Bing’s kid-friendly search is now available to every grade school in the US
Your kid’s in-school web searches may soon be much safer and smarter: Microsoft has just expanded availability of its Bing school program (now Bing in the Classroom) to all K-12 institutions in the US. The move lets any school fill out a form to remove ads, get daily lesson plans and keep adult content filters switched on. As part of the launch, Microsoft is also making it easier for parents to both check if a school is using Bing and see how close it is toward earning free Surface tablets through search credits.
The expansion should give Microsoft a strong foothold in the classroom. The just-ended pilot project is already providing search to more than 5,000 schools, and there isn’t any major competition. Google offers school-ready versions of both its web apps and Google Play, but it doesn’t do the same for search — Microsoft may end up being the de facto choice for your kid’s internet searches simply because it’s the only obvious choice.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Via: The Verge
Source: Bing Search Blog
2 Important Things to Consider Before Painting Your House Exterior
In your effort to boost the beauty of your house, you might be interested in changing the paint of your house exterior. For this purpose, there is House painters Washington DC that is ready to help you painting the exterior of your house. It has become a clear fact that a professional house painter knows how to paint house exterior well so that you can expect a great result from a professional painter. Whether you want the exterior to be sprayed or hand brushed, you can simply entrust it to a professional painter.
However, before you have your house exterior painted, you need to consider 2 important things. The first important thing is to do a preparation work. This work plays a crucial role in achieving your desired goal because exterior painting cannot give a maximum result if the exterior is broken, damaged, or dirty. Paint will not be able to cover a surface perfectly unless the surface is clean and smooth. In this case, you might want to repair your exterior before hiring a house painter or ask your house painter to do some repair.
Then, the second important thing is to choose the most suitable color. It has been mentioned previously that house exterior can boost the value of your house. In this case, the color of house exterior should perfectly blend with your house design and surrounding landscape. You can take a look at examples on magazines to find ideas for your house exterior. This effort will enable you to have the right paint color.
Apple Reports Record March Quarter Results, Splits Stock 7-for-1, and Boosts Share Buyback
Apple today announced financial results for the first calendar quarter and second fiscal quarter of 2014. For the quarter, Apple posted revenue of $45.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $43.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.
Gross margin for the quarter was 39.3 percent compared to 37.5 percent in the year-ago quarter, with international sales accounting for 66 percent of revenue. Apple also declared an increased dividend payment of $3.29 per share, payable on May 15 to shareholders as of the close of trading on May 12. The company currently holds $150.6 billion in cash and marketable securities.
In addition to the increase in the dividend payment, Apple said it will dramatically increase its share repurchase authorization to $90 billion from $60 billion and will execute a 7-for-1 stock split as of June 9. The company says it expects to spend over $130 billion in cash under its capital return program by the end of 2015. Apple is now paying $11 billion per year in dividends to shareholders.
Apple previously had a 2-for-1 stock split back in 2005.
Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 43.7 million, compared to 37.4 million in the year-ago quarter, and the company sold 16.35 million iPads, down from 19.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 4.1 million Macs compared to just under 4 million in the year-ago period.
“We’re very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market.”
Apple’s guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 includes expected revenue of $36-38 billion and gross margin between 37 and 38 percent.
Apple will provide live streaming of its fiscal Q2 2014 financial results conference call at 2:00 PM Pacific, and MacRumors will update this story with coverage of the conference call highlights.
Conference Call and Q&A Highlights are available in reverse chronological order after the jump.
Read more 
Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts to Join Apple Next Week
During today’s second quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the company’s new retail and online leader, Angela Ahrendts, will be joining the company next week.
Ahrendts first resigned from British luxury fashion house Burberry in October of 2013, but was contractually obligated to stay on with the company for another six months. As of April, she became free to leave to join Apple.
Earlier this month, rumors suggested Ahrendts might stay on with Burberry until June in order to pick up a two million pound performance bonus in June, but it appears that she will not be sticking around to collect the payment.
Ahrendts will join Apple as the Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores, a position that has seen significant turnover in the past several years. In 2011, Ron Johnson left Apple for J.C. Penney, after building up Apple’s retail presence during his 11-year tenure. Johnson was replaced by Dixons CEO John Browett, who served less than a year at Apple. Since Browett’s departure, the position has been empty.
Tim Cook: Apple’s Shares ‘Undervalued’, Expansion of Share Buyback Program ‘Shows Confidence’ [iOS Blog]
In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal following Apple’s financial results for the first calendar quarter and second fiscal quarter of 2014, CEO Tim Cook stated that the company’s stock was”undervalued” and that the expansion of the share buyback program”shows how much confidence [Apple] has in the future of the company.”
Cook noted that the iPhone was an area of strength for the company, as Apple sold 43.7 million units last quarter which surpassed analysts’ expectations of 38.2 million units, and was up from 37.4 million units in the year-ago quarter. In addition to these sales, Apple also sold 4.1 million Macs compared to under 4 million in the year-ago quarter, and 16.35 million iPads, down from 19.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
Apple is expected to launch a number of new products in the near future, including a larger-screen iPhone, new models of the iPad Air and Retina iPad Mini, a revamped Apple TV, new MacBooks, and an iWatch smartwatch.
