VentureBeat |
- Why women abandon the C suite — and how to get them back
- Phishing e-mail targets new Apple customers, steals billing information
- Apple may be preparing 32 & 37-inch iTVs for a summer launch
- Watch out Qualcomm, DoCoMo taps Samsung, Fujitsu, others for LTE chip venture
- The top gaming technologies of 2011
- Orbitz, Kayak think Google is abusing its power with travel search
- Acer not pulling the reins on tablet development, according to founder
- Samsung reconsiders Android 4.0 on Galaxy S, expects 15% rise in handset sales in 2012
- Bump CEO on IP “borrowing,” popularity & the Chicago scene (video)
- Italy fines Apple $1.2M over warranty confusion
- Samsung & Sony split up their LCD joint venture with a $934M buyout
- Boxee abandons PC users, version 1.5 update will be the last for computers
- 5.5 million hours spent in Star Wars: The Old Republic over Christmas weekend
- Kindle Fire gets a bite of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
| Why women abandon the C suite — and how to get them back Posted: 27 Dec 2011 09:45 AM PST
Why is this such a stubborn issue? Why aren't more women making it to (and staying at) the top? The answer may lie in a deeper understanding of why women leave and of what they bring to the table. Women now represent about half of the hiring pipeline, entry-level positions and total workforce. But at each level of management, women represent a lower percentage. According to research from Catalyst, while women represent 47.6 percent of today's workforce, in the Fortune 500 in 2011 they represent only 14.4 percent of executive officers, 7.6 percent of top earners and 3.2 percent of CEOs. The professions reflect the same pattern. Catalyst reports, for example, that in law firms women make up about 4 percent% of associates but only 19 percent of partners. Where do women go between the entry and upper levels? They leave. All relevant research confirms that women have higher attrition rates than men. Even if women don't literally leave, they disengage, stall out or just quit climbing. "Leave" is shorthand for all of that. And, when they literally leave, few drop out of the workforce; most go to another employer or start their own businesses. There is lots of focus on the issue. Last spring the Wall Street Journal devoted several pages of ink to the question, "Where are all the senior level women?" A new Catalyst research report shows the problem is not that women aren't doing the right things to get promoted. Those who do still lag behind men. A recent article in McKinsey Quarterly concludes that the problem lingers because it arises from "invisible mind-sets." I agree. The "quit rate" of women is hardly a reason not to hire and support women. It is a reason to try to keep them. The business case for gender diversity in leadership is compelling. Companies with a balance of men and women leaders do better on most financial measures — return on equity, return to shareholders, stock price, etc. They tap into a huge women's market. They attract the best talent from the gender-diverse talent pipeline. Gender diversity is simply good business. To increase retention rates of women, business leaders need to understand why women leave. The first cause people tend to name is work-life balance, the fact that women generally spend more hours a week caring for children and aging parents. This factor is obviously real. But it is overblown. First, not wanting to burn bridges when they depart, smart women often use the common and acceptable reason, they "want to spend more time with family," rather than talk about other factors. Second, research shows that work-life balance becomes less tolerable when there are other factors at play. These factors lower the engagement of women, which lowers retention and bottom line results. Both Catalyst and the Center for Work Life Policy divide the causes of women leaving the business world into "pull factors" (like family care) and "push factors," negative elements about the work environment or job. Two major push factors involve:
There are two drivers of these feelings:
Neither is malicious, intentional or usually even conscious. But they create barriers for women. Making them conscious can cause barriers to fall. The Comfort PrincipleAccess to informal networks is key to getting great work assignments and therefore great experience and exposure that lead to promotions. The "comfort principle" can create a barrier to full access for women. It is a natural phenomenon; we like to spend time with people like ourselves. Speaking personally, given a choice, I'd prefer to go shopping or share a bottle of wine with my women friends than play golf or hang out in a cigar bar with men. I don't judge men for preferring to hang out with men more than with me. Gender differences at work can create discomfort rather than comfort. But "hanging out" enables the development of trust and relationship. The people who come to mind when we are handing out great