Why Apple Won't Allow Adobe Flash on iPhone (1)
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Jennifer Lai (6)
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Portfolio.com: Tech Observer (12)
4 days, 23 hours
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Don't hold your breath waiting for the iPhone to support Adobe's Flash software: Apple's terms-of-service agreement prohibits it. Although Adobe says it is working on a version of its popular Flash player for the iPhone, Apple is unlikely ever to permit it to appear in the handset's App Store, no matter how much customers want it. "I'm pretty skeptical that Flash could be implemented in a way that doesn't violate the Terms of Service of ...
Yang Steps Down as Yahoo C.E.O. (1)
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Laura Rich (4)
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5 days, 15 hours
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After stepping into the top job after C.E.O. Terry Semel was tossed overboard by shareholders; after merger talks with Microsoft went everywhere and nowhere and included interjections by Carl Icahn; and after Yahoo stock plummeted further and further, beyond levels reflecting only the downward-spiraling economy -- now, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang has stepped down as C.E.O.In a memo sent to Yahoo staff today, Yang wrote:the board of directors and I have agreed to initiate a ...
The iPhone Could Have Been a Linux Machine (1)
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1 week, 1 day
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The ongoing Tony Fadell/ Mark Papermaster law-court shuffle is far outside of the Gadget Lab coverage zone), but one fascinating fact has emerged from the dust storm of speculation: Fadell, the Father of the iPod, wanted to make a Linux-based iPhone. How do you think Steve Jobs took that one? In a footnote to his article on the "Executive Scuttlebutt" going on at Apple, Daring Fireball's John Gruber details the origins of the iPhone (yes, ...
Zeno's Paradox and the Facebook Problem (1)
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Laura Rich (4)
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2 weeks, 1 day
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Rafael Cohen writes: We've all heard of Zeno's paradox, where you can never actually arrive anywhere because there's always a halfway point between where you are and where you're going. Maybe its opposite is the new "Zuckerberg's Law"?The Times reports that at the Web 2.0 summit last night the precocious and enigmatic Facebook CEO described how he thinks internet users will continue to expand the amount of information they share on the Web.In fact, he ...
Googlephone Jailbreak: Remote Access Gained (1)
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Jennifer Lai (6)
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2 weeks, 3 days
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What with its open source operating system and developer-friendly nature, cracking open phones running Google's Android was always going to be easier than the full-on assault that was required to hack the iPhone, but we're still impressed by the speed with which hackers have broken the T-Mobile G1. First is full access to the file system on the phone. This part is easy, but you could potentially break everything with an errant rm -r. You ...
The End of This Blog (1)
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Kevin Maney (2)
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3 weeks, 1 day
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Kevin Maney writes: If Tech Observer looks a little sparse from here on, that's because it is dead.Some of you may have already seen the news that almost all of Portfolio.com's staff is getting cut, and the site will be reformulated as something less costly and ambitious. As part of that, my contract to do this blog has been terminated. I've enjoyed being here. To quote Douglas Adams: So long, and thanks for all the ...
Google, Yahoo Might Ditch Their Ad Deal (1)
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Laura Rich (4)
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3 weeks, 2 days
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Sam Gustin writes: The controversial Google-Yahoo search ad deal may fall apart, on its own.After meetings with the Justice Department Thursday, both companies are considering walking away from the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.The deal has been highly controversial from the start. Nearly six months ago, experts suggested that the deal would be a non-starter, because it could put as much as 80 percent of the search advertising market into Google's control. At ...
Christian Science Monitor or Canary in a Coal Mine? (2)
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Kevin Maney (2)
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3 weeks, 3 days
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Kevin Maney writes: In a recent interview, I asked Silicon Valley entrepreneur and thought leader Marc Andreessen about his "New York Times deathwatch," which he'd started earlier this year on his blog. Part of the exchange:If you were running the New York Times, what would you do?Shut off the print edition right now. You've got to play offense. You've got to do what Intel did in '85 when it was getting killed by the Japanese ...
