Della, the ill-conceived Dell-for-ladies site, is no more. The mind-bendingly idiotic endeavor was probably well-meaning, but mostly in the condescending and abusive way that wife-beaters say they’re “well-meaning.” After only ten days of existence, it’s now a slightly more generalized “lifestyles” section with only a passing resemblance to the gloriously sexist, jaw-dropping disaster that was Della. → Read More
Although engineers continually devise new ways to conquer obstacles previously thought insurmountable, in the case of solid state storage, we may actually be approaching a point where the current theory just doesn’t work.
The size of cells in memory arrays is getting so small that each one now holds just 100 electrons. That means that an array based on current theory can only get 100 times bigger before it hits its absolute maximum — one electron per cell — and even that is ridiculous. → Read More
With all the blockbuster hits coming this year, I’m most excited for Shane Acker’s 9. I haven’t even seen this trailer, but I know it’s going to kick so much ass. If you’re unfamiliar with 9 then check out the original trailer here and then check out the two-minute clip here. → Read More
A couple of months ago Erick Schonfeld wrote a post titled “Did Last.fm Just Hand Over User Listening Data To the RIAA?” based on a source that has proved to be very reliable in the past. All hell broke loose shortly thereafter.
Before posting Erick reached out to the RIAA, Last.fm and parent company CBS for comments. The only response was from CBS – “To our knowledge, no data has been made available to RIAA.” The CBS spokesperson, Katie Gunion, subsequently emailed us to say “would you please attribute the statement to Last.fm, it is currently reading as though CBS issued the statement” Gunion’s email lists her title as Public Relations, CBS Interactive, and her first statement did not name Last.fm (this is important, see below). A subsequent statement by Shannon Jacobs, VP of Communications at CBS: “this is a last.fm issue, as far as I am concerned. It is not a corporate issue. This is a last.fm issue, not a corporate issue. The posting represents last.fm’s response.”
After the story broke all concerned parties had no problem commenting publicly.
Last.fm cofounder Richard Jones said “I’m rather pissed off this article was published, except to say that this is utter nonsense and totally untrue.” He followed up with a blog post “Techcrunch are full of shit, “I denied it vehemently on the Techcrunch article, as did several other Last.fm staffers. We denied it in the Last.fm forums, on twitter, via email – basically we denied it to anyone that would listen, and now we’re denying it on our blog.” One blog called us a “tabloid masquerading as a legitimate news outlet.” Lots of others piled on.
Apart from updating the original post we’ve been quiet on this story. The person who first leaked the news was terminated from CBS for the leak, says our original source, and threatened with legal action. He understandably went very quiet. But the outrageously shrill denials by Last.fm just didn’t ring true. Once you got past the personal attacks, the denial language itself was too carefully worded.
Now we’ve located another source for the story, someone who’s very close to Last.fm. And it turns out Last.fm was telling the truth, sorta, when they said Erick’s story wasn’t correct.
Last.fm didn’t hand user data over to the RIAA. According to our source, it was their parent company, CBS, that did it. That corresponds to what our original source said in conversations we had after our initial post and before CBS lawyers became involved. But we didn’t want to update until we had an independent source for that information, too. → Read More
If you’ve got an iPhone, there’s a good chance you’ve got Tapulous’s Tap Tap Revenge installed – the game is ranked as the iPhone’s most popular game of all time. Tonight the latest update to the game lands, adding a handful of new features including themes, “battles”, and a new song import feature. The features are part of the latest update of Tap Tap Revenge 2, which you can download for free here (if you already have the app you can just update it).
One of the most notable additions to the game is the introduction of themes. While the premium versions of TTR have featured a variety of color palettes and effects, the main version of the game has maintained the same color scheme for every song. Now Tapulous will be able to embed new themes with each new song that is downloaded, and songs that are imported from the premium games will retain their themes as well. → Read More
There hasn’t been too much buzz lately about that Netflix programming contest. You remember the one: Netflix ponied up $10M US dollars to any team that could improve their movie recommendation system by 10%. When I was a Netflix user I was never really dissatisfied by the recommendation system, so it’s hard for me to imagine how they’d gauge that it was 10% better than it was before. Nonetheless, lots of very smart people took the challenge, and an awful lot of progress has been made. → Read More
A few days ago, we reported that Facebook turned down an investment term sheet that placed their value at $8 billion. But it was apparently the board seat the investors wanted and not the valuation that was the hold up. Now that valuation number has jumped to $10 billion thanks to an offer from some new investors, sources tell The Wall Street Journal.
Specifically, Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian tech investment company wants to invest $200 million in the social network, according to the report. That would place its preferred stock value at $10 billion. The company would also buy between $100 million and $150 million in common stock at a $6.5 billion valuation. It’s not clear if Facebook has responded in any way. → Read More
Venture Capitalist (Union Square Ventures) and blogger Fred Wilson gave a talk a few days ago at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View. The key point of his talk was about disruption — what companies are doing out there to change the technology space. Nothing Earth-shatteringly new, but interesting insights from a smart guy.
The talk includes his six words to live by on the Internet: Global, social, open, mobile, playful, intelligent — and a bonus seventh one: instantaneous. As an investor in Twitter, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Wilson included this last one.
Google has just posted the video of the talk on YouTube, find it below. → Read More
NileGuide, one-stop travel planning site, has launched an iPhone app for its travel guide and planning portal. The startup, which lets you create a customized trip itinerary, will now let users view the customized guides they create on Nile’s site on their iPhones.
