data

Sony PSN hacking lawsuit dismissed by judge

A California district judge has dismissed a handful of charges that plaintiffs brought against Sony, including negligence, restitution, and unjust enrichment in its handling of a PlayStation Network data breach last year.

Several lawsuits were filed against Sony PlayStation Network in the wake of a major security breach of the personal data of more than 75 million customers in April 2011.

On Friday, Judge Anthony Battaglia of the U.S. District Court in Southern California ruled that one of those class action suits is invalid, according to Courthouse News.

When the attack happened in 2011, more than 75 million customer … Read more

U.N. calls for 'anti-terror' Internet surveillance

The United Nations is calling for more surveillance of Internet users, saying it would help to investigate and prosecute terrorists.

A 148-page report (PDF) released today titled "The Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes" warns that terrorists are using social networks and other sharing sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Dropbox, to spread "propaganda."

"Potential terrorists use advanced communications technology often involving the Internet to reach a worldwide audience with relative anonymity and at a low cost," said Yury Fedotov, executive director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The … Read more

Apple breaks ground on its $68M Oregon data center

Apple has begun the first phase of its new $68 million data center in Prineville, Oregon, as the technology giant moves forward with serving even more cloud-reliant customers. 

According to local news sources, Apple has started to clear and flatten the land for one of two buildings that will take around 338,000 square-foot of space. (That's about twice the size of an average Costco store, The Oregonian says, or about 320 times larger than the average New York apartment.) Apple's data center is a stones throw away from Facebook's own data center on the … Read more

Google tries wowing the world with a look at its data centers

Google only rarely gives outsiders a look at its data centers, but today it's trying to make up for lost time with a large online photo gallery and Street View tour of the computing hardware.

The company launched a new site, "Where the Internet Lives" with a lot of eye candy for people who enjoy racks of computer gear, raised-floor ventilation systems, multicolored cables, and massive air-conditioning chillers. Urs Hoelzle, Google's senior vice president for technical infrastructure, announced the site in a blog post today.

It's short on details for those who want to eye Google's servers up close, … Read more

Zynga sues former exec for 'wholesale theft' of data

Alan Patmore left his job as general manager for Zynga's CityVille in August and headed over to a job as VP of product at Kixeye -- a much smaller social-gaming company also based in San Francisco. Zynga is now saying that when Patmore stepped down, he stole important company trade secrets.

In a complaint filed in Superior Court in San Francisco on Friday, the gaming company alleges that Patmore nabbed data files, financial information, unreleased game design documents, and more.

"Zynga respects the rights of its employees to resign and seek employment with other companies," the gaming … Read more

The big squeeze: How to get the most out of your wireless plan

The economy may be slowly recovering, but that doesn't mean you need to hand over more of your hard earned cash to your wireless provider.

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I help two different readers figure out how to get the most value out of their wireless service. Of course, cheaper isn't always better. If the service doesn't work or doesn't offer you enough data for your needs, then the lower price tag is irrelevant. In the first question, I offer one reader some advice about switching from Sprint to either AT&T or … Read more

NetZero subscribers can share free data with Facebook friends

Facebook friends can now share data with one other courtesy of a new promotion from NetZero.

The new 4G Data Share plan lets NetZero subscribers dole out 1GB of data each month to fellow subscribers on Facebook, with up to five friends getting 200MB a piece.

To partake in the promotion, you need to subscribe to any one of NetZero's five 4G mobile broadband plans, starting at 200MB for free and going up to 4GB for $49.95 a month.

You'll also need to buy NetZero's 4G USB stick or its 4G hotspot device. Both items are … Read more

Huawei will have tough time cracking U.S. data center market

By product line, Huawei looks like any other data center equipment provider. Storage, networking, and security software rolls out at a steady clip and market wins -- mostly in China and emerging markets -- follow.

Except for the U.S., where Huawei is a vendor that rankles national security experts and politicians regularly. When it comes to networking and telecom gear, Huawei is a relatively small player in the U.S. In fact, most IT buyers will recite the top vendors easily -- Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, and Hewlett-Packard. Huawei might as well not exist.

In emerging markets Huawei is … Read more

Apple quietly improving its iOS maps data

Apple appears to be fixing its in-house maps software with new additions and corrections.

A week after the company pledged to improve the quality of the software, some locations are already showing signs of attention, notably corrections to points of interest and improvements in detail, including 3D representations.

Macrumors today points to some notable improvements and expansions in 3D data, including a 3D view of New York's Statue of Liberty, which appeared as a flat aerial shot in the initial public release and has since been given the 3D flyover treatment. Other changes appear in parts of the U.… Read more