BN2012

Three days ago, on the occasion of his family’s 30th year of immigration from Russia to the United States because of Jewish persecution in that country, Sergey Brin donated $1,000,000 to the  society, widely known as HIAS, which helped his family escape Antisemitism in the Soviet Union and establish themselves in their new country.

“I would have never had the kinds of opportunities I’ve had here in the Soviet Union, or even in Russia today,” Mr. Brin said in an interview. “I would like to see anyone be able to achieve their dreams, and that’s what this organization does.”

The gift is small, given Mr. Brin’s estimated $16 billion in personal wealth, but he said it signaled a growing commitment by him and his wife, Anne Wojcicki, to engage more substantially in philanthropy.

While the act in itself seemed to be just an expression of gratitude on Sergey’s part, readers of the TechCrunch blog, a site that did quoted an original NY Times report of the event, quickly filled the comment box with minor heated arguments on the issues of Zionism and antisemitism…

While searching for a picture of Sergey on Creative Commons where BN2012 usually get free licensed photos for blog use, I found this web blog entry about the Brin couple donating another $500,000 to Creative Commons itself.

(Via TechCruch)

Ever wonder as to what the Internet has done for us humanity? Here’s a very thought provoking video that might answer your question…

Some of the facts/predictions presented here are these:

1. That Mobile Devices will be the world’s primary connection tool to the Internet in 2020.
2. A lot of people has access to 1,000,000,000,000 webpages today (That’s 1 trillion webpages, mind you…)
3. 95% of all songs downloaded from the Internet weren’t paid for… (That means it was downloaded illegally.)
4. Wikipedia launched in 2001. It now features over 13 million articles in more than 200 languages.
5. 90% of the 200 billion emails sent everyday are spam.
6. And this one i love the most – There are over 240,000,000 TVs in the US, and 2,000,000 of those are in the bathroom!

To know more about the makers of this video, jump here…

The Internet has revolutionized how we communicate, learn, and work. With so much information available, how much is too much Internet use? When you feel more comfortable with your online friends than your real ones, or you can’t stop yourself from playing games, gambling, or compulsively surfing, than you may be using the Internet too much. Learn about the signs and symptoms of Internet addiction and how you can get balance back in your online life.

What Is Internet Addiction?

Internet use has exploded in recent years, providing a constant, ever-changing source of information and entertainment. News headlines are updated by the minute, not just daily. You can connect with literally hundreds of people on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter. Email, online chat and message boards allow for both public and anonymous communication about almost any topic imaginable, down to the smallest detail. We all enjoy the benefits of the Internet, and for many it is an indispensable tool for work as well.  So how much is too much Internet usage? Read the rest of this entry »

Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced that it has today filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in Delaware, alleging that Apple’s iPhone infringes Nokia patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) standards.

As a leading innovator in wireless communications, Nokia has created one of the strongest and broadest patent portfolios in the industry, investing more than EUR 40 billion in R&D during the last two decades. Much of this intellectual property, including the patents in suit, has been declared essential to industry standards.  Nokia has already successfully entered into license agreements including these patents with approximately 40 companies, including virtually all the leading mobile device vendors, allowing the industry to benefit from Nokia’s innovation. Read the rest of this entry »