Before we kicked off Disrupt Beijing, the TechCrunchTV team had just enough time to venture out into the city to begin exploring the local startup scene. One of our stops: The Garage Café, a coffee shop where startup companies go to work on their projects. For the price of a cup of coffee (a little over 3 US dollars), teams can set up office for the day and have access to a library of reference books, job boards, and the venture capitalists that also frequent the space. With at least ten early-stage startups working in the café at any given time, the Garage Café has become a go-to place for entrepreneurs to meet, exchange ideas, and in a dozen instances since the café opened in April, find investors. → Read More
You know that scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise is walking through a mall and all the digital signs are talking to him and showing him highly targeted ads? Yeah, well, we are not there yet. But we are moving that direction. A New York City company called Inwindow Outdoor is testing several prototype digital “Experience Stations” in malls and hotel lobbies like the one I demo in the video above. They combine several interactive technologies—including motion capture, large touch screens, and NFC readers—to create immersive experiences in physical locations.
The unit I got a chance to play with above was loaded with a few typical apps designed to showcase its capabilities. These apps included everything from an interactive ad with a photobooth feature to a way to watch movie trailers and buy tickets with an NFC-enabled phone or unlock local deals from stores at that specific mall. The prototypes were built in partnership with Intel. → Read More
Facebook today began allowing a limited test group of users to download a new Facebook Messenger for Windows 7 desktop client. It provides access to Chat, the Ticker feed, and notifications. Facebook is looking to gauge interest in desktop access to these real-time features that could keep users engaged with the service all day without having to keep a browser window open. The client could become popular, considering that the Facebook-integrated Windows Live Messenger desktop client that lets you Chat with friends as well as third-party instant messaging contacts is the top app on the Facebook Platform with 18.2 million daily active users. → Read More