politics

Apple's got a doozy of a feud going on with a Chinese company and the outcome may decide who owns the rights to the iPad brand name in the world's second biggest market.

That's not a typo. Pretty crazy but this is a crazy world and if the cards fall the wrong way, Apple conceivably could lose one of the world's most valuable trademarks in China. But first a brief recap.

Apple acquired the worldwide rights to the iPad trademark from Proview Technology in 2006. Four years later, Apple introduced the iPad and the product became … Read more

One shouldn't hold one's nose when politicians talk of space travel.

One should merely hold one's judgment until they've all finished and then simply emit whatever emotions might have built up in one's intestines over the minutes.

Tonight, the Republican presidential candidates debated in Jacksonville, Fla. It just so happens that jobs in Florida have flown many of its coops--and this just happens to be a state that has become a little synonymous with blasting off to the moon.

So here we had Newt Gingrich, squeezing himself gingerly into Neil Armstrong's boots. For yesterday … Read more

You might think that Facebook's millions of U.S. users would be a good resource for anyone who wants to get a sense of what people are thinking about politics in (almost) real time. The news site Politico clearly agrees, as it's just struck a partnership to measure the political sentiments of Facebook users.

Under the terms of the partnership, which was announced today, Politico readers will be given inside looks at the Facebook conversations taking place in advance of the South Carolina Republican presidential primary on January 21. It's not clear if the partnership extends beyond … Read more

It is entirely commendable that Silicon Valley's largest brains take time out from deciding which shade the color of money should be in order to become talk show hosts.

We had already enjoyed Google's Marissa Mayer boring into Lady Gaga's darkest depths.

Now I am delirious to learn to Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg will be stepping into the limelight to interview another large brain, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

I am pulsatingly grateful to TechCrunch for revealing this news, on receipt of an e-mail from Christie's office.

It is inevitable that many will wonder what … Read more

Is it possible that hacking has become slightly old hat?

Is it possible that the amorphous group called Anonymous has decided more direct action is necessary?

This might be the case, given a new YouTube video which has emerged from the very loose organization. This one attempts to rouse a disruption of the 2012 Iowa caucuses, traditionally the first in the election process.

In the video, which includes some quite hum-worthy music, the disguised narrator declares that both political parties have failed us.

He continues: "Both parties are desecrating the American democracy and committing crimes against humanity on behalf … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--As Michelle Bachmann walked briskly into the room, everyone trained their cameras on the Republican presidential hopeful. But not Manolo Espinosa.

A lot of people had come to hear Bachmann speak to the august Commonwealth Club here last week, but Espinosa had a very different agenda. He was here to buttonhole a Bachmann staffer to pitch SoundCloud and its audio hosting and sharing tools. He wanted a photo because he needed to be sure he approached the right person after the speech.

Espinosa is Berlin-based SoundCloud's head of audio, and as Election Day approaches, he's spending a … Read more

There are times when one is justifiably grateful to Google.

Only last week I wrote these desperate, pleading words: "It has long been my personal dream to see Google's Larry Page wearing brightly patterned trousers and dancing uncontrollably."

Clearly Google had mercy. For, though Page is obviously too busy penning Google+ updates to perform, the company instead proffered Marissa Mayer. Which, for many, might even be an improvement. Moreover, she's not merely dancing. She's getting it on down to MC Hammer's "Too Legit To Quit."

The work of art in which Mayer … Read more

President Barack Obama's campaign yesterday opened up its first Tumblr account to help get the word out about their candidate.

"We'd like this Tumblr to be a huge collaborative storytelling effort--a place for people across the country to share what's going on in our respective corners of it and how we're getting involved in this campaign to keep making it better," the campaign wrote its first post on the page.

Currently, the Tumblr page has three posts, including an image of the campaign's Ohio offices and an excerpt from the President's address … Read more

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif.--Everyone wants to know what groups of people--large and small--are thinking in real time. But there has never really been a good way to figure it out.

That's the proposition behind the new startup from former Sun CEO Scott McNealy, called Wayin, which thinks it has the answer.

Wayin, which launched last night, is a system that aims to give people a way to share their thoughts about things--be it a question related to a live baseball game, a political debate, or the passing of a tech titan--in real time. Essentially, said McNealy at a … Read more