Tech News
Dropbox buys startup designed to deal with email overloads
Online storage firm Dropbox on Friday announced that it has bought Mailbox, a hot startup devoted to making it simpler to deal with email overloads.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Like many of you, when we discovered Mailbox we fell in love -- it was simple, delightful, and beautifully engineered," Dropbox said in a blog posting.
"Many have promised to help us with our overflowing inboxes, but the Mailbox team actually delivered."
A Mailbox application for organizing and managing Gmail on Apple iPhone or iPod Touch devices became an instant hit after it was made available last month on a first-come, first-served basis to those on a reservation list.
Mailbox has been quickly ramping up service capacity, but the waiting list remains long.
"Rather than grow Mailbox on our own, we've decided to join forces with Dropbox and build it out together," the Mailbox team said in a blog post.
"To be clear, Mailbox is not going away. The product needs to grow fast, and we believe that joining Dropbox is the best way to make that happen."
More than 100 million people use San Francisco-based Dropbox to store digital photos, documents, or videos in the Internet 'cloud' with the ability to access online from any computers, according to Mailbox.
"They've got a ton of experience scaling services and are experts at handling people's data with care," Mailbox said. "We're all looking forward to making Mailbox even better and getting it into as many people's hands as possible."
Song creation app wows crowd at South by Southwest
Two brothers from Australia pulled big crowds at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival with a novel app that lets anyone create a song just by crooning into a smartphone.
Jam, released eight weeks ago for Apple's iPhone, was developed by Joe and Sam Russell, members of a musical family from Melbourne who took the concept behind social-media photography and reinvented it for music.
"Basically, you sing into your phone and it creates a song around what you've sung," said Joe Russell as young music fans streamed into Jam's booth in the SXSW trade show hall Thursday to spend a minute each trying out the app.
"You don't need to play an instrument or even sing all that well," he told AFP. "You just have to sing into your phone and pick a (musical) style and it will created a song in that style, an original song."
But there's more: users can upload their recordings onto Jam -- just as Instagram or Hipstamatic photographers can do with their photos -- for any and all to see, and the most popular tunes can wind up on Jam's own hit parade.
More than 260,000 users, mostly in the United States, have so far downloaded Jam from the iTunes store, the Russells said, adding that work is underway on Japanese and Chinese versions for the promising Asian market.
"It's meant for people who don't necessarily create music in their day-to-day lives," said Joe Russell, 33, general manager of DreamWalk Interactive, a startup founded by the tech-minded siblings.
"It enables them to create music when they wouldn't have otherwise. It's cheating" -- in the sense that users never need to learn an instrument or really know how to sing -- "but every can make music now. That's the good thing."
Jam is representative of the way technology is driving the future of music, undermining the traditional business model whereby musicians had to struggle to get the attention of taste-making record labels to build their careers.
Only in this case, the musicians can be anyone with a smartphone -- even if they can't sing very well, because Jam contains its own version of Auto-Tune, the pitch-correcting vocal software commonly used by big-name artists.
"We had a pretty clear idea going into the project (of what Jam would be like) and we had some great guys working on it," said Sam Russell, 27, who oversaw the "difficult" six-month writing of the software.
Once done, a completed Jam song can be shared with other users who can, in turn, vote for their favorites -- with the songs getting the most likes finding their way into Jam's Top 100 chart.
On Thursday the number-one song was a jumped-up dubstep take on Justin Bieber's "As Long As You Love Me" by one Ayanna Snookie Perez, which had 1,241 likes out of 86,895 listens.
Many of the songs are cover versions, and it remains to be seen if any record labels or music publishers complain about copyright infringement -- although performing and posting one's favorite pop tunes on YouTube is commonplace now.
The basic Jam app is free to download, but users can pay for extra features and music styles packs, much as Hipstamatic users can buy additional filters and virtual lenses to widen the creativity of their images.
