A technology company, or tech company, is a company that focuses primarily on the manufacturing, support, research and development of—most commonly computing, telecommunication and consumer electronics–based—technology-intensive products and services, which include businesses relating to digital electronics, software, optics, new energy, and Internet-related services such as cloud storage and e-commerce services. Big Tech refers to the 6 largest companies, both in the United States and globally, symbolized by the metonym 'Silicon Valley', where 4 of them are based. == Details == According to Fortune, as of 2020, the ten largest technology companies by revenue are: Apple Inc., Samsung, Foxconn, Alphabet Inc., Microsoft, Huawei, Dell Technologies, Hitachi, IBM, and Sony. Amazon has higher revenue than Apple, but is classified by Fortune in the retail sector. The most profitable listed in 2020 are Apple Inc., Microsoft, Alphabet Inc., Intel, Meta Platforms, Samsung, and Tencent. Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc. (owner of Google), Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook), Microsoft, and Amazon.com, Inc. are often referred to as the Big Five multinational technology companies based in the United States. These five technology companies dominate major functions, e-commerce channels, and information of the entire Internet ecosystem. As of 2017, the Big Five had a combined valuation of over $3.3 trillion and make up more than 40 percent of the value of the Nasdaq-100 index. Many large tech companies have a reputation for innovation, spending large sums of money annually on research and development. According to PwC's 2017 Global Innovation 1000 ranking, tech companies made up nine of the 20 most innovative companies in the world, with the top R&D spender (as measured by expenditure) being Amazon, followed by Alphabet Inc., and then Intel. As a result of numerous influential tech companies and tech startups opening offices in proximity to one another, a number of technology districts have developed in various areas across the globe. These include: Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Wadi in Israel, Silicon Docks in Dublin, Silicon Hills in Austin, Tech City in London; Digital Media City in Seoul, Zhongguancun in Beijing, Cyberjaya in Malaysia and Cyberabad in Hyderabad, India. As of 2026, Europe has six of the world's 100 most valuable tech companies, compared with 56 in the United States and 16 in China.
OpenPipeline
openPipeline is an open-source plug-in for Autodesk Maya that is designed to assist in a Production Pipeline structure and Computer animation. == Development == Created in Maya Embedded Language, openPipeline was initiated at Eyebeam Atelier and further developed at Pratt Institute in the Digital Arts Lab. The initial release date was December 28, 2006. == Contributors == Rob O'Neill (Creator) Paris Mavroidis Meng-Han Ho
International Webmasters Association
The International Webmasters Association (IWA) is a non-profit association for education and certification of web professionals founded in 1996. It provides a Certified Web Professional certification. One of its objectives is to build a World Wide Web that is a true global community. According to the IWA, as of 2025 it has more than 100 official chapters with over 300,000 individual members in 106 countries. In 2001, the IWA merged with the HTML Writers Guild (HWG) and joined the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). IWA's accomplishments include the publishing of the industry's first guidelines for ethical and professional standards, web certification and education programs, specialized employment resources, and technical assistance to individuals and businesses. IWA members participate to the activities of W3C WCAG Working Group, ATAG Working Group, and the XHTML Working Group. They have also participated in other initiatives such as the Multimodal Interaction Working Group which developed EMMA, the Extensible MultiModal Annotation markup language.
