Tuesday, April 17, 2012

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Review: Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4540 All-in-One Printer Top
wfp4540_fca-cor-fi_396x264We've covered quite a bit of the Epson line and usually found the printers to be solid, respectable, and inexpensive. This latest addition to the WorkForce family, the WP-4540 is arguably all of those with a few caveats. This is a workhorse printer, designed solely to pump out as much paper as possible in an office setting. It's quite large and heavy, and adding on the extra paper drawer makes it nearly a foot high. It weighs in at 36 lbs, making it cousin to some more compact laser printers. It can hold 580 sheets and prints duplex, which is at once a potential cost and time savings as your employees use less paper and have to fill the thing up less frequently.
 
This $650 iPhone Case Can Withstand A .50 Caliber Shot In The Back Top
info-product-007The iPhone is a notoriously fragile device. That's where cases come in. However, this case, by a Japanese firm called Marudai, might be the toughest (and most impractical) case ever made. The massive backside is made of a combination of steel and aluminum, which is apparently tough enough to save an iPhone from a .50 caliber bullet. That is, of course, if the round hits the backside 'cause the front is as exposed as a naked iPhone on the subway.
 
Oakley Could Be Cooking Up Smart Glasses To Take On Google's Project Glass Top
oakleypatentBack when rumors of Google's fabled augmented-reality glasses began picking up steam, one of the most frequently repeated bits was that they bore a striking resemblance to (rather old) Oakley's Thump mp3-friendly sunglasses. The concept that Google eventually revealed looked nothing like them, but it turns out Oakley may eventually throw their hat into the smart eyewear ring. In a brief interview with Bloomberg, Oakley CEO Colin Baden revealed that the company has been working on a way to project information directly onto lenses since 1997. Once perfected, the technology would allow the company to create a rival to Google's Project Glass
 
Hulu Changes Deal For Advertisers: Now They Only Pay When Viewers Watch The Whole Ad Top
hulu-logoThis morning, at the Ad Age Digital Conference in NYC, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar announced a significant change in how the media company will charge its advertisers. Going forward, advertisers will only be charged based on a 100% completion rate. In other words, if viewers don't watch the whole ad, it doesn't count. The change will be effective in both the free level of service and the subscription offering, Hulu Plus.
 
Interview: Megadeth's David Ellefson Talks Shop About Rock Shop (Video) Top
rockshop2David Ellefson Rock Shop is a solid and simple guitar/bass amp-modeling app that runs on iOS. It is made by PocketLabWorks and works in conjunction with the company's iRiff Port cable/interface. In case you hadn't guessed by the name of the app, special consultation was provided by David Ellefson (bass player and founding member of Megadeth) in order to achieve the sound of his bass and guitar rigs. How does it sound? The tones, while specific to a few amps and cabinets, are quite excellent and resonant. The settings are based off Mr. Ellefson's amp setup which provides a gritty bass tone, full of attack. I liked it. (You can hear David playing through it at the PocketLabWorks website). I had a few questions about how it was developed so rather than take my usual Paneldome approach, this time I was able to track down David for a Skype call and get some info from him directly. He was kind enough to take the time to talk with me.
 
Read It Later Rebrands As Free App, Pocket; Updates UI With Filters, Favorites And More Top
PocketRead It Later, an app that allows you to save articles and other content on the web to "read them later, is debuting a new version of its service and rebranding as "Pocket." Founded in August 2007 by Nathan Weiner, Pocket has a mission that similar to Dropbox's: it wants to give you access to that content on any of your devices, be it a phone, tablet, television, or computer, without having to think about where you saved what. When you discover an interesting article, video or web page, but don't have time to view it you can save the URL to Pocket, and the list of content will be visible on any device. While Read It Later was previously a paid app, with today's relaunch, Pocket's Android, iOS and Kindle Fire apps have been set free.
 
Sun Co-founder's WayIn Launches End-To-End Platform For Easy Twitter Polling Top
Screen shot 2012-04-16 at 1.50.13 AMIn late 2010, Sun Microsystems Co-founder Scott McNealy and finance veteran Scott Johnston, launched WayIn, a mobile Q&A and polling service designed to let individuals and brands quickly create and respond to polls on anything their hearts desire. Thanks to the managerial clout behind it, the Silicon Valley-based startup has gone on to raise $20 million in venture funding. Now WayIn is extending its functionality with a new service called Twitpolls, which enables users and brands to engage with (and gather) realtime feedback from their Twitter followers -- without requiring users to leave the comfort of their tweet stream.
 
