Yahoo announced it has acquired SkyPhrase, a four-person startup that develops natural language processing technology. SkyPhrase will join the Yahoo Labs team in New York and will help with Yahoo’s efforts in content delivery for mobile users, who are becoming more accustomed to devices that respond to conversational queries. SkyPhrase’s NLP technology is expected to be used for fantasy sports and other areas that rely on queries involving complex data sets. Continue reading Yahoo Picks Up Natural Language Processing Startup SkyPhrase

The engineers behind the Internet Engineering Task Force are responding to public outcry over Internet surveillance by encrypting Web traffic with plans for a revamped system by the end of next year. In light of National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s exposure of the agency’s mass Internet surveillance, the effort will introduce the default of encryption in Internet browsing, intended to reduce the ease of snooping. Continue reading Engineers Defaulting to Encrypted Browsing for the Internet

According to a new report from online content distribution service ShareThis, photo site Pinterest is currently the fastest-growing platform for online content sharing. Data analyzed across more than 120 social media channels and two million websites indicates that sharing via Pinterest grew 19.2 percent in the last quarter, while sharing grew via LinkedIn by 15.1 percent and on Facebook by 14.7 percent. The report also suggests that sharing on Twitter fell 7.6 percent. Continue reading Pinterest: Fastest Growing Platform for Online Content Sharing

San Francisco-based TV guide startup Digit Media — the company behind the NextGuide personal TV watchlist service — has launched new partnerships with Fox, BBC America and truTV. As part of the deals, the networks will add a Reminder Button to their program websites. By clicking on the button, consumers can register for NextGuide and receive reminder alerts via email or the NextGuide iOS app, letting them know when new episodes are about to air on TV. Continue reading NextGuide Has New Network Partners for TV Show Reminders

A new website is building a dataset to help determine whether consumers are increasingly turning to piracy when movies are not made available legally via streaming, digital rental or digital purchase. The site — PiracyData.org — lists the top 10 most pirated movies on BitTorrent as reported by TorrentFreak each week, and researches the Can I Stream It? service to determine whether each title is available legally. The authors suggest that shorter windows would help counter piracy. Continue reading Do Movie Fans Turn to Piracy Due to a Lack of Legal Options?

Comcast and Twitter announced a deal yesterday that will allow Comcast customers to access TV programs from Twitter messages related to specific shows. The two companies hope that the “See It” feature will eventually become an industrywide practice. While the feature will initially only be available for Twitter posts published by Comcast-owned channels, the companies are talking with distributors and channel owners about extending it to additional content. Continue reading Comcast Deal Could Turn Twitter into TV-Watching Service

Smartphones can collect massive amounts of personal information, such as where users go, what they buy, and when they go to sleep. But current Web browser tracking software has become less effective for ads and cannot follow users across their devices. Based on the shift toward mobile, tech and advertising companies are looking into new ways to track consumers on their tablets and phones, while targeting them with specialized ads across all devices. Continue reading Startups Create Advanced Tracking of Users Across Devices

Readers no longer have the ability to comment on Popular Science articles. The magazine announced it has banned all online comments, suggesting that negative comments can be detrimental to the understanding of science. The ban has stirred a controversial debate about the ramifications of online comments, and has prompted discussion about how online comments impact people’s comprehension of and appreciation for science. Continue reading Popular Science Magazine Decides to Ban All User Comments

The Getty Museum announced that its former policy banning access to digital images has been amended. Digital images are now available for free on the Getty website for anyone who is interested. Previously, the Getty granted access to an image for a fee and with special terms and conditions. While the Getty still asks for the reason an individual is requesting an image, the process of obtaining a digital image is now made simple for everyone. Continue reading New Getty Policy Allows Everyone to Access Digital Images

In an effort to promote its own Internet-of-Things devices, startup SmartThings is launching an online marketplace that offers starter kits and an array of devices and solution sets that help manage the home. SmartThings first launched its products via Kickstarter in September, including a hub and variety of sensors to track movement and manage devices, providing users with home automation solutions controlled largely by smartphones. Continue reading SmartThings Launches Online Market for Internet of Things

Netflix today announced the launch of Netflix Families, a new destination site intended to promote Netflix’s family-friendly offerings. The website features Netflix recommendations for parents and children, streaming tips and promotional content. Also, Amazon announced that it has added more than a thousand books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows to its Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, including kids’ titles from Disney, Warner Bros. and Electronic Arts. Continue reading Netflix and Amazon Continue Pursuit of Younger Audience

Walt Disney Studios is planning to launch a new website on June 11 designed to simplify the process of accessing digital versions of movies purchased on Blu-ray Disc or DVD. The Disney Digital Copy Plus website intends to streamline digital delivery for consumers by eliminating the cumbersome “digital copy” process. The site will debut on the same day that the studio’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” is released on disc. Continue reading Disney to Launch New Digital Copy Plus Website Next Week