classified

2010 Was the Year the Internet Got Scary. Get Used to It.

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on December 30, 2010 at 7:00 am PT

The year just ending started with an attack on Google by China and ended with the WikiLeaks affair. In the meantime, the Stuxnet worm showed the way toward a world where skilled hackers can cause serious real-world damage. Scared yet?

Viral Video: Julian Assange Is a Samantha (But a Charlotte to the Swedish Police)

Kara Swisher in News on December 21, 2010 at 12:15 am PT

How much are we loving these Julian Assange spoofs on “Saturday Night Live”? Here–a day late–is the WikiLeaks leader commenting on Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg recently beating him out for Time magazine’s Person of the Year.

Exclusive: Chegg Buys Cramster

Kara Swisher in News on December 8, 2010 at 12:02 am PT

According to sources close to the situation, online textbook rental company Chegg has acquired Cramster, a social online homework help platform. The Cramster purchase is one in a series of start-up buys that Chegg has been making of late, part of a strategy to be a central place for student needs.

Voices

Website for Leaked Data Shines Spotlight on WikiLeaks

Jeanne Whalen, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on October 26, 2010 at 11:07 am PT

WikiLeaks publishes top-secret documents about government and corporate intrigue. Then there is John Young, who publishes documents about WikiLeaks. From his apartment on New York City’s Upper West Side, the 70-something architect, computer buff and self-described “cypherpunk” runs a website, http://cryptome.org, that seeks to hold accountable the site that boasts of holding others to account.

Exclusive: Chegg Raises $75 Million in Additional Funding from Asian Firm

Kara Swisher in News on September 26, 2010 at 8:55 pm PT

Chegg, the online textbook rental service, has raised another $75 million from Asia-based Ace Limited, according to sources. Ace seems to be nonexistent on the Internet, although sources said it is a Hong Kong-based investment firm. The round comes after a huge Series D investment in late 2009, which already brought Chegg’s funding to a whopping $144 million.

Craigslist CEO Seeking Anderson Cooper Type for Non-Trashing (And Maybe Coffee?)

Kara Swisher in News on August 31, 2010 at 5:15 am PT

Craiglist CEO Jim Buckmaster let one fly yesterday at CNN reporter Amber Lyon for a report on child sex trafficking she did that focused on the role played by the online-classified giant. It included using a May interview with Craigslist founder Craig Newmark that Buckmaster characterized as an ambush. He ended by noting that if “[CNN anchor] Anderson Cooper would like to come out to SF and sit with us for an interview worthy of CNN’s viewers, we’ll consider it.”

Google’s Secret Plan to Save Newspapers: Sell More Expensive Ads

Peter Kafka in Media on May 11, 2010 at 4:00 am PT

Google isn’t killing newspapers, says The Atlantic’s James Fallows. It’s trying to save them.

Rosensweig to Leave Guitar Hero; Takes Over as CEO of Online Textbook Rental Start-Up Chegg

Kara Swisher in News on February 2, 2010 at 11:00 am PT

Longtime Silicon Valley exec Dan Rosensweig is stepping down as president and CEO of the Guitar Hero division of Activision Blizzard to take a new job as CEO of Chegg, the top online textbook rental start-up. The move is unexpected given that the former Yahoo COO landed the job running the top gaming franchise in March of last year.