This is really neither here nor there, but it’s got a sort of ring of truth to it. It seems that the frequency of shark attacks on popular vacation spots decreases before and during economic collapse. I’m thinking that maybe it’d be just as effective to analyze air travel records or hotels, but this is much more fun and macabre. → Read More
It’s surprising to me to hear of build quality issues on Razer products, because I’ve been using a Razer keyboard and mouse for a long time now and have had no problems at all. Still, it seems that some early-run Lycosa keyboards were poorly assembled and had trouble with their touchpads and backlighting. If you’re one of the unlucky few who were affected by this, hit up the link and hopefully they’ll set you right. → Read More
If you don’t mind jumping through some hoops (two, to be exact) then you, my friend, are in luck. PC Connection has a 22-inch monitor for $179.95 that’s eligible for a $30 mail in rebate and a $30 Visa card. Same diff, eh? Money in, money out. → Read More
With the proposed $2.5 billion merger between TicketMaster and Live Nation looming large, many venue owners and promoters are up in arms, deeming the deal anti-competitive and monopolistic (they may be right – the deal is being examined for possible anti-trust violations). Now ShowClix, a TicketMaster competitor that launched in early 2007, is launching the Fair Ticketing Fund, setting aside up to $5 million to entice venues and promoters away from the pending Live Nation Entertainment goliath. Other ticket vendors are also beginning to offer similar deals, including TicketBiscuit, which launched a $10 million fund last week.
For those who aren’t familiar with the ticketing business, here’s a bit of a primer. TicketMaster has long been contracting venues into exclusive deals, promising some portion of the service fees (also known as convenience or venue fees) the site racks up as an incentive for them to sign on. TicketMaster has become notorious for gouging customers with these fees, and many fear that with the Live Nation deal they’ll only continue to rise higher. → Read More
The long-running Psystar dispute may be settling down as the controversial PC-maker runs out of steam, but don’t think that’s the end of… the Clone Wars. (sorry)
German PC company HyperMegaNet UG has started selling its own line of cloned Apples. But good heavens, you say, aren’t they scared of Apple? Won’t they see the smoking ruins of Psystar and fear the same fate may be in store for them? Ah yes, but you forget: they’re German. → Read More
Finishing Halo Wars must have been bittersweet for Ensemble Studios. On one hand, they’ve created a fine addition to the Halo franchise, but on the other hand, it was their final project and they had the pressure of turning a shooter into an RTS for a console. It could have ended up brilliant or absolutely horrendous. But you need only look at their pedigree and know that the franchise was in good hands.
What started out as an indie developer over a decade ago, eventually manifested itself into a juggernaut within Microsoft, but was ultimately disbanded upon completion of this Halo project. They were the ones behind Age of Empires and the studio that built the Genie Game Engine, which was used in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. So the question on everyone’s mind has been whether or not Ensemble could turn a console shooter into an RTS. And the answer is unequivocally, yes. And I don’t even like RTS games. → Read More
Look at the terror in Woz’s partner’s eyes. I mean, I know he’s an awkward guy but he’s in rare form here. His plea for Mac users to vote for him are pretty hilarious. Hit the jump for the short clip. → Read More
In case you missed it, Woz is scheduled to appear on Dancing With the Stars. And while I want to mock him, you have to admire the fact that he’s got a pretty girl on his arm and looks like he’s having fun. I wonder if they’ll perform a number on Segways. → Read More
I kind of hope this is some sort of sick, twisted joke but apparently a 14-year-old boy in China was recently killed when the pneumatic gas cylinder – the thing that controls the vertical height adjustment — in his chair exploded, sending fragments of the chair into his rectum. → Read More
Back in the 50′s, safety features in automobiles were not exactly what you’d call a priority. People were flush with post-war money, and the car manufactures were selling vehicles as fast as they could turn them out, sometimes with fatal results.
