First pictures of new Google Glass emerge a year after sales pulled

                            

Pictures of a new version of Google Glass have emerged in filings with American authorities, revealing a bendy design more akin to typical glasses.

Google pulled sales of its £1,000 wearable headset almost a year ago and cancelled the "Explorer" programme for testing it, despite spending years on its development. The move was seen as a major U-turn at the time, although Google insisted that it had not cancelled the Glass project and that it would focus on business users.

Now, images of a new model have appeared on the Federal Communications Commission website. They show a new, foldable, design that will let owners store Glass in their pockets or cases like normal spectacles, as well as a manual for the device.

Some photos show Glass with the nose bridge that helped the earlier version stay on an owner's face, while others do not, although the latter may just be to show the design better.

                          

Google was one of the first big companies in the wearable tech space, unveiling Glass in 2012. The headset was designed to take pictures, respond to voice controls and display other smartphone-style features on a small screen on the edge of the right eye.

It went on sale to some people in 2013 before a general release in 2014, and several popular services developed apps for the technology. However, many were quickly abandoned, and Glass drew controversy, especially over surreptitious filming. Google even had to explain to users how not to be a "glasshole".

In January, Google pulled sales of the original device, but said it would release a new version, focused on enterprise users, when it is ready. The new device is already being quietly used in some businesses, although a consumer version, if it emerges, is believed to be some way away.

At the same time, other wearable tech products, such as Apple's Watch, have emerged, while a series of other augmented reality products like Microsoft's Hololens are due to go on sale in 2016.

Apple to pay €318m to settle Italy tax case

                                     

Apple has agreed to pay €318 million (£235 million) to settle a tax investigation in Italy.

A spokesman for Italy's tax office said the tech company's Italian subsidiary had agreed to pay the sum to end the investigation, with Apple agreeing to pay what the authorities had demanded. However, it is less than the €880 million that Apple had reportedly been accused of hiding by the authority.

According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Apple had been accused of tax evasion over five years, from 2008 to 2013, by booking sales in Italy through its Irish subsidiary. Apple has claimed that it pays "every dollar and euro it owes in taxes" but did not comment on the Italian payment.

The settlement comes after lengthy negotiations between Italian authorities and the company.

Italy's squeezed public finances have seen an increasing focus on corporate tax payments, and many governments around the world have zeroed in on multinational tech companies. Google, Starbucks and Amazon have faced particular scrutiny in the UK.

Apple, like many tech multinationals, base their international operations in Ireland, where corporation tax is among the lowest in the world. However, a deal between the company and the Irish government is being investigated by the European Union, with a decision expected next year.

The EU has previously ordered Luxembourg and The Netherlands respectively to recoup millions in unclaimed tax payments from Fiat and Starbucks, and analysts believe an unfavourable decision on Apple's part could lead to a bill worth billions.

Google replaces passwords with your phone itself

                               

Passwords are the bane of modern tech - not only are good ones hard to come up with, but they also have to be constantly changed, could be the targets of phishing attacks and have inane rules about letters, characters and numbers that are impossible to remember. Which is why most people use simple, easy-to-recall passwords, or recycle the same old ones for several different accounts - as this report from security firm Kasperskyclaimed 1 in 7 people do.

Google wants to end that. This week they rolled out trials for a new log-in system that does away with passwords entirely. Instead, you can log in securely to your Google account - including Gmail, YouTube etc - just by tapping "Yes" on your iOS or Android smartphone.

A Google spokesperson said: “We've invited a small group of users to help test a new way to sign-in to their Google accounts, no password required. 'Pizza', 'password' and '123456'—your days are numbered.”

Reported on Reddit by user Rohit Paul, with screenshots of how to use it on a Nexus 6P, the process is straightforward. Here's how it worked, according to Paul:

1. First, set up your phone to act as a sign-in authenticator (it needs to have a screen lock which is how it is encrypted)
2. Go to a Google log-in screen on your computer and put in your email
3. Unlock your smartphone, and just tap Yes on the Google notification asking if you're trying to sign in

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can sign in to your account using your regular password, and un-authorise the stolen phone from signing in.

