Wednesday, June 30, 2010

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Microsoft Puts Down The Kin Top
We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones. These words from Microsoft serve as the epitaph for the Kin series of socially-oriented handsets and their ecosystem. It’s been less than two months since the handsets and service were announced, and rumors of incredibly low sales had us questioning the lifespan of these little guys not long after. Add to that the weird interface and inexplicable pricing , and it’s clear in retrospect that the Kins never had much of a chance. In fact, we heard the project was canceled before it was even officially announced. Continue reading…
 
Google News Gets Biggest Overhaul Since 2002, Adds Trending Topics And Personal News Stream Top
After months of testing, today Google News is unveiling “the biggest redesign since the beta launch in 2002,” says director of product management Ben Ling. The main new elements of the page include new navigation by trending topics in the left pane, a personalized news stream in the middle pane, and localized news and weather in the right-hand pane. The whole idea is to make Google news more personal and relevant. The trending topics, which Google calls topic links, will sit under Top Stories and be tied to keywords related to hot stories of the day. We spotted these trending topics in the wild earlier this year during the beta test period. And yes, that is similar to a very popular discovery feature on Twitter. But these topic links will also appear just above headlines and if you click on them you get a stream of related stories. The biggest change, though, is shift to a personal news stream. One of the sections on the main page is now called “News For You.” It shows all the sources and topics which you tend to read. News can be viewed in a section view or a new list view, which is basically a reverse-chronological stream (like a blog or Twitter/Facebook stream). There is also be a new tool available under “Edit Personalizations” which lets you specify which news sources you trust the most. News items from those sources will be given extra weight in the “News For You” column. Go ahead and select TechCrunch. (We’ll wait). Local news and weather, as well as news somehow deemed relevant to you, will be in the lower right hand corner. I think of that as the Geo section. Social sharing is quickly becoming a key way that news travels. Google News also has new sharing options. Every story can be shared via Gmail, Google Reader, Google Buzz, Facebook, and Twitter. You can not only share stories, but entire story clusters. Google is boosting the sharing features across its products, so this one was a natural. The Spotlight section, which is like an Editor’s pick collection of longer-form and longer-lasting stories, is getting more prominence on the main page. Finally, Google News is adding keyboard shortcuts such as “n” for next story, “p” for previous, “/” for search, and “s” to star a topic. In many ways, Google is learning what Yahoo and others learned long ago. Making the news personal, makes people come back more often. But Google is wrapping this personalization in the new vocabulary of social streams and sharing. The new design will begin rolling out in the U.S. today. CrunchBase Information Google News Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Waze Taps Into Geo Tweets. Facebook, Foursquare, iOS 4 Come Along For The Ride Top
When it comes to mapping applications, Waze is probably the most fun one out there . It turns turn-by-turn navigation into a social experience, and a game (think: Pac-Man). It also happens to be free. And a few new features rolling out in the updated iPhone app today make it even more interesting. The biggest new feature is the use of geolocated tweets for realtime traffic updates. One of Waze’s core features is the ability to send and get realtime traffic info as you use it in your car on the road. But that obviously requires that people use Waze to send those reports. But with Twitter integration, Waze can scan tweets sent from anywhere to find information about things like bad traffic or accidents on the road. This is done “ in a smart way — we’re only bringing in tweets relevant to traffic road conditions ,” Waze’s Di-Ann Eisnor tells us. Waze is actually using a mixture of geotagged tweets and ones from relevant sources (such as the Department of Transportation) and running them through an algorithm to make sure they only show relevant ones in the app. Twitter users can also ensure Waze will get their reports as quickly as possible by including the hashtag “#wazelive” in their tweets. And you’ll be able to see geotagged tweets on the map itself. Another big addition to Waze is Facebook and Foursquare integration. With this new Facebook integration, you’ll be able to see your Facebook friends within Waze as they move around the map. These friends have different icons from regular Waze users to distinguish them. With the Foursquare integration, Waze users can check-in to various places from within the app. Doing so in the correct way will unlock a “Road Warrior” badge. But what may be the most important new feature in the iPhone app is the new iOS 4 functionality – including background location. This means that you can now use Waze even when you don’t have the app open (something which was previously possible on the Android version). You can find the newest version of Waze in the App Store here (the new app was just approved so it may take a little bit of time to show up). It’s a free download. CrunchBase Information Waze Twitter Facebook Foursquare Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Paper.li Lets You Read Twitter In Daily Newspaper Form, Raises More Funding Top
