Coolest paper airplane ever and the plane nut who built it (Q&A)

Don't call Luca Iaconi-Stewart crazy. He'll do that himself. He built a gorgeous scale model of a Boeing 777-300ER, entirely out of manila folders. Now he tells CNET why he did it.

This is Luca Iaconi-Stewart's scale model of a Boeing 777-300ER. Made entirely out of manila folders.

(Credit: Luca Iaconi-Stewart)
There are airplane nuts, and then there is Luca Iaconi-Stewart. Since 2008, the now 22-year-old has been crafting a scale-model of a Boeing 777-300ER. Out of manila folders.
Though he took off two years from the project while he was in school, Iaconi-Stewart has pretty much devoted his time to the plane, and it shows. Looking at photos of the model, even most aviation buffs would be impressed at the level of detail he achieved. There's tiny seat-back video screens, overhead compartments, galleys, landing gears, tail cones, and meticulously made engines. Again, all out of manila folders.

Some might say that Iaconi-Stewart is a bit crazy to have put so much time and energy into what amounts to a fancy airplane model, and he'd be the first to agree with them. Yet, there's no denying that what he's built is an astounding work of craftsmanship.

CNET spoke with Iaconi-Stewart on Tuesday to find out what inspired the project and whether his next plane will be an Airbus A380. Once he makes some wings and finishes the whole thing, that is. And Boeing? If you're hiring meticulous builders with an eye for incredible detail? Iaconi-Stewart would listen to your pitch.

  Q: Why the 777?
Luca Iaconi-Stewart: I love the proportions and the way it looks, and it's been a tremendously successful airplane (for Boeing). Not that that was a primary driver for me. I chose the 777-300-ER in particular because I prefer the proportions to the shorter -200 version.
 
Are you an aviation nut? Or is this a more casual affair with an airplane?
Iaconi-Stewart: I do love aviation, but I don't go spotting all the time or anything. I follow the aviation world online. I frequent airliners.net many times a day. So, perhaps "nut" is the right word, but I know people who are far crazier than I am.
 
What's your favorite experience on/with an airplane?
Iaconi-Stewart: I love takeoff and landing (takeoff in particular). I still can't quite wrap my head around how airplanes actually manage to fly, especially with ones like the A380 taking off at well above a million pounds, so it's a pretty thrilling feeling. But, I know that for many, it's a pretty terrifying experience, which I can completely understand.
 
I agree. Not being an engineer, I have trouble with it too. But somehow, I keep getting on planes. I went to the A380 factory in Toulouse, France, in 2011 for a story. That was fun.
Iaconi-Stewart: I am incredibly jealous.
Why? Tell me more.
Iaconi-Stewart: I haven't ever been to either the Boeing or Airbus factories, but from everything I've seen, they're really breathtaking operations that push the limits of what's possible. I'd love to see the assembly line(s) in person. I have a lot of respect for people who build the jets.

Luca Iaconi-Stewart

(Credit: Luca Iaconi-Stewart)

 
You talked about the proportions of the 777-300ER as having the right proportions. What is it about those proportions that spoke to you?
Iaconi-Stewart: It's just something that looks "right" to me. I's long enough to look sleek, and yet beefy enough in other parts (like the engines) to give it a balanced look. The fanblades on the engines are pretty amazing too. Plus, I just find the shape of things like the tail and tail cone and the raked wingtips visually appealing, though it's hard to say exactly why.
 
So, why manila folders?
Iaconi-Stewart: I took an architecture class in high school and we used manila folder to make Massing Models, which are rough 3D sketches of sorts that you make when you're testing a building idea. I loved the versatility of the material. It's strong enough if engineered properly, but also malleable enough to shape into a variety of parts. I suppose the same could be said for the aluminum that they use in real life. It really comes down to the versatility and the fact that they have a good "feel." They're easy to work with, and, I suppose, somewhat unconventional for model making.
 
This is a pretty serious project for you. Why are you so committed to this??
Iaconi-Stewart: There's something really satisfying about looking at a bunch of pictures, planning a component out, designing it, and then assembling it accurately. I know most people probably wouldn't relate, but there's a certain thrill to seeing something come together exactly as you intended. At this point, there's no way I'm leaving the model unfinished. The end is in sight.

What do you think it will feel like to finish?
Iaconi-Stewart: I have no idea, but it will probably be a pretty surreal feeling because this has been such a constant over the past several years.
 
When you began, did you have any idea what you were getting yourself into?
Iaconi-Stewart: Absolutely not. At one point, I actually got pretty close to finishing, but it was a much simpler model back then.
 
If you could go back and talk to the pre-model you, what would you say to yourself?
Iaconi-Stewart: I'd probably tell myself to be more precise and design everything on the computer, which would have saved me a lot of time. Either that or don't start at all.
 
When you're done, I would have to assume there will be a bit of a letdown. What will you do next with all the available time?
Iaconi-Stewart: I'm not sure, but I'm looking at the next venture in life, and as much as I love to make models, I'm not sure I'd be able to make them day in and day out. I'm excited to see where this leads but I don't have my heart set on anything right now.
 
What will you do with the model when it's done?
Iaconi-Stewart: I have no idea, though many people have suggested having it in some kind of museum. The Museum of Flight (in Seattle), perhaps? I'd love to have it somewhere where people can see it.
 
You must have had people say you're a bit nuts to put so much time/energy into something like this. What's your response to that?
Iaconi-Stewart: I'd agree. It's not something that I'd expect most people to do or even to understand. But hey, when it's not driving me crazy, it's making me happy, so I'm fine with that.
 
So, an A380 next?
Iaconi-Stewart: It's a pretty ugly plane, as much as I love how big it is. Not to mention the whole starting another model aspect. So, probably not.
 
Most importantly, how many manila folders have you used?
Iaconi-Stewart: It's really hard to say, but easily hundreds. Probably not a thousand though. Lately, I've managed to pack more parts onto a single page. It's a pretty heavy model, not that that says much about the number of folders, but there's a lot of paper involved.

Jimmy Fallon tries to hide his Mac from Bill Gates

While interviewing Bill Gates, Jimmy Fallon suddenly realizes that perhaps it isn't a great idea to have his Mac visible on his desk.

Oh, dear.

(Credit: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET) It all started so well.
Jimmy Fallon called Bill Gates "cool," which hasn't always been the first word used to describe Microsoft's co-founder.
Gates appeared on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" and talked about the stunning success he has contributed in the fight against polio.
Ultimately, though, Fallon wanted to talk gadgets. How will computing change?

Gates replied that tomorrow's computers will be able "to see, to listen, to talk, to recognize handwriting."
Gates has always been keen on handwriting and styluses, hasn't he? Though, I wonder how many of tomorrow's generations will even know how to hold a pen, never mind use one.
As Gates continued to explain his vision of a multiscreen world, Fallon became aware that he'd committed an on-screen faux pas.

He noticed that Gates was looking over to his laptop. Oh, of course, it's a MacBook.
Suddenly, Fallon's features coursed with (fake) shame. "This is very disrespectful," he said, as he quickly tried to close the MacBook and remove it. The Apple keyboard and mouse had to go too.
Gates merely smiled.
I fancy that this may not have been a big deal to Gates at all. It's a scenario that must have been performed in his life many times.

Moreover, in recent years, Gates has shown a highly developed sense of humor. His very underrated Microsoft ads with Jerry Seinfeld were an utter breath of fresh personality.
And on the Fallon show, he promoted his GatesLetter.com report on the benefits of foreign aid with an amusingly self-deprecatory video. (See below)
Just over three years ago, his wife, Melinda, said that though their kids had asked for them, there were no Apple products allowed in her house.
Gates continues to champion Microsoft at every opportunity, but here he didn't even bother to suggest that Windows laptops are more advanced.
Perhaps he's got more important things to think about. Such as who on Earth will be Redmond's new CEO.

5 questions for Snowden that aren't exactly about the NSA

The NSA leaker will be taking questions via Twitter for a Webcast Q&A session on Thursday. Crave's Eric Mack has five questions for Edward Snowden that have been eating away at him and have little to do with the NSA.

How is this dude not losing his mind, like, every day?

(Credit: Video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET)
The world's most famous former intelligence contractor, Edward Snowden, is scheduled to answer questions posted on Twitter in an hour-long Webcast on Thursday.
The session is set to begin at 12 p.m. PT on the site FreeSnowden.is, and the National Security Agency whistleblower is almost certain to address questions about what he's helped reveal so far and about President Obama's speech on the issue last week.

You can pose questions on Twitter via the #AskSnowden hashtag. I, for one, certainly have questions.
Snowden has become a worldwide celebrity -- a hero to some and a traitor to others -- in less than a year. That's got to really screw with your daily routine. So here are five questions I'd like answered by Snowden that are about the man himself and what it's been like to be Edward Snowden for the past year:

1. How do you stay sane? After revealing the omnipresent powers of the global intelligence system, you've certainly become a key target for the same system. That seems like a pretty high-stress situation. How do you chill out? Is it a routine of constant distraction, presumably playing Tetris on an ancient monochrome Game Boy with absolutely no on-board storage or communications capability? Or do you pass the time reading all the comments about you on every site on the Internet and then crying into a bowl of butter pecan ice cream? No wait, that's me. I'd recommend staying away from the Internet, but then, you probably already figured that one out.

2. What the heck were you doing in the Moscow airport all that time? News reports made it seem that you were hanging out in a corner of the arrivals lounge at the Russian airport for weeks on end. Yet, strangely, no one seemed able to grab many photos or videos of you. This is particularly weird since that entire country grabbed video of a meteor that flashed across the sky for just a few seconds. Were you locked in a broom closet or what? I bet you memorized every edition of the Economist sold at the concourse newsstand during those weeks.

3. How do you hide secret troves of data from the spy agency you took them from? I think about this a lot. You've got all this data taken from the NSA, and a clear strategy to leak it slowly in little bits through the media every few weeks or so. A significant chunk of NSA resources must be dedicated to trying to get that data back, or at least figure out how many places it's hidden in. Presumably it's under lock and key with trusted people in a number of redundant places worldwide, but I'm betting there's at least one copy in a totally crazy place -- the ultimate backup. Somewhere they'd never look. I suggest on a DVD marked "'National Treasure,' starring Nicholas Cage."

4. How do you communicate? When not making special Webcast appearances, how do you communicate on a daily basis with other humans, especially when it comes to discussing leaks, legal strategy, etc.? Given your high profile, it seems like only passing handwritten notes in code or telepathy would work. Or do you know of some loophole to evade the surveillance state? If yes, please confirm by having one of your associates order a chili cheese dog with extra onions from Stall No. 6 at the Sonic drive-in in Taos, N.M., before tomorrow. Thank you.

5. Where do you see yourself in five years? You must have the most interesting answer to this of any interviewee I can think of who isn't a character on "Quantum Leap." Will you be in prison or a secret "black site"? Will you be home, working a gig as a TV commentator after being granted clemency? Will you be on a beach in Ecuador with Julian Assange? Taking in North Korean basketball games with Dennis Rodman? Wherever it is, I'll be shocked if you're not writing a book from there. I just hope, for your sake, that Ashton Kutcher doesn't play you in the movie version.

Simple design, lofty goals: Chromecast prepares for the global stage

As Google continues to infiltrate living rooms the world over, it's betting big on the $35 Chromecast: tiny, affordable, and effective at hitting our sweet spot.

 

Don't let the dappled light at Google's Mountain View, Calif., offices fool you: Google's Chromecast chief Mario Queiroz is unequivocal about the success of the Chromecast, only six months since it debuted.

(Credit: Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- The Chromecast was never part of the Google's [X] division, but that doesn't mean that the company will let you see the living room test lab set up here for Chromecast evaluations. At least, it's not likely without a hefty nondisclosure agreement.
As described by Chromecast's vice president of product management, Mario Queiroz, the faux living room has all the trappings you'd expect. There are couches, televisions, and, in typical user experience lab fashion, a one-way window through which Google experts can evaluate how participants are getting along with Google's popular and low-cost streaming media dongle (read CNET's Chromecast review).

Google has big plans for Chromecast in 2014, having finally scored an unequivocal hit at connecting media apps to your TV after years of near-misses and not-even-close-misses. Google has revealed plans for international Chromecast distribution and widespread app support later this year. According to Queiroz, the $35 Chromecast represents Google's desire to integrate your various media obsessions into one streamlined device.

"Our goal has always been to make it so that there wouldn't be a separate implementation for mobile and TV and set-top boxes," he said.
Never mind the nascent media services on Google Play and other Google initiatives, though. There's this one particular service that Google has been obsessed with for years: YouTube.
"YouTube was an important driver. Google wants to get YouTube onto as many screens as possible," Queiroz said.

"They're obviously building on the popularity of YouTube and streaming online videos, but the simplicity of it makes it appealing to a lot of different demographics in their market," said Greg Reinecker, a senior industrial designer at Axis Design, a consulting firm in Austin, Texas. "I think there's a lot of similar products out there that are harder to use."

But when it comes to hardware that lets you watch YouTube and other services on your living room TV, Google has struggled. Google TV is currently undergoing a refresh, and the streaming media ball known as the Nexus Q was kneecapped before it could properly fail on the open market. Then there's the fact that those devices ran one flavor or another of Android. By contrast, Chromecast, as its name indicates, runs on a stripped-down version of the Chrome operating system that powers Chromebooks.
 
Why Chromecast worked
It wouldn't be the first time that Google has bet on more than one horse in a race, but Chromecast's overnight success marked the first time that Google was able to cross a given finish line with a popular hit. It took Google a month-and-a-half to two months to ramp up production to meet demand after the product launched, Queiroz said. That kind of popularity relies on more than just a low price.
Queiroz said that Google experimented a lot with the dongle and kept refining it after launch. The team changed the manufacturing to make it clear that the USB end of the adapter goes into the power adapter, and added a narrow HDMI extender to accommodate televisions that didn't have enough space around the HDMI port.

Each decision about what to change became "harder to make," he said, because of the goal of keeping the entire device simple.
Axis Design's Reinecker said that while Google remains a "software first" company, it put a lot of time into developing the dongle.

"It's as small as possible. I've seen pictures of the circuit board and antenna and it's very tight," Reinecker said. "They were thinking that it's got to disappear."
In fact, that was precisely Google's intention, Queiroz said. Not only did Chromecast have to be simple physically, but it had to be simple to use, too.

Chromecast honcho Mario Queiroz shows off the streaming media dongle's packaging at Google's Mountain View offices. Google, he says, is constantly making refinements to the product.

(Credit: Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

"The easiest user interaction model is simply no user interaction. We've gotten it down to a button," Queiroz said. That's a bit of an understatement on how to set up the Chromecast, but not by much.
"You just open the front flap, there's some diagrams that explain where to plug it in, and you're good to go. There's not a bunch of fussing with the box, instruction pamphlets, pages, anything like that," said Reinecker, adding that it's a tip of the hat to the design masters at Apple. "The packaging supports the product."

Brian Blau, a consumer technology analyst with Gartner, agrees that the simplicity of its design interaction has helped propel adoption. Even though the Chromecast has competitors, "it just works, and that is sometimes a difficult feature to get right," he said.
 