While they're currently looking for investors, the Russells -- who previously developed a GPS treasure hunting platform -- say they have no interest in selling Jam or their company for the time being.
And while they don't know of any actual stars currently using Jam, they don't rule out an unknown "Jammer" breaking into the big time one day. "We're waiting for the first signing as a result of Jam," Joe Russell said. "It's coming."
Reuters editor Matthew Keys charged with aiding 'Anonymous' hackers
A Reuters editor has been indicted in a California district court for allegedly conspiring with the hacker group Anonymous to access and alter a web site of the Tribune Company, his former employer.
Matthew Keys, 26, the deputy social media editor at the news agency, is accused of supplying Anonymous with log-in credentials for a Tribune Company computer server. Keys was a former employee of Sacramento-based TV station KTXL FOX 40, a Tribune company.
Keys could not be reached for comment. A Reuters spokesman said: "I haven't heard anything about this."
According to a federal indictment first obtained by the Huffington Post, Keys used a chat site to pass information to Anonymous. Using the name AESCracked, Keys handed over the login credentials and told hackers to "go fuck some shit up", the indictment says.
The hacker accessed at least one Los Angeles Times story and altered it, the charges say.
The indictment reproduces long sections of a purported chat between Keys and an Anonymous member called "sharpie".
"That was such a buzz having my edit on the LA Times," sharpie writes, according to the document.
If convicted, Keys faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 for each count.
Keys is charged with one count each of conspiracy to transmit information to damage a protected computer, transmitting information to damage a protected computer and attempted transmission of information to damage a protected computer.
Keys has worked at Reuters just over a year. He has a widespread following on Twitter among journalists.
The Obama administration has a track record of prosecuting hacking cases aggressively. The practice has come under sharp criticism since January, when Internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide as federal prosecutors built a hacking case against him.
Google tosses RSS feed Reader as house cleaning continues
Google said it was tossing its Reader service and seven other products under a house cleaning campaign that has closed 70 of the Internet giant's features in the past two years.
"These changes are never easy," Google senior vice president of technical infrastructure Urs Holzle on Wednesday said in a blog post.
"But by focusing our efforts, we can concentrate on building great products that really help in their lives."
Reader was launched in 2005 as a way for people to keep track of updates to favored websites using RSS feeds, which have become passe on the Internet.
"While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined," Holzle said, noting that the Google Reader service will retire on July 1.
Google's Building Maker, designed to help people make 3-D models of structures for the Internet firm's online maps, will be put out of commission June 1.
Support for Google Voice's app for Blackberry handsets will end next week.
"For Blackberry users who want to continue using Google Voice, we recommend they use our HTML5 app, which is more secure and easier for us to keep up to date," Holzle said.
The 'ePad': A new tablet specifically for women?
Apparently, tablets aren't unisex and one company has taken care of that problem.
The ePad Femme, developed by Middle East–based Eurostar Group, is being advertised as ""world's first tablet made exclusively for women," according to Daily Dot.
What makes it so lady like? Well, it comes preloaded with a pink background, for starters. But also included are several apps that Eurostar Group thinks would be just perfect on a ladies-only tablet. There's a yoga app, a shopping app, cooking app and of course a weight-loss app. It appears that other apps, male-centric or otherwise, can't be uploaded.
First announced in October of 2012, the ePad Femme was touted as a great Valentine's Day gift idea.
"The Tablet comes preloaded with applications so you can just turn it on and log in to cooking recipes or yoga," a marketing person for Eurostar Group, told the Jerusalem Post. "It makes a perfect gadget for a woman who might find difficulties in terms of downloading these applications and it is a quick reference."
Amazon cuts price of large-screen Kindle Fire
Amazon.com on Wednesday ramped up its challenge to Apple's iPads by trimming the price of its large-screen Kindle Fire and making the tablets available in Japan and Europe.
The online retailer cut $100 from the price of the Kindle Fire HD with 8.9-inch screens and connectivity to the latest-generation wireless telecom networks, giving the tablets a starting price of $399.