Overall, Apple shared via its financial results report that it posted revenue of $45.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $43.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
iTunes by the Numbers: 800M Accounts, $5.2B in Billings, 70B App Downloads [iOS Blog]
During its financial results call covering the first calendar quarter and second fiscal quarter of 2014, Apple shared details on the success of its iTunes stores, which have become an increasingly important revenue source for the company, thanks to the App Store.
Last quarter, Apple’s customers spent a total of $5.2 billion on iTunes purchases, up 24 percent year over year. That’s also up from $4.7 during the first quarter of 2014. Cumulatively, Apple’s App Store has seen 70 billion total app downloads, up from 65 billion in January.
Apple has 800 million iTunes accounts, most with credit cards attached, an important fact in light of Apple’s potential interest in entering the mobile payments market. Back in June of 2013, Apple announced 575 million customers had iTunes accounts, marking a massive growth increase.
Overall, Apple shared via its financial results report that it posted revenue of $45.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per diluted share, compared to revenue of $43.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
WSJ: FCC’s new net neutrality rules let ISPs charge services for wide open ‘special access’
After existing Open Internet, or net neutrality, regulations were struck down in court earlier this year, it appears the FCC is ready to come back with new ones. Re/code reports Chairman Tom Wheeler confirmed they will be on the table at an agency meeting May 15th. While that report indicates the rules will be the same, but justified under a different part of the law, the Wall Street Journal’s sources say that new rules will be proposed tomorrow, with at least one notable change. According to the rumor, the new net neutrality rules will still bar ISPs from blocking certain sources over the last mile, but will allow them to sell special access to others. It sounds like the type of “managed connection” that Comcast, for example, is using to distribute video on-demand to its Xbox 360 app.
This would still leave network peering agreements like the one reached by Netflix and Comcast unaffected, but it appears ISPs could charge services for access to a clear pipeline to customer’s homes. The proposed rules would leave such changes up to the FCC to determine if they were “commercially reasonable” for all sides on a case-by-case basis. Reed Hastings called out Comcast’s plans two years ago, if this proposal ends up on the table we wouldn’t be surprised to see a Facebook note from him again.
The report goes on to state that the rules will allow “some forms of discrimination” which combined with the special access is enough to anger any supporter of fully open net neutrality. It also won’t reclassify internet access as a public utility, which would probably mean tighter regulation. One upside of the new rules could be greater disclosure requirements for broadband providers for details about speed and congestion over their last mile, although as FiOS subscribers watching Netflix buffer can attest — that doesn’t tell the whole story.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Engadget HD Podcast 395 – 4.23.14
Let’s just cut to the chase: Aereo’s battle with broadcast TV hit the Supreme Court this week and it’s one of the biggest entertainment-related court confrontations since the Betamax case in 1984. Confusion levels have been high, but Ben and Richard are your legal eagles and they break the situation down into its simplest terms. Time Warner Cable recently announced a potential money-saving alternative to cable box leasing, with its $99 set-top box that will stream cable TV and internet video. Netflix, on the other hand, has stated that it will raise its prices for new customers, although it’s giving existing users a two-year grace period. There’s a heap of HD news to run though this week, so you’ll have to tune in to catch it all. Just head down to the streaming links below for this week’s episode of the Engadget HD Podcast.
Hosts: Richard Lawler, Ben Drawbaugh
Producer: Jon Turi
Hear the podcast:
04:17 – Time Warner Cable will sell a $99 Fan TV box that streams cable TV and internet video
09:35 – Ahead of Supreme Court trial, Aereo opens lobbying and advocacy site
10:00 – What you need to know about Aereo’s battle with broadcast television
20:04 – FCC sets up the ‘incentive auction’ that will lead to better wireless internet for everyone
25:29 – Netflix is going to raise prices for new customers, and come to US cable DVRs
37:55 – Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz is working on a new series for Netflix
38:43 – Batter up: Chromecast now live streams every pitch with MLB.tv
39:30 – AllCast’s screen-mirroring magic arrives on Amazon’s Fire TV App Store
40:28 – Amazon Fire TV’s voice search expands to cover Hulu Plus and Showtime, but not Netflix
42:45 – Titanfall pushes Xbox One sales to 5 million total, but it can’t pass PlayStation
43:08 – Sony sold seven million PS4s already, beating its own predictions
47:32 – Don’t wait for SportsCenter, SlingPlayer update brings the highlights in real-time
52:14 – Microsoft’s new keyboard is meant to be used with Smart TVs
55:19 – Five bucks will let you stream Joss Whedon’s latest movie early
57:19 – Behold the internet’s power: Quentin Tarantino to rewrite movie ending after script leaks
59:43 – YouTube cat videos can finally play on most Roku devices
01:01:51 – Must See HDTV for the week of April 21st: Archer, 30 for 30 and Parks & Rec
Get the podcast:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3).
[RSS – AAC] Enhanced feed, subscribe to this with iTunes.
[RSS – MP3] Add the Engadget HD Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator.
Contact the podcast:
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