Archive for July 2nd, 2008
The Real Reason Powerset Sold (Out)
When visiting Israel in the middle of summer, it’s generally not a good idea to go for a walk in the afternoon, even if it is along the sea. The heat and humidity sap your energy, making you feel as if you spent nearly three hours in the gym. But that wasn’t enough to stop me from writing a post about Microsoft buying Powerset for what is rumored to be around $100 million. I’ve been unable to stop wondering why founder Barney Pell decided to take the money and run — afte...
Is There More to Netflix/Roku Than Meets the Eye?
Blogged about the intriguing Netflix/Roku deal back on May 20, but now an interesting piece on VentureBeat makes it even more (and more!) interesting. The new Roku box (doesn’t look like much, does it?) lets you stream any of Netflix’s 10,000+ “Watch Now” movies (movies that can be watched immediately over the internet for free with your subscription) to your TV set instantly. However, a new wrinkle may make the device even more attractive — with a simple softw...
Update: VCs Reap What They Sow
There’s grim data out today from two sources that track venture capital exits, both of whom noted that not a single venture-backed company went public in the second quarter of 2008. This is a grim news indeed, but not surprising. Update: Dow Jones issued a revised version of this release with new median deal value data. Those changes are reflected below. What’s worse is that M&A activity is down by almost half, median deal prices have dropped to $21.3 million in the latest thr...
Vyyo Out of Air?
Vyyo, loosely translated, means “air” in Hindi. And air is what the Norcross, Ga.-based cable broadband equipment maker with that name might have run out of. The company, which used to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker VYYO, is down to some $5.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, according to an SEC filing. The sad turn of events for the company comes a year after it received a big cash infusion — $35 million — from Goldman Sachs. It now has a market capitalization of...
AOL BigDownload Indeed!
AOL has introduced its newest online gaming site, BigDownload.com, moving to expand its niche audience and boost targeted ad revenue. The addition to AOL’s smaller GameDaily.com is a joint venture with Weblogs, an information-based Internet company. WIth 700 downloadable files, the site includes 100 full games and 600 teasers, along with game-related news. An additional 50 to 100 new files will be added to the site each month, according to sources Unlike its main competitor, Yah...
AT&T May Drop Dish, But Still Has U-verse
AT&T has decided not to renew its contract to resell television services provided by Dish Networks. The announcement, made last night in a filing from Dish with the SEC, have sent shares of the satellite company tumbling and analysts rushing to point out that this may not be the end for Dish and AT&T. My question is, why not? Where the heck is AT&T’s belated IPTV service? Several analysts said that AT&T’s refusal to automatically renew the five-year-old contract mean...
8×8, Inc. Awarded New VoIP Patent
8×8, Inc. the provider of the Packet8 broadband Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), videophone and mobile VoIP communication services, today announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 7,394,803 entitled “Distributed Local Telephony Gateway.” The patent was issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office yesteday on July 1, 2008. Interestingly, the patent relates to Internet Protocol (IP) communication systems and, more particularly, to broadband telephony services havi...
Microsoft Equipt includes Office, OneCare for $69.99/Year
Microsoft will start selling its Office programs to consumers on a subscription basis starting in mid-July. According to the news, it’s a a bid to reach “thrifty PC buyers” who would otherwise pass on the software. The software bundle, formerly code-named “Albany” , includes Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, giving them the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Additionally it comes with Microsoft’s Live OneCare computer security softw...
Skype 4.0 beta discussion on Squawk Box podcast now available
I realized today that although I wrote that Skype’s Mark Bartlett would be joining a Squawk Box conf call back on Friday, June 20th, I never followed up with the link to the show. That discussion about the Skype 4.0 beta is available from Saunderslog.com. I could not participate in the actual call, but it sounded interesting. I’m still not thrilled by Skype’s cross-platform “answer”, but it is what it is. Jim Courtney over at Skype Journal has a longer writeup ab...
GigaOM Interview: Citrix CTO Simon Crosby on Xen, Microsoft & VMware
Virtualization underpins cloud computing by making it possible to separate the software from the hardware. So far the dominant player has been VMware, with about 95 percent of the market, but Simon Crosby, CTO of Citirix and former CTO of open source virtualization company XenSource (which Citrix acquired last year), plans to take that market back. The launch of Microsoft’s Hyper-V hypervisor is part of of his strategy. The rest revolves around services that “play nicely with others...
UTStarcom Hangs Up On Handset Biz
UTStarcom, an equipment maker whose trajectory of fortunes resemble that of a bouncing ball, today announced that it was getting out of the handset business altogether. It stopped making handsets a while ago, but today it said it was spinning off its personal communications division, “selling the handset distribution business to Personal Communications Devices Holdings, a newly formed entity controlled by AIG Investments.” It will get about $240 million for the unit, with a $50 mil...
Time for a Surge in Afghanistan
The worst way to fight a war is on the cheap. Overwhelming force – if you’ve got it – is not only more effective than minimal commitment, it’s also more humane. Overwhelming force ends wars; minimal force prolongs them. We saw the failure of a measured response in Korea, in Viet Nam, in Iraqi pacification (we had enough force for the initial attack and it almost went too well). We can see the success of even a modest surge in Iraq. Last night the BBC ran a story on Iraqi childre...
Sorry, Your Inbox is Still Exploding
ReadWriteWeb’s Alex Iskold has an intriguing post, “Is Email in Danger?”, looking at how different forms of communication (Twitter, social networks, etc.) are emerging as alternative communication tools. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong question. The question that should be asked is whether e-mail can become smarter, more efficient and faster. Even with new tools such as Facebook and Twitter to send shorter messages, e-mail inboxes are not getting smaller. In reality, they&...
Create a Great Memory. Help make Fun Happen TODAY!
I have discovered the effects of “making fun happen” with friends can be magical. In the process we can take ordinary moments and turn them into special moments we remember for the rest of our lives. Every once in a while, depending upon where I am and the situation around me, I make it a point to help make fun happen. Every situation is different. But when you can take it upon yourself to do something special (and positive) that changes the atmosphere, you will end up creating great...
Is the economic downturn good for VoIP?
VoIP User members discuss how an economy in recession might affect take-up of VoIP services. Read More… ...
Microsoft Not Done With Yahoo, Circling For The Kill
You know the joke about Microsoft - they normally get things almost right on the third try. After failing miserably to get Yahoo in two initial attempts thus far, Steve Ballmer and Company might be returning for yet another try, reports The Wall Street Journal. Indeed, two weeks ago, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock to suggest they meet to discuss a new idea involving other partners, according to a person familiar with the matter. … Yahoo remains ...
Will They Really Modu?
I’ve been in Tel Aviv for almost two days and I still haven’t been able to shake off the jet lag, mostly because I’ve been so busy catching up with old friends, making new ones, and learning all I can about what’s going on in this tiny country, which has the highest number of startups outside of Silicon Valley. Here, working for a tech company is as much a part of life as being a member of the Israel Defense Forces. I typically write about a startup after hearing about i...
Make it Easy on Your Customer
Biz Chicks Rule has some good advice for small businesses looking to get the most bang for the marketing buck. Author Bridget Wright highlights the importance of building relationships with customers and making it easy for people to engage: “Good direct response advertising also makes it as convenient as possible for a prospect or customer to respond.” Can you say, Click-to-Call? ...
Toll Teleconferencing is now being taxed by USAC. InterCall appeals and loses?
In recent rulings the FCC has ordered certain Conference Call service providers to start paying into the controversial USF (Universal Service Fund). InterCall (the largest Conference Service Provider) has appealed, apparently unsuccessfully. Excerpt from FCC 08-160 Adopted: June 27,2008 Released: June 30, 2008 By the Commission: I. INTRODUCTION 1. In this order, we deny in part and grant in part a request for review filed by InterCall, Inc. (InterCall) of a Universal Service Administrative Co...
Skype hires Scott Durchslag for COO
About Scott Durchslag: Studied with the Dalai Lama Recently out of Motorola’s mobile devices business Scaled Mount Everest Alum of Grand Central, now a Google telephony operation Traveled through war-torn Yugoslavia as a freelance journalist International experience in Asia for McKinsey & Co. (India, Kuala Lumpur, Greater China / Taiwan) Worked in refugee camps on the border of Ethiopia and Somalia Skype news release and Motorola bio below the fold… tags: sky...
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News, opinions and announcements about fast changing communication tools and technologies, from various blogs and ezine.