Mereja

Category: Software

  • Signature Genomic Gets Sold for $90M, DreamBox Bought by Netflix CEO, The $7M Madrona Man, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    A very wide range of deals were done this week in the Northwest, ranging from small tech partnerships and fundings to a large biotech acquisition. Methinks the action will pick up in the next month before summertime.

    —Bellevue, WA-based DreamBox Learning, an online math education startup, has been acquired by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and the Charter Fund, a nonprofit VC firm. Financial details weren’t given, but the deal includes a new $10 million investment in DreamBox. Hastings is a board member of Microsoft and an educational philanthropist. DreamBox is one of several companies leading the way in online “adaptive learning” technologies for kids.

    —Seattle-based Airbiquity formed a partnership with Tokyo-based Hitachi Automotive Systems to develop wireless telecom systems for electric vehicles. Financial terms weren’t announced. The deal is part of a broader effort to establish a global infrastructure for wirelessly connected vehicles and intelligent transportation services.

    —I took a deeper dive into Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group’s recent investment in Searchandise Commerce, an e-commerce and paid search company based in the Boston area. The $7 million deal is the brainchild of Brian McAndrews, Madrona’s newest managing director and the former CEO of aQuantive.

    —Seattle Genetics, the cancer drug developer based in Bothell, WA, and Genentech, the U.S. unit of Roche, have extended a licensing agreement for developing “empowered antibodies,” as Luke reported. Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: SGEN) will receive $9.5 million upfront, plus milestone payments and royalties on sales of any FDA-approved products, while Genentech will pay for developing and marketing the drugs, which are designed to be more potent cancer-cell killers.

    —We summed up the top 10 venture deals for companies in Washington state in the first quarter of 2010. Leading the way in terms of dollars were Visible Technologies and BlueKai (more than $20 million each), while mobile-app startup Zumobi managed to sneak in $7 million under our noses. Only one out of the top 10 deals was a Series A financing.

    —Spokane, WA-based Signature Genomic Laboratories is being acquired by PerkinElmer (NYSE: PKI), the Waltham, MA-based scientific instrument maker. The deal is worth a whopping $90 million in cash, as Luke reported.

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  • Doom ported to hacked ZuneHD

    That did not take long.  Less than a week after the ZuneHD has been hacked to allow arbitrary software, a port of the ever popular Doom first person shooter has been released on Zuneboards.com.

    Much like Windows Phone 7, the ZuneHD is a locked down system with only access to high level APIs that are sandboxed, and on the ZuneHD prevented access to the 3D graphics accelerator.  The Doom port shows the potential of getting direct access to the hardware, and we will hopefully see a similar hack for Windows phone 7 soon after release also.

    Via Engadget.com


  • Oracle Acquires Phase Forward, Diax Collects Up to $12M from Paul Capital, Agios Gets $130M from Celgene, & More Boston-Area Deals News

    Erin Kutz wrote:

    Acquisitions, partnership agreements, and early round financing for some stealthy operations made it a busy deals news week for us.

    —Third Rock Ventures, a Boston firm focused on investments in life sciences companies, plans to raise $400 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm closed its first fund, with $378 million, in 2007.

    —Waltham, MA-based scientific instrument maker PerkinElmer revealed it agreed to acquire Spokane, WA-based Signature Genomic Laboratories for about $90 million in cash.

    —Foundation Medicine, a company that’s focused on fighting cancer by testing for genetic traits in a tumor and matching them with treatments, reported that it pulled in part of a $25 million Series A funding round. The startup is incubated out of Boston’s Third Rock Ventures, which also led the financing. In February, Ryan was the first to report that former CombinatoRx (NASDAQ: CRXX) CEO Alexis Borisy was leading Foundation.

    —Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge-based startup run by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals veterans, revealed in a regulatory filing that it pulled in $7.7 million of a planned $39.7 million financing. The stealthy operation is developing treatments for inflammatory and metabolic diseases by leveraging the protective effects of omega-3 fatty acids.

    —Cambridge’s Agios Pharmaceuticals nabbed $130 million from Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG), in exchange for an exclusive option to license and develop Agios’ experimental cancer drugs, for a certain span of time. The deal essentially makes the Cambridge company Celgene’s cancer metabolism drug unit without outright acquiring it.

    —The Daily Grommet, a Lexington, MA-based e-commerce company that promotes consumer products with online videos, has raised $3.4 million in Series A funding. The financing included …Next Page »

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  • Windows Phones 7 Series Silverlight 3D Web App

    imageWindows Phones 7 Series is getting new development every day before being released, and this new web browsing 3D tab seems to be my favorite. The concept behind this is simple, you flick around a cub of your opened tabs then click on one of them, and you are multi-browsing –that should be a word. The show was held in India at TechEd 2010 and shows the potential of Silverlight and WP7S.

    This is quite impressive, with all this, I am a little excited to see what else WP7S can do. The only thing I see about this that is a little weird is the close similarity to SPB Mobile Shell 3.5’s cub page selector.

    Watch the video:

    Via:Pocketnow



  • Partovis to Step Down at MySpace

    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    Ali Partovi and Hadi Partovi, co-founders of Seattle-based social music startup iLike, are stepping down from their senior executive positions at MySpace. The news was reported by All Things Digital, TechCrunch, and other outlets. MySpace acquired iLike last August, and the Partovis were promoted to senior vice president roles under MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta. But Van Natta left the company earlier this year after a reported dispute with his News Corp. boss. It sounds like the Partovis, entrepreneurs who also have active investments in companies including Facebook and BlueKai, will transition out of MySpace in the coming months.

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  • PrintCentral for iPad – View, store & print email, attachments, documents, files, photos & more

    View, store & print email, attachments, documents, files, photos, contacts, web pages and copied items from other Apps, on your iPad. Open attachments from the Apple Mail app directly into PrintCentral and print straight away, transfer docs and files via iTunes using USB cable (Apps Tab), open documents stored in PrintCentral directly into iWorks for easy editing, open files stored in the cloud (iDisk or WebDAV service) directly into iWorks without downloading them (all done in the “Places” section of PrintCentral), open & print files directly into PrintCentral from any other app that support the “Open in…” file sharing

    via PrintCentral for iPad for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store.

  • PrintCentral for iPad – View, store & print email, attachments, documents, files, photos & more

    View, store & print email, attachments, documents, files, photos, contacts, web pages and copied items from other Apps, on your iPad. Open attachments from the Apple Mail app directly into PrintCentral and print straight away, transfer docs and files via iTunes using USB cable (Apps Tab), open documents stored in PrintCentral directly into iWorks for easy editing, open files stored in the cloud (iDisk or WebDAV service) directly into iWorks without downloading them (all done in the “Places” section of PrintCentral), open & print files directly into PrintCentral from any other app that support the “Open in…” file sharing

    via PrintCentral for iPad for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store.

  • Extend your desktop onto your smartphone

    In days gone by most PocketPC’s came with cradles, and extending your desktop onto your cradled PDA was pretty popular.

    3y4tdf3y4rt on YouTube reminds us that this feature still works, and works even better on a 480×800 screen that’s 4.3 inches. The software that makes it possible, Zone Screen, works best on an Windows XP computer, but can also be made to work on Windows 7.

    Read more about the software here.

    Thanks HJ200 for the tip.


  • DreamBox Learning Bought by Netflix CEO (and Microsoft Board Member) Reed Hastings and Charter Fund—Some More Context

    DreamBox Learning
    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    Score one for online education. Bellevue, WA-based DreamBox Learning announced today it has been acquired by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and the Charter Fund, a nonprofit venture firm. The price was not disclosed, but the deal includes a new investment of $10 million in the company, which will be used to advance DreamBox’s e-learning technology, content, and distribution in U.S. schools.

    DreamBox Learning makes online math education software for schools and homes that’s aimed at young kids from kindergarten to third grade. The interface is sort of like an adventure game, including stories and activities that involve pirates, animals, and dinosaurs. The patent-pending technology behind the “game” assesses each student’s mathematical understanding, provides appropriate hints and encouragement, and selects personalized activities for the student.

    It’s part of a broader trend in which companies are developing programs that adapt to how individual kids learn—through different types of games or visual activities, say. New York-based Knewton, another educational tech company, just closed a $12.5 million funding round yesterday. “You’ll hear a lot on adaptive learning over the next few years as customizing learning for the individual student continues to emerge as a megatrend in education,” says Jason Stoffer, a principal at Seattle-based Maveron who focuses on investments in education and e-commerce.

    DreamBox is recognized as an innovator on the adaptive-learning curriculum side. “I have evaluated many companies in the K-12 e-learning marketplace and DreamBox Learning clearly stood out,” Hastings said in a statement. “They have already shown strong results in a short period of time, and the DreamBox Learning platform has the best underlying adaptive technology, giving every student the opportunity to thrive.”

    Hastings is now chairman of the board of DreamBox Learning. A couple things you might not know about him: he’s an educational philanthropist (and former U.S. Peace Corps math teacher) who served as president of the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004; he also serves on the board of directors of Microsoft. As part of today’s deal, DreamBox also gains two more board members: Kevin Hall, the CEO and president of Charter School Growth Fund, and John Danner, the co-founder and CEO of Rocketship Education.

    DreamBox Learning was founded in 2006 by Lou Gray and Ben Slivka, and had raised more than $7 million in angel capital, according to media reports. Neither Gray nor Slivka appears to be with the company as of today.

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  • Airbiquity, Hitachi Team Up on Electric Cars

    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    Seattle-based Airbiquity announced today it has formed a partnership with Tokyo-based Hitachi Automotive Systems to develop telecommunications systems for electric vehicles. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given. The technology could allow drivers to do things like check their battery using their mobile phone, locate nearby charging stations, and get directions. The move is part of a broader effort to establish a global infrastructure for networked vehicles. Founded in 1997, Airbiquity is focused on wireless technologies for connected vehicles and smart transportation services.

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  • Learn How EMC, Microsoft, and Other Technology Giants Are Navigating the Evolving Healthcare Landscape at Next Week’s Xconomy Forum

    Healthcare In Transition logo
    Ryan McBride wrote:

    Big technology companies are playing a major role in shaping the health IT field here in Boston and beyond. That is why we’ve asked healthcare leaders from EMC and Microsoft to present their insights at our “Healthcare In Transition” forum next week at the MIT Media Lab (register here).

    EMC, for instance, is exploring different ways to open its “Atmos” cloud computing and storage platform to the healthcare sector, aiming to enable hospitals and doctors to look beyond the walls of their internal data centers to store and manage digital information. Health IT entrepreneurs are already finding ways to make EMC’s cloud platform an integral part of their businesses. One such entrepreneur, Hamid Tabatabaie, will be at the forum to tell the story of his startup, Newton, MA-based LifeImage.

    We know that many Xconomy readers—including entrepreneurs, investors, technologists, and others—are at various stages of finding or pursuing opportunities in healthcare (and that may be why seats for the forum are filling up so fast). With this in mind, we’re packing the afternoon with conversations and presentations from more than a dozen health IT leaders from VC firms, big tech companies, startups, and academia. And due to popular demand, there will be three breaks (including the first hour before the program begins and the reception afterward) in the agenda for face-to-face networking among presenters and attendees. Our overall goal is to highlight the ways IT entrepreneurs can build successful ventures while improving healthcare.

    Our readers understand that there are lots of reasons to be part of the health IT industry today. For one, U.S. healthcare spending swelled to $2.5 trillion last year, and there are opportunities to use IT inventions to eliminate billions of dollars in costs from this system. We’re not just talking about electronic health records here, and many of the presenters at “Healthcare In Transition” will show us the next generation of Web, wireless, and cloud innovations that could spark a revolution how healthcare is delivered. This is one of those unique opportunities to (really) improve peoples’ lives while building a great business.

    There’s never been a period in this country’s history when lawmakers, healthcare providers, and corporations have all been so interested, all at the same time, in what health IT entrepreneurs can bring to the table. Next Monday, we’re bringing together many of these folks together at the MIT Media Lab. So we hope to see you there talking it up with the good people from EMC, Microsoft, Partners HealthCare, and other important outfits with big plans in healthcare!

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  • Seesmic v1.3 adds widget, geotagging, more

    There are plenty of Twitter apps for Android, but in our opinion Seesmic is one of the best.  The team behind it may just have made it even better, however, with Seesmic for Android v1.3: the update adds geotagging and extra retweeting functionality, as well as satisfying one of the most commonly requested features, a homescreen widget.

    The widget allows you to scroll through new tweets in your timeline together with composing a new update of your own directly from the desktop.  Meanwhile the new retweet functionality allows you to choose between traditional quote method, or Twitter’s newer retweet system.

    Finally, geotagging can automatically or manually add location data to newly posted updates.  Seesmic for Android v1.3 is available – free – from the Android Market.

  • CNN Launches English Mobile Learning Application on Windows Marketplace

    cnnmobile Press Release: CNN continues to extend its commitment to providing innovative and unique user experiences by partnering with LiveABC Interactive Corporation to offer its first English learning mobile application for Windows phone users. Combining language learning with mobile technology, the new application for Chinese speakers leverages CNN’s award-winning content for effective and efficient self-learning to users demanding accessibility and convenience.

    LiveABC Interactive Corporation is a leader in producing innovative products designed for foreign language acquisition. These products include multimedia and Internet components designed around magazines and books. LiveABC has produced six award-winning, interactive magazines-CNN, All Plus, biz, Live, ABC and Live Interactive Chinese-as well as over 100 book titles that cover a complete array of levels and topics.

    "The launch of this learning application underlines our commitment to provide consumers in the Asia Pacific region with an innovative user experience," said Ringo Chan, Senior Vice President of Syndication, Wireless and Interactive Content Solutions & Distribution, Turner Asia Pacific. "CNN has been a leading English learning provider tailoring its award-winning content into different mediums, such as print in magazines and books and audio on CDROMs. We’re now extending this onto a mobile platform, allowing users to enjoy the fun of English learning anywhere and anytime. Launching the application on Windows phone is our starting point. Our development team is also working to extend the service on other popular mobile platforms."

    "We are excited about the partnership with CNN International," said Jerry Cheng, President, LiveABC Interactive Corporation. "Our company has been at the forefront in developing a vast array of language-learning solutions with professional editorial and R&D teams. There really is no better way to learn English than with quality news content from the world’s most trusted news organisation."

    The CNN English learning application features include:

    • CNN news video: Users watch their video of choice from a portfolio of CNN interviews with iconic personalities in the fields of arts, politics, sports and business, including Singapore’s first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew; investment guru Warren Buffett and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

    • Bilingual interchangeable subtitles: Both Chinese and English subtitles are available and can be added or removed whilst watching the video. Users can also choose their desired font size.

    • Quizzes: A true or false quiz after each chapter is designed to help users improve their understanding of the language.

    • Personalization: Users can choose to watch the whole video or repeat a specific sentence, maximizing the learning experience.

    • Dictionary: Detailed definition and word meanings of new vocabulary with translation.

    The application is only supported on Windows Mobile 5.0 version or above and is available for US$0.99 from Windows Marketplace at marketplace.windowsphone.com under the reference category in Taiwan and Hong Kong.


  • Panoramic software releases update to moTweets

    Panoramic Software Inc. has released an update to its popular Windows Phone Twitter client, Panoramic moTweets.

    The software features:

    • Support for multiple Twitter accounts
    • Ability to upload pictures or videos using your device’s camera or from the photo album
    • Post your location manually or by using your device GPS
    • Tiny URL, bit.ly, twitpic.com, twipl.net, and yfrog.net Support
    • Three (3) skin colors
    • View Trends, Lists  and Conversations
    • Finger friendly, kinetic scrolling menus (Touch Screen)
    • Translate Tweets, Search Twitter topics and users with ease
    • ReTweet, Follow, Unfollow, Direct messages, Replies, Favorites and much more!

    This new version, 1.7 adds, among other features, the ability to view picture thumbnails right from your timeline.

    Panoramic Software has also created a new facebook page  and is currently offering a chance to win one of ten free copies of moTweets by simply becoming a fan:

    Read more about the app at Panoramic Software here.


  • Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Aims to Compete with iMovie

    screenshot 034 Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Aims to Compete with iMovieWhen you think of Nero – you automatically think of Nero Burning Rom. Since as far back as 1997, Nero Burning Rom has been my personal go-to software for burning all my ISO files, ripping DVDs and CDs, and helping me utilize daemon tools.  The software  has also been a vital piece of software for those that liked to rip media, since Nero always kept on top of the latest codecs. However with the latest version of Nero, which just launched last week, it looks like Nero wants to be more than just a reputable burning software application, but a complete multimedia suite for those who love editing video, backing up their computer, and burning discs.

    Nero Multimedia Suite 10 is marketing itself as a three products in one solution. It incorporates Nero Vision Xtra, Nero Burning Rom, and Nero BackitUp & Burn. I got some hands on time with the complete suite and I have to say, that if you are looking for a simple PC software solution that encompasses video editing, ripping, and backing up – Nero has got you covered.  The suite’s interface on the surface is no frills. But it’s not meant to be – it’s meant to let users navigate and create content easily without having to be Steven Spielberg.

    Nero Vision Xtra is the sweet spot of the Nero Multimedia Suite 10. It works kind of like a beginner’s version of Final Cut Pro, but with the easier interface of even iMovie. That also means that you don’t need a Mac to edit together a snazzy looking video. The software also lets you import video easily from any of your mobile devices – Nero will support just about any file type. So you won’t need to download a codec for your software to recognize it. Just plug in your iPhone, BlackBerry, or camcorder and pull the video off. Once you do, you can start the editing process. The interface is robust, but not so much so that you become overwhelmed. Within in a few clicks you can have a movie made with special effects, rotations,  sound overlays, and then have your masterpiece uploaded to YouTube. So yes, you can easily upload your videos directly to YouTube just as you would with iMovie, but this time it’s for the PC.


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    Nero Burning ROM hasn’t changed much since its most recent version, but this time there is support for Blu-Ray burning and playback without the need of a plugin. You can also split up data that may be too big to burn on to one disc – on to multiple discs. You can also set the region for discs you want to burn or enable SecurDisc for protection of your files. Again the interface is simple and reminiscent of the previous versions. So those who are concerned that Nero ROM has been transformed – no need to worry – it’s exactly the same, but with a few enhancements.


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    The third portion of the Nero 10 suite is the Nero BackItUp & Burn app – this is basically a one-step solution for users to select partitions, folders, or hard drives to back up. You can opt to select to backup specific folders every day, or when changes are done. You can also search folders of older back-ups in case you overwrite it in the future and need to retrieve an older version. Backups can be started manually or on a schedule as well, and are easily done with a few clicks. Once again, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out this software, and your files will be backed up in case your hard drive decides to head south for the winter.


    backitup and burn data recovery 3 eng big Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Aims to Compete with iMovie
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    Amongst these core three Nero products in the Nero Multimedia Suite 10, the suite also offers an abundance of multimedia tools that you will grow to appreciate very quickly. These tools let you sort and find images, music, and videos easily, and tag your favorite ones. You can also crop and edit videos along with advanced video editing i.e. chroma keys for green screening, lens distortion effects, and adding effects with color. There is also the ability to make a cover for your video or music CD with the included Nero CoverDesigner. The list goes on and on with all the features that Nero packs into this suite.

