Xerox PARC has a plan to make the internet more speedy (video)

Jim Thornton, an engineer at Xerox PARC, has a plan to make the internet faster.

He calls it content-centric networking, or CCN. It’s a complex technology based on a simple idea. Right now, the internet is slow at delivering things like web video or graphics, especially when lots of people are accessing the same thing at the same time.

For something like a Victoria’s Secret fashion show, content-delivery networks such as Akamai have to plan … Continue Reading

Stuxnet computer worm takes its toll on Iran, where nuclear plant may be target

Iranian officials have confirmed that the Stuxnet computer worm has infected at least 30,000 computers in the country.

The worm attacks industrial control systems. Because of that, officials have wondered whether Iran was targeted because hackers wanted to take down its controversial nuclear reactor, which is feared to be making high-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons. The Stuxnet worm, first discovered in June by Belarus-based security firm VirusBlokAda, might have been an attempt to disable the … Continue Reading

New iPad designs surface in patent filings

Apple has tipped its hand on future iPad designs by filing for patents in China. According to Patently Apple, the new patent filings show a number of changes to the design of the iPad, which has become the hottest-selling tablet computer in history.

The designs may or may not be used in future iPads. One change is the ability to plug an iPad into a dock in horizontal mode rather than just vertical. The designs … Continue Reading

Apple gets chance to trounce Android with iPhone 4 launch in China

The battle between Apple and Google is reaching a critical phase in the mobile phone market. Today, Apple got its shot in at Google with the launch of the iPhone 4 in China, and by all accounts it was a great debut for Apple.

The Chinese market is the biggest battleground in mobile, with more than 800 million subscribers, and activations for both platforms are running neck and neck. Android phones have been selling like … Continue Reading

A little too much clueless collusion for one week

Please, no more hare-brained collusion schemes. Silicon Valley has hit its quota for the week with scandals related to the biggest tech giants and the powerful super angels, the well-heeled investors with their own funds.

Yesterday, the Justice Department blasted tech giants for agreeing not to poach employees from each other. Google, Apple, Adobe, Pixar, Intel and Intuit had agreed not to make cold calls to each others’ employees for recruiting. That behavior amounted to … Continue Reading

Week in review: Mark Zuckerberg beats Steve Jobs in net worth

Here’s our roundup of week’s tech business news. First, the most popular stories we published in the last seven days:

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg now worth more than Steve Jobs — The annual Forbes 400, which attempts to measure and rank the richest Americans in terms of their net-worth, came out Wednesday with a big surprise: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, who has been the world’s youngest billionaire to date, is now worth more than Apple’s Steve Jobs.… Continue Reading

Facebook provides recommendations with new Page Browser tool

This morning, Facebook officially launched Page Browser, a new tool that seeks to help its users discover and “like” new pages on the site using data from one’s previous likes, and that of users in their immediate social network.

Facebook’s like pages, previously termed “fan pages”, comprise of pages on the site representing artists, movies, and brands — some officially managed, some not. Over time, they’ve become a popular way of expressing interest and showing … Continue Reading

Entrepreneur Corner: 5 things not to ask a candidate and 6 things to tell a VC

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner.

5 questions you should never ask a job candidate – Hiring can be an exciting time for a startup – and if you really like a candidate, you could begin a more casual conversation during the interview. Attorney Curtis Smolar warns, though, that this could get you into legal hot water.

3 things to look for when choosing your co-founders – Picking your co-founders is the most important … Continue Reading

Sony Ericsson has no plans for more Symbian OS devices, focusing on Android

In another stab against the Symbian mobile operating system, Sony Ericsson representative Aldo Liguori confirmed today that the company has no plans to develop future devices running Symbian, Bloomberg reports.

Sony Ericsson currently uses Symbian in its Vivaz line of phones, but the company has been shifting to Google’s Android operating system for some time. The Xperia X10, Sony Ericsson’s latest flagship device, runs Android — and now we know it won’t be the last … Continue Reading

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg chats with Oprah on his Startup:Education foundation (video)

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg joined Newark, NJ mayor Cory Booker, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, on Oprah today to discuss his $100 million education foundation, Startup:Education.

