Tech News Stop - Sharing by Wasim Akhtar

::::India Parenting founder Nirali Sanghi launches social network YippeeClubs::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337046652_temp.jpg" border="0" width="250" height="200" align="left" /></div><div id="storydiv" class="storydiv" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px"><div class="Normal" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The success of Facebook continues to inspire other entrepreneurs, who are jumping on to the social network bandwagon despite such high profile failures like MySpace and Orkut.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Nirali Sanghi, founder of online parenting site India Parenting, is the latest entrepreneur to launch a social network. Hers is called YippeeClubs and will be focused on common interests.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Unlike other social networks, users on YippeeClubs can choose to become members of clubs based on their interest right when they join. The network claims to have 600 clubs in categories like lifestyle, love and relationships, parenting, health and hobbies.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">"In other networks like Facebook it is difficult to find groups that a user might be interested in joining and groups get defunct quickly. In our case the interest group is at the core of the network," said Sanghi, who founded India Parenting in 1999. YippeeClubs has such intriguing groups like, mother-in-law issues, married yet lonely, premature graying in kids and gem therapy.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Users can simultaneously be part of multiple clubs, said Sanghi, who added that the 7 lakh registered users of India Parenting is a ready audience for the new network.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Sanghi admits that social media is a touch space to be in, as success depends on user adoption. "I have faith in the strength of the product and I am sure users will find it useful."</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Bangalore-based Nagarjun Palavalli launched a social network for students and educational institutions, called Eduora, in April this year. The network was in pilot mode for over a year and creates hubs for various campuses, where students, teachers and management can interact.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px"> </p></div></div><div style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px"><div class="tabsintbgshow1" style="clear: both; background-image: url('http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/photo/4583284.cms'); height: 35px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px"><div style="padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; text-align: left; float: left; margin: 0px"><div class="parlleldiv1" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px"><div class="floatleft" style="float: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px"></div><div class="floatleft" style="float: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px"></div><div class="floatleft" style="float: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px"></div></div></div><br /></div></div>

<a href='http://techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/India-Parenting-founder-Nirali-Sanghi-launches-social-network-YippeeClubs-12384'>View More</a>

::::First Look: Want To Know Who Got Funded? WhoGotFunded.com Has Got You Covered::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337046352_temp.jpg" border="0" align="left" /></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">A lot of you have come to depend on TechCrunch for your startup funding news — and hey, we’re happy to be the first place you come when you’re looking to see who’s raising money. Which is why this new site, <span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial">WhoGotFunded.com</span>, is both a blessing and a curse: On the one hand, it’ll be an awesome tool for those of us hoping to catch all the latest funding news first. On the other hand, it maybe makes my job a bit obsolete?</p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Anyway, WhoGotFunded was first announced a few months ago, but it is now in private beta, and I’ve gotten a chance to check out the site. Touted as a one-stop shop for funding news, WhoGotFunded provides a list of the day’s funding announcements, which it gathers from Twitter, web news sites, and of course, the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: left; padding: 0px"><span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-551653" src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/wgf-latest-deals.jpg?w=640&h=317" border="0" title="WGF latest deals" width="640" height="317" /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The site was <span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial">founded by Digimind</span>, which specializes in competitive intelligence, data mining, and social media monitoring. It expects to publish about 100 to 150 new funding deals a day, based on more than 2 million news stories that it analyzes every day.</p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">While it gathers information through text-mining technologies, WhoGotFunded also has what it calls a “human curation element” and hopes to open up to the community (a la Wikipedia) as a way to reduce the number of errors or false positives that might appear. It also shows detailed information about where the funding news appeared so that users can follow up and read more:</p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: left; padding: 0px"><span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-551654" src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/wgf-funding-page.jpg?w=640&h=405" border="0" title="WGF funding page" width="640" height="405" /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">So who’s the target audience? Well, people like me, who are all about knowing all the latest funding news as part of their job. It’s also targeted at investors who want to keep abreast of the market. To that end, it’s already signed up about 2,000 subscribers already, including many employees from some top VC firms in the U.S. and Europe.</p><p style="margin-top: 12.5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 12.5px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Once it comes out of beta, WhoGotFunded will offer tailored email alerts to let users know when a particular company closes funding, or when financing deals happen in a specific region or industry. While there’s always the opportunity to create value-added features on top of the platform, which many people would likely pay for, there are no plans for monetization right now — instead, Digimind is going to hold off until it sees what kind of reaction it receives from users.</p>

