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• Yahoo joins growing list of bidders for Hulu: sources

  By Ronald Grover and Greg Roumeliotis LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc has submitted a formal proposal to buy Hulu, joining a growing list of bidders for the video service owned by News Corp and Walt Disney Co, two sources with knowledge of the bid told Reuters on Friday. Yahoo just this week announced a $1.1 billion acquisition of blogging service Tumblr. It now joins rival bidders for Hulu, including Time Warner Cable Inc, DirecTV, former News Corp president Peter Chernin and Guggenheim Digital Media, sources have said. It is unclear how much the Internet company bid. ...

  
  
• Google to bankroll, build wireless networks across Africa: WSJ

  (Reuters) - Google Inc intends to finance, build and help operate wireless networks from sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia, hoping to connect a billion or so people in emerging countries to the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The Internet search giant - which has for years espoused universal Web access - is employing a patchwork quilt of technologies and holding discussions with regulators from South Africa to Kenya, the WSJ cited people familiar with the strategy as saying. ...

  
  
• Tiger Global invests $50 million in Automattic's WordPress.com By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Automattic, the company that operates blogging service WordPress.com, announced a $50 million investment from hedge fund and private-equity investor Tiger Global on Friday. The investment comes on the heels of Yahoo's $1.1 billion acquisition of blogging company Tumblr, showing the high prices fast-growing services that targeting Internet users can command. The valuation for Automattic was similar, Fortune reported. A spokeswoman for WordPress declined to comment. WordPress powers the blogs at companies such as CNN. ...
• New Xbox: What’s Better, What’s Missing Eight years after the debut of the Xbox 360, Microsoft has announced the Xbox One.
• Etisalat makes top bid for Vivendi's Maroc Tel: sources

  By Leila Abboud and Sophie Sassard PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Gulf telecom operator Etisalat has offered a higher price for Vivendi's Maroc Telecom stake than rival Qatari bidder Ooredoo, according to two people familiar with the matter. Etisalat's bid needs further work, however, and has more legal conditions than Ooredoo's offer, so Vivendi has not yet made a final choice, the people said. "If Etisalat cleans up its offer, then it wins," said one of the sources, who is close to the process. "If not, it will go to Qatar, who also made an offer that Vivendi can accept. ...

  
  
• Unhappy with how your fave series is faring? Amazon gives you a say

  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon is once again shaking up traditional publishing models. This time, it's giving fans a chance to add their own personal touches to their favorite fiction - and get paid in the process. This week, Amazon.com Inc announced "Kindle Worlds," which offers aspiring writers an opportunity to pen their own takes on franchises in books, TV, movies, even games and comics. The world's largest Internet retailer plans to license content, then accept submissions online that may then be sold through its Kindle ebook store. ...

  
  
• Dish and nTelos to jointly develop broadband service

  (Reuters) - Satellite TV provider Dish Network Corp and wireless network provider nTelos Holdings Corp said they would jointly develop a broadband service within nTelos's coverage territory serving parts of Virginia, Maryland and a few other states. Dish has been trying to diversify beyond its core pay-TV business that has matured and faces tough competition from cable, telecom and Internet video providers. The new service will give nTelos and Dish customers, especially those in underserved rural communities, access to high-speed Internet, the companies said in a statement. ...

  
  
