Pokki takes web apps to taskbar
Between Google envisaging our computing future through a browser on its Chromebook machines and Apple accustoming us to app-filled screens, the familiar PC desktop and its installed software appear to be under threat.
Now SweetLabs, a San Diego start-up, has come up with the idea of planting something of a Trojan Horse called Pokki in our taskbars and attacking the traditional desktop with web apps that empower a new generation of developers. Read more
RockMelt, the social web browser, has secured $30m in Series B funding from some of the biggest names in venture capital, and added Jim Breyer at Accel Partners and Vinod Khosla at Khosla Ventures to its board of directors as observers.
Both were brought on by early investor Marc Andreessen, partner at Andreessen Horowitz and founder of Netscape, the first widely used web browser. Read more
Spam, spam and slightly less spam
At first this looks so promising. Volumes of spam are down nearly 70 per cent from last year according to a report from Symantec, the IT security company. In June, there were 39.2bn unsolicited, “spam” messages in circulation each day, compared with 121.5bn a day in June 2010. This echoes findings earlier this month from rival McAfee, which suggested spam levels had halved in the last year.
But sadly, this doesn’t mean we are winning the war on cybercriminals and botnets. Rather, it is a reflection on how use of the internet is evolving to become more centred around social networking sites and mobile phones. Spam on Twitter and Facebook is becoming a growing problem. Read more
Tech news from around the web:
More adults in the US own dedicated e-readers than tablet computers, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to a study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, the share of adults in the US who own an e-reader hit 12 per cent in May, up from 6 per cent in November. In contrast, the share of US adults owning a tablet computer hit 8 per cent. Read more
The lesson from Skype’s “option scandal”
During the 1990s, stock options became a part of Silicon Valley lore. They represented the right of even the most junior engineer to strike it rich and became a standard part of any pay package.
But things aren’t that simple anymore. The Valley’s approach to pay has changed greatly since the last dotcom bubble, and workers who don’t learn the new rules of the game can get caught out. Read more
It may not be quite as serious as the Federal Trade Commission’s anti-trust probe in the US, but Google is facing a fight with the regulators in Taiwan that has forced the internet giant to suspend all paid apps in Android Market on the island of 23m people.
At issue is Taiwan’s consumer protection laws, which require online retailers to give customers a seven-day period for getting a full refund on their purchases – much longer than the 15 minutes Google currently gives its customers. Read more
Tech news from around the web:
Reuters reports that Facebook in the UK has overtaken Microsoft websites for the first time last month, becoming Britain’s second-most popular site after Google. The social network attracted 26.8m visitors in Britain in May, up 7 per cent year on year, beating the 26.2m who visited Microsoft’s MSN/WindowsLive/Bing sites combined. Google had 33.9m. Read more
Lulz Security calls it quits as heat grows
Lulz Security, a small but more sophisticated hacker offshoot of Anonymous that rapidly won attention from the general public–and, perhaps more importantly, from law enforcement–is calling it a day. Read more
Oscar Wilde said: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” That still applies in digital times, as companies work hard for “likes” on Facebook or “re-tweets” on Twitter to build their online presence and community interaction.
This week, online advertising was in the spotlight as sites like Facebook and Twitter made headlines with their efforts to generate revenue. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
Older entries