Ajax Girl

In the buildup to this election season’s presidential debates, we’ve seen a number of services launch that aim to enhance the viewers’ experience (and hopefully keep them informed). During tonight’s highly anticipated Vice Presidential debate we put a few of them in the test.

Twitter’s Election Homepage:
It sounds like a decent idea on paper: take every tweet about the candidates and stream them on single, constantly updated site. Unfortunately, while it may be fun to look at for a few minutes, election.twitter.com is far too noisy to be worthwhile. There are no cohesive threads of arguments, and every quote that raises an eyebrow gets repeated ad nauseum. Verdict: Vetoed.

Hack The Debate:
A joint project from Al Gore’s Current TV and Twitter, Hack The Debate offers a video stream of the debate and overlays recent tweets at the bottom of the screen. The video is broadcast on both the cable channel and Current’s website (the site also includes a list of tweets, which are voted on by viewers to determine their popularity). Tweets that appeared during the debate ranged from irrelevant (but funny) to insightful. I could have done without the faded text that was supposed to describe common terms, but it wasn’t too distracting. Verdict: Approved. Nothing ground breaking, but it’s more fun to watch tweets at the bottom of your screen than meaningless “instapolls” on the news networks.

C-SPAN Debate Hub:
This cable network devoted to broadcasting sessions of Congress has put together a surprisingly well-done election hub. The site includes a frequently updated list of tweets and blog posts, along with a live video stream of the debate. There’s also a timeline that maps the arguments of both candidates, and offers transcripts and video footage of each clip. Verdict: Approved, and would also make an excellent resource after the fact.

MySpace MyDebates
MySpace’s MyDebates has been sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates as its”Official Online Companion”. The site features a live video stream of the debate, archived clips categorized by issues discussed, and popup polls with near-instant results. For the most part it did its job well - overlays were unintrusive, and while the polls may not be meaningful, they help keep the viewer interested. Verdict: Approved, and also a valuable resource for learning about the issues.

RealScoop
RealScoop, which we covered last week, is supposed to automatically analyze audio characteristics of each candidate’s voice and determine if they’re being honest. It sounds cool, but it doesn’t seem to work - at least, not on politicians (perhaps they’re just too dishonest). Neutral statements are constantly tagged as “unbelievable”, and believability often switches sides mid-sentence. Verdict: Vetoed. A fun diversion, but not very useful.

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/~3/6-iua344Zho/

Yahoo News has launched a beta version of its massively popular news site that reaches a reported 44 million unique visitors a month. The new site has introduced a number of basic aesthetic changes (the font is slightly larger and there’s more space between text) along with some new design changes that incorporate rich media and gear the site to better serve its diverse variety of readers. To get to the new site, head to Yahoo News and hit the link at the top of the page.

Alan Warms, Yahoo’s VP GM of News, Technology, and Education, says that the site has been tweaked to allow its editors more flexibility when it comes to incorporating media like videos and photos. He also says that the site is being adjusted to give readers easier access to content: at the bottom of each article the site will now include a handful of links to related stories and popular articles, both on Yahoo and elsewhere on the web (this feature incorporates the Buzztracker technology that Yahoo acquired last year).

Yahoo will will also pay attention to where its users are coming from - if a reader comes from Digg or Yahoo Buzz, only five paragraphs of their news stories will be shown initially, with the related links prominently featured (Yahoo figures that these readers are more likely to click through to new stories, and are less concerned with reading the full article). Readers who visit Yahoo News directly will be shown the full articles by default, and there will be an option for all readers to automatically show full articles.

Because of Yahoo’s massive amount of traffic it has to be careful whenever it institutes a new design, so the site may remain in beta for some time. Last month the site launched a new home page for the first time in over a year.

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/~3/6KylRSef-Ck/

Qik has announced that its video streaming software will come pre-installed on Nokia’s just-launched 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen phone - the first deal of its kind for the still-young startup. The deal marks a big win for Qik, as it will expose the company to a wide audience while removing its biggest barrier to entry (many mobile phone users are reluctant to download and install new software).