Currently, Googe offers 2-factor authentication, which involves putting in your password, as well as a numerical code that appears as a text or in an app on your phone. This new method would save the effort of putting in the code, but would be equally as secure.

When Paul tried it a second time, he was asked to complete another step on his mobile phone - enter a two-digit number after clicking yes.

                                    

This isn't the first security or phishing-protection mechanism that Google has implemented.

This year, it introduced Password Alert which is a simple Chrome extension that will show you a warning if you type your Google password into a site that isn’t a Google sign-in page.

It has also tested "on-body detection" in its Android 5.1 version which only locks when the phone has been put down, but remains unlocked if you've got it in your hand - measured by the phone's accelerometers.

Google said it could not comment on when the feature might be rolled out more widely.

Apple warns: Snoopers' Charter will 'spark serious international conflicts'

                            

Millions of innocent consumers will be put at risk by the so-calledSnooper’s Charter, while terrorists and hackers will continue to operate unhindered, Apple has claimed.

In a submission today to MPs scrutinising the Investigatory Powers Bill, the Californian giant said the proposed laws will “spark serious international conflicts” by forcing non-UK companies to break data encryption, hack their customers and violate international laws in their home countries.

According to the bill, data encryption need only be broken under a warrant from intelligence agencies. However, “a key left under the doormat would not just be there for the good guys. The bad guys would find it too,” Apple cautioned.

The company’s chief executive Tim Cook made it clear in an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph last month that: “We don’t think people want us to read their messages. We don’t feel we have the right to read their emails. We believe very strongly in end to end encryption and no back doors.”

In fact, several core Apple features like iMessage and FaceTime already have end-to-end encryption baked in, which means it is impossible for Apple to comply with the law in its current form.

To obey a warrant today, the company would have to build entirely new services, which is highly unfeasible.

Apple is also concerned that the law reaches beyond UK borders, requiring any overseas company with British consumers to comply, even if their home countries have conflicting laws, as the United States currently does.

This would paralyze several multinational corporations, particularly those in the tech sector who would have to contend with dozens of contradictory country-specific laws.

“For the consumer in, say, Germany, this might represent hacking of their data by an Irish business on behalf of the UK state under a bulk warrant – activity which the provider is not even allowed to confirm or deny,” Apple said. "Maintaining trust in such circumstances will be extremely difficult."

The committee has until the middle of February to collect evidence and recommend changes to the proposed law.

Facebook to pay workers up to $15,000 to live within 10 miles of office

                               

Facebook is offering employees at its Silicon Valley headquarters at least $10,000 (£6,700) to move closer to the office, a reflection of the challenges many tech companies face in the increasingly expensive and congested San Francisco Bay area.

To qualify for the payment, which the social networking firm started offering in the last 12 months, according to current and former Facebook workers, employees must buy or rent a home within 10 miles of the Facebook campus at One Hacker Way, a desolate strip of road overlooking a marsh about 30 miles south of San Francisco.

Some Facebook employees with families to support could earn a one-off payment of $15,000 or more for housing costs.

Facebook's efforts could help ease a major source of tension in San Francisco: an influx of young, wealthy tech workers who commute to Silicon Valley on private buses and often displace lower-income residents. But Silicon Valley has a housing affordability crisis of its own, and if Facebook's program gains traction it could further accelerate the gentrification of nearby communities, especially the low-income city of East Palo Alto.

"A lot of local families are going to get hurt," said John Liotti, chief executive officer of East Palo Alto community advocacy group Able Works. Facebook says the program is not about social engineering. "Our benefits at Facebook are designed to support our employees and the people who matter most to them at all stages of life," a Facebook spokesman said.

Apple snubs 'marriage' with Alibaba to launch Apple Pay in China

                             

Apple has partnered with bankcard association China UnionPay to launch its contactless payment service Apple Pay in China from early 2016.

The move comes as a direct challenge to Alibaba's Alipay and messaging app WeChat's Wechat Pay payment systems, both of which are already enormously popular in the region, with the former accounting for some 82 per cent of mobile payment transactions according to iResearch.

Alibaba's Jack Ma expressed interest in partnering with Apple in an electronic payment "marriage" back in October 2014, saying: “I hope we can do something together.” Cook said he planned to meet Ma to discuss potential partnerships, but nothing seemed to come from the discussions.

Apple's platform, first announced in September 2014 and launched in the UK this July, allows users to make swift payments by registering their credit or debit card to their iPhone 6, 6s or Apple Watch and holding it up to a contactless terminal thanks to embedded near-field communication (NFC) chips.

Bank of China and China Construction Bank are among the 15 banks to sign up to the scheme as part of the UnionPay network, in both urban and rural parts of the country. It needs to complete relevant tests and obtain certification from Chinese regulators before it can be fully rolled out.

                    

China represents a vast and lucrative market for Apple, as the country's insatiable desire for iPhones - sales of which have grown 65 per cent year-on-year - demonstrates. More than 7 million Apple Pay-compatible iPhone 6s and 6s Plus models were activated within days of going on sale, according to TalkingData.

Apple is the nation's second most popular smartphone brand behind homegrown hero Huawei, growing its market share to 22.9 per cent in the the three months to October, data from Kantar found.

In fact, chief executive Tim Cook took the unprecedented move ofreassuring worried investors back in August that Apple's performance in China remained strong despite fears over the cooling economy.

Facebook enters transport business with Uber

                              

In Facebook's first foray into the transportation business, the firm has agreed to work with Uber to allow users to hail Uber cabs directly from the Messenger app.

The new service means Messenger users will be able to ask for an Uber vehicle without leaving the Facebook software.

Users will not need to download the Uber app separately.

"Uber on Messenger" began in parts of the US this week, the two firms said.

The companies announced their new venture via separate blogs.

Facebook has some 1.5 billion users globally and Uber is the world's biggest driver-hailing app in terms of financing.

If successful, the partnership between the firms will give Uber access to many new and potential clients - Facebook's Messenger app has some 700 million users worldwide.

"With the ability to request, view, and pay for an Uber ride in Messenger, taking your next ride is as simple as sending a message," Uber said on its news blog.

"You can request a ride from a car service without ever needing to download an extra app or leave a conversation," Facebook explained.

The social media giant said the new transportation function on its Messenger app was part of its ongoing development.

"More countries and other transportation partners will be available soon," it added.

Android Pay Now In-App Payment Option

                             

Google’s contactless payment solution, Android Pay, will now be available through the mobile checkouts of several Android apps in the U.S.

“Since our launch this fall, we’ve seen millions of people set up Android Pay, and the vast majority of them are using tap-and-pay with their Android devices for the first time,” Pali Bhat, Android Pay’s director of product management, said in a blog post on Tuesday (Dec. 15).

“Now, we’re ready for the next step: We’re working to bring Android Pay’s simplicity and security to purchases within apps and to people in more countries around the world,” the post continued.

According to Google, Android Pay is already accepted at more than 1 million locations throughout the U.S., and the company has big plans to continue the global expansion of the payment method.

Bhat confirmed that Android Pay will launch in Australia during the first half of 2016, with an expectation that more countries will be added throughout the coming year.

Android Pay is compatible with all NFC (or HCE) enabled devices using any OS released since KitKat. Google officials confirmed for PYMNTS thatAndroid Pay is compatible with roughly 70 percent of the Android phones currently in the U.S.

A new loyalty program was recently announced for the mobile wallet, with Coca-Cola signing up as the first merchant in the Google program. The logic is simple: Tap your phone on an NFC-enabled Coke vending machine, get a Coke and get points added into your Android Pay account for future purchases.

Smartphone Lasts For 15 Days On Single Charge

The Oukitel K10000 also has a "reverse charging" feature which means it can power other smartphones and tablets.

                          

A new smartphone can keep running for up to 15 days on a single charge, according to the manufacturer.

The Oukitel K10000 also has a "reverse charging" feature meaning it can power up other smartphones and tablets.
The Chinese-made phone is otherwise unremarkable, with a quad-core processor and Android's 2014 Lollipop operating system installed.

