Exclusive: Tech mastermind Kai-Fu Lee on the “parallel universe” of startups in China
What are the distinguishing characteristics of Chinese tech company founders?
“They are just as passionate and independent as the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and they work even harder!”
So said the the legendary computer scientist Kai-Fu Lee, Apple employee turned Microsoft engineer turned Google.cn chief, in an interview with VentureBeat this evening.
Two years ago, Lee left Google to start his own startup incubator, Innovation Works.
Tonight, we learned Lee had raised a $180 million fund … Continue Reading
On 30th anniversary, HP launches limited-edition financial calculator
For math geeks, it doesn’t get better than this.
Hewlett-Packard is marking the 30th anniversary of its HP 12c Financial Calculator today by launching a limited-edition version aimed at nostalgic fans.
While the company hasn’t won praise for its business strategy lately, the HP 12c calculator has been one of its best-selling products ever, and it has been in continuous production for the last three decades. It shows that high-quality products can keep selling for … Continue Reading
Football! Sportcaster turns Twitter into your gameday play-by-play
Football, the season for pigskins, tailgates and letters painted on stomachs, is among us OneLouder, the maker of Tweetcaster, is gearing up for game time with a new free mobile app launched today. It’s called Sportcaster and isn’t based on stats from ESPN or commentary from John Madden. Instead, it’s based on Twitter’s API. Using a custom built back-end engine, the app pulls tweets from coaches, players, dedicated sports media and others to give fans … Continue Reading
Former Google China chief raises $180M for startup incubator
Kai-Fu Lee, the former head of Google China, has just finished a $180 million fund-raise for Innovation Works, a startup incubator for he founded two years ago.
Innovation Works is an accelerator for early-stage web and tech companies in China. The firm provides advisement, funding and support services to would-be entrepreneurs trying to get their own startups off the ground.
“Our unique ‘incubation-plus-investment’ model has not only produced a pipeline of high-quality projects but also … Continue Reading
Applied Materials unveils new manufacturing tech for more efficient solar panels
Applied Materials, a provider of manufacturing equipment for solar panel manufacturers, unveiled a new manufacturing process that would give solar panel manufacturers the ability to make more efficient solar panels.
The Baccini Pegaso solar panel printer reduces overall manufacturing costs for solar panels screen printing — a part of the process of manufacturing a cell — by around 5 percent. But the machines can produce solar panels that capture more sunlight and convert it to … Continue Reading
Salesforce.com tries to make cloud computing sexy at Dreamforce (photo gallery)
The term “Cloud” typically refers to the process of running a computer application on a powerful remote server that you can access through a web browser or client.
It’s really not a very sexy topic.
Well, don’t tell Salesforce.com that. The customer relationship management (CRM) software provider puts on a yearly conference in San Francisco called Dreamforce that gets more extravagant each subsequent year. As years go on, the conference is inching toward a more … Continue Reading
For sale: $40 billion PC business, only slightly used
Two weeks after announcing that it might be spinning off its PC business, HP is following through: It just put the business up for sale.
Well, sort of. In what may be a corporate first, the company announced the availability of its division through an advertising campaign and a blog post.
“The new organization would be a $40 billion business with the agility and freedom of a start-up. That’s an exciting prospect,” the post read.… Continue Reading
Bing thinks second place is good enough, for now (video)
Microsoft’s director of Bing search, Stefan Weitz doesn’t think being in second place is a bad thing.
He thinks Bing’s progress in the search market should be applauded, especially given the fact that Bing’s only been around for 2 years. You have to consider Microsoft’s history in search: Live Search, Microsoft’s search product before Bing, had less than one percent name recognition when Bing took its place.
As Bing seeks to dominate the search landscape, … Continue Reading
Facebook and Lamebook quietly settle trademark battle
The trademark face-off between the world’s largest social network Facebook and Lamebook, the website that mocks funny things people accidentally post on Facebook, has come to an end. In a quietly-settled agreement, Lamebook may continue operating under its current name but it must add a disclaimer to its website. Lamebook is also not allowed to seek trademark protection for its name.
“We are pleased to arrive at an agreement that protects Facebook’s brand and trademark … Continue Reading
AT&T announces $700 HTC Jetstream Android tablet
AT&T is having a bad day thanks to the U.S. government’s decision to try and stop its much-talked-about T-Mobile acquisition. But that didn’t stop AT&T from releasing details on its next tablet offering, the 10.1-inch HTC Jetstream tablet with Android Honeycomb.