    Conclusion:

    Until now there has been a severe void in getting decent easy to use video editing software for the PC,  and Nero delivers. Nero Multimedia Suite 10 is easy to navigate and use, without requiring an instructional class to learn how to operate it. It might be missing a more visually stimulating interface but in terms of functionality it delivers. Now only if they dared to enter into the Mac marketplace…  Nero Multimedia Suite 10 retails for $79.99 for the disc or downloadable version.

    The Good: Easy to use robust software that delivers video editing, burning, and back up software in a single package. Great Value.

    The Bad: Interface is aesthetically very plain and lacks any bells and whistles but delivers in functionally. On a few instances it tended to freeze in between operations but it quickly recovered.

  • Boston’s LED Cluster: Lighting Up Everything From Projectors to the Pru

    PrudentialCenter
    Erin Kutz wrote:

    Boston isn’t Houston as far as energy industry hubs go. But here in New England, there is a lot of innovation with light-emitting diodes, these energy-conserving tools that can be found everywhere from homes to warehouses to urban skyscrapers, and embedded in products like TVs, projectors, medical devices, and software systems.

    Light-emitting diodes, which are semiconductors that release energy when voltage is applied, are commonly referred to as LEDs for short. They’ve long been seen as energy-efficient lighting replacements, but the technologies sprouting up out of this city aren’t nearly so straightforward.

    “There’s no doubt that we’re at the front end of a major trend here,” says Flybridge Capital Partners general partner Jon Karlen, who sits on the board of Digital Lumens, a Boston-based startup. LED technology started with massive architectural lighting displays from Philips Color Kinetics (another Boston-area fixture), but is spreading to more everyday, consumer uses, he says. “We’re just seeing it crack open general illumination. Everywhere you see a light bulb, there’s going to be an LED fixture in the next five to 10 years.”

    We’ve counted at least five companies working in the LED space in Boston. These companies make everything from LED chip inserts for existing lighting fixtures, to commercial scale LED displays, to smart lighting systems that pair efficient LED lighting with sensors and computer systems to intelligently control the illumination in industrial facilities.

    There’s a reason why the area’s LED-related companies each seem to do something a bit different, says Canaccord Adams senior equity analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who follows trends in the lighting and solar industries. In almost every segment of the LED production process, there’s room for innovation—from cost to efficiency to overall technology, he says.

    “It’s well suited to smaller companies that are more nimble and that can focus on a particular piece or aspect of the supply chain,” he says.

    Read below for snapshots of the five companies we rounded up in the space.

    —Last year, Wade wrote about this Luminus Devices’ near speed-of-light transition from concept to business. This company is the brainchild of MIT-trained physicist Alexei Erchak and his former advisor, John Joannopolous. Luminus Devices, based in Billerica, MA, now says it makes the world’s brightest LED, in the form of what it calls PhlatLight chipsets, named for photonic lattices. The technology could light up everything from residential spaces to arenas to TV studios, but that depends on getting the LEDs into preexisting devices and fixtures.

    Luminus Phlatlight CST90 chipsetThis condition hasn’t deterred Luminus investors. The company has raised …Next Page »

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  • Palm’s Mike Abbott lands at Twitter

    While we knew that Palm’s soon-to-be-former SVP of Software and Services was leaving Palm (while other exec at the company got some juicy stock options), now we know where he’s headed: Twitter. As TechCrunch reports, Abbott is taking over as the VP of Engineering at Twitter.

    We wished you best of luck, Mike, and it looks like you found a growing place. Just make sure that as Twitter starts churning out their new purchase Tweetie for various mobile platforms webOS doesn’t get left out in the cold, okay?