Over 70 Nobel Science Laureates Endorse Obama (2)
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Laura Rich (4)
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3 weeks, 4 days
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Sam Gustin writes: It's no secret that, to many of his critics, George W. Bush hasn't exactly been the "science and technology president."From stem-cell research to global warming to evolution, Bush and his allies have displayed a decidedly anti-science attitude, according to critics. Moreover, faced with the energy crisis, Bush and his allies have refused to make major investments in the technology needed to wean our country off fossil fuels and move to an economy ...
Blu-ray, Not the Right Idea In the First Place (1)
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Kevin Maney (2)
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3 weeks, 4 days
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Kevin Maney writes: All of the sudden, Blu-ray high-def technology seems to be in a hospice, waiting to die. But really, it's been a bad idea for a long time. Blu-ray was a solution in search of a problem -- an unneeded technology brought out at the wrong time. I'm just finishing a book about a broad concept that helps explain the fate of a lot of new products and services, including Blu-ray. The working ...
Free Press Asks F.C.C. for Broadband Transparency Rules (1)
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3 weeks, 4 days
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Sam Gustin writes: After a year of skirmishes with major broadband providers, Free Press, the D.C.-based advocacy group, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to institute new rules requiring greater transparency on the part of internet service providers.Free Press wants the agency to ensure that broadband providers disclose their network management practices, as well as the minimum speeds offered on their networks. The group says the new rules are needed in the wake of two ...
Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud! (1)
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Kevin Maney (2)
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3 weeks, 4 days
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Kevin Maney writes: Who knew a stinkin' cloud could get get so crowded. But here comes Microsoft stomping into cloud computing, instantly taking up space like a 300-pound guy in a middle seat.But this whole thing is getting confusing, especially since cloud computing seems to be a bunch of different markets, not just one. IBM, for instance, announced Blue Cloud a year ago. It's aimed at big corporate customers that want to offload some data ...
If You Embed It, They Will Come (1)
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Andrea Chalupa (0)
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3 weeks, 4 days
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Andrea Chalupa writes: As I said last week, online video may be recession proof. Today, a bunch of online video execs (Mike Hudack the CEO and Co-Founder of Blip.tv, Andrew Heyward former President of CBS News and now Senior Advisor of Marketspace LLC/Monitor Group, to Victoria M. Brown co-founder of Big Think) sat around a table at Rockefeller Center for Beet.TV's Online Video Summit and discussed ways to make sure that's true. The full three-hour ...
Microsoft Finally Turns to the Cloud - Technology Blog - Tech Observer - Portfolio.com (1)
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Laura Rich (4)
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3 weeks, 5 days
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Laura Rich says: Microsoft has finally stuck its head in the clouds.Today, the company unveiled a plan to get into "cloud computing," the Web-based software-as-service model, with Azure Services Platform. Essentially, Microsoft will host applications for businesses and consumers that are built by internal and external developers using the company's desktop coding tools.The move toward software-in-the-sky is a big turn for Microsoft, but also a necessary one if it hopes to regain the momentum it ...
Report: Microsoft May Exit Online Ad Business (1)
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Jennifer Lai (6)
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3 weeks, 5 days
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If Microsoft doesn't purchase all of Yahoo or at least their search business by 2010, they'll be getting out of the online ad business, according to analysts at Cowen and Company. In a research note released today, analysts Kevin Kopelman and Jim Friedland have concluded that Microsoft's respectable third quarter earnings are still troubling for Microsoft's online ad business:None of Microsoft's online initiatives have gained traction and we do not believe the company's current strategy ...
Report: Net Might Be Key Tool in Voter Suppression (1)
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Laura Rich (4)
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1 month
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Ars Technica reports: Let's face it, even hardcore privacy mavens probably appreciate the Internet's magical ability to determine who should see that listing for used Smiths LPs and who would be more receptive to a subscription pitch for Cat Fancy. But a new report from the Electronic Privacy Information Center, released Monday at the group's Washington, DC, headquarters, warns that calculating how "people like you" are apt to vote is just one of the myriad ...