Keep in mind that cars during that era frequently did not have any of the safety features that we have today. In fact, they usually didn’t even have seatbelts, or safety glass. A high speed collision was frequently fatal, as the people in the car were frequently thrown through the windshield, or impaled on the steering column. → Read More
Just when you thought you could escape, the Mac Plus is ready to pull you back in. Mini vMac is a crazy emulator for jailbroken iPhones that lets you run the Mac Plus OS on your iPhone. This is not an official appstore product so you’ll have to jailbreak your iPhone and add namedfork.net to your Cydia repository list. It will appear under Emulation. → Read More
UK tabloid The Sun has an article claiming that someone found Atlantis using Google Earth. As someone who’s personally interested in ancient mysteries, paranormal phenomena, and cryptozoology, I’m really happy that a tabloid has this story because it totally gives credence to the idea that Atlantis does, indeed, exist and should definitely silence all the naysayers. → Read More
Marketo, an SaaS company focused on providing marketing automation software for B2B companies, has launched a bigger, better version of its sales and marketing optimization application. The software allows web-based marketing and sales teams collaborate on a single revenue cycle, turning web visitors and sales leads into customers using tools like email marketing, lead nurturing, lead scoring, sales lead insight. The software is up and running for the client within an hour, saving clients time and money. What’s fascinating is that Marketo has partnered with Salesforce.com to provide seamless integration in the cloud of the two systems, helping enterprises work efficiently and easily between two cloud-based applications. With over 140 customers and $1 million in revenue in less than a year in operation, including Thomson Reuters and Demandbase, Marketo is gaining traction in the web-based marketing cloud. Marketo closed a Series B round last summer from Storm Ventures and Tae Hea Nahm, bringing total investment to $13.5 million. Marketo was founded by executives from Epiphany, a marketing automation firm that sold to SSA Global for $300 million. Marketo’s upgraded software includes over 200 new features (all customer requested) including improved Salesforce.com integration, real time alerts and advanced data quality. CEO Phil Fernandez think Marketo’s technology is “disruptive” in the web-based marketing spaces; calling the software “the first sophisticated marketing application in the cloud.” Fernandez said Marketo is trying to “help companies spread their brands across the web” efficiently and consistently. While Marketo has competitors, like vTrenz, Ferndandez said that no other similar company has seen such rapid growth in a small amount of time. Fernadez also said that Marketo is looking to expand its cloud integration partnerships later this year. It looks like cloud computing has spread to the marketing space. <img src=http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/marketo.png CrunchBase Information Marketo Salesforce Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Popjam is a new ‘social humour’ site which has launched using the Twitter ‘friend/follow’ model of social networking. In fact – but for the images of LOLcats and videos – it is so similar to Twitter in appearance and operation that it could be mistaken for a pure Twitter clone. But what we have here is a kind of Twitter-meets-Digg-meets-b3ta. And the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. The key is that it is aiming to be universal in appeal and not niche or focussed around one demographic, which sites like College Humour and eBaumsworld effectively are. The thing is, you might hit YouTube or get an email from a friend about a niche-humour site like Icanhascheezburger. But how often do you really think to visit? Usually when some viral is being passed around. It’s PopJam’s aim to effectively ‘sit above’ all of these sources and provide an easy way for people to share and enjoy the best of the web’s funny content through one centralised channel. In aiming to be sit above all these funny links, PopJam aims to ape YouTube’s platform for video model, with ‘a platform for funny’, if that’s conceivable. PopJam users can post images, videos and links to their profile. Registration is not required to view the content. Is this “rich-media micro-blogging”? Perhaps let’s not get into that thorny issue… It’s not a huge suprise that they are using the Twitter mechanic. Registered users ‘follow’ other people and are themselves ‘followed’. Already Twitter is growing like a weed because of this opt-out model, as opposed to Facebook’s opt-in. Since the people you follow are generally the best arbiters of the humour that will appeal to you, Popjam has hit on a good model. Meanwhile, expect many more site to start copying Twitter’s follow model… Popjam users can comment; click the ‘LOL’ button (akin to Digging or ‘Liking’ stuff on FriendFeed); and ‘re-post’ content. It would seem the re-tweeting concept is here to stay. The most re-posted and LOL’d stuff will get put into the PopJam ‘Funny Stuff’ section of the site. Every piece of funny content on PopJam has a permalink page and related content, so virality is in-built. Since users earn points for posting funny stuff, the site also has a gaming element to it, along the lines of the Karate belt system, ending in ‘PopJam Ninja’ status. There is → Read More
I’m not sure if this was moved up in response to leaked copiess of U2′s newest album, No Line On The Horizon spreading across the Internet, but the entire the album will be streamed for free at MySpace Music. The player in U2′s MySpace Music page featires a single, but if you click on the top album in the sidebar, you can hear the entire thing. MySpace says that the entire album will be streamed from February 20 to March 3, with links to pre-order it.
This is akin to Radiohead offering a free download of their album In Rainbows for a limited time, except without the download. It is good marketing, at it helps the band try to keep control over distribution. Although, that Bittorrent cat is already out of the bag. (The unreleased album leaked out and has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times by fans who just can’t wait for U2′s perfectly planned release schedule. → Read More
There are lasers and then there are lasers. The Spyder II GX is a crazy 200-300mW green laser that can burn through paper, balloons, and skin and generally blind you if you’re not careful. How much does all this fun cost? $1,699 including a pair of absolutely essential shades that will keep you from blinding yourself. → Read More
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