MetLife Seeking To Become A Technology Leader With New Tech Hub In North Carolina's Research Triangle

Earlier this year, MetLife, Inc., a leading global life insurance and employee benefits company, announced that it is breaking ground in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area for a new best-in-class global technology hub.

Located in Cary, N.C., the new hub will house the infrastructure that enables MetLife to deliver world-class service to its customers. MetLife’s entry into the Research Triangle area, coupled with its new U.S. retail headquarters in Charlotte, represents a $125.5 million investment in North Carolina. This is on top of the $1.2 billion in insurance funds that MetLife has invested in North Carolina housing, agriculture, commercial real estate, health care and utilities.

The opening of MetLife's new campus in Cary, North Carolina means a lot of new job growth and opportunity for Raleigh. They are currently breaking on a state of the art campus that is slated to open in 2015. MetLife intends to create 2,600 jobs with the new technology solutions center, which will provide one of the largest jobs creation institutions in North Carolina's recent history. Over the coming months more than 1,000 positions will open across various functions including engineering, development, app maintenance, IT risk and security and tech support.

MetLife is targeting LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold certification or higher for the state-of-the-art workplace, which will feature an environment designed to facilitate collaboration and innovation. The campus will consist of 427,000 square feet in two 213,500 square foot office buildings with structured parking. The buildings will be situated on 26.5 acres fronting the 520-acre Lake Crabtree, which is adjacent to I-40 and the nearby Raleigh-Durham International Airport. In addition, the campus will feature sprawling outside space including a great lawn, amphitheater, patio and places to engage in activities such as basketball and volleyball.

For more information about MetLife GTO, including job opportunities, visit www.metlifegto.com and be sure to follow MetLife GTO viaTwitter @ML_TechandOps

#spon: I'm required to disclose a relationship between our site and Metlife GTO. This could include MetLife Global Technology and Operations group providing us w/content, product, access or other forms of payment.

Keep Personal Information Safe This Holiday Season With The Fellowes Powershred 73Ci Cross Cut Shredder

The holiday season is here and the last thing most of us want to do is worry about our personal and financial information slipping into the wrong hands. Often times in the rush to get shopping done, presents wrapped or taking care of the other details we overlook one important item. Those pesky credit card receipts, bills and other materials that identity thieve would love to get their hands on.

According to Javelin Strategy & Research, there was one incident of ID fraud every three seconds in 2012. The holiday season is an especially dangerous time of year for this crime as consumers are distracted and sharing their confidential information frequently. One of the best ways to avoid such hazards is to shred your personal documents, statements and other bills.

But what do you do with those other personal items such as those left over photo CD/DVDs you might have made, or those expired credit cards? Did you know with the right shredder you can shred those as well?

For those geeks out there looking for that perfect shredder to add to their #HolidayGiftGuides checkout the Fellowes Powershred 73Ci Cross Cut Shredder. This beast of a machine is packed with features that are perfect for the gadget loving geek, home office user or just about anyone that is looking to make sure all their personal information is safely shredded.


Features include: 100% Jam Proof System that eliminates paper jams and powers through tough jobs, SafeSense Technology which automatically stops shredding when hands touch the paper opening and Heavy-duty Cross-Cut blades that destroy a up to 12 sheets of paper into 397 particles or cut through credit cards, paper clips, staples, and CD/DVD.

The 73Ci is available at office superstores and their online counterparts for a suggested retail price of $199.99. For more information on keep your personal identification secure this holiday season be sure to follows @FellowesInc and hashtag #IDSafetySeason


This post was created in partnership with Fellowes. All opinions are my own.

Microsoft Warns: Xbox One Backwards Compatability Hoax Will Brick Your Systems

We've all heard the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true it usually is." Well it appears that rings true in the case of a forum post that has been making big promises about Microsoft’s Xbox One. The post details an option that allows users gain backwards compatibility (capable of playing Xbox 360 games) by going into the system and enabling developer tools.

Micrsoft has warned that this, hack or hoax as it now appears, simply isn’t true, and playing around with those tools could render your system bricked.

Microsft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb tweets:

“To be clear there is no way to make your Xbox One backwards compatible & performing steps to attempt this could make your console inoperable.”

Neither the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4 are backwards-compatible and cannot be used to play previous generation games, no matter how much tweaking or reconfiguring you might attempt. The six-step tutorial passed around Facebook and Twitter actually opens the Developer Mode of the Xbox One and fixes it in a constant reboot cycle.

