A new beta version of ScraperWiki makes it easy to relatively easy to scrape Twitter for certain phrases and get to work analyzing the data. It’s just one more way that data analysis is getting democratized. Read more »
The NYT’s multimedia project Snow Fall was a huge success, attracting big audiences and lots of plaudits. But the paper can do even better — it can build a new business from this type of project, and change the definition of journalism in the new century. Read more »
Google Drive had another service disruption on Friday, and it probably doesn’t help Google’s efforts to woo enterprises onto Google Apps and other Google cloud products. Read more »
Google has reportedly abandoned plans to launch a physical Google Wallet card. The company’s mobile payment system has been slow to take off. Read more »
An arcade-style game that is more challenging than it may first appear. If there were such a genre for side-scrolling puzzle games, this game would define it, except for one minor detail: it’s vertical. Read more »
Something Amazon is really good at and something Apple is not: the cloud. Amazon hones in on its competitors’ cloud-based photo territory on Apple’s own platform with a new app. Read more »
We caught up with Dave Lester, soon-to-be graduate of UC Berkeley’s School of Information and a web developer who told us about his drone hacking project, the importance of code integration, and his upcoming foray into open source at Twitter. Read more »
Psychologists are studying the use of sensor-based devices to help treat people with substance abuse problems. Read more »
ESPN is reportedly in negotiations with Verizon to exempt its content from the carrier’s data caps. Such a deal would set a precedence for a very different mobile internet than the one we know today. Read more »
Capturing energy from light and heat using tiny antennas could be a way to produce solar energy at a lower cost, and capture and reuse waste heat from industrial processes. They’re still in the prototype phase. Read more »
Twitter says it doesn’t have any interest in hiring reporters or performing other journalistic functions — but regardless of whether it does so, it is still a powerful media entity and one that grows stronger by the day. Read more at paidContent »
Boxfish’s new Android app lets you search in real time for topics on TV. The data used to power the app could one day also make your DVR smarter. Read more »
The Financial Times is the latest publisher to strike a partnership with Flipboard. The deal is interesting because the FT recently left another third-party platform, iTunes. Read more at paidContent »
The aerospace and defense firm wants to beef up its commercial business by picking up Axell, whose technology is used to improve mobile broadband capacity for businesses and public safety systems. Read more »
A monthly look at where health tech investors put their money. Read more »
The expectations of a new Nexus 7 keep rising. This week an analyst notes that Google will use a 1920 x 1200 display and Snapdragon 600 chip for an updated small tablet. Read more »
Ping.it aims to help users discover targeted content across the web — for example, YouTube videos that appeared on Reddit and got the largest number of Facebook likes. The service, in public beta, is still clunky, but worth checking out. Read more at paidContent »
Love him or hate him, Oracle CEO, billionaire, America’s Cup aficianado Larry Ellison is nothing if not interesting. Read more »
Nokia finally has a flagship phone to offer Verizon Wireless customers and it’s aggressively priced: the Lumia 928 costs $99 with contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate. Read more »
Algorithms to manage connected thermostats and collect their data have become a hot property in 2013. Alarm.com snaps up startup EnergyHub for its thermostat management software. Read more »
Connected products are becoming more common. Which means that even after a product goes out the door, the company responsible can still keep an eye on it. That has big repercussions for business and consumers. Read more »
Under the Radar is the only event that gathers VP and C-level execs from Fortune 500 companies and the world’s most recognizable brands (Virgin America, Bank of America, Google, Salesforce.com and more) to discuss real business problems and how emerging startups are helping to solve them. Read more »
On this week’s podcast we discuss the evolution of LinkedIn beyond its social network, whether Apple is losing control of its iOS platform and YouTube! Read more »
The U.S. State Department got Defense Distributed to take down its gun designs, but they’re already widely shared online. Now would be a good time to discuss a more workable approach to regulation. Read more »
… at least according to 4,800 PHP developers participating in Zend’s annual Developer Pulse survey. Read more »
Following the Fisker debacle, another auto maker with a government loan has stopped operations. Vehicle Production Group, which made natural gas and gas-powered vans for disabled passengers, says it’s closed up shop. Read more »
Clipboard, a startup that launched in May 2012, has been acquired by Salesforce, the team announced Thursday. The company allowed users to “clip” material from across the web into private collections. Read more »
There are plenty of reasons for pessimism about the state of the media and journalism, including repeated layoffs, bankruptcies and so on. But there are also many reasons to be optimistic about the current environment. Read more at paidContent »
The cloud is the latest thing in data storage, but is it the best thing for your business? Here are three expert points of view that can help identify which workloads are good candidates for the cloud, calculate the true costs of cloud storage and more. Read more »
CheckinDJ uses music preferences from social network profiles to create Spotify playlists for coffeeshops and other venues. Read more »
When Apple says it sold 37.5 million iPhones and 19.5 million iPads this is often interpreted as Apple declaring that 37.5 million iPhones and 19.5 million iPads have been purchased by customers. That’s not quite the whole story. Read more »
Creative Suite users take to Change.org to petition Adobe to abandon what they call a forced march to the cloud. Read more »
The FCC has identified 500 MHz of airwaves that could be used to deliver broadband connections to aircraft. The plan could make in-flight Wi-Fi accessible, cheap, and — most importantly — fast to all airline passengers. Read more »
Facebook has responded to some low reviews of the Facebook Home app, announcing a few planned changes to the app in the coming months to address user concerns. Read more »
Despite myths of Chrome OS as only running web apps, there is now software that can be installed and used offline on a Chromebook. This particular game supports an Xbox 360 controller too. Get ready for the second coming of Chrome OS. Read more »
YouTube’s long-rumored paid channels are live: The Google-owned service started its new subscription offering with select partners Thursday. Read more at paidContent »
Box wants to make document sharing and collaborating “consumer-grade,” and it’s moving forward on that journey with the acquisition of the PDF-to-HTML5 converting company Crocodoc. Read more »
Politico announced Thursday that it will test a metered paywall this week in six states, as well as abroad. But readers in the Washington, D.C. area remain exempt because Politico gets so much advertising revenue from them. Read more at paidContent »
The chairman of Dish Networks toned down some of his recent rhetoric against broadcasters on today’s earnings call, and said he is in favor of a subscriber-advertising model for TV. Read more at paidContent »
Netflix CEO thought he could do a better job at developing a recommendation algorithm than his engineers. He failed – and the episode shaped the way the company has looked at data ever since. Read more »
