Tag Archives: Mountain View

Computers

Google's Page, Brin, and Schmidt to testify in employee antritrust case

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Google’s famed “triumvirate”—Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt—will give oral statements over the coming weeks as part of a private antitrust suit brought against Google and six other technology companies by former employees.

The civil suit, filed last year in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, and several other tech giants in the region conspired to enter into “no-poach” agreements to eliminate competition between them by restricting their hiring of each other’s employees.

Google CEO Larry Page and cofounder Sergey Brin are scheduled to give depositions on the charges on March 22 and March 19, respectively, a court document filed Feb. 15 said. Depositions are oral statements given under oath that are often taken to examine potential witnesses that could be used later in the trial.

Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt will also give his deposition on Wednesday at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Computers

Computer History Museum shares original Photoshop code

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To millions of people around the world, the name Photoshop inspires images of sharks leaping out at helicopters, phony disaster photos, and retouched celebrity shots. Now, the original computer code that started it all is available for inspection.

The Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California recently made the source code of Adobe Photoshop 1.0.1 available as a download for noncommercial use. Originally released for the Macintosh in 1990, Photoshop has become synonymous with sophisticated photo editing (including some creative photo hoaxes).

The original program that would become Photoshop was written in the late 1980s by Thomas Knoll, a PhD student at the University of Michigan. He and his brother John, who worked at Industrial Light and Magic, developed Photoshop into a full-fledged consumer-ready application. The first commercial release from slide scanner maker Barneyscan only sold about 200 copies under the name Barneyscan XP, and came bundled with the company’s hardware. Soon after that initial commercial foray, Adobe licensed the rights from the Knolls and released an improved version of the program, Photoshop 1.0.

creativebits.org
The original Photoshop (click to enlarge).

At its original release, Macworld called Photoshop 1.0 easy to use. “Considering the vast number of features and tools involved,” Macworld said. “Adobe has done a good job of keeping things organized and simple.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Computers

Opera acquires Skyfire Labs for its speedy mobile technology

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Browser developer Opera Software will acquire Skyfire Labs, which develops technology to speed video delivery over mobile networks, the companies said Friday.

The deal is valued at US$155 million, which includes a mix of cash and stock and expected performance based earn-out payments over the next three years, Opera said in a news release. The deal is expected to close before March 15.

Skyfire, based in Mountain View, California, supplies three large U.S. mobile operators with its Rocket Optimizer software, which compresses video and other multimedia content for faster delivery over 3G and LTE networks.

The company says its software gives mobile networks a 60 percent increase in bandwidth capacity, which helps when mobile networks are experiencing high traffic. It says Rocket Optimizer detects and intervenes when users are experiencing poor-quality connections.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

News, Politics, Government

Google chairman to sell up to 3.2 million shares

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Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt plans to sell more than 40 percent of his stock in the Internet search leader this year.

The plan disclosed Friday calls for Schmidt to sell up to 3.2 million shares. If he were to sell all that stock at Google’s current price, Schmidt would realize a $2.5 billion windfall.

Schmidt ended December with 7.6 million Google shares, or a 2.3 percent stake in the Mountain View, Calif., company.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the only company executives who own more stock than Schmidt. Page controls an 8.7 percent stake and Brin holds an 8.5 percent stake.

The 57-year-old Schmidt was Google’s CEO for a decade before turning over the job to Page in April 2011.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Computers

Intuit previews Mint Home & Business,TurboTax CPA Select

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Intuit this week previewed a new version of Mint—its web-based personal finance manager—one designed for small-business owners who want help untangling personal and business finances.

The new Mint Home & Business (like Mint) will download online banking transactions and provide tools to automate categorization of expenses and income, and to divide a single expenditure between personal and business accounts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide a full suite of small business finance tools (for example, there’s no invoicing), so you’ll have to decide whether the tools it offers are worth the hassle of having to manage business finances on more than one service.

Mint Home & Business isn’t yet available—Intuit officials say it will be “soon,” but haven’t shared whether it will be a free and marketing-supported (like the current Mint personal finance manager), or whether fees will be involved. The service was among the newest products on display at an event marking Intuit’s 30 years in finance software.

TurboTax CPA Select
TurboTax CPA Select is a new Intuit site for people who want to work on their taxes with an accountant.

Also showcased at the event at Intuit’s Mountain View campus was the newly launched TurboTax CPA Select—a web site where businesses or consumers can search for a certified public accountant to do their taxes. Right now the service has some 60 CPAs, with information on their background and where they practice, as well as user reviews with star ratings.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Articles of Interest

Google Is Building a Private Wireless Network at HQ

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By Kevin Spak Google is creating its own, experimental wireless network for its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., leaving tech watchers wondering what it’s up to. Last week Google asked the FCC for permission to set up an “experimental radio service” within a two-mile radius of its headquarters, using frequencies incompatible with virtually…
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

News, Politics, Government

CES: Scandu Tracks Your Vitals The Non-Invasive Way (VIDEO)

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By Eric Savitz, Forbes Staff One of the more surprising elements of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show is the vast array of medical technology products on display, many of them taking advantage of the widespread adoption of tablets and smartphones. Consider, for instance, Scandu, a startup based in Mountain View, California that demonstrated a nifty little […]
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest