Gmail’s new layout doesn’t just keep your inbox organized, it also gives Google the perfect opportunity to send you unsolicited email ads. These sponsored missives appear as highlighted entries under the Promotions tab, where you can also find deals and updates from online services you subscribe to. To be fair, Gmail has long displayed advertisements at the top of your inbox, so this development isn’t totally new. In a statement sent to Venturebeat , the company says it’s merely relegating ads “to a more appropriate place” and that they won’t show up unless they’re relevant to you. No word yet if this is a permanent arrangement, but if it makes you livid, you can always kill your Promotions tab or dismiss the intrusive emails by clicking the “x” button on the right. [Image credit: Antonio Gulli ] Filed under: Internet , Google Comments Via: BGR , VentureBeat Source: Geek

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New Gmail layout spawns targeted ads that look like emails

Netflix has revealed its earnings report for the second quarter of 2013 which shows its worldwide customer base has grown by 1.2 million. The company now has “nearly” 30 million customers in the US (up 630, 000) and 8 million internationally (up 610, 000), with streaming revenue up 26 percent domestically and 155 percent outside the US. That compares well with the same period last year, when it added 530, 000 customers in the US . This year has been highlighted by Netflix’s push into original programming and just last week that initiative resulted in a bounty of 14 Emmy nominations . Expect more in the future, as Reed Hasting’s letter mentions the company expand into documentaries and stand-up comedy specials. According to the report, the new $11.99 family plan that supports four simultaneous streams has seen “limited uptake” (did anyone know it was available?), while the new individual profiles will be implemented in Q3. The company has rolled out a new streaming platform to its partners, and says its next goal is a single UI that works with various input devices, whether voice, pointer or d-pad. While we paw through the financial documents for more details, don’t forget Netflix plans to live stream video of its investors call on YouTube later. The event should start at 6PM ET and is embedded after the break. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Internet , HD Comments Source: Netflix Q2 letter to shareholders

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Netflix Q2 earnings show 1.2 million new subscribers; plans for original stand-up comedy, documentaries

The broadband speed wars continue to rage, and today, Verizon announced that it’s throwing down with its fastest tier yet. With a download speed of 500 megabits per second (and an upload speed of 100Mbps), the leap forward marks the latest evolution of the company’s fiber-optic Quantum Internet Service , which rolled out last summer. To put those numbers into perspective, you’ll be able to download a 5GB HD movie in 1.4 minutes or upload a 100MB file in eight seconds, assuming you’re operating at full speed. Verizon is hoping to gradually introduce its newest speed tier to all FiOS markets by 2014, with limited availability starting today. To hear what Big Red has to say about it, check out the video after the break. Filed under: Internet , Verizon Comments

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Verizon FiOS rolls out 500/100 Mbps broadband, its highest speed tier yet

When the government comes knocking on your door, you kind of have to cooperate with them or face the consequences. That’s the situation Pete Ashdown, CEO of Utah ISP XMission, was faced with in 2010 after receiving a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Service Act (FISA). The warrant, coming in at just three or four pages, was perfectly clear: install a rack-mount server on your network to track every last bit going in and out from one of your customers, and don’t say anything to anyone about this. Ashdown’s lawyer said the request was indeed legit, and the box stayed there for a little over half a year. So why talk about it now? Because Pete, like the rest of us, wants a bit of transparency , even if there’s a risk the G-Men will come “come back and haunt” him. Comments Source: BuzzFeed

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Utah ISP breaks silence over government server installed on its network

Every phone needs a SIM card, and you’d think such a ubiquitous standard would be immune to any hijack attempts. Evidently not, as Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs — who found a hole in GSM call encryption several years ago — has uncovered a flaw that allows some SIM cards to be hacked with only a couple of text messages. By cloaking an SMS so it appears to have come from a carrier, Nohl said that in around a quarter of cases, he receives an error message back containing the necessary info to work out the SIM’s digital key. With that knowledge, another text can be sent that opens it up so one can listen in on calls, send messages, make mobile purchases and steal all manner of data. Apparently, this can all be done “in about two minutes, using a simple personal computer, ” but only affects SIMs running the older data encryption standard (DES). Cards with the newer Triple DES aren’t affected; also, the other three quarters of SIMs with DES Nohl probed recognized his initial message as a fraud. There’s no firm figure on how many SIMs are at risk, but Nohl estimates the number at up to 750 million. The GSM Association has been given some details of the exploit, which have been forwarded to carriers and SIM manufacturers that use DES. Nohl plans to spill the beans at the upcoming Black Hat meeting. If you’re listening, fine folks at the NSA , tickets are still available. Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile Comments Source: New York Times

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Some SIM cards can be hacked ‘in about two minutes’ with a pair of text messages