<a href='http://techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/First-Look-Want-To-Know-Who-Got-Funded-WhoGotFunded-com-Has-Got-You-Covered-12382'>View More</a>

::::Does digital advertising need its own operating system?::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337046083_temp.jpg" border="0" align="left" /></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">If you’ve ever seen that oft-passed-around<span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">LumaScapes slide on the display advertising landscape</span>, you know it’s a crowded and fragmented industry. And that slide only includes a fraction of the companies operating in digital media today. (<span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">Luma Partners</span> has seven slides more that break out players in video, gaming, commerce and other key sectors in digital.)</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">That growth indicates “a tremendous amount of innovation,” said Luma Partners CEO and founder Terence Kawaja. But he asked: “Is that a situation that can continue or does it need to change?”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">In a presentation on digital advertising’s “state of the state” during <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">Federated Media</span>’s Conversational Marketing Summit Monday, he said that there are 1,400 companies featured across his company’s eight sector-specific slides. Each of those companies, or at least the bigger ones, are building their own sales teams, business development plans and technology, to each sell their own unique solution that isn’t operable with others, Kawaja continued.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">While the industry wouldn’t want to quash the innovation, he floated the idea of addressing what he called the “rationalization” issue through standardization. Just like mobile technology has its Android and iOS platforms, Kawaja said, digital advertising could have its own operating system.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">“Many other industries have benefited greatly by having an operating system, a common platform upon which other companies can build their tools,” he said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">Another potential solution to this problem could come through consolidation. Over the past few years, merger and acquisition activity hasn’t only picked up, it’s attracted interest from a wider group of potential buyers. Google, Microsoft and Yahoo used to be the “usual suspects” in driving M&A in online media. But as the field has become more data-driven and scientific, it’s started to include new players from marketing, technology and commerce, he said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">Facebook’s upcoming IPO, he added, will “fundamentally change this industry from the perspective of M&A, rationalization and consolidation.” Not that Facebook itself is going to quickly pick off a bunch of new companies, Kawaja said, “but just their presence, their currency, their ability to grow organically.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">In addition to rationalization, he highlighted two other key themes: big data and automation. In 2009, programmatic media buying didn’t even in exist, he noted. But, according to IDC, in 2010 companies spent $352 million on real-time bidding. By the end of 2012, that is expected to reach $1.975 million and, in 2015, it’s projected to hit about $5 billion.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">As for his highly-cited Lumascape slide, Kawaja said it’s been cited in six books and a Harvard Business School case study (not to mention countless conference presentations and sales decks). It’s also received more than 350,000 views online, from people in 116 countries.</p>

<a href='http://techgig.com/tech-news/editors-pick/Does-digital-advertising-need-its-own-operating-system--12380'>View More</a>

