Category: News

Last week I asked if you would buy Samsung’s newest smartphone, which goes on sale later this month. With a large enough sample size — 1,700 responses so far — time is come to share the results. Seventy percent say they will buy Galaxy S4, although not all immediately. Just 20 percent answer flat-out “No”.

I should qualify the headline: “You likely will buy Samsung Galaxy S4, if you’re not American. Over here, more people are bugaboo about iPhone. Apple had 38.9 percent smartphone subscriber share in February compared to 21.3 percent for its South Korean rival, according to comScore. Elsewhere, Samsung rules, selling more general handsets and smartphones than any other manufacturer, according to Gartner. (Woe to damn provincial Americans!)

Polls like this reflect potential trends and shouldn’t be treated as applying to a whole category of buyers. We don’t qualify respondents and presume the majority are BetaNews readers — or at least gadget geeks. Something else, and this applies to buying polls everywhere: What people say they will do isn’t often what they do. The poll captures sentiments about buying intentions.

Continuing, 18 percent of poll respondents say they will preorder (some international carriers take them already), while 28 percent plan to buy as soon as the S4 is available. “I have already ordered my S4”, BetaNews reader Lawrence Jolly says. “I currently use an S2 that I am very happy with, happy enough to stay with if I am honest however, it is on a contract and the 2 years is up. I am also very keen to go to 4g when that becomes available, something I cannot do on my S2”.

Jolly is “very happy with Android, the S2 was my first Android phone. If the S4 serves me half as well I will be delighted. In truth there is not a lot between all the high-end phones, I like the choice I get with Android though”.

That’s a sentiment Glenn Hughes shares. “I think we have reached the ‘good enough’ point, at least with current technology. I’m much more interested in low-cost phones on pre-paid carriers like Virgin than I am in gimmicky new features. This will probably hold true until the next truly revolutionary new feature-set comes along, which I’m guessing, will be either a big leap in voice interface technology, or some other form of intuitive human interface, along the lines of Google’s project glass, or some such”.

“Meh” is a reaction too commonly expressed around the InterWebs about iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 (hey, just read BetaNews comments). Both are supposed to be flagship, cutting-edge smartphones that the geek crowd looks at with some disdain. The original iPhone was a remarkable advance n handset user interfaces, unmatched by anything that followed. Hughes isn’t alone putting pre-paid before features. According to NPD, all the growth in U.S. smartphone sales is pre-paid.

Long-time BetaNews reader extremely_well is “getting two Galaxy S4s. One for the wife — I’ll take her S2 to replace my aging Nexus One — and one to ship overseas. I’ll probably get the Galaxy Note 3 for myself in 6 months, too. With T-Mobile’s new plans…it really makes sense to own top-end models; they lose only $25-$30 of their value monthly”.

“I’m waiting another year for the S5”, John Crane shares. “My 2-year contract will be up and AT&T will be in the mood to deal. I hope” Larry Brown “just bought a Note 2 and I am very happy with it”.

It seems that Nadya Suleman believes she is in danger of being forgotten. The ‘Octomom’, best known for giving birth to octuplets in 2009, is featured this week in new pictures featured in In Touch magazine. The photos depict the single mom in clothing made famous by actress Angelina Jolie.

Nadya told In Touch that Jolie is her idol, though she states that Jolie, who has six children, has it “easy.” Suleman has fourteen children.

In January 2013 it was reported that Suleman is on welfare after a rocky 2012. Last summer the ‘Octomom’ starred in a solo porn movie titled Octomom Home Alone, which features Suleman masturbating. Around the same time, Suleman appeared at a strip club in Florida to pay her bills. She was admitted to rehab in October, reportedly for an addiction to prescription Xanax.

(Image courtesy In Touch)

LinkedIn has decided to take another step toward being a platform for news, officially announcing the acquisition of Pulse, the news reader app similar to Flipboard.

The transaction is valued at around $90 million, which is at the high-end of the “somewhere between $50M and $100M” range that we heard when rumors of the acquisition began swirling about a month ago.

With this move, LinkedIn says they want to be “the definitive professional publishing platform where all professionals can publish, discover, and share.”

Pulse’s Ankit Gupta and Akshay Kothari say that Pulse will remain the same, and their team is committed to improving upon their apps.

“With LinkedIn by our side, our team will continue to make Pulse the best it can be. We’re still working together on the product you love, and will continue to provide an innovative and visual news reading experience. For now, the Pulse apps will remain the same, and our two teams are excited to work together to create cool and useful new offerings.”

LinkedIn’s Deep Nishar explains what the Pulse acquisition means to them:

“We believe LinkedIn can be the definitive professional publishing platform – where all professionals come to consume content and where publishers come to share their content. Millions of professionals are already starting their day on LinkedIn to glean the professional insights and knowledge they need to make them great at their jobs. We believe we can help all professionals make smarter and more informed business decisions leveraging all the great business knowledge flowing through LinkedIn in the form of news, Influencer posts, industry updates, discussions, comments and more,” he says.

“Pulse is a perfect complement to this vision. Pulse’s core value proposition is to help foster informed discussions that spark the decisions shaping the world around us through news and information. This shared view that the power of professional information and knowledge can transform lives and the world makes LinkedIn and Pulse a particularly great fit. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working side by side with the Pulse team to create new and better ways to help professionals contribute to and leverage this collective body of business knowledge to help them be great at what they do and from wherever they work.”

The first sign of integration comes in the form of a new “LinkedIn Influencer” feed on Pulse.

Pulse was founded back in 2010. Since then, it has amassed 30 million users in over 190 countries. It also boasts content from over 750 publishers.

What’s the first thing we usually blame a crash on? Perhaps the driver was under the influence, or maybe even texting. In one case, however, the cause was a little more terrifying, at least for the driver.

CNN reports that Jerimiah Clyde Hartline, 19, caused a major crash in Southern California after the stolen semi-trailer truck he was driving slammed into a number of vehicles. Hartline says his erratic driving that caused the crash was the result of him trying to shake off zombies that were clinging to the vehicle.

The police say that Hartline was under the influence of a substance that caused the zombie hallucinations. As he was trying to shake off the imaginary zombies, Hartline collided with a Toyota Tacoma than then collided with 4Runner, and so on. As is the case with these kind of collisions, a number of vehicles were involved. There were thankfully no deaths, but the police say those in the Tacoma were “seriously injured.”

So, how did all this happen in the first place? Police say that Hartline, originally from Tennessee, was traveling with Daniel Martinez, the truck driver, after he had been kicked out of his home. As the truck made a scheduled stop in California, Hartline stole the vehicle as Martinez was filling out paperwork.

After the crash, Hartline hopped into a white van demanding that be taken elsewhere. The driver held him until police could arrest him. He was charged with taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and receiving known stolen property.

An interview with Mark Blyth, professor at Brown University and author of Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea.

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A written transcript will be available by April 18.

IDC’s report on plummeting PC shipments has hit Microsoft (MSFT) hard and now Goldman Sachs analyst Heather Bellini has downgraded the company from Hold to Sell while predicting that its market share will “gradually deteriorate” unless it makes bold changes to turn itself around. Per Bloomberg, Bellini writes that Microsoft “faces critical secular challenges given the deteriorating PC demand backdrop” and that its market share will “gradually deteriorate unless Microsoft successfully repositions itself as a more meaningful participant in the new era of consumer compute” that includes tablets and smartphones. Bellini’s note is very similar to a note released Wednesday by BGC analyst Colin Gillis, who said that Microsoft’s “minimal participation” in the mobile market represented “an increasingly urgent problem that may prove difficult to reverse.”

Verizon Wireless has always stuck to the premium of end of the mobile pricing spectrum, leaving budget prepaid plans to its competitors. But it may be changing its strategy. On Thursday it introduced a $35 prepaid plan, which is by far the cheapest thing it offers under the Verizon logo.

FierceWireless first reported on the new plan, but we confirmed the details with Verizon today. The $35 tier targets text junkies using basic phones, offering unlimited SMS and web surfing but only 500 voice minutes. Four feature phones — the LG Cosmos 2 and Extravert and the Samsung Gusto 2 and Intensity III — are available under the plan, and it’s not transferable to other devices. Extra minutes cost an additional 25 cents.

Verizon is no stranger to prepaid, but unlike Sprint and T-Mobile, it hasn’t focused much effort on the segment. At the end of 2012, Verizon had only 5.7 million prepaid subscribers out of 98.2 million retail accounts. In addition, much of Verizon’s recent attention has been directed at the upper tier of the prepaid market — tablets and data modems as well as no-contract smartphones plans.

By delving far below the $50 price tier, Verizon is venturing into the territory of prepaid-only players like Cricket Communications and MetroPCS, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) like Tracfone and Sprint’s no-contract arms Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile. Prepaid has enjoyed enormous growth over the last several years, so you can see why Verizon is interested, though it’s extremely late to the party.

