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leena
Apr 15, 12:50PM
Instructure, a startup that develops and open-source online learning management system, has raised $8 million in Series B funding led by OpenView Venture Partners, EPIC Ventures, Eric Schmidt's Tomorrow Ventures, and Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurveston. This investment brings Instructure's total funding $9.5 million. Instructure's software, Canvas, presents a more streamlined online course management product than competitors like Blackboard. The hosted SaaS solution features an integrated gradebook, assessment tools, discussions, multiple assignment submission types, rubrics and web chat. The SaaS also includes drag-and-drop file uploads, HTML5 video and automatic speech-to-text conversion. And it integrates with Google Docs and Facebook. 
leena
Apr 15, 9:58AM
Mobile entertainment startup mSpot, which lets users stream and watch full-length movies on their mobile phones and on the web, is lowering the pricing for newly released movies today, making the startup's movies more of a bargain than movies available on competitors like iTunes. mSpot says that average pricing for instantly streamed new releases is typically $3.99 and now mSpot users can get many new releases for as low as $3.00 as part of their mSpot membership. In case you aren't familiar with the service, mSpot has struck deals with Sony, Disney, Paramount, NBC/Universal, Lionsgate, Warner, Image Entertainment, and Screen Media Ventures to stream full-length movie rentals to users' PCs and cell phones, allowing you to switch between both devices as you pick up and leave off throughout a movie.
michael-arrington
Apr 15, 7:16AM
Delicious founder Joshua Schachter always had a funny answer when we asked him what his new startup, Tasty Labs, would focus on. Last year, for example, he said "I'm either going to launch an open source operating system for unmanned aerial vehicles, or build a first person shooter to teach non-violent solutions based on buddhist principles. Or a pet food review site. Which one do you like best?" But a few months have gone by, the company raised a nice store of cash and they're about to release their first project, currently called "Secret Tasty Labs Prototype." It's time to get seriousish, and Schachter is starting to talk.
cc
Apr 15, 4:08AM
Today during the Q1 2011 earnings call, Google had a few things to say about Chrome and Chrome OS that were interesting. Well, more like intriguing — because they were a bit odd. First of all, a few times during the call, Google executives touted the fact that Chrome now has 120 million active daily users. This is supposedly up 40 percent in the past year, which sounds about right. But they also said that they're now seeing 30 percent growth quarter to quarter in terms of usage. The problem is that they've given out this exact stat 120 million before — in December of last year. 
atsotsis
Apr 15, 1:52AM
Meet SalaryShare, a simple salary comparison service that lets you anonymously pool salaries with your co-workers, friends, people on Twitter or anyone you feel competitive with really. Create a pool, send the link to four people who will disclose their salaries and the site will reveal the salary span, without revealing who makes what. Inspired by a HackerNews thread surrounding "The Programmer Salary Taboo," the folks at tech job posting site job4dev.com created the page as a way to help developers and other wage slaves better gage where they compare, without spilling the beans about who exactly is making millions and who is working for food. 
devin
Apr 15, 1:04AM
Early reviews of the PlayBook have been unfavorable, but optimistic, mostly concluding that the tablet was launched half-baked, lacking some basic and promised functions like a native email client and Android app support. RIM's executives have gone on the defensive, but their statements, reported by Bloomberg, aren't really convincing.
sarah-lacy
Apr 14, 11:57PM
We invited Reid Hoffman and Tim O'Reilly -- two of the biggest thinkers in the Valley-- into the studio to talk about what Hoffman calls "Web 3.0." He argues the next wave isn't as simple as MOBILE! As he first discussed at SXSW, it's about companies running on any platform or in the real world using the last few decades of data being gathered on our virtual and actual selves to build stunningly innovative new products and services. In this segment, we talk about the obviously frightening implications of that and whether we should fear government or business more. Tomorrow, we'll focus on the good of the trend, including a segment on the business opportunities in Web 3.0 and one on some way-out-there potential new applications that could change our lives.
