David Needle

Is the era free social networking coming to an end? Hardly, but upstart Spiffbox has a novel idea for bringing monetary reward to the growing online social chatter. The new social network site, launching today, charges members to send messages and pays you to receive them. For example, it costs 15 points (think pennies) to […]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt said former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson should stay on the boards of both Google and Apple, despite regulatory scrutiny. Schmidt said on Friday that Google and Apple easily passed an antitrust test for overlapping board members relating to revenue overlap. “Google and Apple are well below” that percentage, Schmidt told a […]

LifeSize Communications said its latest release will help move videoconferencing out of conference room to wherever people want to have meetings. The company said its new LifeSize Passport, due out later this year, is one third the size, weight (less than one pound) and price ($2,500) of any competing “telepresence” product in its class. Total […]

Google and the Wharton School think it can help provide some of the answers. The two are teaming up on [“Fast. Forward” a new YouTube channel](http://www.youtube.com/user/FastForward) that features short, 30 sec – 3 minute videos from industry and academic thought leaders. The project is an outgrowth of research being done at the Wharton School’s Future […]

Twitter today took a step toward making it easier for users to organize and manage all of the updates their contacts post. The microblogging phenomenon said that it’s testing a new service called Lists with a small subset of its users. In a blog post, Lists project lead Nick Kallen said it’s designed to help […]

Facebook has come a long, long way from a social network limited to college students. Today, Facebook announced Facebook Connect Wizard, a major enhancement to Facebook Connect, its tool designed to integrate Facebook with other Web sites. The news follows last night’s announcement of another release, Translations for Facebook Connect. Translations is a free tool […]

Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) said its newly redesigned home page will soon be more open than ever for business. Specifically, the Web giant announced integration of its Yahoo Application Platform (YAP) with the home page, which means its developers, advertisers and publishers can customize it. Developers can create a more customizable and “personally relevant” experience for […]

AT&T said any new “net neutrality” rules imposed by US regulators need to apply to Web companies like Google as much as to phone companies to ensure a level playing field. In a letter Friday to the head of the US Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau, the biggest US telephone company argued that Google […]

Twitter today responded publicly for the first time after a flurry of reports emerged that it had received almost $100 million in new funding. Evan Williams, CEO and co-founder of the popular microblogging site, confirmed Twitter had received “a significant round of funding.” In a brief blog post, Williams thanked investment firms Insight Venture Partners, […]

Taking a cue from Apple’s wildly successful App Store for the iPhone, the City by the Bay today announced the launch of DataSF App Showcase. In a blog post, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said the idea is to highlight and centralize programs created using city data. “This has worked for Apple and Facebook, at […]

Google Sidewiki in action. Click to enlarge. Google today launched a new browser tool that enables users to add and view comments directly on any Web page they view while cruising the Web. Sidewiki, the new tool, comes as a new feature of Google Toolbar, the company’s browser add-on for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Once installed […]

The name EDS, long synonymous with high end, IT outsourcing and consulting services, is going away. Today HP brought the consulting giant further into its fold with the announcement that EDS has been renamed HP Enterprise Services. Hewlett-Packard bought EDS in May, 2008 in a [blockbuster $13.9 billion deal](/bus-news/article.php/3746436/Services+Giant+HP+Buying+EDS.htm). Before the HP purchase, EDS itself […]