Twitter co-founders Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey interviewed by Piers Morgan

Twitter co-founders Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey talk with CNN's Piers Morgan.

'Child of Eden' for Kinect trailer released

A trailer was released yesterday for the upcoming video game Child of Eden from Ubisoft. The game will be released June 15 for Microsoft's Xbox 360. Child of Eden hopes to become another one of the popular Kinect games that feature interactive motion control.

Kinect not just for games

The gesture recognition technology behind the popular Kinect is finding widespread applications outside the world of gaming. A new pilot program sponsored by Microsoft's Live@Edu is improving the educational experience of primary school children, beginning with a South African school in the rural district of Vryheid, KwaZula-Natal. Teachers from the Lakeside Park Primary in Vryheid have been trained and equipped with Xbox 360s and Kinects, which have become popular learning tools.

Launched on Nov. 4, 2010, the Kinect for Xbox 360 is the fastest-selling electronic device in history, according to Guinness World Records. Initial sales of the Kinect are  even better than the iPhone and iPad. "No other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span," said Gaz Deaves, gaming editor for Guinness.

Kinect hacking has quickly become rampant because it provides an inexpensive, convenient way to utilize motion control.

Software developer Mike Bourgeous has rigged a Kinect to control the lighting in his home.



Surgeons at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, Canada have hooked up a Kinect to their imaging computer to give them access to MRI and CT scans with the wave of a hand. Doctors at Wake Forest University of Medicine also use the Kinect to access medical images.



Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired (NAVI) use a Kinect camera and other devices to signal instructions for avoiding obstacles.

Nvidia shares jump after releasing new graphics card

Shares of Nvidia soared some  9% today after the company released a new dual-core graphics cards. Nvidia says their new graphics card is the fastest on the market.

Startup's photo, video-sharing app breaks new ground

To the amusement of passersby, Color CEO Bill Nguyen works in a bathtub in a window at the startup's headquarters in Silicon Valley. (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

Silicon Valley startup Color Labs released a new smartphone app yesterday that lets people nearby share photos, videos and text messages in real time.

Sequoia Capital, the venture capital firm that backed Google and Apple, recently invested $25 million in Color. Sequoia "told us that every ten years or so a company and a marketplace and an opportunity come together that's transformative," Color chief executive Bill Nguyen said. "They told us, 'not since Google have we seen this."

"No other app connects people like Color does," says Sequoia partner Douglas Leone.

Nguyen sold his last startup, streaming music service Lala, to Apple.

Twitter celebrates birthday with Conan O'Brien

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone made an appearance on the Conan O'Brien show last night as part of a celebration of the microblogging site's fifth birthday. O'Brien, who has a large Twitter following, noted Twitter "was huge for me a year ago when I found myself without a television show. It changed my life."

Lady Gaga interviewed by Google

Google's Marissa Mayer interviewed pop star Lady Gaga yesterday. Mayer noted that Lady Gaga is one of the most searched people in the world, with some 443 million hits for the query "Lady Gaga" on Google, and her "Bad Romance" was one of the two most popular YouTube videos of all time.

Kinect gesture recognition technology helping surgeons

Doctors at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto, Canada have hooked up a Kinect gaming console to their medical imaging computer so that they can conveniently view MRI scans with the wave of a hand, reports Engadget. The video above shows doctors at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine using the Kinect sensor to manipulate medical images.

Celebrities help Twitter celebrate 5th birthday

Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday today by releasing a video with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner and a host of celebrities made promotional appearances on behalf of the microblogging service. The Twitter sites of Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, Serena Williams and other stars are featured at discover.twitter.com.

Sprint adds Google Voice

Google Voice will replace Sprint voicemail as part of a new partnership integrating Sprint's mobile service with Google Voice.

Apple threatened by Pandora and other streaming music services

1896 painting by J.W. Waterhouse

In ancient Greek mythology, Pandora received the gift of music from Apollo. According to the myth, when Pandora's box was opened the evils of the world escaped. By time the box was closed, the only thing that remained was hope.

Right about now, the trendsetting streaming music startup Pandora probably thinks the evil that escaped the mythological box is Apple. The Silicon Valley titan controls 70 percent of online music sales, according to marketing research firm NPD Group. Pandora hopes that Apple's recent efforts to stunt the growth of alternative streaming music services, which has prompted a preliminary federal antitrust probe,  will be unsuccessful.

