I just got word from MyKinda founder Lee Wilkins that he plans to shutdown the Eastern European blog network later today. The network launched just last September and was being bootstrapped. Earlier this week we reported that they were having significant financial difficulties, and had shut down all but two of their sites. Today, those last two will be shuttered as well. Wilkins says the shutdown is temporary to ensure that money due to writers doesn’t continue to add up. The sites will remain down until, he says, “we redefine a more profitable sustainable business model.” The company had total expenses of about €319,000, with no advertising revenue to offset it. Wilkins capitalized the company with €175,000, leaving €144,000 or so in unpaid debts. MyKinda joins the DeadPool for now. Hopefully we’ll see them relaunch down the road, and continue to cover tech and other news in Eastern Europe. → Read More
Making voice calls from within the browser, and the growing links between voice applications and the web of data is a big trend online today. Last December Ribbit, a startup that calls itself “Silicon Valley’s first phone company,” launched a bid to spread Flash apps for voice. Now another startup, is also aiming at voice and ‘messaging 2.0′ services from a different angle. Ireland-based VoiceSage, a hosted ‘software as service’ Interactive Voice Messaging (IVM) company, is seen by some telco industry analysts as part of the next wave of “Telco 2.0″ and it’s just closed a €3m round from private Irish backers. The cash will be used to push further push into the UK. The 12 person startup has already closed a deal with a leading catalogue company in Europe (Scotts of Stow & Otto), and some big banks, as yet unnamed. Its interactive messaging meshed with enterprise software means VoiceSage inhabits a space being called “Communications Enabled Business Processes” (CEBP), which is gaining traction in the voice world. VoiceSage also has a “click 2 Talk” technology which could integrate with contextual advertising. → Read More
Google can be used for many things, the basis for an art exhibition isn’t one area that naturally comes to mind. A new art exhibition in Sydney asks Google who and what is “completely rooted” and displays the results. “Completely rooted” for those unfamiliar with the phrase is Australian slang for being in an unfortunate position, being tired (as in I’ve been running all day and I’m completely rooted) or may have sexual connotations. The formal meaning may refer to a belief structure (completely rooted in Christian tradition). The Sydney Morning Herald has the story: To find inspiration for their works, 12 artists typed the words “completely rooted” into a Google search engine. From page two of the results, each artist selected one site as their sole inspiration. This year’s phrase came to the gallery’s owner, Lew Palaitis, as he was drinking beer in Hardware’s storage room. “We’d been kicking around a lot of really stupid phrases and I was feeling a bit despondent,” he said. “I only suggested ‘completely rooted’ as a joke but then we realised it would actually be a really catchy tag.” The inspired art includes the severed head of Tom Cruise and a skywriter writing Jesus in the sky. I’m not sure whether Google will soon become a common tool for artists seeking inspiration, but it’s certainly a new use for everyone’s favorite search engine. Highlights from the exhibition can be viewed online here. → Read More
http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822/US/davezatz-20/8011/cf4a2375-8508-4cb4-a697-98a8f71c36fd&Operation=GetDisplayTemplate Amazon has quietly entered the video hosting and monetization game with Your Video Widget. Your Video Widget allows any registered Amazon Affiliate to upload a video and then select products that can be displayed as the video progresses (demo above). Video content can be anything from a product review through to a holiday video, but there are some restrictions; users can not include a URL in the video, or feature availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information for any product in the video itself, on top of the usual porn and piracy restrictions. Users can pick any products they would like to be displayed, with Amazon suggesting only that they work better if they have some context to the video, and that no two products can appear within 10 seconds of each other. Like all Amazon Affiliate related advertising, the ads served are paid as a percentage of generated sales, and are not offered on a CPC or CPM basis. Maximum file size is 100mb, length 10 minutes, and accepted formats are avi, flv, mov, mpg, wmv. Amazon Video Widgets do not come with a central portal where you are able to view videos YouTube style, so this product wont compete in that space. For those looking at new ways of monetizing their videos, be it either because they are unable to sign up to YouTube’s program, or are not getting good results from YouTube, Amazon Video Widgets provide another path to video monetization. (via Dave Zatz) CrunchBase Information Amazon YouTube Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
