Anyone looking to search the web without being tracked by advertisers will soon be able to use Mozilla’s Firefox browser without worries. The Washington Post reports that Mozilla is moving ahead with plans to implement a “Do Not Track” system that will let users opt out of the most common types of tracking that advertisers use. Advertisers are predictably unhappy with Mozilla’s decision, of course, but the Post says that Mozilla executives are confident about “the growing sophistication of tools they are building to limit the placement of cookies in users’ browsers” such as their plan to “add limits on cookies placed by sites users intentionally visit, such as Facebook, to prevent tracking when users sign off and go to other sites.” Mozilla CTO Brendan Eich said that the organization’s efforts to carry out a strong Do Not Track policy were the best way “to change the dynamic so that trackers behave better.”
Verizon seems to have found itself in a fresh net neutrality controversy. GigaOM reported earlier this week that bandwidth provider Cogent Communications accused Verizon of “allowing the peer connections” between the two companies “to degrade,” which results in slower wireline traffic for end users. Cogent CEO Dave Schaffer told GigaOM that Verizon says that it’s not adding more ports to its peer connections with Cogent because it’s moving traffic for an unspecified video provider that Schaffer believes to be Netflix. More →
Google is developing a new technology that will help search engines and other Internet companies collectively remove child pornography from the Web, The Telegraph reported. The database will remove images from the Internet that have been “flagged” by organisations such as the Internet Watch Foundation. A Google spokesperson explained that the “industry-wide global database” will “help all technology companies find these images, wherever they might be,” and “they will then be blocked and reported.” To assist in its goal of eradicating inappropriate images of children, Google also plans to set up a $2 million fund for independent software developers to aid them in creating new ways of preventing the spread of child pornography. The database is expected to be operational within a year.
Apple revealed earlier this week that its iTunes music store is now home to 575 million users. Horace Dediu of Asymco noted that the company is adding roughly a half-million new accounts on average per day. At its current rate, Apple will add another 100 million iTunes accounts by the end of 2013. The analyst found that while more consumers are using the service, revenue per account has actually decreased over the past few years. He explained that each of the 575 million accounts generates about half as much revenue, or $3.20 per month, as Apple’s 100 million iTunes accounts did in 2009. Dediu doesn’t think Apple is in trouble, however. He notes that customer satisfaction and loyalty is still high, and the number of new customers is increasing at higher rate than the decline in spending.
Revelations about the National Security Agency’s vast intelligence gathering operations may have been the best thing to happen to lesser known search engine DuckDuckGo. VentureBeat reports that the obscure search engine, which bills itself as an escape from Google’s data-tracking search engine, has been having its best-ever week of traffic after visitors conducted a record 2.35 million searches on Wednesday. While this is obviously still a far cry from typical Google or Bing traffic, it’s still an impressive leap for a search engine that has handled fewer than 1.5 million daily queries throughout most of 2013. DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg tells VentureBeat that he believes “the surveillance story is paramount right now, and people are talking about it” and that “DuckDuckGo users are telling their friends and family about the private alternatives.”
If there is one thing Google is good at, it’s finding new and exciting ways to use data. We can’t even begin to imagine what Google is working on behind closed doors at any given time, but every once in a while it releases a nifty new tool that gives the general public new ways to look at the mountains of data that pass through Google’s network every millisecond. Most recently, the company released a very cool new visualization tool tied to Google Trends that shows us popular searches happening at any given time. The tool can show global searches or regional data in any one of eleven different regions, and it is free to use on Google’s Trends site.
Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak had a quick chat with FayerWayer earlier this week, and the site asked him about a wide range of topics, including the new look of iOS 7 and the recent revelations about the NSA’s PRISM surveillance program. Wozniak’s most interesting comments, though, were about how cloud computing is slowly eroding the concept of owning content that we pay for, which in turn leaves us with less freedom than we used to have. More →
Networking company Cisco estimates that Internet traffic will grow three-fold between 2012 and 2017 to reach an annual run rate of 1.4 zettabytes, more than a trillion gigabytes per year. The firm expects traffic to reach nearly 121 exabytes per month by 2017 — equal to 30 billion DVDs, 28 trillion MP3′s or 750 quadrillion text messages — and an increase from 44 exabytes per month in 2012. Roughly 3.6 billion people worldwide are expected to access the Internet by 2017, or around 48% of the world’s projected population. In 2012, 2.3 billion people worldwide used the Internet, accounting for nearly 32% of the world’s 7.2 billion people. Cisco also estimates that the average fixed broadband speed will more than double from 11.3Mbps in 2012 to 39Mbps in 2017. Unsurprisingly, non-PC Internet traffic is expected to reach 49% in 2017, up from 26% in 2012.
Eat your heart out, Google Fiber. Engadget reports that Sony-backed Japanese ISP So-net has launched Nuro, a new fiber service with 2Gbps maximum speeds that put even Google Fiber to shame. What makes Nuro particularly enticing is its jaw-dropping low price: Engadget says that “when hitched to a two-year contract, web surfers will be set back 4,980 yen ($51) per month and pony up a required 52,500 yen (roughly $540) installation fee, which is currently being waived for customers who apply online.” Japanese prefectures Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Tokyo, Kanagawa and Saitama will be the first to get the service, which will presumably continue spreading throughout the rest of the country.
Netflix is a convenient and affordable service that has truly revolutionized the way people watch TV. The service is available for as low as $7.99 per month for unlimited access to thousands of TV shows and movies on any device. While the company limits the number of users that can simultaneously stream a video, Netflix doesn’t seem to care about users sharing their accounts with friends, family members or roommates. If you have a Netflix account, chances are that you have shared your password with another person. In fact, it has been estimated that as many as 10 million people are accessing the service without paying. More →
Google on Tuesday confirmed that it has acquired social navigation company Waze. Earlier reports had suggested that Google offered to pay a whopping $1.3 billion to acquire the company, reportedly beating out both Apple and Facebook. Brian McClendon, Google’s vice president of geo-products, announced that for the time being, the Waze product development team will operate separately and will not be forced to relocate to Mountain View — which was a stumbling block during the negotiations between Waze and Facebook. The company said that it plans to integrate Waze’s traffic features into Google Maps, while continuing to work with and build the “vibrant Waze community.”
Mississippi state Attorney General Jim Hood has accused Google of allowing illegal online pharmacies to continue to advertise their counterfeit prescription drugs on its website. The company previously paid $500 million to settle a suit with the Justice Department for displaying advertisements for illegal Canadian pharmacies selling their products in the United States. Hood claims that not only does Google still display search results for websites known to sell counterfeit goods, some of these websites actually pay Google to advertise on the site. Google has acknowledged the problem, noting that it is continuing to fight illegal online pharmacies and has removed more than 3 million ads for counterfeit drugs.
