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Kicking up a fuss about Netflix hogging all your bandwidth? Perhaps the company's latest partnership could induce a rapid change of heart. The streaming service has paired up with eyeIO in hopes of keeping bandwidth usage during streams to a minimum, which they claim won't affect the content's overall quality. While the joint venture just became official, the startup's "ultra-low-bandwidth" encoding technology -- that allegedly can reduce usage on a 720p HD stream by more than 50 percent -- began its testing phase on the streaming-giant's offerings months ago. Although eyeIO's service has already been implemented by Netflix, it's worth mentioning this isn't an exclusive deal, thus it's possible for its competition to jump on the bandwidth conservation bandwagon in the future. More importantly, we're interested to find out if you have noticed any difference in your streams lately, so drop us a line in the comments below.Continue reading Netflix teams with eyeIO to lower bandwith use on movie nightNetflix teams with eyeIO to lower bandwith use on movie night originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Techland  |  eyeIO  | Email this | Comments

Usually, when passwords and personal information are exposed, it's because someone hacked a company's not-so-secure system. Motorola, however, managed to put people's info at risk without such malfeasance when it failed to wipe the memory of a batch of refurbished Xooms. The tablets in question were sold by Woot.com between October and December of last year, and Moto is claiming that it made the mistake on only small number of slates. Of course, we don't know exactly how many Xooms were shipped with previous owners' data onboard, but we do know that the company is actively attempting to make amends. Moto's offering two years of Experian identification protection services to those whose info was exposed and owners of affected Xooms are getting a little something too. Just send the device back to Motorola on the company's dime -- where it'll be properly reset and sent back to you, along with a $100 American Express gift card for your efforts. Wondering if you're among the unlucky? Hit the PR after the break for more info, and those with Wooted Xooms can plug in their slate's serial number at the source link below to find out for sure.

[Thanks, Scott]Continue reading Oops! Motorola sold refurbished Xooms without deleting previous owners' dataOops! Motorola sold refurbished Xooms without deleting previous owners' data originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Chicago Business  |  Motorola  | Email this | Comments

The latest report is in from ComScore, and as you might expect, the news is sunshine and roses for the crews at Google and Apple. Both companies platforms charted some worthwhile month-over-month gains, as Android is estimated to account for 47.3 percent of smartphones in the US, while iOS runs a strong second with 26.9 percent. Meanwhile, former BlackBerry fans continue to scatter, as the platform now accounts for 16 percent of smartphone users. Similarly, Windows Phone (and whatever's left of Windows Mobile) have taken it on the chin, and have fallen to just 4.7 percent market share. Without ever gaining much traction in the US, Symbian now makes up 1.4 percent of the smartphone pie. You'll find a quick look at the manufacturing side of the equation, along with the full ComScore press release, after the break.Continue reading ComScore: Android and iOS gallop ahead, US smartphone usage approaches 100 millionComScore: Android and iOS gallop ahead, US smartphone usage approaches 100 million originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink TechFlash  |  ComScore  | Email this | Comments

While the uproar over Google’s updated privacy policy has lessened in the U.S., European officials are taking things a step further today. The European Commission has asked Google to delay implementing its new privacy policy so the matter can be fully investigated. The search giant has apparently been taken aback by the proposal. The Commission is in the process of updating its rules on data protection, and that might account for the new-found interest in Google’s policy. According to Google’s Brussels spokesperson, Google briefed the Commission on the proposed change before it was even announced to the public. He went on toe say Google would be happy to talk things over with regulators if there are any new concerns, but he did not say Google would delay implementation of the new policy. Google’s new privacy policy is essentially ‘one policy to rule them all.’ Over 60 individual privacy policies from various services are being rolled into one document that spells out what information Google can share internally between services. Do you think the European Commission is justified in asking for a delay?

Well, that didn’t take long. One of the largest streaming sites taken down by U.S. authorities yesterday is already back up and running on a new domain, and boy are they upset. While the Department of Homeland Security ICE division was happy to accept a pat on the back for a job well done, one of the owners of Firstrow, a sports streaming site, says he will not give up until a court shuts the site down. “The US has prided itself on their ‘innocent before proven guilty’ mantra, yet is clearly hypocritical when it comes to this,” said the unnamed co-owner of Firstrow. The site is back up on firstrowsports.eu after losing top level domains at .com and .tv. The anonymous owner went on to say he does not believe what Firstrow does is illegal as the site is not US-based.  The European Union has been critical of U.S. domain seizures in the past, but that doesn’t seem to worry law enforcement very much. Yesterday’s domain raid was the largest yet, and mostly targeted sites selling counterfeit NFL merchandise. Do you think non-US sites should have to adhere to US copyright laws?

