[photopress:clarion_highend_thumb.jpg,full,center] Now this is a little different. Clarion’s got a new dash-top GPS computer with a 30GB HD that, along with maps for everyplace you’d want to go, has a gyroscope to learn how badly you drive, when you miss turns, and other data so it can customize the routes it displays for your driving style. Very cool. Clarion launches high-end NAX973HD dashboard GPS with 30GB hard drive [Tech Digest] → Read More
Vladimir, one of the coders working on Firefox 3, was having some trouble overcoming a few performance issues in the builds. He did a little investigation, resulting in the chart above and others, and found that Firefox’s display rate appeared to be being throttled by the OS for no particular reason. The problem didn’t affect Safari, and it wasn’t until he dug deep into Webkit’s coding crevasses that he found the solution: a set of special instructions and shortcuts so poorly documented that they may as well be secret. He worked some in (just a few lines) and Firefox exploded out of the gate. Vlad doesn’t think this code was hidden maliciously, but it seems at least to be a little negligent on Apple’s part to bury these so deep. Of course, I’m not a coder and I don’t know what I’m talking about. Finding the OSX Turbo Button → Read More
Through a variety of sources we’ve confirmed that Technorati is making plans for a major shift in its going forward strategy, and is also considering a number of corporate development transactions. First, they’ve been pitching venture capitalists on another round of financing. That’s not surprising – their last round, $10.5 million, was in June 2006. The company has raised a total of just over $20 million, and given that they have 25 employees, it’s time for another round. But we’ve also heard that they’ve hired Montgomery & Co. to shop the company to buyers, simultaneous to their funding pitches. What’s more interesting, though is what we’re hearing on the product front. Technorati, under new CEO Richard Jalichandra, recently changed it site to focus more on its core blogging audience. That change foreshadows the upcoming shift – which places the Technorati site itself as an anchor in a new blog advertising network. Advertising networks are popular right now – Glam recently raised $85 million after transitioning, seemingly overnight, from a small web property focused on women to selling advertising for a variety of similarly-focused publishers. And John Battelle’s FM Publishing, an advertising network focused on technology blogs, recently hired investment bank Savvian to help them raise money or sell after turning down a $100 million buyout offer. Technorati will certainly be competing head to head with FM, although sources say they’ll focus on the long tail of the market as well (FM only takes larger sites). The network will be a self-serve exchange for bloggers (and other publishers) as well as advertisers. Ad units will include both display and text ads, and will allow units to be charged on both a CPM and CPC basis. This self-service model looks a lot more like Adbrite than Glam or FM. Technorati tags, which are very often used to describe blog posts with keywords selected by the author, would also be a natural way for Technorati to target advertising more effectively. Technorati has also considered other strategies recently, including a blog rollup. But our understanding is that they’ve gone with the ad network idea, and are currently focusing engineers on finalizing the product. Will the strategy work? As we’ve argued many times, ad networks suffer from fickle customers. Glam offers partners revenue guarantees based on page views (and lost $3.7 million last year on $21 million in revenue). FM has resisted guarantees to date, → Read More
After Google’s stock took a hit based on reports that Google ads are not being clicked on as much as they use to be, comScore is reporting today that the market may have got it wrong the evidence suggests that the softness in Google’s paid click metrics is primarily a result of Google’s own quality initiatives that result in a reduction in the number of paid listings and, therefore, the opportunity for paid clicks to occur. In part this might be right, but what’s being ignored by most is a little decision in November that changed the way Google ads worked: Google has made a small change to AdSense that may make a big difference in cutting out errant clicks and even your AdSense revenue. They’ve redefined the clickable region for Google AdSense from the entire boxed region, to just the text link. I’ve been hearing first hand reports since then from publishers who have experienced a big downturn in CTR and Adsense revenue since that change was implemented. Well regarded online marketer Jeremy Schoemaker even recently told me in a podcast that Adsense was dead as a monetization strategy. It’s happening to big sites and small sites. Markus Friend from Plenty of Fish, one of the more famed and bigger free-making money from Adsense sites (January): The CTR on text ads declined about 60% in the last 2 months with googles changes, Image ads on the other hand stayed the same. If you take a screen shot of a text ad and then run it as an image ad it will get 2 times the click thru rate. You read that right, image ads with double the CTR of Google ads when showing the exact same thing. SEO BlackHat gets it right February 27: 4 months later, that little back and forth in the Google Rec Room shaved about $85 Billion (with a B) in market capitalization. But it wasn’t as stupid an idea as it might seem. You see, Adsense works in a Quasi-market place environment. The market will bid up the cost per click once the adjustment for accidental clicks is readjusted. Right now, marketers should be getting a better value per click as a higher percentage of the clicks are “real” or intentional. That will lead to higher bids per click and ultimately should be close to a break even for GOOGs bottom line. The short → Read More
