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LIFE / Language / THE BUZZ
Dec 21, 2013

Brick: ブリック

A brick, or ブリック, is a mobile device that no longer works after a software update or installation. Appearing more frequently in day-to-day conversations in the United States and Europe as an increasing number of consumers switch to mobile devices, the verb brick is typically used in the passive...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Dec 17, 2013

Looking at 2013's Japanese social-media scene

In the Japanese social-networking scene, Facebook still isn't dominating the way it does in the United States and many other countries. There are several other networks in Japan, both old and new, that occupy unique positions, though 2013 was an unusually quiet year, with no big takeovers among social-networking...
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Dec 16, 2013

Sorting out that battery-life problem

This month saw the launch of the hybrid Arrows A SoftBank 301F, Fujitsu's latest Android 4G LTE smartphone for SoftBank customers.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 14, 2013

NSA can crack cellphone security, decode private conversations

The cellphone encryption technology that is used most widely across the world can be easily defeated by the National Security Agency, an internal document shows, giving the agency the means to decode most of the billions of calls and texts that travel over public airwaves every day.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2013

Japan tops smartphone app market

Japan surpassed the United States as the top-grossing market for apps in October as use of smartphones surged and wireless carriers started billing customers directly for downloads from Google Inc.'s online store.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 18, 2013

It's a dog's life, but architects can find ways to improve it

What would our cities look like if they had been built with a different scale in mind? What if we considered building structures for creatures other than humans? "Architecture for Dogs" explores that idea with an exhibition of 13 architectural works made for specific canine breeds. After debuting at...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Nov 18, 2013

New and old ways to take snapshots, plus other gadgetry for adults and kids

A 'natural' way to lifelog?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2013

Sony's Hirai mixes camera, phone geeks to catch Apple

For Kazuo Hirai, creating Sony Corp.'s flagship smartphone was too important to be left to the company's mobile phone experts.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WEDGE
Oct 27, 2013

Sony spinoff goes global with biometric ID gadget

Turkey is working on a nationwide project to install biometric authentication systems in hospitals and pharmacies nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 26, 2013

Japan Inc.'s hurt pride may be behind bout of fresh phone fears

What's the explanation for the current surge in concern over the poor manners and inattention of addicted cellphone users — especially considering smart phones are arguably no more distracting than the previous generation of mobile gadgets
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

Real-world validations of our digital realm

"We are now living in a super, hyper-extended information society," says curator Masafumi Fukugawa, "and that idea was the starting point for our new exhibition."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2013
Sep 10, 2013

Young entrepreneurs go forward in 'New Japan'; deregulation can aid economy

Tokyo is becoming an incubator of venture businesses as many young people — seeing the success of other entrepreneurs, who in turn have created a network of mentors and investors — are taking on the challenge of having their own business, aided by an improving economy buoyed by Prime Minister Shinzo...
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 6, 2013

DoCoMo said near deal to sell iPhones

NTT DoCoMo Inc. appears set to finally join its domestic archrivals and start providing Apple Inc.'s iPhone, beginning with the latest version.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Aug 24, 2013

Under Ballmer, Microsoft struggled to modernize

In the 13 years that Steve Ballmer has led Microsoft, literature has climbed out of books, songs have freed themselves from CDs and computers have leapt off their desktops into our hands. An exhilarating new world of technology has emerged with little help from a company that once dominated the industry....
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2013

Yahoo gets more traffic than Google for first time since '11

There is some good news for Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer: Yahoo has topped Google in Web traffic for the first time since May 2011. Research firm comScore reported Yahoo logged 196.6 million unique visitors in July, compared with its rival's 192.3 million.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2013

Deflating the hype on big data

Big data holds the promise of harnessing huge amounts of information to help us better understand the world. But the hype is causing contrarians to fall into hyberbole.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2013

PlayStation 4 to get jump in U.S.

Sony Corp. will start selling the PlayStation 4 in North America on Nov. 15, moving to obtain an early advantage in the largest video game market against Microsoft Corp.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 9, 2013

We are the sum of our metadata

Over the past two weeks, I have lost count of the number of officials and government ministers who, when challenged about Internet surveillance by Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States, try to reassure their citizens by saying...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 8, 2013

Nikon chief looks for way to ride smartphone boom

Nikon Corp. is looking at ways to tap smartphone growth as a slump in compact camera sales threatens to prevent earnings from meeting forecasts.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 26, 2013

Apple loses appeal here to Samsung

Apple Inc. lost its appeal Tuesday in a Japan lawsuit claiming that Samsung Electronics Co. infringed on a patent for synchronizing music and video data on its Galaxy smartphones and tablets with servers.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 26, 2013

Beware: NSA knows the power of your metadata

"To be remembered after we are dead," wrote William Hazlitt, "is but poor recompense for being treated with contempt while we are living." Cue U.S. President "George W" Obama in the matter of telephone surveillance by his National Security Agency. The fact that for the past seven years the agency has,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 22, 2013

Sprint part of Son's quest for the top

Billionaire Masayoshi Son told Softbank Corp. investors Friday how he plans to use the purchase of Sprint Nextel Corp. to transform Japan's No. 3 mobile carrier into the world's No. 1.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 22, 2013

Robotics about to transform our notion of what is 'human'

Bertolt Meyer is used to being viewed as not fully human. Born with a stump where his left hand should have been, he spent his childhood wearing a hook connected to an elaborate pulley and harness. "To open the hook and grasp things I had to flex my shoulders like this," he says, striking a he-man pose....
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 18, 2013

'Big data' — a digital sea of personal info ripe for the taking?

Shop at Amazon.com and one automatically receives recommendations on books and other items based on previous queries and purchases. Similarly, checking a Facebook entry causes ads for local products and services to pop up.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2013

Has Myanmar's moment come at last?

Can investing in Myanmar live up to the soaring expectations? There are major uncertainties, and Myanmar cannot rely on energy and mining alone.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji