Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Latest from TechCrunch

The Latest from TechCrunch

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Web-Based Productivity Suite Zoho Launches Help Desk Software Zoho Support

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 09:01 AM PST

Zoho is an impressive company all around—the startup’s web-based productivity competes directly with Microsoft and Google, but has never taken any outside funding. And Zoho now has 25 different productivity apps, with 3.5 million users actively using Zoho’s apps daily. Today, we can add one more to the mix with the launch of Zoho Support, a web-based help desk software.

Zoho Support aims to help businesses manage and respond to customer support inquiries logged via the phone, email or through a website. Similar to Zendesk, Zoho Support allows IT staff and technicians to prioritize customer tickets, find the appropriate response and get back to the customer as soon as possible.

The requests tab helps technicians prioritize the support requests that are coming in from customers, allowing staff to assign different tasks, mark tasks as completed or not completed, and create an order of tasks to complete. The requests module also helps organizations triage these support requests so they can be quickly routed to the appropriate team.

An accounts and contacts module allows organizations to define, track and enforce specific service level agreements they may have agreed to with their customers. For example, two support requests that appear to be similar could have a different priority depending on the agreement hat was promised to each individual customer.

Via a dashboard and reports tab, Zoho Support will show organizations what products are getting the most requests, which problems are taking place most often, who has the slowest response time and more. The task module gives reps the ability track and schedule activities, from getting back to a customer or internal research on an issue.

One useful feature of Zoho Support is the ability to create a solutions data base, which is a wiki-like destination where reps can create and publish solutions to customer support problems. The database is searchable as well.

The advantage of using any of Zoho’s apps, is that it integrated with its other apps seamlessly. Zoho Support is integrated with Zoho CRM and Zoho Chat. Zoho Support, which is available through a freemium model, offers a free plan, and other plans starting at $12 per month per agent (based on the number of tickets created per day.

Zoho’s evangelist Raju Vegesna tells me that the company will also plan to create a Google App in the Apps Marketplace for Zoho Support. The startup already offers a number of apps in the marketplace, including Zoho CRM and Invoice.

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Livestream For Facebook Lets You DIY Live Stream Video On Fan Pages

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 08:59 AM PST

Livestream, the live video streaming service that has hooked up with Facebook in the past for Facebook Live, is launching another partnership with the social networking giant. From today onward brands with a Facebook fan page can manually link up their Livestream channel to their page and host live video on Facebook for the first time ever, for free.

The “Livestream For Facebook” application allows you to take your current Livestream channel and embed it onto your Facebook page as well as manage multiple tabs and customize your viewer. Livestream also plans on added Facebook Credit capability for Pay Per View services in the near future.

As of today, interested users can download the the Livestream podcaster here or find it on AppBistro and start live streaming video in one click to Facebook, their Livestream channel, their personal website and/or phone.

This move is a harbinger of the next step in live video streaming, social. While both Livestream and Ustream have been providing white label livestreaming on Facebook for about a year, this is the first time this feature is available on DIY basis at no cost. Big brands that have already signed up include Ford Explorer, Maroon 5, and The Women’s Conference.

Says Facebook’s Erin Kanaley, “We have seen a growing need by brands and artists wanting to live stream inside their Facebook page to engage their community. While we are platform agnostic, we are excited to see Livestream deploying the first self-service application to enable live streaming within Facebook pages”

Livestream broadcasts over 700,000 channels and boasts 16.7 million unique monthly viewers, supporting both ad free and ad sponsored viewing. In the same space as Ustream and Justin.tv, the video streaming service has $12.7 million in funding led by Gannet.

Google Gets Feisty, Kicks Data Portability Fight With Facebook Up A Notch

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 07:44 AM PST

As I’m sure you’ve learned by now, Google recently blocked Facebook API access to download Google contacts. Facebook hacked its way around that, and Google subsequently issued a statement that they were "disappointed". Facebook Platform engineer Mike Vernal then responded in the comments of one of our blog posts about the slap fight, defending Facebook’s policy and calling it – cough – “consistent”.

And the battle of the Web giants continues.

Take a look at what Google is telling users who would like to download their Gmail contacts’ information and import the data into Facebook (first spotted by Digitizor):

Click the image for a larger version, or read the full notice here or below:

Trap my contacts now

Hold on a second. Are you super sure you want to import your contact information for your friends into a service that won't let you get it out?

Here's the not-so-fine print. You have been directed to this page from a site that doesn't allow you to re-export your data to other services, essentially locking up your contact data about your friends. So once you import your data there, you won't be able to get it out. We think this is an important thing for you to know before you import your data there. Although we strongly disagree with this data protectionism, the choice is yours. Because, after all, you should have control over your data.

Of course, you are always free to download your contacts using the export feature in Google Contacts.

This public service announcement is brought to you on behalf of your friends in Google Contacts:

[_] Register a complaint over data protectionism. (Google will not record or display your name or email address.)

[_] Proceed with exporting this data. I recognize that once it's been imported to another service, that service may not allow me to export it back out.

Select one or more options. Cancel and go back

Wow. Just wow.

Yes, that’s Google explicitly warning you that your contacts information will be effectively trapped inside Facebook without the ability to re-export the data, and giving you the option to register a formal complaint over data protectionism (to what end remains unclear).

For the record, they’re still letting you go on with exporting the data if you please. Which unfortunately means a lot of Facebook users will probably do exactly that before reading the warning and understanding the message Google is trying to convey.

(We’ll update this post if and when we learn more)

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Believe It Or Not: Plug In America’s Electric Vehicle Hype Campaign

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 07:39 AM PST

Here comes another spoof on the Mac vs. PC ad campaign, this one promoting electric vehicles over combustion engines. Plug In America, an advocacy organization that wants to reduce the United States’ dependence on petroleum, created the electric vehicle hype spots and calls them public service announcements.

The first of the seven PSAs include talent from the film Who Killed The Electric Car. One that’s slated for release on Nov. 30th features male model, Fabio.

In one spot, a character representing the stodgy, traditional auto buyer demonstrates the folly that could be a gasoline-powered cell phone.

In another, the stodgy guy is accompanied by a shady corporate lawyer and a rig worker covered in oil while his nemesis, the electric car driving hipster, shows up with a hippie goddess representing wind generated electricity.

The videos are embedded below, or viewable on Plug In America’s YouTube channel.

The campaign’s release follows a late October report by JD Power and Associates that said EVs would only constitute a paltry 7.3 percent of global auto sales by 2020. The campaign just precedes the December 2010 initial sales dates (in Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United States) for the first mass-produced all-electric vehicle— the Nissan LEAF.

Plug In America’s 7-spot campaign raises some good points about EVs— like how relatively quiet, emissions-free and low maintenance they can be— but it doesn’t address other concerns, like how to keep spent car batteries out of landfills, or how vehicles that run on biodiesel from waste or renewables, for example, might also help the U.S. solve its environmental and economic problems associated with fuel.

"Cell Phone"

"Ocean Crude"

GigsWiz Works Out Where Your Band Should Play Live, Starts Ticketing Pilot

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 07:31 AM PST

GigsWiz seems like a no-brainer idea. Work out where your band should be playing based on where your fans want you to play. And, as a venue, work out what the local fans are really into, and book that band. This is a natural for a world where, because of the Internet, a band could potentially find a fan-base anywhere on the planet from San Francisco to St Petersburg. The trouble is, the execution. Others have tried portals, but with social media being so distributed, and fans so intent on setting up their own little fan groups all over the place, it’s hard for a young band to keep track of it all.

So GigsWiz generates analytics allowing bands to gather accurate information about local fan demand.

Now it is taking this idea to the next step, developing a ticketing service which shares revenues from booking fees with the artists that use it’s platfom. It’s been piloting ticket sales exclusively with Hot Vox, Substance Gigs and Glasswerk in the UK and is now in discussions other promoters and bands.



sFund-Backed Lockerz Wants To Be A Social Commerce Destination For Young Adults

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 07:00 AM PST

While social commerce network Lockerz has been flying under the radar, the startup has quietly been able to raise an impressive amount of funding and accumulated nearly 18 million members after being open to the public for under two years. Lockerz has raised a total of $30 million, most recently nabbing $18 million from Kleiner Perkins newly launched sFund. Both John Doerr and Bing Gordon sit on Lockerz board of directors.

The Lockerz social commerce platform revolves around the idea that influencers within a social network can become brand and content advocates and affect the behavior of their friends. Lockerz is primarily targeted towards men and women ages 13 to 30, attempting to build a community of trendsetters and tastemakers who love to shop, play and connect on the Web.

Lockerz provides incentives like the ability to earn discounts on brands to encourage users to share content on the site. Members earn “Pointz” by watching videos, listening to music and inviting friends; pointz can then be used lower the prices of merchandise on the site. Users can also earn “Decalz” for sharing (similar to badges). New boutiques launch every Tuesday and feature brands such as 7 for All Mankind, Alex & Ani, Splendid, Rock & Republic, Matt Bernson, Quiksilver, Nintendo, and Xbox 360.

Founded by Kathy Savitt, a former Amazon and American Eagle Outfitters exec; Lockerz eventually wants to be the go-to commerce homepage for teens and young adults. One interesting part of the startup’s social growth is that it has no connection to Facebook. Savitt says that they are looking into connecting with Facebook, perhaps through a Facebook app, but that growth seems to be doing just fine with out the social network.

Lockerz started with 50 college kids that were friends and family of Savitt and her two daughters, and grew to 17.5 million users in less than one year. The site gets a little under 1 million unique visits per day (according to Google Analytics).

Social commerce is certainly hot these days, with social networks and commerce sites all throwing their hat in the ring with various products and acquisitions. But Lockerz has been able to gain a viral following from a subset of users, which is impressive. It should be interesting to see if the startup can continue its ascent.

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Coro Health Secures $2 Million To Expand Its Web-based Music Therapy Services

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 06:45 AM PST

“And now for something different” read the subject line of the email sent by a representative of Austin-based startup Coro Health. And then some. The fledgling company has just raised $2 million in Series A funding to bring Web-based music therapies to patients in long-term care facilities.

Yes, you read that right. Coro Health’s audio platform delivers individual music prescriptions, spirituality and other media to residents in said facilities with “minimal cost and maximum efficiency”, in an effort to improve their health by music’s oft-lauded therapeutic effects.

Here’s how that works, in their words:

Coro Health's technology adapts to the resident and can deliver content anywhere throughout a facility. The system provides customizable audio hardware for all levels of patient needs including speakers, pillow speakers, headphones and adjustable volume control, and can play content according to a pre-determined schedule or on-demand as needed for therapeutic purposes.

Automated updates keep the media current and appealing, while caregivers can easily adjust content, times and delivery location (individual or group areas), or provide feedback directly to a resident's therapist to make modifications as needs and situations change. Prescriptions are developed by a team of board-certified music therapists and music and media designers with content tailored to an individual's schedule, needs and preferences, in conjunction with their existing plan of care.

Rates vary based on programming, generally ranging from $15 to $60 a month.

The company says its solution is currently installed in facilities across the U.S., representing more than 1,000 residents, and has been entered into clinical trials at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain to study the therapeutic benefits of music on Alzheimer's and dementia patients.

Coro Health was founded by entrepreneur David Schofman, former founder of FrogTrader (which was acquired by Callaway Golf in 2004) and comes backed by Bob Martin, former CEO of Walmart International, Kent Lance of HPI Austin and other angel investors.

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MyShape Raises $5.5 Million To Help Women Shop For Clothes That Fit Them

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 06:17 AM PST

MyShape, which operates a personalized shopping website for women's apparel at MyShape.com, has secured a $5.5 million financing round from investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Tenaya Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund. The startup has now raised $28 million in total.

MyShape uses its proprietary ShapeMatch technology to match women with items that correspond to their personal body measurements, body shape, fit and style preferences.

The Los Angeles-based company has also just launched a newly designed website, featuring enhanced navigation and personalization functionality.

MyShape, which was founded back in 2006, says it plans to use the funding to grow its operations, further develop its personalization technology and build out its product assortment.

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Google AdSense Rolls Out New UI; Now Used By 2 Million Publishers

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 06:00 AM PST


Google AdSense, the search giant’s ad serving application, is unleashing a brand new interface for its 2 million publishers. The AdSense interface is how publishers set up, manage, optimize and see reports on the ads on their sites.

AdSense actually has two products: one is AdSense for Content, which allows publishers to generate revenue from ads placed alongside their content. The other is AdSense for Search, which allows publishers to place a custom Google search engine on their site and generate revenue from ads shown next to search results. Although, we recently found out that the majority of AdSense publishers are using the content product.

A year ago, Google rolled out a private beta test for 30,000 publishers, but now is opening up the new interface to the public. The new UI will be available in more than 30 languages and in each of the 200+ countries where AdSense is available.

One of the main additions to the UI is that Google will present publishers with more data insights, including a number of new simple, graphical reporting tools. Publishers can run performance reports by ad type, ad size, ad unit, targeting type, and bid type for total earnings and other metrics, over custom date ranges. Google will also now provide detailed graphs of view impressions, clicks, and earnings.

Google has also made ad controls more powerful, allowing publishers to filter which ads and advertisers they want on their site. Publishers can now filter ads from specific advertisers, categories, and ad networks. And it’s easier to review and manage ads that have been placement-targeted and publishers can now search for ads in the ad review center by ad type, keyword, URL, or ad network, and choose to allow or block them.

And AdSense now make it easier to see earnings and payment information, to run reports, or make account changes.

Google will be steadily allowing publishers to access the new interface over the next few days. While publishers can continue to use the older version of the management interface, the search giant expects the new UI to be popular, especially with the new reporting analysis and controls.


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Gartner: Android Share Jumps To 25.5 Percent, Now Second Most Popular OS Worldwide

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 05:32 AM PST


Gartner’s third quarter smartphone data is out today and it looks like Android is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. According to the latest report, Android accounted for 25.5 percent of worldwide smartphone sales, making it the No. 2 operating system, rising from a 3.5 percent marketshare in the same quarter in 2009. Apple’s iOS, on the other hand, dropped from last year, from 17.1 percent in 2009 to 16.6 percent in 2010. Symbian took the top spot with 36.6 percent of sales share.