::::How smart analytics could thwart terrorist attacks::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337045969_temp.jpg" border="0" align="left" /></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">Nothing sends shivers down my spine quite like a hypothetical in which someone sets a whole block on fire after cutting off the fire department’s electric supply in order to slow its response. It’s a scary thought, but not entirely unplausible. Perhaps it should give us some peace of mind, though, to know that armed with the right tools and, more importantly, the right mindset, these types of attacks might be preventable.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">The topic came up during a recent call with Splunk’s director of security and compliance solutions, Mark Seward, after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security named Splunk as part of its toolkit for <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">investigating a potential cyberattack on an Illinois gas pipeline</span>. That turned out to be a false alarm, but I was troubled by the notion that we were only doing data analysis forensically, after the fact. Pipelines are <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">still under heavy attack</span>. Forget finding out who did it; I want events stopped before they happen.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">Seward said that’s possible, but not easy. Attackers have gotten so good, he said, and have such diverse attack vectors that it’s hard to predict what will happen when. “Security professionals have to harness the creativity of their minds to start thinking like a criminal,” he explained. They have to “think creatively about how someone would go about disrupting [a] service and what footprints would they leave behind.”</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">When that happens, it becomes possible to watch data in real-time and identify anomalies or put together patterns that suggest an attack might be underway. Splunk actually has a SCADA tool for pipelines that would let someone see changes in sensor data in real time, Seward said, in order to detect locations that stopped reporting or changes in pressure. Or maybe it’s as simple as noticing someone trying to access an application via <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">Active Directory</span>without permission.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">Seward said smart meters — and the electric grid, in general — are particularly important to monitor. In the case of smart meters, which are constantly sending usage data to power companies, employees could quickly correlate meter shutoffs with work orders on those buildings and GPS data to determine whether a company truck is at the site. At a small scale, Seward said, robbers monitoring smart grid data could identifiy houses to rob by looking for consumption footprints that suggest nobody’s home. At a large scale, they could try to power down air-traffic control towers, first-responder buildings or the utility providing water to cool rods at a nuclear power plant.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">It’s a concern he shares with former CIA director James Woolsey, who <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">discussed the vulnerability of the grid</span> and the need for the innovative minds working on smart-grid technologies to solve it at our Structure: Data conference in March.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">If there’s some solace to take away from talking about our national-security vulnerabilities, though, it might be that technology appears to be stepping up to help identify threats. Aside from Splunk, which is <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">useful for monitoring machine-generated data in real time</span>, there also tools such as Hadoop that can <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">assist in identifying past attack patterns</span> that systems can be trained to watch out for in the future. As I’ve reported before, security software is actually<span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">proving to be an early hotspot for big technologies</span>, and it’s hard to see that trend slowing down. The <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent">rise of techniques such as machine learning</span> and predictive analytics, combined with human intuition, should only improve our ability to identifiy threats.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">I couldn’t do my job well if I didn’t truly believe that technology, done right, can solve a lot of the world’s problems. National security is one area where I definitely hope I’m not proven wrong.</p>

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::::Microsoftâ€™s infamous Steve Ballmer named worst CEO by Forbes::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337045839_temp.jpg" border="0" align="left" /></div><p style="vertical-align: baseline; margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">Forbes (<span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">via</span> BGR) <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">has ranked</span> Microsoft’s infamous Steve Ballmer as the worst CEO of any publicly traded company “without a doubt”. I’m sure you all know Ballmer, the tall, sweaty man who loves to yell things like “c’mon!” and the classic “developers, developers, developers”. Ballmer was put into the role of Microsoft CEO during 2000 and is ranked as the 19th richest man in the world. However, like Forbes mentions, this man could be blamed for a lot of Microsoft’s issues like being slow to act in emerging markets, most namely smartphones.</p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">“Although he’s #19 on Forbes list of billionaires, Mr. Ballmer should not be allowed to take such incredible risks with investor money and employee jobs.  Best he be retired to enjoy his fortune rather than deprive investors and employees of building theirs.”</p><p style="vertical-align: baseline; margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; border-width: 0px; padding: 0px">At the time of the iPhone’s launch in 2007, Ballmer and other Microsoft execs didn’t feel threatened by it. Now <span style="border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial">look at who’s on top</span>. Ballmer’s glory also came around the time of  Windows Vista — which was plagued by issues — and let OS X Leopard push Macs where they are today.</p>

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::::Apple Gets Serious About Photo Sharing With iCloud Update::::

