Internet

Business
April 19, 2012
by

Facebook’s record-setting IPO reportedly set for May 17th

By on April 19, 2012 at 9:05 AM.

Facebook’s record-setting IPO reportedly set for May 17th

Depending on whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approves the company’s paperwork, Facebook’s highly anticipated IPO could be coming on May 17th, TechCrunch reported on Thursday, citing multiple unnamed sources. Earlier reports have indicated that the social networking giant was aiming for a May offering and Facebook halted trading on the secondary market late last month. The company filed with the SEC in February, and could raise as much as $10 billion at a $100 billion valuation when it goes public, although TechCrunch’s sources believe it will be less. The largest Internet IPO to date was Google’s 2004 offering, which raised $1.9 billion. Facebook’s shares will reportedly be listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the “FB” ticker symbol. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 19, 2012
by

Amazon’s cloud infrastructure said to power 1% of the Internet

By on April 19, 2012 at 12:00 AM.

Amazon’s cloud infrastructure said to power 1% of the Internet

Amazon’s cloud computing infrastructure has seen tremendous growth and is silently becoming a core element of the Internet. According to research from DeepField Networks, one-third of the millions of users covered by the study visited a website that uses Amazon’s infrastructure each day, WIRED reported on Wednesday. While most people still think of Amazon mainly as an Internet retailer, the company is quietly becoming “a massive utility” that is responsible for 1% of all Internet traffic in North America, according to Craig Labovitz, the co-founder of DeepField Networks. “My mother, for example, has heard of Facebook. She’s heard of Google. She buys stuff from Amazon. But I don’t think most people realize just how pervasive Amazon is becoming,” he said. “The number of websites that would now break if Amazon were to go down, and the growing pervasiveness of Amazon behind the scenes, is really quite impressive.” The company stored 762 billion objects in its S3 storage cloud last year, three times the number of objects stored 2010, and it operates several data centers on the West Coast, across Europe, and in Virginia, Singapore and Tokyo. More →

No Comments
Tablets
April 16, 2012
by

Image of Spotify’s official iPad app leaks, launch is ‘getting closer’

By on April 16, 2012 at 10:25 PM.

Image of Spotify’s official iPad app leaks, launch is ‘getting closer’

While Spotify offers a native iPhone app, the company still doesn’t offer one for Apple’s iPad. According to a photo recently published to the web, however, that may soon change. A Swedish technology consultant posted the first image of what is said to be a beta version of Spotify’s official iPad app. The image was posted on Instagram and it featured the caption, “It’s getting closer!” The image has since been removed, but not before it began to spread across various tech blogs. Spotify on Friday sent out press invitations for a special announcement event in New York City. Could the event be for an iPad app? Perhaps, although a press conference dedicated solely to an app seems unlikely. Earlier reports indicated that the music streaming company may announce brand partnerships that will allow app and playlist recommendations from companies in an effort to make the platform more attractive to advertisers. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 16, 2012
by

One in five U.S. adults still doesn’t use the Internet

By on April 16, 2012 at 6:05 PM.

One in five U.S. adults still doesn’t use the Internet

The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s latest poll indicates that one in five adults in the United States still doesn’t use the Internet. “Senior citizens, those who prefer to take our interviews in Spanish rather than English, adults with less than a high school education, and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the least likely adults to have Internet access,” Pew Internet said. Almost half of those adults who don’t use the Internet found the technology irrelevant to them, with most having never used it before. About one in five adults claimed they didn’t know enough about technology to start using the Internet on their own, and only 10% were interested in using the Internet or email in the future. Overall Internet adoption rates have leveled off, however adults already online are using the Web more often than ever before. Pew’s study also showed that 88% of American adults have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an eReader, 19% have a tablet and 63% access the Internet wirelessly with one of these devices. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 16, 2012
by

Google’s Sergey Brin: Apple and Facebook pose huge threat to Internet freedom

By on April 16, 2012 at 12:30 PM.

