Ajax Girl

Gnip, the guys that are helping move data around from one social network to the next, launched v 2.0 of the service tonight.

The new version of the service allows data consumers (services like Plaxo that take data from other services, like Twitter, Friendfeed, Digg, Delicious, etc.) to have data from requested users pushed to them. It’s no longer “Hey, TechCrunch just tweeted. Go query the API to get the data.” Now it’s “TechCrunch just tweeted - here’s the data.” Data consumers are no longer required to build pollers for any of the publishers pushing data into Gnip, they just give Gnip an endpoint and they push the data to them in real time.

Data consumers can get complete public data streams for Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Six Apart and others without ever visiting those sites or accessing their individual APIs, subject only to the terms of service of those services. And this data can be gathered via a REST-based PI or the newly launched XMPP support.

Gnip also added a number of filter options to allow data consumers the ability to create rules based queries based on tags, keywords, etc.

Gnip’s business model is freemium - lots of data for free and commercial data consumers pay when they go over certain thresholds (non commercial use is free). The model is based on the number of users and the number of filters tracked. Basically, any time a service is tracking more than 10,000 people and/or rules for a certain data provider, they’ll start paying at a rate of $0.01 per user or rule per month, with a maximum payment of $1,000 per month for each data provider tracked. For now billing is turned off and the service remains completely free. Thirty to sixty days from now, people will start to pay.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/N1qIJl49JjM/

Recommendation engine StumbleUpon has been facing some tough times lately: earlier this month we reported that eBay was looking to sell the startup less than 18 months after acquiring it (the company refuses to comment). And its traffic has been showing signs of stagnation (though the number of registered users to steadily rise). But tonight, the site is launching a new feature that may very well turn things around: a long awaited install-free web toolbar.

StumbleUpon has long been hindered by the fact that it requires a browser plugin that users have to download and install. Such plugins create a large barrier to entry, as they are time consuming and tend to be associated with malware. These problems are magnified by the fact that StumbleUpon’s purpose isn’t immediately obvious - many users have to actually try it out before they understand what it does (for the uninitiated, it uses an algorithm based on your preferences and other users to direct you to websites that you’ll find interesting).

The service’s web-based browser toolbar, which launches tonight, overcomes these issues by replicating much of StumbleUpon’s functionality without requiring an install. To access the web toolbar, you simply visit the revamped StumbleUpon homepage and click on one of the recommended links. The toolbar sits conveniently at the top of the browser window in its own frame, with a prominent “Stumble” button sitting aside a set of stars for rating the sites you come across. The service uses cookies to persistently keep track of your actions across multiple sessions (you can import this data to the toolbar if you ever choose to install it).

To coincide with tonight’s announcement, StumbleUpon is introducing a partner program for sites that will take advantage of the web toolbar. At launch, The Huffington Post and HowStuffWorks will include widgets alongside their articles that will allow users to launch a StumbleUpon browser toolbar that is restricted to their sites (a toolbar launched at Huffington Post would only stumble across Huffington Post articles). The program will likely be a big success, as it allows partner sites to increase their page views by introducing users to new content, while helping StumbleUpon reach a broader audience.

StumbleUpon will still have some obstacles to overcome - the purpose of the web toolbar won’t be immediately obvious to new users, especially those who reach it from partner sites like The Huffington Post. But the burden of the browser plugin has finally been lifted, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these additions prompt impressive growth numbers in the coming months.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/s7SSgop6BvQ/

As part of its 10th birthday celebration, Google has opened the doors to an antiquated version of its search engine that dates back to 2001. The portal has all the trimmings from the old site, including the goofy logo (complete with exclamation point), a missing “I’m Feeling Lucky” button, and the not-so-modest claim of having indexed 1,326,920,000 web pages.

It’s cool to see things the way they were (though they haven’t changed all that much), but the real fun lies in running a few searches. Google’s blog post offers a few examples: The iPod referred to a Document Processing System, and YouTube gets zero hits.

And most humbling: a search for TechCrunch yields a single link to a now-defunct learning website.

Because so much of the web has changed since 2001, Google is also including links to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, which includes cached copies of pages from that time period. Google says that the site will remain open for one month - after that, it’s history.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/QmvaxYCDH3U/

Now that Congress has failed to bail out Wall Street, the country (and world, to a lesser extent) has begun bracing itself for nuclear winter. The technology sector is no exception, even if the Silicon Valley tends to fancy itself as immune to broader economic turmoil.

As Fred Wilson points out, startups fortunate enough to enjoy venture capital will fare the best during these hard times. So we compiled a list of all the technology startups that have raised at least $25 million over the past two years, according to CrunchBase. The ~160 startups to stockpile that much capital recently are listed below.

Have we missed any relevant companies or funding rounds? Submit them to CrunchBase and we’ll update this list.

1. Facebook - $455M
2. Xiaonei - $430M
3. ZeniMax - $310M
4. Nanosolar - $300M
5. OverSee - $210M
6. OANDA - $200M
7. Kayak - $196M
8. VMware - $150M
9. Plastic Logic - $150M
10. eSolar - $140M
11. Demand Media - $135M
12. SulfurCell - $134M
13. Modu - $120M
14. United Mobile - $115M
15. Zhaopin - $110M
16. Ning - $104M
17. Glam Media - $104M
18. Specificmedia - $100M
19. hulu - $100M
20. SpinVox - $100M
21. 9You - $100M
22. Rearden Commerce - $100M
23. Ausra - $97.8M
24. CDNetworks - $96.5M
25. Move Networks - $91.3M
26. Spot Runner - $91M
27. Tesla Motors - $85M
28. Big Fish Games - $83.3M
29. Realtime Worlds - $81M
30. Adconion Media Group - $80M
31. The Active Network - $80M
32. HelioVolt - $77M
33. Youku - $77M
34. HowStuffWorks - $75M
35. Datapipe - $75M
36. Vantage Media - $70M
37. A123Systems - $70M
38. Boston Power - $68.6M
39. Infinia - $66.5M
40. LinkedIn - $65.8M
41. Fisker - $65M
42. Brightcove - $64.4M
43. SilkRoad technology - $64M
44. Coremetrics - $60M
45. ReachLocal - $55.2M
46. Veoh - $55M
47. Federated Media - $54.5M
48. Slacker - $53.5M
49. RockYou - $52.5M
50. 51.com - $51M
51. GarageGames - $50M
52. ChannelAdvisor - $50M
53. Slide - $50M
54. Revolution Money - $50M
55. HealthCentral - $50M
56. Blowtorch - $50M
57. obopay - $49M
58. Strands - $49M
59. JumpTap - $48M
60. GridPoint - $47M
61. ice - $47M
62. Greenplum - $46M
63. Clear - $44.4M
64. Jingle Networks - $43M
65. freebase - $42.5M
66. BitTorrent - $42M
67. Avail Media - $42M
68. Amobee - $42M
69. Metaweb Technologies - $42M
70. Pure Digital Technologies - $40M
71. Teneros - $40M
72. Enforta - $40M
73. Trilliant - $40M
74. Undertone Networks - $40M
75. Turbine - $40M
76. Tagworld - $40M
77. SiBEAM - $40M
78. SearchMe - $39.6M
79. fabrik - $39.2M
80. Zynga - $39M
81. Turn - $38.5M
82. LifeLock - $37.9M
83. GreatCall - $36.6M
84. Bestofmedia Group - $35M
85. Segway - $35M
86. hi5 - $35M
87. Angie’s List - $35M
88. Yodlee - $35M
89. Sermo - $34.5M
90. Lehigh Technologies - $34.5M
91. TicketsNow - $34M
92. Dailymotion - $34M
93. meebo - $34M
94. Clearspring - $33.5M
95. XunLight - $33M
96. Cuil - $33M
97. Waterfront Media - $33M
98. Dilithium Networks - $33M
99. Seatwave - $33M
100. iWeb Technologies - $32.6M
101. Mzinga - $32.5M
102. Vuze - $32M
103. Vanu - $32M
104. Pando - $31.9M
105. Etsy - $31.3M
106. BuzzNet - $31M
107. Global Roaming - $30.5M
108. NebuAd - $30.2M
109. Metacafe - $30M
110. 56.com - $30M
111. IGA Worldwide - $30M
112. Batanga - $30M
113. VideoJug - $30M
114. Zillow - $30M
115. GodTube - $30M
116. MobiTV - $30M
117. Eyeblaster - $30M
118. badoo - $30M
119. Zazzle - $30M
120. Viagogo - $30M
121. MFG - $30M
122. MOLI - $29.6M
123. Automattic - $29.5M
124. Intacct - $29M
125. Genius - $29M
126. RadioFrame - $28M
127. LiveOps - $28M
128. PGP Corporation - $27.3M
129. Tideway - $27M
130. Milestone Systems - $27M
131. Palo Alto Networks - $27M
132. BlackArrow - $26.8M
133. ChoiceStream - $26.5M
134. ContextWeb - $26M
135. Solarflare - $26M
136. Ruckus - $26M
137. Quantcast - $25.7M
138. Become - $25.5M
139. Yelp - $25M
140. Trulia - $25M
141. Dash - $25M
142. Zecco - $25M
143. Visible World - $25M
144. PharmaNation - $25M
145. Meraki - $25M
146. Nimbuzz - $25M
147. Gemini - $25M
148. DeviceVM - $25M
149. Retail Convergence - $25M
150. Splunk - $25M
151. Mimeo - $25M
152. Reunion - $25M
153. Firefly Energy - $25M
154. Optaros - $25M
155. Koolanoo Group - $25M
156. SpringSource - $25M

