Wednesday, January 4, 2012

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Chairman Roy Bostock: Expect Yahoo To Remain A Public Company Top
yaAs you may have heard, Yahoo finally has a new CEO: PayPal president Scott Thompson will be serving that particular, unambiguously difficult role. We hopped on the conference call Yahoo orchestrated for the occasion, and picked up on some interesting things said by Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock on the future of the company. Bostock said, in no uncertain terms, that Yahoo is currently, and will likely stay a public company. In other words: so much for the full buyout scenario.
 
Zynga Brings Social Gameplay To Concealed Object Puzzles With Newest Facebook Title, Hidden Chronicles Top
Hidden ChroniclesHidden object games, such as Where's Waldo, have been popular in all mediums with a variety of ages of game players. But it's a genre that social gaming giant Zynga has left untouched, until now. Today, Zynga is launching its first hidden object Facebook game with a social twist, Hidden Chronicles. The game, which will roll out to the public this morning, allows players to find hidden objects, solve puzzles, and unlock mysteries, combining memory, skill, and social gameplay. In a nutshell, players unlock new locations by completing quests, mastering scenes, solving puzzles, and restoring an estate, Ramsey Manor. Players will earn coins, experience points, and unique items to help them customize their estate.
 
Paypal Shreds Ostensibly Rare Violin Because It Cares Top
bourgWhen we last left Paypal, the company was busy destroying Christmas for a bunch of kids. This week they're shredding violins into bits while taking money from unsuspecting sellers. When will we stop trusting these guys? When they kill a puppy? Regretsy reader Erica sold an ostensibly rare violin to an eBay buyer who paid using Paypal. The buyer disputed the authenticity of the instrument and asked for his money back. Rather than handle it amicably with Erica, the buyer went to Paypal who advised them to supply proof that the item had been destroyed and they would refund the money. The buyer then shredded the violin into chowder and sent a handsome photo to Paypal and Erica. Paypal refunded the money.
 
MetroPCS Launching Live Mobile TV Service Later This Year Top
metropcsToday, MetroPCS has announced a partnership with the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) on a new service that will bring live digital television to the carrier's customers. The service, called Dyle Mobile TV, will be available on phones that are pre-loaded with the Dyle application, starting first with unnamed, Android-based Samsung devices.
 
The Scott Thompson Effect: Yahoo Trades Down 2 Percent On CEO News Top
Yahoo! Stock ChartAfter months of searching, Yahoo announced its new CEO this morning: Scott Thompson, former president of PayPal. The market's initial reaction? Yahoo shares are trading down 2 percent from yesterday's close of $16.29 as the market absorbs the news and tries to make sense of it. Thompson is an operator and a technologist. That might just be what Yahoo needs at this point. We'll see if the market reacts more positively to his remarks during a conference call which is just about to start.
 
Roku's Streaming Stick Makes Your Dumb TV Much Smarter Top
Screen shot 2012-01-03 at 3.06.16 PMSmart TVs are great and all — who doesn't want a dash of WiFi with their daily dose of reality television? — but the segment will face challenges in the market. For one, a $49 Roku LT is a much better value proposition than a $1,000+ smart TV. Secondly, the hardware moves at such a rapid pace that even with solid software updates, your smart TV will likely be outdated much sooner than you're ready to buy a new one. But even with the hardships to be faced by the smart TV segment, Roku still wants a piece of the pie. Enter: the Roku Streaming Stick. It's a little USB drive-sized stick that packs a processor, memory, software and WiFi to virtually transform your regular old television into a Smart TV, with access to all of Roku's 400+ channels.
 
Eved Raises $9.5 M To Expand Its Online Marketplace For Meeting & Events Industry Top
eved-logoChicago-based Eved, an online marketplace for the meeting and events industry, has raised $9.5 million in a Series B round by New World Ventures and MK Capital. The funding will be used to scale and expand the company's proprietary platform which provides those in the event industry supply chain with a sourcing, marketing and e-commerce solution.
 
Augmented Reality App Instantly Translates Foreign Text On Signs, Menus Top
omronIf you ever wanted to be able to read text on a street sign or on a menu in a restaurant when abroad, your smartphone might be able to help you soon. Japanese electronics company Omron has developed a smartphone application that can instantly translate (short) foreign texts you come across - firing up the app and pointing the phone's camera at the text in question is enough. Omron says that in its current form, the app (which isn't available yet) can handle English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. Translations are superimposed over the text shown on the display (in the picture below, you can see three items on a Korean menu shown in yellow Japanese letters).
 
Ebay Boss John Donahoe To Serve PayPal's Interim President Top
john_donahoeYahoo just announced PayPal President Scott Thompson as its new CEO. That obviously leaves a hole at PayPal as Thompson was currently serving in that role. Well, now that he's leaving and officially starts at Yahoo on January 9, ebay's current CEO will step up and also serve as PayPal's president. He announced the move this morning in an internal PayPal memo (embedded below) where he also wished Scott the best. Donahoe and the rest of PayPal's board now has the large task of replacing Scott Thompson. PayPal's outgoing president oversaw PayPal during a period of massive growth. The company went from 50 million users to 104 active users during his tenure. Thompson, who previously served as PayPal's CTO, is said to be a geek at heart, which no doubt helped the company's focus to improve online transactions with innovated technologies. However, this could be an opportunity for rebirth at PayPal. While the company saw huge growth, they also experienced a backlash in the wake of bad publicity and company practices. PayPal needs a new image -- and now, a new president.
 
