Articles by Renay San Miguel

Google isn't the only entity taking an interest in Twitter's tweets. That most venerable of government institutions, the Library of Congress, announced Wednesday it will archive every single "what's happening?" update broadcast on the short message service since it opened for business in 2006 Granted, Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey's first-ever twee...

After months of questions about how Twitter plans on making money, the short message service and social media phenomenon on Tuesday launched its first foray into advertising. However, in doing so, the company made it clear that traditional corporate interests would take a back seat to overall customer happiness After all, how attractive would the T...

In a perfect world -- albeit one that's more than a little tech-centric -- Monday's release of the Creative Suite 5 update from Adobe would have commanded a lot of attention. Bristling with advances that help both consumers and developers create multimedia content on their computers and on the Web, CS5 is getting rave reviews for its attempts to help key moneymakers like Photoshop, Illustrator and (of course) Flash stay at pace with the latest technological developments and trends...

Dom Sagolla doesn't have to dig deep into his own Twitter profile to look back on his very first tweet. It just happened to be one of Twitter's very first tweets -- tweet #38, to be exact, appearing March 21, 2006 "Oh this is going to be addictive," it read....

Gaming enthusiasts who gobble up every tidbit of news they can about consoles, gadgets and titles didn't have a lot to digest Thursday when Apple revealed that the new iPhone OS 4 would include Game Center, a social gaming network. The news was just one feature mentioned in the overall update for the smartphone operating system; Steve Jobs' company certainly didn't unlock any new levels in the "details" category...

The DC federal court of appeals didn't actually bring about the death of Net neutrality. Hopefully, all it's done is bring about the death of the phrase "Net neutrality." I write about technology, and I'm already tired of hearing those words and writing them. Not the concept behind it, mind you, or the implications for broadband development, "pipes...

By now, those who toil in the information security industry must be thinking, "another day in cyberspace, another China-related hacking incident." The latest case, revealed by researchers in the U.S. and Canada, was announced late Monday. Eight months of investigation have dragged a Web spy ring known as "Shadow" into the sunlight, but not before e...

I haven't even had the chance to lay one finger on an Apple iPad yet, and it's already reached out and touched me -- or rather, touched a new business opportunity Full disclosure: as of last month, I became the host/managing editor for spark360.tv, a Web-based business television program. We produce network news-style stories on small/medium-sizes ...

Nothing says "ultra-fast broadband" better than the image of four poodles dressed as the "Wizard of Oz" gang. Or a video of a man dunking himself in a tank full of sharks. Or the sight of thousands of people gathering at night and using glow-sticks to spell out the logo of a certain world-famous search engine company When Google announced in Februa...

Many college students have been spending the week on the beaches of Padre Island and other balmy locales, soaking up equal parts sun and alcohol. Meanwhile, the families of America are starting to think about where they'd like to dig their toes in the sand for summer vacations -- if they're not already picturing themselves joining the long, sweaty lines at the nation's major theme parks...

For anyone thinking that the Google-China dynasty war would be resolved quickly -- and that mutual economic concerns would ultimately force both armies to ratchet down this uniquely 21-century cyberduel -- this was the week for the rudest of awakenings The hacking hits just keep on coming in China. Google announced that its Chinese search service e...

The right-leaning Drudge Report made it a habit in November and December to trumpet any and all headlines relating to the "Climategate" controversy -- the story involving UK scientist Phil Jones, the head of the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, whose emails attacking critics of global warming found their way onto the Internet after his account was hacked...

IUGO Mobile has used Apple's iPhone to dial up a measure of success with its smartphone-based games. The development company, which makes popular titles "Zombie Attack!" "Toy Bot Diaries" and "Implode," was the first gaming outlet to get its own featured section on the iTunes for PC Store. IUGO's games are used for demo purposes in Apple Stores, and "Toy Bot Diaries" was part of the montage of games used in the first iPod touch gaming-centric TV commercial...

When Microsoft first launched its Bing search engine less than a year ago, the company promised to map out a strategy that involved more frequent updates and feature additions. This week, the company reiterated its commitment to that road map with the announcement of some new tweaks and technology integration starting immediately and continuing into the summer -- tweaks including, of course, mapping in search results...

For a second, I thought the Radio Shack ad in my Gmail inbox was trying to sell me a new netbook or a previously unreported competitor to Apple's forthcoming iPad. Then I took the time to read all the ad copy: "Watch. Read. Surf. Play on the Biggest Touchscreen Smartphone Around."

Three of the biggest names in the Internet industry are founding members of the Global Network Initiative, a consortium of companies, non-profits and academic groups formed in October 2008 to promote human rights and privacy around the world. However, now one of those companies, Google, finds itself going head-to-head with the Chinese government over issues regarding censorship of search data, while most other technology companies have remained on the sidelines as they wait to see how this economic and diplomatic standoff resolves itself in Beijing...

Google's relationship with the Chinese government officially entered the brinksmanship phase this week with the announcement from the company that it is ending its Communist-mandated censorship of search results and directing queries to its unfiltered Hong Kong-based service. The Great Firewall immediately slammed down on some of those results, and there are reports of possible backlash involving other Chinese business dealings for Google, particularly in the mobile space...

It's a good bet that when "The Daily Show's" Jon Stewart spends six minutes making uber-ironic fun of a particular trend or topic, it's pretty much arrived as a legitimate Mainstream Media Phenomenon. Such was the case recently with Stewart's hilarious deconstruction of Chatroulette, the Web site that facilitates random video chat conversations, at least half of which apparently involve men engaging in some kind of sexual activity -- judging, that is, from all the print and broadcast coverage...

The U.S. Census Bureau has started mailing out its forms, so I would like to take this opportunity to announce a new demographic category for those of us who will be writing "journalist" in the "occupation" box: Old New Media Dogs T-shirts and business cards are forthcoming....

"Avatar" may be the box office champ in this or any other galaxy, and the first weekend of ticket sales for "Alice in Wonderland" has certainly put a Cheshire Cat smile on the faces of Walt Disney studio executives. However, all that monetary activity stems from watching those two movies in the plush, dark expanses of a special, 3-D-enabled movie theater.