assignment or giving our time as a mentor are naturally those with whom we are most comfortable. We can't (and shouldn't) legislate away the comfort principle. What we can do is bring it to the conscious level. Leaders can pause and monitor whether the comfort principle is influencing to whom they give assignments, whom they mentor and to whom they give a second chance when things don't go perfectly. Then they can balance the benefit of diversity to their team and organization with their own comfort. In other words, awareness can assure that the comfort principle doesn't result in less access for some groups. An Unconscious PreferenceThe builders of American business were primarily men. They got there first. It is natural that ideas of leadership and excellence have a more masculine than feminine flavor. Studies show that "leadership" is associated with words that are characteristic of men more often than women. In fact, when women exhibit some of these traits, they are not favorably received. In evaluating a woman, men may find her approach unfamiliar and may judge her style rather than focus on the results she delivers. Leaders can stop and notice whether previously unconscious preferences are influencing how they evaluate a woman. They can take the time to understand differences in masculine and feminine approaches, and the strengths and limitations of each. Then they can appreciate and value both. Invisible Mind-SetsBoth the comfort principle and unconscious preferences are part of the "invisible mind-sets" named by McKinsey. The starting point for removing these mind-sets and the barriers they cause is awareness. By becoming aware of the barriers and of the strengths of both masculine and feminine approaches to work, leaders can assure that women and men feel accepted and valued and feel they can succeed. The result will be higher engagement, higher retention and a better bottom line.
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| Phishing e-mail targets new Apple customers, steals billing information Posted: 27 Dec 2011 09:26 AM PST
Cyber criminals are sending around a very official looking e-mail asking Apple users to update billing information, according to Intego, an anti-virus software company focused on Macs. The company says that the phishing scam, or scam that parades itself as a legitimate source and then steals information, targets new Apple users who are just setting up their accounts and may be unfamiliar with the Apple system. The e-mail looks legitimate, and has elements taken directly from Apple’s website. These include shadowing, logo and copyright information as pointed out by Cnet. It reads: “It has come to our attention that your account Billing Information records are out of date. That requires you to update your Billing Information. Failure to update your records will result in account termination.” A link at the bottom, which poses as “http://store.apple.com,” is actually a link out to the cyber criminal’s servers, starting with an IP address. As always, make sure you know what you are clicking by hovering over the link to see the actual URL you are about to access. As Intego notes, all Apple URLs will be the formation of something.apple.com.
Another, lighter, scam was called to my attention when a friend received an e-mail from a LinkedIn member, or a person posing as a LinkedIn member. Like the Apple scam, which comes from the familiar Apple ID e-mail “appleid@id.apple.com,” this came from “member@linkedin.com.” The e-mail read like a LinkedIn notification and had all the visual clues of a legitimate request. The link to the supposed message he had received instead took him to a page selling Viagra. Cyber criminals are getting better and better at replicating the look and feel of a company’s marketing. Scams are particularly prevalent around the holidays when e-commerce is in full swing and people are receiving more receipt, shipping and new account e-mails. A study by F-Secure predicted that $10 million would be stolen from e-commerce shoppers this season. Always double check links from marketing e-mails, especially for the next few weeks. Top screenshot via Intego, second screenshot via Topher Kessler/Cnet Filed under: security        
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| Apple may be preparing 32 & 37-inch iTVs for a summer launch Posted: 27 Dec 2011 08:49 AM PST
