Paris-based Semiocast, which helps brands understand and interact with real-time Web services, has performed a semantic and quantitative study of Twitter based on an analysis of 2.8 million tweets.
Turns out roughly half the tweets posted on the micro-sharing service are in English, down 25% from last year, even though the company is based in the U.S. and has more users and momentum in English-speaking countries than anywhere else on the planet. → Read More
Twones started life as a FriendFeed-type service that aggregated various music services into a single stream, which we dubbed a social music feed when we first caught wind of it.
Problem was, the startup says, since users generally couldn’t play the music on their site and were constantly being directed to third-party websites and apps for streaming, people never really got that FriendFeed experience that would compel them to come back.
The Dutch company figured they needed to do something else, and the result of their overhauled strategy will be going live in alpha mode this morning. The short version: it’s Delicious-type bookmarking meets StumbleUpon-type discovery for online music. → Read More
Citrix Online has announced the acquisition of Paglo Labs. The deal was completed in early 2010 and no financial terms have been disclosed. Paglo’s entire team has joined Citrix Online; Paglo CEO Brian de Haaff is now senior product director, IT Services for Citrix Online. The deal was announced concurrently with the launch of GoToManage, a new Citrix Online Product based on Paglo’s software.
Citrix Online is a market leader in SaaS web-based technical solutions. Its GoToAssist software allows customers to interact directly with a clients computer, resolving issues remotely. Paglo Labs is a leader in IT Management SaaS. Customers are able to monitor, analyze and manage their devices, networks, server, logs and more. → Read More
Skullcandy headphones sound good, that’s pretty much a given. And while the styling is cool and everything, they seem a bit.. generic. Don’t worry though, you can get your awesome cans and be individual too. One crafty DIY person is selling customized Skullcandy SK-Pro headphones – but you better hurry, she/he is only making three pairs. → Read More
Allergic to Apple Stores, like me? Not to worry. Tim Cook, COO at Apple, has said (though there is no direct quote at the moment) that Apple will indeed be selling the iPad at places like Best Buy and other partners. This will likely follow a period of Apple Store-only availability, as the sales process is more fully fleshed out and the world becomes more familiar with the device.
This isn’t too much of a surprise; after all, they sell other Apple products at Best Buy. The iPad may be Apple’s baby now, but after a little time on the market it’ll be well-understood enough to have a big yellow tag under it. → Read More
These clever little German kids toys from Kaufladen cost about $400 and are pretty silly but I think the best part is when DaddyTypes writes:
Kids in the US get play kitchens. Kids in Germany get play sales kiosks. Which country has a childhood obesity problem and which one has already pulled out of the recession? That’s what I thought.
So we’ve got some official news from LG and some, shall we say, unofficial news. First, they’ve put out a nice-looking little CULV-based 11.6-inch ultralight laptop. You can get it with a Core2 Duo as well, but I’m thinking they offer CULV for a reason: battery life. At any rate, now you’ve got one more lappy to choose from. Specs below.
Also, someone accidentally hit the “share” button on a Google Docs spreadsheet, where a few interesting little tidbits were revealed. Actually, pretty predictable tidbits, but if you’re an HDTV fanatic, they’ll be nice to know. → Read More
In the future, when overpopulation has forced us all to live in 6×6-foot pods, flat pack furniture will be indispensable. You’ll wake up, collapse your bed, and pop open a chair and coffee table for your morning bowl of nutrient gel. The hidden Illuminati of the world are already planning for this and hoarding them, which explains why you can’t order anything from Ecolok’s site, a company which produces tasteful and practical flat-pack stuff. → Read More
Sharpcast’s SugarSync,, an application that synchronizes data across desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, and even televisions, is making it easier for users to backup their data via email. The startup is launching an “Upload by Email” feature that lets users store email attachments in their SugarSync account with the ease of sending an email.
The new feature allows a SugarSync user to sync any email attachment to a dedicated folder in their SugarSync account by simply forwarding it to a special email address. Instantly, the file(s) is available on all synced devices and accounts. For example, if a user receives an email with many attachments, they can simply forward it to their SugarSync email address (comprised of random numbers and letters for spam protection). All attachments will transfer to their SugarSync account.For added security, SugarSync will scan all file attachments for viruses prior to syncing, and certain file types are not accepted (e.g., .exe, .cmd, .bat) to prevent malicious files from landing in an account. → Read More
Here’s a great concept, take an electronic stethoscope, combine it with an iPod/iPhone, and what do you get? A diagnosis tool that’s portable, and (relatively) cheap. The expensive part is the iPhone and the stethoscope (it’s $279.99), the app is cheap at $69.99. → Read More
By “all” I mean one Vuzix Wrap310 and by “give” I mean “give away in a contest.” What is a Wrap 310? It’s a 16:9 widescreen set of high resolution glasses that you can connect right to your iPhone or iPod touch, allowing you to look totally like Geordi LaForge on the plane. How do you win? → Read More
If you live in Spain that is. University of Zaragoza researchers have been looking into using various forms of solid waste to generate electricity for the nation, up to as much as 7%. What is it lately with all this decaying matter being useful? → Read More
We’ve gotten word of another departure from MySpace in the wake of CEO Owen Van Natta’s firing two weeks ago. The latest to leave is Chris Bissell, MySpace’s Chief Software Architect, who has been with the company for over four years. Bissell was one of the few remaining members of MySpace’s old guard, which has gradually left (or been fired) from the company since the executive shakeup last spring that removed long-time CEO Chris DeWolfe.