The screen measures 5.5 inches and has a resolution of 720p.It has 16GB of storage which can be increased to 32GB using a microSD memory card

There is no 4G, however, meaning that uploading photos from the phone's eight megapixel camera could take some time.
However the big selling point is the 10,000mAh battery that under "normal" use can achieve up to 15 days on a single charge.

The battery is more powerful than those fitted inside some tablet devices.Tech site Engadget said: "Think of this more as an enormous battery with a phone attached."

For now, the phone will only be available in China and the US - with a price tag of $239 (£157).

Yahoo Investor Wants Firm To Lay Off 9,000 Staff

                              

A hedge fund investor in Yahoo wants boss Marissa Mayer fired and 9,000 of the firm's 12,000 staff laid off.

Eric Jackson says he has put forward a 99-page presentation to the company outlining a plan to slash the company's workforce by 75% and oust the chief executive.

He also wants the troubled company to sell its California headquarters, cut employee perks like free food, and revert to its former logo to "send a message that the era of Marissa Mayer is over".

Ms Mayer, 40, was hired away from her role as vice president at Google to head up Yahoo in 2012.

She is known for her long hours and tough work ethic - taking just two weeks off after the birth of her son the same year.

But her plan to boost mobile, video and native adverts has failed to increase revenues, while desktop advertising continues to decline.A $1bn deal for Tumblr in 2013 was criticised by investors - it lifted Yahoo's user base to around one billion but did not bring in advertisers.

Now the company is reportedly considering selling its core internet business, which includes Yahoo Mail.Mr Jackson is the managing director of SpringOwl Asset Management.

The fund does not have a major shareholding in the company, but he has met several of the company's largest investors to build support for his plan.

Is Europe going to restrict teens from using Facebook?

                                 

By the end of this week it could be illegal for any European child under 16 to use Facebook - or Snapchat or any messaging service - without the express consent of their parents. That, according to some interpretations, would be the result of a vote by an obscure committee to raise the digital age of consent from 13 to 16.

Who knew there was a "digital age of consent"?

I certainly didn't but I am told it is built into the decisions that many online firms make about the age they will allow people to join. In the United States a law called Coppa (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) gives extra online protection to children under 13, and Europe has had a similar policy - which is why the likes of Facebook have not allowed children in until they become teenagers.

Now, though, the European Parliament's civil liberties and home affairs committee is considering a change which is opposed both by social media firms and many child protection experts.

A last minute amendment to Europe's Data Protection Regulation, says this: "The processing of personal data of a child below the age of 16 years shall only be lawful if and to the extent that such consent is given or authorised by the holder of parental responsibility over the child."

In other words, online firms that want to deal with anyone under 16 will have to make sure they get mum or dad's permission first. That according to several online safety experts, will make children more vulnerable not less.

In an open letter to the committee they write that changing the age limit "would deprive young people of educational and social opportunities in a number of ways, yet would provide no more (and likely even less) protection."

Others argue that social media has provided a vital lifeline for troubled teenagers, and the risk is that they will not feel able to go online in search of help.

Now, there are plenty of children under 13 using Facebook and other social media sites, with and without parental consent, so it is worth asking whether raising the age limit will make a difference.

But the social media companies and their lawyers certainly think it will make it much harder for responsible companies to police their sites.

That is why a furious lobbying effort is going on to try to persuade European lawmakers, who meet today and vote on Thursday, to chuck out this amendment.

What is missing from this debate so far is anyone making powerful arguments in favour of raising the digital age of consent. Time, perhaps, for those voices to be heard.

Don't blame Marissa Mayer: Nobody was going to save Yahoo

                              

If I asked you to name the most-popular websites in the world, you might mention Google, Facebook and Amazon. In another part of the world, candidates might include Tencent, China's social networking phenomenon; and Baidu, its incumbent search engine.

You might not be inclined to mention Yahoo. An icon of the 1990s dotcom boom, it is a relic to many of the internet’s users. A search engine and web portal that was superseded by Google and then smartphones, you might think that the site had followed Ask Jeeves and Netscape into the dustbin of history.