Dog Patch Labs Says It's Kicking It From Dublin. Can Incubators Solve Europe's issues? Top
Dogpatch_Dublin_sept302011Dogpatch Labs, the incubator backed by Polaris Ventures, is perhaps most famous for helping out startups like Instagram, TurntableFM, Mixel, FancyHands and Formspring in their early days, out of offices in the Bay Area, NYC or Cambridge. It's definitely had a higher profile in the U.S. than in Europe where it launched a Dublin-based offshoot 6 months ago. However, that move appears to be paying dividends, with DPL saying it has seen six investments of $1M or more already. These include funding rounds for Profitero, the pricing intelligence for retailers, which announced a $1M investment by Irish VC Delta Partners.
 
European Carriers Aren't Digging Nokia's Lumia Line Top
Screen shot 2012-04-17 at 9.18.31 AMNokia hasn't had the best year. Of course, the launch of the Lumia line has been refreshing, as Nokia's much-anticipated Windows Powered offerings are finally out in the world, trying to woo owners like neon-colored puppies in a pet shop window. The only problem is that four of the major wireless operators in Europe have deemed Nokia's WP phones "not good enough to compete with Apple's iPhone or Samsung's Galaxy phones," according to Reuters.
 
12Society Grabs Michael Strahan, Nets Funding From Groupon Co-founders, BeachMint President Top
Screen shot 2012-04-17 at 2.42.41 AMWhen we last heard from 12Society -- the stealth startup described as a "guy-focused lifestyle platform built on the intersection of culture, technology and commerce" -- San Francisco Giants' starting pitcher and World Series Champ, Tim Lincecum, had just joined as a co-founder. At the time, the team said more "big name" co-founders were on the way, and, today, the startup made good, announcing the addition of long-time New York Giant, Super Bowl winner, and current media analyst on Fox NFL Sunday and others, Michael Strahan to its founding roster. While few celebrity-founded startups have stood the test of time, 12Society is taking steps that it believes will ensure its longevity. Last month, it added a number of veteran entrepreneurs to its advisory board, and, today, as it prepares for launch, the startup revealed that it has closed a round of seed financing from Chicago-based seed/venture firm Lightbank as well as from Diego Berdakin, the co-founder of venture-backed commerce startup BeachMint.
 
Threadflip Gets $1.6M From Baseline, First Round, Dave Morin And Others To Virtualize The Clothing Swap Top
Screen Shot 2012-04-17 at 5.58.48 AMThere has to be something in the air: Just when I thought that I had enough distraction in my life, one more sweet clothing swap site launches, allowing me to focus on my hobby (fashion, and specifically upcycled fashion) while I'm supposed to be focusing on my work. In the same space as Poshmarks, 99Dresses and Copius, Threadflip allows you to upload and sell items of clothing as well as buy others' beloved but for whatever reason unwanted items of clothing. Unlike 99Dresses (which I am addicted to) Threadflip focuses on higher end clothing and expands beyond dresses to shoes, bags, accessories and jewelry.
 
It's Just A Flesh Wound: Apple Stocks Down For Fifth Consecutive Day Top
fleshwoundApple stock fell 4.1% on Monday, continuing a five day skid and a trend that has drained $50 billion in market capital from the company and dropped share price from a high of $643 on April 10 to its current price of $580. Apple has been flying high lately, weathering dual storms of Jobs-Cook succession and, most recently, Mike Daisey's Foxconn fabrications. The stock is up in early trading and many analysts are holding firm to an expected 700 target, calling this a "softening" and not a correction.
 
Survey: MP4 Is Top Format For Web and Mobile Videos Top
mp4When you watch a video on the web or your mobile phone, the odds are pretty good you are using the MP4 video format and the H.264 codec. There are a lot of choices when it comes to video formats. But, MP4 is the top pick for both web and mobile viewing, according to a new survey released this morning by Sorenson Media. 69% of video professionals use MP4 regularly for the web, and 58% use it for mobile. Nearly four out of every 5 pros say they use the H.264 codec for file compression. The report has some bad news for WebM, Google's sponsored royalty-free open video compression format. WebM came out on the button with just 5% usage on the web and 35 on mobile.
 
