His company publicly derided as a leech of the newspaper business, Google CEO Eric Schmidt told a group of newspaper editors he believes newspapers can make money online.
In a keynote speech to open the annual conference of the American Society of News Editors on Sunday, Schmidt lauded newspapers as "fundamental" to democracy and predicted the newspaper business would formulate a new business model based on advertising and subscription revenue, according to an Associated Press report.
"We have a business model problem; we don't have a news problem," Schmidt said, adding that "We're … Read more
Boingo Wireless executives are a bit red-faced this weekend after mistakenly informing the company's customers of a radical billing plan change being instituted apparently without their input or consent.
The Wi-Fi hot spot provider sent an e-mail to its customers Saturday informing them that the company was immediately canceling their flat-fee monthly subscription plans and replacing it with a "Day Pass" plan that bills for a 24-hour period each time a customer logs in to the network.
Here's a snippet of the e-mail a Boingo subscriber provided to CNET:
The U.S.-based subscriber who provided … Read more
Java co-creator James Gosling is saying good-bye to Oracle just a few months after the company acquired his longtime employer, Sun Microsystems.
Gosling made the announcement on his blog, saying he resigned from the company on April 2.
Gosling didn't give any reason for his departure. Instead, he wrote, "Just about anything I could say that would be accurate and honest would do more harm than good." As for what he'll do next, Gosling said he doesn't know--just that he'll take some time off before starting his job search.
For years, Pandora and other Web radio stations fought to reduce the royalty rates they were required to pay artists and record labels.
Last July, the music industry and Webcasters reached an agreement and it now appears both sides are reaping the benefits. On Friday, SoundExchange, the group appointed by Congress to collect royalties on behalf of artists and copyright owners, said it has begun distributing $51.7 million, the largest quarter the nonprofit group has ever recorded.
The amount represents a 135 percent increase over the same period last year and is nearly $10 million larger than the previous … Read more
Rumors of the iPhone coming to Verizon Wireless may have some consumers in the U.S. wondering about resulting cost savings for the device. But will more competition really mean lower prices?
Six months after the iPhone market opened up in the United Kingdom for the iPhone, prices have only dipped slightly. But compared to prices from AT&T, the iPhone's exclusive carrier in the U.S., Brits are still getting a much better deal than Americans.
When Apple announced its exclusive contract for the iPhone with O2 Wireless was expiring in the U.K. last September, the … Read more
Research In Motion is making a play for the automotive market, announcing Friday its acquisition of QNX Software Systems from Harman International. QNX brings an open-platform operating system to the game and RIM is looking to advance it in the automotive world.
In a statement, RIM President and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said:
RIM is excited about the planned acquisition of QNX Software Systems and we look forward to ongoing collaboration between Harman, QNX and RIM to further integrate and enhance the user experience between smartphones and in-vehicle audio and infotainment systems. In addition to our interests in expanding the opportunities … Read more
Adobe might be putting a brave face on for its battle against Apple, but the company quietly admitted in its latest quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that if Apple continues to block Flash from both the iPhone and iPad, it could be facing some trouble.
"To the extent new releases of operating systems or other third-party products, platforms or devices, such as the Apple iPhone or iPad, make it more difficult for our products to perform, and our customers are persuaded to use alternative technologies, our business could be harmed," the company wrote in its … Read more
According to numerous sources, Yahoo has been seriously courting former Microsoft exec Blake Irving to take over as one of its key execs, running its product organization and essentially becoming the Internet "visionary" many think the company lacks.
While it is unclear if Irving has agreed to take the job, sources said Yahoo management was keen on him working there.
A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment when BoomTown asked about its discussions with Irving about the job.
I also reached out to Irving, but he has not responded.
It's unclear what the move means for current CTO and Chief Product Officer Ari Balogh. But sources said Balogh has been involved in the search, and was planning on taking some time off from Yahoo soon for personal reasons. (CNET editors' note: Later on Thursday, Balogh confirmed that he is leaving Yahoo because of "personal priorities.")
Irving, who was well liked at Microsoft, could certainly fill Balogh's shoes, having run major businesses there for many years in a variety of executive jobs.
He left Microsoft in 2007, as its corporate VP for the Windows Live Platform Group, after being there for 15 years to spend some time with his family in California. Irving had always commuted to Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters. … Read more
Google's Android operating system may be a victim of its own success.
More than 6 million handsets shipped in 2009 using Google's Android software. And the forecast in 2010 is that this figure will triple with shipments possibly topping out at 20 million this year. But a new study from IMS Research indicates that the rapid pace of Android's growth could cause more fragmentation, which could ultimately harm Android's potential as a leading smartphone operating system.
Update: 12:43 p.m. To include quote from NBC Universal general counsel.
The U.K.'s House of Commons overwhelmingly voted in favor of creating a law that would enable copyright owners to seek the suspension of Internet service of those accused multiple times of illegal file sharing.
The House of Commons voted 189 to 47 to pass the Digital Economy Bill, which also seeks to give the country's government the authority to block access to Web sites suspected of engaging in pirated material, according to British publication The Telegraph.
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