MICROSOFT DROPPING ZUNE MUSIC PASS TO $10 PER MONTH

Microsoft will lower its Zune Music Pass from $14.99 per month to $9.99 per month beginning on October 3rd alongside the service’s launch in Canada. The service will now be priced in line with Spotify and similar services. Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace is home to 14 million songs and a Zune Music Pass subscription provides unlimited streaming access to the music. Unlike other services, Zune Music Pass allows subscribers to keep 10 songs per month. Microsoft’s move is no doubt an effort to attract customers who might otherwise but attempted to join a number of competing music subscription options including Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody and even Apple’s upcoming iCloud service. Zune Music Pass subscribers can access their playlists and library from any Windows Phone, a PC or from an Xbox 360 console.

NEW ENERGY STORAGE MEMBRANE POISED TO REVOLUTIONIZE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES

If you want a rechargeable battery in a power-hungry device today, the only real choice is a lithium-ion battery. They are heavy, quite large depending on how much charge you need, and volatile. They also have a high cost and limited life span.

A replacement for lithium-ion has long been sought after, and recently there have been some breakthroughs such as the jelly-like polymer battery. However, researchers at the National University of Singapore may have come up with the best solution yet in the form of an new energy storage membrane. Thought to be the first energy membrane ever created successfully, the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative at the university has managed to attach the membrane to a polystyrene polymer. When placed between two graphite plates it can be charged and stores a charge. Already, the membrane is at an advantage as it is thin and flexible meaning there’s potential for a number of configurations. But where the real benefit comes in is how much energy it can store and at what cost.

A typical lithium-ion battery can store a charge of 1 microfarad per square centimeter. The energy membrane ups that to 0.2 farads. The membrane can also be easily mass produced at very low cost, meaning what we have here is a membrane that can store more energy and is cheaper to produce than existing battery technology. In real world terms the difference is quite staggering. A lithium-ion battery costs $7 to store one farad of charge. The energy membrane reduces that down to 62 cents.

RUMOR: AMAZON IN TALKS TO BUY PALM FROM HP

A well-placed source is saying that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders. There is no word on price or conditions of the sale. When asked for comment, an HP spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation. Amazon has ignored all requests for comment.

LEAK: ANDROID ICE CREAM SANDWICH ON VIDEO

The one Android update to rule them all -- better known as Ice Cream Sandwich -- is penciled in for an official launch sometime in the next two months, so it's only natural for some shots to leak out. We just weren't expecting a two-minute video showing off a few of the new features. As the story goes, a lucky gent ordered a Samsung Nexus S on eBay and, upon its arrival, noticed that his new prized possession looked a little... different. Hopping over to the About screen, he was shocked to discover that the device was running ICS. The firmware appears to be operating on the same baseband as the screenshots leaked a few weeks ago, but it's running on an updated build (IRK48) and kernel (3.0.1).

There is plenty of influence from both Gingerbread and Honeycomb here, as well as four shortcuts on the bottom (a definite bump from the two found on vanilla 2.3). There's a new Google Apps icon which opens up a tray containing a number of featured services put out by the search giant, and long-pressing the home button brings up a vertical Honeycomb-style multitasking menu. The notification bar, camera UI and other menus also have a much different look.

The anonymous tipster has confirmedbthat shortly after the video was posted, his Nexus S was remotely locked and wiped. Check out the XDA Developers thread for the full saga.

RUMOR: INDIA'S $35 TABLET SHIPPING IN OCTOBER

This mysterious $35 tablet has broken our hearts, crushed our fantasies and even made unicorns cry with delay after delay. Today, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal assured us that the much anticipated slate will be released on October 5th -- promising that this time, "[It's] not just a dream." Evidently, the tablet has overcome the manufacturing problems that plagued the project previously and now production is proceeding according to a new plan. That means that five, seven and nine inch slates are said to be shipping to lucky Indian students in early October

NOKIA LAYS OFF 3,500 MORE EMPLOYEES; MORE COMING

Nokia always said there'd be "substantial reductions in employment" but it's still brutal to see it happen. The manufacturer just revealed it intends to close its massive manufacturing plant in Cluj, Romania in order to shift high-volume feature phone production to Asian factories. The Cluj plant currently employs 2,200 people. Further "consolidation" of Nokia's Location and Commerce business will result in the closure of sites at Malvern in the US and Bonn in Germany, impacting around 1,300 employees. Finally, the company also says it'll review its production operations at Salo in Finland, Komarom in Hungary and Reynosa in Mexico, but we won't know how many workers this will affect until a further announcement at the beginning of next year. Nokia's press release says these cuts will take place by the end of 2012 and be in addition to the 4,000 job losses announced back in April

VERIZON BEGINS FREE 4G LTE UPGRADE FOR MOTORLA XOOM

Motorola XOOM owners who want to take advantage of the promised 4G LTE upgrade can finally begin to do so beginning Thursday. Once a customer signs up to receive the upgrade, Verizon Wireless will send the shipping instructions along with a box. The option is free and Verizon Wireless said changes to data plans are not required. Verizon also advises that XOOM owners back up their devices before sending them in for the upgrade. The process is expected to take six business days. Verizon Wireless also announced on Wednesday that it will begin to sell the Motorola XOOM with 4G LTE pre-installed for $499.99 starting October 13th.

INTEL KILLS MEEGO, SWITCHES TO TIZAN

Intel announced on Wednesday that it will be shifting its efforts from MeeGo to the new “Tizen” mobile operating system recently announced by The Linux Foundation. The move is in line with reports from early September that suggested Intel would move on due to a lack of consumer enthusiasm surrounding the OS. Nokia launched the MeeGo-powered N9 this month but also announced in June that it was ditching the platform in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. “We believe the future belongs to HTML5-based applications, outside of a relatively small percentage of apps, and we are firmly convinced that our investment needs to shift toward HTML5,” Intel said in a blog post, explaining why it did not decide to evolve MeeGo. “Shifting to HTML5 doesn’t just mean slapping a web runtime on an existing Linux, even one aimed at mobile, as MeeGo has been.” Intel also noted Tizen will support smartphones, tablets, netbooks, smart TVs and in-vehicle systems.

CITY OF HEROES IS NOW FREE

In seven years MMO City of Heroes (CoH) has become wildly popular, mainly due to allowing users to create their own heroes. Now, NCSoft and Cryptic Studios is making CoH free and renaming it City of Heroes Freedom. There will be three levels available Free, Premium and VIP.

The VIP will cost $14.99 per month and allow for 14 archetypes instead of 8, 150+ power sets instead of 100, and a lot more costumes and auras to choose from. Additional content is also freely accessible including City of Heroes Going Rogue, exclusive access to missions known as Signature Story Arcs, and access to the Incarnate System, which includes end-game raids and abilities above the 50 cap everyone else plays to.

Premium account is for existing players who get to keep their existing content and have a bit more freedom in terms of features. While the Free accounts are aimed at new users who want to try the game for the first time. Anyone interested can head over to the City of Heroes Freedom website and check out the full descriptions of each type of account and sign up as well.

AMAZON UNVEILS NEW TABLET AND TOUCHSCREEN E-READERS

Amazon this morning launched new touchscreen e-readers as well as the much talked about Kindle Fire tablet. The readers will use infrared touch, which puts an infrared touch screen over e-ink. The screens appear to be roughly the same size as the current crop of Kindle e-readers. The e-readers will come in three flavors, two having touchscreens. The 3G will be $149, the WiFi only will be $99 and the non-touch version will be $79. According to an Amazon rep these prices are for the ad supported versions and the Wifi only and non-touch version without ads will be $149 and $109 respectively.

In addition to the new e-readers, a software update was also announced. Some of the new features include X-ray, which allows users to quickly look up words, get character synopsis and location information directly from the ebook. WhisperSync was also beefed to make it quicker.

Finally, Jeff Bezos unveiled the Kindle Fire. The Fire is Amazon's new 7" IPS touchscreen tablet that runs a customized version of the Android OS. It has a dual core processor, weighs 14.6 ounces and comes with free Amazon cloud storage. The browser for the Fire will be the Amazon Silk which is a new hybrid browser with part residing on the tablet and the other part on the cloud server. The Fire will retail for $199.

No mention was made on the rumored 10" tablet Amazon is expected to unveil sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

SAMSUNG AND MICROSOFT SIGN HUGE PATENT DEAL

Microsoft is announcing today the biggest Android-related patent deal to date, signing a broad cross-licensing agreement with Samsung.
With the deal, Microsoft will get royalty revenue on every Android smartphone and tablet that Samsung sells. Redmond already has a deal with another major handset maker — HTC — that sells both Android and Windows Phone devices.

“Together with the license agreement signed last year with HTC, today’s agreement with Samsung means that the top two Android handset manufacturers in the United States have now acquired licenses to Microsoft’s patent portfolio,” Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith and top IP lawyer Horacio Gutierrez said in a blog post. “These two companies together accounted for more than half of all Android phones sold in the U.S. over the past year.”

Microsoft currently earns more money of licensing to Android handset manufacturers than it does from its own Windows Phone OS.

ONSTAR ABANDONS PLANS TO TRACK USERS AFTER SERVICE TERMINATION

OnStar found itself at the center of a firestorm after it sent out an e-mail notifying customers that it planned to collect data from vehicles even after service had expired or been terminated. That is, unless the (soon to be former) users specifically opted out. Well, in a statement today, President Linda Marshall changed course and announced the post-subscription data collection would be opt-in only. The company still hoped some departing customers would volunteer to maintain a connection so that it can "provide former customers with urgent information about natural disasters and recalls affecting their vehicles."

CANONICAL JUMPS ON THE APP DEVELOPER PLATFORM

Creating apps for Ubuntu is about to get a lot easier, now that the folks over at Canonical have launched the Ubuntu App Developer platform. On the new site, developers will find guides, tutorials and other resources to help them create apps specifically for the Linux OS, or to port other apps to the platform. Once finalized, these apps can then be published on the Ubuntu Software Centre, where developers can choose to either offer them for free, or at a price. In announcing the new platform, community member David Planella predicted that it will offer a "unified and consistent journey for both open-source, non-commercial and commercial app authors." He went on to acknowledge, however, that there's still plenty of work to be done: "For all its current awesomeness, we are aware that the site needs to pass the test of a wider audience, adapt to their needs, and grow."

SPRINT CONFIRMS COMMITMENT TO UNLIMITED DATA PLANS

Sprint has once again reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the availability of its unlimited data plans — until it eliminates them. Speaking at GigaOm’s Mobilize conference in San Francisco on Monday, Sprint chief technology officer Stephen Bye reiterated the carrier’s stance on unlimited data. Bye stated simply that the company will continue to offer unlimited plans as T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon cap and throttle their offerings, but cost is the biggest variable. “There’s clearly a cost to support unlimited,” Bye told conference attendees, noting that some subscribers use much more data than others. The CTO also noted that maintaining Sprint’s unlimited offerings is a constant challenge. ”Is there pressure? Yeah,” Bye added. “There’s a challenge for all engineers to work on how we get the cost structure down.”