No easy path forward
Now that people have accepted the device as a low-cost way to get the Internet on their TVs, Google will face new challenges to lock in Chromecast's success.
Queiroz and his team plan to stabilize the tab casting feature, which lets users send a Chrome browser tab to Chromecast. It's complicated because they've yet to figure out how to effectively buffer changes to the Web page and "cast" them to the TV.

Another big challenge is ensuring that Google properly anticipates the services offered on Chromecast as it goes international later this year. In some markets, people just want YouTube, while England, Germany, or Japan might have a more diverse selection of favorites.

Queiroz demonstrates at Google HQ one of the Chromecast's compelling features: easily switching media controls from one device to another.

(Credit: Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

How people can figure out which apps work with the dongle is yet another one that Google has begun to address on the Chromecast apps site. Queiroz also said that apps that can use the Chromecast to get your personal content, including videos, music, and photos onto your TV are often requested.
The planned Google Cast SDK will help app developers along, while Google is working with manufacturers to build more Chromecast hardware.

"It will be analogous to how we do Chromebooks and Nexus devices," Queiroz said. Hitting that sweet spot of simple design, low price, and enough apps to drive adoption won't be easy, which is why Queiroz said he's less concerned about additional Cast hardware than he is about moving into other countries.

He says that he can tell the Chromecast design is winning over people so far because of two factors: what he described as a "very good holiday season" in terms of sales, and how the Chromecast telephone support line is getting used.
"The good thing is that the phone lines were quiet," Queiroz said. "Our call centers were bored."
That may be, but it'll be the challenge of expanding in the coming year that will determine whether the Chromecast has staying power.

Software wizards of the 128K Macintosh

Bill Atkinson, Andy Hertzfeld, Steve Capps, and Larry Kenyon share their thoughts about developing the core software for the original Macintosh, which is about to mark its 30th anniversary.

Macintosh team members: Row 1 (top): Rony Sebok, Susan Kare; Row 2: Andy Hertzfeld, Bill Atkinson, Owen Densmore; Row 3: Jerome Coonen, Bruce Horn, Steve Capps, Larry Kenyon; Row 4: Donn Denman, Tracy Kenyon, Patti Kenyon

(Credit: Norman Seeff) This article is part of a CNET special report on the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh, looking at the beginnings of Apple's landmark machine and its impact over the last three decades.

---

The Macintosh hardware was brought to life by several teams working in concert on everything from the logic board, disk drive and power supply to the mouse, plastic casing and factory production line. Similarly, a small team of young and talented software engineers were writing the code that would bring the Macintosh to life.
At the core of the Macintosh software were the QuickDraw graphics routines, which performed the operations that painted the screen with graphics and user interface elements. Bill Atkinson wrote the code for Apple's Lisa workstation computer, and then it was ported the Macintosh.

Bill Atkinson would code from his home office and take Polaroid photos to share his progress with the team.

(Credit: Folklore.org/Bill Atkinson)
Atkinson began his career at Apple cleaning up Apple II programs written by others. He was the primary developer for the Apple II Pascal language and then applied his talents to the Lisa, creating QuickDraw (which was formerly called LisaGraf) and implementing user interface elements, such as drop-down menus and tool palettes. He joined the Macintosh team in early 1983, writing MacPaint, which showed off the bit-mapped graphical capabilities of the machine.

"You could summarize everything I did at Apple was making tools to empower creative people. QuickDraw empowered all these other programmers to now be able to sling stuff on the screen. The Window Manager, Event Manager, and Menu Manager. Those are things that I worked on that were empowering other people," he said.

Bud Tribble was friends with Atkinson and Jef Raskin, who conceived the Macintosh project, and joined the team as its first software developer. He started in September of 1980, when the Macintosh team consisted of three people other people -- Raskin and his long-time colleague Brian Howard and hardware engineer Burrell Smith. Tribble wrote some graphics code for the Motorola 6809 processor that was being used for the Macintosh project, but later convinced Macintosh hardware wizard Burrell Smith to switch to the more powerful 68000.

At that point Steve Jobs had become involved in the Macintosh project and began exerting his substantial influence on how the low-cost, user-friendly machine would evolve. He brought in Andy Hertzfeld from the Apple II team to work on the project in February 1981. "Writing a big chunk of the system software for the original Macintosh was the high point of my career, if not my entire life," Hertzfeld said.

"I was involved in getting the system software going at the beginning of the project, creating a development system," he added. "I designed and coded the initial I/O system and most of the original device drivers. Later, I wrote the User Interface Toolbox, which was the foundation of the user interface, based on the work that Bill Atkinson did for Lisa. I also wrote most of the original desk accessories like the Scrapbook and Control Panel."

The Macintosh desk accessories

(Credit: Folklore.org)

Hertzfeld's biggest challenge was holding the Macintosh project together after Tribble left Apple to return to medical school in Seattle in December 1981. "I had to work long hours to manage the software team for a few months in addition to all the technical work I was doing," he said.
Steve Capps, who joined the software team at the beginning of 1983, gives credit to Hertzfeld for keeping the software team focused as the pressure was mounting. "Andy was the emcee, keeping everything going. He was the impresario that pulled it off, coordinating the software engineers activities. The Finder [the graphical Macintosh file manager] would not have gotten out without him," he said.
Capps became known as the Macintosh software team designated hitter. He arrived at Apple in September 1981 from Xerox PARC to work on printing for the Lisa computer. He also wrote games in his spare time, which caught the attention of Jobs, who recruited him join the Mac team in January 1983.

Steve Jobs (far right) joins members of the Macintosh software team for a picture taken by famed photographer Norman Seeff. From left: Randy Wigginton, Jerome Coonen, Rony Sebok, Donn Denman, Andy Hertzfeld, Bruce Horn, Bill Atkinson, Susan Kare, Owen Densmore, Steve Capps, Larry Kenyon, Patti Kenyon, Tracy Kenyon, Steve Jobs.

(Credit: Norman Seeff)

"I was there because everyone else was burned out. I did everything that wasn't getting done," he said. Capps wrote a disk utility to transfer data from the Lisa to the Mac and a text editing package that fit in the Mac's tiny ROM, the chip with the core instructions to run the machine.
He also worked with Bruce Horn, the main programmer for the Finder, as the final software deadline approached and as friction among the team was increasing with the public relations campaign in high gear. Jobs had selected only a few on the team to be Macintosh heroes for the press tour, and some of those who weren't chosen felt dissed.

Steve Capps wrote Alice, an animated twist on a chess game for the Lisa, and then ported it to the Macintosh. Jobs agreed to publish the game for the Macintosh, renaming it Through the Looking Glass and packaging it like an ancient book.

(Credit: Steve Capps)

"Bruce would see people from Rolling Stone magazine come in and talk to Andy Hertzfeld in next cube. He would get distracted and was becoming less effective. Bruce had a chip on his shoulder, and thought he didn't get enough credit for his work on the Mac. Given he started working at Xerox PARC when he was 13, it's understandable," Capps said. "We found room in building where the mail came in and finished the Finder, well isolated from all the shenanigans. It was a crazy time. If you knew what you knew now, you wouldn't have done it." The two managed to finish the Finder, consisting of just 46K bytes of code, in time for launch.

Larry Kenyon, who previously had worked three years at Amdahl doing hardware logic design, sat next to Andy Hertzfeld when he joined the Apple II team in 1980. He eventually followed Hertzfeld to the Macintosh team in early 1982 and worked on the file system, memory manager, drivers and whatever else needed attention.

"Andy, who was our team architect at that point, would offload things to me. He did the original Apple II disk driver for Mac. He taught me how that worked, and then I did the Twiggy [5.25-inch floppy drive] and Sony [3.5-inch floppy drive] drivers, and a disk utility program for hardware guys to help them develop the hardware. I also worked with Bruce Horn to get the Resource Manager supported in the File Manager. Kenyon's wife, Patti, was the software librarian for the Macintosh team and the couple had a daughter in the weeks before the Macintosh launched.
Kenyon, along with software manager Jerome Coonen, was among those on the original Macintosh team who continued to work at Apple after the Macintosh failed to bury the IBM PC and the corporate politics that led to Jobs' departure in September 1985.

