There were plenty of oohs and aahs at this week’s Cupertino City Council meeting, and it wasn’t just for Steve Jobs, who made a rare public appearance. Jobs came with a purpose: to promote his plans for a new Apple headquarters in the city, on an 180-acre plot north of Interstate 280.
Articles by Danny Wool
There are some good deals to be had on condos near downtown Campbell, which has become one of the valley’s not-so-secret treasures.
Where’s the best place to work in Silicon Valley? Is it Google or Facebook? Apple or HP? If you’re in it for the money (and who isn’t?) Google is the place to be. At $82,600, their starting salary is $17,000 more than HP’s ($55,100), $23,000 more than Facebook’s ($59,100) and $40,000 more than Apple’s ($41,100). Only Microsoft pays more, at $86,900, though Intel comes close with $80,100.
Facebook has been quietly releasing facial recognition software, which will allow users to easily identify people appearing in their photos. The technology, which is already available in the US, has now been released on other countries with a strong Facebook presence, the company announced on Tuesday.
At his long anticipated appearance at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference, Steve Jobs confirmed what has been known for weeks. Apple is about to release a cloud-based music and data storage system. No longer will Apple users have to save their favorite songs on CDs or hard drives. The new iCloud will be able to sync their favorite tunes across multiple devices, sparing users the need for storage space. Jobs described it as a “post-PC world.”
It’s a simple idea, but that’s why it’s brilliant. When you go out of town, the hotel concierge is there to help you plan your night, with tips on local restaurants and clubs. When you live in that town, you become less adventurous, and tend to hang out at the same old same-olds, doing the same old things. Even in the days of the internet, you lack the benefit of a concierge, so the most daring thing most people do is try out some place that has a Groupon coupon.
Always eager to preserve language purity on the airwaves, French television and radio may no longer use the terms Facebook and Twitter on their broadcasts, except in news stories relating specifically to the sites. On the other hand, newscasters may no longer say, “Leave your comments on Facebook,” or “Follow me on Twitter,” and instead must use the more generic, “Check out our social networking sites.”
Today, the default on Facebook and other social networking sites is that your information is public unless you opt to make it private. After considerable complaints about privacy protections, State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) came up with a simple but ingenious idea. Why not make the default for everything but your name and city private, and give people the option of deciding what other information they want to make public?
Highway 17 has long had a reputation as one of the most dangerous highways in the state. The shoulders are narrow shoulders and the road turns sharply, often with blind curves ahead. Then there is the weather—rain, ice, and the occasional snowfall make 17 especially slippery. Add to that increasing traffic density and the possibility of a deer wandering onto the highway, and this vital artery can become a nightmare for drivers, even along the Safety Corridor connecting Los Gatos with Scotts Valley.
Julie Cavanaugh, owner of Design 101, was considered to be one of the best designers in Los Gatos. On Wednesday, she was arrested and charged with grand theft, attempted grand theft, and forgery.
