Google has 99 problems, but PayPal's lawsuit ain't one

During a live demo at the D9 event Tuesday, Google said it views its new Wallet service as entirely different from the new point of sale devices PayPal is reportedly developing with major retailers.

Google is probably hoping the court will feel the same way when reviewing the recent lawsuit filed by PayPal’s parent company Ebay against the search engine giant for allegedly stealing trade secrets about mobile transactions.

The lawsuit was filed just as … Continue Reading

HP offers an enterprise dashboard for CIOs

Hewlett-Packard is announcing software that information technology managers can use to get a dashboard-like view of their enterprise operations.

The new software combines 50 different key performance indicators (KPIs) that show chief information officers the state of their enterprise in terms of how computing power is being used. The effort is aimed at making it much easier for chief executives and chief information officers to get a real-time snapshot of the enterprise and make decisions … Continue Reading

Angry Birds to invade TVs this summer with Roku

Yes, Angry Birds is now officially everywhere. Streaming video set-top box maker Roku has announced that it’s partnering with game maker Rovio to bring Angry Birds to televisions this summer.

The company says it will offer all three current Angry Birds games (the original, Rio and Seasons) on a new product this summer, launch an Angry Birds video channel, and sell merchandise for the series via its store channel. Roku is also looking at the … Continue Reading

Survey shows 37 percent of companies using the cloud

About 37 percent of companies are already using cloud infrastructure, or web-connected data centers, to run their information technology operations, according to a survey by Advanced Micro Devices.

About 63 percent of those using the cloud store data in the cloud that is worth more than $250,000. And 63 percent said they are already seeing benefits from cloud deployments. Those results suggest that a lot of companies have begun to trust cloud technology, despite risks … Continue Reading

Google Offers is the business plan behind Google Wallet, and it's live tomorrow

While demonstrating their new mobile payment product Google Wallet today, Google executives offered some insight into how it will make money.

Google executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt gave the demonstration with Google vice president Stephanie Tilenius at the D9 conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. Users should be able to tap their phones against compatible point-of-sale devices and use the app to make payments. They should be able to use the Wallet app … Continue Reading

Eric Schmidt on Google's social stumbles: "I screwed up"

Why can’t Google built a social networking product that resonates with consumers? You could speculate about the engineer-driven company’s culture and priorities, but today executive chairman Eric Schmidt offered a simple explanation: “I screwed up.”

Speaking at the D9 conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Schmidt (pictured above at another event) said that a few years ago, when he was CEO, he realized that social was an important issue for Google. He kept writing memos … Continue Reading

Tapjoy says Apple's ban on promos is killing mobile game profits

Tapjoy said tonight that Apple’s ban of a popular kind of promotion on the iPhone is hurting mobile game developers.

Tapjoy and Apple held talks on the ban in the past few weeks, but Apple’s hard-and-fast ban on “pay per install” incentive promotions remains in place. Apple was concerned that game developers were paying Tapjoy to rocket their games to the top 25 ranks of the App Store, unfairly gaming the system and hurting the … Continue Reading

How Google won't become boring (according to Eric Schmidt)

Google’s position as the hottest company on the Web seems to have been usurped by upstarts like Facebook and Twitter, but the company’s executive chairman and former chief executive Eric Schmidt said today that Google is taking steps to make sure it doesn’t become obsolete.

Schmidt, who was speaking at the D9 conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., acknowledged that there’s a standard high-tech narrative — two people start a company, it’s a success, they … Continue Reading

Twitter, Google add to the pile of social sharing buttons

Think your favorite website doesn’t have enough buttons? Well, Google and Twitter are releasing some more for you.

Twitter made the more concrete announcement today, unveiling what it calls the Follow button. Publishers add the button to their website, then their fans can click and start following their Twitter accounts right away. Now, most socially savvy websites already include a “Follow us on Twitter” link, and it’s not exactly an arduous task to click on … Continue Reading

Zynga launches its first combat social game, Empires & Allies

Zynga, the leader in social games that could be near an initial public offering, is launching its first combat social game on Facebook tomorrow. The Empires & Allies game is a big switch for a company that has focused on non-violent casual games to date such as FarmVille and CityVille.

