The Mercenary Techie Who Troubleshoots for Drug Dealers and Jealous Lovers
A while ago, a twenty-something geek we’ll call Martin arranged a meeting with some potential clients in an an unusual place: the sidewalk across the street from a police precinct on Manhattan’s West Side.
http://gawker.com/5878862/
Google and Bing accused of directing users to illegal copies of music
Google and other search engines “overwhelmingly” direct music fans to illegal copies of copyrighted tracks online, a coalition of entertainment industry groups has told the government.
In a confidential document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, lobbying groups for the major rights holders claimed Google and Microsoft’s Bing are making it “much more difficult” for people to find legal music and films online.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/26/google-bing-illegal-music
Apple’s universal remote concept hints at future television set
Apple has shown interest in building a new, simplified remote control that would automatically control a variety of devices while reducing setup and frustration for the user.
The concept was revealed this week in a new patent application discovered byAppleInsider. Entitled “Apparatus and Method to Facilitate Universal Remote Control,” it describes a touchscreen-based controller that would reduce the confusing clutter found on current universal remotes.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/01/26/apples_universal_remote_concept_hints_at_future_television_set_.html
MegaUpload Users Plan to Sue the FBI over Lost Files
In most reports following the MegaUpload shutdown, the site is exclusively portrayed as a piracy haven.
However, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people used the site to share research data, work documents, personal video collections.
http://torrentfreak.com/megaupload-users-plan-to-sue-the-fbi-over-lost-files-120126/
Jeff Clavier’s SoftTech VC Raises $55 Million For Fund III
The micro-VCs are growing up. Case in point: Jeff Clavier, who started out as an angel investor backing Web 2.0 companies and then transitioned his portfolio into a more formal venture firm, SoftTech VC. Clavier just finished raising a total of $55 million for SoftTech’s third fund. SoftTech’s main focus is on three areas: mobile, next-generation e-commerce, and cloud-based services.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/26/jeff-clavier-softtech-vc-raises-55-fund-iii/
How Google keeps your secrets private
How does a company that collects so much information from its users keep all that data private?
Meet Alma Whitten, Google’s director of privacy.
At the end of a miserable 2010 filled with privacy blunders including thedisastrous Google Buzz fiasco, Google appointed Whitten to the position of privacy director. Since then, Whitten has instituted what she calls a “culture of privacy” at the company. So far it has been paying off.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/26/technology/google_privacy/index.htm
