FaceContact, a new UK startup which has a tool to track and reward referrals for job candidates, clients, investors and just about any other defined “prospect”, has gone live with its public beta site. It’s incredibly complicated to track where an original referral came from. FaceContact is set up to try and crack this problem, and incentivise people to make referrals. It turns out it’s pretty simple to do this: just offer money! So long as everyone trusts the tracking system, in theory everyone wins. FaceContact allows you to offer a cash reward to your contacts or anyone else who makes a successful referral that results in your making a new engagement. This could mean finding a new employee, service provider, client, investor, or anyone else. Even funding for a startup. You can automatically upload your contacts from almost any address book (Outlook, LinkedIn, webmail, Gmail, Yahoo, CSV files etc) then invite contacts. You use the dashboard to select the most interesting proposals. FaceContact updates prospects and referrals on the status of their applications, proposals, and inquiries . You can also publish your engagement announcements on the FaceContact board for free. It’s also possible to control the number of degrees of separation you want to use. FaceContact was one of the finalist of the Seedcamp competition for EU startups organised by Index Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Atomico, DFJ Esprit, 3i, The Accelerator Group, Atlas Ventures, Partech International, Accel Partners, Highland Capital Partners, Wellington Partners and Advent Ventures. → Read More
The Michelin Red Book is Europe’s premier restaurant guide. Yes, it’s sponsored by a tire company but its rankings are so highly regarded that an eatery can make or break its reputation based on a star from the guide’s reviewers. It’s big overseas, but not so big over here, which is why ViaMichelin, a GPS device maker and mapping service, has a hard road ahead of them. The X970 is a twee GPS device that comes with a power cable and base with built-in speaker. It’s fairly basic — program in your destination and go. However, it also includes content from the Michelin Green Guide of famous points of interest and it works with ViaMichelin.com to allow you to drag and drop restaurants and other destinations onto your unit. → Read More
Due to the fact that Windows Vista just straight up sucks, Microsoft released a statement yesterday stating that they will continue to sell Windows XP until the end of June 2008, adding five months to the previously planned phase out date. The decision comes after multiple complaints from both customers and PC manufacturers about how broken Vista was. Of course, Microsoft didn’t really see it like this and in an attempt to spin the story, said that the top 50 consumer applications now are compatible with Vista. Ok, possibly true, but it still took how many months until iTunes worked properly? Yeah, thought so. At least Microsoft admits that it has been “ambitious” with Windows Vista and is sorry that it shortened the time that XP would be available. Don’t want to deal with Vista? You have a little less than a year to either buy XP or buy a Mac. Or you could always use Linux, if you’re into that sort of thing. Microsoft says to extend XP sales for five months [Reuters] → Read More
MirriAd, a UK startup which has developed a technology to embed advertising into videos ranging from user generated video up to studio quality productions, has received a a £2 million investment from Seraphim Capital among others.The firm, which has operations in New York and Mumbai, has a patented its technology called ZoneSense to insert video advertising into video streams which purportedly makes it look as if the image was in the original video. The technology could be used for seamless product placement, a market which is worth $7 billion globally. MirriAd debuted its technology in August, in a campaign to promote the release of The Bourne Ultimatum movie. It embedded content into live-action clips taken from the movie, to create a promotional competition. Special keyword clues were digitally added to movie clips running on EMAP’s FHM.com and Empireonline.com web sites. I can see this type of technology being looked at with interest by the likes of YouTube and others. London Seed Capital, South East Growth Fund and Oxford Technology Partners, also participated in the investment. → Read More
Sorry about the title but I couldn’t resist. Hack a Day has a little post up on how you can make your own Jacobs Ladder, which is that crazy thing you see at museums with the electricity shooting up between two metal poles. Basically, you just have to get your hands on a high voltage transformer, such as one found in a neon sign. Add a set of two insulated electrodes (aka metal poles) and wire it all up. Boom. You’ve got electricity shooting all over the place. Don’t kill yourself or the dog. Please? Make your own jacobs ladder and other HV fun [Hack a Day] → Read More
Don Reisinger knows what’s good for Microsoft and that’s burying all copies of Vista in New Mexico along with E.T. for the Atari 2600. He points out all of Microsoft’s failures — no extras, a stunning resemblance to OS X/Linux, and slow updates — and refuses to see the good deep in Vista’s heart. The time is up. Microsoft must abandon Vista and move on. It’s the company’s only chance at redemption. → Read More
The French iPhone deal is being delayed by arguments between Apple and the France Telecom-owned network Orange over the amount of revenue that will go back to Apple from iPhone sales. The news comes as Apple takes a massive PR hit over its latest software update to the iPhone, which is all about locking the phone down to one carrier. With the iPhone deal all but done the official announcement is still being awaited as Apple reportedly argues for over a third of the revenues, according to French weekly Challenges. According to the article the argument stems from the fact that Apple realised only late in negotiations that it might not make much margin out of iPhone sales alone. This is because under French law handset and service contracts cannot be sold as one package. Hence Apple wants more revenues from the tariff. The article adds that if an agreement is not reached by the middle of next week, Orange will miss its Christmas sales window. The legal separation of handset and service contracts is a situation which exists in several other European countries, meaning Apple may find rolling out the iPhone in a similar manner across Europe increasingly difficult. It’s ironic, since Apple is getting increasing amounts of revenue from European sales of its products. More detail on this on TechCrunch France → Read More