<p> <img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337045672_temp.png.pagespeed.ce.0nI1CxpKtP.png" border="0" alt="Image" width="250" height="200" align="left" /><span style="text-align: left">Apple's Wordwide Developers Conference is still a few weeks away, but as usual, there's no shortage of clues about what to expect. </span><span style="text-align: left">The latest news suggests that Apple is putting more focus on photos and their inherently social nature. The company is expected to push out an update to iCloud that enables users to share and comment on photos. </span></p><div id="more" class="asset-more" style="clear: both; text-align: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px"><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Details are sparse, but <span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial">according to The Wall Street Journal</span>, some are expecting a service akin to Flickr to emerge within iCloud. Whether it's a full-blown social service or something a bit more limited, the importance of photos and how they're shared among people is clearly not lost on Apple. </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The iCloud update will come two months after Facebook agreed to<span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial">acquire Instagram for $1 billion</span>. The unexpected deal served as the latest - and perhaps most significant - measure of just how valuable social photography can be, especially on mobile devices of the sort that Apple manufactures (and on which Instagram existed exclusively until recently).</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Apple has never been known for building its own compelling social products. The most obvious example is <span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial">Ping</span>. There's no reason this tendency couldn't change, but what the company is likely cooking up will probably be designed to fit nicely into iOS and iCloud and not necessarily cater to a larger public.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Currently, the way photos are handled within iCloud is pretty static. Photostream syncs photos across devices, but that's about it. The new upgrades will not only add sharing functionality but also the ability to sync videos. </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">What we'll see at the WWDC is, as always, the subject of widespread rumor and speculation, but the next iteration of iOS is a safe bet. In addition to these iCloud updates, Apple is expected to unveil its own proprietary, notably <span style="outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial">non-Google mobile maps application</span>.  We may also learn more about Mountain Lion, the next version of Mac OS X, and see a hardware refresh or two.  </p></div><p> </p>

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::::Facebook raises IPO range, targets $12.1 bln: source::::

<div class="custm_img_blk"><img src="http://www.techgig.com/files/photo_1337045343_temp.jpg" border="0" width="250" height="200" align="left" /></div><p>Facebook Inc has raised the price range on its initial public offering to $34 to $38 a share in response to strong demand, a source familiar with the situation said, giving the No.1 social network a valuation exceeding $100 billion.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">At the mid-point of $36, Facebook would raise $12.1 billion by selling 337.4 million shares. The company founded in a Harvard dorm room by Mark Zuckerberg, who turned 28 on Monday, had originally aimed for $28 to $35 a share.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Wall Street had expected the company to increase the price range, with investors keen to get in on Silicon Valley's largest ever IPO that eclipses Google Inc's (<span>GOOG.O</span>) 2004 debut. Its roadshow began last week and has drawn crowds.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The company plans to close the books on its IPO on Tuesday, two days ahead of schedule and in a signal that the landmark initial share sale is drumming up strong demand, a second source familiar with the deal told Reuters earlier.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The social network is scheduled on Thursday to price its shares, then begin trading on Friday.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The IPO is already "well oversubscribed," which is why the company is closing its books earlier than anticipated, the source said.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The raised price range marks an increase of 21 percent on the lower end. A hike of more than 20 percent typically means the company would have to file an amendment with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Company spokesman Jonny Thaw declined to comment on Monday.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">The IPO comes amid concerns from some investors that Facebook hasn't yet figured out a way to make money from an increasing number of users who access the social network on mobile devices such as smartphones.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Facebook will continue with its roadshow for the rest of the week, said a third source familiar with the deal, and investors who haven't yet attended a roadshow presentation will still be able to place orders.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">Company executives met with prospective investors in Chicago on Monday and are slated to travel to Kansas City and Denver, before returning to Menlo Park, California, where Facebook is headquartered.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">A host of Wall Street banks are underwriting Facebook's offering, with Morgan Stanley (<span>MS.N</span>), JPMorgan (<span>JPM.N</span>) and Goldman Sachs (<span>GS.N</span>) serving as leads. Facebook will trade on Nasdaq under the symbol FB.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px">CNBC reported the higher price range earlier, citing sources.</p>

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