TheState.com: Technology

Andreessen making leap from entrepreneur to VC

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:13 EDT

Having built and sold two technology startups for a combined $11.7 billion, Marc Andreessen is ready to take a stab at, well, finding the next Marc Andreessen.

The co-founder of Web browsing pioneer Netscape Communications Corp. and software maker Opsware Inc. is starting a new career as a venture capitalist with his longtime business partner, Ben Horowitz.

Their venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, opens Monday with a $300 million fund earmarked primarily for startups involved in the Internet, software, consumer gadgets and data storage.

Like most venture capitalists, Andreessen and Horowitz are betting they will be able to connect with hard-driving entrepreneurs determined to shake up the status quo.

"We tend to be pro-megalomania," Andreessen said. "We are big fans of an inexperienced person who has great technology and wants to build a company while staying on as CEO."

EMC hikes offer for Data Domain, bidding escalates

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:13 EDT

Firing the latest salvo in a bidding brawl, data storage company EMC Corp. boosted its offer for Data Domain which has already accepted a lower bid from NetApp Inc.

EMC's new offer of $33.50 a share in cash, announced Monday, is $3.50 per share above its previous offer and values Data Domain Inc. at $2.1 billion.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Data Domain has already accepted a sweetened bid of $30 a share in cash and stock from NetApp, which said Monday its board would examine in options.

Data Domain makes products that cut down on the amount of storage that customers need to buy from storage companies like EMC and NetApp.

NetApp, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., originally offered to buy Data Domain on May 20 for $25 a share in cash and stock, or $1.5 billion.

Samsung announces earnings estimate

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:53 EDT

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest manufacturer of memory chips, announced quarterly earnings estimates for the first time Monday, saying it hopes to reduce market confusion and speculation about its performance.

The Suwon, South Korea-based corporation said it expects consolidated sales of between 31 trillion won ($24.46 billion) and 33 trillion won for the three months through June. That's up from 29.1 trillion won in sales a year earlier.

The company, which is also the second-largest maker of mobile phones, estimated operating profit would come it at between 2.2 trillion won and 2.6 trillion won, compared with 2.4 trillion won last year.

Samsung gave no explanation for the expected performance, though investors reacted positively. Samsung's shares rose 5.5 percent to close at 634,000 won. The results are scheduled to be released July 24.

The forecasts include the performance of its overseas and domestic subsidiaries excluding financial business, said Samsung spokeswoman Hwang Eun-ju.

Senate to post staff salaries, expenses on Web

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:09 EDT

How your senators are spending their multimillion dollar budgets for staff salaries, travel, and office expenses may soon be just a computer mouse click away.

The Senate is planning to follow the House in posting office expenses on the Internet instead of in volumes that must to be purchased or viewed in Capitol office buildings.

The idea, says Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is to let people see what their lawmakers are doing with their taxpayer-funded office accounts - and hold their feet to the fire for questionable expenses.

"They've got it on computer. Just now make it available so everybody in the country can see it," Coburn said. "So if you see something that doesn't look right, you can hold us accountable."

Coburn's move, expected to be approved Monday in a vote on a routine appropriations bill funding Congress' own budget, would require office expenses be posted online. The House and Senate would have to pass a compromise final bill before the new rule would take effect.

DoCoMo invests $45.5M in US mobile video firm

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:48 EDT

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile phone operator, said Monday it spent $45.5 million to take a 35 percent share in a U.S. company that makes multimedia technology for its mobile phones.

The cellular carrier made the investment in PacketVideo Corp., a San Diego-based company that makes a multimedia player used in its handsets, the companies said in a news release. PacketVideo is a subsidiary of NextWave Wireless Inc.

NTT DoCoMo said the purchase was made to strengthen its music and video services domestically.

In Japan, where most phones come with digital TV tuners and software to play audio and video files, operators have traditionally had strict control over the software and standards used in phones on their networks.

But the industry is warily eyeing popular foreign entrants like Apple's iPhone. Softbank Corp., the carrier that exclusively offers the iPhone in Japan, has used the device to lure subscribers from its rivals.

TV makers hope thin is in for newest sets

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:04 EDT

Lee Richman installs high-end home theater systems that can cost as much as $170,000. Lately, he's noticed that some of his clients - or their interior designers - are perking up when they hear about ultra-slim TV sets, which come off the wall only about an inch.

