Ajax Girl

Sometime last week, in the middle of the TechCrunch50 conference, we reached an awesome milestone - over 1 million average daily readers to our RSS feed. It took us just under 39 months to get to this point, a little over three years.

The number of subscribers tends to bounce around a lot because it represents the number of people each day who view our feed in a RSS reader like Google Reader, Outlook, NewsGator, BlogRovr or Netvibes (which happen to be our top five sources of RSS readers). On weekends, for example, it dips down quite a bit. Tuesday and Wednesday are usually our highest days on average.

Like most blogs, we continue to provide all of our content in full in the feed even though it means less visitors to the site and less page views. If someone takes the time to add us to their reader, I consider them to be among our most loyal readers even if they never actually visit our site.

If you would like to subscribe to the feed the information is on the top right of the site. The feed is feedproxy.google.com/TechCrunch. Alternatively you can subscribe via email just add our toolbar to your browser. For the truly early adopter users, you can also view our feed via Twitter or Friendfeed.

Thank you to everyone who reads our content, whether its by visiting the site or not. You allow me to do what I love best, and make a living from it: write about technology and new startups.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/25JCMdzkx2g/

Microsoft, for all its problems, is a great software company. Its core products, the Windows operating system and the Office productivity suite, still dominate their respective markets and, while they are continually facing more capable competition and hence have declining market share, Windows and Office remain strong product offerings.

Yet, it is clear that something is rotten in the State of Redmond. A reading of Microsoft’s Annual Report only strengthens this conviction. For those that do not want to read the entire thing Brier Dudley’s blog offers an excellent summation, focusing on the issues that keep Ballmer up at night.

However, it does not seem to be the competitive landscape which has changed the consumer orientation towards Microsoft. What has really thrown Microsoft off, is that other companies have shown those consumers both most willing to try new technologies and most willing to open their wallets for technology, the consumers of Generation-Y, that they do not need Microsoft. Companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google, have changed the way that young consumers consume, and therefore purchase, technology. And that is a very dangerous position for a software company to be in, especially one that is not known for being nimble on its feet.

Facebook is perhaps the clearest example of this. While Mark Zuckerberg and others, brand Facebook a Social Utility, for young people, who really only care about functionality, Facebook succeeds because it is the killer web application for communications and personal information management. Facebook Mail is not without its problems, but the combination of Facebook Mail, Facebook Chat, and what is functionally an auto updating address book, makes Facebook into the new Outlook not only for those who are inside of Silicon Valley, but for anyone of the millions of people who use Facebook as either their sole or their primary digital identity. LinkedIn, is even more explicit than FaceBook is, in trying to become a person’s primary stop for vital, in this case professional, communications, as it is functionally a digital Rolodex.

Another example of Microsoft’s inability to understand younger users, comes in what I can only call their software design philosophy, which I can summarize as “Throw in More Features”. Yet, that seems antithetical to those products which are selling most successfully in the market place, especially to young people. Microsoft Office is the clearest example of this. The myriad number of options buried in Word 2008’s ribbons, will rarely be used by most users. And in Excel 2008, some users might need pivot tables, but vast majority of those that use spreadsheets will never ever need to use them, nor will they ever write a macro, or script in Visual Basic. What is clear from the success of Google Docs and Zoho, especially amongst college age students, is that people want tools that are simultaneously powerful and simple to use. And that is why not only are web based office replacements, which focus on ease of use,facilitating collaborative exchange, and being able to publish in digital environments, but also iWork and Star office, are gaining traction.

So, what is the take away from all of this? For Microsoft to pick up the proverbial ball and start running with it, it will need to listen to what the consumer wants, and design products that fit those needs, rather than assuming that the consumer will buy whatever it is that Microsoft hands them, just because it is a Microsoft product. And, the young consumers of today, the big spenders of tomorrow, want products that are focused on mobility, ease of use, speed, and simplicity. Perhaps what is most frustrating is that it is clear that it is not the hardware that is keeping Microsoft from building an Apple killer. There are great products that run the Windows platform. But young consumers, I believe, do not want just great hardware, but want a great computing experience, given how they create, disseminate, and consume information. Until Microsoft starts listening to young people and creating products and services that simply work, and that means no crashes, no blue screens, and a dead simple user interface, it will not surprise me that a melancholy mood will hang over Microsoft, and its share price.

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

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/-IVA1dXNOwI/

In a move that was not only morbid, but called into question by a slew of critics, a Colorado newspaper reporter Twittered a three-year old’s funeral Wednesday after the child died in a car accident earlier in the week.

In what some are saying is the result of the newspaper’s undying desire to be the first to report on local news, it Twittered the live events at the funeral instead of waiting to report on it after it was over. The decision to Twitter the funeral was called into question by most in the Colorado press and elsewhere who claimed it wasn’t the right place, nor the right time to use a real-time social tool to discuss the events of the service.

“I think that reporters are often in the uncomfortable position of reporting from settings where people are in great grief,” one critic told ABCNews.com. “These situations call for the greatest understanding and discretion on the part of the reporter. To be putting real-time notes out there as opposed to waiting until the ceremony is over; there’s an element of pillaging a private moment of grief that I’m uncomfortable with.”

The reporter, Berny Morson, still has his Twitter feed active and the live events of the funeral are still included in his timeline. His coverage of the funeral begins with a description of the casket and mourners filing in and ends when “family members shovel earth into [the] grave.”

Morson and his newspaper, Rocky Mountain News, have yet to comment on the firestorm surrounding his questionable use of Twitter.

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/gDoCxlUNXoE/

Japan, the world’s third biggest Internet market in terms of web users (following China and the US), disappointed at last year’s TechCrunch40 conference with no company from Nippon presenting in San Francisco at all. But this year, the country bounced back, with a total of three companies having been selected as TechCrunch50 finalists (Opentrace, Tonchidot, Gazopa) and two others as DemoPit companies (Adlibe and Mulodo).

These five companies helped show a worldwide audience that development of innovative web services is not geographically limited to the US. TechCrunch50 as a whole turned out to be a very international event, the result of TechCrunch specifically appreciating applications from abroad. Israel, for instance, had a particularly strong showing.  Not only were there more start-ups based outside of North America presenting as TechCrunch50 finalists, DemoPit companies and exhibitors, but there was also a significant increase in international attendees: Taking Japan as an example, the number of visitors coming to San Francisco rose from a handful in 2007 to a few dozen this year.

These are the three Japanese start-ups that presented on stage this year:

Opentrace by Rinen

Opentrace, an enterprise solution created by two-man start-up Rinen, describes itself as a “massive, world-wide database of product materials”. The site aims at contributing to lower the impact of CO2 emissions through a tracking system that encompasses various kinds of products, from food to air planes. The final goal is to become a “green” Wikipedia for users wanting to investigate the environmental impact of any product on the planet.

Opentrace breaks down the supply chain of consumer goods and other products into sequences, analyzing how much of a burden each step in the production and distribution process causes for the environment. The final result is presented as a visual map or list on the site.

Manufacturers can use the service to find out how green their products are by inputting information usually found on purchase slips. Opentrace encourages companies to use the results on product labels, empowering consumers to make buying decisions based on environmental considerations. The service is free to use.

You can watch the presentation on video here. More information on Opentrace can be found in Jason Kincaid’s post.

Sekai Camera by Tonchidot

Tonchidot’s CEO Takahito Iguchi delivered a headstrong presentation on Sekai Camera (World Camera in Japanese), an iPhone-only social tagging app, which was surely one of the most futuristic products presented at TechCrunch50.

Here is how it works: The application makes use of the iPhone’s camera, linking visual data, locations and information. Information is displayed in the form of tags, which pop up when the camera captures a previously tagged object. One example: iPhone owners wanting to know the more about a painting exhibited in a museum can point their handset at it, after which Sekai Camera would immediately present the corresponding Wikipedia article or any other user-generated information.

Although company representatives dodged questions about how (and if) the app actually works, Tonchidot achieved one thing: Sekai Camera was one of the most talked about and controversial products of the whole conference. Iguchi gave one-word responses to detailed questions from the panel of judges, such as “imagination,” “join us, and “We have a patent.”  When one judge suggested he would soon sell to Google, he won over the crowd by raising his forefinger in objection and saying, “Never!”

Despite the antics, having lived in Japan for four years now, I am confident to say it’s highly unlikely a Japanese company would dare to present a hoax to such a large audience and star-studded jury (I heard rumors like this many times following the presentation).

Price and availability of Sekai Camera are unknown at this point. See my previous post for more information.

Gazopa

The Gazopa presentation proved that foreign web companies interested in taking part in next year’s conference can overcome language and cultural barriers if they are willing to. Among the Japanese participants, CEO Hideki Kobayashi’s delivered one of the most professional performances, balancing between “Americanization” and a Japanese flavor.

His company aims at redefining image search through a self-developed technology that uses features from a picture to retrieve similar images. Results are mainly filtered through analyzing the color and shape of the object pictured.

Gazopa’s key feature is that no search terms have to be entered: Just upload a picture or right-click on an image you found on the web to let the service find similar ones. For example, if you are unhappy with the color of a T-Shirt you like the design of, Gazopa will help you find it in a different color.

Click here to watch a video of the demo (here is my previous post on Gazopa).

DemoPit Companies:

Waget by Adlib

Waget, a mobile web service, was showcased in the DemoPit by Adlib (CrunchBase entry).

The service is geared towards people wanting to retrieve information on shops and restaurants in the vicinity they are in. Users are supposed to email the telephone number of the venue they want to know more about to Waget to get its URL, coupons, a map and other data.

People can also add info themselves to the database, i.e. in the form of opinions and recommendations (this feature was not available when I accessed the fixed Internet site). The service is very similar to a search in Google Maps on a mobile phone.

Deckkr by Mulodo

Deckkr is the name of a Firefox 3 extension, which Tokyo-based Mulodo officially released on the first day of TechCrunch50. The tool is supposed to enhance the browsing experience for Firefox users through a pop-up window, which can be accessed on any given web site to access related information, search the web, bookmark, use Twitter etc. without navigating away from the page (you can read my full review here).

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

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

Verisign is exploring the sale of its Moreover and Weblogs assets, we’ve confirmed from a source with knowledge of the sale process. Both businesses were acquired in October 2005 - Moreover for an estimated $25 million and Weblogs for an undisclosed but significantly smaller amount.

We had previously heard rumors that Verisign was in negotiations to sell the assets, which have been combined into the Real-Time Publisher Services business unit, to the Associated Press in connection with a settle agreement over the AP’s 2007 copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit against Verisign. However, that litigation was settled last month without any agreement over the RTP assets.

Now Verisign is offering the business unit to a wider group of potential buyers. In an offering document we’ve obtained, Verisign reports business unit revenues of $6.5 million in 2005, growing to an estimated $8.8 million in 2008.

Verisign continues to restructure its core business under new CEO Jim Bidzos.

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

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