Google and Facebook: voracious giants with the power to create the future

The internet powerhouses are using their billions to challenge in sectors far removed from their original business modelsThe webs biggest consumer companies make the bulk of their incomes, and have built up vast assets, from targeted advertising. It accounts for around 90% of Facebooks revenue and much the same for Google. By supporting a vast range of services that variously offer search, chat, email, file storage, video and photo-sharing, they can track every nuance of online activity, preference and behaviour, targeting and adapting advertising and services.Yet with such a simple and lucrative core business, Facebook and Google are investing significant sums in new, exploratory and seemingly unrelated technologies. Facebook astonished the industry with its $2bn acquisition of Oculus Rift, a promising but niche and untested virtual reality headset. Google X, the companys notionally secretive experimental wing, has bought 14 specialist startups since March 2013, covering robotics, machine learning and gesture recognition, but has also been developing Googles self-driving car project, the augmented reality Google Glass headset and Project Loon, which is developing ways of using a network of balloons in the stratosphere to bring internet connectivity to developing regions. Why? Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #oculus rift #machine learning

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Audiobook Review: ‘Collision of Power,’ by Martin Baron

The actor reads “Collision of Power,” a new memoir by the famed former editor of The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-02-02 10:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #audiobook review #boston globe #memoir


6 free, powerful creation tools for Linux

Free operating systems based on the Linux operating system kernel invented and published by Linus Torvalds are now a serious alternative to Windows, not least due to the wide range of open source software on offer. We reveal the six most ingenious free applications under Linux, which... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-02-01 14:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #source code #user interface #originally appeared #personal software #libraries


IAB Tech Lab presents Google with Privacy Sandbox gap analysis following Annual Leadership Meeting

Frustrations over the most critical development in digital media shared at flagship industry conference. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2024-01-31 05:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital media


Google now admits it could collect data in Chrome's Incognito mode

When users open an Incognito browser on Chrome, they'll see a notification warning them that other people using their device won't be able to see their activity but that their downloads, bookmarks and reading items will still be saved. Now, Google has updated that disclaimer in Chrome's... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-01-17 10:38:07 UTC ]
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Create and sell an e-book for just $25 this January

If you’re looking for more ways to earn an income or diversify revenue streams, e-books are a great avenue. You don’t need to be an expert, either. With My AI eBook Creation Pro, you can create premium e-books in a matter of clicks without the writing or design expertise. Powered by... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-01-10 08:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #target audience #suggested titles #revenue stream #lifetime subscription #editorial independence #e-book


The Archie Comics of the Future

Riding a rising tide of successful streaming adaptations that have updated the iconic comics brand—including last December's Hindi-language musical comedy film, 'The Archies'—the future of Archie Comics has never been brighter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #archie comics #rising tide


Encyclopedia Britannica once published a catalogue of humanity’s ‘102 Great Ideas’ – and it created more questions than answers

Mid-century encyclopaedias claimed the power to decide what counted as knowledge and what didn’t – much as online publishing platforms and social media companies do today. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2024-01-09 17:02:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #encyclopedia britannica #online publishing


Holly Jackson’s Maximization of Google Maps

In her “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” series and “Five Survive,” this British author makes herself at home on the East Coast. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-01-04 10:01:46 UTC ]
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The Healing Power of Words: PW Talks with Danielle Tummino Hansen

The author of 'Speaking of Rape: The Limits of Language in Sexual Violations' (Fortress, Mar. 2024) discusses why she wrote the book and her hopes for its success. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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This is the future of generative AI, according to generative AI

As part of our year-end story package, we tasked ChatGPT with writing a guest post about the future of generative AI. The prompt asked for a 1,200 word article (a number it undercut by quite a margin) that explored both the potential negative and positive outcomes of the technology. We then... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-12-28 16:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #collaborative approach #making waves #virtual worlds #double-edged sword #past mistakes #manga


Poetry sales boom as Instagram and Facebook take work to new audiences

Writing and reading poems is no longer a minority pastime as verse overlaps with self-help genre and classics are revisitedIt was only last year that the Scottish poet Donna Ashworth was given a publishing contract. Now the 48-year-old has ended 2023 with five of her books in the Top 20 poetry... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-12-24 12:00:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hardback books #publishing contract #hardback


A billionaire and a novelist offer two versions of tech's future. Who's right?

Where exactly is tech going? Joanne McNeil's debut novel 'Wrong Way' and billionaire Marc Andreessen's 'Techno-Optimist Manifesto' offer some clues. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-12 11:00:26 UTC ]
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Here's how to move your subscriptions off Google Podcasts before it shuts down

Earlier this year, Google announced it would shut down its standalone podcast app in 2024. Since then, the company has started moving podcasts into YouTube and its companion app YouTube Music. As a way to ease the transition, Google will be rolling out a migration tool for its current podcast... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-12-07 19:40:39 UTC ]
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Christopher Paolini Wanted a Job Involving Dragons, So He Created One

Paolini, a best-selling author of young adult fantasy novels, has a new book out, “Murtagh.” In it, he returns to the world of “Eragon” and the adventures he began creating as a teenager. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-12-02 10:02:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #best-selling author


Mastering PDFs: How to create, convert, and search

When it comes to preserving any type of document in a format that anyone can later open and be sure it looks right, it’s hard to beat the PDF format. PDF, or portable document format, was developed by Adobe in the early 1990s to make it easy to share formatted documents regardless of the... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2023-11-29 11:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #wrong place #reality show #higher level #originally appeared #ebooks


The best Cyber Monday deals for 2023 that are still going: Shop sales from Apple, Sonos, Google, Anker and more

Cyber Monday is almost over but the deals are not yet gone. There are still a number of great tech deals out there, so if you're a little late to the holiday shopping frenzy that has been the past few days, fear not. You can still save on gadgets from Apple, Sonos,... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-11-27 23:00:03 UTC ]
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The 60 best Black Friday deals for 2023: Get record-low prices on tech from Apple, Samsung, Google and others

Black Friday 2023 is finally upon us, so if you're just getting started on your holiday shopping, you're in luck. Even though we've seen Black Friday deals populate the internet over the past couple of weeks, there remain plenty to be had today. Many of the deals we've... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-11-24 15:32:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #budget ereader #300ppi display #holding thousands #low-light footage #$20 higher #$100 drop #$56 drop #$10 higher #$60 depending #$549 depending #$20 lower #spend $40 #— including #— precisely #kindle


The 58 best Black Friday deals 2023: Get record-low prices on tech from Apple, Samsung, Google and others

Black Friday 2023 is finally here, and if you're just getting around to your holiday shopping, there are a ton of great deals to be had across the internet. Black Friday may still technically be one day, but we've been seeing solid early Black Friday deals throughout the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-11-24 14:12:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #budget ereader #300ppi display #holding thousands #low-light footage #$20 higher #$100 drop #$56 drop #$10 higher #$60 depending #$549 depending #$20 lower #spend $40 #— including #— precisely #kindle