Ajax Girl

TechCrunch got political and got into the endorsement business, apparently based on their tech policy.

So, surely Ajaxian needs to get in on this action. How better to do so than take a look at what toolkits are used by the top runners:

Barack Obama

Barack is trying to be inclusive by weilding Prototype, Scriptaculous, and jQuery in the same page. This is a risky approach as it adds weight, and could pit the rivals against each other.

Hillary Clinton

Hillary has also gone for Prototype and is using Ben Nolan’s Behaviour library to add JavaScript unobtrusively, and is wrapping her Flash with SWFObject.

John McCain

This is a bit of a party foul. A view source on McCain’s website shows you Dreamweaver all over. There are more MM_* functions than you can swing a monkey at.

Mitt Romney

Mitt has gone for a different approach. He is hoping that an army of Mootools lovers will pull him through.

Conclusion

I will have to go for Barack with a slight edge. His website is very nicely designed, and I loved how it used to start off just with a video of his message.

Source: Ajaxian
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ajaxian/~3/229359377/super-tuesday-ajax-endorsements

Some interesting new figures have been released by eMarketer today that shows that podcasts are taking off in both traffic and revenue, and the outlook is even better again.

The general view on podcasting is that it had been passed by as video became the hot vertical, particularly as earlier iPod’s gave way to new players that supported video as well as audio. These figures would suggest that there’s a lot of growth still to be had in the podcasting sector.

According to eMarketer, the total podcast audience in the United States was 18.5 million in 2007 and will rise to 65 million in 2012. “Active listeners” (defined as people who download more than one podcast) were 6.5 million in 2007 and expected to be 25 million in 2012.

The revenue figures will bring a smile to any VC firm with investments in the sector. Advertising in 2007 hit $165 million and is expected to grow to $435 million in 2012.

One interesting aside was eMarketer attributing the growth to podcasts being promoted by the mainstream media. What they didn’t add is that many of the top lists globally on iTunes today also have a strong presence from those very sources; while greater awareness of podcasting is growing the overall market for podcasts, the mainstream media is taking a big slice of the pie.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229357604/

MySpace is holding an event in San Francisco tomorrow with 250 application developers to ceremonially launch its application platform…for developers only, that is.

Over the next month, developers big and small will have the opportunity to begin developing applications for MySpace using the company’s new, OpenSocial-based APIs. Until that month has passed, only a maximum of ten or so users will be able to install each app at a time, ensuring that the period is used strictly for development, testing, and feedback purposes. MySpace has also not given any developers first dibs to the platform and is thereby opening up a fair playing field to all. The applications directory won’t be rolled out, and the user cap lifted, until March when the platform is effectively released for users as well.

This staggered approach to deployment is one of several things that make MySpace’s platform different from Facebook’s, which was released all at once and with several launch partners. While MySpace’s platform will provide developers with the standard canvas pages and profile real estate, it will also allow developers to add functionality to users’ “homepages” (i.e. their start pages that are not shown to friends). This provides developers with the rather unique opportunity of providing users with more private functionality than can be afforded by a profile page. For example, a developer could integrate email and RSS feed capabilities that turn MySpace into a more personalized homepage-type destination in contrast to (and perhaps in support of) its social app pedigree.

MySpace is also allowing Flash on profile pages. Beyond that, much of what developers encounter will be familiar. Canvas pages will be left free for a range of monetization opportunities (ads, sponsorships, sales, etc). MySpace isn’t releasing its own ad network at this time but has suggested heavily that it will develop ways to help app developers make money in the future. All of the data presented by public profiles on MySpace will be accessible to developers, and applications will be able to send notifications to users’ “friends updates” feed.

As for OpenSocial compatibility, company representatives say that 90% of MySpace’s platform aligns with the OpenSocial specification, meaning that OpenSocial developers will have to do a little bit of reengineering to get their applications to work. However, they also say that MySpace is completely committed to making OpenSocial the de facto standard (naturally, they were mum on whether they had explored the option of building around Facebook’s platform spec as well, as Bebo and KickApps have done).

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229351021/

Zimbra, an open-source alternative to Microsoft Exchange Server that was acquired by Yahoo this past September, has released version 5.0 of its collaboration suite. The upgrades are various and wide-reaching, with support finally here for the BlackBerry and several improvements made to Zimbra’s browser-based email client.

In addition to managing their email, calendars and contacts, customers can now use Zimbra’s browser-based client to instant message, collaborate on documents via wiki, and share files. Yahoo search functionality, and local search in particular, has been integrated into the browser-based client as well, enabling users to search Yahoo Maps from within their email interface.

Zimbra’s desktop client, which was soft launched last March and emulates much of the browser-based client, now supports non-Zimbra email accounts (like Yahoo Mail and Gmail, or any POP/IMAP account). However, desktop support for instant messaging, document collaboration, and file sharing has yet to be added.

While versions of Zimbra have existed for Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, iPhone and other mobile devices, only now has Zimbra released a version of its server that can work with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and, therefore, BlackBerry devices. Zimbra is only the fourth company, behind Microsoft, Novell, and IBM, to develop compatibility with the BlackBerry server, and the only one to do it without direct assistance from RIM, producer of the BlackBerry. John Robb of Zimbra says that BlackBerry support required a lot of development so that the Zimbra server could emulate Exchange Server and communicate with the BlackBerry server.

