VentureBeat

uTest rates the best TV network web sites, and catches bugs

NBC’s ratings are in the basement compared to its broadcast rivals. After that messy Jay Leno-Conan O’Brien fiasco, it’s scrambling to reprogram its 10 o’clock time slot. But they are No. 1 on another list: Apparently, tech-savvy viewers say NBC.com has the best web site of all the major U.S. broadcast networks, besting CBS, Fox and ABC, in that order.

The honor was bestowed on the peacock network by uTest, a software testing marketplace that... Continue Reading

Facebook emails traffic, stat summaries to Page owners — but it’s only a test

Facebook users listed as admins of Pages, public profiles that enable users to share a business or product, may start noticing an email with the subject line “Your Weekly Facebook Page Update” in their inboxes.

While no official announcement has been made – which is often the case when Facebook tests new features — the social network has started to send Page admins weekly statistics, including how many new fans joined, comments, wall posts, links and total number of visits.... Continue Reading

SINET event draws feds and security entrepreneurs together

The U.S. should improve its security infrastructure to deal with cyber threats, or it could wind up like the government of Estonia, brought down by hackers after a dispute with Russia.

Jaak Aviksoo, the minister of defense of the Republic of Estonia, offered the warning today at the Security Innovation Network conference at Stanford University in Silicon Valley. His country found that the malware developed for criminal enterprises can also be used for a political... Continue Reading

Glam defies media trends, expands into France

When former NetObjects CEO Samir Arora founded Glam Media in Brisbane in 2003, his strategy was one it would be hard to float past funders today: Let’s use great writing, great photos and magazine-inspired layout to bring big-brand advertisers onto the Web.

Doesn’t the guy know it’s all about dumbed-down “content” written by the lowest bidder, auto-promoted by a search engine optimization specialist, and flipped on an ad network as an arbitrage property?

I mean,... Continue Reading

Google working with Intel and Sony on Android-based TV (report)

Google will be the latest company trying to convince users that they want to surf the web from their living room — it’s working with Intel and Sony on a new platform called Google TV, according to a report in The New York Times.

This follows Google’s previous attempt to get into television advertising — an effort that doesn’t seem to have paid off. That effort’s initial leader, Tim Armstrong, left to run AOL. Since... Continue Reading

GetJar CEO explains the new app economy (video)

International app store GetJar has been around for years, but is only now gaining attention in the United States through a deal with Sprint.

This morning GetJar released a study the company had commissioned from Chetan Sharma Consulting — pronounced CHET-en, not CHEET-en — that claims the global market for mobile apps will be worth $17.5 billion by 2012.

According to Chetan Sharma, the growth in mobile app monetization will come from virtual goods, not from... Continue Reading

Study: Mobile apps industry to hit $17.5B by 2012 with 50B in downloads

An independent study has found that the market for mobile applications will increase from $6 billion today to $17.5 billion in 2012. The study was commissioned by GetJar, the world’s second biggest mobile app store.

The study also reported that downloads of mobile apps will jump to 50 billion in 2012, a huge increase from 2009’s seven billion downloaded apps. The average price of mobile apps will also drop from $2.00 today to $1.50 in... Continue Reading

Algae fuel contender Aurora lands $15M — but can it grow?

On the surface, biofuels derived from algae seem to be an ideal solution to wean cars and trucks off gasoline. Algae grows anywhere, produces fuel that can work in today’s vehicle tanks, and seems cheap enough. Based on these arguments, Aurora Biofuels, a startup that cultivates algae to produce biodiesel, has just landed $15 million in a third round of venture funding. But it has yet to overcome the big hurdle standing between algae and... Continue Reading

ZigBee, Wi-Fi join forces to kick home energy management up a notch

The smart grid community saw a major meeting of the minds today: the ZigBee Alliance and Wi-Fi Alliance have teamed up to develop applications for home energy management and networking.

