Keji Technology Blogs

Google patent application could give Project Glass

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:45:14 UTC

Let's face it: right now, the head nods and other rudimentary controls of Google's Project Glass are mostly useful for looking good, sharing photos and not much else. A US patent application submitted last September and just now published, however, raises the possibility of more sophisticated control coming from your hands. A ring, a bracelet or a even a fake fingernail with an infrared-reflective layer would serve as a gesture control marker for a receiver on heads-up display glasses. Having this extra control would give the glasses-mounted computing room to grow by learning gestures, and it could even depend on multiple ornaments for more sophisticated commands -- at least, if you don't mind looking like a very nerdy Liberace. We can imagine the headaches a hand-based method might cause for very enthusiastic talkers, among other possible hiccups, so don't be surprised if Project Glass goes without any kind of ring input. That said, we suspect that Sauron would approve.

ZTE confirms the Score M has a backdoor, hopes to

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:45:13 UTC

Who knew that owning a ZTE Score M would mean living life on the edge? ZTE has confirmed that the MetroPCS phone has a backdoor vulnerability which could let a less-than-scrupulous hacker get root-level control over the Android 2.3 phone -- and because it's a unique app baked into the firmware, the login credentials won't change as long as the exploit survives. Other ZTE phones, like the Skate, supposedly face the same hole as well. The company says it should have a patch ready to push over the air in the "very near future," but it hasn't said why the app existed in the first place. Either way, if you currently pocket the Score M or one of ZTE's other recent Android devices, we'd keep watch for any suspicious goings-on until a fix is in place.

null Visualized: What the new Samsun

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:45:13 UTC

In case you haven't noticed, we've gotten multiple opportunities to talk shop with Samsung executives over the past couple days. After we finished grilling the R&D team on higher-res displays, we sat down with the designers behind the latest Series 9 Ultrabooks, and they surprised us by whipping out a late-stage prototype -- aka, a glimpse at what these laptops might have been, were it not for a little extra hemming and hawing and at least one executive veto. You know what they say: a picture tells a thousand words, and we've got quite a few embedded below for your viewing pleasure. If you're obsessed with minutiae like the keyboard backlighting color, however, follow past the break for more on all those rejected design ideas, and feel free to let us know in the comments which ones you would've preferred.

2012 Samsung Series 9 prototype hands-on

As Samsung neared the end of the design phase, it was decided that the laptop would have a brushed metal finish: the designers agreed it matched the company's "Arcflow" aesthetic, which emphasizes refined design and making PCs appear as slim as possible. Obviously, though, something changed by the time the Series 9 went into mass production, and that something was an order from senior management to sandblast the machine instead of drawing fine lines on it. We're glad somebody stepped in: as you can see in those pictures above, the final, smooth-surfaced version shows far fewer fingerprints than the brushed metal prototype. (We'll let you decide if you prefer the newer, slightly paler shade of gray.) Though Samsung execs wouldn't say to what extent sandblasting raises production costs, they do claim that it's tougher to achieve consistent results with sandblasting, and that this process is easier to pull off with lighter shades of metal (hence, perhaps, the revised color choice).

As for that aquamarine lighting emanating from behind the keyboard, Samsung says it initially experimented with white, and then blue, only to settle on that funky blue-green later on. Their rationale, they say, was that that "bluish white," as they describe it, was less bright, less overbearing than the white glow you'll find on other ultraportables. Additionally, as those last hands-on shots reveal, the company grappled with the laptop's shape. Even the final version, in fact, represents a compromise of sorts: the design team would have preferred even cleaner lines, but they were unwilling to hide the ports behind doors this time around. After all, one of the most common complaints the company received about the OG Series 9 was how much of a pain it was to use the various sockets. Lucky for the design team, at least, there's a precedent for not including Ethernet jacks on Ultrabooks... right?

null Engadget's tablet buyer's guide

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:45:13 UTC

As spring reaches full blossom, it's not just the flowers that are beginning to show -- so are the new slates heavy hitters teased back at CES. So, what does that mean? It means it's high-time that we cast a fresh glance over the tablet landscape, took in a deep breath of slate-infused air and exhaled a hearty Engadget tablet buyer's guide. We've been running the smartphone equivalent for a little while now, so we thought it only fair to give the now-mature tablet category one of its own. We're going to look at the main categories of fondleslabbery and carve out what we think are the finest offerings on the market right now. It doesn't matter if you're looking for something big, small, just good enough or so powerful that it could replace your laptop: we've collected our favorites and shepherded them safely into this one humble guide. Of course, if you want to cast your net a little wider, you can always check out our tablet review hub, but if you struggle with indecision, head on past the break to see what's hot right now in Tablet Land.

10-inch tablets

When the Transformer Prime landed on our laps at the tail end of last year, it's fair to say we were smitten. It quickly took its place at the top of the Android tablet pile and months later, it's still a strong contender. Though its main selling point would seem to be the signature keyboard dock, it's actually the generous built-in storage (32GB and up), solid build quality, 8-megapixel camera and 600-nit, IPS display that won us over. Though GPS issues have cast a small shadow over an otherwise great product, ASUS has attempted to make amends in the form of an external dongle. If you're not in a hurry to buy, you might as well wait for the Infinity Pad 700, which ushers in a higher-res 1920 x 1200 display and your choice of a Tegra 3 or Krait chip. Another alternative to the Prime is the new, budget-friendly TF300 ($380 and up), a slightly heavier slightly less longevous model that still manages to do the Transformer name proud.

No surprise to see this fella on the list. While it might not have been the first tablet computer, Apple's iPad certainly breathed life into a category that had previously found success in the business world and certain niche markets. Be warned that the latest version runs a little hot, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it has a mind-melting 2048 x 1536 screen, new and improved A5 chip, quad-core graphics and, of course, superb app and accessory support. If Apple's latest and greatest pushes your budget to the limit, its predecessor is still a decent slab of tech that can now be snapped up for a more reasonable $399.