“We’re going to try to keep [unlimited plans] around as long as we can,” Fared Adib, Sprint’s vice president of product development said. “What most people don’t realize is that there is a cost here with us doing this, and we are definitely seeing a trend where people are using more and more data. Like I said we’re not against that, but what happens is that over a certain period of time if people abuse the unlimited data policies — if everyone constantly uses a lot of it — then it becomes more expensive for us to maintain the network. So you do have to look at that and balance that out as a carrier, to make sure you can still generate revenue to offset your costs.”

FIREFOX 7 RELEASED FOR WINDOWS AND MAC

Mozilla on Tuesday pushed out a new version of its popular Firefox web browser for Windows and Mac computers. Mozilla released Firefox 6 on August 16th, just over one month ago, and version 7 is already upon us, reaffirming Mozilla’s commitment to the world’s second most popular web browser. Firefox 7 brings with it a host of changes, the most notable of which is perhaps “drastically improved memory handling” and other speed related improvements. As of August, Net Applications shows Firefox’s global browser share as 22.57%, behind Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (55.31%) and ahead of Chrome (15.51%) Safari (4.64%) and the Opera browser (1.68%). Users can wait for the browser to self update or they can go grab the release here.

BEST BUY REDUCING HOLIDAY HIRES

Best Buy will hire fewer temporary workers for the 2011 holiday season compared to last year, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The nationwide electronics retail chain will take on 15,000 new temporary employees, compared to the 29,000 it hired in 2010. Best Buy is not alone in its decision. Research from the management consulting firm Hay Group suggests that about 25% of U.S. retailers will hire fewer temporary employees this holiday season. “The consumer is being really careful about where he or she is spending the dollars, and I think that will continue through the holidays,” Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn told Reuters. Dunn said his company will carry the iPhone 5 and noted Best Buy expects tablets, smartphones and accessories for both to be a sales catalyst this holiday season.

SPOTIFY REQUIRES NEW USERS TO USE FACEBOOK TO SIGN IN TO SERVICE

Spotify has been taking a great deal of flak today about a change made to the service that forces newly registered users to log in using their Facebook IDs. The streaming music service has just released a new statement giving its official response to complaints about the new system, updating a statement released earlier today.

To us, this is all about creating an amazing new world of music discovery. As most of our users are already social and have already connected to Facebook, it seemed logical to integrate Spotify and Facebook logins. We already use Facebook as part of our backend to power our social features and by adopting Facebook’s login, we’ve created a simple and seamless social experience.

From today, all new Spotify users will need to have a Facebook account to join Spotify. Think of it as like a virtual ‘passport’, designed to make the experience smoother and easier, with one less username and password to remember. You don’t need to connect to Facebook and if you do decide to, you can always control what you share and don’t share by changing your Spotify settings at any time.

We’re constantly trying new things, always looking for feedback and we’re always going to listen to our users, making changes based on this feedback wherever we can.”

That seems to hint at potential changes to the new policy if the complaints persist.

RUMOR: MICROSOFT EMPLOYEES LEAVE IN DROVES DURING COMPANY WIDE MEETING

Microsoft employees allegedly left “in droves” during Steve Ballmer’s recent speech at the recent annual Microsoft Company Meeting.

The claims were made in comments at mini-Microsoft, a site authored by a a secret Microsoft employee who regularly blogs about internal changes at the software giant. The comments section of mini-microsoft’s latest blog post has provided some interesting insight into the closely guarded Microsoft company meeting over the years. Microsoft holds an annual meeting for its employees to rally the troops. Key Microsoft executives are usually in attendance to highlight any upcoming company wide changes and show off the latest work from Microsoft’s vast product teams.

Some of the anonymous comments at mini-Microsoft appear to indicate that a large number of employees were not present during Ballmer’s speech at the meeting. According to one commenter, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, was speaking whilst “people were leaving in droves.” Seattle PI spotted the comments on the blog and picked out a handful of interesting ones:

• What a sad spectacle. While SteveB was yacking away, people were leaving in droves. Back in the good old days when BillG spoke, EVERYONE listened.
• Steve, you’ve lost the support of your employees – when will you realize that you’re holding this once great company back? Oh and BTW, you can take LB (HR chief Lisa Brummel) and KT (COO Kevin Turner) with you too. They like the taste of your Kool Aid…
• Now for the unpleasant weeks ahead. Wonder what flaming bag of you know what LB will lay on our doorsteps? She rolled out cuts to our bennies last year just after the company meeting, what’s next???
• Great demos and pretty good overall. Only thing is the last part, windows, cannot lose. Sounds a bit defensive from our CEO.
• Okay it’s been a couple years since I personally attended the company meeting but, wow, I have to say that was the worst one I’ve ever seen by far. I tried, I swear I tried to keep my admittedly sinking attitude in check and be objective. But it was just too much to endure such painfully flat demos and lifeless speakers in their sleepy attempts to show excitement about our products and our future. The train dance thing (the few times they did it) got old fast but it soon became a welcome reprieve from the on-stage monotony. It seemed like almost every demo was something about Win 8 tablet, with a few quick nods to products that are actually doing well in the marketplace, then back to praying to the Windows 8 gods for rain.
• Is Win 8 tablet all we have left to be excited about? Has the morale across the company slumped so much that 20,000 of us together can’t even generate a decent applause? Please someone tell me I’m wrong. Tell me I’ve just got a bad attitude and I completely misread the meeting.
• Yep, pretty sad to see all the seats empty out while SteveB was talking…hopefully he gets the hint and bows out in the Win8 timeframe.

