TSR on tech: your weekly news summary
| February 12, 2012 | Posted by Elliot Davies under TSR on tech |
It might have been a slow week for tech, perhaps thanks to the Super Bowl taking all the media coverage, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t got some great stories for you. We’re covering yet another board shuffle at Yahoo!, GigaOM’s acquisition of paidContent, some crazy Kickstarter projects, more setbacks for ACTA, Google Chrome for Android, and doctors who successfully used 3D printing to create a prosthetic jaw for an elderly woman. All this, and more, below.
Business
Yahoo!'s outgoing chairman, Roy Bostock
Yahoo!’s chairman, Roy Bostock, and three of its directors have announced their impending departure from the company. The move, which will occur at the next shareholder meeting, will leave Yahoo! with a board which has changed completely since 2010. Although this effectively gives CEO Scott Thompson a fresh start, it does raise questions about the experience of its board members with the company, particularly in light of Yahoo!’s recent troubles with doing pretty much anything right. Alfred Amoroso, ex-CEO of Rovi, and Maynard Webb, previously of eBay, have been elected to replace two of the outgoing directors. The other directorial position, as well as that of chairman, is yet to be filled.
GigaOM has announced its purchase of paidContent.org from the Guardian News & Media group. The acquisition seems like a good move: both news organisations were started by one excellent blogger who turned his writing into a business, and both share a similar ethos. Om Malik, founder and executive editor of GigaOM, said the move would help GigaOM expand its coverage in Europe and Asia, as well as open new offices on America’s east coast. All of paidContent’s staff are expected to keep their jobs, and for the time being the two organisations will continue to be run as separate entities, with overlap being reduced throughout the next few months. Guardian News & Media bought the paidContent network for £4mn in 2008 but has been trying to sell it for some time to help shore up its finances as its main publication, the Guardian, continues to transition from print to digital.
Kickstarter counts down to its second $1mn project
Kickstarter, a website which helps entrepreneurs crowd-source funding for their ideas, hit a milestone this week as it funded its second $2mn project. The first was the Elevation Dock, which asked for $75,000 to help build and sell a simple iPhone dock and gained almost $1,430,000 in pledges. The second was a game called Double Fine Adventure from Double Fine Productions, which asked fans for $300,000 to finance the production of the game after publishers dismissed it. Along with a further $100,000 to document the production, the studio asked for $400,000 in total – a goal it hit in just eight hours. At the time of writing, Double Fine Adventure has $1,570,000 in backing with 30 days left to go.
American broadcasting network NBC says it hit a milestone last Sunday when more than 2.1 million people streamed the Super Bowl over the internet, allegedly the highest video traffic ever for a single sporting event. In total, 78.6 million minutes of game coverage were streamed. An average of 111 million people watched the game on television, also a record.
Legal
Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, Germany's Minister of Justice, has spoken out against ACTA
Intel has settled an antitrust lawsuit brought against it by New York’s attorney general for $6.5mn. The lawsuit accused Intel of abusing its market position to ensure manufacturers continued to use its chips, but the settlement means the company will not have to admit to any wrongdoing, nor will it have to change its business practices. Intel is appealing a similar claim in the EU, which fined the chip-maker over €1bn.
After the backlash against SOPA and PIPA, a coalition of 75 companies and organisations – including Reddit, Mozilla, the EFF and Human Rights Watch – have sent an open letter to the US Congress asking it to stop work on any further intellectual property laws.
ACTA, the controversial and secretive treaty which many worry will be as bad as SOPA and PIPA in some regards, has run into complications in Europe. First Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Latvia refused to ratify it, and now Germany – a significantly more important economic and political player in the EU – has followed suit. The government’s decision to delay the signing was made after the Minister of Justice raised concerns about the treaty’s necessity. Germany will now wait until after the European Parliament’s vote in the summer to make up its mind.