[photopress:newspace.jpg,full,center] Legos! We’re not sure why it’s acceptable — no, required — that we gadget blogs report on all things Lego, but we’re compelled to, and we’re more than happy. The Lego site Brickshelf has unearthed a couple badass forthcoming Space Lego sets that look really fun. One’s an old-school generic spaceship, something we haven’t seen much of lately, and the other is some sort of tentacled flying skull thing with a laser on its head. Where was this stuff when I was a kid? New Legos [Brickshelf, via Boing Boing] → Read More
Who owns your friends (or rather the list of who your friends are and how they are connected to you) has been a big source of debate in the social networking world. Control over that data is what makes social networks like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn so potentially valuable. Yet there has also been a movement afoot towards letting people take their friends with them, if you will, to other sites. In an interview with Tim Berners-Lee, the father of the Web takes social networks to task for hoarding data. The interview, conducted by Paul Miller, focuses mostly on the Semantic Web, which to Berners-Lee is all about linked data. The interview is long and has everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the Semantic Web (a set of evolving technologies to make the Web more readable by computers). But about 42 minutes into the interview (transcript here), is one of the most interesting parts. Berners-Lee says data on the Web is the new links, and Websites should stop keeping it to themselves: I think, it is a very grown-up thing to realize that you are not the only social networking site… otherwise it is like a website which doesn’t have any links out. In the Semantic Web similarly, if you don’t have any links out, well, that’s boring. In fact, a lot of the value of many websites is the links out. Now if you look at the social networking sites which, if you like, are traditional Web 2.0 social networking sites, they hoard this data. The business model appears to be, “We get the users to give us data and we reuse it to our benefit. We get the extra value.” So, first of all, are they going to let people use the data? I think, the push now, as we’ve seen during the last year, has been unbearable pressure from users to say, “Look, I have told you who my friends are. You are the third site I’ve told who my friends are. Now, I’m going to a travel site and now I’m going to a photo site and now I’m going to a t-shirt site. Hello? You guys should all know who my friends are.” . . . So, the users are saying, “Give me my data back. That’s my data.” Of course, social networks are already moving in this direction. Last month, everyone → Read More
Most companies target early adopters with their new products, hoping those users will tell all of their friends all about it. But not GrandCentral, the company Google acquired for $50 million in July 2007. They’ve gone after the homeless demographic. Twice. Two years ago they offered to give homeless people free access to their (already free) service. It worked so well (4,000 signups) that yesterday they announced it all over again. This time Mayor Newsom threw in a bunch of sound bites about how this will “empower” the homeless, improve their morale, etc. (last time they were only able to get Newsom’s deputy chief of staff to comment). To be clear, I think it’s great that Google is trying to help out the homeless. But what I really applaud is the marketing audacity it takes to announce that you are making an already free service free for the homeless. And then do it again two years later. And to do it even though homeless people already have access to free voicemail through at least one nonprofit organization. I wonder if Google can pull off the same stunt in the future for new products. Free cloud storage for the homeless, anyone? Update: Good comment by Scott Rafer below with a different viewpoint: Please check with local experts when they are available. It’s all about SF politics, and the gimmick is Mayor Newsom’s not Google’s. I’m generally a supporter of this mayor, but his terrible Care-not-Cash program ripped prepaid mobile phones out of the hands of many working homeless — the people who have the best shot to get themselves out of trouble. They are often doing day work for employers who know the phone numbers at the homeless shelters and will not call them or accept calls from them. GrandCentral and similar services provide the Mayor with some air cover and are at least a mediocre replacement for prepaid phones in this use case. Update 2: GrandCentral cofounder Craig Walker responds in the comments. CrunchBase Information GrandCentral Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
I actually am pretty sure that the people who can spend $2,000,000 on space tourism are a different demographic from the people who scrounge miles to get free tickets. And yet, Virgin Galactic is going to let you redeem 200,000 miles for a big 10% off that trip to space. Somehow I doubt they’re going to get a lot of takers on that offer, but it is a nice little taste of the future. Use your air miles to fly to space with Virgin Atlantic [sic] [coolest-gadgets.com] → Read More
