Hot on the heels of this year’s never-released Optimus Maximus superkeyboard, Optimus has taken the concept one step further with the Tactus keyboard. The idea is similar, but instead of customizable keycaps, the keys themselves are virtual. Cool idea, but as anyone who’s tried to play Mario on an iPhone can attest, there’s a definite advantage to the tactile feedback real buttons (or, indeed, keys) give a user. Optimus Tactus concept keyboard [Slippery Brick] → Read More
Sadly, 2007 wasn’t the best of years for many startups. Below you’ll find a list of the companies that took a swim in the TechCrunch DeadPool. Also see our Year in Deals, Year in TechCrunch Headlines, and Most Popular Posts. A Sad Milestone: AOL To Discontinue Netscape Browser Development Wal-Mart Shuts Movie Download Service, Offers SEM Services Instead Foonz, The Deadpool Is Calling PayPerPost Suspends Zookoda, Deadpool Looking Likely Oh My God! Apple Killed Think Secret! Those Bastards! VCs Push 3Guppies Into The Deadpool CNET To Shutter Newsburst RSS Reader AGLOCO Doesn’t Pay To Surf, Joins Deadpool CompUSA Goes Into The DeadPool. Good. Edgeio To Shut Down – In The DeadPool Yahoo Drops MingleNow into Deadpool Good News/Bad News For Startup Founder Cliff Shaw Divshare To DeadPool Brightspot.tv = DeadPool Yak4Ever Takes Second (and Final) Dip into Deadpool E*Trade Heading To The Deadpool? Deadpool: Teqlo Finds Out That Mashups Don’t Make Money Patent Monkey Joins Deadpool, Only To Rise Again as Patents.com Yappd Didn’t Last Long. DeadPool. Judy’s Book To Shut Down. Yelp Is The Last of The Local Review Sites Still Standing. Yang Decides to Shut Down Yahoo 360—Nobody Notices Snocap Drops 60% Of Staff And On The Market: Looking Good For The Deadpool NetBank Joins The Deadpool TellThem: MySpace Kills Another Startup Who Wants to Buy a Virtual World? 37Signals Drives Another Company To The DeadPool Time To DeadPool TailRank? You Decide. Yahoo Bill Pay To Shut Backfence Joins The Deadpool NBBC Joins The Deadpool Skinnyr Joins The TechCrunch Deadpool German Twitter Clone Dukudu For Sale On eBay Reality Bedding: “Too Visionary” and “Ahead of Its Time” Click.TV Player Joins the Deadpool Amp’d Mobile Implodes: Burns $360 million, Declares Bankruptcy RSSCalendar Reaches The End Of The Road Webjay Joins DeadPool, Yahoo Scores Hat Trick For May AllFreeCalls Back From DeadPool, Free Calls Are Here Again Yahoo Shutting Down Auctions – Second Service To DeadPool This Month Breaking: Yahoo To Shut Down Yahoo Photos In Favor Of Flickr Goodbye Froogle SynapseLife Taking eBay Exit Goodbye, Tello. Welcome to the DeadPool. Yahoo Mixd Says “Peace Out” and Goes to DeadPool Fonpods in DeadPool AllFreeCalls Shut Down FilmLoop Betrayed By Investors? Performancing Descends Into Chaos – Shareholders Squabble Publicly Performancing Heading to DeadPool BitPass. DeadPool. Findory Put On Life Support Judy’s Book: Avoiding the DeadPool Big Layoffs At Insider Pages Browster in DeadPool FilmLoop Dips Toes Into The DeadPool → Read More
http://www.gamevideos.com:80/swf/gamevideos11.swf?embedded=1&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&src=http://www.gamevideos.com:80/video/videoListXML%3Fid%3D16818%26ordinal%3D1198883667583%26adPlay%3Dfalse *Drool* It’s 20 minutes of Hadouken fury so strap in. → Read More
I wonder if they’ll be shipping out little samples of crack with those DVRs – because in my experience, people who go TiVo rarely go back, and when you only need to lay out $125 for a year’s worth of services, tuner included. Because these kids weren’t watching enough TV already. Actually it’s pretty much good for everyone who goes for it; you don’t have to miss your quiz just to catch the season finale of “House.” Here’s a tip, you whippersnappers: why don’t you TiVo yourself a book? Dag nabbit! Go Huskies. (edit: Yes, I’m rooting for UW even though this post is about WSU, what about it?) Housing Services to offer TiVo to WSU housing residents [Daily Evergreen Online, via PVR Blog] → Read More