Both ZigBee and Wi-Fi are wireless protocols that allow electronic devices, smart meters and utilities to wirelessly send data back and forth. This is the foundation of the burgeoning smart grid: the ability of utilities to receive data directly from their customers’ meters and for... Continue Reading

Why the lack of copy and paste in Windows Phone 7 Series is troubling

Yesterday, it was revealed that Microsoft’s upcoming mobile platform, Windows Phone 7 Series, won’t include any copy and paste functionality. And it’s not for lack of time or skill — Microsoft told Engadget that it simply doesn’t think users need to copy and paste things.

This news is disconcerting for several reasons: Mainly, it’s shocking that Microsoft could come to this conclusion after the lack of copy and paste functionality was such a big deal... Continue Reading

Mobile social network MocoSpace hits 11M users

MocoSpace, the social network designed specifically for mobile devices, announced today that it has reached a milestone of 11 million users — with 500,000 users forming new friendships every day.

MocoSpace focuses on helping users expand their circle of friends. The service is accessible by any web-enabled mobile phone, so it doesn’t leave out users who don’t have the latest smartphones. It makes money through the sale of virtual currency and targeted advertising. The company... Continue Reading

mig33’s mobile chat service finds success in emerging markets

mig33 has been through an odyssey to find the right way to make money from its data networking business on cell phones. But now it looks like the company has hit its stride by moving into emerging markets where it can bring the Internet to mobile phones for the first time.

The mig33 story in a nutshell: A few Asian Aussies started a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) service for mobile phones. They moved to Silicon Valley and... Continue Reading

China’s Tencent: $1.8 billion in 2009 revenues—what Facebook could learn

Tencent, a Chinese internet giant in instant messaging, social networks, and mobile, posted $1.8 billion in 2009 revenues, an increase of 74 percent from a year ago. For the record, that’s about three times Facebook’s estimated $600-700 million in 2009 revenues.

Tencent’s flagship product, QQ Messenger (with a cute penguin logo), is the first introduction to the internet for most Chinese teens. It claims a whopping 523 million active users. Tencent then cross-promotes its other... Continue Reading

Google smoothes the road to Google Apps with Microsoft Exchange migration

Over the past year or so, Google has been improving its online suite of business apps, Google Apps, to make it easier for businesses to switch over from their current office software. Today it’s announcing another feature in this vein — the ability to easily migrate email, contact, and calendar data from Microsoft Exchange.

Many companies use an Exchange server to store and sync the data accessed by Microsoft applications like Outlook. With the new... Continue Reading

Microsoft may be nearing launch of an Xbox 360 Slim

Microsoft has long been rumored to be working on a combination microprocessor-graphics chip for the Xbox 360 as part of a move to create a slimmer game console.

Now some evidence has surfaced that the code-named Valhalla chip is done and a new model of the Xbox 360 with a redesigned motherboard (main circuit board) is near. A Chinese web site published photos of a motherboard with what appears to be a central processing unit... Continue Reading

Where brings its local search service to Where.com with mobile app sync

The local search and recommendation service Where announced today that it’s finally bringing its substantial search offering to the web at Where.com. Users will also be able to synchronize saved items across the web and Where’s mobile apps.

Where’s claim to fame is its immensely useful mobile application which goes by the same name. The app allows you to search for restaurants, entertainment, news, and more based on your location. It’s currently available for iPhone,... Continue Reading

LucidLogix raises $8M for boosting game graphics chips

Israeli chip maker LucidLogix Technologies has raised $8 million in funding for its technology that enables a computer to balance the graphics processing load across all available graphics chips in a system.

The funding for the Kfar Netter, Israel-based company comes from current investors Rho Ventures, Giza Venture Capital and Genesis Partners. To date, the company has raised $40 million, and it has been able to do so because the company’s products are selling well.... Continue Reading

Roundup: EA takes Tiger back, tech wealth gap widens, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Elin may not take Tiger back, but EA will – Electronic Arts distanced itself from the golf star following his hyped sex scandals, but says it will be releasing the console version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 on July 2 this year. Woods will return to the professional golf circuit in real-life next month when he plays the Masters in Augusta, Ga.

PC market bounces back — After a major... Continue Reading