The difference between these thin models and regular flat-panel TVs, which generally are about 3 or 4 inches deep, is pretty small. It's nothing like the aesthetic shock that consumers had when flat panels were introduced to replace fat old cathode ray tube TVs.

But in a certain slice of the market - anyone who has subscribed to more than one home decor magazine, perhaps - super slim TVs make people "very enthused," Richman said.

This is textbook business strategy for TV makers. Now that flat-panel TVs have come down from thousands of dollars to as little as $200, manufacturers are pushing high-end alternatives that are slimmer, use less energy and come with other high-end add-ons - and can carry price tags in the thousands again.

Bulky boob tubes have long been banished from the hippest living rooms, and the vast majority of TVs sold in the U.S. today are flat panels. But competition and the recession have sent prices falling, cutting into profits.

Geeks double as scourges and sages at media summit

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:28 EDT

The media moguls attending an annual powwow staged by investment bank Allen & Co. used to be able to rest comfortably in the Idaho mountains as they mulled their next moves.

Even if they didn't hatch any big deals or bright ideas, the media executives could try to squeeze more profit from their firm grip on the flow of news, entertainment and seemingly everything else people read, watched or heard.

Things have changed radically since Allen & Co.'s first summer summit in 1983. The conference, which returns to Sun Valley on Tuesday, now revolves around the technology trailblazers who have turned computers and mobile phones into multimedia hubs that are tormenting newspapers, magazines, broadcasters, music labels and movie studios.

The disruption has the geeks playing the dual role of the media's sages and scourges.

This week, Twitter Inc. CEO Evan Williams will likely be in high demand as everyone tries to figure out whether the online messaging service is a fad or a revolutionary breakthrough in communications.

BT offers staff time off in exchange for pay cut

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:50 EDT

Telecoms company BT Group PLC is offering staff a year off work in return for a 75 percent cut in that year's pay.

BT is one of Britain's biggest companies, with more than 100,000 employees. It is trying to cut costs after posting a net loss of almost 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) for the first three months of 2009.

The company said Saturday that staff who take up the offer will get the remaining quarter of their salary as an upfront payment. Staff also are being offered incentives to work part-time.

BT already has said it expects to cut 15,000 jobs in the next year.

Many companies are seeking to trim payroll costs. British Airways asked employees to take unpaid leave or work for a month without pay. It says 7,000 of its 40,000 staff agreed.

Omg! Positive tone boosts Yahoo celeb site to top

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:08 EDT

Think of the most popular brands in celebrity news, and you'll probably come up with a small list that includes Entertainment Tonight, US Weekly and People.

Consider the most successful celebrity news destinations online, and something else jumps to the top. For more than a year, one site has attracted more eyeballs than any other in the realm of celebrity gossip: Yahoo Inc.'s omg.

With a dedicated staff of just five people, and more than a dozen shared with other Yahoo sites, the company has settled on a formula that Yahoo Media Group head Jimmy Pitaro calls "highly profitable," though Yahoo won't reveal details.

The fact that Yahoo's entertainment site outdraws rivals that aim to break news - such as TMZ.com, which broke the news of Michael Jackson's death - helps illustrate that success online doesn't always mean being first and having exclusives.

It also marks a rare success for the struggling Internet portal, which has shed thousands of employees and shuttered several businesses, a process CEO Carol Bartz accelerated after being hired in January.

US wants privacy in new cyber security system

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:32 EDT

The Obama administration is moving cautiously on a new pilot program that would both detect and stop cyber attacks against government computers, while trying to ensure citizen privacy protections.

The pilot program, known as Einstein 3, was supposed to launch in February. But the Department of Homeland Security is still pulling the plan together, according to senior administration officials.

Einstein 3 has triggered debate and privacy concerns because the program will use National Security Agency technology, which is already being employed on military networks.

Any involvement of the NSA - the agency oversees electronic intelligence-gathering - in protecting domestic computer networks worries privacy and civil liberties groups who oppose giving such control to U.S. spy agencies.

Officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program is still being finalized, said that while the technology will come from the NSA, the program will be managed and run by the Department of Homeland Security. The monitoring would be limited to government systems and any Internet traffic moving in and out of them.

The old is new again at Saturday Evening Post

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:10 EDT

The Saturday Evening Post, a centuries-old publication that helped make illustrator Norman Rockwell a household name and showcased some of America's greatest writers, is returning to its roots to show readers the value of a quiet read in an increasingly frenetic digital age.

