Word of the day:
petard/pi-tahrd/noun
1. Explosive device used to blow up a wall or door.
2. A kind of firecracker.

Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses by Year’s End
People who constantly reach into a pocket to check a smartphone for bits of information will soon have another option: a pair of Google-made glasses that will be able to stream information to the wearer’s eyeballs in real time.

According to several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named, the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year. These people said they are expected “to cost around the price of current smartphones,” or $250 to $600.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/google-to-sell-terminator-style-glasses-by-years-end/

What we learned from the ‘Nightline’ report on Foxconn factories
After teasing the story yesterday, Nightline has aired its report from Foxconn’s factories on ABC. In the report, host Bill Weir speaks directly to factory workers as well as their managers. You would think that this “unprecedented” look inside Apple factories would reveal much we didn’t know, but the show was relatively light on information. Weir did extensively survey the places where iPads and iPhones are constructed, spent time interviewing both employees and their families, and talked to FLA president Auret van Heerden, though he uncovered mostly familiar information.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/22/2815654/abc-nightline-apple-foxconn-factories

Google: Please Don’t Kill Video on the Web
Earlier today, Microsoft filed a formal competition law complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Motorola Mobility and Google. We have taken this step because Motorola is attempting to block sales of Windows PCs, our Xbox game console and other products. Their offense? These products enable people to view videos on the Web and to connect wirelessly to the Internet using industry standards.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2012/02/22/google-please-don-t-kill-video-on-the-web.aspx

Amazon Simple Workflow – Cloud-Based Workflow Management
Today we are introducing the Amazon Simple Workflow service, SWF for short. This new service gives you the ability to build and run distributed, fault-tolerant applications that span multiple systems (cloud-based, on-premise, or both). Amazon Simple Workflow coordinates the flow of synchronous or asynchronous tasks (logical application steps) so that you can focus on your business and your application instead of having to worry about the infrastructure.

http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2012/02/amazon-simple-workflow-cloud-based-workflow-management.html

Facebook plans to release a new premium ads product Feb. 29
According to leaked documents, Facebook plans to upgrade its premium ads on February 29. The company expects the new ads to perform 40 to 8o percent better than its previous product.

http://gigaom.com/2012/02/21/facebook-is-set-to-release-a-new-premium-ads-product/

CIA to software vendors: A revolution is coming
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency told software vendors on Tuesday that it plans to revolutionize the way it does business with them as part of a race to keep up with the blazing pace of technology advances.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/22/us-cia-software-idUSTRE81L03C20120222

Police Raid File-Hosting Site, Arrest Operator and ISP
German police have shut down the cyberlocker Skyload.net and arrested the alleged owner along with a person who provided hosting services to the site. The actions are part of an ongoing sweep against people connected to the popular movie streaming portal Kino.to. Skyload’s operator is suspected of uploading more than 10,000 films to Kino.to’s paid affiliate program.

http://torrentfreak.com/police-raid-file-hosting-site-arrest-operator-and-isp-120221/

Google’s new “batshit crazy” UX
In a recent update to Gmail and Google+, Google removed the ability to go “home” by clicking the logo. Kevin Fox, who worked at Google as a designer for many years, had this to say:

http://dcurt.is/batshit-crazy

Adobe releases Flash roadmap, narrows focus to gaming and ‘premium’ video
Adobe swallowed a lot of pride in conceding defeat and abandoning development of Flash Player on mobile devices last year, but that doesn’t mean the company is ready to completely give up on its still ubiquitous rich media web format. Today sees the first publication of a new roadmap document for the development of Adobe Flash runtimes, setting out where Adobe’s priorities lie and how it intends to continue supporting Flash.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/22/2816122/adobe-flash-development-roadmap-gaming-premium-video

Word of the day:
fugacious/fyoo-gey-shuhs/adjective.
1. Fleeting; transitory.
2. Botany: Falling or fading early.

Facial Recognition Billboard Only Lets Women See the Full Ad
A new kind of outdoor advertisement is being tested on Oxford Street in London’s West End. The interactive advertisement uses a high-definition camera to scan pedestrians and identify their gender before showing a specific ad. The built-in system has a 90% accuracy rate in analyzing a person’s facial features and determining if they’re male or female.

http://mashable.com/2012/02/21/facial-recognition-billboard/

The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom
On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year’s end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish “international control over the Internet” through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577229074023195322.html

Twitter, Yandex Partnership Will Allow Russian Search Engine To Show Tweets In Search Results
Twitter and Russian search engine Yandex have agreed a partnership that will allow Yandex to show new tweets in its search results almost instantly, as Twitter becomes an increasingly important source of real-time information.

Twitter will give Yandex access to its so-called firehose of all public tweets, the two companies said on Tuesday, in an agreement similar to the one the social short-messaging site has with Microsoft’s search engine, Bing.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/twitter-yandex-search-engine_n_1289992.html

Jeremy Johnson accused of hiding $51.4 million
In an effort to conceal $51.4 million earned mostly by processing online poker payments, St. George businessman and philanthropist Jeremy Johnson moved funds and gold coins and bars back and forth through dozens of shell companies, according to a court-appointed receiver.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/53531096-79/johnson-receiver-companies-court.html.csp

OK Go Manager Likens YouTube Revenue To Finding Change On The Street
We’ve all heard the rumors that some of YouTube’s top partners are making 6-figure incomes, so with over 158 million views ontheir channel you’d expect that OK Go is making quite a killing from the video site, right? Wrong. According to manager Jamie Kitman, the actual money that the band is making from YouTube revenue is hardly substantive.

http://socialtimes.com/ok-go-youtube-revenue_b90023

What Happens If Banks Help Their Customers Instead Of Trying To Trick Them?
Simply put: Banks make money when you don’t know what’s going on. But new innovations could make finances easier to manage, and help put an end to giant banks’ monopoly on American money.

http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679360/what-happens-if-banks-help-their-customers-instead-of-trying-to-trick-them

The iPad 3 Rumor Roundup
What is the latest and greatest with the iPad 3? We have all the rumors, and all the purported specs covered. We also have an exclusive in depth look at the back shell of the iPad 3, as we have a production piece from one of our most reliable sources. Want to know more? Read on ~ Oh, and there’s one more thing: the “iPad mini”.

http://micgadget.com/22234/the-ipad-3-rumor-roundup/

Canonical reveals Ubuntu for Android
Canonical is making good on its promise to bring its popularUbuntu flavor of Linux to a broader range of devices by announcing Ubuntu for Android, a release that will enable a full desktop computing experience on a docked Android smartphone. More than just a virtualized app that behaves like Ubuntu, the developers have melded together the Ubuntu architecture with the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) AOSP build at the kernel level. The result is, from what we’ve seen, a harmony between the two platforms that could make a lot of sense for demanding mobile users.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/119031-canonical-reveals-ubuntu-for-android

Word of the day:
fetching/fe-ching/adjective
1. Attractive or pleasing.

Google quietly launches Latitude Leaderboards, threatens Foursquare under its breath
Google didn’t exactly offer much fanfare for this new feature — as far as we can tell, it still hasn’t been officially announced. With the latest update to the Maps app, Mountain View delivered an extra level of functionality to the all but forgotten Latitude. Now check check-ins earn you points which are tallied and used to rank Google+ users on a global leaderboard, just like on Foursquare.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/19/google-quietly-launches-latitude-leaderboards/

The Pirate Bay could be blocked in UK
The filesharing website The Pirate Bay has come a step closer to being blocked in the UK after the high court ruled that the site breaches copyright laws on a large scale.
Major music groups want British internet service providers (ISPs), such as BT and BSkyB, to prevent their millions of customers from accessing The Pirate Bay in the UK.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/20/pirate-bay-blocked-uk-high-court

Jeremy Lin headline slur was ‘honest mistake,’ fired ESPN editor Anthony Federico claims
The ESPN editor fired Sunday for using “chink in the armor” in a headline about Knicks phenom Jeremy Lin said the racial slur never crossed his mind – and he was devastated when he realized his mistake.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/jeremy-lin-slur-honest-mistake-fired-espn-editor-anthony-federico-claims-article-1.1025566#ixzz1mwNGohMT

Dancing on Whitney Houston’s grave: Streaming rights pulled after her death to make a “very large amount of money” from DVD sales according to Netflix rep
I was inspired to watch the movie The Bodyguard tonight after watching Kevin Costner’s stirring tribute to his former co-star at Whitney Houston’s funeral this afternoon.

Unfortunately it isn’t available for streaming. This was interesting since it is 20 years old. I checked the comments under the movie post on netflix.com and saw a bunch of complaints saying that it had been available for streaming until her death.

https://plus.google.com/102898672602346817738/posts/CLQyX6ZxnxT

Nook 8GB Tablet coming on February 22nd to better compete with Kindle Fire
The Nook Tablet’s biggest problem so far has been that it costs $50 more than Amazon’sKindle Fire while targeting the same budget-conscious Android tablet market. That’s likely to change soon, however, as we’ve come across documentation showing a planned February 22nd launch for a Nook 8GB Tablet.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/20/2811295/nook-8gb-tablet-to-launch-february-22nd

Coming soon to freeways: Drivers tweeting at 70 miles an hour
American drivers are about to become a lot more distracted.

As safety officials fret about drivers taking their eyes off the road to play with smartphones, automakers from Detroit to Japan are rolling out vehicles that are becoming virtual iPads on wheels. Next-generation vehicles, safety experts warn, could make multitasking motorists even more of a hazard on the nation’s roads and freeways. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has called distracted driving “a dangerous epidemic.”

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_19981113

Intel Chefs Bake WiFi Into Mobile Chips
Researchers at Intel have come up with a way to make WiFi faster and more energy efficient.

It’s a chip called Rosepoint, and although it’s just a research project today, it could show up in mobile phones and laptop computers by the middle of the decade.

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/02/rosepoint/

Word of the day:
jactation/jak-tey-shuhn/noun
1. Boasting; bragging.
2. A restless tossing of the body.

Apple Sold More iOS Devices in 2011 Than Macs in 28 Years
Apple sold 55 million iPads to date, CEO Tim Cook recently revealed in an interview with Fortune. The company also sold 37 million iPhones in Q1 2012 alone, with the total being around 175 million since the device’s inception. All in all, Apple sold 316 million iOS devices so far.
http://mashable.com/2012/02/17/apple-sold-ios-devices-2011/

Self-Driving Cars Get First Green Light As Nevada Approves Requirement Regulations
Nevada is envisioning a day when taxicabs might shuttle fares without a driver, or people with medical conditions that make them ineligible for a license could get around with a virtual chauffeur.

The concept took a big step when Nevada became the first state to approve regulations that spell out requirements for companies to test driverless cars on state roads.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/17/self-driving-cars-nevada_n_1284228.html

How Companies Learn Your Secrets
Andrew Pole had just started working as a statistician for Target in 2002, when two colleagues from the marketing department stopped by his desk to ask an odd question: “If we wanted to figure out if a customer is pregnant, even if she didn’t want us to know, can you do that? ”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Chinese firm may sue Apple for $2 billion in U.S. over iPad name
On Friday, the Chinese company that claims to hold the trademark on the “iPad” name, threatened to sue Apple in the U.S. for $2 billion dollars, reports the AFP. Proview Technology claims it owns the Chinese rights to the iPad name and the company’s lawyers are looking to prevent Apple from importing or exporting the popular tablet in China.
http://www.bgr.com/2012/02/17/chinese-firm-may-sue-apple-for-2-billion-in-u-s-over-ipad-name/

Netflix Is Bringing DVD-Only Rentals Back
Since the whole Qwikster debacle, Netflix has tried to distance itself from DVD rentals in favor of its streaming service. But red envelopes will soon be popping through mail slots again now that Netflix has reintroduced DVD rentals.
http://gizmodo.com/5885913

BuiltWith Reveals The Tech Used By The 130 Million Web Sites That Matter Most
Search engines like Google scour the web to figure out how to rank content. Measurement firms like comScore sample users to estimate traffic to web sites. But what if you want to know which of some 2000 technologies a web site is using? And, what if you want to know what the tech trends are across the 130 million largest sites on the web today?
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/16/builtwith-reveals-the-tech-used-by-the-130-million-web-sites-that-matter-most/

Google Patent Reveals Future Unlock Features for Android Devices
Back in October 2011 we reported that Apple’s “Slide to Unlock” patent stirred up a hornet’s nest in Taiwan and we now see that Apple has filed another patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung over this feature. On Tuesday, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook stated during a Goldman Sachs conference that he loved competition – as long as they invented their own stuff.
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2012/02/google-patent-reveals-future-unlock-features-for-android-devices.html

Twitter Opens Up Self-Serve Ad Platform to 10,000 Small Businesses
Twitter is rolling out the self-serve ad platform it’s been testing to 10,000 small and midsize businesses next month through a partnership with American Express, in a bid to broaden its revenue streams.
http://adage.com/article/digital/twitter-opens-serve-ad-platform-10-000-businesses/232787/

Groupon Is Testing A New $30 Per Year VIP Service
Groupon is offering a new “VIP” service that costs $30 a year.