Google’s Android tablets have collectively wrestled away 20 percent of the media-based tablet market from the mega-popular Apple iPad, due in part to a wide-range of Android models and prices. The Jetstream will add … Continue Reading
Apple loses yet another iPhone prototype at a bar
Yes, sometimes history does repeat itself. Once again, an Apple employee is rumored to have left an unreleased iPhone prototype at a bar, according to a CNET report.
The phone supposedly went missing at the tequila lounge Cava 22 in San Francisco’s Mission District in late July, and it was eventually sold on Craigslist for $200, unidentified sources familiar with the investigation told CNET’s Greg Sandovla and Declan McCullagh.
The news sounds eerily similar to … Continue Reading
Windows Phone Marketplace hits 30,000 apps
Though it still has nothing on the Apple or Google mobile app stores, Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace now has more than 30,000 applications available for the Windows Phone 7 platform, according to Windows Phone App List.
Microsoft has struggled to make a dent in the app market share against Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS operating systems, but at least it’s putting on a good face when it comes to releasing a large selection of applications. … Continue Reading
Sony renames its upcoming Android tablets “S” and “P”, offers more details
Say hello to the S and P, the forthcoming Sony Android tablets formerly known as the S1 and S2. Sony unveiled the new names for its Android tablets, along with European launch date details, today at its IFA 2011 press event in Berlin. The tablets are expected to be available later this fall.
By all appearances, nothing else about the tablets has changed — except for perhaps the diminished excitement surrounding them. When Sony previously … Continue Reading
Sony launches updated $149 Reader Wi-Fi with public library borrowing
Sony on Wednesday launched a new version of its e-book reading device called the Reader Wi-Fi, which is the first e-reader to offer wireless public library borrowing. The device will retail for $149 and be available in October.
The e-book reader market is becoming increasingly crowded, and if Sony wants to compete it has to “wow” with new features and a low price point. The Reader Wi-Fi is going up against dedicated e-readers such as … Continue Reading
FCC chair backs DOJ’s AT&T suit, while Sprint gloats
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is throwing his agency’s weight behind the Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against AT&T over its proposed merger with T-Mobile.
“By filing suit today, the Department of Justice has concluded that AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile would substantially lessen competition in violation of the antitrust laws,” Genachowski wrote. This marks the first time that the FCC has actively spoken against the $39 billion merger.
Genachowski continues:
Competition is an essential component of … Continue Reading
Facebook to launch music service at f8
Social networking site Facebook will launch its long-rumored music service at its annual developer conference f8 this year, according to a report by CNBC.
Facebook will not actually host its own music but will partner with other services to stream the music, people familiar with the matter told CNBC’s Jon Fortt. That could bypass a lot of the legal hoops music streaming companies have to jump through and make it easier for Facebook to get … Continue Reading
Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff cheers on HP for fleeing PC industry
Customer relationship management (CRM) software provider Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff said Hewlett-Packard made the right call by getting out of the PC industry.
“HP threw their hat in the ring on PCs and said we’re out — why?” he said today at the Dreamforce 2011 conference in San Francisco, Calif. “It’s because smartphones and tablets are taking over. We recognize that incredible fact.”
HP recently decided to spin out its PC-building industry as the … Continue Reading
Salesforce.com adds chat, screen sharing and groups to Chatter
Customer relationship management (CRM) software provider Salesforce.com today unveiled a slew of new features for its enterprise social network, Chatter, including real-time chat, screen sharing and advanced groups.
Chatter Now is similar to Facebook’s own chat application. It lets members of a business’ social network on Chatter quickly open up a chat without having to leave the main site or a web browser. Chatter users can also invite Chatter users from separate organizations into limited … Continue Reading
Mobile app ad inventory is growing at staggering rates
Mobile analytics firm Flurry said in a blog post this morning that the ad inventory of mobile apps — all of the space available for ads within apps on iPhone and Android devices — is growing so fast that it will soon be able to absorb all of the online ad spend for U.S. display ads on the web.
That is, the two-year-old market will soon meet the demands of a 15-year-old mature market in … Continue Reading
US government files suit to block AT&T, T-Mobile merger (updated)
The U.S. government has just filed papers to block AT&T’s proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile, Bloomberg reports.
The Justice Department argues that the merger would “substantially lessen competition” in the wireless market, according to the filing. The DOJ goes on to say: “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market.”
If the deal falls through, AT&T would have to pay T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche … Continue Reading