Exclusive – SmallRivers , a fledging Internet startup based out of Switzerland that has developed a Web app called Paper.li that basically lets you turn Twitter streams, tags and lists into daily online newspapers , has landed more cash after inking a $1 million seed funding deal back in 2008. Investing in this new round are a group of unnamed ‘reputed Web 2.0 business angels’ along with German investment and media group Econa and Kima Ventures , the early-stage investment firm started by French entrepreneurs Xavier Niel and Jeremie Berrebi . Paper.li, launched in alpha mode last April, organizes links shared on Twitter into an easy-to-skim page that makes it look like an online newspaper’s homepage. Virtual, personalized newspapers can be created for any Twitter user ( TechCrunch ), list (Robert Scoble’s ‘most influential in tech’ list) or tag ( #oilspill ). SmallRivers is now gearing up to launch Paper.li in beta, and says it has already attracted a lot of attention from established social and traditional media companies for partnerships. The startup is currently working on adding more functionalities to the service and adding support for a bunch more languages. The new beta version should go live in the next few weeks. One partnership the small company is likely to strike is one with French national newspaper Le Monde – Kima Ventures partner Xavier Niel just snubbed France’s president Sarkozy in a bid to take over the paper along with Yves Saint Laurent Group partner Pierre Berg and banker Matthieu Pigasse. Niel is a self-made billionaire thanks to his 64 percent share of Iliad, the Internet broadband company he founded after an initial career running sex-chat services. On a sidenote: Niel is also one of the many angel investors behind Jack Dorsey’s Square . Colorful bunch of investors, but time will tell if their backing helps turn Paper.li into a real business rather than a cute gimmicky service. CrunchBase Information SmallRivers Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Cisco and Living PlanIT Go Green With Sustainable City Top
Networking equipment maker Cisco intends to build a sustainable city in Portugal. The company will work with Living PlanIT , a startup focused on developing large-scale sustainable technologies for construction projects and cities. What will this city look like? For one thing, it’ll be wired with tens of millions of sensors providing real-time data to help manage common urban issues like traffic and crime. The 11-square-mile city will host 225,000 residents at a site in Paredes near the less sustainable city of Porto which is heavily populated and could be an example of a city benefiting from having a neighbor designed to be green. Locals’ homes will use at least 50% less energy and 80% less water than regular city dwellers. And if saving wasn’t enough, the city will import waste from other areas and turn it into amino acid by-products pharmaceuticals can use. Portugal’s government named the plan a “Project of National Importance,” and other cities, want in on the technology, including Las Vegas . The project will have 25 phases, the first of which is slated to begin this year, and hopes to attract at least €550m in investments. CrunchBase Information Living PlanIT Information provided by CrunchBase CrunchBase Information Cisco Information provided by CrunchBase
 
ModCloth Raises $19.8 Million Series B For Indie Fashion Top
Indie fashion site ModCloth has raised $19.8 million in Series B funding in a round led by Accel Partners, with participation from existing investors Floodgate and First Round Capital. As part of the deal Accel’s Theresia Gouw Ranzetta will join ModCloth’s Board, joining Mike Maples (Floodgate) and Josh Kopelman (First Round), along with ModCloth cofounders (and husband-and-wife) Eric and Susan Koger. I sat down with the Kogers earlier this week to talk about ModCloth. For those that haven’t used the site before, it features a range of vintage-inspired clothing from indie designers. ModCloth handles distribution of the clothing itself, and cofounder Susan Koger chooses which clothing is incorporated into ModCloth’s selection. The company has been profitable since 2009. ModCloth plans to use the money to expand its inventory and distribution capabilities (Eric Koger notes that the company’s biggest issue is that frequently sells out of some hot items). It also will be building out more social features, including a more robust voting mechanic that will allow users to help choose which design samples should make it to production (this already exists in an early form, but the company will be enhancing it so it can identify the members with the best taste, who could win employment offers and prizes). Eric and Susan Koger started the company back in 2002 in a limited form, and expanded it after graduating from CMU in 2006. The company now has over 150 employees — a fact that would likely surprise many of the site’s customers given its indie roots. We’ll be posting a video interview with the Kogers later today. CrunchBase Information ModCloth Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Woot's Deal Of The Day: Woot! — Amazon Buys It. Price? $110 Million Top
