Silicon Valley

Obama CTO touts tech as path to success for disadvantaged youths

SAN FRANCISCO--President Obama knows that unemployment is rampant among disadvantaged teens, and he thinks that the tech industry can help.

Earlier this month, Obama unveiled what is being called Summer Jobs +, which is "a call to action for businesses, nonprofits, and government to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth for the summer of 2012." The goal was to get to a commitment level of 250,000 private-section job opportunities by June.

Today, the administration--along with some new private industry partners--doubled down on Summer Jobs +. At an event held today at the … Read more

The future of data storage (infographic)

Data storage has long been a function of Moore's Law. But researchers at IBM say it's time to throw that equation out the window and start from the atomic level rather than waiting for the limits of physics to be halted at the same place.

This infographic, created by IBM, demonstrates the future of information storage.

IBM Research Atomic Scale Magnetic Memory

IBM creates data storage at the atomic level

SAN JOSE, Calif.--With a discovery that could some day fundamentally alter the scale of mass data storage, nanotechnology researchers at IBM say they have found a way to store a bit of information in as little as 12 magnetic atoms.

That's a radical improvement over today's storage devices which, IBM argues, require about a million atoms to hold a bit of information. For those keeping score at home, IBM's discovery could mean storage could one day be possible at 1/83,000th the scale of today's disk drives.

And while the IBM researchers behind the … Read more

Steve Jobs comic book 'biography' arrives--Gates is next

After a delay, the comic book biography of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has arrived.

"Steve Jobs: The co-founder of Apple" from publisher Bluewater Productions was released for the Kindle and Nook today, with analog versions of the 32-page book going on sale tomorrow.

The title, which was announced in June, was originally scheduled for an August release. It promises to give readers "unique insight" into the late Apple CEO's "legendary drive to the top and his continuing fight to stay there."

In a note today, Bluewater Productions said the book was completed … Read more

Some life-affirming thoughts for a tech new year

Viewing the tech world, as I do, largely from the fringes, I sometimes wonder just how seriously it takes itself.

Make a joke about Apple and invective will descend on you. Make a joke about Google+ and expect to be told to "eat a large bowl of raw d***"-- oh, and to be followed by a lot more people on Google+.

The new year will, no doubt, see more intensity surrounding tech companies, tech products, and tech personalities.

Some people will work beyond their physical and mental capacities. Some people will believe that killing Google, Apple, Facebook … Read more

Culture: Five predictions for 2012

Here at Geek Gestalt, every day is different. The world of geek culture is broad--sometimes bewilderingly so. A typical year's coverage can easily include stories on everything from Burning Man to Lego, aviation to 3D printing, NASA to tech startups, MythBusters to Pixar movies, and so on.

That makes coming up with predictions for next year in culture a difficult task--but we're here to serve, so that's just we're offering. Of course, trying to settle on just five ideas for 2012 means leaving a lot of things out.

Still, prognosticating culture's next steps meant talking … Read more

OopsVille. Was Zynga's IPO a mistake?

If Zynga thought it could get investors to flock to its stock the way Facebook users have rushed to FarmVille, CityVille, CastleVille, and others, it's getting a very unwelcome reality check.

On Friday, with the whole world watching and expectations high, the social games giant kicked off its IPO. But within hours of the shares going on sale at $10 apiece, it became clear that Zynga was in for a rough day. Though it finished the day with a market capitalization of over $2.5 billion, the shares had dropped to $9.50.

Today, things haven't gone any … Read more

Tech news site ReadWriteWeb acquired by Say Media

ReadWriteWeb, a popular tech news site, has been acquired by San Francisco-based Say Media.

The site's editor, Richard MacManus, announced the deal this morning, explaining that RWW will join Say's Technology channel, giving it access to more than 75 million monthly readers:

ReadWriteWeb is going to get bigger and even better. Our plans include widening ReadWriteWeb's editorial scope and expanding our team. That starts from today, with the addition of SplatF's Dan Frommer to our team as an editor-at-large. We will also be doing a redesign, utilizing the sophisticated designers at SAY Media. With SAY's … Read more

Google founders offer to restore giant NASA hangar

If you've driven through Mountain View, Calif., on Highway 101 recently, you've no doubt seen one of the most famous buildings in Silicon Valley going through some hard times.

The building is Hangar One at the NASA Ames Research Center, a giant structure that once housed America's great zeppelins, but which today is going through a long and expensive decontamination process.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Hangar One needs about $33 million worth of work done to strip it of PCB-laden paneling. Now a private company controlled by Google's founders--H211--has apparently offered 100 percent of the funding necessary … Read more