Zimbra has passed the 20,000 customers and 11M+ mailboxes marks. Companies can choose to run Zimbra by installing the company’s server package locally or paying a third party to host the software remotely. While Robb says that Zimbra is not focused on providing any hosted solutions soon, it is something that they plan to do in the longer term.

Zimbra

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229350778/

The Viacom-backed Flux social network, which launched just last September, is really taking off.

Flux is a partially distributed social network. Like Ning (and more recently KickApps), it’s a place for sites to easily create a new social network, or bolt a social network onto an existing site, and add users from other platform social networks with a single click. Ning has the benefit of a big head start and over $44 million in funding. Since launching way back in late 2005, 165,000+ social networks have been created on Ning.

The two companies are serious rivals. In late November we published a point-by-point comparison of Flux and Ning as seen by Ning CEO Gina Bianchini. Few punches were pulled.

Flux is only a few months old, but had the benefit of not only Viacom’s money but also their brands - at launch hundreds of Viacom properties launched Flux social networks, including their MTV brands. In late November they opened the platform and anyone could join and create a social network.

Today, Flux says, they have grown to over a million registered members and 2,000 self-service created social networks. They also also released a developer API to give users more flexibility in creating social networks.

Flux may have far fewer social networks than Ning at this point, but the heft of the Viacom properties is clearly giving it a traffic boost. Comscore says Flux now has 5.8 million monthly unique visitors, compared to just 2.1 million for Ning (update: it has been pointed out in the comments that Compete data tells a different story).

Flux

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Ning

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KickApps

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229336690/

I’m headed to Barcelona tomorrow and will be rolling around the Catalonian country-side for a few days before MWC, which starts next Monday. I’d love to talk to start-up folk and/or fans in B-town and Girona. My number in Spain, thanks to the super-cool MaxRoam, will be +34957780732 and my SMS-only number will be +972543563127. I’m also available via email.

I’d like to plan a CG meet-up on Wednesday at about 6pm. Drop me a line @ john at crunchgear dot com if you’d like to sit down for a beer, a chat, and a bit of tapas.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229372946/

Tomorrow CVSDude, provider of hosted software development environments, will announce a partnership with oDesk, an online marketplace for developers. The deal will eventually result in an oDesk branded version of CVSDude’s technology.

These two companies are a natural fit for one other. Whereas oDesk helps developers from all over the world find clients, and vice versa, CVSDude provides tools that help developers collaborate with each other and share their work with clients. In particular, CVSDude hosts version control systems that enable developers, perhaps located continents apart, to work on the same set of code without having to worry about redundancy and conflicts.

This partnership will start as a cross-promotional one with oDesk and CVSDude generating leads for each other from their respective sites. But CVSDude has also been developing an API that will soon allow them to license their technology to oDesk for rebranding purposes. oDesk will be the first to use the API, although CVSDude says that it is seeking other partners as well.

The ease with which companies can outsource work should be improved by this deal, since oDesk will become a one-stop shop for both finding developers and executing projects. While CVSDude says that 60% of its 40,000+ customers are in the United States, many of its customers also log in from China and India.

CVSDude is located in Brisbane, Australia and has been in operation since 2002. While part of a government-funded incubator, the company is looking for its first round of angel investment.

oDesk

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229284147/

Google’s stock continues its swan dive. It wasn’t that long ago that some bloggers (well, one blogger) were thinking Google could hit $2,000/share. I scoffed, although to his credit Blodget did say it could take 10-15 years for it to happen.

Three months later and Google’s lost $100 billion in market cap. What say you now, Mr. Blodget?

By the way, putting this one absurd prediction aside, I continue to love Silicon Alley Insider (and not just because of this). It has quickly become one of my must-read blogs.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229246947/

With 24 US States holding presidential primaries tomorrow for Super Tuesday, we took a look at which candidates are getting the most traffic online, and the results (at least with the GOP) were surprising.

For previous TechCrunch coverage, check out the TechCrunch Tech President endorsements here, and full coverage of where each candidate stands on tech issues here.

Democrats: Obama

No great surprise here and the gap in traffic between Obama and Clinton closely reflects the poll differences between the two coming into Super Tuesday. Obama’s site was the first to offer a full social network for supporters (see our initial review here) and it’s well worth a look even if you’re not interested in politics, or live outside of the United States. Clinton has a polished site, but it doesn’t go nearly as far as Obama’s does….and also currently has a featured picture of Hillary’s back, not a nice look when you’re trying to connect with voters.

Republican: Huckabee

This was a surprise result, because with Ron Paul supporters seemingly everywhere online I would have thought Paul would have had the most trafficked website. Perhaps the distributed nature of Paul’s campaign means that supporters aren’t necessarily drawn to his site. Huckabee leads as at the end of December (the last month figures are available) and it cant be due to the site itself, because it’s awful, at least under Firefox on a Mac. Distributed content can be found via small button in the bottom right hand corner, but in terms of stickiness it’s just not there. Romney and McCain’s websites aren’t brilliant, but they at least provide a range of options for supporters. Paul’s campaign site embraces the many different parts of the internet the campaign is using (see our review of Paul’s online strategy here.)

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229231247/

Some users aren’t happy at the prospect of a Microsoft takeover of Flickr’s parent company, Yahoo. To protest, they do what Flickr users do - upload images.

In this case, the images are all anti-Microsoft, and there’s some really creative stuff. The group has, so far, 917 members and 123 photos. What’s your favorite? Here’s mine.

More from Scott Beale.

Flickr

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/229226572/