Last week brand-new video startup Encoding.com was named a finalist in Amazon’s Start-Up Challenge, one of seven in the running for $100,000 in cash and Amazon Web Services credits and a possible investment from Amazon. Resource-intensive video startups have a pretty good record in the competition — if you can say such a thing for a one-year-old event. Last year video platform Ooyala took home the grand prize, and Justin.tv was a finalist. Denver-based Encoding.com uses on-demand cloud computing to enable pay-as-you-go video encoding (translation: transforming an uploaded file from whatever format it comes in into a clip fit to...
Looks like Sprint is going to keep Nextel after all. Seems it views Nextel’s iDen walkie-talkie network as a “key differentiator” against rivals and plans to aggressively rejuvenate it. Never mind that Nextel might fetch as much as $5 billion that could be used in the company’s market share battle with Verizon Wireless (VZ) and AT&T (T). Never mind that it has been hemorrhaging customers even faster than Sprint (S), adding to the company’s financial woes. Never mind that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse earlier this month said an iDEN sale was a possibility, telling reporters that “everything is on the...
I want to tackle the issue of Enterprise 2.0 and its ROI for companies from a different angle today. I want to consider the effect of individual “information units” on a company’s growth, and hence its market cap. “Information units”? Yup. In the information economy, success is guided by superior generation and use of data, with manufacturing as a commodity output of that information. In the manufacturing economy, companies’ success was predicated on their production lines, access to raw materials, and superior distribution channels. I don’t to overstate the case of information, as these manufacturing-based factors are still critical. But...
Color me impressed: Google has released a custom Google Earth application for the iPhone / iPod Touch, and it’s stunning. The Google Earth geographical software has been altered to make maximum use of the iPhone’s screen and functionality. You’re able to tilt the device to adjust your view when browsing mountainous terrain, use the ‘My Location’ feature to jump right to where you are in the blink of an eye, and use Google’s local search engine to look for information on cities, places and businesses. Google has also added additional layers to the application, namely Panoramio and Wikipedia, for geo-located...
Like a runaway process, Apricot quickly killed off the option to have Linux on their netbook offering. Instead of selling the Picobook Pro with SuSE Linux Enterprise Edition as previously announced, consumers can purchase it with any operating system they like. As long as they like Windows XP. While the lack of choice may bother some, consumers can take solace in a price reduction. The original SuSE-powered Picobook was priced at £279 while the XP version was set at £328. The new price for a Windows XP Picobook Pro is £299. Linux is a perfectly good platform for the...
MP3 players will be on consumers’ shopping lists this holiday season, but can anyone compete with Apple’s family of iPods? There are many MP3 players on the market, but if any device could be a viable alternative to the iPod, the Zune seems to be a likely candidate. Free from the iTunes DRM on music, it also boasts a built-in FM radio tuner and a set of music-discovery and sharing attributes that could capture consumer interest. Still, it looks like the Zune has some catching up to do, at least judging by traffic to manufacturers’ sites. Note: “All iPods” includes...
In the exciting new category of modern hand-held computers — devices that fit in your pocket but are used more like a laptop than a traditional phone — there has so far been only one serious option. But that will all change on Oct. 22, when T-Mobile and Google bring out the G1, the first hand-held computer that’s in the same class as Apple’s iPhone. I have been testing the G1 extensively, in multiple cities and in multiple scenarios. In general, I like it and consider it a worthy competitor to the iPhone. Both devices run on fast 3G phone...
You’ve heard the rumors but it’s almost time to get the straight scoop from Apple on its notebook news. Some say it’s an $800 MacBook–a would be netbook-killer. Others say it might be a refresh of the entire MacBook and MacBook Pro line. I’m guessing it’s the former. Apple could use a sub-$1,000 machine in its lineup, especially with the economy’s current state, and a low-cost, lightweight laptop could be the perfect holiday gift (for those who still have money left). I’d personally love to see a MacBook with touch capability that could run the 1,000-plus apps in the App...
Filed under: Rumors, Apple TVThe rumor mill is heating up this weekend in advance of Tuesday's press event, and one left-field rumor is coming from a familiar, yet unlikely source: Weblogs Inc./Mahalo founder and TUAW godfather Jason Calacanis, who dropped a mild bombshell in an interview with a Cnet blogger on Friday (yo, JC, where's the love?): Apple is developing HDTVs that will support streamed content from iTunes, says Calacanis, integrating the Apple TV functionality along with the display and tuner. I would file this one under "signs unclear, ask again later" -- while Apple clearly has both the display...
When you are suffering from a chronic disease, sometimes the only people who can understand what you are going through are other people with the same condition. But when that condition is rare, it can be difficult to find them. WeAre.Us wants to help. It is a platform of 16 social networks that connect people with chronic illnesses. And it just launched a revamped version (which mainly features an improved user interface). The site entered the crowded health 2.0 market last April, but stands out with its focused internal framework and commitment to supporting the patients who use it....
Given all the depressing and uncertain financial news the world over these days, something tells me price points are going to be one of the first things that both consumers and manufacturers look at when it comes to mobile computers. Face, it, we all look at price anyway and the rise of the Netbook certainly proves that it is a key factor. But in tougher times, I’m guessing it may become even more of a differentiator. Apple is getting ready to make yet another announcement this month. This one (still in the late rumor stage) is that Apple has...
Small business owners conflicted about where to put down roots have a new web tool at their disposal today with the launch of ZoomProspector. The site purports to match businesses with the cities that can best foster their growth. The free service, which claims to possess the same compatability-determining power of Match.com, hopes to catch the eye of at least some of the estimated 750,000 businesses in the U.S. deciding where to locate or branch off each year — many of which don’t have the resources to run analysis on geography, demographics and culture before opening their doors. While this...
Sony announced its third-generation electronic book reader this week at the same time it appears that the iPhone has overtaken the Kindle as the industry’s No. 1 reader. Stanza, a book-reading application available through Apple’s App Store, has been downloaded more than 395,000 times and continues to be installed at an average rate of 5,000 copies a day, according its developer Lexcycle [via Forbes]. Forbes notes than Citigroup has estimated that Amazon will sell around 380,000 Kindles in 2008, making the iPhone — at least in loosely-defined terms — the No. 1 eBook device. Titles available for Stanza are mostly...
I'm killing time before Barb gets home from running some errands, so I figured I'd make use of a spare memory module I have lying around the house. I don't know if mainstream consumers are going to mod or upgrade netbooks, but another possible differentiator for these devices could be how easy they are to upgrade. It couldn't be any easier to get at the guts of the MSI Wind. I simply removed the battery and then the nine visible screws on the back of the device. Yes, one was under the warranty sticker; I'm a rebel I tell...
