Industry Standard News and Predictions

The AVC Reader Census: A Day Later

Fred Wilson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:45:16 -0800

Almost 750 people took the AVC Reader Census/Survey in the past 24 hours. That's a decent sample size. So if you want to know what the readership of this blog looks like, go here.

I'm sorry to say that it is overwhelmingly male, 92% of the respondents are men. I'm also disappointed that 75% of the respondents live in North America. Other than those statistics which I am hell bent to change, I am pretty pleased with the composition of this audience. We are bloggers, twitterers, early adopters, travelers, and people who want to make their mark.

If you haven't gotten around to taking the survey, you can do so right in this post.

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Mozilla fixes Firefox crash bug

IDG News Service — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:12:30 -0800

Just a week after it last updated Firefox, Mozilla has rushed out a new version of its browser to fix a crash bug that programmers inadvertently introduced.

Firefox 3.5.5, which Mozilla posted for download late Thursday, fixes a small number of what the company called "stability issues" in the release notes that accompanied the update. Unlike almost all interim updates that Mozilla issues about once every six weeks, version 3.5.5 did not patch any security vulnerabilities.

The main bug quashed Thursday was one that was causing a high number of crashes in the Windows version of Firefox 3.5.4, the update that Mozilla launched Oct. 27 to patch 16 flaws.

"We're seeing lots of crashes in the GIF decoder," noted Mozilla developer Joe Drew in the message that kicked off the discussion on Bugzilla, the company's bug and change tracking system. Only the Windows edition of Firefox 3.5.4 was crashing, others reported on Bugzilla. The GIF decoder is the component that parses .gif image files embedded in Web pages.

"This bug was actually caused by bug 514776 which removed the check for null mImageFrame," said another Firefox programmer, Jeff Mulzelaar, on Bugzilla. "I don't know why that check was removed." Information about the bug Mulzelaar mentioned is password-protected and not available to the general public.

Firefox 3.5.5 also fixes a stability bug in the Mac version, and another crash problem in the Windows and Mac editions.

Mozilla's older browser, Firefox 3.0, was not affected by the bugs. The most up-to-date version of that edition is Firefox 3.0.15, which was also released Oct. 27.

Firefox accounts for an estimated 24% of all browsers worldwide, according to data from U.S. Web metrics company Net Applications.

Firefox 3.5.5 can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux from the Mozilla site; current Firefox users can call up the browser's update tool or wait for automatic update notifications to appear.

Week in review: Tracking down a Modern Warfare pirate, Max Levchin on Slide’s big bet

Venture Beat — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:09:46 -0800

Here’s our rundown of the week’s business and tech news. First, the most popular stories VentureBeat published in the last seven days:

How investigators tracked down a Modern Warfare 2 cyber pirate — “While the bust led to the arrest of just one hacker among many, it sheds light on the shadowy underground of the business of illegal piracy. It also offers a peek at how investigators try to head off a major piracy disaster before it happens.”

4 ways to automatically get automatically rejected by an angel investor — “I’ve started three companies, and now I’m an angel investor. So I’ve been on both sides of the table.”

World of Warcraft ordered to shut down in China again — “The Chinese version of popular game World of Warcraft is a cash machine for its maker, Activision Blizzard. But the massively multiplayer online game’s fate is up in the air again.”

Video of Arrington-Shukla fight highlights controversy of special offers — “TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington and Offerpal Media chief executive Anu Shukla got into a brouhaha over special offers, which are used to monetize social apps on social networks, at the close of the Virtual Goods Summit on Oct. 30.” Shortly after the fight, Offerpal named George Garrick as its new CEO, but the company says the timing was coincidental.

McAfee says piracy has tripled in the wake of Pirate Bay prosecution — “The number of new piracy sites on the web has tripled in the third quarter, despite prosecution of the owners of the controversial Pirate Bay file-sharing web site.”

And here are five more stories we thought were important, thought-provoking, or fun:

Max Levchin on Slide’s big virtual goods bet, scams, and mating — “I sat down with CEO Max Levchin to ask about how his vision for the company has evolved and how he’s changed as an entrepreneur since launching the company four years ago.”

Skype is finally free: eBay settles with Skype co-founders, clearing the way for buyout — “Now the Internet phone company will be sold to a consortium of investors that includes Skype’s co-founders.”

Boxer pushes Climate Bill forward, whether GOP likes it or not — “Fresh off last week’s health care reform win, president Barack Obama and his allies in Congress have turned their attention to climate change — particularly the Kerry-Boxer bill that would establish a carbon trading system and set renewable energy targets in the U.S.”

Greylock Partners recruits LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, raises $575M fund — “Reid Hoffman, the founder and chairman of popular professional networking site LinkedIn, is joining venture firm Greylock Partners as an investing partner.”

TeleNav IPO: If Google starts a free service, we’re doomed. Whoops — “TeleNav, which provides voice-guided navigation services on mobile phones, filed for an IPO today. The company’s offering, though, goes head-to-head with Google’s recently announced Google Maps Navigation offering.”

Entrepreneur Corner Roundup: Surefire ways to get rejected by an angel investor and clearing up lean startup myths

Venture Beat — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:00:38 -0800

Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner:

Shoestring marketing for startups – Young companies typically don’t have the budget for a substantial marketing campaign, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As you search for your niche and your company evolves, serial entrepreneur Scott Olson offers advice on the best ways to get a big marketing bang for your buck.

Lean startups aren’t cheap startups – Too many entrepreneurs assume the lean startup methodology is a way to save money. It can be, but that’s not the idea behind the philosophy. Serial entrepreneur Steve Blank clears up some of the confusion, clearing up some commonly held misconceptions.

4 ways to get automatically rejected by an angel investor – Angel investor Jason Cohen has been on both sides of the table – both seeking money as a business owner and handing it out as an investor. It’s a unique insight and he runs down four of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when they’re trying to raise funds.

Hey VCs, it’s not your company! – It’s great when your VC has a lot of pride in your company and shows a lot of interest in what you do. But, as angel investor Brad Feld points out, they sometimes need to be reminded that they’re not the ones running the business.

The 5 biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make – The formula to entrepreneurial success changes constantly, but the formula to failure in a constant. Serial entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan runs down some of the dumbest moves start-up owners make.

Chip design firm Stream Processors shuts down after plowing through $26M

Venture Beat — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:30:20 -0800

Stream Processors, a chip design firm focused on video processing, is shutting its doors after burning through at least $26 million in venture capital and is engaged in an asset sale, VentureBeat has learned.

The closure is a blow to one of the bigger efforts to push parallel processing, which uses many different processing cores, or brains, on a single chip. However, rivals such as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel have all adopted some of the parallel processing techniques that Stream Processors had pioneered.

Jack Horng, an officer for the company, said that Stream Processors (see VB profile of the company) will be formally shut in a month or so. The former chief executive, Chip Stearns, is forming a new company to acquire all of the assets from Stream Processors, so it’s possible its technology will live on. The new company is expected to continue to supply its current generation Storm-1 processors, but it isn’t clear what will happen with the Storm-2 second-generation chips.

The San Jose, Calif.-based company was founded in 2004 by Bill Dally, dean of the computer science department at Stanford University. The company made a bid to get its chips inside the Xbox 360, but Microsoft chose an IBM PowerPC chip and an ATI graphics processor instead, partly because it was a more familiar programming model. Software developers really didn’t know how to develop code for Stream Processors’ chips. Dally left Stanford in January to become chief scientist at graphics chip maker Nvidia. The company churned out its first chip samples in 2006 and began shipping its Storm-1 series chips in 2007.

Attempts to reach Stearns were unsuccessful. The company focused on making video surveillance and high-end consumer electronics chips. Rivals include chip makers such as Stretch and Texas Instruments. Stream Processors had funding from Austin Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and Woodside Fund.

The recession has not been kind to chip startups. Few chip makers are getting funding these days, since it can take tens of millions of dollars to fund a new chip company.

