Sony to settle PlayStation Network class action suit for $15 million in goods and services

Sony has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought about by the 2011 PlayStation Network data breach, an event that resulted in the theft of names, addresses and potentially even credit card information belonging to 77 million members.

According to a report from Polygon, Sony has signed a preliminary agreement valued at $15 million. Instead of cash, however, plaintiffs would receive goods and services from Sony such as free PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable games, free themes, free subscriptions to PlayStation Plus, free subscriptions to the Music Unlimited service and free SOE Station cash (Sony's virtual currency to buy in-game items).

Those that didn't participate in Sony's "Welcome Back" package following the security breach will get to choose two separate benefit options or two instances of one PSN benefit option. Individuals that did accept Sony's package can receive a game benefit, a theme benefit or a PlayStation Plus subscription benefit.

Lawsuit participants will receive benefits on a first-come, first-serve basis. All of this, of course, is dependent on the judge signing the settlement.

Sony was hit with a couple of massive data breaches back in 2011 and has been working to clean up the mess ever since. The first breach in April forced Sony to shut down the PlayStation Network for several weeks.

The company hired a former Homeland Security officer to help get things in order after the breach but of course, the damage had already been done. At the time, Sony estimated it would cost $171 million to clean up the mess associated with the breach.

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Sony to settle PlayStation Network class action suit for $15 million in goods and services

Sony has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought about by the 2011 PlayStation Network data breach, an event that resulted in the theft of names, addresses and potentially even credit card information belonging to 77 million members.

According to a report from Polygon, Sony has signed a preliminary agreement valued at $15 million. Instead of cash, however, plaintiffs would receive goods and services from Sony such as free PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable games, free themes, free subscriptions to PlayStation Plus, free subscriptions to the Music Unlimited service and free SOE Station cash (Sony's virtual currency to buy in-game items).

Those that didn't participate in Sony's "Welcome Back" package following the security breach will get to choose two separate benefit options or two instances of one PSN benefit option. Individuals that did accept Sony's package can receive a game benefit, a theme benefit or a PlayStation Plus subscription benefit.

Lawsuit participants will receive benefits on a first-come, first-serve basis. All of this, of course, is dependent on the judge signing the settlement.

Sony was hit with a couple of massive data breaches back in 2011 and has been working to clean up the mess ever since. The first breach in April forced Sony to shut down the PlayStation Network for several weeks.

The company hired a former Homeland Security officer to help get things in order after the breach but of course, the damage had already been done. At the time, Sony estimated it would cost $171 million to clean up the mess associated with the breach.

Next Google buys 3D graphics startup drawElements for north of $10MPrev AT&T's Q2 earnings report misses expectations despite rise in revenue$(function(){$('img', 'img-wrap', 'li', '.related-products .teaser-list').equalHeights();});

View the original article here

Report claims Apple has ordered 70-80 million next-gen iPhones

In the lead up to the launch of the new iPhone, Apple has reportedly placed its largest order yet for next-generation models: 70-80 million units by December 30th of this year. In contrast, Apple ordered 50-60 million units for the launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c.

There are several reasons as to why Apple has made such a large order of new iPhones. One is that they're expecting record demand for the upcoming phones, which are expected to be available as 4.7- and 5.5-inch models. The larger displays will close the hardware gap between the iPhone and other flagship smartphones, meaning demand will likely increase compared to previous launches.

The increase in orders could also be attributed to Apple's recent partnership with China Mobile, the largest wireless carrier in the world. The launch of the upcoming iPhone could be the first where Chinese buyers can order the smartphone at the same time as other nations, increasing global demand.

Either way, the launch of the next-generation iPhone is going to be a big one. Aside from larger displays, the new iPhones are widely expected to include tougher synthetic-sapphire glass, a better camera, and the usual selection of performance improvements.

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Netflix surpasses 50 million subscribers mark, profit doubles

Netflix has announced that it has more than 50 million total subscribers in 40 countries worldwide, including those enjoying free trial accounts. The announcement came as part of the company's second quarter earnings report.

Net income was $71 million, or $1.15 a share. This means the company earned more than double the profit it did in the second quarter of 2013, when it reported net income of $29.5 million and earnings per share of $0.49. Revenue also increased to $1.34 billion from $1.07 billion.

This rise in subscribers despite a recent hike in the subscription fee underscores Netflix's rapidly growing popularity. Back in May, the company increased the monthly price from $7.99 to $8.99 for new subscribers.

The company said that the hike was not having any significant impact on subscriptions. In fact, Netflix added more subscribers this quarter than expected — 1.69 million compared to the forecast of 1.46 million.

The streaming service now has 36.24 million subscribers in the US and 13.8 million international subscribers. That's an increase of 25 percent and 77 percent, respectively, on a year-on-year basis.

Netflix hopes that the number of international subscribers will increase as it moves to new territories. The company announced plans to launch its service to a number of European markets in September, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.

“Ninety-five percent of people who live on the planet live outside the United States, and generally for global Internet businesses about 80 percent of the usage is outside the U.S.”, said Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix. “We want to bring our services to as many nations as possible”.

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