The news comes from Taiwanese blog Digitimes, which has previously picked up accurate news from sources in Apple's supply chain. The report indicates that Apple is planning to begin assembling the components in the first quarter of 2012 and will launch the iTV product itself in the summer. As for the components, Digitimes reports that Samsung will produce the chip set for the device, while Sharp will produce the screen. Apple’s first entrance into the realm of televisions came with the first generation of Apple TV, which allowed people to store digital media on the device as well as access some internet content. A second, more successful version was released that cut the cost to $99 and focused entirely on the streaming experience. It’s hard to believe Apple would produce a television set, since price is a main factor in consumer buying habits for internet-connected TV products, and an Apple TV is likely to be far more expensive than those from competitors. Still, information found in the recent official biography of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs does signal that the iTV is in development. Also worth noting are the rumors that Apple was briefing media executives on a new Apple Television. At this point, it’s still impossible to know exactly what Apple is working on. But it’s clear that the company’s plans include shaking up the smart-TV market. Filed under: media, VentureBeat        
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| Watch out Qualcomm, DoCoMo taps Samsung, Fujitsu, others for LTE chip venture Posted: 27 Dec 2011 08:37 AM PST
DoCoMo is investing $5.8 million in a wholly owned subsidiary, dubbed Communication Platform Planning Co. (creative, no?), which will be run together with Samsung, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Semiconductor, NEC, and Panasonic. The fabless company (it won’t have any chip factories of its own) will create “feature-rich, small-size, low-power-consumption semiconductor products equipped with modem functionality,” with a specific focus on LTE and LTE-Advanced products. Clearly, the venture is targeting San Diego-based Qualcomm, which currently holds a massive 80 percent share of the mobile chipset market. Mobile chipsets are becoming increasingly important, thanks to the rise of smartphones and tablets, so it makes sense for the Asian firms to want in on the action. Details on the venture are still being worked out, but the companies plan to finalize everything by the end of March 2012. Communication Platform Planning Co. will be run by Mitsunobu Komori, currently an executive vice president and CTO at DoCoMo. Filed under: deals, mobile, VentureBeat        
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| The top gaming technologies of 2011 Posted: 27 Dec 2011 08:00 AM PST Each year brings a host of new technologies to the table that make the gaming landscape seem significantly different from what came before, and 2011 was no different. Here are some of the most important technological advancements the game industry saw in the past 12 months. Nintendo 3DS After Nintendo's press conference just before E3 2010, it seemed all anybody in the game industry could talk about was the "wow factor" of Nintendo's newest portable system and how its stereoscopic 3D effect actually worked as advertised, without 3D glasses. Once the system came out, of course, many encountered frustration with the lowered frame rate and reduced brightness in 3D mode, as well as problems with limited viewing angles and headaches after long-term viewing. A healthy minority of players now use the system with the 3D effects turned off, and the lack of a real third dimension doesn't hurt the gameplay experience as much as Nintendo said it might. Still, despite all its problems, the 3DS earns a place on this list for being a proof of concept showing stereoscopic 3D doesn't need bulky head-mounted hardware to work. If future hardware makers expand on the concept with technologies that provide a more robust 3D from multiple viewing angles, we could see a true revolution in gaming. Sony PlayStation Vita Though it hasn’t made it to North America or Europe yet, the Vita snuck into Japanese stores in December sporting a regular everything-and-the-kitchen sink approach to portable gaming systems. The influence of the smartphone gaming revolution is apparent in everything from the optional 3G data connection to the large touch-screen to front and rear facing cameras. But the Vita’s most interesting bit of technology, from a gaming point of view, might be the rear multi-touch panel designed to allow players to control games without their fingers getting in the way of viewing the action. It’s still up in the air whether this innovative new control scheme will become a crucial addition or a forgotten fad, but it shows Sony’s willingness to try something radically different with its PSP follow up. Apple's A5 processor Making its premiere on the iPad 2 in March, Apple's newest mobile system-on-a-chip processor managed to provide a 400 to 700 percent increase in graphical performance over the year-old original iPad with no increase in retail price. Game developers were at first slow to take advantage of that extra power, but titles like Infinity Blade 2, Real Racing 2 and Dark Meadow have since shown how the additional power can be used to change the idea of what a mobile game can be. With the chip's inclusion on Apple's new iPhone 4S, we can expect more game developers to start upping the graphical ante in their mobile titles. But the real revolution will come