Move over, MiFi — this Sprint Overdrive dual-mode WiMAX / EV-DO mobile hotspot that just hit our inbox has taken over as our new object of broadband desire. Our tipster says internal training on the Sierra-built device has already begun, and that the unit itself features a microSD slot, support for location services, and has a 100-foot Wi-Fi range — but sadly we don’t have pricing or availability deets to share yet. We’re hoping we find out more at CES — and we’d bet that new dual-mode U301 WiMAX modem that leaked a couple weeks ago makes an appearance as well. Fingers crossed.
I’ve been hearing rumblings about C3, the carbon-focused stealthy startup from Thomas Siebel — the guy who sold Siebel Systems to Oracle for billions of dollars — for the past couple of months. But TechCrunch has the kicker on them this week. The company has filed several D-filings with the SEC in recent weeks, in […]
Yesterday I had a good conversation with Nivi, the co-author of the great Venture Hacks blog. He recently added me to AngelList, a directory of angel and seed investors that Nivi curates. Our discussion covered a variety of things, including trying to define the parameters that qualifies someone to call themselves an angel investor.
Historically, I’ve always said that someone can call themselves an angel investor only if they actually make angel investments! I’ve been exposed to many “angel investors” who have actually never written a check for an equity investment. These non-angels come in many shapes and sizes and often end up either offering to become “advisors” for equity (or worse – a retainer), “brokers” (where they help you raise money for a percentage raised), or employees (where the end up trying to get a job). Now, there is nothing wrong with this, other than them presenting themselves as “angel investors.” Oh, and some people just like to be in clubs with other people who presumably make investments hang out.
My historical viewpoint was an angel investor is defined as someone who makes at least one equity investment in a seed or early stage company each year of at least $25,000. So, if an angel investor has been investing for four years, they have at least four separate investments of at least $25,000 each for a total of at least $100,000 invested. Basically, if you can’t (or don’t) invest at least $25,000 per year, I don’t think you should call yourself an angel investor.
As we worked through the StartupVisa stuff, we realized this wasn’t a high enough threshold for the type of angel investors we thought should be able to sponsor a Startup visa. So, we came up with the definition of a “Super Angel.” A Super Angel is an angel investor who has been investing for at least three years and has made at least two equity investments of at least $50,000 each in each of the three years. This is a total of at least six equity investments totaling at least $300,000. Most of the people I consider Super Angels are substantially above this threshold.
What do you think of these definitions? Too strict or too loose? Any other thoughts on how to qualify someone as an angel investor?
General Motors has officially taken away the Dec. 31 deadline for bids for its Saab brand and said that it will restart some production lines in January after a shutdown. Originally GM had given itself until the end of the month to consider bids for the loss-making Swedish brand as it moves forward with winding down the company.
Shutting down Saab would eliminate around 3,400 jobs and affect 1,100 dealerships.
Saab spokesman Eric Geers said that the company will restart some production lines again in January for its new 9-5 sedan.
“We have the orders and we have to deliver them as usual. We also have the orders for the 9-3 and others. The factory has to continue again,” Geers said. ”We are preparing the wind-down process. At the same time we are open to options, to bids that come in. Therefore the deadline has also been dropped,” Geers said.
Our pals over at That’s Fit recently asked their readers some questions about their friends, whether they need to lose weight, how much and if they would tell them such a thing to their face. The results are interesting in that they reveal what we’re all thinking when it comes to friends and fat.
Many need to lose, but we won’t let it come between us
Just 10 percent of the nearly half a million people who answered the survey said they have no friends who need to lose weight, while 10 percent said they had one friend who could stand to lose a few and 64 percent said between two and five of their friends needed to slim down.
Five percent of respondents said all of their friends were too heavy. Fifty-six percent of those who said they had friends who needed to slim thought their pals could lose 20 pounds or more. But most people — 95 percent of those surveyed — said they wouldn’t let a little extra weight get in the way of their friendships.
And it would take a lot for most people to even broach the subject of weight with a friend: 49 percent said they’d never mention that a friend ought to lose weight, with 23 percent saying the friend would need to lose more than 20 pounds before they’d mention it.
Just 2 percent of people said they’d talk about weight with a friend who needed to lose just five pounds; no doubt those people are also among the 5 percent who would let weight end a friendship.
Heavy friends make some of us feel better
While half of the people who answered the survey said they didn’t feel better about their weight when around their heavy friends, 27 percent said they felt better and 22 percent admitted to feeling better about their own weight if their friends are heavier than they are.