Users can browse all the descriptions and map locations of events, restaurants, hotels, bars and landmarks that are scheduled in their trips and see their day by day itinerary. The app also lets any user, regardless of whether they have made a NileGuide itinerary, see suggested trip itineraries near their current location for any of Nile’s destinations around the world. The guides are displayed in order of user rating and are also classified by type of trip, such as first-time, kid-friendly, off the beaten path, etc. → Read More
Last year we called on Google to let users have the option of making Google Analytics data public. Today they’ve done that, in a fashion. They aren’t aggregating the data into a public site (although adding it to Google Trends over time would make sense). But they are allowing websites to access the data via an API and publish it to the web or in applications.
What’s another phrase for, “meh, who cares?” That’s what I’m thinking when I read that the MPAA tried to argue in court that making a personal copy of a DVD is illegal under the DMCA. Is it shocking to people that the MPAA would argue in favor of its own interests, possibly at the expense of the your ability to make rip a DVD? No. No it’s not. → Read More
There’s nothing to suggest this is the true and final Windows 7 logo, or even that the OS will have such a logo. But it is an official Microsoft graphic, and it’s going in a different direction from the rest of the bannery, rounded logos they’ve been pushing the last few years with XP and Vista. I’m actually not convinced it’s for real; the extreme lens flare on it suggests to me that it may actually be the logo for Voltron 7. → Read More
UPDATE: This event has now been canceled, but please keep in contact with the Mobile 2.0 organisers for alternative arrangements. The Mobile 2.0 Europe conference is coming up in June and it’s shaping up to be pretty cool. Experts and thought leaders from all aspects of the mobile ecosystem will be descending on Barcelona, and TechCrunch will be descending on it too in the shape of myself and Robin Wauters. Having been last year I can attest that this event is one of the few to really bring together some of the coolest mobile startups in Europe. The Mobile 2.0 Europe conference will be on Friday, June 19, 2009 at the Espacio Esade Forum, with the Mobile 2.0 Europe Developer Day the day before. There is also a Startup Demo Launch pad. So it’s our pleasure to also be hosting the official TechCrunch Mobile 2.0 party after the event on Friday and after the speaker’s dinner. We are pre-releasing the first 100 tickets here (there is a small ticket fee to prevent no-shows). We are also looking for sponsors of the party, who will obviously be branded at the event and in posts about it. Please email our events organiser petra(at)twistedtree.co.uk. → Read More
LEDs are definitely the future of flashlights. Personally, I love the fact that they are super bright, durable, and depending on the flashlight, capable of temporarily blinding someone who is attacking you. I definitely like this new Energizer Hardcase Tactical light, it’s built to last and has some extremely cool features. → Read More
Did you know that not all IMAX screens are the same size? I had no idea. It seems that in order to expand its market, the company has installed smaller screens in some theaters. Actor/comedian Aziz Ansari (Observe and Report) didn’t like that his local theater has what’s now dubbed LIEMAX by some.
Wired talked to the CEO of IMAX and found that it’s true, not all IMAX screens are the same size. Traditionally, an IMAX screen was around 72-feet, but the company compromised in order to install more systems in more markets. According to the CEO though, it’s not just the screen that makes an IMAX special. → Read More
Need a cheapish, smallish 1080p TV? Newegg just put this one, the Sceptre X32BV, for sale at $449. The TV usually goes for $999, so you’re saving quite a bit of money. → Read More
Sometimes there are many ways to get from point A to point B, whether you are walking or driving. Until now, Google Maps’ directions feature has given you the route they consider the best and allows you to drag and drop the route to change your path. Today, Google Maps is adding functionality that suggests additional routes so that you can see all of them on the map for comparison.
Under a “Suggested Routes” heading, you will now be able to access other routes to the same destination. This is a feature that GPS systems in car, like a Garmin device, have been offering for quite some time so it makes sense that Google would want to catch up. Google says that they choose alternative routes bases on many factors, including distance, travel time, and number of turns. Google Maps boils this data down to what is the lowest “cost” and ranks the routes based upon the “cost.” → Read More
Let’s not jump the gun, but a survey released by TNS Interactive hints that Sony might be considering a subscription-based game download rental service. Proposed pricing for a month would be $20 with a yearly subscription of $50 or $13 for a week. It’s just a survey and basically means nothing at this point, but would you be down for renting PSP games? → Read More
Celebrities get impersonated on the web. They’re famous — everyone is anonymous — it happens. Most celebrities just ignore it; but some get pissed off. Kanye West got mad as hell about Twitter users pretending to be him last week. This week it’s Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler who is up in arms — to the point of actually taking anonymous bloggers to court.
Tyler attempted to sue a group of bloggers that he says were impersonating him, sharing private facts, making false statements even using his likeness on the web, NBC Los Angeles reports. The only problem? The whole “anonymous” thing. Seeing as no one really knows who these bloggers are, they naturally didn’t bother showing up to court. Hell, I’m quite certain they didn’t even know they were supposed to be in court. So the judge dismissed the case. → Read More
First off, why didn’t anyone tell me about TimeTV? These guys have created a video blog about watches and the production quality is excellent. They just came back from Basel and I’ll try to share a few videos with you guys once I dig through their mess of video.
Second off, this is the Blu MT3 Majesty Tourbillon, a watch that uses an amazingly small and light Tourbillon movement to reduce the total weight of the watch to mere grams. The bugger doesn’t even really have a face, just a little hand that rides the Tourbillon wheel. Very cool. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
