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Why Is This News – Live NYE Spotify US Launch Countdown Edition!
Jan 01, 7:55AM
It's fair to say that, of all of the writers at TechCrunch, we're the ones who have been most skeptical about Swedish music startup (and newly-minted verb) Spotify. And for what reason? Because the company lied to us on multiple occasions? Because they routinely brief journalists with off the record half-truths, and then later deny those same reports? Because CEO Daniel Ek (pronounced "Eek" - he's Swedish) still refuses to go on the record with us? Sure, those are all good reasons. But really our most consistant beef with Spotify has been the company's inability to launch in the US, despite briefing reporters for the past TWO YEARS that such a launch is imminent.
A List Of The Best Of The Best Meme Lists Of 2010
Jan 01, 4:55AM
In this decade the Internet replaced television as our primary mode of disseminating culture. Many people are more familiar with Antoine Dodson's "Hide your kids/Hide your wife" than any catchphrase currently on television (Remember the days of being able to say stuff you heard on TV like "No soup for you" or "Don't have a cow, man" and have other people actually get what you mean?). There's only so many times you can write posts around the theme "Hey, the Internet is now important" without inciting commenter revolt or a punch in the face. But the sheer number of meme round-ups found online today is testament to the fact that the web has won. So instead of making a list of my favorites, I'll post some of the best lists of memes out there. Because I can and because it's the only way to win. And because, like any connoisseur of memes knows, you can't have viral culture without recursion. 
An iPhone Lover's Take On The Nexus S
Jan 01, 1:58AM
There's a scene in Iron Man 2 in which Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) shows off the mechanical soliders he has been working on — his would-be "Iron Man-killers". Unfortunately, while they may look somewhat impressive, his machines malfunction and the demo goes horribly awry. His knock-offs are junk. This scene reminds me a lot of what the first Android phone, the G1, was like when compared to the iPhone. Luckily for Google, things have improved substantially since then — and without the help of a Russian Mickey Rourke. Well, presumably anyway. We've already done a big, comprehensive review of the Nexus S, the latest and greatest Android device. But as I like to do (see: the bottom of this post), I'm going to look at it from the angle of an iPhone diehard. After all, this is widely considered to be the best Android device yet. So will it be enough to make any iPhone user jump ship? And since this is currently the only device running Android 2.3 "Gingerbread", what's the overall state of the OS? First of all, the Nexus S is a great smartphone. I've been using it for a little over two weeks now and I think I can safely say that in a world where there was no iPhone, this is the device I would use. While I like a number of fundamental things about Windows Phone more, Android is more mature. And more importantly, the ecosystem is far more built-out. Plus, the Google apps on the device are enough to entice anyone.
How Space Jam's Website Went Viral. Space Jam's 1996 Website, That Is.
Jan 01, 12:53AM
A couple of days ago Reddit user Jeff Ubelhor was talking to his friends about something or other and Space Jam, the movie starring Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan, came up (he swears they weren't stoned). They checked on the website and realized that it hadn't been touched since 1996. "From there I decided to post it on Reddit," says Ubelhor "Because I thought it was hilarious, not only the design, but just how different Internet marketing was 14 years ago."
My 23-Year-Old Self Was Wrong About Salon.com. Like, Really Wrong.
Jan 01, 12:12AM
A few hours to go until 2011, and I'm busy drawing up my list of New Year's resolutions. A major one: to stop writing about TechCrunch commenters. After all, to paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, it's like wrestling with a pig: you both get dirty and the pig enjoys it. Still, that leave me just enough time - eight hours, and counting - to sneak in one last journey over to the dark side. And perhaps it's fitting that the final salvo in my war against trolls has a happy ending. A Christmas miracle, even.
OMG/JK: Shiny Hats And Crystal Balls
Dec 31, 11:35PM
It's time for a special New Years-themed edition of OMG/JK, and we've really gone all out with our costumes. From shiny hats to incredibly cheap kazoos, we're ready to ring in 2011 with a bang. Oh, and we've got some technology to talk about. Because there hasn't been much major news in the tech world this week, we decided to spend most of the show discussing some of the big trends that are inevitably going to make headlines throughout 2011. From Apple's likely push to the cloud to the consumer launch of ChromeOS and Android's arrival on tablets we've got a lot to look forward to — and we're not afraid to make some predictions.