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/PGgPWlK1vgE/

Apparently more than a few traders had heart palpitations today. As the market closed, Google’s share price appeared to fall apart, falling to $200 from an opening price of $396. At least that’s what the Nasdaq ticker showed.

That was $62 billion in market cap that was zapped away in the last four minutes before the fiscal quarter ended and the markets closed, and it was automatically reported by Google Finance and other sites (the comments here on MarketWatch’s uncorrected article show how freaked out some people were).

And the “drop” came as the markets surged on news that the bailout was still in play and mark-to-market rules were suspended (allowing banks to stay solvent). So what happened?

“It was a data glitch, which is extremely rare” said one hedge fund guy I know. “But yeah, for a second we freaked out.” In after hours trading Google is back to normal, trading at $407.

Update: From Briefing.com (still trying to figure out if any actual trades occurred, everyone says no so far):

Google trades after 3:57 pm under investigation by Nasdaq; trades were “potentially erroneous” - Bloomberg (404.14 -39.57)

Update 2: Ok, we’re hearing that some trades DID go through at the crazy prices, and they will almost certainly be undone.

Update 3: NASDAQ has posted an official statement, and is canceling all of the erroneous trades:

Pursuant to Rule 11890(b) NASDAQ, on its own motion, has determined to cancel all trades in security Google Inc Cl - A “GOOG” at or above $425.29 and at or below $400.52 that were executed in NASDAQ between 15:57:00 and 16:02:00 ET. In addition, NASDAQ will be adjusting the NASDAQ Official Closing Cross (NOCP)and all trades executed in the cross to $400.52. This decision cannot be appealed. MarketWatch has coordinated this decision to break trades with other UTP Exchanges. NASDAQ will be canceling trades on the participant’s behalf.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/DZIfbMINwEM/

YouTube has launched a new feature as part of its Insight tool for content creators that allows members to visually examine exactly where in their videos their viewers gain and lose interest. The new feature, called Hot Spots, displays the dropoff data in a dynamic graph that can be viewed alongside the original video.

To determine which points in a video are “hot”, Hot Spots compares each video to other videos of similar length on YouTube - if people are leaving more quickly than average at a given time, you’ll know you have some tweaking to do. The site also tracks rewind and fast forward data, so you can see if viewers are repeatedly watching a certain segment.

There are a number of obvious applications for the new feature: publishers can objectively determine which segments of the video are the most appealing, and edit their content accordingly. Advertisers can use multiple YouTube videos to run different versions of an ad to see which ones are the most effective. Other users will likely find more creative applications - I wouldn’t be surprised to see a comedian test out a stream of jokes to see which ones bomb.

You can read more about the announcement here.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/vVgoF1BkSoY/

When the iPhone was first released, there was an abundance of speculation over whether the phone’s lack of Flash support would cripple its browser and give us something less than “the real web” that Apple had promised. At the time, Steve Jobs explained that the full version of Flash wouldn’t run well on the iPhone (the iPhone runs on an ARM11 chip, which doesn’t play nice with Flash), but that Adobe’s Mobile Flash was lacking in functionality - he wanted a product in the middle before Apple would consider putting Flash on the iPhone.

