Internet Explorer 9 beta proves wildy popular with over 2M downloads in 2 days

Clearly, Microsoft’s bold browser revamp with Internet Explorer 9 is getting noticed. The company announced today that the beta version of IE9, which was made available last week, was downloaded over 2 million times worldwide in two days.

In comparison, the beta version of Internet Explorer 8 saw only 1.3 million downloads in five days when it launched in August 2008. The difference shows that Microsoft has finally succeeded with IE9 at making a browser … Continue Reading

PapayaMobile makes it a snap to add location to social mobile games

PapayaMobile is making it simple for developers to add location-based features to their Android mobile games.

The Beijing-based company, which makes a social game platform for Android developers, has updated its software development kit to enable the addition of location features. It adds functions that resemble the check-in games on Foursquare, giving players the ability to earn medals and badges or directly challenge their friends in location-based competitions. With location added to the SDK, developers … Continue Reading

Twitter fixes mouse security exploit on Twitter.com

Some  Twitter users took advantage of an exploit on Twitter.com that could launch unwanted pop-up windows, and send visitors to third-party websites without their permission, reports the antivirus firm Sophos. The exploit required other users to merely mouse over a link to be activated.

Twitter’s Safety account mentioned that it was aware of the exploit earlier this morning, and it announced that it was fixed shortly after.

According to Sophos Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluely, … Continue Reading

DiscoveryBeat 2010: Check out our latest speakers for getting content noticed

We’re pleased to announced some heavy hitters at DiscoveryBeat 2010. The conference addressing the evolving problem of discovery in an era full of app stores and content. Our newest speakers have navigated these stores and managed to get their content noticed in a big way.

DiscoveryBeat 2010 is an event focused on the “secret recipe” for application discovery and monetization. Due to its success in 2009, the conference has expanded to a full day event … Continue Reading

Thanks to Fuze Box, you can run meetings from your iPad

Updated

Popular online meeting services WebEx and GoToMeeting were both in the first wave of applications for Apple’s iPad, but they lacked one key feature — the ability to actually host meetings. That’s where a company called Fuze Box has been able to top them. It’s releasing the Fuze Meeting service on the iPad today. And yes, users can not just join a meeting, but host one as well.

That’s actually something I asked Bernd … Continue Reading

Study: Mobile workers are 5 times more likely to run into malware than office workers

If you’re a CEO and you read this, you may be tempted to ban your traveling workers from using iPhones, iPads , laptops and any other mobile devices. Symantec says its research shows that about 35 percent of workers are more likely to expose the company to malware while they’re on the road than in the office.

The MessageLabs Intelligence report says that companies have to create usage policies that deter employees from visiting web … Continue Reading

Aryaka Networks: Stop sending the same files twice

Aryaka Networks, a provider of a cloud-based service that trims bandwidth usage and latency concerns for large companies, is launching today and has raised $14 million in its first round of funding.

The Milpitas, Calif., company provides optimization tools for wide-area networks (WANs), helping reduce bandwidth usage and mitigate latency issues that plague some large companies that need to transmit large amounts of data around the world by optimizing the files that are transferred. Aryaka … Continue Reading

IMVU shifts from virtual world to social games

In a major strategic pivot, IMVU is shifting away from its virtual world roots to social games and entertainment.

In doing so, it is swimming in the same stream as companies that are adapting their businesses to cash in on the hot social gaming and social networking trends. IMVU will offer 75 games from three partners to its community of more than 50 million registered users.

IMVU is partnering with game companies Viximo (whose Top … Continue Reading

With Diner Dash, PlayFirst has a game that goes everywhere

PlayFirst could very well be known for the rest of its days as the Diner Dash company. The maker of casual games is best known for the Diner Dash series of games and the Flo character who stars in them as a waitress who has to juggle a million tasks at once.

The San Francisco-based company says that Diner Dash and all of its spinoff children have generated more than 500 million game downloads over … Continue Reading

SocialVest launches a new way to do good while shopping

Most entrepreneurs (and investors) like to talk about how their startups are a force for good. Mostly, that’s connected to some airy mission statement like “trying to make the world a more open place,” but once in a while, companies have more direct plans to benefit humankind.

The latest company in this vein SocialVest, a site whose users can shop and help charity organizations at the same time. The Atlanta startup, which is opening to … Continue Reading

Apple quietly sets up its own game web site

Apple has quietly set up a game-related section on its web site. That may be a sign that the company has finally decided that games are a big part of its future.

[Update: I've been told that the site has actually been around since the late 1990s and just got noticed by another publication yesterday. I haven't gotten an official comment from Apple yet.]

The games section is fairly Spartan, compared to the colorful and … Continue Reading

Quintic Corp gets $4.1M to make chips for wireless consumer products

Fabless integrated circuit startup Quintic Corporation has raised $4.1 million of an expected $6.3 million in equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., with an office in Beijing, the company makes chips for consumer products like cell phones, MP3 players, portable radios and GPS devices. Founded in 2005, Quintic last raised $2 million in funding in July.… Continue Reading

Flash chip developer SandForce brings in $25M for data storage

SandForce, a maker of flash memory processors for enterprise data storage, has raised $25 million in a fourth round of funding. The round was led by Canaan Partners with participation from DCM, Storm Ventures, Translink Capital, UMC Capital and chip maker LSI Corporation. Based in Saratoga, Calif., the company plans to use the funding to bring new products to market and increase customer support. Founded in 2006, SandForce last raised $21 million in November 2009.… Continue Reading

The latest ad frontier: Solve Media lets you advertise on authentication tests

Advertisers are always looking for new ways to get attention, and startup Solve Media has come up with a clever way to bring eyeballs to ads: It’s placing ads on captchas — those authentication tests you take (pictured left) to verify you’re not a computer.

The system works by presenting users with a brand logo and message instead of garbled words, numbers, and shapes — as is common — to authenticate a captcha. Users are … Continue Reading

Ritter buys a big chunk of personalized chocolate startup Chocri

German startup Chocri has enlisted the backing of major chocolate manufacturer Ritter for its plans to deliver personalized chocolate bars. Carmen Magar, the company’s US chief executive, told me Ritter has invested in the low seven figures (i.e., single-digit millions of dollars) in exchange for a third of the company.

Chocri is part of a wave of companies using the Web to deliver more personalized products — the most famous examples are probably jewelry companies … Continue Reading

Reddit buzz wins the site Microsoft ad bucks

Reddit, the headline aggregator and discussion site run by the parent company of Wired magazine, features plenty of talked-about stories. But only recently has it seen news that bodes well for the site’s own business.

Rival Digg‘s botched attempt at a redesign and the announcement of a Reddit-inspired rally in Washington D.C. by TV personalities Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart have bumped up the site’s numbers. Now the site has announced that the buzz has … Continue Reading

Mail.com is getting out of the email business

Mail.com Media Company has sold its Mail.com email service.

It might seem odd for a company to sell the service that gives the business its name, but Los Angeles-based MMC has been putting more emphasis on the “media” part of its name recently, buying up and operating sites like Deadline.com and the Boy Genius Report. In fact, when I visit the Mail.com website, news stories are featured much more prominently than email.

So the deal … Continue Reading

Foursquare really, really wants you to create a to-do list

Foursquare just announced version 2.0 of its location check-in app for the iPhone. At first glance, it sounds pretty similar to previous versions of the app — unless other Foursquare users are a lot more excited about tips and to-dos lists than I am.

Still, these relatively minor changes hint at the company’s future direction and goals. The big theme seems to be directing users to new locations and activities, rather than just sharing their … Continue Reading