Windows 7 sells 234% more copies than Vista

Venture Beat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:58:39 -0800

It looks like all the positive buzz round Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system paid off in sales. Windows 7 sold 234 percent more copies during its first few days on the market than Vista did during the same period of its release, according to research by the NPD Group.

NPD’s data covers the week of Oct. 18 to 24. Windows 7 only launched on the 22nd, but these numbers also include pre-sales from the days before. While the reviews weren’t universally positive, Windows 7 was seen as a huge improvement on Vista, the operating system so hated that it became a punchline of almost every Microsoft joke. The day before the launch, Microsoft’s Brian Hall said Windows 7 and the company’s new search engine Bing, as well as a concerted a advertising effort, are doing a lot to repair the public’s perception of Microsoft.

Not all of the sales numbers were quite as impressive, though. It looks like more people were buying the cheaper versions of the boxed software, rather than a new PC with Windows 7 (PC sales didn’t increase as much as they did for Vista) or the more expensive Ultimate edition. Microsoft’s revenue from Windows 7 sales beat Vista’s, but only by 84 percent.

Stimulus for tech and telecom $3B, but jobs still guesswork

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:45:30 -0800

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has spent about $700 million on IT and telecommunications products and services under its economic stimulus program, part of a total of $3 billion that's in the spending pipeline, according to a private analysis of this data. But how many jobs have been created is not as clear.

Congress approved $787 billion in February to promote job growth and the White House recently claimed that some 600,000 jobs have been created by the stimulus spending so far. But the government data, made available through Recovery.gov , provides no details about the types of jobs and salaries and uses formulas to estimate the job impact.

Oniva Inc., which tracks government contract spending and has set up a separate site, Recovery.org , to look at stimulus spending specifically and has tallied the amount of technology spending. It calculates spending, and planned spending, based on actual contracts, or parts of contracts, that have allocated funding for IT and telecommunications communications and services.

The companies receiving stimulus funds report the number of direct jobs created, but don't estimate the indirect help. For instance, the U.S. Social Security Administration is upgrading some IT equipment with money from the stimulus, but according to reports on three projects underway in Maryland, which represent just a fraction of the agency's tech spending, only 17 jobs were created or saved on about $11 million in spending.

IBM was awarded in September a Social Security Administration contract, worth about $8.5 million, to upgrade systems around the country. IBM put the number of jobs created or saved at 16.8 is based on a combination of formulas developed by IBM and the White House, according to the company's filing. Oracle Corp. reported from the same agency a contract of $1.25 million that didn't cite any jobs created. Similarly, Hewlett-Packard Co., didn't report any jobs also for a $1.25 million computer equipment contract .

Oniva estimates that the direct stimulus spending has created just under 8,000 tech and telecom jobs, but this is a calculation based on a White House formula that says for approximately every $92,000 in recovery dollars spent, one job is created or saved, said Michael Balsam, the chief solutions officer of Onvi.

The government's formula attempts to look at indirect job creation that stem from direct awards, but Balsam has questions about way the government is reporting its data. The U.S. job creation claims is not based on actual contract awards, said Balsam. "Only 25% of that [stimulus] money has actually left Washington," he said.

That may help explain why newspapers such as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are reporting that that U.S. claims that 10,000 jobs were saved or created in Wisconsin "rife with errors, double counting and inflated numbers based more on satisfying federal formulas than creating real jobs."

The newspaper came to this conclusion after looking at some of the local job creation reports. Other newspapers are turning up similar findings after examining local project spending.

Should You Use Standby or Hibernate?

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:20:16 -0800

It's an age-old question: When you're done using your laptop, or just taking a break from work, should you put it to sleep, let it hibernate, or turn it all the way off?

Allow me to answer by way of a mnemonic: hibernate is great. You see, sleep mode (a.k.a. standby) puts your system into an off-like state, allowing you to pick up where you left off after just a few seconds (unlike rebooting, which can take minutes). But a PC in standby mode continues to consume battery power, so it's not uncommon to return to a "sleeping" PC to find that it's just plain dead.

Hibernate, on the other hand, writes your machine's current state to a temporary hard-drive file, then shuts down completely (much like "off"). When you start it up again, it loads that file and returns you to where you left off--no booting required.

Both ends of the hibernate process take a little longer than standby (usually 10-20 seconds, in my experience), but you avoid any of the issues that can arise when Windows suddenly loses power. What's more, standby is a notoriously flaky mode. I've encountered plenty of systems that refuse to wake up properly, so you end up losing whatever work you were trying to preserve.

Consequently, unless you're running your laptop on AC power, I recommend using hibernate most of the time.

And here's a handy related tip: You can change the function of your laptop's power button so that pressing it automatically activates hibernation.

Green Computing: The Good And The Bad

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:18:36 -0800

It's becoming increasingly easier to make your PC setup more eco-friendly, thanks to a wide range of both software and hardware solutions available to help you go green.

The green-computing movement, which begin with the Energy Star program back in 1992, strives to ensure that the computer industry adopts various environmentally sustainable practices, such as creating more environmentally sound products and ensuring that those products' manufacturing processes, overall design, everyday use and eventual disposal have as small an environmental impact as possible.

It's no secret that not every manufacturer is as eco-centric as they could be, but with the help of certain product makers and a handful of selected software, you can do your part.

Bad Eco-Design

One example of poor eco-design comes courtesy of the new USB Eco Button.

Saving some money on your energy bills is one thing, but saving the entire planet is a much more admirable goal. Unfortunately the recently released USB Eco Button, which promises to save both the planet and your wallet, fails on both counts, adding to the ever-growing list of useless gadgets.

The device, which is essentially a USB-powered plastic button, puts any Windows based machine, except those running Windows 7, into a low-power energy saving mode. Once activated, the included software will then monitor your computers power usage, in addition to recording how much CO2 the Eco Button has saved.

The problem? The Eco Button is largely unnecessary, since such low-power modes can be implemented via software-only fixes. Considering the materials and energy used to manufacture it, the Eco Button could be doing more harm than good. The final icing on this not-so-green cake? The $14 'Eco Button' seems to be a second-rate imitation of another previously released--and trademarked--'Ecobutton'.

That said, there are numerous other ways to green up your OC.

Environmentally Sound Solutions

Lowering your CO2 emissions (and in turn, your bills) by reducing your power consumption can be achieved by turning to more environmentally friendly products and services. Francine Kizner looks at how you can make your office more green with this run-down of eight handy eco-gadgets, but for those more concerned with going green at home be sure to read over the following tips:

Manage Your PC's Power Usage With Eco Software

Now that we've established that you do not need a plastic button to put your computer to sleep,here are a number of programs can do the job by putting your PC into the deepest sleep possible without compromising your session:

Edison from Verdiem - Free energy monitoring software that can help reduce your PC's power usage.
PowerManager 3 from DSSW - A Mac-only power management app, which aims to save you hundreds of kilowatts-per-hour (kWh) per year. A free 30-day trial is available.
WatchOverEnergy from AKS-Labs - Although now a fairly old piece of freeware, this Energy Star approved Windows only program could help you save up-to $75 per year in energy thanks to its power management tools.
PowerSave - Available for both PC and Mac, PowerSave promises intelligent power management. Free trial available.
BizEE Benchmark from BizEE Software - Although aimed primarily at business users, this software can be tweaked for home use, creating your very own home energy audit.
JSutils - JSutils has a range of energy saving software worth checking out.

In addition to the various software solutions, the major OSes all have built-in power-saving modes, such as OS X's Energy Saver and Windows' Power Options control panel and sleep mode, which my colleague Jason Cross discusses in greater detail here.

