For years Google has been evasive about plans for its public cloud for computing and data storage. However, the company is soon to announce pricing, features, and performance guarantees for both startup and multinational companies. Google’s efforts are part of an escalating battle amongst technology companies to control government and corporate computing through public clouds. This battle includes such companies as Microsoft, IBM and Amazon. Continue reading Google to Announce Plan for Cloud Computing and Data Storage

Apple has reportedly acquired social media analytics firm Topsy Labs for more than $200 million. Topsy is one of four Twitter partners with access to the social network’s full stream of tweets, currently averaging about 500 million messages per day. The firm then analyzes the information and resells it to customers. Topsy markets itself as a global trendspotter and has helped Hollywood studios predict box office demand for movies based on social chatter. Continue reading Apple Goes Social with $200 Million Purchase of Topsy Labs

According to Eric Schmidt, executive chairman and former CEO of Google, we may be close to a new “network age” in which Internet traffic will be protected with code, allowing users to communicate and organize socially without the fear of government censorship. Schmidt believes that Internet users will communicate via private channels that are shielded by encryption, scrambling data that can be decoded with a special digital key. Continue reading Schmidt: Solution to Government Surveillance is Encryption

Vint Cerf, chief Internet evangelist for Google and co-creator of the Internet’s key networking technology, delivered the keynote address at the Federal Trade Commission’s Internet of Things workshop this week in Washington, DC. Cerf suggested that privacy is a relatively new development that may not be sustainable. “Privacy may actually be an anomaly,” he said while taking questions, noting that privacy was not even guaranteed just a few decades ago. Continue reading Vint Cerf at FTC Event: “Privacy May Actually Be an Anomaly”

The debate over National Security Agency surveillance tactics has come to Hollywood. Industry heavyweights such as Oliver Stone, Maggie Gyllenhaal and John Cusack appear in a new video alongside Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan), Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg, advocates and government whistle-blowers. The video addresses civil liberties, the right to privacy, and calls for bringing an end to mass NSA surveillance. Continue reading The Debate Over Mass NSA Surveillance Comes to Hollywood

Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group and one of China’s wealthiest investors, announced his plans to build Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis. The project, estimated to cost from $4.9 billion to $8.2 billion, would include film studios, resort hotels, an indoor amusement park, movie theaters and a hospital. The metropolis is a sign of China’s efforts to become a world leader in the filmmaking industry. Last year, Dalian Wanda acquired AMC Entertainment for $2.6 billion. Continue reading Chinese Investor Envisions Movie Themed Real Estate Project

Houston-based SnapStream offers a line of DVR devices that are highly scalable and can go well beyond consumer DVR functionality. These devices have the ability to use 30+ channels to record a large collection of TV programming simultaneously, create clips and share via the cloud. SnapStream products are being used in the media industry in addition to other non-media industries that have a need to record and catalog video — for example: government, schools and the military. Continue reading SnapStream DVR Records Multiple Channels and Shares Clips

Amazon’s Web Services went down on Sunday due to a technical issue at a North Virginia data center. The outage was caused by a problem with a single networking device, and reveals that many companies do not distribute their Web services in different locations for service redundancy. This comes as Amazon is bidding on a CIA contract to manage their data services, and competitors are critical of whether Amazon can manage the demands of government data. Continue reading Amazon Web Services: Outage During Bid for CIA Contract

A group of app developers, consumer advocates and others are agreeing to test a voluntary code of conduct for data privacy for mobile apps. The code would set requirements for participating developers to release notices regarding whether their apps collect certain types of personal information or share user specific data with third party groups or data resellers. The Obama administration favors consumer privacy laws, but has yet to release additional details. Continue reading Code of Conduct to Disclose What Data Mobile Apps Collect

According to U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Victoria Espinel, the administration has outlined a number of action items for the coming year that include improvements to transparency in IP policymaking, international negotiations, law enforcement communication with IP stakeholders, and education regarding fair use. The annual report also examines technology such as mobile apps, 3D printing and IP-compliant software. Continue reading Government Report Outlines New Plans for IP Enforcement

Edith Ramirez, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, presented her recommendation for an investigation into the practices of “patent trolls” yesterday during a patent and antitrust seminar in Washington. Ramirez is calling for the FTC to use its subpoena power to launch a sweeping inquiry into patent-assertion entities (PAE’s, or patent trolls), which are known for purchasing bundles of patents in order to threaten infringement lawsuits. Continue reading FTC Chair Proposes Inquiry into Impact of Patent Trolls

According to the American Time Use Survey released by the Labor Department yesterday, Americans spent less time at work in 2012 and spent more time involved with leisure activities such as watching television. The survey suggests that the country’s sluggish recovery continues to impact workers. While time devoted to volunteering dropped, time spent on leisure and sleeping increased. Americans watched TV for two hours and 50 minutes per day, a second consecutive annual increase. Continue reading In a Struggling Economy, Americans Watch More Television

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney described President Obama’s newly proposed patent policy yesterday during the daily press briefing. The administration introduced a package of executive orders and recommended legislation that takes aim at patent trolls. Technology companies have expressed early support for measures that they hope will help curb the growing onslaught of lawsuits negatively affecting innovation. Continue reading Tech Companies Support Federal Move Against Patent Trolls

Samsung won a largely unexpected legal victory against Apple yesterday that could potentially stop the sale of early model iPhones and iPads. The U.S. International Trade Commission, which has jurisdiction over certain trade practices, ruled that Apple violated a Samsung patent related to tech used to send data over wireless networks. Devices in question include the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 3G, iPad 2 3G and iPad 3 (the more current iPhone 5 and fourth-generation iPad were unaffected). Continue reading ITC Ruling Favors Samsung, Could Impact Apple Products

The Associated Press revealed this week that the Justice Department secretly gathered two months worth of telephone records from its reporters and editors. AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt described the move as a “massive and unprecedented intrusion” into its news gathering operation. The seizure of records is reportedly part of a year-long investigation regarding possible leaks of classified materials about a failed al-Qaeda terror plot last year. Continue reading Justice Department Obtains AP Phone Records in Leak Probe