This week I read some interesting, some bizarre, some funny but mostly mind stimulating articles. Here is a short selection that includes a must read post about the rise of narrative in social networks and a fascinating presentation by graphic designer Nicholas Felton. Read More »
Tech
Google has launched a new feature in Street View that allows users to navigate through a virtual 3D panorama of a location using photos that have been uploaded through Panoramio and Flickr. The feature is similar to Microsoft’s Photosynth, but is available to anyone with Flash. Read More »
An Italian court found three Google executives guilty of privacy violations for a video uploaded to the company’s site, focusing attention on a key question: Is Google a service provider or a media company? And if it’s the latter, what responsibility does it have for content? Read More »
For years, at various times, tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and Apple have all been referred to as “benign monopolies.” Companies usually earn that moniker when they take on a certain dominance. But it’s worth remembering that dominance also introduces trends that are not benign. Read More »
As more people pick up smartphones, carriers, application developers and phone manufactures need to keep one thing in mind. Speed matters when it comes to adoption. But speed is a double-edged sword because as faster networks are deployed, the data tsunami swamping carriers grows. Read More »
European regulators have told Google that it needs to take a number of steps to make its Street View service comply with privacy regulations, including warning people more obviously when they are going to be filmed and shortening the amount of time the images are kept. Read More »
Facebook is coming to Austin with plans to create 200 jobs as part of its first big U.S. expansion, if the city will approve $200,000 in incentives on top of the state’s offer of $1.4 million. So will Facebook help keep Austin weird? Read More »
Cisco is reportedly developing a new “ultra-high-speed system for internet access in partnership with a number of U.S. service providers.” Seems it’s trying to counter the unease caused by Google’s plan to build a fiber-based network that would connect homes at speeds of 1 Gbps. Read More »
Despite a flurry of reports about an EU antitrust investigation into Google, the European Union denies that any such investigation has begun. However, complaints of anti-competitive behavior are only likely to increase, as Google’s market dominance in search-related advertising and search marketing increases. Read More »
PeerPong has reportedly raised $2.8 million for social search. The service which isn’t open to the public yet, describes itself as “an easy way to connect with the right Twitter users to get direct answers fast.” Read More »
Microsoft plans to deliver three chassis designs for Windows Phone 7, which is due out late this year. But it’s the first chassis — which will support big-screen, touch-only devices — that will be key as a new wave of connected devices come to market. Read More »
Security services firm ZScaler is out with its “State of the Web” report for Q4 of last year, which presents views — many of them graphical — of the changing habits and patterns of web users. While some results are predictable, there are a few surprises. Read More »
More Must Reads