Verizon’s new love of prepaid likely has something to do with its rapidly emptying CDMA network. Since launching LTE two years ago, 50 percent of all of Verizon’s data traffic has migrated to those new 4G systems. Verizon essentially made 3G a fallback network for its next-generation of high-end smartphone users, and to fill the gap left over it’s only offering prepaid services over 2G and 3G phones.

The four feature phones on Verizon’s basic plan are no exception. While you get unlimited data with the plans, you’d have to try very hard to rack up even a modest data usage on these devices. They sport Opera browsers and a few email and social networking apps, but you won’t get access to any advanced applications. What’s more, they only hold CDMA 1X 2G radios, so connection speeds are quite slow.

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A Beaver killed a man in Belarus, after the man tried to take its picture, according to a report from Sky News.

The man, who was on a fishing trip with some friends approached the animal, which bit him on the leg, severing a main artery and causing him to bleed to death.

The unusual nature of this story has drawn a lot of attention to it on the web, and serves as a reminder that nature (and the animal kingdom in particular) can be quite unpredictable. The report cites unnamed “experts” who say that beaver attacks are rare and that “those animals that do go for humans are usually rabid”.

Interestingly, since the incident was reported, other tales of agressive beavers have surfaced.

Sky News itself points to a video of a beaver attack in Russia:

A report from Daily Freeman back in 2010 describes beavers getting agressive in the Catskills. Jay Braman reported at the time:

On July 13, at least one beaver attacked and bit two swimmers and two people tubing in the creek about a mile upstream from the Shandaken hamlet of Phoenicia. Reports indicate that two boys between the ages of 10 and 13 were been bitten — the younger boy twice and the older boy seven times.

Around the same time, the Calgary Sun put out a report: Killer Beaver Has Dog Walkers On Guard in Red Deer, saying:

On Monday, the city’s parks department received a complaint from Alberta Animal Services that a beaver in Three Mile Bend in northeast Red Deer had fatally attacked a dog while it was swimming in the water, said parks superintendent Trevor Poth.

Poth said it’s believed the same beaver is responsible for injuring another dog that was also swimming at the time a couple weeks earlier.

Beavers are territorial creatures, who will not hesitate to defend their homes.

You definitely know that Google is killing Google Reader. You’ve either seen or been part of the outrage. Google will be officially shuttering their popular (but not popular enough) product on July 1st, but as you would expect they’re slowly removing its presence to help ease us all into the transition.

And you probably know that Digg is working to build a replacement. They announced this literally hours after Google made their announcement that they were killing the product. Digg has said from the start that they want to build something that’s fast and simple, and could serve as a true replacement for Google Reader.

Today, Digg has published the results of a survey they sent out to over 17,000 people (8,000+ responses so far), which sought to uncover exactly what people want in the upcoming Digg Reader.

And here’s the most important finding:

What you’re looking at it a word cloud, charting the responses to the question “if there’s one thing you could remove from Google Reader, what would it be?”

Nothing. Google Reader users don’t want anything more. They just want Google Reader. Or, since the second-most tracked word was “google,” they simply want a Reader that functions exactly like Google Reader – with or without Google’s hand.

The survey feedback also uncovered some stats about RSS reader users, like most subscribe to a good number of feeds (roughly 70% subscribe to more than 51) and 80% check their feeds multiple times a day. Nearly 80% said that they use Google Reader for both work and play, and over 40% said that Google Reader is the only RSS reader that they use (the nest most popular feed reader was Feedly).

Some of the feedback gave Digg an idea of what was most important to include in their upcoming reader. For instance, 67% said that they use keyboard shortcuts in Google Reader at least some of the time. That prompted Digg to proclaim that those are “definitely on the list.”

On the flip side, there was search:

“This was an interesting data point. While 25% reported never using search, over just over half said that they sometimes do. Search is a huge investment in terms of development time and infrastructure costs. We don’t yet know if we’ll have the necessary infrastructure up and running in time for our initial beta launch, but it’s definitely on the roadmap,” says Digg.

There’s definitely going to be a hole in the market for a Google Reader-like reader come July 1st when it all goes dark – even with other options already available. Whether or not Digg can step up into that role remains to be seen. Let’s think positively.