when Apple finally adds the A5 chip to its iPod Touch line, which Apple is actively selling for its gaming capabilities. HTML5 While HTML5 wasn't introduced in 2011, this was the year the open standard for building interactive web games and apps really came into its own. Look no further than Adobe, which announced in November it would stop supporting the mobile version of competing interactive standard Flash (which Apple steadfastly refused to support on its devices) in favor of HTML5. It's not just Adobe. Zynga released HTML5 versions of three of its biggest games this year in a bid for mobile web browsers, and Disney followed up its major acquisition of Playdom with the purchase of HTML5 game specialists Rocket Pack. Startups from Los Angeles' Gamzee to Korea's Pangalore managed to attract startup funds for their HTML5 gaming efforts this year as well. While we have yet to see the first major gaming hit to premiere on HTML3, and there are some concerns about the standard's value as a game development platform, the trend towards the open standard seems like it will only continue into 2012. OnLive for Tablets Since its launch last year, OnLive’s streaming game service — which lets play games that are running on and transmitted from remote servers — has struggled to find a significant market of users. But the recently launched tablet version of the service may just be the killer app it needs, allowing millions of tablet owners to get truly console-quality games on their relatively underpowered devices. More than the previous OnLive services, which relied on a PC, Mac or a proprietary streaming micro-console, the tablet version offers an easy portability that turns the devices into a sort of magic screen that can access a wide library of PC and console games easily wherever there’s a reliable internet connection. Support for external Bluetooth controllers means tablet owners no longer have to suffer through the tactile smoothness of a touchscreen, either: OnLive for tablets open the devices up to the traditional button-based games most players are used to. Razer Blade Laptop Razer's first entry into the dedicated gaming computer market doesn't include much that's decidedly new (aside from its built-in LCD panel touchscreen next to the keyboard, perhaps). Still, the combination of internal hardware aimed at high-end gamers and a sleek form factor stakes out an important place in the gaming hardware market. The $2,800 price might limit the laptop's appeal outside an incredibly hardcore niche, but the Blade stands out for imagining a PC gaming future that isn't just dominated by free-to-play casual social games. PlayStation 3D Display It may look like just another 3D TV, but when combined with the PS3, Sony's gaming-focused display gains one special feature to set it apart — a multiplayer mode where each participant gets their own distinct, full screen view. The days of squinting at a stretched-out split-screen view for couch competitions is effectively over with this TV, though the 24" size may cause some squinting of its own for players used to a larger, widescreen living room setup. The 3D display has already seen heavily reduced prices at some retailers, perhaps showing a lack of market interest in yet another 3D capable monitor. Still, the fact that Sony released a gaming-focused 3D TV in the first place shows the company's continuing commitment to stereoscopic gaming as a way to set its console apart from those offered by Microsoft and Nintendo. Nyko Kinect Zoom One of the coolest bits of video game technology to come to gaming in 2011 doesn't even require electricity to operate. The Nyko Zoom is nothing more than a set of small lenses that snaps on top of Microsoft's Kinect depth-sensing camera, effectively shortening and widening the useful range for the device, removing one of the key barriers to using it in a cramped space. Suddenly, even the smallest of studio apartments can serve as a controller-free environment. How important is this reduced range to the usefulness of the Kinect? Well, when Microsoft announced it would be releasing a new Kinect aimed specifically at PC users, it made sure to include technology that would let the unit work from as close as 40 centimeters away. In other words, Nyko was able to see the market for a closer range Kinect before Microsoft did. Filed under: games, mobile        
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| Orbitz, Kayak think Google is abusing its power with travel search Posted: 27 Dec 2011 07:59 AM PST Peak holiday travel may be near its end, but the battle for online travel search is just heating up with Google’s recently launched flight search tools angering competitors. Google debuted its flight search tool in September and starting placing its own flight search results at the top of regular searches in December, just in time for the holiday travel season. The flight results pop up when you type a query about trying to get from one place to another, like in my example in the photo above. Competitors such as Expedia, Priceline and Kayak are unhappy about Google’s move, according to the Wall Street Journal. That report suggests compeitors believe Google is abusing its power in search to control the $110 billion online travel industry. Web analytics firm Compete says travel sites rely on Google for 10 to 20% of their traffic, so any time Google places its results at the top, it’s likely taking traffic and sales away from online travel sites. Because sites like Expedia and Orbitz charge airlines a fee for reservations, airlines prefer customers who book direct from their web sites. Google redirects straight to airline reservation sites rather than link to online site results. Kayak includes results to airline sites, Priceline, Expedia, Travelocity and Hotwire. Google’s flight search is powered by ITA Software, which Google finished acquiring in April. When the travel search tool from ITA first launched, we suspected it could also inflict damage on Bing’s robust travel search features. In the past, Google has faced antitrust allegations over it’s control over web searches and web data. Just recently, the European Commission met with Google chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt to talk about the company’s unfair advantage in online search. Kayak, Expedia and Orbitz were not available for immediate comment, but we will update this story if any decide to clarify their positions further. Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Acer not pulling the reins on tablet development, according to founder Posted: 27 Dec 2011 07:36 AM PST
Companies from all walks of digital technology, such as HP, which makes PCs like Acer, e-commerce giant Amazon, smartphone manufacturer Research in Motion, e-reader company Kobo, bookseller Barnes & Noble, and more have turned to making tablets. But, like many ventures into unknown territory, it’s harder than it looks. HP, which makes enterprise and consumer grade hardware such as printers and PCs, showed just how difficult making tablets can be with its TouchPad. The TouchPad, which originally debuted at $499 a pop, now sells at dedicated sales for $99, in the hopes of clearing the shelves after initially being rejected by tablet buyers. After HP began selling the tablet at a loss, however, sales began picking up left and right. Research in Motion also saw a lukewarm reception to its PlayBook tablet and recently dropped its price down from $499 to $199 in an effort to spur purchases. The company shipped just 115,000 PlayBooks in the third quarter, after predicting its own loss of $485 million due to the new PlayBook price model. But according to Digitimes, Acer’s Shih says the company is holding on to the tablet business and instead reorganizing internally to meet its needs. The now-retired founder explained the company is “streamlining” its tablet and smartphone departments, given how similar they are, and is looking to create “niche and competitive” products. The company will be reducing its product line, reports Digitimes, and will avoid downsizing its division. Shih says the company is simply experiencing early frustrations, similar to when it began its notebook line. via Digitimes Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Samsung reconsiders Android 4.0 on Galaxy S, expects 15% rise in handset sales in 2012 Posted: 27 Dec 2011 07:24 AM PST
Thanks to the massive outcry from customers, Samsung is now apparently reconsidering making Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available to the Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab, reports Korea’s ajnews. As the Verge explains it (the original report is in Korean), Samsung is looking into ways to fit Android 4.0 on the devices, even though it previously said that its TouchWiz software made that impossible. The news is a good sign for Galaxy S owners, but even if Samsung does manage to squeeze Android 4.0 on the devices, it will likely be much later than when the Galaxy S II family gets it early next year. Additionally, but unrelated, the company expects a 15 percent uptick in handset sales next year, given the current popularity of its Android lineup. Samsung is apparently aiming to sell 374 million handsets next year, up from projected sales of 325 million units this year, Reuters reports. 150 million of those devices are expected to be smartphones. The news comes from industry officials who divulged Samsung’s plans to the Korea Economic Daily, so there’s a chance Samsung’s actual plans could even be more ambitious. Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat        