"It was chaotic after Jobs left," Kenyon said."There was not a guarantee of success at that point or confidence that Apple would continue to invest in Mac. With Jobs, you always knew what needed to be done and what you shouldn't do, although there were some things we always knew needed to be done that he didn't want to do, such as using the Sony drive rather than building one ourselves. Not having that leadership made it difficult with the typical company politics. Steve was a challenging individual in some ways, but he brought focus."

Following the exodus, Kenyon focused on providing continuity and building a new team, and importantly improving the capabilities of the original Macintosh. "It was heads down to clean up performance issues, improve the boot time, interface with hard drives and get LocalTalk networking designed and implemented," he said. "The LaserWriter and desktop publishing finally gave us a beachhead for the Mac to where it would be successful."

Hertzfeld summed up the experience of creating the Macintosh for the team: "I was incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time to play a significant role in the development of a world changing product, redefining personal computing and delivering it to the rest of us. It was exciting to watch it take root and transform businesses and lives. And of course the best part of participating in designing the Mac was getting a great computer to use for the last 30 years.

After leaving Apple following the introduction of the Macintosh, Hertzfeld and other Apple exiles cofounded a successful Mac display maker, Radius. He was also a co-founder of General Magic and Easel, where he helped develop the Linux GNOME desktop. In 2005 Hertzfeld join Google and was a key designer of the Google+ Circles user interface. He retired from Google in 2013.
In 2004, he started folklore.org, a web site that contains dozens of anecdotes about the development of the original Macintosh. The stories have been collected in a book, Revolution in the Valley.>
Following the launch of the Macintosh, Atkinson turned his attention to creating what he described as a "software erector set that lets non-programmers put together interactive information." It became a HyperCard and was released in 1987, included for free with every new Macintosh for two years. HyperCard contained many of the concepts that are now common in web browsers, mobile apps, authoring tools, and visual programming languages.

In 1990, Atkinson left Apple, joining Hertzfeld and others from the original Macintosh team, to co-found General Magic, which was developing a handheld "personal intelligent communicator." He left General Magic in 1995 to focus on nature photography and is currently focusing on PhotoCard, a free iOS app that makes postcards from digital photos and sends them via e-mail or in printed form via the US Postal Service. "This is my best work, much better than QuickDraw, MacPaint and HyperCard all rolled together," he said.

Capps took a break of a few years from Apple to work on electronic toys and digital audio tools, including Jam Session and SoundEdit. He returned to Apple in 1987 to work on the Newton, a personal digital assistant that failed to catch on. He left Apple in 1996 for Microsoft as a user interface architect for the company's Internet software, and is now an independent developer.
Kenyon helped develop the Mac Plus and Macintosh II and then moved on as one of the original members of the Newton team, along with Capps. He left Apple in 1996, joining Apple and General Magic alums at WebTV Networks. The company, which turned a TV into Internet access device, was sold to Microsoft in 1997. Kenyon then held various management positions at Microsoft for more than a decade. He is currently consulting for companies developing mobile applications.

"We stayed in touch with the people we worked with on the Macintosh, and having opportunity to work with Jobs was cool," Kenyon said. "It was a project that made an impact on the industry. It was such a highly visible project that it was difficult for a lot of people to get back to a 'normal' life, especially those for whom it was their first job out of college. We had a family and I had worked at other jobs before Apple. But it was such an intense experience that it stands out more than the 8 years I spent working on the Newton or the 12 years on Microsoft TV."

Design of iPhone 6 'locked down,' claims analyst

Cowen and Company says the design of the iPhone 6 is decided. The investment firm also has something to say about the rumored 13-inch iPad.

How large will the iPhone 6's display be? It's a done deal at 4.8 inches, says Cowen and Company.

A consensus of analyst speculation is building for an iPhone that's not quite 5 inches.
After a spate of recent speculation about Apple's next iPhone, Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri has chimed in, claiming an iPhone 6 with a 4.8 inch display is locked down, as reported by AppleInsider.

That will also include higher-speed 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.
Updates to iOS may center on changes to iBeacon, Touch ID, and Passbook, as Apple pushes further into mobile payments, Arcuri said.

The screen size jibes, more or less, with that in an earlier research note from NPD DisplaySearch. That note cited a 4.7-inch display as a possibility for the iPhone 6, as did a China-based analyst, who predicted a June release.
The jury is out on resolution, however. And there's talk of a larger-size phone.

Regarding the latter, DisplaySearch threw out the possibility of a 5.5-inch iPhone 6. The Chinese analyst also made that claim, saying the larger device may come later, after the 4.8-incher.
But keep in mind that something as large as 5.5-inches would bring Apple into phablet territory and out of the range of comfortable one-hand use, which Apple to date has emphasized.
Another rumor worth noting is the expectation that Apple will stick with LTPS (low-temperature polysilicon) LCD -- the same technology used in the 5S, according to DisplaySearch.
If accurate, that would put Apple at odds with Samsung and its radically different Super AMOLED tech.

The Cowan and Company analyst also predicted the release in 2014 of a 13-inch iPad that will "blur the lines between tablets and PCs."
Earlier this month, DisplaySearch said that a future "new iPad" would use a 12.9-inch 2,732x2,048-pixel display -- that would basically be the same pixel density as the iPad Air.

Google Search now reveals semisecret origins of sites

Google tweaks search results to include Web site background information from its Knowledge Graph, making it harder to be misled.

New in Google Search results: background information on the site's makers, when available, from the Knowledge Graph.

(Credit: Google)
Google has begun to leverage its Knowledge Graph directly into search results, the company announced on Wednesday.

The implementation, which begins rolling out today, will provide background information on the person or organization behind the Web site. On the search results page, a gray drop-down arrow and text with the name of the site's makers will appear next to the green URL text.

Google's Knowledge Graph is the company's collection of raw data interwoven with contextual relevancy, and fuels many of its most recent projects -- most notably, Google Now.
Bart Niechwiej, the search engineer who made the announcements, said Google will continue to add relevant site data from the Knowledge Graph to the search results page.

While he said that the point of including the data is to help you choose the right site to click on, it looks like it will provide another level of authentication to results and cut down on exposure to malicious sites.

Beats Music isn't interested in freeloading listeners, CEO says

The new subscription-music service lacks an ad-backed, free version. Its chief executive says he fundamentally disagrees with anyone who wants the option.

 

 (Credit: Ian C. Rogers/Beats/fistfulayen.com)

Beats Music, the streaming-music service launched earlier Tuesday, doesn't have a free ad-based option, and the company isn't interested in the kind of listener who wants it.
Beats Music CEO Ian C. Rogers said in a blog post that anyone who is willing to pay about $1,000 a year on a cable subscription but balks at paying $100 a year on "a great music service" is somebody whose view of the world differs fundamentally from his own.
Rogers wrote:

If music, and a service that brings you great music experiences and playlists from everyone from Pitchfork to Downbeat to Mojo to Thrasher isn't worth $100/year to you I'm afraid we don't have much in common. Or put more specifically, if you are OK with the playlist below being interrupted by a loud insurance ad, music doesn't define the moments of your life the same way it does mine.

The comment was followed by a screenshot of a Beats Music playlist.
Beats Music is available for free for anybody with 7-day trial but afterward requires a $9.99-a-month subscription after that. It also offers a yearly subscription for about $120.
He said the lack of a free, ad-backed version was a "thoughtful and conscious decision," and he acknowledged its omission has been the biggest criticism the fledgling service has received in recent weeks leading up to its rollout.