From the comments it would appear that Ballmer’s audience was not full of eager employees waiting to hear the next best thing, instead it was full of empty seats. The comments could be from non-Microsoft employees trying to stir up trouble but WinRumors spoke to two separate employees present at Ballmer’s speech and both confirmed that attendance was thin. Neither would say whether employees were walking out during Ballmer’s speech however. The Seattle PI asks is it time for Ballmer to leave Microsoft and has Steve Ballmer lost the support of Microsoft employees? Mini-Microsoft tipped Steven Sinofsky, chief of the Windows Division, as a potential CEO candidate. Microsoft lacks a visionary leader and Sinofsky appears to fill that role very well. Co-founder Bill Gates handed over the CEO position to Steve Ballmer in January 2000 and transitioned from full-time work at Microsoft to focus on his philanthropy in June, 2008. Gates’ departure came after his vision and belief that tablet computing would be mainstream by 2012 (see video). Gates was right but Ballmer has often misjudged competitor products, he laughed at the introduction of the iPhone and branded it “the most expensive phone in the world” (see video). The iPhone went on to redefine smartphones and triggered a battle for a space that Microsoft had invested heavily in with the now defunct Windows Mobile operating system.

Glassdoor.com, which allows employees to anonymously rates their employer, reports that 55 percent of employees disapprove of Ballmer and 45 percent approve, based on 1,691 ratings. An influential hedge fund manager called for Ballmer to quit in May. Microsoft’s board of directors supported Ballmer following the calls for him to quit. Microsoft’s nine-person board, including Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates, supported Ballmer at the end of May. Microsoft’s stock has suffered since Ballmer has been in charge but most analysts and investors feel it would be a hard task to find someone adequate to replace him.

APPLE DENIED TRADEMARK ON "MULTI-TOUCH"

In a decision handed down by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple has been denied an application for a trademark on the term Multi-Touch. Apple originally applied for the trademark on January 9, 2007, the day the iPhone was introduced. A lawyer for the USPTO denied Apple's initial trademark application and the company appealed to the Appeal Board. The board upheld the initial refusal to grant the trademark.

For trademarks, "the greater the degree of descriptiveness the term has, the heavier the burden to prove it has attained secondary meaning." The trademark attorney pointed out that the term "multitouch" has taken on generic meaning, being used by a wide variety of publications to describe the touchscreen technology on Android phones, tablets, and notebooks.

There is a list of items that can determine if a mark has "acquired distinctiveness", including sales success, length and exclusivity of use, and advertising expenditures. The board ruled that Apple has not met the burden to be granted a trademark on multi-touch.

DELICIOUS RELAUNCHES

Last night saw the relaunch of Delicious, the little bookmarking site that helped inspire a wave of social companies in the eight years since it was founded. New owners Chad Hurley and Steve Chen (aka the creators of YouTube) have ported Delicious over from previous owner Yahoo and are ready to show their first revision to the public. Expectations aren’t terrifically high for the new Delicious, given the rareness of tech comeback stories and the fact that Delicious was never really that popular. But we can’t help but watch given Hurley and Chen’s magic touch at YouTube.

The new Delicious retains a lot of visual elements from the old site, but it tweaks the core user activity to be creating “stacks” of content. In an interview late Monday, Hurley compared stacks to YouTube playlists, saying he thinks the way to go mainstream is by enabling users to express their interests. The new Delicious can be found at www.delicious.com

FACEBOOK TRIES TO EXPLAIN WHY THEY TRACK USERS EVEN AFTER THEY SIGN OUT

Cookies have been a feature of the web for as long as I can remember. In many cases they are a useful feature to have as they remember your preferences and limit the amount of times you need to login to a service you have signed up for. But there is a dark side to cookie use in the form of them tracking where you go.

The advice to anyone concerned about tracking through cookies is to use a good cookie clean-up utility and log out of sites you believe to be tracking you around the web. But in the case of Facebook it turns out that logging out of your account is not enough–Facebook continues to track you.

This is possible because when you log out of Facebook the associated cookies are not deleted off your machine. So, any site you visit that has a connection to Facebook e.g. the Like button that is now so common, will proceed to check if you have a Facebook cookie. If you do, it can pick up the information and know you’ve visited that site. This logged out tracking was discovered by the Australian writer and hacker Nik Cubrilovic and confirmed logging out is no longer enough.

On Nik’s post where he detailed his findings, Facebook engineer Gregg Stefancik took the time to respond in the comments section. The point he made is that yes, Facebook does track logged out users, but it has good reason to do so. When you log out, the remaining Facebook cookies become a different tool for the social network. Stefancik states they are useful for blocking spammers and phishers, stopping underage users from re-registering with a fake birth date, continuing to keep login approvals and notifications secure, keeping track of shared computer logins, and as a way of helping in the recovery of hacked accounts.

So while Facebook “tracking” when logged out of your account may seem like cause for concern, it in fact turns out to be part of a wider security effort for the social network. Stefancik also states that logging out of Facebook does delete “account-specific cookies” and those that are left do not allow for personal identity tracking. Stefancik’s main point is that Facebook does not share or sell the information it gathers, nor does it use the information for its own advertising or partners. In fact, he states that Facebook does not carry out any tracking at all, at least not in the usual way.

LEAK: MORE MOTOROLA XOOM 2 PICS

More pictures of the Motorola Xoom 2 tablets have leaked. The tablets are only about 9mm thick, about the same thickness as an iPhone 4. It will come in two sizes, 8.2" and 10.1". In the pictures we can see the rear buttons that appear to be on/off and volume. The leaker has indicated both tablets, codenamed Fleming, will sport a 5 MP HD rear facing camera and LTE. The OS is currently Android 3.2, but said to be very buggy requiring frequent reboots. Click the link here to see the new leaked pictures.

NETFLIX STRIKES DEAL WITH DREAMWORKS

It looks like those rumors of a streaming deal between Netflix and Dreamworks Animation were as good as advertised. Details are still fuzzy at this point, but the New York Times is reporting that the two parties have reached an agreement to stream Dreamworks' movies and TV projects, as part of a deal worth an estimated $30 million. Under the contract, which replaces a similar pay TV pact between Dreamworks and HBO, Netflix will begin offering exclusive access to the studio's new films in 2013, with Antz, Kung Fu Panda and other titles from its library slated to become available for streaming sometime thereafter.

The company won't be confined to selling digital copies of Dreamworks' movies within a specific period, either, drawing a major distinction between itself and HBO, which requires studio partners to halt digital sales outside of an exclusive window. HBO probably isn't too thrilled to see Netflix strike what Dreamworks chief exec Jeffrey Katzenberg called a "game-changing deal."

AMAZON CALLS PRESS CONFERENCE FOR SEPTEMBER 28TH; ANNOUNCEMENT OF TABLET EXPECTED

Amazon's been cooking something in a supposed Android-based oven for quite some rumored time. Now, an invite has gone out from the Bezos-backed company for an event on the 28th of this month at 10AM. Will the e-retailer officially announce a pair of 7- and 10-inch Kindle refreshes we've heard about, or is this the heavily-skinned Android tab that TechCrunch got its hands-on earlier this month?

LEAK: MOTOROLA XOOM 2?

Who's looking sleek in angled corners? Why, it's the Motorola Xoom 2 -- at least it might be, according to Droid-Life and the folks that leaked it the above image. The outfit's informant tells them that the pictured device is flaunting micro-USB and HDMI ports, a SIM card slot and a few large, flush buttons on its back. Is it the real deal? Well, we can't say it looks much like Verizon's door-destroying tablet, or even the shy slate that we spied on Motorola Mobility's leaked website redesign -- but we wouldn't put too much stock into ambiguous renders and inconclusive advertisements anyway.

MICROSOFT LAUNCHES BING DEALS

Microsoft announced and launched a new deals website on Friday tied to its growing Bing suite of services. Bing Deals is a shopping site that compiles specials from GroupOn, Target, LivingSocial, Nordstrom and others. “Instead of building another program, we’re harnessing deals from major providers and retailers,” said Bing senior director Lisa Gurry. Microsoft’s Bing Deals offers more than 200,000 specials across the United States and, as a deal aggregator, it should eliminate the need to sign up for email alerts from multiple coupon-based services. Just like competing options, Microsoft will offer daily specials that will be accessible from its desktop website located at http://bing.com/deals and from mobile devices.

DISH NETWORK LAUNCHES BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE PASS

Dish Network on Friday announced the upcoming availability of Blockbuster Movie Pass, an unlimited video streaming service akin to Netflix’s “Watch Instantly.” Beginning October 1st, Dish subscribers will have unlimited access to a small library of digital content that they can stream to a PC or to a TV using a standard Dish set-top box. While Netflix is moving in a completely different direction, having just spun off its DVD rental service to focus on streaming, Dish is sticking with the multi-pronged approach as Blockbuster’s best bet. “We’ve created a package that combines the best assets of the movie entertainment and video gaming industries with the convenience and integration provided by a multichannel video provider,” said Blockbuster president Michael Kelly in a statement. “Blockbuster Movie Pass is the ultimate programming package for every movie buff. The combination of DVDs by mail and unlimited in-store exchanges provides more than 100 million people living near Blockbuster stores, which are open 7 days a week, immediate satisfaction and unmatched choice.”

RUMOR: BARNES AND NOBLE TO RELEASE NEW TABLET FOR $349

The Barnes & Noble NOOK Color is one of the best-selling Android tablets in the US, even though the company positions it as a color eBook Reader first and a tablet second. Now it looks like B&N’s 7 inch, $249 tablet may be getting a pricier sibling.

Nate at The Digital Reader received a tip that the company plans to launch a new $349 device next quarter. It will have the code-name Acclaim… and that’s really about all that we know about it. There’s no word on the screen size, processor, or any other specifications.

LEAK: JERRY YANG MEMO SAYS YAHOO IS FOR SALE

After Yahoo fired CEO Carol Bartz, cofounder Jerry Yang told employees that the company had not begun a sales process.
Since then, reports here and elsewhere have suggested that is a bunch of malarkey and that Yahoo's board is very much putting the company up for sale.
Today, Yang copped to as much in a company-wide memo.
In it he says that Yahoo has hired investment bank Allen & Company to help it field "inquiries from multiple parties that have already expressed interest in a number of potential options."

Dear Yahoos:

In our recent all hands meeting, we talked about the Board’s strategic review to help return the Company to a path of robust growth and industry-leading innovation. While our teams are working to evaluate the many opportunities by which Yahoo! can continue building on our success, all kinds of people have been – and will continue – speculating in the media about where that work is headed, so we thought it best to provide you with some additional context directly from those of us who are closest to it. We don’t have specific news to share with you today, but we are committed to communicating with you directly from time to time – especially given the level of external swirl – so that you know where we are in the process. You can expect periodic updates from us and we encourage you to communicate with us as well.

At the heart of what we are doing is our belief that Yahoo!’s core strengths are not only relevant to where users are going today, but can serve as a foundation for the next phase of our company’s growth. Consider our strengths: we have 680 million users worldwide. We have nine of the #1 properties in the U.S., and we are a leader in display advertising. Our brand is iconic – we are not the only ones who bleed purple. By whatever measure you want to use – engagement, quality of products and services, our value to our advertisers – we all feel that we have what it takes to succeed. Also, our Asia assets remain one of our top priorities and we continue to work well with the teams there. As you may have seen, Alibaba Group has just announced a liquidity event for its employees that reflects a continued appreciation in its value, and therefore of the value of our stake.

