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European Commission To Issue Apple An Irish Tax Bill of $1.1 Billion, Says Report

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: The European Commission will rule against Ireland’s tax dealings with Apple on Tuesday, two source familiar with the decision told Reuters, one of whom said Dublin would be told to recoup over 1 billion euros in back taxes. The European Commission accused Ireland in 2014 of dodging international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars from tax collectors in return for maintaining jobs. Apple and Ireland rejected the accusation; both have said they will appeal any adverse ruling. The source said the Commission will recommend a figure in back taxes that it expects to be collected, but it will be up to Irish authorities to calculate exactly what is owed. A bill in excess of 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) would be far more than the 30 million euros each the European Commission previously ordered Dutch authorities to recover from U.S. coffee chain Starbucks and Luxembourg from Fiat Chrysler for their tax deals. When it opened the Apple investigation in 2014, the Commission told the Irish government that tax rulings it agreed in 1991 and 2007 with the iPhone maker amounted to state aid and might have broken EU laws. The Commission said the rulings were “reverse engineered” to ensure that Apple had a minimal Irish bill and that minutes of meetings between Apple representatives and Irish tax officials showed the company’s tax treatment had been “motivated by employment considerations.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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European Commission To Issue Apple An Irish Tax Bill of $1.1 Billion, Says Report

US Appeals Court Dismisses AT&T Data Throttling Lawsuit

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: A federal appeals court in California on Monday dismissed a U.S. government lawsuit that accused ATT Inc of deception for reducing internet speeds for customers with unlimited mobile data plans once their use exceeded certain levels. The company, however, could still face a fine from the Federal Communications Commission regarding the slowdowns, also called “data throttling.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said it ordered a lower court to dismiss the data-throttling lawsuit, which was filed in 2014 by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC sued ATT on the grounds that the No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier failed to inform consumers it would slow the speeds of heavy data users on unlimited plans. In some cases, data speeds were slowed by nearly 90 percent, the lawsuit said. The FTC said the practice was deceptive and, as a result, barred under the Federal Trade Commission Act. ATT argued that there was an exception for common carriers, and the appeals court agreed. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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US Appeals Court Dismisses AT&T Data Throttling Lawsuit

Microsoft’s fancy new outlook.com, planned for this year, now delayed until next

Enlarge / The updated Outlook.com experience that many of us don’t have yet. (credit: Microsoft) In May 2015, Microsoft announced a big overhaul was coming to its Outlook.com free mail service. The new look Outlook.com looked a lot closer to the Outlook Web Access component in Exchange. It had Exchange features like the Clutter folder for handling all those e-mails that aren’t quite spam but aren’t quite important, pinned and flagged mail, new calendar views, and a better mobile interface that supports swipe-based gestures. In February 2016, this new experience was announced as being out of beta , and Microsoft rolled it out immediately to new users in North America. Everyone else was scheduled to be upgraded by the end of summer. It looks like that’s not the plan any more. The upgrade has been partially performed, and some users have been upgraded while others have not. A new error message ( spotted by Twitter user gwydionjhr ) suggests that those who don’t have the update by now won’t get it for quite a while. While attempting to share calendars, users have noticed that sharing between non-upgraded and upgraded users isn’t possible, and this situation apparently won’t be remedied until the first half of 2017. It’s not clear what the hold-up is or why the roll-out is taking longer than expected. The rollout is a big one behind the scenes, with Microsoft saying that the new system uses “Office 365-based infrastructure” and that there are hundreds of millions of accounts to migrate. Certainly the scale of what Microsoft is doing is certainly significant, but the delays are also frustrating, especially for anyone wanting to share calendars. Read on Ars Technica | Comments

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Microsoft’s fancy new outlook.com, planned for this year, now delayed until next

Roku’s next players reportedly deliver HDR, more 4K support

If you held off on last year’s Roku 4 , the company’s next batch of media players might be for you. The big upgrade this time around is the addition of HDR support in the high-end “Roku Ultra” and “Roku Premiere Plus” (which replaces the Roku 3), Zats Not Funny reports from a few leaks. And, as you can probably tell, it looks like Roku is giving up on its numbered naming scheme in exchange for something more obtuse (I’m already dreading explaining the differences to confused shoppers). While the Roku 4 was last year’s only model to include 4K support, it looks like the Premiere (replacing the Roku 2), Premiere Plus and Ultra models will all include it this year. That makes sense, now that 4K TVs are getting significantly cheaper. At the same time, it makes the argument for the company’s highest end player harder to accept. The Ultra will reportedly be the only model to include optical out and a remote control finder, but it sounds like the Premiere Plus with HDR and 4K will be best buy for most. On the low-end, the $50 Roku 1 will be replaced by the Roku Express and Express Plus. It’s unclear what will differentiate these models, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find faster processors than before and a voice-controlled remote in the Express Plus. And, as Zats mentions, these models will likely be the only ones to retain analog RCA ports for connecting to old TVs. Source: Zats Not Funny

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Roku’s next players reportedly deliver HDR, more 4K support

Apple’s Big iPhone Event Is September 7

Apple just sent out press invites for its next major event. As expected, the event will take place on September 7. Like last year, the iPhone event will be at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Read more…

