DocStoc opens DocStore for buying documents
DocStoc, a service that helps you share documents (such as templates for contracts and legal agreements), has been experimenting with ways to help users make money from those documents, such as advertising. Today it’s taking the logical next step: The company is opening a DocStore where documents can be bought and sold.
It’s tempting to see this move by DocStoc to copy competitor Scribd — both companies offer ways to upload documents, so you can … Continue Reading
Google introduces social "Updates" to take on Facebook
Google just released two new features called “Friends Group” and “Updates” as part of a larger roll out today of new social features for users of its home page.
With the Updates feature, Google lets users share their activities with other friends — and it’s thus jumping with two feet into the territorial war going on between Facebook and Twitter. Those sites have become popular, at least in part, by letting you make updates about … Continue Reading
Google quietly sneaks GeoEye images into Google Earth
Starting in June, Google has been integrating high-resolution color images taken by the GeoEye-1 — the so-called “Google satellite” — into its Google Earth application, expanding its global repertoire beyond its focus on the U.S. The photo above is of Beijing South Rail Station.
The company is only starting to promote the new additions with the trivia game on its LatLong blog called “Where in the World is…” The quiz placed international images taken by … Continue Reading
CalPERS commits $60M to Khosla's new seed fund
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced today that it has committed $60 million dollars to Khosla Ventures for its new seed-stage fund. The firm, based in Menlo Park, Calif., and founded by former Kleiner Perkins higher-up Vinod Khosla, has invested in 70 early and late-stage companies to date with a strong focus on the cleantech area — including the solar, energy efficiency, battery and biofuel spaces. It has raised $250 million for its seed … Continue Reading
Strong quarterly earnings strengthen Cree, LED market at large
Cree, one of the most formidable companies in the efficient lighting market, reported strong earnings for its fourth quarter ended June 28 — tallying $148.1 million in revenue, a 9 percent increase from last year. Net income also increased from $8.4 million to $9.7 million since 2008.
Also significant: for its full fiscal year, Cree brought in $567.3 million — a 15 percent uptick from the $493.3 million brought in last year, beating analyst predictions … Continue Reading
PhotoScatter app uploads your pics to everywhere
Why doesn’t the iPhone automatically upload photos to every social network you belong to? It does, if you install PhotoScatter, which launched Monday.
This simple but effective app does one thing: It uploads your photos to your accounts on all the social networks you’ve configured it for. The current version supports Facebook, Twitter (via Twitpic), Flickr, Photobucket, Shutterfly and Picasa. You can pick and choose sites, but the idea is to reduce the number of … Continue Reading
Microsoft and Nokia confirm partnership: 'A formidable challenge for RIM'
Microsoft and Nokia announced today that, as expected, they will be working together to bring native versions of Microsoft Office to Nokia smartphones. But this is about more than just creating a version of Office for Nokia — the companies say they are working together on the “design, development and marketing of productivity solutions for the mobile professional.”
In a conference call discussing the news, Microsoft’s Stephen Elop (pictured, right) said this is the first … Continue Reading
A eulogy for the click-through rate
I’m here to speak a little marketing heresy. The ubiquitous click-through rate, the longtime arbiter of the success or failure of online marketing efforts, is actually a pretty poor measurement tool – and seems to have outlived its usefulness.
Since the Internet emerged as a serious marketing medium, we have been bombarded with reports about click-through rates. We should, we are told, pay strict attention to them in order to quantify the effectiveness of our … Continue Reading
Boxee raises $6M more to bring web content to your living room
Boxee, a company that has won ardent fans of its software for viewing online video and web content on your TV, has raised $6 million in a second round of funding.
The New York startup raised $4 million at the end of 2008, so it seems awfully soon to be bringing on more cash. Founder and chief executive Avner Ronen says raising a new round seemed like a good way to help Boxee build on … Continue Reading
Shapeways opens 3-D creation marketplace to the public
Got an idea for a 3-D design you’d like on your desk or dresser? Starting today, a company called Shapeways will let you hire people to design and build it.
The company takes a page from Amazon’s “Mechanical Turk” marketplace, which allows developers and businesses to crowdsource tasks for a price. Shapeways‘ version is intended specifically for the creation of 3-D models.