Gartner also said that global mobile phone sales totaled 417 million units in the third quarter of 2010, a 35 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009. Smartphone sales grew 96 percent from the third quarter last year, and smartphones accounted for 19.3 percent of overall mobile phone sales in the third quarter of 2010.

In terms of North America stats, Apple’s share surged past Research In Motion (RIM) but it still falls behind Android. Gartner estimated that Android phones accounted for 75 percent to 80 percent of Verizon Wireless’s smartphone trade in the third quarter of 2010.

Android’s staggering growth isn’t surprising, considering there have been similar reports of the operating system’s ascent up the smartphone food chain. Recent Nielsen data showed that Android devices were the most popular choice for new smartphone purchases over the past six months.

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AVG Acquires Mobile Security Startup DroidSecurity For Up To $9.4 Million

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 05:31 AM PST

Security software maker AVG Technologies has acquired Israel’s DroidSecurity from its founders and investors for a reported $4.1 million with an earn-out up to $5.3 million, subject to performance milestones.

DroidSecurity offers products that aim to protect owners smartphones, tablets and other devices running on Google’s Android OS from viruses and malware. The company’s mobile security app for the Android platform, ANTIVIRUSFree, surpassed the 4.5 million download milestone last month and is a top-ranked app.

AVG says the acquisition enables its Mobile Solutions Team to extend the available security offerings for its more than 110 million users to include the expanding mobile security arena.

Gartner has just published a report that shows Android’s market share has now jumped to over 25 percent, which means it is currently the second most popular mobile OS worldwide.

Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, DroidSecurity will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of AVG and will continue to be headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Its CEO and co-founder, Eran Pfeffer, will become the general manager of AVG’s Mobile Solutions Team.

DroidSecurity was founded in 2009 by Pfeffer together with Dror Shalev and Omri Sigelman.

According to Globes, DroidSecurity was partly owned by managers and employees, and partly by investor Maayan Ventures as well as a group of private backers led by Quantumwave Capital partner Shachar Efal.

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Snooth Founder Launches Private Sales Site For Fine Wine, Raises $3 Million

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 05:06 AM PST

Exclusive – Discerned wine buyers, heads up. Philip James, who founded major wine site Snooth.com, has teamed up with entrepreneur Kevin Fortuna to launch an online private sales club that enables members to purchase fine wines straight from their producers. Dubbed Lot18, the fledgling company has just landed a $3 million Series A round of funding led by NYC-based VC firm FirstMark Capital.

The round also included returning (unnamed) investors and angels from companies such as Quigo, Time Inc., AOL, Ziff Davis, Bankrate and Experian, and follows a $500,000 seed round closed earlier this year.

Update: from the comments:

Dear TechCrunchers:

Please visit http://www.lot18.com/invite/techcrunch for an exclusive invite to Lot18 (only 500 available!)

Andrew Nguyen
Operations Manager
Lot18.com

Obviously modeled after success stories Vente-Privée.com and Gilt Groupe, the goal is provide Lot18 members with access to high-quality wines, made available in small quantities and limited runs.

From the press release:

Producers struggle to generate consumer recognition and many lack the pricing or negotiating power to ensure good representation at the retail level. Though most wineries have websites that allow them to sell online, it is often difficult to engage new customers who have not heard of, or tasted their wines.

Following personal sourcing of each product by Lot18's procurement team, Lot18 curates, reviews and presents the offer, with the sale and shipping managed by the winery. This allows producers to engage new markets via insider sales that showcase the winery to enthusiast members across the country.

Lot18's partners at launch include, evidently, Snooth.com and wineries such as Cornerstone Winery, Boisset Family Estates, and Foley Family Estates.

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Open Source Software Company Talend Raises $34M; Acquires Sopera

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 04:57 AM PST

Talend, a global provider of open source data solutions, has raised $34 million in new funding led by Silver Lake Sumeru, with existing investors Balderton Capital and IdInvest Partners participating. This brings Talend’s total funding to over $60 million.

Talend develops a range of open source data integration, data quality and master data management (MDM) solutions for the enterprise. Talend chooses to take an open approach by publishing the code of its core and base modules under a GPL license, offering the developer community the ability to improve the product and make enhancements that can benefit everyone.

The company also acquired Sopera, a provider of open source SOA and middleware platforms. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Talend says that with the acquisition, IT organizations can now leverage a unified middleware platform that costs far less than proprietary technologies, delivers greater functionality and is easier to deploy and manage.

Earlier this year, Talend said its flagship open source data solutions have been downloaded more than seven million times and reported that its paying customer base grew 140% to well over 1,000 customers in 2009.