A redesign launching with its July/August issue combines the Post's hallmarks - art and fiction - with folksy commentary and health articles. The revamped Post promises a more relaxing option for people who are used to doing much of their reading online, or are simply tired of special-interest magazines crammed into tight niches.

"There is a void of magazines now that do emphasize art and creative writing and fiction," Publisher Joan SerVaas said.

But industry experts say the Post - which traces its origins to Benjamin Franklin, though it had a hiatus from 1969 to 1971 - risks alienating its core readers while trying to buck a decades-long shift away from general-interest magazines.

"The Saturday Evening Post is no longer my father's magazine; it's my grandfather's magazine," said Samir A. Husni, who publishes an annual guide to consumer magazines as director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi.

Web retailers, states tussle over tax rules

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:12 EDT

In a big break for online shoppers, Web retailers generally don't have to charge sales taxes in states where they lack a store or some other physical presence.

Increasingly, states aching under the weight of the recession are seeking a way around that rule. Because companies like Amazon.com Inc. get help drumming up sales from online affiliates - people who link to products on their blogs, promote Web shopping deals and offer coupons - several states say the Internet retailers should charge sales taxes in states where those affiliates are based.

The financial benefits may not be quite what the states anticipate, though. Rather than gearing up to collect taxes, Amazon and other Web retailers are simply shutting down their affiliate marketing programs. As the small businesses that participate in these programs get cut off, a state could lose tax revenue rather than add to it.

A look at what the affiliates do helps explain why. They're just one of several methods that e-commerce companies have for driving visitors to their Web sites, so nixing them is not necessarily a big loss for the companies.

It's a far bigger deal to people like Rich Owings.

AP unveils 'treasure trove' of historical footage

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:02 EDT

The Associated Press is digitizing and has begun to release a "treasure trove" of historical film footage from the 1960s and '70s that had been sitting in Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's former World War II headquarters in London.

The archive includes color film recordings of a young Yasser Arafat, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi immediately after taking power, Richard Nixon with Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Fidel Castro meeting Latin American and Eastern European leaders, as well as a young Saddam Hussein in Paris.

"The range and quality of what we're finding in this lost archive is breathtaking and it's incredibly exciting to be unearthing new history in this way," said Alwyn Lindsey, AP's director of international archives.

The footage had been sitting for decades in the Central London bunker, from which Eisenhower directed the D-Day landings.

Although the films have been well-preserved, the text that accompanied them has been scattered across the United States and the United Kingdom, the AP said. That text catalog was key to identifying the footage held in each of the 20,000 film cans.

Tech expert: Nagin e-mails disappeared

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:42 EDT

A technology expert said Wednesday that potentially years' worth of Mayor Ray Nagin's e-mails have been deleted.

Christopher Reade, a partner in a tech firm who assisted the Louisiana Technology Council in efforts to recover data for the mayor's office, said the mailbox was removed between June 2008 and May 2009. He said 22 gigabytes of data vanished from a defunct server on May 5 - the day of a conference call with the city on the work the outside technology experts would do - but he did not know if the mailbox was among that data.

City technology chief M. Harrison Boyd, who came on board last summer, said he was shocked. He said controls put in place in March would have made it "virtually impossible" to delete any information in May.

Boyd questioned whether the job was too big for the group to handle, adding, "Until I have the opportunity to review their methodology, I would strongly encourage them to step back."

The city blamed a faulty server for not being able to produce more records sought by WWL-TV. The station sued earlier this year over its request for Nagin's 2008 calendar and e-mails from July-through-December 2008. An attorney for WWL-TV, Mary Ellen Roy, said the calendar was turned over, and about 150 e-mails were discovered.

Gadgets: A solution for working with underwater cameras

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:52 EDT

Anyone who takes underwater photos knows how challenging it is to navigate in the water while holding a camera. Another obstacle can be trying to see through the camera's viewfinder or LCD screen while wearing an underwater mask.

A company called Liquid Image has eliminated this problem with its Digital Underwater Camera Mask. The mask looks like any other except it has a built-in waterproof digital camera embedded to capture both still images and video, thus eliminating the headache of holding a camera.

I've tested many underwater digital cameras and I'll be honest, I was kind of skeptical about how this would perform. The company always displayed really nice underwater photos on both its Web site and booths at recent trade shows, showing images taken in swimming pools as well as the ocean.

