The LA Times and others are reporting that EA has acquired Shawn Fanning’s social-network-gaming startup Rupture for around $30 million. We reported this deal a month ago. The first sentence of the LA Times story: “Shawn Fanning…has finally earned some money.” The title of our post a month ago: “Shawn Fanning Finally Gets A Real Payday…” They did add a link to the story giving us some credit for breaking it, albeit with a statement suggesting we hit the trigger too soon: “When the widely read blog TechCrunch wrote two weeks ago that gaming giant EA had bought Rupture for a reported $30 million, it wasn’t true. But it is now.” Here’s the very short EA press release on the deal. CrunchBase Information Rupture Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Personalized radio service Pandora has taken the plunge and released an AIR application into beta that allows users to play music from Pandora without opening the browser. When I first heard of this development, I thought it was such a cool idea. Music playback is one of those things that really doesn’t need a full browser experience; just give me a simple control panel to enter songs, play and pause, and fast forward. Unfortunately, the AIR version of Pandora doesn’t do much to actually improve the user experience. See that screenshot above? You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a screenshot of the regular Pandora homepage. It’s actually a screenshot of the AIR application itself. Why does it look and function pretty much the exact same? Pandora explains that it needs the real estate of a large window to show the advertisements that support its operations. But the large window pretty much robs the AIR application of all its value. The only additional functionality of any substance is a menu for switching stations that pops up when right clicking on a dock icon. Alas, even this triggers the large window to appear. If Pandora is going to make this work, it’ll need to find a way around the advertising conundrum. But even if it does, it won’t be the only one. I imagine that lots of web services will have to wrestle with how to provide maximum functionality through AIR without sacrificing too much ad revenue. The problem is only exacerbated with a service like Pandora that’s so simple to operate. CrunchBase Information Pandora Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Adam Penenberg of Fast Company got lots of well-deserved grief for his cover article about Ning last month, the one that focused on the Andreessen and Bianchini duo’s “viral expansion loops”. The overly simple idea behind those loops is this: members join a service and then invite their friends. Rinse and repeat, and you’ve got exponential growth rates. Things aren’t quite so simple and straightforward (factors like stickiness come into play), but there is a good deal of truth to the idea that users beget users, especially when a mass of them holds a certain value (the so-called “network effect”). So it would come as no surprise if one of Ning’s competitors decided to claim even stronger viral expansion loops. Grouply, a broad social network divided into groups that are built on top of those found at Yahoo, is making such a claim. Assuming the concepts of groups and networks are tantamount, Grouply claims to have passed Ning, last reported to have 230,000+ networks, with its 300,000+ groups (see chart below). And Grouply is owing its success to the symbiotic (or parasitic?) relationship it has established with Yahoo. When Grouply started off, it was mainly a tool for members of multiple Yahoo groups to keep track of their activities. It then evolved into a more distinct social networking platform by expanding the ways in which members could interact onsite, thereby bringing it into closer competition with Ning. But while networks on Ning are built from scratch, groups on Grouply must be identified from the start with groups on Yahoo. This is a double-edged sword to growth. On the one hand, non-Yahoo users will fail to find Grouply as an appealing place to start their niche networks. But Yahoo groups users will find it exceedingly appealing to do so, and it’s that special appeal that boosts Grouply’s adoption rate. During the Grouply setup process, members of a particular Yahoo group can be sent invites to the new Grouply group (a practice that has led many to accuse Grouply of spamming). Regardless of how enthusiastically Grouply users actually push their new creations, they benefit from the previously formed communities on Yahoo because they can invite members over to the new and improved party. Such well-targeted invitations are why Grouply can assert that it possesses superior viral expansion loops. So great, Grouply claims to have one-uped Ning. But there’s still a concern over → Read More
We’re guessing that Monday’s Apple WWDC Keynote will bring news of the iPhone 2 as well as a launch date for the iPhone apps store, but CNET has it on good authority from someone within Apple that the app store itself will be ready to open as soon as Steve’s keynote is done. Other rumors indicate that the iPhone 2 will also be available on Monday, but we see a Friday launch as far more plausible as that’s when Apple has launched iPhone-class products before, usually at 6PM so nobody skips work (no, really). We think it could go either way, though, as Apple is known to throw us curveballs often. While most of us here have iPhones or iPod Touches, and would welcome the apps store, we just hope it’s ready for prime time, as well as the new iPhone. We don’t want anything to ruin iPhone 2 month. → Read More