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Cloud Storage Company Nirvanix Raises $10 Million, Appoints New CEO

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 04:24 AM PST

Enterprise cloud storage provider Nirvanix is adding more money to its coffers and putting an experienced executive at the steering wheel. The company has secured an additional $10M, bringing its total of capital raised to $45 million. The capital infusion comes from primary investors Intel Capital, Mission Ventures, Valhalla Partners, and Windward Ventures. In addition, Nirvanix has announced that it has appointed Scott Genereux as President and CEO. Genereux was formerly SVP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at QLogic and held executive roles at DataDirect Networks (DDN) and Hitachi before that.


Less Spotify, More Pandora – We7 Shifts Focus To More Economical ‘Internet Radio Plus’

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 03:14 AM PST

Navigating the choppy waters of ad-supported music, We7 hasn't been afraid to change course. The UK startup began life as an innovative free music download service before transitioning to an on-demand browser-based offering. While most recently the company, which is backed by Peter Gabriel, Eden Venture and Spark Ventures, made a premium paid-for play with a desktop and mobile version sans-advertising. Today, We7 is shifting focus once again in the belief that the route to mass market requires a lean-back experience more akin to Internet radio services like Pandora in the U.S. rather than a pure on-demand play such as European competitor Spotify. It's also a model that sits more comfortably with We7's ad-supported aspirations since music licensing fees for Internet radio are about a third of that charged for non subscription on-demand services.


PhotoRocket Scores $1.3 Million For Ridiculously Easy Photo Sharing Tool

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 02:53 AM PST

PhotoRocket, a Seattle-based startup that’s going to make it really, really easy to share photos with your contacts and via social networks, has raised just over $1.3 million according to an SEC filing.

The round brings the total of capital raised by the company to slightly north of $1.7 million.

The company just launched its photo sharing tool in private alpha last week, but I’m dying to try it out after watching the demo video and reading about how it works. Also, PhotoRocket’s management team has been around the block a couple of times in the past, which makes the startup even more interesting to watch.

Currently Windows-only (although Mac and iPhone compatible versions are in the works according to the private alpha sign-up page), PhotoRocket will allow you to share photos stored on your computer with friends and family, and on a host of social networks and photo sharing sites, simply by right-clicking the images.

Which means, no more uploading hassle and fiddling with email attachments and photo resizing, which in turn sounds like music to my ears.

PhotoRocket was founded by Scott Lipsky, an entrepreneur whose most notable accomplishments include being one of the first people to join Amazon’s executive team back in the day, and more importantly founding aQuantive – the company was acquired by Microsoft for roughly $6 billion back in 2007.

Based on the SEC filing, he chipped in for the financing round, as did PhotoRocket CEO Gary Roshak, former VP Mobile Advertisers and Publishers at Yahoo. The third person mentioned in the filing is Jan Hendrickson, who is General Partner at Denny Hill Capital.

Assuming they’re reading along: can you please get me that invitation code asap? Thanks!

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Flowdock Exits Beta With Its Evernote-For-Conversations

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 02:29 AM PST

There's no doubt that collaboration software is an incredibly crowded space, yet many small teams often fall back on Skype group chat for their realtime conversations, perhaps supported solely by email and the likes of Google Docs. But IM conversations are hard to track, archive and turn into something actionable, especially when compared to more asynchronous and structured collaboration software. That's something that Finland-based Flowdock, which exits Beta today, aims to address. A sort of Evernote-for-conversations - although that's an admittedly narrow comparison - at the heart of Flowdock is a nifty realtime browser-based group chat window, which resides on the right hand side of the screen, a little reminiscent of one aspect of Google's now defunct Wave. But unlike your typical IM client or Skype's group chat, messages can be tagged, hence the Evernote comparison, either on the fly or retrospectively.


Microsoft Flashes A Nice Big Middle Finger At Android’s Fragmentation

Posted: 10 Nov 2010 12:02 AM PST

A month ago, in my initial piece about Windows Phone 7, I was cautiously optimistic about the platform but had some questions about Microsoft’s ultimate intentions. Namely: “will they use their power to try and bend the carriers to their will? Or will they take the Google approach and let them walk all over the place dictating features and bloatware?“

I’m happy to report that at least initially, it looks like it will be the former.

“If Microsoft releases an update for your phone, you get it. Period,” Ed Bott writes today for ZDNet.

In other words, Microsoft is taking more of an Apple approach instead of the Google one. That is, it looks like they’ll be the ones in charge of dishing out software updates to customers rather than allowing the carriers to get involved.

While Google has been quick to iterate Android, the carriers have been slow to roll those updates out to many customers. They have various reasons for this. They’re all pretty much bullshit.

“Microsoft will push Windows Phone 7 software updates to end users and all Windows Phone 7 devices will be eligible for updates,” the company tells Bott. Their very direct phrasing almost makes it sound as if they’re very aware of fragmentation issue on Android and what a headache it is for consumers. In fact, I’m sure they are.

