How phones emerged as main computing devices, and why user interface will improve

[This piece, written by Andrew Hsu (left), technology strategist at Synaptics, is the second in a series of posts about cutting-edge areas of innovation. The series is sponsored by Microsoft. Microsoft authors will participate, as will other outside experts.]

The mobile phone has evolved beyond its humble voice communication origins and now commands serious attention as the computing platform for the masses. Most people still prefer their phone to fit comfortably in their … Continue Reading

Zumbox raises $8M to take on email and the postal service

Zumbox has raised $8 million in the first round of institutional funding for what it describes as “the world’s first and only paperless postal system.”

The Westlake Village, Calif., company is pitching its service as an alternative to both traditional mail and email. It allows you to digitally mail things you might normally send as physical mail, such as letters and bills. You can scan the object, or if it’s an electronic document, just avoid … Continue Reading

Apple's $29 Snow Leopard OS forgoes wows in favor of customer retention

Apple’s latest operating system ships on Friday. Snow Leopard, as its name implies, is a massive upgrade to the current OS, Leopard. Strategically, Apple’s goal for Snow Leopard isn’t to wow consumers with new applications, as it has with past OS upgrades. Instead, Snow Leopard makes Mac desktops and laptops faster and more reliable, and enables them to replace Windows PCs in Microsoft-centric workplaces by connecting to Microsoft’s Exchange server for email, calendars and contacts. … Continue Reading

Nokia joins the netbook bandwagon with the Booklet 3G

Nokia still controls a huge chunk of the mobile market, but the device manufacturer is struggling to redefine itself as consumer interest moves to smartphones and other web-connected gadgets. Today the company announced that it’s making a big move beyond your basic mobile phone, with the release of a netbook called the Nokia Booklet 3G.

Nokia isn’t calling the device a netbook. Instead, its press release describes the Booklet 3G as a “mini-laptop” whose most … Continue Reading

MIT researchers create robotic fish for underwater exploration

Mother Nature’s mechanical and computing techniques are the subject of much admiration among computer researchers. That’s why a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created swimming robotic fish.

The robots can swim through water in a school or otherwise maneuver in places where underwater submarines can’t go. By creating machines that mimic biological functions, the researchers hope to produce robots with fluid movements that are far more nimble than today’s machines.

Mechanical … Continue Reading

Barosense bags $27M for obesity treatment

Barosense, maker of a device to treat obesity without invasive surgery, has brought in $27 million of a targeted $30 million fourth round of funding that it plans to use to commercialize its product, reports PE Hub. It kicked off the round in March, and said it had commitments from its existing investors.

This turned out to be true, with the Redwood City, Calif. company tapping previous backers Delphi Ventures, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Invesco Private … Continue Reading

Complete Genomics seals $45M for cheaper gene sequencing

Complete Genomics, provider of supposedly cheaper and faster DNA sequencing services, has raised $45 million in a fourth round of funding — a huge amount for a biotech company in today’s economic environment. Based in Mountain View, Calif., the company says it will be able to sequence people’s genes in only a few days, and for the bargain price of $5,000.

Apparently, genetic companies are where it’s at in the life science market right now. … Continue Reading

TheFunded publishes a plain vanilla term sheet for VCs

TheFunded, a site that gives entrepreneurs a way to rate venture capitalists, continues to roll out services to help entrepreneurs in other ways. Today, TheFunded’s Founder Institute published a template document for entrepreneurs to use when they’re raising money.

Called the “Plain Preferred Term Sheet,” the document (embedded below) was inspired by a recent debate sparked by entrepreneur Chris Dixon (co-founder of Hunch) and investor Fred Wilson, who have been seeking a way to simplify … Continue Reading

Facebook's Zuck is on a personal mission — may expand staff 50 percent this year

updated

Facebook plans to expand its staff by as much as 50 percent this year, seeking to hire engineers now that the economic recession has made it less expensive to find them.

