GreenBeat speaker: Vinod Khosla, the Super Grid skeptic
I’m delighted to announce that Vinod Khosla, one of Silicon Valley’s highest profile green investors, will be speaking at our GreenBeat conference next week.
Khosla is important for two reasons. He’s probably the most prolific investor in the sector around, having backed a company in almost every area of clean technology, from ethanol to solar — and was one of the first to make such a bold string of bets. For a while, it became … Continue Reading
On playing the role of a terrorist in Modern Warfare 2 video game
(Beware of spoilers and graphic imagery. Video not suitable for minors).
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may be the best-selling video game in history, but it will also go down as one of the most controversial because of a scene in which players can participate as terrorists in a civilian massacre.
The player has to choose what do do in this massacre, and there is no way to emerge unstained. I have a particular … Continue Reading
Microsoft Hohm launches for Xcel Energy customers
Microsoft Hohm, the software giant’s new home energy management system, is now available for the 3.4 million households served by utility Xcel Energy. This is the second time the tool, which makes energy use and pricing data available via a web interface, has been tested with a mass audience. It went live with Seattle City Light last month.
Xcel provides power to a diverse geographic customer base — spanning Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North … Continue Reading
Paragon Lake will let you customize jewelry online
If you’re the stylish type and want to customize your clothing orders, there are lots of options for you on the web. Now it’s time to take that bring that approach to jewelry, says Matt Lauzon, founder and president of a company called Paragon Lake.
The Lexington, Mass. company has created a product it calls a “virtual display case,” an online service accessed by jewelry stores as they’re trying to make a sale, which allows … Continue Reading
Google's Chrome OS rumored to launch next week
Google’s browser-based operating system for personal computers will be released to the public “within a week,” claims TechCrunch editor Mike Arrington, who says he has inside sources.
The small, fast, and hopefully bug-free system, called Chrome OS, is a direct attack on Microsoft’s dominant operating system, Windows. Chrome OS exploits the fact that the browser has become a better place for people to work, because it’s more direct. For example, it takes advantage of the … Continue Reading
GreenBeat 2009: Bringing in the Grid analysts
In order for a conference to be a catalyst for change, it needs to have people asking the right questions. GreenBeat 2009 has recruited a crack team of moderators to execute this task — including two of the most respected analysts speaking and writing about the emerging Super Grid.
Before we introduce them and the other moderators, remember to register for your GreenBeat ticket today. With an all-star lineup including former vice president Al Gore, … Continue Reading
Google's Sidewiki: The good, the bad and the ugly
Today, Google mentioned on its blog that it has been 2 months since the company officially launched Google Sidewiki – the feature that appears as a browser sidebar, where you can read and write entries along the side of any website.
50 days into the launch, Google felt compelled to share some of those entries. Here’s an excerpt from the post:
“We’ve been really excited by these uses of Sidewiki and wanted to share 10 … Continue Reading
OnLive shows its server-based games work on cell phones
OnLive showed today that its upcoming server-based gaming service works not only on computers, but also on cell phones.
At a demo at the Wedbush financial conference in New York, OnLive chief executive Steve Perlman showed that OnLive could work simultaneously on two iPhones, a TV, and a computer. All four devices had access to the full OnLive Game Service, Perlman said in a post.
As we described earlier this year, OnLive is creating a … Continue Reading
IBM launches smart water tools with three utilities
IBM has become one of the first computing companies to adapt its software for smarter water management — an area of development that has been overlooked with so much attention fixed on the smart electrical grid (an area that IBM has also aggressively pursued). Now it’s landed deals with three utilities.
To prevent water waste and contamination, IBM is offering specifically-designed sensors for utilities to install at different points in their water distribution systems. The … Continue Reading
Apple's app review process continues to alienate coders
“Slow replies, delays and dithering” from Apple’s app reviewers demoralize many iPhone app developers, claims a developer at respected Mac software maker Rogue Amoeba who says he has abandoned iPhone app development.
A day after the developer of Facebook’s iPhone app, Joe Hewitt, announced that he would no longer work on iPhone apps, Rogue Amoeba developer Paul Kafasis posted a similar resignation from iPhone-dom.
Kafasis’ iPhone app, Airfoil Speakers Touch, plays music from an iPhone … Continue Reading
Microchip Biotech eyes launch with new $18.1M
Microchip Biotechnologies, maker of technology used in DNA sequencing, has brought in $18.1 million to launch its product on the market. Based in Pleasanton, Calif., the company is backed by Domain Associates, Samsung Ventures, Western Technology Investment, In-Q-Tel, Rona Syndicates and private individuals.… Continue Reading
Caring.com finds $10M to coordinate elderly care
Caring.com, a web site that helps people find caretakers for elderly relatives, has brought in $10 million in a second round of funding, according to Dow Jones VentureWire. Based in San Mateo, Calif., the company is backed by Shasta Ventures, DCM, Split Rock Partners and a handful of private individuals.… Continue Reading
Class-action lawsuits could hit Facebook, MySpace, others on scam offers
Lawyers are investigating whether to file class-action lawsuits based on the recent scandal over scam-like offers that have appeared in games and other apps on social networks.
Sacramento-based law firm Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff has begun investigating complaints about unauthorized charges that resulted from social network users being duped into accepting scam offers, Gawker reported. The law firm is looking at users of Facebook, MySpace, Zynga, RockYou, Offerpal Media, and Super Rewards, among others.
Following … Continue Reading
Start-ups have no room for VPs
You’ve heard the advice before: You’re a small company, act like one. Yet more and more entrepreneurs tend to think of their businesses as a small version of a large company – and they plan and hire accordingly.
Serial entrepreneur Steve Blank, in this entrepreneurial though leadership lecture at Stanford University, points out the folly of this path and explains why segregating your company early on can be disastrous.
http://ecorner.stanford.edu/swf/player-ec.swf… Continue Reading
Preview of SGN's Skies of Glory iPhone game (video)
Social Gaming Network took iPhone games up a notch in June when it launched F.A.S.T., a fast-action 3-D modern aerial combat game on the iPhone.
The game had stunning visuals for an iPhone game, and it shot to the No. 1 spot. Now the company is preparing to launch Skies of Glory, an aerial combat iPhone game set in World War II. Lance Nelson, producer of the game, gave us a preview yesterday at SGN’s … Continue Reading
Voxeo raises $9M for voice communications business
Voxeo said today it has raised $9 million in funding for its voice communications business.
The Orlando, Fla.-based company is focused on making open platforms based on what it calls “unlocked communications,” such as voice-over-Internet-protocol on mobile platforms or unified messaging and voice communications. It essentially helps companies run their phone systems using modern web-based technologies. The investors include North Atlantic Capital and the Florida Growth Fund. The company will use the money for acquisitions … Continue Reading
3 reasons TV is about to get a facelift
GigaOm’s NewTeeVee Live event, which explores the future of TV, took place in San Francisco today. Though there were a number of interesting demos and presentations, three really stood out as being most likely to shape how we watch TV in the immediate future.
The first of these was Boxee‘s announcement that it will be coming out with a dedicated Boxee box next month (which we covered briefly earlier today). Boxee is a software platform … Continue Reading
Meebo socializes The Hollywood Reporter
Meebo‘s chat and sharing tools continue to spread around the web, with the company announcing the Hollywood Reporter as its latest partner. Over the next few months, THR publisher Nielsen Business Media will add the Meebo Bar to other sites too, such as MediaWeek and AdWeek.
The Meebo Bar started out as a way for social sites like myYearbook to add instant messaging abilities, but it has spread to news publications like TechCrunch, and even … Continue Reading
More money for online real estate: Redfin raises another $10 million
Real estate site Redfin announced today that it has raised $10 million more in a fourth round of funding.
The round was led by Greylock Partners, meaning that the firm (which just raised a new fund) is the latest high-profile venture capital firm to enter the online real estate market. Real estate search engine Zillow‘s venture backers including Benchmark Capital, while Sequoia Capital invested in Trulia. Unlike those companies, Redfin describes itself as an “online … Continue Reading
'When will Jesus bring the pork chops?' and other burning questions
Pet Holdings Inc., spreader of such popular memes as LOLcats, is expanding its empire with its latest destination — Autocomplete Me, which makes fun of those sometimes off-color search suggestions from Google when you type in part of a query.
From Autocomplete Me’s description:
“Remember that time you were innocently searching for “how to avoid swine flu” but Google assumed you were searching for “how to avenge your brother’s death”? Yeah, that totally wasn’t what … Continue Reading
