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| Google gains entry to home and prized team with $3.2 billion Nest deal Monday, Jan 13, 2014 05:15 PM PST  By Alexei Oreskovic and Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc took its biggest step to go deeper into consumers' homes, announcing a $3.2 billion deal to buy smart thermostat and smoke alarm-maker Nest Labs Inc, scooping up a promising line of products and a prized design team led by the "godfather" of the iPod. Nest will continue to operate as its own distinct brand after the all-cash deal closes, Google said on Monday. The deal is the second largest in Google's history after the $12.5 billion acquisition of mobile phone maker Motorola in 2012. Like the Motorola deal, which marked Google's first major foray into hardware, the Nest acquisition gives Google a stepping stone into an important new market at a time when consumer appliances and Internet services are increasingly merging. Full Story | Top |
| Apple loses court bid to block e-book antitrust monitor Monday, Jan 13, 2014 04:11 PM PST  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc lost a bid on Monday to block an antitrust monitor appointed after a judge found that the company had conspired to fix e-book prices. At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan denied Apple's request to stay an order requiring an external compliance monitor pending the company's appeal. "I want the monitorship to succeed for Apple," she said. The judge also said there was "nothing improper" about a declaration filed by a lawyer chosen to serve as monitor, Michael Bromwich, that became the basis of Apple seeking his disqualification. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Google's forays beyond the search box Monday, Jan 13, 2014 04:03 PM PST Google Inc announced plans to acquire smart thermostat maker Nest Labs Inc for $3.2 billion, signaling the Internet company's intention to expand into a broader array of devices and bringing valuable hardware design expertise in-house. The following are some of the newer businesses Google has ventured into or dabbled in past years. Mobile software Google's Android operating system, which evolved from a company-led initiative known as the Open Handset Alliance, is now the world's most popular smartphone software and is increasingly adopted for tablets as well. Developed in-house by software engineer Andy Rubin, the software was designed to present an alternative to then-dominant systems such as Apple Inc's iOS and the Blackberry, and spearhead Google's drive into a then nascent field of mobile advertising. Full Story | Top |
| Google to acquire Nest for $3.2 billion in cash Monday, Jan 13, 2014 03:50 PM PST By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc took its biggest step to go deeper into consumers' homes, announcing a $3.2 billion deal to buy smart thermostat and smoke alarm-maker Nest Labs Inc, scooping up a promising line of products and a prized design team led by the "godfather" of the iPod. Nest will continue to operate as its own distinct brand after the all-cash deal closes, Google said on Monday. The deal is the second largest in Google's history after the $12.5 billion acquisition of mobile phone maker Motorola in 2012. "Nest Labs appears to be focused on thermostats and smoke alarms, but it's not far-fetched to see Google expanding this technology into other devices over time," said Shyam Patil, an analyst at Wedbush. Full Story | Top |
| Apple loses bid to block antitrust monitorship Monday, Jan 13, 2014 02:33 PM PST  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Inc lost a bid on Monday to block an antitrust monitor appointed after a judge's finding that the company conspired to fix e-book prices. At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan denied Apple's request to stay an order requiring an external compliance monitor pending the company's appeal. "I want the monitorship to succeed for Apple," she said. The judge also said there was "nothing improper" about a declaration filed by a lawyer chosen to serve as monitor, Michael Bromwich, that became the basis of Apple seeking his disqualification. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Internet shopping patent case Monday, Jan 13, 2014 09:12 AM PST  By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would not take on an Internet technology patent case that pitted a company accused of aggressively enforcing weak patents against another with an equally tough reputation for fighting patent infringement claims. The closely watched case involved the online shopping site Newegg Inc, which specializes in computer products, and software company Soverain Software LLC, which had accused Newegg of infringing three patents known as the "shopping cart patents," which describe a way to buy products online and pay for them. Against Newegg, Soverain won in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas but lost at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which ruled that the three online shopping patents were invalid because they were obvious. Full Story | Top |
| Demand Media moves to separate its domain business Monday, Jan 13, 2014 06:33 AM PST (Reuters) - Demand Media moved on Monday to spin off its Rightside Group domain business as a separately traded company, according to filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Demand Media, which owns websites eHow, LiveStrong and Cracked and mainly makes money from articles and videos that surface high in search results, previously said it planned to spin out its domain unit in February 2013. Demand Media shareholders will receive shares of Rightside Group, although the filing did not offer specifics of the distribution. In addition, Demand Media plans to ask its stakeholders to approve a reverse stock split during a special meeting, the filing said. Full Story | Top |
| Target planning 'significant changes' after data breach - CNBC Monday, Jan 13, 2014 03:36 AM PST  (Reuters) - Target Corp plans to make "significant changes" in light of the data breach during the holiday shopping season when hackers stole personal information of millions of customers, the U.S. retailer's chief executive said in an interview with CNBC aired on Monday. Malware was installed on the company's point of sale registers, Gregg Steinhafel said, and Target was working with law enforcement agencies investigating the breach. Target said on Friday an investigation found that hackers stole the personal information of at least 70 million customers, including names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. Steinhafel told CNBC he had no idea who was responsible for the breach but that Target's environment was now secure. Full Story | Top |
| Want to quit your job? New app does it for you via text message Monday, Jan 13, 2014 02:06 AM PST  By Natasha Baker TORONTO (Reuters) - Thinking about quitting your job? A humorous new app aims to relieve the stress and anxiety of confronting the boss with the news by sending a text message instead. Although the new iPhone app is meant to be funny, its creators are hoping it will take off and people will use it to leave jobs. The Quit Your Job app takes users through a series of steps to determine why they are leaving and then crafts a text message that is sent directly to their boss. Full Story | Top |
| New Acer CEO disappoints with lack of detail on future plans Monday, Jan 13, 2014 01:51 AM PST  By Michael Gold TAIPEI (Reuters) - Investors looking for specifics as to the future of Acer Inc, the world's No.4 PC vendor, came away disappointed when the new CEO spent more time delivering a history of the company's past mistakes than on where it was headed. Jason Chen, the latest executive to step through the revolving door to the CEO's office, said during his first press conference on Monday that the Taiwanese company's biggest mistake was investing too early in touch-panels and ultrabooks and not realizing the extent to which tablet computers like Apple Inc's iPad would disrupt the PC industry. Acer has been struggling with losses for several quarters, including a T$13.12 billion ($437.98 million) deficit in the third quarter of 2013. According to data from research firm IDC, Acer saw a 21.4 percent fall in PC sales during the fourth quarter from a year earlier, by far the largest of all major vendors. Full Story | Top |
| With data vulnerable, retailers look for tougher security Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 10:33 PM PST  By Ross Kerber and Phil Wahba BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top retail trade group executive on Sunday called for tougher security standards that could mean more spending for the industry, its banks and business partners after a series of data breaches at major merchants. Stores and card processing companies have reported a steady stream of security breaches for years without a major backlash from consumers, such as those disclosed by TJX Cos in 2007 and by Heartland Payment Systems Inc in 2009. But the latest thefts - including attacks on Target Corp and Neiman Marcus - have involved a broad set of merchants and could mark a watershed moment for security standards as calls grow for changes in the protection of consumer information. One sign of the change is a new enthusiasm for payment cards that store customer information on computer chips and require users to type in personal identification numbers. Full Story | Top |
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