A hostage in the terrorist attack in Sydney, Australia has been forced to post the demands of the terrorist on their Facebook Inc. account. A post to Facebook from bank worker Marcia Mikhael includes a range of demands from the ISIL-related terrorist and notes that hostages will be shot if they are not met. Note that we are ...

Uber Inc. has unfairly come under attack after surge pricing took effect in Sydney, Australia during a terror attack Monday. The attack, currently an ongoing siege at the time of writing, involved one or more gunmen and an unknown number of hostages (figures range from 13 through to 50) in a Sydney City coffee shop. A black ...

Microsoft Corp.’s longstanding relationship with Facebook Inc. appears to be slowly winding down as the social networking giant today quietly dropped use of Bing for search. The move, first reported by Reuters, comes following the rollout of new search functionality on Facebook Monday, a move our own David Coursey referred to as a “Google+ killer.” “We’re not ...

Chinese web services company Baidu Inc. is reported to be investing $600 million in Uber Inc. to assist the ridesharing service’s expansion in China. Uber will receive cash and non-cash assets as part of the deal, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, who broke the story. The tie-up with Baidu will give Uber ...

New app Picky Pint wants to cater to those who appreciate a good beer by making sure that you never unintentionally order a bad one again. The app analyzes a photo taken of a beer list then provides information to users based on criteria including score and bitterness. The app also allows the user to get more ...

Instant messaging giant LINE Corp. is expanding into streaming music with a new deal announced with Sony Music Entertainment Inc., and Japanese record label Avex Digital Inc. Joint venture company LINE MUSIC Corporation will offer streaming music to LINE’s 560 million users (170 million active,) but what form it takes wasn’t clear from the press release, ...

Microsoft Corp’s MSN division is now offering a range of apps on both Android and iOS for the first time. The apps, available for download from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Windows and Windows Phone Stores, and the Amazon App Store include a range of products covering news, weather, sports, money, health & fitness, ...

Another day, another set of legal issues for Uber Inc., with the Government of Victoria, Australia taking on Uber over the car service providing Uber X in the state without licensing. The Victorian Taxi Services Commission (TSC) has filed criminal charges against 12 UberX drivers alleging that they were operating a commercial passenger vehicle without a license. ...

PetziConnect from Petzila Inc. is an interactive pet device that allows you to see, talk to and treat your pets when you’re away from home via your mobile. OK, so it’s basically a webcam and speaker in a box that dispenses dog biscuits linked via an app, but it’s such a stupid idea it may work. ...

Microsoft Corp. has today quietly added support for payments in Bitcoin for digital purchases. The acceptance of Bitcoin means the cryptocurrency can be used to fund purchases in verticals including the XBox, Windows and Mobile stores. In its payment and billing section, the company explains: You can now use Bitcoin to add money to your Microsoft account. ...