Washingtonpost-insider November 08

View on the Web. Tuesday, November 19, 2013 The Switch is your daily technology and tech policy newsletter. You may have opted-in to the newsletter under its former name, Tech News Daily. To change your newsletter preferences, click here. Xbox One: What to know about Microsoft’s new console Microsoft is set to release its next-generation console, the Xbox One, on Friday — just a week after the PlayStation 4 hit store shelves. The Xbox is $100 more than Sony’s new console: $499, likely because of the included Kinect, vs. $399. And it will have to have a good first day of sales to outdo the PlayStation’s early numbers — 1 million units of the PlayStation 4 were sold in its first 24 hours, Sony reported. Read full article >> Sony: ‘Blue Light of Death,’ other issues affect fewer than 1 percent of consoles Sony said Tuesday that reported problems with the PlayStation 4 are affecting fewer than 1 percent of the customers who have picked up the console since its launch last week. News about the problems have cropped up on social networks and in news articles ever since the launch. But company spokesman Dan Race said in a statement that while Sony is working to troubleshoot a number of small issues with the console, it hasn’t received any indication that there is a single, widespread problem plaguing the device’s launch. Read full article >> Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer conducts his final shareholders meeting Steve Ballmer wrapped up another duty as he heads closer to the end of his 13 years as Microsoft’s chief executive: his final annual shareholder’s meeting. While much of the meeting was focused on the new products that Microsoft is planning, including the Xbox One, top executives from the firm took the time to acknowledge Ballmer’s tenure. The executive said in August that he would step down from the company within 12 months. Read full article >> The Switch: 12 questions you were too embarrassed to ask about Bitcoin This has been a big week for Bitcoin. On Monday, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held the first-ever Congressional hearing on Bitcoin. Later in the day, the currency's value reached an all-time high of more than $800. Read full article >> Innovations: In the battle for smartphone supremacy, size doesn’t matter. Shape does. Seemingly out of nowhere, shape -- not screen size or color -- has emerged as the new battleground in the smartphone wars. In October, Samsung unveiled the first-ever “curved display” smartphone (the Galaxy Round) and in November, LG followed with another curved display phone that also happened to be flexible (the G Flex). And now come rumors that Apple is bringing two new curved iPhones to market sometime late next year. It’s now all about shape, as companies begin to develop and deliver phones that are “curved,” “round,” “flexible,” and even “bended.” Read full article >> Computer giant Lenovo plays down China roots Computer giant Lenovo wants to tweak its image. That means emphasizing its global reach as the largest maker of personal computers and de-emphasizing its main roots in China — where it has 35,000 employees. Read full article >> Featured Comics Read Dilbert View other Comics