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Apple’s Big iPhone Event Is September 7

Verizon’s ‘LTE Advanced’ network promises 50 percent higher speed

Every wireless carrier has various tests that say its network is the best, but most still view Verizon as the best overall choice when looking for that all-important combo of speed and reliability. (That combo doesn’t come cheap , of course.) Today, the company is announcing a new focus on speed: with the rollout of “LTE Advanced, ” Verizon claims that users will see “50 percent higher peak speeds.” The new speed bump is available to users in 461 cities across the country. Of course, it’s going to take significant testing to verify the veracity of Verizon’s claims. Verizon says that LTE Advanced works by combining the multiple bandwidth channels your phone can use into what’s effectively one bigger, faster pipe to your phone. “Typical” download speed will stay around 5 to 12 Mbps, but combining two channels can net peak speeds up to 225 Mbps — that’s a lot faster than most home broadband, let alone what you’ll usually see on your smartphone. The carrier also says that it can combine three channels for speeds close to 300 Mbps. Verizon’s estimates for “typical” speeds seem low to us, but there’s no question that two- or three-channel speeds are significantly faster than what the carrier currently offers. Even if Verizon only reaches half of what it promises for peak speeds, it’s a pretty significant boost over the status quo. It’s not at all clear what circumstances will let your phone take advantage of these higher speeds, however. Verizon vaguely says that it’ll kick in “when you need it most, ” typically under conditions with “big data use.” Still, the potential for faster download speeds can’t hurt. To take advantage of LTE Advanced, you’ll need a relatively recent smartphone — Verizon says Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S7 are compatible with the service, as well as various Moto Droids and iPhone models. There’s a link in Verizon’s press release that claims to show all LTE Advanced phones, but the bizarre selection of devices there does not cover any recent devices, so we’re assuming that’s a mistake. The full list of LTE Advanced cities can be found here . Source: Verizon

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Verizon’s ‘LTE Advanced’ network promises 50 percent higher speed

Amtrak’s next-generation high-speed trains arrive in 2021

While Amtrak is a perfectly fine way to travel, especially on the Eastern seaboard, the country’s publicly owned rail company doesn’t exactly have a high-tech reputation. That will change in the next few years, thanks to a massive $2.45 billion loan from the federal government, which the company plans to invest in 28 next-generation train sets and significant upgrades to the Northeast Corridor. About $2 billion of that federal loan, which Vice President “Amtrak” Joe Biden announced Friday at his home station in Wilmington, Delaware, will be put towards those new train cars, which will boost the Acela fleet by 40 percent when they enter service in 2021. According to Amtrak, the new trains will offer one-third more passenger seating, more outlets and USB ports, improved WiFi quality ( finally ), and top speeds of 186 mph. (For comparison, Japan’s high-speed rail lines top out at 200 mph .) Thanks to a lighter, more aerodynamic design, the new trains should also cut energy consumption by about 20 percent. The trains will be 95 percent “Made in America” and built in New York state by Alstom . As for the other $450 million of that federal loan, the company will be putting the money towards revitalizing four stations — including Union Station in Washington DC and Penn Station in New York City — as well as some much-needed infrastructure improvements between DC and Boston. Source: Amtrak , Delaware Online

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Amtrak’s next-generation high-speed trains arrive in 2021

Opera warns that its web sync service was hacked

Data breaches happen all too often , but it’s rare that they target your browser’s sync service… and unfortunately, Opera just became one of those exceptions. The company is warning users that it detected a hack in its sync system that may have given intruders access to login details. While your passwords are likely safe (all synced passwords are encrypted, for example), Opera isn’t risking anything. It’s resetting all sync account passwords, and it recommends that you change any linked third-party passwords to be on the safe side. Opera is quick to note that the majority of its 350 million users won’t be affected, since most don’t use sync. However, this still leaves about 1.7 million active users at risk, and there are likely more inactive users who are storing useful passwords. True, it’s doubtful that the breach will lead to serious damage, but this certainly isn’t the kind of news Opera would want following its sale to a Chinese security giant . [Thanks, Kristy] Source: Opera Security

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Opera warns that its web sync service was hacked

Enhanced DMV facial recognition technology helps NY nab 100 ID thieves

Enlarge (credit: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles) In January, the New York State DMV enhanced its facial recognition technology by doubling the number of measurement points on a driver’s photograph, a move the state’s governor says has led to the arrest of 100 suspected identity thieves and opened 900 unsolved cases. In all, since New York implemented facial recognition technology in 2010, more than 14,000 people have been hampered trying to get multiple licenses. The newly upgraded system increases the measurement points of a driver’s license picture from 64 to 128. The DMV said this vastly improves its chances of matching new photographs with one already in a database of 16 million photos. As many as 8,000 new pictures are added each day. “Facial recognition plays a critical role in keeping our communities safer by cracking down on individuals who break the law,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement. “New York is leading the nation with this technology, and the results from our use of this enhanced technology are proof positive that its use is vital in making our roads safer and holding fraudsters accountable.” Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Enhanced DMV facial recognition technology helps NY nab 100 ID thieves