I took the 5-megapixel-cameramask (Model 302 - Explorer Series Camera Mask- $99) out on a recent snorkeling trip in Mexico. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the mask worked in a very simple manner.

Like any other digital camera, you must make sure the battery is charged, the lens is clean and you have a decent size memory card with free space. This camera takes 2 AAA alkaline batteries, uses Micro SD cards (up to 2 GB) and the front of the mask acts as the lens.

Companies pledge more openness about Web tracking

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:53 EDT

Companies that track consumer behavior online for advertising purposes are vowing to make their practices more transparent and to give people a way to decline being shadowed.

It's unclear how much of an effect the new policies will have. One consumer group said the changes don't go far enough, and that extensive profiles of people still will be collected without their complete consent.

The new guidelines, which were due to be unveiled Thursday, represent the industry's attempt at self-regulation as Congress and the Federal Trade Commission have been examining online behavioral advertising.

Companies can track consumers as they visit different Web sites, conduct searches and buy things. Over time, profiles of consumer interests can be sold to advertisers who want to pitch their products only to people most likely to be interested in them. The information collected can include a best guess at someone's ethnicity, income, educational level, age and hobbies.

The new guidelines recommend that companies tell consumers more clearly when they're being tracked, educate them on how Web tracking works and give them an easy way to opt out of being followed. According to the new policies, industry groups will monitor whether companies are breaking the guidelines and report violators to federal agencies, starting next year.

TV stations struggling with viewer loss on DTV

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:48 EDT

The government is helping two dozen TV stations that became difficult to receive by antenna when they switched to new frequencies as part of the digital TV transition, the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday.

Most of the stations, in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Dallas, moved their digital broadcasts from the UHF band to the VHF band on June 12, when they turned off their analog broadcasts.

The VHF band was previously used only for analog broadcasts, and was largely untried as a carrier for digital broadcasts. While UHF can be received well with small indoor antennas, the best VHF antennas are large rooftop units. Many antennas sold as "digital" ones in the last few years receive UHF only.

The FCC has sent engineers to some of the affected cities, and has granted temporary permission to some stations to increase the strength of their signals as it seeks a long-term solution, said Robert Ratcliffe, acting chief of the FCC's media bureau.

ABC-affiliated Channel 6 in Philadelphia is one of the stations that lost viewers after the transition, and received temporary permission to boost its power output, according to a newscast last week. The ABC station in Chicago has also had problems.

New charge for NY mom over phony Craigslist post

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:23 EDT

Prosecutors have added a child endangerment charge against a Long Island, N.Y., mother accused of posting a suggestive Craigslist ad to target a 9-year-old girl.

Margery Tannenbaum, of Hauppauge (HAW'-pawg), is accused of posting an ad that said in part, "I need a little affection." Authorities say she gave respondents the phone number for her daughter's rival, generating at least 22 harassing calls.

Tannenbaum was charged in May with aggravated harassment. She was freed without bail after her arraignment Thursday in Central Islip (EYE'-slip) on that count and the new endangerment accusation.

She pleaded not guilty.

Her attorney, Tad Scharfenberg, declined to comment on the accusations. He said his client is a good person who has no criminal record.

PC makers voluntarily supply Web filter in China

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:12 EDT

Several PC makers were including controversial Internet-filtering software with computers shipped in China on Thursday despite a government decision to postpone its plan to make such a step mandatory.

Beijing's decision this week to delay the requirement that the filtering software - known as Green Dam - be pre-installed or supplied on disk with all computers sold in China averted a possible trade clash with the United States and Europe. But the move by some makers to include the software anyway could re-ignite complaints by Chinese Web users.

Also Thursday, a government newspaper said regulators will revive the plan to make Green Dam mandatory at some point, a move that would disappoint opponents who hoped the government would drop the effort.

Taiwan's Acer Inc. - the world's No. 3 PC maker - Sony Corp. and China's Haier Group said they were shipping Green Dam on disks with computers for sale in China. China's Lenovo Group, the No. 4 producer, said it would offer the software pre-installed or on disk. Taiwan's Asus Inc. said it was preparing to supply Green Dam disks with PCs. Taiwanese laptop maker BenQ Inc. said the system was on the hard drives of its computers.

