Technology giant Apple is in talks to buy headphone maker and music-streaming service provider Beats Electronics, according to various media reports.

The reports claim Apple could pay as much as $3.2bn (£1.9bn) and a deal could be announced next week.

If completed, it will be Apple's biggest ever acquisition.

It is being seen as a move by Apple to get a stronger foothold in the phone and music accessories business and bolster its online music offerings.

The two areas are expected to see fast growth in the coming years.

The Financial Times, which was the first to report the talks, cited a source as saying the firms were still negotiating the details.

'Really puzzling'

This is really puzzling. You buy companies today to get technologies that no one else or customers that no one has” 

Beats was founded by music producer Jimmy Iovine and the hip-hop star Dr Dre and until recently was best known for its headphones.

It started a subscription-based music streaming service earlier this year.

However, Apple already has its own iTunes store which is the world's largest music download service. It also launched iTunes Radio last year.

That has made some industry watchers question the move.

James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester, said there was a big overlap of customers between the two firms.

"This is really puzzling," he said. "You buy companies today to get technologies that no one else or customers that no one has.

"They must have something hidden under the hood."

The reported price is also a huge premium on Beats's previous valuation.

Beats was valued at just $1bn after its last funding round in September, which saw it get a $500m investment from the Carlyle Group.

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BY THE BBC

Hackers have stolen the personal data of 1.3 million customers from the French branch of mobile network operator and Internet service provider Orange.

The hackers have access to names, email addresses and phone numbers.

Orange France has been aware of the hack since 18 April but delayed announcements to asses the damage.

Earlier this year, Orange saw the personal data of 800,000 of its clients stolen in a similar attack.

"For the people concerned, the data recovered includes their first names and surnames," an Orange representative said.

"In addition, depending on the information supplied, email addresses, mobile and fixed-line phone numbers, the identity of the person's Internet operator and their date of birth, were also recovered."

Orange was not able to say whether the stolen data was encrypted, although the company has warned customers that the theft could be used to contact those concerned by email, SMS or phone, particularly for phishing purposes.

Customers have expressed their anger at the situation on the company's Facebook page and across Twitter.

An Orange representative said: "All necessary actions have been implemented to correct the relevant technical dysfunctions and to prevent any new illegitimate access to this data."

Phishing for data

Phishing is a process of acquiring sensitive information, such as passwords or bank details, by indirect means, often using social engineering techniques to deceive users.

A typical phishing email will provide a link to a cloned version of a legitimate website, which hackers can then use to harvest login details from unsuspecting individuals.

Some Orange France customers are now at more risk from these attacks than others - if you think you may be at affected, guidance from Get Safe Online suggests users should check that websites are secure before entering any private information.

Basic measures such as ensuring the padlock symbol in the address bar is visible when entering an alleged secure website could save many individuals from becoming victims of a phishing scam.

A similar instance of data theft within the telecommunications industry occurred in September 2013, which saw Vodafone Germany fall victim to a hacker who claimed to have stolen the personal data of two million customers.

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- Gareth Bale leaves Spurs, they are unable to score. It’s just a coincidence! -

Anonymous

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It was obviously a disappointing day at Merseyside for David Moyes and his lads who were unable to respond to Daniel Sturridge's early headed opener. The Reds are now five points behind the arch-rivals from Anfield in the table as Brendan Rodgers' outfit have won all three league games 1-0. 

Daniel Sturridge redirected Daniel Agger's header from a Steven Gerrard corner in the fourth minute to send the home support wild. In an open start to the game, both sides could have embellished the scoreline. Robin van Persie hooked an overhead kick just over Simon Mignolet's goal, and the Liverpool goalkeeper was later relieved to see both van Persie and Danny Welbeck miss Ashley Young's low corner.

The hosts passed up two promising openings from dead ball situations, with David De Gea smartly clutching Gerrard's curling effort, before the game descended into a fractious affair, which yielded bookings for Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick, van Persie and Liverpool's Iago Aspas.

David Moyes' side dominated proceedings in the second period, but without forging enough clear-cut openings. Antonio Valencia, Nani and Chicharito were gradually introduced from the bench, and the latter pair combined to release van Persie in the 87th minute for United's clearest chance. However, the Dutchman could only fire wide of Mignolet's near post.

Despite grasping almost total control of the game and reducing the hosts to a defensive mass, the champions couldn't muster the penetration to reap rewards and suffered a first defeat of the season.

Liverpool v Manchester United by dm_5223da643523c Read More »

Familiar foes can make for fascinating football, as we found out Friday night.

After a thrilling 2-2 draw over 120 minutes, Bayern Munich defeated Chelsea 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the UEFA Super Cup final at Prague's Eden Arena. In victory, the German giants added to their historic trophy haul from last season and earned a measure of redemption for the 2012 Champions League final, which they lost to Chelsea in another penalty shootout.

Bayern, Champions League winners last spring, converted all five penalties in Friday's shootout via David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer then saved Chelsea's final kick, which was taken by Romelu Lukaku. Before that, David Luiz, Oscar, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole had converted for Chelsea.

It was a bitter ending for Chelsea, who led 2-1 until the final passage of play in extra time. Eden Hazard gave 10-man Chelsea the lead with a bouncing shot that tricked Neuer in the 93rd minute. With the final seconds ticking off, Javi Martinez collected a free kick in Chelsea's box, maintained his composure and fired his shot past Petr Cech for a last-gasp equalizer.

The late drama mirrored the 2012 Champions League final, which was 1-1 before the penalty shootout and saw Chelsea equalize in the closing moments. This time, though, Cech's heroics in goal were not enough for the London club.

But it wasn't for lack of effort on Cech's part.

Bayern peppered Chelsea's goal with shots throughout extra time, but Cech repeatedly made saves. The 31-year-old Czech stopper kept out close-range headers by Mario Mandzukic and Martinez in the 108th and 109th minutes, respectively, and tipped away Ribery's goal-bound free kick in the 118th minute.

Ribery, who was voted UEFA Best Player in Europe on Thursday, scored Bayern's first equalizer in the second minute of the first half. The Frenchman dribbled at the Chelsea defense on the left before uncorking a shot from long range to beat Cech.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Hazard sliced through the Bayern defense before passing to Andre Schurrle on the right. Schurrle crossed for Fernando Torres, who finished the flowing move with a powerful volley past Neuer.

Bayern dominated possession, with 64 percent compared to Chelsea's 36 percent, but struggled to break down the Blues' defense. First-year manager Pep Guardiola opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation, but with holding midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger injured, Bayern's attacks often appeared disjointed. 

Some of that probably had to do with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who was familiar with Guardiola from several matchups between the two in Spain's La Liga. Mourinho's approach seemed to suffer a blow late in the second half when Ramires drew a red card for his second bookable offense, a foul on Mario Gotze. But despite playing a man down throughout extra time, the Blues took the lead following the dismissal and came within seconds of winning.

But Martinez's late equalizer and Bayern's precision from the penalty spot meant another trophy for the Bavarian giants. Last season under Jupp Heynckes, Bayern won the Bundesliga and German Cup in addition to the Champions League.

Chelsea reached the Super Cup by winning last season's Europa League under interim manager Rafa Benitez.

By: Bleacher Report.

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“People do strange things; therefore weird laws are written to help straighten them out. Some of these bizarre laws almost seem like urban myths or too ridiculous to be real, yet odd as they are, they were created for a reason. Some of these laws date back several hundred years and were never changed or eliminated and make very little sense in today’s world, but nonetheless these weird laws found all around world do exist.”

-it Thing-

…And I've compiled 6 of them: 

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