Bissell was charged with maintaining MySpace’s backend architecture and ensuring that the site scaled to meet demand. MySpace has confirmed that he is leaving the company. The news comes on the heels of the departure of SVP of User Experience and Design Kate Geminder and stream architect Monica Keller, who both left within a week of Van Natta’s firing. → Read More
Sigma seems to be releasing cameras the way Google releases software: put out something that’s blatantly incomplete and then revise it until it’s competitive (or more than competitive) with the rest of the market. The DP1 is approaching its third revision, the DP2 its second, and the SD15 DSLR is just about to make its debut — and I’ll give you three guesses which is the most attractive to yours truly. If can’t get it, I’ll be very disappointed.
The three cameras share the same sensor and image processor, but the DP1 has a much faster and wider lens — it’d be my choice in a heartbeat. But the SD15 might be interesting once they’ve brought it up to speed. → Read More
For the past two days, Yahoo has been trying to get me to agree to an embargo on some piece of news they had for tonight. As you probably know, we hate embargoes, so I wasn’t about to accept it. Good thing. Not only did the news leak out almost 5 hours early, but actually, Yahoo itself was giving people hints on Twitter all day, and encouraging people to take guesses to break the embargo on Twitter. And yes, the news is a deal with Twitter.
So first, the news: Yahoo and Twitter have reached an agreement to share data between their properties. That’s great. Yahoo is only a few months behind Google and Microsoft (Bing) doing the same thing. And really, I’m not entirely sure why some kind of special deal was needed. For search, Bing is about to take over the data aspect for Yahoo, and that will very likely include the Twitter data. Meanwhile, Yahoo’s frontend elements and services already include Twitter integration, including Flickr. Plus, isn’t Facebook Connect handling all the social stuff for Yahoo soon anyway? → Read More
Mobile streaming video startup Qik has landed a significant distribution deal in the UK.
Vodafone UK customers will now be able to record and share videos from their mobile phone via Qik by texting ‘Qik’ to 97886 (free) to receive a link to the relevant app for their handset (standard data charges apply). Vodafone is the number two mobile network in the UK, behind O2 and ahead of Orange.
Once loaded, videos generated on Qik can be posted to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and users will be able to send video messages privately via SMS and email, or upload videos to blogging platforms like Wordpress, Tumblr and Blogger.
It remains to be seen how many customers will actually take up Qik however. However, live streaming video from a mobile has yet to take off here and it may well a deal like this to kick off mainstream take-up. → Read More
Is Spartoo beginning to look more and more like Zappos? The France-based company has just announced that they have acquired Sacby.com for €1 million – in order to further develop its online shoe retail business into the domain of handbags and feminine accessories.
With over 4 million monthly unique visitors, Spartoo has become one of the European leaders in online shoe retail. The site currently offers over 150 shoe brands and all purchases include free shipping and returns. → Read More
The European Union has opened an antitrust investigation into Google to look into claims made by three European-based Internet companies. Not surprisingly, this key part of the investigation is said to be about search, which is dominated by Google is most of the EU markets. The Telegraph and WSJ have more details.
It’s important to note that this probe is just a preliminary one, and nothing may come of it. But at least three companies have filed complaints against Google — and notably, one of them is owned by Microsoft. And another one is a member of a group that is partially funded by Microsoft.
This is, of course, quite interesting since Microsoft has famously been involved in antitrust investigations for over a decade now in Europe (and previously, of course, the U.S. too). In fact, this whole browser ballot thing is a result of the ongoing EU attempt to make sure Microsoft is playing fairly. → Read More
L3 Communications has been awarded a $165 million contract from the Transportation Security Administration for the indefinite delivery of an indefinite number of their ProVision millimeter wave security scanners. So, the TSA is sure that they’re going to get some of these, but they don’t know how many, or when. More than 200 ProVision scanners are currently deployed around the world, despite myriad privacy concerns. L3 had more than fifteen billion in sales in 2009, so this agreement doesn’t seem like that big a deal, financially. → Read More
This is has not been confirmed by either party, but we’ve heard from multiple sources that European music startup Spotify has closed a venture investment from Founders Fund. Managing Partner Sean Parker, who was a cofounder of Napster and President of Facebook, led the round for Founders Fund, and we believe he may have take a board of directors seat.
We do not know the size of the investement; however, we believe it may have been a token amount to get Parker’s involvement in the company. The investment was likely done at the same €200 million valuation as the round Spotify raised in late 2009.
This is the first U.S. investor in Spotify, and the service is only available in some European countries. A U.S. launch has been broadly anticipated for months. → Read More
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