Welcome to The Next Web Network’s Weekly Recap. Make sure to check out this week’s podcast where we discuss the biggest stories of the week. Also, the deadline to grab your tickets to The Next Web Conference 2010 in Amsterdam (April 27 – 29) is fast approaching.
This week was all about Chirp, Twitter’s first official conference. At Chirp Twitter unveiled it’s long awaited monetization strategy as well as a bunch of new product announcements. Google also made a variety of product announcements as well as posting strong Q1 results. This week we also announced the finalists for The Next Web Paypal X Startup Rally 2010.
http://thenextweb.com/2010/04/18/tnw-network-weekly-recap-twitter-chirp-announcements/
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world. Show all posts
In the past week, Google has been noticeably absent from a growing debate about the future of a net neutrality policy being proposed by the Federal Communications Commission and the agency’s role over broadband services.
Last week, a company spokesperson declined to comment on how it believes the FCC should proceed after a federal court threw the commission’s role over broadband services into doubt. Google has been a leading corporate advocate of net neutrality rules at the FCC.
The company is expected to say more over the following days but has in recent weeks sent mixed messages. On the one hand, media counsel Rick Whitt told the FCC’s general counsel, Austin Schlick, that the agency needed to “build a complete legal and evidentiary record to confirm the agency’s oversight authority, whether under Title I, Title II, Title VI, or other pertinent provisions.”
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/04/in_the_last_week_google.html
"It has gone as we expected," said Schmidt at a meeting of the American Society of News Editors.
"Google is an unusual company," said Schmidt, adding that other tech firms in Silicon Valley probably had a range of opinions about Google's decision to publicly report hacking attacks, and opting to end its censorship of its Chinese service.
"We were able to make a decision based on principle," he said, adding that he was unsure what the end result would be.
"It is a battle," he said. "We know that there is a reasonably large group of people in China who are seeking non-censored information."
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63B0E420100412
Google is busy waging wars on two fronts.
The Mountain View search giant has its sights set on Apple's iPhone in the cell phone market. On the application and operating system front, Microsoft is its main target.
Google's Android cell phone operating system is a direct competitor to Apple's iPhone, and soon Google will be powering tablet PCs that compete with Apple's new iPad. While there are differences between Android and the iPhone operating system, both have a similar look and feel. One major difference today is that Google's OS can run more than one program at a time while the iPhone can only run one program (except for certain Apple applications). This will change, however, as Apple releases its iPhone OS 4.0 update in the summer.
But Apple isn't alone in facing competition from the search giant. Google on Tuesday introduced updates to its Google Docs suite of Web-based programs that make them more compatible and more competitive with Microsoft Office.
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_14877258?nclick_check=1
Google and Advanced Micro Devices shares dropped sharply Friday after earnings reports from the Silicon Valley tech companies fell short of investors' high hopes.
Mountain View Internet giant Google finished at $550.31, down $44.99, or 7.6 percent. After the stock markets closed Thursday afternoon, Google reported profit for its most recent quarter of $1.96 billion, up 37 percent year over year. Revenue climbed 23 percent to $6.77 billion.
Even though the results beat Wall Street forecasts, analysts were concerned that Google was increasing spending too quickly. Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said Google intends to "remain committed to heavy investment in innovation — both to spur future growth in our core and emerging businesses." He said the company has added 800 employees so far this year.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business-headlines/ci_14899037?nclick_check=1
"As we discussed on Friday, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland has led to flights being canceled across the EU. With travel chaos ensuing and the airlines losing an estimated $200 million per day, EU authorities are coming under increasing pressure to re-open the airways. Test flights conducted on Saturday were apparently successful, with no problems encountered during flight. Following the test flights, Peter Hartman, CEO of KLM, said, 'We hope to receive permission as soon as possible after that to start up our operation and to transport our passengers to their destinations.' Evidence possibly opposing this move comes from the Finnish Defense Forces, which released photos and a statement after F-18 Hornets flew through the ash cloud, saying, 'Based on the pictures, it was discovered that even short flights in ash dust may cause significant damage to an airplane's engine.' Is it safe to resume flights so soon, or should planes remain grounded until the ash cloud has dissipated?"
