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| RBS' services back on line after outage on Cyber Monday Monday, Dec 02, 2013 04:24 PM PST  (Reuters) - RBS said its customers were reporting that services were coming back on line after the bank's online and debit card payments failed Monday evening. "If customers have been left out of pocket as a result of these system problems, we will put this right," said RBS in a statement. Millions of customers across the United Kingdom were unable to withdraw cash, pay for goods or use telephone and online banking services as RBS and its retail banking unit Netwest's online systems and debit cards failed on Monday evening. The bank's Irish unit, Ulster Bank, also reportedly faced similar technology glitches. Full Story | Top |
| Apple buys startup Topsy; gets rich Twitter data Monday, Dec 02, 2013 04:16 PM PST  By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc has acquired social media search and analytics startup Topsy, an unusual purchase for a hardware-focused company that has made few forays into social networking. Apple confirmed the acquisition but would not say why it bought the company, which specializes in analyzing Twitter data and providing insights into current sentiment on a variety of topics. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the news earlier, cited people familiar with the deal as saying Apple paid over $200 million. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. Full Story | Top |
| Four UK mobile operators agree to stop enforcing mid-contract price hikes Monday, Dec 02, 2013 04:03 PM PST  Four of Britain's largest mobile phone operators have agreed to government proposals to stop enforcing mid-contract price hikes and to cap bills from stolen or lost phones, as the cost of living shapes up as the top issue before an election in 2015. EE, the market No. 1 with roughly 27 million subscribers, Vodafone, Three and Virgin Media said they would allow customers to break contracts without penalty if their tariffs were raised mid-contract, a Department of Culture and Media statement said. No. 2 mobile operator O2, with about 23 million subscribers, said it was still in talks with Britain's government about the proposals. O2 said in a statement, "We need clarity on what the guidance means for us and our customers before we can sign up to all the commitments referred to by Government." It was not clear when the proposals on mobile phone charges - among some of the lowest in Europe - would be introduced, but the government said it was aiming for the liability cap to be in place from spring next year. Full Story | Top |
| Technology, rules keep Amazon drone delivery in hangar, for now Monday, Dec 02, 2013 03:54 PM PST  By Bill Rigby SEATTLE (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos made a splash on Sunday with his radical plan to deliver goods to millions of its customers' doors by using a fleet of unmanned drones, but the bold vision is not likely to become a reality this decade. By Bezos' own admission, the technology that would enable electric-powered 'octocopters' to fly to pre-programmed addresses unaided by humans is still early in development, and the United States is not likely to establish rules for civilian unmanned aircraft systems until 2015 at the earliest. The piece was aired on the eve of "Cyber Monday," one of the busiest online shopping days of the year when it helps Amazon to be on the minds of customers. Dubbed "Prime Air" by Amazon, the vehicles could be used to deliver packages up to 5 lbs (2.3 kg) in less than 30 minutes within a 10-mile (16-km) radius of Amazon's so-called fulfillment centers, said Bezos. Full Story | Top |
| Apple buys social analytics startup Topsy Monday, Dec 02, 2013 02:46 PM PST Apple Inc has acquired social media search and analytics startup Topsy, an unusual purchase for a hardware-focused company that has made few forays into social networking. Apple confirmed the acquisition but would not say why it bought the company, which specializes in analyzing Twitter data and providing insights into current sentiment on a variety of topics. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the news earlier, cited people familiar with the deal as saying Apple forked over more than $200 million. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. Full Story | Top |
| Hacker of Koch Industries website sentenced in Kansas Monday, Dec 02, 2013 02:38 PM PST  A Wisconsin man was sentenced on Monday to two years probation after he admitted taking part in a cyber attack sponsored by the hacker group Anonymous against Kansas conglomerate Koch Industries in February 2011, federal prosecutors said. Eric J. Rosol, 38, also was ordered by the U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas, to pay $183,000 restitution for waging the attack on Koch Industries's, which is led by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch who are prominent contributors to conservative political causes. Americans for Prosperity, a group founded by David Koch, launched an advertising campaign to support the proposed curbs. Full Story | Top |
| RBS' technology glitch leaves customers cashless Monday, Dec 02, 2013 02:32 PM PST (Reuters) - RBS and its retail banking unit Netwest's online systems and debit cards failed on Monday evening as customers were unable to process payments on one of the busiest online shopping days called the "Cyber Monday". Millions of customers across the United Kingdom were unable to withdraw cash, pay for goods or use telephone and online banking services. In its response, the bank's twitter account, RBS Help tweeted "we are aware of some technical issues and are working hard to fix them. Sorry and thanks for your patience." The bank's Irish unit, Ulster Bank, also reportedly faced similar glitches. Full Story | Top |
