ZigBee, Wi-Fi join forces to kick home energy management up a notch

The smart grid community saw a major meeting of the minds today: the ZigBee Alliance and Wi-Fi Alliance have teamed up to develop applications for home energy management and networking.

Both ZigBee and Wi-Fi are wireless protocols that allow electronic devices, smart meters and utilities to wirelessly send data back and forth. This is the foundation of the burgeoning smart grid: the ability of utilities to receive data directly from their customers’ meters and for … Continue Reading

Why the lack of copy and paste in Windows Phone 7 Series is troubling

Yesterday, it was revealed that Microsoft’s upcoming mobile platform, Windows Phone 7 Series, won’t include any copy and paste functionality. And it’s not for lack of time or skill — Microsoft told Engadget that it simply doesn’t think users need to copy and paste things.

This news is disconcerting for several reasons: Mainly, it’s shocking that Microsoft could come to this conclusion after the lack of copy and paste functionality was such a big deal … Continue Reading

Evostor packs away $3M for storage software

Evostor, a stealthy provider of storage software, has brought in $3 million in equity and a sale of first-round preferred stock, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Campbell, Calif., the company is backed by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Starfish Ventures and Southern Cross Venture Partners.… Continue Reading

Mobile social network MocoSpace hits 11M users

MocoSpace, the social network designed specifically for mobile devices, announced today that it has reached a milestone of 11 million users — with 500,000 users forming new friendships every day.

MocoSpace focuses on helping users expand their circle of friends. The service is accessible by any web-enabled mobile phone, so it doesn’t leave out users who don’t have the latest smartphones. It makes money through the sale of virtual currency and targeted advertising. The company … Continue Reading

mig33's mobile chat service finds success in emerging markets

mig33 has been through an odyssey to find the right way to make money from its data networking business on cell phones. But now it looks like the company has hit its stride by moving into emerging markets where it can bring the Internet to mobile phones for the first time.

The mig33 story in a nutshell: A few Asian Aussies started a voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) service for mobile phones. They moved to Silicon Valley and … Continue Reading

China’s Tencent: $1.8 billion in 2009 revenues—what Facebook could learn

Tencent, a Chinese internet giant in instant messaging, social networks, and mobile, posted $1.8 billion in 2009 revenues, an increase of 74 percent from a year ago. For the record, that’s about three times Facebook’s estimated $600-700 million in 2009 revenues.

Tencent’s flagship product, QQ Messenger (with a cute penguin logo), is the first introduction to the internet for most Chinese teens. It claims a whopping 523 million active users. Tencent then cross-promotes its other … Continue Reading

Google smoothes the road to Google Apps with Microsoft Exchange migration

Over the past year or so, Google has been improving its online suite of business apps, Google Apps, to make it easier for businesses to switch over from their current office software. Today it’s announcing another feature in this vein — the ability to easily migrate email, contact, and calendar data from Microsoft Exchange.

Many companies use an Exchange server to store and sync the data accessed by Microsoft applications like Outlook. With the new … Continue Reading

Autonet nets $10.3M to put broadband in your car

Autonet Mobile, provider of always-on broadband internet service for vehicles, has raised $10.3 million in equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Marin, Calif., the company counts Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Volkswagen and General Motors among its partners. It has not disclosed the names of its investors, nor any other funding history.… Continue Reading

Microsoft may be nearing launch of an Xbox 360 Slim

Microsoft has long been rumored to be working on a combination microprocessor-graphics chip for the Xbox 360 as part of a move to create a slimmer game console.

Now some evidence has surfaced that the code-named Valhalla chip is done and a new model of the Xbox 360 with a redesigned motherboard (main circuit board) is near. A Chinese web site published photos of a motherboard with what appears to be a central processing unit … Continue Reading

Where brings its local search service to Where.com with mobile app sync

The local search and recommendation service Where announced today that it’s finally bringing its substantial search offering to the web at Where.com. Users will also be able to synchronize saved items across the web and Where’s mobile apps.

Where’s claim to fame is its immensely useful mobile application which goes by the same name. The app allows you to search for restaurants, entertainment, news, and more based on your location. It’s currently available for iPhone, … Continue Reading

LucidLogix raises $8M for boosting game graphics chips

Israeli chip maker LucidLogix Technologies has raised $8 million in funding for its technology that enables a computer to balance the graphics processing load across all available graphics chips in a system.

The funding for the Kfar Netter, Israel-based company comes from current investors Rho Ventures, Giza Venture Capital and Genesis Partners. To date, the company has raised $40 million, and it has been able to do so because the company’s products are selling well.… Continue Reading

Roundup: EA takes Tiger back, tech wealth gap widens, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Elin may not take Tiger back, but EA will – Electronic Arts distanced itself from the golf star following his hyped sex scandals, but says it will be releasing the console version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 on July 2 this year. Woods will return to the professional golf circuit in real-life next month when he plays the Masters in Augusta, Ga.

PC market bounces back — After a major … Continue Reading

Free wiki hosting company Wikia to let you create your own question and answer sites

Wikia, a site which allows anyone to create their own free wiki page, has announced a new service, Answers from Wikia, that will enable anyone to create their own question and answer sites as well.

Wikia previously relaunched its Wikianswers service early last year, which directly competed with the likes of  Yahoo Answers, wikiAnswers (a competing service with a very similar name), and Answerbag. With Wikianswers, Wikia allowed users to ask general questions, and receive … Continue Reading

An 'unanswerable' question: Can the iPad save magazines?

Even though the South by Southwest panel’s title asked, “Could the iPad have saved Gourmet?” it wasn’t until the session’s closing minutes that someone finally mentioned the now-defunct magazine. That’s when an audience member asked the speakers to actually answer the titular question — specifically, if publisher Conde Nast had offered Gourmet on Apple’s iPad, how many copies would it need to sell to keep the magazine alive?

“That’s kind of an unanswerable question,” said … Continue Reading

Financial Engines scores $127.2M in IPO

Financial Engines, provider of a technology platform for investment portfolio management, has gone public, raising $127.2 million, with shares selling for $12 each (above the $9 to $11 projected range). Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company was backed by Foundation Capital, New Enterprise Associates, and Oak Hill Capital Partners.… Continue Reading

Zynga recruits Electronic Arts veteran to run game studios

Zynga announced today that it has appointed Steven Chiang, a veteran game executive from Electronic Arts, to be president of the social game company’s development studios.

Chiang has 17 years of experience in the console game industry, 15 of them at EA. He was most recently senior vice president and group general manager of EA Sports, where he oversaw the Madden NFL football series, one of the most valuable franchises in all of video gamedom.… Continue Reading

NGM Bio closes in on $51M to treat metabolic diseases

NGM Biopharmaceuticals, a medical startup looking to treat metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, has brought in an undisclosed amount of capital toward its goal of a $51 million second round of funding. Based in South San Francisco, the company is backed by the Column Group, Tichenor Ventures, Prospect Venture Partners and Rho Ventures.… Continue Reading

Counsyl bags $2.2M for pre-natal genetic testing

Counsyl, maker of DNA tests used to diagnose predispositions to genetic diseases in prospective parents before they conceive, has brought in $2.2 million in equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Redwood City, Calif., the company raised $2.7 million in 2009 from 21 undisclosed investors. The company got a write-up in The New York Times at the end of January.… Continue Reading

World Golf Tour raises $10M, expands overseas and explores social games

World Golf Tour has raised $10 million in a third round of funding to support an expansion into social games and overseas markets.

JAFCO Ventures, a big private equity firm in Japan, led the round. Existing investors also participated. In addition, World Golf Tour has formed exclusive long-term partnerships with the United States Golf Association, which governs professional golf in the U.S.

Yuchiang Cheng, chief executive of the company, said in an interview that the … Continue Reading