If you like watching moody-looking (or are they just bored?) models standing around in the background of a TV commercial shoot, while Keira Knightley walks around in curlers, then I have the very web TV channel for you. SQUA.RE is an online video portal (yes, I said portal) dedicated to luxury and style. Its various channels around luxury and fashion are delivered via Flash and look pretty damn expensive to make to be honest. The company behind this is based in Notting Hill, one of the most expensive parts of London and has 25 staff, including part time people and people working from other cities (Paris, Monaco…). The co-founders are Olivier Bassil (a self-described socialite), Jeremy Genin, CEO Paul-René Albertini (most recently Chairman and CEO of Warner Music International) and Jacqui Timothy, Chief Operating Officer (formerly a manager in Accenture London’s Media & Entertainment practice). I can just imagine the suits these guys wear (and yes, I’m slightly jealous). Now, the problem is that despite the site’s smart focus on one market (18-35 year olds interested luxury goods) none of the media they are generating is portable outside of the site. I can’t embed the video into another site. This doesn’t make any sense at all. I don’t care that it is organised into channels. I want to put Keira Knightley on my blog/social profile! In a way they could just dump the channels and put up a list of embed codes. Set your media free guys. To me this is a TV 1.0 model shoe-horned online. The video is great, but it’s wasted stuck on this old-fashioned ‘portal’ site. And their advertisers can’t be getting that much value out of it. → Read More
[photopress:360edgeee.jpg,full,center] Edge magazine makes a bold claim with its article “Is Xbox 360 Past Its Peak?” Mary, Mary quite contrary. In just over 3,000 words, the magazine explains why Microsoft’s console may have already reached its zenith, with the only direction it can go from here on out being down. It’s sorta like a message board post entitled “The 360 is fairies,” but one backed with research and facts. It’s a pretty decent article, one certainly worth the few minutes it takes to read. Some of the major points: • Microsoft can no longer afford to simply throw money at Xbox and hope for the best. Reason being, the Xbox division represents 18.25 percent of Microsoft’s overall business. Xbox is no longer a toy or experiment. • Microsoft’s dependence on Halo is alarming. (Neither Sony nor Nintendo depend on one IP to the same extent.) The game sells systems like nothing else. What happens if nothing else shows up? • Xbox Live Arcade, so far, is more about nostalgia than bringing in casual gamers. • The Red Ring of Death and all that entails And so on. Basically, it’s a piece urging everyone to be cautious as it relates to calling the 360 a runaway success or the clear winner of this generation. FEATURE: Is Xbox 360 Past Its Peak? [Edge] → Read More
ShopWindoz is a new startup enabling independent design labels to build a business online with a few clicks. It’s an Etsy-esque site aimed at ‘micro-brands’ with niche design products. The site originally went live in November of last year in Germany but this week was launched in English, aiming at the UK market. Initially, products are mostly from Berlin based designers but the aim is to hook in UK designers who tend to face high costs and competition. ShopWindoz is not the only new European site aiming at this long tail of niches, another is the recently launched Moli, a US-owned site with $30m in backing. Interestingly ShopWindoz founder Darryl Feldman is an Englishman in Berlin who was most recently head of Yahoo!’s product development efforts across Europe. The jury is out on whether the more ‘social shop’ based approach of ShopWindoz or the ‘social networking, plus a shop’ idea of Moli will prevail. Horses for courses, perhaps, but history shows that startups which are more focused tend to win out. → Read More
It was the week of the MacBook Pro at CrunchGear, what with Apple’s new Penryn-based laptops hitting stores and being touched and benchmarked all over. There’s even a contest! In the European Island department, the BBC had a crack at Android and Ireland’s 02 got the iPhone. We explained how to download perfectly legal things via the mythical Usenet, and a French guy made a video of the last 30 years of Apple products. We found that Rockstar may be abandoning the 360, possibly because of all those hardware issues. Sprint’s “unlimited plan” was dissected and compared to its buddy Helio’s, though a new study showed that your proteins are at risk if you use a cellphone, regardless of carrier. Be safe out there! Heading to CEBIT next week? Drop us a line and we’ll lift some steins and around beautiful Bremen Niedersachsen district. → Read More
[photopress:Picture_8.png,full,pp_image,center] Today in the CrunchGear test labs we’re benchmarking the Penryn-based MacBook Pro. And just for fun we’re also benchmarking the Merom-based MacBook and a Mac Pro. For this test we’re using Primate Labs Geekbench 2. The baseline for this test is 1000, which represents a 1.6GHz Power Mac G5. For all intents and purposes we’re only focused on the overall score and the MBP did quite well compared to the Mac Pro. Without a previous gen MBP in the mix the numbers don’t mean as much, but we will be adding a 2.16GHz Core Duo MacBook Pro into the fold later on today so that should give some of you a better indication of what’s going on with the Penryn-based MacBook Pro. For your geeky pleasure we’ve added all numbers for each machine in a ginormous gallery for you to peruse. → Read More