But this combat strategy game has the Zynga style, which is light-hearted, cartoonish, and casual. Internally, the Zynga Los Angeles team thought about this game … Continue Reading

Windows Phone 7 gives Microsoft its beachhead in mobile

Every week, VentureBeat editors are crowning the very best mobile developers as “King of Code” via an exclusive editorial profile on VentureBeat.com. We’re looking for innovative developers who are really pushing the envelope in the mobile space. Enter here for a chance to win an exclusive profile on VentureBeat.com, a $1,000 AMEX Gift Card, an Xbox & Kinect Package, and/or a Windows Phone 7 Device. The King of Code contest is sponsored by Windows Phone… Continue Reading

World Health Organization: cell phones possibly carcinogenic (updated)

Cell phone radiation might be carcinogenic — meaning the radiation could be linked to some cases of cancer — according to a panel assembled by the World Health Organization (WHO) to study the effects of the devices.

The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) previously held that cell phone radiation was not carcinogenic. That partly silenced many critics who claimed cell phone radiation was causing brain tumors and that cell phones were more … Continue Reading

DoubleClick challenger OpenX raises $20M from SAP

OpenX, an online advertising company whose customers include deals service Groupon and news site Business Insider, just announced that it has raised $20 million in a fourth round of funding.

The Los Angeles-based company bills itself as an open source alternative to ad serving products like Google-owned DoubleClick. In February, it launched its latest product, OpenX Enterprise, which includes both an ad server and an ad exchange. At the time, chief revenue officer Jason Fairchild … Continue Reading

Nintendo dropping DS Lite price to $100

With the recent release of Nintendo 3DS, it’s no surprise that the older DS Lite is getting a price drop. On June 5, Nintendo will drop the DS Lite’s suggested price from $129.99 to $99.99.

A month ago, a leaked memo indicated Nintendo would soon be ending production of DS Lite units. Not only does Nintendo offer the new 3D-enabled 3DS, but the company also has the DSi and DSi XL for those not wanting … Continue Reading

Dropbox teams up with Softbank, Sony Ericsson to conquer Asia and Europe

Web storage service Dropbox has signed deals with Japanese mobile carrier Softbank and cell phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson to accelerate its international expansion in Asia and Europe.

Dropbox’s mobile application will be preloaded on Sony Ericsson’s Android smartphones on European and Asia-Pacific countries starting today, Bloomberg reports. Softbank will have Dropbox pre-installed on two of its Android phones. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Softbank is Japan’s third largest mobile carrier. It will … Continue Reading

BMW i3 Electric Car to Debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show?

According to sources close to BMW, the German automaker is reputedly working on five models to premiere at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in September, including its long-awaited i3 electric car.

BMW has kept details of its first mass-produced electric car quiet, although the ongoing stream of information on the car now in the public domain details a plausible set of specifications: a 112 kilowatt motor married to BMW’s preferred rear-wheel system, a battery pack … Continue Reading

Apple iWork now available on iPhone and iPod touch

On top of releasing details on what it will present at WWDC, Apple announced Tuesday that it is finally releasing the iWork productivity suite for the iPhone and iPod touch. iWork has been available for the iPad since it launched in April 2010.

iWork includes the programs Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, and each app retails individually for $9.99. Users who already purchased iWork for iPad can update the app for free and use it on … Continue Reading

Primus Power's flow batteries rake in $11M

Primus Power announced today that it has raised $11 million in its latest round of funding to finance its battery technology, which store energy and provide backup power for large power grids and “smart grids” — power grids that use advanced computer algorithms to efficiently distribute electricity and minimize loss of power.

The batteries can quickly store energy brought in from solar power and wind power projects and release that electricity during peak load times. … Continue Reading

Pentagon: Cyber attacks can count as acts of war

The Pentagon has decided that computer-based attacks from a foreign country can be considered acts of war, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The report comes only a few days after top U.S. defense supplier Lockheed Martin was hit by a cyber attack.

As new types of threats consistently emerge in the digital landscape, the U.S. military has to be ready to deal with more sophisticated attacks. Cyber warfare is not covered by the … Continue Reading