Lifting the veil on the hybrid processor-graphics chip in the new Xbox 360

Microsoft and IBM described the two-headed chip that enables the new black version of the Xbox 360 to operate on less power and more quietly than past models of the video game console.

The company’s engineers created a chip that combined the machine’s microprocessor and its graphics chip on a single piece of silicon. In the past, different versions of the console have all used two separate chips for those tasks. By combining them, Microsoft … Continue Reading

Google CEO bets Scoop could be the next Facebook on campus

Remember when Facebook was a college-only social network? The people behind Scoop do, as they work to launch a social mobile app for students. And so, appparently, does Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

According to the website of TomorrowVentures, Schmidt’s personal venture-capital investment vehicle, he has invested in Trumpet Technologies, a Palo Alto-based startup developing Scoop.

Trumpet CEO Corey Reese wouldn’t comment directly on Schmidt’s investment, but he agreed to have the team behind Scoop talk … Continue Reading

Visual IQ raises $3 million as interest grows for software-as-a-service

On-demand data-mining service provider Visual IQ is the latest player in software as a service to draw interest from investors, raising $3 million in funding from Fog City Capital on Monday.

Others include RealPage, which offers Web-based software that helps landlords deal with renters more efficiently. That company recently raised $180 million in its initial public offering on August 12. And LinkedIn also acquired Software-as-a-service provider mSpoke on August 5.

The $3 million investment represents … Continue Reading

How Google Goggles works to deliver visual search results for mobile phones

Google Goggles is one of the more interesting experiments being done in visual search. If you have an Android phone, you can already use the Google Goggles visual search app to take a picture of something and then submit it to Google as a search query. Google will take perhaps 6.5 seconds to send you three results that show you what the object is.

You can take pictures of a landscape, a barcode, a sign, … Continue Reading

Analyst says Verizon iPhone not a sure thing

Apple is holding talks to bring the iPhone onto Verizon’s mobile network, but the details are still being worked out, according to a note sent this morning by Kauffman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu.

The timetable for ending Apple’s exclusive agreement with AT&T in the United States has been the subject of constant speculation. Apple has ended its exclusive deals in most other countries, so something similar seems inevitable in the US, but the timing and … Continue Reading

Nimbula raises $15M to expand cloud service

Nimbula, a provider of cloud-computing services, raised an additional $15 million in venture capital funding in a second round led by Accel Partners on Monday. It plans to use the money to promote market adoption of its on-demand computing service.

Accel Partners snagged a spot on the company’s board of directors, which will be filled by the Accel partner Ping Li, a cloud-computing specialist who has also backed Cloudera and BitTorrent, among others.

The company … Continue Reading

Applied Materials backs solar inspection and quality-control startup

Applied Materials is in the middle of restructuring its solar strategy. It recently called it quits on its SunFab line of equipment for thin-film solar cell manufacturing, cutting 500 jobs in the process. But now it’s sinking money into a new business : solar inspection and quality control. The company’s investment arm, Applied Ventures, joined a $3.8 million first round of funding for BT Imaging, a startup that does just that.

The core of BT’s … Continue Reading

PocketGear grabs $15M more for mobile app store

PocketGear, operator of a mobile application store, today announced it has raised a second round of funding for $15 million. The funds will be used to continue product development, increase its sales and marketing team and expand globally, according to the company’s announcement.

PocketGear provides over 140,000 mobile apps and pieces of content, such as software, in its marketplace, which includes 2,000-plus devices across all major operating systems and platforms, including Symbian, Palm, Windows Mobile, … Continue Reading

Malware may have led to fatal Spanair plane crash

As if we needed another reason to fear malware, authorities investigating the 2008 crash of Spanair flight 5022 have discovered that the plane’s computer system — which is used to keep track of technical problems — was infected with malware, according to a report by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The crash took place during takeoff from Madrid-Barajas International Airport, and left 154 dead, with 18 survivors. An early investigation by the U.S. National Transportation … Continue Reading

Redspotgames plans for new games on the Sega Dreamcast

European game publisher Redspotgames may be the Sega Dreamcast’s final champion. After releasing several titles on the now-defunct console over the past few years, the company apparently has plans to bring even more games to the Dreamcast, according to gaming site Joystiq.