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| Bump CEO on IP “borrowing,” popularity & the Chicago scene (video) Posted: 27 Dec 2011 07:23 AM PST Bump CEO Dave Lieb took some time to chat with us in the VentureBeat studio recently, and we talked all kinds of trash. Bump is the mobile app that lets you send data back and forth between two phones simply by physically “bumping” the devices against one another. A common use case is sharing contact information, but all kinds of files can be transferred this way. First, we noted that Bump’s core value proposition has become a feature in Google’s latest Android release, Ice Cream Sandwich. Lieb’s take is that the move isn’t surprising, but flattering — he sees the ICS feature as validation that the Bump team is working on a legitimate solution to a common problem. We also talked about the app’s wild popularity and about the startup scene in Chicago, where Lieb & Co. started out, themselves. Filed under: Entrepreneur Corner, mobile        
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| Italy fines Apple $1.2M over warranty confusion Posted: 27 Dec 2011 07:06 AM PST
The fines came from Italy’s anti-trust authority, which said Apple gave unclear information on payments necessary to maintain customer service (a €400,000 fine) and was unclear about its Apple Care extended warranty (a €500,000 fine), according to an AFP report. Local laws in Italy require companies to offer a two-year warranty on every product free of charge, which is different from Apple’s standard one-year warranty. While customers have the option of purchasing a longer warranty, Italian regulations have determined that Apple hasn’t fulfilled its obligation. Apple doesn’t have a huge presence in the Italian market, but it does have nine retail stores there. Assuming the company doesn’t challenge the fees, Italy may be the best place to buy an Apple product, since the two-year warranty comes at no additional cost. [Image via wallpapers.vintage.it] Filed under: VentureBeat        
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| Samsung & Sony split up their LCD joint venture with a $934M buyout Posted: 27 Dec 2011 07:05 AM PST
Samsung will be buying all of Sony’s shares of the venture, S-LCD Corporation, for KRW 1.08 trillion, roughly $934 million. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close by the end of next month, January 2012. As a result of the deal, Sony expects to record Q3 2012 losses of roughly $847 million, but it expects this one-time loss to be offset by an annual savings of $642 million, simply due to the fact that it won’t be operating an LCD manufacturing facility. In the near future, Sony will have access to a “flexible and steady supply” of S-LCD Corp.’s panels from Samsung (at market prices, of course) without having to maintain and operate its own manufacturing plant. In a press release, the companies stated that each has “entered into a new strategic agreement for the supply and purchase of LCD panels with a goal of enhancing the competitiveness of both companies.” While the companies plan to continue their cooperative engineering of LCD panels, the S-LCD Corporation, which was established in 2004, will be entirely Samsung’s. S-LCD Corp. is based in South Korea and currently manufactures seventh- and eighth-generation amorphous TFT LCD panels. The venutre has a market cap of around $2.8 billion. Sony also recently announced it was ending a longstanding brand name shared with Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson and will continue making mobile phones solely under the Sony name. Filed under: deals        
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| Boxee abandons PC users, version 1.5 update will be the last for computers Posted: 27 Dec 2011 06:35 AM PST
The media streaming software company will be shifting its focus entirely to connected TV devices, tablets and smartphones, it announced yesterday on its blog, together with the unveiling of Boxee 1.5 for Windows, Macs, and Ubuntu Linux. The news reflects a major shift in the landscape of home theater PCs. It used to be that you had to install and configure software like Boxee to enjoy digital video in your living room. Now, with the proliferation of cheap and easy-to-use devices like the Roku set-top box, as well as TVs and Blu-ray players with support for apps like Netflix, the HTPC of yore seems irrelevant. “While there are still many users who have computers connected to their TVs, we believe this use case is likely to decline as users find better alternatives,” wrote Boxee’s Andrew Kippen. “People will continue to watch a lot of video on their computer, but it is more likely to be a laptop than a home-theater PC and probably through a browser rather than downloaded software.” Boxee, which began as a fork of the XBMC media center software, was initially very popular with techies thanks to its wide support for video file types and slick user interface. But now the company needs to focus on a wider audience. That began with the release of the Boxee Box last year and continued with the launch of its iPad app this summer. As for the Boxee 1.5 update, it sports a refined interface, as well as additional details about movies and TV shows. The update will be available on Boxee’s website until the end of January, at which point the company will likely erase any trace of its HTPC past from the site. The update will hit the Boxee Box in January alongside the release of the Live TV USB stick. Filed under: media, VentureBeat        