Today in the East Room, President Obama told the story of Emil Kapaun, an Army Chaplain from Kansas who served in the US Army during the Korean War. It's a powerful story, and probably best told in the President's own words: 

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LinkedIn confirmed Thursday that it has acquired the social news reader Pulse, explaining how the company wants to use Pulse’s tools to improve the content on LinkedIn’s site. AllThingsD had previously reported that the acquisition would take place, and LinkedIn put the price tag at $90 million, which fits with what Om’s sources told him last month.

LinkedIn explained the acquisition in a press release, noting that the demand for content on the site that relates to people’s professions is growing, and that the Pulse team can help LinkedIn improve the types of news people are seeing:

“We believe LinkedIn can be the definitive professional publishing platform – where all professionals come to consume content and where publishers come to share their content. Millions of professionals are already starting their day on LinkedIn to glean the professional insights and knowledge they need to make them great at their jobs. We believe we can help all professionals make smarter and more informed business decisions leveraging all the great business knowledge flowing through LinkedIn in the form of news, Influencer posts, industry updates, discussions, comments and more.”

Around the time of the acquisition reports back in March, my colleague Mathew Ingram wrote for paidContent why it would make perfect sense, as the company grows into more of a dual recruiting and media business, with users who are interested in business news. In fact, LinkedIn’s executive editor Daniel Roth will be speaking on our panel about the rise of new media entities next week at our PaidContent Live conference in New York.

Pulse wrote in a blog post why it’s joining the company, pointing again to LinkedIn’s demand for knowledge on its site:

“LinkedIn is the perfect partner as we continue our journey. The company shares our passions and values, our belief in the power of knowledge and elevated discussion, particularly for professionals looking for insights to help make them better at what they do. We believe this important step is the key to an even better experience for our community, and we’re excited for what’s to come.”

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Vivid Games S.A., developer of the Real Boxing title, released the official FIM Speedway GP 2013 game to the Google Play Store today. The new racing title promises console-quality graphics, lifelike physics, and improved controls. Players race against computer generated opponents, which are supposed to be smarter in this update for the 2013 season, modeled on real-life riders across 16 different real-world tracks. Along with traditional views, the new title adds a “Helmet Cam” that provides a first person point-of-view. Hit the break for some screen shots and short video highlighting game features. If you want to try Official Speedway GP 2013, use one of the Google Play download links to grab the $1.99 title that required Android 2.3 or higher.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Google Play Download Link

Come comment on this article: Official Speedway GP 2013 brings motorcycle racing action to Google Play

Lindsey Vonn is currently undergoing intense physical therapy for her right leg, but it evidently isn’t enough to keep her from cheering on her new man.

Vonn, who is currently dating golf star Tiger Woods, showed up at The Masters Tournament on Thursday to show support. According to a report from the New York Times, the blonde ski pro was wearing a dress that was long enough to cover the leg brace she currently has on her right leg. Vonn told the publication that she would see Woods play the first hole and watch the rest of the tournament from the clubhouse.

Vonn and Woods officially announced that they were dating back in March, though rumors of their relationship go back as far as January. It was later revealed that Kim Kardashian ex Kris Humphries was also courting the skiing star.

Vonn’s rehab is the result of a horrific crash she endured at a competition in Austria in February. She later had surgery performed on her right knee. Vonn has set a goal of competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and is now chronicling her recovery on social media.

BlackBerry’s next software update could arrive with the company’s second handset, the BlackBerry Q10. Pre-orders for the smartphone with physical keyboard have already started and now a BlackBerry enthusiast site claims to have information on the updated software, which will also be pushed to the currently available BlackBerry Z10.

Some of the expected improvements, says the BBNews blog, are support for sending PIN-based text messages in the BlackBerry Hub, an update to the camera to support HDR photos, and BlackBerry Link, which is a way to browse data files on a remote computer. The blog, based in Poland, isn’t one I’ve followed prior, but the reported features don’t sound far-fetched. Even if these functions do arrive on BlackBerry 10 devices soon, they can’t come soon enough.

A survey by Raymond James, reported by AllThingsD on Thursday, show that 71 percent of survey participants would never use a BlackBerry. That compares to 31.3 percent who have no interest in using Android, while 19.7 percent say nothing would get them to buy an iPhone.

Additionally, analysts are starting to dig deeper in BlackBerry 10 sales figures and finding that return rates are rising. “In several cases, returns are now exceeding sales, a phenomenon we have never seen before,” noted analyst Detwiler Fenton in statement to Bloomberg. Fenton says the unintuitive interface is a barrier, which could be the case, although there are only a handful of gestures needed to use the phone in my experience.

The bigger issue in my mind? Marketing. I haven’t seen the type of media blitz on television or elsewhere that Samsung and Apple typically use to promote their products. Software improvements are welcome — as are more native apps from top-tier development shops — but even the best products on the planet will never reach their sales potential without good old marketing.

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Weaponized iPhone accessories are nothing new, but it’s rare that we get to hear about them in cases involving celebrity assaults. Web entrepreneur and former porn star Jenna Jameson has been making headlines this week after being arrested on assault charges.

Jameson was reportedly accused of hitting someone at a house in Newport Beach, California on Saturday. Since then, new details have emerged. TMZ reports:

Jameson allegedly went all Naomi Campbell on the transgender gofer, but with a dangerous twist … a BRASS KNUCKLES CASE on her iPhone 5 … according to legal docs.

Shocking details of the arrest have now emerged in Britney Markham’s restraining order request, filed by attorney Adam Krolikowski. She claims Jameson barged into a Newport Beach salon and started bitching at her, and eventually punched her in the stomach and back with the weaponized device.

Yep, iPhone knuckles. Photos of them have appeared on Instagram (via TMZ):

Like what you see? Google Shopping appears to offer a wide range of “iPhone knuckles” despite removing some weapons last year.

Jameson has also posted a stun gun photo on her Instagram account:

Last year, Jameson was arrested for D.U.I.

The Microsoft (MSFT) executive who sparked controversy after making public statements regarding unannounced Microsoft products is no longer with the company. Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth made news last week when he publicly responded to concerns that the next-generation Xbox might require an always-on Internet connection to operate. Orth said he was confused by the concern and then told customers to “deal with it.” Now, according to unnamed sources speaking with video game industry blog GameInformer, Orth has voluntarily resigned. Microsoft has not confirmed Orth’s departure, however GameInformer states that a call to the company’s headquarters confirmed that he is no longer with the company.

Here’s an idea that makes a even the biggest broadband advocate in the world question the role of technology in the world of teens. According to the Washington Post…

The photo-sharing site Instagram has become wildly popular as a way to trade pictures of pets and friends. But a new trend on the site is making parents cringe: beauty pageants, in which thousands of young girls — many appearing no older than 12 or 13 — submit photographs of themselves for others to judge.

As the parent of three girls, I’m more than cringing! Especially since the article continues…

Although users can keep their Instagram accounts private or use pseudonyms, they can expose themselves to the public once they share their photos with others.

The girls in the beauty contests often did not take care to keep their identities and locations private. Some dressed in shirts embroidered with their schools’ names, others provided a link to their Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr accounts containing information about who they are and where they live.

I have full access to my grade-school kids’ Facebook accounts, so I see the pictures that their friends post online. Let’s just say that some seem to forget that old adage – don’t post anything online you wouldn’t want your grandma to see. I can only imagine what’s on the Instagram contests.

A similar tool is SnapChat; I wrote about SnapChat on a different blog. It’s an app that allows you to take a picture and send it to a friend with the idea that it shows up only for a few seconds. I found an interesting article from The DePaulia (school newspaper from DePaul) that talks about why the author uses SnapChat and why she admits it’s “Possibly our generation’s self-destructive addiction.” The author alludes to the very dark side of SnapChat…

Anna Brenoff of The Huffington Post wrote, “Certainly, it is the perfect tool for sexting. You get to show off your privates and there’s no evidence left for extortion later. It also means that your Mom, who is doing her best to police what you do online, doesn’t get to see what you send your friends.”

Although she also seems to dismiss the impact…

Internet privacy is a common topic, and I believe more teens know how to deal with it than in the past. Snapchat is for friends, not enemies.

Unfortunately she seems to have forgotten that for a teen, today’s friend may be tomorrow’s enemy. And that for teens alliance to your besties may be stronger the deep-roots of teen romance. (Hacks for saving the temporary pictures are not difficult.)

So what’s a concerned grown up to do?

The Washington Post article alludes to recent steps taken at the federal level to improve online security for kids – but they also admit it’s not enough…

In December, federal officials strengthened privacy rules for children. But analysts say regulators are not keeping abreast of new technological trends that present fresh questions about the safety of children on the Internet.