If you live and die by the numbers, then maybe Acer's Iconia A510 will push your (virtual) buttons. We only just reviewed this speedy little slate, and found its quad-core, Tegra-3-fueled engine purred along sweetly in our benchmarks. Beyond the solid processing stats, the A510 ticks off lots of key checkboxes on shoppers' lists. Ice Cream Sandwich? Yep. A 10-inch form factor? You got it. Good enough resolution (1280 x 800)? Indeedy. And a reasonable price ($450)? We think so. Acer will be keen to claim some space in the tablet market, and we think this is a solid flag in the ground.

7-inch tablets

If you fancy Samsung's industrial design, but prefer something a little easier to hold, you might want to treat your fingers to the Galaxy Tab 7.7 instead. We pretty much declared it the best 7-inch tablet in our review, and our feelings haven't changed. The epic battery life, brilliant S AMOLED Plus screen and lively dual-core, 1.4GHz Exynos engine make this an Android tour de force. This quality does come at a price, however, and it's not a metaphorical one. If you want top spec, be prepared to pay top price, with the global HSPA+ version of the 7.7 pinching roughly 6.6 Benjamins, especially if you import it.

If the price of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 makes your eyes water, why not dry them off next to the Kindle Fire? Amazon's success with its e-reader line plumped the pillows nicely for the introduction of a more capable member to the company's hardware family. The specs won't, ahem, start any fires, but the humble 1GHz dual-core chip, 512MB of RAM and 8GB internal storage are made up for by that $199 price tag. Naturally, it's got Amazon's services running through its veins, which means easy access to e-books, music and more. This all assumes you don't mind living in a cordoned-off garden of the Android palace; it's a heavily customized version of the platform, which rules out access to Google's own Play store. That said, if you want a tab mainly for consuming content, and like the rattle of some change in your pocket, the Kindle Fire is one of your best bets.

Amazon wasn't the only e-reader maker that thought it could crack the tablet market. Barnes & Noble trotted out the Nook tablet and took its book-loving rivals head-on. A similar size and price tag make it hard not to compare this against Amazon's juiced-up Kindle. In brief, the strong points are that it's a little less restrictive on the software front, letting you step out of the walled garden, and we also found the 1024 x 600 display is better for video watching. Plus, there's a memory card slot for expanding the storage. All that will cost you $199 (down from $250!) -- a small price to pay if a little flexibility is what you're after.

3G / 4G tablets

For those of you who a slate coupled with always-on internet, a 3G or 4G option might be worth the investment. In the US, at least, they typically require a two-year contract, which will hardly be a good fit for everyone. It should go without saying, but read your local carrier's fine print before taking the plunge .

This is our second mention of Samsung's 7-inch tablet, and this time it comes bearing Big Red's LTE logo. We still love it for all the same reasons and, incredibly, Verizon's 4G service doesn't put a dent in its impossibly long runtime. The only drawback, as ever, is the price. In addition to $500 for the hardware, Verizon wants two years of your life and a data fee paid on time each month. As we alluded to, there's also a global HSPA+ version for use on other networks, if you don't mind paying an extra 200 smackers or so for the privilege.

More familiar territory here: Apple, too, is making a second cameo on this list. The iPad has, of course, been available with 3G since it first hustled its way into our lives two ago. Now in its third iteration, you can gulp them bits down over 4G / LTE, rather than sip from the same old 3G mug. Other than that, it's more of the same, but if you love the look of that screen, and can't bear to be offline, then this is the one for you.

When Huawei's MediaPad turned up on American shores in T-Mobile livery, it did so on the crest of a 7-inch tablet wave (Acer's Iconia Tab A100 and Samsung's Galaxy Tab Plus 7.0 were just hitting the market as well). Despite this, we described it as "speedy, well-built and longevous," with the added bonus of T-Mobile's 14.4Mbps HSPA+ network. With a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 8GB of built-in storage and 1280 x 800 IPS display, the specs are reasonable, with price – once again – being the only major cloud. T-Mobile is asking for $250 and 24 months on contract, which will exceed most people's cost to need threshold. However, if you don't mind paying $430 for the unsubsidized hardware and buying pay-as-you-go data packages instead, then it could still be a contender for your mobile internet affections.

Budget

When Jeff Bezos and the team at Amazon were planning their debut into the tablet world, the final price was undoubtedly of the utmost importance. Landing at $199, the Kindle Fire was pitched just right for those who didn't want to spring for something a little more spec-heavy. But, and perhaps most importantly, this isn't just another cheap tablet. Amazon's robust catalog of books, music and apps make this 7 inches of pocket-friendly joy.

Like the Kindle Fire, the Nook Tablet is worthy of mention as a 7-inch tablet, but that $199 price tag means it deserves a place on more budget-conscious shoppers' radar, in particular. If you were worried about the tablet's skimpy internal storage, you needn't be. And besides, if the built-in 8GB of space isn't enough, the expandable memory can solve any latent concerns for just a few more bucks. Also worth noting is the unique design, which ( mentioning no names) will appeal to those who don't want their slate confused with any of its competition.

If the Galaxy Tab 7.7 whetted your tablet appetite, but the hefty price tag dampened your spirits, all is not lost. The Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 offers up a great ICS experience, but without the balk-inducing cost. In our review, we found the dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP chip handles the latest version of Android just fine, and the good-enough 1024 x 600 LCD display is the same one used on the more premium Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. While this might not offer the same tightly integrated ecosystem as a Kindle Fire, this $250 slate is unbeatable if what you really want is a low-cost tablet running the latest version of Android.

If you want hang out with the big (screen) boys, but still keep on the right side of the $350 fence, then Acer's Iconia Tab A200 is worth more than just a cursory glance. This 10-incher's 1280 x 800 display and dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 SoC won't have your hairs standing on end, but it will put Android 4.0 into your hands, while keeping the coffers relatively unharmed.

While we've done our best to compare popular tablet choices, we understand you too may have a favorite that's not mentioned here. If s o, feel free to represent it in comments below , tell us why you love it, and perhaps you'll see it here next time!

null Samsung NX20, NX210 and NX1000

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:45:12 UTC

We're at Samsung's NX-series launch event at Citi Field in Queens, NY, taking a closer look at the NX20, NX210 and NX1000 mirrorless ILCs that began hitting stores earlier today (the NX1000 will arrive in June). All three cameras are virtually identical when it comes to core components like the 20.3-megapixel Samsung-designed APS-C image sensor, so performance on that front should be consistent to what we saw with our flagship NX20 sample. From a spec perspective, these are fine shooters, but the systems' high pricing and (relatively) limited lens selection aren't likely to contribute to Samsung's mirrorless success. Join us past the break for some New York Mets action through the lens of Samsung's NX20.

Samsung NX20 sample images

When's the last time you've used your camera's flash? Many photographers don't even bother to unwrap the micro-strobes included with many recent mirrorless models, instead opting to bump up image sensitivity to compensate for low ambient light. Pros care about high-ISO performance, and we do, too, so it's often a key focus of the image quality section in our reviews. Samsung had the benefit of bright, direct sunlight during today's game against the Cincinnati Reds, negating a need to venture beyond ISO 200.

To test low-light performance, we found a shaded area and bumped up the ISO, zooming the attached 18-200mm image-stabilized optic and filling the frame with a familiar object -- a business card. You can see a 1:1 view of the result below as captured at ISO 3200, 6400 and 12,800. Keep in mind that these are 100-percent crops -- noise was noticeable when when viewing the full card at a 12.5-percent view, but just barely so. In general, any of the sensitivity options (100-12,800) would be a fine fit for web use, though quality does improve dramatically at ISO 3200 and below. Color accuracy was fine when shooting in direct sunlight, but as you'll notice below, our white business card had a slight purple hue when photographed in the shade.

We also captured several minutes of the game in video mode -- again, lit by a bright, direct sun. The resulting footage looked excellent, due in no small part to the pricey ($800) 18-200mm lens on board, which turned out to be an excellent fit given our somewhat-distant stadium seating. The camera is capable of shooting up to 1080/30p video, but we bumped the bitrate down to shoot at 720p, since that's the top resolution used in our streaming videos. Details appeared sharp and handheld footage was steady, even when zoomed all the way in, thanks to the optic's built in OIS.

All in all, these are fine cameras, but beyond the bounty of WiFI-enabled functionality -- that clearly kept the marketing department busy but will likely have little bearing on purchase decisions -- there still doesn't appear to be enough on the spec or design front to pull customers away from well-established competitors, like the Sony NX series (and today's NEX-F3) and Olympus or Panasonic's Micro Four Thirds offerings. What Samsung really needs is a sub-$600 model to compete with Sony's NEX-F3 (and even the NEX-C3, which will likely remain on the market at a reduced price for some time to come). For now, the $700 NX1000 is positioned as the company's only entry-level (or "step-up") option, but should a more affordable flavor make its debut, we'll be happy to stand behind it.

null Distro Issue 41: a visit to the

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:45:12 UTC

It's the most wonderful time of the week once again, pals. Like most seven-day periods, this one comes to a close with the latest issue of our e-magazine for your gadget reading pleasure. Front and center this time around, our own Darren Murph pays a visit to the South Carolina HQ of accessory maker Twelve South to chat about making a big splash while staying small. On the review side of things, we take a gander at the TiVo Premiere XL4 and the HTC EVO 4G LTE to see how they stack up and we go hands-on with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon and Sounder's iOS app. Reaction Time makes an appearance too -- taking a long look at Max Payne 3 while listing this week's must-have game releases. The usual suspects fall in line as well, as you might expect. Switched On discusses RIM and Nokia, IRL sneaks a look in at our gear collections, former Doctor Who script editor Christopher H. Bidmead pauses for the Q&A and Dustin Harbin has the Last Word on what killed dinosaurs. Go ahead. Grab the device of your choice and hit the appropriate download link to grab a copy of this week's e-publication.

Distro Issue 41 PDF
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Distro in the Google Play Store
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Playing the Facebook Closing Day Price Game

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:45:09 UTC

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Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Step right up and play the Facebook initial public offering game!

While its purpose may mystify some people, the Facebook I.P.O. Day Closing Price game is surprisingly fun. It allows you to guess Friday’s closing price of Facebook’s stock, after the first day of public trading.

By late Thursday afternoon, the site said that the predictions of hundreds of people produced a price of $55 a share, which means Facebook is worth slightly more than $138 billion.

The project was a “quick hack” built by James Proud, a young programmer based in San Francisco and London.

The New York Times also produced an interactive graphic in which readers can register their estimates of where the stock will end Friday and a year from now.

General Mark Zuckerberg, Reporting for Duty

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:45:08 UTC

screenshot via Southpeak Games Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, is said to enjoy playing the video game “Imperium Romanum.”

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When Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, gets ready to release a new feature on his social network, he might be thinking about the previous lessons he’s learned in brutal and savage wars, rather than software updates. These wars, of course, are virtual, and exist inside his favorite strategy video games.

Last week, in an article written with my colleagues Evelyn M. Rusli and Nicole Perlroth, we discussed Mr. Zuckerberg’s style as a leader and chief executive.