AT&T customers can access unlimited song streaming and downloads for individuals across three devices for $10 a month, too, or for up to five family members across 10 devices for $15 a month. AT&T Family customers will receive a 90-day free trial, while individual AT&T wireless customers can get the first 30 days free. It will be part of an AT&T customer's regular bill.

Striking a deal with AT&T, the country's second-biggest wireless carrier, gives Beats a huge pool of potential customers and a mega marketing machine at its very outset, but its entering a field already crowded with competitors. Not only is Beats going up against relative newcomers like Spotify, it will also face entrenched Internet radio service Pandora and offerings from huge tech companies such as Apple's iTunes Radio and Google's All Access.

Beats is seeking to set itself apart by marrying algorithms with curated programming from taste-makers. Rogers calls it the difference between being a service and a server.
Jimmy Iovine founded Beats with musician and producer Dr. Dre and bought MOG, an on-demand subscription service. The intent was to combine that technology and the Beats brand to create Beats Music, also known by its codename Daisy.

Rose gold Samsung Galaxy Note 3 coming to Verizon

Big Red will soon offer the plus-sized smartphone in a pink gold.

Verizon dials up a new look for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

(Credit: Samsung) 

Samsung quietly announced that Verizon will be the only US carrier to offer the Galaxy Note 3 in a new color. A short mention on the hardware maker's Web site confirms Verizon will carry the 5.7-inch smartphone in Rose Gold.
Unfortunately, the phone's exact availability isn't clear, but we can assume it'll cost the same as the Jet Black and Classic White versions -- $299.99 on contract. And, while Samsung does have Rose Gold accents for both black and white body colors, it appears Verizon may only carry the white and rose gold version.
In addition to the this accent shade, Samsung also recently introduced a Merlot Red version for the global market.

Apple says it will fix iOS 7 bug that causes phone to reboot

The company promises to get rid of a glitch that brings up the "black or white screen of death."

(Credit: Jason Cipriani/CNET) Whatever your opinion of iOS 7, one annoyance that some users have experienced after switching to the overhauled operating system is a bug that randomly causes a phone to restart.

"We have a fix in an upcoming software update for a bug that can occasionally cause a home screen crash," Apple confirmed to CNET on Wednesday. News of the fix was first reported by Mashable.
The bug triggers the "black or white screen of death" that a user sees when starting up the phone. Some users have said that the bug kicks in when the phone's battery gets to below 30 percent power. Apple has already released iOS 7.1 to registered developers, and the fix may come with that update.

Verizon introduces cheaper Share Everything plan for $60, 250MB

The plan, which the carrier says is a limited time offer, caters to customers who don't need a lot of data, or still use a basic phone.

Verizon's Share Everything family data plan is getting a little more affordable.

Verizon's Share Everything plans add a new option

(Credit: Verizon)

The carrier said that starting Tuesday, Verizon customers will be able to sign up for a $60 Share Everything plan, $20 less than the current cheapest plan. Customers will only get half as much data -- 250 megabytes vs. the $80, 500 MB plan.

Verizon said that this offer will only be available for a limited time.
The lower end plan is ideal for basic phone customers who don't use a lot of data, as many normal customers would chew through 250 MB in a few days or less. Verizon still has a chunk of its customer base on basic phones, and is looking for them to upgrade to smartphones and sign up for one of its Share Everything plans.

The $60-a-month fee includes $20 for data, voice, and text messages and $40 for the smartphone access. Basic phone customers only need to pay $30 for their monthly access, which means their total monthly fee would be $50 a month.

Verizon, like some of its peers, have recently been more aggressive in making moves as a reaction to T-Mobile, which continues to make headlines with a series of promotions and offers, the latest of which is an offer to pay off the early termination fees for customers looking to leave their carrier.
On Sunday, Verizon told CNET that it had reduced the upgrade period under its Edge program to 30 days from six months, allowing customers to nab a new phone even earlier. The program does require customers to pay the full price of a smartphone, and customers looking to upgrade after 30 days would still have to pay off 50 percent of the cost of their phone, making for a pricey upgrade.
Customers can also add other devices to their $60 Share Everything plan, although at 250 MB, there isn't a lot of data to go around. Beyond smartphones and basic phones, tablets cost $10 a month, wireless LTE hotspots cost $20 a month, and other connected devices cost $5 a month

How to control remote PCs for free now that LogMeIn Free is dead

You've got at least three very competent options.

Sad news: LogMeIn Free is no more.
For nearly a decade, it was my go-to tool for remote PC control -- not just my PCs, but also those of far-flung family members needing occasional help.

Alas, LogMeIn announced yesterday that, effectively immediately, there's no more free lunch. The next time you sign into your LogMeIn Free account, you'll have just 7 more days to use it. After that, plan on paying for a subscription.

 

  (Credit: Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET)

Or not. LogMeIn wasn't the only free-remote-control game in town. Here are two other solutions for connecting to PCs from afar.

1. Join.me
Though intended as an online meeting and collaboration tool, Join.me (another LogMeIn product, interestingly) allows for not only screen sharing, but also remote control.
In other words, if you have a friend or family member who needs your help getting a printer set up or some malware removed, Join.me can work. Here's how:

Step one: Let's say your dad needs help with this PC or Mac. Tell him to open his browser, head to Join.me, and click Start Meeting. That will download a small executable file.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET)

Step two: Next, have Dad run that file. In a few seconds he should see a control panel of sorts near the top of his screen. Tell him to read you the nine-digit-number that appears there.
Step three: At your end, head to Join.me, type in that number where it says "enter code," then click the green Join Meeting button. In a few seconds, you should see Dad's screen.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET)

Step four: Now for the taking-control part: Tell Dad to click the plus sign at the right of the Join.me toolbar, then choose Share Mouse Control > Viewer 1. And that's it! Now you should have remote control of his PC from within the confines of your browser window.
There are two wrinkles with Join.me. First, it requires a live human at both ends, so it's not a viable option for remotely accessing your own PCs while on the go. Second, although there are Join.me viewer apps for Android and iOS, they don't permit remote control. For that you'll need one of the other two solutions outlined below.

2. TeamViewer

(Credit: TeamViewer)

Once you switch to TeamViewer, you're not likely to mourn the loss of LogMeIn Free. The former is actually the better of the two tools, offering more features (including file transfers) and better cross-platform support.

Indeed, the service offers free apps and software for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone 8. And you can leave one of its desktop clients running on your desktop for unattended remote access.

The process of using TeamViewer for tech support is fairly similar to that of using Join.me: The person sitting at the PC to be controlled downloads and runs a small executable, then shares a connection code with the person who's going to do the controlling. (That person will also need to install the TeamViewer client, though.)
The only catch: TeamViewer is free for personal use only, so if you need it for any kind of business application, you'll need a pro-level license.

3. Remote Desktop Connection
Lastly, savvy users will also note that Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection offers unattended remote access, also for free. Frankly, I like both of the aforementioned tools better, but there's no harm in trying what's already built into Windows.
In fact, if you have an Android device, check out this tutorial on getting started with Remote Desktop for Android. (It's also available for iOS.)

Uncarrier T-Mobile wants to be your un-bank too

The carrier's Mobile Money program is designed to go after customers who haven't traditionally had bank accounts.

(Credit: T-Mobile USA)
What's the next stop for T-Mobile's Uncarrier train? It's the world of mobile banking.
T-Mobile's latest program is Mobile Money, a low-cost way for consumers who don't have a bank account to store, access their money, and pay bills through their phone and a Visa-backed T-Mobile debit card.

T-Mobile is the latest in a wave of companies following the money and attempting to create a digital wallet for its customers, a group that includes larger players such as Google and Visa. T-Mobile is part of Isis, a joint venture with AT&T and Verizon Wireless that is attempting to create its own digital wallet.