Qik allows users to stream live video recordings directly from their phones over Wi-Fi or high-speed data networks, effectively turning the phone into a “mobile television studio”. These videos can be viewed live on Qik’s homepage or in embeddable players scattered across the web (all videos are archived for future reference). The software is available for a variety of phone models (you can see the full list here), including jailbroken versions for the iPhone, though Apple has yet to allow any video apps on the App Store.

The deal may help give Qik a leg up on its competitors Kyte and FlixWagon, neither of which come preinstalled on any phones.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9P37XJOqdDU/

Google has posted some more information about how search has been integrated into the first Android-powered phone, the T-Mobile G1, which goes on sale October 22.

Not surprisingly, search functionality pervades Android with an array of ways to query (just start typing, tap one of UI’s many search buttons, or press the G1’s dedicated search key). Dropdown suggestions are readily available as well, helping you identify common web search queries or reuse the ones you’ve run recently.

Most importantly, Google is providing an API that developers can use to “implement basic searchability - with recent query suggestions - in their apps”. The hope appears to be that developers make keyword search an integral part of their user experiences, thereby reinforcing the notion in consumers’ minds that search is king on the web - mobile or otherwise.

But is keyword search really the best paradigm for mobile devices? Typing on such a small object is a tricky and error-prone chore, regardless of whether you have a real physical keyboard or a plastic touch screen. Browsing and flicking around - two behaviors popularized by the iPhone - require less effort and ensure more precision. Unfortunately, they are very primitive behaviors that don’t afford much data to the device.

It would be intriguing to see Google, or some other company, innovate to combine the power of keyword search with the usability of simple finger gestures. Swype, a company that launched at TechCrunch50 and obviates the need to pick up your finger while “typing”, is a step in the right direction. However, it still doesn’t shake the notion that we should be entering words and phrases into our handheld devices to get the results we want.

Perhaps it’s impossible to see Google free its services from the keyboard since they’re so input-heavy. But an experiment at creating a browsable search engine (for the web, map directions, email, etc) would be welcome nonetheless.

Watch below as a Google employee demonstrates how search currently works on Android.

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

The Copyright Royalty Board has set rates that companies like Apple and Amazon must pay music publishers for each digital track they sell. And the rates, drum roll please, . . are the same as they were before: 9 cents per song. So everyone can breathe easy. iTunes won’t shut down! (Not that it ever was going to shut down, but it was a good story).

Faced with an industry in transition, with new rules being written every day, the three-judge panel opted to do nothing. And maybe that was the prudent thing to do. But by setting these rates for the next five years, the Copyright Royalty Board missed an opportunity to help put the entire digital music industry on a more rational footing. As I argued yesterday, instead of a per-track fee, the Copyright Royalty Board should have set rates as a percentage of digital music revenues. That way, the whole industry could have grown together.

Until all music becomes free, at least.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/yI_13UvhzDk/

As Lehman Brothers sells off its assets following its bankruptcy, there is still a big question as to wha twill happen to its venture arm and, more importantly, how any change in ownership will affect the companies in which Lehman Brothers Venture Partners holds a stake. Like many investment banks, Lehman got into venture investing in the mid-1990s to try to capture some of those venture returns. The investment management group that it was a part of was sold off to Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman on Monday, but the venture arm was not part of that sale. Instead, Lehman Brothers Venture Partners is trying to spin itself off as a separate venture firm with about $800 million in assets.

But if it cannot do that, it will either go to hungry creditors or a financial buyer who may be more interested in liquidating the fund than in nurturing the startups in its portfolio. Those startups include Kayak, SearchMe, Jaxtr, Endeca, and about 80 more (a partial list from CrunchBase is below).  They could wake up tomorrow and find that they have a new shareholder who is even more impatient for a quick exit than its existing ones.  It’s like being an orphan and wondering who your next foster parents will be. That can really mess with a startup’s development.

