Technology News

Technology

Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet

Source: All About Jazz
March 2, 2010

The biggest threat to the open internet is not Chinese government hackers or greedy anti-net-neutrality ISPs, it's Michael McConnell, the former director of national intelligence. McConnell's not dangerous because he knows anything about SQL injection hacks, but because he knows about social engineering. He's the nice-seeming guy who's willing and able to use fear-mongering to manipulate the federal bureaucracy for his own ends, while coming off like a straight shooter to those who are not in the know. When he ...

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Wiseguys Indicted in $25 Million Online Ticket Ring

Source: All About Jazz
March 1, 2010

A ring of ticket brokers has been indicted in connection to an elaborate hacking scheme that used bots and other fraudulent means to purchase more than 1 million tickets for concerts, sporting events and other events.

The defendants made more than $25 million in profits from the resale of the tickets between 2002 and 2009.

According to the 43-count federal indictment unsealed Monday in New Jersey, the defendants set up a nationwide network through which they were able to impersonate ...

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Spotify: We're Not Cannibalizing Download Sales!

Source: HypeBot
February 27, 2010

But Offer Little Proof

Responding to a recent NPD survey, that it “cannibalizes"  download sales, a Spotify spokesperson told Fast Company:

“There is other data out there to prove the exact opposite of that report," a spokesman says, pointing to a report in Billboard magazine in which Scott Cohen, the London-based founder/VP of The Orchard, says Spotify is already boosting income for labels in two ways: 'First, the more tracks are streamed on Spotify the more downloads occur on ...

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MOG Gets $12.5m, Expands into Spotify Territory

Source: HypeBot
February 27, 2010

Music discovery and subscription service MOG.com has announced another $9.5 million in funding and a pending expansion into Europe. The round was led by Menlo Ventures which was joined by new investor Balderton Capital. Dharmash Mistry, partner at Balderton Capital, has been appointed to MOG's board. The company had raised $12.5 million in previous rounds.

MOG also announced that it will launch in the UK by the end of the second quarter. The UK is one of rival Spotify's most ...

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Facebook Awarded Patent for Its News Feed

Source: PC Magazine
February 27, 2010

Facebook has secured a patent to a feature that many of its competitors have adopted in recent years the news feed. The patent, officially granted on Tuesday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, governs a “method for displaying a news feed in a social network environment." Facebook applied for the patent back in August 2006, about a month before the social networking site opened its doors beyond college students to all Internet users. Among the eight investors listed on ...

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Targeted Audio Ads: Coming to a Cellphone Near You

Source: All About Jazz
February 27, 2010

Many of us grew up hearing ads on the radio, but those ads never knew where you were, what kind of radio you had, or your general demographic information. TargetSpot, a CBS-backed venture that calls itself the nations largest internet-radio advertising network, announced deals this week with Slackers music-streaming service to bring the first-ever targeted mobile audio ads to mobile radio listeners. That's different than the targeted display advertising that already appears in mobile apps. The audio ads will play ...

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FCC: 'Up To' Claims for Internet Connection Speeds Next to Worthless

Source: Michael Ricci
February 27, 2010

The Federal Communication Commission determined in a recent report that “actual broadband speeds lag advertised speeds by as much as 50% to 80%," particularly at peak usage times from 7 to 10 p.m.

Providers promise maximum transfer rates, but actual speeds may be as much as 80% slower during peak periods. When it comes to high-speed Internet access, are you getting what you pay for? Venice resident Mike Mlikotin wanted to know what he was really being offered after Verizon ...

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No Lie! Your Facebook Profile is the Real You

Source: All About Jazz
February 27, 2010

“On the Internet," one dog tells another in a classic New Yorker cartoon, “nobody knows you're a dog." The internet is notorious for its digital dens of deception. But on Facebook, what you see tends to be what you get -- at least in one study of tailless, two- legged young adults. College-age users of Facebook in the United States and a similar social networking site in Germany typically present accurate versions of their personalities in online profiles, says psychologist ...

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