Paul Allen resents Bill Gates, NASA photographs Mercury, Amazon may be getting sued, MLB pays a guy to watch baseball games, Linkedin gives away free coffee, MIch Matthews steps down, high school girls design Android Apps and get to know Mark Zuckerberg’s dad. It’s all here and more in today’s tech Roundup!
1. Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen expresses resentment towards Bill Gates in his new book “Idea Man: A Memoir by the Co-founder of Microsoft. In his memoir Mr. Allen opens up about his relationship with Bill Gates but Microsoft alumni are questioning the accuracy of the work. In the book, Mr. Allen mentions attending certain meetings at which he was not present. In addition to the inaccuracies regarding important meetings, he also down play’s Mr. Gates’ role in many of Microsoft’s most important ideas. [WSJ]
2. You can read an excerpt of Paul Allen’s memoir here. He talks about his high school in Seattle where he met his future business partner Bill Gates. [Vanity Fair]
3. The 50-most successful digital media companies in the U.S. was organized by paidcontent.org and focuses on companies that are really taking advantage of the public’s obsession with digital media. The ranking’s are based on digital sales. [paidContent.org]
Here’s the top 5:
- Yahoo
- Apple
- Microsoft
- Netflix
4. Amazon might face legal action from record labels. Companies such as Google and Apple who have been working on similar projects for months are upset that Amazon beat them to it with the launch of “The Cloud”. In addition to the outrage from competitors, record labels are also wondering what action to take against Amazon for doing this without their permission. [Tech Crunch]
5. The MLB is paying Mike O’Hara to watch baseball games. Mike O’Hara beat out 10,000 applicants for the job of MLB social ambassador. He is essentially payed to watch every single game on 15 Sony TV’s and tweet about it. He and his sidekick, Ryan Wagner, will be offering writing on Facebook, blogging on MLBFanCave.com and conducting street interviews. [Mashable]
6. Google Street View adds imagery of historic landscapes. Now with Google street view you can take a look at the Imperial Forum and even take a look inside of the Colosseum in Rome. [Google Blog]
7. Co-founder of Twitter, Evan Williams, isn’t ready to talk about what’s next for him, but assures us it will be BIGGER and BETTER. [EVHead, Mashable]
8. Skype in the classroom brings together teachers from around the globe. Skype is already used by many teachers in order to bring in guest speakers or take virtual field trips but now Skype in the classroom makes it easier for teachers to connect. Instead of searching for each other on Twitter, teachers can now just search through a directory of teachers who are looking to collaborate on projects. [Mashable]
9. Evisors gives you experts at your fingertips. Evisors is essentially a marketplace for expert advice. You can browse through the various experts and choose which one you would like to contact for help. Each expert sets their own rate from $75-$600 per hour. [Mashable]
10. First image ever obtained from Mercury Orbit. As a closeted science nerd I thought this was the coolest thing ever! This image taken by NASA’s Messenger shows the surface of Mercury with unprecedented detail. [Gizmodo]
11. Speaking of space, check out the moon and the Earth like you’ve never seen them before. These images were taken by the first major spacecraft fully developed in post-Soviet Russia. [Gizmodo]
12. Japan’s telecommunications juggernaut SoftBank will be giving away free cell phones to all children who became orphans in the earthquake. Masayoshi Son, the president and founder of SoftBank, was so devastated by the real damage of the earthquake that he decided to give away the free phones to the now orphaned children and promises that they will not be charged communication fees until they reach the age of 18. In addition, after turning to Twitter for more ways to help, Masayoshi Son also said that his company will replaced damaged iPhones and will give out new iPhones for those lost. [Mobile Crunch]
13. Spruce up your iPhone 4 with this wooden case. For $35 you can get one of SigniCase’s carved iPhone 4 cases made from either bamboo, walnut or zebra wood. [Gizmodo]
14. Maybe you should post that picture of you with your underwear on your head. [Doghouse Diaries]
15. Linkedin celebrates the launch of Linkedin Today with free coffee. In honor of Linkedin Today, their new aggregate social news site of all the articles most shared on Linkedin, the company is providing New York and San Francisco with free coffee. [Of Vice and Men]
16. If you can’t get your hands on the new iPad why not make your own. [Youtube]
17. Microsoft’s Chief Marketer steps down. Mich Matthews, senior vice president for Microsoft’s Central Marketing Group has announced her retirement after 22 years with the company. She is one of only two women on the company’s senior leadership team. [Tech Crunch]
18. FuzeBox launches video conferencing technology for iPad 2 and Android devices. The developer of the online meeting software has made its multi-party HD video conferencing technology available for the iPad 2 and Android devices. This conferencing service allows user to share screens and run meetings online. [Tech Crunch]
19. Get to know Mark Zuckerberg’s dad, Edward Zuckerbeg. He taught Mark Zuckerbeg how to program on his family’s Atari 800, he’s a dentist and his practice has 1,100 fans on Facebook. [LA Times]
20. High school girls are the latest Android Apps developers. Thank to the first East Coast Technovation Challenge a group of high school girls are learning basic programming and how to develop their own Android Apps at Google’s New York office. The 12 week program pairs groups of girls with two mentors who teach them about programming and guide them through the entire process so that at then end they can present their App to a panel of judges and venture capitalist. The winning team;s concept will be developed by professionals and released into the Android Marketplace. [PC World]
21. A history of web browsers. [The Next Web]
22. New nanotech could lead to heart-powered phones. Scientists are saying that a big leap forward in nanotechnology has put them on the road to creating electronics that can use such tiny movements like a pinch of a finger or even the beat of a heart to produce electricity.[Newser]
23. How to make Kinect better. A research team in Cambridge has published a paper outlining several ways the speed and accuracy of Kinect can be improved. Since this is only a research paper there’s no way to know if the findings will ever be implemented by microsoft. [Gizmodo]