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| 5.5 million hours spent in Star Wars: The Old Republic over Christmas weekend Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:53 PM PST Electronic Arts is touting the latest numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and it seemed that lightsaber hums competed hard with the sound of jingle bells. Over the last weekend, 5.5 million hours of potential quality family time were sacrificed for the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire instead, according to the publisher. It’s a sign that EA’s major bet on The Old Republic, which has been in development for years in the hopes of recreating World of Warcaft’s success, has paid off big. After a full-week early access period for pre-order customers, the massively multiplayer online (MMO) game launched on December 20th to positive reviews, including an 89 out of 100 score on VentureBeat. The aggregated Metacritic tally currently stands at 88. The marketing efforts for the game also seemed to pay off, as a well-edited promotional video from The Old Republic’s launch day event went viral. “The first ever lightsaber freeze mob duel in the heart of New York’s Times Square” reached over 1.6 million views on YouTube. Electronic Arts also delights us with updated trivia statistics from the game servers. As of December 26, a total of 60 million in-game hours were accumulated, 260 million quests completed, 44 million PvP battles fought and 9 million space combat missions accomplished. In the course of action, over 3 billion unfortunate NPCs (non-player characters) were killed. The Dark Side has a narrow lead in the popularity contest, as 850,000 Sith Warriors have been created compared to 810,000 Jedi Knights. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set thousands of years before the Star Wars movies. Players choose one of eight character classes and can team up with friends online or solve missions on their own. Rich storylines, companion characters and fully voiced dialogs are the stand-out features compared to other MMO games. Filed under: games, VentureBeat        
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| Kindle Fire gets a bite of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 26 Dec 2011 08:22 PM PST Well that didn’t take very long. Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet — which you’ve likely seen gifted quite a bit this holiday season — has been hacked to run a “pre-alpha” version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. You can thank the intrepid hackers over at the xda-developers forum for the release, which marks the first time Android 4.0 has hit the Kindle Fire. A hack such as this is likely the only way Kindle Fire owners can get their hands on Android 4.0. Given the hefty hardware requirements for Android 4.0 devices, plus Amazon’s need for a highly customized user interface on the Kindle Fire, you’ll likely never see an official Ice Cream Sandwich release on the tablet. The hack, which is based on the custom Android firmware CyanogenMod 9, is certainly far from complete. Audio and graphical glitches (especially while playing videos) abound, and touch screen interaction seems fairly unresponsive, according to the above video from Liliputing. Still, it’s a mighty first step for Kindle Fire hackers, and it’s likely the first of many such releases from various development groups. Given it’s $200 price and wide availability, the Kindle Fire is the new target for hackers looking to make a name for themselves. Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat        
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Although women have made much progress in reaching the leadership levels of business, such progress is disappointing and stalled. 
Business Consultant Caroline Turner, former senior vice president of Coors Brewing Company (the first woman to hold a position at that level at the company) is releasing 
Apple is allegedly assembling components for a 32- and 37-inch iTV, the Apple branded television set that can connect to the internet for streaming media.
Qualcomm’s mobile chipset dominance may be threatened by a new joint venture spearheaded by Japan’s NTT DoCoMo, focusing on next-generation LTE products.
It looks like owners of Samsung’s first Galaxy S devices didn’t take too kindly to the news that 
Italian regulators have slapped Apple with $1.2 million (€900,000) in fines for misleading customers about assistance services and guarantees for products.
Samsung and Sony are splitting up their LCD panel joint venture, the companies announced.
Sorry, Boxee faithful, you won’t be getting any more updates on your computers after the release of Boxee 1.5.
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