A Look At Some Of The Biggest Tech Stories Of 2010
Dec 31, 10:17PM
It's New Year's Eve, and there's nothing that compliments a glass of celebratory champagne better than reflecting on the past year in technology news (really, it's a blast). One of the best roundups just went up over on Techmeme, which has posted its annual "quasi-objective" list of the top 50 stories based how many links and citations each post received. The top five stories shouldn't come as a surprise, but they're a good reminder of what's gone on this year (apparently people like to write about Google and Apple): 
Drunk TechCrunch Is Drunk. (Happy New Year!)
Dec 31, 7:53PM
It's New Year's Eve and you know what that means — an adult beverage or two might be had by many people around the world this evening. That includes many TechCrunch staffers. And while drunk blogging is generally frowned upon, it would be interesting to see what the site would look like if everyone wrote while intoxicated. (Yes, yes, insert the NOT THAT DIFFERENT joke here.) Luckily, Zaraguza Digital has created a web app to allow us to see such a site without any of the risk (or the hangover). Simply visit this link and start moving the slider along the bottom to set the blood alcohol level. Obviously, at 0.0, things look normal. At 0.5, things look fine for the most part with a few more typos. At about 1.5 to 2.0 things start getting fun. And clearly, our developers would be getting in on some hardcore drunk coding action as well.
How To Avoid Getting Fired From Your Own Company
Dec 31, 4:56PM
If you start a company, it will probably happen to you someday. Maybe it will be your VC or a board member. Maybe it will be your co-founder. Sooner or later, they'll try to fire you. I'm an investor in or advisor to dozens of startups, and at least once a quarter, I get the call: "Chris, they're trying to fire me." (The other urgent call I get is when they're negotiating a financing round, merger, or sale. I much prefer those calls!) Most entrepreneurs are surprised the first time their investors or co-founders try to fire them. They can't imagine being banished from the company that they created. Maybe they were the only employee of the company for years. Maybe they recruited and courted the very person who comes to carry out the execution. The sad fact is, founder firings are the rule, not the exception.
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Dec 31, 3:56PM
My advice for the new year: go East and South, young man and woman ... and investor. America, Europe, and Japan are stagnant and ponderous. More and more, in the coming years, the real moving and shaking will happen elsewhere. "2011 will be the year Android explodes!" cried a recent headline, citing a new Broadcom chipset that will reportedly make sub-$100 unsubsidized smartphones ubiquitous. Maybe so, but I second MG's skepticism: North American carriers will fight this tooth and nail, and even when they lose, we'll still have to wait for the three-year contracts that are status quo here to finally die. If that chipset is real, though, the headline's not wrong; Android will explode ... in the developing world, where virtually all phone service is pre-paid. (As, ahem, I predicted 20 months ago.) There's a larger trend here. Mobile phones and 3G service became ubiquitous in Africa so rapidly in part because they never had to compete with landlines. Kenyans flocked to mobile-phone money transfer services, because they had no consumer banks: now M-Pesa, the largest, handles money equal to a mindboggling 10% of Kenya's GDP every year. (The US equivalent would be $1.4 trillion/year. By contrast, PayPal handles less than $100 billion/year worldwide, of which mobile-phone payments are but a small fraction.) 
OpenFeint Sees 187% Spike In Downloads Of iOS Games Over Christmas Holiday
Dec 31, 3:55PM
The holiday season traditionally sees a spike in mobile app downloads as users receive new devices and have more free time to interact with their phones. Today mobile social gaming platform OpenFeint is reporting that it added over 450,000 new users on Christmas day, which is a 184% spike over its daily average and the largest single day in its history in terms of new users. And the network added nearly 1.4 million new users in the four days around the holiday, including Christmas. OpenFeint users downloaded more than 5 million OpenFeint enabled games during the 4-day stretch, with Android downloads growing by 73% and iOS downloads up by 187%. And it appears that activity is up from the same period last year; the network added 88% more users than a year ago.
The Year In Virtual Goods By The Numbers
Dec 31, 3:00PM
The global virtual goods industry put up some very impressive numbers this year. From special Easter eggs to virtual ad campaigns, virtual goods sales have grabbed their share of headlines over the past twelve months. Now with social gaming on the rise and everyone from your teenage nephew to your grandma to your old rugby teammate buying a "little something" to sweeten their online game, here is a look a back at the year in virtual goods sales. $7,300,000,000: expected global revenue generated by the virtual goods industry in 2010. This is huge, considering the $60 billion generated in 2009 by the video game industry as a whole, and clearly shows that browser-based gaming is making great strides. $2,100,000,000: The projected size of the US virtual goods market in 2011.
