Tech Update: Google Is Determined to Crack the Social Code

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October 18, 2010 Tech Update

Google Is Determined to Crack the Social Code By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER Google likes to have its finger on the pulse of the Web, and that's becoming harder to do as users increasingly use closed networks like Facebook. Will Apple's Culture Hurt the iPhone? By MIGUEL HELFT Apple's PC-versus-Mac battle almost put it out of business. Is it creating a similar one in the smartphone field? ADVERTISEMENT Bits Blog Applications Misused Data, Facebook Acknowledges By MIGUEL HELFT A Facebook engineer said that some applications were passing along personal data in a violation of policy. Even Under New Captain, Yahoo Seems Adrift By VERNE G. KOPYTOFF The good will that Carol Bartz had when she took over Yahoo two years ago is wearing thin. Her turnaround plan has yet to produce significant results. At Facebook, Hollywood Stardom as a Game By MIGUEL HELFT In FameTown, a new game modeled after the popular FarmVille and Mafia Wars, users play aspiring actors trying to make it big. Germany Is the Last Holdout in YouTube's European Music Quest By KEVIN J. O'BRIEN Google, using a carrot-and-stick approach of negotiation and music blackouts, is beginning to root out the legal hurdles to YouTube's growth in Europe. 'It's a Book' By LANE SMITH Reviewed by ADAM GOPNIK In Lane Smith's new picture book, three friends discover something that doesn't text, tweet or toot. Microsoft Moves to Help Nonprofits Avoid Piracy-Linked Crackdowns By CLIFFORD J. LEVY Microsoft is expanding its efforts to prevent governments from using software piracy inquiries to silence people. The Many Faces of You By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER What you tell your best friend may not be what you would tell your boss. Online social networks are finally realizing that. Digital Domain Maybe Your Old Credit Card Is Smart Enough By RANDALL STROSS They may not be "smart," but ordinary magnetic-stripe credit cards don't need a brain of their own. Their network provides it. Technology Most E-Mailed Will Apple's Culture Hurt the iPhone? Determined to Crack the Social Code Bits: A Subway, 4 iPhones and a Little Serendipity State of the Art: Neglected Gadgets on Stage Even Under New Captain, Yahoo Seems Adrift Pogue's Posts: Line2: Turn an iPod Touch into an iPhone Bits: What Will Apple Reveal Next Week? Germany Is the Last Holdout in YouTube's European Music Quest Pogue's Posts: Farewell, GOOG-411 Bits: It's a Mobile Nation as Cellphones and Tablets Take Hold ADVERTISEMENT Get home delivery of The New York Times for as low as $3.15 a week.

From the Magazine The Medium E-Readers' Collective By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN What's the use of reading in a crowd? Little Brother is Watching By WALTER KIRN In the Web era, we are eroding our privacy all by ourselves. Personal Tech Gadgetwise Blog CardStar's Vision Problem By ROY FURCHGOTT Cardstar's app replaces your shopping loyalty cards with an on-screen barcode-but some new smartphone screens can't be scanned at the checkout counter. Facebook Acknowledges Privacy Issue With Applications October 18, 2010, 11:58 AM It's a Mobile Nation as Cellphones and Tablets Take Hold October 18, 2010, 7:00 AM What Will Apple Reveal Next Week? October 15, 2010, 6:08 PM A Subway, 4 iPhones and a Little Serendipity October 15, 2010, 2:38 PM Go to the Bits Blog » Technology Headlines From Around the Web What's This? Facebook Developers News Using Facebook UIDs Read/Write Web Ron Conway Shares Anecdotes about Early Days with Google, Napster, and Facebook Founders AppleInsider Sources: Apple to unveil revamped 11.6-inch MacBook Air next week Google Analytics Blog Introducing In-Page Analytics: Visual context for your Analytics data Bloomberg Yahoo Said to Hire Goldman to Handle Takeover Approaches More at Blogrunner » ADVERTISEMENT

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