A Distinctive Taste

Apple Launches iCloud Beta

Apple has unveiled the beta for iCloud, the company’s new suite of media streaming and cloud-based services.

News International Under Scrutiny for Routine Email Deletion Requests

A technology firm told members of British Parliament that its client, News International, requested the deletion of hundreds of thousands of emails sent between April 2010 and July 2011.

Facebook Lets Expectant Parents Add Unborn Children to Friends & Family

Expectant parents can announce the good news to their Facebook friends via a new Facebook family member status option.

Newt Gingrich Accused of Buying Twitter Following

A former staffer claims that GOP candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter, has paid various “follow agencies” to create fake accounts to follow him.

White House Twitter Q&A Adds 3,100 Followers Per Day

Office Hours, the daily question-and-answer session launched on the White House Twitter account last Tuesday, is boosting the number of followers the @WhiteHouse account attracts by 37% per day on average.

Further News

• Klout now factors in YouTube activity as part of its scoring system for social influence.
• Cosmo has launched an iPad-only magazine for men.
• Shortly after Skype released its official iPad app, the company pulled it, saying that the app went live prematurely.
• Owners of HP’s tablet TouchPad are receiving their first over-the-air software update, webOS 3.0.2, which brings new features to core webOS apps such as Email, Calendar and Photos.
• Airbnb, the self-described “marketplace for spaces,” has issued an unconditional apology for how it treated one of its users after her place was ransacked by thieves.