What 20 Minutes On Facebook Looks Like: 1M Shared Links, 2.7M Photos Uploaded, 10.2M Comments
Dec 31, 2:57PM
Democracy UK, a UK-focused political campaigning initiative by Facebook, has just released a number of mind-blowing stats on the massive usage of the network by its 500-plus million members in 2010. Over the course of the year, Facebook reports that 43,869,800 members changed their status to single, 3,025,791 changed their status to "it's complicated", 28,460,516 changed their status to in a relationship, 5,974,574 changed their status to engaged and 36,774,801 changes their status to married. While these numbers are impressive, Facebook's stats on "what 20 minutes on Facebook looks like," are even more staggering. According to Facebook, 1 million links are shared every 20 minutes on the network. Here are a few other stats listed:
2010 In Review: The Fortunate Winners And The Pathetic Losers
Dec 31, 1:49PM
Oh, 2010. It was glorious, but thank the almighty prancing unicorn in the sky that it's over. It was the year of the iPad, really. Steve Jobs took to the stage of Moscone Center, sat down, and proceeded to show the world how he wanted us to interact with the Internet -- several million consumers followed suite immediately. But there was so much more, too! Of course not everyone had such a good year as Apple. Or Roku. Or Amazon. Some companies and products didn't fare so well and they're probably looking to the riches that will [hopefully] be made in 2011. Look at Android tablets, netbooks, cable companies and even Windows Home server, Google TV, and the TV show Lost. All losers in the game of Life, 2010 Edition. But no worries. 2011 is tomorrow and the Internet is a kind soul who's quick to forget past blunders as long as future ventures result positively. It's just too bad that what happened in 2010 will likely happen in 2011. It's going to be more of the same. Sorry if I'm the one to tell you this; that's the way it works 'round here.
Eleven 3D Printing Predictions For the Year 2011
Dec 31, 11:30AM
This is a guest post by Joris Peels, the Community Manager of i.materialise, a 3D printing service for designers, inventors and consumers. They are part of Materialise, a company with over 20 years experience in 3D printing and the market leader in 3D printing services and software. Making predictions is a sure fire path towards getting ridiculed. But, I'll be brave and go right ahead and make 11 predictions for 3D printing in 2011. Makerbot will sell more than 10,000 3D printers in 2011. To put that in perspective, there are approximately 30,000 3D printers in the world today. Makerbot would have to scale to meet this kind of production but given their strong brand and loyal following it should, together with some prime time TV coverage, be possible. Bre Pettis will appear on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine in 2011. Bre Pettis is the congenial Maker in Chief of Makerbot. Possibly he will be holding a Makerbot. And for all you Kevin Rose watchers out there, this will not be the beginning of the end. 
Wikipedia Still $1M Short Of Fundraising Goal For 2010 (And Why I Donated)
Dec 31, 10:23AM
It's the last day of the year, according to the Gregorian calendar at least, which prompted me to do some research on how well Wikipedia's fundraising efforts for 2010 were going. As you may have heard, the Wikimedia Foundation is trying to scrape together $16 million from user and supporter donations to fund its strategic plans for 2011 (PDF). The contribution campaign, starring Wikipedia founder Jimmy 'Jimbo' Wales in a prominent role, was kicked off around November 13, 2010, and has so far brought in $15 million according to the banner that appears on top of Wikipedia articles these days. Or has it?
Skytap Raises $10 Million For Cloud Automation Solutions
Dec 31, 9:31AM
Skytap, which provides cloud automation solutions for enterprises and software vendors to develop, test and demo cloud applications, has raised $10 million in funding, according to this SEC filing. This brings the total amount of financing raised by the company to a healthy $23 million.
WakeMate Warns Users Of Major Safety Issue With Product After One Bursts Into Flames
Dec 31, 8:25AM
It was only days ago that we wrote that after nearly a year of delays, the first WakeMate units were finally shipping to customers. And now there's some more bad news — really bad. Some of the initial units are apparently bursting into flames because of any issue with the USB charger included. Repeat: Do not use the USB charger included with the shipping WakeMate units. The company has just sent out the following notice to customers:
Addoway Is Like eBay With A Social Streak
Dec 31, 4:43AM
If you've ever gone shopping on eBay, you know how important seller ratings can be — take a stab with someone who has less than a 90-something approval rating, and you're testing your luck. And even when you've found someone with a satisfactory rating, the descriptions left by other buyers tend to be mostly useless (A++++, anyone?), which makes the whole thing feel a little risky regardless. Oh, and sellers can always get scammed by buyers, which makes it even more fun. Addoway is an e-commerce site that looks to help reduce these feelings of anxiety by using Facebook Connect to help you find sellers that your friends have had good experiences dealing with in the past. The site launched eight months ago, and is currently drawing 90,000 uniques a month.