We heard from people close to Mr. Zuckerberg that part of his leadership skills can be attributed to his penchant for playing games that involve conquering virtual worlds.

A favorite video game of his as a boy was “Civilization”, the object of which is to “build an empire to stand the test of time,” a friend of Mr. Zuckerberg’s told The New York Times. The person added that “Civilization” was the “training wheels for starting Facebook.”

This game, and others, taught Mr. Zuckerberg how to maneuver people, specifically employees, and think several steps ahead of his enemy, which include companies like Google, Foursquare and Twitter.

Mr. Zuckerberg tends to manage the company in the same way he manages those games. He builds small and agile teams to solve problems. One person is assigned to run the group, almost like a mini start-up, or battalion. If a group fails, it’s dismantled and redistributed somewhere else. Just like a general would do with his army.

At 28 years old, Mr. Zuckerberg still plays these kinds of strategy games.

A friend and former co-worker who plays online with Mr. Zuckerberg said that lately he had taken to the PC game “Imperium Romanum”, another game of power and control. The game’s description says: “Take on the role of a governor of a Roman province and lead your citizens to growth, security, and prosperity.”

Growth, security and prosperity. Sounds a little bit like Facebook.

Mr. Zuckerberg’s thirst for world domination has clearly rubbed off on the public image of the company, too. Facebook is close to one billion active users, a seventh of the world’s population.

Last year, Mr. Zuckerberg was drawn to another game called “ Lux Delux – The Game of Universal Domination!” This game is similar to the game “Risk,” where people control armies to conquer a map.

The object of this game is modest: take over the entire world.

Daily Report: The Reticent Rich in Silicon Valley

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:45:08 UTC

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At Facebook, ground zero for the nouveau tech riche, peer pressure dictates that consumption be kept on the down low, reports Somini Sengupta of The New York Times.

“The message here is, ‘Keep shipping product,’ ” said a Facebook executive who requested anonymity while discussing internal matters. “If someone buys a fancy car and posts a picture of it, they get ridiculed and berated.”

The company disclosed on Thursday that on the eve of its stock market debut it was inviting employees to a “hackathon,” or marathon programming session, bringing new meaning to the term overnight millionaire. The event is more likely to be fueled by Red Bull than Dom Pérignon.

Here in one of the richest corners of the country, the tech elite display an ambivalent, sometimes contradictory approach to wealth. Money, as one scholar of the Valley described it, is treated as a measuring stick, gauging the power of the companies that entrepreneurs have built, rather than a thing to display.

“They use it as a way of keeping score — how disruptive can you be in reordering the market,” said Ted Zoller, a senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and a scholar of entrepreneurship.

With all the attention on wealth, Fortune magazine tried to enumerate the people who got wealthy off the Facebook I.P.O. SiliconAngle also compiled a list.

Facebook vs. the Wireless Industry

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:45:08 UTC

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Facebook hasn’t yet figured out how to make meaningful revenue from mobile, the fastest growing industry in the world, but it has done plenty to create both opportunities and headaches for the wireless carriers.

Mahesh Kumar A/Associated Press

The Competitors

A look at Facebook’s rivals.

Closure in Disappearance of Computer Scientist

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:45:08 UTC

Associated Press/Microsoft James Gray is considered missing but presumed dead.

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Just over five years ago, Jim Gray, a computer scientist then working for Microsoft, vanished with his sailboat somewhere in the waters off in San Francisco beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. Because no trace of Dr. Gray or his boat, Tenacious, was found during the extensive searches that followed, he could not be declared legally dead.

That changed on Wednesday when a court in San Francisco granted a petition by Donna Carnes, Dr. Gray’s widow, to establish her husband’s death under California law, which allows for such a determination when a missing person has not been heard from for five continuous years. Dr. Gray is now considered missing but presumed dead.

Ms. Carnes said the court order gave her a degree of closure after five years of learning to live with the mystery surrounding Dr. Gray’s disappearance. “People are quite uncomfortable with ambiguity,” she said by telephone from the home she shared with Dr. Gray in San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill. “They want an ending. This in-between land can cause great discomfort.”

“Oddly enough, the five-year period gave me time to say, ‘You know what, I don’t know the ending, but I sure miss my husband,’ ” she said. “You have to learn to carry the ambiguity.”

Dr. Gray was a towering figure in the technology industry, responsible for seminal work in developing database and transaction processing technologies that underlie the modern Internet while at I.B.M. and Tandem Computer in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1998, he received the Turing Award, the most prestigious prize in computer science. He was also much beloved by his colleagues in academia and the technology industry, as an account of his memorial service at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2008 shows.

The strong feelings for Dr. Gray partly explain the extraordinary search effort that followed his disappearance, during which friends of his from Microsoft, Google and Amazon.com scoured high-resolution satellite images of 132,000 square miles of ocean between Southern California and Oregon, looking for signs of his boat. After several weeks of above-water searches by the Coast Guard, Ms. Carnes hired a team to conduct underwater searches using sonar and unmanned rovers.

When he vanished, Dr. Gray was sailing on a day trip to the Farallon Islands off the coast of Northern California to scatter his mother’s ashes. Ms. Carnes said he was a superb sailor and that the couple’s boat was in “great shape.” Ms. Carnes, who was in Wisconsin at the time, spoke to her husband by cellphone during his trip.

The ocean can be rough around the Farallons, though. There is speculation that the wreckage of Dr. Gray’s boat could have tumbled over the continental shelf in the area, making it nearly impossible to find.

Following the court hearing, Ms. Carnes sent a simple two-line note to friends and family with the news. “I am in the San Francisco house, with the fire on, drinking tea, with the hope that Jim may rest in peace,” she said in the e-mail, which she said prompted hundreds of responses.

Ms. Carnes said for a time after he husband’s disappearance that she could not bear to look at the waters of San Francisco Bay from her home. That has changed, but she still will not sail in the San Francisco area. “I just don’t want to sail over my own boat and not know it,” she said.

Mr. Gray was 63 when he disappeared. His death certificate, though, will be dated Jan. 28, 2012, when he would have been 68.

Twitter: Here's How to Hide Your Twee...

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:45:00 UTC

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Want to keep your tweets among your tweeps and hidden from any old Google searcher? Twitter has some tips for you.

The microblogging company’s @Support account on Wednesday tweeted out a link to a help center page for Twitter users who want to keep their posts a bit more anonymous on Google. Given Twitter’s high rank in Google Search, it’s likely that your profile there will be among the top results for your name.

The first suggestion for more anonymity? Change your username or listed actual name on Twitter. So, for example, if you use a profane @ handle, but your given name is listed in your profile settings, that could be a problem during your job search as recruiters Google you to see what comes up.

You can also protect your tweets in your accounts settings but that may not be a perfect fix, as Twitter points out. All tweets posted before you went private will still remain public in search engines (including Twitter’s own search).

Additionally, Google caches old search results, meaning that your old information can still hang around there — even if it only links to an error page.

Eventually, Google will update its search index and refresh to your new privacy settings. But if you want certain posts removed sooner, Twitter does suggest another option. First, copy the URL for the dead status page you would like removed. Then go to this Google page, which explains how to create a removal request for an outdated link or page. You’ll then be directed to another page, where you can paste in the link and submit your request, but you may need a Google account to do so.

Check out Twitter’s full list of tips for demurring from Google Search here.

Twitter and Google have been feuding ever since Google’s integration of Google+ into its regular search results back in January, which Twitter called “ bad for people” — since news increasingly breaks on Twitter before being reported on other outlets.

Is it better to have your Twitter profile and activity be a prominent Google Search result, or to protect your anonymity? Let us know in the comments.

Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, sodafish

Confirmed: Pinterest Raises $100 Mill...

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:44:58 UTC

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UPDATE: Rakuten has confirmed that it has led a $100 million round of investment in Pinterest. Of the investment, Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani says, â€œWhile some may see e-commerce as a straightforward vending machine-like experience, we believe it is a living process where both retailers and consumers can communicate, discover, and curate to make the experience more entertaining. We see tremendous synergies between Pinterestâ€™s vision and Rakutenâ€™s model for e-commerce. Rakuten looks forward to introducing Pinterest to the Japanese market as well as other markets around the world.â€�

Pinterest is raising $120 million in a funding round expected to be announced Thursday or Friday morning, according to multiple sources. The investment, Pinterest’s third, places the two-year-old social bookmarking site’s valuation in the range of $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

AllThingsD reports that Japanese commerce giant Raukten is leading the round with a $50 million investment. Ben Silvermann, Pinterest’s CEO and cofounder, is reportedly still deciding what other financing offers to accept.

Partnering with Raukten could open doors for Pinterest in Asia. The startup, which is still in invite-only beta, has enjoyed increasing mainstream recognition in the U.S., but has made little headway abroad. Meanwhile, clones are popping up like weeds.

One sign that Pinterest’s focus is growing increasingly international: a recent post to Pinterest’s corporate blog calling for translators for local-language editions of the site. French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish are the company’s first priorities, it said; Dutch, Greek, Italian, Korean, Malay, Polish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Swedish and Turkish are next.

Pinterest has left its business model undefined — at least publicly. For a time, the startup was quietly earning money through an affiliate revenue scheme, but quickly shut it down after media caught wind of it. Still, Pinterest seems to have great revenue-earning potential, given that the network is already driving sales for some retailers.

Pinterest has raised $37.5 million in venture capital to date. Current investors include FirstMark Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Ron Conway.

Rumors that Pinterest was raising a round in the range of $1 billion were first reported by The Next Web Wednesday.

Pinterest could not be reached for comment.

15 of the Most Popular Pictures on Pinterest

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Picture by photographer Jorge Rimblas, posted via Edris Kim on Pinterest.

1. Hands

Pinterest via Gemma Ganni.

2. Homemade Photobooth

Pinterest via Krystyna Salvetta.

3. Bookshelf Wall

Pinterest via Brianna Bauen.

4. Apple... Pie.

Pinterest via cynk.

5. Wise Words

Pinterest via Joy Cho/OhJoy!.

6. Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Pinterest via FeeFee, RN.

7. Metallic Nails

Pinterest via Ashe.

8. Words on Love

Pinterest via Carolyn Van Lang.

9. Nature

Pinterest via Kulson F. Dorego.

10. Beautiful Hair

Pinterest via Christine Martinez.

11. Walk-In Closet

Pinterest via Geninne D Zlatkis.

12. Drawing on Walls

Pinterest via Jennifer Lindsay.

13. Melting Snowman Cookie

Pinterest via Alex B&S.

14. Cozy Scarf

Pinterest via Leah Dent.

15. Bed Nook

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1. Hands

Picture by photographer Jorge Rimblas, posted via Edris Kim on Pinterest.

2. Homemade Photobooth

Pinterest via Gemma Ganni.

3. Bookshelf Wall

Pinterest via Krystyna Salvetta.

4. Apple... Pie.

Pinterest via Brianna Bauen.

5. Wise Words

Pinterest via cynk.

6. Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Pinterest via Joy Cho/OhJoy!.

7. Metallic Nails

Pinterest via FeeFee, RN.

8. Words on Love

Pinterest via Ashe.

9. Nature

Pinterest via Carolyn Van Lang.

10. Beautiful Hair

Pinterest via Kulson F. Dorego.

11. Walk-In Closet

Pinterest via Christine Martinez.

