Internet & Media- Page 6

Facebook's Parse now powering 100,000 apps

Parse is simultaneously shooting down naysayers and tooting its own horn with the announcement that it's now powering more than 100,000 applications, a 25 percent increase since being picked up by Facebook.

At the end of April, Facebook purchased 2-year-old Parse, a backend services provider for mobile-app makers, for a reported $85 million as part of an ongoing strategy to entice developers to incorporate Facebook hooks into their apps. The deal also had the potential to scare away future or existing customers worried that Facebook would abuse its power as the new landlord of their data.

But that … Read more

Airbnb says it has generated $240 million for Paris

Airbnb, which some cities have targeted as a threat to residential housing, has released a report (PDF) highlighting how much money it pours into local economies. The company's latest economic impact study said it generates about $240 million (185 million euros) for the city of Paris.

The company also took care to highlight how Airbnb hosts are actually using the service to supplement their income and pay for their homes. Airbnb found that 83 percent of Paris hosts rent the home they actually live in and 46 percent said they need the income for "essential living expenses such … Read more

Yahoo invites people to get a new ID

Yahoo continues to clean house as CEO Marissa Mayer charges on to revamp the struggling company. It announced Wednesday that it's resetting all Yahoo IDs that have been inactive for at least a year, leaving them up for grabs.

But there will be a process, of course. Users will be able to request the IDs they want starting in mid-July, but won't find out which one they got until mid-August.

"If you're like me, you want a Yahoo ID that's short, sweet, and memorable like albert@yahoo.com instead of albert9330399@yahoo.com," Jay … Read more

Samsung takes wraps off 'Club des Chefs,' Samsung House

NEW YORK -- Samsung on Wednesday said it will partner with Michelin-starred chefs to design new kitchen electronics, boosting its focus on the home appliance market.

The Korean electronics giant took the wraps off the partnership during an event in Manhattan's trendy Soho neighborhood. The company set up a temporary "Samsung House," which is open to the public for a couple days later this week, to demonstrate its various home electronics.

As for its new "Club de Chefs," Samsung will call on a handful of award-winning chefs to "serve as ambassadors and consultants" … Read more

Yahoo buys iOS photography shop to improve Flickr

In a maneuver to improve Flickr, Yahoo has purchased GhostBird Software, makers of iOS camera apps, for an undisclosed sum. The buy comes less than a month after the media titan released an overhauled version of its photo service that wasn't greeted with the warmest of welcomes.

Today we acquired @ghostbirdsoft for @flickr. Get ready to see your mobile photos in a whole new light! bit.ly/11zOvNY

— Yahoo! Inc.(@YahooInc) June 12, 2013

Yahoo announced the acquisition with a tweet Wednesday and told Flickr users to expect to see their mobile photos in "a whole new light.&… Read more

Taiwan: Come for the tourism, stay for the free Wi-Fi

Taiwan is making it easy for foreign tourists to stay connected.

The government recently announced that international travelers to the country will be able to access free Wi-Fi at 4,400 hot spots at indoor public spaces throughout the country. By showing a passport, tourists can open an account on the 1Mbps iTaiwan Wi-Fi network that's found at major tourist spots, transportation hubs, cultural establishments, and government offices, covering much of the island nation.

Twitter's top designer takes off

I am sad/excited to announce that I am leaving Twitter/starting my own thing and taking some much needed time off w/ my family. #twitter4eva

— Josh Brewer (@jbrewer) June 12, 2013

Twitter Principal Designer Josh Brewer announced Wednesday, fittingly via tweet, that he is leaving the company to work on his own projects and spend time with family.

Brewer, who joined Twitter in 2010, led the information network's design strategy around a number of key products, according to his LinkedIn profile. On the side, the self-proclaimed typography enthusiast has kept busy with other projects including his Web fonts … Read more

Funny or Die explains the new Apple ad: iPhone is your boyfriend

You've probably not been the same since you saw the latest Apple ad.

It's helped you understand your indispensable place in the world, your iPhone's indispensable place in your life, and Apple's indispensable place in American business.

For those who didn't quite get it, the folks at Funny or Die thought they'd rewrite the voiceover to make things a touch clearer.

"We spent a lot of time developing things so that you don't have to watch concerts you paid for," explains the very level voice of Apple reason. … Read more

Breast cancer activists win battle with Facebook over mastectomy photos

Facebook has clarified its policy against nudity to allow for postmastectomy photos after a run-in with vocal breast cancer awareness advocates disgruntled by the social network's practice of removing photos depicting mastectomy scars.

In May, Scorchy Barrington, a woman with Stage IV breast cancer, petitioned Facebook executives through Change.org to end the company's practice of censoring photos of men and women who have undergone mastectomies. Barrington said Facebook was removing photos from the SCAR Project Page, which features photographs of young breast cancer survivors, and that Facebook had banned project founder and photographer David Jay from the … Read more

Facebook turns on data center at edge of the Arctic Circle

More than 900 kilometers from Stockholm, at the edge of Arctic Circle, Facebook's latest data center is churning through status updates, messages, photos, ads, and other output from among the company's 1.1 billion worldwide users, most of whom are outside the U.S.

The 290,000 square-foot facility in Lulea, Sweden, also known as the Node Pole, takes advantage of the abundance of water and cool climate to go more green. It relies on the relatively cheap hydro-electric energy available to power its servers and the icy Nordic air to keep them cool.

In addition, the Lulea … Read more