Todays Top Posts: Contest: We’re giving away three ‘GearJuice Mobile Pocket Power’ rechargeable battery packs Google: Android for sure in 4th quarter of 2008 Intel’s PAN technology: Bluetooth’s worst nightmare? HTC Diamond: So fancy! MSI Wind now officially official Apple should hire this guy, but not as a cameraman CrunchArcade: Red-colored PS2 debuts in Japan next month Microsoft makes its push into netbook territory official ‘Guitar Hero: Metallica’ coming next year? ASUS releases details about the new Eee models → Read More
Straight from the “Time to Leave Mom’s Basement” files comes the story of the shrinking boobs of Age of Conan. Funcom, developer of the popular new game, released a minor patch for the it recently. While the patch did some fairly mundane maintenance on the game, it had one unintended side effect: the breasts of some female characters shrank noticeably. This, of course, generated much fan outcry, as how can you have realistic medieval battle sim without large-breasted warrior women? Funcom has promised a new version of the patch will be out soon, and that in the meantime gamer take their characters shopping for new upper armor and relax their backs while they can. → Read More
Look, I’m not trying to be some anti-Windows Apple fanboi. I’m not saying that a Mac is for everybody; I think everyone should give them a try and then think critically about switching. But when it comes down to choosing between upgrading your small business to Vista or switching to OSX, it’s kind of a no-brainer. That’s why I take umbrage with this story from CNN’s Money. In it, the writer compares the pros and cons of switching, but ultimately has a few gripes about using a Mac in an office environment. The grips, from a qualified writer, include such offenses as the packaging being too nice, inability to find the power button, and the whiz-band interface in Time Machine. The writer had problem with Apple’s Spaces as well. Sure, it might be a little confusing, but they’re not for everyone, and can be turned off. And he was upset that a specific app that his office uses for VPN didn’t work well on a Mac. Sure, these could be legitimate gripes, but the author doesn’t contrast and compare these with PCs, like the fact that some Vaio notebooks have two power buttons that must be pressed in order, that there are alternate apps for pretty much any Windows app, and that Vista is a gas-bag of a memory and resources hog. Again, I’m not making the case for Apple, but if there are reasons to avoid switching your office over, not being familiar with the power button isn’t one. → Read More
RivalMap, the collaboration tool designed to help businesses keep tabs on their competitors, has introduced News Feed updates. Through a partnership with Newsgator, the site will monitor RSS feeds around the web for mentions of specific company names and keywords. Companies can choose to either monitor specific news feeds, or they can have NewsGator report a keyword’s mention on any blog. While the site supports tagging to help weed out noise, all tags must be manually assigned to feeds (RivalMap plans to integrate automatic tagging in the future). The news updates will be a welcome addition to the site, but they aren’t exactly unique. Similar “Tweetscan for RSS” functionality can be found on Google Alerts, but the integration alongside RivalMap’s other collaboration tools should make them more effective. As part of the site upgrade RivalMap is also slightly changing its interface to facilitate the sharing of information that isn’t necessarily directly related to competitors – it wants to be a source of market intelligence, not just competitor intelligence. Users will notice a number of subtle changes around the site, including improved tagging and social bookmarking features. LinkedIn also offers a newsfeed of competitor information, though it obviously doesn’t have the same collaboration tools. CrunchBase Information RivalMap Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
We’re not really sure why we’d want this, and we’re definitely not sure it’s technology we can see a use for, but some smartypants are working on a way to embed movable text within digital paper in a disposal medium. That means text messages on a coke can. It doesn’t seem practical to us, but then neither did Bluetooth headsets, so who are we to judge? There’s no real hard tech here, though, it’s just an announcement that the idea is being worked on. Sure, sort of like my rocketboots, teleportation ring and coupon-code sharing website. → Read More
Dallas must be really proud, for some 697 cosplayers descended on the city at the weekend in a valiant and noble attempt to break the Guinness World Record of “Largest Gathering of Game Characters.” Men and women young and old paraded around the streets in Mario costumes, Link costumes, Chun-Li costumes and so on. You know, it’s really easy—really easy—to tease these people, but I’d rather defend them. They’re not hurting anyone, not bothering anyone, keeping to themselves. They’re only crime, I suppose, is dressing a little silly. And what harm is there in that? → Read More