Woot has been acquired by Amazon, as they briefly note on their blog today with a big “woot!” Well, okay, their exact words were “Holy crap!” This is a great deal for daily online bargin service as, similar to Zappos and Audible, they’ll continue to be run autonomously under the Amazon banner. The company will remain in Texas. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Update : We’re hearing from a solid source that the price Amazon paid was $110 million — all in cash. Woot shot to popularity with their “one deal per day” idea. Similar timed deal ideas have since become very popular for sites like Gilt (for fashion) and Groupon (for food and activities). The company also has always had an interesting sense of humor and has not shied away from having deals on things as diverse as handguns . Here’s the full letter from Woot CEO Matt Rutledge to employees: Date: Weds, 30 June 2010 From: Matt Rutledge (CEO – Woot.com) To: All Woot Employees Subject: Woot and Amazon I know I say this every time I find a picture of an adorable kitten, but please set aside 20 minutes to carefully read this entire email. Today is a big day in Woot history. This morning, I woke up to find Jeff Bezos the Mighty had seized our magic sword. Using the Arthurian model as a corporate structure was something our CFO had warned against from the very beginning, but now that's water under the bridge. What is important is that our company is on the verge of becoming a part of the Amazon.com dynasty. And our plans for Grail.Woot are on indefinite hold. Over the next few days, you will probably read headlines that say "Matt Rutledge revealed to be monstrous pseudo-human creation of Jeff Bezos." You might even see this photo making the rounds. Rest assured that these rumors have nothing to do with our final decision. We think now is the right time to join with Amazon because, quite simply, every company that becomes a subsidiary gets two free downloads until the end of July, and we very much need that new thing with Trent Reznor's wife on our iPods. Other than that, we plan to continue to run Woot the way we have always run Woot – with a wall of ideas and a dartboard. From a practical point of view, it will be as if we are simply adding one person to the organizational hierarchy, except that one person will just happen to be a billion-dollar company that could buy and sell each and every one of you like you were office furniture. Nevertheless, don't worry that our culture will suddenly take a leap forward and become cutting-edge. We're still going to be the same old bottom-feeders our customers and readers have come to know and love, and each and every one of their pre-written insult macros will still be just as valid in a week, two weeks, or even next year. For Woot, our vision remains the same: somehow earning a living on snarky commentary and junk. We are excited about doing this for all sorts of reasons. One, our business model is so vague that there's no way Amazon can possibly change what it is we're truly doing: preparing the way for the rise of the Lava Men in 2012. Also, our deal means that Jason Toon will finally be released from that Mexican jail owned by Zappos honcho Tony Hsieh. No, don't lie, Tony, we've seen the paperwork. And we need a powerful ally in case Steve Jobs finally breaks down and comes after us for all our Apple jokes over the years. Don't think of it as a buyout; think of it as NATO! I will go through each of the above points in more detail later, but first, let me get to the top 5 burning questions that I'm guessing many of you will have. TOP 5 BURNING QUESTIONS: Q: F1RST!!!! A: Okay, that's not a question, but it is a good place to mention that our forums will still be policed by a team of moderators, as before. And also, Woot's previous and always-in-effect privacy policy will still be just as always-in-effect, so don't worry, there are no plans to suddenly give up or merge your forum data. Q: Is Snapster leaving? A: Are you kidding? He's out the door about ten seconds after that check clea- that is to say, Snapster will continue as Woot.com CEO, just like before, and the rest of our staff's not going anywhere either. Woot and all our various sites will continue to be an independently operated company full of horrible, useless products and an untalented jerkface writing staff, same as it ever was. Q: Will the Woot culture change? A: Amazon is