A reader forwarded us the email below, and we’ve confirmed that it’s real with Groupon.

What do you get for $30 a year? Early access to deals, and ability to buy old deals, and refunds for any Groupon at any time.
http://www.businessinsider.com/groupon-is-testing-a-new-30-per-year-vip-service-2012-2?op=1#ixzz1mZYgorf2

Pinterest’s Rite of Web Passage—Huge Traffic, No Revenue
If you haven’t heard of Pinterest, you likely will soon.

Traffic to the website—which lets users create online scrapbooks to share images of projects or coveted products—has grown tenfold over the past six months. In January, the number of visitors on Pinterest.com was almost a third of that on Twitter.com.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577225124053638952.html

Facebook Launches Verified Accounts and Pseudonyms
Facebook, a service built on real names and real identities, will tomorrow start allowing prominent public figures to verify their accounts and then opt to display a preferred nickname instead of their birth name. Those with verified accounts will gain more prominent placement in Facebook’s “People To Subscribe To” suggestions.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/15/facebook-verified-accounts-alternate-names/

Nathan Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures slaps AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint with patent lawsuit
Intellectual Ventures, the patent holding firm operated by former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, has filed a lawsuit against AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile alleging patent infringement.

“The wireless communications networks of AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile use a variety of important technologies covered by Intellectual Ventures’ patents,” said Intellectual Ventures’ Chief Litigation Counsel Melissa Finocchio in a statement. ”We previously attempted to discuss licensing options with each of these companies, but none were responsive. We filed a complaint for infringement today in the U.S. District Court of Delaware to get these three companies on a course toward compensating IV for the value of the inventions they use in delivering their wireless services.”
http://www.geekwire.com/2012/nathan-myhrvolds-intellectual-ventures-slaps-att-tmobile-sprint-patent-lawsuit

FBI Could Pull the Plug On Millions of Internet Users March 8
The Federal Bureau of Investigation may yank several crucial domain name servers (DNS) offline on March 8, blocking millions from using the Internet. The servers in the FBI’s crosshairs were installed in 2011 to deal with a nasty worm dubbed DNSChanger Trojan. DNSChanger can get an innocent end-user in trouble; it changes an infected system’s DNS settings to shunt Web traffic to unwanted and possibly even illegal sites.
http://www.betabeat.com/2012/02/15/fbi-could-pull-the-plug-on-millions-of-internet-users-march-8/

Music Industry Mulls Suing Google Over “Pirate” Search Results
The recording industry considers filing a lawsuit against Google for allegedly abusing its dominant market position to distort the market for online music. Industry groups including IFPI and the RIAA want Google to degrade links to “pirate” websites in its search results. IFPI has obtained a “highly confidential and preliminary legal opinion” to see if they can force Google to step up its anti-piracy efforts though a lawsuit.
http://torrentfreak.com/music-industry-mulls-suing-google-over-pirate-search-results-120216/

Lady Gaga, Then The World: Top Investors Join Social Media Site Backplane
The architects behind Lady Gaga’s social media campaign have raised around $4.5 million to scale The Backplane and accelerate its goal to become the world’s home page.
http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2012/02/16/lady-gaga-then-the-world-top-investors-join-social-media-site-backplane/

Zynga beats earnings estimates for its first-ever quarterly report as a public company
Zynga reported a modest profit for the fourth-quarter in its first-ever quarter financial report today.

The non-GAAP earnings per share were five cents, or $37.1 million, for the quarter. The largest publisher of social games on Facebook was expected to report a profit of 3 cents a share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/14/zynga-beats-earnings-estimates-for-its-first-ever-quarterly-report-as-a-public-company/

Download bots were the “well-known secret” of the app ecosystem
It’s remarkable how widely-known the phenomenon of fraudulent download bots was throughout the iOS developer community. Essentially, bots or automated programs have been used for well over a year to download apps until they reach the top of the charts where they can be seen by real users.

