Yahoo launches a killer mobile browser, Axis. Yes, we said Yahoo

May 23, 2012 6:00 PM Jolie O'Dell
Jolie O'Dell

Editor's Pick

Everyone knows it, but few people acknowledge it: Mobile web browsers absolutely suck. Technologists are launching commercial space flights, mapping the human genome, and building flexible computer displays, yet we still haven’t figured out the right way to use a …

Model the world with Wolfram’s new software for engineers

May 23, 2012 5:43 PM John Koetsier
John Koetsier

The wise carpenter has a simple philosophy: measure twice, cut once. Wolfram, the uber-geek’s software company of choice and organization behind the WolframAlpha “computational knowledge engine,” takes a slightly different tack: test as many times as you want, build once.…

Funding daily: Get off your butt and lose some weight

May 23, 2012 5:09 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

We’ve got you funding news here on this windy-in-San-Francisco Wednesday evening. If you want to stay on top of funding news as it happens, subscribe to our Deals Channel RSS feed either by clicking the red RSS icon at the …

Congress to probe Facebook, underwriters for answers

May 23, 2012 5:05 PM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

Add the House and the Senate to the growing list of parties with serious questions and concerns about how Facebook, its underwriters, and the NASDAQ handled the most anticipated initial public offering in recent history.

Both the Senate Banking Committee …

Google Voice creator’s startup UberConference wins Disrupt

May 23, 2012 4:39 PM Sean Ludwig
Sean Ludwig

Editor's Pick

Six companies battled it out for dominance at TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield today, but only one came out in top. That company was UberConference, a promising conference call startup from the creator of Google Voice.

Craig Walker, the inventor of …

Kony grabs funding to build mobile business apps

May 23, 2012 4:04 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

No — not that Kony. Enterprise-minded company Kony builds mobile apps for business and consumers and encourages the bring-your-own-device movement with an enterprise app store. Wednesday it announced a $15 million third round of funding.

Kony’s main platform, KonyOne, allows …

Trimble acquires Spime to grow its GPS business

May 23, 2012 2:59 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

Editor's Pick

Advanced positioning technology company Trimble has acquired mobile GPS company Spime, VentureBeat has learned.

Shankar Narayanan, chief executive of Spime, indicated on his LinkedIn page that Spime is now a Trimble company. A Wikipedia entry for him says that as …

Listen: Pandora reports record ad revenue, 3B hours of music consumed in Q1

May 23, 2012 2:50 PM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Pandora gave investors something nice to listen to for its fiscal Q1 earnings report: record increases in revenue, user activity, U.S. radio station market share, and more.

The company reported $80.8 million in revenue (with a net loss of 9 …

NYSE pokes Facebook to switch its listing

May 23, 2012 2:49 PM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

The bungled handling of Facebook’s initial public offering by NASDAQ may have left the door open for a rival suitor to win over the newest technology company on the market.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is using Facebook’s NASDAQ …

CornellNYC Tech taps ex-Twitter CTO as Founding Entrepreneurial Officer

May 23, 2012 2:41 PM Devindra Hardawar
Devindra Hardawar

Cornell University’s NYC tech school is taking shape. The school announced today that it has named Greg Pass, former chief technology officer at Twitter and and VP of engineering, as its founding entrepreneurial officer.

Pass, who also graduated with a …

Is Facebook killing HP’s printer business?

May 23, 2012 2:28 PM Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi

Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman said today that consumers are printing fewer photos. That’s why the company’s Imaging and Printing division saw sales drop 10 percent in the quarter.

The reason for that shift is interesting, and it may underscore …

HP’s Meg Whitman is cautiously optimistic that tech giant is stabilizing

May 23, 2012 1:47 PM Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi

Hewlett-Packard chief executive Meg Whitman said in a conference call with analysts that she is “cautiously optimistic” that the company’s financial results are stabilizing.

In a call with analysts, Whitman said, “I wouldn’t say we have turned the corner but …

Sonar’s “Here-Now” social network shows Highlight how people discovery is really done

May 23, 2012 1:37 PM Devindra Hardawar
Devindra Hardawar

After launching one year ago, New York City-based Sonar unveiled a major update today that makes it easier than ever to find friends and like-minded people nearby — all with the goal of becoming a “Here-Now” mobile social network.

When …

Google wins: Jury finds it not guilty of infringing Oracle’s patents

May 23, 2012 1:30 PM Tom Cheredar
Tom Cheredar

Google scored a legal victory today, as a federal jury has decided that the search giant wasn’t guilty of patent infringement claims made by Oracle.

The two companies have been wrapped up in a legal battle since August 2010, when …

Q1 saw the most tech IPOs in four years, but funding amounts are down (exclusive)

May 23, 2012 1:28 PM Sarah Mitroff
Sarah Mitroff

The first quarter of 2012 was the best quarter in more than four years for software and Internet company IPOs, according to a new report.

But in the aftermath of Facebook’s much-hyped and problematic IPO, can the momentum continue?

Tech-focused …

The severe Facebook revenue revisions that sent investors running

May 23, 2012 1:09 PM Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer Van Grove

In the convoluted case of the botched Facebook IPO, the story goes that the social network’s underwriters, with guidance from a Facebook executive, reduced their 2012 earnings estimates, shared that material information with a few, preferred investors, and let institutional …

HP plans to lay off 27,000 people — 8 percent of the workforce

May 23, 2012 1:09 PM Dean Takahashi
Dean Takahashi

Stung by its failures in the mobile computing business, Hewlett-Packard said it would cut 27,000 jobs today. That amounts to 8 percent of its 325,000-person work force.

The cuts will be implemented by October 2014, giving employees affected considerable time …

Biometrics could save you from the airport security line, says Clear

May 23, 2012 12:36 PM Meghan Kelly
Meghan Kelly

Clear is a brave company. It’s trying to solve one of the most frustrating, sometimes stressful, and time-consuming processes we face every year: the airport security line.

Clear uses biometrics to usher flyers through the TSA line quickly and, as …

Tour the updated Google Search iPhone app… with bunnies

May 23, 2012 12:27 PM Heather Kelly
Heather Kelly

Google released an update to its Google Search iPhone app today, adding a few small features and tweaks that should make searching faster and more intuitive. Let’s take a visual tour of what’s new in the app by searching for …

U.S. tech team tries to attract developers to government, pledges to use open data

May 23, 2012 11:40 AM Sean Ludwig
Sean Ludwig

The CTO and CIO of the U.S. government have announced a new digital roadmap for the U.S. that encourages the further use of open data, and tries to inspire developers to work for the government.

“We have an opportunity to …