Microformat
Microformats (μF) are predefined HTML markup (like HTML classes) created to serve as descriptive and consistent metadata about elements, designating them as representing a certain type of data (such as contact information, geographic coordinates, events, products, recipes, etc.). They allow software to process the information reliably by having set classes refer to a specific type of data rather than being arbitrary. Microformats emerged around 2005 and were predominantly designed for use by search engines, web syndication and aggregators such as RSS. Google confirmed in 2020 that it still parses microformats for use in content indexing. Microformats are referenced in several W3C social web specifications, including IndieAuth and Webmention. Although the content of web pages has been capable of some "automated processing" since the inception of the web, such processing is difficult because the markup elements used to display information on the web do not describe what the information means. Microformats can bridge this gap by attaching semantics, and thereby obviating other, more complicated, methods of automated processing, such as natural language processing or screen scraping. The use, adoption and processing of microformats enables data items to be indexed, searched for, saved or cross-referenced, so that information can be reused or combined. As of 2013, microformats allow the encoding and extraction of event details, contact information, social relationships and similar information. Microformats2, abbreviated as mf2, is the updated version of microformats. Mf2 provides an easier way of interpreting HTML structured syntax and vocabularies than the earlier ways that made use of RDFa and microdata. == Background == Microformats emerged around 2005 as part of a grassroots movement to make recognizable data items (such as events, contact details or geographical locations) capable of automated processing by software, as well as directly readable by end-users. Link-based microformats emerged first. These include vote links that express opinions of the linked page, which search engines can tally into instant polls. CommerceNet, a nonprofit organization that promotes e-commerce on the Internet, has helped sponsor and promote the technology and support the microformats community in various ways. CommerceNet also helped co-found the Microformats.org community site. Neither CommerceNet nor Microformats.org operates as a standards body. The microformats community functions through an open wiki, a mailing list, and an Internet relay chat (IRC) channel. Most of the existing microformats originated at the Microformats.org wiki and the associated mailing list by a process of gathering examples of web-publishing behaviour, then codifying it. Some other microformats (such as rel=nofollow and unAPI) have been proposed, or developed, elsewhere. == Technical overview == XHTML and HTML standards allow for the embedding and encoding of semantics within the attributes of markup elements. Microformats take advantage of these standards by indicating the presence of metadata using the following attributes: class Classname rel relationship, description of the target address in an anchor-element (...) rev reverse relationship, description of the referenced document (in one case, otherwise deprecated in microformats) For example, in the text "The birds roosted at 52.48, -1.89" is a pair of numbers which may be understood, from their context, to be a set of geographic coordinates. With wrapping in spans (or other HTML elements) with specific class names (in this case geo, latitude and longitude, all part of the geo microformat specification): Software agents can recognize exactly what each value represents and can then perform a variety of tasks such as indexing, locating it on a map and exporting it to a GPS device. === Examples === In this example, the contact information is presented as follows: With hCard microformat markup, that becomes: Here, the formatted name (fn), organisation (org), telephone number (tel) and web address (url) have been identified using specific class names and the whole thing is wrapped in class="vcard", which indicates that the other classes form an hCard (short for "HTML vCard") and are not merely coincidentally named. Other, optional, hCard classes also exist. Software, such as browser plug-ins, can now extract the information, and transfer it to other applications, such as an address book. == Specific microformats == Several microformats have been developed to enable semantic markup of particular types of information. However, only hCard and hCalendar have been ratified, the others remaining as drafts: hAtom (superseded by h-entry and h-feed) – for marking up Atom feeds from within standard HTML hCalendar – for events hCard – for contact information; includes: adr – for postal addresses geo – for geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude) hMedia – for audio/video content hAudio – for audio content hNews – for news content hProduct – for products hRecipe – for recipes and foodstuffs. hReview – for reviews rel-directory – for distributed directory creation and inclusion rel-enclosure – for multimedia attachments to web pages rel-license – specification of copyright license rel-nofollow, an attempt to discourage third-party content spam (e.g. spam in blogs) rel-tag – for