Steve Jobs: a man of contradiction and genius
When historians look back at the life of Steve Jobs, they will chronicle a man of contradiction and genius. But for the legions of Apple fans, it's personal. Steve Jobs led a company that became one of the world's most valuable enterprises, and easily the most beloved by its customers, with a series of innovative and always elegant products that brought value and pleasure to people's lives. This is why you are seeing an outpouring of genuine sentiment at his passing.
The Guardian

MIT smartphone app could control your home appliances
It's a couch potato's dream come true. Teletouch, a program that runs on a smartphone, can dim the lights, turn off an alarm, or even double as a television remote. To use this universal remote, a user points their smartphone's camera at an appliance that has been fitted with a Wi-Fi node. Vision software on the phone recognises what it is looking at and the phone then looks up the IP address of the appliance. The user classifies it as something that can be switched off and on, say, or turned up or down. The system remembers the setting, and then users are free to operate the object simply by pressing buttons on a virtual control panel. Teletouch can also control objects that are within Wi-Fi range but out of view.
Electronics Weekly

Retail apps have fuelled mobile payments growth
The gross merchandise transaction value of mobile payments for physical goods will exceed $170 billion worldwide by 2015, according to a new report just released by Juniper Research Entitled ‘Mobile Payments for Digital & Physical Goods – Analysis, Markets & Vendor Strategies 2011-2015′, it forecasts that this will be nearly treble the $60 billion predicted for 2011. Significantly the report says that initial growth in mobile payments has been fuelled by a dramatic upsurge in retail apps in the wake of the consumer smartphone explosion. The sort of iPhone and Android apps plus mobile-friendly web sites that GoMo News has frequently covered in the past. The report cautions, however, that vendors still need to innovate unceasingly as the market develops and becomes more competitive.‘Our research for this report underlined the importance of mobile as an extra channel to market,” David Snow, a senior analyst with Juniper Research, observed.
Gomo News

Five things CEOs will love about the iPhone 4S
The iconic Apple iPhone got an internal makeover but not much else this week - no radical redesign, no iPhone 5 name change. Fashion-conscious consumers weren't very happy, but iPhone-toting CEOs should be pleased with the iPhone 4S. They might even cheer Apple for leaving out a flashy upgrade.
MacWorld

97% of Brits think society should be concerned about hackers
The majority of Brits (97 percent) believe online hacking is an issue society needs to be worried about, says PC Tools. Research of more than 2,000 web users by the security firm revealed one in six are 'disappointed' by how the police have handled recent attacks by groups such as Anonymous and LulzSec on high-profile organisations including Sony, theSerious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and News International. Furthermore, 20 percent admitted they had lost trust in firms following the an attack.
PC Advisor

Is Vodafone about to buy RIM?
Is Vodafone about to acquire BlackBerry-maker RIM? Sounds bizarre, we know, but that’s the latest bit of rumour circulating around the web this morning. The news comes via BGR, which reports that ‘shares of Research In Motion stock are popping for the second day in a row on rumours that the company may be looking for a buyer.’
Know Your Mobile  

EU expected to approve Microsoft’s Skype deal this week
Microsoft is expected to win EU approval for its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype. The deal will be announced by the EU competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, by Friday October 7. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that Almunia has made his decision and that Microsoft will not be subjected to a second-phase investigation. An Italian software company filed a complaint in Europe over Microsoft’s purchase of Skype in late September. Messagenet, a software firm based in Milan, voiced concerns that Microsoft may attempt to bundle Skype with its Windows operating system. The complaint could have delayed Microsoft’s deal in Europe. Microsoft is still waiting on results from competition reviews in Russia, Uktrain, Serbia and Taiwan.
Winrumors

Google Earth hits 1 billion landmark
Google is celebrating the billionth download of Google Earth, with the popular atlas tool reaching the target in its sixth year of existence. Google Earth is built on technology developed by Keyhole, which Google bought in 2004, and has proven to be a hugely popular product for the company.
Tech Radar

LoveFilm, 4oD, Blinkbox and iHeartRadio launch on Xbox
The partnerships will enable Xbox Live subscribers free access to the TV, film and radio content on demand via apps, adding to existing content partners including Sky, Facebook and Last.fm. New Media Age revealed in May that Xbox was looking to expand its partnerships, particularly for TV content, with sources at the time saying that Xbox was mulling its own branded player
New Media Age

Social networks to pocket $10 billion in ad revenues by 2013 says study
According to a eMarketer study, the ad revenue generated by the social networks will hit $10 billion by 2013. The same study predicted that this year the ad revenue of the global social network will hit $5.5 billion. Hugely popular social networking site Facebook topped the charts in the study that predicted that good amount of revenue is going towards the Facebook. In the second spot it is the microblogging site Twitter. The social networking site for working professionals LinkedIn will have 3 percent of the ad revenue which is $140.8 million.
IT Pro Portal