Visit Recovery.gov to learn how the government spends $787B
You may have heard that President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion economic recovery bill today. The recent House and Senate votes were divided almost entirely along party lines, but hey, it passed, and regardless of how you feel about the bill, you can track where all that money gets spent on the new Recovery.gov website.
Past visitors to WhiteHouse.gov will probably notice that that recovery site looks almot identical. There are some cool bits … Continue Reading
For all the "open" talk, Android Market sure has a lot of rules
Paid applications in the Android Market, the app store for Google’s mobile platform, are now live. This should boost development for the platform and in turn create new, interesting applications for consumers. Google has set up Android as being the antithesis of Apple’s iPhone platform in saying that it’s an open platform. But it’s not completely open — the Market, like Apple’s App Store has rules.
Of course, Google needs rules to cover itself from … Continue Reading
Confusion reigns on Time's best blogs list
I’m a huge list nerd, so I had check out Time Magazine’s list of the best and most overrated blogs of 2009. I was desperately hoping Time could clue me in to the State of the Blogosphere, and boy, did it ever.
For example, I learned that TechCrunch is one of the “most overrated” blogs around, while Mashable and the Official Google Blog are among the best. I have to confess, I couldn’t follow Time’s … Continue Reading
Three major league speakers to highlight entrepreneurship at GamesBeat 09 conference
VentureBeat is proud to announce three more heavy hitters who’ll be speaking at our GamesBeat 2009 Games Conference conference next month, which will focus on the most important issues in the video game industry:
The speakers are John Smedley (left), president of Sony Online Entertainment; Seamus Blackley, head of the games department at Creative Artists Agency and co-creator of the Xbox; and Curt Schilling founder and chairman of online game maker 38 Studios and Boston … Continue Reading
World of Good raises $1.1M for socially conscious shopping
World of Good, which operates an eBay-powered online marketplace for ethical shopping, has raised another $1.1 million in funding, according to VentureWire.
The Emeryville, Calif. company emphasizes small artisans in developing countries. In order to sell products on the World of Good website, you must be certified as meeting environmental and ethical standards by an independent “trust provider” such as Transfair USA, Co-op America, or Aid to Artisans. The products include everything from electronics to … Continue Reading
Microsoft in talks to buy 3DV Systems?
Anxious to outdo the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft is reportedly in talks to acquire 3DV Systems of Israel.
3DV is one of the companies that’s developing a next-generation user interface for games that goes beyond what the Wii motion-sensing controller can do. Israeli site Haaretz reported today that Microsoft plans to buy 3DV for $35 million.
That’s a pretty small amount, considering 3DV has raised $38.5 million. 3DV’s investors include Elron, a member of Nochi Dankner’s … Continue Reading
CloudContacts adds camera phone support to put business cards in the cloud
Back in October, blogger Allen Stern of CenterNetworks launched CloudContacts with a nice, simple idea: Take all the business cards you have and put them on the web. It’s an idea that’s undoubtedly useful for a lot of people but that previously required that users send all their cards to CloudContacts to be scanned and uploaded. Today the service is announcing an easier way to get your cards in the system: Just take pictures of … Continue Reading
Alarm.com buys out its owners for $27.7 million
Web-based security firm Alarm.com said today it has completed a $27.7 million management buyout of the company’s majority owner, MicroStrategy.
The buyout was led by ABS Capital Partners, a late-stage growth investor, with participation from Alarm.com management and the private equity firm Egis Capital. The cash deal closed Feb. 13.
Alarm.com’s technology lets consumers and businesses receive alerts via email, text message, or voice mail from alarm triggers at their homes or businesses. The alerts … Continue Reading
Roundup: New internet, new Facebook Pages, new TechStars office and more
Here’s the latest action from over a long weekend:
TechStars opens up a Boston operation — The Boulder, Co.-based company provides mentorship and a small amount of funding to early-stage companies.
Facebook working on new Pages for advertisers — The redesigned feature will mimic the user profile redesign implemented last year. It will include a tabbed interface for wall posts, a photos tab, an info tab for static information and a boxes tab for third-party … Continue Reading
Big money for simple websites: SynthaSite raises $20M
SynthaSite, an easy-to-use website builder, has raised $20 million in a second round of funding.
We’re talking about a jaw-dropping amount of cash, particularly when you add that to the $5 million that SynthaSite raised in 2007. That’s a big vote of confidence from Reinet Fund S.C.A.; before restructuring as Reinet, the fund’s prior incarnation as Columbus Venture Capital backed the San Francisco company’s first round. The round also cements SynthaSite’s tremendous lead in funding … Continue Reading
Can satellite radio be saved?
