The latest rumors swirling around Yahoo is that Google might bankroll a private equity buyout—although why it might do so or how such a deal could ever get past U.S. antitrust regulators remains a mystery. But ever since Carol Bartz was fired, everyone from Alibaba to AOL (our parent company) seems to be floating trail balloons for some kind of deal to buy or merge Yahoo.
Confused? The helpful animation above from Next Media Animation in Taiwan explains the situation. It’s a circus, and Jerry Yang is the ringmaster. I love the part where he refuses the $44.6 billion gift from Microsoft. I bet Steve Ballmer finds that part funny also. → Read More
Javascript Web app framework provider Sencha is today announcing the public beta launch of Sencha.io, its new HTML5 mobile cloud service. The service will allow Sencha app developers to build “shared experiences” in the browser, without having to write server code or manage hosting.
At launch, Sencha.io will provide a set of cloud services, including Sencha.io Data, Sencha.io Messages, Sencha.io Login and Sencha.io Development. Combined, the new services let developers use just a few lines of Javascript code to store data, send messages to users, listen for messages, deploy apps or login users via Facebook or Twitter. → Read More
Sorry, Verizon: looks like your exclusivity on the Motorola Droid RAZR might not last all that long. Based on the finer details of some docs pulled fresh from the good ol’ FCC, it looks like AT&T might be getting a RAZR of their very own.
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Can devices like the iPad and even the iPhone be useful learning tools for young kids?
Absolutely, says SmarTots, which has developed a mobile apps recommendation and analytics platform specifically for kids aged 2-7 (and their parents, educators and mobile app developers from around the world). → Read More
Job search engine SimplyHired.com, which aggregates jobs listing across the Web, is now adding international professional social network Viadeo to its supported services. The new integration will allow users to see which of their business contacts work at the companies surfaced by job searches on SimplyHired’s website.
SimplyHired previously added support for Facebook and LinkedIn to do the same. → Read More
Using carbon nanotubes, Stanford researchers have been able to create touch-sensitive, gooey skin for AI sensing, prosthetics, and touch-sensitive sex androids. The skin could give robots touch-sensitivity and allow patients to regain feeling in their artificial limbs.
The tubes, when embedded into the plastic skin, act as tiny, compressible springs. These tubes can bend and squeeze as necessary, allowing you to measure the forces applied to almost any material, from “taffy”-like plastic to something like a rubber sponge.
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After some prominent press (and some prominent naysaying), Bitcoin has suffered a bit of a crash, falling from a high in the twenties to about of $3 USD today. Interestingly, however, the intensity with which users, experimenters, and entrepreneurs are still supporting what could best be termed a movement has not waned.
The money to be made in this space is in the creation of an intelligent interface for the Bitcoin system. In theory, bitcoin transactions should be completely instantaneous and anonymous. The system records each transaction publicly, ensuring bitcoins can’t be spent again and again, but to watch the records would tell you nothing about the people performing them. It’s this anonymity that allows for the existence of sites like the Silk Road, an online drug and “alternative products” store featuring everything a 15 year old anarchist or average hesher could want, literally sold out in the open (albeit completely anonymously).
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In Accra, the capital of Ghana, it’s not about who you know, what you know, which member’s club you belong to or even which school you used to go to. It’s all about which church you belong to.
Ghana is nearly 70% Christian and on Sundays anybody who is anybody heads off to church, not only to worship their God, but also to be part of the country’s biggest networking event. This is where business is done… and business is booming.
The country also has a sizeable Muslim minority, but relations between Islam and Christianity, unlike surrounding countries such as Nigeria, are cordial and are often mixed in with tribal beliefs. The country is also home to diverse religions such as Shintoism, Jehovah’s Witnesses and even Rastafarianism. → Read More
Kanbox, a Chinese cloud storage and sharing platform, has raised $20 million in Series B funding led by DCM with SIG China participating. The investment is part of DCM’s main fund as well as the firm’s $100 million Android A-Fund.
Launched in January of 2011, Kanbox serves the same function as Dropbox, allowing users to store photos, videos, documents and more across multiple locations and devices. Kanbox also offers mobile access as well, with a new Android app. In the past nine months, the service has grown to over five million users and has become one of the largest cloud storage service providers in China. → Read More
In-image ad network GumGum has raised $7 million in new funding from NEA with GRP and First Round Capital participating in the round. This brings GumGum’s total funding to $11 million.