BarMax, The $1,000 App (That's Actually Worth It), Hits The iPad
Dec 31, 2:37AM
It was just about a year ago that we first wrote about BarMax, an iPhone application meant to help law student pass the Bar exam. But if you've heard of the app, it's more likely because of its price: $999.99. And now you'll be able to part with the $1,000 at the click of a button for the iPad too. BarMax, which, believe it or not, actually seems to be a good deal at $1,000, has just launched the iPad version into the App Store this evening. Specifically, the California (each state has different Bar exams) version is ready to roll.
OpenInvo: A Marketplace For Innovation
Dec 31, 1:38AM
Have a great idea, but don't have the time or money to actually bring it to market? A new startup called OpenInvo wants to help you turn it into a nice chunk of change by selling it to existing businesses that are looking for an extra dose of innovation. Now, there are other platforms for sharing business ideas — you may be familiar with Kickstarter, which has gotten attention for projects like the iPod Wristwatch. But Kickstarter is for people who want to bring their ideas to fruition and just need funding — OpenInvo is for people who have an idea and are willing to put the time in to flesh it out on paper, but don't want to have to deal with actually starting a company.
Centro Media Rakes In $22.5 Million
Dec 30, 11:02PM
According to an SEC form D filed today, the Chicago based Centro.net has just raised a whopping $22.5 million in equity only funding. Listed on the SEC form are Centro CEO Shawn Riegsecker and FTV Capital Partner Eric Byunn as Director. Centro is a digital media and technology services company founded in 2001, serving over 350 ad agencies world wide . The company's recently launched platform Transis automates and centralizes the media buying and selling process so agencies can save time and money.
O Canada! World's Most Web Connected Land
Dec 30, 9:49PM
According to a recent comScore report, Canada has beaten out the US, the UK, France, and everyone else in the world in various metrics relating to broadband and internet use. While the conspicuous absence of the likes of Sweden, a perennial leader in these categories, fills me with suspicion, the numbers are still fun, and slightly surprising. One statistic calculated to both please and terrify is that, by comScore's measurements, just over half the population of Canada is on Facebook. That amounts to about 16 million people — a drop in the bucket with Facebook's user base — but it's the proportion that matters. US usage is around 40% by some estimates, which is of course significant, but it's fun that Canada has passed us up in this race. I'm guessing it has something to do with the weather up there.
So Much For FREE!: Apple Will Sell $2B in Apps in 2011
Dec 30, 9:19PM
I've often wondered if the early Web pioneers had it all to do over again if Web companies would have put less of an emphasis on free. People have been conditioned against paying for services or content on the Web, and the Web elite only have each other to blame. For all the talk of Web companies getting users first and "figuring out" how to make money later, the only two jaw-droppingly, multi-billion-dollar, innovative new ways to advertise online have been Google's paid search ads and Groupon's solution to unlocking local ad dollars on a mass scale. Those who win big--like Google-- just perpetuate the cult of free content and services as a way of spoiling would be competitors. Witness a big disconnect between popularity and money. Exhibit A: Yahoo. But on the mobile Web it's a do-over, and it's a totally different playbook from FREE! 
Begun The Talent Wars Have – How Twitter's London HQ Could Woo Google Staff
Dec 30, 8:55PM
We've reported before about how the escalating war for talent in Silicon Valley is effectively creating a kind of arms race between tech companies. For example, Google is offering employees a 10% pay increase for 2011; companies like About.me are getting acquired days after launch; and job postings in the IT industry are shooting to astronomical levels. Even Google's Eric Schmidt has admitted to this battle. Facebook, Google, Zynga and Twitter are hiring like crazy - and this insatiable desire for staff is likely to spill over into other countries. And perhaps the obvious first target outside of the Valley is London: English speaking, and a magnet for existing tech people in Europe working for US multinationals. And the latest to consider extending its reach there is Twitter. 
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