There is a heated competition taking place for which Twitter/Facebook desktop client is the fairest of them all. We’ve written about about TweetDeck, Twhirl / Seesmic Desktop, AlertThingy, Sobees, and the clients that focus only on Twitter (Tweetie, Nambu, Twitterific, etc.). Now, PeopleBrowsr, is entering beta with a free Adobe AIR-powered desktop app that integrates Twitter, Facebook and other social networks into one platform.
While in alpha, PeopleBrowsr was able to differentiate itself because it was a web browser based dashboard for social networks, sort of like what Streamy is now. Similar to Tweetdeck and Seesmic Desktop, PeopleBrowsr uses stacks. To add content, you add different stacks for each social network, including Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, and your RSS feeds. Similar to all the Twitter clients mentioned above, Peoplebrowsr lets you do all the normal twitter activities (read, post, follow/unfollow, DM and reply). And you can update your Facebook status and engage in FriendFeed conversations from the dashboard. → Read More
I’m writing this up because of how delightfully ham-handed it is, which suggests their tactic worked. Basically, some “gadget matchmaker” service called Retrevo ran a study asking newlyweds what gadgets they wanted as wedding gifts. 38% wanted a camcorder, 24% wanted a digitial camera, and 2% wanted an MP3 player. I suspect thats because anyone at marriageable age right now – including those weird states where you can marry your cousin at 16 (looking at you, Delaware!) – already has an MP3 player.
Note there is no sample size mentioned so they probably asked their immediate family, making the entire process slightly statistically unsavory. → Read More
You guys down with Wii Fit or what? Loose talk around the internet seems to indicate that we’ll all be hearing about something called Wii Fit Plus at E3 next week. → Read More
We’re here at Google I/O, the search giant’s annual developer event in San Francisco. The first day’s keynote address is happening right now, and we’re covering it live.
The theme of today is pretty clear: The time for development on the web has arrived. With HTML 5, the ability to create rich browser-based applications is here. Google’s Vic Gundotra has laid out the five key things for HTML 5 that will change things: Canvas, Video, Geolocation, Database and App Cache, and Web Workers. More details on all of those in my live notes below. → Read More
Have you ever been annoyed by the fact that Wikipedia has a wealth of textual information but no videos and hardly any pictures? Take the Wikipedia article for Sony’s Rolly, for example, where the device is depicted as “an egg-shaped digital robotic music player.” If you have never seen a Rolly before, this cryptic description won’t help much. After reading about it in Wikipedia, you’ll then need to look it up on YouTube or Google Image Search to see what it actually looks like.
This is where a new service called Navify comes in. Launched in public beta today, Navify intends to enrich Wikipedia by adding pictures, videos and user comments to each article. And it actually works pretty well. Look up “Sony Rolly” using Navify and you not only get the original Wikipedia text but also hundreds of related pictures and videos (pulled in from Flickr and YouTube) by clicking on the tabs Navify puts on top of each article. Look up “Pulp Fiction” and the service retrieves the Wikipedia article itself plus screenshots, covers, posters and trailers from the movie. You get the picture. → Read More
The Xbox 360 version of Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition can be had for $46.98 at Amazon (today only). That’s down from the regular price of $77.99. → Read More
Weebly, a popular WYSIWYG webpage maker, is launching a new feature today that will allow users to quickly make fully customized web stores using the Weebly interface they’re already familiar with.
Using the new feature is simple. Weebly has added a handful of new ‘revenue’ elements to its main menubar, which allows you to drag-and-drop items onto your page. Simply drag one of the four available ‘Product’ elements onto your page, and you’ll be presented with a small box where you can describe your product, add a photo, and set a price (you can easily create a new item in less than a minute). After creating a product once, you can add it to your other pages without having to recreate it.
The store supports both PayPal and Google Checkout accounts, and allows users to add items to a virtual shopping cart as they browse (you don’t have to buy one item at a time). → Read More
Just in time for graduation shopping, the $999 white 13-inch MacBook is now a bit more powerful. This is the second time that Apple has updated the least expensive Mac notebook. This round of updates isn’t as impressive, but we’ll take anything we can get. → Read More
Editor’s note: The following guest post was written by Nova Spivack, CEO of of Radar Networks, the company behind Twine
A new paradigm for using the Internet is about to begin: Virtual Assistants (VA’s) are coming to a mobile device near you.
This week, a stealth startup will demonstrate the first public version of their mobile virtual assistant, Siri. This may mark the beginning of the era of consumer-grade virtual assistants on the Web.
Siri is focused on mobile devices – particularly the iPhone and other smart phones, it has an unusually productive interface and user experience, and it is super useful – it is something I would really use every day. As a result I would not be surprised if Siri becomes one of the top iPhone applications within a few months after their launch. (Disclosure: In the past, I worked on the DARPA-funded CALO project from which Siri sprung).
The team at Siri has given me a sneak-preview of their technology and product, and here I will dive deep to try to uncover the real significance and technical underpinnings of what they are doing. In addition, I’ll delve into the implications of the virtual assistant (VA) trend and what it might mean for us in the future. → Read More
Humanoid robots are being developed all over the world (but especially in Japan) with many purposes in mind, with assistance to the sick and elderly as two of the most important areas. The problem is that sick and elderly people are usually confronted with robots having a cold, emotionless aura. And this is where a new robot called KOBIAN comes in. → Read More
Semantic ad technology provider Peer39 is announcing the closing of its Series C round to the tune of $10.5M, pushing the total amount of funding raised to over $22M. The round was led by Israeli VC Evergreen Venture Partners and was joined by the company’s existing investors Canaan Partners, Dawntreader Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, and JP Morgan.
