Facebook Seeks Exec to Build Hollywood

Facebook is looking to hire a big-name executive to cultivate relationships and strike deals with the film and music industries to bolster its media offerings.

In recent months, Facebook had discussions with former MySpace co-President and former MTV executive Jason Hirschhorn about a job spearheading the company's outreach to media companies, according to several people familiar with the situation.

While the talks do not appear to have gone anywhere, and it wasn't clear whether Facebook had approached others about the position, the efforts signal Facebook's intention to take a more hands-on approach in helping media companies bring their content to the social network.

Apple Becomes Most Valuable Company on Market

reuters

Well, now we have an answer to the question "How will Apple do without Steve Jobs?" Apparently, very well indeed.

While the rest of the market declined yesterday, Apple shares hit an all-time high, reaching $413.23 before falling to $411.63 by the end of trading—itself a record closing price.

In fact, yesterday saw the company become the most valuable company on the stock market, worth an estimated six times as much as the Walt Disney Corporation, eight times as much as News Corp., or 11 times as much as

Facebook and Twitter Connections

Facebook members will soon be able to pipe their profile directly to a connected Twitter account.

The social networking giant said it was working on the feature in a document sent to developers about upcoming changes.

Before now linking to Twitter was only possible from Facebook pages which are meant for bands, public figures and businesses.

Laser to Detect Roadside Bombs

Roadside bomb

A laser beam that makes molecules vibrate could help detect improvised explosive devises, say scientists.

Every molecule vibrates with a unique frequency - so the laser could "sense" bombs while scanning the ground from a safe distance.

Clever Encryption Trick

A startup named Bitcasa made a splash at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference last week by promising unlimited  backups to the cloud for just $10 a month.

Bitcasa said it provided privacy and security by encrypting all files, but was able to offer a very inexpensive service because it avoided the storage of duplicate files, especially music and movies.

Wanted: Apple Security Staff

reuters

Everyone wants to pilfer a piece of Apple's unconfirmed future, and to date, more than a few have succeeded, which is why Apple's reportedly beefing up its security to put the kibosh on corporate raiders, "checkbook journalism" bloggers and more.

Images of bull-necked goons in black Armani suits with ear-jacks and  wayfarer shades dancing (or lumbering) through your heads?

Intel: You may already be using Xeon E5 without knowing it

siliconangle

Do you know why Intel hasn't launched the Sandy Bridge-EP Xeon E5 processor for two-socket servers? Neither do we, but after attending Intel Developer Forum last week, we have some pretty good guesses.

Given the relative dearth of processor news at the IDF show, the attendees and vendors that El Reg spoke to at the show had little doubt the Xeon E5 processors were going to be the star of the event.

Developers see bright future in Windows 8

myfoxorlando

In the years since CEO Steve Ballmer's infamous "developers, developers, developers" battle cry, Microsoft's relationship with developers has been a vital component of the company's strategy. If early developer enthusiasm is any indication, Microsoft appears to have done well with Windows 8.

iPad iOS 5 vs Windows 8 Slate

6 Ways Apple Has Influenced the PC Industry

On Aug 12th, the industry celebrated the birthday of the IBM PC and its impact on our world of information. But we would be remiss if we did not also point out some of the key technologies Apple brought to the PC industry and how some of their pioneering technology and decisions actually pushed the PC industry towards stronger growth.

Android Hardware?

The plethora of Android devices on the market was added to in a variety of ways today with news from IFA.

My friend Evan Selleck asks a good question over at PhoneDog. Is the market being saturated with Android smartphones?

Powerfull Apple Brand

At the Intel Developer Forum this week I saw a number of interesting products and product concepts from a wide range of manufacturers.

Intel and Google ?

Android is very popular and has made great inroads in the market in smart phones (with more than 50% share) and is beginning to pick up traction in tablets as well with a plethora of new devices due out shortly. But Android itself has not always been that good a performer, and some of the SW choices Google has made while developing the various versions have been troublesome.