And this scenario may not b limited to Lehman Brothers. As other investment banks rethink whether they should be in the venture business, many more startups could find themselves with new shareholders. What if Goldman Sach, Morgan Stanley, or JPMorgan decide to get out of the venture business as well?

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

Dipity, a timeline-based lifestreaming aggregator, has launched its 2.0 release to the public. The new release includes a variety of new social features that have turned Dipity into a viable alternative to FriendFeed and other lifestreaming services, as well as a replacement for standard RSS readers.

Dipity revolves around powerful timelines built in Flash, which intuitively display content like blog posts, YouTube videos, and Flickr photos in small hovering rectangles that can be expanded. The site is very well designed, and while the timelines seem to lag occasionally when they refresh, they’re fun to play around with (and if you don’t like the timelines, there are a few alternative views).

The service itself should be familiar to anyone who has used FriendFeed, SocialThing!, or any number of similar sites. Users are asked to input their account credentials from services that include Flickr, Picassa, and Twitter, which are used to populate the timeline. Beyond these, Dipity allows users to automatically monitor keywords across services like Digg and YouTube (you can have new Obama videos automatically appear in your timeline), and RSS feeds.

The site also include standard networking features - you can become friends with other users on the service, follow your favorite members, and look at timelines that are public (the default setting) to see what your friends are up to.

Dipity originally launched last April, but Director of Products BK Gupta says that this was primarily a technology demo that the company used to test and flesh out its features. In the meantime, the site has produced a number of cool mashups incorporating its timelines, including a Digg timeline called Archaeologist and a similar product for YouTube (you can now incorporate both of these into your main Dipity feed using the keyword search).

My biggest concern about Dipity is whether or not it will be a practical place for users to carry out discussions around the items they share. FriendFeed isn’t popular because it looks especially attractive - it’s popular because it’s conducive to helping users participate in “the conversation”. That said, Dipity’s timelines are fun enough that the company may not even need to view itself as a direct competitor to FriendFeed. I may go to FriendFeed to talk about current events, but if I had to choose a widget to put on my blog, I’d probably go with Dipity.

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/pXMDq–Stdo/

Dipity, a timeline-based lifestreaming aggregator, has launched its 2.0 release to the public. The new release includes a variety of new social features that have turned Dipity into a viable alternative to FriendFeed and other lifestreaming services, as well as a replacement for standard RSS readers.

Dipity revolves around powerful timelines built in Flash, which intuitively display content like blog posts, YouTube videos, and Flickr photos in small hovering rectangles that can be expanded. The site is very well designed, and while the timelines seem to lag occasionally when they refresh, they’re fun to play around with (and if you don’t like the timelines, there are a few alternative views).

The service itself should be familiar to anyone who has used FriendFeed, SocialThing!, or any number of similar sites. Users are asked to input their account credentials from services that include Flickr, Picassa, and Twitter, which are used to populate the timeline. Beyond these, Dipity allows users to automatically monitor keywords across services like Digg and YouTube (you can have new Obama videos automatically appear in your timeline), and RSS feeds.

The site also include standard networking features - you can become friends with other users on the service, follow your favorite members, and look at timelines that are public (the default setting) to see what your friends are up to.

Dipity originally launched last April, but Director of Products BK Gupta says that this was primarily a technology demo that the company used to test and flesh out its features. In the meantime, the site has produced a number of cool mashups incorporating its timelines, including a Digg timeline called Archaeologist and a similar product for YouTube (you can now incorporate both of these into your main Dipity feed using the keyword search).

My biggest concern about Dipity is whether or not it will be a practical place for users to carry out discussions around the items they share. FriendFeed isn’t popular because it looks especially attractive - it’s popular because it’s conducive to helping users participate in “the conversation”. That said, Dipity’s timelines are fun enough that the company may not even need to view itself as a direct competitor to FriendFeed. I may go to FriendFeed to talk about current events, but if I had to choose a widget to put on my blog, I’d probably go with Dipity.