Before Microsoft hit reset on their mobile strategy and came out with Windows Phone 7, their original mobile OS, Windows Mobile, was in largely the same boat as Android is now in. The carriers had the power when it came to updates. And customers got screwed.

So at least in that way, the failure of Windows Mobile may have helped Microsoft. They learned, and can now make a better product as a result.

Google had never done a mobile operating system before Android, so perhaps they didn’t know what they were getting into with the carriers (though you have to believe Android chief Andy Rubin should have). And Apple didn’t fall into the trap simply because they’re control-freaks.

Speaking of Rubin, he believes that the carriers are learning from customers and will eventually get with the program when it comes to dishing out updates. “I think over time they'll learn what is good business and what is bad business,” he said back in October. Two decades of history suggests the opposite, but whatever.

Microsoft has made the right call here. To use Rubin’s words, the world may not need another platform, but it sure is nice to have another one not controlled by the carriers.

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Is The Silicon Valley Talent Shortage Getting Worse?

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 10:21 PM PST

now hiringphoto © 2009 Colin | more info (via: Wylio)According to reports, Google is offering its employees a 10% pay increase for 2011 and $1000 holiday bonuses company wide. Digg layoff refugees are met with open arms by enthusiastic HR vultures. Companies in existence for two months are getting acquired for their teams. Ask.com engineers are getting job offers on Twitter the second news that they are on the market breaks.

Wait a minute, since when are Ask.com engineers such a hot piece of property?

Well, since the Silicon Valley engineering drought of 2010. GigaOm’s Om Malik brings up the shocking statistic that job postings in the IT industry have increased 69% since October of 2009. Plentiful availability of seed funding has made it easier to start a company and engendered a culture where doing your own thing is the only badass move. Read: “If I’m going to work for someone else, it better be a pretty damn good offer.”

Among the companies that are expected to hire more in 2010 are Facebook, Google, Zynga and Twitter. And the latter three plan on expanding their offices to accomodate their rapidly expanding staff.  From one Google employee on its rumored New York digs, “Filling the entire block is still a lot of headcounts.” But a multitude of smaller startups like Square and Dropbox are also throwing their hats into the hiring ring.

The gap between supply and demand is fueled primarily by a Google and Facebook bidding war (around 12% of Facebookers used to work at Google). Says investor Shervin Pishevar, “There’s been an arms race for talent. Certain companies have been stockpiling talent with great benefits. Most of that talent has had golden handcuffs.”

As Google has money to burn and Facebook has lucrative stock options, the fierce competition amongst the dominant players is most evidenced by their recent spate of “acqui-hires,” Drop.io and Hot Potato for Facebook and Plannr and AdMob for Google.

Mark Zuckerberg even has put the acqui-hire equivalent of a want ad on Quora, asking for cool suggestions for companies to acquire. Word around the startup world is that“Why not pay $1 million to hire a few good engineers?” isn’t an irrational question. Zuckerberg himself has said, “Facebook has not once bought a company for the company itself. We buy companies to get excellent people.”

Twitter investor Chris Sacca digs deeper into the problem, “There is no shortage of talent available for the very best companies that are reaching escape velocity. It seems harder for smaller companies who are looking to add employee six or seven to find recruits beyond their network of friends.” It’s the relative ease in hiring for companies like Twitter that makes it so much harder for most startups.

With smaller startups competing with the giants and the giants competing amongst themselves, the job market has become cutthroat. More startups + fewer talent resources = salaries will continue go up. Google’s raise offer earlier today is just the beginning.

Now might be a good time to take some Computer Science courses.

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Give Us Our Data, Facebook

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 08:19 PM PST

I usually give Facebook the benefit of the doubt in its various wars with the press and users, particularly around privacy issues. Mostly because user expectations around privacy are changing in real time. Things that were reprehensible just a couple of years ago are now considered so mainstream that even Salesforce will buy them and no one blinks.

So when Facebook redefines privacy to remove actual privacy, I take a wait and see approach.

I’ve taken the same approach on data portability. For a good two years we’ve all been waiting for Facebook to let our data out. They’ve done so in drips and drabs, but the crown jewels – user emails – remain locked up.

In 2008 Robert Scoble was actually banned from Facebook for using a Plaxo script that extracted friends’ email addresses. That was pretty hard back then and it required both screen scraping as well as optical character recognition, because the emails were displayed in images.

At the time I sided with Facebook. Mostly because screen scraping on a mass scale can destabilize sites, but also because I believed that my email address was my data, not Robert’s, to take. Also, Facebook wasn’t that big back then, sometimes you need to give young startups a break so they have any chance against the big guys.

