While most are still busy trying to work out same-day shipping, Amazon is already working on half-hour shipping. Amazing.

Delivery drones are coming: Jeff Bezos promises half-hour shipping with Amazon Prime Air

Amazon’s CEO loves a good reveal, and took the opportunity afforded by a 60 Minutes segment to show off his company’s latest creation: drones that can deliver packages up to five pounds, to your house in less than half an hour. They’re technically octocopters, as part of a program called “Amazon Prime Air.” A drone sits at the end of a conveyer belt, waiting to pick up a package — Bezos says 86 percent of Amazon’s packages are under five pounds — and can carry them up to ten miles from the fulfillment center.

When DRM was first introduced to curb music piracy, and apparently “save” the music industry, it probably has done nothing reduce the value that people get from legitimately purchased music.

What Piracy? Removing DRM Boosts Music Sales by 10 Percent

DRM was once praised as the ultimate tool to prevent music piracy, but new research shows that the opposite is true. Comparing album sales of four major labels before and after the removal of DRM reveals that digital music revenue increases by 10% when restrictions are removed. The effect goes up to 30% for long tail content, while top-selling albums show no significant jump. The findings suggest that dropping technical restrictions can benefit both artists and the major labels.

Bitcoin value reaches $1000

Great news? Not for a man discarded his hard disk that contained $7.5 million worth of Bitcoins.

Huge gap in developer revenue between Android and iOS

No wonder developers tend to prefer launching on iOS first.

Google uses over 40,000 Macs

Google loves the Mac, despite the Android and iOS rivalry.

Google Street View goes indoors

This could be the reason Apple bought PrimseSense.

Apple takes 76% share of Japan smartphone sales in October

[Tencent has 1 billion users and it has barely gotten into the international market

It is no surprise that WeChat’s first 5 games hit 570 million downloads in 3 months

CyanogenMod installer removed from Play Store on Google’s request

DIY cellphone that costs $200

Apple patents Lytro-like refocusable phone camera

Tablets to make up for nearly 50% of 2014 PC shipments

The shift towards a post-PC era is well on the way.

Microsoft ready to kill Windows RT

Samsung is expected to spend $14 billion this year in advertising

The marketing campaigns are not always well received by the public.

IBM’s Digital Analytics Benchmark group reports that iOS devices are used to do 82% of mobile Black Friday shopping.

IBM reported that iOS devices accounted for more than 4.5 times the total sales of Android or over an 80 percent share of mobile-oriented sales (above), with 17.3 percent of all online sales occurring on an Apple mobile device versus just 3.75 percent on Android products.

The reports also showed an increase in consumers using mobile devices to shop.

In general, smartphones drove twice as much traffic as tablets, but tablet users actually placed 1.5x as many sales, accounting for 13.2 percent of online purchases compared to just 7.8 percent for smartphones.

PandoDaily writes about the dimming star that is the iOS Newsstand app.

For an Apple design, the Newsstand icon looks decidedly juvenile. But what’s worse for publishers is that there is now no visual reminder within the Newsstand icon that there are publications inside, waiting to be read. On top of that, in iOS7 users can now hide the Newsstand icon inside a folder. The once-special treatment that Apple gave publishers in order to encourage the distribution of magazines to the iPhone and iPad had apparently vanished, at least in terms of visual prominence.

However, Newsstand still offers more than apps in some ways.

He also says the Newsstand’s background downloads – which means publications are available for immediate reading every time Newsstand is opened – is also still the most reliable way to get a new issue onto a subscriber’s device, and “only in the Newsstand is the delivery all but guaranteed.” (However, background downloads are now available for all iOS apps.) The Newsstand also still boasts some unique advantages over other apps, including free trials, the ability to update covers, and the opportunity for subscribers to share direct contact information.

MacRumours reports that Apple is recognising World AIDS Dayin its retail stores and on its website.

Every day, 900 babies are born with HIV. (RED) works with companies like Apple to fight for an AIDS‑free generation by creating (PRODUCT)RED merchandise. A percentage of gross profits from the sale of those products goes to the Global Fund to help fund AIDS programmes in Africa. Since its introduction, (PRODUCT)RED has generated more than $215 million for the Global Fund — more than$65 million from Apple alone. You can help make an impact by purchasing a (PRODUCT)RED iPod or (PRODUCT)RED accessories for iPhone and iPad.