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/pXMDq–Stdo/

Dipity, a timeline-based lifestreaming aggregator, has launched its 2.0 release to the public. The new release includes a variety of new social features that have turned Dipity into a viable alternative to FriendFeed and other lifestreaming services, as well as a replacement for standard RSS readers.

Dipity revolves around powerful timelines built in Flash, which intuitively display content like blog posts, YouTube videos, and Flickr photos in small hovering rectangles that can be expanded. The site is very well designed, and while the timelines seem to lag occasionally when they refresh, they’re fun to play around with (and if you don’t like the timelines, there are a few alternative views).

The service itself should be familiar to anyone who has used FriendFeed, SocialThing!, or any number of similar sites. Users are asked to input their account credentials from services that include Flickr, Picassa, and Twitter, which are used to populate the timeline. Beyond these, Dipity allows users to automatically monitor keywords across services like Digg and YouTube (you can have new Obama videos automatically appear in your timeline), and RSS feeds.

The site also include standard networking features - you can become friends with other users on the service, follow your favorite members, and look at timelines that are public (the default setting) to see what your friends are up to.

Dipity originally launched last April, but Director of Products BK Gupta says that this was primarily a technology demo that the company used to test and flesh out its features. In the meantime, the site has produced a number of cool mashups incorporating its timelines, including a Digg timeline called Archaeologist and a similar product for YouTube (you can now incorporate both of these into your main Dipity feed using the keyword search).

My biggest concern about Dipity is whether or not it will be a practical place for users to carry out discussions around the items they share. FriendFeed isn’t popular because it looks especially attractive - it’s popular because it’s conducive to helping users participate in “the conversation”. That said, Dipity’s timelines are fun enough that the company may not even need to view itself as a direct competitor to FriendFeed. I may go to FriendFeed to talk about current events, but if I had to choose a widget to put on my blog, I’d probably go with Dipity.

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/pXMDq–Stdo/

Dipity, a timeline-based lifestreaming aggregator, has launched its 2.0 release to the public. The new release includes a variety of new social features that have turned Dipity into a viable alternative to FriendFeed and other lifestreaming services, as well as a replacement for standard RSS readers.

Dipity revolves around powerful timelines built in Flash, which intuitively display content like blog posts, YouTube videos, and Flickr photos in small hovering rectangles that can be expanded. The site is very well designed, and while the timelines seem to lag occasionally when they refresh, they’re fun to play around with (and if you don’t like the timelines, there are a few alternative views).

The service itself should be familiar to anyone who has used FriendFeed, SocialThing!, or any number of similar sites. Users are asked to input their account credentials from services that include Flickr, Picassa, and Twitter, which are used to populate the timeline. Beyond these, Dipity allows users to automatically monitor keywords across services like Digg and YouTube (you can have new Obama videos automatically appear in your timeline), and RSS feeds.

The site also include standard networking features - you can become friends with other users on the service, follow your favorite members, and look at timelines that are public (the default setting) to see what your friends are up to.

Dipity originally launched last April, but Director of Products BK Gupta says that this was primarily a technology demo that the company used to test and flesh out its features. In the meantime, the site has produced a number of cool mashups incorporating its timelines, including a Digg timeline called Archaeologist and a similar product for YouTube (you can now incorporate both of these into your main Dipity feed using the keyword search).

My biggest concern about Dipity is whether or not it will be a practical place for users to carry out discussions around the items they share. FriendFeed isn’t popular because it looks especially attractive - it’s popular because it’s conducive to helping users participate in “the conversation”. That said, Dipity’s timelines are fun enough that the company may not even need to view itself as a direct competitor to FriendFeed. I may go to FriendFeed to talk about current events, but if I had to choose a widget to put on my blog, I’d probably go with Dipity.

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/pXMDq–Stdo/