Hey all. Here are five interesting pieces of news that I've gathered from the tech news sphere within the recent days. Enjoy!
Microsoft quietly launches So.cl social network
Is Microsoft finally rising to the challenge? Are they going to compete with Facebook? No, Microsoft has no intentions of taking their throne, yet. So.cl (pronounced social) is Microsoft's latest experiment from their FUSE Labs. It's a community that combines social networking and searching for the purpose of learning. Users log in with their Facebook or Windows Live accounts to network with their peers and share information. According to Microsoft, it's an experiment on the concept of "open search". The full article
can be found here.
Here's how desperately cities want Apple stores
Apparently, Apple stores are more than a little attractive to shopping malls. In some cases, Apple is even offered very advantageous deals to come to a certain commercial nest. For example, in Grand Central Station in New York, Apple pays less than half the rent than other places have to pay, and are not even required to share profits, as the other stores are required to do. More details are in the full article.
'Steve Jobs' biography to become Aaron Sorkin movie
Have you seen The Social Network? That movie was written by Aaron Sorkin who is now writing the screenplay for the upcoming adaption of Steve Jobs' biography. He also wrote screenplays for movies such as "The West Wing," "Moneyball," and "A Few Good Men." The company producing the film will be Sony Pictures Entertainment. For more info and rumors about actors, read
the full article here.
Why Apple, RIM, Nokia and Motorola are arguing over what your next SIM card will look like
It looks like Apple wants to have a say about the design of the next generation, 4FF, of SIM cards. Apparently (as usual?) Apple decides to go in its own direction, away from the other companies, by proposing a SIM card design different from the others. This design might look simpler but is more costly, especially for companies that sell cheap phones where the margins are tight, because it will require a drawer or tray to be inserted in the phone. More about the debate
can be found here.
Facebook rules: Everyone can vote on new privacy policy
It's good to see that there are forces out there that together can work against super giants such as Facebook. Thanks to the group "Europe versus Facebook," a late change in Facebook's privacy policy will be put up for a vote by the community. They received more than 7,000 comments on this recent change and by Facebook's own terms of service they now have to put this change up for a vote. More about "Europe versus Facebook"
can be found here.