Most every large player knew about them, but I could never definitively prove their existence because most developers clammed up or said they would never touch the stuff. In the interest of self-preservation, many suspected bot marketing companies also never responded to any of my inquiries over the last several months.
http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2012/02/14/download-bots-were-the-well-known-secret-of-the-app-ecosystem/

Anonymous Hackers target Nasdaq website
Websites of exchange operators Nasdaq and BATS have been attacked by hackers over the last 24 hours, causing ongoing disruptions for those trying to use the sites. Sites was down because of distributed denial-of-service attack from a group of Anonymous hackers.
http://thehackernews.com/2012/02/anonymous-hackers-target-nasdaq-website.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHackersNews+%28The+Hackers+News+-+Daily+Cyber+News+Updates%29&utm_content=FaceBook

Kindle Touch breakthrough: Startup debuts handwriting recognition in puzzle book
Puzzle technology startup Puzzazz is giving Amazon’s Kindle Touch a capability that even Amazon didn’t envision — letting users input numbers and letters by writing them naturally with a finger on the screen, rather than tapping at the e-reader’s tiny on-screen keyboard
http://www.geekwire.com/2012/kindle-touch-handwriting-recognition-slick-feature-puzzazz

Apple Chief Unveils a New Product: Himself
When he was alive, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s former chief executive, treated investors as if they were biohazards, rarely deigning to meet with them. The disdain was not mutual, as an Apple stock chart for the last 10 yearsshows.

Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s new chief, showed on Tuesday how he planned to do things differently from his predecessor. Mr. Cook, who long handled the investor relations chores Mr. Jobs avoided, spoke at a Goldman Sachs conference on a wide range of topics, all the while displaying a bit more personality than he has in public presentations in the past. His appearance amounted to his most extensive public comments since he became chief of Apple in August, just weeks before the death of Mr. Jobs.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/apple-chief-unveils-a-new-product-himself/

Clear: Why This Simple To Do List App Has Everyone Talking
Clear, the heavily-anticipated touch-based to-do list app, is launching in the iTunes App Store tonight. And by heavily anticipated, I mean this app was getting tech blog coverage based on demos, previews and teaser videos.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/14/clear-why-this-simple-to-do-list-app-has-everyone-talking/

iOS apps and the address book: who has your data, and how they’re getting it
Over the course of the past week, a firestorm has erupted in the world of iOS apps, thanks to the discovery that Path was uploading data from your iPhone’s address book without asking for explicit permission. Upon opening the app and registering, Path automatically uploaded your contact data in order to “find friends” that you might want to connect to. Path has since apologized and updated its app, but the problem exposed by the episode remains.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/14/2798008/ios-apps-and-the-address-book-what-you-need-to-know

YouTube’s Offer Video-Makers Can’t Refuse: We’re Putting All Your Stuff Everywhere
Last night YouTube rolled out a new app for Google TV. And behind the scenes, YouTube has made a small but important change in the way it deals with content owners.

YouTube is now insisting on the ability to play all videos from content “partners” — video owners that share ad revenue with the site — on all platforms, including mobile phones and connected TVs.
http://allthingsd.com/20120213/youtubes-offer-video-makers-cant-refuse-were-putting-all-your-stuff-everywhere/

In-App Birdchases: Play Angry Birds On Facebook For Free, But Pay To Win
Angry Birds has just launched on Facebook, and developer Rovio is trying out a different business model that flocks together with other freemium games on the social network. Rather than make you pay $1 up front for a mobile download, there’s 4 new powerups that you can buy for cheap – just $1 for 20 uses.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/13/play-angry-birds-on-facebook/

Regulators to Google: You can buy Motorola, but we still don’t trust you
Google got exactly what it needed today to close the book on its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. With approval from both US and European authorities, Google is set to acquire one of the biggest Android hardware makers and a portfolio of 17,000 patents.

But regulators on both sides of the pond went out of their way to warn Google not to abuse the patents, with the Justice Department comparing Google’s patent statements unfavorably with what Justice views as more responsible statements made by Apple and Microsoft. In effect, regulators from both the US and Europe said there wasn’t enough evidence to prevent Google’s acquisition of Motorola today, but warned that Google’s future actions could invite antitrust scrutiny.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/regulators-to-google-you-can-buy-motorola-but-we-still-dont-trust-you.ars

Bitcoin Exchange TradeHill Suspends Trading
The Bitcoin economy may be in some real trouble. After the announcement last week that e-payments service Paxum would no longer support Bitcoin clients, at least one major Bitcoin exchange has shut down. Chile-basedTradeHill had been using Paxum, a PayPal competitor, for a large percentage of money transfers. The loss of Paxum, coupled with recent problems banking with Citibank that caused TradeHill to fall behind on processing transactions and other troubles, left the founders feeling like they had no choice but to suspend trading and return client deposits.
http://www.betabeat.com/2012/02/13/bitcoin-exchange-tradehill-suspends-trading/