Acer was supplying Green Dam because disks were already packed with PCs before the government postponed the plan, that had been due to take effect Wednesday, said a company spokeswoman, Meng Lei. Lenovo said it also was going ahead with plans made before the Green Dam order was postponed.

Digital images of all Rembrandt's work on show

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:57 EDT

The life work of Rembrandt - all 317 known paintings, 285 etchings and more than 100 drawings - go on display next week in full-sized digital reproductions that attempt to recreate the works as they emerged from the artist's studio rather than as they exist today.

In some ways, the high resolution images are more authentic than the real paintings, said Ernst van de Wetering, a leading Rembrandt scholar who supervised the project.

Employing computer wizardry, pieces of canvas or panel that were sliced off centuries ago have been patched back on. Colors are restored to the vibrancy they had when they came off the master's brush. Details hidden in darkness because of aging pigments emerge into view.

"The Complete Rembrandt, Life Size" exhibition opens Sunday in the former Amsterdam Stock Exchange building and runs through Sept. 7.

Not everyone is happy with the idea of passing off posters as true art. But even Van de Wetering, who has examined much of 17th century artist's work with x-rays and microscopes, said he discovered details he had never seen before.

Hawaii Gov. Lingle vetoes oil tax hike

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:57 EDT

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced that she plans to veto a gas tax increase and an Internet sales tax, which had prompted Amazon.com cut ties with island Web sites.

"This year, given the unprecedented fiscal crisis we are facing, my administration is taking an extra-cautious approach, beyond our already high level of fiscal prudence, to examine bills that would erode our ability to balance the state budget or that would delay our economic recovery," Lingle said.

The oil tax hike could cost drivers 2 to 3 cents more per gallon of gasoline by raising the per-barrel tax on oil distributors from 5 cents to $1.05. It would generate $31 million annually for alternative energy projects and food safety programs.

"The governor's shortsightedness threatens the viability of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative," which aims to produce 70 percent of the state's energy from clean sources by 2030, said Rep. Hermina Morita, D-Hanalei-Kapaa. "This leaves the alternative of doing nothing in moving toward a clean energy future."

Lingle said Hawaii consumers shouldn't have to absorb another tax hike, and that clean energy efforts are making progress without this measure.

Biden in W.Pa. to discuss rural broadband access

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:57 EDT

Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to be in northwestern Pennsylvania to discuss ways federal stimulus funding can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that aren't served by faster connections.

The federal economic recovery act package includes $7.2 billion to expand broadband. President Barack Obama has made improving broadband access part of his objective for boosting the economy by improving the nation's infrastructure.

Biden will speak Wednesday afternoon at Seneca High School near Erie. He'll be joined by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa., and others.

Satellite for US cell phone service launched

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:01 EDT

The world's largest commercial satellite was launched into space Wednesday, with a mission to provide phone service to cellular "dead zones" in North America.

The satellite, owned by TerreStar Corp. of Reston, Va., blasted off from Kourou in the South American territory of French Guiana shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time, carried through pink clouds.

Half an hour later, French satellite launcher Arianespace announced that the TerreStar-1 had separated successfully from the rocket, on its way to an orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth.

There, the satellite is designed to unfurl an umbrella-like antenna of gold mesh 60 feet across, so it can pick up and relay signals from phones that are not much larger than regular cell phones.

TerreStar has shown prototypes of the phones, which are similar to BlackBerrys, and like them, would have access to data and e-mail. The phones aren't on sale yet. TerreStar plans to have the system running before the end of the year.

Joost exits consumer online video business

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:31 EDT

Struggling online video startup Joost, begun with much fanfare in 2007 by the same people behind Skype and Kazaa, is restructuring its business after discovering that it can't survive on advertising to fund its operations.

The chief executive, Mike Volpi, has stepped down but will remain as chairman.

The London-based company said it will shift its focus from being an online video site for consumers supported by advertising - similar to Google Inc.'s YouTube. Instead, it will help businesses manage their videos on the Internet as they build brands.

Its target market will be media companies such as cable and satellite TV providers, broadcasters and video aggregators.

"In these tough economic times, it's been increasingly challenging to operate as an independent, ad-supported online video platform," Volpi said in a statement.

Sony struggling as Walkman hits 30th anniversary

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:37 EDT

When the Sony Walkman went on sale 30 years ago, it was shown off by a skateboarder to illustrate how the portable cassette-tape player delivered music on-the-go - a totally innovative idea back in 1979.