[photopress:btunesart.jpg,full,center] Beatles songs will now be on American Idol, which is now on iTunes. Clearly the natural line of progression is to proclaim that the Beatles catalogue is one step closer to iTunes, right? I’d say that’s a leap of faith I’m not willing to take just yet. If word can leak about Prince Harry being in Afghanistan, then word should be able to leak about any potential Beatles-iTunes deal. But if y’all wanna speculate, be my guest. It’s not like you can’t find the whole Beatles discography on every BitTorrent site out there anyway. Hints that the Beatles iTunes launch getting closer? 1 to 2 weeks? [Macenstein] → Read More
[photopress:steve_jobs_iphone_opens_up.jpg,full,left]So here we are less than a week away from the release of the iPhone/iPod Touch SDK from Apple, and already people are getting cranky. The good people at iLounge are pretty sure that at least three of aspects of the yet-to-be-announced plans are going to piss people off. But really, every time Apple does anything, people get pissed off. The trio of issues is as follows: People are going to be upset that they can only download apps via iTunes, Apple will select exactly which apps iTunes will carry, and app makers won’t have access to the dock connector, so add-on GPS, Bluetooth dongles, and other hardware won’t be available. The article breaks it down with details and, if you’re an iPhone or fellow iPod Touch user, definately worth a read. iPhone/iPod SDK: Apple to approve, distribute apps, limit add-ons [iLounge] → Read More
Looking for a job? We’re here to help. Over 40 positions in technology have been posted to CrunchBoard since we wrote about it last week. Your dream job could be in there somewhere. Here’s a sample of those posted: Business Development ManagerMySpace, Beverly Hills CA Software EngineerSugar Inc., San Francisco CA Director of Business DevelopmentHowcast Media, New York City Web Developer for Social PlatformsRockYou, San Mateo CA Java EngineersCBS Interactive, Berkeley CA Front End UI DesignerTripAdvisor, Needham MA Code Ninja/PirateReble.FM, San Francisco CA Senior Software EngineerStealth Startup, San Francisco CA Interactive Product ManagernFusion Group, Austin TX Flash DeveloperUVLayer, New York City and San Francisco Also, we’re still soliciting candidates for two positions here at TechCrunch: Events Expert CrunchBase Analyst Employers: we’re extending discounts for bulk listing purchases another month. Please email jobboard@techcrunch.com for additional details. In other news, I had the distinct opportunity to check out Box.net’s TechCrunch reading room in person, and it is indeed glorious. → Read More
Since behavioural targeting company Phorm launched recently I’ve looked at the ins-and-outs of the system and it does look pretty interesting. Phorm is basically an add-on service for an ISP which looks at all your web surfing and attaches an anonymous cookie to your machine. ISPs trying to target advertising based on this packet data appeared way back in the first dotcom boom, but no-on could make it work. Phorm uses a technology called ‘deep packet inspection boxes’ to track EVERY website you visit. Normal cookies are tied to just the one web site they came from, or the ad-network, like DoubleClick’s. Phorm’s cookie looks at all of them – with some exceptions, like banks – and collects information on browser type, response to advertising, the URLs of some of the web pages viewed and search terms entered. Where the Phorm cookie sees a page with a Phorm advert tag on it, it serves an ad. So it wouldn’t, say, put an advert on the BBC web site because the BBC wouldn’t have put the Phorm tag into the page. But despite this sounding like a privacy nightmare, the Phorm cookie is given a randomly generated ID number attached to a nameless profile of the categories sites a user appears to be interested in. This profile is then matched against advertisers to target ads against that user who’s actual identity (email addresses, surnames, street addresses etc) is not known. What information they do have – which is just the surfing habits of that PC – gets deleted after a few hours. Phorm’s privacy claims have been approved by Ernst & Young and Privacy International. The cookie doesn’t track you on sites like SSL or forms you fill in. Of course, data is secure as the companies that keep it – and it’s possible to de-anonomyse data. Phorm says it wouldn’t mix surfing data with, say, an ISP’s billing data on users. Phorm’s system also alerts users to a list of blacklisted sites, in a scheme called Webwise. This is the carrot to keep people from switching off the Phorm cookie, which they are given access to and told it is watching them. Phorm has so far launched in the UK with BT, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media.The Phorm cookie also recognises publishers signed up to Phorms ad system, so the partners for that are the FT.com; iVillage; Universal McCann; MGM OMD → Read More