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/04/18/1435200/EU-Conducts-Test-Flights-To-Assess-Impact-of-Volcanic-Ash-On-Aircraft
"A mat of microbes the size of Greece has been discovered on the sea floor off the Pacific coast of South America. 'These tiny creatures can join together to create some of the largest masses of life on the planet... A single liter of seawater, once thought to contain about 100,000 microbes, can actually hold more than one billion microorganisms...'"
http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/04/18/1842220/Microbe-Mat-the-Size-of-Greece-Discovered-In-the-Sea
EDMONTON — Edmonton will soon be home to a state-of-the-art virtual reality rehabilitation system for injured soldiers and other patients, one of only two sites in Canada with such technology.
The Department of National Defence will spend $1.5 million on a computer-assisted rehabilitation environment (CAREN) system for the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
The system should be operational by early 2011 and will serve Western Canada. A CAREN at the Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, also to be installed this year, will serve the eastern part of the country.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Glenrose+hospital+acquires+CAREN+system/2922062/story.html
Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer tested positive at the NFL scouting combine for amphetamines, FoxSports.com reported Sunday, but Dwyer's agent said teams were aware of his client's medical history.
"All 32 teams received notification prior to the combine that a medication he's taken since childhood would likely result in a positive result at the combine," Adisa Bakari told ESPN's Joe Schad. "We provided the necessary medical documentation."
The NFL calls Dwyer's situation a "therapeutic use exemption," a source told Schad. The type of medication he has taken was not identified.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft10/news/story?id=5111130
Virginia – - The third anniversary of the Virginia tech shooting that took place three years back on the sixteenth of April 2007.
The Virginia tech shooting took place at the campus of the Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The shooting consisted of two consecutive attacks followed by a gap of two hours. The culprit killed thirty two students at the campus and injured twenty five people. It was one of the deadliest campus shootings in the United States history of university crimes. The Culprit Seung hui had a anxiety disorder. He was a student at the Virginia Tech University after graduating from High School. The state university wasn’t given any medical record of the student due to a privacy law. He was accused of stalking 2 female students and was declared mentally ill by the justice. He was ordered to have a special treatment for his illness.
http://www.twominutenews.com/2010/world/us-world/shooting-of-virginia-tech-8198.html
More than half of Americans turn to the Internet for some form of health advice or information, and research finds that most would also like to use a secure Internet site to access medical records, schedule office visits, refill prescriptions and pay medical bills. What's needed now is a healthcare hub -- the behind-the-scenes technology and architecture that aggregates the details of our health.
As our lives grow more connected and more complicated, we strive to manage the influx of information and detail that consumes our daily living. In our everyday life, handling work, bills, family schedules and more is a daunting task even for those with exceptional organizational skills. For those of us whose talents lie elsewhere, we're out of luck.
Now imagine attempting to organize and manage your health and health records. Those of us with chronic conditions or who are caregivers for loved ones are already engaged in this battle.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Connecting-the-Dots-With-Online-Healthcare-Resources-69786.html
The Seattle Times won a Pulitzer Prize this week for its coverage of the murder of four police officers and the manhunt that followed. The team there provided its top-notch coverage with the help of new digital communications technologies that haven't yet won the trust many old-school journalists. In the hands of reporters and editors who know how to use them, though, they're clearly powerful tools.
At the risk of giving Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain one more reason to do 360s in his grave, I'm compelled to modify one of his best-known quotes: It seems reports of journalism's demise at the hands of technology have been greatly exaggerated.
The evidence piled up this week. Awards were announced, new business models launched, constructive criticism heaved at established news brands, and that dastardly new media even tried to give an assist to journalists trying to make sense of a Twittering, blogging world. All of it involved recognition that the mother of all mashups is underway in the news industry thanks to digital technologies. And while that's going on, it appeared that life is indeed progressing as usual, the democracy remains intact and dogs and cats are still living apart (thanks, Ghostbusters, for that last obligatory pop culture reference.)
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/That-Was-The-Week-That-Was-in-Online-Journalism-69784.html
Responding to a hail of criticism over his decision to end the Constellation program to return to the moon, President Obama told NASA employees on Thursday that no one is more committed to manned space exploration than he is, and that he expects to see humans land on Mars within his lifetime.
President Obama on Thursday delivered a major speech at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida about his vision for human spaceflight in the coming years, affirming that he is "100 percent committed to the mission of NASA and its future."
