Profile of Thomas Claburn

Editor-at-Large Member Since: 11/15/2013
Author
News & Commentary Posts: 3935
Comments: 395 Thomas Claburn has been writing about business and technology since 1996, for publications such as New Architect, PC Computing, InformationWeek, Salon, Wired, and Ziff Davis Smart Business. Before that, he worked in film and television, having earned a not particularly useful master's degree in film production. He wrote the original treatment for 3DO's Killing Time, a short story that appeared in On Spec, and the screenplay for an independent film called The Hanged Man, which he would later direct. He's the author of a science fiction novel, Reflecting Fires, and a sadly neglected blog, Lot 49. His iPhone game, Blocfall, is available through the iTunes App Store. His wife is a talented jazz singer; he does not sing, which is for the best.

Wearables, Drones Scare Americans

4/19/2014
Google has some public relations to do. People remain wary of tech breakthroughs including care-giving robots and drones, Pew research finds.
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Google Trends Adds Email Notifications

4/18/2014
Keeping tabs on what people are searching for just got a bit more convenient. But Google Trends is still not a serious research tool.
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Twitter Reveals Mobile App Install Ads

4/17/2014
With a new ad format, Twitter follows in Facebook's footsteps. App developers will love it, but will users?
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Google's 10 Big Bets On The Future

4/17/2014
From Project Ara smartphones to solar-powered drones, these Google projects try to turn science fiction into reality. Look what's coming.
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Smartphone Kill Switches Coming, But Critics Cry Foul

4/16/2014
Smartphone makers and carriers agree to add optional kill switches to smartphones, but law enforcement officials say the anti-theft effort doesn't go far enough.
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Google Maps Shows Crimea As Russian To Russians

4/15/2014
Google makes Crimea part of Russia on the Russian version of Google Maps and draws protests and scrutiny.
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Google Has Plans For Titan Drones

4/15/2014
Titan Aerospace's drones are expected to help deliver Internet connectivity to remote regions.
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Twitter Posts Betray Illness

4/14/2014
Tweets reveal whether you have influenza, according to Penn State researchers.
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Amazon Plans 3D Phone: Report

4/12/2014
Amazon phone capable of displaying images in three dimensions could ship this fall.
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Google Glass Goes Public

4/12/2014
Google Glass Explorer Program will be open to US-based adults on tax day.
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Hacker Weev Free After Appeal

4/11/2014
Andrew "Weev" Auernheimer, who embarrassed AT&T by exposing a security flaw, had his conviction overturned by federal appeals court.
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Google Releases Project Ara Module Developer Kit

4/11/2014
Early version gives developers a glimpse of how to create Project Ara hardware modules. Does it give Apple and Microsoft more to worry about from Android?
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Google Glass For Parkinson's: 10 Findings

4/10/2014
Google Glass offers more health benefits than awkwardness, Parkinson's patients in UK study find.
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Google Glass Gets Down To Business

4/8/2014
Google's new Glass At Work program aims to capitalize on the enterprise's interest in Google Glass, even if consumers are still skeptical.
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FTC Privacy Enforcement Power Wins Court Blessing

4/8/2014
The agency's claim against Wyndham Hotels for poor data security practices has been allowed to proceed.
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Google's Android TV: Aim Lower

4/7/2014
Still smarting from disinterest in Google TV, Google is working on a less ambitious, more appealing sequel.
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Samsung Researchers Celebrate Promising Graphene Breakthrough

4/5/2014
A new manufacturing technique could accelerate use of the world's strongest material in computers and other products.
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Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Resigns

4/4/2014
Eich, who helped found Mozilla in 1998, steps down as CEO following criticism from employees and outsiders.
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EU Lawmakers Vote For Net Neutrality

4/3/2014
Telecom reform proposal approved by European lawmakers might limit how service providers can charge customers.
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How Apps Won The Mobile Web

4/3/2014
The web might be the dominant platform of our time, but more people than ever prefer to experience it through Google and iOS mobile apps.
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La Quinta Dials Up Mobile Reservations

4/2/2014
Hotel chain makes it easier for guests to book stays while on the go. One of eight profiles of InformationWeek Elite 100 Business Innovation Award winners.
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Gmail Marks 10th Anniversary With Shareable Selfies

4/1/2014
Google launches its 7th Gmail-based April Fool's Day stunt, but this one is not a joke.
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6 Google Play Rule Changes

3/31/2014
Google tightens app store rules for developers to improve Android app security, integrity, and quality.
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Microsoft Clarifies Email Snooping Policy

3/31/2014
Microsoft amends its terms of service to stop peeking into customers' emails, even if it suspects they may be stealing from the company.
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Sony Reveals 'Digital Paper' Tablet

3/31/2014
Sony sees Digital Paper, to ship in May, as a way to get paper-based processes out of legal, education, and government organizations.
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Interop 2014: 8 Hot Technologies

3/29/2014
Interop 2014 kicks off Monday in Las Vegas. Here's a sneak peek of technologies to watch.
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Social Media And Future Of News: 8 Findings

3/27/2014
Pew Research Center finds reason to believe that American journalism has a future -- and social media will play a key role.
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Oculus VR: Crowdsourcing Or Mass Exploitation?

3/26/2014
Facebook's $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR should consider rewarding its Kickstarter backers with something more than a T-shirt.
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Facebook Buys Oculus VR: What's Next?

3/26/2014
Virtual friends socializing in virtual reality? There's a headset for that.
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Google Drops Cloud Pricing

3/25/2014
The price of cloud computing should keep pace with the falling price of hardware, Google insists.
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Disconnect Search: Google In Private

3/24/2014
App delivers search engine privacy, with "pay what you want" pricing.
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Google Makes HTTPS For Gmail Mandatory

3/22/2014
Google no longer allows Gmail users to turn off HTTPS encryption. The move protects data going between Google's servers and users.
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10 Google Glass Myths, Translated

3/21/2014
Google wants to clear up some misperceptions about Glass. We have our own views on the truth.
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Google Gets Break In Gmail Privacy Lawsuits

3/20/2014
People who claim Gmail violates anti-wiretapping laws must pursue their claims individually rather than as a group.
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Moto 360 Smartwatch: 7 Challenges

3/19/2014
Can Motorola's smartwatch, based Google's Android operating system for wearable devices, succeed where others have failed?
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Google Launches Android Wear Developer Preview

3/18/2014
Android developers can now adapt their apps to send information to forthcoming Android smartwatches.
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GDC: Hunting Social Whales

3/18/2014
Courting the socially connected can help make games more profitable.
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GDC: Google Play Games To Support iOS

3/17/2014
Google's cloud gaming service for developers gets new features and analytics capabilities.
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Code You Can Quote

3/17/2014
GitHub, FigShare, and Mozilla join forces to make programming code fit for academic citation.
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Google Drive Chops Prices

3/13/2014
Google Drive blows past other online storage services by tripling free space to 15 GB and cutting prices across the board.
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Apple iPhones Could Thwart Attackers

3/13/2014
Apple patent application suggests the company is looking to add personal security features to its mobile devices.
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Berners-Lee Seeks Digital Bill Of Rights

3/12/2014
On the 25th anniversary of his proposal for the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee wants Internet users to come to the Web's defense.
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Web Turns 25: 10 Graphics To See

3/12/2014
Tim Berners-Lee's proposal changed the world. These visual representations show what his World Wide Web has become.
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CoronaCards Aims To Jazz Up Mobile Ads

3/10/2014
Corona Labs hopes to make sophisticated interactive advertising easier to create and implement across multiple devices by making Corona SDK APIs embeddable.
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Google Expands Support For Tech Partners

3/6/2014
Independent software vendors can now receive the same support as Google resellers.
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Android Takes Top Tablet OS Crown

3/4/2014
Android's rise presents a threat to Apple in the long term and hurts Microsoft right now.
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Make BYOD Work: 9 Key Considerations

3/3/2014
Bring-your-own-device can be something to appreciate, not complain about.
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Google Chrome Beta Gets Hands-Free Voice Search

3/1/2014
Like Glass, Chrome now has "ears." Say, "OK Google," and the browser will act on your spoken search.
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25 Most Lucrative Internships: Tech's Big Spenders