Redspotgames marketing and sales director Adrian Loudero spoke to Joystiq at the Gamescom conference this week: “We have seen some stuff on the PC, and we [are] talking to the companies to see … Continue Reading

Zynga's armored car explosion stunt draws 2M views

Last week, Zynga entered the big leagues of video game marketing. To mark the launch of its Mafia Wars Las Vegas game, the company blew up a real armored car in the desert outside Las Vegas. It was an event worthy of Electronic Arts or Activision Blizzard, which have been known to do outrageous stunts in the name of marketing games.

Zynga says that more than 2 million viewers joined the live Ustream video of … Continue Reading

One in five Americans plays games on social networks

About 20 percent of the U.S. population has played a game on a social network in the past three months, according to market researcher NPD Group.

That means 56.8 million Americans ages 6 or older have played on social networks. And about 35 percent of those social networkers are new to gaming, having never participated in any other type of video game before they started on the social networks such as Facebook, MySpace or others.… Continue Reading

HP outbids Dell for data storage company 3Par, offers $1.6B

(Update: HP mentioned in a webcast that the offer is a follow-up to a previous one that 3Par rejected.)

One of the biggest acquisitions announced last week was Dell’s $1.15 billion offer for data storage company 3Par. Now it appears the computer giant has some competition.

HP announced this morning that it has made a counter offer to 3Par’s board, proposing that it would buy the company for $1.6 billion in cash — or … Continue Reading

Mixamo bets video game players will pay money for virtual motion

Virtual goods have become a runaway industry as gamers the world over show they’re willing to pay real money for virtual room decorations, pets, swords and cars. Now a startup called Mixamo is betting that gamers will pay for virtual movement, too.

You could, for instance, pay for animations to make your avatar, or virtual character, the hottest moonwalker on the dance floor. Sound far-fetched? Nazim Kareemi (above, left) and Stefano Corazza, (above right), don’t … Continue Reading

Verizon launches PC game portal with 1,800 games

Verizon has teamed up with Exent Technologies to launch a PC game portal that gives users access to more than 1,800 games from 70 publishers.

The Verizon Games with GameTanium desktop application is made possible by Exent’s GameTanium digital distribution technology, which allows users to start playing a game while it downloads the rest of it in the background. Users will be able to play free for a couple of weeks and then have the … Continue Reading

Social app directory Appolicious expands Android support, adds Yahoo apps

Appolicious, the site that offers iPhone / iPad /Android app reviews and recommendations with a bevy of social networking tools, announced today that it is launching a revamped Android site at AndroidApps.com (and a companion Android app), a new site dedicated entirely to Yahoo apps, and an improved search engine.

The company took hold of AndroidApps.com when it purchased the video app review company AppVee in February. But until now, the Android site hasn’t been … Continue Reading

Antivirus vendor Avast Software raises $100M in private equity

The security software industry is heating up. The latest evidence? Private equity firm Summit Partners has just invested $100 million in antivirus software vendor Avast Software.

The investment comes on the heels of Intel’s $7.68 billion acquisition of antivirus vendor McAfee, as well as a number of other deals that have made security technology companies a hot commodity. Prague-based Avast has upset the traditional antivirus market by giving away its software for free. In this … Continue Reading

Federated Media acquires team and tech from semantic startup TextDigger

Updated

Federated Media, which helps online publishers (including VentureBeat) sell advertising, has acquired technology and hired team members from a startup called TextDigger. FM’s founder and chief executive John Battelle (pictured) said the deal should help the media company strengthen its tech side.

TextDigger actually comes from a media background, having been founded by former employees of online news company CNET (now owned by CBS). TextDigger says it uses semantic tools (i.e., technology that understands … Continue Reading