow 29 percent per year through 2016: Cisco

(Reuters) - Network equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc said Internet Protocol traffic is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 29 percent in the next four years mainly due to strong demand for video and the prevalence of devices such as smartphones, tablets and chips that monitor energy consumption.

By 2016, annual global IP traffic is forecast to be 1.3 zettabytes - units of information - or 38 million DVDs per hour, Cisco said in its annual visual networking index forecast published on Wednesday that predicts growth from 2011 to 2016.

By comparison the traffic generated from 1984 to 2012 so far is 1.2 zettabytes, so the Internet traffic predicted for 2016 will be larger than for prior years combined, said Thomas Barnett, senior manager of Cisco's global service provider marketing group. Read More

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IT & Network Infrastructure : Data Center Efficiency: 10 Tips to Boost Productivity, Reduce Power Usage

Data centers are designed for reliability, usually at the expense of efficiency.  The failure to design for efficiency increases capital and operational expenditures. It can also result in finite resources being exhausted, thereby creating a situation in which relentless growth threatens to outpace the enterprise’s ability to financially sustain that growth. Quantifying the power efficiencies of a data center may appear to be something pretty esoteric, but rest assured, it is all very scientific. Two metrics instituted by the Green Grid industry group are now beginning the lengthy process of becoming international industry standards. First, there is power usage effectiveness (PUE). This is a ratio of total facility power divided by IT equipment power. Ideally, it should be less than 2-to-1. The closer to 1-to-1 this metric is, the better. Then, there is data center infrastructure efficiency (DCiE), which is a percentage calculated by multiplying IT equipment power by 100, divided by total facility power. The bigger this percentage is, the better. A data center's DCiE should never be more than 1. With this in mind, here are 10 steps IT and facility managers can take to improve efficiency without compromising reliability. Our expert resource for this slide show is Clemens Pfeiffer, CTO of Power Assure and a 25-year veteran of the software industry. Read More

Nokia and Symbian still number one in China

Android may have an insurmountable lead in the Chinese smartphone market, but when it comes to internet-connected mobiles Symbian and Nokia are still number one according to new stats from search giant Baidu.

The company’s latest quarterly Mobile Internet Development Trends Report for Q1 2012 measured only internet-connected phones which have browsed the web through Baidu.

Discarding the category of ‘other’ which came out tops on both counts, the breakdown by brand shows Nokia in the lead with 22 per cent, counterfeit or shanzhai products with 16.1 per cent and Samsung third with a share of 10.4 per cent. Read More

Yahoo launches stand-alone mobile search app

Yahoo beefed up its search offerings on Wednesday when it launched Axis, an HTML5-based browser app that delivers search results as page previews rather than as links.

Axis shortens the time it takes a user to get from an initial query to the desired result, whether it's finding a fact or making a reservation, by about a third, according to Ethan Batraski, Yahoo's director of product management for special projects.

Batraski explained that most search interfaces require a three-step process -- query, results page and the selected result -- which Axis has tried to reduce to just two.

"That's an archaic experience. It's been the same for 12 to 15 years. We decided to get rid of the middle step, because nobody really likes the middleman," Batraski said. Read More

Pro-Google jury doubted Oracle all along says foreman

Oracle faced a stronger than expected challenge convincing the jury in the Android case that Google had willfully infringed Java patents, post-trial comments have revealed, with most leaning heavily toward the search company throughout the case. Despite earlier speculation that the 12-strong jury was looking negatively on Google’s arguments, jury foreman Greg Thompson told Ars Technica that in fact it was a 9-3 split in Google’s favor on copyright issues. There are also suggestions that Oracle’s stance left some on the jury feeling the company’s strategies weren’t in the public’s best interest.

“The more tech savvy a person is,” Thompson said, “the more difficult it might be to convince them of something that would limit [technology] … and future expansion of the common good.”

