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Yuri Milner Is Freed From Mail.ru Board To Take Care Of Business
Mar 14, 10:58AM
The news is out today that Yuri Milner has stepped down from the role of Chairman of Mail.ru and from the Board of Directors. But this is more interesting than the bare facts would suggest. Mail.ru is through the phase change of its IPO and now CEO Dmitry Grishin will combine his role with the role of Chairman. There are no other changes to management or to the Board. Given recent politics, it does all seem rather Russian.Austin's Other Event: A Class Action, Mobile App Privacy Lawsuit Filed Against Facebook, Twitter, Apple, 15 Others
Mar 14, 7:47AM
It was bound to happen sooner or later, but it looks like all the heated conversation we've seen over user privacy in mobile apps has now finally boiled over into a class action lawsuit, filed this week in the Western Division of the U.S. District Court, Austin Division. A list of 13 plaintiffs, acting "on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated," have filed a suit against a series of high-profile companies that make some of the most popular mobile apps around today. The list names 18 companies in all: Path, Twitter, Apple, Facebook, Beluga, Yelp!, Burbn, Instagram, Foursquare, Gowalla, Foodspotting, Hipster, LinkedIn, Rovio, ZeptoLab, Chillingo, Electronic Arts and Kik Interactive.Everyone Has The Features Yahoo's Suing Facebook For: Here They Are
Mar 14, 2:16AM
Yahoo reared its patent troll head this week, and it's not just Facebook that has reason to be worried -- at least, judging by the extremely broad features that it's being targeted for. Yahoo could easily sue Twitter, Pinterest, Google and many other popular web services whenever it thinks it would be most lucrative since their products are also covered by Yahoo's patents. Rather than give you the jargon-filled abstracts of the patents Yahoo is suing Facebook with, let's look at what features they pertain to on Facebook and across the web.Encyclopedia Britannica Consigns Print Edition To History
Mar 14, 1:52AM
In 1768, the Enlightenment was in full swing, and the printing press was being employed liberally as a method of disseminating knowledge among the (then still relatively few) literate and learned. Few general-purpose reference works existed (the earliest came only a few years before), however, with much essential knowledge split between many smaller, more specific volumes. On Optics, or On the Use of Leeches, or Travels Among the Savages of the New World, that sort of thing. That year, the Encyclopaedia Britannica printed its first edition: three volumes comprising a compressed but useful near-totality of human knowledge. It is difficult for us to conceive of, having grown up with reference works, and more difficult still for a new generation raised with the Internet and its promise of instant access to virtually any work or knowledge. So it is likewise strange to attempt to put in context the fact that 2010's Encyclopaedia Britannica will be the last one printed. Some will stroke their chins, some will wail and tear their hair, some will shout for joy. But most, perhaps most tellingly, won't care - indeed won't ever notice.A Big Idea: Y Combinator Now Lets Founders Apply Without… An Idea
Mar 13, 11:35PM
Venture firms like to pull in experienced founders to become entrepreneurs in residence -- people who typically come in without a clear idea of what they want to do, who may simply be tasked with thinking up a new company. Y Combinator is now bringing this type of free-form entrepreneurialism to its seed-stage fund. With a twist.AT&T Gets Dirty, Threatens Plaintiff With Termination Of Service Unless He Shuts Up [Update: AT&T Responds]
Mar 13, 10:07PM
Let me catch you up: Matt Spaccarelli, an everyday guy from California, recently took AT&T to small claims court regarding its questionable throttling practices. The judge ruled in his favor on February 24 and ordered AT&T to pay Spaccarelli $850 on the basis that the throttled speed does not live up to AT&T's much-advertised promise of the nation's "fastest network." Anyway, the social consumer activist site PublikDemand recently rallied support around the story and posted a series of tips on how any consumer could do the same. Now, two and a half weeks after Spaccarelli's case was settled in small claims court, a lawyer for AT&T is reaching out and offering a slightly new settlement if he signs an NDA to stop talking about his case. But that's the normal part. The letter starts out by explaining that since Spaccarelli is using his wireless data plan for tethering -- a fact he admitted in court -- AT&T "has the right to terminate [his] service." It's 'bout to get nasty in here. UPDATE: AT&T just sent over a statement to TC concerning Matt Spaccarelli. It's after the jump.Facebook Pages Race To Adopt Timeline, 8M Of 37M+ Upgraded In 10 Days