2/28/2014
Almost $7,000 in pay per month for interns? Yes, at companies like VMware and Twitter, according to a Glassdoor survey on 25 best-paid internships.
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British Spies Capture Yahoo Webcam Images

2/27/2014
UK agency's effort to collect facial images via Yahoo chat sessions brings in too many other body parts.
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Google Glass Prompts Attack, Woman Claims

2/26/2014
Alleged assault appears to have arisen from a desire not to be videotaped.
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BlackBerry Courts Keyboard Loyalists

2/25/2014
BlackBerry aims to please its old school business customers with a new traditional-style phone plus revamped enterprise software.
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Google Powers Forest Protection Effort

2/22/2014
Using Google's map technology and cloud platform, Global Forest Watch can track tree use, abuse, and regrowth.
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Where Are All The Chromebooks?

2/21/2014
Despite brisk Chromebook sales, online usage of Chrome OS hardware on the Internet still barely registers with those measuring Web traffic.
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Google's Project Tango Sees All

2/21/2014
Using an experimental Android prototype, Google wants developers to write apps that do something interesting with real-time awareness of users' surroundings.
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Artemis Networks Calls For Wireless Revolution

2/20/2014
Startup's "revolutionary" pCell wireless networking technology, which gives each device its own discrete bubble of wireless energy to boost speed, could change industry.
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When BYOD Equals Bring Your Own Malware

2/20/2014
Lookout's analysis of the mobile threat landscape suggests businesses should focus on curbing risky online behavior.
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Kill Switches: Phones Just The Start

2/19/2014
Mandatory phone kill switches will hasten the arrival of the Surveillance of Everything. Consider these 11 technologies that come with strings attached.
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Smartphone Kill Switch Could Become Federal Law

2/15/2014
Smartphone Theft Protection Act would require mobile phone makers to include a way to disable communications devices remotely to deter theft.
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Google's Android Contract: Not Very Open

2/14/2014
Google's rules for Android partners are unlawful, says Harvard professor.
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Mozilla Plans Firefox Ads: Will Users Buy It?

2/13/2014
Firefox's plan to deliver sponsored content to new users may clash with its company manifesto.
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Surveillance Protests Go Global

2/11/2014
Tech companies, advocacy groups, and Internet users rally to demand that governments limit online surveillance.
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Google Revamps Enterprise Search Appliance

2/11/2014
Google's upgraded appliance lets businesses and organizations search internal and public-facing documents. New hooks connect third-party content stores.
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Flappy Bird Killed By Creator

2/10/2014
Developer who says success "ruins my simple life" yanks hugely popular mobile app that reportedly earned him $50K a day.
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California Kill Switch Bill Targets Phone Thieves

2/8/2014
California bill directs mobile hardware makers to include a way to disable stolen communications devices. Will privacy concerns be addressed?
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IT Pros Winter Olympics: 13 Breathtaking Competitions

2/7/2014
Nordic Combined Troubleshooting: Not for the faint of heart. Resolve your non-technical spouse's email connectivity issue over the phone, in the air, while ski jumping.
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Google Launches Chromebox For Meetings

2/6/2014
Using Google+ Hangouts, enterprises can now enjoy video conferencing at an affordable price.
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Google Settles EU Antitrust Case, Rivals Whine

2/5/2014
Rival search services gain a guaranteed spot alongside Google results, but competitors say it's not enough.
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Sochi Olympics 2014: 10 Technologies In Spotlight

2/5/2014
From innovations for athletes to unprecedented surveillance tools for authorities, look at the technologies that will shape the Sochi Olympics.
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Future Cars Will Talk To Each Other

2/4/2014
NHTSA gives the green light to develop rules for vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems which let cars converse. Will this prevent crashes?
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Google Opens Chromecast To Developers

2/3/2014
The release of the Google Cast software development kit should result in more Android, Chrome, and iOS apps that will work with the Chromecast TV streaming device.
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Technology Automation: Who's The Boss?