12. Drawing on Walls

Pinterest via Geninne D Zlatkis.

13. Melting Snowman Cookie

Pinterest via Jennifer Lindsay.

14. Cozy Scarf

Pinterest via Alex B&S.

15. Bed Nook

Pinterest via Leah Dent.

Twitter Will Dig Into New Users’ Browser History,

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:44:57 UTC

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Twitter wants to make new users feel more at home on the microblogging network, so it’s changing how it recommends who you should follow when they sign up.

The company is beginning to tailor suggestions for new users — according to their past web browsing history, as well as whom other Twitter users follow.

The project is still in an experimental phase and only being tested in some countries, but all indications are that it points to a more permanent shift.

Before, new users would be presented with nearly identical suggestions for users to follow when they got started.

“Since you have individual interests, you should get individual suggestions,” Othman Laraki, Twitter’s director of growth and international, wrote in a blog post Thursday. “After all, even though millions of people love Justin Bieber, FC Barcelona or Kim Kardashian, not everyone using Twitter may want to follow them.”

Like many social networks, Twitter gets visitor information from websites that have integrated Twitter buttons or widgets, so it knows which users have been on those sites.

“By recognizing which accounts are frequently followed by people who visit popular sites, we can recommend those accounts to others who have visited those sites within the last ten days,” Laraki writes.

So it appears no coincidence that Twitter announced earlier Thursday that it had added a “ Do Not Track” feature for users to opt out of the network keeping tabs on other sites they visit. “Do Not Track” is a cookie-blocking option in the Firefox browser that the Federal Trade Commission has been promoting.

Now, when new users sign up for Twitter, they will be given an option to “Tailor Twitter based on my recent website visits,” according to the blog post. They’ll also be able to follow a link to learn more about what that means.

Current users will also have a new “Personalization” option in their account settings, to make follow suggestions more tailored for them as well.

A Twitter spokesperson declined to specify the countries the new tailoring features is being tested in, beyond saying that European users are not yet included.

Is this Twitter update cool or creepy? Let us know in the comments.

Facebook Co-Founder: No, I Didn’t Leave U.S. to Do

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:44:57 UTC

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Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin denied Thursday that he renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Singapore to avoid paying capital gains taxes on his approximately $3 billion stake in Facebook.

Saverin said in a statement following a press conference held earlier by two senators who accused him of “tax dodging” that his relocation decision was “based solely on my interest in working and living in Singapore, where I have been since 2009,” according to Reuters.

The move has drawn ire from Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Bob Casey (D-Penn.), who accuse Saverin of taking advantage of the United State’s relative economic strength and stability, only to leave without contributing his fair share back to the country where he built his fortune.

“Mr. Saverin has decided to â€˜defriendâ€™ the United States of America just to avoid paying his taxes,” said Sen. Schumer in a statement. “We arenâ€™t going to let him get away with it so easily.

“Itâ€™s infuriating to see someone sell out the country that welcomed him and kept him safe, educated him and helped him become a billionaire. This is a great American success story gone horribly wrong.”

The senators introduced a bill under which any expatriate with either a net worth of $2 million, or an average income tax liability of at least $148,000, will be automatically presumed to be leaving the country for tax purposes — enabling the IRS to impose a tax on any investment gains that person makes in the future.

Saverin, who was born in Brazil, denied any wrongdoing. He said he owes and is willing to pay “hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to the United States government.”

“I have paid and will continue to pay any taxes due on everything I earned while a U.S. citizen,” he said. “It is unfortunate that my personal choice has led to a public debate, based not on the facts, but entirely on speculation and misinformation.”

Saverin filed to give up his U.S. citizenship in January of 2011, but the news didn’t surface until late last month when the federal government released the information in a routine report. According to Talking Points Memo , Saverin may be barred from re-entering the U.S. if authorities decide he left the country for tax reasons.

What do you think Saverin owes to the U.S. — and to the IRS? Sound off in the comments below.

Kindergarten Teacher Earns $700,000 by Selling Les

Fri, 18 May 2012 01:44:56 UTC

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Teaching isn’t known to be a lucrative profession, but online marketplace Teachers Pay Teachers is changing that for some educators.

Deanna Jump, a kindergarten teacher from Georgia, has made $700,000 selling her lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers, an ecommerce startup where teachers offer their lesson plans to fellow educators.

Paul Edelman, the founder of Teachers Pay Teachers, created the platform following a four-year stint as a New York City public school teacher.

“I had an insight that the materials teachers created night after night had monetary value, so I set out to create a marketplace called Teachers Pay Teachers,” Edelman told Mashable. “Teachers are now making a pretty significant supplemental income and creating higher quality materials.”

During the first two years of Teachers Pay Teachers, teachers would pay for the lesson plans they wanted to use, though many would then be reimbursed by their schools. On Wednesday, Teachers Pay Teachers launched a purchased orders option, which allows schools to purchase several lesson plans directly for their teachers.

Edelman expects schools will become the primary buyers with the new purchasing option.

SEE ALSO: How Tech Will Transform the Traditional Classroom

Teachers Pay Teachers focuses on lesson plans for pre-K through 12th-grade classrooms. The most popular subjects are English and language arts, science, social studies and math.

The site has about 700,000 registered users, of whom 10,000 are sellers. Edelman estimates that of the sellers about 6,000 are earning money. The teachers earning money have so far earned $7 million selling their lesson plans, once Teachers Pay Teachers takes out its commission.

Teachers selling lesson plans have the ability to set prices, title their products and make changes based on user feedback. Users can also follow their favorite content creators. Jump, for example, has almost 12,000 followers, who are notified whenever she posts a new lesson plan.

Lesson plans are often sold for $5 to $10, though many are available for free.

