Archives for September 2004

Balancing act: How news portals serve up political stories

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Why do Google search results skew so heavily against John Kerry?

This column appeared in the Online Journalism Review.

Summary: Google News uses computer algorithms to identify top stories while Yahoo News favors old-fashioned human editors. But do Google’s automated search results display a conservative bias?

In newspaper newsrooms, editors often go to great lengths to achieve a semblance of balance in coverage of the two major candidates for president. Some count the story inches devoted to both men. Others make sure that photo size and placement don’t favor one over the other. Journalistic fairness demands equal treatment.

But what are the rules for online search engines, where millions of users are turning for their daily news fix? Does evenhanded coverage apply in the bottomless news hole of cyberspace? Does having an editorial team or an automated program get you a better sweep of important news about the political candidates? [Read more…] about Balancing act: How news portals serve up political stories

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The Engadget Interview: Hank Nothhaft, CEO of Danger, Inc.

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Last week we kicked off The Engadget Interview with outgoing MPAA president Jack Valenti. This week journalist J.D. Lasica tries out the Sidekick II and speaks with Hank Nothhaft, CEO of Danger, Inc., about the device’s upcoming release, the market for wireless handhelds, the cachet of having Derek Jeter and Paris Hilton as Sidekick fans, and whether, if forced to at gunpoint, he’d buy a Blackberry or a Treo.

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Give me the 30-second lowdown on Danger. You started back in 2000?

That’s right. We’re a 3 ½-year-old private company in Palo Alto, Calif., backed by such big venture capital firms as Redpoint, Mobius and Softbank. Most of our 140 employees are in Palo Alto, California, though a handful are in Europe, Japan, and around the U.S.

Let’s talk about the market before we get to your new device. What’s the evidence that people want a converged device that combines email, web browsing, a cellphone and organizer all in one? [Read more…] about The Engadget Interview: Hank Nothhaft, CEO of Danger, Inc.

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The Engadget Interview: DivXNetworks’ Shahi Ghanem and Jordan Greenhall

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For this week’s Engadget Interview, veteran journalist J.D. Lasica spent a few minutes with CEO Jordan Greenhall and President Shahi Ghanem (pictured below) of DivXNetworks. The San Diego company has morphed from a codec-centered technology startup to a full-fledged CE business.The execs offered tantalizing hints about looming deals with Hollywood studios and Netflix, DivX movie kiosks, high-def camcorders and the coming grassroots video revolution.

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I’m sure some readers have never heard of DivXNetworks. What do you folks do?

Ghanem: First, let’s talk briefly about what DivX is. DivX is a compression-decompression technology, a codec. DivXNetworks is the company that invented that technology. We were founded in 2000 in San Diego and now have 110 employees.

What’s your business model? [Read more…] about The Engadget Interview: DivXNetworks’ Shahi Ghanem and Jordan Greenhall

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