What Yahoo! needs to do better – and we’ve talked about this – is accelerate innovation, reignite inspiration, and give our users what they want now – great content that is engaging and easy-to-use on any device and provides an experience in which they can participate and contribute. Perhaps most importantly, we need to anticipate what they will want next. That is the path to enhancing the value of Yahoo! for all of its stakeholders, including its users, customers, shareholders, partners and Yahoos everywhere. Our strategic review is designed to help us map out the best way to achieve that.

At this point, we cannot offer many specifics about the Board’s review; we’ve just gotten started. You should know that the entire Board and management team are fully aligned and unanimous in their views regarding the scope of this work. Allen & Company was a logical choice to help us in this review, because they have been one of our advisers for some time, and this is familiar territory for them. Achieving success in our sector is intrinsic to what they do for a living, and they will be constructive partners.

Our advisers are working with us to develop ideas that we will pursue proactively. At the same time, they are fielding inquiries from multiple parties that have already expressed interest in a number of potential options. We will take the time we need to select and structure the best approach for the company, its shareholders and employees.

In addition, as we announced previously, the Board has commenced a search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer. That process also continues.

When we have updates that we can share we will do so. There will be plenty of rumors and speculation as different parties try to advance their agendas in the media – but it is important that we not be distracted by the rumors and speculation.

You are instrumental to the success of our business – we can’t do it without you. While we will move with a sense of urgency, this process will take time. Months, not weeks. We know that’s a lot of potential distraction, but we believe it will be worth the wait. We are forging a path to a next phase of growth for Yahoo! that feels like our best days: fun, full of possibility, and always in search of how to deliver the new thing people want from us. Together, we can write the next great chapter in the Yahoo! story and secure our place as one of those rarities: an internet company that endures.

Jerry Roy David

AMTRACK REGIONAL TRAINS TO GET FREE WIFI OCTOBER 1ST

Amtrak may finally be implementing free WiFi on October 1st according to a recent tweet. A casual conversation between conductor and passenger yielded the information that the system is finally ready to extend beyond Acela, apparently "ready to roll and it's just a matter of 'flipping the on switch.'" This comes as great news for commuters who spend their mornings and evenings stuck on slow, old, often curious smelling Regional trains. Unfortunately, other than the tweet, there's no word (official or otherwise) whether net surfage will be possible beginning next month. Acela and some northwest passengers already enjoy this luxury, now the northeast can finally surf the internet while they ride the rails.

TOYOTA PRIUS TO GET ARTIFICIAL ENGINE NOISE [VIDEO]

Silence may be a virtue under most circumstances, but not when you're driving around a leafy, residential neighborhood in your Toyota Prius. That's why the manufacturer came out with its very own vehicle proximity notification system last year -- a "futuristic," underhood noisemaker designed to alert pedestrians and the visually impaired to the plug-in's presence. Now, Toyota has offered more details on its safety system, in a freshly released demo video starring the 2012 Prius V. The car's artificial engine noise, as the company explains, only kicks in at speeds below 15 miles per hour, allowing it to broadcast its audible heads-up across parking lots or other low-speed zones. The sound itself, meanwhile, emanates from external speakers and consists of a blend of high and low frequencies that won't be by muffled by background noise or physical obstacles. The vehicle's pitch shift technology also enables the tone to rise in pitch as the car speeds up and to fall as it slows down, giving others an idea of how fast it's approaching.

FACEBOOK UNVEILS TIMELINE, COZIES UP TO NETFLIX AND SPOTIFY

During the F8 conference on Thursday, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage to introduce a host of new features that are rolling out to the social network. The major change is called “Timeline” and it takes advantage of existing pictures and status updates to create a more visual experience of “who you are.” As you scroll down your personal timeline, you’ll be able to view pictures and updates throughout the years. There is a new option in the upper right-hand side of your profile to quickly skip to a year in time too, and many of the features are also available on Facebook’s mobile applications.

Timeline automatically hides information that Facebook doesn’t think is important, but if it is, you can easily switch it to show that content. In addition, users can click the Timeline and add photos to earlier points in time before Facebook existed, such as their childhoods. Apps can also populate the timeline.

Zuckerberg also stated that users can now listen to music, read news, and watch TV and movies right through Facebook. For some of the content, you can simply hover over your friends’ post that shows up in your news Ticker and instantly have access to that content. For example, if you see that a friend of yours is listening to REM via Spotify, you can simply click on their post and be instantly connected to the song they’re listening to and listen along with them. Then, you can open up your chat and talk with your friend about how sad you are that REM finally broke up.

VERIZON CEO STICKS UP FOR AT&T'S ACQUISITION OF T-MOBILE

Verizon Communications chief executive Lowell McAdam has gone on record in suggesting that the company’s biggest rival, AT&T, should be allowed to complete its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. “That match had to occur,” McAdam said at an investor conference on Wednesday, warning that the government has no choice but to allow such mergers unless it can focus on getting telcos the increased spectrum they need to operate. He continued, “We need to be very thoughtful on what the impacts would be to the overall industry if this is a way to regulate the industry without actually passing regulation.” Read on for more.

“I have taken the position that the AT&T merger with T-Mobile was kind of like gravity,” McAdam told investors. “It had to occur, because you had a company with a T-Mobile that had the spectrum but didn’t have the capital to build it out. AT&T needed the spectrum, they didn’t have it in order to take care of their customers, and so that match had to occur.” The CEO continued, noting that he has told the Federal Communications Commission and other government officials that blocking AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile without providing a solution to the current spectrum crunch will ultimately harm American consumers.

