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Some Apples will be green. Apple data centers, that is.

The technology giant has announced that its new half-million-square-foot data center in Maiden, N.C., will only use electricity that has been generated by renewable energy. The company said that the Maiden facility will be "the most environmentally sound data center ever built."

This complements plans for a data center currently in Newark, Calif., and one planned for Prineville, Ore., to go 100 percent renewable.

'An Industry First'

Two solar array installations are being built to support the North Carolina center, and both will use high-efficiency solar cells and an advanced solar tracking system. One array will be a 100-acre, 20 megawatt installation on the same site as the data center, and it will generate 42 million kilowatt-hours each year.

The other, also 100 acres, is being located several miles away, and it will produce another 42 million kWh. A bio-gas-powered 5-megawatt fuel cell installation is being constructed, and will become operational later this year. It will add another 40 million kWh.

These Apple-owned energy generators will generate 124 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which will account for 60 percent of the data center's needs. The remainder will come from area providers of renewable energy.

Greenpeace Protests

The data center planned for Prineville will use only renewable energy, purchased from local providers of wind, hydro and geothermal. The data center in Newark has received regulatory permission to purchase electricity from renewable sources, and expects to be 100 percent renewable by February of next year.

In a section called "Apple and the Environment" on its Web site, the company pointed out that its operations center in Austin, Texas, has been using only purchased renewable energy for nearly a decade, and now its operations centers in Sacramento, Munich, and Cork, Ireland, do as well. The corporate headquarters in Cupertino,...

Comcast has suspended its 250 GB monthly data usage threshold for its Xfinity broadband customers and plans to begin trials of new multi-tiered Xfinity data service featuring a minimum data allotment of 300 GB per month in selected U.S. markets.

The nation's largest broadband service provider said the change is being driven primarily by a dramatic rise in demand for data-intensive content such as high-definition video streaming.

Comcast said it was immediately ceasing enforcement measures associated with the Xfinity service provider's current 250 GB data usage cap. In other words, excessive data users no longer face having their accounts suspended if they repeatedly exceed their monthly data caps -- at least with respect to the duration of Comcast's coming multi-tier trials.

"We've never had any intention to limit the lawful use of the Internet or restrict our customers' ability to view online video," said Comcast Executive Vice President Cathy Avgiris in a blog post Thursday.

"The purpose of the usage threshold was simply to ensure that all of our customers were treated fairly and had a consistent and superior experience while using our high-speed data service," Avgiris said.

Piloting Two Approaches

Comcast said it was still determining trial locations and expected to share more details soon.

"We'll be piloting at least two approaches in different markets, and we'll provide additional details on these trials as they launch," Avgiris said.

The new trials are expected to offer usage allowances that incrementally increase the user's allotment for each tier of high-speed data service. The new base plans in trial markets will start at 300 GB of data usage per month -- with higher tiers in 50 GB blocks costing an additional $10 per block.

Offing more flexible data usage management approaches will "ensure that all of our customers enjoy the best possible Internet...

Samsung, the world's No. 1 mobile-phone maker, appears to have another hit device on its hands even before it goes on store shelves overseas at the end of the month.

The Galaxy S III, the latest flagship phone from the South Korean electronics giant, has already racked up 9 million pre-orders, according to a report published in a South Korean business newspaper.

The Korea Economic Daily, citing an unnamed Samsung official as its source, said the orders came from a hundred carriers and the company was producing about 5 million Galaxies per month. The phone will launch in Europe on May 29th but isn't expected in the U.S. until June. The price and wireless-carrier partners in the U.S. have not been announced.

Timing Is Good

Neil Shah, senior analyst for wireless mobile strategy at Strategy Analytics, told us the Android 4.0.4 device's reported pre-order figure is credible because of timing and past numbers.

"Considering the iPhone 4S effect is slightly fading since it launched last year and a lot of people are anticipating the iPhone 5, the Galaxy S III numbers could be very healthy," Shah said.

"Demand is going to be pretty high, considering the average selling rate for Samsung flagship devices the last two or three quarters have been between 5 million and 6 million per quarter," he said. "The Galaxy S II reached 20 million in February 2011 [after a year], which is an average of 5 million per quarter."

The company's unique Galaxy Note, a cross between a tablet and smartphone, reached 5 million units shipped in March after only four months on the market, he noted.

"If these two units can sell 6 to 7 million units per quarter and Samsung has a great distribution reach across more than 100 countries and hundreds of operators, 6 to 10 million [for the S...

Facebook is now a publicly traded company -- and it's also under legal fire. Beyond Yahoo's patent litigation against the social media giant, Facebook is the subject of a class action suit over privacy concerns.

Facebook users on Friday filed an amended consolidated class action complaint in federal court in San Jose, Calif. The privacy suit involves alleged Facebook Internet tracking violations and seeks a minimum of $15 billion in damages.

"This is not just a damages action, but a groundbreaking digital-privacy rights case that could have wide and significant legal and business implications," said David Straite, a Stewarts Law partner. Stewarts Law, a London firm that set up U.S. offices in April, is representing the class action.

Tapping the Wiretap Act

The lawsuit argues federal statutory and California state causes of action related to the revelation in September 2011 that Facebook was improperly tracking the Internet use of its members even after they logged out of their accounts. The class action consolidates 21 related cases filed in more than a dozen states in 2011 and early 2012.

The plaintiffs' argument is based on the federal Wiretap Act, which provides statutory damages per user of $100 per day per violation, up to a maximum per user of $10,000. Even if Facebook's alleged actions constitute a single violation of the Wiretap Act per class member, that implies more than $15 billion in damages across the class. The complaint also asserts claims under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Stored Communications Act, various California statutes and California common law.

The amended suit comes on the day Facebook went public. Facebook hit its financial targets, raising $16 billion in its IPO. The stock climbed $4 a share to about $42 a share, a 10 percent boost, in the first few minutes of trading on Wall Street Friday morning....

The "Do Not Track" movement has one more corporate supporter. On Thursday, leading social media site Twitter announced that it will honor requests from users who do not want their online behavior monitored and reported.

With this action, Twitter becomes an official supporter of the voluntary privacy initiative for U.S. companies, which has been backed by the Federal Trade Commission, the Mozilla Foundation and online privacy organizations. A set of best practices for U.S. sites goes into effect next year. In Europe, the mandatory European Union Privacy Directive goes into effect on May 26 for all European-based companies and for multinationals.

'Tailored Suggestions'

Twitter has begun implementing experiments in "tailored suggestions," which recommends whom users might want to follow, based on a user's personalized information. The site points out on its company blog that, as a supporter of Do Not Track, "we will not collect the information that enables this feature" if someone has DNT enabled in browser settings.

Twitter has gone so far as to tweet that "we applaud the FTC's leadership on DNT." The move by Twitter was praised Thursday in a statement by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who said the action "is something that responsible, competitive companies can do." Mozilla has recently noted that nearly 9 percent of its desktop users and 19 percent of its mobile users are using the DNT feature in its browser.

A Do Not Track option is now available in Mozilla's Firefox, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari Web browsers, and soon in Google's Chrome. But in the U.S., Web sites have the option to comply or not.

To assist Web sites in managing and disabling tracking-related third-party tags, Cupertino, Calif.-based Ensighten recently released a free Web tool. Called PrivacyDNT, it allows Web site owners to identify all third-party tags, create lists of which ones...

Facebook shares are officially trading. The social media giant set its initial share price at $38 and offered 421 million shares. That means Facebook could make IPO history with an $18.5 billion offering on a $104 billion valuation.

Facebook boasts about 900 million monthly active users. Facebook officially became the top-ranked Web site in the U.S. in March 2010, according to Experian Hitwise. Twenty percent of all Web page views stateside are on Facebook.

The stage is set. The shares are trading. But what happens when the dust settles? If Facebook's IPO meets expectations, social media startups could become the investment du jour. But if Facebook doesn't hit on all IPO cylinders -- or if it can't sustain its success in coming quarters, the story could look much different for social networking upstarts.

A Profound Impact?

We asked Scott Sellers, co-founder and CEO of Azul Systems, which develops runtime platforms for executing Java-based apps, his take on the Facebook IPO. He told us the day you see your company stock symbol moving across the ticker is one you never forget.

"Facebook going public will have a profound impact on Silicon Valley and sprout an entire new crop of startups as a result of this newfound capital," Sellers said. "I believe this IPO will create a domino effect of new money flooding into the mobile realm as well as international markets as Facebook's technology becomes more widely accepted and utilized."

Can Facebook Remain Authentic?

We also looked to Rob Vandenberg, president and CEO of Lingotek, which provides Web-based automated language translation tools, what he thinks about the Facebook IPO phenomenon. He told us Zuckerberg has literally created a 'universal human network' via Facebook.

"How can you not like what Zuckerberg has done to revolutionize the way we communicate? Essentially, he invented a platform that brings us...

In January, Oracle acquired RightNow, a leading cloud-based customer service solution, adding it to the Oracle Public Cloud suite of integrated services. On Thursday, the company announced that the RightNow CX Cloud Service customer experience suite will be integrated with its Fusion CRM Sales.

Fusion Customer Relationship Management is part of Oracle Fusion Applications, which also includes Fusion Middleware and Oracle Database. Among other features, Fusion CRM provides a single view of customers across the enterprise, optimizes sales territories and sales incentives, and centralizes order and fulfillment systems.

Customer Interaction = Opportunity

The combination of RightNow with Fusion, the company said, combines service interactions from RightNow with sales predictions and segmentation capabilities from Fusion Sales. This will help businesses generate cross-channel customer interactions and increase opportunities for revenue and efficiencies.

Among other things, the company noted that the integration will allow sales personnel to review service histories as preparation for sales calls, and can provide information about buying habits of customers. Through the integration, products and services can be better matched to customers' service history, customer interactions can be better targeted, and new purchasing opportunities for customers can be more readily identified, the company said.

David Vap, Oracle group vice president, said in a statement that every customer interaction is an opportunity to grow the business. He added that "customer trust provides an opportunity to increase customer product adoption and to reduce the cost of customer acquisition," which can increase profitability.