The origin of the prank isn’t clear, but the tutorial image proudly announces that “Xbox 360 games will now be playable on your console.” Microsoft intionally left the deloper options open so that anyone with the desire to become a developer can eventually be granted access to the developer tools on Microsoft’s new games console. Once the feature is ready to go live Microsoft will allow delopers the option to turn their current consoles into a developer unit without paying out extra for hardware — all that will be required when the feature goes live is a license fee and authorization code.

NORAD Santa Tracker Now Online, Now Offers 3D and Touch Support

With Christmas right around the corner it is that time of year gain when the North American Aerospace Defense Command (“NORAD”)launches their famous Santa Tacker. A website which allows children around the world to tack Santa's journey around the globe. Since 1955, children of all ages have tracked his route with the help of NORAD’s radar, satellites and jet fighters. This year, Microsoft has lent a hand to make the experience the most magical yet, putting a fresh spin on the time-honored tradition with the launch of the new www.NORADSanta.org website.

The new website now offers children more than just a way to track Santa on Dec. 24. It lets you immerse yourself in the holiday throughout the month of December. With a nostalgic, 3D Claymation look and feel, the new site features a recreation of Santa’s village that you can explore to discover new games daily, music, videos and more.

The new site is fully touch-enabled, which makes for a truly immersive experience, if you are using a touch device. On Dec. 24, a touch-enabled 3-D globe will light up as Santa begins his journey worldwide. With a modern browser you will be able to spin the globe with a swipe of a finger and pinch and zoom to get an in-depth look at Santa’s stops.Whether you’re mapping Santa’s route in a browser on a computer or in an app, you’ll see beautiful, high-fidelity images. Bing Maps is the canvas on which Santa’s journey is plotted. 

Amazon Appstore Offering Free Android Games This Weekend

As part of the company's Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend promotion, Amazon has announced that its Appstore for Android will be giving away a selection of top Android games this weekend. The "Ultimate Game Collection" promotion which runs from today, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Dec. 1 will include free paid versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Angry Birds Space Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run and Fruit Ninja. Here's a breakdown of the sales on Amazon.com:

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run (was $3.99)
• Battle Bears Fortress (was $1.99)
• Quell (was $0.99)
• Angry Birds Space HD (Kindle Tablet Edition) (was $2.99)
• Bloons TD 5 (was $2.99)
• Sonic The Hedgehog (was $2.99)
• Hambo (was $0.99)
• Angry Birds Space (Ad-Free) (was $0.99)
• Fruit Ninja (was $0.99)

In addition to the Ultimate Game Collection, Amazon will continue to offer their free app of the day as well as several other hot deals through Cyber-Monday.

FBI Reminds Holiday Shoppers To Beware Of Online Scams

With holiday shopping in full swing and many of you out there looking online for the best deals possible, the FBI has issued a series of reminders to online shoppers to beware of scams and to use their common sense when making purchases, visiting websites and opening emails.

“ Scammers use many techniques to fool potential victims, including fraudulent auction sales, reshipping merchandise purchased with a stolen credit card, sale of fraudulent or stolen gift cards through auction sites at discounted prices, and phishing e-mails advertising brand name merchandise for bargain prices or e-mails promoting the sale of merchandise that ends up being a counterfeit product,” the FBI states.

Here are some tips the FBI has shared that you can use to avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud:

• Do not respond to unsolicited (spam) e-mail.
• Do not click on links contained within an unsolicited e-mail.
• Be cautious of e-mails claiming to contain pictures in attached files, as the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders. Always run a virus scan on attachment before opening.
• Avoid filling out forms contained in e-mail messages that ask for personal information.
• Always compare the link in the e-mail to the web address link you are directed to and determine if they match.
• Log on directly to the official website for the business identified in the e-mail, instead of "linking" to it from an unsolicited e-mail. If the e-mail appears to be from your bank, credit card issuer, or other company you deal with frequently, your statements or official correspondence from the business will provide the proper contact information.
• Contact the actual business that supposedly sent the e-mail to verify that the e-mail is genuine.
• If you are requested to act quickly or there is an emergency, it may be a scam. Fraudsters create a sense of urgency to get you to act impulsively.
• If you receive a request for personal information from a business or financial institution, always look up the main contact information for the requesting company on an independent source (phone book, trusted Internet directory, legitimate billing statement, etc.) and use that contact information to verify the legitimacy of the request.
• Remember if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

To receive the latest information about cyber scams, please go to the FBI website and sign up for e-mail alerts by clicking the envelope in the upper right corner of the page. If you have received a scam e-mail, please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

Have A Faulty Xbox One? Get A Free Game From Microsoft

Microsoft has already acknowledged that a small portion Xbox One's have a potential problem with the game console's disk drive which causes a 'grinding' sounds when disks are loaded. Anyone affected with the issue will not only have their consoles replaced, but they can get a free game once they’ve reported the error.

“The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers,” Microsoft told CNET. “We’re working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program. Rest assured, we are taking care of our customers.”

You can get your hands on Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising, Ryse or Zoo Tycoon if your console’s disc drive is making unhealthy noises and refusing to play any games. Once you’ve reported the issue to Microsoft, you should get your replacement Xbox One within a matter of days. The free game can be downloaded digitally (and played without using the disc drive).

Microsoft also has promised that affected buyers won't have to wait too long for a replacement.

"Customers have the option for us to send a replacement console right away without waiting until they have returned their old one," Microsoft said. "This means a customer only has to wait a matter of days, rather than weeks to get back up and running."

Microsoft didn't indicate exactly how many people are included in a "very small number."

For those looking to take advantage of the offer, head to the Xbox website, contact @XboxSupport on Twitter or just shout “Xbox Help” at your black box to get assistance from Microsoft.

Update: If your Xbox One is completely unplayable, crash-prone, or suffers from Internet connection or Kinect-related issues, you are not eligible for a free launch title game, Microsoft has confirmed. Because Microsoft is issuing the free game titles as digital copies only the owners of unusable Xbox One units will not be eligible because they cannot play games at all -- let alone download them. "The digital download is only for the folks having issues with their disc drive because we want to ensure our advance exchange customers can stay in the game," a Microsoft representative confirmed.

Google Glass Explorer Program Now Open To Everyone With $1500

Google Glass seems to be the hottest topic in tech these days. The exclusive Explorer program has built a lot of hype and anticipation despite only allowing certain developers, contest winners, and VIPs to the program. Now that privilege of paying $1,500 for a beta version of the hardware is being rolled out to more and more individuals. Just last month, existing Explorers were given the ability to invite three friends to purchase their own set of Glass and now Google is opening the door a little wider allowing anyone to join the waiting list.

As the potential release of Google Glass nears, it appears as though Google is looking to really broaden its beta test. The compnay has very quietly rolled out a page that will allow any US resident willing to plop down the $1500 entrance fee a chance at getting their hands on a pair.

The Glass Explorer Program
The Explorer Program launched earlier this year and is designed for people who want to get involved early and help shape the future of Glass. We’re expanding The Explorer Program little by little, and experimenting with different ways of bringing new Explorers into the program.

If you’re a US resident and are interested in joining, you can sign up here and we’ll let you know if a spot opens up - please note that, while we'd like to invite everyone, we can't guarantee invites right now.

In addition to the open enrollment Google has also announced the addiiton of several new music features for Google Glass. According to their +Google posting the company plans to roll out the new features over the next few weeks. There will be a new voice command option (“Okay Glass, listen to”) so you can access your tracks from +Google Play Music, including the millions of songs on All Access. Also, if you say "Okay Google, what song is this?" the Sound Search feature will analyze a song playing within earshot, and give you the name and artist along with an image of the CD cover.

Alongside the new music offerings will be the introduction of a set of $85 stereo earbuds designed specifically for Glass. They’re lightweight and uniquely engineered to deliver crisp, full-range audio while still letting you hear your surroundings. For the fashionistas out there there will be an option of customizing your buds with five interchangeable color caps.


Want to join the list? Then fill out the Google form here.

Samsung Looks To Inspire People With "Launching People" Campaing

Technology has certainly inspired people to new heights over the years. We've blasted off to the moon, dove deeper into the oceans than ever before and even sent rovers to Mars. With today's advanced technology we can soar to even higher heights and Samsung wants to empower people to do so. Samsung Electronics announced its global “Launching People” campaign, a project committed to unleashing the dreams, passions and potential of individuals around the world with brilliant ideas and technology.

The “Launching People” campaign identifies and invests in the potential of inspiring individuals across the globe. Together with Samsung’s support and access to advanced technology, this potential can be actualized. “We believe that technology only begins to have meaning when you put it in the hands of a human being and when this technology collides with people’s potential, amazing things can happen” said Sue Shim, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung. “Over the next year, we’ll work with people all over the world on new and exciting projects that launch people’s potential with the assistance of technology, helping people not only explore personal passions, but also inspire others.”

Starting with the launch from France in June of 2013, Samsung’s “Launching People” campaign will turn consumers’ dreams, passions and potential into reality in 13 regions in Europe, Latin America and Middle East in 2013, and expects to expand the campaign further in 2014. Samsung will focus on providing consumers the chance to realize their potential by teaming them up with renowned mentors, startup funding and products to help them on their journey.

Samsung will activate programs across the globe over the coming months. Through real consumer stories, Samsung will spread the word about “Launching People” on Samsung.com and across all social media channels, including Facebook and YouTube – promising to invest in not only technology, but in the potential of people everywhere with dreams and passions. For more information on the campaign, visit www.samsung.com/LaunchingPeople.

