Microsoft saying good-bye to Hotmail

Microsoft's new Outlook.com address is pushing out Hotmail, Curiosity will soon meet Mars, and we look at the head-scanning technology used by EA Sports.

It's not often we get a shakeup in the email world, but say hello to Microsoft's new free email account, Outlook.com. It'll eventually be replacing Hotmail, but you might want to grab your name now. There's a new, clean look and it ties in your social media contacts. It's not too far off from what you may be used to already in Gmail, as you'll be able to tell from CNET's full overview of the features.

The Mars Science Laboratory rover, called Curiosity, will land on the red planet overnight Sunday to search for the building blocks of life and test if anything could live on Mars. Some saythis $2.5 billion mission could be the most important event in the history of planetary exploration.

The Apple TV streaming box just added an app for Hulu Plus. Users can pay for the $8 monthly subscription through iTunes.

There's a new way to tag on Twitter. Using the dollar sign before a ticker (such as $FB) will create a cashtag. When clicked, it takes you to the search result of the financials for that company. It's a concept that's already been used by Stocktwits, but that service does more than simply link to a search results page.

And today's show ends with a look at how EA Sports scans the faces of real players for its video games. A demonstration was held in New York's Grand Central Station as the Tottenham Hotspur players were scanned for FIFA Soccer 13.

Players sit still for a couple of minutes as 18 cameras capture images of every angle of their face. In the case of a game like FIFA, players give a neutral expression to create a base model. The computers will later animate those faces with different expressions. (Because there are so many players in a game, it would be a daunting task to capture every unique emotion and expression for every player. But they have the technology to do it.)

The photos will stay with the players for the life of their career, according to Nigel Nunn, the digital imaging lead for The Capture Lab. If players change hair, EA can make an update without needing a new photo.

The Capture Lab team has been traveling the globe to get as many teams as possible for EA's suite of games, but the work is far from over. Not every team will have this capture technology by the time FIFA 13 comes out in September, but more will make the cut for the next version.

Nunn said FIFA was the first to adopt this head-scanning technology, and other sports followed. "FIFA is cutting edge, they're always willing to try the next best thing. They're usually the first to invest in new technology."

Apple Just Told Everyone Not To Buy An iPhone For Two Months Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple just told everyone not to buy an iphone for two months 2012

After Rene Ritchie at iMore broke the news that Apple was planning an event to announce the next iPhone for September 12, other news outlets confirmed his report citing a source familiar with the matter.

It sure seems like that "source" is either Apple PR, or someone at Apple authorized to confirm the date.

As a result, Apple has tacitly told the world to stop buying iPhones (unless it's an absolute must-buy purchase) until the middle of September.

What is coming in September? We believe a redesigned phone that will have a bigger screen and a high speed, 4G LTE wireless connection. In addition, the price of the iPhone 4S will probably fall to $100 and the price of the iPhone 4 will probably fall to $0, on contract. The iPhone 3GS, meanwhile, might get even cheaper unlocked, off contract.

So, if you can hold off, don't buy an iPhone for a few weeks.

Is the Olympics worth more than Google?

(CNN) -- The Olympics may have started out as an idealistic showcase of amateur sporting prowess, but now it's a very big business.

In fact, it's one of the biggest brands in the world, claims a new report.

The four-yearly sporting spectacular -- rated second in scale behind soccer's World Cup -- is worth just over $47.5 billion according to valuation specialist Brand Finance. That leaves it behind only Apple ($70.6 billion) and above the corporate world's next biggest brand, Google ($47.4 billion).

These figures, based on the International Olympic Committee's financial statements, put the legacy of Pierre de Coubertin well above major sponsors such as Samsung ($38.2 billion), General Electric ($33.2 billion) and Coca-Cola ($31.1 billion).

The Frenchman -- who believed in the right for everyone to take part -- revived the Ancient Games in the late 1800s. Some 116 years after the first modern Olympics took place in Athens, the event is apparently now worth 134 times the National Bank of Greece ($354 million).

While the Hellenic economy is all but crippled in these difficult economic times, the Olympics -- originally dedicated to the gods, but now seemingly devoted to the dollar -- is experiencing significant financial growth.

In the four years since the Beijing Games, total revenue has increased 38% to $5.1 billion. Of that amount, broadcast revenue has boomed by 51% to $3.9 billion (compared to just $1.2 million in 1960) with the largest spend by continent in North America ($2.3 billion).

These numbers are expected to go up again as the Olympic cycle moves from London to Rio in 2016, with Brand Finance -- which has yet to rate soccer's World Cup or European Championship -- reporting that revenue will pass the $6 billion mark.

In fact, another report -- by Sportcal -- states that this four-year cycle will be worth $8 billion overall, covering London 2012 and Vancouver's 2010 Winter Games.

As the IOC retains only 10% of its income to cover operating costs, this represents a healthy profit -- much of which is plowed back into developing sport worldwide.

Facebook needs a new CEO

Facebook has now gone through its first trial by fire as a public company, slightly exceeding revenue expectations (with $1.18 billion) but showing a big loss in its first reported quarter ($157 million). Facebook shares were pummeled in after-hours trading; the company’s market cap has been slashed in half in just 10 weeks.

This is a bad, bad situation for Facebook’s early shareholders, 97% of whom are individual, retail investors – unlike those at the other big tech titans, which are majority-held by institutions: Google (68%) and Apple (67%). That Facebook’s percentage is so high suggests that Facebook is a stock for the masses. The masses need a hero.