The RIAA has lodged documents in the ongoing case of the Record Industry vs Jeffrey Howell that argues that ripping music from legally purchased CD’s is illegal. If the Judge rules that the RIAA is right, any person in United States who has ever ripped a legally purchased CD will become a copyright thief and a potential target of the RIAA, and that means just about every iPod owner in the country. The case itself may not find in favor of defendant but not rule that CD ripping is illegal. Howell is accused of sharing files via Kazaa, but his sole defense is that he did not share those files and they were for personal use only, hence the RIAA’s disturbing argument. Where do you start in arguing against the abhorrent greed of the record industry? It may be one thing for them to fight a losing war against those who don’t pay for music, but to then go one step further and suggest that people who do the right thing and buy their music are criminals because they want to play their music on an iPod is beyond sane belief. If the argument is successful the only salvation for American’s may be Congress passing laws like other countries have that makes personal copying legal, but don’t hold your breath; Congress is too busy trying to pass laws that would strengthen copyright sanctions (such as with the PRO IP Act) and copyright offenders don’t make sizable donations to election campaigns, do they (via WPost, Image credit: Toothpaste for Dinner) → Read More
Roboteer Sylvain Calinon, who dabbles in human-robot interaction, has created a robot specially designed to put an entire class of Frenchman out of business. He’s Swiss, so that makes some sense, but all national rivalries aside he’s made a pretty cool little bot. This thing has facial recognition built in, and snaps a picture when you sit down in front of it. It then draws you, based on that image, and using on old-fashioned fountain pen that it has to repeatedly dip into an inkwell. I give it two years before its included at every carnival ground in the world – and one year before the gutters of Paris are filled with penniless, mustachioed street portraitists. Robot Portrait Artist [Botjunkie, via Technabob] → Read More
In addition to the Year in Headlines and Year In Deals , here are simply the 20 most popular TechCrunch posts of 2007 based on comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks (this list was generated using Alex King’s Popularity Contest plug-in for WordPress). See also our Year of TechCrunch Headlines, Year in DeadPool, and Year in Deals. Fifty Oomas For Readers, Just Tell Us Why You Want It Being Stupid And Litigious Is No Way To Go Through Life The Secret Strategies Behind Many “Viral” Videos Spinvox Launching in U.S. – We Have 100 Accounts To Give Away Now Digg Surrenders to Mob Yahoo Invites Us Into Mash, Its New Social Network Details Revealed: Google OpenSocial To Launch Thursday Facebook Source Code Leaked Ooma’s First (Drug Induced?) Viral Video Digg Should Sue Wired The Big Switch: 12 Signed Pre-Release Copies For TechCrunch Readers Silicon Valley Could Use A Downturn Right About Now Ning In Full Google vs Michael Moore The Inevitable March of Recorded Music Towards Free Demonoid Down, For Now EroShare – User Generated Porn 2007: Web 2.0 Companies I Couldn’t Live Without How Grey Is Your Valley: Making Money From Open Source $100 Million Payday For Feedburner – This Deal Is Confirmed → Read More
Headlines can tell you a lot about what happened over the year. Below I’ve assembled some of the most telling headlines from TechCrunch posts in 2007, divided by month. The big story of the year was the battle between Facebook and Google with their competing platforms for social networking applications (and ads). But there were other interesting subplots as well, such as media companies trying to assert themselves in the digital domain with Viacom’s $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube, NBC and Fox launching Hulu, and NBC tangling with iTunes, not to mention the whole DRM-free drama in music. In the wireless world, we saw Google launch its Android mobile operating system and make a bid for wireless spectrum. The iPhone was another big story, as was Apple’s efforts to control how consumers were able to use (or not use) the device. A lot of startups gained some major traction during the year, including Digg, Joost, Ning, and Slide. The notion of paying consumers who help to build popular sites also gained traction, with Revver doling out more than $1 million to its top contributors, and YouTube following suit by opening up its own partner program. In Web apps, online spreadsheets, word