2/3/2014
If we don't control the technology we depend on, someone else will -- and we might not like the consequences.
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Dell's Android Dongle Dare

1/30/2014
$129 Cloud Connect, a wireless network card, turns any modern display into a computer; use with Android apps, virtualized PC desktops, and Dell cloud services.
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Chrome Apps Come To Android, iOS

1/29/2014
Google software lets developers package Chrome Apps to run on Android and iOS devices as if they were native mobile apps. Move helps bridge the gap between web and native development.
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Government Loosens Data Disclosure Gag

1/28/2014
Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Yahoo can now publish more of the details on user data that the government demands, but startups might suffer.
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Apple iPhone Record Sales Fail To Impress

1/28/2014
Apple sold 51 million iPhones last quarter, but investors expected sales to top 56 million.
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NSA, British Spy Agency Collect Angry Birds Data

1/27/2014
National Security Agency and Britain's Government Communications Headquarters have collected data from smartphone apps for years, says new report on documents leaked by Edward Snowden.
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Google Mulls Boredom Meter

1/27/2014
Google patent application describes ways computers can read people's body language to measure their interest in media.
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Google Glass Aims For Games

1/27/2014
Entertainment apps might be key to making Google's wearable Glass device socially acceptable.
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Stop Harassing Google Employees

1/25/2014
The right to free speech isn't a license to threaten, harass, or intimidate.
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Motorola Lures iPhone Customers With Migrate

1/22/2014
Motorola Mobility updates Android data migration app with ability to handle iPhone data.
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'Password' No Longer Worst Password

1/21/2014
The security firm SplashData publishes its list of the 25 worst passwords of 2013.
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Obama Outlines 5 Surveillance Reforms

1/17/2014
NSA's controversial bulk collection of phone records will end, but businesses may be asked to retain data in case the government needs it.
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16 Stupid Tech Job Interview Questions: Show Your Snark

1/17/2014
Glassdoor characterizes these actual job interview questions as "oddball." We give these questions the answers they deserve.
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The Second Machine Age: Meet Your Computer Overlords

1/16/2014
A maddeningly reasonable and readable new book by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argues that while a robot may take your job, the economy will prosper.
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Apple Settles FTC In-App Purchasing Complaint

1/15/2014
Agreement calls for $32.5 million in refunds for in-app purchases made without parents' OK.
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FCC Net Neutrality Rules Rejected

1/14/2014
FCC must draft new rules or rely on the intervention of lawmakers if it's to regulate Internet broadband service providers.
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Mozilla's Eich: Trust Us, We're Open

1/14/2014
Firefox is trustworthy because its source code can be verified, says CTO Brendan Eich.
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Google Buys Nest Labs

1/14/2014
The $3.2 billion deal represents one of Google's largest acquisitions
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Surveillance: Fast, Cheap, And Out Of Control

1/13/2014
The cost of surveillance has served as a natural privacy protection, but today's mobile technology changes the equation and begs for updated privacy laws.
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Foreign Businesses Flee US Cloud Computing, Survey Finds

1/10/2014
Concerns about NSA surveillance driving some Canadian and UK companies to take their cloud computing business abroad.
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CES 2014: Your Heat-Seeing iPhone Awaits

1/9/2014
FLIR says its thermal imaging attachment for iPhone 5 and 5s has camping, home improvement, and security applications.
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Google Ferry Dodges Street Protests

1/8/2014
To avoid besieged buses in San Francisco and Oakland, Google begins transporting employees by boat.
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Mayer's Yahoo Makeover: CES 2014

1/8/2014
CEO Marissa Mayer launches new products, showcases a media company emerging from years of rudderless leadership.
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Apple App Store Annual Sales Exceed $10 Billion

1/7/2014
iOS developers earn $7 billion, while Apple keeps $3 billion.
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Google Android Heads For Cars

1/7/2014
Automaker alliance will let cars be recognized as Android devices, seeks to dim Apple, Microsoft influence in automotive tech.
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Google In 2014: 10 Predictions

1/2/2014
2013 proved a great year for Google. Will 2014 be even better?
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Otoy Keeps Streaming Video Tech Free

12/20/2013
Otoy hopes to encourage Amazon Web Services customers to commit to its royalty-free application streaming technology.
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Google Says Governments Fight Transparency

12/19/2013
Google's latest Transparency Report sees a rise in efforts by governments to erase criticism.
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Apple Mac Pro: 9 Ways It Wows

12/19/2013
Ignore the haters. Apple's Mac Pro is one amazing machine. Here's why.
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