Apple announced a new subscription plan last month that gives them a 30 percent cut of all payments made through its App Store. Many feel the new plan is an attempt by Apple to stymie the growing popularity of Pandora and other streaming services. The loss of an important source of revenue may have affected Pandora's plans for an IPO.

"I think this could delay the Pandora IPO," said a source associated with the public offering that was quoted by the New York Post. "Apple has crossed the line. They are either going to have to walk this one back, or face enforcement action, or a lawsuit."

About one-fourth of the U.S. population uses Pandora. The Oakland, CA-based startup has the most popular Internet radio service, according to Ando Media. Pandora's future growth is tied to the trend by nearly all the major auto makers to integrate Internet radio into the dashboard.

Pandora is the Internet radio service used by most car makers. "The car is definitely the big new story for us," says Pandora CEO Tim Westergren.  Pandora is available now on the BMW Mini and Ford Sync. Car dashboards with controls for Internet radio "will probably be our biggest market," says Westergren.



Cars and Internet television are the new frontiers for streaming music. One of Pandora's rivals is Mog, which is based in nearby Berkeley, CA. "People listen to music while driving more than anywhere else, so its critical for us to offer Mog in the car," say Mog CEO David Hyman. "The car is the holy grail." The BMW Mini also uses MOG, which the startup demonstrated at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX.

Auto manufacturers and consumer electronics makers have formed a consortium to develop standards for integrating mobile phones with car dashboards and steering wheel controls. Nokia played a leading role in the formation of the group. Among the founding members of the Car Connectivity Consortium are Daimler, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen. Other members of the group include Samsung,  LG Electronics and Panasonic.

The group may adopt the Terminal Mode standard developed by Nokia and CE4A (Consumer Electronics for Automotive), an association of car makers.  Some upcoming models for BMW, Toyota and GM use a platform that supports Terminal Mode.




Streaming music is projected to expand rapidly in the next five years, according to ABI Research. Most of this growth, says ABI, will come from the growing popularity of streaming apps on mobile phones.

Apple could lose a substantial amount of its music business as streaming alternatives proliferate. ABI thinks that Rhadsody and Spotify, a European service that wants to enter the American market later this year,  could be the chief beneficiaries of the streaming trend.

Both Rhadsody and Spotify will be gravely damaged by Apple's plan to take a 30 percent cut of their revenue from the App Store. Spotify is in talks with Universal Music and Warner Music to license their catalogues. The European startup already has agreements with Sony and EMI.

Spotify, which is headquartered in the U.K. and has research and development facilities in Stockholm, recently celebrated the milestone of reaching one million European subscribers.

Apple is rumored to be in talks with the major music labels to gain increased access to their catalogues.

As part of its plan to confront the growing threat from Pandora, Spotify and Rhadsody, Apple is expected to overhaul its MobileMe cloud service to allow the free storage of music, videos and photos. Apple's new $1 billion data center in North Carolina will be a hub for iTunes and MobileMe.

The revamped MobileMe service could be available next month, reports Apple Insider.

This post originally appeared in Benzinga.

Skype introduces Qik video chat with live feeds for iPhone, Facebook and Twitter

Skype today introduced its new Qik video chat service that lets users record video email and features live feeds for the iPhone, Facebook and Twitter.

Silicon Valley, New York teams win SXSW Startup Bus battle

Teams from Silicon Valley and New York won the South by Southwest Startup Bus competition. Six busloads of tech startups that drove to the SXSW festival in Austin, TX from across the country participated in the competition, which was won by TripMedi and WalkIN.

The competition involved designing a prototype and website during the three-day bus ride. The Silicon Valley startup WalkIN developed  mobile phone app with an alert feature that helps diners avoid waiting in long lines.

Google adding new features to Blogger

Google is unveiling its newly designed blogging service Blogger at the South by Southwest tech gathering in Austin, TX. Blogger.com is the sixth most popular website in the world, according to Alexa.

Business networking startup Hashable a top SXSW prospect

Hashable is a five-month-old New York City company that has developed a networking app that many have predicted could be the hit of the South by Southwest gathering of tech startups in Austin, TX. Hashable recruited 20 of its top users to attend SXSW to bring attention to its iPhone and Android app that replaces business cards and features a "check in" option.

Group text apps take center stage at SXSW

The annual pilgrimage to Austin, TX for South by Southwest, the largest gathering in the country for young tech startups and aspiring musicians and filmmakers, continues to grow in popularity. The festival, abbreviated SXSW, begins this weekend and runs through March 20. In recent years, SXSW, which was originally a venue for budding musicians,  has become a major tech attraction because of the nationwide attention startups such as Twitter and Foursquare received after successful debuts there.

