During a presentation at last week’s GigaOM Structure:Data conference in New York, Ira “Gus” Hunt, the CIA’s chief technology officer, detailed the Agency’s vision for collecting and analyzing information people put on the Internet. The presentation came just two days after it was reported that the CIA is about to sign a cloud computing contract with Amazon worth up to $600 million over 10 years. Continue reading CIA Discusses Plans for Collecting and Analyzing Big Data

Pentagon research agency DARPA is readying a four-year project to design artificial intelligence systems based on machines that can teach themselves using algorithms. An additional goal is to make it possible for ordinary people to build these machines. The agency believes it is possible to design and build computers that learn and evolve, not by modeling them after the human brain, but rather by using algorithms. Continue reading DARPA Turns to Algorithms to Improve Machine Learning

In our current digital age, modern computer code is comprised of the precise ones and zeroes that make up bits. But there’s a new computer on the horizon, developed by a major American military contractor, which is taking computing into the strange, subatomic realm of quantum mechanics, in which a one can be a one, or it can be a one and a zero and everything in between — all at the same time. Continue reading Is Quantum Computing Ready to Supercharge Industries?

Yesterday we posted findings of a Coca-Cola study, which concluded that online buzz did not have a measurable impact on short-term product sales. Response to the story, first published by Advertising Age and others, was met with a significant amount of online debate, which prompted a Coca-Cola exec to post that the finding can be viewed as accurate in isolation, but should not diminish the crucial role of social media across multiple screens. Continue reading Marketing Exec Defends the Crucial Role of Social Media

YouTube announced on Wednesday that it has reached the milestone of 1 billion monthly viewers. Google’s popular video-sharing subsidiary shared the news with advertisers at an extravagant upfronts presentation event at the YouTube Space production studio in Los Angeles, where Robert Kyncl explained that the amount of video the site streams on a monthly basis has grown 50 percent in the last year. Continue reading YouTube Tells Advertisers Site Has 1 Billion Monthly Viewers

At the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, there was a clear message sent by the GSMA, the congress’s organizing body: Near Field Communication (NFC) might finally be ready to have its day. That message may be hard to believe, considering NFC has been on the cusp of breaking through for nearly a decade and still has yet to achieve mainstream adoption. However, the technology was everywhere at this year’s MWC. Continue reading Mobile World Congress: GSMA Says Time for NFC is Now

HP Labs has developed a new kind of three-dimensional display that can play hologram-like videos without requiring moving parts or glasses. Videos hover above the screen as viewers walk around them and experience an image or video from up to 200 viewpoints, essentially simulating the experience of moving around an actual physical object. The LCD-based approach could be used by phones and tablets to produce holograms. Continue reading New 3D System Could Help Mobile Devices Create Holograms

Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies may be built into the next generation of core Web standards. A proposal called Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) is currently before the World Wide Web Consortium’s HTML5 Working Group. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is fighting to keep DRM out of W3C standards, suggests: “Its adoption would be a calamitous development, and must be stopped.” Continue reading DRM Tech Could Be Built into Next-Gen Core Web Standards

Electronic Arts’ long awaited release of “SimCity,” the first new edition in 10 years, was abruptly halted two weeks ago when servers gave out, unable to handle the influx of gamers. “SimCity” was not designed with an offline mode, and recovery efforts have been challenging. Since the launch, both EA and developer Maxis have been working hard to fix the situation and communicate its ongoing efforts with gamers. Continue reading EA and Maxis Defend MMO After SimCity Launch Problems

Intel Media is preparing to launch an Internet television service later this year. The group is looking to hire 60 additional people to its staff of more than 300, and could even build to more than 400 within the next six months, said spokesman Jon Carvill (the group had less than 100 staffers a year ago). The hiring spree underscores the chipmaker’s seriousness regarding the new venture. Continue reading Intel Media Group Staffing Up for New Internet TV Service

Apple’s iPad is now three years old. Since it hit the market in 2010, it has sold more than 120 million units and basically launched the tablet industry as a whole. But pricing remains an issue for those consumers considering making a purchase, as many name-brand tablets start as high as $499. And even lower-priced, full-sized tablets sell for between $300 and $400. However, this is about to change. Continue reading Two Full-Sized Tablets Priced to Compete at Under $300

With March Madness underway, many sports fans will be using social media to read and share updates about their favorite college basketball teams. To enhance the social and second screen experience this year, Twitter has joined forces with Turner Broadcasting and startup SnappyTV to provide instant 15-second replay videos of popular game highlights through Twitter’s news feed. The move will also create new opportunities for advertising revenue. Continue reading Twitter Offers Video Highlight Clips During March Madness

The Walt Disney Company reportedly has an app in the works that will stream ABC programming live to the smartphones and tablets of cable and satellite subscribers. For example, subscribers could watch “Good Morning America” live via phones while in line for their coffee or watch “Nashville” on their tablets will riding a bus home from work. The app could be available as soon as this year. Continue reading Disney Plans App for Live Streaming ABC to Mobile Devices

According to a new study from Coca-Cola, online buzz has no measurable impact on short-term product sales. However, online display ads are about effective as TV ads, noted company exec Eric Schmidt during this week’s Advertising Research Foundation Re:think conference in New York. As a point of clarification, a top marketing exec for the company, Wendy Clark, was quick to note that social media still plays a crucial role. Continue reading Online Buzz Has No Measurable Impact on Short-Term Sales

While Google is best known for its powerful Web search engine, Android mobile operating system and acquisition of YouTube in 2006, it also offers lesser-known, but impressive services. From exploration to academia to art and much more, Google’s online products and services aim to inform users, improve lives and make them more secure. Business Insider lists 11 Google initiatives you may never knew existed. Continue reading Google is About More Than Just Search and Smartphones