AOL launched what they’re calling the AOL Tech Network this evening. It’s a grouping of existing blogs – the Engadget sites, Switched, TUAW and Download Squad, under a new tech content group. Unike AOL Games, AOL Entertainment and other sub brands, AOL Tech is being branded without “AOL.” A new link on the AOL home page links to Switched, which will now syndicate in content from the other blogs in the network. This is partly a streamlining of the organization, but it’s also a way for AOL’s sales team to pitch a tech brand to advertisers that has a big footprint. The combined blogs bring in nearly 5 million combined monthly visitors, making it about twice the size of Wired and in the same ballpark as Yahoo Tech. Of course, 100% of the Switched content is coming from blogs, unlike those other sites. Engadget has more, and talks about a new design as well. → Read More
YouTube has quietly launch a new layout on video pages with a new tab focused layout and video statistics (pic above). The first change in the consolidation of Share, Favorites, Playlists and Flag into a dedicated tab driven box. The share tab expands out to give a more extensive range of sharing options which includes social bookmarking and voting sites (notably including Mixx), the ability to post a video to a blog, and send to the friend via email. Commentary (comments and video responses) is now offered in a tab next to “Statistics and Info.” Statistics provided are video honors (YouTube awards) and video referrals. It would appear that users can hide site referral statistics but they are turned on by default, at least for existing videos hosted on YouTube. (thanks to Rahul Kumar for the tip) CrunchBase Information YouTube Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Believe it or not, I’m actually not into the tandem bicycling scene. Not at all, to be completely honest with you. I don’t know if I’ve ever ridden a bicycle built for two. I’ve seen them. I’ve read about them. I understand that there are two riders instead of one. But beyond that, I’m just not into the tandem bicycling scene. Not at all. If you’re into it, though, you should check out this tandem bike that allows you to face your loved one or your same-sex co-worker, depending upon where and when you’re riding the bike. It was invented by a Taiwanese guy who’s currently “in negotiations with factories to have it mass-produced,” according to the Daily Times — A new voice for a new Pakistan. → Read More
Things are moving fast in the Yahoo-Microsoft drama. All the different forces are aligning for an endgame. The latest twist: The WSJ is reporting that Yahoo is close to signing a deal to combine with AOL. This at the same time that Yahoo is doing a limited test to place Google ads in its search results. Meanwhile, News Corp, which Yahoo once hoped would be its white knight, is said to be turning on Yahoo and talking to Microsoft about joining its bid. Obviously a lot of balls are up in the air right now, and anything is possible. Here is how the AOL-Yahoo combination is shaping up, according to the WSJ: Under the terms being discussed, Time Warner would fold its AOL unit into Yahoo and make a cash investment in return for about 20% of the combined entity, the people said. The deal, which wouldn’t include AOL’s dial-up access business, would value AOL at about $10 billion. As part of the deal, Yahoo would use the Time Warner cash and additional funds to buy back several billion dollars worth of its own stock at a price somewhere in the middle of the range between $30 and $40 a share Tellingly, that $10 billion valuation is half of what AOL’s business was pegged at when Google invested $1 billion for its 5 percent stake in AOL a little over two years ago. (But that does not include the dial-up business). What we are witnessing is all sorts of contortions on both sides to make the numbers work. We’ve believed all along that Time Warner will put an offer on the table, but it will be difficult to make it pencil out, especially if an AOL-Yahoo combo is up against a three-way Microsoft-MySpace-Yahoo deal. Each of these potential deals would create integration nightmares, but a three-way tie between Microsoft, MySpace, and Yahoo would create an entity with so much traffic and advertising inventory that it might not matter. The chances of such a complicated deal going through, though, are small. The most likely outcome is still Microsoft buying Yahoo, and this is all just fodder for the negotiations. Which Would Be A Stronger Yahoo Entity? Microsoft-MySpace-Yahoo 124172% of all votes AOL-Yahoo 48128% of all votes Total Votes: 1722 Started: April 9, 2008 CrunchBase Information Yahoo! AOL Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Web chat startup Meebo has been working with investment bank Montgomery & Co. for the last few months to either find a buyer or raise a big new round of financing. The rumor was they were looking for a $250 million valuation. A couple of sources have told us that eBay, Fox/MySpace and AOL all took a long look at the company, but ultimately passed based on the price and the fact that the company has done aggregate revenues since launching of only $1 million or so. So instead of selling, Meebo is closing a financing round valuing the company at $175 – $200 million. The company wants strategic investors as well as the inevitable private equity funds that would be willing to pay this kind of valuation (traditional VCs won’t touch a deal like this). The rumor is that Fox and/or AOL may be investing in the round. Meebo’s big selling point is the success of Meebo Rooms, which essentially turns chat rooms into a web service. Also, Facebook just jumped into the chat space; other social networks can quickly add the feature via a partnership with Meebo. The deal has not yet closed, according to our sources, although we hear Meebo has a big announcement scheduled for Thursday morning, Our guess is that it isn’t the financing, but we’ll see. CrunchBase Information Meebo Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