That was a possibility that had already worried many outside of the case. ”Treating APIs as copyrightable would have a profound negative impact on interoperability, and, therefore, innovation” Julie Samuels, staff attorney at the Electronics Frontier Foundation said earlier this month, with suggestions that a precedent jury decision might hamstring future developments. Read More

VMware Claims It's Cheaper Than Microsoft

VM ware claims its virtualization products are cheaper than Microsoft's when the total cost of ownership is calculated over a two-year period. To get to that conclusion, it sponsored a study by Principled Technologies that takes a close look at two years of administrator time and expense required to run the respective systems.

Readers of this report: beware. VMware got itself in trouble last July by charging for vSphere 5 Enterprise Edition based on the amount of virtual memory the customer used. It initially set a 48-GB virtual memory limit per license; three weeks later, in the face of customer feedback, it raised it to 96-GB per license. This study is part of VMware's continued response to that blowup. Read More

Windows 8: New Tricks With Multiple Monitors

In its bid to produce devices that combine the best features of tablets and PCs, Microsoft has added a number of new multi-monitor support features to its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system, including a tool that allows users to run full-screen Metro apps across multiple monitors.

"A multi-monitor setup allows you to be more productive by having more windows across multiple screens," said Mark Yalovsky, a lead program manager on Microsoft's user experience team, in a blog post. "We're very excited about the ease at which tablets in Windows 8 will be able to support large screen and high-resolution monitors (often through HDMI connectors), as this opens up a broad range of exciting new scenarios." Read More

Wireless carriers seek to "offload" customers

Major carriers are investing in ways to unload customers' data traffic from their airwaves into cheaper and more localized networks, such as Wi-Fi hot spots and small cellular base stations, which are designed for compact, heavy traffic areas such as stadiums and city centers.

Wireless companies say the new approach ("offloading" in industry parlance) will help meet customers' surging demand for more data bandwidth. Even as they build the next generation of faster wireless networks, called 4G LTE, carriers are discouraging heavy data users by eliminating unlimited data plans and enforcing monthly caps.

Such efforts have done little to slow the hunger for more data from ceaseless waves of users who watch Netflix and listen to Pandora at all hours via over-the-air networks. In North America, video and audio streaming now account for more than half of all domestic wireless data traffic, according to network management company Sandvine. Read More

Google aiming to close Motorola deal by Wednesday

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is planning to complete its $12.5 billion acquisition of cell phone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings before Wednesday.

Motorola outlined the timetable in documents it filed Monday following Saturday’s approval of the deal by regulators in China. That approval removed the final hurdle preventing Google from closing the biggest deal in its 14-year history.
Google Inc. prizes Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for its portfolio of more than 17,000 patents.

Owning the rights to those patents will provide Google and the mobile device makers who rely on its Android software with valuable weapons in an intellectual arms race with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and other technology giants. Read More

But investors are worried Motorola’s business making phones will trim Google’s profit margins.

Passpoint, Wi-Fi Alliance's Automatic Hotspot Login, Coming this Summer

Passpoint, a feature that will allow people to automatically connect smartphones and tablets to public Wi-Fi hotspots without any effort, will soon be available, and most Americans can't wait to have this feature, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance.

A recent poll by the nonprofit trade group found that 70 percent of U.S. smartphone and tablet owners surveyed would switch carriers just for a feature like Passport. As luck would have it, this summer the Wi-Fi Alliance will begin certifying routers and mobile devices with Passport.

The new Wi-Fi feature promises to put an end to the annoying process of logging in to public hotspots through browser-based splash screens that are often an exercise in frustration. Passpoint allows devices to automatically identify and join Wi-Fi networks using the WPA2 security protocol without user intervention. The new login process can authenticate users based on a device's SIM card, a username and password, or installed security certificate. Seamless online authentication means that other Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as digital cameras, could also join a Passpoint hotspot for photo and video uploads on the go. Read More

Cable Giants Partner to Offer 50K Free Wi-Fi Hotspots for Subscribers

Wi-Fi hotspot access just got easier for high-speed Internet customers of Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable. The five cable giants announced an agreement Monday to make more than 50,000 hotspots in several U.S. cities available for free to each company’s customers.

