Technology News: Internet

Bing Dips Toe Into Real-Time Search With Twitter Tie-In

Thursday - July 2, 2009

Microsoft's recently released Bing search engine has begun adding real-time Twitter updates from celebrities to its results. So far, it has indexed the Twitter accounts of a few thousand people, Bing director Whitney Burk told TechNewsWorld. Search results are tied directly to online ads. While adding real-time tweets may get more people to use Bing, it's not yet clear whether that will help Microsoft get more ads. That will depend on Bing's growth, notes analyst Greg Sterling. [More...]

Wallflower or Extrovert? Facebook Lets Users Choose by Post

Thursday - July 2, 2009

With 200 million members who double as very vocal quality assurance officers, Facebook knows that any tinkering with its privacy policy is going to receive a lot of attention. So its Wednesday announcement of an upcoming series of tests regarding its new privacy settings was carefully marketed as a matter of "control, simplicity and connection" by chief privacy officer Chris Kelly. [More...]

Tea Parties, Pirate Ships and a Kayak: A Summer at Sea

Thursday - July 2, 2009

For seven months, a New York Times reporter named David Rohde was held prisoner by Taliban kidnappers. However, you wouldn't learn that from reading The New York Times -- or even Wikipedia, for that matter. In addition to other news organizations, the Times reportedly asked Wikipedia not to publish information on the abduction. [More...]

Is Software Installation on Linux 'Broken'?

Thursday - July 2, 2009

You know a controversy is a big one when none other than RMS weighs in with his opinion, and sure enough, that's what happened in the Mono debate late last week. "Debian's decision to include Mono in the default installation, for the sake of Tomboy which is an application written in C#, leads the community in a risky direction," RMS wrote on the Free Software Foundation's site. [More...]

Green Dam Protesters Wait for China's Other Shoe to Drop

Wednesday - July 1, 2009

China reversed itself Tuesday, lifting the mandate to install Web-filtering software on all personal computers sold in the country. The government's announcement of the requirement, made without warning in June, was met with widespread opposition. It could be that the day of reckoning has simply been postponed. [More...]

Despite Danger, Iranian Protesters Won't Be Silenced

Wednesday - July 1, 2009

The Iranian protesters sneak their cellphones onto the streets and hit record, frantically trying to evade being caught or beaten. The shaky, grainy images are emailed to friends. Then they are uploaded to blogs, YouTube or social networking sites -- offering the world some of the only firsthand glimpses of tensions following disputed presidential elections on June 12. [More...]

Evolution, Revolution and Punctuated Equilibrium

Wednesday - July 1, 2009

Kudos to all those who participated in, organized or even attended the Enterprise 2.0 conference in drizzly Boston last week. There is a lot to write about. The big ideas that I took away include disruption and evolution, ROI and a need to sharpen our focus. Here are a few thoughts on a very good show. [More...]

YouTube Opens Digital J-School for Amateur Reporters

Tuesday - June 30, 2009

How do you conduct a great interview? For Katie Couric, it all starts with being a gracious host. "I think the more comfortable you make someone feel, the better interview you'll get," she says. "I know in terms of body language I always try to be very warm and welcoming. It's really critical to put someone at ease." [More...]

Firefox 3.5 Streaks Onto the Web

Tuesday - June 30, 2009

Mozilla has released Firefox 3.5, the latest edition of its open source browser, one year after its release of Firefox 3. The update went through four betas, incorporating JavaScript fine-tuning and other improvements, resulting in the fastest version yet, according to Mozilla. [More...]

Pirate Bay Decides to Join the Navy

Tuesday - June 30, 2009

He may still have an eye patch, a peg leg and a funny hat, but is a pirate still a pirate if he writes you a check before plundering your ship? How long would Robin Hood keep his band of merry men intact if they took from the rich -- and charged the poor a redistribution fee for access to those riches? [More...]

Wikipedia and the Kidnapped Reporter: Censor or Savior?

Tuesday - June 30, 2009

For seven months, New York Times reporter David Rohde was held by Taliban kidnappers. During his captivity, both his newspaper and Wikipedia kept quiet about his plight. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales reportedly agreed to a request from The New York Times to delete all references to the kidnapping on Rohde's Wikipedia entry. [More...]

See More Articles in Internet Section >>