Switching To Green Hardware

Changing your PC's various components, amongst other gadgets, to greener alternatives is another way to reduce your environmental impact. Apple is well-known for its recent green efforts, even managing to please Greenpeace this year and moving up a place in their rankings. Sony Ericsson has also been getting in on the eco-act this year with greener cell phones. Unfortunately due to the economic downturn the interest in tweaking products to be green has decreased, but some companies are still offering ecological hardware options:

Western Digital - WD offers a whole range of green hard drives, which promise to save, on average, 4 or 5 watts over other similar drives.
MSI - Last year MSI introduced the Wind board, a motherboard aimed designed to save power. When idle, it uses 10% less power than comparable products.
Antec - Antec provide a variety of power supply units (PSU) that boldly claim to be amongst the most power efficient PSU's on earth.
NEC - A recent offering from NEC is the new eco-conscious MultiSync 17-inch monitor. It has a special eco-mode designed to save over 42% in power versus similar speced monitors. It also has an Energy Star approval.

By using some of the products mentioned above , along with various other alternatives, you can save yourself some money over time, while doing your bit for Planet Earth.

Have you gone green, or do you make use of some green products when it comes to computing? Be sure to let us know in the comments and share your eco-experience.

Follow GeekTech and Chris Brandrick on Twitter.

Update fixes iPhone sync problem with Windows 7 for some

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:57:52 -0800

Gigabyte Technology issued a BIOS update on Friday that fixes a problem for some Windows 7 users who have been unable to sync their iPhones.

Earlier this week, Intel, Microsoft and Apple said they were investigating the issue, which people are complaining about on an Apple forum. The problem seems to be mainly affecting Windows 7 64-bit users with Intel P55 chipsets, and it prevents them from synching their iPhones with their computers.

On Friday, a few people posted on the forum that they’d downloaded the new BIOS from Gigabyte, a motherboard maker, and it solved the problem. In the description of the update, Gigabyte calls it a Beta BIOS and says that it fixes the iPhone sync issue, among other enhancements.

The BIOS update will help people who have the Gigabyte motherboard in their systems, but it won't help other people who have the problem, such as those with an Asus motherboard.

Earlier this week, Microsoft also said it was looking into the problem and recommended that people visit its help page for updates. It does not appear to have posted any information there and did not immediately reply to a request for comment about the Gigabyte update.

Though an Apple employee asked people on the forum to send details of the issue, it does not appear to have posted further information about the fix yet.

Intel said it could not comment on the Gigabyte BIOS update.

Cisco undervalues Tandberg, investment firms say

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:51:00 -0800

Two investment consulting companies laid out objections to Cisco's US$3 billion offer for Norwegian videoconferencing vendor Tandberg on Friday, saying in an open letter to Cisco and a press interview that the bid undervalues Tandberg.

Cisco and Tandberg announced the deal on Oct. 1, but it still needs to be approved by Tandberg's shareholders. The agreement requires owners of 90 percent of the company's shares to sign off on the acquisition by Nov. 9. According to recent media reports, holders of 24 percent of Tandberg stock don't plan to accept the deal. Cisco suggested on Monday that it might drop its offer rather than raise it.

Acquiring Tandberg, one of the major suppliers of videoconferencing equipment, would expand Cisco's already strong position in technology for virtual meetings. Cisco has high-definition, immersive videoconferencing systems in its Telepresence line as well as desktop collaboration offerings in its WebEx line. Chairman and CEO John Chambers has said video is the key application that will shape communications and drive network infrastructure growth in the coming years.

Panta Capital Managing Director Peter Germonpre said in an interview that Cisco would have to offer at least 170 Norwegian Kroner per share, about 11 percent above the current bid of 153.5 Kroner, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Germonpre reportedly said Panta and investment consultants Scott & Associates own less than 1 percent of Tandberg but have heard other shareholders take the same view.

In an open letter on behalf of Tandberg shareholders, addressed to Chambers and Chief Strategy Officer Ned Hooper, Panta and Scott said Cisco isn't offering enough of a premium.

Among other things, the consultants said Tandberg's third-quarter financial results beat the consensus estimates of analysts for revenue and profit. In addition, they said estimates of the company's 2009 results have fallen by only about 9 percent, outperforming estimates for the technology sector and for Tandberg rival Polycom, which fell between about 30 percent and 45 percent. They said Cisco is valuing Tandberg on a par with Polycom while the Norwegian company is actually outperforming its competitor.

When the deal was announced, Cisco said its offer represented a 38.3 percent premium over Tandberg's share price on July 15, which Cisco said was just before the company's stock started to rise because of takeover speculation. Panta and Scott rejected that argument, saying Tandberg had been seen as a takeover target before then.

Cisco reiterated its position on the Tandberg offer in a prepared statement.

"We believe we are paying a fair price for a quality asset, and our offer comes recommended by the Tandberg Board of Directors," Cisco said. "Further, Cisco's general approach to M&A activities is that no acquisition should be pursued or completed if it runs counter to the broader principles of prudence and financial fairness."

Q&A: isoHunt founder says P2P can help create post-piracy world

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:41:30 -0800

Gary Fung founded BitTorrent search engine isoHunt.com in 2003 when he was a 19-year-old student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. With the demise of The Pirate Bay , isoHunt is now the second most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing site today behind Mininova , and ranked in the top 250 Web sites in the world by both Alexa and Quantcast.

Fung talked with Computerworld about how isoHunt has evaded legal trouble so far, why he holds out hope of working together with Hollywood and the music industry, and how he's launched a new P2P site for just that purpose.

How did you start isoHunt? I was studying engineering and physics at UBC when I started isoHunt. I just wanted to learn some new programming.

Were you an active file-sharer? Not really. Frankly, I wasn't even using Napster back then. But I saw how potentially disruptive P2P was to the entertainment industry and content distribution in general. There was a gap in terms of a good search engine for file-sharing networks. Google was getting big back then, but wasn't yet on top. Neither Pirate Bay nor MiniNova were around yet.

How is isoHunt different from them? The Pirate Bay gathered the torrents that point to files and hosted them on its own servers on something called a BitTorrent tracker. A tracker is like a traffic cop for content: it tells a downloader who else has the content you're looking for.

Pirate Bay also categorized torrents for easier browsing. Both BitTorrent trackers and categorization are touchy issues, legally. Because the law is all about intent, whether you are intentionally leading people to copyright infringement.

isoHunt is a search engine, which most of the others are not. We go out and index the torrents on other BitTorrent trackers, including MiniNova, LegalTorrent.com and others: sites with Creative Commons-licensed music, as well as BitTorrent sites with just Linux and open-source software.

As a search engine, we don't host torrents, nor do we edit or categorize them. We just link back to the sites hosting the torrents, as well as cache a copy of those torrents.

Google does the same thing. If you go to Google and type in a TV show's name and add "filetype:torrent" you will see torrents, too.

I don't think isoHunt would be better as a directory. You saw the competition between directories versus search engines: Yahoo versus Google. We all know how that went.

How big is IsoHunt today? We get 30 million unique visitors a month. And I think we are the largest site in terms of quality and quantity of torrent files in our index.

We use the open-source Lucene software for search. We've done a lot of custom tricks to improve it.

Our index takes up 30 GB on MySQL databases. We program in PHP. PHP has its problems, but it has a lot of history, a lot of libraries, and is very fast. The fact that we have only 14 servers in Toronto is testimony to how fast PHP is.

Counting me, there are 5 employees. There are two systems administrators and two developers and me. I develop and do a whole bunch of other stuff.

And you make money by selling ads? Our ads are mostly general, though some advertisers will try to target younger, technical audiences. So we get some ads for consumer electronics.

I saw an ad for Qwest Communications. Who would've placed that ad? Some ad agency, though there are a lot of different intermediaries. But Qwest should be aware -- and they're not complaining. So you can draw your own conclusion.

Any other big-name advertisers? I'd rather not say, because mentioning it might raise more eyebrows.

Have you turned away a lot of adult advertising? Yes, we try to make our site as clean as possible. We don't do gambling ads, we don't do adult ads, no prescription Viagra ads, which is common for a lot of other [P2P] sites.

We also don't allow pop-up ads, or anything malicious, like ActiveX embedded ads. When we see those being slipped into advertising networks, we try to hunt them down.