A version of the Kindle Fire HD that connects to the Internet using Wi-Fi hotspots was given a starting price of $269.
Full-sized iPads start at $499 while Apple's iPad mini has a starting price of $329.
"We're thrilled with customer reaction to Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch," said Amazon Kindle vice president Dave Limp.
"As we expand Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch to Europe and Japan, we've been able to increase our production volumes and decrease our costs."
The tablet became available in Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Japan.
Dutch thriller creates duel-screen theater experience
Dutch thriller "APP", about a mysterious personal assistant application that takes over mobile phones, requires viewers for the first time to look at their smartphones in the cinema to view extra footage.
In the film, nefarious app "Iris" -- which happens to be the name of the personal assistant found on Apple's iPhone, Siri, written backwards -- takes control of the smartphone of the heroine, 21-year-old psychology student Anna.
"We wanted to make a film about mobile phones, about how the technology can turn on us," Edvard van 't Wout of production company 2CFilm told AFP at a press viewing on Wednesday.
Van 't Wout says this is the first time that such "second screen" technology has been used in a cinema.
The film begins with a parody of the typical request from cinemas and asks viewers to "kindly to turn on their mobile phones".
Similar technology has however been used in films to be viewed at home.
The idea behind "APP" is simple: viewers download application software to their smartphones or tablets and activate it in the cinema.
Film content within the app is activated at specific points in the film thanks to inaudible signals in the soundtrack.
Viewers see silent plot elements appear on their smartphones: text messages between the film's heroine and her best friend, a newspaper story about a suicide on the big screen or what the heroine herself is seeing on her phone.
The thriller, rated for 12-year-olds and over, can be watched without a second screen, but "you lose out," director Bobby Boermans told AFP.
Boermans says creating the film was a bit like "having to write two scripts."
Some shots in the film were deliberately lengthened in editing to allow viewers time to digest the small-screen information before turning back to the big screen.
The film is due out in the Netherlands on April 4 and is set to be dubbed into English for foreign release.
Netflix allows users to share what they watch on Facebook
Netflix on Wednesday took the long awaited step of letting US users share with Facebook friends what they have been watching at the film and television show streaming service.
A change made to the decades-old Video Privacy Protection Act late last year by Congress cleared the way for California-based Netflix to join the slew of music sharing services that have synched with the leading social network.
Netflix has previously integrated its service with Facebook outside the United States.
"There are few better ways to find a movie or TV series you'll love than hearing about it from your friends," said Netflix vice president of product innovation Tom Willerer.
"Facebook already makes it easy for our international members to connect with friends over TV shows and movies and we're thrilled to now bring this experience to our US members."
Synching with Facebook is optional for Netflix users. Those who connect to Facebook will see lists of shows or films viewed by friends at the social network, according to Netflix.
"Over the years, Netflix has deepened its Facebook integration to enable people to discover movies through friends and to share what they're watching," said Facebook's Justin Osofsky.
"With their integration, Netflix has a new opportunity to reach the more than one billion people on Facebook."
Trade Commission wants 'clear' fine print on mobile ads
The US Federal Trade Commission called Tuesday for potentially bedeviling fine print to be "clear and conspicuous" as ads follow people onto smartphone screens or online social networks.
The FTC updated its Dot Com Disclosures guidance advising advertisers how to avoid charges that digital ads are deceptive because information about conditions, risks, or costs gets short shrift for the sake of screen space.
"Advertisers should ensure that the disclosure is clear and conspicuous on all devices and platforms that consumers may use to view the ad," the FTC said in a release announcing the updated guidance.
"Advertisers using space-constrained ads, such as on some social media platforms, must still provide disclosures necessary to prevent an ad from being deceptive."
The FTC advised marketers to avoid making people click on hyperlinks to reach disclosures or relegating the information to automated 'pop-up' boxes, which are often blocked by Web browsing software.
