65721055
submission
itwbennett writes:
German publishers said they are bowing to Google's market power, and will allow the search engine to show news snippets in search results free of charge — at least for the time being. The decision is a step in an ongoing legal dispute between the publishers and Google in which, predictably, publishers are trying to get compensation from the search engine for republishing parts of their content and Google isn't interested in sharing revenue. The move follows a Google decision earlier this month — and which was to go into effect today — to stop using news snippets and thumbnails for some well-known German news sites.
65689771
submission
itwbennett writes:
Oracle, Microsoft and Ask.com are facing suits alleging that they conspired to restrict hiring of staff. The suits appear to refer to a memo that names a large number of companies that allegedly had special arrangements with Google to prevent poaching of staff and was filed as an exhibit on May 17, 2013 in another class action suit over hiring practices. The former employees filing lawsuits against Microsoft, Ask.com and Oracle have asked that the cases be assigned to Judge Koh as there were similarities with the case against Google, Apple and others — and it maybe doesn't hurt that Judge Koh thought the $324.5 million settlement in that case was too low.
65655697
submission
itwbennett writes:
A partnership between TV measurement company Nielsen and analytics provider Adobe, announced today, will let broadcasters see (in aggregate and anonymized) how people interact with digital video between devices — for example if you begin watching a show on Netflix on your laptop, then switch to a Roku set-top box to finish it. The information learned will help broadcasters decide what to charge advertisers, and deliver targeted ads to viewers. Broadcasters can use the new Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, as they're called, beginning early next year. Early users include ESPN, Sony Pictures Television, Turner Broadcasting and Viacom.
65639595
submission
jfruh writes:
While Google Glass has been positioned and recevied in the US as something of a geek toy, the Emirate of Dubai is putting it to work in law enforcement. The oil-rich state proposes to outfit police officers with Glass, beaming real-time video back to the station and providing help identifying suspects.
65639441
submission
jfruh writes:
Japan has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the world, and the authorities there aim to make sure that new technologies don't open any loopholes. 28-year-old engineer Yoshitomo Imura has been sentenced to two years in jail after making guns with a 3D printer in his home in Kawasaki.
65542417
submission
jfruh writes:
Google is still making billions in revenue every quarter, but its income is starting to slip a bit — and, worryingly for the advertising giant, it's making less money per ad click than it has in the past. The culprit is the shift to mobile browing, because mobile users tend to be less lucrative.
65542269
submission
jfruh writes:
You may have heard that Japan will deal with its aging population by relying more on robots. Osaka startup RT Works is showing what that might mean in practice: not humanoid robotic caregivers, but tech-enhanced versions of traditional tools like walkers. RT Works's walker automatically adjusts to help its user deal with hilly terrain, and can call for help if it moves outside an predefined range.
65517855
submission
itwbennett writes:
While programming is generally considered a solitary task, most developers still work as part of team, dividing up coding responsibilities for a single piece of software and generally helping each other out during the process. But sometimes a lone genius coder creates something so impressive that other developers take note. ITworld's Phil Johnson rounded up 8 software programs written by one person that the developer community has deemed to be particularly impressive pieces of code. Making the list: Fabrice Bellard’s JSLinux, Richard Stallman’s GNU Emacs, and Chris Sawyer’s RollerCoaster Tycoon among notable others.
65512095
submission
jfruh writes:
Despite the availability of LTE, wireless data has never replaced cable, copper, or fiber as the main pipe bringing wireless data into our home. That may change next year: Mimosa Networks, a California-based startup, is building wireless networks using commodity Wi-Fi chips running a modified protocol to provide 500 Mbps data to whole neighborhoods.
65511987
submission
jfruh writes:
The ability to cram multiple virtual servers on a single physical computer is tempting — so tempting that many shops overlook the downsides of having so many important systems subject to a single point of physical failure. But how can you isolate your servers physically but still take up less room? Matthew Mobrea takes a look at the options, including new server platforms that offer what he calls "dense isolation."
65458747
submission
itwbennett writes:
Tech workers have asked an appeals court not to approve a $324.5 million settlement in Silicon Valley's controversial employee hiring case, according to a document filed Tuesday. This move by the plaintiffs puts them in alignment with an earlier decision by Judge Lucy Koh of the federal district court in San Jose to throw out the settlement on the grounds that it wouldn't pay the workers enough. Attorneys for the defendants — Apple, Google, Adobe and Intel — subsequently appealed Koh's decision.
65411165
submission
jfruh writes:
The EU is considering watering down its data protection rules to lesen the regulatory burden on small companies processing what is deemed to be "low risk" data. Unsurprisingly, there's one group that wants these rules changed even further: large companies. DigitalEurope, a lobbying group backed by IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle, is pushing for further changes.
65410775
submission
jfruh writes:
China's Baidu is developing an operating system for "smart bikes" — not the bicycling equivalent of a self-driving car, but rather a system that will track rider activity for fitness purposes. Since millions of Chinese still use bicycles as an everyday mode of transportation, though, are they missing some possibilities?
65333551
submission
jfruh writes:
Last month, a spooky story was making the rounds on tech news sites: mysterious cell phone towers popping up all over the country claimed by nobody. In fact, the towers are almost certainly run by law enforcement agencies, while unsettling, aren't new; and almost every story includes quotes from Les Goldsmith, the CEO of ESD America, the company that sells the phones that detected the towers — stock Galaxy S IIIs turned into hardened phones with numerous exploits removed and all kinds of security added. Was the whole kerfuffle a masterful act of PR?
65276665
submission
jfruh writes:
In 2008, Sprint placed a bet on WiMax, a high-speed wireless standard that promised to displace both 3G wireless data and wired broadband connections. Seven years later, the company, now offering a suite of LTE phones, is admitting that the bet hasn't paid off and will be shutting down the network next month.