Threat of legal action has also been an effective tactic. I’ve heard of stories in Minnesota involving inappropriate SnapChat pictures have benched a few athletes – both the original SnapChat sender, the recipient quick enough to do a screen save and the recipients of those captured pictures.  And the results were minimized considerably because the original SnapChatter was over 18. According to Mashable, students in New Jersey may be looking at more serious consequences.

Students at one New Jersey high school could face child pornography charges if found in possession of nude photos of classmates.

Explicit images sent via Snapchat prompted a police investigation after two freshman girls shared pictures on the controversial app and later found them posted on Instagram. The Ridgewood High School students sent photos to at least one male classmate who took screenshots in order to save them to a gallery.

In a letter to parents on Wednesday, Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said school officials were working in conjunction with local police to educate the community about “legal and psychosocial implications of this activity.” Fishbein shared the letter with students in sixth through twelfth grade to address the app’s popular use among middle schoolers.

I think the key in the following example is education. Education in the community, with parents and with students. I’m amazed at how many fellow parents are not aware of what their kids are doing online – and fearful of how much I don’t know. (At least I know that nothing makes technology less cool than your mom using it!) For parents and teachers, the roadblock is often keeping up on technology. Common Sense Media is a helpful source to try to keep up on what’s happening and how you can parent to support better use of technology. Earlier today I wrote about TechTECs, an organization that provides training to communities on topics such as online privacy.

Talking about it at the community level helps too. Bringing it up at broadband meetings and PTA events. Finding ways to get adults connected with what’s happening and helping both adults and teens get the tools they need to navigate through digital opportunities. I wouldn’t trade the safety of being offline for the new worlds my kids enjoy online – but I’m interested in mitigating risks.

How do you say, “Oh no they didn’t” in French? Because that’s a pretty good (translated) paraphrase of an interview that Fleur Pellerin, minister of digital economy for the French government, gave Thursday. Pellerin is pretty unhappy with Apple’s decision to remove AppGratis — a company based in Paris — from the App Store.

She called Apple’s decision “brutal” and implied Apple was behaving unethically, according to accounts of her comments. The decision was made “unilaterally and without explanation,” she complained, according to the Financial Times, adding that “this isn’t virtuous and dignified behavior for a company of that scale.”

Apple’s action may be shocking to Pellerin, but removing an app from the App Store is not uncommon, especially for apps that are breaking the rules. Apple found AppGratis in violation of two iOS developer guidelines. In addition, others have reported – and I have also heard — that AppGratis was selling app makers a guarantee that they could get the app into the top 10 app charts on the App Store, which is a no-no. For its part, AppGratis denies breaking any rules.

What Pellerin wants is for Apple to renegotiate with AppGratis. But that’s not really how the App Store operates: Apple has final approval (its actions are always unilateral) and clearly reserves the right to police its App Store. However, Apple doesn’t generally ban apps for life. If AppGratis makes changes to its app so it’s not breaking rules, there’s probably a really good chance the app will be reviewed and accepted back for distribution.

As I wrote yesterday, part of the problem with these kinds of sudden removals is that they come after months or years of violating the rules. Inconsistent guideline enforcement seems to be what Pellerin is really mad about. Because those rules weren’t invoked earlier, AppGratis was able to build a business and collect millions of dollars of investment.

However, if it makes her feel any better, AppGratis is very unlikely to be the last app of its kind to get dismissed from the App Store. The company is very likely beginning a larger crackdown on app discovery apps that only exist to promote other apps.

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Baby, you’re a rich man.

For the 25th consecutive year, Sir Paul McCartney has been named the richest musician in the U.K. on the Sunday Times rich list. The 70-year-old former Beatle is estimated to be the proud owner of a 680 million pound (roughly $1.05 billion) fortune. He shares that fortune with his third wife, Nancy Shevell.

McCartney has topped this rich list for musicians every single year since it began in 1989.

According to Forbes, McCartney racked up $57 million in earnings last year.

McCartney narrowly beat out Andrew Lloyd Webber (£620 million). In the third spot was U2 (as a whole), with an estimated worth of £520 million. Other top finishers on the music rich list (in order) were Sir Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Mick Jagger, Michael Flatley, Keith richards, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, and Sting.

The Sunday Times also puts out a Young Music rich list, which was topped by Adele this time (£30 million). She was followed by Cheryl Cole, Leona Lewis, Katie Melua, and Florence Welch.

Recently, you may have seen McCartney close the opening ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics and perform alongside the surviving members of Nirvana at the 12-12-12 Hurricane Sandy relief concert. That was seen by approximately 2 billion people worldwide.