Aamazon Tax Law Invalidated In New York

The Illinois Supreme Court had decided that a state law requiring online retailers, like Amazon, to collect sales tax if they have in-state Web affiliates violates federal tax regulations putting a discriminatory tax on digital sales. According to the Associated Press the court voted 6-1 to determine that the Illinois' 2011 "Main Street Fairness Act" was superseded by the federal law, which prohibits imposing a tax on "electronic commerce" and obligates collection that's not required of transactions by other means, such as print or television.

Illinois is one of several states that has imposed taxation on click-through-link or what is being called the "Amazon Tax". A legal regulation which required out-of-state retailers to collect state taxes on annual sales of more than $10,000 that involve in-state "affiliates," or website operators and bloggers, that draw consumers to the retailers' sites in exchange for a cut of each sale. Justice Anne Burke, writing for the court's majority, questioned whether there was any substantial difference between out-of-state businesses reaching Illinois consumers through a click-through-nexus approach or through other direct marketing approaches that aren't being taxed.

In her decision Burke wrote, "The click-through link makes it easier for the customer to reach the out-of-state retailer. But the link is not different in kind from advertising using promotional codes that appear, for example, in Illinois newspapers or Illinois radio broadcasts." Justice Lloyd Karmeier dissented, saying the federal law does not apply because the state statute doesn't "impose any new taxes or increase any existing taxes," but rather changes the definition of who's obligated to collect them.

The fight is far from over. The Illinois Department of Revenue, said it's considering asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Amazon.com did just that in August, when it sought a review of the New York Court of Appeals' March ruling upholding the law there. The Empire State was among the first to argue that a business with "affiliates" within its borders gives the company a physical presence there — a must if a state hopes to collect taxes from it, according to a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Amazon ended its affiliates program in several states including, California, New York and Illinois when the laws were originally adopted bypassing the some of the state requirements.

Facebook and Google Privacy Changes, What You Need To Know!

Earlier this week both Facebook and Google made several changes that will great impact your online ID and privacy. Google by way of a terms of service (TOS) change, and Facebook by means of removing a feature that once allowed users to block who can search their name when using Facebook's search bar.

Google's Shared Endorsements Can Use Your Name And Photos

Through an update to the search giants TOS Google can now share your photos and name if at some point in the past you gave a product or service a +1 on Google plus. The company revealed the changes to its Terms of Service on Friday highlighting the changes. The most important one is that Google clarified how your profile name and photo might appear in "Google products," including display ads. For customers that aren't currently 'opted out' of Google the old Google +1 Personalization settings you will now by default be opted into Shared Endorsements. Which means Google will have full use of your name, profile photo, and a personal endorsement that may appear in Google ads.

For users wishing to opt out you can do so through the Shared Endorsements settings on your Google profile. Google has also pointed users to its Ad Settings tool, for more granular control over what ads you see.

Facebook Search No Longer Blocks Search By Name

Facebook has confirmed it will be removing the "Who can look up your Timeline by name?" feature which was once used to block a users name from the site's search results. As a result any user can now be searched for using Facebook's search bar. In the blog post announcing the move Facebook also mentions the need for users wanting to keep personal details private need to keep an eye on post visibility settings. The new graph search will make more posts more visible making post privacy setting more important to users rather than search visibility.

In the coming weeks, people who are sharing posts publicly on Facebook will soon see a notice reminding them that those posts can be seen by anyone, including people they may not know. The notice reminds people how to change the audience for each post.

To quickly control who can find posts you shared in the past, visit the privacy settings page. With one click, you can limit the audience of posts you’ve shared in the past. This means any posts that were previously shared with Friends of Friends or Public will now be shared just to Friends.

Should These Changes Concern Me?

Anytime your personal privacy is involved you should be greatly concerned. The information collected and now shared via social media sites can be used against you in numerous ways. Either from people looking to do you personal harm, hackers looking to gain access to personal information to send privatized attacks or gain access to your identity or personal accounts, or just businesses looking to exploit the information they receive.

By and large these companies are over stepping their usage of your personal information for their own gains. As evidence of the recent lawsuit Facebook settled for the company's Sponsored Stories, to the tune of $20 million. Google amongst others have been on the end of a growing amount of Federal Trade Commission scrutiny. Clearly someone is taking notice out there and you should too!

Adobe Confirms Data On 2.9 million Customers Stolen In Hack

Adobe Systems confirmed on Thursday that hackers had breached several severs and databases accessing source code to the companies more popular software such as Adobe Acrobat. During the breach the hackers were also able to gain access to full user data, including credit card information on about 2.9 million customers accounts.