But unlike those ventures, T-Mobile's Mobile Money is addressing a segment of consumers generating less income and uncomfortable with or unable to use traditional banking services. This isn't about turning their smartphones into wallets; it's about giving them bank accounts in the first place.

A more apt comparison is to Boost Mobile's Mobile Wallet program, which it unveiled in May with little fanfare and attention.
In both cases, the same kind of prepaid, no-credit-check customer is the ideal target for their digital wallet initiatives. It's a potentially large market, with nearly 70 million so-called unbanked consumers in the US. For T-Mobile, it represents an expansion of its core business.

"Mobile Money is the first sign we've had that T-Mobile is interested in going beyond the traditional wireless services business," said Jan Dawson, an analyst at Jackdaw Research.
Consumers can sign up to get their Visa debit card at a T-Mobile store, which can be accessed online or through an iPhone or Android app. They will need to register the card to activate it. From there, they can refill the account at a T-Mobile store or at Safeway markets (other locations will become available) and access a network of 42,000 ATMs with no fees.

There are a number of these services already available to consumers who don't qualify for a traditional bank account, but they each come with a series of onerous fees, including charges to sign up for a card, to top up the account with additional funds, and to withdraw cash. There are charges included with check-cashing services. Consumers are forced to deal with these fees because they can't qualify for a traditional bank account.

Under Mobile Money, a T-Mobile customer would be exempt from many of these fees. For instance, refilling the account with more money is free at a T-Mobile store, although offsite locations may charge around $3 to $4. A non-T-Mobile customer can sign up for Mobile Money, but would have to pay more traditional fees.

"One of the main reasons we're doing this is to deepen our relationship with our customers," said T-Mobile marketing executive Andrew Sherrard.

With a Mobile Money account, customers would also be able to access services such as eBay and Amazon, something they weren't previously able to do. They are able to set up direct deposit into the account, or allow customers to deposit a check by snapping a photo of it on their smartphone.
Customers can also add cards to the account and transfer money between them, for instance providing a son or daughter heading off to college with a debit card.

T-Mobile is working with The Bancorp as its bank partner, Blackhawk, which is managing the program, and Allpoint Network for its access to ATM machines.
Sherrard noted that T-Mobile held a pilot in Miami and saw better-than-expected success. While he had assumed prepaid customers would primarily be interested in Mobile Money, he was surprised to see 40 percent of the users were more credit-worthy post-paid customers.
"We actually see a real need," he said.

Netflix CEO: Curse you, password sharing! Literally

On what's typically a snoozy earnings discussion, Reed Hastings shares what he claims is the log-in info for the head of rival HBO. And the password would make your grandma gasp.

Don't let the avuncular sweater fool you, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings gets salty when provoked.

(Credit: Screenshot by Joan E. Solsman/CNET)
Reed Hastings, the founder and chief executive of Netflix, seems to be taking a page out of the script of T-Mobile Chief John Legere. A profanity-ridden page.
During what is typically a dry quarterly discussion of earnings results, Hastings on Wednesday was asked about HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler's recent comments that he doesn't care if people share their HBO Go passwords. Hastings' response:

That was an interesting comment I suppose. So I guess Plepler, the CEO of HBO, doesn't mind me then sharing his account information. So it's plepler@hbo.com and his password is 'Netflix B!+@#.'"

A fan of "Breaking Bad," perhaps?
HBO said it didn't have any comment.

CNET gave it a shot, and when we tried to log into Netflix as the TV executive, all we got was a message saying, "The login information you entered does not match an account in our records. Remember, your email address is not case-sensitive, but passwords are."
That's not the only thing that's sensitive.

Netflix has often put HBO squarely in the center of its competitive bull's eye. Original content is key to the future Netflix envisions for itself as an online television provider to surpass HBO, and Hastings has said he sees the company reaching 60 million to 90 million US customers eventually, which would lap the US subscriber ranks of HBO a few times over.
But if everybody just logs in as Plepler, that will surely hurt Netflix subscriber rolls, no?

Google Now notifications now alive in Chrome test version

The Android technology that can alert you about weather, flights, traffic, and other information has arrived in a developer version of Google's browser.

 

Google Now notifications have arrived in early test builds of Chrome.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

---

Google, taking a big step in its effort to make Android and Chrome equally good homes for people's digital lives, has at last built its Google Now anticipatory notification service into its browser.
Google Now cards for Chrome are active in the very rough Canary build of Chrome, which is three steps removed from the stable version the company recommends for mainstream use. Not only that, the feature must be enabled by activating the Google Now flag by entering "chrome://flags/#enable-google-now" into the address bar then restarting.
Google has been working on building Google Now into Chrome for more than a year. The unofficial Google Operating System blog spotted its arrival in Canary.

The change is modest in some ways -- users will see a new bell-icon system menu that presents some of the cards Google Now shows on Android, including weather forecasts and stock prices. But it signifies a deeper change, the transformation of the browser into a personalized interface to the ever-expanding empire of Google-delivered information.

To enable Google Now cards, first install Chrome Canary, then open the chrome://flags/#enable-google-now address. Enable the setting and click the browser restart button.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

"If you use Google Now on your mobile device, you can see certain Now cards on your desktop computer if you're signed into Chrome, including weather, sports scores, commute traffic, and event reminders cards," Google said in a help page post. "Google Now on Chrome shows a subset of the Now cards you see on your mobile device."

Google Now shows alerts for things that are pretty easy to predict like calendar appointments. But it also tries to figure out other notifications you might be interested in, such as nearby restaurants and tourist attractions, upcoming airline flights, and anything else you might want to know or avoid forgetting. It's all part of Google's vision to become an extension of your mind, not just a search engine, video hosting site, or e-mail provider.

Google is trying to make Web apps more competitive with native apps running on PCs and on mobile devices. Part of that necessarily entails making the browser more like an operating system, a goal shared by Firefox developer Mozilla. For Google the browser-as-an-OS idea is particularly overt in Chrome OS and in the latest version of Chrome, which adds a mini-Chrome OS look to Chrome running in Windows 8's newer interface formerly called Metro.
Of course, the Google Now integration won't work unless you're logged into Google while using Chrome.

After hack, Target offers year of free credit monitoring

Looking to recoup burned customers, the big-box retailer offers affected shoppers credit monitoring from Experian -- worth $191.

(Credit: Target)
Tens of thousands of people likely received a conciliatory e-mail from Target on Wednesday. In an effort to temper the repercussions of its massive data breach, the big-box retailer offered to give affected customers one year of free credit monitoring from Experian -- valued at $191.
The security breach, which yielded the personal information of as many as 110 million customers, was first identified on December 15. Apparently, cybercriminals accessed customers' private information at point-of-sale terminals during check-out.

Target said the breach occurred between November 27 and December 15 and resulted in the theft of names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and debit and credit card data of people who shopped at the retailer during those dates.

"I am writing to make you aware that your name, mailing address, phone number or e-mail address may have been taken during the intrusion," Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel wrote in the e-mail. "I am truly sorry this incident occurred and sincerely regret any inconvenience it may cause you. Because we value you as a guest and your trust is important to us, Target is offering one year of free credit monitoring to all Target guests who shopped in US stores, through Experian's ProtectMyID product which includes identity theft insurance where available."

To get the year of credit monitoring, people who shopped at Target during the dates of the breach need to register before April 23 at creditmonitoring.target.com.

The practice of payment card skimming at point-of-sale terminals has become more frequent in recent years. Bookseller Barnes & Noble discovered in fall 2012 that hackers had broken into keypads at more than 60 locations around the US and made off with customers' credit card data. That same month, two Romanian men pleaded guilty to hacking point-of-sale terminals at hundreds of Subway sandwich stores in the US to steal credit card information from more than 146,000 accounts.

