Lawyers have raised a ruckus as the government’s secret surveillance programs come to light. But for years, laws have largely failed to stop the spread of surveillance — is it time to turn to technology instead? Read more »
Vine is probably the best we’ve seen in mobile video-sharing so far. But as good as Vine is, the technological limits of mobile networking still haven’t quite caught up yet, and creating a consistent user experience for video is shaky. Read more »
Vint Cerf is the father of the internet, so its worth listening to what he thinks the next generation of networking might enable. For him software-defined networking might fix some design flaws. Read more »
Most geeks like maps, and if it happens to be an interactive maps of the internet, then that’s just even better. Peer1 has released an app showing how everyone is connected. Read more »
A new system of warnings for users who download copyrighted content is being rolled out by some of the biggest internet service providers in the United States. Is it something you should be concerned about? That depends. Read more »
Which companies and sectors were the biggest winners in tech acquisitions for 2012? A new report from CB Insights breaks down where trends in M&A for 2012 among private tech companies acquired during the year. Read more »
Internet companies spend a lot of money lobbying governments to try and get what they want — and nowhere is the picture more complex than Europe. Here’s a quick look at who pulls the strings at federal and national levels. Read more »
How did venture capital stack up in 2012 compared to 2011? A new report taking a look at all VC investments for the past year breaks down some of the trends, noting overall decreases in funding but a few areas that did well. Read more »
After users complained about bad online video experiences, France’s telecom regulator launched an investigation trying to figure out if a local ISP was blocking YouTube or if it was just underinvesting in its network. A decision is expected soon, and could have worldwide repercussions. Read more »
A string of offensive hashtag memes in France has spurred the government to announce a consultation on hate speech with Twitter. It could mark a watershed for the country’s approach to social media — but it’s not just Paris that has a problem. We all do. Read more »
In looking at the companies valued at more than $100 million, some trends emerge around companies which could be on the road to an IPO. A new report from CB insights details some of the threads and connections in those companies. Read more »
The United Nations may not be trying to take over the internet, but its telecom arm is discussing proposals that could seriously threaten the openness of the network, according to people like Vint Cerf — and could also change the way we pay for it. Read more »
Data from the Internet Society’s Global Internet User Survey shows that we’re contradictory when it comes to our feelings and actions taken online. This won’t come as a surprise to most, but we think the Internet is a source of good, yet we don’t trust it. Read more »
Critics of Apple’s social features have argued that it should buy Twitter, but former Apple engineer Patrick Gibson says the real value in such a deal would be that Twitter might be able to help Apple build web services that actually work. Read more »
The internet is made of thousands of networks, and a complex web of economic considerations has developed to support the free flow of information. How bandwidth is “manufactured” and then allocated is far more complex than how a packet gets from here to there. Read more »
The Internet can handle several million people staying home to watch Netflix and telecommuting, according to Sandvine. The deep packet inspection company noted that traffic was up 114 percent on Monday as people stayed home to await Hurricane Sandy. Read more »
Jason Hoffman is familiar to many in the computing industry as the CTO of Joyent and a leader of the movement to build distributed systems. But before that, he was a doctor who helped his mom beat cancer. Here’s how the past and present connect. Read more »
According to a new report from research firm eMarketer, Google is expected to lead the US display ad market in 2012, after losing the top spot to Facebook last year. The search giant also dominates in mobile and search advertising. Read more »
A survey of mobile and online manners by Intel found that most people think we are getting ruder and sharing too much information. Yet most of those same people agree that sharing makes them feel connected. Read more »
Spanish mobile operator Telefónica might be the world’s sixth largest network — but it says that the future could be more about other services, with a strategy to expand its footprint in areas like cloud computing, operating systems and machine-to-machine networks. Read more »
Under new proposals from the British media regulator Ofcom, internet providers will start sending warning letters to those accused of illegal filesharing in 18 months — and will be forced to handed people’s data over to copyright holders after three successive hits. Read more »
