Techno-News Blog

by TechCrunch

Following moves that began last October, when Google began allowing Google Apps users access to Google+, the company announced today several more features which are aimed at pushing Google-branded social experiences deeper into the business world. Specifically, the company is rolling out support for restricted sharing options, video meetings integrated with other Google products like Gmail, Calendar and Docs, and additional administrative controls within Google+ with today’s public launch of Google+’s enterprise offering.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/29/google-enters-the-social-enterprise-with-public-debut-of-google-for-businesses-free-through-2013/

by David Zax, Technology Review

It appears that IBM doesn’t have its sights on the consumer market for now, instead wanting to roll out Watson’s services to specific corporate customers. (Watson’s “brain” is 10 racks of IBM servers in Yorktown Heights, New York; the idea isn’t to replicate that brain on each phone, but rather to make an app that would draw upon that brain’s computational power.) The idea is for Watson not to be a generalized personal assistant like Siri, but to be a specialized one–the way real personal assistants often gain expertise in their bosses’ line of work. Watson supposedly will have deep enough an understanding of oncology in the next few years to even give advice to doctors on prescriptions and diagnoses, per Bloomberg. Watson would essentially grow as a handy tool for businesses that already contract (or will newly contract) IBM’s business analytics services (see “With Watson, IBM Seeks to Sell Medical Knowledge”).

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/429033/will-watson-be-the-new-siri/

by David Talbot, Technology Review

The outcome of the 2012 campaign could have less to do with grand vision than with online data analytics and peer-to-peer voter targeting. Facebook and Internet campaign strategies grew up at the same time. In 2003 and early 2004, when Facebook was a new dorm-room plaything, Howard Dean’s presidential campaign pioneered Internet fund-­raising. By 2008, Facebook had crossed the 100-million-user mark and was coming to dominate online social networking; that year, Barack Obama’s campaign wielded a custom social-networking site that helped win the White House (see “How Obama Really Did It”).

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428530/facebook-the-real-presidential-swing-state/

by Rachel Metz, Technology Review

Ever since last fall, when Apple introduced its genial voice-controlled personal assistant, Siri, on the iPhone 4S, there’s been a flurry of activity as other apps attempt to go beyond its limitations. Challengers include Evi (see “New Virtual Helper Challenges Siri”), which mimics some of Siri’s abilities for smartphones running Google’s Android software; Cue, an iPhone app that attempts to intelligently organize your day (see “A Personal Assistant Mines Your Life to Help Out”); and Google’s own Google Now Android software (see “Google Would Like to Sell You a Tablet”). Aside from Siri, the player with the most potential for snagging users at the moment is Google Now, which anticipates traffic and weather information you might need and displays it as a series of on-screen “cards.”

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428958/getting-your-phone-to-give-you-a-hand/

By: Robert J. Mullins, eWeek

Microsoft has introduced its first new corporate logo in 25 years as well as a new look for its coming Windows 8 operating system, which is due out in October. Microsoft is doing a lot of new stuff this year with its new Surface tablet computer, new Windows 8 operating system, Windows Phone 8, a new Office suite and Windows Server 2012. But the company decided it didn’t have enough new stuff so it introduced a set of new logos for the corporation and many of its products. The new Microsoft logo is the first update to it in 25 years, wrote Jeff Meisner, general manager for brand strategy at Microsoft, in a blog post Aug. 23.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/Microsoft-Unveils-New-Logo-for-Company-and-Windows-8-455408/

By: Michelle Maisto, eWeek

Nokia, Motorola, Amazon and others are planning to share big news the first week of September, likely to grab some spotlight ahead of the iPhone 5 launch. Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 5 Sept. 12—after which it’s going to be no easy feat for its competitors to grab a headline or pull attention away from the smartphone that Apple fans have been waiting for since essentially last October. Because of this, you can expect a whole lot of news to be crammed into the week before.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Amazon-Motorola-Nokia-Rush-to-Make-News-Ahead-of-iPhone-5-538241/?kc=rss

by Sean Ludwig, VentureBeat

Dropbox has experienced three high-profile instances of security problems in the past year or so, with the latest instance concerning usernames and passwords being stolen from other websites and their accounts accessed. In response to the latest incident, Dropbox promised it would add “two-factor authentication.” This means you need two proofs of identity, such as your user password and a code sent to your phone, to gain access to your account. “Two-step verification is an optional but highly recommended security feature that adds an extra layer of protection to your Dropbox account,” Dropbox writes. “Once enabled, Dropbox will require a six-digit security code in addition to your password whenever you sign in to Dropbox or link a new computer, phone, or tablet.”

http://venturebeat.com/2012/08/26/dropbox-2-step-verification-security/