Samsung agrees to pay Apple $548 million in damages—with conditions

From PC World: Samsung Electronics has agreed to pay Apple US$548 million in damages in a patent infringement lawsuit in California, which will be the first shot at compensation Apple will get in the dispute that has dragged on for several years with many twists and turns.

The move by Samsung...

Skype offers free calls to Chennai as it battles destructive floods

From CNET: Chennai, India's fourth most populous city, is battling crisis. Torrential rains and a reservoir bursting its banks have meant that the city of nearly 5 million has been paralyzed, with little relief in sight.

Communication has been difficult, especially for people abroad that are...

WD ships world's first 10TB helium-filled hard drive

From InfoWorld: Western Digital has announced the first 10TB hard disk drive (HDD) based on its HelioSeal Platform, which hermetically seals helium gas in the drive to decrease friction.

The new 3.5-inch Ultrastar He10 HDD is based on WD's third-generation HelioSeal Platform, which also consumes...

Office 2016's November update finally rolls out to early testers

From PC World: Last month, Microsoft showed off a group of new features for its Office 2016 client applications on Windows that it said would begin rolling out to users in November, first to those who want to test the latest functionality as part of the newly minted Office Insider program.

That...

Yahoo Messenger wants you back

From CNET: You may know Snapchat, WhatsApp and Google's Gchat. But do you remember Yahoo Messenger?

It's the venerable chat application from the bygone era of buddy lists and screen names, much like AOL's Instant Messenger. Introduced in 1998, Yahoo's service has languished in recent years as new...

Encrypted messaging app Signal now available for desktops

From ComputerWorld: The much-lauded encryption app Signal has launched a beta program for a desktop version of the app, which will run through Google's Chrome browser.

Signal Desktop is Chrome app that will sync messages transmitted between it and an Android device, wrote Moxie Marlinspike, a...

Consumer SSDs and hard drive prices are nearing parity

From InfoWorld: The prices of mainstream consumer SSDs have fallen dramatically every year over the past three, and by 2017 they are expected to be within 11 cents of the per-gigabyte price of hard disk drives (HDDs).

The plummeting prices have also driven the recent adoption of SSDs in laptops...

HP Enterprise joins battle for the edge of IoT

From PC World: The Internet of Things could help some companies save money or even boost sales, and the big names of enterprise tech are lining up to help their customers make the leap.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is in the thick of that pack. On Wednesday in London, it unveiled two gateway devices...

Yahoo reportedly to mull sale of its core business

From CNET: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has been desperately trying to lure consumers back to the company's products, like Yahoo Mail and search. But now she may be considering another option: selling Yahoo's iconic Internet services altogether, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The...

HP exits the low-cost tablet market

From ComputerWorld: If you're looking for a low-priced tablet from HP, you soon will not be able to find one.

HP is exiting the low-end tablet market amid declining prices and slowing demand. Instead, the company will focus on detachables, hybrids and business tablets at the higher end of the...

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