Internet Use/New Technologies
23 May 2013
Peering at bright screens after dark could harm health, doctor claims The Guardian
Watching TV or using computers, tablets or smartphones after dark may cause sleep loss and resultant health problems, a leading doctor has warned.
George Soros invests in 'hyperfast' internet firm The Guardian
Financier George Soros has led a £50m investment in fibre-optic company Hyperoptic, which lays high-speed lines direct to UK homes.
22 May 2013
Teens growing cool on Facebook but warming to Twitter, Pew study finds CIO
Some teens are growing tired of the excessive sharing and "drama" on Facebook and more are turning to sites like Twitter and Instagram to express themselves, according to a new study.
16 May 2013
Google Introduces New Search Tools to Try to Read Our Minds New York Times
Google keeps trying to read our minds. The company revealed some new search tools on Wednesday at I/O, its annual developers conference. Taken together, they are another step toward Google's trying to become the omnipotent, human-like "Star Trek" search engine that its executives say they want it to be.
Seven million UK adults have never used internet The Guardian
More than seven million adults in the UK have never used the internet, official figures suggest.
15 May 2013
Facebook blocks 'social suicide' app BBC News
A Facebook app offering users a one-in-six chance of deleting their account has been pulled from the site.
14 May 2013
Web Browsers Are Reinvented: File-sharing, Apps and Voice Commands Change Wall Street Journal
Mobile phones, wearable devices and self-driving cars are generating buzz as the future of technology. But the old Web browser is being reinvented too, in a trend with implications for how consumers work and entertain themselves online.
Google Search scratches its brain 500 million times a day CNET
Google's search engine is powerful, but not all-knowing. Every month Google processes 100 billion queries, and typically returns results with microsecond speed. However, on a fairly regular basis, Google's search engine has to think a bit harder to render a result. On a daily basis, 15 percent of queries submitted -- 500 million -- have never been seen before by Google's search engine, and that has continued for the nearly 15 years the company has existed, according to John Wiley, the lead designer for Google Search.
10 May 2013
No 'Sharks With Lasers on Their Heads': What Protects the Internet in the Ocean? The Atlantic
If you've been following the events in Syria over the past few days, you know the country's Internet is now back from the dead after a 19-hour outage that the government blamed on "terrorist" sabotage--an explanation bought by approximately zero people.
07 May 2013
Online Pornography's Effects, and a New Way to Fight Them Wall Street Journal
It was suspiciously warm, the reception given to a study published a week ago in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. A survey of 4,600 young people in the Netherlands, aged 15 to 25, found the behavioral impact of pornography -- most of it online now -- to be surprisingly small. Reaction to the news? People didn't whoop exactly. But you know they wanted to.
China's Changing Internet Landscape New York Times
China was on vacation much of last week for the May 1 Worker's Day holiday, but executives at two of China's most important online companies were busy completing a deal that could reshape the country's Internet.
02 May 2013
Internet Explorer 10 share doubles again on the back of Windows 7 Ars Technica
After Microsoft released Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 in late February, the market share of the previously Windows 8-specific browser almost doubled. That strong growth has continued, with the browser share doubling again in April.
Facebook loses 10m users in US over last 12 months, says Nielsen The Guardian
Facebook has lost 10 million users in the US and seen no growth in monthly visitors in the UK over the past year, according to data from market research firm Nielsen.
Facebook U-turn after charities criticise decapitation videos BBC News
Facebook has said it will delete videos of people being decapitated which had been spread on its site.
Facebook sales jump 38%, with mobile boost CNN
Facebook's sales jumped 38% in the first quarter, boosted by its growing mobile ad business.
01 May 2013
Cern re-creating first web page to revere early ideals as it celebrates 20 years of a free, open web BBC News
A team at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern) has launched a project to re-create the first web page.
30 April 2013
The internet is a dangerous wild west of DIY-assisted conception The Guardian
We should be worried if more and more British women looking to buy sperm are turning first not to their GPs but to Google
29 April 2013
NZ demand for mobile data doubles for second year in a row Commerce Commission
The Commerce Commission today released its 2012 telecommunications annual monitoring report analysing the state of New Zealand's telecommunications markets.
Facebook deserted by millions of users in biggest markets The Guardian
Facebook has lost millions of users per month in its biggest markets, independent data suggests, as alternative social networks attract the attention of those looking for fresh online playgrounds.
26 April 2013
Google searches predict market moves BBC News
The volume of Google searches for finance-related terms may predict moves in markets, research suggests.
New York Times Moves Toward Netflix Model as Ads Tumble Bloomberg
New York Times Co. Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson is taking a cue from subscription services like Netflix Inc. in a bid to transform the publisher into an Internet company that relies less on advertising.
Looking at Facebook's Friend and Relationship Status Through Big Data New York Times
Wolfram Alpha, a computational search engine, released a detailed report Wednesday about people's friendships and relationship habits on Facebook.
25 April 2013
Akamai report: Australian internet speeds fall 23% The Age
Average internet speeds fell sharply in Australia during 2012, according to a new report that ranked the country 41 out of 98 nations for the pace of its online connections.
24 April 2013
Akamai Releases Fourth Quarter 2012 'State of the Internet' Report Akamai Technologies
Akamai Technologies, Inc., the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere, today released its Fourth Quarter, 2012 State of the Internet Report. Based on data gathered from the Akamai Intelligent Platform™, the report provides insight into key global statistics including connection speeds, attack traffic, and network connectivity and availability, among many others.
22 April 2013
Half of kiwis now shop online - Stats NZ New Zealand Herald
New Zealanders' use of the internet has "evolved considerably" to a point where more than half the population is now shopping online, according to Statistics New Zealand.