| Twitter stock gets mixed reviews from IPO underwriters Monday, Dec 02, 2013 02:31 PM PST  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc shares slipped on Monday after some of the five lead underwriters of its initial public offering said the social media firm may not achieve Facebook-like scale and its stock may not rise much higher. In their first research reports since the November IPO, only Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs recommended buying the stock. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan issued the equivalent of "hold" ratings. Twitter shares dipped 1.3 percent to $41 on Monday. Full Story | Top |
| Chernin buys anime site Crunchyroll to expand online video assets Monday, Dec 02, 2013 02:04 PM PST  The Chernin Group, former News Corp president Peter Chernin's holding company, said on Monday it had acquired majority control of Japanese anime streaming service Crunchyroll, expanding holdings that include stakes in online video company Fullscreen and mobile entertainment network Scopely. Headquartered in San Francisco, Crunchyroll has a free, ad-supported service and a subscription service that the Cherin group says has subscribers in more than 160 countries. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear online retailers tax case Monday, Dec 02, 2013 01:40 PM PST  By Lawrence Hurley and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc and other online retailers with no physical presence in New York State must go on collecting sales tax after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a legal challenge to the law that requires it. According to the Tax Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank in Washington, 11 other states have recently passed laws seeking to expand their tax authority over out-of-state retailers. Amazon and Overstock.com Inc both had challenged the New York state law. Although the Supreme Court does not have to explain why it declines to hear cases, it may have been swayed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who argued in defense of the law that recent developments favored delaying consideration of the issue. Full Story | Top |
| 3D printer boom lures new wave of Japan entrepreneurs Monday, Dec 02, 2013 01:24 PM PST  By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Junichiro Asami gave up a stable job to join a group of Japanese entrepreneurs building businesses based on 3D printing, showing the sort of pioneering spirit Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes can revitalize a calcified economy. Whether these entrepreneurs can lay the foundations for a new era in Japanese products though may depend on whether Abe can tear down barriers in a wider business culture that shuns risk and supports the status quo. Asami, 38, formerly a management consultant at Deloitte, is in no doubt about the prospects for 3D printing, potentially a game changing technology that will allow households and companies to bypass manufacturers by producing their own parts and goods. "I expect that entire business models and manufacturing systems will have to change to adapt to the 3D printer," Asami said at a seminar for start-up businesses. Full Story | Top |
| SpaceX delays satellite launch attempt until Tuesday Monday, Dec 02, 2013 11:07 AM PST  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, plans to try again on Tuesday to launch its first commercial communications satellite after its Falcon 9 rocket was twice sidelined by technical issues, officials said. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and a 3.5-ton (3,175 kg) communications satellite owned by Luxembourg-based SES S.A. is now targeted for Tuesday at 5:41 p.m. EST (2241 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Full Story | Top |
| BlackBerry is 'here to stay', interim CEO tells customers Monday, Dec 02, 2013 11:01 AM PST  BlackBerry Ltd is "very much alive, thank you," Interim Chief Executive John Chen affirmed in an open letter on Monday in which the smartphone maker committed itself to rebuilding as a niche player concentrating on the enterprise market. Chen took over as CEO a month ago after BlackBerry abandoned a plan to sell itself. "In short, reports of our death are greatly exaggerated." BlackBerry, once the market leader in on-the-go email, has suffered a drastic loss of market share to Apple Inc's iPhone and devices powered by Google Inc's Android software. "We know that BlackBerry devices are not for everyone. Full Story | Top |
| Cognizant to hire 10,000 in US in next 3 years Monday, Dec 02, 2013 10:59 AM PST Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp will hire at least 10,000 people in the United States over the next three years, the IT services firm's president, Gordon Coburn, said. The company currently employs more than 29,000 in the United States. Shares of IT services companies took a hit earlier this year on news that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee was debating a draft immigration bill that could hurt Indian outsourcing firms' businesses in the United States. (http://link.reuters.com/fug67t) Cognizant is one of the top applicants for green cards in India and analysts have estimated that about 65 percent of Cognizant's employees in the United States work on H-1B or L-1 visas, or work permits. Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche Telekom to cut 4,000 jobs at IT unit T: Systems Monday, Dec 02, 2013 06:09 AM PST  Deutsche Telekom plans to cut around 7.5 percent of jobs in the next three years at its IT services business T-Systems, a company source said on Monday. The plan to cut about 4,000 jobs out of a total of almost 53,000 is expected to be put to the company's supervisory board at a meeting in mid-December, the person with knowledge of the plans said. Earlier German newspaper Handelsblatt had said the company was planning to cut as many as 6,000 jobs, which could include lay-offs for the first time since 1949. "It will be closer to 4,000 jobs," said the source. Full Story | Top |
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