The Internet is now inexorably weaved into daily life in the UK with almost 90 per cent of home internet users now spending six hours or more online each week, 40 per cent of whom are downloading music and 16 per cent watching online video. Unsurprisingly, 90 per cent of broadband users go online to send email while more than 60 per cent use auction sites such as eBay, according to new research from Point Topic. At the end of last year almost 65 per cent of users had purchased from an online store but by June 2007 this had reached 70 per cent. However, weekly spend online as declined slightly, even as there has been a slight increase in user spending at the lower end of the scale (£1-£20 per week). In other words people are buying smaller and smaller items online in quick one-off purchases, and some high street stores are matching internet prices. At the same time Dr Katja Mueller, research director at Point Topic says “one is that the fastest growing groups of online users are now at the lower end of the income scale and this is reflected directly in the amounts being spent online.” Point Topic’s broadband consumer survey indicates that 86.6 per cent of residential internet users spend at least six hours online every week, up from 83 per cent at the end of 2006 and 50 per cent at the end of 2005. In addition, five per cent of respondents claimed to spend more than 80 hours a week online. That’ll be the World of Warcraft crowd, then – or the bloggers and Facebook addicts (I jest). No figures were released for Ireland, but it’s probably fair to say they would be on a parr, given similar rates of broadband uptake. → Read More
This is one impressive use of an old PowerMac G4 to say the least. If I didn’t live in NYC, I’d be super-tempted to gut my PowerMac G3 tower I have laying around and use it just like this guy did, except mine stills runs rather well and makes a great music server. The blue and white coloring would look badass though, especially at night if I threw a few LEDs in there with a battery and a light sensor. In the mean time, we’ll have to drool over this one. Apple Mailbox Mod Is Cooler Than Mine [Geekologie] → Read More
And so it begins. After Apple released the iPhone 1.1.1 Update yesterday, there are conflicting reports of seamless activations and happy customers mixed in with cries of anguish from AT&T customers locked out of their iPhones as well as a collective shudder as unlocked iPhone users watch the boards for news of the coming 3rd Party App Holocaust (they opened for Metallica in 1998. They were great). I’ll admit that I have an unlocked iPhone and I’m quite happy hanging out with 1.0.2 until the good men and women of the Dev Team inevitably crack through this next layer of security. Apple has to protect their investment, but I, as a poor blogger, have to protect mine. I don’t want to move to AT&T for a number of reasons — I’m on a good plan, I like the service I get in my house (for the most part), and my wife and family are all on T-Mobile. I want my cake and I want to eat it, too, and I was certainly enjoying that selfsame cake very, very much with my unlocked phone. → Read More
Word on the interwebs is that Microsoft won’t be changing its pricing for the Xbox 360 anytime soon. Despite lower manufacturing costs due to the 65nm CPUs used in the console, Microsoft is expected to stick to its current pricing scheme. What’s being thrown around as an alternate solution to entice buyers is game bundling. Forza Motorsport 2 and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance are supposed to be bundled with the Xbox 360 Premium and Elite systems. It makes sense, since hardware costs so much money, just throw in a game that costs $1 to manufacture and you’re good to go. Forza is a Microsoft title, so they’ll be raking in all the cash anyway. Xbox 360 to come with Forza 2 and Marvel for free this holiday season [Daily Tech] → Read More
http://embed.break.com/MzczMjAwhttp://view.break.com/373200 – Watch more free videos Did you know that Peter Ha spends six hours a day in front of his mirror reciting the lyrics of Aladdin’s “A Whole New World”? It’s true. He takes off his shirt, removes his pants and puts on a wig he found in the dumpster behind his apartment. Off-key and usually half-drunk, Peter ends the song by dancing in a circle while drinking a can of turpentine. All in a days work at CG. All Hail Techno-Viking [Tech Amok] → Read More
I swear, I have to get one of these if it kills me. For months now I’ve been watching those Visa and MasterCard commercials that showcase the RFID technology that’s in PayPass. You know, the one where the dude is running late and buys a pack of gum and a banana or something just by waving his credit card at a machine. Well now if you want to take it one step further, you should get a Visa. The new Micro Tag is a small key chain with a Visa logo that acts just like PayPass. Although you can only use this device on purchases $25 or less, it’s still a lifesaver when you’re in a pinch for time. I could definitely see this being handy when grabbing a last-minute snack at the airport. “M&Ms and a rum and Coke, please.” Visa unveils Visa Micro Tag contactless payment device [Geekzone] → Read More
It’s Friday and I’m sure you’re itching to finish up your work day and have a cold one. We must first, however, pay tribute to the men and women who deal with the constant struggle of untangling cables for hours on end. Yes folks, I’m talking about the SysAdmin. Want to see more hellish nightmares of cables? Click ahead if you dare. Cable Messes [Vibrant] → Read More