Adobe Chief Security Officer Brad Arkin said the company had been investigating the breach since its discovery two weeks ago and that it had no evidence of any attacks based on the theft. "Based on our findings to date, we are not aware of any specific increased risk to customers as a result of this incident," Arkin wrote on an Adobe blog.

Arkin said hackers also took information on 2.9 million Adobe customers, including their names, user identification numbers and encrypted passwords and payment card numbers.

Adobe has said it will be taking the following steps to ensure customers are aware of the attack and to prevent any further intrusions:

• As a precaution, Adobe will be resetting relevant customer passwords to help prevent unauthorized access to Adobe ID accounts. If your user ID and password were involved, you will receive an email notification from us with information on how to change your password. It is also recommended that you change your passwords on any website where you may have used the same user ID and password.

• The company is in the process of notifying customers whose credit or debit card information we believe to be involved in the incident. If your information was involved, you will receive a notification letter directly from Adobe with additional information on steps you can take to help protect yourself against potential misuse of personal information about you. Adobe is also offering customers, whose credit or debit card information was involved, the option of enrolling in a one-year complimentary credit monitoring membership where available.

• The company has worked to notify the banks processing customer payments for Adobe, so that they can work with the payment card companies and card-issuing banks to help protect customers’ accounts.

• Federal law enforcement has been contacted and the company is working closely with them assisting in their investigation.

What the Adobe Hack means to you!

Despite their steps to keep customers safe, this level of security breach should be a major concern for all those that may be impacted. We strongly suggest that anyone that has worked with Adobe's sites in the past immediately change their log-in information. Secondly anyone that has a credit card that could be on file with the company, whether you are contacted directly from Adobe or not, should be diligently monitoring their statements and transactions for any possible misuse. Third, and this can't be stated enough, be on the lookout for fake Adobe emails with malicious links. Often times hackers unassociated with the original breach will use news headlines to create phishing attacks. Sending legitimate looking emails to unsuspecting users trying to dupe them into visiting fake sites with malicious code. Always check those links, emails sources ect and never share any personal information once you are there.

Samsung Lays Best Buy Acquisition Rumors To Rest

Earlier this week rumors surfaced that Samsung may be looking to further its partnership with Best Buy. Perhaps going so far as acquiring a major stake in the company. Today Samsung has laid all those rumors to rest with a blog posting on their Samsung Tomorrow Blog.

The rumors and speculation followed a Korea Times report (which now appears to be offline) Samsung vice chairman Lee Jae-yong said that he “recently met with senior executives at Best Buy and discussed pending business issues.” Analyst firm HMC Securities quickly jumped to conclusions and claimed this includes a proposed investment deal, since it claims Samsung “has been considering increasing subsidies paid to BestBuy.”

Samsung shot that suggestion down in a brief post on its blog:

In the past few days, there have been reports that 'Samsung is considering to acquire stakes in Best Buy'. Please take note that these rumors are not true. There have been no talks whatsoever regarding stock acquisition of either company.

While it now appears that the acquisition rumors may have been false the question still stands as to what the two companies may have been in talks over. Back in April of this year Samsung announced a relationship with Best Buy that resulted in Samsung Experience Shops being installed in over 1,400 Best Buy stores. The newest speculation is leaning towards the two companies looking to build upon that relationship potentially adding in Samsung based shops for other Samsung products such as appliances, TVs, or more.

Samsung 's HomeSync Media Center Set To Debut October 6th for $299

Samsung's HomeSync, which we got our first glimpse of at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, is finally making its way to the US market starting October 6th. The media hub/cloud storage device is a Jelly Bean-powered box that allows you to turn any HDMI equipped television into a "Smart TV" capable of syncing, sharing and streaming content from either the web or a mobile device directly to your TV.

Equipped with 1TB of storage the Samsung HomeSync is more media server than a simple media center. The device can be remotely accessed by Samsung Galaxy devices equipped with Samsung Link, the company's program for connecting and sharing content remotely via network access. That includes the Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 8, the 2014 edition of the Galaxy Note 10.1, and Galaxy Camera.

Users with compatible Galaxy devices can store, sync, and stream content directly from their mobile devices to their TVs while at home or on the go. It allows customers to use their Galaxy devices as remote controls to browse content on their TV, and users can mirror the HomeSync screen directly on their Galaxy devices. HomeSync will also feature support for wired or wireless mouse and keyboard, for standalone use as well as easier access to Web browsing, YouTube, apps, games and social networking.