interested in us because they recognize the value of our people, our brand, and our unique style of deep-tissue, toxin-releasing massage. And they don’t want to start changing things now. Amazon’s hoping our nutty Woot steez continues to grow and develop (and perhaps even rubs off on them a little). They're not looking to have their folks come in and run Woot unless we ask them to, which incidentally you can do by turning off the bathroom lights and saying the word "Kindle" three times; a helpful Amazon employee will appear in the mirror. That said, Amazon clearly knows what they’re doing in a lot of areas, so we're geeked about the opportunities to tap into that knowledge and those resources, especially on the technology side. This is about making the Woot brand, culture, and business even stronger than it is today, and we expect that any changes will be for the better or we wouldn’t bother with this endless paperwork. Q: Where can I get one of those vuvuzelas? A: Are you even paying attention? Several months ago, when we were all sitting on Jeff Bezos's bumper drinking orange Mad Dog and trying not to be noticed, we heard a voice in the distance yelling "You kids better not scratch my Mercedes or I'm calling the cops!" We ran. It was later that night when Amazon came by the house and said they liked our style and also wanted to get that money we owed them for messing up the chrome. We like to think that our relationship with Amazon will continue at this level for many, many, many years to come. But we here at Woot are still a thoughtful company, so, at the end of the day, I watched the sunset, and its golden-hued glory made me think about two questions: 1) Is there really a universal deity? 2) Does such a thing preclude free will or are we humans in control of our own destiny? After spending a lot of time falling asleep at the library while facing the philosophy books, I determined that the concept of destiny is a construct that allows man a gentle release from facing the terror of his existence, and that a Hyundai full of twenties would pretty much offer the same benefits. And so, I ultimately said YES! This is definitely an emotional day for me. The feelings I'm experiencing are similar to what I felt in college on graduation day: excitement about getting a check from my folks combined with nausea from a hellacious bender the night before. I remember fondly that time when an RA turned on the lights and yelled "WHO OWNS THESE PANTS?" Except this time, the pants are a company, and the RA is you, and the sixty five hours of community service is a deal that will ensure the Woot.com experience can continue to grow for years and years and years, like a black mold behind the Gold Box. Join us, because together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Also, there will be six muffins waiting in the company break room, courtesy of the nice folks at Amazon.com. Welcome to the family! Matt Rutledge CEO, Woot CrunchBase Information Woot Amazon Information provided by CrunchBase
 
Cisco Unveils Hosted Platform To Deploy Collaboration Applications In The Cloud Top
Cisco is launching a new Hosted Collaboration platform today, which allows partners to provide a wide range of Cisco collaboration applications, such as WebEx, an enterprise focused messaging platform, a contact center and more, to their customers via the cloud. The Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution gives customers the ability to deploy multiple collaboration applications on one server in a virtualized environment and then host those applications for multiple client organizations.
 
WhaleShark Media Unveiled As Big Coupon/Deals Rollup Play Top
We first heard of WhaleShark Media in March when MySpace VP Mobile John Faith jumped ship to join the secretive new startup . Now we have all the details. The company is led by former BankRate COO Cotter Cuningham , and has raised over $30 million in funding from Austin Ventures and a number of undisclosed angels. Their strategy is to roll up the top deals and coupons sites on the Internet. It’s not the sexiest business in the world, but it sure is profitable, apparently. They’ve acquired four sites already – deals2buy , coupon7 , couponshare and my personal favorite, cheapstingybargains.com . The company isn’t saying the terms, other than both cash and stock is involved. more deals are closing soon, they say. The go forward brand for the company will likely be deals.com , a domain name they’ve acquired from Demand Media . The new site is still in development and Demand Media content remains on the site for now. These types of rollups are becoming a specialty of Austin Ventures. They founded the hugely successful HomeAway rollup . And more recently they backed former MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe’s social gaming rollup MindJolt . Both Tom Ball and Phil Siegel . The company is already “oh yes” very profitable, they say, and have revenues of $10 million – $20 million. CrunchBase Information WhaleShark Media Austin Ventures Information provided by CrunchBase
 

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