Here is our technology recap of last week, as well as a look into what is coming next week:- Dubai Air show: And away we go!
Sunday kicked off the start to the biennial Dubai Air Show, one of the largest and fastest-growing air shows for major carriers. Emirates Airlines started the show off with an $18 billion order for Boeing’s 777 Jetliner series, the largest in Boeing’s history. With options and other agreements, the deal could total $26 billion. Other large orders are also expected for Airbus as Gulf Airliners plan on expanding to cope with larger demand from a growing Middle Eastern and Asian middle class. The air show continues until Thursday, with events and flight demonstrations planned for the whole week. [Reuters]
- Steam gets hacked: Trouble in the Cloud
Valve confirmed Thursday that hackers had gotten into its databases, and in addition to gaining access to the forums they were also able to steal personal information and credit card numbers from the 35 million users of its popular Steam gaming platform. The information held online was all encrypted, and Valve is uncertain whether or not the hacker will be able to break the encryption yet. Gabe Newell, the head of Valve sent a message to users warning them about the leak, and advising them to watch their statements. This comes after Sony’s very public security leak in its Playstation 3 network earlier this year, and a string of hacks this past year. [WP]
- Yelp IPO: The Next Big Thing
The media was abuzz at the emergence of a Yelp IPO when it chose Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to lead last week. The news comes a week after Groupon, a daily deals site had its decently successful IPO last week. Yelp is a different site, based largely on finding and reviewing retailers, but there is some concern over profitability and how it will react to other competitors entering the market. So far internet IPOs have enjoyed a nice boom on their first days, but the question remains to see if they can maintain it. Yelp is looking for a $2 billion valuation. [NYT]
- Speaking of Internet IPOs, is Zynga next?
Zynga, an online company famous for games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, is scheduled to begin its IPO process, but not without a few obstacles. WSJ reports that CEO Mark Pincus has asked employees to return some of their restricted stock before the IPO, or face termination. The unorthodox practice has many analysts wondering if there could be legal ramifications for the employees, such as breach of contract claims. This information comes at a critical point for the company, which has delayed its IPO already for fears of a chaotic market, and is planning to go public after Thanksgiving. [CNET]
- Adobe halts mobile flash development: Is HTML5 the future?
Adobe announced it will stop developing flash for mobile devices in favor of the HTML5 standard. Flash Player 11.1 will be the final installment for Android and Blackberry’s Playbook. Apple controversially chose the HTML5 standard over flash for the iPhone, and it has caught on as companies redesign their sites to be viewed on mobile devices. Critics wonder if flash is relevant at all anymore if it’s not on mobile devices, and whether or not this will ignite a broader switch to HTML5. All these developments ignore a significant point – HTML5 is not yet finished and the standards have not yet been set, as it attempts to connect video and audio over different browsers. While promising, it needs to be determined what this vague language actually is before there is a mass conversion. [eWeek]
Photo: Yelp CEO and co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman. Credit: Associated Press
