Thursday, April 5, 2012

Y! Alert: TechCrunch

Yahoo! Alerts
My Alerts

The latest from TechCrunch

Nielsen: U.S., UK Couch Potatoes Love To Tap On Tablets While Watching TV Top
couch potatoFor anyone who's loved to watch Twitter reactions or a liveblog of a big event on TV, this will probably come as no surprise. For advertisers and broadcasters who haven't figured out how to capitalize on this, you are missing a trick: we are fast becoming a culture of people who love to use devices like smartphones and tablets while watching television. According to the latest study from Nielsen covering Q4 2011, in the U.S., a full 86 percent of tablet owners and 88 percent of smartphone owners said that they used their devices while watching regular TV at least once in a 30-day period. Nearly half (45 percent) actually did this on daily basis with their tablets, with 41 percent saying they watched TV while tapping on a smartphone every day. But what's perhaps surprising is that, while sites like GetGlue and Twitter have capitalized on the idea of social streams coinciding with TV viewing, Nielsen says the most popular activity is actually checking email, with the second most-popular activity being related to checking content related to the program or products being advertised around it.
 
YouTube Adds A "Play In 3D" Option Across Its Site Top
youtube3dLast September, YouTube began offering new tools that allowed users to convert their uploaded 2D videos into 3D videos with just a click. That feature, which has been in beta testing, was available only to YouTube creators at the time. Today, YouTube is rolling out the beta to all of YouTube's users - creators and viewers alike - by offering the option to automatically convert short-form videos that were uploaded in 1080p to 3D. In other words, viewers no longer have to wait on YouTube creators to convert their videos into 3D - you can now do it yourself.
 
Amazon Goes Bilingual In The U.S. Kindle Store With Launch Of Spanish 'Tienda Kindle' Top
KIndle en EspanolAmazon has been making some big strides in extending its footprint outside of the U.S. with its Kindle e-readers and Kindle bookstore, but today it took a step to improve how it caters to Spanish speakers closer to home, with the launch of a new section of its U.S. Kindle store dedicated to books in Spanish. Called "Tienda Kindle", Amazon says the store features 30,000 e-books in Spanish along with a whole new level of customer support aimed at Spanish-speaking users, including help pages as well as phone and email customer support in the language. The move represents how Amazon is looking to take its Kindle offerings beyond the first tier of early adopters that have bought the product to date. It also underscores how companies like Amazon are trying to capitalize on the rise of e-readers and e-books. Research out today from Pew shows that at the moment only about 21 percent of adults in the U.S. have read an e-book in the last year. That number appears to be on the rise, going up by three percent just between December 2011 and February 2012.
 
Nest 2.0 Adds Advanced Energy-Saving Features Top
nest-thermostat-energy-history-iphone3An update to the Nest thermostat is rolling out to device owners over the next two days, just in time for AC season. The improvements include advanced energy monitoring - essentially more data about your current energy usage - and something called Airwave, a program that will turn down your air conditioner and run the fan for a period of time, thereby saving energy.
 
New Project Aims To Add A Little High-Tech To Antiques Appraisal Top
london_dated_hallmarksAs the proud owner of a number of antiques including an original Game Boy and an unopened box of Circus Fun cereal, I'm well aware of the value of those things passed down to us from the ancients. However, when you're dealing with jewelry and other high-end baubles, the value depends quite a bit on hallmarks, mint marks, and quality notes. This project, called Info-Snap, aims to improve the process of assessing hallmarks in the wild, making anyone a junior antiques detective.
 
Here's A More Realistic Look At Google's Project Glass [Video] Top
Because walking and texting isn't dangerous enough, Google Glasses will put AdSense 5mm in front of your retina. Disclaimer: I actually don't know if Google plans on using in ads in their glasses.
 
Microsoft's SemanticMap: After Project Glass, Another Take On How To Make The World More User-Specific Top
SemanticMap_04Augmented reality seems to be all the rage this week: Microsoft earlier today got in touch to give us the heads up on some technology it's been working on -- its designs for how to make a user's experience of a location specific only to that user -- one day after Google revealed more details about its own take on that idea in the form of Project Glass. Called SemanticMap, the idea is technology that lets physical signage change based on a specific user, that user's location and what that person is looking for. Unlike Google's glasses, Microsoft's technology doesn't require the user to have any special headgear or other equipment; and it makes use of three key bits of technology that Microsoft is working on and will very likely become more and more ubiquitous in the years ahead: face analysis, gesture recognition and proximity detection. Microsoft has already been using some of this to good effect in the Kinect.
 
Hipmunk Adds Calendar Integration To Mobile Apps For Trip Planning Bliss Top
hipmunklogoHipmunk, the flight and hotel search startup known for its snazzy user interfaces, has done it again. The company today is unveiling new integrations with popular calendar applications iCal, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook to its mobile apps for the iPad, iPhone and Android smartphones, making the often odious task of searching for travel transportation and accommodation just a bit easier and more plugged-in to the way many modern web aficionados function today.
 
16M Users Strong, TwitchTV Takes Live-Streamed Gaming Portal Mobile With iPad And Android Apps Top
iphone_screensTwitchTV, a live-streamed video game portal and community for gamers that was spawned last June from live video platform Justin.tv, has been booming in terms of growth and revenue. But the platform didn't yet offer native mobile apps for the iPad or Android, which was a main requests from users. Today, TwitchTV is debuting an Android application and a universal iOS app for the iPad and the iPhone (we're told the iOS app has not yet gone live in the App Store but should be available soon). Piggybacking on the massive success of Machinima, TwitchTV features live video competitions of a variety of games and platforms with top gamers, tournaments and commentary. The platform aims to be a one-stop-shop for live video for 'eSports,' which the company says is synonymous with competitive video gaming. TwitchTV features live video game battles and commentary from titles like Halo:Reach, Starcraft II, World Of Warcraft, Call Of Duty: Black Ops and others.
 
With JOBS Act Becoming Law, Crowdfunding Platforms Look To Create Self-Regulatory Body Top
Screen shot 2012-04-05 at 1.15.09 AMToday, President Obama signs the JOBS Act into law, legalizing crowdfunding in startups by non-accredited investors, so that anyone and their mother can invest. The new law stipulates that entrepreneurs can now raise money from any and all, however, startups are limited to $1 million per year, and must stick to portals approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. What's more, the legislation dispenses with the 500-shareholder rule, which put a limit on the number of shareholders a company was allowed before registering with the SEC (and going public). The new law gives high-growth companies a longer grace period, or on-ramp, leading up to IPOs, and lifts some of the one-size-fits all regulation that likely has been hampering the IPO market. While this is a big win for startups, it puts significant pressure on the crowdfunding market to self-regulate -- which is risky. That's why 13 equity and debt crowdfunding platforms and insiders have come together to form a leadership group to bring attention to the need -- really, requirement -- for the industry to develop effective self-regulation, best practices, and investor protection.
 
Yandex.Disk Wants To Give iCloud, Skydrive and Dropbox A Run For Their Money In Russia Top
yandexYandex may be in line to become the default search engine on devices that Apple sells in Russia. But for now it's engaging in a little competition with Cupertino, and others. Today the Russian search giant is launching its own answer to iCloud: a free web-based storage product it's calling Yandex.Disk. Users of Yandex.Disk get up to 10 gigabytes of space that they can use for personal documents, photos, music and videos, and like iCloud and Microsoft's Skydrive the service is aimed specifically at offering storage services that help keep users tied in to the rest of Yandex's portfolio of products. The files can subsequently be accessed from any internet-enabled device.
 
Help Wanted: Songkick Founders Bring Back Silicon Milkroundabout Networking Event Top
silicon milkroundaboutAttention young engineers and budding product geniuses! If you're thinking about moving jobs, or if you'd like to work for one of the UK's hawt startups, mark out May 26/27 in your calendars for the third edition of the Silicon Milkroundabout. Nature abhors a vacuum and so it goes that because there are actually very few hiring events for startups in London, past Milkroundabouts have been massively oversubscribed. "We had to turn a bunch of people away on the day," Pete Smith, co-founder of Milkroundabout (and co-founder and COO of one of the UK's startup success stories, the live music alert service Songkick) said of the debut event. "The bar ran dry and every company there hired at least one person and some hired four or five people."
 
Silicon Valley Entitlement Gets Political Top
2939314426_d57c944904Taxes are for old businesses. That seems to be the sentiment coming from the oft-offended Silicon Valley sycophants. I'm not talking about the measured approach of Mayor Ed Lee and Ron Conway who are doing what every major city in America is doing, luring businesses to their neighborhoods by issuing tax breaks for highly attractive growth industries. That has always been good civic policy, and it still is today. I'm talking about the entitled indignation of bloggers who believe that all businesses touched by technology deserve tax exemptions and that calling something "ridiculous" is the only evidence needed to support such a thesis.
 