Nimbula, Citrix clouds vow Amazon-style computing
If you don’t think that Amazon Web Services is the king of cloud, just look at what other cloud companies are announcing this week. Even paragons of the private cloud world are trying to cloak themselves in the glow cast by Amazon, which is squarely in public cloud realm.
http://gigaom.com/cloud/nimbula-citrix-clouds-vow-amazon-style-computing/

Online Payments Startup WePay Grows Revenue By Ten-Fold In 2011; Will Launch Mobile Apps This Year
Online payments platform and PayPal competitor WePay is announcing its growth data for 2011, and revealing details on the startup’s product strategy for 2012. In case you aren’t familiar, WePay is a Y Combinator backed startup that launched in 2009 to take the hassle out of group paying. Unlike some of its competitors, the service was able to dead simple way to collect, manage and spend money for groups.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/13/online-payments-startup-wepay-grows-revenue-by-ten-fold-in-2011-will-launch-mobile-apps-this-year/

MIT launches free online ‘fully automated’ course
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world’s top-rated universities, has announced its first free course which can be studied and assessed completely online.

An electronics course, beginning in March, will be the first prototype of an online project, known as MITx.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17012968

Traveling Light in a Time of Digital Thievery
When Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, travels to that country, he follows a routine that seems straight from a spy film.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/technology/electronic-security-a-worry-in-an-age-of-digital-espionage.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Where The Ladies At? Pinterest. 2 Million Daily Facebook Users, 97% Of Fans Are Women
OMG. Pinterest now has over 10.4 million registered users, 9 million monthly Facebook-connected users, and 2 million daily Facebook users, according to Inside Network’s AppData tracking service. With gorgeous photography, and links to shopping sites, Pinterest is becoming an obsession for flocks of women. And they’re not afraid to show it, I mean, Like it. AppData and Facebook’s advertising tool show that over 97% of Pinterest’s Facebook fans are women.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/11/pinterest-stats/

New Updates to YouTube for Google TV
In the next few days we’re releasing an update to your YouTube experience on Google TV making it faster and easier to find great content, adding YouTube channel pages, and giving you more control over your experience.

You’ll be able to update your app through Android Market, and you’ll see some big improvements. First you’ll notice the app works faster with smoother navigation for a better experience. Next, we’ve added a new feature called Discover, which lets you browse YouTube channels by categories. Whether you’re looking for hilarious comedy, delectable cooking content, or the latest news, you can find great channels for any of your interests.
http://googletv.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-updates-to-youtube-for-google-tv.html

Fair Labor Association Begins Inspections of Foxconn
Apple® today announced that the Fair Labor Association will conduct special voluntary audits of Apple’s final assembly suppliers, including Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China, at Apple’s request. A team of labor rights experts led by FLA president Auret van Heerden began the first inspections Monday morning at the facility in Shenzhen known as Foxconn City.

“We believe that workers everywhere have the right to a safe and fair work environment, which is why we’ve asked the FLA to independently assess the performance of our largest suppliers,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The inspections now underway are unprecedented in the electronics industry, both in scale and scope, and we appreciate the FLA agreeing to take the unusual step of identifying the factories in their reports.”
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/02/13Fair-Labor-Association-Begins-Inspections-of-Foxconn.html

Content Everywhere, But Not A Drop To Drink
This morning, I woke up and read Nick Bilton’s weekly New York Times’ column. Nick is a friend and one of the best bloggers/writers/journalists out there. But with today’s column, he was way off base.

Having already said what I wanted to say about the Path situation, I debated if I should weigh in again. Then I read Nick’s column again. There’s a way to say what he wants to say, but he goes about it the complete wrong way. I felt like I had to respond.
http://parislemon.com/post/17527312140/content-everywhere-but-not-a-drop-to-drink

MySpace to Announce One Million New Users
When MySpace changed ownership last June, it was in free fall. MySpace, the pioneering social media and music site, which at its peak in 2008 was attracting 75.9 million unique visitors a month, was down to about 33 million, according to comScore, and it was bleeding users every month.
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/myspace-to-announce-one-million-new-users/

Tucker Max’s Rejected Twitter Campaign and Stab at Celebrity Endorsement
A few weeks ago, author and infamous frat-boy blogger Tucker Max told Forbes contributor Michael Ellsberg that he was giving up the game: giving up the writing, giving up the blogosphere baiting, and giving up living the debauched, narcissistic life that had catapulted him to internet fame and dominated much of his 20′s. He may have spoken too soon.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/02/07/tucker-maxs-rejected-twitter-campaign-and-stab-at-celebrity-endorsement/

Brazil Files Twitter Injunction To Take Down Roadblock Warning Tweets
A request for an injunction to stop Twitter users from alerting drivers to police roadblocks, radar traps and drunk-driving checkpoints could make Brazil the first country to take Twitter up on its plan to censor content at governments’ requests.

