Trendy Technology Leads to New Jobs: Los Angeles Times, March 2010

Reporting from San Francisco — The technology industry is always looking for the next new thing, and that’s helping drive the latest hiring push. Such initiatives as green technology and “cloud computing” could even fuel an overall economic comeback, technology analysts say. “After three long years of putting off technology investments, companies inevitably want to […]

No Surprise: Apple Unveils Long Awaited Tablet Computer: Los Angeles Times, January 2010

Steve Jobs shows off the unfortunately named iPad. Credit: Tony Avelar / Bloomberg, via the LA Times. I live-blogged the unveiling of the iPad in San Francisco for the Los Angeles Times, using my Twitter account. After years of speculation that Apple Inc. would bring to market a new tablet computer, the company today took the covers […]

Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Wants More Computers in Schools: Los Angeles TImes, October 2009

High school dropout Sergey Brin has a few ideas on how the educational system should be improved. Not surprisingly  from a guy who co-founded Google, where he still serves as president of technology and one of the company’s three key decision-makers, a lot of those ideas center on computers. “It’s important for students to be put […]

Facebook Becoming Big Friend of Small Business: Los Angeles Times, October 2009

Charles Nelson, president of Sprinkles Cupcakes, the Beverly Hills baker to the stars, doesn’t have a Facebook profile. Nelson, who works seven days a week, has no time for chatting online with Facebook friends. But Nelson is logged on to Facebook all the time. That’s because more than 70,000 people have declared themselves fans of […]

Facebook Serves as Portal to Customer’ Thoughts: Los Angeles Times, October 2009

Perhaps the most compelling reason for a business to get on Facebook is the likelihood that its customers are already there — and talking about it. Charles Nelson, president of Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, said it’s crucial to pay attention to what people are saying about your business online. He and others at Sprinkles […]

Microsoft Hoping That Hollywood Touch Makes Windows 7 a Hit

Almost no one found Microsoft Corp.’s last attempt at a new operating system, Windows Vista, very entertaining. So when it came time for the software giant to create the sequel, it hoped a little Hollywood touch would bring audiences back to its screens. Jonathan Wiedemann, the former managing director of Propaganda Films, which made groundbreaking […]

U.S. Getting Out of the Internet Management Business — Sort of: Los Angeles Times, September 2009

It sounds almost silly to say it, but the Internet is going global. Of course, it’s already global. But the underlying technology that makes the Internet run was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense 40 years ago, and the federal government continued to have a dominant voice in how the Internet was run. Eleven years […]

TechCrunch50 Conference: Fewer Toys, More Tools: Los Angeles Times, September 2009

Never mind the pie-in-the-sky business plans. Forget about the ambitions to change the world. It was all about financial discipline and making money at a conference for start-ups in San Francisco this week. Instead of cool-looking mousetraps, start-ups that drew the most attention at TechCrunch50 were focused on pragmatic solutions such as websites that save […]

TechCrunch50: SeatGeek Advises You When to Buy Tickets to the Big Game: September 2009

It’s the ticket-scalping conundrum: Will it be cheaper to buy seats in advance of the event or will prices drop as it gets closer to game time and the sellers want to unload their wares? SeatGeek, a new company that showed its stuff at the TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco, aims to take the guesswork […]