[photopress:whiteps33.jpg,full,center] A Circuit City employee discovered that new PS3 shipments have the CECHH01 model number. For those playing at home, that model number corresponds to the white PS3, which has been rumored for release here for some time now. Supposedly retailers are to exhaust their supply of the current 40GB model that comes with Spider-Man 3 before whipping out the white model. Is one random dude in a Circuit City trustworthy? We’ll find out soon enough. White PS3 Due In March? [Kotaku] → Read More
Ask is rumored to be considering switching to Google for search and subsequently downsizing its engineering team. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Ask may abandon or selling its Teoma search engine in favor of using Google for its search results. Teoma has powered Ask since it was acquired in September 2001. The decision will result in “bad news for Ask Engineers.” Paid Content puts the downsizing figure at 100 in April, although they note that the final decision on the switch to Google hasn’t been signed off on yet. The decision to abandon Ask’s in-house search engine comes following a $100 million advertising campaign in 2007 that succeeded in growing Ask’s market share, but not to a significant level in the overall market. Google already provides Ask with its search ads through a recently renegotiated, five-year, $3.5 billion deal. CrunchBase Information Ask Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
[photopress:twbbbr.jpg,full,right] There may be blood, but it won’t be on HD DVD. Paramount clarified earlier reports concerning its upcoming HD DVD release schedule. The final two HD DVD releases will be Into the Wild (anyone see that? Opie seemed to like it.) and Things We Lost in the Fire. They are currently scheduled to be released next week. Paramount isn’t expected to release movies on Blu-ray until the summer, meaning we’ll be waiting an awful long time to see There Will Be Blood in 1080p. (Not that I don’t already have the DVD screener. But really, high-def or bust.) Also, Bee Movie on HD DVD has been canceled. Paramount Cancels Majority of HD DVD Slate (UPDATED) [High-Def Digest] → Read More
Clear the haze (from your bong), tweak your back (for an acid trip), and put down those hippie sticks (do you guys know what those were called? I forget), Deadheads. A handful of GD tracks are hitting Rock Band next week so pay attention. Grateful Dead Pack (all songs by the Grateful Dead) “China Cat Sunflower” (Master) “Casey Jones” (Master) “Sugar Magnolia” (Master) “Truckin” (Master) “Franklin’s Tower” (Master) “I Need A Miracle” (Master) All songs can be bought individually for $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) or the whole pack can be purchased for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points). Rock Band Forums → Read More
Zenith is a well known and respected house in the world of horology. They made the first automatic chronograph and fell on hard times during the quartz crisis of the 1980s. They came back recently with some bold designs. Now, however, they apparently have been taking acid because this is one of the ugliest watches I’ve seen in a long time and probably costs more than my house. This thing has a 3D tourbillon, which has a little ring that rotates in three dimensions to offset the effects of gravity on the watch mechanism. It beats at 36,000 vibrations an hour — that’s a lot — and is made of Kevlar and titanium. Considering Zenith used to make watches for men and not snacks for robots, it’s sad to see how far this house has fallen. Product Page via WWR → Read More
We haven’t covered patents in quite some time, simply because companies patent everything and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll ever produce them, but this patent filed by RIM seems to hold some water. This basically means we’ll have bigger screen BBs (duh) that are possibly touchscreen as well. It retains the trackball, which I’m ok with, but it’s the rest of the patent that intrigues me. → Read More
[photopress:800px_Johndimaggio.jpg,full,pp_image] You may know voice actor John DiMaggio from hit cartoons such as Futurama where he’s the voice of the lovable robot, Bender. Speaking of which, has anyone seen the new Futurama movie that came out earlier this year? Any good? He also played Ballmer in “Pirates of Silicon Valley.” Anyway, it just so happens that he’s the voice of Marcus Fenix and Franklin in Gears of War. DiMaggio was recently interviewed by IGN and it appears that he was totally geeking out over it the whole time and decided to spill the beans on a couple of things coming up in the sequel. What secrets did he reveal? → Read More