Thirty-two percent said they felt more attractive or had higher self-esteem when around their heavy friends.
Still, friends can sometimes be a good influence when it comes to picking up healthy habits. Sixty percent of respondents said they watch what they eat more when they’re with a friend who makes healthier choices, and 32 percent sometimes eat better with such a friend.
On the other hand, 44 percent said they eat more bad foods when around friends who also engage in such behavior, and another 48 percent sometimes do. Twenty-six percent said they think their friends sabotage their weight-loss efforts by eating unhealthy food in front of them, and 13 percent by telling them they shouldn’t diet.
(By Sarah E. White for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News)
It seems that Clayton Morris, from FoxNews, has confirmed from a “source inside Apple” that there will be a “big” event in January 26th. This source also stated that the event will focus on the mobility space, which could actually mean a lot of different things. That is if there is if this event even is real.
Could this mean mobility as in an updated iPhone or the announcement of the iSlate/iGuide/iPad/iPod Touch DX? Or mobility could even mean new notebooks equipped with the new architecture Intel is rumored to launch next week. Or maybe there will even be a new iPod Hi-Fi. That thing was somewhat mobile.
Amazon has just released its “Best of 2009″ lists, showing the top-selling devices, books, DVDs, and such from this, the final year of the aughts. And although 2009 has not brought us hovercycles or Lunar colonies, it has brought us love-stricken vampires and a great number of replacements for paper-based book products, both of which sold extremely well. Do you like drawing conclusions from lists? Then buddy, this one’s for you.
* Electronics: Kindle Wireless Reading Device
* Books: “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown
* Kindle Books: “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown
* DVD: “Twilight”
* Video On Demand: “Twilight”
* Music: “I Dreamed a Dream” by Susan Boyle
* MP3 Album: “No Line on the Horizon” by U2
* MP3 Song: “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas
* Video Games: Wii
* Computers: ASUS Eee PC 1005HA 10.1-Inch Black Netbook
* Software: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
* Home & Garden: Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator
* Grocery: Coffee People, Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers
* Gourmet Food: 50’s Decade Box Gift Basket
* Health & Personal Care: Omron HJ-112 Digital Pocket Pedometer
* Beauty: Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation
* Toys: Scrabble Slam Cards
* Baby: Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether
* Clothing & Accessories: Levi’s Men’s 550 Relaxed Fit Jean
* Shoes and Handbags (Amazon.com and Endless.com): Crocs Cayman Sandal
* Jewelry: Sterling Silver Marcasite & Garnet Glass Heart Pendant
* Watches: Casio Men’s Sea Analog Illuminator Dual LED Dive Watch
* Sports & Outdoors: P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program
* Home Improvement: Toro Ultra 12 Amp Variable Speed Electric Blower/Vacuum
* Automotive: Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger
That’s the best selling item in each of their categories. As you can see it’s a good mix of the obvious and the banal. Well, what were you expecting?
But let’s look a little more closely at the categories that actually interest us. In electronics, the vanilla Kindle v2 is followed by two iPod touch models, the Flip UltraHD, the Kindle DX, and a Blu-ray player. I think that speaks well of adoption rates for new technologies. The DX is surprising, though, considering it’s extremely expensive.
In software, there’s the usual boring mix of Office, financial stuff, and upgrades (Windows 7 edging out Snow Leopard). Lots of netbooks in the computer category. I’m thinking a lot of those went out as gifts. Unsurprisingly, iPhone accessories dominate the phones category. Whatever you may say about that phone, it’s eminently accessorizable. And of course, in video games, the Wii is king.
The last thing I would like to point out is that under most gifted items, we have:
Clothing & Accessories: The Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee
With Google days away from unveiling its unlocked, HTC-built smartphone, the devil is in the details. The Nexus One handset, which has been revealed to have some intriguing features, is said to pack a $530 price tag. But without an exclusive phone carrier and multiple price plans, consumer reaction is hard to predict.
“It will all depend on how the device is rolled out,” said Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless service analysis at JD Power and Associates. “Will it be picked up by a carrier or sold separately? What are the price points for the device? All these decisions will definitely impact consumer reaction and, ultimately, its popularity.”
As a case in point, Parsons added, “the iPhone did not pick up mass appeal until they dropped the device price to $199 — from previously $399.”
Launch Imminent
As it stands now, the Nexus One, expected to be launched on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, is expected be sold directly by Google. Or with a two-year plan from T-Mobile, the device could cost $180, plus $39.99 a month. With unlimited texting and data, the monthly cost would be closer to $79.