The original Dot Com Disclosure guidelines were released in 2000, prior to the booming popularity of smartphones and tablet computers.
Google fined $7 million over 'improper and unwanted' data gathering
Google agreed to pay a $7 million fine in the United States on Tuesday for stealthily collecting data from private Wi-Fi hotspots in a mapping service slip that irked an array of countries.
In a legal settlement with attorneys general in 38 states, the Internet giant also agreed to ramp up employee training about data privacy and back a nationwide campaign to teach people about securing wireless networks.
Word that vehicles snapping panoramic photos in neighborhoods for Street View images in Google's online maps were grabbing data from unsecured hotspots triggered investigations in at least a dozen countries, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).
At least nine countries have found Google violated local laws, said EPIC.
In the settlement announced on Tuesday, Google again promised that email, passwords, web histories and other data captured by Street View vehicles in the United States between 2008 and 2010 will be destroyed.
"This settlement addresses privacy issues and protects the rights of people whose information was collected without their permission," New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.
"Consumers have a right to protect their vital personal and financial information from improper and unwanted use by corporations like Google."
Google has since stopped collecting the data and has agreed not to do so without consent, the statement said.
"We work hard to get privacy right at Google," the California-based Internet giant said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.
"But in this case we didn't, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue. The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it."
Nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog dismissed the fine and conditions in the agreement as insignificant for the multi-billion-dollar company.
"The $7 million penalty is pocket change for Google," said Consumer Watchdog privacy project director John Simpson.
"Asking Google to educate consumers about privacy is like asking the fox to teach the chickens how to ensure the security of their coop."
A Federal Communications Commission investigation of Street View ended in May of last year.
The bureau concluded that it could not accuse Google of breaking US law but wanted the company penalized for not cooperating quickly enough.
Google agreed to pay a $25,000 penalty demanded by the FCC but maintained that fault for delay in the probe rested with the federal agency and not the Internet firm.
The FCC began the investigation in late 2010 after Google announced that Street View cars taking photographs of cities in more than 30 countries had inadvertently gathered data sent over unsecured Wi-Fi systems.
The Federal Trade Commission and US Justice Department had already opened and closed Street View investigations.
Information sucked up by passing Street View cars included passwords, emails, and other data that was being transmitted wirelessly over unprotected routers, according to the FCC.
Google has since stopped the collection of Wi-Fi data, used to provide location-based services such as driving directions in Google Maps and other products, by Street View cars.
Street View, which was launched in 2006, lets users view panoramic street scenes on Google Maps and take a virtual "walk" through cities such as New York, Paris or Hong Kong.
Google fined $7 million for collecting personal data with Street View
Google struck a deal with US authorities Tuesday to pay a $7 million fine for collecting people's personal data without authorization as it combed neighborhoods for its Street View service.
In a legal settlement with 38 states, the Internet giant agreed to destroy emails, passwords, and web histories it harvested from home wireless networks as Street View cars photographed neighborhoods between 2008 and 2010.
Hackers claim to have posted Michelle Obama's personal data
WASHINGTON — The US Secret Service launched an investigation Tuesday after hackers posted what they said was personal data and credit information of celebrities including first lady Michelle Obama online.
The probe was opened over files which included personal information purportedly from FBI chief Robert Mueller, Vice President Joe Biden, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and celebrities Beyonce and Jay-Z.
"We are investigating, but we will not comment due to... an ongoing investigation," said Secret Service spokesman Max Milien.
The website, which was first reported by TMZ, posted what appeared to be reports from leading credit ratings agencies along with personal financial information and social security numbers.
Attorney General Eric Holder and celebrities including Britney Spears, Mel Gibson and Ashton Kutcher were also among those affected.
The White House declined to answer questions about the report and credit rating agencies involved -- Transunion, Equifax, Experian -- did not immediately comment.
The Secret Service, along with its duties in protecting the US president and his family, is also involved in investigations of financial fraud and counterfeiting.
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