Twitter unveiled plans last month that would allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/10/brazil-twitter-injunction-traffic_n_1267754.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

FarmVille Toys Are Coming: Zynga and Hasbro Sign Licensing Deal
If Angry Birds and Cut the Rope can have toys, why can’tFarmVille?

Social gaming juggernaut Zynga is teaming up with toy maker Hasbro to create a “wide range of toys and gaming experiences” based on Zynga properties and brands, a release read.
http://mashable.com/2012/02/09/zynga-toys-hasbro/

140 characters can get Indonesians 12 years in jail
Indonesia’s Communications and Information Minister has declared that anyone tweeting illegal content, such as blasphemy, pornography, and threats, could spend up to 12 years in prison.

Indonesia has a strained history with free speech issues and open media, so a law that would punish Twitter users harshly for their words isn’t entirely surprising. The case of Prita Mulyasari is one big example of how uncomfortable the country is with online communication. Mulyasari was jailed and fined for sending e-mails to 20 of her friends that complained about a hospital’s service.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/09/140-characters-indonesians-12-years-jail-twitter/

Tesla’s new Model X is the electric car of your dreams
Electric car maker Tesla unveiled its latest vehicle last night, the Model X, a cross-over that offers more space than the company’s Model S sedan and original sporty Roadster.

For those waiting for a semi-affordable electric car that offers plenty of space, power, and versatility, the Model X looks to be the best option yet.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/10/tesla-model-x-crossover/

Apple vs. Google: The Stakes Are Rising
Google Inc. is developing a home-entertainment system that streams music wirelessly throughout the home and would be marketed under the company’s own brand, according to people briefed on the company’s plans.

The effort marks a sharp shift in strategy for Google, which for the first would time would design and market consumer electronic devices under its name. The company has mainly focused on developing the Android operating system that powers devices such as smartphones, tablets and televisions. It has also allowed other companies to build and brand the hardware that uses it.
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970203824904577213430617644196-lMyQjAxMTAyMDAwOTEwNDkyWj.html

BitTorrent Piracy Doesn’t Effect US Box Office Returns, Study Finds
A new academic paper by researchers from the University of Minnesota and Wellesley College has examined the link between BitTorrent downloads and box office returns. Contrary to what’s often claimed by the movie industry, the researchers conclude that there is no evidence that BitTorrent piracy hurts US box office returns. Internationally, there is a link between downloads and revenues, which the researchers attribute to long release windows.
http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-piracy-doesnt-effect-us-box-office-returns-study-finds-120210/

Ron Conway is a Silicon Valley startup’s best friend
The rooftop deck of Ron Conway’s San Francisco apartment building is packed with a random and seemingly incongruous assortment of tech A-listers, celebrities, and sports stars snacking on hors d’oeuvres and sipping fine wines. Conway, Silicon Valley’s most prolific startup investor, has graciously opened his tony Pacific Heights pad, which has sweeping views of the Golden Gate, to let about 150 of his closest friends get a good look at the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s aerobatics team, which are in town for the weekend.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/02/10/ron-conway-sv-angel/

Texas Jury Strikes Down Patent Troll’s Claim to Own the Interactive Web
After threatening web companies for more than a decade, Michael Doyle and his patent-holding company Eolas Technologies — named after the Irish word for knowledge — may be finished.

An eight-member federal jury in East Texas deliberated Thursday for just a few hours before concluding that all of Eolas’ asserted claims of ownership to technology allowing access to the interactive web were invalid. That means the three upcoming trials that were scheduled to rule on infringement and damages, for Google, Yahoo and other companies, have been canceled. The eight defendant companies who resisted the lawsuits won’t pay anything to Eolas or its partner, the University of California, for using the web.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/02/interactive-web-patent/

Don’t Look Now: A Car That Tweets
Undaunted by fear of safety regulations, auto makers are piling new technologies into their vehicles: everything from 17-inch dashboard screens to services that check Facebook and buy movie tickets.