SAY Media Has A New Way To Measure Online Ads: "Cost Per Exposure" Top
SAY Media Content Ads[2]Back in February, comScore released a statistic that was probably pretty discouraging if you're an online advertiser: In a study, it found that 31 percent of ads delivered were never actually seen by consumers. If you're paying by the ad impression, that's a lot of wasted money. Now online publishing and advertising company SAY Media has come up with one way to solve the problem, through a measurement called "cost per exposure." CEO and co-founder Matt Sanchez says that since "we have a proprietary technology stack," SAY can communicate with the browser and determine whether an ad was actually seen. That doesn't mean it's literally tracking where you're looking, but it can tell whether the ad actually loaded within your browser window. So when SAY says it's charging "per exposure," advertisers don't have to pay for ads that viewers never scrolled down to see, or that they scrolled past before the ad loaded. Sanchez says he's hoping other publishers start adopting a similar system.
 
Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs Awards $350K Each To Six Ambitious Biotech Startups Top
Screen Shot 2012-04-17 at 4.54.11 AMWhile most of us are still reeling in shock after last week's one billion Instagram buy, Peter Thiel -- through both Founders Fund and the Thiel Foundation -- is almost single-handedly leading the charge into a future where humans don't age or suffer from cancer, among other things. Call it crazy or whatever you'd like, but there's no doubt that people who are trying to drastically change the world for the better often do. If a hologram can give a concert, it's not that far-fetched to imagine a future where humans don't die. As part of its commitment to improving the quality of human life in general, Thiel's latest project, Breakout Labs, is awarding $5 million to companies who push the envelope with regards to "revolutionary" scientific innovation.
 
Shared Online Paywall Service Piano Media Secures 2 Million Euros From 3TS Top
Screen Shot 2012-04-17 at 11.11.18Slovak startup Piano Media, which has challenged the online media industry with an aggregated paywall concept, has raised €2 million from 3TS, one of the leading private equity funds in Central and Eastern Europe. Piano Media, launched in May 2011, enables online publications to offer their readers premium content on a subscription basis. In July 2011 it raised €300,000 from MONOGRAM Ventures, Etarget and NextBig.
 
Menswear Startup American Giant Gets Into The T-Shirt Business Top
american giant tshirtAmerican Giant, a startup offering affordable, American-made apparel for men, is expanding into T-shirt sales today. The company launched at the beginning of February. CEO Bayard Winthrop has decades of experience in the apparel industry, including a stint as the CEO of Chrome, the preferred laptop bag-maker for hipsters. Winthrop says he started to realize that even though manufacturing has largely moved overseas, ostensibly to save money, the real cost is in distribution. So by selling direct to the consumer through its website, American Giant can manufacture its clothing in the United States (specifically in a facility just a few miles south of San Francisco) and still compete with other brands on price.
 
Pebble Smart Watch Raises Over $3M On Kickstarter After Asking For Only $100K Top
Screen Shot 2012-04-17 at 09.10.23A 'smart watch' that connects to an iPhone or Android to display information that appears on your phone seems somewhat of a no-brainer, but until now few convincing efforts have appeared. Now, a team has developed the "Pebble" project to do just that, and they have clearly untapped a latent need for such a watch amongst smartphone users. After asking for $100,000 on Kickstarter to create a few thousand devices they've raised well over $3 million over a month before their stated goal. Indeed, Pebble raised $1 million in its first 28 hours.
 
Gogobot Opens For Business In Europe (Smart Move: 44% Of Its Customers Are Here Already, Says CEO Travis Katz) Top
gogobotnewSocial travel site Gogobot is doing a little traveling of its own. Today, it's announcing the opening of its first European headquarters, in London. The move, says Travis Katz, the CEO and founder of the company, is being done to capitalize on the fact that the site already has nearly as many users in Europe as it does in the rest of the world: some 44 percent of people who have linked into the site to discuss travel itineraries with friends and others are based in Europe.
 
Blur Group Raises $2M To Disrupt How Marketers Pick Creatives For Campaigns Top
Screen shot 2012-04-17 at 07.54.32A B2B company trying to change the way that marketers procure services for ad campaigns says it has just closed one of Europe's largest-ever angel financing rounds. blur Group, which runs a platform called the Creative Services Exchange, says that it has raised $2 million. Bypassing the VC route, the company instead opted for a group of about 20 business names and angel investors including Archie Norman, currently chairman of UK broadcaster ITV; Kevin Lomax, the founder and former chairman and CEO of Misys Plc and director at M&S; and Tim Schoonmaker, chairman of Grapeshot Limited and ex-chairman of Emap Advertising and ex-CEO of Odeon Cinemas Ltd.
 

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