Michael Dell may kick in equity financing of $500 million to $1 billion combined with his 15.7 percent stake in the company to seek majority control of the company, according to Bloomberg. That would push his ownership stake past 50 percent.
With the investment, Dell would be contributing more than half of the total $8 billion to $9 billion equity check. The remainder of the takeover would be financed by debt and &… Read more
The talks, which would take the computer hardware maker private, are still preliminary and could fall apart because the firms may not be able to line up financing or resolve how to exit the investment in the future, Bloomberg said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. One of the people told the publication that several large banks have been contacted about financing a buyout.
A Dell spokesman told CNET that the company doesn't comment on rumor and speculation.
Dell, which has long been … Read more
LAS VEGAS--Private WiFi has been making a name for itself as a subscription VPN service on desktops. At CES 2013, the company has unveiled mobile apps for iOS and Android.
Private WiFi wraps your data in 128-bit encryption as it runs in the background of your phone or tablet. Based on the open-source OpenVPN, the service will block attacks on public, unsecure networks such as man-in-the-middle attacks, rogue networks, honeypots, ARP spoofing, sniffing, and session sidejacking.
Private WiFi CEO Kent Lawson said that his app stands a better chance than the competition because Private WiFi is low-cost but avoids privacy … Read more
Big changes to Firefox's "porn mode" -- the private-browsing feature that turns off recording cookies, history, and temporary files -- landed today in the Firefox Nightly build.
When it reaches the general public a few months from now in Firefox stable, the feature will allow you to run the private-browsing feature in a new window, without closing your regular instance of Firefox. This pulls the browser up to parity with Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Opera. Safari doesn't open private browsing into a separate window.
Firefox's project manager, Asa Dotzler, stated in the blog post announcing … Read more
BlackJet, the private plane charter service modeled after Uber cab, is available for use -- if you have a bunch of money to throw around and a super-secret invite code.
First noticed by TNW, BlackJet tweeted its live status today, drawing a few interested flyers who wanted an invite code. The company's Twtter account didn't answer, of course. It's too exclusive for that.
It's probably best that most of us won't know what were missing -- the cost of the required membership for the service starts at $2,000. Passengers reportedly will then pay $950 … Read more
Thursday's CNET Update has a tall order:
Today's tech news roundup explains how to pay with Square Wallet at Starbucks and how it's different from the Starbucks app. Small businesses have been taking hands-free payments with Square Wallet for several months. But Starbucks, which recently invested in Square, is still requiring you to scan your phone screen at checkout. Also in today's show:
- Pinterest users can finally pin in private. Users can create three "Secret Boards" for personal use, or to share with select users.
- Amazon uncorked its wine store, delivering to … Read more
Those wanting to fly private may soon have a new option: reserving a jet, Uber-style.
In recent months, Uber has made waves in cities around the world with its on-call private car service -- riders simply pull up Uber's app, push a button saying they need a ride, and before they know it, a car arrives to whisk them away, and the fee is automatically charged to a credit card.
Now, according to AllThingsD, StumbleUpon founder and Uber co-founder Garrett Camp is leading a funding round in the single-digit millions, as well as product development, for a new company … Read more
Facebook recently added a list of emoticons to help you express yourself a bit more than text characters permit. The full list can be used in chat or private messages, and some of the less complex ones can be used in comments on wall posts.
Trying to use any of them in a wall post that you created (not commented on) will just end up looking like this:
Using them the way Facebook intended (for now, at least), looks more like this:
Here's the full list so you can express yourself to your friends:
Do … Read more
The results of the first presidential debate are in, and despite a lackluster performance from the incumbent moderator -- the NewsHour's Jim Lehrer -- PBS was clearly the winner.
Now, the makers of an online privacy app are looking to further capitalize on the increasing interest in the political campaigns with a pair of viral videos mocking everyone from Obama and Romney to Mark Zuckerberg, all in the name of taking personal responsibility for safeguarding individual privacy on social networks.… Read more
Like it or not, Web pages can count your Facebook shares as a "Like."
A Facebook Like multiplier bug going around highlighted a feature of the social network that may seem unfair to some: If you send a Web site's link to a friend via a Facebook message or if you post it to your Facebook wall, that Web page's Like counter ticks upward.
First noticed by The Wall Street Journal, the feature may rankle some users who don't want to be a part of an overinflated count for some Web site tracking its visitors, … Read more
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CNET's Galaxy S4 giveaway spectacular!
CNET's publishing another supercharged e-book. "Mastering the Galaxy S4" is almost here, so we're celebrating with a huge S4-related giveaway.
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