VentureBeat

Twitter lets users geotag tweets directly from Twitter.com

Twitter turned on a feature that lets users geotag tweets directly from the web site. So now you don’t have to rely on mobile apps like Tweetie to triangulate where you are. The move should help add location data to a greater share of conversations flowing through the microblogging network and enrich local discovery and search.

Right now, the feature is deployed to only 40 percent of users,... Continue Reading

Microsoft survey: Utilities still slow to buy into the Smart Grid

Utilities around the world are still struggling to understand and implement new technology needed to make electrical grids cleaner and more efficient. Only 8 percent of them worldwide have finished rolling out smart meters and other equipment under the banner of “Smart Grid,” according to new survey data collected by Microsoft.

Completed Smart Grid deployments might not be the best metric, but data showing that only 37 percent of utilities are working on relevant projects,... Continue Reading

U.S. video game sales drop again in February even with big game launches

Video game sales fell 15 percent in February compared to a year ago as the industry struggles to climb out of the recession.

That’s a surprise, given the launch of some very strong titles. But it’s nothing new for the game industry in the past year. Overall U.S. video game sales were $1.26 billion in February, down 15 percent from $1.48 billion a year ago, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Game hardware was down... Continue Reading

Incubator Betaworks raises $20M

Betaworks, the New York-based startup incubator and early-stage investor, has raised $20 million in a second round of funding.

The firm, which focuses on real-time web startups, was founded by former AOL executives John Borthwick and Andrew Weisman. Betaworks has made 24 investments so far, taking a big stake in five companies — Bit.ly, Chartbeat, Tweetdeck, Twitterfeed, and a stealth startup — according to GigaOm. Although the firm is commonly known as an incubator, Borthwick... Continue Reading

Stealthy EV maker Aurica moves to save Bay Area auto plant, 4,700 jobs

Fremont, Calif.’s NUMMI automotive plant has been facing a death sentence for a while now. Slated to shutter on April 1, leaving upwards of 4,700 locals jobless, the facility was one of the biggest industrial employers in the southern Bay Area. But today, stealthy electric vehicle company Aurica Motors says it might have a plan to keep the plant’s doors open — as a new manufacturing facility for its Aurica E-Car.

The Santa Clara, Calif.... Continue Reading

Visualize your business plan with Plancruncher

A good business plan is like the trailer for a movie; it should be eye-catching enough to make an investor want to see more. After wading through too many long-winded business plans, Dutch investment firm Lunatech Ventures has built a web tool called Plan Cruncher that creates a one-page, visual summary of your plan.

Plan Cruncher asks questions about key issues such as the team, product and revenue plan and uses icons to represent concepts... Continue Reading

JooJoo tablet gets a new interface and features

In the not-so-long running saga of Fusion Garage’s JooJoo tablet, the company has excelled at talking up the product, but not so much at delivering. Here’s more talk: The tablet is sporting a new interface, gestures, and the ability to play local video, according to Engadget.

Formerly known as the Crunchpad, the JooJoo has fascinated me since Fusion Garage decided to strike out on its own with the device, leaving its partnership... Continue Reading

GamesBeat 2010 in pictures – Part 4

An exciting part of GamesBeat 2010 was the ‘Who’s Got Game?’ contest. Five selected finalists presented their company onstage while the all-star panel of judges evaluated them.

[9 photos; photos by JP Manninen]

At GamesBeat 2010, it was all about stepping up to the mic, and, stepping up. Who's Got Game?

Dave Werner of Atomsphir is the first one on the podium.

BeanJar's David Chodosh presents his company second in... Continue Reading

GamesBeat 2010 in pictures – Part 3

GamesBeat 2010 was all about networking and bringing people together. Some of the conversations spilled from the stage out into the hallways of Moscone Center.

[6 photos; photos by JP Manninen]

Brian Reynolds from Zynga having a hallway conversation.

Mark Friedler from IndustryGamers.com moderates a panel about gaming on mobile devices.

Neil Young from ngomoco sits in on Mark Friedler's panel.

Barte Decrem, Tapulous CEO, making a point while... Continue Reading

iPhone may finally receive multitasking in OS 4.0 update this summer

Apple is working on implementing multitasking support — the ability to run more than one app at once — for the iPhone’s operating system this summer, according to AppleInsider. It’s said to be a major new feature in the next version of the iPhone’s OS, version 4.o.