The UK government has declined to pardon Alan Turing, stating that: “A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence. He would have known that his offence was against the law and that he would be prosecuted.” The government has previously unequivocally posthumously apologised to Turing for his treatment.
Hacking & Security
An investigation by Ars Technica has found that photos uploaded to Facebook still exist on the company’s servers almost three years after they were first deleted. Remember: once something is put on the internet, it’s almost impossible to remove, so be careful.
Gaming
WoW's continent of Kalimdor, perfectly replicated in Minecraft
Bethesda has released mod tools for Skyrim, including a high quality texture pack.
Someone with too much time on their hands has perfectly reproduced the continent of Kalimdor from World of Warcraft within Minecraft. Although some details were lost in the process, the result is impressive, and the creator – going by the name of Ramsesakama – says they plan to recreate the entire world, including dungeons.
EA has announced Mass Effect Infiltrator, an iOS title which will unlock bonuses and content for Mass Effect 3. The choices made in Infiltrator will also affect the main game’s story, in true Mass Effect style. Infiltrator is due out “soon,” which should be within the next month since ME3 is due March 6th.
Products
Google has released a much-awaited beta version of Google Chrome for Android. The Android edition includes the full functionality of the desktop version, such as bookmark and tab syncing, and it’s also extremely fast. The release is currently only available for devices running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
The Kindle Touch doesn't need buttons. Apparently it doesn't need international users yet, either
Amazon’s Kindle Touch, the touchscreen edition of the world’s favourite e-reader which was released in the US in November, is finally being sold abroad. However, the Kindle Touch is still not available in the UK, France, Germany, Italy or Spain – the largest international e-reading markets outside the US. An Amazon spokeswoman said: “We’re working to make Kindle Touch available to customers from our international websites soon.”
Many Facebook users will have noticed the site’s new and improved photo viewer, which has been rolling out to users over the past week or so. The viewer puts comments and tags at the side of the photo (which makes much more sense given today’s widescreen monitors) and also happens to look almost identical to Google+’s viewer.
Wolfram Alpha, everyone’s favourite computation engine, has launched a new Pro option which allows users to input images, files or even datasets instead of just text entry. The feedback Wolfram Alpha gives to Pro users will also be more extensive, including features like interactive charts. The service will cost $4.99 a month, or $2.99 for students. The Verge has an in-depth analysis of the service, including an interview with Stephen Wolfram.
Apple is reportedly testing Siri in Japanese, Chinese and Russian, and plans to roll out the natural language feature in those countries next month (Apple’s website also says Spanish will be available in 2012). Siri is currently available in English (UK, US, Australian), French and German and makes up 25% of all queries to Wolfram Alpha, which it hooks into.
The Windows 8 Consumer Preview (read: beta) will be made available on February 29th at a Microsoft event in Barcelona.
Misc.
Doctors have used 3D printing to recreate a prosthetic jaw replacement for an elderly woman. The 83-year-old was diagnosed with progressive osteomyelitis, which led to the removal of her lower jaw, but her age meant surgery to reconstruct it wasn’t ideal. Instead, the researchers printed a tailor-made prosthetic out of powdered titanium. The result, only slightly heavier than a natural lower jaw, allowed the woman to speak and swallow naturally as soon as a day after the operation.
Robots made only of paper and rubber and powered by air can bend into different shapes and lift over 100 times their own weight.
The FBI has released its secret files on Steve Jobs, compiled when Jobs was being considered for a position on George Bush Sr’s export council.
The number of mobile phones in North Korea has topped one million, four years after the technology was introduced there.
TED Talks are now available on iTunes U.
You’ve been very sarcastic in this lately Elliot. Developed a general hatred for all things tech (perhaps as a direct result of writing this column)?
Sorry! But Facebook’s new photo viewer does look almost identical to the Google+ version. I suppose Yahoo!’s problems are harder to avoid than ‘accidentally’ copying your competitor’s design, but I’m just not sure what they’re actually doing to try and turn things around over there. I will try and lighten up more in future