This newfound confidence comes as a push for national regulations governing driving and cellphone use—including the suggestion of a total ban—has petered out.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203824904577213041944082370.html

Patent Troll Claims Ownership of Interactive Web – And Might Win
The city of Tyler, Texas, is better known as the nation’s “rose capital” than as a hotspot of the technology industry. It’s a quiet, conservative city of about 100,000, full of wide streets and big trucks.

This week, though, Tyler is the site of a remarkable battle over the history of the World Wide Web — a trial that could affect the future of e-commerce. The federal courthouse downtown is packed to the brim with dozens of lawyers, representing the world’s biggest internet companies, including Yahoo, Amazon, Google and YouTube.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/02/patent-troll-trial/

RIAA Totally Out Of Touch: Lashes Out At Google, Wikipedia And Everyone Who Protested SOPA/PIPA
Remember all that talk of how the supporters of SOPA/PIPA were “humbled” by the protests of January 18th, and how they had learned their lessons about trying to push through a bill without actually involving the stakeholders? Remember the talk of how they hoped a new tone could be found in the debate? Yeah. Apparently someone forgot to send that memo to RIAA boss Cary Sherman, who has taken to the pages of the NY Times to lash out at those who fought against SOPA/PIPA, chalking the whole thing up to a massive “misinformation” campaign by Google and Wikipedia. The whole thing is chock full of ridiculous claims, so we might as well go through it bit by bit.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120208/01453517694/riaa-totally-out-touch-lashes-out-google-wikipedia-everyone-who-protested-sopapipa.shtml

Google Wants a 2.25% Cut of Every iPhone Sale
Looking to earn back some of the $12.5 billion it’s spending to buy Motorola Mobility, Google sent a letter to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers looking for a maximum 2.25% cut of sales for phones that use Motorola’s technology, including Apple‘s iPhone.
http://mashable.com/2012/02/09/google-cut-iphone-sale/

Steve Jobs’ FBI File Released
The FBI has released, and posted on its web site, Steve Jobs’ 191-page FBI file. Read it here. The file consists of a 1991 background investigation conducted when Jobs was being considered for an appointment to the President’s Export Council in the Bush I White House, and records of a 1985 bomb threat against him.
http://gawker.com/5883670/steve-jobs-fbi-file-released?utm_campaign=socialflow_valleywag_twitter&utm_source=valleywag_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

“Agile” grows up, readies to take over your whole business
Agile, a software development methodology born back in 2001, has now entered the mainstream. According to a Forrester Research reportissued last month, Agile is not only used in several of the world’s leading companies now but is being applied in areas beyond software development.
http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/09/agile-grows-up-readies-to-take-over-your-whole-business/

Apple now worth more than Google and Microsoft combined
First on AI: Apple’s stock soared to new heights on Thursday, pushing the company’s market capitalization to $456 billion, a number that is greater than the values of rivals Google and Microsoft combined.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/02/09/apple_now_worth_more_than_google_and_microsoft_combined.html

Barack Obama tweets his campaign Spotify playlist, election cycle has officially begun
Many have wondered if Obama has been busy lately fixing America’s problems, or if he’s just preoccupied with re-election while he lets Clint Eastwood do the dirty work. Well, we have our answer: he’s been busy compiling sweet, sweet jams on his favorite subscription music service, Spotify. Obama just tweeted a link to his playlist, which kicks off with a Raphael Saadiq track, and ranges from Ricky Martin to Arcade Fire. Now, some might wonder why Barack endorses Spotify, a Swedish service, instead of a made-in-America offering like MOG, but we’re guessing Obama needs the deep, obscure cuts that only Spotify can provide him. Also, with great offline caching, there’s no need to tie up that Air Force One data connection with music streams. Smart move, Mr. Commander In-Chief.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/9/2787220/barack-obama-tweets-his-campaign-spotify-playlist-election-cycle-has

The Senate’s SOPA Counterattack?: Cybersecurity the Undoing of Privacy
The Daily Caller reports that Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is planning another effort at Internet regulation—right on the heels of the SOPA/PIPA debacle. The article seems calculated to insinuate that a follow-on to SOPA/PIPA might slip into cybersecurity legislation the Senate plans to take up. Whether that’s in the works or not, I’ll detail here the privacy threats in cybersecurity language being circulated on the Hill.
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/the-senates-sopa-counterattack-cybersecurity-the-undoing-of-privacy/

Apple to Announce iPad 3 First Week in March
Apple’s not holding an event in February — strange, unusual or otherwise. But it is holding one in March — to launch its next iPad.

Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like these.
http://allthingsd.com/20120209/apple-to-announce-ipad-3-first-week-in-march/