Top Story: Hollywood Lawyer Threatens to Sue Google for $100 Million
On October 1st, top Hollywood attorney Martin Singer sent a letter to Google threatening to sue the search engine giant for compensatory and punitive damages stemming from the recent Apple celebrity nude photo hack, which “could well exceed One Hundred Million Dollars ($1,000,000).” Singer claims to be representing Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Rihanna, Ariana Grande and a few others who were victimized during the photo leak.
The lawyer argues that Google profited off the exposure of the celebrities’ private photos–and as a largely established search engine, should have had the tact to remove the images entirely.
In his letter to Google, Singer asserted that since the initial leak, his litigation had contacted various website operators to demand that the photos be taken down in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). He claimed that the majority of the websites they contacted (with much smaller ISPs) complied with the demand, except for Google.
He argues that “Google, one of the largest ISPs in the world, with vast resources and a huge support staff, generating multimillions of dollars in revenues on a daily basis, has recklessly allowed these blatant violations to continue in conscious disregard of our clients’ rights.” He is firm on the notion that Google intentionally chose not to take down the photos from their search capability, as a means of capitalizing off the scandal.
Google responded to the threat by arguing that “We’ve removed tens of thousands of pictures- within hours of the requests being made- and we have closed hundreds of accounts. The internet is used for many good things. Stealing people’s private photos is not one of them.” There has been no update on the status of this lawsuit apart from Singer’s letter to Google.
The full list of celebrities involved in the lawsuit still remains to be seen.
Tool of the Week: Sway
College students, content creators and professionals, it’s time to meet your new favorite presentation platform: Microsoft’s Sway combines the usability of PowerPoint with the aesthetic capabilities of Prezi.
The new software, which is still in preview phase, can create elegant presentations that combine text, pictures and videos in an interactive, adaptive way.
Though not complete, Sways’ look already seems like a far cry from traditional presentation tools. It’s not a space to write papers, like Word. Nor is it a traditional slide deck or picture layout system. It doesn’t even have a file extension name, leaving it to forever exist as a URL. The easiest way to describe it is a story telling platform—much like its name, Sway is designed to provide a dynamic, flexible user experience with shifting visual flows.
It’s not clear who will take advantage of this tool and how, but it seems as if Sway can be used for nearly anything, ranging from the creation of resumes, presentations, and cost-friendly websites to scrapbooks. Whether personally or professionally, Microsoft is aiming to create something that doesn’t fit into a mold, which therefore gives the user endless creative capabilities.
Still wondering how the site works?
You choose content to throw into a new Sway…You drop a hint about the significance of a picture, or its connection with a snippet of text, and Sway interprets that input and lays everything out accordingly. You can stack content vertically, arrange them horizontally, or even choose a three-dimensional mode where some items appear farther away than others. And Sway can select themes for font types, font colors, and backgrounds. If you don’t like the way your Sway turns out, you can click the Remix button.
In addition, Sway constantly analyzes how to present visuals by using an algorithm that assesses which platforms and windows the content is being displayed on.
Though price details and availability haven’t been listed yet, Microsoft says there will be a free and premium version available for use. Head over to the new website to sign up for a free preview to see how it works.
Under the Radar: Furniture in 5 Minutes
Ikea just announced their new furniture line Regissör, which boasts both style and simplicity in assembly. According to Ikea, all of the pieces in the line can apparently be assembled in five minutes.
Most Ikea shoppers opt for the brand because of the affordability and variety, however, the frustration that stems from the inability to assemble the pieces can certainly be debilitating. Ikea has made the effort to remove this consumer burden by introducing Regissör.
The ease of assembly is a direct result of a change in design. The board components of the furniture pieces connect with one another at a 45 degree angle rather than a 90 degree angle (which can be cumbersome for joining large pieces). The dowels at each of the joints on the components are pre installed to further save time.
The boards themselves have been redesigned to be extremely lightweight. They are internally supported by a lattice structure, leaving a lot of hollow space. The light pieces are easy to pick up and join in with the others, which makes assembly a breeze. Regissör is certainly a savior for those who struggle with furniture assembly, although the long term durability of the pieces will determine the ultimate customer satisfaction.
The line includes a coffee table, four cabinets, and a bookcase. The prices for these items range from $139-$349.
Around the Hub: Twitter Donates $10 Million to MIT’s Social Machine Project
MIT is set to launch the Laboratory for Social Machines, a new program focusing on the analysis of social trends within mass media and digital content.
Though $10 million seems like a large sum, funding is just the beginning of what MIT’s newest project will receive: The laboratory will have access to all of Twitter’s public stream of tweets, dating back to the first one.
Though the project is fully backed by Twitter, the institution plans to independently study a wide array of social platforms through an academic lense, including mass media, digital content, and social media. MIT hopes to take this information and transform it into data visualizations and pattern maps that convey shared societal interests or concerns.
The program, led by associate professor and BlueFin Labs co-founder Deb Roy, has two goals: First, the laboratory will build new tools to track and analyze social patterns. This data will then help individuals to address current societal needs and develop vital solutions across new platforms. MIT hopes to “analyze social systems, map the public sphere of beliefs, opinions, and events to create information feedback loops that close the gap between public will (constitutions, laws, ordinances) and collective behavior (customs, habits).”
MIT’s project launches at a time when Boston is becoming a rising hub for the integration of technology, innovation and design. The program will take social media platforms to new levels of engagement by creating solutions that perfectly blend data, mechanics and brilliant minds.
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