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Qualcomm to demo first StreamBoost Wi-Fi routers at CES 2013

It's frustrating when you share the Internet between multiple devices and some of them hog all the bandwidth, leaving the rest crawling. Qualcomm has something that could potentially ease this pain.

The mobile chipmaker today introduced its StreamBoost technology, which is designed to "optimize performance and capacity of home networks" by enabling the home router to intelligently manage the broadband connection. Qualcomm says the new technology allots to each connected device and each application the bandwidth it needs, and no more, to ensure the best possible experience on all connected devices.

It's important to note that … Read more

Unlock your Hyundai with a tap of your smartphone by 2015

In the future, you'll be able to unlock your Hyundai car, start its engine, and more with little more than your NFC-enabled smartphone. Using the new Hyundai i30 (known here in the States as the Elantra GT) as its Connectivity Concept test platform, Hyundai showed off a variety of wireless technologies that it hopes to implement as early as 2015.

According to Hyundai, "the Connectivity Concept allows the user to lock and unlock the car by placing their smartphone over an NFC-tag (near-field communication), negating the need for a traditional key fob." Upon entering the vehicle, placing … Read more

Best of CES 2012: Where are they now?

CES is almost here, but it's important to keep in mind that the biggest consolidated electronics show of the year is often a mixed indicator of the year's actual tech trends. Case in point: consider CES 2010, where "big" products included smartbooks and Cell TVs, but the major wave of Android phones and the iPad were nowhere to be found.

With that in mind, let's look at CES 2012's Best Of awards winners and see where they are now that the year's about to come to a close. Were they Editors' Choice winners? … Read more

Rumor Has It: Microsoft Office finally coming to iOS in 2013

Rumors have been swirling for a long time about the possibility of Microsoft's Office suite coming to iOS, but new leaks point to this happening sometime in the next year.

The biggest question we have about this rumor is: why hasn't this happened already?

Also this week, we go on and on about Bloomberg's possible plans and what that means for LinkedIn, and Dish has its eye on your cell phone contract.

Thanks for watching!

Heard a tech rumor you think we should cover? Leave a comment below; ; send us a tweet (@EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, and @CNETRumorShow); or … Read more

LinkedIn for the working stiffs: SkillPages hits 10M users

SkillPages, a startup that helps people find skilled workers like carpenters or painters, has been quietly gathering millions of users over the last two years. Now, at 10 million users -- with 1.5 million of those users coming online in just the last month -- it's launching mobile app to localize searches even more.

The site's services are a mixture of social-networking sites like LinkedIn and job marketplaces like TaskRabbit or Zaarly. People with specific talents start a skill page, a profile that lists their skills and what type of work they are looking for. On the … Read more

LinkedIn's 'influencers' make big predictions for 2013

With Usain Bolt breaking records in the Olympics, Superstorm Sandy striking out electricity on the East Coast, and the highly anticipated releases of Apple's iPhone 5 and Microsoft's Windows 8 this year, it's hard not to think about what next year will bring.

In anticipation of the New Year, LinkedIn has asked several leaders and CEOs in the business community to make some predictions for 2013. Dubbed "Big Ideas 2013," the social-networking site for professionals has created a package of more than 60 original posts from these leaders on their upcoming forecasts.

While Richard Branson … Read more

Why Bloomberg would be stupid to buy LinkedIn

Some people are suggesting that Bloomberg and LinkedIn would be a good business combination. I think it would be a complete financial disaster.

In an interesting but flawed piece, Reuters reporter Felix Salmon ponders the merits of Bloomberg acquiring the world's largest business social network.

From his post:

The acquisition of LinkedIn would be a clear declaration that Bloomberg had its eye on more than just the people with $20,000/year terminal budgets, and was interested in reaching the professional world more broadly. LinkedIn has not taken off as a messaging medium in the way that Bloomberg did, … Read more

Tweeting gets harder: Chalk up two more lost characters

Twitter said today that it will implement a change in February that will extend the number of characters used in its automatic t.co link shortener by two.

Such a move may seem insignificant to the average Twitter user, but it does mean that there will be two fewer characters available under the 140-character limit in a tweet.

Twitter had no comment on the rationale behind the switch, but on its blog for developers, it simply spelled out the plans. "We're going to be extending the maximum length of t.co wrapped links from 20 to 22 characters … Read more

Richard Branson on LinkedIn: First to 1M followers

How's this for a little influence?

Richard Branson today set a record at LinkedIn, becoming the first "LinkedIn Influencer" to have more than 1 million followers.

What's even more impressive is that the founder of numerous Virgin enterprises has twice the number of followers as his nearest competitor -- President Barack Obama.

"Our data shows that [Branson is] popular with everyone from entrepreneurs to HR workers and in industries ranging from tech to construction," LinkedIn Executive Editor Daniel Roth said in a blog post. "The only continent where he doesn't have a … Read more