Update 6/4/08: The deal has been announced, as reported below. We’ve got confirmation that CBS is going to announce an important partnership with Yahoo tomorrow morning. While we don’t yet know exactly what it will entail, we are confident that Yahoo will be joining the CBS Audience Network, which distributes CBS content to destinations such as YouTube, AOL, MSN, Joost, Veoh, Fancast, Bebo, and TVGuide. See a longer list of partners here. The CBS Audience Network launched in August 2007 and streams 70,000+ videos to over 300 partners. More than 190 million streams have been delivered since launch, the most popular of which are highlighted on the network’s own destination site. Videos are generally delivered with pre-roll advertisements, and revenue is split between CBS and the partner websites. In addition to syndicating to other sites (but, notably, not Hulu), CBS offers video content through its main site and iTunes. The company recently began testing high definition streaming as well. Yahoo TV already provides content from NBC and FOX (via Hulu), making the addition of CBS a trio of sorts. We hear CBS will cite the inclusion of Yahoo in its network as providing it with an unprecedented 92% US online reach. It also appears that CBS’s collection will be the single largest content contribution to Yahoo TV. While YouTube joined the CBS Audience Network quite a long time ago, it only offers short clips without any pre-roll advertising. Therefore, it lacks the full-length content found elsewhere in the network, and presumably starting on Yahoo tomorrow. With all the activity on the web surrounding the monetization of full-length content, and the recent departure of its head of monetization, one wonders whether YouTube should start taking long format, professional content more seriously. Or start to lose some of its luster to competitors like Yahoo. CrunchBase Information CBS Audience Network Yahoo! Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Admit it: at some point, you’ve lost your cellphone. That’s why we don’t see any reason to spend $134,000 on a new one, even if it is gold-plated and encrusted with more diamonds that Liberace’s Cadillac. That’s what designer Peter Aloisson is pitching to the ultra-upper class. Based on a luxury Nokia handset, the small slider is completely covered in white diamonds, except the screen and keypad, meaning it would double nicely as emergency brass knuckles. Why would you want a phone worth $134,000 dollars? Because one worth $135,000 would be ostentatious. → Read More
Well, that’s a misleading title. They have a game of Monopoly, I should say. You can now download an iPod version of the world’s most beloved capitalism simulator. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it when you don’t have the physical money, houses and so on. You also don’t get to choose what “Free Parking” does if it’s hard-coded into the game. No house rules? Bogus! [via PC World] → Read More
We’re not sure exactly how the math on this works, but according to an Australian consumer group, called Choice, the Playstation 3 consumes more electricity than a medium-sized fridge. Not just a little more, but five times more, and that’s just plugged in with no gameplay. Plasma TVs are also hardcore energy vampires, sucking down four times more energy than standard TVs. Not all electronics are this bad, with the Wii by Nintendo taking up less than 10% of that which the PS3 uses. Oddly, LCD monitors are better than CRT monitors for your computer, especially if they have a standby mode. The moral is to look for that Energy Star logo, it could end up saving you money and being better for your karma, man. → Read More
Luckily, my electric bill is covered by the building (I pay for gas), but those of you who have to pay your own way, take heed of this advice: turn off your video game console, and make sure they’re not in standby mode. A recent study shows that a PS3 plugged in and on standby pulls five times as much electricity as a refrigerator similarly plugged in. Other electronic devices, like plasma TVs and laptops, use a decent amount of electricity while plugged in, even if not in use. Moral of the story? Unplug all your electronics if you don’t want to spend any more of your money on utilities. → Read More
Word around the blogosphere is that Sony’s PS3 version of Second Life, known as Home, was promised to launch in 2008, and it looks like that may be the case, though it might only be in beta. It’ll be an open beta, meaning anyone with a PS3 and an Internet connection can log on and try it out, though it should be pointed out that they might crash your system or reset your characters at any time. The question remains: will anyone play it? There are many PS3s around the country, but are PS3 players the same type of gamers who’d spend time in a virtual world like Home? We’re not sure, but we doubt it While Sony’s said there will be tie ins with certain PS3 titles, we still think this is going to be a very nice party that nobody will go to. → Read More
The baby boomer generation is old and they need as much help as possible. My own mother is constantly asking me for a cell phone with bigger numbers and a bigger screen. “But it has to look pretty”, she says. She doesn’t necessarily need the FotoDialer, yet, but my grandparents could probably benefit from it now. It’s a pretty ingenious device and I can’t recall whether or not anything like this has been launched in recent years. Up to 24 phone numbers can be stored over six pages with four photos (2×3) each. The user only needs to identify who they’re trying to reach among the 24 photos and push the corresponding button next to it. It’s only $50! → Read More