Today at the Flash On The Beach (FOTB) conference, Adobe has confirmed that such an application is in development (it had previously been speculated to exist, but there was no official word from either company Adobe previously annouced it had a version working on an emulator). Adobe Sr. Director of Engineering Paul Betlem made the announcement, stating “My team is working on Flash on the iPhone, but it’s a closed platform.”

Betlem’s insistence that the iPhone is a closed platform is meant to infer that Adobe isn’t ultimately in control of whether or not Flash will ever make an apperance. This may be strictly true, but it’s unlikely that Adobe would begin work on the iPhone plugin in the first place if it didn’t have a reasonable expectation that Apple would include it, once it met Jobs’ expectations.

So it sounds like Flash is on the way. But do we really want it?

These days, most of us use Flash primarily to view videos on sites like Hulu, YouTube, and CNN. Flash on the iPhone may give us access to all of these sites (assuming its CPU can handle video), but I’d rather see native applications for each of these media hubs similar to what YouTube has created. Flash is notoriously CPU-intensive, which is the last thing the iPhone needs with its already lackluster battery life - native apps would allow for H.264 video playback on the phone’s Quicktime player that would probably require only a fraction of the CPU cycles.

Other issues with Flash crop up on more standard websites. Flash-based sites can be fun and innovative, but they also tend to be inefficient and unnecessarily difficult to navigate (see the Chipotle homepage for a good example). Finally, there’s the concern over Flash-based advertisements, which can be incredibly intrusive.

These issues aside, Flash still plays an integral role on the web, and there’s nothing more frustrating than getting denied trying to watch a Flash-only video clip. Apple should include Flash if only for completeness’ sake, while trying to give web developers an incentive to use it sparingly on their mobile sites.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/g7YyA0ahduo/

Microsoft CEO Steve “Sweat” Ballmer said that the financial crisis will “sap consumer and business spending,” leading to a downturn in Microsoft’s revenue. He explained that no company will be immune to the crisis although analysts predict an 8 percent rise in revenue this quarter.

Read more…

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4RBfgV0zG2w/

With one of the most fascinating PR headlines I’ve seen this year we find ourselves smack in the middle of the perfect Web 2.0 storm: Latinos, babies, and social networks. Introducing <a HREF=”http://BabySpotLatino.com
“>Babyspot Latino, a social network for parents of Latino babies or babies of Latino parents. Add in the words “Twitter” and “API” and you’ve got a grand slam.

Don’t get me wrong, this a noble goal. It brings a new voice to baby care to a market traditionally under-served by standard social networks. The site debuted on a Spanish-language talk show featuring cute little shavers capering like cupids and the site will include educational material on baby health and pregnancy along with the standard BabySpot features like photo sharing and group creation.

My main question is how that headline (”Latino Babies and Social Networking Unaffected by Financial Markets - BabySpotLatino.com Debuts with Great Success on Univision’s Despierta America“) made it past some PR flak’s absolute bull sensor. Connecting the launch of a Latino baby site with the economic collapse of the free world is probably not the image young mothers from here to Jalisco want to conjure up while dandling junior on their knees.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/49UJtVOtKcM/

In a move that could start a new wave in PC sales, Dell and Paramount Pictures today announced that they have signed a joint venture that will see “Iron Man” come pre-loaded on Dell computers for anyone who wishes to order the unit.

So far, the details of the deal are a bit disappointing. Paramount is the only studio that has signed on and “Iron Man” is the only film being offered. Dell claims that more titles will eventually be offered during the purchase process, but for now, it looks like Dell and the studios have a “wait and see” attitude to decide if they want to move forward with a broader strategy.

“Iron Man” will be offered on Dell’s Inspiron, Studio, and XPS models and can be added as an option during the purchasing process. Much like the DVD, the film pre-installed on Dell computers will run you $20 and feature the bonus footage contained on the DVD. More importantly, you can burn the movie onto a DVD, but there’s one catch: you can only do that once.

The option to add “Iron Man” to Dell computers is available now.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/N54UvJTJWmk/