Menlo Park

Want to accept credit cards at your next garage sale? A new iPhone application will soon make that easier. Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey has unveiled his latest project, the Square magnetic reader, which plugs into a vendor's handset, allowing customers to swipe their card. The credit information is then transmitted via an audio signal through included software to Square servers for processing.

MacGregor Campbell in New Scientist:

If there's any small solace when starting a job search in this recession, it's the proliferation of digital technology to help you re-enter the working world.

Web sites like Indeed.com and LinkedIn.com have multiplied the number of job openings you can track and the professional contacts you can make. E-mail and smart phones make it easier to pitch yourself and set up appointments.

Shouldn't your computer know a reasonable amount about your likes and dislikes? Wouldn't it be great if it could anticipate your needs and take action without you pressing a key?

Booking travel and restaurant reservations, rearranging meeting schedules or even taking a first cut at reading e-mail messages are among the mundane tasks that have remained beyond the reach of our PCs for decades.

But a new generation of Internet technologies, coupled with the investment of more than a third of a billion dollars, may be making meaningful progress.

A debate between the Federal Communications Commission and the outgoing Bush administration centers on the FCC's plan to make broadband available for free at government-mandated speeds.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said providing free broadband services would be counterproductive, result in a congested and inefficient broadband, and be inconsistent with the Bush administration's stand that the service should be allocated by the markets, not the government.

A Brazil-based startup says it has a solution for users of multiple social networks like Facebook, MySpace and others who want to access the Web sites on one portal. Power.com, which has backing from veteran technology investors, has been operating in stealth mode for users in India and Brazil, but now wants to woo U.S.-based users.

Matt Cohler, a pivotal player in Facebook Inc.'s rapid growth, is departing the popular online hangout to find other promising Internet startups for a prominent venture capital firm.

Cohler will remain Facebook's vice president of product management through the summer and then become a general partner at Benchmark Capital, according to a Thursday announcement.

Even after joining Benchmark, Cohler will remain a "special adviser" to Facebook's 24-year-old founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg.