Alibaba Valuation Fair (video); Cogent Blasts Comcast

Alibaba's Valuation Is Very Fair: Oberweis' Papp: Video - Bloomberg:
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Oberweis Asset Management's Jeff Papp and Bloomberg's Cory Johnson discuss Alibaba's landmark IPO with Betty Liu on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg May 7)

Cogent Blasts Comcast--
Comcast is the one who should pay for network connections, Cogent claims | Ars Technica: "... Internet backbone operator Cogent has long expressed its displeasure with Comcast's demands for payment in exchange for accepting Netflix video and other traffic... Today, Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer made a different argument, saying that Comcast is the one who should be paying for connectivity. He did so while testifying in front of a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Comcast's planned acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Schaeffer pointed to the fact that Comcast is not considered to be a so-called "Tier 1" network. There are a dozen or so Tier 1 networks that make up the closest thing the Internet has to a backbone. Tier 1 networks can reach every part of the Internet simply by peering with one another. Other networks buy "transit" in order to access the rest of the Internet. Peering is a point-to-point connection only, which doesn't necessarily guarantee passage of traffic to any networks beyond the two involved in the connection. "Comcast does not operate a global network. In fact, it should be buying connectivity to the global Internet but has used its market scale and scope to extract an unusual concession," Schaeffer told members of Congress. "It wanted free connectivity, peering to the Internet, even though it didn't operate a global network... A larger Comcast will be able to demand even greater payments...." [apparently with the help of former Comcast lobbyist, now FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler - see below]

"Net neutrality advocates...are still underwhelmed by Wheeler's reported plan for creating an "open Internet" that they said falls far short of true net neutrality. And they likely won't be pleased until Wheeler takes a tough political step opposed by those same broadband executives. "A lot of politicians want their cake and to eat it, too," said Marvin Ammori, a lawyer who has been vocal in his support of net neutrality. "He's still trying to back off and trying to explain that he's trying to do the right thing. He fooled some people... broadband companies like Comcast have marshaled intensive lobbying efforts, hiring numerous former FCC employees. "Folks in D.C. are surrounded by their own bubble," Ammori said. "A bubble where there are lots of telecom lobbyists walking around who describe net neutrality as politically toxic."..."

Objections from inside, outside FCC shake net-neutrality proposal
Washington Post
The government's plan to let Internet providers charge Netflix, Google and others for faster access to customers has been thrown into turmoil, as the agency responsible for the rule has been riven by internal dissent and faces mounting opposition from the ...

House intel surprises on NSA surveillance - POLITICO.com: "....The Intelligence committee passage of the USA Freedom Act indicates that it will be the legislative vehicle for further activity in the House on surveillance reform. However, it does not rule out that members, including those on the Intelligence committee, may seek to amend the bill later in the legislative process. In addition, there are no signs at the moment that the Senate has broken a legislative logjam on the issue...."

Yes, we're in a tech bubble. Here's how I know it - Fortune Tech: "... I can also gauge the tech bubble by the flow of dinner, drinks, and other social invitations in my inbox. The PTA at my daughter's school is hosting a really neat fundraiser this week in San Francisco, the kind of event that appeals to an audience far beyond our school community. I personally know of no fewer than four other significant functions happening that night elsewhere in San Francisco, and that's not counting straight-ahead business functions. I could easily dine out four nights a week on the dime of some public relations firm that is hosting a dinner in an attempt to drum up publicity for its client. And I'm not invited to nearly the number of swanky gatherings that my younger, more receptive colleagues are...."

State Senate OKs cellphone 'kill switch' legislation to deter theft
Los Angeles Times
The California Senate passed a bill this week requiring cellphones sold in the state to be equipped with anti-theft technology. The California Senate passed a bill this week requiring cellphones sold in the state to be equipped with anti-theft technology.

Google Talking to Auto Makers About Self-Driving Car
Wall Street Journal (blog)
He and others said Google hasn't decided whether to design its own car, or make its software and operating system available to auto makers. “We're ...

Yahoo buys mobile 'self-destruct' messaging app Blink
Reuters
Blink is a product of Meh Labs, a company founded by ex-Google employees Kevin Stephens and Michelle Norgan. Meh Labs is best known for its ...

Apple to introduce iPad app split-screen feature in iOS 8, report says
Los Angeles Times
A mock image of what the Apple iPad split-screen feature could look like. (9to5Mac) ... IsApple copying Microsoft, Samsung? Maker of the iPad is ...

Microsoft Had No Choice but to Yank Kinect From Xbox One
Wired
This would seem to confirm the widely held assumption that the reason that Microsoft'sconsole cost $500, compared to PlayStation 4 at $400, was the ...

Google gets tougher on suspicious Google Apps logins
CNET
 ... In an effort to block unauthorized use of its Google Apps services, Google plans to ... security significantly, it's arriving at sites including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Twitter, ... Google Apps is a $50-per-person-per-year service under which ...

Google Search 4.0.0 for iOS adds conversations, embarrasses Siri
ZDNet (blog)
What's astounding is how far the Google Search app has come and how woefully inadequate Apple's built-in Siri has become. I've had the Google ...

Google Search for iOS updated with conversational voice input — Tech News and Analysis - Gigaom
By Kif Leswing
Google pushed out an update to its iOS Google Search app on Tuesday, bringing the version number up to 4.0. The update improves Google's voice ...
Gigaom

iPhone Won't Deliver iMessage Texts To Android - Business Insider: "....Now an Apple customer support employee has admitted to Lifehacker's Adam Pash that, in fact, "a lot" of users have this problem: If you switch from an iPhone to an Android, iMessage won't deliver texts from iPhone users to your new Android phone. There is no fix in sight, Pash says he was told...."

September Apple Retail holiday restrictions make August launch of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 even ...
By Ben Lovejoy
German site ifun is reporting that local Apple Store staff have been banned from taking any leave in September, the usual month for the launch of a ...
9to5Mac

Google Lat Long: Hop on board—and go almost anywhere—with public transit on GoogleMaps
By Lat Long
Millions of people rely on public transit to get around. That's why, since 2007, we've worked to include public transit routes and schedules in Google ...
Google LatLong

Chrome Releases: Stable Channel Update - Google Chrome Releases - Blogger
By Daniel xie
Security Fixes and Rewards This update includes 3 security fixes. Below, we highlight fixes that were either contributed by external researchers or ...
Google Chrome Releases

Real Estate Developer Sues Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg | AOL Real Estate
By The Associated Press
A Northern California real estate developer is suing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over a deal involving property behind Zuckerberg's home.
ExcitingAds! AOL Real Estate

Facebook, Google, Yahoo — How Hackers Can Use Everyday Sites for Reflection & Amplification ...
By David Hobbs
Reflection and amplification attacks are used to extend DDoS harm. Recently, I discussed how the most recent unwelcome arrival of HTTP-based ...
Radware Blog

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