Tech News: 2013-06-21

By Edward Harrison On Jun 21, 2013

European cloud computing firms see silver lining in PRISM scandal | South China Morning Post

HTC’s Lowest Cost Smartphone to Date – Digits – WSJ

“Around the world, the shift is happening. Hundreds of millions of people who currently use feature phones—phones that make basic phone calls–will make the transition to low-cost smartphones in the next few years, according to ABI Research. This segment could make up 46% of the smartphone market by 2018, the researcher predicts.

“Most of the smartphone market growth is coming from the lower-end this year, so making lower-cost smartphones is a step they have to take,” said Yuanta Securities analyst Dennis Chan.”

BBC – Future – Health – The psychology of workout music

“The benefits of music are largest for self-paced exercise – in other words those sports where some of the work involved is in deciding when to act, as well as how to act. This means all paced exercises, like rowing or running, rather than un-paced exercises like judo or football. My speculation is that music helps us perform by taking over a vital piece of the task of moving, the rhythm travels in through our ears and down our auditory pathways to the supplementary motor area. There it joins forces with brain activity that is signalling when to move, helping us to keep pace by providing an external timing signal. Or to use a sporting metaphor, it not only helps us out of the starting blocks but it helps to keep us going until we reach the line. “

How Clearwire Became the Darling of Telecom – WSJ.com

“Rather than using the Clearwire spectrum to build a national network, SoftBank and Dish have said they would use the company’s spectrum to provide additional capacity in areas where data use is highest.

In dense areas, the fact that signals on Clearwire’s spectrum don’t travel very far isn’t as much of a disadvantage, while the large amount of spectrum that Clearwire controls means it can carry a large amount of traffic.”

Adobe profit beats as Creative Cloud subscriptions soar | Reuters

Microsoft to scrap Xbox One restrictions – FT.com

I had mentioned this in the past as a big blunder for Microsoft and it’s good to see that they have realized the error and fixed it. I should also point out that the Xbox sells for $100 more than the PS4 competitor an that this will be a deterrent.

Feedly hits 12 million users, launches web version and quits relying on Google’s backend — paidContent

Twitter heat map shows iPhone use by the affluent, Android by the poor

“A map plotting the location and device platform of over a quarter billion mobile tweets show predominate use of iPhones in affluent areas and Android in poor regions, with scant representation of Blackberry outside of major cities and its strongholds in Africa, Central America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.”

After PRISM, private search engine DuckDuckGo breaks 3 million queries — Tech News and Analysis

The Best Browser Extensions that Protect Your Privacy

Ad-Blocker Ghostery Actually Helps Advertisers, If You “Support” It

For Nokia CEO, More Tough Calls Lie Ahead – WSJ.com

How HTC Lost Its Way With Smartphones – WSJ.com

BBC News – France and Spain launch probe into Google’s privacy law

Lenovo Turns to Phones as PC Industry Declines – WSJ.com

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications | UK news | guardian.co.uk

The Okinawa diet – could it help you live to 100? | Life and style | The Guardian

BBC News – Samsung: Is the smartphone-maker in deep water?

Samsung Introduces ATIV Q, ATIV Tab 3 Tablets – Bonnie Cha – Product News – AllThingsD

Apple Controls 75 Percent of the Digital Music Market – Peter Kafka – Media – AllThingsD