We do allow Flash ads, as long they don't do anything super-annoying like flash, shake or start a song without people mousing over or clicking on them.

Is it lucrative enough to justify all of the risk? We have a lot of volume, but our monetization is below average, because, frankly, we face a lot of stigma.

But times are changing. Look at Hulu.com and YouTube, that kind of social and viral video-sharing is where the market is heading.

P2P has a bad name now. But more and more people are using it, and more legitimate content is being shared on it. And more advertisers will become receptive.

isoHunt faces lawsuits from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). I'd be pretty frightened to go up against their high-paid lawyers. What gives you the guts to do it? Because there's no other choice. Think of the Jammie Thomas case in Minnesota -- that woman got a $1.9 million fine for downloading music. It is quite apparent that if we don't fight, then they would get a default judgment, and a similarly ridiculous number would be thrown at us. So I really don't see any choice but to fight them.

What do your parents think about having such powerful enemies at such a young age? Worried, I suppose, for sure. Otherwise, it's the cost of doing business.

Still, I'm surprised that how long you've been able to resist, considering you're just across the border. Maybe we are lucky, or maybe we are doing something right. We have been fighting lawsuits longer than any other group still standing -- 3 years now. Pirate Bay and TorrentSpy have both been shut down, but our case still hasn't even gone to trial.

I don't know if you can call that victory or not. But I think it makes a difference that we are a search engine like Google. Thus, we have a lot of immunity under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and its Safe Harbor provisions. Also, we work with copyright owners to take down infringing content as prescribed by U.S. copyright law.

There are horror stories about malware on P2P sites or in the files themselves. How do you combat that? We mostly rely on user reports. Some of the really shady advertisers try to sneak in malicious ads from time to time. We work with ad networks to locate them.

We can't do anything about viruses or malware in the files being shared. But we do have a fairly good system for users to comment on and rate files. They show up next to the search results. If you see a negative rating, you can guess that it might be a fake file. We can't do those kinds of checks ourselves.

Do you think Hollywood or record companies will seed P2P networks with dud files? Yes. There were those e-mail leaks that showed MediaSentry working with Hollywood to send out fake files to P2P. It's a prime example of how the content industry sends out their own fake files to entrap users, either to sue them or annoy them into thinking P2P is not easy.

This goes back to our legal fight. They are telling us we have all of these infringing files on BitTorrent. At the same time they are contributing to this by adding their own fake files. How am I supposed to know what is fake, what is spam, and what is infringing?

I have done what I can in terms of working with content owners to take down torrents. I extended the invitation to Hollywood. If they want to work with us on taking down something that is infringing, we will gladly take it down. They have not responded to that invitation.

Has anyone? Yes. I won't say their name, but it is one of the members of the MPAA, ironically. The MPAA is suing us, but one of their members is working with us just like a normal copyright owner should. That is what we are arguing to the courts. But the MPAA simply wants to shut us down for its own PR and political reasons. It has nothing to do with actual copyright infringement or damages.

How about TV or movie studios actually seeding trailers or TV shows onto P2P networks? Like leaking a TV pilot before it airs to generate more publicity and hype? There's no definitive evidence they are doing that, but it would make sense as a marketing ploy, so I wouldn't be surprised.

There is also a lot of content that is being openly uploaded and promoted on P2P. I've been talking to a lot of independent filmmakers who make their own Webisodes.

There are also indie musicians and videogame studios that use BitTorrent. For example, World of WarCraft uses BitTorrent to distribute patches. These are big files, so it saves on their bandwidth costs.

So what would you suggest to a movie studio or a music company about how to make money from P2P? You look at the way Hulu embeds ads in TV shows that you can't skip. It's brilliant, and they are making good money.

There are a lot of different ways you can monetize that haven't been explored. And I would very much like to explore them.

I just launched a new site, Hexagon.cc , where I want to work with copyright owners to help them distribute, market and make money. It might be indirect, like MySpace, where musicians put up profiles and songs for exposure.

But MySpace already exists. Why go to Hexagon? We focus on the files, while adding more and more social features. Sharing is, after all, inherently social. In Hexagon, we let you easily create groups in which you can invite your school friends or workmates or other social contacts. That way, you only share with people you know or share the same interests. That's different than isoHunt.

We also encourage sharers to use Creative Commons licenses when they upload their songs or movies.

To avoid competing with established communities like Facebook, we will eventually let you invite your friends and import your contacts from other sites to Hexagon.

How did you get the idea for Hexagon? I think the only way forward for file-sharing is not to go against the content owners. When content owners sue their own customers, there is a whole lot of hatred from consumers. We are between the two parties, trying to figure out how we can be the intermediate solution, between outright suing of consumers, to having consumers downloading without paying a dime.

So, you're inviting Hollywood to use you as a marketing channel? Yes, and eventually a full retail store, like Apple's iTunes or Amazon's video-on-demand.

That's what the company BitTorrent Inc. unsuccessfully tried to do several years ago. All I can say is that was a case of exceptionally poor execution. BitTorrent offered exactly what people didn't want: $4 for movies protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management). You might as well go to Netflix and pay less and not have to worry about whether the DRM was going to keep you from watching that movie you downloaded on your PC on your TV. That's tedious.

Did BitTorrent Inc. feel like it had no leverage, and that this is what the content owners wanted? Yes. I think Hollywood knew that this model -- pricing it unreasonably, with DRM -- wouldn't work. They simply wanted to be able to tell the judge in court that they tried their best, and that this ( BitTorrent's failure ) shows that working with filesharing doesn't work. It wasn't a sincere effort.

Would you ever do P2P and stream content like Hulu or YouTube does? That is one thing in the works. The technology is in progress, but it's not useful enough to be ready for public use.

Do you think isoHunt will still be around five years from now? Judging from the fate of many other filesharing sites, I do see a lot of bad precedents. At the same time, I am hopeful that there will be positive change so that we can actually work with copyright owners, instead of them continuing to play Whack-a-Mole with us.

Legally, I'm hoping that we will have the same happy ending as Sony did with the Betamax VCR. Hollywood was crying foul over the VCR, like they are now with P2P. The courts said that as long as there is a lot of non-infringing use cases, you can't just make a new technology illegal.

I think that is a fair judgment and a very big precedent for technologists and copyright owners to go by, and we are hoping that we can rely on that precedent in our case.

Ironically, Sony is now one of the Hollywood companies suing me.

You know, I love to see movies. I go all the time, and pay Hollywood to see them. I'm not trying to fight them, or make them become like me. I simply want to make the distribution channel more efficient and social.

Announcing DiscoveryBeat: an event on how to get your apps noticed in an age of noise

Venture Beat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:39:18 -0800

VentureBeat is throwing a new mini-conference and networking event, DiscoveryBeat.

DiscoveryBeat addresses one of the biggest conundrums for Silicon Valley’s most dynamic startups and developers: How to get your social game or mobile application noticed in an age of noise?

It will be held in the afternoon of Dec. 8 at the Automattic Lounge on Pier 38 in San Francisco, a hip location with an ocean view.

We’ll discuss the “secret recipe” for getting discovered in an age when getting discovered can mean huge viral growth and the difference between profound success or prompt failure. We think there are five main ingredients to the secret recipe for viral growth: 1) Social networking and marketing, 2) advertising, 3) web design, 4) partnering and 5) measurement.

We’re inviting the masters of viral growth so that we can learn from them. Speakers include Sebastien DeHalleux, president of Playfish (above), one of the hottest makers of social games. We also have Roy Sehgal (below, middle picture), general manager at Zynga and executive producer of Cafe World, the fastest-growing social game in history. And we also have Julian Farrior (bottom picture), founder and CEO of Backflip Studios, a Boulder, Colo.-based iPhone game studio that has launched No. 1-ranked hits (Paper Toss, Rag Doll Blast) thanks to a clever combination of creativity and marketing. We’ll announce more speakers — including those from non-game companies — in the coming days.