It remains to be seen what other plans will be available for the smartphone, which uses Google’s Android mobile operating system.
Google held a press gathering Tuesday to talk about how Android has “spurred innovation in the market.” The Wall Street Journal and other sources have said the company will roll out the homegrown Nexus One in early January.
That would take a page from the playbook of Apple, which introduced the iPhone right before the consumer show in 2007. A launch would rival Apple’s anticipated announcement of a tablet computer, said to be called the iSlate, also in January.
The latest version of Palm’s webOS is out, but a reduction in orders to suppliers had investors worried Wednesday. The release of webOS 1.3.5 for Sprint Nextel’s Palm Pre and Pixi customers isn’t expected to ease Palm’s financial woes, but makes it easier for users to download applications from the App Catalog.
Palm has had 10 consecutive quarterly losses, and its new webOS faces significant competition. Palm investors worry that webOS may not be the preferred platform for Palm’s wireless-carrier partners or end users. And Palm’s recent cuts in orders to suppliers left investors feeling shaky.
While Palm expects webOS to lead its product road map and services and be a key differentiator, it’s a new OS and the company doesn’t yet have the experience to determine its commercial viability. “We also have not had the advantage of working with and refining the OS over a long period of time, especially under commercial conditions,” Palm said in its Dec. 23 quarterly report.
New Carriers?
Palm and its investors are dependent on Palm’s Pre and Pixi smartphones to take it to the next level, since revenues from Palm’s legacy products are declining. Currently the smartphones are sold exclusively through Sprint, but analysts expect Palm to announce a relationship with Verizon Wireless and possibly AT&T at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Some are even predicting Palm will announce a new smartphone.
Investors are also worried about significant competition from other mobile operating systems, including Apple’s iPhone, Nokia’s Symbian, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry, and Linux-based operating systems, including Google’s Android.
“If Palm webOS or the operating systems that we license in our current or future products do not continue to be competitive, our revenues, results of operations, and operating cash flows could be adversely affected,” the company reported. “If our Palm webOS service offerings do not scale…
While no one was looking, the Apple iWork suite jumped 50% in sales this year over 2008 levels. The retail sales analysts at the NPD Group say much of the current popularity of the program stem from the sales of Snow Leopard, which bundled the productivity apps for U.S. $169.00 for a single-user version and $229.00 for a family set.
AppleInsider quotes Steven Baker, NPD’s V.P. of industry analysis, saying “These have been, I think, pretty successful products for them (Apple), generating a lot of pretty decent average selling prices and decent revenue numbers.”
I really like the iWork apps. My last book was mostly written on Pages, then sent off to the publisher as an RTF formatted file. Keynote is very powerful, and doesn’t have the tired old look of PowerPoint.
Apple is apparently working on moving a good deal of iWork to the cloud, and Microsoft is taking the same path with Office.
Touch Arcade has word that one of 2008’s best iPhone games (our 2009 list is coming out this week), Fieldrunners [iTunes link, $2.99], has released an update (1.3), in which they’ve released two new maps available as in-app purchases, and they’ve included OpenFeint 2.4 functionality, with messaging, chat, and everything else the in-game social network portends.
The two new maps are called Skyway and Frostbite. Skyway boasts a metal floor with a few holes in it, which limit where you can place your units in the tower defense classic. Frostbite is a snowfield with a base in the middle to defend from attackers on all sides. Seems like both offer up some interesting twists on the gameplay — they’re 99 cents each (a fact that has the most recent iTunes reviews up in arms), but if you ask us, two bucks for new content is cheap, especially if you’re a big Fieldrunners fan already.
The update itself is a free download for paid users, though, so if you want that OpenFeint functionality, hit up the App Store and load the game up yet again.
Another country heard from – this time, a mole in Lexus of Europe has announced via the corporate Twitter account that the LFA’s V10 will definitely not be going into the GS F. The supercar’s 10-pot wonder is “bespoke to LFA,” which is ur-English for something custom made, but in this case we’ll take to mean “None of you can have this engine if you don’t drive an LFA.”
You’ll note that the 106-character tweet deftly avoids confirming the existence of any sort of GS F in the first place – a car that has existed solely as a fairytale for nigh on three years – with the deflection, “not going to comment on those.” But at least now if the GS F does come, we know what it won’t have. But hey, they didn’t rule out a derivative, right? Hat tip to Stan!
Whitney Houston’s recent erratic behavior has pals fearing the legendary diva has succumbed to the pressure of her musical comeback and may be using drugs again.
Say it ain’t so, Nippy!