• New Android apps worth downloading: Glide, SideCar Ride update, Men’s Room Mayhem Make video chatting a little easier with Glide, an app that lets you to make video calls to other users. If they're not available, you can send video messages rather than texts. Following that is SlideCar Ride, an app that helps you find a nearby car and driver when you need a ride and save on taxi services. Finally, Men's Room Mayhem is a Flight Control-like management game in which you need to direct patrons around a men's room.
• Microsoft reportedly plans to take a cut of used game sales Xbox One games are installed to the console’s hard drive and registered to users’ Xbox Live accounys. It remains unclear how the system will handle used games and Microsoft has failed to address the issue. According to a report from gaming news website MCV, retailers will be allowed to charge whatever they want for pre-owned Xbox One games, however both Microsoft and publishers will receive a percentage of every sale. Microsoft is looking to take control of the pre-owned market and will reportedly only allow specific retailers that have agreed to its terms to resell games. After a customer sells a game to an approved retailer, it will be registered in Microsoft’s cloud-based system as having been traded-in then it
• Samsung reportedly supplying OLED displays for Google Glass One of the more intriguing stories to follow in recent months has been the relationship between Samsung and several of the big-name tech companies that have relied upon it for components. Apple has made definitive moves away from Samsung and Google has shown some wariness about the company’s overwhelming clout in the Android ecosystem. But any anxieties Google might have about Samsung haven’t been enough to keep the South Korea-based manufacturer out of the loop on Google’s most experimental projects. The Korea Times reports that Google is using Samsung’s OLED displays for the consumer version of Google Glass, a decision that one of the publication’s supply chain sources describes as “a really big thing because it means that Google shares
• Yahoo reportedly places bid to buy Hulu stake Yahoo is apparently determined to show that it can do more than pay $1.1 billion for a bunch of teenage girls’ blogs. Unnamed sources tell Bloomberg that Yahoo has submitted an offer to buy video streaming website Hulu, a sign that the company is still considering ways to counter the enormous video streaming clout that Google now holds with YouTube. Yahoo was interested in buying a majority stake in French video streaming website Dailymotion earlier this year but that deal fell apart after the French government reportedly threatened to block it. In making an official bid for Hulu, Yahoo will be competing with Time Warner Cable, which is considering buying a 33% equity stake in the company. It’s unknown at
• Another patent suit bites the dust: Motorola can’t ban Xbox The good news with patent suits is that even when they’re successful they very rarely result in outright sales bans of popular products. And now Ars Technica reports that yet another attempt to enforce a sales ban has fallen flat on its face, this time Motorola’s attempt to stop sales of Microsoft’s Xbox. According to Ars, Motorola filed suit against Microsoft back in 2010 because its Xbox allegedly infringed upon Motorola patents that detailed technologies for “video transmission and compression as well as Wi-Fi.” Motorola’s quest against the Xbox ended this week, however, when a six-person panel at the International Trade Commission decided to toss out the company’s complaint. A Microsoft spokesperson described the ITC’s decision as “a win for
• News Corp. OKs poison pill, buyback before split LOS ANGELES (AP) — News Corp. said its board of directors has approved plans to split its entertainment and publishing businesses into two separate companies. The company also adopted a shareholder-rights plan designed to prevent a hostile takeover in the volatile trading period after the split is complete.
• Report: Yahoo, pay-TV operators among Hulu bidders LOS ANGELES (AP) — Online video site Hulu is again up for sale, with Yahoo and pay TV operators DirecTV and Time Warner Cable among the seven bidders, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
• Despite upcoming Xbox One launch, Microsoft aims to sell 25 million more Xbox 360s Microsoft’s newly unveiled Xbox One has gamers excited despite some huge question marks, but Microsoft thinks its current-generation Xbox 360 still has legs. Speaking with Official Xbox Magazine, Microsoft’s senior vice president of Interactive Entertainment Business Yusuf Mehdi said that the company is looking to sell 25 million more Xbox 360 consoled over the next five years. The Xbox 360 recently registered its 28th consecutive month as top-selling console, but sales of the 8-year-old console have slowed significantly in recent quarters. Inevitable price cuts may help Microsoft on its mission, but the company also has a few tricks up its sleeve that will be announced during the annual E3 video game conference next month.
• Kiss and make up: Microsoft and Google partner for Windows Phone YouTube app Both Google and Microsoft think it’d be a shame to deny Windows Phone users the glory of Keyboard Cat videos, which is why the two companies have agreed to team up and jointly create a native YouTube app for Microsoft’s mobile platform. The Next Web reports that the companies released a joint statement today saying that they “are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube’s API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks.” Once they finish the new app, Microsoft will remove the YouTube app it created from the Windows Phone store. The two companies’ decision to collaborate on a new app comes just a week after Google
• Microsoft and Google partner to bring YouTube app back to Windows Phone Both Google and Microsoft think it’d be a shame to deny Windows Phone users the glory of Keyboard Cat videos, which is why the two companies have agreed to team up and jointly create a native YouTube app for Microsoft’s mobile platform. The Next Web reports that the companies released a joint statement today saying that they “are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube’s API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks.” Once they finish the new app, Microsoft will remove the YouTube app it created from the Windows Phone store. The two companies’ decision to collaborate on a new app comes just a week after Google
• Schumer urges look at security in Sprint deal NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Charles Schumer urged regulators to "use extreme caution" when reviewing the proposed acquisition of No. 3 cell carrier Sprint Nextel by Japan's Softbank, saying the Japanese company's use of Chinese networking equipment could open up U.S. networks to snooping and hacking.
• Microsoft vows Xbox One won’t be struck by ‘red ring of death’ One of the most common problems that annoyed early Xbox 360 adopters was the appearance of the “red ring of death,” a flashing red light on the console’s start button indicating that its hardware was essentially fried and would need to be sent to Microsoft to be replaced. But Microsoft Game Studios vice president Phil Spencer tells Edge that the company has learned its lessons and that the new Xbox One will not experience hardware failures on a mass scale like the Xbox 360 did. In particular, Spencer noted that Microsoft’s success rate on the more recently released Xbox 360 Slim was “very high” and said that the same team behind the Slim also built the Xbox One, so chances are very good that the
• Netflix looks to hook subscribers with 'Arrested'