HomeSync will start selling in the US for $299 on Sunday at Best Buy, Amazon and several other retailers. As part of its Galaxy Perks, Samsung said, users can register their HomeSync systems and get $50 to spend on movies and TV shows through Samsung Media Hub.

More details on Samsung's HomeSync

Valve Wants To Change The Face Of Home Gaming

The popular gaming development company Valve, the brainchild behind Steam, has promised gamers three game changing announcements this week. We now have details of the first two, with the first being the new SteamOS and now the second being a new line of home gaming consoles known as Steam Machines.

Details as to what we can expect to see in the first round of Steam Machines is a bit sparse, but here’s what we know so far: The hardware beta, only includes Valve's version of the Steam Machine, there won't be options for different configurations from different manufactures at this time. All the machines will run the newly announced SteamOS.

The beta testing of the new devices will begin later this year with 300 lucky participants. To qualify for the early prototype, Steam users must complete Valve's "eligibility quest." That involves joining the Steam Universe community group; agreeing to the company's hardware beta terms and conditions; having or making at least 10 friends on Steam; creating a public Steam Community profile; and, lastly, playing a game with a gamepad using Steam's Big Picture mode.

Sign-ups have already opened and all of your steps must be done before October 25 to be eligible to receive a Steam Machine prototype and become eligible to participate in the hardware beta. Valve will choose the 300 participants, starting first with 30 individuals chosen based on past community contributions and beta participation while the rest will be random. 

As for Valve's third announcement, a new countdown kicked off just as today's expired, leaving another 48 hours before the final piece of news.

Google Explains Outages As "Dual Network Failure"

Google users may have experienced several delays with their email and possibly even other Google related services yesterday. While today things seem back to normal we now how a bit of an explanation as to what happened. Google has blamed the outage on "dual network failure", exactly what that might mean is as of yet completely unclear.

Google issued the official apology yesterday via the official Gmail Blog. The company explained that only 29% of messages were delayed by a couple of seconds, with only 1.5% of all messages being critically delayed by a couple of hours. The issue lasted for about 8 hours, starting at around 5:30 am PST. Additionally, the company went further in detail explaining what had happened, by issuing this statement:

On September 24th, many Gmail users received an unwelcome surprise: some of their messages were arriving slowly, and some of their attachments were unavailable. We’d like to start by apologizing—we realize that our users rely on Gmail to be always available and always fast, and for several hours we didn’t deliver. We have analyzed what happened, and we’ll tell you about it below. In addition, we’re taking several steps to prevent a recurrence.

The message delivery delays were triggered by a dual network failure. This is a very rare event in which two separate, redundant network paths both stop working at the same time. The two network failures were unrelated, but in combination they reduced Gmail’s capacity to deliver messages to users, and beginning at 5:54 a.m. PST messages started piling up. Google’s automated monitoring alerted the Gmail engineering team within minutes, and they began investigating immediately. Together with the networking team, the Gmail team restored some of the network capacity that was lost and worked to repurpose additional capacity, clearing much of accumulated message backlog by 1:00 p.m. PST and the remainder by shortly before 4:00 p.m. PST.

The impact on users’ Gmail experience varied widely. Most messages were unaffected—71% of messages had no delay, and of the remaining 29%, the average delivery delay was just 2.6 seconds. However, about 1.5% of messages were delayed more than two hours. Users who attempted to download large attachments on affected messages encountered errors. Throughout the event, Gmail remained otherwise available — users could log in, read messages which had been delivered, send mail, and access other features.

What’s next? Our top priority is ensuring that Gmail users get the experience they expect: fast, highly-available email, anytime they want it. We're taking steps to ensure that there is sufficient network capacity, including backup capacity for Gmail, even in the event of a rare dual network failure. We also plan to make changes to make Gmail message delivery more resilient to a network capacity shortfall in the unlikely event that one occurs in the future. Finally, we’re updating our internal practices so that we can more quickly and effectively respond to network issues. We’ll be working on all of these improvements and more over the next few weeks—even including this event, Gmail remains well above 99.9% available, and we intend to keep it that way!

For most users a Gmail outage is always a big deal, and a major concern. End users and companies alike are often affected and these delays can grind a company relying upon the service to a halt. Even though Gmail’s disruption was limited to a small portion of messages and service such as Google Docs and Google presentations – the company has confirmed there should be no loss of data, messages or otherwise and all services are now up and running smoothly.

Google Wallet Updated To Focus Less On NFC

Google has announced a newly updated version of Google Wallet is now available for 'all Android devices' running Android 2.3 or higher. The new app shows less focus on NFC dropping the previous requirements of an NFC chip with a secure element, something only Nexus devices and about 12 other, mostly Samsung phones had.