If you’re into the idea of putting your finely honed commercial web dev and strategy skills to the benefit of society then check out Social Innovation Camp 4th-6th April. The basic idea is to get a group of software developers and designers together with social entrepreneurs and people who fund/provide in-kind support to early stage start-ups for 48 hours over the weekend. Think of it as a cross between Seedcamp and a Hackday, but for social change. The ‘call for ideas’ lasts for another week – it closes on Friday 7th March. So far ideas submitted include Barcode Wikipedia, a tool for sharing cycle routes in London and an idea for how the web could help the UK prison system become a more humane institution for those with friends or family serving jail terms. The original idea and funding proposal came from Dan McQuillan of the Make Your Mark Campaign, Paul Miller, co-founder and CEO of web start-up, School of Everything and Christian Ahlert of OpenBusiness and Minibar. Funded from NESTA, Yahoo! is the tech partner and the Young Foundation is providing in-kind support. → Read More
You know the media world has been turned upside down when Websites start buying magazines. Today, the Knot, which operates the wedding site of the same name, acquired The Bump, a group of local magazines and maternity guides in 11 cities. Terms were not disclosed. In an effort to reduce the natural churn of its audience (who needs to check a wedding site after the big day is over?), the Knot created other bookend lifestyle sites—TheNest for newlyweds, and TheNestBaby for new parents. So what does a Website need magazines for? The Bump is distributed in OB/GYN offices and could help channel readers to TheNestBaby. The Knot can also use it to sell combined print/Web advertising packages. It’s got to do something to drive traffic. TheNestBaby barely registers on comScore, with only 171,000 unique visitors in the U.S. in January, compared to the TheKnot’s 1.8 million (which itself shot up in January after a few months of decline). Maybe print isn’t dead after all. I wonder if we are going to see more Web-buy-print deals, especially in niche media. CrunchBase Information The Knot The Bump Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
[photopress:3gubs.jpg,full,center] The 3G iPhone. One week we hear it’s coming out before the end of the year, the next we get speculation that it won’t be released at all. So confusing! UBS threw its hat into the ring today and gives us its own prediction for the release—within six months, or by September. (Apple usually hold events in September, right? Oh, dear…) And that’s not all UBS had to say. It believes that the 3G chip itself will be produced by Infineon Technologies AG, a German corp. You know what? If the 3G iPhone does come out I’ll probably get it, if only because I’m tired of “borrowing” Biggs’ better-than-mine phones. 3G iPhone To Include Infineon Chip, Launch By Mid-Year: UBS [Dow Jones/CNN via iLounge] → Read More
Sprint has finally officialized its $99 all-you-can-consume plan for those with ravenous mobile appetites, but what’s interesting is that it’s Helio, an MVNO that lies atop the Sprint network, that first launched such plans. This means that Sprint is now undercutting one of it’s own partners at its own game. Or does it? While Sprints unlimited plan is the most generous of the major US carriers, Helio still has more value for the money. → Read More
With Nuvio suing Garmin’s Nuviphone on fairly spurious grounds, let’s take a look at famous trademark wars of times past. Apple v. Apple — Say you want a revolution? How about a mouthful of lawsuit! In 1978, Apple Corp (owned by the Beatles) filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the nascent Apple Computer. They settled the suit in 1981 for $80,000 (!!) as long as Apple Computer didn’t sell music. Fast forward to 1986 and then 1991 when Apple started adding music playback hardware to its machines, which further infringed on Apple Corps business of “music making.” In 1991 a $26.5 million settlement was reached and then, guess what? Apple Corps sued again for iTunes, suggesting that Apple Computer now sold music, just like Apple Corps would do if George and John weren’t dead, Paul wasn’t a ponce, and Ringo wasn’t doing the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine. A judge ruled in favor of Apple Computer in 2006 and it seems that the Beatles catalog, which no one in the entire world has right now, might soon be available on iTunes. Bang bang the judge’s silver gavel, indeed. → Read More
http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x4j47t So… Dragon Ball… that was popular (and relevant!), what, 10, 12 years ago? I guess all the more reason to create an MMO based on it, then, which is what Bandai is doing in Korea. I watched the video and didn’t understand it. I guess the game, Dragon Ball Online is set somewhere between the Z and Majin-Bu story lines. In other news, Prince Harry is the man. They should make an MMO based on his Central Asian exploits. Dragon Ball Online… News from Korea [Akihabara News] → Read More
Computer and Video Games was lucky enough to get two full hours of straight-up gameplay with Rockstar’s newest opus, and they say its all coming up roses. There’s a ton of gameplay experience in there and they detail the physics, graphics, aiming system, and all the new features you’d expect to hear about. Sounds pretty awesome to me, and I’m happy to hear that the framerate is solid, too. GTA IV: Hands-On [Computer and Video Games] → Read More
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