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Category: Software

  • Qualcomm Ventures Leads New Investment Round in Revived Visage Mobile

    Visage Mobile logo
    Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

    San Diego’s Qualcomm Ventures is showing its confidence in Visage Mobile’s back-from-the-dead strategy by leading a new investment round in the San Francisco-based company.

    Tim Weingarten, who stepped in as Visage CEO in 2008, tells me the company has secured $4.5 million in its second round venture funding since 2008, when the company sold most of its assets to Convergys on terms that were not disclosed. Visage Mobile basically restarted its business in late 2008 under the same name, but with a different business focus on Software-as-a-Service technology that enables customers to better control their costs and to set policies that govern employee usage of smartphones and mobile broadband.

    The company previously specialized in developing software for mobile virtual network operators like Disney Mobile, which closed down at the end of 2007. In its previous incarnation, Visage Mobile raised about $93 million through at least five rounds of venture capital funding since it was founded in 2001 until it hit the wall in 2008.

    The company built its new strategy to provide Software-as-a-Service around technology that Visage Mobile had gained through its October 2007 acquisition of Pleasanton, CA-based Agistics. Luckily, the Agistics buyout was part of a planned expansion that was made possible by a $10 million venture round that had closed just four months earlier. Weingarten says the company was able to launch its new product in 18 months. Visage Mobile’s investors at that time included …Next Page »

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  • PocketGear buys Handango, now has 140 000+ applications

    pockethandangozero PocketGear, Inc. today announced the acquisition of Handango, creating the world’s largest cross platform, open app store and content marketplace with a catalog of more than 140,000 paid and free titles.

    With the acquisition, PocketGear’s mobile app marketplace has been expanded to connect more than 32,000 developers in the PocketGear Developer Program with over 40 PocketGear-powered storefront and distribution partners, including 4 of the world’s top 5 handset manufacturers, 4 of the top 5 mobile operators in the US, 3 of the top 10 mobile operators globally.  In addition, more than 1,000 app developers are now using PocketGear’s developer storefront solutions to market and sell their mobile apps directly to consumers from their own websites and other marketing channels.

    Jud Bowman will remain as President and CEO of PocketGear and Alex Bloom, current chief executive of Handango, will become Chief Operating Officer of PocketGear.

    "Our vision is to facilitate an open app store ecosystem that supports every mobile device, every application, and every carrier network globally," said Jud Bowman, President and CEO of PocketGear. "By combining the two largest independent app store companies, we’re creating significantly more scale and value for all of the stakeholders in the open app store ecosystem."
    Bowman added, "Handset manufacturers, carriers, and media companies now have a single marketplace where they can quickly and easily connect with developers, source a catalog of apps developed specifically for their supported devices, and create a branded, revenue generating storefront and app discovery engine that works across all devices, platforms, geographies, and carrier networks."

    "This is an exciting time in the app store market and we’re thrilled to be joining forces with PocketGear," said Alex Bloom, CEO of Handango. "As we increase our scale, not only can we further accelerate speed to market of new devices and applications in a rapidly changing marketplace, but we’re also better positioned to help our distribution and developer partners increase the overall revenues per download from both paid and free apps."

    Of course questions remain regarding the on-going relevance of these application stores as manufacturer-driven application stores become more and more prominent, and manufacturers wanting more and more to control the user experience of customers.

    Are you still a Handango or PocketGear customer?  Let us know below.

  • Pivotal Investments Seeks to Build Regional Network of Future Cleantech Leaders

    Pivotal Leaders
    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    There has been a lot of talk in the past year (and the past month) about the need to build a critical mass of cleantech and alternative energy companies in the Northwest. Now one venture firm in Portland, OR, is doing something about it, by assembling a talent pool of people with the ability to run serious cleantech companies.

    Pivotal Investments, an early-stage venture fund focused on cleantech and sustainability, is organizing what it’s calling Pivotal Leaders—a new network of community-nominated entrepreneurs and executives who will be voted the most promising candidates to lead new companies in this emerging sector. Nominations are open now, and Pivotal is looking to compile and vet a list of roughly 50 top cleantech business leaders who have ties to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, or British Columbia, by mid-June. The plan will be to organize four or five networking events around these leaders, in different cities, in the second half of the year.

    The proposed network strikes me as exactly the sort of dedicated effort the Northwest needs to get more cleantech investors in Vancouver, BC, for instance, to talk to entrepreneurs and big companies in Portland and Seattle, and vice versa. That, in turn, could help call more national attention to the region and spur its efforts to become a true leader in energy and sustainability—or at least better compete with companies in California and other parts of the country. “We’re interested in building the ecosystem here for green, cleantech jobs,” says Gregg Semler, co-founder and managing director of Pivotal Investments. “This is an enormous economic opportunity for the region.”

    Semler says the Pivotal list will address “a problem that deals with the future.” That is, the community knows who’s running cleantech companies today, he says, but what about five years from now? “To attract capital, you need strong business leaders who can captain these companies. That builds confidence in the investors and sources of capital,” Semler says.

    Pivotal Leaders will most likely be made up of a mix of early-stage entrepreneurs, executives from big companies focused on areas like software or green buildings, and others from traditional business backgrounds who have a strong interest in energy and green technologies. Semler didn’t name any names or offer up any specific examples yet, but he stressed that nominations will be open for the next few weeks, and that Pivotal wants to hear from the innovation community.

    On the investment side, Semler says his venture firm is currently looking at potential deals in solar power, green buildings, agriculture, and energy efficiency. Although cleantech opportunities are still at an early stage, he says, the markets they address are big, global, and mature. And, of course, part of Pivotal’s plan with its new network is to build relationships with the best young talent the Northwest has to offer—and then consider investing in their startups.

    “Our hope is that when these people decide to start a company, they’ll call us,” Semler says. “We want to get to know these people, so they feel confident that we’re a great source of capital and have a strong network to help them grow their company.”

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  • Play HTML5 Videos in Internet Explorer

    Internet Explorer is one of the several mainstream browsers which do not support HTML5 videos which is now being beta tested by and Vimeo. However, what Microsoft could not do yet has been done by a codec developer.

    The software in question, Xiph.Org Ogg Codec provides users with an option to add support for the <video> tag in Internet Explorer, in turn allowing IE to play HTML5 videos.

    html5_videos_internet_explorer

    I installed the codec and enabled the HTML5 support, and gave it a test run on Internet Explorer 8. The videos from YouTube played just fine, however, it is not a perfect solution yet and a bit buggy. Some videos took way too long to load, and some never played at all. Nevertheless, something is better than nothing right?

    html5_video_internet_explorer

     

    Note: Before you can view HTML5 videos in YouTube, you will have to join the beta club by visiting this link http://www.youtube.com/html5. After that you will have to copy the <video> code to a new HTML page to watch the video and follow the instructions given here.

    Techie Buzz Verdict

    This software is not perfect yet, so use it at your own risk. Another problem I saw was that the software did not provide an option to disable HTML5 videos once it was installed, so the only way to disable it is to uninstall the software. Once it is enabled, you will not be able to watch videos on YouTube due to the restrictions with adding a additional attribute to the video code.

    Again, this is a tool which is still being developed, so I think that it will definitely become better with time. However, if you are someone who does not like to mess up with things, stay away from it.

    I would suggest you to download and use instead, if you are looking forward to experiencing HTML5 videos.

    Rating: 2.5/5 (Average)

    Download Xiph.Org Ogg Codec [via Download Squad]

    Play HTML5 Videos in Internet Explorer originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Keith Dsouza on Monday 22nd February 2010 11:24:41 PM. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.

    Don’t miss these Related Posts:

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  • "Typeface" Creates a Typeface From Your Face Type [Fonts]

    File Mary Huang’s Typeface, a piece of software that analyzes your face in real time to create a custom font, in the “projects preceded by their puns” category. But unlike some things with that designation, Typeface is surprisingly functional.