But you’d be wrong. Yahoo is the world’s fifth-most popular website, according to rankings from Alexa. It is visited more than Amazon, Wikipedia or eBay. It is also still an enormous business: its revenues were $1.2bn (£800m) in the last quarter; that’s more than Twitter, or LinkedIn.

And yet, not much is going right at Yahoo. Founded in 1994 by students Jerry Yang and David Filo as "Jerry and David's guide to the World Wide Web" it became the internet's hottest property in the pre-dotcom boom days. When the world signed up to the web in the 1990s, Yahoo was where it went to figure out what to do with it.

                          

As it grew, it became an email provider, chat room, search engine and more. It was the internet's frontpage and most important site for millions.

But bit by bit, Yahoo fell into decline. Google came along, and became the web's go-to search engine. Facebook emerged, and is now the place we communicate. The smartphone meant we spent less time on the world wide web itself, and more within apps.

While all this was happening, Yahoo was trying to figure out what to do with itself. Under Terry Semel in the early 2000s, it failed to buy Google and then tried to become a gigantic media company. It then hired a series of chief executives tasked with turning the company around, who have to date failed, from founder Jerry Yang, who turned down a $45bn (£30bn) offer from Microsoft; to his successor Carol Bartz, whose tendency for foul-mouthed outbursts won her few friends; to Scott Thompson, who left amid claims he lied about his resumé.

In 2012, Yahoo's latest messiah became Marissa Mayer, a former Google wunderkind who arrived with the promise of returning the company to its glory days. Mayer made a series of eye-catching acquisitions, from the $1bn purchase of social blogging service Tumblr to $30m for Summly, an app developed by British teenager Nick D'Aloisio.

She hired a series of big-name journalists to beef up Yahoo's media arm,made food free at work and gave employees iPhones. She invested heavily in mobile apps, an area all-but abandoned by her predecessors.

All of it, sadly, has been pretty irrelevant. Since July 2012, when Mayer joined, Yahoo's stock has doubled, but it actually hasn't had anything to do with her. 10 years ago, the company made the incredibly prescient decision to pay $1bn for a 40pc stake in Alibaba, China's internet retail goliath. Shortly after Mayer's arrival, it sold half of it for just over $7bn, and when Alibaba floated last year, it sold another 5pc for $9.4bn.

The 15pc that remains is now worth $30bn: Yahoo itself is only valued at $31bn. With Yahoo's stake in Yahoo Japan, a separate company, worth about $8.5bn, this actually ascribes a negative market value to the core business. In reality, Yahoo's internet business is clearly worth more than nothing - it still makes billions of dollars in revenue - but to investors, it has been a rounding error.

Yahoo Inc has been little more than a holding company for Alibaba shares. Since Mayer's appointment, Yahoo's shares rose largely because it was a way to buy into Alibaba ahead of 2014's IPO. Since then, Alibaba's shares have fallen, and Yahoo's with it.

Last week, Yahoo's board announced that the company had abandoned a long-held plan to unlock the value of Alibaba by spinning off the stake, due to the prospect of a hefty tax bill. Instead, it will spin off the core business, a move that could well lead to it being sold.

Mayer has had the luxury of the Alibaba stake giving her the breathing room and the financial backing to try to turn Yahoo around. When the company is forced to fend for itself, things are going to get more difficult. And unless things start improving quickly, her tenure will be viewed as a failure: Revenue is expected to be $4bn this year, a fifth below when she joined. Anyone that buys Yahoo may want to install their own leader with a different set of ideas.

It would be easy to blame Mayer for this; in several ways she has done herself few favours - hiring and firing a chief operating officer who earned $58m in 15 months, cancelling working from home while bringing her newborn son and a full-time nanny to the office, and overseeing anexodus of top executives.

But it's not clear that anybody could have saved Yahoo: the succession of failed turnarounds that preceded Mayer's arrival show that. The reason it ever existed - to help people find their way around the web - is not a problem that needs solving in 2015, and it's difficult to see what was going to change that.

Twitter warns of government 'hacking'

                            

Twitter has sent warnings to a number of users that their accounts may have been hacked by "state-sponsored actors".

It is the first time that the social media company has issued such a warning.

