Motorola Xoom update rolling out starting tonight, brings 'required enhancements' for Flash 10.2
In the spirit of issuing software updates with the sole purpose of preparing for more software updates, Motorola says there's about to be some brand new firmware for the Xoom, which will cross the Ts and dot the Is required to install the promised Adobe Flash Player 10.2. The company doesn't say when, exactly, to expect Flash, only that it's "coming soon," but the update will also fix a bug with D
Google May Face Antitrust Hearings In Senate
Google is constantly under antitrust scrutiny these days, whether it’s for large acquisitions into new markets such as its proposed ITA deal or for its general dominance in search. The company has faced antitrust investigations in Europe. But now Google faces possible antitrust hearings in the U.S. Senate . Senator Herb Kohl (Democrat from Wisconsin), who is the Chairman of the Senate Subcomm
Why Strong, Objective Financial Research Is Important To Tech Firm Execs As Well As Investors
I have discussed the business model of Google's Android in depth with my subscribers through research reports and email. The reason is for the depth is that many outside of our closed community truly do not understand the value of Google's Android, issuing statements such as "Where are the profits?" Android, like Youtube, Grandcentral (Google Voice), and Admob, was a longer term, strategic investm
LinkedIn Today Is Live: A Walkthrough
It’s nice to see a big web company put out a compelling new product instead of just sitting on its laurels while it’s waiting for its IPO. Today, LinkedIn did that with LinkedIn Today, its social news product for business people. LinkedIn isn’t trying to compete with Twitter, Facebook, or Flipboard here. Instead, it wants to be the Wall Street Journal of social news. How does it do? At first
5 Social Apps That Will Make SXSW More Intimate
Rick Wittenbraker is a Co-Founder and General Partner at Stage One Capital, an early stage and seed investment fund focused on investments in Internet, mobile, social media, software, and new technology sectors. Rick has lived in Austin for over six years and previously while attending the University of Texas.As a die-hard Austinite, I have a particularly close interest in SXSW every year. It’s
Sony's Kaz Hirai consolidates power as likely CEO successor to Howard Stringer
Sony's in the midst of yet another realignment this morning. Most notable is the promotion of Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai to Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President, effective as of April 1st. The change in title also carries new responsibilities for Sony's Consumer Products & Services Group putting Kaz in charge of all of Sony's consumer electronics businesses
TechCrunch Review — The iPad 2: Yeah, You’re Gonna Want One.
In January 2010, shortly after its unveiling, I first got my hands on an iPad. My initial reaction? “The iPad is like holding the future.” And that’s funny because here we are, just a little over a year into that future, and something new has come along that makes holding the iPad 1 feel like holding the past: the iPad 2. A week ago, after its unveiling, I got some hands on time with the new hard
Firefox 4 Moves Out of Beta, New Downloads Available Now
Firefox 4 has moved out of its beta period and is now in the “release candidate” stage.The last beta version, Firefox 4 Beta 10, was released just six weeks ago. Current Firefox 4 beta users will be automatically upgraded to the RC version of the browser, and RC users will be automatically updated to the final release of Firefox 4 when it is available.Much-heralded features of Firefox 4 include
iPad 2 review
To say Apple's iPad 2 is an easy tablet to review is somewhat of an understatement. The device, a follow up to last year's wildly successful (and currently market-defining) iPad, is nearly identical when it comes to software, and though improved, closely related on the hardware side as well. With a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display, the general size and shape of the device has remained the same, and t
Dept. of State & 18 Other Governments Apply for Code for America
Code for America, the non-profit organization that creates government-changing apps for communities around the U.S., has received applications from 19 U.S. city, state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of State.Each of these government entities will compete to be one of the three to five communities that gets Code for America fellows to create a customized, open-source app to
5 Ways To Integrate Technology Into Your Child’s Education
Jeff Galinovsky is regional manager for Intel’s classmate PC in North America where he focuses on expanding education products as well as building an education ecosystem. You can follow him on Twitter at @ClassmatePCDude.Most of us didn’t have today’s technology options when we were in school, so while parents realize technology has become an integral part of their child’s education, they’re so
Why Opera Isn’t Worried About GetJar’s Ban
GetJar’s decision to pull the Opera browser from its app store because of Opera’s new in-browser app market wasn’t a surprise. As we reported, the mobile browser maker likely knew GetJar was going to bring down the hammer because of its non-compete rules and yet Opera launched the app store anyway. Why? Because GetJar is still smaller potatoes for Opera, but more importantly, it’s just one part of
(Founder Stories) Stack Exchange CEO Joel Spolsky On When To Take VC Cash
Today, Stack Overflow founder Joel Spolsky announced that he raised another $12 million in venture capital and that he is changing the name of his company to Stack Exchange. He also happens to be our next guest on Founder Stories, the TCTV show where angel investor and Hunch co-founder Chris Dixon talks shop with other founders. (Disclosure: Dixon is also an investor in Stack Exchange). The in
How Google & Bing Keep Spam Out of Search
The Future of Search Series is supported by SES New York Conference & Expo, the search and social marketing conference helping brands, agencies, and professionals connect, share and learn what’s next for the interactive industry.Web spam: It’s the badly written, plagiarized, keyword-stuffed, advertising-packed nonsense that no one wants to see in search results.In fact, “content farms,” as