Microsoft has been in acquisition discussions with email startup Xobni, we’ve confirmed through multiple sources. The company, which launched at the TechCrunch40 conference last year, currently offers an outlook plugin for Windows users that significantly improves the desktop email experience (particularly search). Microsoft may have first approached the company months ago and floated an offer of sub $20 million, which was apparently rejected. But the company, which recently hired notable Yahoo’er Jeff Bonforte as CEO, is now back at the table with Microsoft corporate development. Xobni currently only works with Outlook, although the company has said they will extend to integrate with other email clients, instant messaging applications, and social networks in the future. The current product creates an information profile for each person you interact with, and surfaces historical information that is relevant to what you are working on. Xobni displays contact information, threaded conversations, attachments, related people, email usage statistics, and information from the web. See our post from January with a more detailed overview of the service. The company was founded in 2006 by Adam Smith and Matt Brezina, with early funding from Y Combinator. Other investors include Khosla Ventures, First Round Capital, Ron Conway and Baseline Ventures, Atomico Investments, Paul Buchheit, Ariel Poler, Saar Gur, and Tom Pinckney. Xobni has not yet responded to our request for comment. Update: Zoli Erdos points out that Bill Gates loves Zobni: CrunchBase Information Xobni Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf This trailer isn’t new new (I saw it maybe a month ago before I Am Legend), but it was recently put up on IGN and if you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance. The movie’s coming out on May 2nd, 2008 starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Jon Favreau. Anyone gonna see it? Show of hands? Iron Man Trailer, Videos and Movies [IGN] → Read More
CBS-owned Last.fm says 3rd party web widgets hooked into its API added 19 million music users to its user base in January, in addition to the 21 million active users accessing the service through the Last.fm site itself. As a result it has launched a dedicated showcase site to highlight the best widgets and tools. The site opened to developers in 2003 but has not set up a dedicated home for them at build.last.fm. Some of the widgets that have come from this innovation include a tool that shows favourite CD covers on WordPress blogs, a tool that graphs music preferences and one that tracks listening habits on a user’s mobile phone. So here’s a question. Why was is it that at last night’s Mashup event on widgets on London last night, so many audience questions about widgets were along the lines of “Where’s the money?”. Was the audience just plain dumb or did the eminent list of speakers not get the information across well enough? I noticed that plenty of ‘brand managers’ in the audience seemed to be worried about what would happen if someone put a widget containing their brand on a site which did not portray their brand in the best light. But I have to ask, what about lots of people putting the widget in the perfect place for their brand? Ever heard of the long tail? This feels like a very old and dead conversation. The people who don’t get this are seriously in trouble. CrunchBase Information Last.fm Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
After a period involving a few technical issues, I’m happy to report that the TechCrunch UK & Ireland jobs board, otherwise known as CrunchBoard, is now open for business. As a special opening offer for all advertisers, it will cost just £20 per job for the first month of its operation. After that the price will revert to £50 per job posted, so feel free to get your jobs in at the discount ASAP. The CrunchBoard job board gives you access to millions of technology and business savvy readers of TechCrunch, MobileCrunch, CrunchGear and other top technology blogs. CrunchBoard is permanently linked from these sites. So join other leading companies, such as Facebook, MySpace, CNET, Yahoo, Microsoft, Digg and others that have posted jobs with CrunchBoard. UPDATE: Sigh, OK, so we seem to have a slight technical hitch, so hold off from posting jobs for today. Should be fixed by Monday. → Read More
[photopress:phonedesign.jpg,full,right] How many times do you say to yourself, “All I want is a phone that works”? So you wonder why companies don’t take that into consideration. There’s a cute little piece in today’s Old Gray Lady about how cellphone companies go about designing would-be hit phones. They hire focus groups, host weekend retreats and go to all sorta of extremes to try to figure out what Joe Consumer wants in a phone. Do you want a touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, slider or flip? It’s a tough job trying to get consumers to buy the same thing over and over again. But phone design isn’t all haptic this, holistic that. Nokia is currently designing a environmentally friendly phone, one that’s made out of recycled metal and other materials; it would sell well on the Upper West Side. Nowhere in the piece is reliability mentioned. No one addresses that fact that, for example, I can’t walk up certain sections of Sixth Avenue without my phone cutting out. Even better, why I can’t use the phone in the eastern half of my apartment. How about we work on that. Hoping to Make Phone Buyers Flip [New York Times] → Read More
San Francisco, CA