Twitter emailed users to say that the hackers may have sought their email or IP addresses, or phone numbers, which it recently began collecting.

The number of accounts affected by the suspected hack is unclear.

Coldhak, a Canadian non-profit organisation, said it had received a warning from Twitter.

"We believe that these actors (possibly associated with a government) may have been trying to obtain information such as email addresses, IP addresses, and/or phone numbers," the email stated.

"At this time, we have no evidence they obtained your account information, but we're actively investigating this matter. We wish we had more we could share, but we don't have any additional information we can provide at this time."

                            

The Chinese and North Korean governments are thought to be responsible for some cyber hacking of western companies and governments.

Some IT experts say the hackers who breached Sony's computer network late last year and leaked huge amounts of confidential information were backed by the North Korean state.

Pyongyang has consistently denied involvement in the security breach.

James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, said that government-backed attackers have far greater resources at their disposal than criminal hacker gangs.

They may be able to use other measures such as human agents or communications intercepts to successfully bypass any security measures, he said.

Bitcoin creator 'is 44-year-old Australian', claims Wired

                               

You may remember Newsweek creating headlines around the world when it "outed" the creator of digital currency Bitcoin as being a 64-year-old Japanese American living near Los Angeles.

The magazine said it had found the mysterious "Satoshi Nakamoto", the man whose name has been linked with the creation of the currency.

That "scoop" apparently proved false - Dorian Nakamoto (birth name Satoshi) ended up suing Newsweek after he said his life was turned completely upside down.

And so it is with that rigmarole still fresh in our minds that I tentatively offer this article from Wired which says Bitcoin creator "Satoshi Nakamoto" is a pseudonym used by a 44-year-old Australian cryptologist named Craig Steven Wright.

"Either Wright invented bitcoin," Wired's Andy Greenberg and Gwen Branwen write, "Or he's a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did."

Bitcoin is a virtual currency built around a complicated cryptographic protocol and a global network of computers that oversees and verifies which coins have been spent by whom. Its anonymous nature means it is a popular choice for criminal activity as it is extremely difficult to trace who is spending Bitcoin.

The currency's creator (or creators, perhaps) is proving just as difficult to trace.

Wired cite leaked documents it says shows communication between Dr Wright and his lawyers in which he is reported to have said: "I did my best to try and hide the fact that I've been running Bitcoin since 2009.

"By the end of this I think half the world is going to bloody know."

I've tried to reach Dr Wright, but to no avail. His blog was taken offline shortly after Wired published its report, while Dr Wright's Twitter account went from being protected to being deleted altogether.

According to the online profiles that remain online, he runs DeMorgan Ltd, a Sydney-based company that looks at "alternative currency".

For the full break down of Wired's body of research into Dr Wright, I urge you to read their full article. But it can be summed up as:

- Blog posts apparently published well before the launch of Bitcoin sharing and seeking expertise on creating cryptocurrencies.

- A request for people to email him details by using an encrypted key previously linked to someone identifying themselves as being Satoshi Nakamoto.

- A post announcing the launch of Bitcoin that was later deleted and replaced with a note saying "the best way to hide is right in the open".

Furthermore, leaked emails and transcripts back up what the magazine says - pointing to Dr Wright having huge stashes of Bitcoins, which he among other things used to invest in setting up a Bitcoin bank.

But, and it's a big but, Wired is quick to pre-emptively point out the potential holes in its theory - saying it could be a very elaborate hoax.

"The unverified leaked documents could have been faked in whole or in part," the magazine said.

But later adds: "But this much is clear: If Wright is seeking to fake his Nakamoto connection, his hoax would be practically as ambitious as bitcoin itself."

The body of evidence presented is certainly compelling, and fills in many of the holes not covered by other supposed outings of the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, who is fast becoming something of a Lord Lucan for the digital world.

Yahoo reportedly won't sell $30 billion Alibaba stake!

All eyes are on Yahoo!

                     

The company, lumbering through an attempted turnaround, has been weighing its next steps. Two big items on the table: whether to spin off its lucrative stake in Alibaba and whether to put its core Internet business on the block.