decentralized tagging (Folksonomy) XHTML Friends Network (XFN) – for social relationships XOXO – for lists and outlines == Uses == Using microformats within HTML code provides additional formatting and semantic data that applications can use. For example, applications such as web crawlers can collect data about online resources, or desktop applications such as e-mail clients or scheduling software can compile details. The use of microformats can also facilitate "mash ups" such as exporting all of the geographical locations on a web page into (for example) Google Maps to visualize them spatially. Several browser extensions, such as Operator for Firefox and Oomph for Internet Explorer, provide the ability to detect microformats within an HTML document. When hCard or hCalendar are involved, such browser extensions allow microformats to be exported into formats compatible with contact management and calendar utilities, such as Microsoft Outlook. When dealing with geographical coordinates, they allow the location to be sent to applications such as Google Maps. Yahoo! Query Language can be used to extract microformats from web pages. On 12 May 2009 Google announced that they would be parsing the hCard, hReview and hProduct microformats, and using them to populate search result pages. They subsequently extended this in 2010 to use hCalendar for events and hRecipe for cookery recipes. Similarly, microformats are also processed by Bing and Yahoo!. As of late 2010, these are the world's top three search engines. Microsoft said in 2006 that they needed to incorporate microformats into upcoming projects, as did other software companies. Alex Faaborg summarizes the arguments for putting the responsibility for microformat user interfaces in the web browser rather than making more complicated HTML: Only the web browser knows what applications are accessible to the user and what the user's preferences are It lowers the barrier to entry for web site developers if they only need to do the markup and not handle "appearance" or "action" issues Retains backwards compatibility with web browsers that do not support microformats The web browser presents a single point of entry from the web to the user's computer, which simplifies security issues == Evaluation == Various commentators have offered review and discussion on the design principles and practical aspects of microformats. Microformats have been compared to other approaches that seek to serve the same or similar purpose. As of 2007, there had been some criticism of one, or all, microformats. The spread and use of microformats was being advocated as of 2007. Opera Software CTO and CSS creator Håkon Wium Lie said in 2005 "We will also see a bunch of microformats being developed, and that’s how the semantic web will be built, I believe." However, in August 2008 Toby Inkster, author of the "Swignition" (formerly "Cognition") microformat parsing service, pointed out that no new microformat specifications had been published since 2005. === Design principles === Computer scientist and entrepreneur, Rohit Khare stated that reduce, reuse, and recycle is "shorthand for several design principles" that motivated the development and practices behind microformats. These aspects can be summarized as follows: Reduce: favor the simplest solutions and focus attention on specific problems; Reuse: work from experience and favor examples of current practice; Recycle: encourage modularity and the ability to embed, valid XHTML can be reused in blog posts, RSS feeds, and anywhere else you can access the web. === Accessibi
X2 transceiver
The X2 transceiver format is a 10 gigabit per second modular fiber optic interface intended for use in routers, switches and optical transport platforms. It is an early generation 10 gigabit interface related to the similar XENPAK and XPAK formats. X2 may be used with 10 Gigabit Ethernet or OC-192/STM-64 speed SDH/SONET equipment. X2 modules are smaller and consume less power than first-generation XENPAK modules, but larger and consume more energy than the newer XFP transceiver standard and SFP+ standards. As of 2016 this format is relatively uncommon and has been replaced by 10 Gbit/s SFP+ in most new equipment.
Mastodon (social network)
Mastodon is a free and open-source software platform for decentralized social networking with microblogging features similar to Twitter. It operates as a federated network of independently managed servers that communicate using the ActivityPub protocol, allowing users to connect across different instances within the Fediverse. Each Mastodon instance establishes its own moderation policies and content guidelines, distinguishing it from centrally controlled social media platforms. First released in 2016 by Eugen Rochko, Mastodon has positioned itself as an alternative to mainstream social media, particularly for users seeking decentralized, community-driven spaces. The platform has experienced multiple surges in adoption, most notably following the Twitter acquisition by Elon Musk in 2022, as users sought alternatives to Twitter. It is part of a broader shift toward decentralized social networks, including Bluesky and Lemmy. Mastodon emphasizes user privacy and moderation flexibility, offering features such as granular post visibility controls, content warning options, and local community-driven moderation. The software is written in