The new free Wi-Fi hotspots will operate under a new name called “CableWiFi” instead of using the separate names for each company’s hotspot networks. The new network brand is rolling out now, but it will take a few months to reach all the hotspots that are part of the new agreement. CableWiFi is already live in the New York City area and central Florida for Bright House and Cablevision hotspots.

Free Wi-Fi hotspots will be available in New York City and the surrounding Tri-state area, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando, and Philadelphia. Other cities may also be added to the free Wi-Fi deal in the coming months. Read More

U.S. import review to have limited effect on HTC sales: analyst

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) HTC Corp.'s quarterly sales will likely be affected by the ongoing U.S. Customs review to a limited extent only, as import shipments of the Taiwanese smartphone vendor are being cleared quicker than expected, a Taipei-based analyst said Monday.

"The impact looks as if it will be much lighter than the market expected, as the clearance (of some shipments) has taken only a couple of days, not three to six weeks as previously anticipated," said Jeff Pu, an equity research analyst at Fubon Securities. Read More
 

Motorola to not update all handsets to ICS

Earlier this year, it was reported that Motorola had released a roadmap that provided details of their devices that were to receive Google’s latest smartphone operating software, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, on their official blog. At the time, they had provided information on the various steps that needed to be taken in order to upgrade to the current OS. They have detailed the procedure pertaining to the software upgrade process and have divided it into four stages – Evaluation and Planning, Development, Testing and Available. But in a recent post by Motorola, it appears that this latest bit of information may not please some of their users as they state that all handsets will not receive Android 4.0. Read More

Facebook buys mobile e-commerce app Karma

IDG News Service - The mobile gift-giving app Karma announced Friday it has been acquired by Facebook. The announcement came shortly after the markets closed on Facebook's first day as a publicly traded company.

Karma allows users to buy gifts from its catalogue from their mobile phones. Recipients receive a text message notifying them of the gift and directing them to a website where they can exchange it if they want to and enter their shipping address.

Karma, which launched in 2011, is already integrated with Facebook. Karma draws from Facebook profiles to notify users of friends' birthdays, for example. The app will retain its functions after the acquisition, according to a blog post from Karma's founders.

The move continues Facebook's push to enhance its mobile offerings, where it currently generates less revenue per user than it does on the desktop. The app's commerce features could suggest Facebook plans to expand in that area.  Read More

Dell Agrees to Buy Thin-client Company Wyse Technology

Dell has signed an agreement to acquire thin-client hardware and software company Wyse Technology, to expand its desktop virtualization offerings, Dell said Monday.
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Instead of running the desktop OS and applications on a PC, the virtual desktop exists only in a virtual machine on a server. In some environments, this allows enterprises to more efficiently and securely manage their users and devices, according to Dell.

By acquiring Wyse, Dell gets both hardware and software it can integrate with its own products to offer more complete packages.

Wyse's hardware portfolio includes both thin and so-called zero clients. For example, last month, Wyse introduced the T10, which uses an ARM-based processor to keep both cost and the operating temperature down.

The T10 uses Wyse's own OS, ThinOS, which has been tailored for use on thin clients. Its small size results in a quicker start. The client can be used with a number of different platforms for virtualized desktops, including those from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware, the company said at the time.

Wyse also offers management software that can control Apple's iPads and iPhones, Android-based devices and its own clients. Read More

Google Shifts Tack on Android

Google plans to give multiple mobile-device makers early access to new releases of Android and to sell those devices directly to consumers, said people familiar with the matter. That is a shift from Google's previous practice, when it joined with with only one hardware maker at a time to produce "lead devices," before releasing the software to other device makers. Those lead devices were then sold to consumers through wireless carriers or retailers.

The expansion of direct sales marks a bid to exert more control over key features and apps that run on Android-powered phones and tablets, thus reducing the influence of wireless carriers over such devices, these people said. Wireless carriers typically handle marketing and sales of devices and thus can exert some control over the services that run on them. Read More

5 Great Android Apps for Cloud Admins

If you administer cloud servers or services, such as those from Amazon Web Services or Rackspace, you might be relieved to learn that you don't need access to a notebook or desktop PC to perform routine administrative tasks.

Install one of these five apps--AWS Console, Android AWS Manager, Decaf Amazon EC2 Client, Rackspace, or ConnectBot--on your Android phone or tablet, and you can manage your cloud infrastructure from anyplace where you can access the Internet.

The first three apps are compatible with AWS, the fourth can be used with Rackspace, and the fifth is a Secure Shell client that's compatible with any cloud host. Read More

The new Bing is live (well, 2/3 of it)

If you’re in the US (or can fool your browser into thinking you are), the new Bing, with its double dose of sidebars, is available now, either by opting in to the banner that should be appearing on www.Bing.com, or by opting in at bing.com/new.  If you missed the news coming from last week’s Search Summit, Bing has incorporated both a “Snapshot” sidebar and a social sidebar into its new look, after cleaning up the search results page by eliminating the left hand sidebar and minimizing a number of distracting elements on the page. Read More

General Motors says it will stop advertising on Facebook

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters the car maker had decided Facebook's adverts had little impact on consumers.

The decision by GM, the third-largest advertiser in the United States, marks the first highly visible crack in Facebook's strategy and underscores doubts about whether advertising on Facebook works better than traditional media.

"This does highlight what we are arguing is the riskiness of the overall Facebook business model," said Brian Wieser, Internet and media analyst at Pivotal Research Group.

"It is not a sure thing. It sure looks likely that it will be one of the most important ad-supported media properties, but it's not certain because there will be marketers who are challenged to prove the effectiveness of the marketing vehicle."  Read More

UPDATE 4-Facebook boosts IPO size by 25 pct, could top $16 bln

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, May 15 (Reuters) - Facebook Inc will increase the size of its initial public offering by 25 percent, a source familiar with the matter said, and could raise as much as $16 billion as strong investor demand for a share of the No.1 social network trumps debate about the company's long-term potential to make money.

Those concerns over revenue growth were underscored earlier on Tuesday, when General Motors said it planned to pull out of advertising on Facebook. Read More

Google, Mozilla Complaints About Microsoft Browser Eyed by Senate Panel

A subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is reportedly starting to look into allegations from the Mozilla Foundation and Google that Microsoft is purposely making it difficult for their Web browsers–Firefox and Chrome, respectively–to run on Windows-powered mobile devices.

Antitrust Subcommittee staff will begin looking to the allegations, according to an aide to the subcommittee chairman, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.). The story was first reported late last week in The Hill, a news publication that covers Congress. A press aide to Kohl, Dawn Schuler, told eWEEK today that the investigation is in its very early stages. Read More

Voyager Cheap Unlimited Unleashed 5/15 $19 Voice/Txt $39 with Data

Starting Tuesday, May 15 at 6 AM EDT,  Voyager Mobile will launch  nationwide 3G and 4G wireless network service.

Voyager Mobile will offer unlimited wireless plans starting at $19 per month without contracts or credit check. Voyager Mobile will most Android and Windows smartphones with a price of $39 for all-unlimited voice, text and WiMAX data.

Smartphones expected to be sold are the LG Optimus S, Motorola XPRT, Samsung Conquer 4G and Samsung Epic 4G Touch.  Pricing for the phones has not be announced, yet.While saving money on wireless service comes standard, Voyager Mobile believes in rewarding its customers for talking on the phone. We're introducing Voyager Rewards -- the frequent talker program. Simply talking on the phone will reward you with points, which can be redeemed for airline miles, gift cards, phone upgrades, and free monthly service.

