Internet

Google Offers a New Bag of Gmail Sorting Tricks
May 30, 2013

Google has unveiled a new Gmail design to give users more organizational control over a cluttered in-box.The revamped in-box is an option; users who like the approach can separate their email into four tabs: primary, promotions, social and updates. Primary is for the mail from friends, families or colleagues that a user would want to read and perhaps save.

What's Ahead for the Net: Mary Meeker Explains It All
May 30, 2013

Mary Meeker, aka the "Queen of the Internet" and one of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers' star analysts, has issued her latest report on Internet trends. The 117-slide presentation is more of an opus than a typical report, providing a wealth of data on current digital trends and the direction they are heading.

Amazon Spreads Its Influence With Single Sign-In
May 30, 2013

Amazon on Tuesday announced a feature that lets users access websites using their Amazon account information. The goal of Login with Amazon is to reduce sign-in friction by providing secure credentials to websites, apps, games and other online access points on the Web, as well as on Android and iOS devices. Google+, Facebook and Twitter already offer similar social sign-in capabilities.

Facebook Shovels Out Some of the Filth
May 30, 2013

Facebook is enmeshed in yet another brouhaha over its advertising policies, but this time it's not the users making a fuss -- it's the advertisers. Major clients such as Nissan and Nationwide recently pulled the plug on their Facebook campaigns after their ads showed up next to objectionable, sometimes downright hateful, content.

Angst and Anxiety Over Ubuntu's Chosen Path
May 30, 2013

After all the bold moves Canonical has made regarding Ubuntu in the past few years, it's not exactly any secret that a significant portion of the Linux community remains unconvinced as to the wisdom of its chosen path. Indeed, it was just a few weeks ago that the project decided to launch its very own package format and installer, resulting in more than a few raised eyebrows among FOSS fans.

Chrome Games: To Play, You Must Persevere
May 29, 2013

Chrome Experiments has debuted two very innovative games this week, suggesting that Google might be in play to break into the casual game market, even taking on the likes of Nintendo and other portable game developers. At first glance that might be a valid assumption, but the shortcomings of these offerings suggest Google might have something different in mind.

China to Conduct Digital War Games
May 29, 2013

President Obama will definitely have something to talk about. Beijing announced that China will conduct its first "digital war games," a proclamation that will likely do nothing to allay United States concerns about China's propensity for hacking and cyberespionage. The timing of the announcement is noteworthy: Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Obama next month to discuss cybersecurity.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Chrome Real Estate Tools
May 29, 2013

The days of reliance on real estate agents to tell us which homes are available are long gone. The same raw data that the agents used to have an exclusive on is now fed to anyone who wants it. Now all you have to do is choose your source. Here's a look at the top five real estate apps in the Chrome environment. This app also lets you compare mortgages -- including rates, rate trends and lenders.

Feds to Open Data Access in a Big Way
May 29, 2013

Making money from accessing the vast amounts of information collected by the U.S. government, such as Census Bureau data, has been the basis for many commercial enterprises. Now the U.S. government has undertaken a new Open Data Policy -- a major effort to make tons of federal information from all agencies more accessible for the general public and the business community.

European Commission Probes Apple's Tactics
May 28, 2013

The European Commission is taking a closer look at whether Apple is engaging in unfair sales practices. The EC, which is the executive branch of the European Union, sent a questionnaire last week to several European mobile network operators probing Apple's distribution terms -- specifically, whether those terms preclude rivals from offering a better sales deal.

Collaborative Online Shopping: The Next Wave in E-Commerce
May 28, 2013

Shopping with friends has been a mainstay of the retail industry since stores were first introduced. Online shopping, on the other hand, has largely remained a solo experience. This is changing. That's because the Internet is becoming a social platform, as seen in the explosive growth and worldwide popularity of social networks like Facebook and Pinterest.

Xbox One vs. Shield: Evolution vs. Revolution
May 27, 2013

There is an interesting battle forming between the most powerful game console with the most potential, Microsoft's Xbox One, and Nvidia's Shield -- a rebel platform that I think is worth a look. Microsoft is pushing the envelope on the breadth of things a console can support and variety in the user interface, while Nvidia is creating a device focused on gaming in a wide variety of modes.

Facebook Scrubs European Launch of Home, HTC First
May 24, 2013

It has been about a month since Facebook unveiled the keys to its mobile problems -- its Facebook Home app and the HTC First, a smartphone designed specifically around Home. To date, though, the progress of these duel initiatives has been less than encouraging. European carriers Orange and EE have delayed the rollout of the First, apparently at Facebook's behest.

Pandora's Mobile Biz Tunes in Q1 Growth
May 24, 2013

Pandora's boost in Q1 revenue, thanks largely to an increase in subscribers who want to listen to ad-free Internet radio, helped the streaming media company turn in a quarterly report Thursday that beat expectations. The Internet radio service reported $126 million in revenue, a 55 percent increase from the same period last year and higher than the $124 million analysts predicted.

Google's All Access Music Service Starts on the Right Note
May 24, 2013

Google has refreshed its music app. It's a big deal, because Google has introduced custom radio and an a la carte music streaming service, All Access, for an introductory price that's $2.00 cheaper than a la carte streaming leader Spotify. You can try the service free for 30 days, and if you start a trial by June 30, it will then cost $7.99 a month to continue.

Twitter Learns How to Do the 2-Step
May 23, 2013

Twitter has announced it is deploying a long-awaited security measure: two-factor verification. The move comes about a month after The Associated Press' Twitter account was hacked. Twitter is late to the game with this security tactic. A number of companies already feature it. However, the company must have scrambled to get it in place after hackers sent the stock market reeling last month

Integration Plus Intelligence Equals Multichannel Campaign Success
May 23, 2013

The personality inventory known as the "Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" is premised on the idea that different people process information in different ways. Some people are verbal processors. Others are visual processors. Some people respond more strongly to images -- others to text. The most effective way to learn is to map the different learning styles to each individual's characteristic strengths.

Another Day, Another Distro: Antergos Linux Is Born
May 23, 2013

They say springtime is a season of rebirth and renewal. Not only have we seen the birth of Cloverleaf from the ashes of Fuduntu, but now Cinnarch has gone through a similar transformation. No real death was involved this time. Rather, the Arch-based distro decided to give the Cinnamon desktop at its foundation the proverbial boot, calling it "too much a burden to maintain/update going forward."

Walmart's Mobile App Aims for 'Indispensable' Customer Tools
May 22, 2013

The key for developing a mobile strategy? Understand the customer. That was the theme of Wednesday's keynote presentations at CTIA 2013, the wireless industry trade show held this week in Las Vegas. Companies that address their consumer find higher adoption and engagement. In the case of Walmart, the world's largest retailer has found a way to push boundaries while addressing consumer needs.

Teens Starting to See Facebook as Old and Creepy
May 22, 2013

Facebook may have a budding problem on its hands with its teenagers, suggests a report released Tuesday by Pew Research Center. Teens expressed waning enthusiasm for Facebook in focus groups, according to Pew, saying they disliked the growing number of adults on the site, were annoyed by "inane" status updates, and viewed the drama commonly played out on Facebook as draining.