University of California

Oracle Chairman Makes $50 Million Gift to Study Energy Efficiency

Arik Hesseldahl in News on May 12 at 9:00 pm PT

The gift goes toward research into things like better batteries and more efficient lightbulbs.

Exclusive: Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Blake Krikorian Joins Amazon Board

Kara Swisher in News on September 7, 2011 at 9:47 pm PT

Well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur Blake Krikorian has joined the board of Amazon, according to several sources close to the situation. He is considered one of tech’s most savvy execs with regards to video and media distribution, an area the online retailer is aggressively entering.

Intern Becomes Real Live Blog Dude–ATD Hires Drake Martinet

Kara Swisher in News on November 9, 2010 at 10:29 am PT

It is always nice when an intern makes good, and that is entirely the case with Drake Martinet, who joins All Things Digital–as of yesterday, in fact. We could not be happier. Plus, we knew he was our kind of geek after he agreed to spend the night in a tent next to Robert Scoble, to cover last year’s Apple iPad release. Drake will be working on a range of things for ATD, from social and multimedia efforts to site analytics to discovering and writing about promising but nascent tech start-ups.

Chegg's Dan Rosensweig Talks About the Next Wave of Online Textbook Rentals and More!

Kara Swisher in News on August 19, 2010 at 12:58 pm PT

Earlier this week, BoomTown went down to Santa Clara, Calif. to the offices of Chegg, the online textbook rental leader, to pay a visit on longtime Silicon Valley exec Dan Rosensweig. Today, in a bid to expand its offerings beyond books, Chegg said it had acquired Courserank, a Mountain View, Calif. start-up that helps students “share their course schedule, take classes with their friends, read and write reviews on classes and professors as well as find out how professors grade.” Here’s the video.

Voices

IT Firms Howling As Visa Fees Leap

Don Clark, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on August 16, 2010 at 12:51 am PT

New U.S. legislation that sharply boosts visa fees to pay for tighter border security may play well in some parts of the country, but the applause is faint in Silicon Valley. The measure, signed into law by President Barack Obama on Friday, is expected to raise operating costs for outsourcing firms that use large numbers of foreign-born employees to serve their U.S. customers.

Comeback of the Decade: Reading

Peter Kafka in Media on December 30, 2009 at 7:08 am PT

Studies say you are watching more TV than ever, even as you slurp up increasing amounts of Web video. Which means you must be spending less time on something else. Like reading, perhaps? Nope. You’re doing more of that as well, according to a new study.

Yahoo Adds New Privacy Tool for Users Today, Just as FTC Privacy Hearings Start (and Microhoo Regulatory Approval Is Pending)

Kara Swisher in News on December 7, 2009 at 4:03 am PT

Yahoo announced a new consumer tool this morning, called “Ad Interest Manager,” that gives users a “central place where Yahoo! visitors can see a concise summary of their online activity….” What fortuitous timing, since the first of three of the Federal Trade Commission’s “Exploring Privacy: A Roundtable Series” begins this morning in Washington, D.C. And, of course, the bigger backdrop is the pending regulatory approval of the massive search and advertising partnership with Microsoft.

Off to D7: The More Things Change, the More They, Well, Are A-Changin'

Kara Swisher in News on May 21, 2009 at 12:01 am PT

BoomTown will be driving the minivan–packed with my assistant Ed, my mom, two mannequins (don’t ask), a coffee machine and lots of coffee and some very nice outfits–down to the seventh D: All Things Digital conference today, so don’t expect much in the way of posts from me. Thus, I hope Twitter doesn’t sell to [fill in the blank], Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer don’t agree to agree (until they are on the D stage next week) and Facebook’s valuation doesn’t ricochet up and down the blog-hyped scale once again. But the rest of the well-oiled All Things Digital machine will be in full force covering tech and media news, even as we gear up for the big event next week, which will feature pretty much all the major players in the digital space.

Off to D7: The More Things Change, the More They, Well, Are A-Changin’

Kara Swisher in D7 on May 21, 2009 at 12:01 am PT

BoomTown will be driving the minivan–packed with my assistant Ed, my mom, two mannequins (don’t ask), a coffee machine and lots of coffee and some very nice outfits–down to the seventh D: All Things Digital conference today, so don’t expect much in the way of posts from me. Thus, I hope Twitter doesn’t sell to [fill in the blank], Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer don’t agree to agree (until they are on the D stage next week) and Facebook’s valuation doesn’t ricochet up and down the blog-hyped scale once again. But the rest of the well-oiled All Things Digital machine will be in full force covering tech and media news, even as we gear up for the big event next week, which will feature pretty much all the major players in the digital space.

Farewell to Mike Homer

Kara Swisher in News on February 1, 2009 at 4:12 pm PT

We all liked Mike. In fact, we all loved the pugnacious, energetic and restlessly entrepreneurial Silicon Valley exec. Sadly for those who knew him, Mike Homer died today at his home surrounded by family and friends, after a long battle with a severe illness. He was 50. Homer is survived by his wife and three young children: James, Jack and Lucy. His funeral is at Saint Raymond’s Catholic Church in Menlo Park on Thursday.