If Sprint’s shareholder vote doesn’t go its way on Wednesday, SoftBank has another option for entering the U.S. mobile market. According to Reuters, SoftBank is considering T-Mobile US as a plan B. Read more »
SaltStack is challenging popular devops tools Puppet and Chef with Python-based configuration management service. The company cites speed as an advantage, and that’s critical for scalability in the cloud age. Read more »
Join us at Structure:Europe, where GigaOM will take the stage live, with leading minds, companies and influencers who will discuss their approaches for implementing the global cloud. Also included is a GigaOM Research report on the Helix Nebula project and the future of Europe’s cloud. Read more »
The European Commission knew about PRISM. And, while it may want to firm up data protection rules, it’s up to individual EU governments to decide whether they’re OK with the U.S. spying on their citizens. Read more »
Today, functioning networks hide many faults. Software-defined networking (SDN) offers network operators a solution for poor traffic visibility and clumsy operational systems. A network actively, reactively, and proactively defined by software is far more ready than one constructed of static devices, connections, and configurations. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Updated: The deal U.S. citizens struck after 9/11 exchanging privacy for security should be up for renewal or at least subject to debate, says former Microsoft top tech guru Ray Ozzie. Read more »
The man who leaked top-secret documents from the NSA — about a digital surveillance program called PRISM that collected data from Google, Yahoo, Facebook and others — has come forward to speak about why he did it. Read more »
America’s underbanked are large in number (68 million) and very familiar with mobile phones – which makes them good candidates for mobile payments. But cracking the market means dealing with scaling and regulatory hurdles. Read more »
Many IT departments are enslaved by the very systems they have constructed. The solution doesn’t require starting over, only giving business the freedom to operate outside the stack. Read more »
Waze, a mapping data service with social features has been subject of acquisition rumors for a while. There was speculation of Apple buying them. There there was Facebook and its rumored $1 billion offer. Now Israeli-media reports are speculating that Google is the new buyer. Read more »
If you ever want to feel ripped off, try sending an SMS to a foreign phone number. MVNO Ultra Mobile, however, is killing one of the industry’s most sacred cows by making all international messaging free. Read more »
Dell and Oracle deal takes coopetition to a new level, shows Oracle hardware vulnerability; will NSA spygate controversy impact cloud adoption? Read more »
Hang on tightly to that smartphone: theft is on the rise! We chat about that in our weekly wrapup show, while our other GigaOM podcasts discuss the included costs for connected devices and Chromebook buying advice. Read more »
For a deeper dive into the topics and technologies covered on GigaOM, check out the latest in-depth analyses on GigaOM Research, our subscription-based research service. This week: the IBM/SoftLayer deal, and what’s next in innovation and the IT department. Read more »
Rumors are circulating that a high-profile multi-channel network may create its own video distribution platform. Is this the best move for Maker? And what other companies might follow? Read more at paidContent »
Like everything else, gaming’s destiny is in the cloud. But precisely how that will work has yet to be agreed upon. Read more »
Five years ago, Twilio, a cloud-based communication service provider couldn’t find a penny. Last week it snagged $70 million and is worth half-a-billion dollars and is on track to do $50 million in revenues in 2013. It has IPO ambitions, thanks to CEO/co-founder Jeff Lawson. Read more »
Did you know that you can lose points, virtual weapons, virtual currencies and other items you’ve bought in an app or game if you buy a new iPhone or even back up and restore your device? Read more »
A handful of companies are putting the final touches on products that bring big data to sports. The hard part is not the development of the technology but the lack of good business models. Read more »
Google’s standard Android keyboard with gesture typing and floating word suggestions is available for all Android 4.0 or better devices. Sony’s Xperia Z looks like the next Google Experience phone while Samsung boosted the Galaxy S 4 free storage with an update. Read more »
YouTube’s rollout of premium pay channels may sound promising, but transitioning from the home of free online video to a pay site will be challenging – and may be of little value for existing brands. Read more at paidContent »
On the menu this weekend: the cyberwar between US and Iran has gone online and Michael Gross has the details; war through women’s eyes; The Great Gatsby, Babe Ruth and Yellow Fever. Plus are coders worth it? Read more »
Facebook built a system for the U.S. government that would allow intelligence agents easier access to personal data requested under a federal surveillance law, according to a report, and other companies agreed to work with investigators. Read more »
There’s much debate still to be had over the NSA’s recently uncovered data-collection practices, but some of the technologies underlying them are out in the open. Here’s what we know already. Read more »
Crowdfunding in healthcare isn’t without challenges but it can still be compelling option for digital health startups — as long as you learn the ropes. Read more »
Pouring money into Google Wallet is getting Google nowhere. Slow adoption, reluctant phone carriers and lack of enthusiasm for NFC are weighing heavy on the mobile payments trend, and something’s got to give. Read more »
Twilio acts as universal translator between the arcane language of telecom networks and the new speak of the developer world. Apparently VCs are buying into the power of its APIs, and they’re investing accordingly. Read more »
Apple iPads and iPhones can become unified communications end points for workers using ShoreTel Dock to transform the devices into business desk phones and enterprise collaboration tools, utilizing voice, IM presence and conferencing on a favored, personal device as they follow the BYOD trend. Read more »
There’s a growing amount of research that says the Internet has a greater net positive effect on the environment than a negative one. But the research is still new and the question is very complex. Read more »
Google has provided a lengthy statement on the reports of government spying on user data through some of the country’s largest tech companies. Read more »
Although an anonymous HTC executive reported 5 million HTC One sales, a Citigroup analyst suggests a figure of 1.2 million. Why? A delayed launch and consumers already looking ahead to Apple’s next iPhone. Read more »
Sprint needed a national security director to keep eye on its soon-to-be owner SoftBank. So it picked a doozy of a candidate: Retired Admiral and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen. Read more »
Updated: The Government Accountability Office sided with IBM which claimed the CIA unfairly awarded a secure cloud contract to Amazon Web Services. Read more »
Keeping track of the monster combinations you have already bred in order to expand your inventory of unique monsters in your Monsterpedia is the real challenge in the game. Read more »
BMW’s not totally picking sides in the mobile platform wars, however: Samsung’s S-Voice software will be right alongside Apple’s Siri EyesFree in the automaker’s iDrive software package. Read more »
The past few days have seen a blizzard of leaks about surveillance activity by the government’s ultra-secret NSA arm, including data collection from phone companies and internet giants. Here is what you need to know about this developing story. Read more »
Snapchat, a service allows you to send and receive photos or videos that sort-of-maybe disappear afterward is getting $100 million in new funds from undisclosed investors, a few months after it snagged $13.5 million from Benchmark Capital. Read more »
Skype’s founding team originally set out to build a crowdsourced Wi-Fi network, much like the one operated by Fon. Only, it didn’t have an adequate VoIP solution for that network. Read more »
Google and Cisco are going to pay TiVo close to $500 million to settle a patent lawsuit – but investors wanted more. What does that tell us about TiVo’s business? Read more »
We take a photo tour around Makerbot’s new 3D printer factory in Brooklyn. Read more »