  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix is hoping this weekend's release of the resurrected TV series "Arrested Development" will draw more subscribers to its Internet video service.

  
  
• A look at Netflix since stock plunged from peak

  Here's a look at Netflix since its stock peaked in July 2011 at nearly $305. Netflix had just announced an unpopular price increase in the U.S., and investors got worried by the intensity of the customer backlash. Even after subscriber complaints subsided, investors remained concerned about intensifying competition at the same time the company is spending more to acquire Internet content and expand abroad. Despite those concerns, Netflix has been staging a comeback. Another boost is expected from Sunday's revival of the "Arrested Development" TV series.

  
  
• E-Tailers Want Amazon and Apple To Set Readers Free An industry report says there is no good technological reason for Amazon and Apple to restrict readers to their formats. Larry Greenemeier reports.
• WSJ: Google developing wireless networks to boost Internet access in Africa, Asia It is no secret that Google would like to be a wireless carrier. The company has long been rumored to be eyeing various partnerships to launch its own wireless network as soon as this year. The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Google is looking to fund, build and help run wireless networks in emerging markets in Africa and Southeast Asia. The company is said to be interested in connecting people to the Internet who live outside of major cities, while at the same time improving speed in urban locations. Google will reportedly create the business model to support the networks in collaboration with local companies. Google is said to be trying to win over regulators to launch its
• When a Blog Gets Caught in Your Throat

   "Let’s get this straight up front: I am now writing a blog post, not blogging a blog," writes Forrest Wickman at Slate, the good people who brought you the great two-spaces-after-a-period debate. Oh yes. Oh yes. They are at it again, this time with a post by in which he takes on the matter of what to call this thing we do.

  
  
• Early Google Glass user describes it as ‘creepy-looking,’ says it’s likely to fail The common knock on Google Glass has been that it’s far too dorky-looking for normal people to want to wear. David Pogue, writing at Scientific American, says that he got a chance to play around with Google Glass recently and came away with a somewhat different take: Google Glass is too creepy. In particular, Pogue says that people who are wearing Google Glass instantly make everyone else around them uncomfortable if they’re not also wearing the headset. Pogue came to this realization after he “ran into a Google employee wearing it in public” and had a “screamingly uncomfortable” conversation with her. “There she was, wearing this creepy-looking, faux-futuristic forehead band — with a built-in video camera pointed at my face,”
• There's No Reason for Cops to Panic About 3D-Printed Guns

  A bit slow to warm up the engines, law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Australia have begun issuing warnings to law enforcement agencies and the public about the dangers of 3D-printing guns. Pro: Video of a printed gun exploding! Con: Their concerns are misplaced.

  
  
• Galaxy S4 camera found to outperform iPhone 5, Lumia 920 A French firm that specializes in camera optics and image sensor analysis has found the camera on Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone outperforms the iPhone 5 and Nokia’s Lumia 920. DxO Labs ranked the Galaxy S4′s camera as the second highest rating among smartphones it tested. The firm praised the 13-megapixel camera for its fast and accurate autofocus, good auto-exposure, rich colors in different lighting conditions and impressive detail preservation in bright light. The Galaxy S4 scored a total of 79 points out of a possible 100, ahead of both the iPhone 5 and Lumia 920, which scored 74 points and 64 points, respectively. The iPhone 5 scored higher when it came to video, however. The Galaxy S4 was found to shoot
• Google eyes Waze as Facebook circles hot Web maps property

  By Sarah McBride and Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is in talks to buy Waze, an Israeli mapping start-up that has held discussions with several large technology companies, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. Google's discussions with Waze, which one of the sources told Reuters remained fluid and could change in tenor at any time, come amid reports Facebook is willing to pay $1 billion for the crowd-sourced service, which relies on information provided by its 47 million members to craft its mobile-oriented maps. ...

