Google has released new data for its Transparency Report, which provides details of government requests to takedown content across the company’s websites and services. The report — dated July-December 2011 — now includes details of government requests to take down blog posts, videos and other information on Google services during the period. It also includes all state-led...
Daily Archives: June 17, 2012
On Structure’s 5th birthday, some video highlights to watch
In late 2007, in a conversation with my colleagues I pointed out that over the next decade or so, the Internet’s infrastructure was going to be transformed in a very fundamental manner. It would start with the proliferation of Amazon Web Service-style core cloud computing and would soon be followed by new services, new...
Mozilla Is Building A “Simple” iPad Browser Called Junior
Last week, Mozilla’s Product Design Strategy team quietly announced a few new projects including something called Junior, a Webkit browser for the iPad with no tabs or search bars. Instead, it uses simple gestures and a simplified UI to change the way we work with the web. To browse the web you press one...
Renren CEO: ‘Facebook poke’ doesn’t work in China, but mobile and Pinterest-type services are key focus
When it comes to China, it is easy to assume that there is really only one main social network, such is the glut of stories focused on Twitter-like Sina Weibo, its popularity and issues with censorship. That’s not the case at all and, though the microblog service has made the most profound change to...
Twitter has completely missed the mark with its “Tailored Trends” tweak
Last week, we told you about a new tweak to Twitter’s trending topics feature, called “tailored trends.” I completely understand what Twitter was trying to do by surfacing things that you might be interested in, but I have to say that it appears that the company has fired a blank with this one. First...
How crowdfunding could revolutionize solar
If just one percent of retail investments in savings accounts, money markets and U.S Treasuries was put into crowdfunding of solar projects — that can provide a 5 to 9 percent return to the investor — then that would deliver more than $90 billion for the creation of clean energy projects, according to a...
The Retina MacBook Pro and the sound of repairability
Apple introduced a new MacBook Pro model during the keynote last week. It’s an impressive beast, but its primary draw is the insanely high-resolution Retina display. In a manner similar to the last few portable releases from Apple, including the MacBook Air and the iPad, it was almost immediately attacked for its lack of...
Index Ventures launches new €350m fund for early stage startups, with a big focus on Europe
Index Ventures has today announced a new €350m ($442m) fund as it looks to expand its portfolio and reel in a slew of new tech startups across the US, Europe and Israel. Index is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, though it also has offices in London, Jersey and, fairly recently, San Francisco. Its previous European...
Make Way For More Tech Investment: Index Ventures Raises Another €350M Fund
The economic signals coming from Europe are leading some to predict a big drop in startup investments up ahead, but that’s not the message coming from one of the region’s biggest VC firms. Index Ventures has just announced a new fund of €350 million ($442 million), which it intends to use for early-stage investments...
Files in the cloud: Feature, product or company?
Box CEO Aaron Levie A few months ago, Bill Gurley wrote a post about Benchmark’s investment in Dropbox, and why Dropbox’s cloud-based file synchronization is a major disruptor. Many disagreed, quoting Steve Jobs’ assertion that file sync is a feature, not a product. As a feature, the assumption was that it would be folded...