Today, group text messaging is the niche technology that many think will take SXSW by storm. Group text apps allow users to create virtual chat rooms. Some of the group apps include an audio feature, photo sharing and integration with Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.

SXSW will be a battleground for a large number of group text startups looking to distinguish themselves. TextPlus has nearly eight million users, by far the most of any of the group text startups. Facebook recently bought Beluga, a group text service developed by three former Google employees located a few miles away from its Menlo Park, CA headquarters. Another startup getting a lot of attention is GroupMe, which is located in New York City.

Less well-known startups, such as GroupFlier, will also be trying to grab attention at SXSW.



Fast Society, another New York City startup, is also an underdog hoping to woo the SXSW crowd.

From left, Fast Society co-founders Michael Constantiner, Mathew Rosenberg and Andy Thompson. Credit CNET 

Fandor launches Netflix alternative for indie films

Fandor announced today a streaming video subscription service focused on independent and international films. Only about 20 percent of the San Francisco startup's library of 2,500 films is also available on Netflix, according to Fandor. Subscribers to the new service can share clips that they like on Facebook.

Startup Memolane combines Facebook, Twitter, YouTube into digital scrapbook

Memolane, a startup based in San Francisco and Denmark, has just introduced a new service that allows users to combine Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media into a digital scrapbook. Memolane also links to Instagram, Foursquare, Picasa, Flickr, Last.FM and other Web sites.

Google preview search feature now available on mobile

Google's Instant Previews search feature is now available on Android and Apple mobile devices. Tapping on the magnifying glass next to google search results on mobile devices provides a view of revelant webpages.

Warner Bros. to offer movies on Facebook

Warner Bros. will begin testing a program to sell or rent movies on Facebook. Starting tomorrow, Facebook users will be able to rent "The Dark Knight" through the movie's official fan page on the social networking site.

Streaming music service Mog targets TVs and cars

Music streaming service Mog plans to announce deals with Samsung, LG and Vizio to incorporate Mog into their Web televisions and other devices, reports the New York Times. Drivers of BMW Mini cars will also be able to access Mog with their iPhone or Android smartphones.

Mog's TV app displayed at the company's Berkeley, CA headquarters. Credit: The New York Times

Google buys Next New Network to boost YouTube

Google today announced the purchase of Next New Networks, which it plans to use as an incubator for the makers of profitable YouTube videos.  Next New Networks is based in New York and backed by TV executives from Nickelodeon and MTV.

Google Maps Android app helps avoid traffic jams

The Google Maps Android app was updated today to allow motorists to use their smartphones to map routes that will avoid traffic jams.

iPhone app finds electric car charging spots

Owners of electric cars looking for a place to charge their vehicles can now use an iPhone app developed by Silicon Valley software startup Xatori to find a nearby location.

Google demos self-driving car

Google showed off videos for the first time of its self-driving Toyota Prius at the recent TED conference in Long Beach, CA. Google's  automated cars have been driven down San Francisco's famously crooked Lombard Street, across the Golden Gate Bridge and on the winding Pacific Coast Highway

History of Jazz app demos iPad's interactive potential

The History of Jazz is an iPad app developed by 955 Dreams that is filled with sound clips, videos and pictures. Thrilled by an app that demonstrated  the interactive potential of the iPad, Apple highlighted the music app shortly after its release, after which sales soared. The app has a link to iTunes.

Tesla's battery technology pushes EV movement forward

There are many who are skeptical of Tesla Motors' long term chances for prosperity and do not believe that the Silicon Valley company will be able to successfully compete with the large auto makers, who they think are now destined to eat its lunch.

"There's a lot of competition coming from companies that really have an ability to scale up -- Nissan, GM, and even Toyota," asserts Michael Yoshikami, who manages about $1 billion as the chief investment analyst at YCMNet Advisers, and doesn't own Tesla stock.

I do. My Silicon Valley 2.0 portfolio has a small stake in the company. I am not a doubting Thomas. Do not count me among the skeptics who believe that Tesla cannot be resurrected from its huge burden of debt. The company's fourth-quarter net loss rose to $51 million from $23 million a year earlier. I think  the struggling pioneer of the electric car movement will eventually recover from its fiscal wounds and profit.

Tesla's superior battery technology is its most important asset and could be the savior of the nascent EV movement. The company's Roadster has a driving range of 245 miles, the best in the EV industry.