The “Million Dollar Bill” singer may be indulging in drugs and alcohol again to cope with the stress of an international promo tour in support of her charttopping album, I Look To You, tattlers dish in the Jan. 11 issue of The National Enquirer.
Worried friends suggest she is exhibiting some sketchy behavior similar to when she was using. One friend claimed:
“Whitney seems to go from being a nervous wreck to being completely out of it in a short period of time – just like she did when she was freebasing and using crack cocaine. She is still drinking and with Whitney, alcohol and drugs have always gone hand-in-hand. She’s worked so hard to get back on top. It would be tragic for it to go up in smoke because she can’t stay clean.”
Now, under pressure to continue her comeback, the pop icon appears tense and overanxious, said the source, adding: “You can’t help worrying that she’s slipped back into some of her bad habits.”
The so-called Google Phone, which we know will be going by the Nexus One moniker, has been making headlines lately with bits of information making their way to the press one way or the other. First billed as an internal experiment by Google, the company didn’t really make a convincing case and the evidence kept piling up that it was heading to the consumer market soon enough. The final details and two almost ‘official’ confirmations poured in today, making the Nexus One pretty much a sure thing. Interestingly, the invitations Google sent out as well as the leaked screenshots of the phone’s landing page, which isn’t live yet, confirm Google’s upcoming logo major redesign.
Shortly after Google handed out the phone to its employees, poor quality images of the device and the interface started popping up online. But it’s only when the specs of the phone came out that things got really interesting. All the signs pointed that Nexus One would be the Android phone to own leaving the much-touted Motorola Droid in the dust.
Things quieted down after that, with the occasional video of the device and a perspective launch date. Now though, we’re treated to a deluge of information, from T-Mobile, which will carry the device, from Google and also from a couple of ‘leaks’.
A report by UBS Investment Research Monday said lead failures could accelerate over time, citing independent studies that predict failure rates could hit 30 percent by four years. Medtronic’s own data suggests a 3 percent failure rate at three years. Leads are wires that doctor snake through veins that connect the battery of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to the heart. An ICD is a device that detects abnormal heart beats and shocks the heart back into rhythm….
Interestingly enough, one study, called Altitude, says healthy patients are more at risk because they live longer and thus more vulnerable to problems like lead failure, making the risk/reward scenario less appealing to patients who receive ICDs….
Earlier this year, Medtronic told doctors that lead failures may have factored into at least 13 deaths. About 260,000 Sprint Fidelis leads have been implanted in patients in the United States, with 143,000 still active.
Here are a couple of our earlier 2009 articles about the “consequences” associated with the October 2007 Sprint Fidelis recall:
If you bought a ten-year U.S. bond at the beginning of the year, it was a horrible bet. At the time, long-term interest rates had collapsed as much of the world looked for a 'safe haven' in U.S. government debt.
Yet 10-year bond buyers forgot that bonds do well in a crisis only if you own them before everyone has panicked, not after.
As shown below, the 10-year bond yield has increased substantially year to date, rising to about 3.8% from 2.5% in early January. That's a huge move in 10-year bond terms.
Bond prices move in the opposite direction of market yields, thus the old 10-year bond that went for $100 in January would now go for about $90 (Using a simple bond calculator) given that it has to pay 3.8% yield with its old low coupon. Look at any U.S. long-term bond ETF, it'll be down for the year. Meanwhile, stocks and even junk bonds have rallied.
Worse yet, if U.S. interest rates are hiked, or U.S. inflation picks up, the ten year bond in our example will likely fall even further in value. Simply put, it's not a 'safe haven' investment when everyone is herding into it.
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Ford is getting ready to introduce our favorite three-blink lane change technology in its vehicles. The technology, which is already available on most luxury vehicles, allows drivers to change lanes with a simple half-way flick of either up or done. The move allows the turn indicator to blink three times and automatically shut off.
The technology will debut on the 2011 Ford Fiesta, which goes on sale in the summer of 2010. The 2011 Ford Super Duty is also set to receive the three-blink lane change technology when it goes on sale in 2010.
Make the jump for the press release.
2011 Ford Fiesta
Press Release:
Three Blinks and It’s Off; New Ford Lane Change Technology Helps Ease Driver Pet Peeves
DEARBORN — Does the sight of a blinker flashing on the car in front of you for miles and miles drive you crazy? You’re not the only one.
This annoying habit is so frustrating to drivers that it made the “Top 10 Driving Pet Peeves” list by a leading vehicle insurance company, which surveyed thousands of drivers nationwide. Nicknamed Morse Coders in the survey, these drivers often cruise for miles without realizing their blinker is on. Meanwhile, they are annoying everyone behind them.
With tongue in cheek, Hagerty Insurance Agency, which conducted the survey, suggested that Morse Coders are leaving their blinkers on for a reason: “Now let’s be fair. Perhaps these Morse Coders are part of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project, their turn signals beaming out across the galaxies in search of other life forms – or not.”
On a more serious note, national research by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., found that consumers are confused by turn signals that are left on.
“Most drivers have found themselves behind cars that have their signals on after changing lanes,” said Jim Thomas, senior vice president of RDA Group. “This can be confusing because there is no way of knowing if the signal is a real indication of an upcoming turn or not. To reduce this confusion, drivers want vehicles to automatically disengage the turn signal after making a lane change.”
New Ford technology, coming this summer on the 2011 Ford Fiesta, does exactly that.
Ford’s three-blink lane change technology is simplifying the way drivers maneuver on the road. With a simple flick of the switch – either up or down, depending on which lane the driver is moving into – the turn indicator will blink three times and automatically shut off. The switch can be held in the lane change position longer for additional blinks beyond the three minimum.
To engage the turn signal, drivers move the switch into the standard position, one more press past the lane change mode.
“This allows the driver to let go of the switch and concentrate on driving,” explains John Murphy, Core Switch Product Engineer. “Instead of holding down the switch, they can give a quick tap, show a three-blink warning that they are about to merge and change lanes. It’s that simple.”
For motorists who drive behind the Morse Coders, this is welcome news: “Driving behind a car that’s blink, blink, blinking is enough of a driver annoyance that we’re putting the technology in our full Ford line going forward,” said Murphy. “Customers say this is confusing – and it bugs them. So we’re doing something about it.”
Going on sale in the summer of 2010, the all-new Ford Fiesta is among the first vehicles in the Ford lineup to receive the new three-blink technology. The “annoyance avoidance” feature is yet another technology going into the expressive, fun-to-drive Fiesta that makes perfect sense.
With a projected best-in-class highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, Fiesta is designed to be versatile, personal and adaptable. In fact, Fiesta is expected to deliver best-in-class safety, convenience and connectivity with segment-exclusive SYNC® voice-activated communications system, an expressive color palette and available graphics.
The 2011 Ford Super Duty is also set to receive the three-blink turn signal technology when it goes on sale in 2010.
Angelina Jolie beat Jennifer Aniston to the top spot of a recent poll to decide the top 20 beauty icons of the decade. According to The Independent and Economic Times, the Tomb Raider star’s famous pout, thick hair and flawless skin have seen women across the world envy her and millions of men want to be with her.
Top 20 beauty icons of the decade
1. Angelina Jolie 2.Jennifer Aniston 3.Kylie Minogue 4.Catherine Zeta Jones 5.Cheryl Cole 6. Scarlett Johansson 7.Keira Knightly 8.Beyonce Knowles 9.Liv Tyler 10.Halle Berry 11. Kate Winslet 12.Myleene Klass 13.Kelly Brook 14.Nigella Lawson 15.Kate Beckinsale 16. Megan Fox 17.Eva Longoria 18.Joanna Lumley 19.Holly Willoughby 20.Charlize Theron
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were voted the decade’s worst celebrity couple in an online dating poll announced Wednesday. Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com polled thousands of male and female online daters and Twitter followers in the United States, asking which celebrity couple they thought represented the best and worst of the decade. Approximately 50.5 percent of voters named Bennifer the worst, followed by Jon Gosselin and Kate Gosselin with 11.5 percent of the votes. Britney Spears and Keven Federline came in third with 10 percent of the votes.
So which couple was the best of the decade? With 42 percent of the votes United States President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama won. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie came in second with 15 percent of votes and Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore received 11.5 percent.
Other stars that made the best list were David Beckham and Victoria Beckham, Jay-Z and Beyonce Knowles, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Heidi Klum and Seal, Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, and Howard Stern and Beth Ostrowsky.
While no one was looking, the Apple 
The so-called Google Phone, which we know will be going by the Nexus One moniker, has been making headlines lately with bits of information making their way to the press one way or the other. First billed as an internal experiment by Google, the company didn’t really make a convincing case and the evidence kept piling up that it was heading to the consumer market soon enough. The final details and two almost ‘official’ confirmations poured in today, making the Nexus One pretty much a sure thing. Interestingly, the invitations Google sent out as well as the leaked screenshots of the phone’s landing page, which isn’t live yet, confirm Google’s upcoming logo major redesign.