Samsung Galaxy S5 may get rapid-charging battery

A report says the follow-up to Samsung's Galaxy S4 could get a new kind of battery that can also store more power within the same footprint.

The Galaxy S5 battery could charge up in under two hours.

(Credit: Video screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET) The Galaxy S5 rumor mill appears to be spinning at full speed now that a Samsung vice president has publicly tipped the reveal date to be around March or April.
The latest report says the update to the popular Android phone line could include a new kind of lithium ion battery that holds 20 percent more energy in the same size module as the Galaxy S4 battery, and also carries a rapid-charging technology that will get you powered up in less than two hours.

Phone arena says its sources claim that the battery for the S5 will be 2900 mAh, an increase from the Galaxy S4's 2600 mAh juice pack. The increase might not necessarily boost the overall battery life of the S5, however, if reports that it will come with a high-resolution 2,560x1,440-pixel AMOLED display pan out.
So far, the collected reports and rumors point to high-end specs for the Galaxy S5, including the possibility of a Snapdragon 805 processor, which has advanced graphics performance over its predecessors; the aforementioned 2K display; a 16-megapixel camera; and a premium metal-body model.
We're also hearing rumblings about some new features like head tracking and a possible iris scanner, things that could also make use of a bigger battery.

Zuckerberg to headline phone show Mobile World Congress

Mark Zuckerberg likes this: the Facebook founder will deliver the keynote speech at phone-focused industry extravaganza in February.

Making a speech isn't cool. You know what's cool? Making a keynote speech. And that's what's in the cards for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who will headline the phone industry extravaganza Mobile World Congress next month.

Zuckerberg's keynote opens the mobile-focused trade show on February 24, and will be streamed online. He'll be joined onstage by the technology journalist David Kirkpatrick, author of officially sanctioned chronicle "The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World" to discuss "extending the benefits of ubiquitous Internet access to the unconnected world."
Zuckerberg formed the Internet.org initiative last year, recruiting companies including Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung to bring affordable Internet access to the developing world.

Still, the Facebook founder and CEO is an interesting choice to headline a show centered on mobile devices, considering the abject failure this year of the long-rumored "Facebook phone," the HTC First. The First showed off Facebook Home, a customized Android interface that arrived a day late and a dollar short -- in some regions the First was hastily canned before it even hit shops.

Other keynote speakers at MWC include Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM; Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T; and Kaoru Kato, president of NTT Docomo. Tech upstarts, meanwhile, are represented by Lance Howarth, CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation; Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp; and Jon Matonis, executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation.

Meanwhile Tony and BAFTA Award-winning British actor, writer, and comedian James Corden will present the Global Mobile Awards lauding the best of the mobile industry.
MWC takes place in Barcelona starting February 24, with announcements starting a few days earlier. CNET's crack away team of mobile experts will be in Spain to bring you news, previews and hands-on first impressions of all the coolest kit you need to know about, complete with glossy photos and shiny videos.

Twitter said to be teaming with Stripe for in-tweet payments

Twitter could soon announce a partnership that would allow retailers to accept payment directly in tweets, according to a report by Recode.

Twitter may soon be a platform retailers use for more than just advertising and marketing. If a report published today is accurate, retailers may soon be able to sell products and take payments directly in tweets.
According to the report by Recode on Thursday, Twitter may be teaming up with the online payments service Stripe to make it possible for retailers to accept credit cards directly through tweets.

"The deal, which is in the final stages but not yet complete," Recode wrote, "will be the surest sign that the social network is finally serious about making it easier for brands, retailers or manufacturers to sell stuff directly on Twitter."
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation, and Stripe spokesperson Kelly Sims said she couldn't comment.

If the report is accurate, this would be a very big move for Twitter. Presumably, it could get a small slice of any transactions -- which would help it move towards profitability. But perhaps even more important, it would no doubt drive a wide variety of new marketing initiatives directly to Twitter. After all, if advertising campaigns conducted on the social network could be immediately converted to sales, that could create an all-new market for merchants eager to reach consumers where they spend their time.

This wouldn't be the first time that commerce could be conducted directly inside Twitter. Last February, Twitter teamed with American Express to make it possible for that card's users to buy things through select retailers simply by tweeting a special hashtag.
Stripe could be a good partner for Twitter because its Stripe Connect service allows online merchants to accept payments by credit card without setting up an account of any kind.

Netflix 'original' documentary lands Oscar nomination

The video service picked festival darling "The Square," a documentary about the Egyptian revolution, as its first "original" film, keen to add an Oscar to its tally of awards.

Egyptian activist Ahmed Hassan in Jehane Noujaim's documentary "The Square."

(Credit: Noujaim Films)
"The Square," a Netflix-backed film about the 2011 Egyptian revolution, secured an Oscar nomination for documentary feature on Thursday, fulfilling the Academy Awards buzz it drummed up at film festivals.
"The Square," which profiles the Egyptian revolution from the perspective of young activists there, was Netflix's first major acquisition in its original documentary initiative in November. In July, Netflix had said it would be widening its original strategy beyond TV series to "broadly appealing" feature documentaries.
"The Square" will be available to Netflix subscribers in all areas starting Friday.

The film won the Toronto International Film Festival Documentary People's Choice Award this year, and an earlier version of it won the Audience Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It was also screened previously in New York and California theaters to qualify it for Oscar consideration.
The film will be opening in a slew of movie houses across the US -- and in other countries -- Friday, as well as going live on Netflix. While its early screenings were self-financed, funding from Netflix surely helped broaden the release now.

Like "Derek," another Netflix original before it, "The Square" broadens the idea of what an original for the company means. "Derek" and "The Square" were developed, produced, and shown to some audiences before Netflix ever got involved. Netflix has picked up film-festival fodder for its streaming service before, but this is the first time it has branded it as its own.
Earlier this year, Netflix won several Emmys for its original series "House of Cards," and earlier this week Robin Wright won a Golden Globe for her acting in that series.
By taking "The Square" under its wing, Netflix may add an Oscar to its shelf as well.

T-Mobile hosts Macklemore concert after CEO thrown out of one

The company is hosting a special performance in the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles on January 23.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere at CES 2014.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET) T-Mobile CEO John Legere will get his Macklemore and Ryan Lewis fix after all.
T-Mobile said Thursday that it's sponsoring a special performance by the Grammy-nominated artists for 1,400 Los Angeles-area fans. The concert will be held on January 23, with tickets to go on sale on January 17.

Legere, of course, made headlines at the Consumer Electronics Show last week when he crashed a private party hosted by AT&T. The musical guest for the party: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
After Legere was spotted and outed by this reporter, security subsequently escorted Legere out of the hotel.

Legere insisted he just wanted to see Macklemore perform, and indeed got his invitation from the rapper's agent, but it's clear things turned out just rosy for him. His ejection from the party was the talk of the trade show, and he utilized the incident to great effect during the company's press conference, even making T-shirts saying he just wanted to see Macklemore.
"My appreciation for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis seems to be the worst-kept secret in the social hemisphere," Legere said in a statement.

Apple to refund at least $32.5M for kids' in-app purchases

As part of an agreement with the FTC, Apple also must change its billing practices to require consent from consumers before charging them for in-app purchases.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)
Apple has to refund at least $32.5 million to customers in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over in-app purchases.

Announced Wednesday by the FTC, the agreement settles a complaint from the agency that Apple charged consumers millions of dollars over in-app purchases made by kids without parental consent. Under the agreement, Apple also must now change its billing methods to make sure it receives "express, informed consent" from users before it charges them for such purchases.

"This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple's unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you're doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement. "You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorize."