Tesla's lithium-ion EV battery system is universally regarded as the most advanced. Furthermore, Tesla is a trendsetter. They are to the EV movement what Apple is to the computer and mobile device market. The growth of the electric car market is largely dependent upon advances in battery technology. The prohibitive cost of lithium-ion batteries and relatively short distances that electric cars can travel between charges is the chief barrier to mainstream EV acceptance.

Toyota and Daimler both use Tesla's economical laptop battery technology. Tesla designs the battery pack, motor, transmission, charger and software for Toyota's RAV4 EV scheduled to go on sale next year. Tesla also provides the battery pack for Daimler's electric Smart vehicle. Revenue from supply agreements with the two large auto makers have helped to sustain Tesla while it prepares to bring its Model S sedan, the company's next electric car, to market next year.

Panasonic has also partnered with Tesla in order to get a foothold in the lithium-ion battery market, which is expected to grow to over 40 times its current size in the next five years. Sanyo Electric is the world's largest maker of batteries. Panasonic, the majority shareholder in Sanyo, now supplies most of the lithium-ion cells used by Tesla.

A prototype of the Models S, which can be driven up to a production record 300 miles between charges, is making its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Recharging can take 45 minutes. Tesla may be addressing the problem of having to wait so long. The battery pack is designed to be changed out in less time than it takes  to fill a gas tank. Silicon Valley startup Better Place is building convenient cutting edge battery swap stations that are designed to get motorists back on the road in a few short minutes.

While battery swapping is an option with the Model S, Telsa does not plan to follow the Better Place plan, which is designed to work with standardized batteries. "Different batteries suit different cars," says Peter Rawlinson, the chief engineer for vehicle engineering at Tesla.



Last fall, Better Place formed a partnership with General Electric shortly after the later introduced its WattStation electric car charger. Better Place is a pioneer in the field of large scale EV battery charger deployment. GE, a newcomer, is working to integrate  WattStation into the Better Place service network.

Better Place plans to put 10,000 Renault electric cars with switchable batteries on the road in Israel and Denmark. The partnership will help provide financing for the battery packs. GE and Better Place also plan to work as a team to promote EV corporate fleets. Pilot programs are targeting the San Francisco Bay Area, Honolulu and the Canadian province of Ontario. Locations in Asia, Europe and Australia are also part of the pilot program.

GE plans to deliver its first WattStation charger this summer. The conglomerate is trailing  two Silicon Valley companies, ECOtality and Coulomb Technologies, that have already begun installing charging stations, mostly on the west coast. ECOtality is the biggest recipient to date of subsidies from the U.S. Department of Energy's EV Project.







This post originally appeared in Benzinga.

Startup develops augmented reality mobile phone camera app

Perhaps you need to be a bit of a space cadet in order to harness the world of augmented reality. I found this interesting sketch, and several other puzzling drawings of space ships and mobile devices, on the self-described "slightly quirky" mission statement of a stealth Silicon Valley startup named Bubbli. The company's two founders proclaim that once "we understand reality through a camera lens ... the virtual and real become indistinguishable."

The startup's blog explains philosophically that the Bubbli app  gives users the ability to take pictures with a cell phone or tablet that when viewed on a friend or family member's mobile device allows navigation between the subject and the surrounding "bubble" area. Bubbli plans to submit the app to the Apple Store for approval by this summer.

Twitter updates iPhone, iPad apps

Twitter has updated its Apple iPhone and iPad apps. One of the noteworthy new iPhone apps prominently displays Twitter trends. Read more

Twitter co-founder dispels IPO rumors

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said the microblogging site has no plans to go public in an exclusive interview with Reuters today. Read more

Startup Nanosys develops alternative to OLED displays

Click the graphic above to see an enlarged view of the superior, high fidelity color display made possible by technology developed by Silicon Valley startup Nanosys. LED screens for HD televisions, tablets and smartphones will increasingly be replaced by next generation OLED displays or, perhaps, the Nanosys quantum dot alternative. Read more

Israel has become the Silicon Valley of the East

Israel is considered by many to be the second most important technology center in the world, taking a back seat only to Silicon Valley. The war ravaged Middle East country has more companies listed on the tech-laden Nasdaq exchange than any region around the globe other than North America, reports Inventorspot.

Apple wins patents for iChat, iPhone

click graphic to enlarge

Apple was awarded 23 patents today,  including one for its video conferencing iChat service and several related to the design of the iPhone 4, reports Patently Apple.