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Your oldest, most outdated device

Some of the best technology writers in the world spill the beans on the most outdated gadgets they still own

GameStop results beat as mobile sales rise

(Reuters) - Video games retailer GameStop Corp's quarterly profit beat estimates for the fourth consecutive quarter, suggesting that its strategy of expanding its digital and mobile offerings is paying off in a tough video-gaming environment. Sales of video game hardware and software sales have dropped as gamers lean towards lower-priced online offerings on tablets and smartphones. However, GameStop has managed to buck the trend by selling new and used games to console owners and iOS and Android devices in some stores. ...

Apple enjoyed Irish tax holiday from the start

By Poornima Gupta and Padraic Halpin SAN FRANCISCO/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest countries, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Chief Executive Tim Cook faced criticism from a Senate subcommittee in Washington on Tuesday over the iPad and iPhone maker's tax practices, which had been shrouded from full view behind secretive tax-exempt Irish-based corporate entities. ...

Video: Microsoft takes a page from Samsung’s Apple-bashing playbook in new ad

Samsung’s smartphone commercials didn’t really begin to generate any buzz until the company took aim at Apple and started to mock its products and users. Now, it appears Microsoft is going to try to take the same road to riches with Windows 8 and Windows RT. Alongside a new campaign that compares Windows RT tablets like the ASUS VivoTab Smart to the competition, Microsoft has debuted a clever ad that pits Apple’s iPad against Windows RT. As the commercial shows off various features of Microsoft’s tablet OS, Siri on Apple’s iPad continuously complains that it cannot perform all of the functions being demoed on the Windows slate. The full video follows below.

More signs of imminent doom for ‘Facebook phone’: U.K. launch canceled

BGR exclusively reported last week that HTC’s First, also known as the “Facebook phone,” will soon be discontinued at AT&T. Sales during the phone’s first month of availability totaled less than 15,000 units according to our source, and AT&T has given up hope that things might turn around. According to a new report, AT&T isn’t alone. Mobile News on Thursday reported that the HTC First’s launch has been canceled in the United Kingdom. Facebook, which is footing the bill for HTC’s new handset, reportedly made the decision and all preorders will be canceled. “The HTC First has been pulled and will never go on sale in the UK,” the blog’s unnamed source said. “Sales in the US were poor and Facebook

The Return of the Mac-vs.-PC Ad Wars, Siri-vs.-Surface Edition

After taking a little break from the classic Mac-vs- PC wars to punch a little lower (at Samsung), Microsoft has decided to return to its old rivalry, hoping to revive slow Surface tablet sales with a little anti-Apple advertising. This latest spot is a robot-future version of the cool Mac-guy-and-dorky-PC-guy campaigns that Apple used to build up its hip-cred in the aughts. But instead of getting actors to do its bidding, Microsoft used dueling tablets, creating a Siri-vs. ...

It’s official: Samsung’s Galaxy S4 is the fastest-selling Android phone ever

We all expected Samsung to reach its goal of selling 10 million Galaxy S4 smartphones into distribution channels within the phone’s first month of availability. An unnamed Samsung executive confirmed last week that shipments had reached 6 million units in two weeks following the phone’s launch, and now Samsung is on record confirming that global channel sales of the Galaxy S4 have reached 10 million units. “On behalf of Samsung, I would like to thank the millions of customers around the world who have chosen the Samsung GALAXY S4. At Samsung we’ll continue to pursue innovation inspired by and for people,” Samsung’s mobile boss JK Shin said in a statement. Samsung’s Galaxy S III previously held the title of fastest-selling

EU wants big companies to reveal national tax bills

By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top regulatory official is seeking to force large companies to disclose how much tax they pay in each country where they operate, a measure some politicians say could curb tax avoidance. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner in charge of drafting business regulation, said in a speech in Amsterdam that rules which will force banks to report their profits, taxes and subsidies by country from 2015 should be extended to cover other companies. "We will expand these reporting obligations to large companies and groups," he said on Thursday. ...

SoftBank would add 'security director' to Sprint board

(Reuters) - SoftBank Corp would appoint a "security director" to Sprint Nextel Corp's board if its takeover bid succeeds and give the U.S. government right of approval on the appointment in hopes of easing national security concerns raised by the proposed deal. Sprint said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 1 that the new director appointed by Tokyo-based SoftBank would oversee public safety concerns related to Sprint's wireless and wireline operations. ...

Aixtron shake-up aims for LED equipment top spot

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Aixtron's new chief executive laid out a strategy focused on returning to profit and wrestling back leadership of the global market for LED chip-making equipment from U.S. rival Veeco Instruments. The German company swung from a profit in 2011 to a net loss of 103.2 million euros ($132.9 million) last year as orders from customers making light-emitting diode (LED) chips for televisions and lighting equipment dried up. ...