Mar 13, 9:15PM
On March 30th, Facebook will forcibly migrate all Pages onto the Timeline redesign, but Facebook tells me it only took 10 days for 8 million of the more than 37 million Pages that have been set up to opt into the change. The stats are a sign of success that show the added features are ones admins want, considering tons of Facebook Pages get set up and forgotten about. However, it will take a while to see whether Timeline actually helps Pages market more effectively. So far the most popular Pages that have switched haven't seen growth rates increase. With more to look at, the Like button might be overshadowed.To Boost Windows Azure, Microsoft Launches Company's First-Ever Startup Accelerator
Mar 13, 9:00PM
Today, Microsoft is launching the first startup accelerator* in the company's history in an effort to encourage more entrepreneurs to build their cloud-based applications using Windows Azure. The program will take place at the Microsoft Israel Research and Development Center, and is a part of the Israel R&D Center's outreach program Think Next as well as the Microsoft BizSpark program for startups. Like most accelerators, Microsoft will provide the typical accouterments, including free office space, coaching, mentorship, legal assistance and more, but in this case, it's specifically after companies building cloud-based startups. The companies will be provided with free access to Windows Azure, but will not receive seed funding.Fly Or Die: The LG Spectrum
Mar 13, 8:19PM
The Spectrum has been a busy little diva the last few days, strutting in and out of our NYC studio like she belongs there. So much in fact, that I've given her a gender and started to refer to her in gender-specific pronouns. A scary thought, to say the least. Matt seems less perturbed by her presence, though I was (and still am) more than willing to duke it out with him over the value of this here phone.Yahoo vs Facebook: Not The Next Mobile Patent War?
Mar 13, 8:08PM
The lawsuit filed on Monday by Yahoo against Facebook over alleged infringements of certain "method" patents was a high profile step for Yahoo to take in the lead-up to Facebook's IPO. But although Facebook has seen patent suits against it double in the last year, don't necessarily take this as a sign that Yahoo will necessarily extend its fight to more jurisdictions, nor that social media will be come the next battleground, after mobile, in patent wars, says one senior patent lawyer in London.Onesheet On-The-Go: Music Service Now Lets Artists Connect With Fans Across Mobile Devices
Mar 13, 8:03PM
If you're in a band and you don't know Onesheet, you should check it out. For those unfamiliar, Onesheet is, as its name would suggest, a one-page dossier for bands. We originally referred to (and have continued referring to) Onesheet as the "About.me for bands/musicians," but that analogy is annoying in the way all tech media analogies are short-sighted -- and also because it just doesn't really fit anymore. Case-in-point: Onesheet is today taking its show on the road, or more specifically, is translating its web experience into those small, mobile screens to give bands an opportunity to connect with their fans on-the-go.Now You Can Make Your AT&T Galaxy Note Play Nice With T-Mobile HSPA+
Mar 13, 7:50PM
Know what I love about Android hackers? They've got moxie. Take a look at these folks on the XDA-developer forums: a user named itsjusttime put up a bounty post offering cold hard cash to whoever could get AT&T's Galaxy Note I717 up and running on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. Now, just over two weeks later, a solution has been found, and it's surprisingly easy to pull off if you're willing to get your hands dirty.How Glancee And Highlight Are Fixing Those Background Location And Notification Problems
Mar 13, 7:00PM
Somewhere off in the future, there will be a mobile app that shows you all of the nearby people who you might find interesting -- without you having to click a single button to check in. But we're not there yet, as thousands of South By Southwest attendees have been discovering over the last few days. New background location apps like Highlight and Glancee have certainly been trying hard. As everyone else has partied, the tiny teams at these startups (and their various rivals) have been working around the clock to tweak the notifications they send and the nearby people they show. Have they been successful?Sony Unveils The Xperia Sola: Look, Mom! No Hands!