WINDOWS PHONE 7 MANGO RELEASING IN NEXT WEEK OR TWO

Microsoft general manager Eric Hautala wrote a blog post on Microsoft’s official Windows Team Blog on Wednesday in which he confirmed the Windows Phone Mango update will begin rolling out to devices “in the next week or two.” Hautala said Microsoft has been making solid progress on the update and advised any Windows Phone users not to install unofficial or leaked copies of Mango. “During the official Windows Phone 7.5 update process, every Windows Phone will also receive software from the handset manufacturer,” Hautala explained. “This matched and paired firmware has been painstakingly tuned so your phone—and apps—work with all the new features of Windows Phone 7.5.”

AMAZON KINDLE LIBRARY LENDING LAUNCHES

Amazon’s Kindle Library Lending service, first announced in April, is now live in the United States. The service allows Kindle users to borrow eBooks from more than 11,000 participating libraries across the country. Here’s how it works: simply visit the website of a U.S. library with support for OverDrive and then, provided you have a library card, check out a Kindle book by clicking “Get for Kindle.” The eBook will then be delivered to your Kindle via Wi-Fi or USB. Library Lending is supported on any device that has Amazon’s Kindle application installed, which means it is available for multiple platforms including the PC, Android, iOS, Blackberry and Windows Phone. There are no limitations to titles borrowed from a library, and users can still view real page numbers and synchronize notes, highlights and more across multiple devices.

BING COSTS MICROSOFT $5.5 BILLION

Microsoft has lost $5.5 billion, an average drain of $1 billion per quarter, on Bing since it introduced the search engine in 2009, CNNMoney reported on Wednesday. Despite the losses, Microsoft’s Bing reached a 30% share of the U.S. search engine market in April of this year, slowly narrowing the gap with Google, although comScore’s figures pin the search engine’s share at just 14.7%.

Despite the constant drain, Microsoft still has a plan for Bing. During the company’s financial analyst meeting in California recently, Microsoft’s president of online services Qi Lu said his company hopes to use Bing to “reorganize the web” to “change the game fundamentally” instead of taking on Google in a head-to-head dogfight.

“We are able to try things with much more flexibility,” Bing director Stefan Weitz said. “If we make a mistake, it’s not going to take down the company.” Analysts believe Microsoft will continue to lose money, however. “Bing will likely be better than Google over time, but even if it is, users and advertisers still need to go to them,” McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Sid Parakh told CNNMoney. “To be clear, this will take a long, long time to play out. This is something Microsoft will continue to lose money on.”

RUMOR: FORMER eBAY CEO MEG WHITMAN TO REPLACE HP CEO APOTHEKER

HP may replace current CEO Leo Apotheker with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, AllThingsD reported on Wednesday. Reportedly, HP board members are not pleased with “a series of management mishaps,” inside HP. It is unclear if those mishaps are related to HP’s recent decision to kill off its webOS devices and spin off its PC business, which resulted in recent job cuts from the former Palm team.

The board may be more upset HP’s stock has tanked more than 40% since Apotheker took the reins in September, 2010. In any case, if Apotheker does get relieved of his duties as CEO, one analyst has suggested he will still have made $9.4 million for the year. Whitman, who is also on HP’s board, is reportedly interested in the job but the appointment is far from official, AllThingsD said. Whitman’s experience in the consumer market might help HP if ever does decide to revive the TouchPad and other webOS hardware efforts. Whitman served as eBay’s chief executive for 10 years until 2008 before trying her hand in politics.

WINDOWS 8 DITCHES BIOS BOOT FOR UEFI

Microsoft has decided to ditch the old BIOS boot by beautifying the whole experience with a graphical menu. Windows 8 will replace the standard fugly BIOS system with a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) -- giving users a high resolution logo and a graphical menu to gaze upon while powering up their PC. Besides just looking better, the menu lets you boot to a different disc, OS or USB drive using pretty pictures and words as prompts.

APPLE TO HOLD MEDIA EVENT ON OCTOBER 4TH; PROBABLY INTRODUCING iPHONE 5

All Things D is reporting today that Apple's next big media event will be held on October 4th, where freshly minted CEO Tim Cook is expected to unveil the iPhone 5. Sources close to the situation say Cook will be the main presenter at the event, with execs Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall and Eddy Cue playing supporting roles. This would mark the first time that Cook has actually led an Apple event, adding an extra wrinkle of significance to an already highly anticipated occasion. The site's sources went on to say that the next-gen iPhone will be available for purchase "within a few weeks" of the announcement, though All Things D acknowledges that the exact date of its unveiling is still subject to change.

LEAK: T-MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS CAN KEEP PLANS AFTER ACQUISITION BY AT&T

According to a purported internal document obtained by TmoNews, T-Mobile customers will be able to keep their service plans indefinitely should AT&T’s acquisition of the carrier proceed. “T-Mobile customers will be able to keep their rate plans,” the internal FAQ reads. “They will be able to do so for as long as they want to, even when their terms end and the service continues on a month-to-moth basis.” The wording suggests that T-Mobile customers will be out of luck if they want to purchase a new subsidized phone under contract, however, though it does not state explicitly that new contracts will require customers to switch to a standard AT&T rate plan.

The United States Department of Justice (and other companies like Sprint) is suing to block the merger and in its filing, the DOJ states, “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market.”

PATENT TROLLS COST COMPANIES $500 BILLION AND STIFLE INNOVATION

According to The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls, a new study published by the Boston University School of Law, patent trolls are responsible for $500 billion of “lost wealth” between 1990 and 2010, and for a decline in innovation. The study defines patents trolls as “firms that license patents without producing goods,” otherwise known as non-practicing entities. The researchers have found patent trolls, typically smaller firms, often sue large companies for technology patent infringement to make a quick buck. The lawsuits have resulted in an average of $80 billion of lost wealth per year during the last four years.

The Private and Social Costs of Patent Trolls argues that patent trolls push firms to purchase “vague, over-reaching patents” instead of innovating.