Network neutrality, the idea that ISPs can’t discriminate against traffic on its network, is an enshrined right in some areas and a hotly contested regulatory fight in others. But it may become moot if the ITU succeeds in take over the management of the Internet. Read more »
Mail.ru CEO Dmitry Grishin isn’t happy being one of Russia’s most successful internet entrepreneurs: now he wants to help a new generation of robotics companies, and is launching a fund with $25 million of his own money to try and kickstart a more ambitious future. Read more »
Do we really need addresses that end in .beer or .movie or .pizza? ICANN seems to think that we do — the agency that controls the domain system says it wants to increase competition, but it seems more likely to cause unnecessary chaos and upheaval. Read more »
The launch of a think tank to educate Congress about disruptive technologies is just one of several new efforts proposed by the Internet and startup community. Conversations between Silicon Valley and D.C. will no longer rely on big tech firms. The Internet can disrupt politics too, Read more »
An arm of the United Nations says that because the Internet is a global entity, it should be controlled and managed by the UN. But critics say turning over control to the agency could put the openness and freedom of the Internet in jeopardy. Read more »
There are very few analysts who make the tech industry stop and listen. Mary Meeker is one of those analysts, and on Wednesday she delivered one of her trademark presentations touching on the global economy, the mobile opportunity, and Facebook’s unprecedented IPO. Read more »
Facebook’s rise has come on the back of astonishing international growth — but it needs to keep expanding everywhere, and in every way, to keep up with investors’ expectations. Where can it find the silver bullet? And how will it happen? Read more »
With more and more business leaders now turning to this topic, the questions — and confusion — are multiplying. With so much to consider, we’ve broken down the cloud discussion to help companies decide which strategy is right for their business. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Russia’s second-largest bank and its most famous internet company may not seem to have too much in common — but they have both have decided to spread their bets on startup investment by supporting some of Europe’s top incubators. Read more »
Some critics have raised the question of whether Facebook and Twitter are making us more lonely and disconnected from one another. But the Web and social media are just tools: They can be used to create connections or to create distance, just like any other technology. Read more »
The stereotype of Russia as a haven of copyright infringement could be a thing of the past, after officials in Moscow said they were considering holding internet providers liable for illegal filesharing that takes place on their networks. Read more »
Veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward said this week the Internet would not be of much use in a case like Watergate, the story he helped break in 1972. But he misses the point about the value of using a multitude of sources instead of just one. Read more »
Y Combinator founder Paul Graham is right when he says that the continued push for legislation like SOPA and PIPA is a result of a failure to adapt to the changing environment the internet has created when it comes to intellectual property and the content industries. Read more »
Pinterest’s recent changes to get on the right side of copyright law highlight how the legal system continues to lag behind what the Internet makes possible. Until that issue is resolved, virtually every Internet-powered content-sharing service is at risk. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Russia is now Europe’s largest Internet market — but it’s still a daunting and confusing place for startups. But as the CEO of young, successful incubator Fast Lane Ventures, Marina Treshchova,may have a few answers on how to do Russia right. Read more »
Two senior figures have checked out of one of Russia’s most successful internet companies in a matter of days. Is it natural turnover for Mail.ru, or are analysts who suggest the company may have reached its peak right? Read more »
Cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT are changing the game for IT departments. Section one of our three-part report describes and quantifies each of these trends, demonstrating that they are real now, growing rapidly and perilous to ignore. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
What will 2012 bring to our mobile world where tablets are trying to take the place of PCs and we’re carrying small computers in our pockets? ComScore helps predict 2012 by looking at 2011 in its Mobile Future in Focus report, published on Thursday. Read more »
Tablets represent the next evolution in the advancement of mobile computing, and by 2015 or 2016, the tablet will begin to replace the laptop and the desktop operating systems market will begin to level off or perhaps decline. Our latest forecast examines these trends in detail. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