The teachers who sell lesson plans use social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Edelman says Pinterest now drives more traffic to Teachers Pay Teachers than Facebook.

About 93% of sales come from the U.S., 5% come from Canada, 1% come from Australia and the remaining 1% come from the rest of the anglo-speaking world.

Is a marketplace for lesson plans a good idea? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, hamzaturkkol

Startup Swingers: Swapping Founders to Generate Fr

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:44:51 UTC

Remember "swinging"? Two people in a committed relationship go to a party with a bunch of other people in committed relationships. They all separate, find new partners for the evening and get jiggy. It may sound lurid and gross, but it’s the cool new thing for startup founders.

Swapping Ideas, Not Spouses

First, let’s be clear. We’re not talking about sex. We’re talking about Founder Swap, a June 1 event in New York where teams from six different startups will get together, trade partners for a day and go home with an injection of fresh ideas. The tagline? “Like Wife Swap but for Founders. We want to get startups pregnant with new ideas.”

“Young teams who are working redline as hard as they can with just one or two other people, a little bit of fatigue can set in and you can get overfocused,” explains Jonathan Basker, VP of human resources at Betaworks and one of three people behind Founder Swap, along with Scroll Kit founders Kate Ray and Cody Brown. “Our goal is to disrupt that sequence and see what happens.”

Here’s what he hopes happens. Founders will soak up some objective perspective on their product and perhaps a little constructive criticism. And they’ll pick up practical advice - technical founders will glean tips from business-oriented founders and vice versa.

No Breakups Allowed

Here’s what he hopes doesn’t happen. Founders meet new people and fire their current partners. “That would be a horrifying result,” Basker says. “The idea is not to reformulate your team but to inform yourself about how you’re working. We’re not trying to be home wreckers here.”

The inaugural event will focus on software companies, to ensure participants have something in common. All six startups must have at least a product idea. Ideally, each team will consist of two or three people and will be pre-series-A, so no parental guidance from meddlesome VCs.

Founder Swap will decide who pairs off with whom. Couples will meet Thursday and spend Friday together. There will be no filming (though it’s easy to imagine how this might someday evolve into a reality show on Bravo).

“I would be ecstatic," Basker says, "if at the end of this, each team gets back together and says, ‘Wow, this was really cool,’ and feels energized by the event, if each one of these companies walks away with a new perspective or just one kernel of useful information they didn’t have before.”

Disassembling Android: Chinks in Google's Mobile A

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:44:50 UTC

This is Part One of a two-part series on Disassembling Android.

Android conquered the world in 2011. Hundreds of thousands of users activate Google’s mobile operating system every day, a growth rate unprecedented in any era of computing. This extraordinary strength has carried into 2012, but Android is not the brazen warrior it was a year ago, and its vulnerabilities are starting to show. Is the world’s leading smartphone platform ripe for disruption?

Dethroning Android will take more than a rival releasing a new operating system and seeding devices to manufacturers and carriers. Just because Mozilla is developing a browser-based HTML5 operating system ( Boot2Gecko) and the Linux community is (finally) trying to make a splash with Tizen (formerly MeeGo), it does not mean that either will push the smiling robot off its perch. Android is too well established to dethrone so simply, and unseating it involves too many moving parts. But Android does show signs of weakness, and it will need a boost in the next couple of years to maintain its lead.

Android, at this moment, is still going strong. According to comScore, it gained 3.7 percentage points of the U.S. market share in the first quarter of 2012, from 47.3% to 51%. That was led by Samsung, which controls 26% of the U.S. smartphone market and gained 0.7 percentage points in the quarter. Apple's market share has been growing faster, as is seen by sales from the top three U.S. mobile carriers, gaining 1.6 percentage points of the market in Q1. Yet the other top Android manufacturers lost share, with LG (-0.7%), Motorola (-0.5%) and HTC (-0.2%) decreasing by a total of 1.4 percentage points.

Many observers thought that Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) would provide the boost that Android needs. The update was designed to quell many of the problems that manufacturers, carriers and developers had with the operating system. Its promise is still attractive – streamlined app design, easier to code for multiple screen sizes – but the update has not put an end to fragmentation (still Android’s biggest challenge), nor has it seen widespread adoption.

As of the beginning of May, Android 4.0 is being used by 4.9% of users accessing Google Play. Gingerbread (Android 2.3x) is still the predominant flavor of the OS at 64.4% and stubborn Froyo (Android 2.2x) still controls more than one out of every five devices (20.9%). Why hasn't Ice Cream Sandwich seen mass adoption six months after its unveiling? Foremost, carriers and manufacturers are not updating older phones from Gingerbread through over-the-air updates in a timely manner. Second, the manufacturers have been slow to put out devices that take advantage of the update's new capabilities.

Only a handful of desirable Ice Cream Sandwich devices are available right now. The newly released HTC One series is probably the best, but that may not last long with a new Samsung flagship (Galaxy S III) in the pipeline. AT&T did not have an Ice Cream Sandwich device on its shelves in any form until the Samsung Galaxy Note was released. Verizon was not much better, with the Android flagship Galaxy Nexus as the only decent Ice Cream Sandwich phone on the market (from any carrier) for a good portion of 2012. Simply put, for most of the year, there have not been a lot of exciting high-end Android phones. It's hard to see how the latest version of Android can achieve mass adoption while it's so hard to obtain.

Android still does robust sales at lower price points both in the U.S. and abroad. Going forward, that will continue to be a strength, as manufacturers release cheaper devices. Lower-end Android phones will battle for supremacy in emerging markets as Asian manufacturers such as ZTE, Huawei and Samsung pump out more and more inexpensive devices.

So what might actually pierce that Android armor? Look out for Part Two of our miniseries.