    Stick your face in front of a webcam and Typeface will analyze it live to generate a custom font, stretching and shaping the letters dynamically as you make different faces and change the proportions between your features.

    If you want to immortalize the space between your eyes as the space between your “i”s, you’ll have to get in contact with Huang yourself; Typeface is currently only a piece in her design portfolio. [Rhyme and Reason Creative via DesignBoom]






  • Microsoft, Amazon Tie Patent Knot

    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    Seattle-area tech giants Amazon and Microsoft have signed a patent cross-license agreement that gives each company some access to the other’s patent portfolio, and covers a broad range of technology, including Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader and its use of Linux-based servers. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given, but Microsoft says Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will pay it an undisclosed amount of money under the agreement. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) also says it has entered into similar agreements with other big companies like Apple, Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, Nikon, Novell, and Samsung.

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  • A tool to stop “drive-by downloads”

    If this thing works, everyone ought to use to it.

    From the link:

    Researchers at SRI International and Georgia Tech are preparing to release a free tool to stop “drive-by” downloads: Internet attacks in which the mere act of visiting a Web site results in the surreptitious installation of malicious software. The new tool, called BLADE (Block All Drive-By Download Exploits), stops downloads that are initiated without the user’s consent.

    “When your browser is presented with an [executable file] for download, it’s supposed to prompt you for what to do,” said Phil Porras, SRI’s program director. But software can also be pushed onto an unsuspecting user’s computer without ever asking for permission.

    In the fourth quarter of 2009, roughly 5.5 million Web pages contained software designed to foist unwanted installs on visitors, according to Dasient, a firm that helps protect websites from Web-based malware attacks. Such drive-by downloads target computers that are not up-to-date with the latest security patches for common Web browser vulnerabiltiies, or are missing security updates for key browser plug-ins, such as Adobe’s PDF Reader and Flash Player. Attackers use software called exploit packs, which probe the visitor’s browser for known security holes.

  • Cookie Home Tab Editor now available

    image

    Cookie Home Tab is the newest tweak that has made its way out of XDA -Dev for Sense UI. The tweak allows you to have many more quick launch tabs and extends the calendar view. It seems a tool that makes changing quick launch bookmarks and other aspect of the tweak easier and faster. The tool is called CHTEditor, and it is made for current CHT users that want a easier way to edit the tweak.

    Here is Co0kie’s Home Tab Editor, for editing the settings for Co0kieMonster’s most excellent home tab mod.
    With this application you can modify all the settings for the mod without having to open a registry editor, as well as being able to export & import all your settings and quicklinks, in case you need to hard reset or flash a new ROM.

    This is a work in progress and will continue to be developed in-line with Co0kieMonster’s home tab mod, including any extra settings that are added along the way. With this in mind, it will only work with the correct verison of Co0kieMonster’s mod, and if you try to run it against a different version then you’ll be given an error telling you to check back here for a newer version of this application.
    Features list:

    • Change the settings without a registry editor
    • Export and import settings and quicklinks
    • Remove dead quicklinks
    • Restarts manila for immediate changes

    Read more on this

  • BattClock updated to version 1.8.1, now supports CPU usage meter

    uhrzeitundakkuimmeranze

    ZuinigeRijder’s BattClock has been updated to version 1.8.1. The software, which ads a clock to the battery meter on the ever more crowded Windows Mobile status bar, now supports an optional CPU usage meter to detect when things are getting close to being bogged down and further optimizations for battery usage.

    Read more in this XDA-Developers thread here, and download the latest version at Sourceforge here.

  • Jive Software Gets Interim CEO

    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    Portland, OR-based Jive Software announced today that CEO and co-founder Dave Hersh has left his post to become chairman of the board. Jive has appointed board member Tony Zingale as interim CEO while it conducts a search for a permanent successor. Zingale is the former chief executive of Mercury Interactive and Clarify. Jive makes social software for businesses including Cisco, Intel, Nike, SAP, T-Mobile. In October, the company raised $12 million in Series B funding from Sequoia Capital to expand its products.