The recent controversy surrounding the advertising offer industry (OfferPal, etc) shows there are ethical issues around tactics. There’s clearly a trade-off between getting noticed and making money. Social game platforms such as Facebook and MySpace, and the iPhone, Android, and other app stores are great places for app developers to get growth, but these platforms also need to maintain the trust of their users. While there are no gatekeepers, each of these platforms have their own rules or etiquette guidelines, and moving quickly to respond to changes in these rules can make or break businesses. There’s tremendous opportunity to gain momentum if you focus on the platforms best for you, but the terrain keeps changing.

Like any of VentureBeat’s events, this will be an opportunity to network. Entrepreneurs will be able to forge the relationships with advertisers, social networking companies and game developers. These partnerships are needed to succeed to survive in this competitive industry.

The event will be followed by a networking reception with key participants from the ecosystem, from investors to CEOs, developers and platform makers.

The agenda is subject to change. Here are the moderated panels we have planned:

Discovery 1.0: Starting from scratch
If you’re a two-person garage development shop, and starting from scratch, how do you create an app that can go viral? With 75,000 apps in the Apple AppStore, discovery is a huge problem. Facebook is just as tough. You’re at a disadvantage because large networks have an advantage due to their built-in knowledge of how the game works and also because of their ability to more effectively promote. How do you exploit your newness and focus, using the key ingredients of success? How can smaller developers team up with bigger brands that have name recognition? When should they go it alone? How do they build a company that bigger investors will notice?

Discovery 2.0: Moving to the next level
The social app companies — those successful application companies that came of age on Facebook and the iPhone — have created their own ecosystems with successful titles that feed on each other. Now what do they do? How many different types of monetization schemes do they need? What can they learn from the bigger companies? Should they recruit executives from the old-world companies, to help with partnering or organizational discipline? What sort of analytics process should they have in place? Can anyone catch up with them?

Discovery 3.0: Bringing in the big guys
Established video game companies and entertainment giants are eyeing the social networking and mobile platforms as a source of future growth. For success, the big guys need to apply the secret ingredients in different proportions. How much should they invest in these areas, and how should they do it? Which kinds of partners should they recruit? Which business models are the best? Who has made the transition already? What mix of social networking, marketing, analytical measurement, advertising and web design ingredients should they apply?

For sponsorships contact Andie Rhyins, andie@venturebeat.com. To sign up to attend, follow this link. Sign up by Nov. 20 and you can get 25 percent off the price. Early bird pricing is $114, and after Nov. 20 it will be $149.

ClickFuel provides internet tools to small businesses

Venture Beat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:34:04 -0800

As a web generation, when we’re looking for a dentist, plumber, or other small business, our first instinct is to go online when we need these services. Sure, there’s Yellow Pages that can find a name, number and address, but as consumers we are used to more and these small businesses usually lack a formal online presence. However, there are several companies that have emerged with the tools to help.

ClickFuel, a Boston startup that designs, manages and tracks marketing campaigns, has recently launched a set of Internet marketing tools designed to help small businesses to promote business through attracting new customers. Some of the services include: web site design, pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, email marketing and social media. An appealing service as many times these businesses lack the resources and knowledge to get online.

Fuel Station, a web-based ClickFuel application, is the main muscle helping to track results including leads generated, clicks and consumer calls made to a phone number listed online. Through a strategic partnership with Intuit, Fuel Station was recently added to Intuit’s App Center which appears in QuickBooks 2010 — a longtime go-to financial tool for small businesses. The Intuit App Center provides QuickBook users with tools to help solve any business problems that might arise. Help from ClickFuel isn’t cheap, though it’s hard to put a price on generating business. The typical monthly fee runs between $1,500 and $2,500 and usually entails Web site building and managing online marketing campaigns.

If you’re a small business owner and the thought of shelling out a large amount of dough every month frightens you, there are other options. MerchantCircle, a growing Silicon Valley company, is offering a local business social network where business owners can promote their business by uploading pictures, writing blogs, publicizing events, creating coupons and newsletters, and connecting with other merchants, all for free.

MSN changes the butterfly

Venture Beat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:33:49 -0800

MSN’s new home page, which you can see at preview.msn.com, is the first one that doesn’t look like it was designed by Microsoft. The new page has the same cheery look and feel as the Bing search box that perches at its top, waiting to grab your next search away from Google.

The MSN butterfly logo has been redesigned to match the new look. It’s pretty, but I doubt many users will notice the change. It still pushes the NBC peacock button in my brain, and I’m sure I’m far from alone.

The big surprise is the new design of the “verticals” as they’re known to advertisers — News, Money, Sports, Entertainment, Lifestyle — plus a catch-all “More.” Microsoft corporate vice president Erik Jorgensen told me the biggest change is that they threw away 25 category links that had piled atop the page. They’re gone. Not redesigned. Gone.

The verticals are much more visible now. But more important, the page finally gets to breathe. I’m sure there was some serious office politics required to get many managers to give up their spot atop the home page.

Microsoft is “more evolutionary than revolutionary,” Guidewire Group analyst Jeremiah Owyang said in a phone call.” To be revolutionary, they should show you custom content based on your profile.” The Huffington Post already does.

Apple Store announces Reserve And Pick Up program

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:20:38 -0800

For you pre-Thanksgiving shoppers, the Apple retail store on Friday announced a way to get a jump on your holiday list. The Reserve And Pick Up option will let you choose hardware products online and swing by your local store to collect them between December 15 and 24. Currently, the line-up of offerings includes iPods, iPhones, MacBooks, Mac Minis, iMacs, and Mac Pros. To make a reservation, you sign in with your Apple ID and select a store location. Payment is due only at the time of pick-up.

Other retailers have had store pick-up options for some time. Apple's program is clearly aimed at adding value to its stores' vaunted customer experience. Shoppers who make their reservations online can avoid the disappointment of finding something out-of-stock at the retail store. And in theory, the purchasing and pick-up process should be more efficient than waiting in long holiday lines. In many cases, items can be wrapped in the "signature gift box," too.

It's worth noting that Apple already offers free shipping on many hardware products purchased online, and includes gift wrapping options as well. So I wonder how many customers will prefer to reserve something online, and actually drive to the store to for pick up instead of simply ordering and waiting at home for their goodies to arrive. Apple may be counting on the fact that some shoppers will like the convenience of pick-up, and might buy a few additional accessories when they come to the store. That might be just the boost the stores need. In the most recent quarter--which was otherwise quite strong--average revenue per retail store was down a little more than 6.5 percent compared to last year.

If you do choose to reserve and pick up a shiny, gift-wrapped MacBook or iPod for your nearest and dearest this year, you can look forward to major kudos. But don't forget: the Apple store can't do everything. You've still got to, you know, add a card or something.

Boycott over Modern Warfare 2 with Steam 'Trojan Horse'

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:15:50 -0800

Steam, it seems, may finally have tromped across the proverbial bridge too far. The online PC games storefront with the sales leverage of a lion but the transparency of a two-way mirror reportedly signed a deal with Activision to load its Steamworks technology into retail and digitally distributed PC copies of Modern Warfare 2, and its online competitors are bristling.

Don't call them nonplussed, though. Key digital storefronts Impulse, Direct2Drive, and GamersGate--all three boasting comparable games software catalogues--have responded by stating they simply won't carry Activision's first-person modern military shooter. Their rationale? Put it this way: Would Walmart sell retail products that required the customer periodically drop by Kmart or Target for service, support, or just basic use?

"We don't believe games should force the user to install a Trojan Horse," a spokesperson for Direct2Drive told games blog Kotaku. The company's Modern Warfare 2 store page no longer offers pricing or game information, and instead displays the following notice:

At Direct2Drive, we believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased. Because COD MW 2 requires you, the consumer, to do that, we aren't able to offer the game via Direct2Drive at this time.

"We share some of the same concerns as Direct2Drive over the bundling of the Steam client with the game," an Impulse spokesperson told Voodoo Extreme. "The most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game."