Can the Go Daddy Girls Convince You They're Seriou

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:44:50 UTC

Go Daddy wants to be known for more than domain names and racy Superbowl ads. The company has built large businesses around Web hosting and other services for companies of all sizes. But can it really have it both ways?

At a recent meeting in ReadWriteWeb’s San Francisco headquarters, new Go Daddy CEO Warren Adelman delighted in reeling off the company’s impressive numbers: almost $1.4 billion in sales, 53 million domains registered, 5 million websites hosted, and so on. Go Daddy is as big as the next eight competitors combined, Adleman said, and gets more than half of all new domain registrations.

But the company, which was bought by private equity firms for $2.25 billion last year has even bigger aspirations. “We don’t want to move away from that,” Adelman said, but “we think we can do more than serve that segment.”

Servers or Celebrities?

“People think we’re a bunch of guys down in Arizona” with domain names and Super Bowls ads, he said, but there are “sections of the site to address the needs of different communities… We have offerings for the tech community, for the developer community.”

Overcoming those perceptions among seasoned techies won’t be easy, though. Questions like “you’re still using Go Daddy?” are often posed to tech start ups. And really, it’s Go Daddy’s own fault.

No matter what its actual technology credentials, the company spent millions of dollars promoting Go Daddy Girls, not cloud infrastructure ( 4GH Cloud Hosting) or online storage. Even companies that use those services might think twice about explaining why to the CEO. And that’s especially true the larger, and more sophisticated the company. Go Daddy CEO Warren Adelman visits RWW HQ.

Adelman acknowledges “some amount of polarization” around the Go Daddy brand, but believes that the company’s scale more than makes up for any negative perceptions. Go Daddy is big enough to enjoy massive economies of scale, and to create a full suite of add-on products for all kinds of customers. Domian names, website hosting and site-building tools, SSL certificates, marketing tools like search engine optimization, search engine marketing, email marketing and social media. “It’s like selling hot dogs at the ballpark,” Adelman said. Sixty six percent of Go Daddy customers have a product in addition to a domain name, he said.

An App Threat?

Why the tech push now? Although Adelman says it kept growing through the recession, the reason for the push could be the gradual move to mobile apps instead of websites, a transition that threatens Go Daddy’s core business. But Adelman says he’s not worried. “The Web will die a slower death than predicted,” he said, adding that given the hype cycle and the rise of HTML5, it might not be long before you start hearing that “the App World is dead.”

The Pros and Cons of IT Outsourcing: Globally, Nat

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:44:46 UTC

Outsourcing is pretty much de rigueur for modern startups looking to conserve capital. But making outsourcing work for your startup isn’t always easy. One of the first steps is figuring out where to outsource.

There are a lot of choices. The first major decision is geographical. Should you outsource locally, nationally or internationally?

My company, GrowBiz Media, has outsourced Web design and development, both internationally and locally. Believe me when I tell you each comes with its own set of pros and cons.

Here’s a quick overview:

Outsourcing Internationally

When most people think of outsourcing, they envision coders in Southeast Asia working into the wee hours of (our) night. Turns out that many factors can make global outsourcing more difficult and expensive than it appears to be at first glance.

Pros: Low cost is the primary reason most companies outsource overseas. The time difference can also be a plus: You can send your changes to your team at the end of your business day, and have the code ready when you wake up the next morning.

Cons: The old adage “you get what you pay for” often holds true. Managing people thousands of miles away is difficult at best, so when calculating costs, consider that you may need to pay someone to oversee your overseas contractors. Language or cultural barriers can add to the complexity, and different time zones can cause as many problems as they solve.

Outsourcing Nationally

Outsourcing IT within the U.S. is gaining steam. Often called rural sourcing or near-sourcing, the movement is driven partly by companies’ dissatisfaction with the quality of overseas workers and partly by a desire to bring jobs back to the U.S.

The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals named near-sourcing one of its top trends for 2012. In places like Georgia, North Carolina and Arkansas, skilled tech workers can be found for a fraction of what you’d pay in Silicon Valley or New York, according to Rural Sourcing Inc., which matches companies with workers in “second- and third-tier” cities nationwide.

Pros: Lack of cultural and language barriers make communicating with U.S. workers easier and more convenient. The time zone differential may be a slight benefit, depending on where your business and your contractors are located.

Cons: You’ll pay more for outsourcing within America than you would overseas, and if your outsourced team is across the country, meeting in person will still take time, effort and money. Be aware that some American contractors will subcontract some or all of your projects to overseas workers. This can be fine, particularly if they’re familiar with them and their work. But when this happened with one contractor we dealt with, the results were not positive.

Outsourcing Locally

After our negative experiences with outsourcing overseas, GrowBiz Media turned to a local Southern California business when it came time to rebuild our SmallBizDaily.com website.

Pros: Face time is the major advantage of working with a local company. While most of our communication still takes place by email and conference calls, when we undertake big projects or major changes, we can meet in person to brainstorm ideas and sketch out plans. Another advantage: If you do end up hiring full-time in the future, good contractors often turn into good employees.

Cons: By outsourcing to workers in your area, you’ll have to pay the going rate - which can wipe out most of the cost benefits. As with national contractors, some local firms may outsource all or part of your work overseas.

Key Questions

Since all three options come with pros and cons, how do you decide what’s best for your situation? Consider these issues:

Timeliness: Is this a rush project that simply can’t be late? If deadlines are essential, having the team accountable and close at hand could trump all other considerations.

Complexity: A simple project that doesn’t require much direction, has some “wiggle” time built into the schedule and has a bit of room for error may be most economically handled by an overseas team.

Personality: If you don’t have a problem with a more impersonal relationship with your team, overseas contractors could be fine for you. But if you’re a people person who needs face-to-face interaction, you may want to stick with local, or perhaps national, contractors.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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