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Web 2.0 Summit: Larry Brilliant on investing in the future

SAN FRANCISCO--"We are at an inflection point where there are enormous problems to be solved and enormous opportunities."

Those weren't the words of President-elect Barack Obama. It was the Pied Piper of Web 2.0, Tim O'Reilly, making his opening remarks at the Web 2.0 Summit here Wednesday.

Against the backdrop of the change in power in Washington, D.C. (opportunities) and the economic meltdown (one of the problems), the navel-gazing tech industry lives on. Speakers at the event include VC legend John Doerr, Yahoo's Jerry Yang, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Alibaba's … Read more

Google.org issues $14.8 million in disease prevention grants

Google's philanthropic arm Google.org announced Tuesday it issued grants of $14.8 million aimed at combating diseases in Southeast Asia and Africa, as part of its Predict and Prevent initiative.

The grants that were awarded to universities and research centers will be applied toward identifying hot spots where diseases may arise, identify new pathogens affecting humans and animals, and halting pandemics before they circulate.

Researchers have found that 75 percent of new diseases are transmitted from animals to humans and that as deforestation and climate change occurs, the frequency of contact between the two increases.

"The holy … Read more

Google eyes Israeli geothermal firm Ormat

Google is in discussions with Israeli geothermal company Ormat Technologies, a relationship that could lead to an investment, according to Haaretz.

The Israeli newspaper quoted an interview this past weekend with Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who praised Ormat and the other Israeli companies working in alternative energy. Google co-founder Larry Page also visited an Ormat geothermal plant in Nevada, the newspaper reported.

Brin refused to say whether there are any imminent deals with Israeli energy companies.

Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, has pledged to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in clean-energy companies. Last week, it was one of … Read more

Google launches tool portal for nonprofits

Google for Nonprofits, a site designed to educate charities about the search giant's suite of Web-based tools, debuted Tuesday.

Essentially, it's a lineup of links to Google's various applications and tutorials for using them, but with a charitable spin. A link to YouTube is accompanied with "broadcast your cause to the world's largest online video community." Google Groups come with a suggestion of "communicate easily to staff or volunteers and encourage discussions among supporters."

But the Google for Nonprofits page also highlights special initiatives for nonprofits, like free advertising through the Google … Read more