This new update makes the app compatible with the vast majority of Android handsets currently on the market and adds compatibility with several carrier devices that had all but been block. Carriers had been declaring all-out war on Google Wallet, with three of the big four (Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile) banning it outright from their phones in favor of ISIS, a competing solution that has yet to be released.

New App New Focus
 While Google really hasn't changed the way Wallet works. Paying for stuff at a terminal will still require you to have one of the select few phones with NFC and be using a carrier that hasn't banned it. What Google has done is add features that non-NFC equipped phones can use. You can now send money to an e-mail address, just like PayPal. There is also increased focus on the use of loyalty cards which can be scanned directly into the app. Several companies including Alaska Airlines, Belly, and Red Mango will allow you to join their program directly within the Google Wallet app. For these, and several upcoming merchants, you will be able to view your loyalty status, rewards point balance and in the coming days, Google Now will notify you when you have a saved loyalty program nearby.

Sending Money PayPal Style
Google recently announced the ability to send money in Gmail using Google Wallet. Now, with the Google Wallet app, you can easily and securely send money on the go much the same as you would with PayPal. As with PayPal it will be free to send money directly from your bank account or Google Wallet Balance, with what are promised to be low fees applied when using your linked credit or debit card.


Doing What Google Wallet Is Best At
One thing that hasn't changed much is the overall backbone of the new Google Wallet app. As mentioned you can still use NFC and a supported device (and carrier) to make payments. You can also see all your purchases made with Google Wallet in one place:

• In-store purchases: If you have one of the 29 different NFC-enabled devices, you can continue to tap and pay at hundreds of thousands of US locations, while also enjoying the new Wallet features. We also have more NFC-enabled devices on the horizon as we continue to invest in NFC with our partners.
• Online and mobile purchases: You can continue to speed through online shopping by using your Google Wallet account to pay on Google Play, select mobile websites or a growing set of Android apps.

You can download the new version of the Google Wallet app on the Google Play Store, which will begin rolling out this week in the US.

Mobile Pwn2Own Offering $300K In Prizes Money

The second annual Mobile Pwn2Own contest will take place in Tokyo Japan on Nov. 13-14, TippingPoint announced on its company blog today. This year's event will offer participants up to $300,000 in prize money for those researchers who can successfully demonstrate attacks against mobile services and browsers.

This year’s Mobile Pwn2Own contest is offering the following prizes in the following categories: 

• Short Distance/Physical Access ($50,000), either:
  • Bluetooth, or
  • Wi-Fi, or
  • Universal Serial Bus (USB), or
  • Near Field Communication (NFC)
• Mobile Web Browser ($40,000)
• Mobile Application/Operating System ($40,000)
• Messaging Services ($70,000), either:
  • Short Message Service (SMS), or
  • Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), or
  • Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS)
• Baseband ($100,000)

Contestants are allowed to select the target they wish to compromise during the pre-registration process.  The exact OS version, firmware and model numbers will be coordinated with the pre-registered contestants. The following targets are available for selection:

• Nokia Lumia 1020 running Windows Phone
• Microsoft Surface RT running Windows RT
• Samsung Galaxy S4 running Android
• Apple iPhone 5 running iOS
• Apple iPad Mini running iOS
• Google Nexus 4 running Android
• Google Nexus 7 running Android
• Google Nexus 10 running Android
• BlackBerry Z10 running BlackBerry 10

 In addition Google’s Chrome Security Team, in conjunction with the Chrome on Android team, is sponsoring a top-up reward for the Mobile Web Browser category. If a contestant successfully compromises Chrome on Android, either on Google Nexus 4 or Samsung Galaxy S4, the prize amount will be bumped by $10k to make it a total of $50,000.  There may be additional winners in the Mobile Web Browser category if the contestant is specifically targeting Chrome on Android, either on the Google Nexus 4 or Samsung Galaxy S4.

For those looking to enter the full contest rules are listed here. For those geeks that want to stay updated on the contest ZDI will be tweeting regular updates and news on Mobile Pwn2Own up to and during the contest. You can follow them at @thezdi on Twitter or search for the hash tag #pwn2own.

Facebook Settlement Finally Reached, Your $15 Check May Be In The Mail Soon

Remember a few years back when Facebook was hit with a class-action lawsuit over "sponsored stories." At the time of the lawsuit you may have been emailed a form to be a participant entitling you to a part of the cash award. After more than two years of deliberation, a U.S. federal judge in California has finally granted final approval for Facebook’s $20 million settlement, entitling those of you that didn't trash those emails to a minor monetary settlement.

The suit filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Angel Fraley et al., asserted that Facebook improperly used photos and names found on user profiles in Sponsored Story ads, which are created by users “liking” companies’ pages or content. The plaintiffs also argued that Facebook violated a California law that forbids companies from using people’s likenesses or names in advertisements without their consent. Finally, the suit asserted that Facebook should have received parental consent to use the names and likeness of any user under the age of 18.

Under the terms of the settlement, Facebook will pay $20 million to compensate class members, approximately $11 million of that will be doled out to the attorney's . Leaving behind roughly $9 million to be divided amongst the approximately 614,000 Facebook users who appeared in Sponsored Stories without their consent, and filed the necessary paperwork to join the class action lawsuit by the May 2, 2013 deadline. In addition to the monetary payment Facebook also promised to give users more control over how their content is shared.

See the full order of final settlement below:

Fraley v. Facebook: Order Granting Final Approval (Document 359)

Samsung Unveils New Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Gear and Updated Galaxy Note 10.1

At today's 2013 Unpacked event held during IFA in Berlin, Samsung "Unpacked" three new devices. The new larger, more powerful Galaxy Note 3, an updated Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and the highly anticipated Galaxy Gear Smartwatch.

Galaxy Note 3

For 2013 the Galaxy Note 3 has been upgraded with a new larger 5.7" Full HD Super AMOLED screen, large capacity 3,200mAh battery, a high performance 2.3 Ghz Quad-core CPU and 3GBs of ram all while dropping the size and weight at 8.3mm thick and just 168g. There is also an all new 13MP camera will feature 1080p recoding with some models featuring UHD 4k video capabilities. There is also an all new High CRI flash and Smart Stabilization. Powering the device will be Android 4.3.

The Note 3 will feature a new improved S-Pen with several enhancements including S-Finder to automatically search your device for keywords related to content, media, dates and location. A new Action Memo app which allows you to hand write a note and automatically execute a function, or convert handwritten information into formatted content.

Multitasking will be improved with a new multi-window feature that allows you to run multiple apps, or multiple instances of the same app in separate screens. A newly added feature dubbed Pen Window will allow you to draw, and open a new window box for your secondary apps.

The externals of the Note 3 receive a major update as well featuring a new leather bound back cover that will come in three stock color options: Jet Black, Classic White and Blush Pink. There will also be numerous case options featuring several new colors and designs.

The Note 3 will be available in 32GB or 64GB internal storage along with an additional microSD card slot, and will be launching in the U.S. later this year on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular

See more at: Samsung Tomorrow

Galaxy Gear

The new Galaxy Gear (companion device) Smartwatch will combine seamless integration with your Galaxy smartphone with features, and design of premium accessory. The device will feature several integrated apps alongside device syncing capabilities.

It notifies users of incoming messages, such as calls, texts, emails and alerts, delivers a preview of those messages and creates the opportunity for users to accept or discreetly ignore those messages. When an incoming message requires more than a quick glance, users can simply pick up their Samsung GALAXY devices and the Smart Relay feature will instantly reveal the full content on their device's screen.

The Galaxy Gear will feature a built-in speaker allowing users to conduct hands-free calls directly from the Gear and Bluetooth technology to maintain connections to their mobile device. Users can also draft messages, create new calendar entries, set alarms, and check the weather on the Galaxy Gear thanks to Samsung's S Voice.

In addition to smart device controls, the Galaxy Gear introduces several on-device features for stand alone use. There will be an integrated Memographer feature, a 1.9 Megapixel camera, capable of recording both photos and video. Extending the quick-record concept, Voice Memo lets users capture important thoughts or conversations from their wrists and save those voice recordings into texts on their compatible Samsung Galaxy devices.

The Galaxy Gear currently supports the Galaxy Note 3 with plans on updated support for the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3 and more devices at a later date. The watch will be available in six new colors: Jet Black, Mocha Gray, Wild Orange, Oatmeal Beige, Rose Gold, and Lime Green and is launching alongside the Note 3 later this year.

See more at: Samsung Tomorrow

Galaxy Note 10.1

The new Galaxy Note 10.1, 2014 Edition, will come equipped with a 10.1" WQXGA LCD touchscreen featuring a 2560×1600 resolution. It will be powered by a 2.3GHZ Quad-core processor and 3GB RAM and will run Android 4.3. The tablet will include an updated S Pen that improves responsiveness, delivers day-to-day efficiency enhancements and produces more creative input capabilities. The tablet also includes GALAXY Note 3's updated S Pen features such as Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write and S Finder.

The GALAXY Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) will come in three connectivity options: WiFi Only, WiFi and 3G, WiFi and LTE, available in 16/32/64GB + Micro SD. Comes with two color options, Jet Black and Classic White, the GALAXY Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) will be offered globally and will be available starting from Q3, 2013.

See more at: Samsung Tomorrow