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  • How Microsoft’s New Mobile Approach Stacks Up with Apple and Google

    Microsoft
    Gregory T. Huang wrote:

    Pretty soon you might not be able to tell the difference between Microsoft and its most hated rivals. At least in the mobile sector. This would be good news for Microsoft.

    That’s my take after thinking more about Microsoft’s announcement last week of its heir apparent to Windows Mobile—the Windows Phone 7 Series operating system. Today, more details have emerged on how Microsoft is planning to integrate digital music and multiplayer video games into its smartphones, via its Zune service and Xbox Live, respectively. Of course, it’s all still a ways away—the first phones with WP7 won’t arrive until the end of this year.

    Microsoft’s mobile overhaul is hardly surprising, given how widely its efforts to make software for smartphones have been panned. And Windows Mobile executives have been talking about putting music, video, and games on phones for at least six years. But what’s interesting here is how Microsoft’s strategy lines up against some of its main competitors who have entered the mobile realm much more recently.

    It looks like Microsoft’s WP7 will follow Apple’s proprietary development model more closely than Google’s open-source approach. Microsoft wants its mobile applications to be designed around a unified set of specifications for hardware and software. That means Microsoft mobile apps should run smoothly across different devices, as long as they support the WP7 operating system and user interface. Although some might criticize this as a “closed” approach—like the iPhone system and Windows PCs—it should avoid some of the problems of the open-source ecosystem, like forcing developers to tweak their code for each device’s interface. (As for Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry platform, and Nokia, which mainly uses the Symbian operating system, Microsoft might be thinking about acquiring one or both of them—not sure if that would make sense though.)

    More broadly, the latest Microsoft push has renewed discussions about how the Redmond, WA, company stacks up against other tech giants across different businesses. At least one observer, Preston Gralla from Computerworld, thinks Apple is vulnerable because its success is tied too closely to CEO Steve Jobs; meanwhile, Google has a near monopoly on Web search and advertising, which bodes well as mobile handsets become more powerful and capable of running faster Web searches and applications. But others would say Apple has built a strong culture of product innovation that would survive a Jobs departure, while Google is a one-trick pony that is too dependent on ad revenues. In most of these arguments, Microsoft sits in the middle—with enough of an operating systems business to survive a long time while it moves more deeply into search, mobile, and entertainment. And that’s probably where it wants to be, for now.

    Of course, I wonder what Seattle-based Amazon will have to say about all of this. That’s a question for another day.

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  • Windows Phone 7 will have “multiplayer, multiscreen games” Xbox Live games

    dscn0704tIn a 15 min Investor Conference call Andy Less spoke some more about Windows Phone 7 Series. Interesting titbits include that Windows Phone 7 was conceived 18 months ago, when Microsoft decided to do a “hard reset” on their Mobile Strategy.

    They also mentioned that Microsoft considered making its own hardware, but has decided setting strict minimum requirements for their hardware OEM’s will serve the same purpose of creating a large, easy to developer for ecosystem for ISV’s.

    He also mentioned the UI was called “smart design”, and included an architecture for extensibility that would allows OEM’s to differentiate without Microsoft and the OEM’s tripping over each other.

    Its his comments about Xbox Live which was however most interesting:

    "We are very excited about the way in which the platform works across screens, so we have commonality of platform across the PC, the Xbox, and the web and the phone. We provide a new set of tools that makes it easy and very fast for people to develop applications for the phone but also in a way that works across screens, and we’ll announce details of that at MIX. You’re also right to point out that a marketplace is included, and the marketplace will work for applications but also for games, so the gaming marketplace for the first time will utilize Xbox Live, and that enables you to create multiplayer, multiscreen games, and the marketplace will facilitate that, so that it will actually work across screens."

    The promise is of Windows Phone users being able to play games in some way against Xbox 360 users, although of course how exciting the realization will be remains to be seen.

    Microsoft plans to engage developers with evangelism at MIX10, and is believed to plan on using the slogan that every .Net developer is now a mobile developer.

    Listen to the whole conference all here.

