exchange

Bitcoin exchange BitFloor halts operations, shuts down

The recent Bitcoin rollercoaster ride has come to an end for one exchange.

Bitcoin exchange BitFloor announced Wednesday it is closing its trading operations and plans to return its remaining funds to its users.

The New York-based exchange, which specialized in trades of the digital peer-to-peer currency, announced the closure with a note on its home page penned by its founder, Roman Shtylman:

I am sorry to announce that due to circumstances outside of our control BitFloor must cease all trading operations indefinitely. Unfortunately, our US bank account is scheduled to be closed and we can no longer provide the … Read more

Ahead of iPhone 5 launch, T-Mobile touts trade-in program

T-Mobile is cranking up the hype for its iPhone 5 launch on Friday.

The carrier added another incentive to hop on its bandwagon, extending its trade-in program to include older iPhones from other carriers. In exchange, customers can avoid putting money down for a new iPhone 5, as well as get a reduced monthly rate.

It is clear T-Mobile is excited to offer the iPhone, a key product that's been missing from its lineup as virtually every other carrier -- big and small -- began offering it. T-Mobile is hopeful that Apple's iconic device can reverse years of … Read more

Startup raises $500K to create Bitcoin trading platform

Bitcoin got a boost of confidence of sorts today from a group of investors interested in creating a trading platform for the virtual currency phenom.

The decentralized peer-to-peer currency traded as high as $240 per Bitcoin today before closing at $233, up nearly $45 for the day, according to Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange. Overall, Bitcoin has appreciated more than 1,500 percent since January, a meteoric rise that observers credit largely to financial uncertainty in Europe and nascent investor curiosity.

Coinsetter is hoping to capitalize on that interest with the launch of a Forex trading platform … Read more

Facebook tests a new ad strategy

CNET Update is watching where you click:

Update highlights Facebook's Plan B for advertising in the News Feed. Instead of just showing you sponsored stories based on your profile, Facebook is tracking your Web browsing habits to serve targeted ads in the News Feed. If not done right, this can turn away users who are already uneasy over privacy.

Also in the tech news roundup:

- Spring cleaning could earn you a couple bucks -- that is, if you live in an area participating in eBay's "Sell it Forward" program. eBay is working with Goodwill to … Read more

Windows 8 app updates nix Google ActiveSync support

Microsoft began rolling out substantial updates to some core Windows 8 and Windows RT applications tonight. And while users of the Mail, People, and Calendar apps will see a laundry list of new features, they will also reportedly lose some functionality.

Users of Mail, Calendar, and Contact apps have lost sync support via Google's Exchange ActiveSync, according to a report in The Verge.

"We can't connect...because Google no longer supports Exchange ActiveSync," reads a message suggesting users try to reconnect their accounts to the Mail, Calendar, and People apps in Windows 8.

The move shouldn'… Read more

Feds said to probe Microsoft over foreign bribery claims

Federal regulators are looking into an alleged bribery scheme involving Microsoft and its partners in China, Italy, and Romania, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

According to the report, lawyers at the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are focused on allegations of kickbacks in China, as well as the company's relationship with resellers and consultants in Romania and Italy.

While Microsoft did not directly acknowledge the investigation, it said in a statement provided to CNET that it takes such allegations "seriously" and cooperates with government inquiries "fully."

"Like other large … Read more

Bitcoin virtual currency hits record high after exchange deal

Bitcoin has staged a dramatic comeback in the past two months, more than doubling its value against the dollar in that time and trading at record levels.

The virtual currency was trading above $32 a share today after languishing in the mid-teens in January. The record was reached on the same day that Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, reached an agreement with CoinLab to manage the exchange's operations in the U.S. and Canada.

Bitcoin sprang up in 2009 as a peer-to-peer currency that intentionally avoided the prying eyes of law enforcement officials. In order to … Read more

iPhone hack can bypass password

Thursday's CNET Update is reliving the '90s:

Apple is addressing two iOS bugs mentioned in today's tech news roundup. But one isn't so much a "bug" as it is an exploit to bypass a lock-screen passcode through a series of steps. Once bypassed, it's possible to make calls and listen to voice mail messages. Another fix is coming for those that use Exchange Sync. Some iOS 6.1 users were seeing batteries drain faster because it was excessively communicating with Exchange servers.

Also in today's report:

- Research firm IDC breaks down which smartphones dominated … Read more

Apple plans to issue fix for iOS 6.1 Exchange sync bug

Apple announced today that it has identified the cause of a sync problem between iOS 6.1 devices and Microsoft's Exchange service and said that it would issue a fix in the next software update.

Almost immediately after Apple release iOS 6.1 at the end of January, Microsoft Exchange administrators noticed that devices running the new OS version were causing "excessive logging" on servers. The issue was traced back to Apple code used to synchronize a user's Exchange mailbox and calendar events.

The announcement, made on Apple's support page, did not indicate a time … Read more

Nasdaq said to be settling with SEC over Facebook's IPO flop

Dozens of lawsuits and investigations emerged after Facebook's initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market last year. One investigation, initiated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, focused on technical errors in Nasdaq's system that inadvertently delayed trading that first day.

Now, word has it that Nasdaq may be able to settle the debacle with the federal regulators, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Sources familiar with the matter have told the Journal that Nasdaq has been in preliminary settlement talks with the SEC. If the two sides do make a deal, it will most likely … Read more