03
May
2009
|
19:55 PM
America/Los_Angeles

Newswatch: Real Time Information; Popularity Based Search

Monday 8am Silicon Valley news report:

An invention that could change the internet for ever -The Independent


Computer experts believe the new search engine will be an evolutionary leap in the development of the internet. Nova Spivack, an internet and computer expert, said that Wolfram Alpha could prove just as important as Google. "It is really impressive and significant," he wrote. "In fact it may be as important for the web (and the world) as Google, but for a different purpose.


Cyber chief needs to be in White House: experts -Reuters


Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said his group had urged that the task of ensuring cybersecurity be given to the Department of Homeland Security, not the National Security Agency, or NSA, which is responsible for breaking codes and electronic spying.



Microsoft's Windows 7 test implies holiday launch -AP


The software maker is counting on Windows 7 to win over businesses that put off upgrading to Vista, which got off to a rough start because it didn't work well with many existing programs and devices.


Tinker Away, Facebook Says -NYTimes


The company said it would provide a set of technology tools that will let other companies create programs that tap into the heart of the social network — the endless stream of photographs, status updates and comments that people post to the service. Saying it is unable to provide a range of access to the service from every possible gadget...


Old Japanese maps on Google Earth unveil secrets -AP


When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused any problems.


Google in dispute over book project -MercuryNews


At the heart of the controversy is the value of books that are no longer sold except occasionally in used-book stores and whose legal ownership is unclear. The vast majority of written work exists in this limbo in libraries around the world. Of the more than 7 million books Google has scanned since December 2004, only 1 million books were in the public domain, whose copyright has expired, and 1 million were still in copyright and also in print. The remaining 5 million books appear to be in copyright but out of print, and Google continues to scan more books each day.


Computer History Museum celebrates the semiconductor -SFGate


Fifteen scientists will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame Saturday in a ceremony at the Mountain View museum, and Intel co-founder Andy Grove will receive a lifetime achievement award.


The Man Who Made Gmail Says Real-Time Conversation is What's Next -NYTimes


Many social networking sites are moving towards real time information delivery instead of requiring page advancement or refreshing to find out what's new.


A Silver Ooze That Could Shrink the iPod -NYTimes


The start-up specializes in what semiconductor folks call 3-D stacking technology. Essentially, this means placing chips on top of each other and forming electrical connections between the products. The technique can lead to faster communications between the chips, takes advantage of vertical space inside products and can reduce the need for wires stretching across a device.


Why Tech Stocks Are on a Tear -WSJ


While there are many questions about the economic situation, analysts believe that technology shares will play a leading role in an eventual recovery.


What Startups in Amazon’s Ecosystem Should Learn From VMware -NYTimes


In many ways, this parallels what happened in the virtualization management space. As VMware’s hypervisor, ESX, penetrated the data center, IT administrators realized their existing data center management tools were ill suited for virtual environments. So startups emerged to fill the holes in VMware’s only management console, Virtual Center.


Controversial Web ‘Framing’ Makes a Comeback -WSJ


Facebook’s decision to start framing has prompted mixed reviews. When a user clicks to follow the link for an article or Web site that a friend posts to be shared on Facebook, that outside content is still framed within Facebook’s site, and the question of whether the publishers of those stories to lose credit for traffic directed there via Facebook comes into play.


Ex-Seagate CEO Watkins back with chip start-up -cnet


A few months after being ousted as chief executive of Seagate, Bill Watkins is back with a new start-up that's cooking up ways to pack high-density flash memory chips into small devices.


IPhone apps are even tempting 3-year-olds -SFGate


"Nowadays, you try to give a child a plastic phone and they're like, 'You think I'm stupid? I want the real thing!' " said Simonian, who runs a small toy company called Only Hearts Club. "All of this technology is going to be a huge part of their lives. They're starting young, and by the time they're my kids' ages - 7, 10 and 12 - it's totally second nature to them."


When the Cellphone Teaches Sex Education -NYTimes


Sex education in the classroom, say many epidemiologists and public health experts, is often ineffective or just insufficient. In many areas of the country, rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases remain constant or are even rising.


Pentagon uses Facebook, Twitter to spread message -SFGate


Earlier this year, the Army established an online and social media division within its public affairs office. The division's director, Lt. Col. Kevin Arata, said the search is on every day to find new avenues online to reach not only soldiers, but their families and the general public.


How Domino's responded to prank video -SFGate


The saga of the prank Domino's video could be a case study of how fast-moving social media can both giveth and taketh away.


Journalism 2.0: Don't Throw Out the Baby -ReadWriteWeb


Until we as an industry can do a better job at monetizing quality, at correlating quality with revenue, the sensible business decision is simply to go after page views, any page views.


Keeping the Grateful Dead Archive Trucking, with Technology -WSJ


The target is the Grateful Dead Archive, a repository of historic documents and other material that surviving members of the iconic rock band have donated to the University of California at Santa Cruz. That beach community and the university campus are not far from Seagate’s headquarters in Scotts Valley, Calif. Watkins had resolved to help raise money for the archive before his surprise ouster in January.