director

ZTE Director's got us saying lights, camera, cut

I have nothing against entry-level devices. As long as they work well and are priced reasonably, there's nothing wrong with these handsets for people who don't need to be on the bleeding edge of technology.

But while the ZTE Director is indeed priced inexpensively (without a contract, it's $99.99, but with one, the price drops to 1 cent), it's not a great performer. Its screen can be frustratingly unresponsive, its camera takes washed-out photos, and its processor is sluggish. Frankly put, the ZTE Director is more of a Tommy Wiseau than a Steven Spielberg.

Design … Read more

Yahoo's Marissa Mayer will reportedly join Jawbone board

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is said to have joined the board of directors of gadget maker Jawbone. According to AllThingsD, sources familiar with the matter said that Mayer has been familiar with Jawbone for some time and has already sat in on one of the company's board meetings.

Jawbone is a San Francisco-based company has been making colorful tech gadgets for more than a decade, such as the Jambox wireless speaker and the Jawbone Up fitness bracelet that tracks users' physical activity and syncs the data to mobile devices.

The fact that many of Jawbones devices focus on wireless … Read more

Google's privacy czar, Alma Whitten, resigns

It's not uncommon for Google to be accused of violating user privacy. So, anyone in the seat of defending the Web giant's privacy policies has a hard job.

According to Forbes, Google's current privacy director Alma Whitten is stepping down in June after three years on the job. She will be replaced by Google engineering director Lawrence You, who will take the title, "director of privacy for product and engineering."

Whitten worked as a Google engineer for seven years and had a background in privacy and security when she was named privacy director for the … Read more

Direct movies and add special effects to your videos with FX Guru

Why bother paying big bucks to put explosions, crashes, and other special effects goodies on your home movies? This app lets you take a video and then add one of several cool special effects to it. FX Guru is a really cute novelty to show off to friends and make them look like movie stars.

The app starts you off with three special effects. You can add more than a dozen more by ponying up a few bucks. The preloaded effects -- which are mostly disaster movie explosions -- should be more than enough. Each effect lasts about 10-15 seconds, … Read more

New Apple policy requires top execs to hold onto stock

Apple this month quietly implemented a new rule that requires its top executives and board members to hold onto company stock, worth various multiples of what their salary pays.

The new requirement, which was detailed on Apple's Web site (PDF) and reported by The Wall Street Journal, aims to keep executives from selling off stock and tie their own performance with that of the company. It comes just a day after shareholders shot down a policy that would require company executives to hold onto at least 33 percent of their stock until reaching the age of retirement.

The policy … Read more

NASA launches new space tech and exploration division

NASA has suffered budget cuts and freezes the past several years, but apparently things are looking up for the U.S. space agency. Today, NASA announced that it was creating a new organizational division geared toward investing in space technology, equipment, and exploration.

"A robust technology development program is vital to reaching new heights in space -- and sending American astronauts to new destinations like an asteroid and Mars," NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. "A top priority of NASA is to invest in cross-cutting, transformational technologies. We focus on collaboration with industry and academia … Read more

Levchin: I joined Yahoo board after Mayer's 'very ballsy move'

After Yahoo announced that Max Levchin was appointed to its board, the PayPal co-founder and Silicon Valley all-star took to his blog to explain his reasoning for accepting the position.

According to Levchin, his decision centered on three areas -- personal, business, and sentimental. On the personal side, he said that he has for a long time "respected Marissa [Mayer's] talent and tenacity," adding that her decision to take over Yahoo "was a very ballsy move, and when she asked for my help, I was excited about working with her."

On the business side, Levchin … Read more

Who will direct 'Star Wars VII'? (poll)

The Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to make "Star Wars VII" for release in 2015, but it has yet to announce who the director will be.

Meanwhile, George Lucas will stay on as a creative consultant at Lucasfilm and the now-Disney-owned company will now be run by mega-producer Kathleen Kennedy.

But are you looking forward to a new movie? The second trilogy wasn't well-received by critics -- or long-term fans -- both of whom complained that Lucas had lost touch with his audience, with creations like Jar Jar Binks as exhibit A.… Read more

Symantec CEO Salem ousted for board chairman Bennett

Symantec's CEO Enrique Salem stepped down today after the company's board of directors designated chairman of the board Steve Bennett as the new president and CEO.

This executive switch-over comes as the security software giant reported an abysmal year for revenue -- second-quarter growth was just 1 percent to $1.67 billion, and profits decreased by 10 percent to $172 million, according to Bloomberg.

"Enrique Salem has been a significant contributor during his 19 years' associated with Symantec, including the last three years as CEO," Bennett said in a statement. "While progress has been made … Read more

Zynga adds ex-Yahoo exec Ellen Siminoff to board of directors

Former Yahoo executive Ellen Siminoff has been appointed to Zynga's board of directors, the first woman to sit on the social-game publisher's board.

Siminoff, who is the CEO of educational publishing company Shmoop University, will also join Zynga's audit committee, the San Francisco-based publisher said today.

"Ellen has great experience and insights operating Web businesses at scale and brings a passion for consumer Internet products," Zynga CEO Mark Pincus said in a statement. "Ellen has also been a longtime Words With Friends player with her family and shares our mission to connect the world … Read more