erick
Apr 14, 9:56PM
During today's Google earnings call, one analyst asked for some color on Google's mobile business. CFO Patrick Pichette didn't give much more in terms of specifics, but he did offer up some color. "Without any radical effort, we already announced at end of Q3 this is a $1 billion run-rate business," says Pichette. Mobile is "growing at an amazingly blazing pace," he says. "We tripped into $1 billion." Mobile search is definitely something Google is keenly focussed on. Senior VP of Local Jeff Huber noted on the call: " In terms of where it trends over time, the smartphone is becoming an extension of the person, and how they do everything."
michael-arrington
Apr 14, 9:18PM
I completely lost it today. I want to be able to make a phone call from our office. I can't. It's not a big thing really, but it's driven me crazy, eating away at me little by little for half a year. I actually think I've gone a little over the edge. Like the guys with the printer in Office Space. A blogger doesn't need much to be productive. Give her a computer, a phone and a quiet place to work and she's going to exhibit classic nesting behaviors, settle into a contented and productive zen and make a ton of content. TechCrunch, though, has been plagued with Internet and phone issues, and our office is a ghost town because of it. Writers stay home to get work done. It's a boiling the frog issue that's built up slowly over time so we don't really notice how ridiculous it is, but today was the day I broke. This is really an internal TechCrunch/AOL issue. But I can't actually resolve it, and ranting here is probably the only way to move forward. To try to find peace and go on with my life. You see, I need to make a few phone calls, and I can't.
leena
Apr 14, 8:59PM
On Google's earnings call today, Jeff Huber, Senior VP Commerce and Local, revealed that there have been over 3 billion Android apps installed. And downloads of Android apps are up 50 percent from Q4 2010. Huber also mentioned that 350,000 Android devices are being activated per day, a data point which was revealed this past week. In terms of breaking out share by device and market, Huber said the company doesn't reveal these numbers. But he did say that with device partners, there is strength in U.S., Japan, Korea, and Europe specifically. He added that international is growing as a whole in terms of Android usage. 
erick
Apr 14, 8:42PM
Google announced earnings today slightly lower than expected. Earnings per share came in at $8.08, below the $8.11 consensus estimate of Wall Street estimates. Revenues, however, rose by 27 percent in the quarter to $8.6 billion. Net income of $2.3 billion was up 15 percent. Larry Page started off the call, blandly stating that everything is working "as expected" with the management transition. He is "very excited about Google and our momentum" and gave shout-outs to Eric Schmidt and exiting product chief Jonathan Rosenberg who "we will clearly miss." And then he handed the call over to CFO Patrick Pichette. Operating expenses were up, largely because of increased payroll. The talent wars seem to be taking their toll on Google. 
11
Apr 14, 8:33PM
Last January, I praised Google for a small, but important move: streaming their quarterly earnings webcasts via YouTube. For those of us that cover these calls, it's at least a thousand times better than the alternatives that everyone else uses — namely Windows Media Player or RealPlayer streaming (both of which, quite frankly, suck). Over the past year, Google's earnings have been comparatively a joy to cover thanks to this move. Not anymore. Today, for no apparent reason, Google has gone back to relying on arch-nemesis Microsoft to provide the technology to stream their calls. I've emailed Google on the matter, but they'll probably ignore it. They're likely more concerned about their stock tanking right now due to mixed earnings results.
erick
Apr 14, 8:11PM
TechStars NYC killed it today with its first ever Demo Day in New York City. I've been to a lot of startup pitch events, and I felt that the caliber of the companies and pitches were better than most other incubator and startup events in New York (which makes me feel really good about our own Disrupt NYC event coming up in May). The room was packed with investors too, including Union Square's Fred Wilson, Roger Ehrenberg of IA Ventures, Howard Lindzon, Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital, and John Borthwick and Andrew Weissman of betaworks. The energy and interest level was up a notch from what I've witnessed before. Right out of the gate the pitches were strong. I've already written about would-be Craigslist killer Friendslist, tablet publishing platform OnSwipe (watch video), smart digital signage startup Immersive and crowdsourced learning site Veri (watch another video). But I want to highlight two more Demo Day startups that impressed me: Nestio and ThinkNear
leena
Apr 14, 7:07PM
I didn't think I'd ever write about UberMedia and 50 Cent in the same sentence but here goes—UberMedia is partnering with rap star 50 Cent to launch a branded Twitter theme for BlackBerry phones called Uber50. The new theme is essentially UberSocial for BlackBerry with 50 Cent's branding and a few extra features. Extra features include special background art, access to 50 Cent and G-Unit's Twitter lists and a customized look and feel. Users can also pay $1.99 for additional art, special themes as well as sounds that are triggered by actions such as sending a Tweet or direct message, all recorded or selected by 50 Cent (who has 4.4 million followers on Twitter). 
c
Apr 14, 6:59PM
Of all the apps clumped together in the group messaging space, Yobongo is fairly unique. It's far more reliant on realtime chat than the others which can be fun, but also leads to its own set of problems. For example, what if you don't know anyone else in the chat room you're in and you need something to talk about? That's where a new feature called "Pondering" comes in. Launching today alongside an update to their iPhone app, Yobongo Pondering allows users to fill in a very brief (15 characters or less) blurb to let others know what's on their mind. A user fills this in on their profile and then it appears next to their name when they send a message no matter which Yobongo room they're in. "Ponderings are the anti-away message," Yobongo co-founder Caleb Elston says.
atsotsis
Apr 14, 6:25PM
Carsharing service ZipCar began the morning of its IPO trading at $18 a share and is now up to $27.96, a rise of over 50%. Based on its 38.6M total shares this means that it is now a billion dollar company (Congrats ZipCar!). Zipcar has raised $174 million in its IPO , surpassing its original target of $75 million. The Massachusetts-based ZipCar provides it over 560,000 members with self-service vehicles, operating on 150 college campuses and 13 major metropolitan areas in the United States, the UK and Canada. As Fortune's Dan Primack points out, each actual ZipCar (8500 or so) now works out to around $120k when divided in its market cap.
a
Apr 14, 5:59PM
As a concept, Airbnb is awesome. Why spend a ton of money renting a hotel, when you can rent a furnished apartment from someone who isn't using it when you'll be in town? Or maybe you just want to rent a couch? Or a boat? But maybe that's all thinking a little small. Why not say, rent an entire village? Or a city? Or even a country? Well now you can. Perhaps you'd like to rent the mountain village of Brand in Austria? Sure. That will be $65,000 a night. Or maybe you'd prefer a German wine country village? Okay, $50,000 a night.
tcroxanne
Apr 14, 5:16PM
If you're one of those people that thinks that horoscopes are a load of nonsense - simply vague statements that could essentially fit anyone - you're definitely not alone. But Astrolome is seeking to change that. The Israeli startup has just closed a seed round of $300K with Kima Ventures and some additional business angels in order to develop a real-time personalized horoscope platform. The company's secret sauce lies in using an individual's birth chart (date, time and place of birth) and current location to provide a more accurate reading than the majority of horoscopes - which give strictly sun sign information. Therefore, each user receives a more customized astrological reading rather than generic information designed to pertain to as many people as possible. In addition, the platform is complete with social features, enabling users to rank forecasts for accuracy and share comments on various events with their friends and other users.
scaled.IMG_0709
Apr 14, 5:03PM
While I am aware that my body generally looks like poorly mixed pizza dough spread over a misshapen skeleton, I do like to get my runs in when I can. For years I've tried all sorts of sports watches, from GPS devices from Garmin that looked like cigarette packages with straps to heart rate monitors that told my how hard I was working while wandering down the stairs to make a sandwich. That's why I was actually quite intrigued by the Nike+ SportWatch. Nike+ has long been the domain of iPod and iPhone users and the original Nike+ devices were designed to work specifically with Apple music players. Slowly, Nike weaned themselves off of the produce of Cupertino and began building standalone devices including an underpowered "sport watch" that worked with the Nike+ foot pod and now this, a more complete solution with built-in TomTom GPS sensor. It is also compatible with the Polar Wearlink+ Transmitter heart-rate transmitter, in case you also wanted to check your heart rate during the run.