An element of hacker group Anonymous announced today that it has intercepted a conference call between the FBI and UK law enforcement wherein they discuss tracking down Anonymous. The 16 minute call was recorded and has been posted on various sites, including YouTube. The FBI and Scotland Yard have confirmed their call was illegally intercepted. The first few minutes are idle banter between the early arrivals, but from there the conversation moves on to the efforts to identify members of Anonymous and LulzSec. Anonymous beeped out names of suspects and contacts not yet apprehended, but left in the names of those already arrested, including Ryan Cleary and Jake Davis. The call is from January 17th, and the investigators can be heard discussing the case against Cleary and Davis. It is suspected that Anonymous gained access to law enforcement email where an invitation to the conference all was available. It should be noted that the phone number and password for the call was listed in plain text. This is certainly embarrassing for the FBI and Scotland Yard, and one has to wonder if more releases from that hacked email account will be incoming. 

Germany seems to be a hotbed for patent war activity at the moment with Apple now overturning an online sales ban on many of its 3G gadgets.Just this morning we reported on an injunction won by Motorola preventing Apple selling the iPad 2, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 on it's official online shop due to its alleged infringement on a 3G patent.However, the wheels of justice move quickly in these matters and Apple has been able to strike down the injunction with haste.Moto being unreasonable?The Cupertino-based company says that the legal see-saw was able to occur due to Motorola Mobility's refusal (no doubt backed by its new friends at Google) to "reasonably" license the patent to Apple.An Apple spokeswoman told AllThingsD: "All iPad and iPhone models will be back on sale through Apple's online store in Germany shortly."Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago."Apple is now in the process of repopulating its store, but Motorola which initially filed for the injunction in December, will continue the fight for a reinstatement of the ban.Via: AllThingsD

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman says the company's soon-to-be open source WebOS software will eventually be better than both the Android and iOS platforms.HP will launch the first version of the reimagined operating system in September this year after deciding to commit the storied software to the open source community. Whitman said the result will prove to be superior to the 'closed' Apple iOS ecosystem and the undeniably 'fragmented' Android platform.She also confirmed that the company will re-enter the tablet market, following the HP TouchPad debacle of 2011.An open and closed caseIn an interview with CRN, she said: "There is a clear vision of what we're trying to accomplish."There will be some people who will not love that vision, and then there are people who are very excited about this vision, and what it can mean for an alternative, open-source operating system that has some real strengths to it. "We're going to build another operating system that has huge advantages, in my view, over iOS, which is a closed system, [and] Android, which is incredibly fragmented and may ultimately be more closed with [Google's] acquisition of Motorola Mobility."Windows 8 tabletWhitman, who took the reigns at the world's largest PC manufacturer in September last year, also stated that HP will be in amongst it when the first Windows 8 tablets come to market later this year.She said: "We have to have a tablet offering," Whitman said. "We will be back in that business. We're coming back into the market with a Windows 8 tablet, first on an x86 chip and then maybe on an ARM chip."Via: CRN, BGR

Music streaming service Rhapsody has enhanced its mobile offering with a brand new application for tablets running Android.The reimagined app for Android tablets running the Ice Cream Sandwich or Honeycomb operating systems offers a gorgeous magazine-style user interface rich.The new Rhapsody app brings album art and imagery to the fore compared with the text heavy approach of the smartphone version.Rhapsody for Android tablets is also built around the editorial content the company is so proud of, bringing you the latest news, reviews and features all with playable links.Reach out and touchThe app also brings the ability to swipe through music libraries while listening, while also downloading playlists for offline listening."The tablet transforms Rhapsody into an immersive experience that's inspired by what digital music lovers miss about physical albums and CDs: album art, photos and the ability to reach out and touch the next album you're playing," said the company in a media release on Friday. "The tablet amplifies the experience with the best aspects of digital, with links across the universe of content that Rhapsody editors have produced over the past decade."The app, which requires a screen of nine inches or more in size, brings access to Rhapsody's 14 million-strong song library for premium members who pay $10 a month for the service.The company already has apps for iPhone, Android smartphones and BlackBerry devices, but this is the first tablet-centric device launched by the US streaming giant.

None The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition is coming to Xbox 360, and CD Projekt wants you to know it will not be a slightly modified port. To prove it, the Polish developer has cut a developer diary showcasing the new controls, systems, quests, and other “significant new content” slated for the consoled adaptation...

Valve is cooking up big things for Team Fortress 2 and, miraculously, its plans have nothing to do with goofy hats. At least, they don't specifically mention new hats. Oh, who are we kidding? Of course there will be hats...

THQ's fiscal troubles have resulted in a delay for Metro: Last Night and a need for the beleaguered publisher to find a financial partner for Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online if it hopes to save the MMO from extinction...