Steamworks, it's important to note, isn't synonymous with Steam. Steam comprises Valve's combination online storefront and social gaming network, a relatively low-impact wrapper that embeds itself in your operating system and puts its tendrils into your gaming environment. The Steam client is necessary not just to purchase games from Valve, but also to play them thereafter. Without the Steam client and steady online access, games can't be purchased, downloaded, played, backed up, or restored.

Steamworks, by contrast, is a separate (but related) set of development tools--an API, if you will--designed to help publishers keep games up-to-date, handle DRM, and manage saved games.

It's not yet clear which of the above components come bundled with the PC version of Modern Warfare 2, and whether you'll be forced to access the Steam client and/or storefront itself every time you want to play the game. In either case, it raises questions not just about fair market competition--this is unambiguously a hostile move on Valve's part--but also digital rights management (what's the difference between Steam and something like SecuROM?), application-encapsulating (how many "fail points" should we tolerate?), and privacy rights, i.e. the traditional right to play a game without feeding back unlimited "User Generated Information" to a company that brazenly states it "may share aggregate information and individual information with other parties" in its privacy policy.

Follow me on Twitter @game_on

Black Friday Starts Now for Savvy Shoppers

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:14:28 -0800

If you love Black Friday bargains, but hate the idea of pre-dawn lines, surly shoppers, and the risk of bodily harm just to score a bargain Blu-ray player or Xbox console, major U.S. retailers have an alternative: Why not shop early? Some pre-Black Friday sales start Saturday, Nov. 7. Start brewing the coffee now.

The early sales from JCPenney, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart are designed to drive traffic to brick-and-mortar stores and retail websites--and possibly entice consumers to start their holiday shopping a little early. Some big box retailers, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, offered pre-Black Friday loss-leaders last year too.

If you'd rather not leave the house, Kmart's "Better than Black Friday" online extravaganza kicked off today, and runs every Friday through Nov. 20.

" 'Black Friday' has become a buzzword. People associate it with really good deals," says Michael Brim, founder and president of BFAds, a site that sends subscribers email messages about Black Friday bargains.

At a typical pre-Black Friday sale, such as Sears' "Black Friday Now" event that starts Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 a.m., retailers trot out "maybe two or three Black Friday store-busters," Brim says.

This year's best tech bargain? According to BFAds, Wal-Mart is effectively selling an Xbox 360 Arcade console for just $100. While the advertised price is $199, the retailer is giving away a $100 gift card with each Xbox 360 Arcade purchase. "Consoles have a minimum advertised price," says Brim. "Retailers can't advertise anything lower than that."

Other pre-Black Friday tech bargains (courtesy BFAds) include:

HP 15.6" Laptop w/ 2.2GHz Processor (G60-W519WM) - $298 (Wal-Mart)

Zenith 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - $499.99 (Sears)

Sylvania 32" 720p LCD HDTV - $349.99 (Kmart)

Sharp 42" 1080p LCD TV (LC42SB45UT) - $498 (Wal-Mart)

If you try to land these bargains, remember to wear protective gear--and don't forget your stun gun.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com.

Verizon's Droid: 10 Apps to Get You Started

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:12:23 -0800

So, you've got your spiffy new Motorola Droid phone from Verizon. Now what?

When it comes to applications, the Android ecosystem is pretty different from that other far more controlled alternative. Sure, the Android Market may not have 100,000 options just yet. But it does offer plenty of powerful programs -- somewhere around 10,000 total -- and, in a refreshing twist, it lets you decide what apps you want, instead of frequently censoring selections for you.

We've compiled a list of 10 top-notch Android apps to help get you going with your Android experience. These are all highly ranked programs that'll be strong starting points as you work to make the most of your new Droid device. After all, the much-discussed turn-by-turn GPS navigation system isn't the only thing out there.

Remember: This is only the beginning of the conversation. The Android Market is expanding every day, and there's no end to the interesting options it holds. If you have a favorite we didn't include, add it onto our list in the comments section below. Your recommendation will help other Droid users find even more cool ways to enjoy their new phones, too.

1. Twidroid

If you're a Twitter user and used to the iPhone, the first thing you might notice is that Tweetie isn't in the Android Market. Not to worry, though: Twidroid has your back. The Android-based Twitter app is available in a free and a pro (paid) version.

Both of Twidroid's offerings provide most every Twitter function you might need, from the basic -- viewing and sending tweets, following and unfollowing users, viewing profiles -- to the more advanced: saved searches, URL shortening, photo posting, and geo-location support. The pro version adds support for multiple accounts, bit.ly integration, video posting, and a handful of other options. It runs about $5.

2. Meebo for Android

Twitter? Check. Instant messaging? Check. Our second featured app will keep you connected to all of your IM accounts while you're roaming around with your new Droid. Meebo links multiple IM protocols into a single app that you can always keep running on your phone. AIM, MSN, Yahoo, MySpace IM, Google Talk, Jabber and ICQ are all supported -- and, if you create a Meebo account, you can save a collective log of all your chats that'll be accessible online.

The Meebo for Android app is free.

3. Pandora on Android

Crank up the tunes on your new Droid immediately by installing Pandora's Android app, available for free in the Android Market. Like its online and on-the-iPhone counterpart, the Pandora Android app lets you listen to personalized radio stations based on your favorite artists or songs. Thanks to Android's multitasking capabilities, you'll be able to rock out while running other apps -- something the iPhone can't handle.

4. Google Voice for Mobile

File this one under "outlawed on iPhone," too. The official Google Voice for Mobile app fully integrates Google Voice functionality into your new Droid phone. Once installed, you can make outgoing calls from your Google Voice number with the touch of a button, right from your contacts list. You also gain easy access to voicemail and Google Voice-based SMS messaging.

The Google Voice for Mobile app is free to install and use. You do need to have an existing Google Voice account, however, for it to work.

5. Locale

Take control of your phone with Locale, one of the coolest apps available for Android. Locale lets you customize your phone's settings based on your location. You could program the app to set your phone to vibrate every time you're at your office, or set it to go silent when you enter the perimeter of your local movie theater. You can get advanced and make exceptions for VIP callers, too.

6. ActionComplete

Another handy location-aware app for Android is ActionComplete. ActionComplete is a high-tech to-do list for your Droid phone. It makes it easy to organize your tasks and appointments, using a system developed by "GTD" (Getting Things Done") guru David Allen. You can even set reminders that'll pop up based on where you are, allowing you to remind yourself of certain tasks at the office, others at the home, and so on.

ActionComplete is free.

7. Google Sky Map

Stare at the stars with Google Sky Map, the "mobile planetarium" for Android phones. The Google Sky Map app, free, actually overlays information about the night sky onto your Droid display. It uses a combination of GPS data, compass data, and date and time information to help you identify planets, stars, and constellations.

8. KeyRing

Get rid of all those annoying membership cards with KeyRing, an Android app that puts your barcodes into your Motorola Droid. Simply scan your various cards -- anything from gym memberships to drug store discount clubs -- and Key Ring will categorize them into a drop-down menu.

The next time you need a card, you just pull it up on your phone -- no need to actually carry the physical piece of plastic.

9. Compare Everywhere

While we're on the topic of barcodes, you may want to grab Compare Everywhere. With the program installed, you can scan a barcode in any store to get instant information about any product. Compare Everywhere will connect you to reviews and pricing details to make your shopping simpler.

Compare Everywhere is a free download.

10. Sherpa

Ready to explore? Check out Sherpa, an Android application that helps you find new places based on your own personal preferences. Sherpa "learns" your likes and dislikes, then uses your location information to suggest restaurants, stores, and attractions in your area that might float your boat.

The best part? Sherpa won't cost you a dime to download.

Got Apps?

So there you have it: 10 top-notch Android apps to get you started with your new Motorola Droid experience. There are so many more to explore, so help your fellow Droiders out and leave your recommendations below.