processors, and presentation suites came together and both Zoho and Google made strides towards taking those apps offline, representing an important shift in consumer software. Below is a set of the most topical posts from TechCrunch in 2007 that I hope gives you a flavor of the year that’s passed. See also our Year in Deals, Year in DeadPool, and Most Popular Posts. December 20: Google-DoubleClick Deal Passes FTC Hurdle. Now Comes the Hard Part: Europe 20: Fair Use Vs. Free Speech in the Internet Age: The Lane Hartwell Problem 12: Bebo Embraces Facebook Apps With Its “Open Applications Platform” 3: More Facebook Advertisers Bail From Beacon. Plus, New Concerns. November 29: Google To Announce Wireless Spectrum Bid Friday 18: Amazon Kindle To Debut On Monday – Ugly But Impressive 6: Liveblogging Facebook Advertising Announcement (Social Ads + Beacon + Insights) 5: Breaking: Google Announces Android and Open Handset Alliance October 30: Details Revealed: Google OpenSocial To Launch Thursday 28: Hulu Launches Private Beta, Makes Very Good First Impressions 4: The Inevitable March of Recorded Music Towards Free 1: Skype: CEO Zennstrom Steps Down; Only 1/3 of Earnout Paid September 28: Note to Apple: Stop Thinking Like a Phone → Read More
We covered a lot of financial deals at TechCrunch in 2007, including both venture fundings and acquisitions. The list is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather to give a flavor for the deals that went down in 2007. The year started out with eBay’s acquisition of StubHub and rumors of its StumbleUpon deal. Google agreed to buy DoubleClick fopr $3.1 billion, but has yet to consummate the deal. Meanwhile, Microsoft bought aQuantive, Yahoo bought RightMedia, and AOL bought a bunch of ad networks. Cisco bought WebEx for $3.2 billion. CBS bought Last.fm and Wallstrip, among other deals. Facebook raised $240 million from Microsoft. And in venture funding, everyone from Joost and Meebo to Revsion3 and Twitter were able to dip their hands in the honey pot. Below are some of the Web 2.0 and tech deals that stood out in 2007. See also our Most Popular Posts, Year in DeadPool, and Year in TechCrunch Headlines. Tesla Asks Investors For Another $40 Million To Start Its Engines. December 21 Breaking: Kayak Raises $196 Million, Buys Rival SideStep, December 20 NewsGator Gets $12 Million, December 13 Viacom Inks $500 Million Ad Deal With Microsoft; Makes a Hollywood Play For Videogames Too, December 19 MyStrands Completes B Round, $55 Million Raised To Date, December 4 AdBrite Takes In Another $23 Million, November 29 Another $60 Million For Facebook, November 30 Blowtorch Raises $50 Million to Launch a New Hollywood Studio, November 15 Google Gets Android Apps Going With a $10 Million Challenge, November 12 Barry Diller Uncomplicates His Life—Splits IAC Five Ways, November 5 Jim Breyer: Extra $500 Million Round For Facebook A “Total Fiction”, November 2 More Ad Network Deals—Specific Media Raises $100 Million, AOL Close to Buying Quigo For $300 Million, November 1 Automattic Spurns $200 Million Acquisition Offer, October 29 Facebook Takes the Microsoft Money And Runs. October 24 Next New Networks Acquires BarelyPolitical.com, October 17 Alibaba.com To Raise $1.3 Billion From IPO, October 15 Breaking: Newsvine Acquired By MSNBC.com, October 7 Sling Media Sells Out to EchoStar, September 26 Demand Media Takes $100 Million Series C, September 25 Zillow Raises $30 Million More, Up To $87 Million in Venture Capital, September 19 Breaking: Yahoo Acquires Zimbra For $350 million in Cash September 17 Google To Invest $10 Million In Green Startups, September 12 Yahoo! Acquires Ad Network BlueLithium, September 4 DailyMotion Raises $34 Million; Another Copyright Infringing Success → Read More
We know that the future of flat-panel televisions and monitors is in OLED, and that future is getting closer daily, it seems. Samsung will be showing off at CES next month the largest OLED screen to date, weighing in at 31 inches. While it’s still not big enough for my living room (my 37″ Olevia is tops), it’s progress. OLED is lighter than LCD or plasma, uses less power, and is brighter than both. They also cure lung cancer and make you more attractive to the sex of your choice. I’m looking forward to the day when I can see what’s on my TV, even with the glare of the sweltering Seattle sun. Samsung SDI Builds 31-Inch AMOLED Screen [Cho/Sun] → Read More
There are places all over America where 666, The Number Of The Beast, is a telephone prefix. Reeves, in Allen Parish, LA, is one less place, having finalized to change 666 to 749 over the next 90 days. This is sad for teenage goth kids througout the area, and for the one guy who’s number spelled the easy-to-remember word “MONSTER”. 666 Phone Prefix Cast Out Of Allen Parish [WSDU] → Read More
Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader an has unpublicized feature: it can tell you where you are via Google Maps and mobile phone based location finding. Discovered by Interface, the feature uses the Kindle’s built in CDMA mobile coverage to triangulate your location on Google Maps, delivering a similar experience to a GPS unit, complete with the ability to locate nearby gas stations and restaurants. Other hidden features in the Kindle include a hidden picture viewer, support for screenshots and even Minesweeper. For those who have already purchased a Kindle, these hidden features are an added bonus, but are unlikely to create new demand for the device, after all it still doesn’t offer color and is a touch big to be mounted on a car dashboard for directions. GPS units have also come down a long way in the last two years, I purchased one as a gift for someone this year for $130; sure, it doesn’t read books but it looked prettier and I’m betting is easier to use. (via Engadget) → Read More
iubo is a new UK site which is aiming to organise your entire life. That’s a very tall order. The idea is that you input all your data (contacts, photos, bookmarks, calendar, etc) and then iubo lets you search across all that data to create a useful service. iubo calls this ‘your own private Google’ for your stuff. In theory, once all the data is there, you could do a lot of things: project management, contact manager, bookmark manager, keeping track of collectables etc. The site has been co-founded by developer Joe Finnigan and site administration Lynne McCormick (both university students in Scotland). However, there remains a lot of work to be done to make this site realise its goal. To add just one image I have to input the specific .jpg URL for one photo. This would take a lot of time as I must have thousands of photos by now, some online, some not. There is no hook-in to, say, my Flickr account via Flickr’s API. Again, to input just one contact you have to type in all the details. You can’t upload your VCF file. The same goes for bookmarks – no uploads. So the sparse interface reflects the sparse nature of the service so far. This would be a harsh review of a service if they weren’t planning more, and it needs to be noted that iubo is still in closed beta and is a side project from two uni students. An email conversation I had with Finnigan confirms that they are in indeed thinking about further collaboration features and importing or exporting data from other sources. I guess we’ll have to wait just a little longer for those. The revenue model will be some kind of targeted text ad system, which would kick in when user numbers get to some kind of critical mass, plus a pro account service, and an enterprise version. Though my counsel would be to focus on just one of those aspects and making that great. If they could do this, then there is a lot of potential here. Facebook (for example) sucks in a lot of user data but does not really deliver a great deal of value back to the user about that data, and this is going to be a hot space in the new year. Funnily enough, collaboration and ‘personal search’ systems seem to be a favourite → Read More
This is more or less addressed at CE and/or CE-related companies. Stop making products with stupid tribal tattoo designs. It’s a fad that’s been long gone, like 10 years ago or something, and one that I hope never returns. I don’t even care what features this bag has, Case Logic. I remember back in the day when I exclusively bought your CD cases and no one else’s. This makes me want to vomit and throw out said CD cases. Stop with the tribal. Seriously. Product Page [via Chip Chick] → Read More
Nikon’s D40x, 10-megapixel version of the D40 released inexplicably only four months after the D40, is set to be replaced by the new D60 line. There aren’t a lot of details, but considering the price point and previous capabilities of their cameras along that line, you can probably expect a perfectly decent camera crippled by its lack of autofocus support for much of Nikon’s extensive lens collection. I’ve advised friends and family against buying a D40 due to this shortcoming, as I feel Nikon’s strength is in its excellent lens selection, and buying a camera that effectively ignores 30 years of great lenses seems a bad call. That said, the D70 is still a nice camera although it has been eclipsed by offerings by Canon and Pentax in that zone and performance point. Nikon D60 to Replace D40x [Photography Bay] → Read More
I was skeptical when Playboy launched its exclusive social network for college students in August called PlayboyU, mostly because Hef’s adult entertainment empire had chosen merely to brand a standard Ning website. While it’s questionable to me whether a corporate brand can ever sustain a large and active social network, it just didn’t seem like the company was trying very hard to leverage its assets and create a uniquely Playboy social networking experience. In apparent response to disappointing engagement levels (PlayboyU had about 5,000 members in early November and, as of writing, only 12 “site activity” items in the last 12 hours), Playboy is pushing a fairly lengthy survey on its “charter members” through email and on-site ads. It asks questions about social network usage, Playboy brand perceptions and, most importantly, the appeal of integrating magazine content into the social network (although with little emphasis on nudity, suggesting that Playboy is still wary of turning PlayboyU into an outlet for soft pornography). Among the types of content considered by the survey are cartoons, music picks, advice from Playboy experts, behind the scenes footage of Playboy events, Playmate and “Girls of” profiles, excerpts from “The Girls Next Door” show, fashion pages, and party jokes. Playboy is also apparently weighing the option of creating a “public” site for college age adults that would provide not only traditional Playboy content but serve as a resource like Princeton Review with guides to campus life and ranking systems, as well as “original editorial and video segments related to college life.” This second site would probably not replace PlayboyU, since the registration requirement of a “.edu” email address is one – if not the – selling point of the current social network (see the video created by a site representative below). It’s too early to tell whether this survey will amount to any real changes to PlayboyU, although the company is obviously exploring ways to improve the social network by taking it in new directions. We’ll just have to see what Playboy comes up with in 2008, and whether it finds Ning to be flexible enough for its attempts at differentiation. → Read More
Announced back in September, iTunes Tagging is a way for listeners of HD Radio to take a song they’ve heard on the radio, mark it with the appropriate metadata (that’s then synced to your iPod), then download the song from the iTunes Store after connecting their iPod to their computer. I’ve completely make a mess of that sentence, but you know what I mean to say. Now we’re hearing word that Apple will be making a big push at January’s MacWorld for stereos and boomboxes that work with iTunes Tagging. Apple says it’s a way for non-satellite radio stations to get into the digital music age. Because, you know, I always wanted to hear radio ads for the local car dealership in the highest quality possible. So far, manufacturers committed to building iTunes Tagging-compatible radios include Sony, Griffin and Cambridge Soundworks. Apple readying HD Radio push for Macworld [iLounge] → Read More
Over the last couple weeks I’ve been taking more photos and really immersing myself into the whole thing. It’s an area (DSLR) where I know very little, which is completely unacceptable from a geek’s perspective. I’m still reading and digesting this handy how to guide on histograms so I thought others could read along with me and the more advanced photogs in the crowd could drop in their thoughts in comments for us n00bs. How To Read and Understand a Histogram [PB] → Read More
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