Liberty Media is loaning Sirius XM about $530 million to keep the combined satellite radio service company afloat. The satellite radio company has millions of subscribers for its services, which feature exclusives such as shock jock Howard Stern. But do consumers really want this technology? Can it remain a viable business? Can satellite radio be saved? Please leave your comments.
http://www.buzzdash.com/bb.swf?BB_id=149934
… Continue Reading
Oh my god, Apple killed the South Park iPhone app! You bastards!
Apple has been a lot more lenient recently when it comes to letting third-party applications into the App Store. For proof of this, see any of the hundreds of fart applications now available. It even has an NC-17 rating of sorts, for the truly offensive apps. That’s why it’s surprising that a South Park application has apparently been rejected.
The app, which was first announced in October and shortly thereafter submitted to the App Store … Continue Reading
Compliance software maker Autonomic fails to rebrand, shutters
Autonomic Networks, the very recently reinvented version of Vernier Networks, has finally given up the ghost after failing to raise a new round of capital. The Mountain View, Calif.-based maker of software that monitored compliance with network security protocols had just launched a beta of its lead product in October. At that point, it already had five clients enlisted for the trial and expected to bring on seven more.
But even then it was running … Continue Reading
Thinking about developing for the Palm Pre? Read the first chapter of the book on webOS
When it was unveiled at CES, the Palm Pre got almost iPhone-like hype. Its slick interface including multi-touch capabilities on a solid device makes it an intriguing competitor to the iPhone. Still, relatively little is known about the Pre and its operating system dubbed webOS. If you’re thinking about making an application for the device, you’ll undoubtedly want to know more — and here’s your first chance.
The Palm Developer Network has posted the first … Continue Reading
Phreesia raises $11.6M to make waiting-room clipboards obsolete
Phreesia, maker of electronic tablets to replace those pesky intake clipboards at doctors’ offices, announced today that it brought in $11.6 million in a round led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Sandbox Industries. This brings the New York company’s total capital raised to $25 million — which it plans to use to enlist more doctors to use the product in the U.S. According to Phreesia, thousands already do.
It also says it should be … Continue Reading
Bernie Stolar rises again as chairman of Vivo Products
Bernie Stolar has worked for everyone in the video game industry. So it’s no surprise to see him appointed chairman today of Vivo Products, a manufacturer of consumer electronics entertainment products.
Over the course of a 30-year career, Stolar has been a big newsmaker in the game industry. He was executive vice president of third-party content for the Sony Playstation, but was fired just before the launch of that system. He was president and chief … Continue Reading
OpSource scores $10M for on-demand app delivery
OpSource, provider of software-as-a-service and web applications for a variety of functions, just raked in $10 million in fifth-round funding from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), Velocity Venture Capital, Key Venture Partners, Crosslink Capital and Artiman Ventures to continue expanding its software portfolio. Its flagship product, called OpSource On-Demand, lets application developers automatically deliver their own products to clients without investing in the expensive infrastructure usually required to deploy them.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company … Continue Reading
This year at MWC, no one's eating Yahoo's free ice cream
At last year’s Mobile World Congress, everyone wanted Yahoo’s ice cream. You see, no one had a legitimate application store yet, the iPhone wasn’t 3G and Android didn’t even exist. Yahoo’s oneConnect was one of the most buzzed-about parts of last year’s show — and its booth, with free ice cream, was crowded. What a difference a year makes.
This year at MWC, Yahoo has more announcements, but when you read about what they are, … Continue Reading
Crispy Gamer signs syndication deal with newspaper chains, social network
Crispy Gamer, a game fan web site that asserts its independence from bias from refusing to take ads from the games industry, announced today that it’s secured content syndication partnerships with Tribune Media Services, McClatchy Tribune Information Services and GamerDNA.
That means Crispy Gamer’s game news, columns and reviews could appear in dozens of publications across the country. Tribune Media Services is a division of Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles … Continue Reading
Emergent racks up $12.5M for game-development software
Emergent Game Technologies, a Calabasas, Calif.-based provider of applications used to develop video games more cost-efficiently, just raised $12.5 million in fifth-round funding to support the commercialization of a new product, slated to launch during the Game Developers Conference in late March. The company claims its technology minimizes cost and development time by cutting down on the required back-end of game software. Right now, its Gamebryo platform is used by Disney, Electronic Arts, and others … Continue Reading
