Stories for May. 23, 2013
Following Behance buy, Adobe acquires mobile app design firm Thumb Labs
Adobe has acquired another design tool, following its Behance buy — the Brookyln based mobile app design shop Thumb Labs. Read more »
Apple, in political crosshairs, is on pace to boost lobbying
Having a larger presence in the nation’s capital and making friends with the policymakers that can wield great power over its reputation and fortunes may just be something Apple has to do. Read more »
Nokia Siemens invites Intel into the guts of the mobile network
Intel is supply the processing might for NSN’s new Liquid Apps architecture. The technology could greatly improve the flow of traffic over the mobile internet, but it might also unfairly favor some content over others. Read more »
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Future-proofing business continuity and disaster recovery
This GigaOM Research webinar will examine the ways in which IT can negotiate on-premise and cloud-based technologies to produce the most resilient, responsive BC/DR system for their budget. Join us on June 6 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Read more »
Twitter unveils new multi-screen deals with “Twitter Amplify”
Twitter is rapidly expanding its “multi-screen” ad offerings through a range of new partnerships with sports, news and other media companies. Read more »
Taskrabbit looks for more revenue with plans to shake up the temp industry
You can still hire a TaskRabbit to pick up your groceries or walk your dog, but now businesses will able to hire temps through TaskRabbit’s new platform as well. Read more »
Amazon: victim or aggressor? Issue will frame Apple ebook trial
photo: Getty Images / Spencer Platt
Apple and the federal government are about to go to trial over an alleged conspiracy to fix ebook prices — but recent court filings show that Amazon will play a large role in determining the outcome. Read more at paidContent »
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Sorry UK, Facebook won’t be sharing the HTC First with you after all
The HTC First with Facebook Home pre-installed was set to launch in the U.K. next month but that’s not going to happen. EE says Facebook has decided to cancel the launch and focus on the Facebook Home software. Read more »
Google cuts prices on week-old datastore
Don’t like the cost of your cloud datastore? Wait a second, it’ll probably go down. Watch for rivals to jump in. Read more »
Amazon pushes forward with Kindle Fire HD’s international expansion
photo: Amazon
Amazon is making its Kindle Fire HD tablets broadly available internationally, with preorders shipping in June. The tablets were already available in Europe and Japan. Read more »
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Must read
Joyent to Amazon: It’s on
Joyent isn’t being coy about it: It wants to compete head on with Amazon and that means it will offer many more options including some, it says, are cheaper than analogous AWS services. Read more »
Sponsored post: Determining the root cause of a data breach using “the 5 Whys”
Developed for manufacturing, the 5 Whys technique can be applied to many situations in IT. In this post, we use it to identify the root problem underlying a data breach: nonexistent entitlement procedures. There is a solution. Varonis DatAdvantage and DataPrivilege automate permissions audits and entitlement reviews. Read more »
ConteXtream claims mystery carrier has deployed its SDN technology to 40M customers
photo: ConteXtream
Software-defined networking vendor ConteXtream says a wireless service provider has deployed software to virtualize a network that supports around 40 million customers. Read more »
Mailbox launches iPad app and says Android is in the works
Looking to make the most of your love for Mailbox, the hip new email app? Now that the startup has joined up with Dropbox, it’s launching an iPad app this week. Read more »
Must read
WibiData gets $15M to help it become the Hadoop application company
photo: Christophe Bisciglia (left) and Aaron Kimball (right)
Startup WibiData has raised another $15 million and wants to turn the lessons it has learned in the field into generic software that can let anyone build predictive applications on Hadoop. Read more »
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Podcast: How to design a connected device that isn’t a jerk, plus IoT’s recipe for success
Life now. Data later. In this week’s podcast guest Carla Diana, a product designer, discusses this mantra and other attributes designers should consider when developing connected products. Read more »
Shazam’s new iPad app automatically tags every song you ever listen to
Shazam wants you to turn your iPad into an automated logging device for any type of media playing within reach. Read more »
Europe wants to be big in chip manufacturing
A new industrial strategy for the continent aims to unlock €100 billion in private-sector funding through the use of targeted public-sector funding for R&D in the fields of nanoelectronics and microelectronics. Read more »
Stories for May. 22, 2013
Must read
6 things every CIO should know (or at least think about)
CIOs may be the kings of the IT heap within their companies but they are also under siege — new technologies from outside, recalcitrant CEOs, budget-stealing CMOS. Some things to ponder. Read more »
Ericsson, Nokia Siemens lay the groundwork for HetNet with new Wi-Fi technology
The heterogenous network will eventually allow our devices to connect to Wi-Fi and cellular networks simultaneously, but first those networks need to coordinate with one another. Read more »
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If Fisker goes for $20M, that’s an over 99 percent discount from its peak valuation
