SEC may force Facebook flotation

Facebook might be forced by US regulators to take the social networking company public as new investors pile in

"It's a lot easier to go public than to be public," observed veteran technology investor Frank Quattrone last year. That insight might prove doubly prophetic for Facebook, which is under fresh scrutiny about when it might take - or be forced to take - the social networking company public following a fresh $500m (£320m) round of investment led by Goldman Sachs. That has valued Facebook at $50bn - as big as Tesco.

Joined by the Russian tech investment firm Digital Sky, which put $50m into the deal, Goldman has structured it as a new investment product. Clients can buy a chunk of Facebook equity by investing at least $2m, and have to agree not to sell shares until 2013 and not to trade in secondary stock markets.

Read the full article on the guardian website here

Government wades in to Apple apps donation row

The minister for civil society, Nick Hurd, has stepped in to the escalating row between charities and Apple over the technology giant's refusal to allow donations to be made from iPhone and iPad apps. "Apple platforms would provide a huge opportunity for charities if they could engage Apple users in a compelling and convenient way," Aldridge told the Guardian. EHurd accused Apple of "dragging its heels" over its refusal to allow users to make in-app donations to charities and non-profit organisations.

The minister said he will formally write to Apple and ask for an explanation of its ban, which the company has faced growing pressure to repeal in recent months.

Apple has never officially explained the reasons behind its controversial policy, other than saying that apps "can accept charitable donations via their websites". But it is thought that the legal responsibility of verifying payments and charities is the company's chief hesitation.

Read the full article on the guardian website here

Dawn of the age of the robot

The robots are coming. The second decade of the 21st century will see the rise of a mechanised army that will revolutionise private and public life just as radically as the internet and social media have shaken up the past 10 years. Or so says Marina Gorbis, futurologist and head of Californian thinktank The Institute for the Future.

The IFTF is one of the world's most venerable thinktanks and has been plotting the course of the future for corporate and government clients since it was spun off from the RAND Corporation in 1968. Gorbis says robots will increasingly dominate everything from the way we fight wars to our work lives and even how we organise our kitchens.

Read the full article on the guardian here

An iPhone Lover's Take On The Nexus S

There's a scene in Iron Man 2 in which Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) shows off the mechanical soliders he has been working on - his would-be "Iron Man-killers". Unfortunately, while they may look somewhat impressive, his machines malfunction and the demo goes horribly awry. His knock-offs are junk. This scene reminds me a lot of what the first Android phone, the G1, was like when compared to the iPhone. Luckily for Google, things have improved substantially since then - and without the help of a Russian Mickey Rourke. Well, presumably anyway.

First of all, the Nexus S is a great smartphone. I've been using it for a little over two weeks now and I think I can safely say that in a world where there was no iPhone, this is the device I would use. While I like a number of fundamental things about Windows Phone more, Android is more mature. And more importantly, the ecosystem is far more built-out. Plus, the Google apps on the device are enough to entice anyone.

Read the full Tech Crunch article here