Mar 13, 6:55PM
Sony's been bringing it lately, with a trifecta of monosyllabic Xperia goodness at CES and MWC. I personally believe that a key ingredient in the secret sauce may be Sony's ability to keep the new phones classy — the Xperia S, U, and P all got high marks from us in terms of build, feel in the hand, and overall aesthetic quality. But the newest member of the Xperia clan may have trouble living up to the standard; that is, if the reality of this "floating touch" thing is anything close to what I'm imagining. The freshly announced Sony Xperia Sola is definitely trying to be a forward-thinking phone. Sony's packed it full of fun technology like NFC-enabled Xperia SmartTags, a (relatively small, yet actually perfectly proportioned) 3.7-inch Reality Display with a Sony Mobile Bravia Engine, 3D surround sound audio tech, and access to the new Sony Entertainment Network. Oh, and we can't forget that whole "floating touch" thing.LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman Gives Kiva $1 Million To "Empower Everyone"
Mar 13, 6:53PM
"How you build the future is you motivate people to pay attention and act, to improve their circumstances and run their own lives", LinkedIn co-founder and philanthropist Reid Hoffman tells me. That's why his support of microlending platform Kiva's kiva.org/free program has a double positive impact. He put up $1 million so 40,000 people could try helping the impoverished via microfinance without spending their own money. They get inspired, while those who receive the microloans can start small businesses and become self-reliant. In an inspiring interview, Reid also told me about how he thinks governments should start microlending, that people need to accept that charities and causes aren't perfect, and the life philosophy he thinks everyone should live by. Be sure to participate in the kiva.org/free trials before they run out.Licensed To Spin: Turntable.fm Inks Deals With The Big Four
Mar 13, 6:32PM
From the outset, the biggest appeal of social music platform Turntable.fm has been its synchronous listening in public rooms where anyone can become the dee-jay. Of course, turn back the clock six months, and Turntable probably didn't see Facebook as a competitor. However, at f8 the social network launched Turntable-inspired synchronous listening and chat and went public with some big partnerships with the likes of Spotify and Rdio. At the time, Turntable could only grin and say "thank you," but now the startup can reply with some big guns of its own, as it announced deals with the "Big Four" record labels -- Sony BMG, Universal, EMI, and Warner -- at SXSW today.PayPal Updates Erotica Policy: Target Is Specific Books With Obscene Images, Not Just Words
Mar 13, 6:29PM
This just in... As we reported it would do yesterday, PayPal has today issued a significant update to its acceptable use policy regarding payments for certain erotica-themed e-books. Now the eBay-owned payments company says that it will only prohibit using its payment system for specific books -- not entire classes of books -- and that it will only apply to those publications that contain pictures as well as words, and in that case only instances where those images are obscene as defined by the U.S. legal system. This is a big reversal from the company's policy as it set out last month, when it wrote to several e-book distributors mandating that they remove erotica covering rape, incest and bestiality from their catalogs, or face being barred from using PayPal to process orders and other transactions related to the sale of those books.Walmart Announces Disc To Digital Program To Convert Your Old DVDs
Mar 13, 6:12PM
Walmart is about to make a big push for digital movie ownership. At a press conference today in Los Angeles, the company announced that, as rumored, it's launching a new program called the Disc to Digital service. Starting on April 16, anyone can bring their DVD collection into a Walmart store, and copies of each movie will be loaded onto your account on Vudu, the online video service that the retailer acquired two years ago. Standard definition DVDs will be converted into standard definition videos and Blu-ray DVDs will be converted into high-definition, for $2 each. You can also "upgrade" a standard DVD into an HD copy for $5.Forget NFC, This iPhone Case Combines All Your Credit Cards Into One
Mar 13, 5:27PM
I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to all these newfangled mobile payment methods. Fan as I am of Google Wallet (and all the Wawa coffee I bought with the included $10 prepaid card), I can't help but want something more immediate, something more widely-usable. The big sticking point that comes with the NFC-based payment systems that companies like Google and Visa love is they require buy-in from the people and companies you actually want to buy from. When your favorite mom-and-pop store can't be bothered to jump on the NFC bandwagon though, well, that's just a bummer. And that's where the truly awesome iCache Geode comes into play.Foursquare's Facebook Integration Gets Prettier, Adds Activity Summaries
Mar 13, 5:19PM
Foursquare made a slight, but welcome, change to its Facebook integration today that will now offer "prettier" Facebook Wall posts regarding your activities. Instead of posts that just show a standardized icon as before, the posts will include a full map, or your photos, if you've taken any, to accompany the check-in. Foursquare will also turn a long stream of check-ins into one, aggregated summary story. And Foursquare will begin posting a summary of your "recent activity" for the past month, which includes your check-in history, top places, new badges unlocked and more.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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