Bill Gates urged Microsoft to buy Skype, says the deal was strategic

Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates was pushing the software giant to acquire internet video chat company Skype. The $8.5 billion deal was announced last week.

The acquisition is the largest Microsoft has ever done. And it was a great deal, Bill Gates said in an interview with BBC. He added that the deal was a strategic move. Skype is not very profitable, but it has over 660 million users worldwide. It gives Microsoft a … Continue Reading

Zynga acquires DNA Games, 14th acquisition in 12 months

Zynga said today it is acquiring social game maker DNA Games. That’s the 14th acquisition Zynga has made in 12 months.

Zynga is in a race to acquire talent to make more social games for Facebook (where it has more than 250 million monthly active users) and other platforms such as mobile.

DNA Games was founded in 2009 by Jon Lee and Shaun Haase. They have created hits such as Casino City, Slot City and … Continue Reading

Don't bet on an LTE 4G iPhone 5 this year

Eventually one of these iPhone 5 rumors will have to pan out, so let’s keep throwing them at the wall: Industry sources say that Apple was originally planning to add LTE 4G capabilities to this year’s iPhone, but chose to delay including the technology until next year, Digitimes reports.

It’s tough to take reports like this seriously, especially when citing nebulous “industry sources,” but Digitimes has proven that it has a knack for milking accurate … Continue Reading

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play game phone moves to Verizon

Sony Ericsson said today that its Xperia Play game phone will be available on Verizon Wireless starting May 19.

The new smartphone combines a standard smartphone with PlayStation controls for a better gaming experience than a typical smartphone would offer.

The Xperia Play uses the 2.3 Gingerbread version of Google’s Android operating system and comes preloaded with seven games. You can download more than 50 more games via Verizon’s VCAST apps. You can slide out … Continue Reading

Motorola Droid X2 available online tomorrow, in stores next week

After months of speculation, Motorola and Verizon have confirmed the launch date for the Motorola Droid X2 smartphone. Priced at $200 with a new two-year plan, The Droid X2 will be available online May 19, and will hit Verizon Wireless stores May 26.

The phone is the successor to the very popular Droid X, which was launched in June 2010. As far as the technical specs go, the phone isn’t offering much in the way … Continue Reading

New PSN exploit leaves Sony's login pages vulnerable (updated)

Sony’s PlayStation Network headaches aren’t over yet. Now an exploit has been unearthed that allows hackers to change your PSN password using information stolen from the original April PSN attack.

Luckily, Sony has acted quickly and taken down its online PSN login and password recovery. That means users currently can’t log on to a variety of Sony sites, including PlayStation.com and its online forums.

It’s commendable that Sony has acted quickly to plug this potential … Continue Reading

Macbook Air with Sandy Bridge chips coming in June/July?

If you’re holding out for Apple to refresh its Macbook Air ultraportable laptop, you may not have to wait much longer. Apple is preparing to upgrade the Macbook Air with Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processors and ultra-fast Thunderbolt interface in June or July, Taiwanese supply chain sources tell Digitimes.

While the news is far from official, it makes sense given that Apple’s sexy thin Macbook Air redesign from last year is still strapped with an … Continue Reading

Adknowledge and Ansca Mobile cater to mobile game makers

Adknowledge and Ansca Mobile have teamed up to help mobile game developers make money with their apps.

Adknowledge is a long-tail ad network, with monetization platforms for games and other apps. Ansca Mobile is a game engine that allows developers to create games without knowing much programming.

By combining their platforms, the two companies will make it a lot easier for app makers to monetize their mobile apps on the iOS (iPhone etc.) and Android … Continue Reading

Plantronics finds a way to marry land lines and mobile phones

Handing off a call between a mobile phone and a land line is a pretty big pain for mobile workers. When you get home from a car trip, you have to tell your caller to dial you on your land line.

But Plantronics has figured a way to get around that problem. Today, the company is marking its 50th anniversary by introducing a series of communications headsets, including one that solves the above-mentioned problem with … Continue Reading

PopCap games takes Plants vs Zombies to China's biggest social network

PopCap Games has developed the first-ever social adaptation of its Plants vs. Zombies game for China’s Renren social networking site.

Plants vs Zombies has been a huge hit for PopCap around the world on a variety of platforms. But the launch in China shows that the company is serious about making a big splash in one of the hottest markets in the world. If Plants vs Zombies succeeds on China’s Renren, then the company will … Continue Reading

Slacker finally launches its premium radio service

Slacker has been talking about its premium online radio service for more than a year now — and today it finally launched.

San Diego-based Slacker already offered a Radio Plus service, which gives users unlimited song skips and cuts the ads for $3.99 per month. But Slacker Premium is more than just a small improvement — users can now play any song in Slacker’s music library whenever they want for $9.99 per month.

Jonathan Sasse, … Continue Reading

Hipster raises $1M for local Q&A

Hipster, a startup which aims to bring question and answers to local communities, has raised $1 million in seed funding from a long list of big-name investors, including Google Ventures.

In stealth mode for some time, Hipster first opened its gates for the South by Sotuhwest conference in Austin, Texas, where it received 4,000 signups to its site and 10,000 to its launch mailing list. Attendees to the conference could use Hipster to ask and … Continue Reading

Intel will get inside smartphones by early 2012

The world’s largest chipmaker Intel will make its way to smartphones early next year, the company’s CEO Paul Otellini revealed today to investors.

He also rejected the idea that the company would adopt rival manufacturer ARM’s technology for the mobile chipsets. He was sharing his vision at Intel’s annual investor event in Santa Clara, Reuters reports.

Getting to mobile devices is a big deal for Intel. The company is the dominant desktop and notebook chip … Continue Reading

Confident or arrogant? LinkedIn ups valuation to $4B

LinkedIn, a social network that connects professionals to help form new business contacts, increased the share pricing for its initial public offering tomorrow to between $42 and $45 — giving the company a valuation of around $4 billion — according to an updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It was just 8 days ago that LinkedIn claimed a valuation of $3 billion in an amended S-1 filing with the SEC. The quick about-face … Continue Reading

Phillips Lighting CEO: Super-efficient light bulb prices will be cut in half by 2017

The cost of light bulbs that use light-emitting diodes (LED), which are much more efficient than typical incandescent light bulbs, could fall by as much as 50 percent by 2017, said Phillips Lighting chief executive Zia Eftekhar.

LED light bulbs haven’t taken off yet because the price tag per LED bulb can be as high as $50. But the latest generation of light bulbs can generate as much light as a 100-watt incandescent bulb using … Continue Reading

Seriously, Google? Android security flaw affects 99.7% of phones

It’s almost like we can’t go a week without a major mobile security flaw making headlines. German researchers have discovered that pretty much all Android phones (99.7 percent) have a major authentication flaw that could allow hackers to steal your digital credentials over open wireless networks.

They could then use those credentials to access your Google Calendar, Contacts and potentially other apps. Altogether now: Gulp.

It’s a particularly embarrassing security hole for Google, since … Continue Reading

Sony shooting to restore all PSN services by end of the month

Sony’s top game development executive said today that the company is hoping to bring back all PlayStation Network services for gamers by the end of the month.

Shuhei Yoshida (pictured), said that the company is still in the midst of the restart process for the PSN, which was brought down by a hacker attack on April 20 and was finally partially restored last weekend.

Yoshida said the company was fortifying system security and was grateful … Continue Reading