Google's '100,000 Stars' Experiment; Adobe Reveals Data Leak; TI Cuts 1,700 Jobs

Google topped headlines on Thursday after?launching a new Chrome Experiment called "100,000 Stars," which provides a stunning look at the stars that are relatively close to Earth - you know, just a few light years away.?

?"Using your mouse or trackpad, you can zoom in and out to explore our galaxy," Google said. "Zooming in reveals the names of the most prominent stars close to our sun ? click each name to learn more about it and see a digital rendition."

In other web news, Adobe revealed it suffered a data breach, which caused the company to temporarily shut down one of its user forums earlier this week. The Connectusers.com forum, where customers can discuss Adobe's Connect online conferencing service, was at the center of the attack, and is currently being investigated, according to Adobe.

Meanwhile,?Texas Instruments (TI) is cutting 1,700 jobs worldwide in a continued effort to move away from the mobile chip business.

Several new lawsuits made headlines yesterday as well. Time Warner Cable was sued this week over a recently imposed "Internet modem lease," which the attorneys in the case claim is nothing more than a scam. In addition, a California-based lawyer is suing Microsoft for not providing the advertised amount of storage space on its Surface tablet.

Also making headlines on Thursday:

• $1.5M Worth of iPad Minis Stolen From JFK Airport: The same JFK Airport building that once served as the site of the GoodFellas 1978 Lufthansa heist was again infiltrated.
• Blogger iOS App Gets iPad Support: Google released updated versions of its free Blogger apps, adding support for the iPad and other improvements that should make it easier to blog on the go.
• AT&T Rolls Out New Global Calling, Texting, Wi-Fi Plans: International travel just got a little cheaper for AT&T customers.
• Netflix Unveils Trailer for New Original Series, House of Cards: The series stars Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey as the "ruthless and cunning, Congressman Francis Underwood," and his wife Claire, played by Golden Globe nominee Robin Wright, who stop at nothing to gain power.
• Sinofsky: I Didn't Try to Gain Control of Windows Phone: The former Windows chief, who abruptly announced his departure from Microsoft earlier this week, is denying that he left after failing to bring the Windows Phone division under his control.
• JBL Launches First Lightning-Enabled Speaker Docks: The company released two products: the JBL OnBeat Venue LT, a tabletop speaker dock, and the more compact and affordable OnBeat Micro.
• NEC Unveils Facial-Recognition System to Identify Shoppers: The system will allow stores to identify new and returning customers using facial recognition.
• Infographic: How to Combat Mobile Spam: It's easy to roll your eyes at the unsolicited messages piling up in your email spam folder. But what about when they start filling your phone's message inbox?

For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412200,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000992

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