    Via Techflash.com

  • Allurent Reels in $2M

    Ryan McBride wrote:

    [Updated. See below. 7:35 pm Eastern time. 2/22/10] Allurent, a Cambridge, MA-based provider of online shopping software, has raised $2 million in its third round of venture capital, company CEO Graeme Grant confirms. The funding will help the company continue to grow sales of an on-demand software product, which was launched about a year ago, according to the CEO. Investors in the round were all repeat backers, including one institutional investor, Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners, and a group of angel investors. Jon Flint, a general partner and co-founder of Polaris, is on the board at Allurent. Bob made trip to Allurent, and memory lane, to check out the company’s e-commerce software a few years ago. [Editor’s note: This story was updated with information from Grant, who contacted Xconomy after we initially published the news about the financing based on an SEC filing made by the company.]


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  • Google Earth Hits the Android Market, For a Lucky Few [Android Apps]

    Google Earth is available on Android! (Isn’t is weird that this didn’t happen earlier? It’s been on the iPhone for a year! Anyway.) The catch? For now, it only works on the Nexus One, which basically nobody owns. Don’t worry, Droiders: Soon.

    For now, Google Earth will only work on handsets with Android 2.1, which effectively limits it to the Nexus One. The good news is that the Droid, and some older HTC handsets, are due for a 2.1 upgrade relatively soon. The bad news is that even Google can’t even escape Android’s increasingly worrying fragmentation problem with its own apps, on its own operating system. This doesn’t bode well.

    Anyway, the app looks almost exactly like it does on the iPhone, meaning that you get to play God with a barren, lifeless Earth, in full 3D, with your fingers. Oh, and there’s voice navigation! So there’s that. [AndroidGuys]






  • Vodafone HTC HD2 ROM 1.66 now finally available

    vodafonehtchd2rom

    For the rare Vodafone HTC HD2 customers who have been waiting to be supported by the company, a ROM update has finally come available.

    Build 1.66 can now be downloaded from HTC, which is equal to the public version available for download from HTC, but of course much behind the leaked 2.10 versions floating around at the moment.

    At present it is not known adds anything beyond the stock HTC ROM, except the reassurance of not losing your warranty of course.

    The ROM can be download from Vodafone here.

    Via Coolsmartphone.com

  • 5 Must-Have Programs for Netbooks

    Netbooks are small notebooks at their core, although usually with more limited display resolution and oomph. They fit the needs of millions of owners, as witnessed by the impact sales of them have had on the PC industry. Most netbooks sold run a flavor of Microsoft Windows, with XP still front and center on many. The hardware is only part of the picture for any computing solution, netbook or otherwise. The right software tools can often make a big difference on the utility a consumer gets from a given netbook. Here are my five “must-have” programs for netbooks. These are only my own choices, your needs may vary. They are utilities for the Windows platform, so they are not restricted to netbook use.

    1. Google Chrome browser. Web browsers are things of a personal nature, and while Chrome may not appeal to some I find it to be the best performer on netbooks. Netbooks often have limited hardware resources, and the Chrome browser is the fastest one I’ve tried. It is worth a look if you haven’t in a while, as Google continues to make it better. The addition of extensions is an area that adds lots of value to the user, as indicated in my second program of choice.

    2. ChromeTouch for Chrome browser. This is an extension to the Chrome browser, so it’s not really a program on its own. It is only applicable to netbooks with touch screens, but we are seeing more of those hit the market. ChromeTouch adds touch control to the Chrome browser, including panning. It makes it a breeze to drag web pages around with the finger, while still making it easy to select text for copy/ paste operations. It is very configurable, making for a tailored user experience.

    3. Xmarks. This is another program that is not really a program, rather a service with hooks into popular browsers. Xmarks keeps browser bookmarks and site passwords in sync among multiple PCs. Many folks using a netbook have other computers too, and Xmarks is the perfect way to keep all web browser environments in sync all the time. What makes Xmarks so powerful over other methods like Mozilla Weave, is that it is cross-browser. It keeps Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome all synced, on multiple computers. This is what lets me use Chrome on netbooks, yet other browsers on more powerful computers.

