Whirlpool leaps into Smart Grid game with 1M smart dryers by 2011

Since the move toward a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid picked up speed last year, it’s been a land grab for goliaths like General Electric, IBM, Intel and Cisco Systems. Today, there’s a new player on the field: Major appliance maker Whirlpool is promising to deliver 1 million Smart Grid-compatible clothes dryers by 2011.

Prime competitor General Electric has long been vocal about its line of smart appliances, particularly thermostats and water heaters, but has … Continue Reading

Finance startup Yodlee: We weren't screwed by Mint's acquisition

Ever since popular personal finance site Mint.com announced two weeks ago that it was being acquired by Intuit for $170 million, there’s been some speculation about what that deal means for Yodlee, the company that provides a lot of the Mint’s data, particularly from banks. Yodlee’s Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development Joe Polverari has been giving interviews in which he’s pretty dismissive about Mint’s potential, so I talked to him a bit more … Continue Reading

Three-year effort knocks ThinkPad boot time down to 30 seconds

Lenovo, the world’s fourth largest PC maker, is rushing to claim the fastest boot-up and shutdown times for Windows 7 on its ThinkPad laptops and ThinkCentre desktop machines.

Why does a PC need to boot in 30 seconds instead of 60? Because boot time is one of the major factors that buyers focus on when shopping for a new computer. Shoppers use a computer’s boot time to gauge its overall performance, so it’s worth it … Continue Reading

Abu Dhabi looks to raise $600M for renewable energy hub, Masdar City

Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned energy company, announced over the weekend that it will be raising between $300 and $600 million to start construction on Masdar City, the massive planned hub for cleantech research and innovation, especially in the renewable energy sector. As its name suggests, the development will also be a zero-carbon, zero-waste city for about 50,000 residents, the government in the United Arab Emirates capital claims.

Today, the company followed up with more news … Continue Reading

Change the world! Launch your Smart Grid company at GreenBeat 2009

To avoid environmental catastrophe within the next century, we, as a world, desperately need to cut carbon emissions.

If you’re an entrepreneur, this is the calling of a lifetime — there’s massive economic opportunity here. That’s why VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat 2009, the seminal conference on the emergence of a “Smart Grid” — the movement toward a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid — one that champions transparency and puts consumers back in charge of how … Continue Reading

Twones rolls up 25 music services into one

The number of music sites worth signing up for keeps growing. If you’re as disorganized as I am, a morning’s listening can make a mess of your desktop, and the different interfaces for each site make hopping around among iTunes, Grooveshark, imeem and Pandora awkward.

Twones — pronounced like “tunes” — makes a Firefox / Internet Explorer add-on that unifies 25 music services into one interface.

Twones also claims to be a rich source of … Continue Reading

Latest speaker at GreenBeat 2009: Cisco's Smart Grid guru, Laura Ipsen

I’m pleased to announce that Laura Ipsen, VP and General Manager for Cisco Systems‘ Smart Grid Business Unit, will be joining us as a speaker at GreenBeat 2009.

Over the next several days, you’ll be hearing more announcements about our exciting lineup for GreenBeat 2009, the seminal conference on technologies that are disruptive to outmoded parts of our electrical grid, and which push forward the Smart Grid.

The event will take place in the San … Continue Reading

M&A binge continues as Xerox buys ACS to get into services

The acquisition binge continues in corporate America as Xerox said today it will buy Affiliated Computer Services in a cash and stock deal valued at $6.4 billion.

With ACS, the copier giant will now expand into services such as collecting tolls and installing computer systems in government agencies. The purchase price is $63.11 a share, a big premium on ACS’ Friday closing price of $47.50 a share.

Xerox will now join battle with HP in … Continue Reading

Vidyo pulls in $7M for video conferencing tech

Vidyo, a New Jersey company that provides high-definition video conferencing services, has brought in $7 million in debt and rights financing, according to a filing with the SEC. Earlier this year, it raised $15 million in a third round of venture funding to build its market presence. It has now raised $45 million to date from Menlo Ventures, Rho Ventures, Sevin Rosen Funds and Star Ventures.… Continue Reading

Unisfair captures $3.2M to host virtual events

Unisfair, a firm that hosts virtual events, particularly job fairs that you don’t have to attend in person, has brought in $3.2 million of an anticipated $9.3 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company just bolstered its offerings by integrating Facebook and Twitter into its event experiences.

Unisfair’s platform allows you to create a digital character, or avatar, that you can navigate through a faux exhibition … Continue Reading

Android app audience more global than iPhone's

The latest report from mobile applications reporting software maker Distimo finds a pattern no one has explained yet, but one that mobile app followers will want to know: iPhone apps, Distimo’s data shows, tend to be more popular in the geographic region they are produced. The top paid apps bought the United States differ a lot from the top apps bought in the UK.

On Google’s Android market, there’s no such distinction. Two applications, Power … Continue Reading

Vapore adds $500K to venture round for medical vaporizing device

Vapore, maker of a device that quickly and efficiently turns liquid medications into vapors for easier administration, has brought in $500,000 to add to its already $2 million first round of venture funding, reports Dow Jones VentureWire. The Alameda, Calif. company says it will now seek $2 million more in a second round of funding, slated to close in the first half of 2010. It is backed by RSH Ventures, Band of Angels, Kereitsu Forum … Continue Reading

Online electronics store NewEgg files for $175M IPO

NewEgg, a consumer-facing online retailer that sells computer components and other electronics, including software, digital cameras, cell phones and laptops, has filed to go public, expecting to raise $175 million, reports PE Hub. Founded in 2001, the company says it brought in $2.2 billion in revenue in the last year alone. That’s a pretty solid figure for a niche site competing with Amazon and Best Buy’s web property, among others.

Insight Venture Partners stands to … Continue Reading

Apple's AppStore downloads surpass two billion

Apple announced this morning that users have downloaded more than two billion apps from its AppStore in the past couple of years, and that the number of apps now tops 85,000.

The rate of change is pretty astounding for a consumer product. It raises the question as to whether anyone can catch up with Apple in smart phone apps.

Back on Sept. 9, Apple announced that the AppStore had more than 1.8 billion downloads and … Continue Reading

Intuit's small business software QuickBooks 2010 gets an app store

Financial software maker Intuit is releasing the latest version of QuickBooks, its bookkeeping tool for small businesses. The company showed me a bunch of new features, but the most interesting from a technology perspective is an App Center where customers can buy applications that make QuickBooks more powerful.

Intuit actually launched the Intuit Partner Platform, its platform for applications built by outside developers, last year, and it says it has already signed up 90,000 developers. … Continue Reading

New Halo 3:ODST game is heavy on action, but just a snack for hardcore fans

With Halo 3: ODST for the Xbox 360, Microsoft and developer Bungie are testing the waters beyond the story of Master Chief that occupied center stage in the Halo video game trilogy.

In doing so, they may actually catch up with the insatiable thirst among Halo fans for more content. Bungie takes its time with Halo games, which have debuted in 2001, 2004, and 2007. The last game, Halo 3, was a smashing success; its … Continue Reading

Week in review: The future of healthcare, our favorite DEMO companies, and more

Here’s our rundown of the week’s tech and business news. First up, the five most popular stories VentureBeat published in the last seven days:

Health care: It’s time for technology — “Even the most partisan players in the debate over health care reform agree on two things. One, that this is crazy. And two, that technology can help.”

New Halo game has a secret game within the game — “But apparently that was plenty of … Continue Reading

Entrepreneur Corner Roundup: The idea’s great, but the leadership team stinks…

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner:

The idea’s great, but the leadership team stinks… – Venture capitalists are in the business of saying no – but Flybridge Capital Partners general partner Jeff Bussgang notes that the hardest position to be in is when the idea is a great one, but the team presenting it simply does not seem capable of pulling it off.

Three keys to a remarkable product – A remarkable product is … Continue Reading

5 O'Clock Roundup, the 7 O'Clock Edition

Yes, Twitter does save all your tweets – - ReadWriteWeb asked Biz Stone about Twitter’s backup policy, and whether the company plans to stick to a pledge not to store GPS tracking info.

“We definitely save all the tweets although you’re right in noting that our search focuses more on newer content right now. And yes, the plan is to drop the coordinates after 14 days.“

Palm Pre now $99 at Amazon — I’m the … Continue Reading