AP Image of some low level Microsoft employee Windows Vista hasn’t exactly taken off as Microsoft hoped it would and now it’s been forced to keep XP on store shelves for an additional five months. Originally scheduled to end-of-life in January, you’ll now still be able to buy Vista through June 30. Officially, Microsoft will keep selling XP in order to give people more time to transition from XP to Vista. Sure, I believe that… Could it be, maybe, that XP is simply better than Vista (and that IT guys, justifiably paranoid they may be, have little to no incentive to change from XP to Vista)? And now that Microsoft lets you downgrade to XP, you do wonder who was in charge of this whole Vista mess. We’ll see show Apple handles Leopard’s release in a few weeks. Microsoft bows to pressure on XP [BBC] → Read More
The REAL ID Act of 2005 is a $17 billion privacy and civil rights nightmare that requires all fifty states to issue standardized ID and drivers license cards. Luckily, it has been stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Congress mandated the cards, passed off the strategy to Homeland Security and stuck the states with the tab for actually paying for all of this. Not much has actually happened to push the REAL ID Act forward since it was passed, mostly because no funding has been allocated. Seven states have passed laws refusing to implement the law and another ten have passed resolutions asking Congress to revisit the issue. The ACLU has a website called Real Nightmare that tracks the progress of the legislation (and opposes it). Cato Institute Director of Information Policy Studies Jim Harper has written a book called Identity Crisis which outlines the reasons why it will hurt our country and its citizens. There are House and Senate bills before Congress now that would repeal the Act. So why are Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, Red Hat and many other large technology organizations that are members of the ITAA calling for the government to fund the program immediately and push it forward? Probably because they stand to gain a lot of money from lucrative government contracts outsourcing the technology and security aspects of the program. The estimated direct costs of the program are $11 billion (with another $6 billion in estimated compliance and opportunity costs to the country) – much of that money would end up in the hands of the ITAA members who would bid for the work. If the REAL ID Act becomes reality, U.S. citizens would be forced to provide copies of their birth certificate, social security card and other identification documents to the government to get the card. All of that data would be scanned and entered into fifty interconnected databases, one for each state. That would be a prime target for hackers, either through a direct attack or by attempts to compromise DMV employees for access. Jim Harper, who wrote the book linked above, says our identity theft problems today would be nothing compared to what would happen when (not if) that database was hacked. He also wrote about the ITAA issue yesterday, and the ACLU chimed in today. The fact is that the REAL ID Act will cost billions, will do nothing to protect the country → Read More
You know how it’s easier to follow a recipe in a cookbook if there is picture? It gives you something to shoot for when you can see what the finished product is supposed to look like. Well, the same thing goes for online recipes. Except, why stop with pictures when you can include complete video tutorials? That’s what two French entrepreneurs, Jacque Petit and Gilles Piedoye Peteui, thought when they came up with Cookshow.com. The site, which just launched on Wednesday, is still a bit raw and lacks recipes for many basic ingredients (like “salmon”). But the idea is solid: Let amateur and professional cooks alike upload recipes with short videos showing exactly how to prepare them. Then the audience can vote on which video recipes are the best. It’s a Youtube for all the wannabe celebrity chefs who can’t get their own show on the Food Network. And some of the videos are not bad. Here is one, for instance, for fennel-rubbed flank steak. Yum. You rarely see people’s faces in these videos. It’s all hands and close-ups of eggs and meat in bowls. As more people upload videos, the recipes should soon become pretty comprehensive. This could be a very successful model for online video. It’s a very targeted site trying to do one thing well: attract the best cooking videos. And tutorial videos work great on the Web because it fits in with the whole information-gathering mindset you are in when you are surfing. The site lets you search by cuisine, course, or ingredients. And there is even a contest for the best cooking video with prizes including a dinner for two and $500 gift certificates. That should help seed the site with more videos, which it desperately needs. After all, how long will it take the Food Network to do the same thing on its video site? Update: Per comments below, see also iFood.tv and Rouxbe. → Read More
¡Que rico! Early Skype investor Morten Lund has gained 40% ownership of Wamba after making an investment of 3M euros in the Spanish social network. Wamba launched this past March as a Pan-European social network but has recently focused on Latin America where it will compete with hi5, MySpace, and Orkut (although apparently with the intention of capturing the Spanish-speaking, not the Portuguese-speaking, market). The company plans to launch an IPTV called Wamba.TV and a radio music service called Wamba.FM. Funding for Wamba previously came from Matias de Tezanos, who contributed $500,000 as an angel investor. The company was founded by Spanish entrepreneur Enrique Dubois. Skype was acquired by eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion. Wamba is presently valued at 7.5M euros. → Read More
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