Android Market Hits 400,000 App Milestone Says Distimo Top
android-overview-activeWe're not even a week into 2012, but Google's Android team may already have reason to celebrate. Just a few weeks ago, Google celebrated their ten billionth Android app download, and now new research from mobile app analytics firm Distimo reports that there are 400,000 apps available in the Android Market.
 
IBM Buys Cloud-Based Software Testing Platform Green Hat Top
Green HatIn its first acquisition of 2012, IBM has announced the purchase of cloud-based software testing platform Green Hat. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1996, Green Hat allows developers to test software applications prior to delivery in the cloud. Developers can test TIBCO, webMethods, IBM WebSphere MQ, SOA, BPM, SOAP, REST and Cloud applications with the company's platform as well as Virtualize unavailable applications and test application performance.
 
Enterprise Cloud File Sharing Provider Accellion Secures $12 Million Top
accellion-logoEnterprise cloud file sharing company Accellion has raised $12 million in a new Series 3 round from private equity firm Riverwood Capital. The company will use the additional funding to accelerate growth, invest in enterprise mobile file sharing products, pursue partnerships and international expansion.
 
It's Official: Yahoo Announces PayPal President Scott Thompson As Its New CEO Top
Scott-Thompson_270x321The search is over. Yahoo just named Scott Thompson as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective January 9, 2012. It's been four long months for Yahoo after ousting Carol Bartz in September. With this move, interim CEO Tim Morse, will return to his role as Yahoo's CFO. Thompson comes from PayPal where he served as president at ebay's giant payment company since 2008. As Yahoo points out in the announcement press release, Thompson help grow PayPal into a massive force in the online payment scene. Under his leadership, PayPal grew its user base from 50 million to 104 million active users across 190 countries. It's an impressive feat, no doubt, but Yahoo will certainly present new challenges for Thompson. He's in for a ride.
 
The Samsung DA-E750 Is A Speaker Dock For Wannabe Audiophiles Top
image001 (2)There is a surefire way to improve the look and feel of any audio device: add vacuum tubes. These ancient electronic valves drip with nostalgia. Traditionally only high-end analog audio devices employ vacuum tubes as audio nerds proclaim they produce a richer, warmer sound. But Samsung is smart. They know that simply adding several trivial vacuum tubes to an otherwise mundane wireless speaker will increase its appeal (and justify a higher price tag). It's working on this wannabe audiophile. I want this speaker.
 
Velocity Micro Shows Its New Tablet And Pico Projector Before CES Top
veloWhile many big companies are putting on big press conferences next week at CES, many smaller ones are getting their new gadgets out there early so people will want to drop by their booth. Velocity Micro just dropped a few new things, and we'll be sure to swing by their corner of the show if we're in the area. They've got a pair of budget tablets that won't really blow anyone away, but their new Shine pico projector looks really nice.
 
Cubelets Promise Robotic Good Times Top
Do you like nature? Do you have a beard? Then you'll love these things. Cubelets are essentially robotic building blocks. By connecting sensors, motors, and feedback devices, you can create clever little automatons that can interact with the world around them (within reason). Most important, however, is that Cubelets has decided to feature a bearded, Dutch spokes-mountain-man to sell their product, an excellent choice for almost any kit-based robotics project.
 
The iPhone 4S Hits China (And 21 Other Countries) Next Friday Top
iphoneApple this morning announced that its massively popular smartphone, the iPhone 4S, will be available in China and 21 additional countries on Friday, January 13. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, that means the iPhone 4S will shortly be available in a total of 90 countries. It also means the phone will indeed launch in China before the Chinese New Year (January 23), which is sort of the equivalent of Black Friday in the United States. Put differently: ka-ching.
 
Netflix: Our 20 Million Members Streamed 2 Billion+ Hours Of Content In Q4 2011 Top
ntflixNetflix experienced a very rough year, but ended 2011 on a high when it comes to its streaming business. The company this morning announced that, in the fourth quarter of 2011, its 20 million members (from across 45 countries) instantly watched more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies. That breaks down to roughly 666 million hours of on-demand streaming on Netflix per month, or about 22 million hours per day, on average.
 
Spool Raises $1 Million To Let You Cache Content To Mobile And Push It To Friends Top
Spool LogoWhen Spool debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt in September, the app and browser extension was focused on caching videos, articles, and other web content to your mobile device. It was like Instapaper on steroids. Today, Spool will announce $1 million in new funding and an expanded vision -- allowing people to push that cached content directly to the devices of their friends. Investors include, SVAngel, Felicis Ventures, Yuri Milner's Start Fund and YouTube founder Steve Chen. The funding will go towards scaling the complex back-end caching technology that makes Spool defensible.
 
Mechanical Engineering Community GrabCAD Grabs $4 Million Top
grabcadGrabCAD, which operates a community for (and founded by) mechanical engineers, where they can share knowledge and collaborate on CAD models, projects and whatnot, has raised $4 million in Series A to add to its its $1.1 million seed round from back in June 2011. The Series A round was led by previous investor Matrix Partners; the firm's David Skok will be taking a board seat. Other existing backers such as Atlas Venture also participated.
 

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