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Seniors clamoring to invest in Facebook IPO

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Senior citizens may represent one of the smallest segments of Facebook's 900 million users, but at least one group is eager to invest in this week's IPO.

Facebook's initial public offering has been one of the hottest topics of conversation among seniors living in a retirement community in Boynton Beach, Fla., said 79-year-old resident Alvan Sweet. Read More

Bike/walk to work this week

If you've ever thought to yourself, "You know, I really don't live that far from work. I should at least walk or bike there every once in a while," then this is your week.

Today marks the start of the 10th annual Seacoast Bike/Walk to Work Week, when folks across the Seacoast make a commitment to use their bikes or feet to get to work.

They join others across the state who are making the same pledge. Last year, participants traveled 64,731 miles statewide. And with gas hovering under $4 a gallon, and each gallon of gas emitting 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, those who can participate really should.

"You're fitting a workout into a busy day, reducing your pollution footprint and avoiding traffic jams," said Josh Pierce, president of Seacoast Area Bike Routes, one of the week's sponsors. Other sponsors include the Rockingham and Strafford planning commissions, COAST, the University of New Hampshire, local bike shops and other businesses. Read More

Developer: iOS 5.1.1 already installed on 10 percent of iOS devices

Summary: In a matter of a few hours, iOS 5.1.1 already has more than double the market share of Android 4.0.3 and 4.0.4.

According to David Smith, an independent iOS and Mac developer responsible for hit apps such as Audiobooks and InstaBackup, it’s taken less than 24 hours for Apple’s iOS 5.1.1 update to be installed on over 10 percent of iOS devices.

The following chart was created by Smith to show the adoption rate of the new update since its release yesterday. The data was captured by Smith’s free Audiobooks app, which sees some 100,000 downloads every week: Read More

Sprint 'Bullish' on Windows Phone 8, Coy on Galaxy S III

NEW ORLEANS—Windows phone fans on Sprint may only have a few more months to wait. The carrier's director of consumer acquisition, David Owens, said that he's "still bullish on Apollo" at the CTIA trade show today, which may point to Windows Phone 8 devices on Sprint.

Back at CES in January, Owens said Sprint's single Windows Phone, the HTC Arrive, hadn't "done well enough for us to jump back into the fire." But at the time he added that Sprint would give Microsoft's OS another look in the "August-September time period," a reference to the upcoming Windows. Read More

Nokia Lumia drives further ecosystem momentum with new app partnerships announced at CTIA

New Orleans, US - Nokia announced a number of new and exclusive application partnerships at CTIA Wireless 2012, continuing its focus on delivering differentiated and original app experiences to Nokia Lumia consumers around the world.

"We are focused on delivering great, locally relevant apps, and importantly, those which offer unique, exclusive and original experiences," said Marco Argenti, SVP, Nokia Developer Experience. "With Nokia Lumia smartphones now available in 48 markets, developers are rapidly recognizing the business opportunities and creating their best work for our consumers."

With more than 80,000 apps now available in Windows Phone Marketplace, search and discovery features such as 'App Highlights' and 'Nokia Collection' curate the best, most relevant apps for Nokia Lumia consumers.

"Nokia has achieved much in a short space of time when it comes to key brands and partners creating apps for Nokia Lumia customers. We believe developers are now moving away from simply porting, to create new innovative and high-design apps that fully leverage the Windows Phone Metro UI and features such as live tiles. With new and exclusive apps launching on a regular basis, and Nokia Lumia rapidly expanding into new markets, Nokia and Microsoft are demonstrating meaningful differentiation for consumers, developers, operators and retailers," said Crawford Del Prete, EVP, Chief Research Officer, IDC. Read More

Nokia calls Windows 8 tablets report 'misconstrued'

Yesterday we reported that Jorma Ollila, the outgoing chairman of Nokia had revealed in an interview that the company would be launching a range of new tablets and ‘hybrid’ smart mobile models. However, he didn’t disclose a time frame. A recent report by eWeek now shows how Nokia has backed off from the comments made by Ollila and called them ‘misconstrued.’ Well, Nokia coming out with Windows tablets isn’t something new. News about Nokia coming out with Windows-based tablets has been doing the rounds for sometime now. Remember the possible Nokia Lumia tablet render that had surfaced sometime back. Ollila spoke about the importance of tablets and that it’s being considered. Read More

Adobe issues emergency update to fix cross-platform Flash exploit

Adobe on Friday released a security bulletin that announced an emergency update that affects all versions of its Flash Player, though it seems the exploit is currently being used to target Windows PCs running Microsoft's Internet Explorer .