Well, that’s all changed now. And it’s time for Facebook to voluntarily hand that data over to users, via an API that third party apps can use.

Also, I’m not focusing on Google’s actions, or the very public fight going on between the two companies (summary here) over this very issue, in this post. Whether Google is right or wrong, while interesting, is a different conversation.

These are the reasons I think Facebook has to give users and authorized third party applications the ability to extract social graph information, including email addresses, from Facebook. More on each below.

1. It’s what users want, and it’s the right thing to do.

2. Facebook is so large now that health-of-ecosystem and user needs must be considered when Facebook makes product and policy decisions.

3. They’re lying to press and users, even today, about their motivations for retaining data. This is not about protecting users.

4. The data export tool they released last month is a red herring.

5. They have a very small window of opportunity to do this, before Attorneys General and class action litigators see too big of an opportunity to pass up.

It’s the right thing to do. Facebook is becoming the center of our Internet lives, more so each day. Dissatisfied users really don’t have a choice to leave Facebook any more. Giving up Facebook, for tens of millions of people at least, would be no more palatable than giving up their telephone. That means people can’t really vote with their feet any more. Facebook needs to lay the groundwork now to avoid being the focus of antitrust attention in the next decade, or attorney general/class action lawyers in the next two years. It’s the right thing to do, and it’s also the smart thing to do.

Facebook is too important. So much of the Internet’s architecture has been rewritten in the last year to leverage and exploit Facebook Connect and other Facebook data and tools that the decision is no longer really entirely theirs. There are real health-of-ecosystem issues arising that must be addressed now or the Internet as a whole will suffer. And on a user level, Facebook is already the center of their world. It is their address book, except it’s an address book that won’t let you download your information to use it in other places.

We need a user advocate sitting at the table when Facebook makes product and policy decisions. That way it won’t be about what they can get away with, it will be about what’s best for everyone. In the long run, that will make Facebook a far more valuable company, too. There should be someone at Facebook who’s job it is to piss everyone else off by always taking the user’s side. And when they win or lose battles internally they should be transparent about their position on those battles.

Facebook is lying. Facebook’s statement today boiled down to this: “The most important principle for Facebook is that every person owns and controls her information. Each person owns her friends list, but not her friends' information. A person has no more right to mass export all of her friends' private email addresses than she does to mass export all of her friends' private photo albums.”

That’s the same argument that they used two years ago with Scoble. But since then Facebook has been quite willing to allow “mass exports” of “friends’ private email addresses” if the terms are right. They did it with Microsoft, they’re doing it with Yahoo, and possibly other partners. Facebook violated their own privacy policy with the Microsoft relationship. The policy has since been updated.

The truth is Facebook doesn’t see this data as your friends’ private email addresses. They consider it their data. They own it. Literally. So when they say “A person has no more right to mass export all of her friends' private email addresses than she does to mass export all of her friends' private photo albums,” what they really need to do is add “, unless it’s with a partner that’s making it worth our while.”

The data export tool red herring. Last month Facebook started letting users download most of their Facebook data, and many people point to that as a sign they are opening up. Nonsense. All that data is nice, and it’s helpful to be able to download it. But it is not usable by third parties in any automated way, and it doesn’t include friend email addresses. You couldn’t use it to export all your photos to Flickr, for example. That means it’s a nice PR product, but it doesn’t address the core problem at all.

Small window of opportunity. There are companies with unlimited resources putting pressure on politicians with unlimited ambitions to do something about this. If Facebook moves now they get credit for being decent. If they wait, things get ugly for them, with the same result. At this point Facebook has already won this war twice over – being magnanimous won’t hurt them competitively, and it will help their image.

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Facebook
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Google Responds To Bonus/Raise Story, Cites Importance Of “Competitive Compensation”

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 08:10 PM PST

Earlier this evening, Henry Blodget of Business Insider reported that a “loyal reader” told them that Google was giving all employees a $1,000 holiday cash bonus and a 10 percent raise starting on January 1, 2011. If true, that’s a very significant gesture likely to the tune of well over a billion dollars (though dampened a bit by a roll back of certain other bonuses). Usually with these types of stories, Google doesn’t bother to respond or simply gives a “no comment.” But I decided to ask anyway. And the answer is far from a denial.

“While we don't typically comment on internal matters, we do believe that competitive compensation plans are important to the future of the company,” a Google spokesperson tells us.

So while that’s not a “yes”, it’s just about as close as you can get to a “yes” without saying “yes”. And it’s definitely not a “no”, which if they were willing to comment, you’d think they’d say if the story weren’t true. In other words, it seems as if Blodget’s source is accurate.

And that makes sense given what we reported back in September: that Google was making “extraordinary” counteroffers to stop the flow of employees to Facebook. Google had a great year and is awash with cash, they can afford to give their employees some nice pay bumps in order to make sure they’re happy. But it’s still a little crazy that they’re giving all of them this 10 percent pay hike.

