dan

Facebook wants to be mobile-app developers' best friend

DANA POINT, Calif. -- Facebook wants to be the mobile-app developer's best friend. With more than a million apps across iOS and Android, Facebook thinks it can be the primary platform for discovering mobile apps. According to ComScore, 23 percent of time spent in mobile apps happens on Facebook. Of the billion-plus Facebook users, 680 million are accessing the service on a mobile device, and 70 percent come back to the service every day, compared with 40 percent on the desktop, said Dan Rose, vice president of partnerships for Facebook.

"We have made it so if they integrate … Read more

Apple hardware chief sells off $10.7M in stock

Recently-appointed Apple hardware chief Dan Riccio sold off nearly $11 million in company stock this week.

The sales, which took place yesterday and today and were detailed in a regulatory filing, included 19,726 shares, with another 1,000 that are given away as a charitable donation. All told, the value of the shares that were sold tallied up to a little more than $10.73 million.

To put things in perspective, Riccio along Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering, were given 75,000 shares of company stock as part of promotions in September, worth … Read more

Former Apple sales exec says Tim Cook is tech 'lightweight'

David Sobotta, a former director of Apple's federal sales group, says CEO Tim Cook is afraid of being wrong, lacks leadership skills, and is a "lightweight" when it comes to understanding technology.

Sobotta, who published a Kindle book about his 20-year experience at Apple called "The Pomme Company," (pomme means Apple in French) gave an interview to Dan Lyons, who is now editor of Readwrite.com.

We haven't heard much about Cook's management style so this is among the first reports. Lyons asked Sobotta what he thought of the recent firing of iOS chief Scott Forstall … Read more

Apple's hardware-boss shuffle ruffled feathers, report says

Why exactly is Apple's former hardware chief Bob Mansfield sticking around, despite announcing plans to retire?

When this occurred in late August, Apple didn't provide an explanation. A new story claims some of the company's top employees did not believe Mansfield's replacement was ready for the job, something that led to infighting within the company's top ranks.

In a piece looking back at Apple's past year without former CEO Steve Jobs, who died one year ago on Friday, Bloomberg Businessweek throws in a tidbit about the situation, saying that some of Apple's senior … Read more

The 404 1,127: Where we eat our utility bill (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Google Glass makes catwalk debut at New York Fashion Week.

- The Fifth Element inspired: Remote-controlled roaches to the rescue.

- Odd "digital rituals" we perform to make technology serve us.

- Will putting a car remote under your chin increase its range?

Bathroom break video: Pong traffic light in Germany.

Video voice mail: Matt is now the ultimate trucker.

Episode 1,127 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video  

Kate the humanoid robot: Kids, let's talk

Kids, meet Kate the robot. She wants to play with you, help you do your homework, or just give you a big metallic hug while Mom or Dad are deployed overseas. She can't replace your parent, but with her smiling ET-ish visage and gift for gab, she might be able to ease the distance a bit.

Dan Mathias of the Florida-based one-man FutureBots Lab thought up the humanoid telepresence robot specifically as a companion and communication device for kids of remote military service members.

He also thinks Kate (Kids Avatar Teacher and Entertainer) could, like Kaspar the friendly robot, help autistic children improve their social and communication skills or maybe be used in nursing homes to assist Alzheimer's patients. … Read more

Social-media-savvy ESPN show is a year-round Father's Day tribute

Outspoken (which might be the gentlest thing anyone's said about him) Miami sports journalist Dan Le Batard has a show on ESPN2 (4:30 pm ET weekdays; back on the air Wednesday, June 20), "Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable" and it consists of him answering sports questions from viewers. Nothing unusual so far, except for the title.

But it's unusual for a lot of reasons.

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: One of them is how well it uses social media. It was the first show I saw to display its Twitter hashtag, #DLHQ, on the screen … Read more

Last Moment Robot: 'End of life detected'

As a woman lies on a mattress on the floor, a small white machine attached to her outstretched right arm offers the following words:

I am the Last Moment Robot. I am here to help you and guide you through your last moment on Earth. I am sorry that your family and friends can't be with you right now, but don't be afraid. I am here to comfort you. You are not alone, you are with me. Your family and friends love you very much, they will remember you after you are gone.

Jarred by the notion of someone dying in the company of a machine instead of loved ones (or at least other humans)? That's partly the point. … Read more

Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson's pinata party

Scott Thompson is a flawed individual. He apparently was less than truthful about, or practiced inadequate control over, his personal history online regarding his educational credentials.

He did not receive a degree in computer science from Stonehill College, as stated in his bio on Yahoo's site and in regulatory filings. He is not a certified software or locomotive engineer. He is the CEO of a company that is the pinata of the tech industry.

His blood is in the water, and alpha shark -- activist shareholder Dan Loeb of Third Point, who has been in a lengthy proxy fight … Read more