atsotsis
Apr 14, 4:42PM
As part of the AdTech conference yesterday, a gaggle of press got together to talk to Huffington Post Media Group's Arianna Huffington, a. k. a my bosses' boss and Tim Richards, VP of Ad Sales at AOL West Coast. While the cupcake and jelly bean-embellished media roundtable was billed as a discussion about vague stuff like "how to move and engage audiences" and the "importance of being authentic" we ended up talking lawsuit, layoffs and the difference between a blogger and a writer real fast. In the video Huffington, who is extremely charismatic, talks about her goal of setting a clear editorial direction for AOL, which now has 107 brands and 56 editorial properties post-Huffington Post acquisition, "Within a year you won't be able to tell whether a site originated as an AOL site or a Huffington Post site." 
leena
Apr 14, 4:07PM
Location-based social network Foursquare has its own day! New York City's Mayor Bloomberg has mandated that April 16, the fourth sixteenth of the year, is Foursquare Day in New York City. Foursquare, which now has more than 8 million users, is based in New York City, so it is a hometown favorite. From the official proclamation: Whereas: New York City is proud to be the home of both the powerhouse companies and small startups that are thinking big, creating new jobs, and leading the global economy. Foursquare is one such success story. Started by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai around Dennis's kitchen table in the East Village, it now employs more than 60 people in New York and has more than eight million users worldwide. That is why we are proud to join Foursquare's founders and fans in celebrating the first global social media holiday. Today, April 16th—4/16, the fourth sixteenth of the year—is Foursquare Day in New York City and around the world.
mike-butcher
Apr 14, 4:07PM
KupiVIP, Russia's largest private members shopping club for designer fashion and luxury brands, has landed $55 million in third round funding, something that appears to be a record for the Russian e-commerce sector. Three new investors participated in the funding: Balderton Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Russia Partners. The new investors join existing investors including Accel Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners. The site will use the funding to move into selling consumer goods as continuing with discount offers, mashing up Amazon's and Vente Privee's model. A white label platform will act as a way for Western retail brands to launch stores in Russia and the former Soviet states. This will be useful. Western firms have found it very hard to break into the Russian ecommerce market. 11 out of the 15 top internet sites are Russian. 
leena
Apr 14, 4:00PM
Janrain, a user management platform that enables third party sign-in with 18 different providers, including Facebook, Google, and Twitter; is releasing its Q1 2011 report today. Janrain's report analyzes data from networks for social login and social sharing across the 350,000 websites worldwide that use Janrain sign-in product, Engage. For the first time in a year, Facebook has surpassed Google as the consumer preference for signing into Internet sites using Janrain. During Q1 of 2011 (January 1 through March 31), 35% of online users chose to sign-in to sites with a Facebook account compared to 27% in Q4 of 2010. And 31% of users chose their Google log-in in Q1, followed by Yahoo with 13% and Twitter with 7%. 
erick
Apr 14, 3:19PM
So many companies have tried to topple Craigslist, and they have all failed. Jonathan Wegener thinks they've all done it the wrong way. Today at Techstars Demo Day, he introduced Friendslist, a listing service that taps into your social network without requiring the middelmen (your friends who connect buyers and sellers) to do any work. "Craigslist obliterated the classifieds newspaper industry," he acknowledges, but Craigslist is now "a scary place." In between the the legitimate listings, there are "lots of scam listings and half of the postings are duplicates." Friendslist offers a cleaner interface to start, but that's nothing new. What it does is connect buyers and sellers, or people who are looking for jobs and people who are hiring, through the people they know. Yes, Oodle does this to some extent on Facebook Marketplace, but Friendslist takes a slightly different approach. If you know your friend Mark is a great designer and you are looking to hire a designer for your startup, you would post your jobs listing to his Friendslist, which shows the listing to all of his Facebook friends. Mark acts as the middleman, but he doesn't have to do anything. 
leena
Apr 14, 3:00PM
Another day, another launch of a Flipboard-like news and social reader for the iPad. It seems like every day a new app launches that aims to offer a social news reading experience for the iPad, including Pulse, Summify, Flud and others. And today, Taptu is debuting its free iPad app, which offers a sleek, social news service for the tablet. Taptu has already offered the service on the Android and the iPhone. Taptu's iPad app allows you to bring in streams of content from news sources, your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter streams. The design itself is sleek and clean, allowing you to separate each stream. Instead of accssing RSS feeds for news sources, Taptu uses its proprietary mobile search technology to aggregate news from thousands of news sources. 
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