In previous years, for example, all many Googlers got was a G1 phone. Those retailed for $199 and cost Google far less than that, obviously. So yes, this is a significantly nicer gift.

Below, find the email supposedly sent by Google CEO Eric Schmidt to employees, which Business Insider obtained:

CONFIDENTIAL: INTERNAL ONLY
GOOGLERS ONLY (FULL TIME AND PART TIME EMPLOYEES)

I'm pleased to share some very, very good news with Googlers worldwide. But first let me say, on behalf of everyone on the management team, that we believe we have the best employees in the world. Period. The brightest, most capable group of this size ever assembled. It's why I'm excited to come to work every day–and I'm sure you feel the same way. We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work, and we want to continue to attract the best people to Google.

So that is why we've decided…to give all of you a 10% raise, effective January 1st. This salary increase is global and across the board–everyone gets a raise, no matter their level, to recognize the contribution that each and every one of you makes to Google.

There's more. We've heard from your feedback on Googlegeist and other surveys that salary is more important to you than any other component of pay (i.e., bonus and equity). To address that, we're moving a portion of your bonus into your base salary, so now it's income you can count on, every time you get your paycheck. That's also effective January 1st. You'll be receiving an email shortly with further details about these changes to your compensation. And one last thing…today we're announcing that everyone will get a holiday cash bonus, too.

Googlers, you are what makes this company great, and our goal here is to recognize you for your contribution, in a way that's meaningful to you. Thank you for all that you do, and for making Google a place where magic happens.

Eric

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Google
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Smule Makes More Magic: Magic Piano Fans, Meet Magic Fiddle

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 08:00 PM PST

If you’ve read any of my previous stuff on Smule, it probably goes without saying: I’m a bit of a Smule fanboy. I can’t help it. They started making cool stuff for iOS way back in 2008, and haven’t stopped since. Sonic Lighter. Ocarina. Leaf Trombone. I Am T-Pain. Glee. They just… don’t… stop.

Following up on the launch of Magic Piano for iPad back in April, Smule is about to debut a spiritual successor (of sorts): Magic Fiddle.

Read the rest at MobileCrunch >>

Google Testing Out A Sexier Top Nav Bar [Pics]

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 06:50 PM PST

Google has never been known for their design prowess. But over the years, there’s no denying that they’ve made even google.com look significantly better with logo, button, and even search box upgrades. Now it looks like the basic top nav bar may be getting a fresh coat of paint as well.

As you can see in the images below, Google is currently testing a new-look nav bar that replaces the standard blue underlined links with a much better looking, but subtle, toolbar. Your place in the navigation is now not only indicated by the darkening and bolding of the text, but also by a colorful band across the top of you position. For example, in the images you can see the blue bar on top of the “Web” area indicating you’re in a web search.

On the far right side you’ll notice a nice big “Sign in” button (with a subtle yellow bar on top of it), and a new settings icon next to that.

It’s not a huge change, but it’s a nice-looking one. Google has confirmed that they’re testing it but will only say the typical:

At any given time we are running 50-200 search experiments. You can learn more about search experiments on our blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/04/this-is-test-this-is-only-test.html

I suspect this experiment is one that will see the light of day on google.com at some point in the future.

(Click on the images to enlarge)

New:

Old:

[thanks Ted]

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Google
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Bebo Adds Meebo In Belated Effort To Win Over Chat-starved Users

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 05:44 PM PST

Bebo just launched Meebo’s web-based instant messaging client across the social network and the company says a million messages have been sent already

This is Bebo's first step towards a much more real-time, interactive platform since they sold to AOL for $850 million in 2008. Right after that AOL let the platform languish, eventually shutting it down for tax purposes and selling it for about $10m to Criterion Capital Partners. True story.

The new team of 20 or so employees has – surprise surprise – made the site profitable and it’s now coming back in user numbers. Mike Arrington’s recent interview with CTO Akash Garg suggested they’d be going for “Self expression, mobile and video will be strong components.” Clearly IM and Meebo is part of that.

Mobile-Based STD Test Kit To Improve Conditions In Third World, Frat Houses

Posted: 09 Nov 2010 05:43 PM PST


The necessity of getting tested for STDs is often avoided as much from embarrassment as from fear of the outcome. Like buying condoms at the store, it’s a situation where your private life is suddenly exposed, and even though it’s not something to be ashamed of, it’s something you’d rather keep to yourself. People shy from going to the clinic or hospital, even when it’s a serious matter for themselves or others, because of this natural tendency to eschew public scrutiny.

A project at St. George’s University in London aims to prevent this problem by making STD testing as private as pregnancy testing. They’re doing so by developing a mobile phone-compatible chip that would be capable of returning results within 15 minutes.

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