For more on the Droid phone, click over to "Verizon's Droid Launch: Your Complete Guide." And if you're still feeling inadequate next to Apple's 100k-strong app selection, read "Apple's App Store: 100,000 Apps, But Most Are Unused." As you'll see, size isn't necessarily everything.

JR Raphael writes geek humor at eSarcasm. You can keep up with him on Twitter: @jr_raphael.

Smart Meter maker Landis+Gyr lands $100M for epic rollout

Venture Beat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:48:23 -0800

Last week’s announcement of $3.4 billion in stimulus funds for utilities was big news for smart meter makers. Almost every recipient of the money said they would be using it to add millions of advanced meters to their coverage areas. Now major meter maker Landis+Gyr has proved that the government grants will stimulate private investing in the sector, raising a new $100 million from its current backers.

The Swiss company says it will use the funds for a fast and dramatic deployment of smart meters, and not just in the U.S. — it will look at rolling out its hardware in Asia, Australia and Europe as well. Smart metering in the European Union is actually far ahead of U.S. initiatives, due in part to an aggressive mandate that 80 percent of homes must be equipped with smart meters by 2020 and 100 percent by 2022.

Landis+Gyr might actually be facing its toughest competition in the U.S., where Itron is giving it a serious run for its money. The latter emphasizes that it offers the same networking infrastructure as Silver Spring Networks, while also providing the metering hardware and now home energy management interfaces since its September partnership with OpenPeak. Echelon has also captured a slice of the market, tapped by large Duke Energy to provide meters.

Landis+Gyr is looking to add these services and more as it produces more meters than it ever has before. It will be interesting to see if it innovates its own solutions or turns to an acquisition strategy to diversify its technologies.

VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18-19, featuring keynotes from Nobel Prize winner Al Gore, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr. Register for your ticket today at GreenBeat2009.com.

Comic-Con founder Shel Dorf dies, age 76

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:44:31 -0800

Comic book fan Shel Dorf founded the Comic-Con convention in 1970, and at the first event just 300 people showed up. This year, at the Comic-Con International event in San Diego more than 125,000 comic book, sci-fi, and video game aficionados showed up to rub shoulders with their heroes and get a sneak look at upcoming movies, TV shows and games.

Though Dorf is said to have lamented the "Hollywood" takeover of his event, no one can deny its ascension to become one of the most important pop culture events of each year. In the past, significant brands have been launched or rebooted at the event, including Iron Man, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and most recently ABC's hit remake of the V miniseries, which premiered this week. Video game publishers have been making use of the event much more aggressively in recent years, with the 2009 event seeing big pushes for high profile titles like Left 4 Dead 2 and Mass Effect 2.

The Comic-Con organization have posted a tribute that you can read here.

Broadband chip maker MaxLinear files for IPO

Venture Beat — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:26:58 -0800

Broadband communications chip maker MaxLinear has filed to go public in another indicator that the good times are back for tech stocks and exits.

Carlsbad, Calif.-based MaxLinear makes analog or mixed-signal radio chips that can be manufactured in standard chip factories. The chips enable devices to display broadband video. The chips are used in a wide array of electronic gear: cable and terrestrial set-top boxes, digital TVs, cell phones, PCs, netbooks and car entertainment systems. The company has more than 35 customers, including Panasonic, Murata, Alps Electric and Sony.

MaxLinear was founded in 2003. Since shipping its first products in 2006, the company has shipped more than 65 million radio chips. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, revenues were $36.1 million, up from $23.6 million a year earlier. Net income was $2.4 million for the period, compared to a loss of $1.1 million a year earlier.

The market for radio frequency, digital signal processors and analog chips used in set-top boxes, mobile phones, autos and TVs was $7.6 billion, according to market researcher iSuppli.

Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank Securities are handling the offering. Co-managers include UBS Securities, Thomas Weisel Partners and Needham & Co. It’s good to see a chip company filing to go public. It often takes so much investment these days that chip makers have a hard time finding venture capital funding.

Google Dashboard: Transparent, maybe. Private? No.

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:26:53 -0800

What does Google know about you and when did they know it? Those are the questions Google claims it's trying to answer with the new Google Dashboard unveiled yesterday.

Simply put, the Dashboard gathers up almost every Google service you've signed up for and displays the most basic settings for each on a single page. Here's how The Official Google Blog describes it:

In an effort to provide you with greater transparency and control over their own data, we've built the Google Dashboard. Designed to be simple and useful, the Dashboard summarizes data for each product that you use (when signed in to your account) and provides you direct links to control your personal settings.

[ Even the Great Googley Moogley stumbles from time to time, as Cringley notes in "Gmail Gfails, Internet survives again" | Stay up to date on Robert X. Cringely's musings and observations with InfoWorld's Notes from the Underground newsletter. ]

Sounds peachy, doesn't it? Finally Google is giving us what we want, control over own data. Saints be praised.

Well, not exactly.

Let's start with the privacy angle. Google puts a "people" icon next to account information that's available to anyone Googling -- er, searching the Net. That's useful info. But if you want to make that stuff private -- or just find out if it's even possible to make it private -- you have to go deep into the settings of each Google app. If you don't already know where to go to change this setting, you may not get there.

For example, I have seven Google Calendars (yes, I am freakish in that way). Google's Dashboard told me one of them was public, but didn't identify which one. A public calendar can reveal scads of sensitive info -- like the names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of people you're meeting with, or when you'll be out of town for an extended period. It's one-stop shopping for identity thieves and/or your local cat burglar.

I had to go through my calendar settings one by one until I identified the culprit (which, fortunately, was one I never use for personal info). Had Google really wanted to enhance "transparency, choice, and control" they would have made this a one-click operation.

Similarly, for people who were appalled to discover just how deeply Google was embedded in their lives -- quite a few of them, judging from the blog chatter -- there's no easy way to simply unsubscribe from these services. I have an Orkut profile I set up once for research purposes and never used again. How do I get rid of it? I still can't figure that one out.

Or, once I finally do figure out how to kill one of my Google accounts, what happens to the information associated with it? Does Google keep it? And if so, for how long?

Then there's all the info Google isn't sharing on the Dashboard. As AllThingsD's John Paczkowski notes:

Noticeably absent from Dashboard is any view of the cookie data Google uses to target ads. Essentially, all Dashboard does is consolidate the admin pages of the services associated with a user's account in a single place. Convenient, yes. But does it tell us anything we didn't already know? Or, more importantly, how Google is using that information? No.

The day Google tells me how it's using my information to make money -- and gives me the opportunity to say thanks but no thanks -- is the day I believe Google is really interested in "transparency, choice, and control."

Meanwhile, as PC World's Tony Bradley notes, gathering all this info in one tidy spot makes it easier for anyone who's hacked your Google account to dip his slimy fingers into the corners of your life like a biscotti into a venti latte.

And then there's the possibility of Google screwing up and sharing this info with the wrong people, as it did earlier this year with Google Docs. Following that breach, the Electronic Privacy Information Center called upon the FTC to investigate the security of Google services that collect data (which is to say, pretty much all of them).

Is Google Dashboard a step in the right direction? Sure. But that's all it is. If anything, its greatest value is in demonstrating just how dependent many of us have become on our G-benefactors.

The day Google decides to go all in with Satan and use its powers for evil, we're screwed. Even if the company remains well intentioned, it also has to be extremely competent.

So the big issue still remains: Can we really trust these guys?

Will the "G" turn out to be like the "V" -- seemingly beneficent creatures hiding their evil reptilian plans? E-mail me: cringe@infoworld.com.

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This story, "Google Dashboard: Transparent, maybe. Private? Not so much," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the ongoing shenangigans of the tech industry in Robert X. Cringely's Notes from the Field blog at Infoworld.com.

Introducing Speedmark 6

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:15:59 -0800

Back in August, Apple entered the era of Snow Leopard. Today, Macworld's Speedmark test suite enters the Snow Leopard's den.