GumGum’s in-image ad platform reaches 110 million unique visitors and serves billions of in-image ads per month. Co-Founded in 2007 by Ophir Tanz, GumGum works with online publishers like Time Warner, Hearst Corporation, Tribune, TMZ, Gannett and Glam Network to turn photographs into interactive experiences by overlaying text, banner or Flash ad units on top of the images. → Read More
Calling all T-Mobile Windows Phone fans — you can finally put your aging HD7s out to pasture. T-Mobile has just announced that the Mango-powered HTC Radar will officially debut on November 2, and it’ll cost you just a hair under $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate. → Read More
Movie and TV streaming service Netflix is to launch in the UK and Ireland in early 2012, according to the company today. Pricing will be announced closer to launch but the company says it will launch on a range of consumer electronics devices capable of streaming from Netflix, as well as on PCs, Macs and mobile tablets and phones.
In the UK it will go head to head with Amazon-owned Lovefilm, the well established streaming service. Amazon acquired LoveFilm in January for £200m, having previously held a 42 per cent stake in LoveFilm from since 2008 when Lovefilm acquired its European DVD rental business. → Read More
Up-and-coming social network Google+ will soon be integrated with Google’s blogging platform, Blogger, according to a message now appearing in the “Edit User Profile” section of Blogger’s Settings.
The message reads “Connect Blogger to Google+ : Use your Google profile and get access to upcoming Google+ features on Blogger,” and includes links to “Learn more” and ”Get Started.” Unfortunately, the links are dead-ends right now, so we don’t yet know what type of integration is being planned.
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Disruptive mobile payments company Square has received a big retail boost over the past few months, with its card readers being sold at Apple, Best Buy, RadioShack, Target and most recently, Wal-Mart retail stores. And to help new users find a brick and mortar retailer where they can purchase a Square card reader, the company is launching a new store locator feature.
It’s basically a map of all retail locations nationwide that carry Square card readers, and you can simply type in your zipcode, and you’ll see all the stores that carry the mobile device near your location. Square tells us that card readers are now available in over 9,000 retail locations nationwide, up from only approximately 200 locations this summer. The readers sell for $9.99 in stores but each purchaser can redeem a $10 credit to their bank account. → Read More
The holidays are right around the corner, and just like every other brand and retailer, Apple is getting ready for the rush. The soon-to-be Apple Store in New York’s iconic Grand Central Station, which we reported earlier, will be open for Black Friday this year. → Read More
O.co, also known as Overstock.com, is today announcing its case against Goldman Sachs and Bank of America subsidiary, Merrill Lynch, will go to court on March 5th, 2012. The company is claiming that the defendants engaged in share price manipulation by “naked short selling” and failing to deliver shares they sold, in order to benefit themselves and their hedge fund clients. → Read More
As native mobile applications continue to surge in popularity across multiple, incompatible operating systems, the demand for powerful developer tools that can simultaneously deploy across all of these platforms (and the web) is stronger than ever.
So it’s not a big surprise when a hot startup in the space gets snapped up. Which is exactly what just happened this morning: Particle Code, a company that lets developers build games and apps for multiple platforms at once, has been acquired by direct competitor Appcelerator, the makers of the popular tool Titianium. The acquisition price isn’t being disclosed. → Read More
Shelby.tv, the video-sharing startup (and stars of Bloomberg’s TechStars reality show), is today exiting out of its private alpha phase and launching into a public beta. The service, founded by Reece Pacheco, Dan Spinosa, Henry Sztul and Joe Yevoli, aggregates the video links your friends are sharing across social networks in order to offer you personalized video recommendations.
It’s now available in the iTunes app store as a native app for the iPhone or iPad. → Read More
Wikileaks is running out of cash. Or, rather, it can’t get its cash because of an economic blockade by Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and other financial institutions. The credit card companies started blocking payments to Wikileaks last year, and the inability to collect donations from the public via credit cards and other electronic transfers is taking its toll on the organization.
In a message on its website, Wikileaks announces that it will cease publishing new leaks until it gets its finances in order: → Read More
While the idea of a flip-out screen for self-portraits is just a tad gimmicky, the MV800 is one sweet little point-and-shoot. Whether you’re straight-up obsessed with yourself, or a narcissist is hidden deep within, this thing just begs you to take pictures of yourself. And if your experience is anything like mine, you’ll really, really enjoy it.
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San Francisco, CA