Apple TV software update adds NBA League Pass, MLB.tv and Netflix 5.1 audio support
It didn't make it into the iOS 4.3 update notes, but second generation Apple TV owners are experiencing several new capabilities today including the ability to stream baseball and basketball games via NBA League Pass Broadband or MLB.tv and support for 5.1 audio on Netflix Watch Instantly. The Apple TV isn't the first device to bring these in front of the TV (the PS3 says hello, while Roku is sti
Get a Job in Social Media, Marketing or Web Development Today
If you’re seeking a job in social media, we’d like to help out. For starters, Mashable‘s Job Lists section gathers together all of our resource lists, how-tos and expert guides to help you get hired. In particular, you might want to see our articles on How to Leverage Social Media for Career Success and How to Find a Job on Twitter.But we’d like to help in a more direct way, too. Mashable‘s jo
VMWare View Lets iPad Users Access Corporate Desktops
Virtualization giant VMWare released VMWare View for iPad on Wednesday, in an effort to help enterprise users gain access to their workstations without sending IT departments into a tizzy.VMWare View for iPad [iTunes link] is the company’s virtual workstation solution for large businesses and enterprises and it’s free for existing customers. Virtual machines are created and stored at a data cen
80+ Can’t Miss Things To See & Do at SXSW 2011
Amy Webb is the CEO of Webbmedia Group, an award-winning digital strategy agency that advises Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies, media organizations, foundations, governments, universities and other groups around the world. She is also the founder of Knowledgewebb.net, a membership website for personalized training in digital media. Twitter: @webbmedia. Plancast: @webbmedia.This week kicks
Green Buildings Software Startup, Retroficiency, Closes $800,000 Seed Financing
A Boston startup that makes energy auditing software for the commercial buildings industry, Retroficiency, raised $800,000 in a seed round led by energy management services firm World Energy Solutions (NASDAQ: XWES), and joined by a number of angel investors including Jean Hammond and Jill Preotle (both early investors in ZipCar) the companies announced today. Facility managers, auditors or engin
64GB iPhone, Foursquare 3.0 & Hootsuite Analytics: This Morning’s Top Stories
Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. We’re keeping our eyes on four particular stories of interest today.iPhone Prototype With 64 GB of Memory UnearthedPhotos and a video of an iPhone prototype sporting 64 GB of memory have appeared on the web. The current iPhone 4 model has a maximum of 32 GB o
Google Chrome Gets Updates: New Interfaces, Faster Browsing
Google announced Tuesday a few changes to Chrome, its engineered-for-speed web browser.The super-fast beta version that was announced a few weeks ago has already been updated to a stable version. For the Googlers working on Chrome, speed entails not only faster code (the latest version of Chrome boasts a 66% improvement in JavaScript performance) but also easier-to-navigate interfaces.With that
Here’s What Google, Salesforce & Sequoia Are Investing In
Inbound marketing software company HubSpot announced Tuesday that it has received a $32 million round of Series D funding from Google Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Salesforce.com.The five-year-old startup was one of the earliest firms (in my memory, at least) to take advantage of social media, search and mobile to attract leads and sales, frequently running online seminars on those subjects as
News Corp Backs Digital Music Alternative
Like a gorilla through the mist, a new music service has entered the jungle in a big way: Beyond Oblivion, which is partially owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, just raised $77 million in funding in a round led by News Corp and global charity foundation Wellcome Trust.News Corp first invested in Beyond Oblivion last April, and the service is currently in talks with Universal, Warner Music
Microsoft Finally Making Smart Moves – Is It Too Little Too Late, Though? Here’s How To Make Money Regardless
In the controversial article Steve Jobs Calls End Of the PC, We Call The End Of The Fat Margin Tablet – Including The Pretty iPad, With Proof! I attempted to make clear that those that are really in the know know that looking towards the future, Apple is not the real threat. As quoted from the blog post: The CEO of the hardware side of the recent Microsoft/Nokia alliance (Elop) put it most a
Grid2Home Raises $2.6 Million To Help Smart Devices And Power Suppliers Communicate
On Tuesday, a San Diego-based startup Grid2Home raised $2.6 million in a new round with its previous investors, Granite Ventures according to a new SEC filing. The company sells integration software and systems to: semiconductor manufacturers, smart device makers, utilities and automotive companies, currently. Its technology ensures that grid-connected devices — like smart home meters, and house
Optical tweezers manipulate microscopic objects using an iPad, raw brainpower
Okay, so maybe the whole brainpower thing is a distant second to the iPad itself, but still -- being a rocket scientist probably doesn't hurt when manipulating microscopic objects via a multitouch display. That's the kind of setup that students and boffins alike have going at England's University of Bristol, where iTweezers are being used to control a tiny rod about 300 nanometers wide, amongst o
Microsoft goes on a hiring spree for new Xbox hardware devs, staffing up for next console push?
Before you go leaping to any conclusions, do remember that Microsoft plans on keeping the Xbox 360 going until at least 2015 so we're not really talking imminent changes here. Nonetheless, the software giant has listed a plethora of new job openings, with the most interesting ones being at its Mountain View research campus, where a team responsible for "defining and delivering next generation con