Significantly, we’re being told that Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg himself is leading on the hiring front, picking up the phone and calling people he knows in search for great employees. According to interviews we’ve had in recent days, Zuck has over the … Continue Reading

Rhapsody to hit the iPhone — nice, but too expensive

Rhapsody is the latest music application hoping to get approved for the iPhone, offering a way to select any song to play from a catalog of more than 8 million tracks.

If it does get approved, it will be the first significant subscription-based music service that lets you select songs directly for play — as opposed to other services, such as Pandora, where you’re relegated to listening to themes or radio stations and not able … Continue Reading

Live Gamer doubles down on virtual goods with Twofish acquisition

Live Gamer is doubling down on the hot-growing virtual goods market with its acquisition today of Twofish for an undisclosed price. In doing so, Live Gamer is making itself a big predator in one of the hottest parts of the video game industry.

The combined company will now be able to give game publishers a one-stop shop for virtual goods transactions, said Mitch Davis, chief executive of New York-based Live Gamer. That’s important for fast-growing … Continue Reading

Fanbase, a web directory of athletes and their teams

updated
A new web directory of sports teams and athletes called Fanbase has launched today, aiming to mobilize fans around pages of any team, from football to golf at any level, from professional to college and high school.

It is co-founded by Nirav Tolia, the entrepreneur who led the fast-growing product review site Epinions during the last Internet boom — a company that experienced a wild ride of boom, bust, and then partial redemption — … Continue Reading

The economy changes the course of chip design at Hot Chips conference

The Hot Chips conference that runs Sunday through Tuesday at Stanford University in Silicon Valley will capture the evolution of the chip industry. This conference offers the first chance to see how the global economic crisis is affecting the leading edge of the design of semiconductors, which are used in all things electronic and are like the plankton of the digital ecosystem.

One palpable trend is the tough economy’s effect on the conference itself. Last … Continue Reading

The question is when, not if, Microsoft will cut Xbox 360 prices

When Sony took the plunge and cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console last week, the ball moved into Microsoft’s court.

Now evidence is surfacing that Microsoft plans to cut the price of its Xbox 360 Elite console from $399 to $299, matching Sony’s PS 3 Slim with a 120-gigabyte hard drive.

Joystiq reported that a leaked Wal-Mart ad is the latest sign suggesting that Microsoft is cutting $100 from the price of … Continue Reading

Game maker Blizzard buys time to fortify online game service Battle.net

Blizzard Entertainment delayed its mammoth game, Starcraft II, until next year because the online game service that goes with it, Battle.net, needed an upgrade.

Today at Blizzcon, the company’s annual event for the Blizzard fans, the company did its best to explain that Battle.net is undergoing a major overhaul. The service has 12 million members who play older games such as the original Starcraft and Diablo II on it. But it hasn’t been overhauled since … Continue Reading

Entrepreneur Corner Roundup: Chasing simplicity, Future-proofing your vision and the curse of the new building

Here’s what you might have missed:

Why is simple design so hard? – Complex design is far easier than simplicity – and it takes much less planning. But Scott Olson, serial entrepreneur and president of MindLink Marketing, points out that by striving for simplicity, you’re more likely to strike a chord with customers.

Future-proofing your company’s vision – You’ve heard time and time again that vision matters. But ‘vision’ is a loaded word. Everyone thinks … Continue Reading

Roundup: Craigslist adds 140 cities, Facebook cashouts continue, Google's brand under fire from Bing

Here’s the latest action:

Craigslist city coverage gets 25 percent bigger — The destroyer of newspapers added 140 cities to its listings on Thursday, bringing the total to 690 cities. Lucknow, India and Shenzhen, China were the biggest cities added. But many small towns, including Oneonta, NY (population 13,000), also now have Craigslist directories. The New York Times gives an overview of the new cities, and reporter Brad Stone chats up the advertising director of … Continue Reading

Personal finance site Mint eyes U.K., Canada for international expansion

Mint.com, the personal finance site that has racked up 1.4 million users in the U.S., might expand up north and across the pond early next year, according to its founder and CEO Aaron Patzer.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based startup tracks personal checking accounts, credit card spending and retirement portfolios to help users manage their finances. It recently raised $14 million in a third round of financing and launched features this week advising employees on how … Continue Reading