News Corp is said to be in talks with Microsoft about joining its bid for Yahoo, according to sources quoted by the New York Times. News Corp entering the mix may allow Microsoft to raise its bid, putting even more pressure on Yahoo to accept it. It would also remove News Corp as a possible alternate bidder for Yahoo. A combined Microsoft/ News Corp/ Yahoo would marry Fox Interactive Media and most notably MySpace with Yahoo’s web properties and Microsoft Live and MSN services, creating an even bigger challenger to Google. According to the Times, the talks between Microsoft and News Corporation are at a sensitive stage, with their source stating that “there’s a long way to go before anything is definite.” The news comes after another colorful day in the Microsoft/ Yahoo standoff with Yahoo announcing a trial of Google ads against its search results, and Microsoft responding by saying that any Yahoo/ Google tie-up lessened competition. Update: The WSJ is reporting that Yahoo is close to signing a deal to combine with AOL. CrunchBase Information News Corporation Yahoo! Microsoft Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Good stuff. Crucial’s the first on the market with this notebook RAM; probably it’ll be snapped up by lux retailers like Alienware. I opted not to get DDR3 for my new desktop rig because the benefits aren’t really there yet compared with the advanced DDR2 RAM on the market, but for a notebook the benefits might be real. It does after all require less power and while I doubt too many laptops are really pushing the envelope on RAM data bandwidth, it’s always nice to have faster spec’d memory in there. It’s pretty expensive right now, though: $135 for 1GB, compared with less than $50 for 2GB of DDR2. I’m as excited for DDR3 as much as the next guy but right now paying nearly three times as much isn’t really attractive. → Read More
We’ve got a man on the ground in San Francisco and we’re getting some nice pictures of protesters and miscellaneous people at the ceremony there. Looks like there are a lot of sightseers and people are generally having a good time — not the bloody melee you’d expect at a civil rights protest in the Bay Area (or at a Tibetan Monastery – ouch!). We’ll keep you updated. If you’re there and checking this on your iPhone, keep us appraised of events. → Read More
As rumored earlier this week, live mobile video streaming service Qik has raised $3 million in Series B funding from Marc Benioff, Arjun Gupta, and George Garrick. Qik allows users to stream video from their camera-enabled phones to a number of platforms including TV, gaming consoles, and the web itself. Currently only a subset of Nokia phones work with Qik, although the company has plans to support all smart and Java-enabled phones. Competitors include Mogulus and Kyte. Qik has raised a total of $4M to date. The company recently joined up with Justin.tv to provide that lifecasting service with mobile capabilities. CrunchBase Information Qik Mogulus Kyte Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Well, that’s kind of an inflammatory headline. But it’s semi-true. The Korean Times has deemed Richard Garriot’s futuristic MMO Tabula Rasa a disaster after its disappointing sales devalued developer NCsoft and cost them millions. A spokesperson for the development team downplayed both the disappointment and the downsizing, noting that MMO staffs normally decline after release, and that revenue is built up over time (the game has yet to be released in MMO stronghold Japan). Points on both sides. Only time will tell who is right, but I think I have a pretty good idea. [via videogaming247 and Rock, Paper Shotgun] → Read More
Games For Windows, known as Computer Gaming Monthly prior to its marriage to Microsoft, is no more. The go-to authority on PC gaming has succumbed to the reality of the magazine business: they’re too costly to make for their own good. Editor-in-chief Jeff Green, whose columns I enjoyed for a number of years, has written a eulogy of sorts on his 1UP blog, wherein he laments the state of the industry yet simultaneously accepts that Internet publishing is the future. It’s simple economics, really: continue to chop down trees and ship them off every which way, or upload a couple of HTML files to a central server? Other than the terrible economy and prospect for magazines as a whole, GFW faced a number of problems. Like, um, exactly what purpose do gaming mags serve these days? Other than a couple of features I read in the past two issues—PC game packaging through the Ages and the use of character death as a crux—there was hardly anything in there that I didn’t already know. News can’t be broken in mags, and I can only stand so much “analysis.” I have a brain; I can figure out WHAT THINGS MEAN on my own, gracias. On the other hand, there’s something to be said about the well-developed magazine feature. (But that could simply be because I was trained to appreciate them as an art form.) The one on Valve a few months ago was great, and I’m pretty sure no one on the Internets has the patience to read page after page of why Gabe Newell is a genius. So yeah, end of an era. Just wanted to make sure y’all were aware. It’ll still exist as an online entity, podcast included, just no more paper mag to look forward to every other month. → Read More
A couple days ago we posted a sketch from MTV news detailing a new Wiimote-like controller for the Xbox 360. Today, 8bitjoystick has some more information about the device, more or less confirming it’s coming, and it has a name: Newton. Also, 8bit confirms that there was a job listing on the Xbox website for someone to work on the Newton project. We’re still guessing it’ll hit sometime around Xmas and will unlock a whole new type of gameplay for the Xbox platform. → Read More
Geek chick celebrity Veronic Belmont has signed to co-host Revision3′s Tekzilla show. Belmont resigned from the Mahalo Daily podcast last week after only 5 months, with a relatively cool send off from Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis. Prior to working for Calacanis, Belmont worked for CNET.com, where she produced and co-hosted shows including Buzz Out Loud, MP3 Insider and Crave. She also regularly appears on programs on DL.TV, MSNBC, CNBC, the G4 Network, PC Gamer, and This Week in Tech. Belmont featured in our list of geek chicks to watch March 21. image credit: Veronica Belmont CrunchBase Information Revision3 Mahalo Veronica Belmont Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
The Treo Verizon is the latest CDMA carrier to land the Palm Treo 755p, a high-end smartphone for the business user who’s tired of Windows Mobile but still wants all the connectivity and email options a smartphone provides. While pricey, it’s a pretty impressive device worth considering. → Read More
Very funny, MTV News. You thought you’d wait a full 8 days after April Fools to try to pull one over on us, but I’m onto you. According to the site, Harmonix is set to follow up the hit Rock Band with a larger-scope game called Record Label, where you use payola, pre-fab producers, and scantily clad teen pop stars to get as far ahead in the music biz as you can. The game uses creative direction from Sony’s BMG, one of the largest labels in the world to make it realistic, and not surprisingly would be a PS3 exclusive. You’d even likely be able to install rootkits on your CDs! It sounds fun, but sadly it’s fake. You can’t spell “Harmonix” without “hoax”! → Read More
Microsoft has responded to news earlier today that Yahoo was testing Google Adsense ads on their search results. From Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel: “Any definitive agreement between Yahoo! and Google would consolidate over 90% of the search advertising market in Google’s hands. This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo! We will assess closely all of our options. Our proposal remains the only alternative put forward that offers Yahoo! shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.” The 90% market share in the first line is where the deal may well come unstuck (presuming its expanded). Will Government regulators sit back and allow Google to take a 90% market share through a deal with Yahoo? → Read More
Howsabout a good deal on booze and wine, courtesy of the fine folks at the BevMo! website? Depending upon whether or not it’s legal to deliver alcoholic bevarines to your state, you might be able to get in on the five-cent liquor and wine sales that are going on right now. One’s for Rum and Vodka, with the first bottle starting at $12.99 on up to $29.99 and the other’s for wine, with the first bottle starting at $6.99 on up to $49.99. Just add a second bottle for five cents. So what’s the catch? Well for starters, you can only get booze delivered in Arizona and California. Wine, however, can be delivered to the aforementioned areas along with Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Shipping also apparently starts at around $10, according to dealnews but if you’re ordering something fancy, the savings on the second bottle could easily offset that cost. Enjoy! BevMo.com → Read More
I’ve never had good luck with Dell’s customer service, it’s one reason why I just don’t recommend their products. One great example of this is a letter a young man named K sent to the Consumerist, detailing how Dell Support destroyed his old laptop while trying to troubleshoot his new one, and finally sent out a replacement. Good on them, you say, for making good on that. The problem was the new laptop had human pubic hairs stuck in the keyboard. Ew. Normally when a computer maker gets a return it’s refurbished before being sent to another customer, but this one obviously, well, wasn’t. Or, if it was, it was refurbished in some hairy dude’s bathroom. Dear Dell, if you ever send me a replacement laptop, I would love it if it wasn’t first someone’s porno machine. Thanks! → Read More
A prop designer from the original Star Wars films is in court battling the empire of Lucasfilm in the UK. Andrew Ainsworth was one of the original costume designers for Star Wars and was responsible for the final look of Stormtroopers, Sand People, and other characters, especially the masks or helmets. Since the movie, Ainsworth’s been selling replicas, notably of Stormtrooper armor, out of his shot in the UK. The problem is Lucas didn’t give Ainsworth any permission to so such a thing. Ainsworth argues that he was under no contract regarding copyright of the items, and as designer he has the right to sell replicas. Lucas counters that as the holder of the copyrights for all things Star Wars it should have the legal authority over the merchandise. We think we know how this will end, with Lucasfilm getting lots of money. → Read More