Google’s Sergey Brin: Apple and Facebook pose huge threat to Internet freedom

Google co-founder Sergey Brin said during an interview published on Sunday that Apple and Facebook pose serious threats to Internet freedom because of their closed approaches to software. While speaking with The Guardian, Brin said there are ”very powerful forces that have lined up against the open Internet on all sides and around the world. I am more worried than I have been in the past. It’s scary.” The executive pointed to the “walled-garden” philosophy that sees companies like Apple and Facebook maintain tight control over third-party software on their respective platforms as the cause for his concerns. Read on for more. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 13, 2012
by

Non-profit ISP focused on privacy raises over $43,000 in one day

By on April 13, 2012 at 4:25 PM.

Non-profit ISP focused on privacy raises over $43,000 in one day

Nicholas Merrill’s crowd-funded Internet Service Provider raised more than $43,000 in donations in less than 24 hours, CNET reported on Thursday. “I had no idea that the crowd funding would take off as much as it has in such a short time,” Merrill told the news source. “I hope that people will continue to spread the word and help Calyx reach its funding goal so this plan can come to fruition sooner rather than later.” Merrill’s new company, The Calyx Institute, aims to be a “non-profit telecommunications provider dedicated to privacy, using ubiquitous encryption,” and intends to sell Internet access for as little as $20 per month. The company is seeking $1 million in donation-based funding for a “bare-bones launch,” or $2 million in funding for a faster launch. “I am grateful for the outpouring of support which I think clearly demonstrates that there is a vast public demand for privacy-conscious telecommunications companies,” Merrill concluded. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 13, 2012
by

Netflix paid $1 million for a recommendation algorithm it never used

By on April 13, 2012 at 3:20 PM.

Netflix paid $1 million for a recommendation algorithm it never used

Netflix in 2006 held an open competition to find the collaborative filtering algorithm that would best predict whether or not a user would like a particular film or TV show based on previous ratings. The grand prize of $1 million was awarded to a team called “BellKor’s Pragmatic Chaos” in 2009. The team’s algorithm was found to be 10% more effect than Netflix’s own recommendation service, however the company never implemented the team’s solution into its own service. “We evaluated some of the new methods offline but the additional accuracy gains that we measured did not seem to justify the engineering effort needed to bring them into a production environment,” Netflix finally explained in a recent blog post. “Also, our focus on improving Netflix personalization had shifted to the next level by then.” The company said because the majority its users were streaming videos rather than renting DVDs, it wasn’t logical to integrate the algorithm into its recommendation service, which is different for its streaming service and DVD rental program. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 11, 2012
by

Google+ receives a major facelift [video]

By on April 11, 2012 at 12:45 PM.

Google+ receives a major facelift [video]

Google on Wednesday announced a major redesign for its Google+ social networking site that will introduce a more functional and flexible user experience. The new interface focuses on customization, Google’s Hangout video chatting service and features that will make it easier to discover new conversations and profile pages. One of the first improvements users will notice is a revamped navigation bar located on the left-hand side of the screen. The “ribbon of applications” can be dragged, dropped and placed in any order. The new interface also features a Facebook-like chat bar on the right with a “Trending” widget to help users discover popular topics on Google+, and a dedicated Hangout page will provide users with quick access to popular hangouts, tips and live broadcast. The new design is slowly rolling out and will be available over the next few days. A video highlighting the new Google+ can be found after the break. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 9, 2012
by

‘Anonymous’ plans bigger and more serious attacks on Chinese government

By on April 9, 2012 at 3:15 PM.