Since taking an in-depth look at Peer39 nearly a year ago, the company has shifted its focus from developing its own ad network to leveraging its semantic ad platform to transform publishers’ remnant ad inventory into a premium one. → Read More
LG has launched an amusing (and for some, useful) application that enables you to translate over 2000 words teens tend to use when they’re sending text messages to regular English, and the other way around. The tool is called DTXTR and the aim is to let is keep you in the know of what these kids are txting bout these days, xactli.
Frankly, there are a lot of basic words that can’t be converted to ‘teen text’ with the tool yet, but you can always submit a term for inclusion in the glossary. And if you want to test your own mad txt skills, you can do a little quiz on the site to see if you’re up with the times or not. → Read More
Good Technology has acquired Intercasting, a mobile social networking connectivity company based out of San Diego, CA, for an undisclosed sum. Good, which markets a number of mobility solutions primarily geared towards businesses, is looking to broaden its customer base beyond smartphone users and picks up Intercasting to expand its product line aimed at end consumers.
Intercasting Corporation is mostly known for its ANTHEM technology platform, which spans an entire communication ecosystem comprised of social networks, email services, IM providers, content owners, application developers, wireless carriers and device manufacturers. → Read More
For geeks who a) happen to believe in Buddha and b) are able of reading Chinese, this must be excellent news: Buddhists can now actually buy a Buddha cell phone in China. The device is not a joke product, but it actually works and makes kind of sense (if you are a Buddhist). → Read More
Here’s a fun tool to keep you busy while procrastinating: MusicShake, a VC-funded TechCrunch40 alumni, has lauched a free widget you can use to create, mix and share songs using a simple, intuitive interface.
If all goes well you should be able to see the widget in action below. It’s composed of a number of blocks that indicate what type of sound bite (instruments, vocals, etc.) you can expect when you hit the ‘play’ button, and a simple timeline-based overview of the song with all its elements. → Read More
The TechCrunch Europe Roundtable event in Stockholm today (live video streamed below and on @TCEurope on Twitter, official hashtag is #tcen) will feature an afternoon of panel discussions and presentations followed by startup pitches and a great networking reception. TechCrunchTalk Nordic will be exploring the Nordic and Baltic tech scene which produced amazing companies like Skype, Habbo Hotel and, more recently, Spotify (not to mention the likes of Ericsson, Nokia and many other huge tech companies). Check out our full schedule and speakers here. We’ll be covering several topics such as the interchange between Nordic and Baltic startups, VC investment in the region, and the next wave of innovations that will come from this area.
TechCrunchTalk Nordic is sponsored by Bloglovin and Sunstone Capital. Our event partners include: ArcticStartup, Swedish Startups, The Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship and Scandinavian Web Developer Conference 2009 . Our streaming video partner is Bambuser.
See after the jump for our live streaming video, which will appear shortly (from 6am San Francisco time, 9am New York, 3pm Stockholm and 2pm London): → Read More
We’ve always had a thing for HP’s Minis — from their understated and practical design to the simple Mi OS, they’ve always been among our favorite tiny laptops. This latest iteration ups the specs just a tiny bit; you can choose a 1.66GHz Atom N280 instead of the 1.6GHz N270, and they’re promising full HD support if you opt for the nicer LED-backlit screen and the upcoming video accelerator. Form factor appears to be more or less unchanged, but that’s a good thing.
As with before, you can get an XP edition with less RAM and less storage for $330, or you can go for the $280 Mi version, which has more of both. I’ve never understood that pricing strategy. There’s also a shiny black business version, but its merits (apart from being black) are not well-explained. → Read More
Last month Time Warner announced that it would likely spin off its AOL assets into a new company, followed by an IPO (10Q SEC filing is here). Little detail was given about the transaction, other than the fact that Google’s 5% stake in AOL would be repurchased. But exactly when the transaction would occur, and what assets it would include, were left unstated. New CEO Tim Armstrong will lead the independent company.
Sources close to AOL tell us that the board of directors will make a final decision on the AOL spinoff at a board meeting this Thursday, May 28, possibly undoing the $147 billion 2001 merger of the two companies. Sources characterize the decision as “a done deal.”
The big question is whether AOL’s dial up access business will remain with AOL. Last year Time Warner was in discussions to sell it to Earthlink. The dial up business continues to decay – at one time AOL had 26.7 million dial up subscribers, but it has fallen to just 6.9 million today. Still, it’s a nearly $2 billion business that brings in, sources say, around $1 billion in free cash to AOL. At current decay rates the business will peter out in another couple of years, but for now it’s an important way for AOL to finance growth (more on that in a post later today). Our sources say the dialup business will become part of the new AOL entity.
Total AOL revenues in 2008 were $4.2 billion, a 20% drop from 2007. AOL had $867 million in revenue and $150 million in operating income for the first quarter of 2009. → Read More
