It’s a big money day in tech news, as two separate billion dollar transactions have been announced. Early this morning, AOL announced the sale of 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.056 billion in cash. “The agreement with Microsoft represents the culmination of a robust auction process for our patent portfolio,” said Tim Armstrong, AOL’s Chairman […]
Royal Canadian Mint challenges software developers to help create innovative new applications for digital payment with their MintChip Challenge. The incentive is payment of over two pounds of pure gold, spread out over seven different prize categories that include Best Micropayment Application, Best P2P (person to person) Application, and three Best Overall Application awards. All […]
U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn has tossed out a 2010 Colorado law meant to pressure online retailers to collect sales tax. In his ruling, Blackburn claims the law and regulations required to carry it out “impose an undue burden on interstate commerce” and are unconstitutional. The law was part of a package of Democratic-backed legislation […]
Today marks the day Android users can officially download the Instagram app from Google Play, so they don’t have to be taunted by their iPhone-wielding and picture-snapping friends any longer. Nor will they have to go on periodic searches for good knockoffs of the popular app. How popular is the app? Well, it’s known that […]
Back in 2010 when Tom Scott presented a nightmare version of a flash mob gone wrong, it was greeted with rueful awareness that events could coalesce to a dangerous point. The message, that oversharing through social media can have real life consequences, is still being shouted from websites. [yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyMdOT8YJgY’] In one of the more […]
This week, President Obama’s campaign staff opened a Pinterest account. So far, the eight boards up feature typical Pinterest fare,with a political twist: Obama-themed cupcakes, clothing, someone’s decorated fingernails. The “Pet Lovers for Obama” board, featuring adorable animals (another Pinterest must), may or may not be a dig at Mitt Romney, who strapped the family […]
David Choe is a homeless artist who chose stock options instead of $60,000 from Facebook and now has a payout of about $200 million coming his way. The sum makes Choe’s work the second most expensive piece of artwork in history, right after a Cezanne. The problem with this thrilling rags-to-riches story is that it […]
It’s happened to all of us. There’s someone special in your life, maybe a parent, maybe a significant other. It’s their birthday/bar mitzvah/parole hearing and a gift is called for. You love them to pieces, but you don’t have the faintest idea what they might want. Instead of getting them something they actually want, you […]
Social media is the first entity to offer life after death and have some tangible proof to back it up. From battles over who controls an individual’s social media accounts after they die to a selection of applications and websites that grant the user a few posthumous last words or even allow them to regularly […]
Pro-ana. If you’ve never heard of this term before, then you, sir or madam, are a lucky person. Ana is short for Anorexia. Yes, that’s right, there actually exists people in this world who promote and push a horrific, potentially deadly eating disorder. Back in 2004, the popular web comic “Something Positive” stirred the hornet’s […]