‘Anonymous’ plans bigger and more serious attacks on Chinese government

The hacker group “Anonymous operations” plans to launch further attacks on Chinese government-run websites to protest what it believes to be strict and unfair laws. The loosely knit group launched various cyberattacks on China’s goverment last week and warned that further attacks were on the horizon. “First we want to alert the Chinese government that we aren’t afraid, and we are going to show the truth and fight for justice,” Anonymous hacker “f0ws3r” said to Reuters, adding that more serious attacks are coming against Chinese websites. “Yes, we are planning more attacks, a few at a time,” the hacker said. The group is looking to “take down the Great Firewall of China,” which blocks access to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and many other websites. The Anonymous China team consist of 10 to 12 hackers, most of whom are not based in China, and has “hundreds” of translators who have helped the group hack various Chinese websites, f0ws3r said. The hacker declined to give further details on the next round of attacks, although he did say the group may hit bigger targets this time around. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 5, 2012
by

Federal appeals court revives Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube

By on April 5, 2012 at 9:45 PM.

Federal appeals court revives Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube

A federal appeals court on Thursday revived Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against Google’s YouTube video-sharing website, The Wall Street Journal reported. The media conglomerate had alleged that YouTube allowed users to post unauthorized Viacom content between 2005 and 2008. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case to a lower court, instructing a district judge to determine whether YouTube had knowledge or awareness of infringing material and if it was unwilling to remove it. “We are pleased with the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals,” Viacom said in a statement. “The court delivered a definitive, common sense message—intentionally ignoring theft is not protected by the law.” Tensions between the two companies looked to be easing; just yesterday, Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures struck a deal with the Internet giant to allow more than 500 of its movies to be rented through YouTube and the Google Play marketplace. More →

No Comments
Internet
April 5, 2012
by

‘Anonymous’ hacks Chinese government, protest freedom and civil rights

By on April 5, 2012 at 7:10 PM.

‘Anonymous’ hacks Chinese government, protest freedom and civil rights

Notorious hacker group “Anonymous” on Thursday claimed responsibility for attacks on several government Web sites in China. The group has launched various Internet attacks on the country over the past week in response to what it believes to be strict and unfair laws. “All these years, the Chinese Communist government has subjected its People to unfair laws and unhealthy processes,” the group wrote on one Chinese website. “Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall.” The group goes on to warn that further attacks are on the horizon. “So expect us because we do not forgive, never. What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you. Nothing will stop us, nor your anger nor your weapons. You do not scare us, because you cannot afraid an idea.” Anonymous also acknowledged the Chinese people directly, telling them to remain optimistic, “Don’t loose hope, the revolution begins in the heart.” More →

No Comments
TV
April 4, 2012
by

Over 1 million U.S. cable subscribers cut the cord in 2011

By on April 4, 2012 at 11:25 AM.

Over 1 million U.S. cable subscribers cut the cord in 2011

More than 1 million cable television subscribers in the United States canceled their service in 2011, opting instead for online films and TV shows available through services like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Nearly 2.65 million cable or satellite TV subscribers have canceled their service since 2008 to rely solely on Web-based services according to estimates from the Convergence Consulting Group. “It’s pretty obvious that there’s actual cord-cutting going on in the U.S.,” Brahm Eiley, president of Convergence Consulting, said in an interview with Bloomberg. The firm warns that the pace of defections may slow this year, however, as content providers tighten online access to shows and increase prices. It is estimated that roughly 930,000 customers will cut the cord in 2012, for a total of 3.58 million subscribers since 2008. The group also estimates that traditional television providers will add 185,000 accounts this year, up from 112,000 in 2011. More →

No Comments
Business
April 4, 2012
by

Yahoo announces plans to lay off 2,000 workers

By on April 4, 2012 at 9:35 AM.

Yahoo announces plans to lay off 2,000 workers

Yahoo on Wednesday confirmed plans to lay off more than 2,000 employees as part of new cost-cutting efforts. The Internet giant currently employs approximately 14,000 full-time workers and several thousand more contractors. The workforce reductions will be spread across a number of units within Yahoo including its product division, local business unit, marketing division and research and development division. “Today’s actions are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo! — smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require. We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities. Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first — and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal,” said Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo!. “Unfortunately, reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate positions. We deeply value our people and all they’ve contributed to Yahoo!.” Yahoo plans further cuts in the coming months, and the company’s full statement on the layoffs follows below. More →

No Comments