Today, Sony Corp. is struggling to reinvent itself and win back its reputation as a pioneer of razzle-dazzle gadgetry once exemplified in the Walkman, which Wednesday had its 30th anniversary marked with a special display at Sony's corporate archives.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment company lost 98.9 billion yen ($1.02 billion) in the fiscal year ended March - its first annual loss in 14 years - and is expecting more red ink this year.

The manufacturer, which also makes Vaio personal computers and Cyber-shot cameras, hasn't had a decisive hit like the Walkman for years, and has taken a battering in the portable music player market to Apple Inc.'s iPod.

Sony has sold 385 million Walkman machines worldwide in 30 years as it evolved from playing cassettes to compact disks then minidisks - a smaller version of the CD - and finally digital files. Apple has sold more than 210 million iPod machines worldwide in eight years.

Is Twitter the news outlet for the 21st century?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:12 EDT

Cassy Hayes and Jasmine Coleman were among the first fans to arrive outside the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles where Michael Jackson was brought and later pronounced dead.

How had Hayes, 25, and Coleman, 21, heard the news so quickly?

Twitter.

The two young women had learned about Jackson's health like so many who get their news nowadays: by reading the ever-flowing feed of real-time information on the microblogging service.

Jackson's unexpected death at 50 was just the latest major news event where Twitter played a central role. But just as quickly as Twitter has emerged as a news source, so, too, has its susceptibility to false rumors become abundantly apparent.

Alice.com grasps the woes of buying toilet paper

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:27 EDT

If shopping for household essentials like toilet paper and soap isn't your favorite activity, a new Web site might eliminate the task - while saving you cash.

The recently launched Alice.com lets people buy all manner of necessities from different manufacturers. There are about 6,000 items to choose from so far. The site keeps an eye on the products you use, and reminds you when it's time to replenish your stock.

Because Alice is run as a platform for manufacturers to connect directly to consumers, rather than as a traditional online retailer, founders Brian Wiegand and Mark McGuire say they can keep prices low and ship all items for free.

Of course, Alice benefits, too. Manufacturers pay the company for prime placement on Alice.com or to have samples, coupons and other marketing pitches offered to customers.

Wiegand and McGuire's last startup, comparison shopping site Jellyfish.com, was bought by Microsoft Corp. in 2007 and has since been incorporated into its new search engine, Bing.

DC's Metro relaunches real-time bus arrival system

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:22 EDT

Metro is relaunching a service that allows riders to know when the next Metrobus will arrive at their stop.

Travelers can now find out by phone, online or through electronic signs at some bus stops when buses are expected to arrive.

The service, called NextBus, is available at any one of Metro's 12,000 bus stops.

NextBus uses global positioning technology to track 355 Metrobus routes. Officials are aiming for it to be 90 percent accurate.

Metro had tested the real-time program two years ago, but it was suspended because internal problems made the system only 80 percent accurate.

Facebook plans to simplify privacy settings

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:22 EDT

Facebook is overhauling its privacy controls over the next several weeks in an attempt to simplify its users' ability to control who sees the information they share on the site.

Privacy has been a central, often thorny issue for Facebook because so many people use it to share personal information with their friends and family and beyond. But as the 5-year-old social networking service has expanded its user base and added features, its privacy controls have grown increasingly complicated.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said Wednesday that the new settings will give people greater control over what photos, updates and personal details they share with their friends, family and strangers on Facebook and, eventually, the wider Internet.

To make the settings easier, Facebook is consolidating its existing six privacy pages and more than 30 settings onto a single privacy page. It will also standardize the options for each setting so the choices are always the same, something that hasn't always been the case.

That means that for various pieces of content, users will be able to click on a lock icon to choose whether to show it to everyone, only their friends, friends of friends, members of professional or school networks or people on a customized list.

Obama team members to fan out on summer rural tour

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:36 EDT

President Barack Obama is dispatching top administration officials and Cabinet members on a "rural tour" this summer to explore ways to strengthen rural America.

The tour starts Wednesday in Wattsburg, Pa., where Vice President Joe Biden, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will discuss rural broadband service.

The White House says other events will be held in Alaska, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. In addition, Vilsack will hold "listening sessions" in other states with local and state elected officials.

Obama says "a healthy American economy depends on a prosperous rural America."