Ruby on Rails and Node.js, with a web interface built using React and Redux. It is interoperable with other ActivityPub-based platforms, such as Threads, and supports various third-party applications on desktop and mobile devices. == Functionality == Users post short-form status messages, historically known as "toots", for others to see and interact with. On a standard Mastodon instance, these messages can include up to 500 text-based characters, greater than Twitter's 280-character limit. Some instances support even longer messages. Images, audio files, videos or polls can also be added to a message. Users join a specific Mastodon server, rather than a single centralized website or application. The servers are connected as nodes in a network, and each server can administer its own rules, account privileges, and whether to share messages to and from other servers. Users can communicate and follow each other across connected Mastodon servers with usernames similar in format to full email addresses. Since version 2.9.0, Mastodon's web user interface has offered a single-column mode for new users by default. In advanced mode, the interface approximates the microblogging interface of TweetDeck. === Privacy === Mastodon includes a number of specific privacy features. Each message has a variety of privacy options available, and users can choose whether the message is public or private. Messages can display public on a global feed, known as a timeline, or can be shared only to the user's followers. Messages can also be marked as unlisted from timelines or direct between users. Users can also mark their accounts as completely private. In the timeline, messages can display with an optional content warning feature, which requires readers to click on the hidden main body of the message to reveal it. Mastodon servers have used this feature to hide spoilers, trigger warnings, and not safe for work (NSFW) content, though some accounts use the feature to hide links and thoughts others might not want to read. Mastodon aggregates messages in local and federated timelines in real time. The local timeline shows messages from users on a singular server, while the federated timeline shows messages across all participating Mastodon servers. === Content moderation === In early 2017, journalists like Sarah Jeong distinguished Mastodon from Twitter for its approach to combating harassment. Mastodon uses community-based moderation, in which each server can limit or filter out undesirable types of content, while Twitter uses a single, global policy on content moderation. Servers can choose to limit or filter out messages with disparaging content. The founder of Mastodon, Eugen Rochko, believes that small, closely related communities deal with unwanted behavior more effectively than a large company's small safety team. In Move Slowly and Build Bridges, Robert W. Gehl argues that predominantly white participation has shaped Mastodon in ways that affect how reports of racism are received and limit its ability to replicate Black Twitter on Twitter. Users can also block and report others to administrators, much like on Twitter. Instance administrators can block other instances from interacting with their own, an action called defederation. By posting toots hashtagged with #fediblock, some instance administrators and users alert others of issues requiring moderation. === Searching === Mastodon by default allows searching for hashtags and mentioned accounts in the Fediverse. Server administrators can optionally enable Elasticsearch to search the full-text of public posts that have opted in to being indexed. == Versions == In September 2018, with the release of version 2.5 with redesigned public profile pages, Mastodon marked its 100th release. Mastodon 2.6 was released in October 2018, introducing the possibilities of verified profiles and live, in-stream link previews for images and videos. Version 2.7, in January 2019, made it possible to search for multiple hashtags at once, instead of searching for just a single hashtag, with more robust moderation capabilities for server administrators and moderators, while accessibility, such as contrast for users with sight issues, was improved. The ability for users to create and vote in polls, as well as a new invitation system to manage registrations was integrated in April 2019. Mastodon 2.8.1, released in May 2019, made images with content warnings blurred instead of completely hidden. In version 2.9 in June 2019, an optional single-column view was added. This view became the default displayed to new users, with a user "preferences" option to switch to a multiple-column-based view. In August 2020, Mastodon 3.2 was released. It included a redesigned audio player with custom thumbnails and the ability to add personal notes to one's profile. In July 2021, an official client for iOS devices was released. According to the project's then CEO, Eugen Rochko, the release was part of an effort to attract new users. Mastodon 4.0 was released in November 2022, including language support for translating posts, editing posts and following hashtags. Mastodon 4.5 was released in November 2025. Among other features it introduced quote posts, which were previously rejected from being implemented due to concerns about toxicity and harassment. To mitigate these issues Mastodon's quote post feature has been designed