    Of course, the big question for the webOS-world is who is going to take Abbott’s place at Palm come April 24th? Just one more thing we hope to learn at the Palm Developer Day this coming weekend.

  • Google Chrome May Stop Showing HTTP in the Address Bar

    chromium-logo One of the most recent builds of the Chromium web browser is drawing some criticism. As you may know, Chromium is the open source browser project that Google’s Chrome web browser is based on. In the Chromium version 5.0.375.3, something new showed up. The address bar was not displaying the normal “http://” in front of addresses. It was reported in the issues at Chromium’s code site as a possible bug.

    URL BAR

    However, it turns out that this is an intentional move, and it’s started a fairly heated debate there. Some of the people posting there do not want to have the http prefix removed. Some people argue that it’s a feature that everyone will eventually want.

    Apparently, if you need to copy and paste the address from the Chromium address bar, it will automatically add the “http” prefix, even though you don’t see it. This will need to happen in order to use copied URLs in other applications.

    In my opinion, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem as long as the feature works as they say it will. I sometimes wonder why we even need to type the “www” in the address. It’s a waste of time and I’ll be happy if it goes away for good.

    What do you think? Be sure to comment below.


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    Google Chrome May Stop Showing HTTP in the Address Bar originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Clif Sipe on Monday 19th April 2010 07:40:00 PM. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.

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  • 2D no more – Aura brings Xbox 360 avatars to life on Windows Phone 7

    aura_ Microsoft Live Engagement from Jason Lin on Vimeo.

    One of the more minor disappointments of Windows Phone 7 is that the avatar in the Xbox hub is static and not animated in any way.

    “Aura”, a Microsoft-sponsored project at the Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center is aiming to fix it, by adding a bit more movement to your twitter and facebook status updates, using the personalized 3D avatars most Xbox Live users create when they sign on to the service.

    The aim of the project was to create an application that enables rich expressions of user interaction between people while using the Windows Phone 7 Series devices and Xbox consoles. 

    As can be seen from the video above the application ad some fun to the pretty staid and colourless Windows Phone 7 user interface

    A prototype of the project is said to be demoed at E3 in June.

    Read more at istartedsomething.com here.

    Via 1800pocketpc.com


  • RunKeeper Lands on Android

    Coordinated nicely with the Boston Marathon today, RunKeeper takes the starting line on Android 2.x devices. This software is among my personal favorites as it uses a phone’s GPS to track and report on any type of mobile exercise: running, cross-country skiing, and hiking to name a few. Up to now, however, I was missing RunKeeper because it was iPhone-only and I adopted a Google Nexus One over three months ago. RunKeeper: it’s good to see you again.

    This first version, free in the Android Market, offers just the basics but I’d expect to see an offering comparable to the RunKeeper Pro app in the near future. For now, expect time, distance, speed, pace, calories, and map tracking with RunKeeper for Android. Of course, you can listen to music while using the app, and there are configurable voice cues for pace on the iPhone version which I hope to see added soon to the Android app.

    Perhaps the best part of RunKeeper is the online tracking of all workouts, something I demonstrated in my video review a few months back. I use the tracking to see the impact of elevation changes on my running pace. And recently, the RunKeeper folks added live broadcasting of workouts to friends and family. If you haven’t seen it, today’s the day because RunKeeper founder, Jason Jacobs, is running in Boston and you can follow along in here real-time.

    Since using the Nexus One, I had to find an alternative app for workout tracking. It’s worth a mention that SportyPal fit the bill for me these past few months. I personally prefer RunKeeper’s interface and ease of use, but SportyPal works well. I already had six months worth of workout data in RunKeeper, so I decided to stay put — manually entering workouts as a workaround. Now I can focus on actually doing my workouts, and not entering them into a phone or computer, thanks to the new RunKeeper for Android version.

    Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

    Location-Based Services: From Mobile to Mobility