For instance, let’s say you’ve been dreaming of a paperweight that looks like … Continue Reading
Venture capitalists struggle: Returns drop 2.9 percent in Q1
Venture capitalists saw the returns on their investments drop an average of 2.9 percent during the quarter ending March 31, 2009, according to a survey by research firm Cambridge Associates and the National Venture Capital Association.
This is the third consecutive quarterly decline, but at least it’s an improvement from the last quarter of 2008, when returns plummeted 12.5 percent.
The returns data, which is self-reported by VC firms, lags behind data from other parts … Continue Reading
Mobile business consolidation: Xora and Gearworks merge
Xora and Gearworks, two venture-backed companies that make mobile business applications, announced today that they’re merging. The companies say that by combining into a single entity (also called Xora), they’ll become far-and-away the top competitor in the market.
Both companies specialize in location-based mobile business applications — applications used to track employees and equipment and to help manage your workforce. Gearworks president and chief executive Todd Krautkremer says the deal came after he tried to … Continue Reading
Dyyno pledges video sharing at a fraction of YouTube's costs
While Google grapples with making YouTube profitable, a Silicon Valley start-up called Dyyno says it has a fraction of the video-sharing site’s distribution costs and is focusing on monetization out of the gate.
Dyyno’s technology basically lets users build a channel of whatever they want: live video, recorded video, presentations on their laptops, photo slideshows or game-playing and then stream it live to many concurrent users. The content is also archived for later use.
CEO … Continue Reading
Facebook slims down, tests a "Lite" version with easier sharing
Facebook is testing out a pared-down “Lite” version in an aggressive move to attract more content-sharing. It comes a day after the company launched a real-time search and bought FriendFeed, showing that the company is incredibly focused on moving into the real-time space. The service is in beta testing and invites were sent to specific users. (The photo comes from Twitter and was spotted TechCrunch.)
The Lite version also emulates a bit of Twitter’s spartan … Continue Reading
Roundup: Summer is hot for gaming, Google plays Jedi mind tricks with ads, Xbox keeps Netflix to itself and more
Here’s the latest action:
June sizzled for video game sales — According to Nielsen data, June was a banner month for the video game industry, with total console usage spiking 21 percent up from the last year and the average gamer playing 768 minutes. The report marked some other trends, as well. Namely, that games are now appealing to older demographics, with over-18-year-olds accounting for over half of gameplay in the U.S. The two front-runners … Continue Reading
Yes, really: Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word
A U.S. District Court judge in Texas has ordered Microsoft to stop selling the latest version of its Word software. And yes, that’s the same Word that’s part of Microsoft Office, a product that supposedly has 500 million users (although only half of them pay).
That news comes from The Seattle PI’s Microsoft Blog, which also notes that the decision was made in Texas’ Eastern District, which is known for being “a haven for patent … Continue Reading
Microsoft probably bringing Office 2010 to Nokia phones
It’s looking increasingly likely that Microsoft and Nokia are about to announce a native version of Office 2010, the latest version of Microsoft’s ubiquitous productivity software, on Nokia smartphones.
In the past, Microsoft said there will be a native version of Office (i.e., one that you download and run on your phone) that runs on Windows Mobile phones, plus a version that runs in the web browsers of other smartphones like the iPhone. However, given … Continue Reading
Tr.im's demise was temporary, but will its resurrection last?
It looks like URL-shortener tr.im, which shut down earlier this week, has come back from the dead — at least temporarily.
Parent company Nambu Network says “the countless public and private appeals” convinced it to revive the service. But people who used tr.im to create shorter, less clunky web links (there were “thousands and thousands” of you, according to Nambu), as well as those who saw tr.im’s shutdown as a sign of the vulnerability of … Continue Reading
Facebook may ban selling status updates in new rights agreement
Facebook may ban users from selling their status updates or using their profiles for commercial gain as part of the company’s proposed new Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Users have a week to give feedback on it before the polciy becomes official.
It’s a move that would separate the social networking site from Twitter, which hasn’t openly interfered with third-party apps like IZEA’s Sponsored Tweets. That program, which launched today, lets people with large Twitter … Continue Reading
Twitter down for the third time in less than a week (Updated)
Updated: The site came back up shortly after noon PST and the company is analyzing data to learn more about the attack.
Twitter went down today for the third time in less than a week after suffering from another wave of denial-of-service attacks.
“Expect periodic slowness and errors until the attack passes or is countered by our operations team and hosting provider,” said Alex Payne, the company’s platform lead.
The site was down two … Continue Reading