As part of a US$6 billion increase in NASA's budget over the next five years, the president aims to increase exploration of the solar system , as well as make more Earth-based observations designed to help humans protect the environment.
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Obama-on-Space-Exploration-Weve-Got-to-Be-Smart-69790.html
WASHINGTON – Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million, the largest government penalty levied against an automaker, for a four-month delay in telling federal authorities about defective gas pedals on its vehicles, a Transportation Department official said Sunday.
Toyota faces a Monday deadline to accept or contest the $16.4 million fine over evidence it knew about sticking gas pedals in September but did not issue a recall until January.
The Transportation official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke only on condition of anonymity. The official said Toyota is expected to pay the full amount of the assessed fine within 30 days as a means of avoiding going to court against the government.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100419/ap_on_bi_ge/us_toyota_recall
AMSTERDAM – Major airlines that sent test flights into European air space found no damage Sunday from the volcanic ash that has paralyzed aviation over the continent, raising pressure on governments to ease restrictions that have thrown global travel and commerce into chaos.
Is it safe to fly yet? Airline officials and some pilots say the passengerless test flights show that it is. Meteorologists warn that the skies over Europe remain unstable from an Icelandic volcano that continues to spew ash capable of knocking out jet engines.
European Union officials said air traffic could return to half its normal level on Monday if the dense cloud begins to dissipate. Germany allowed some flights to resume.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100419/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_iceland_volcano
ATLANTA – U.S. airlines never met a fee they didn't like. Until now, it seems.
Five major carriers on Sunday agreed not to follow the lead of a small Florida airline that plans to charge for carryon bags. Their commitment comes just in time to keep travelers from running for the exits during the peak summer flying season, but it is doubtful that it marks a change in strategy.
Airlines are going to tack on every fee they feel they can get away with because it bolsters their revenue stream while allowing them to keep base fares lower. They just don't feel like passengers will tolerate losing their sacred free carryons — at least not right now.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100419/ap_on_bi_ge/us_airlines_bag_fees
Web cams in school-issued laptops allegedly photographed students at home.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/school-allegedly-spied-via-web-cams-19196035
Lost in all the hubbub over deposed cabinet minister Helena Guergis and her fast-driving husband were three stories of much greater long-term significance to Canadians and their well being.
Together, what these stories show is that the governments of Canada's three largest provinces — Quebec, Ontario and B.C. — are taking dramatic steps to try to get rising health-care costs under control.
Moving from East to West, we saw Quebec Premier Jean Charest's Liberal government put forward a plan to have all patients pay a $25 fee for each visit to a doctor.
Then came Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's announcement to lower the cost of generic drugs and also eliminate the "professional allowances" paid pharmacists by drug manufacturers to push certain products.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/04/15/f-vp-newman.html#ixzz0lFqfgoNy
WASHINGTON — It's an eagerly awaited early benefit of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul: affordable coverage for Americans with medical problems who can't get a private insurer to even take a look.
Starting in July, a special high-risk pool will offer coverage to uninsured people with pre-existing health conditions at a cost similar to what everyone else pays. It's the first test of whether the administration can deliver on Obama's vision within the budget Congress set.
But some vulnerable patients are probably going to feel a little cheated. Consider this coverage wrinkle:
Suppose your cancer is in remission. You had to quit your job while you were having chemotherapy, and your employer coverage ran out. You can't find a private insurer who'll take you, but you're lucky to live in a state that has its own high-risk pool. Still, you have to struggle to pay the premiums, well above standard insurance because sicker people are in the group. Yet as the federal program is designed, you wouldn't be able to switch over and take advantage of significant savings.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxPQgG3FooEgj3TfE3fzZ-L6dNSQD9F410N00
Kevin Rudd now appears to have a fairly stark choice when it comes to his hospitals funding plan; either alter it before the COAG meeting on Monday or accept that he will not get the states on board.
New South Wales has dealt the latest and biggest blow to the Prime Minister's hospitals dream.
Premier Kristina Keneally is refusing to give up control of a third of the state's GST revenue to the Commonwealth.
New South Wales is demanding instead that state and federal funds be pooled and controlled by the states.
Ms Keneally is also demanding a lot more money immediately.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/16/2875285.htm
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