Dubbed an "object confusion vulnerability," the bug tricks a user into opening a malicious file sent in an email message which can cause Flash to crash, potentially giving the attacker control of the affected PC.

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Exclusive: $99 Xbox 360 + Kinect bundle launching next week with two-year subscription

Microsoft is planning to launch a $99 Xbox console package with a monthly subscription as early as next week, according to our sources. The software giant will offer the 4GB console with a Kinect sensor at its range of Microsoft Stores in the US, subsidized with a monthly cost of $15. We're told that the two-year subscription will provide access to the Xbox Live Gold service and possibly some additional streaming content from cable providers or sports package providers. Customers who sign-up for the deal will also be covered under a two-year warranty.

There will be an early termination fee for those wishing to break the contract ahead of its two-year duration, and we understand that Microsoft will position the package as a competitor to Apple TV, Roku, and PlayStation 3. For those buying the bundle now and getting the cheapest two-year Xbox Live Gold option, that's about $299.00 + $120 = $420 vs. $459 over a duration of two years. With E3 2012 on the horizon, and Microsoft working on a "Woodstock" music service — it's clear that the company wants to ensure as many people as possible have an Xbox in their living rooms.

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Road to IPO: milestones in Facebook's history Facebook - the timeline

Some key developments in the eight years since Facebook's creation:
February 2004: Mark Zuckerberg starts Facebook as a sophomore at Harvard University.
March 2004: Facebook begins expansion to other colleges and universities.
June 2004: Facebook moves to Palo Alto.
September 2004: Facebook introduces the Wall, which allows people to write personal musings and other tidbits on profile pages. Lawsuit filed against Facebook says Zuckerberg stole the idea for Facebook from a company co-founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and a third person at Harvard.
September 2005: Facebook expands to include high schools.
May 2006: Facebook introduces work networks.
September 2006: Facebook begins letting anyone older than 13 join. It also introduces News Feed, which collects friends' Wall posts in one place.
May 2007: Facebook starts Platform, a system for letting outside programmers develop tools for sharing photos, taking quizzes and playing games. The system allows companies such as game maker Zynga to thrive.
October 2007: Facebook agrees to sell a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft for $240 million.
November 2007: Facebook introduces its Beacon program, a feature that broadcasts people's activities on dozens of outside sites. It leads to a privacy backlash before Facebook scraps it as part of a legal settlement.
March 2008: Facebook hires Sheryl Sandberg as chief operating officer.
April 2008: Facebook Chat introduced.
February 2009: Facebook introduces its Like feature.

June 2009: Facebook surpasses Myspace as the leading online social network in the nation.
August 2010: Facebook introduces a location feature, letting users share where they are.
October 2010: "The Social Network," a movie about Zuckerberg and the legal battles over Facebook's founding, is released.
June 2011: Rival social network Google+ is introduced. The Winklevoss twins end their legal battle over the idea behind Facebook.
September 2011: Facebook introduces Timeline, a new version of the profile page.
November 2011: Facebook agrees to settle federal charges that it violated users' privacy by getting people to share more information than they agreed to when they signed up to the site.
December 2011: Facebook completes its move to Menlo Park.
February 2012: Facebook files for an initial public offering of stock.
April 2012: Facebook buys Instagram, a popular photography app, for $1 billion.
May 2012: Facebook sets a price range of $28 to $35 per share for its IPO.

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