Specifically, the complaint charged Apple with violating the FTC Act by not telling parents that entering a password to approve an initial in-app purchase would allow 15 minutes of additional purchases without further authorization needed. Apple's in-app purchase screen prompts for a password but doesn't reveal that the password opens the door for those extra 15 minutes, the FTC said.

The FTC said that Apple had received "tens of thousands" of complaints, if not more, about children having made unauthorized in-app purchases that added up to millions of dollars. It cited, as just one example, the case of a consumer whose daughter spent $2,600 in the app "Tap Pet Hotel," and other instances of children incurring more than $500 in charges in the apps "Dragon Story" and "Tiny Zoo Friends."

In a statement following the FTC announcement, Apple acknowledged the need to be attentive to how children interact with online services:
"Protecting children has been a top priority for the App Store from the very beginning, and Apple is proud to have set the gold standard for online stores by making the App Store a safe place for customers of all ages," Apple said in the statement. "Today's agreement with the FTC extends our existing refund program for in-app purchases which may have been made without a parent's permission."

Apple has until March 31 of this year to revise its billing practices to fulfill its part of the bargain. Beyond requiring informed consent for in-app purchases, Apple must also give consumers the option to withdraw their consent at any time.

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the settlement in a memo to employees, according to Recode. Cook said that Apple had been negotiating with the FTC for "several months" over the in-app purchase issue but claimed that the proposal doesn't "require us to do anything we weren't already going to do." Cook described Apple's refund plans in the memo:

Last year, we set out to refund any in-app purchase which may have been made without a parent's permission. We wanted to reach every customer who might have been affected, so we sent emails to 28 million App Store customers - anyone who had made an in-app purchase in a game designed for kids. When some emails bounced, we mailed the parents postcards. In all, we received 37,000 claims and we will be reimbursing each one as promised.

But Cook also took aim at the FTC over rehashing this issue after a federal court had already approved a settlement, saying the agency's lawsuit "smacked of double jeopardy."

Nananana...Classic 'Batman' TV series box set to be released

Adam West and Burt Ward finally make their "Batman" DVD debut with a box set to be released this year of the classic live-action TV show thanks to Warner Bros. Entertainment.

 

Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) finally get the respect they deserve with the long-awaited "Batman" TV series DVD box set from Warner Bros.

(Credit: DC Comics)
Riddle me this, Batman. If you wanted to excite fans about your box set release of your hit TV show from the 1960s, who would you ask to break the news? Oh right, Conan O'Brien!
The late night talk show host and comedian tweeted on January 15 to his 9.7 million followers the geekatstic news along with an impressive photo of himself posing with the classic Batmobile: "Very excited @WBHomeEnt is releasing the Batman '66 Complete TV Series in 2014! The seat smells like Adam West: http://bit.ly/1d7IoFk"

When you're comedian and late night talk show host Conan O'Brien, you get to break news about Batman AND borrow his car.

(Credit: Team Coco)

The original "Batman" TV series ran on ABC from 1966-68, with actors Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) keeping Gotham safe from the likes of the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Joker (Cesar Romero), and Catwoman (played by an array of actresses such as Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt).

The campy caped-crusader crime-fighting TV show was never released on DVD, until now thanks to Warner Bros. Entertainment, which confirmed the release through O'Brien's tweet on its their Facebook page with the statement: "We've always wondered why you never see Conan O'Brien Presents: Team Coco & Batman in the same room..." Only the 1966 feature film was available previously from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Last year, DC Comics payed tribute to the classic TV show by releasing a special line of digital comics called "DC2" with the "Batman '66" title which featured West and Ward as Batman and Robin, fighting old foes.

Tune in soon -- same Bat-time, same Bat-channel here on CNET for more news from Warner Bros. Entertainment about the box set details and release date.

Smart home tech at CES 2014: Join us for a great debate.

It's early years for connected home technology, and this is when the fun happens. Join our panel of industry thinkers as we debate new standards and imagine the future of the smart house.

The Quirky Egg Minder is just one sky's-the-limit example of smart home tech.

(Credit: Colin West McDonald/CNET)
Once upon a time, home theater stories dominated CES. For years, TVs, TVs, and more TVs made the biggest headlines at the show. But times change, and while you'll find giant 4K televisions and curved OLEDs littering the show floor this year, we're expecting new topics to bubble up. Car tech and wearables will make waves, and so will a new breed of in-home technology that extends far beyond the living room.
 

Some smart home devices -- connected light bulbs and thinking thermostats, for example -- have made their way into homes already. But this year, these early pioneers will usher in a full-blown movement. By the end of 2014, a dizzying array of connected home devices will enter the fray, communicating across the Internet and your home network from every room in the house.

"The road to the connected home is paved with dreams of seamless automation."

The road to the connected home is paved with dreams of seamless automation. But in many ways, the companies on the vanguard of this movement are still working on drawing the map. Detours and potholes lie ahead on the way to major breakthroughs in the way our houses work with our devices, and big questions loom: How will your connected refrigerator and your connected light bulbs talk to each other? Should they? Should the interface for the connected home always be the cell phone?

Matt Rogers of Nest will be joining our panel.

(Credit: Nest)

We've gathered some of the industry's smartest thinkers on the topic to debate these questions and share their visions of the connected home, and we hope you'll join us for that conversation.
This panel features GE Home & Business Solutions Manager John Ouseph; Nest co-founder and VP of Engineering Matt Rogers; Revolv co-founder and Head of Marketing Mike Soucie; Philips' Head of Technology, Connected Lighting George Yianni; Belkin Director of Product Management Ohad Zeira, and CNET Executive Editor Rich Brown, who oversees our team of smart home and appliances reviewers in Louisville, KY. I'll be moderating, and I can't wait.

The panel kicks off at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8, in room N261 of the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. (You'll need a badge to get in, but don't worry: If you're not at the show, you can watch the session in a video we'll post later.) If you're interested in the extremely fast-paced new world of the smart home and have questions you'd like me to ask this panel, please bring them up in the comments below or tweet to me (@lturrentine) with the hashtag #CNETSmartHome

HP Slate 21 Pro fuses desktop monitor and Android all-in-one

(Credit: HP)
Remember the days of the simple, old-fashioned Windows PC? Those days seem long behind us, as major PC manufacturers continue to explore alternatives in an ever-fragmenting computing landscape. At CES 2014, HP’s prime offering serves as a clear indicator of the sea change: the HP Slate 21 Pro, HP’s headlining product, is a business-targeted update to the HP Slate 21, a 21.5-inch Android all-in-one desktop tablet that doubles as a PC monitor.

The HP Slate 21 Pro adds some extra oomph to the last version, with 16GB of onboard storage, 2GB of RAM, and Android 4.3 along with a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 4 processor. It’s not tremendously exciting hardware-wise, but this large 1,920x1,080 IPS display tablet still only costs $399 and comes with a keyboard and mouse in the box.

 

(Credit: HP)

The far bigger deal is that this all-in-one also doubles as a monitor: yes, there’s an HDMI input, so this effectively is also a 1080p optical touchscreen IPS monitor, too. There are also 3 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, audio/mic out, and a USB 2.0 upstream port for Windows touch display compatibility.
802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, a 720p webcam and microphone, stereo speakers, and an SD card slot mean this could be — and is intended to be — a stand-alone system. But for who, exactly? Perhaps small businesses, or educational markets, or kiosks, as HP envisions. Android 4.3 allows for easier multi-user access. Also included are some business-friendly tools: pre-installed Kingoffice software, Citrix XenMobile and Receiver support, and Skype / HP MyRoom for video conferencing.

 

 (Credit: HP)

Matte black and boxy, the HP Slate 21 Pro looks like what it costs. But the additional perk of being a plain old monitor could help add a lot of appeal. The bigger question is, do small business and education markets want a large-screen Android PC at all?
The HP Slate 21 Pro is available now for $399.