Web, Social, Contact Center CX

According to an annual survey conducted by RightNow, 86 percent of customers choose not to do business with a company because of a bad experience. A cloud-based solution such as RightNow, according to Oracle, can result in a reduction of up to 30 percent in labor costs, as well as increased customer retention and acquisition.

RightNow combines Web, social, and...

Responding to extraordinary demand, Facebook said Wednesday that it would sell more stock in the company's initial public offering. But ahead of the IPO, a debate emerged between two of the nation's largest automakers: Does it pay to advertise on the social network?

General Motors, the nation's largest automaker, said it would abandon Facebook ads after concluding they were ineffective. At the same time, Ford reaffirmed its commitment to Facebook, saying their relationship was stronger than ever.

The direct financial impact of GM's move is minimal for Facebook, but the decision drew attention to the network's advertising system, which some observers regard as immature.

In a regulatory filing Wednesday, Facebook said it would add 84 million shares, worth up to $3.2 billion, to the IPO, which is shaping up to be the decade's hottest. The company's stock is expected to begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol "FB".

Almost half of the additional shares come from investment firms DST Global and Tiger Global. Goldman Sachs is doubling the number of shares it is selling. Facebook board members Peter Thiel and James Breyer are also selling more shares.

Since all of the additional shares come from insiders and early investors, the company won't benefit from their sale.

"It certainly does raise the question: How much higher could the stock go if institutions who know the company well think this is a good price to sell?" said Daniel Ernst, an analyst with Hudson Square Research.

On the other hand, he said, investment firms only make money by selling their stakes, and they have bills to pay. So the fact that they are selling more is only a limited indication of their confidence in the company.

The news comes a day after Facebook raised the expected price of the stock to a range of $34 to...

South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. has upgraded its flagship smartphone model with a faster chip and a longer battery life, hoping to regain ground lost to more nimble rivals.

The Optimus LTE II smartphone, which costs 935,000 won ($804) without subsidies, will be released by all three mobile carriers in South Korea this week. Park Jong-seok, president of LG's mobile business, said Thursday the new model is for South Korean users only but similar iterations would be released overseas.

LG, which is recuperating from massive losses in its mobile business since 2010, is betting on the introduction of a faster mobile network called LTE around the world to boost smartphone sales.

Mobile carriers in South Korea, Japan, North America and Europe have begun services on the latest wireless network, aiming to lure consumers seeking quicker downloads of videos and smooth web surfing on a phone.

With a 2-gigabyte memory capacity, the new Optimus phone can run multiple applications simultaneously at a faster rate, LG said. Most other high-end smartphones have a 1- or 1.5-gigabyte memory.

LG claimed the new phone's battery life is about 40 percent longer than its predecessor, the Optimus LTE.

Once the world's third-largest mobile phone maker, LG was overtaken by Apple Inc. last year. Sales of LG's low-end phones were hit by Chinese competitors while its top-end lineup could not compete with the Galaxy series of smartphones by Samsung Electronics Co. or Apple's iPhones.

IDC Group ranked LG as the world's fifth-largest phone maker in the first quarter of this year as China's ZTE Corp. climbed to No. 4 and Apple went up to the third place.

"We reduced the shipments of lowest end feature phones last year," Park told reporters at a press conference. "We are not so focused on the unit shipments as much as the quality and sales of...

Restaurant giant Panera Bread made a big business bet eight years ago to offer free Wi-Fi to its customers as a way to boost sales, long before Starbucks.

The fresh breads eatery aimed to court customers in between meals. The experiment worked, raising sales early on about 15%.

But now, it's become a challenge to meet the Wi-Fi demand, says Panera's vice president of technology, Blaine Hurst. "With mobile carriers cracking down on data plans, more and more people say, 'I'll go to Panera for free Wi-Fi.' How do we make sure we have capacity?"

With free Wi-Fi available at national chains such as Starbucks and McDonald's, and becoming more accessible without charge at hotels or airports, Panera is grappling with how to keep its Wi-Fi customers happy amid heated rivalry.

For now, Panera has got a gold-plated problem: Customers' use of its Wi-Fi is way up. Monthly connections to Panera's wireless network at its 1,565 locations have grown to 2.7 million sessions in April from 2.2 million a year ago.

The downside is slow Internet service. The company's network sometimes gets clogged because so many people are online at once. Some Panera locations will restrict Internet use to 30 minutes during the busy lunch hour. But Hurst is looking for solutions.

He's experimenting with rewarding frequent Panera customers with loyalty program benefits: unrestricted Wi-Fi. "Is there a way you get guaranteed access because you're a frequent Panera shopper?" Hurst says. "How do we make it better for our guests?"

Nicole Miller Regan, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, says Panera would be smart to tie premium Wi-Fi with its MyPanera loyalty program, which she says has "extremely high" participation.

Panera says some 45% of all transactions are by loyalty members, who get free "surprises" (cookies, cupcakes, coffee) periodically in exchange for signing in with the card.

"The loyalty program...