The information comes from trusted sources who have a history of accurately predicting Apple’s new technologies. They don’t offer many specifics, but they say that Apple has already... Continue Reading

GamesBeat 2010 in pictures – Part 2

The audience attended GamesBeat 2010 in large numbers. Some of the sessions were really popular, so much so that people had to squeeze in to get seats.

[15 photos; photos by JP Manninen]

The audience paid close attention to things onstage.

GamesBeat 2010 occupied Rooms 305 and 307 at Moscone South.

The audience showed up in large numbers to many sessions, such as Dean Takahashi -led panel on disruptive game... Continue Reading

Nintendo’s creator of Metroid Other M explains how he creates both serious and comic games

It’s a little funny that the producer of the serious game Metroid Other M is also behind the comic expression of Nintendo’s WarioWare series of handheld games.

In a talk before hundreds of game developers today at the Game Developers Conference, Yoshi Sakamoto talked about his career making Metroid games for Nintendo since 1986. The games, which star the heroine Samus with a signature “arm cannon,” are known for their serious dramatic style and shooting action. But Sakamoto... Continue Reading

GamesBeat 2010 in pictures – Part 1

The 2010 edition of our GamesBeat@GDC conference was a roaring success! Here’s another look at the March 10 event in San Francisco.

GamesBeat 2010 kicked off to a packed house on March 10.

VentureBeat's Matt Marshall set the theme of Disruption 2.0 in his welcome speech.

Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, delivered his keynote to a riveted audience.

Tim Chang, Norwest Venture Partners speaks up as John Salter, The Raine Group,... Continue Reading

Forrester Research dresses up analyst blog platform

Well-known technology and market research firm Forrester Research today unveiled an upgraded blog platform for its various industry category teams and individual analysts.

Forrester claims the new platform will make engagement with readers easier through a more interactive approach to blogging. Using new tools like polling and “most recent posts” as well as search, RSS and Twitter feed integration, the platform aggregates all forms of content from analysts and their teams to one location. The new set up... Continue Reading

Evri acquires Twine for a semantic search team-up

Evri, a company using semantic technology to deliver real-time search results around news, just announced that it has acquired another semantic-focused startup, Radar Networks, and its flagship product Twine.

Evri chief executive Will Hunsinger said Twine’s technology, including the in-development revamp dubbed “T2,” will be incorporated into Evri. There’s a nice complement between Evri’s “semantic index of the real-time web” with Twine’s tools for organizing, recommending, and sharing content. When I asked about timing and... Continue Reading

Google Blogger gives itself a touch-up with template designer

Google Blogger, a venerable player in the space after celebrating its 10th birthday last fall, is giving itself a touchup.

The company has launched Blogger Template Designer, which gives users a lot more freedom to design the look and feel of their Google-hosted blogs. Users can change colors, titles, background images from hundreds of stock photos and there’s a drag-and-drop interface to shuffle pieces of the layout. There are 15 templates to... Continue Reading

Mobile application social network Appboy launches new iPhone app and site features

Appboy — the social network for mobile application users and developers — has launched a new iPhone app, and a revamped website with more robust social features.

In addition to simply discussing mobile apps, Appboy enables users to pitch mobile app ideas, receive feedback from the community, and get paid if their app idea comes to fruition. The site also offers many ways for mobile app developers to promote their offerings. Developers can link to... Continue Reading

Chomp raises $2M for iPhone app recommendations; launches new site at Chomp.com

iPhone application recommendation site Chomp has raised another $2 million in funding, after showing strong growth since its launch eight weeks ago. Thus far the site has gathered 300,000 users, who have left 1.5 million reviews.

The company has also acquired the domain Chomp.com and relaunched its website with new features — including vanity web addresses for users, and the ability for developers to link to their application’s review page.

Chomp’s iPhone application allows you ... Continue Reading

Image Metrics raises $8M via stock deal to create realistic human face animations for games

Image Metrics, a company that makes it easy for game developers to create realistic human faces, has raised $8 million in a reverse merger financing.

The Santa Monica, Calif.-based company will use the money to expand its software and services businesses such as Faceware, which is a suite of facial animation tools to create believable human faces for game characters. The company raised the money by completing an exchange offer with shell company International Cellular... Continue Reading