publications

People looking for information on a natural disaster or other emergency anywhere in the world can now stay abreast of the latest details courtesy of Google Maps.

The new Public Alerts page, which Google is launching today, aims to keep you informed of emergency alerts for floods, tornadoes, winter storms, and other dangers that may be headed your way.

The idea is tell you what's happening, when and where the disaster may hit, how severe it will be, and what resources are around to help you, according to a Google blog post.

With the spotlight turned on education after Apple's latest media event, iTunes U has gotten a facelift as well as some important resource pages on Apple's Web site.

iTunes U is a source for hundreds of thousands of lectures, videos, books, and other resources originating from many of the world's leading educational institutions. There are thousands of subjects to choose from for those wishing to supplement their education using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC.

To get better acquainted with iTunes U, Apple has put up a help guide for new users on its Web site. It … Read more

Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and H.G. Wells' "Things to Come" may have first been published decades ago, and have long been in the public domain, but that doesn't mean they won't soon be under copyright once again.

That could be the result of a Supreme Court ruling today that Congress can re-copyright public domain works, Wired wrote.

With its 6-2 decision in Golan v. Holder (PDF), the top U.S. court held that Congress has the duty to comply with an international treaty known as the Berne Convention, which permits re-copyrighting works--books, musical … Read more

Google+ introduces improvements just before the holidays, text-sending teens increase their data usage by 256 percent over last year, and a federal judge rules that a lawsuit targeting Facebook's "sponsored stories" can proceed.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Because of Apple's partnership with search comparison engine Wolfram Alpha, Siri now has the ability to search the entire Best Buy catalog, a feature added to Wolfram Alpha today.

Best Buy has public APIs that have allowed Wolfram Alpha to leverage the data from more than 35,000 products that Best Buy sells. Because Wolfram Alpha was built on a natural-language interface, as Siri is, the ability to get accurate and informative results using voice recognition is that much more impressive.

Siri, using Wolfram Alpha's access to Best Buy's APIs, has access to pricing information, tech specs, … Read more

A spectrum bill has passed through a subcommittee in the House of Representatives that authorizes FCC incentive auctions and also allocates spectrum to public safety.

On Thursday, the communications and technology subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum Act (JOBS Act).

The legislation authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to create an auction for selling wireless spectrum voluntarily released by TV broadcasters. And it also includes provisions for allocating spectrum and funding a nationwide public safety mobile broadband network.

Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who sponsored the bill, said it would help create 100,… Read more

Facebook is reportedly working on a plan to bring us the most anticipated public offering since Google's as early as next spring.

The social-networking giant is in internal discussions over when to file its IPO papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The filing reportedly could occur as early as this year, with shares making their debut on the market between April and June 2012.

The company is considering a $10 billion offering that would value the social network at more than $100 billion, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg … Read more

If you've been looking for the toughest case for your iPad, G-Form is making one that may just be at the top of the pile. After being dropped from more than 1,300 feet, the iPad protected by a G-Form case lives to be tapped another day.

The G-Form sleeve and folio cases for iPad are made from a composite blend of G-Form's proprietary materials combined with PORON XRD material. They are lightweight and water-resistant and clearly able to withstand impact from extreme heights, as the video below demonstrates:… Read more

Daily-deals provider Groupon has gone public at last, and its shares soared from the start.

In the opening minutes, Groupon was trading up to $29.20, a 46 percent gain on its opening price of $20 per share.

Groupon closed out its first day on the market up 30 percent to $26.11.

Investors and Groupon watchers who had been awaiting the long-anticipated initial public offering had to wait a little extra time this morning. Groupon, which trades under the ticker symbol GRPN, didn't debut till an hour or so after the start of trading on the Nasdaq.

The … Read more