Twitter Nabs Googler Gabriel Stricker As Comms VP Top
Google Gabriel Stricker1Back in November, we reported that Sean Garrett, Twitter's Head of Comms, would be stepping down from his post. As he tweeted at the time, for the first time in his career, he would be taking more than a two week break between jobs. Since Garrett stepped down, Karen Wickre, who was hired shortly before Garrett's departure, has been filling in an interim role. Today, Twitter moved to more officially fill the vacancy, as Gabriel Stricker, the Director of Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google, will become the new Head of Comms. Stricker tweeted the news on a seemingly brand new Twitter page. His official title will be VP of Communications.
 
Apple and Facebook Should Be Terrified Of Google-Tinted Glasses Top
Project Glass LogoGoogle's augmented reality eyewear is coming to disrupt your face and your business model. If you don't even have to pull your phone out to take a photo, get directions, or message with friends, why would you need to buy the latest iPhone or spend so much time on Facebook? It could be a year before Google eyewear reaches stores, but that's why these and other tech companies need to strategize now. If they wait to see if the device is a hit, the world could be seeing through Google-tinted glasses by the time they adapt. Apple and Facebook's best bet might be to team up...
 
Ready, Set, Crowdfund: President Obama To Sign JOBS Act Tomorrow Top
Screen shot 2012-04-04 at 5.07.03 PMOn March 22nd, a slightly modified "Jumpstart Our Business Startups (or JOBS) Act" was approved by the Senate in a 73-26 vote. Last week, the House of Representatives, too, showed its support for the bill, giving it the green light in its own 380 to 41 vote. Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to officially sign the bill into law (from what we're hearing, that could be as early as 11am PT), representing the final step for legislation that will, among other things, legalize crowdfunding in startups by non-accredited investors. In other words, now even your mom can invest in your startup.
 
MindMixer Raises $1.9M For Virtual Town Halls, Launches ImproveSF Website Top
mindmixer logoIf you live in San Francisco, you probably spend a lot of time complaining about the lackluster public transportation. I'm no exception — so today, I was really excited to see a new government website called ImproveSF, where residents can submit and vote on suggestions about how to make Muni better, faster, and more reliable. Not surprisingly, there's a cool startup behind the effort. It's called MindMixer, and it just announced that it raised a $1.9 million seed round from Dundee Venture Capital.
 
Richard Clarke, US Security Wonk, Suggests Customs Should Check All International Net Traffic Top
RichardClarkestoryRichard Clarke was a major feature in US security for a decade, serving as a member of the National Security Council and special adviser for cybersecurity to President George W. Bush. He has written a column for the New York Times that details just how serious the threat of cyber attacks is for this country, something increasingly evident in light of things like the creaking infrastructure of things like NASA and general cluelessness in legislature. But Mr Clark gives the world a lesson in cluelessness with the conclusion of his column, where he suggests that the United States should, under provisions made to regulate the movement of goods to and from this country, inspect international internet traffic. The suggestion is nothing short of idiotic. Believe it or not, the following was written by someone who worked in national security — specializing in cybersecurity, no less — for years and years.
 
Rumor: Zillow In To Buy RentJuice For $45 Million Top
Screen Shot 2012-04-04 at 5.39.51 PMBetween gossip and rumors and gossip and more rumors, the Silicon Valley day-to-day is so dramatic Bravo is turning it into not one but two TV shows. No joke. That doesn't convince you? Well, how about this? Anyways, I'm in the middle of tracking down a huge funding story but want to get a (separate) rumor du jour out there to you guys, because I'm experimenting with this whole "process journalism" format and have asked several people at both parties involved for more info, to no avail.
 
Box CEO Aaron Levie: Why We're Not Afraid Of Google Drive Top
Aaron LevieBox has become a major player in the tech world since its launch some six years ago. The company, which provides cloud data storage and enterprise collaboration tools, has more than doubled its headcount in the past year alone to a staff of more than 400, attracted more than $150 million in venture capital, and currently counts more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 as customers. But it's not time for Box to rest easy just yet: Google is widely understood to finally be on the brink of launching its own long-rumored file storage service, Google Drive. But according to Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie, he is just fine with the impending arrival of a new big-name competitor. In an interview held this week at Box's Silicon Valley headquarters (which you can watch in the video embedded above), Levie said that Google will no doubt make a splash with the launch of GDrive. But he's confident that Box's singular focus on cloud storage will keep many users, and particularly paying customers such as companies, choosing it over its larger competitors.
 

CREATE MORE ALERTS:

Auctions - Find out when new auctions are posted

Horoscopes - Receive your daily horoscope

Music - Get the newest Album Releases, Playlists and more

News - Only the news you want, delivered!

Stocks - Stay connected to the market with price quotes and more

Weather - Get today's weather conditions




You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)