BUSINESS

For those whose homes and properties were spared from the raging and equally ravaging bushfires that continue to devour states in Australia, reclaiming normalcy in their lives after the fire may start off far better than most. But health experts see this is far from the case.

Ten months after its launch, Windows 8 now counts 60 million licences shipped out so far, Microsoft said on Tuesday, the whole bunch covering OEMs delivered to new PCs and multitudes of upgrades.

Barry O'Farrell, NSW Premier, announced that the fire crisis in NSW "hasn't gone away" and that residents should remain cautious and vigilant of their properties and surroundings.

Local stocks pulled back yesterday with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finishing down 25 points. At the start of trade today the Aussie market gained 15 points and is currently holding on to these early gains even with the weaker than expected read on November retail sales hitting the market.

If the Australian stock market were a 20-20 cricket team, it would be about 1/80 after the first five overs. In other words, it would have the game well in hand, even if it were early on. Plenty of wickets to play with. Plenty of runs on the board.

The Xperia Z is not just another 5-inch smartphone as Sony would like us to believe.Sony CEO Kuni Suzuki defines its new baby as the new super phone packed for TV, imaging, film, music, and gaming.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is set to tow its grounded drilling rig in Alaska as soon as weather conditions are good enough to perform the operation. The Kulluk, the Shells's drilling rig, will be moved to a save harbor, according to detailed plans of the company.

To celebrate Australian Day on Jan 26, McDonald's in Australia is temporarily changing the name of 13 stores across the country to Macca's, the Aussie nickname of the popular fast-food chain.

Business apps are almost free to download from Google Play and Apple iTunes which helps users for their needs on inventory, transactions, web conferencing, and even traveling using the latest technology on their mobile devices.

Finally, the process has begun for the update of the last generation HTC One X smartphone. The device can now update its firmware version to Android 4.1 Jellybean owned by customers without SIM-free and unlocked handsets.

There are more than 600,000 applications that can be downloaded from Google Play which support most versions of Android, even the old ones. Most applications downloaded fall under the categories Social, Games, Music, Personalisation, and Entertainment.

World Housing Markets Q3 2012: Europe in the Eye of the Storm

Spot iron prices are up to an almost 15-month high at $153.90 per tonne. The rally in prices, which started in December 2012, is mainly due to China's rebuilding of its stockpiles as the Asian giant gears to boost its economy, which in turn, could improve steel demand.

Not unexpectedly, Switzerland topped the 10 best countries to be born in 2013 list made by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Australia and New Zealand tied for second place.

Local stocks pulled back today, ahead of the start of the US earnings season and as investors looked towards the next crucial stumbling blocks for the global economy. Despite gaining in the early session, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's trade at 4712.3pts, down 25.8pts or 0.5pct.

Australian shoppers on the lookout for great, massive bargain finds may well ought to splurge these first few months of 2013 as retail businesses prepare to further slash already discounted items for sale just to be able to overcome the sector's burgeoning sales slump and somehow boost profit.

Acer’s 7-inch Iconia B1 Android is officially out and retailed for a low-price tag of $US150, the device manufacturers said in a released statement on Monday.

Google’s Android platform and all the handsets operating on the mobile OS are dismissed as clones by hardcore Apple fanboys. It might be true years ago but a self-confessed Android convert now attests that Android’s current form “even feels a bit ahead of iOS 6.”

It’s not even an Apple or a Samsung device but Nexus 7, manufactured by Asus for Google, has generated considerable consumer attention and kudos from tech experts. They agree that the Android tablet is a solid lure, thanks to its impressive specs and more impressive price tags.

Following a modest pullback yesterday, the Australian sharemarket is back in the black at lunch with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.1 per cent or 2.8 pts to 4740.9. Yesterday the XAO slipped by around 0.1 per cent, however local shares are still up 1.75 per cent so far in 2013 (after five sessions of trade).

Arguably, any plan of any government to raise prices of commodities automatically creates pandemonium on its voting populace. But in Australia, the proposal to increase the prices of cigarettes has been considered a welcome move. Apart from the end goal of increasing the national government's coffers, the plan could help severe the rising number of lung cancer deaths in the country brought by excessive smoking.

It is the year of feature-filled and powerful smartphones and the upcoming Galaxy S4 is no exception. Apart from the super specs that blog reports have attributed to the next Samsung flagship phone, this exciting handset will reportedly deploy with more wireless capabilities.

A handsome face like that of Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt is an asset not only for those who want to pursue a career in show business, but even in the corporate world. A new Australian study said men with attractive face earn $32,150 more than males with average faces.

Call it iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 but analysts are firmly convinced that Apple will introduced two smartphone versions this year – a low-end edition and likely to be named iPhone Mini for a still undetermined debut date and the regular configuration that the tech giant aims to rollout as early as June 2013.

While many smart, high-tech TVs and cars will dominate most of the appearances in the CES 2013 in Las Vegas, Sony, Huawei, and Lenovo will bring some of their new devices to the show.

The engineered glass with combined thinness, lightness, and damage-resistance Gorilla Glass is coming back, more resilient and much better. The developers of this scratch-resistant glass promised that the new version will have 40 per cent reduction of visible scratches, three times resistance against scratches, and has 50 per cent more strength boost.

For 2013, the California-based kitchen appliances maker Dacor will release the first wall oven using Android OS. The wall oven has a dimension of 30 inches and its Android controller is powered by a seven-inch device called Discovery IQ controller.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) started on Monday night investigation of a fake press release that caused losses to Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) and its shareholders.

Cars, more than electronic gadgets, are said to take the centre stage in the ongoing Consumer Electronic Show 2013 in Las Vegas. However, in the case of Hyundai, it will showcase high technology as well with a demonstration of Apple's Siri Eyes Free mode.