That hero is not Mark Zuckerberg. He needs to get out of the way – not because we can judge him a disaster based on a single’s earnings period, but because he isn’t playing to his strength. He’s letting down the average folks who saw something shiny and new, but are now seeing shades of overhyped tech redux.

Facebook needs its spiritual leader and chief innovator in a hoodie. But it doesn’t need him as CEO, placating investors in a collared shirt. There are plenty of people who could manage the Facebook business. But there’s only one Mark, who needs to focus on product strategy, not investor relations.

I’ve made no secret that I’m wary of Facebook’s prospects, that I don’t think it can become as successful as a business as it has been as a social network. Zuckerberg himself confessed the obvious only days ago: Mobile is the challenge, especially when it comes to making money. And it’s a big one as members increasingly use Facebook on smartphones and tablets instead of a traditional computer.

But the meta-problem for Facebook is how we think of the company. Now we think of it first as a company – not a service. Felix Salmon summed up the dilemma in a post headlined: “Why going public sucks …”

Zuckerberg — or any other CEO — has very little control over his company’s share price, but once a company is public, that’s all the public really cares about … Facebook could change the world – Facebook has already changed the world, and did so as a private company – but at this point people don’t care about that anymore. All they care about is the first derivative of the share price. And maybe the second.

The challenge, thus, is for Facebook to satisfy the Street as best it can under intense scrutiny, while continuing to innovate so that it extends its reputation as a game-changer (whether or not you like what it does and how it does it). Some people can keep these two plates spinning, but that’s a rare combination. You do need an innovative spirit in the corner office, but more important, you need incredible business savvy, swagger and salesmanship.

One quarter – the first, mind you – does not a verdict make. But Zuckerberg might consider this: If he isn’t the CEO and chief executive, he can concentrate on what he does really well, still strongly influence strategy, and silence critics who quite reasonably suggest that he doesn’t – can’t – have what it takes to run a company that went from 0 to 60 – billion dollars, that is – in seven years. Zuckerberg is at least partly responsible for the pipe dream that Facebook was worth $100 billion when it went public. He either strongly believed this, or was convinced or cowed by the underwriters. Neither speaks well of his CEO stripes.

I don’t think the Street would see a change in Zuckerberg’s status as a knee-jerk negative; founders go sideways all the time, for a variety of reasons, none necessarily associated with failure.

Bill Gates, to whom Zuckerberg has been favorably compared, stepped aside after a long run as Microsoft CEO to take the title of chief research and strategy officer (all right, Steve Ballmer may not be my best argument).

Dick Costollo succeeded Evan Williams as Twitter’s CEO. Williams now focuses on product direction.

Google’s Larry Page stepped aside for a while to let Eric Schmidt take the lead. He’s back in the corner office now, of course, but his biggest fiscal problem is how to make money on more than advertising alone (a problem Zuckerberg would kill for).

Even a case can be made for Apple: Jobs was fired, true, but his 11 years in exile arguably burnished him to return as perhaps one of the best CEOs in history, turning a floundering firm into the world’s largest public company.

Heck, even Craig Newmark’s realization that he wasn’t CEO material is informative. He demoted himself to customer support – and doesn’t even run that department – but is chairman of the board of Craigslist.

Zuckerberg is Facebook’s controlling shareholder and the chairman of the board, so nothing significant can be done without his acquiescence anyway. He’s a mere 28 – lots of time to invent and reinvent.

Web presence: Punjab govt footing bill for PML-N social media revamp

LAHORE: 

The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) has hired two advertisement agencies for publicising and promoting its activities, party sources told The Express Tribune.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party’s social media politics team after recommendations by the PML-N senior leadership and the Punjab government’s information technology-related officials, they added.

The meeting, chaired by party president Nawaz Sharif, took place at his Raiwind residence.

Punjab Board of Information Technology (PBIT) Chairman Umar Saif gave a presentation to the participants, discussing the PML-N’s current presence on social media and the appeal of the party’s manifesto for the youth.

PML-N constituted its team of social media experts to counter the web presence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

According to some party officials, however, the team was hired by the Punjab government but has been utilised solely for PML-N objectives.

A well placed source in the PBIT said that two floors of the board’s offices at Arfa Karim Tower were currently occupied by the PML-N’s social media teams, who had been working day and night to accomplish the party’s social media goals.

He confirmed that the workers were hired by the Punjab government under PBIT, along with various other departments like the Punjab Sports Board.

The Punjab government set up a five-member committee last year to spruce up its image with a social media campaign. This team however, is apparently being utilised to promote PML-N’s social media presence.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated “Punjab Board of Investment and Trade” instead of “Punjab Board of Information Technology”. The error has been rectified.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2012.

iPhone Prototypes

This Is What The Original iPhone 4 Prototype Looked Like Way Back In 2006
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/181339/this-is-what-the-original-iphone-4-prototype-looked-like-way-back-in-2006/#arE1SOXFr7UtChiv.99

In the picture above you can see two iPhone prototypes that Apple was working on way back in 2006. They provide an amazing glimpse of just how long the prototyping phases of iPhones can last, because the original iPhone didn’t come out till June 2007, and then the iPhone 4 wasn’t seen till 2010.
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/181339/this-is-what-the-original-iphone-4-prototype-looked-like-way-back-in-2006/#arE1SOXFr7UtChiv.99

HD WALLPAPERS 2012