Zuckerberg officially announced the foundation, which will go towards helping Newark’s troubled schools, this morning in a blog post. Mayor Booker, who has gained notoriety for his efforts to improve Newark, is currently working towards developing and executing a comprehensive education plan for the city’s public … Continue Reading

TownHog grabs $1.5M to offer daily deals through San Francisco newspaper

TownHog, a daily deals site powered by DotBlu, has raised $1.5 million in equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in San Francisco, TownHog is the latest project for the founders of DotBlu, a social gaming site that closed down last year.

The site offers one deal per day in cities including San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. The startup has partnered with SFGate, the website of the San Francisco Chronicle, and … Continue Reading

Japan's DeNA invests in U.S. social game firm Astro Ape

Japan’s big mobile social game company, DeNA, is announcing today it has made an investment in U.S. social game company Astro Ape.

DeNA last week purchased GameView, another social game company. The investment in Astro Ape, which has had success as a social game developer, is part of DeNA’s “X-device, X-border” strategy. That means the company plans to be on any device in all parts of the world.

Astro Ape is based in Edison, N.J., … Continue Reading

DOJ strikes down no-poaching agreements between Apple, Intel, Google, Adobe, and others

The U.S. Justice Department has struck down agreements that prevented some of the largest tech companies in the world from poaching employees from each other in a settlement today that included heavy hitters like Google, Intel and Apple.

Six major tech companies, including those listed above and Pixar, Intuit and Adobe, agreed among themselves to refrain from cold-calling employees at other companies and attempting to recruit them — a practice that stifles competition for highly … Continue Reading

Cardmobili wins €100K in the Vodafone Mobile Clicks competition

The Vodafone Mobile Clicks competition is the biggest mobile app competition in the world according to the organizers. From 160 entries, one finalist was chosen from each of the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Portugal. The winner of the first prize of 100,000 EU ($134,746) was Portugal’s Cardmobili. Roulette Cricket from the UK was the runner up.

Cardmobili digitizes loyalty cards so that consumers can store card information, coupons and vouchers on their phones. The … Continue Reading

Digg traffic down, but not out

A month ago, popular news aggregator Digg underwent a redesign that many describe as disastrous. Now, despite bad press, site bugs, and a traffic collapse, the company is trying to put a good face on its current state. It sent letters to publishers this week in an attempt to calm them during what many say is a drop in referral traffic.

Time, The Washington Post, TechCrunch and many other publishers have found Digg traffic to … Continue Reading

Shareholders of chipmaker ARM buy into Oracle CEO's acquisition hype

In a sign that ARM Holdings shareholders might be bracing for an acquisition in the near future by Oracle, shares of ARM bounced higher today after Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said his company would be on the hunt to pick up new chip companies to add to its computer hardware portfolio. Ellison made the comment to attendees of the Oracle OpenWorld 2010 conference in San Francisco yesterday.

U.S.-traded shares of ARM Holdings jumped 8.1 percent … Continue Reading

Zynga expands to Europe, acquires German game company

Planting a stake in Europe, Zynga has acquired the assets of Dextrose, a game engine developer in Germany, for an undisclosed price.

The team in Mainz, Germany will become Zynga Germany (based in Frankfurt). Dextrose developed the Aves Engine, which enabled high-end game play within a web browser. An engine is the underlying technology that allows game developers to create a game that runs on a particular game platform.

Zynga’s games such as FarmVille have … Continue Reading

Facebook explains 'worst outage' in four years

Facebook posted a note yesterday evening explaining the site’s downtime earlier that day — a 2.5 hour period that the company described as “the worst outage in over four years.”

The explanation may not be clear if you’re not involved in IT. It describes several database errors and the team’s attempt to fix them. The main message, as summarized for less technical users, was that the downtime didn’t just involve a single error, but rather … Continue Reading

Placecast's LocalBox lets carriers and phone makers build quick location apps

Location-based ad company Placecast revealed its LocalBox technology today, aimed at carriers and handset makers who want to create location apps and marketing programs quickly.

The San Francisco company says that the LocalBox can be used in any country and on any carrier’s system. For instance, a phone maker that wants to add real-time social media updates, venue information, and ways to make money — banner ads, coupons, discounts — can do so with the … Continue Reading