Speedmark is Macworld Lab's standard test tool for benchmarking new and upgraded systems running Mac OS X. It uses real-world applications and everyday tasks. It is a general-purpose suite that includes tasks everyone from a high-end user to a new user performs every day.

Macworld Lab follows a detailed script to perform the 17 tasks. Each task is performed three times. We compare the results to a 2.13GHz MacBook with 2GB RAM (Mid 2009), which is assigned a score of 100. We then take the geometric mean of the normalized scores.

Apple's latest Mac OS X operating system, 10.6, focuses more on refinements rather than features. But the new OS does boast some new technologies meant to help your Intel Mac take better advantage of its central and graphics processing units. Unfortunately, in order to make these refinements and improvements, Apple made the decision to pull the plug on Power-PC equipped Macs, offering no support for any pre-Intel hardware.

The Macworld Lab has been hard at work tweaking Speedmark, our overall system performance testing tool, to better accommodate Snow Leopard and to test the Macs on which it runs. Of course, that means that the new version, Speedmark 6, runs on Snow Leopard and supports only Intel-powered Macs.

We have Speedmark 6 scores for 19 Intel Macs, including the new MacBook, iMacs, and Mac minis released last month. Please note that because Speedmark 6 uses different tests and a different OS, Speedmark 6 scores can't be compared to the scores of Speedmark 5, the previous version of our test tool.

For your convenience, we offer the complete scoresheet as both a Microsoft Excel file and a PDF for download. These scoresheets have the Speedmark 6 scores, as well as the performance scores for each application.

Speedmark 6 scores

Like Speedmark 5, Speedmark 6 consists of 17 tests. Many of the tests are new and few of the new tests reflect reader suggestions. Here's a look at the new task list.

Mac OS X Finder

Duplicate 1GB file

Compress 2GB folder

Uncompress 2GB file archive

Pages '09

Open 500 page Word document

iTunes 9

Convert 28 AAC files to MP3 from hard drive

iMovie '09

Import two-minute clip from camera archive

Share two-minute movie to iTunes for mobile devices

iPhoto '09

Import 150 photos from hard drive

Parallels 5

WorldBench 6 Multiple Page Loading Test on Windows 7

Call of Duty 4

Timedemo run at 1024-by-768 with 4X anti-aliasing

Cinebench R10

CPU test

OpenGL

Compressor 3.5.1

Convert DV file to MPEG-2 for DVD

Adobe Photoshop CS4

Actions script run on a 50MB file

Handbrake 0.9.3

Encode one chapter from DVD to H.264

MathematicaMark 7

Evaluate Notebook test

Aperture 2.1.4

Import 150 photos and build thumbnails and previews

[James Galbraith is Macworld's lab director.]

The Beauty of Technology

IDG News Service — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:14:47 -0800

It's a natural thing to want to improve one's self, no matter which aspect of it needs enhancement. And for a cosmetics and skin care firm like Forever Flawless, helping others improve their physical appearances entailed improving their company's business processes first. That is one of the reasons why they made the decision to take their business under the knife and undergo a major technological facelift.

At the time when beauty and skin boutique Forever Flawless was still beginning its small operations, they handled their stream of information through a stand-alone program called Magnus POS, which effectively managed their minimal amount of data at that time.

But the growth of their business eventually became inevitable--starting with a few 12 branches sprawled across Metro Manila to as much as 30 clinics and a little over four hundred employees to date--and so was the growth of their data, especially their bill of materials.

"Our business is different from others of the same medical nature," explains Reylourd Tinamisan, IT supervisor of Forever Flawless. "Because we provide both products and services, we require a full inventory of our materials."

A full inventory of materials requires the accounting of all the supplies used in their clinics, down to the last kilogram of alcohol or the last ball of cotton. Compared to a whole inventory--which accounts only for the whole units consumed--Ti namisan says the former is harder to do and manage than the latter.

"That is why we are still in the development stage of our ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software," he says. "We are continually adding data for our inventory and constantly fine-tuning the system."

INTEGRATING THE BUSINESS

It came as no surprise to them, therefore, that implementing an all-in-one, streamlined and interconnected solution would greatly lessen the stress they get from day-to-day operations and significantly benefit their organization.

"Around two years ago, we deployed an SAP Business One All-in-one solution to handle our business processes," explains Tinamisan. Their acquisition included programs for the purchasing, inventory, business partner, marketing, cashier operations and CRM functions of the business.

The solution not only empowered their firm through every step of the business process--from warehouse management, inventory, stock transfer to branch inventory, sales, and customer data management--but integrated and interconnected their branches as well.

"With the old system, our problems stemmed mostly from it being a stand-alone application," Tinamisan laments. "Our systems were not yet interconnected, so the application would generate reports as spreadsheet files and we would have to wait for the branches to forward them to the head office."

With the new acquisition, all their branches became automatically synchronized with their head office. "The change has been quite drastic and very much beneficial, especially because we now have the capability to acquire information at a faster rate," he adds.

With the implementation, Tinamisan says, they became literally a point and a click away from managing the voluminous amount of data that course through their network pipeline each day. "Most changes in the inventory and customer data happen in real time. So if a branch, for example, runs low on a certain material today, we are alerted immediately and are able to deliver the necessary products the next day," he proudly shares.

Operations are likewise functioning better now, Tinamisan recalls. "SAP allows for 24/7 accessibility, and changes can be done remotely," he says. "So if I'm out of the office but there are problems in the system, I can address it anywhere there's an Internet connection."

Since they are a cosmetics company, taking note of the customers' physical changes is one of their priorities. "The SAP solution enabled us to efficiently take photos of customers," Tinamisan narrates.

EXPANDING THE BOTTOM LINE

Aside from quicker transmission of data, Tinamisan reveals that the solution significantly broadened their company's bottom line by lessening the staff needed for manned operations and delivering critical information for important business decisions.

"We have less staff manning our back office now, although they were merely transferred than let go," he expounds, adding that their IT department, for instance, has only five employees taking care of everyday operations.

Other than having less human resource requirements, Tinamisan says Forever Flawless benefited from the SAP solution in determining its roadmap for future plans. "With faster generation of reports, we are able to know our revenue right away," he proudly says. "And acquiring accurate and timely information about which of our products are slow- or fast-moving is really helpful for marketing purposes."

But a common concern among CIOs and IT managers regarding application implementation these days is the return on their investment. "With our implementation, I'd say we got our ROI within a year's time," Tinamisan figures. This increase in revenue allowed their business to grow, with the faster processes allowing them to focus more on their core business, he adds.

With this positive return in mind, Tinamisan says their company is looking forward to improving more business processes in the future, which calls for acquiring several more applications. "We're definitely looking into acquiring more solutions, since the ERP is only phase one of our project," he explains. "The next phase would be the upgrading of our POS system, after which we will need to implement a system for our payroll management."

A HERCULEAN TASK

Despite all the benefits stemming from their new system, Tinamisan cautions companies who are thinking of streamlining their business processes. "They must first determine if the system is right for them, since not all solutions fit every kind of company," he explains, adding that it takes a few years before the full benefits of these implementations are realized.

Small and medium businesses should likewise be weary of the cost of implementing these applications. "They must study the nature of their business, and try to see what solutions are best for them," he says, adding that knowing all these information beforehand would prevent companies from losing their hard-earned investments.

"We were fortunate because most of us in the IT department came from other companies, so we have a wealth of knowledge and experience at our disposal. Because of that, we already know which problems and issues need to be addressed head-on," Tinamisan says, alluding to his previous experiences in other retail companies.

But these quick wins from the SAP applications are just a percentage of what they hope to achieve with the implementation. "We are still developing the system, and even though all our issues have been addressed by the application, we are still far from maximizing the benefits from the software," he relates.

Forever Flawless is simply one of the majority of SMBs in the country that has implemented software solutions that have brought numerous rewards to their organizations. With this realization, Forever Flawless has experienced a more efficient business process, and has since then seen the beauty of technology.