CNBC reported Tuesday that Yahoo's board had decided not to sell off its Alibaba stake and would instead seek a deal for its Internet business.

An announcement is expected by Wednesday, according to CNBC. Yahoo didn't immediately respond to CNNMoney's request for comment.

Alibaba: Why Yahoo might not sell

1. Yahoo has a 15% stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba worth about $30 billion.

2. Selling that stake could generate a lot of money for Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) and its shareholders. But, after an unfavorable IRS ruling, it could be subject to a gigantic tax bill of about $10 billion.

3. Activist Yahoo shareholder Starboard Value had once favored selling off Alibaba but now opposes it. If the board decided to sell Yahoo's Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) stake, it could be faced with a nasty battle from disgruntled shareholders.

4. It's getting to be decision time. Yahoo has previously said it would sell its Alibaba stake in January. If it were to hold to that time frame, Yahoo would need to notify its creditors 35 trading days before selling Alibaba. That works out to this week, according to Robert Peck, managing director of Internet research at SunTrust.

Yahoo's core Internet business: Keep it or sell it?

1. Yahoo's sales continue to decline after its ad business was eclipsed by Google (GOOGL, Tech30)and Facebook (FB, Tech30) over the past several years.

2. The stock market values Yahoo's Internet business as essentially worthless. Yahoo's market valuation is about $31 billion -- but its stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan are worth a combined $38 billion, leaving its core business worth less than zero.

3. That's why it's unclear who might be interested in Yahoo's Internet business. But Verizon's (VZ,Tech30) Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said Monday that he would "look at it," even if a discussion is premature.

4. Yahoo's board could decide to restructure its core business, particularly in its struggling media unit, according to Re/Code's Kara Swisher. It could cut jobs and shut down some initiatives.

Marissa Mayer: Keep her on or show her the door?

1. Yahoo's CEO has been unable to turn the company around in her three-year tenure. She has focused on improving the company's mobile products.

2. The board has not publicly turned against Mayer, and she has stacked the nine-member board with allies. (Mayer herself is on the board.)

3. She'll collect $26 million in severance if she's fired ($110 million if Yahoo gets sold).

4. Mayer is due to give birth any day now.

Facebook is "uncool" but teens still use it the most

Despite teenagers thinking Facebook is lame, it remains their favourite social site says new research

                           

Teenagers use an entirely different set of social media sites than adults do - ranging from Snapchat and Vine, to Periscope, Kik and Instagram, Facebook doesn't rank very high on their "cool" list.

Yet, 78 per cent of teens online use Facebook — the same proportion as in 2014, and more than any other social site except YouTube, says a new report by technology research company Forrester.

In contrast, only about 50pc of the group surveyed used Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.

And it's not just that these 12-17 year-olds have a Facebook account that they rarely use - about 60 per cent of the teens said Facebook was the site they used the most.

More than 30pc said they were on it "all the time" which was significantly more than they said about any other site they used.

In contrast to its heavy usage, a separate survey on the "cool" factor of Facebook led to quite different results.

Ranking 10 social media tools on a scale of 1 (not cool at all) to 5 (totally cool), Facebook came in at number 7, below Whatsapp, Twitter, Vine, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Only Tumblr, Pinterest and Google+ ranked below Facebook.

                           

Facebook ranks 7 in a list of top 10 coolest social network tools

There is no specific explanation for why teenagers continue to use Facebook despite thinking it's fusty, but one of the report's graphs may hint at why - Facebook ranked third on a list of the most important tools for keeping in touch with friends. Only Snapchat and Instagram sat above Facebook in this ranking, showing that it continues to be a primary method of social contact for teens.

This reflects Facebook's strategy to be the communication tool you can't live without, possibly even replacing the need for phone numbers.

With its Messenger app, you can text, call, videochat, and play games with your friends without ever needing to leave the app.

"We think [Messenger] has the potential to...connect hundreds of millions of new people, and to become a really important communication tool for the world,” Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg told the audience at the company’s F8 conference in March.

So while teenagers will continue to dabble in every new social media experiment, ranging from short bytes of video to self-destructing photos, Facebook stays steady as the king of social connections.