Jaron Lanier’s latest book, Who Owns the Future?, begins by noting an instructive coincidence: the bankruptcy of the photography giant Kodak occurred within months of Facebook’s billion-dollar acquisition of the photo-sharing site Instagram. This would be just one example of the destructive dynamism of American capitalism, a process …
Silicon Valley
Report: Google Fiber Heading to Austin as Cities Race to Boost Web Speeds
America’s weirdest city is about to get wired.
Google Fiber is heading to Austin, according to multiple reports. If true, Austin, home of the South by Southwest festival, will become the largest city to receive Google’s …
Did Google Get Off Easy With $7 Million ‘Wi-Spy’ Settlement?
Groupon Fires CEO Andrew Mason: The Rise and Fall of Tech’s Enfant Terrible
It was only a matter of time.
Groupon fired its charismatic CEO Andrew Mason on Thursday after a tumultuous tenure pockmarked by accounting gaffes, sophomoric stunts and a whopping 77% decline in the company’s share price. …
Google Hits ‘Glass’ Pedal as Apple Returns to Earth
The U.S. technology industry is one of the most dynamic in the world, particularly with respect to mobile and Internet-based computing, two areas that are evolving at breakneck speed. Things can happen very quickly in the tech …
Free Federal Wireless Broadband For All Americans? Fuggedaboutit!
As the Dow Soars, How High Can Tech Stocks Go?
Last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — the benchmark stock index of America’s blue chip companies — closed above 14,000 for the first time since the financial meltdown sent the U.S. economy into the worst crisis in …
Apple Shares Plunge 10% on Slowing Growth, New Product Jitters
For years, Apple consistently beat Wall Street expectations, not only because the company habitually low-balled its financial projections, but also because it was growing at a rate and scale that was virtually unprecedented in …
Microsoft and Dell: A Match Made in Heaven or Hell?
Google and IBM Post Strong Earnings as the Tech Sector Heats Up
Technology titans Google and IBM delivered surprisingly strong earnings results Tuesday, in a positive sign for the tech sector following several quarters of lackluster performance across the industry. Google showed progress …
Aaron Swartz’s Suicide Prompts MIT Soul-Searching
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has launched an internal investigation into the school’s involvement in the suicide of 26-year-old computer programmer and Internet activist Aaron Swartz, MIT’s president L. Rafael Reif …
Is Broadband Internet Access a Public Utility?
Should broadband Internet service be treated as a basic utility in the United States, like electricity, water, and traditional telephone service? That’s the question at the heart of an important and provocative new book by Susan …