  
  
• Why I don’t want iOS, Android or any other OS to ‘win’ One of the most annoying traits of many technology fans is their conviction that their favorite technology platform should by all rights crush rival operating systems and become the dominant OS in the smartphone or tablet market. In their narrow-minded little worlds, all rival technologies should go the way of webOS so that everyone can bask in might of their favorite operating system, thus proving that their personal preference for a particular type of technology was right all along. The big reason I find this mentality borderline repulsive is because most of us are old enough to remember the last time an operating system definitively won the market place and effectively set up a monopoly for itself that it’s taken
• Netflix hoping for memorable Memorial Day weekend SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix is hoping this weekend's release of the resurrected TV series "Arrested Development" will lock up more subscribers to its Internet video service.
• Android 4.3 leaks, shows only minor changes to Jelly Bean Google was rumored to debut a new version of Android earlier this month at its I/O Developers Conference. The event has come and gone, however, without a single mention of the operating system. Recent reports suggest that an update will be available in the coming months with support for a more power efficient Bluetooth standard, but little is known about the update. A forum member on XDA-Developers recently posted images of a Nexus 4 that appears to be running a test build of Android 4.3. The images reveal the new version will retain the “Jelly Bean” name, similar to Android 4.2, and will be only a minor update consisting of small changes and bug fixes. One change appears to be
• Google Glassholes, Angry Boids And Interviewing Dogs about the Tumblr Deal

  Need to waste a few hours of your life? Look no further!

  
  
• Verizon and AT&T grow fatter in America as mobile prices plunge in Europe American consumers are sleepwalking into being permanently locked to ever-rising phone bills from monolithic incumbents. This is exactly the scenario that the government tried to avoid when it broke AT&T into seven Baby Bells in 1982. In France, the average mobile bill is now dropping by $7 a year. In America, the average bills from AT&T and Verizon Wireless keep rising as operators force consumers into texting bundles and sneak in new monthly charges. European incumbent operators are facing a consumer revolt as millions of Europeans switch to cheap challenger operators every month. American incumbents have no fear; AT&T and Verizon have locked in 75% of the smartphone market and keep growing. Vodafone Spain has now started offering 250 free pre-paid minutes
• iPhone's New iOS7 Design Is Flat as Hell and You Can't Stand the Wait Anymore After hearing a lot about the "flat" new look of iOS 7 that may or may not be revealed at Apple's World Wide Developer's conference next month, there's finally been some light shed on details of what the latest iPhone design basics might look like — and, well, things start off pretty much in the dark. ...
• Next wave of laptops will have 50% better battery life Windows 8 hasn’t done much to entice people to upgrade their laptop and desktop computers, and PC makers are hurting as a result. While Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 update might make the new platform a bit more enticing when it launches later this year, consumers and enterprise users may soon have an even better reason to upgrade. According to Rani Borkar, vice president of Intel’s Architecture group, the firm’s next-generation Haswell processors will help laptops get 50% better battery life during usage and they will last 20 times longer on standby, Computerworld reports. Those numbers already sound too good to be true, but to drop a cherry on top, Borkar says Haswell’s efficiency improvements will come at no cost to performance. Intel is
• ITV News Twitter account hacked by Syrian Electronic Army LONDON (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV on Friday became the latest media outlet to have one of its Twitter feeds hacked by anonymous supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, just days after Twitter beefed up security to prevent such attacks. Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that it had started rolling out an optional two-step authentication regime for its users to thwart hackers. The Associated Press, Britain's Financial Times and Daily Telegraph newspapers have all previously succumbed to attacks from the self-styled Syrian Electronic Army. ...
• How one highly determined IT pro hit the limit of his unlimited FiOS plan Simpsons fans will likely recall the classic episode in which Homer Simpson gets tossed out of an “all-you-can-eat” seafood restaurant after he devours not only its entire supply of shrimp but two of its decorative plastic lobsters. Ars Technica reports that an IT professional in California did something similar with his unlimited FiOS plan after he used up a whopping 77TB of data over the span of just one month. If you’re wondering how one human being could use that much data in just a month, consider that he had been using his home FiOS connection to deliver friends and family dedicated video streaming, VPN support and peer-to-peer file sharing while “running a rack of seven servers with 209TB of