Rome

Intel Invests $100 Million in Visual Computing Research at Universities

Arik Hesseldahl in Enterprise on January 26, 2011 at 12:12 pm PT

Stanford will be the first of several schools to become sites for Intel Science and Technology Centers this year.

Voices

Fastweb Founder to Stand Trial

Margherita Stancati and Chiara Vasarri, Reporters, The Wall Street Journal in News on August 11, 2010 at 9:31 am PT

A judge ordered Italian billionaire and Fastweb SpA founder Silvio Scaglia to stand trial on Nov. 2 on charges of belonging to a criminal association aimed at tax fraud, Rome prosecutors said. Mr. Scaglia, along with other former executives of Italian telecommunications operators Fastweb SpA and Telecom Italia SpA’s cable unit Sparkle, are accused of involvement in a €2 billion ($2.64 billion) money laundering and tax fraud scheme.

Project Alesia: News Corp.'s Roman Battle Cry–Does That Cast Googlers as the Gauls? (Plus Video!)

Kara Swisher in News on December 23, 2009 at 11:23 am PT

While Internet companies such as Google use baked goods as names for their key strategic initiatives–recent ones related to its Android mobile operating system were called Donut and Eclair, for example–aggressive media giant News Corp. is definitely not going for sweetness in its unusual selection of a code name for its high-profile digital content effort. That would be Project Alesia, a moniker that comes from a vicious siege in ancient times widely considered to be one of the more decisive battles in history. And that is apparently what top News Corp. execs think is the best way to describe their plans for stopping the decimation of premium content in the digital age and transforming their business to take advantage of new means of distribution.

Weekend Update, 3.14.09–Special Roman "Ides of March" Edition

Beth Callaghan in Social on March 14, 2009 at 11:54 am PT

In Silicon Valley, it’s hard to believe that not everyone follows each shiny new thing on the Web, tracks OS versions as intently as the storyline for “Battlestar Galactica” and remains jacked-in pretty much 24/7. But it’s been known to happen. For instance, BoomTown was in Rome earlier this week attending a conference on business, brand and innovation that happens only once every seven years–and one of the biggest takeaways? Hardly any Italians have heard of Twitter, and those who have don’t really use it.

Weekend Update, 3.14.09–Special Roman “Ides of March” Edition

Beth Callaghan in Social on March 14, 2009 at 11:54 am PT

In Silicon Valley, it’s hard to believe that not everyone follows each shiny new thing on the Web, tracks OS versions as intently as the storyline for “Battlestar Galactica” and remains jacked-in pretty much 24/7. But it’s been known to happen. For instance, BoomTown was in Rome earlier this week attending a conference on business, brand and innovation that happens only once every seven years–and one of the biggest takeaways? Hardly any Italians have heard of Twitter, and those who have don’t really use it.

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do (As in, No Twittering or Much iPhoning)

Kara Swisher in News on March 12, 2009 at 5:45 am PT

BoomTown’s visit to Italy has been eye-opening in a lot of ways, not the least of which is to be reminded that not everyone in the world is jacked into the matrix 24/7. In other words, Julius Caesar conquered Rome, but Twitter definitely has not. In fact, the conference being held here is aptly called “Tutto Cambio, Cambiamo Tutto?” That roughly translates into “Everything changes, let’s change everything?” This is not a question that is much asked in Silicon Valley. But here, whether or not to change is much more of a debate–one in which change does not always come out on top.

MicroHoo: Stop Them Before They Publicly Negotiate Again!

Kara Swisher in News on March 9, 2009 at 2:59 pm PT

Oh dear, one endless, screwed-up global airline ride without Internet connectivity and when I finally manage to get online (looking right at the Spanish Steps in Rome–sweeeeet!), BoomTown finds that a new round o’ MicroHoo is apparently on again. (In the immortal words of Michael Corleone–see video below–in the otherwise awful “Godfather: Part III”: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”) Except, judging from exactly how loud the loudmouthed chatter from a trio of Microsoft execs has become about wanting to make a search deal with Yahoo, it’s actually not.

HBO to Apple: iWin

John Paczkowski in News on May 13, 2008 at 12:12 pm PT

Steve Jobs has apparently accepted the unacceptable: Things don’t always go Steve’s way. The mercurial Apple CEO has been notoriously intransigent when it comes to matters of variable pricing on iTunes, arguing that charging higher prices for more popular content might backfire, sending customers off to the file-sharing networks.