The Logitech Harmony 300 might be the last Harmony remote released for a while. It seems the Logitech has refreshed nearly the entire line with the 300 being the latest. It doesn’t offer anything new per se, but rather a simple universal remote with the Harmony magic sans LCD screen. This configuration might be kosher for some setups, but be careful if you have anything more than a cable box, TV, and DVD player. → Read More
Monetization on mobile is a huge business and ScoreLoop wants a piece of the action. ScoreLoop, a white label social platform that helps developer implement social features into their iPhone and Android apps, is entering the monetization game by providing its developers with the ability to monetize their applications. ScoreLoop will provide two primary monetization options for developers. First, they will enable virtual goods purchasing – similar to TapJoy’s virtual goods platform or Plus+ from ngmoco. Second, ScoreLoop will provide developers with a way of charging for downloadable content. For example, you could download a new theme or a new character by paying an extra $0.99. → Read More
YouTube’s video page overhaul, which the company itself says is one of the biggest redesigns in its history, is about to get noticed by a lot more people today.
A YouTube partner just forwarded us an e-mail he received from the Google company, stating that all videos will be transitioned to the newly designed page some time today. → Read More
Following the location-based frenzy that took place at this year’s SXSW festival, my colleague MG Siegler highlighted a definitive issue when it comes to checking in on various social networks like FourSquare, Gowalla, Loopt and others. The problem is that each of these check-in services has their own places database, which means that a place on Foursquare may be slightly different than a place on Gowalla, even though they’re technically the same place. Moreover, within many location-based social networks, there are duplicates for some venues since people are allowed to create their own. Location-based advertising and marketing service Placecast is hoping to resolve this problem by launching its Match API, Rosetta Stone like-database for location venue data.
Placecast’s free Match API will enables location content providers and location-based application developers to refer to a location in any number of ways, and validate that those references resolve to one true location for each check-in. In more simple terms, the API will take duplicate listings for a venue and combine them into one listing. The API translates data across services and matches it for accuracy, regardless of the ID system. And because the Placecast Match API is an open system, Placecast’s Match API enables companies working with location data to use any (or multiple) ID system and resolve to one true location. For example, if I check-in to the lobby of the Hilton Hotel and a friend checks into the restaurant at the Hilton Hotel, the Match API would resolve these and show both as the same location. → Read More
This Saturday, Apple will be releasing the iPad to the masses, and you can be sure that one of the first things people will do when they get their hands on the device is explore what awaits them on the App Store. For anyone who regularly uses Google Docs in the workplace, one of the most appealing apps is likely going to be Memeo’s Connect Reader, which will allow users to download and natively view all of their Google Docs files on their iPads. We got a sneak peek at the free application, which will launch the same day as the iPad.
The application allows users of any Google Docs account (be it normal or Premiere) to automatically download and store their Docs, which they can then view using the iPad’s document viewer that’s been integrated into Memeo’s app. The viewer supports a range of popular formats, including Office, Apple’s iWork formats, and docs created in Google’s online editor (which are downloaded as HTML to preserve formatting). → Read More
InsideView, a service that mashes up social data for enterprises to increase sales productivity has raised $11.5 million in Series B financing led by current investors Emergence Capital Partners, Rembrandt Venture Partners and Greenhouse Capital Partners. This brings the company’s total funding to $25 million.
The company’s flagship product, SalesView, crawls through more than 20,000 web sites, social networks and databases including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Hoovers, Reuters, and SEC filings, to give businesses sales intelligence and information that will aid sales operations with helping develop and maintain leads and clients. → Read More
France Telecom / Orange is partnering with OpenX to launch Orange Ad Market, a brand new online advertising marketplace tailored to the European digital industry.
Orange Ad Market will be operated by Orange and powered by OpenX in exchange for a share on every transaction that is made through the platform. The marketplace will allow all classes of buyers to compete for targeted impressions in real-time auctions and help sellers of online display advertising inventory from all over the globe maximize revenue.
The partnership between Orange and OpenX spans multiple years and is mutually exclusive to all regions Orange operates in. → Read More
Everyone remotely involved with online video is quick to jump on the iPad bandwagon – we’ve recently covered announcements from the likes of Ooyala, Brightcove and Kyte. You can add two more to that list now, courtesy of Delve Networks and MeFeedia.
Delve Networks, for one, says it will support full video delivery when the tablet device lands in users’ hands on April 3rd. MeFeedia this morning touted its ability for advertising on HTML5 videos. → Read More
TweetDeck is switching its default video Tweeting platform today, from 12seconds to TwitVid. TwitVid.com will serve as the video service across all existing TweetDeck products, as well as all new products released by TweetDeck in 2010.
TwitVid will be integrated into the next iteration of the TweetDeck’s desktop application, which is expected to be launched next month. TwitVid will also be the default video application in TweetDeck’s iPhone application and soon-to-be-released Android application. → Read More
Buffalo announced a slew of new SSDs [JP], HDDs [JP] and NASes [JP] in Japan today, all of which might soon be available outside this country, too. Available with 32GB ($160)/64GB ($230)/128GB ($440) and 256GB ($840/build-to-order) on board, the four 2.5-inch SSDs are part of the Buffalo SHD-NSU2 series (pictured above). All of these SATA devices support Windows XP/Vista/7 andMac OS X 10.5, are equipped with 64MB of DRAM cache and come with a USB 2.0 interface. → Read More
Realtime streams are quickly moving from the consumer Web to the enterprise. The constant flow of status updates, links, and shared items people are becoming accustomed to on Facebook and Twitter is finding its way into enterprise apps like Socialcast, Yammer, and Salesforce Chatter.
Investors are betting on this trend. Socialcast is getting an $8 million cash infusion from Menlo Ventures and True Ventures in a Series B financing. In February, 2010, competitor Yammer raised a $10 million Series B. → Read More
Literally laughed out loud. We’ve all seen our share of amusing CAPTCHA’s – if you haven’t, you simply haven’t seen enough of them in your life – but this one takes the cake. Way to depress people, Facebook.
Unless you can point us to funnier ones? → Read More
No, we’re not becoming a celebrity blog (yet) but the noteworthy thing is that it’s incredibly hard for technology companies to even buy this kind of publicity: Ancestry.com researchers have found that actress Ellen DeGeneres is apparently related to pop star Madonna.
Genealogists employed by the company, which offers a subscription-based Web service that allows people to study families and the tracing of their lineages and history, have discovered that the women are 11th cousins. → Read More
Wearing your unread email count on your chest This gives Pac-Man a whole new twist RCA’s AirPower has been repackaged to better hide the snake oil inside Review: Nintendo DSi XL Rugged Camera Roundup: The Movie → Read More
Android Market is finally getting a robust desktop presence. But we don’t have to Google to thank for it — it’s coming from doubleTwist, the syncing software that allows you to sync your media with Android phones (it also supports myriad other devices). The new feature is launching today with the latest update of doubleTwist for Mac, and will be included with the Windows version soon. doubleTwist is also offering a web version of its Android Market directory, which you can access at http://apps.doubletwist.com.
I’ve made no secret of my dislike for the current version of Google’s official web presence for Android Market — it offers a sampling of Android’s top apps, but it’s ugly and doesn’t offer a full listing of what’s available (it doesn’t even offer a search function). → Read More
The rumors keep circulating. The latest came yesterday when the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was working on a CDMA version of the iPhone. To most people, that means one thing. No, not a Sprint version of the iPhone (though I suppose that’s possible too), a Verizon version of the iPhone.
The problem is that these rumors have been circulating almost as long as the actual iPhone itself. And the WSJ report isn’t exactly a slam dunk by only citing the ever-anonymous “people briefed by the company.” But, more so than ever, the timing does appear to be right for Apple to break its AT&T exclusivity.
First of all, this Verizon iPhone would not launch alongside the other new iPhone hardware due this Summer. The WSJ report has manufacturing on the CDMA iPhone ramping up in September, but also notes that the phones may not be available to consumers immediately. This means at the earliest, we’re looking at a Fall release, or possibly even a holiday release for the device (if not later depending on several factors). That means that AT&T would still get the supposed “iPhone HD” all to itself for several months at least. → Read More
Well, it looks like XFX packaging is going to be a little more secure then the stuff that Amazon uses. You’ll have to be careful leaving the store with this stuff, XFX appears to be packaging their version of the ATI HD 5970 in a replica of a H&K P90. Catchy, but hopefully they don’t lose any customers to gunfire. → Read More
If you’re like me, you get a little.. obsessive about checking your email. Wouldn’t want to miss that important message after all. So when I see a project like the email count t-shirt, I start to get a little twitchy. It looks like it could be a DIY project, but I’m not sure I have the necessary skills. Like sewing. → Read More
I like Amazon’s “frustration free” packaging. When I ordered my copy of Command & Conquer 4, it came in that easy to open package, and it makes sense: why put a dvd in a box with a bag of air, and waste all that shipping? Would I trust a hard drive to that packaging? No way in hell. → Read More
Over the last few months we’ve seen quite a few international startups that are looking to capitalize on the success of Groupon, the deal-a-day startup that has been getting quite a bit of buzz lately. Europe has already seen many similar sites, and tonight, Brazil is getting its due: Peixe Urbano (which means “Urban Fish” in Portuguese) has just launched to the public, offering daily deals to Brazil’s nearly 70 million Internet users.
Founder Julio Vasconcellos concedes that Peixe Urbano has many similarities to Groupon — it sends users one great deal per day (generally offering 50-90% off) via Email, Twitter, or Facebook. And, like Groupon, a certain number of people have to sign up for the deal before it “activates”, which gives users an incentive to tell their friends. But Vasconcellos says that he and co-founder Alex Tabor have made some key changes to better adapt the new site to Brazilian culture. → Read More