in a way that lets users decide if and by whom their posts can be quoted. == Software == Mastodon is published as free and open-source software under the Affero GPL license, allowing anyone to use the software or modify it as they wish. Servers can be run by any individual or organization, and users can join these servers as they wish. The server software itself is powered by Ruby on Rails and Node.js, with its web client being written in React.js and Redux. The only database software supported is PostgreSQL, with Redis being used for job processing and various actions that Mastodon needs to process. The service is interoperable with the fediverse, a collection of social networking services which use the ActivityPub protocol for communication between each other, with previous versions containing support for OStatus. Client apps for interacting with the Mastodon API are available for desktop computer operating systems, including Windows, macOS and the Linux family of operating systems, as well as mobile phones running iOS and Android. The API is open for anyone to utilize, allowing clients to be built for any operating system that can connect to the internet. === Integration with Fediverse === Mastodon uses the ActivityPub protocol for federation; this allows users to communicate between independent Mastodon instances and other ActivityPub compatible services. Thus, Mastodon is generally considered to be a part of the Fediverse. Services utilizing the ActivityPub protocol exist which allow for searching all posts on all instances as long as users opt-in. For similar reasons, only hashtags can appear in a Mastodon instance's trending topics, not arbitrary popular words. Trending topics vary between instances, since individual instances are aware of different subsets of posts from the whole fediverse. === Security concerns === While Mastodon's decentralized structure is one of its most distinctive features, it also poses additional security challenges. Since many Mastodon instances are run by volunteers, some security experts are concerned about data security and responsiveness to new threats and vulnerabilities across the network, considering the difficulty of configuring and maintaining an instance as well as uneven skill levels among administrators. Administrators of an instance also have access to the private information of any users that are either registered with that instance or have federated
Acquisition of DirecTV by AT&T
AT&T Inc. announced an agreement with the DirecTV Group on May 18, 2014, to acquire the company for $48.5 billion in a joint cash-stock transaction and assumed debts of $18.6 billion for a total offer of $67.1 billion. Due to stalling growth in the wireless sector, AT&T began diversifying into mass media to expand its consumer offerings. After regulatory agencies approved the purchase on July 24, 2015, AT&T briefly became the largest Pay-TV provider. DirecTV was brought under AT&T's communication segment and DirecTV Now was launched on November 30, 2016, as an alternative to cord-cutting. In the years following the purchase, DirecTV lost millions of subscribers across its satellite and streaming services and by 2019, calls grew for AT&T to divest itself off the business. Initially, AT&T rejected these calls and defended the acquisition, but by February 2021, it reached a deal with TPG Inc. to transfer ownership of DirecTV. Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T would retain a 70% majority stake in DirecTV but would no longer oversee its daily operations. The deal was finalized by August 2, 2021, with AT&T receiving $7.1 billion. By July 3, 2025, AT&T sold its majority stake to TPG, ending any ties of involvement. == Background and Development == === AT&T's history === The company to bear the name "AT&T" was founded on March 3, 1885, as American Telephone and Telegraph Company (or AT&T Corporation) by Theodore Newton Vail as a long-distance subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company. By December 1899, the Bell Telephone's assets were transferred to AT&T, with the latter gaining control of the Bell System, a regional network of local telecom companies. Theodore Vail became AT&T's President in 1907 and under his leadership, AT&T gained a monopoly over the telephone sector in the United States. This near century dominance earned AT&T the nickname of "Ma Bell." In 1974, the U.S. Department of Justice sued AT&T on accounts of antitrust violations. AT&T challenged the lawsuit, but in 1982, it reached a settlement with the DOJ to break apart its Bell System monopoly into seven regional companies. On January 1, 1984, the Bell System came to an end and led to a reshaped telecom industry. One of these regional companies, Southwestern Bell, emerged as the smallest, but after the passage of the 1996 Telecom Act, deregulated telecom rules allowed SBC to become a major telecom company. AT&T briefly became the largest cable and broadband company by the end of the 20th Century, but later deconsolidated to exit those industries. In 2005, SBC acquired its former parent, AT&T, and took on its branding as AT&T Inc, while retaining its previous business history. The newly reincorporated AT&T acquired BellSouth in 2006 and reconstituted much of its former Bell System. === DirecTV's history === == Acquisition Timeline == == Managing DirecTV == == Divestment and Spinoff ==