    4. Rocketdock. No matter if you love or hate the Mac OS X dock, I find it adds utility on smaller screens like that on netbooks. Rocketdock is a free utility that adds such a dock. I use it as a program launcher, and also have a battery meter and clock sitting in the dock for constant reference. Rocketdock is fully configurable, and can be docked on any side of the screen desired.

    5. Microsoft Security Essentials. Keeping computers protected against malware is as important on netbooks as on any Windows computer. I had long used AVG Free for such protection, but based on some recommendations I checked out the free Microsoft Security Essentials. Over time I found it had less of an impact on netbook performance, while doing a good job protecting my stuff.

    These five utilities are my must-have programs I install on every netbook I use, but they may not be yours. If you have your own “must-have” programs for netbooks, share them in the comments. We all learn from each other.

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

    The App Developer’s Guide to Choosing a Mobile Platform

  • Another look at Bing Maps integration on Windows Phone 7

    In the above unfortunately poorly focussed video, we have another look at Bing maps integration in Windows Phone 7, presented by Ian Todd, Program Manager for Windows Phone 7.

    The main features are always available contextual search, with the intelligence of Bing on the web being brought down to your phone, and the automatic recognition of relevant data such as addresses.

    Windows Phone 7 will also bring the ability for developers to embed Bing in their own applications, more of which we can hear about at MIX10 in March.

    Via LiveSide.net.

  • Nokia N900 Adds Twitter to Conversations

    Watching apps and features appear for Nokia’s N900 reminds me of watching my kids grow up. The device continues to mature and improve on a weekly basis — but if you’re not paying attention, you suddenly see the handset in a different light and wonder where the time went. I’ve been far too focused on my Nexus One of late, although to be fair, a number of distractions have kept me there — a ROM with HTC Sense and Adobe Flash 10.1 support, for example . So I haven’t yet seen the new Twitter integration plugin in the native Nokia N900 Conversations application that Jason Harris eye-spied.

    Conversations brings back memories of the Palm Pre that I sold last week — it doesn’t matter which method you use to communicate in Conversations because it supports multiple methods. That means you can converse with a contact via email, SMS, Skype chat, Google Talk , AIM, and more. And now a still-in-development update brings Twitter into the mix.

    By “still-in-development” I mean that N900 owners can find the software bits in the Extra-Devel repository, which is beta code at best. It’s the resting place for new code to be tested before it meanders into the more stable Extras repository and up to now I’ve stayed away from it. After reading up on the plugin, I just may walk on the wild side and add the repository — and the plugin — to the N900 I have on loan. I’m way past the point where I want to pick which app to use for communication. I’d rather have the tools get out of the way so I can communicate how I want to, without worrying which software I’m using.

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

    How Social Networks Could Help Yelp, Not Kill It

  • I left my phone at home v1.3 for Windows Mobile reviewed

    I Left My Phone at Home is essentially a data-retrieval and phone-monitoring app, which is useful as a backup in case you find you do not have your phone with you. When you have discovered you are “sans phone”, you can login in online from a computer to see your phone messages, battery life of the unit, and other information…

    Read more at BestWindowsMobileApps.com here.

  • New Notification LED app for HTC HD2

    image

    LED notification has never been done better than HTC did in the old days of the Touchpro and Diamond, but this new tweak might come fairly close. NetRipper from XDA has engineered a new way to have your HD2’s Keypad light to tell you what’s up with your device. This tweak uses the LED keypad as a status indicator for text massages, emails, and missed calls.The tweak comes in a ZIP of two mini applications, and you simply run one of them depending on what you want it to show. The tweak is free and you can get your hands on it on XDA.

    The mains features

    “LeoExtendedNotifications_sms_call.exe
    – checks unread sms and missed calls
    LeoExtendedNotifications_sms_call_mail.exe
    – checks unread sms, missed calls and unread email”

    Give it a test Run:XDA
    Via:PN