Is $20 million the final valuation of electric car maker Fisker Automotive? Yikes, that’s what a group is reportedly bidding on Fisker for, and which would be less than 1% of its original valuation. Read more »
Google plans to bring its own voice search to the iPhone and iPad
Voice search will be available as part of an update to Chrome for iOS “in the coming days,” Google announced Wednesday. It’s yet another part of Google’s broader effort to create a layer on top of its chief competitor’s mobile OS. Read more »
Survey: Share your thoughts on Microsoft’s Xbox One
The web is abuzz with talk of Microsoft’s Xbox One, which was announced on Tuesday. Here’s a chance for GigaOM readers to share their own thoughts by taking our survey. Read more »
Twitter does the two-step, gets serious on security with new authentication feature
photo: alexmillos/Shutterstock.com
Twitter has finally joined other leading tech companies in offering two factor authentication. The move comes after high profile hacking incidents at the AP and other news outlets. Read more »
Jennifer Lopez gets into the mobile dealer biz, founding Viva Movil
photo: Viva Movil
Viva Movil launching a line of mobile device stores targeted at Latinos and has tapped Verizon Wireless to be its exclusive partner. The phones and service will be Verizon, but the marketing will be all J-Lo. Read more »
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Must read
How Google plans to rule the computing world through Chrome
Are you ready for Google to take over the desktop? You’d better be if you use Chrome. With it, Google is making a play to rule the computing world as a back door to a new app economy. Read more »
Google X is acquiring high altitude wind startup Makani Power
Google’s moonshot lab Google X is buying up Makani Power, a startup that makes a kite-like wind power device. It’s probably the best place for the long shot, big idea that is high altitude wind. Read more »
Must read
Concurrent is building a Hadoop assembly line in open source
photo: Shutterstock / PENGYOU91
Cascading creator Concurrent has developed a new open source tool called Pattern for running machine learning models on Hadoop clusters. When combined with its SQL tool called Lingual, users can move data from one stage to another easily. Read more »
Netflix may roll out 16 original shows, stand-up comedy specials next year
Netflix continues its competition with HBO by going into the stand-up comedy space. Altogether, the company may launch up to 16 original shows next year. Read more at paidContent »
Vermont sues patent troll over small business shakedowns
photo: Flickr / Jacob Bøtter
Patent trolls have been bleeding legitimate businesses for years — now a state government has turned the tables and asked a troll to pay $10,000 for each of the hundreds of threatening letters it has mailed out. Read more »
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Skyhigh Networks gets $20M to lift IT out of the shadows
photo: Shutterstock user alexmillos
In line with big investments in IT security, Skyhigh Networks is gaining ground with $20 million in new funding for software that puts a spotlight on shadow IT. Read more »
CoolEmAll project tests tools for energy-efficient data center design
photo: Microsoft
The European Commission-funded project wants data center designers and operators to test prototypes of tools that should, from 2014, make it easier to build data centers that are as energy-efficient as possible. Read more »
How robots can do more in data centers and lower the costs of operating the cloud
An article from Data Center Knowledge points to things robots can do to increase efficiency in data centers. But hurdles lie ahead, and data centers will still need administrators, the article suggests. Read more »
HTC One and the harsh reality of the Android ecosystem
HTC was the shining star during the early days of Android. Now it is reeling under the pressure of cheap Androids, a dominant Samsung and a management disarray. It’s a damn shame, as the new HTC One is actually a nice device. Read more »
Boost’s new Mobile Wallet is coming to Virgin and maybe even Sprint
photo: Sprint
Sprint has big plans for its digital wallet. It wants to become a “virtual bank” for customers who don’t have checking accounts and a supplemental financial service for those that do. Read more »
Instructions on how to transform a comment troll into a human being
photo: Flickr / Jeremy King
Comment trolls are often used as an example of why blog comments are a waste of time, but a recent series by the Climate Desk showed how they can quickly be turned into human beings. Read more at paidContent »
Zite adds 7 new publishing partners; updates iOS app with Google Reader-inspired features
photo: Albert Chau
Personalized social reader Zite is updating its iOS app with more Google Reader-inspired features, and also added seven new publishers to its publisher program. Read more at paidContent »
Soo Meta, the Storify for online video storytelling, launches to the public
Soo Meta redefines video storytelling by turning Storify-like content curation into great-looking video slideshows. The platform even allows producers to add polls and quizzes to their videos. Read more at paidContent »
Need a quick $30K? Recommend the right developer and it’s yours
photo: Flickr/401(K) 2012
In a sign of scorching demand for star developers, Hubspot is willing to pay a $30,000 bounty to whoever recommends the right person it ends up hiring. Read more »
Twitter tool lets brands sign up customers inside a tweet
photo: GigaOM
Twitter’s latest ad product provides a call to action right inside a tweet — showing the company is finally creating marketing tools closer to the “bottom of the funnel.” Read more »