ROBOT NOMINATED TO CARRY OLYMPIC TORCH IN HONOR OF TURING'S 100th BIRTHDAY

In addition to the Olympic rings, the Olympic Torch is one of the most well-known symbols of the Olympic Games. The torch commemorates the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, and each of the Games holds its own Torch Relay to transport the flame from Greece to the host country. Eight thousand “inspirational torchbearers” will carry the flame during the Olympic Torch Relay. However, one man is gunning to make it 7,999 torch-bearing people and one torch-bearing robot.

James Law, Computer Scientist at Aberystwyth University, is nominating the iCub robot to be one of the many torchbearers for London 2012.. The iCub was built to learn from real-world activities just like a toddler does.

The 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of computer science, Alan Turing, happens to coincide with the Olympics, and having the iCub as one of the torchbearers would be a “fitting tribute to Alan Turing, and an inspiration to future generations of scientists and engineers,” Law said. According to Law, Turing was not only considered the father of modern computer science, he was also the ”figurehead for the code-breaking efforts of WWII.” He also created one of the first designs for a stored-program computer and helped lay the foundations for the field of artificial intelligence.

The flame will be lit in Greece and will arrive in the UK on May 18, 2012 to begin the 70-day journey that will culminate at the Opening Ceremonies on July 27. Eight thousand people (7,999 people and one robot if Law gets his way) will be chosen to carry the Olympic Flame during the Torch Relay with the goal that their inspirational stories will “have the power to inspire millions of people watching around the world.”

GOOGLE+ NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC

After 12 weeks of "beta" testing only open to those with invitations, Google+ is now open to everyone, no invitation needed. Google+ is Google's latest attempt at social networking and is bringing the fight to Facebook. From Hangouts (video calling with multiple people) to Circles (ability to group friends together into groups and send updates to selected circles) and user friendly privacy settings, Google hopes to bring social networking to the next level. During the 12 week "beta" testing period Google+ has garnered over 20 million users and acquired acclaim from the tech sector.

To join Google+ head over to Google and sign up.

HP TO LAYOFF OVER 500 WEBOS EMPLOYEES THIS WEEK

HP will lay off as many as 525 employees from its Palm division this week AllThingsD reported on Tuesday. HP killed off its webOS mobile operating system in mid-August when it also announced it would discontinue the development of webOS devices such as the TouchPad and Palm Pre family of smartphones. “As part of this decision, the webOS GBU is undergoing a reduction in workforce,” an HP spokesperson explained. “Today’s actions are part of this initiative. During this time, we stand by our commitment to our webOS customers and will work to ensure that support and service for customers are not adversely affected. HP is exploring ways to leverage webOS software.”

ANDROID HONEYCOMB TO ICE CREAM SANDWICH GUIDE POSTED FOR DEVELOPERS BY GOOGLE

Google posted a guide on its Android Developers website on Monday that should help developers prepare Honeycomb applications for the new Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, which will run on smartphones as well as tablets. That means Honeycomb developers will need to make their applications compatible with displays smaller than those found on various Android tablets. Creating an Ice Cream Sandwich compatible version of an application is important to reaching a larger audience, too. “Optimizing for handsets can be tricky if your designs currently use all of a large screen to deliver content,” Google explained in a blog post. “It’s worth the effort, though, because Ice Cream Sandwich brings the Honeycomb APIs to handsets and you’ll significantly increase the user-base for your app.”

HACKERS CAN CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD IN LION OS X

Security blog Defense in Depth via CNET has found a glaring security flaw in OS X Lion that enables hackers to change the password of any user on a machine running Lion. “[While] non-root users are unable to access the shadow files directly, Lion actually provides non-root users the ability to still view password hash data,” Patrick Dunstan from Defense in Depth explained in a recent blog post. The result is that anyone could use a simple Python script, created by Dunstan himself, to discover a user’s password. It gets worse. Reportedly, OS X Lion does not require its users to enter a password to change the login credentials of the current user. That means typing the command: “dscl localhost -passwd /Search/Users/Roger” will actually prompt you to set a new password for Roger.

As CNET points out, a hacker could only take advantage of the known bug if he or she has local access to the computer and Directory Service access. CNET suggests disabling automatic log-in, enabling sleep and screensaver passwords and disabling guest accounts as some preventative measures to keep your Mac secure.

SOUND WAVES CONVERTED TO ELECTROMAGNETIC ENGERY

Researchers in Japan and Germany have converted energy from soundwaves into electromagnetic energy, trapping a magnetic "spin current" between metal layers. In the experiment, when sound waves are directed at an interface between the thin metal layer and magnetic material, electrical signals are generated at a pair of electrodes attached above. When the soundwaves reach the magnetic material, this creates a spin current that gets picked up by three layers of metal. This is where the exercise class-sounding reverse spin Hall effect kicks in, transforming it into an electrical voltage.

scientists believe that it should be possible to generate that mystical electromagnetic energy from any material in the future. At the moment, the project is looking into materials that are able to eke out more voltage from the process.

RUMOR: SAMSUNG'S BADA MOBILE OS TO GO OPEN SOURCE

Samsung launched its own smartphone OS, Bada, almost two years ago and so far adoption by consumers, and developers, has been lukewarm at best. If a Wall Street Journal rumor is true however all that may change. According to the report Samsung is going to make Bada open source for developers and manufacturers. Citing the usual "person familiar with the situation", Samsung apparently isn't interested in snagging any outside companies like, say, webOS, but wants to strengthen its independence from Android after Google announced it will purchase Motorola. Right now, it feels like we've already seen this story play out for the still-kicking Symbian. On the other hand, maybe Samsung, with its massive manufacturing capabilities and current hit-making prowess, can strike the right balance of hardware, software and apps to make it worthwhile.