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How Google slurps in Street View data -- not just from streets

SAN FRANCISCO -- By now Street View is a routine part of online mapping. But people might not be so familiar with how Google actually gets the data for its 360-degree panoramic views of the world.

Street View imagery launched in 2007 with photos taken by cameras perched on cars. That's still the mainstay of the project, but there's much more to it now, and Google was showing off its methods at its Google I/O 2013 developer show here this week.

Exhibits included not just a car, but also a snowmobile, tricycle, backpack, trolley, and self-propelled underwater … Read more

WebRTC fully operational in Firefox beta

The quest to free the browser from plug-ins that can impede performance took another step forward on Thursday when Mozilla activated by default Web Real-Time Communication in its latest Firefox beta.

WebRTC, as it's known, is the HTML5 standard for streaming files, video, and audio on the Web. Mozilla activated getUserMedia in Firefox in April, which WebRTC uses to access the Webcam and microphone. Now, PeerConnection and DataChannels have been turned on in the Firefox 22 Beta, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

PeerConnection lets the browser set up real-time video and audio calls, while DataChannels enables peer-to-peer data … Read more

PC slump hits Dell earnings

As the PC market continues to spiral downwards, the world's third-largest PC maker is tumbling down with it.

Dell on Thursday reported its first-quarter earnings five days earlier than expected, due to a report by The Wall Street Journal detailing leaked numbers on Monday.

The PC make reported $372 million on revenue of $14.07 billion, or 21 cents a share.

According to average analyst estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters, Dell was expecting to report net income of $607.1 million on revenue of $13.5 billion, or 35 cents per share.

The Journal said Dell would exceed revenue … Read more

Opera settles secrets-theft suit against ex-employee

Opera Software and Trond Werner Hansen have settled a lawsuit against that alleged the former employee spilled trade secrets to rival browser maker Mozilla.

Werner on Thursday told CNET said the suit was settled, but said he couldn't share details.

"But I'm very happy it's over and look forward to being able to focus on my music and other projects again," he said.

Opera said it was happy, too. "I can confirm that the case against Trond Werner Hansen has been dropped by Opera by reaching an agreement which has been satisfactory to both … Read more

Apple looks to move SF store a few blocks away

If Apple can obtain the go-ahead from the city, its San Francisco store on Stockton and Ellis streets will be moving -- but not too far.

According to SFGate, Apple recently applied to move its current store to Union Square in a new silver box-shaped building. The current store opened nine years ago, but Apple has outgrown it, the company claims. By building a new store in Union Square, it believes that it can increase the number of people employed at the store by 50. Apple currently employs 350 people at the retail location.

Apple has so far not presented … Read more

Lenovo's Windows 8 Yoga 11S convertible now up for sale

Consumers awaiting the Lenovo Yoga 11S convertible can now order one through Lenovo or Best Buy, though they'll have to wait at least a month before it ships.

Available through Lenovo's Web site as of Thursday, the Yoga 11S is an 11.6-inch ultrabook that can close to transform itself into a touch-screen tablet or bend over backward into "tent mode" or "stand mode" to act strictly as a display. The new Yoga is outfitted with Windows 8, upping the original Yoga 11, which offers Windows RT. Buyers also have a choice of two … Read more

New Groupon CEO won't be named until next year

Groupon is not racing to find a new CEO, say the interim leaders who've been running the show since the company's founder resigned earlier this year.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Tuesday, Groupon's interim CEOs Ted Leonsis and Eric Lefkosky said that "are not in a rush" to name a new, permanent chief executive, adding that they have only just kicked off the process of finding a replacement.

"We want to bring in a world-class leader, but the talent pool is not huge," Leonsis told the Journal. &… Read more

Asia 'sources' chat up smaller Microsoft Surface tablet

We know a smaller Surface product is likely in the works. But exactly how small isn't clear.

Digitimes has chimed in again claiming, this time, Microsoft will launch an 8-inch Surface tablet in June, citing sources at component suppliers.

"Microsoft will launch an 8-inch Surface tablet in June and a 10.x-inch model as early as the third quarter of 2013," Digitimes said.

The display for the 8-inch model will be supplied by Samsung, according to the report.

This differs from what DisplaySearch told CNET earlier this month: a future Microsoft tablet is expected to sport a … Read more

Google urges fast adoption of VP9 video compression

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google is nearly done with its VP9 video technology, and it wants the world to use it.

At its Google I/O conference Wednesday, company employees made the case for the royalty-free, open-source technology as a higher-quality alternative to today's dominant video codec, H.264. Moving to VP9 -- available now in testing on Chrome and YouTube -- will save bandwidth costs.

"If you adopt VP9, as you can very quickly, you'll have tremendous advantages over anyone else out there using H.264 or VP8, (its predecessor)," said VP9 engineer Ronald Bultje in … Read more