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Intuit Acquires Marketing SaaS Company Demandforce For $423.5M In Cash
Apr 27, 1:15PM
Intuit has just acquired marketing SaaS company Demandforce for $423.5 million in cash. Demandforce's SaaS application automates internet marketing and communications, so customers can focus on running their day-to-day operations. The startup, which is profitable, has thousands of customers across service verticals that include dental care, automotive repair, spas, salons, chiropractors, and others.The Open Source CEO: Jim Whitehurst
Apr 27, 1:10PM
If you read the Red Hat website, you'll find pages describing their attitude toward open source, collaboration, and more. It reads pretty much like every other marketing spiel from every company online today. There's something different about Red Hat, though: they actually believe this stuff. Not only do they believe it, they live it every day. I spoke to Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst recently about the open source culture at Red Hat and he told me it is a journey, not a destination. According to Whitehurst, the tenets of open source permeate all aspects of the culture at Red Hat.Twilio's European March Continues With Its First Full-Time Hire Outside The U.S. [And Telefonica Loses One]
Apr 27, 12:40PM
Twilio, developer of a VoIP API that is used by companies like eBay, Airbnb and Hulu to add voice services into their consumer apps, has been adding support for European countries as part of its expansion strategy, first the UK and then Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland and Poland. Now Twilio is giving that effort a bit more muscle with the appointment of its first full-time employee outside the U.S. James Parton is joining the company as its new European marketing director. His hiring is also effectively a jab at the carrier market that Twilio very much has the chance to really disrupt: Parton has been poached from Telefonica, the Spanish mobile powerhouse, where he has most recently been running developer marketing for Telefonica's multi-regional API effort BlueVia, and before that for BlueVia's more local precursor, Litmus at O2 UK.Q&A Site ChaCha Cancels UK Expansion After Poor User Take-Up
Apr 27, 10:46AM
Can a reasonably successful, U.S.-based mobile content brand find equal success for its English-language service in the UK? It's a question that could have been asked on the Q&A service ChaCha, and unfortunately it looks like the company has figured out the answer the hard way. ChaCha, which launched in the UK in September 2011, has now quietly shut down operations in the country after failing to find enough people to use the service to make it cost-effective.Torbit's Insight Measures The Effect Of Site Speed On Your Bounce, Conversion & Revenue
Apr 27, 4:55AM
Anyone who runs a website, especially those who those who do the majority of their business through a web portal, know how important speedy load times are to keeping their customers engaged, on site, and happy.While there are a number of sources one can turn to for website optimization, few offer both optimization along with the ability to track incoming pageviews and cross-reference their page load times with bounce rates -- and most importantly -- conversion rates. That's why Torbit, a website optimization company based in Sunnyvale, has launched a new product called Insight, which gives any online business the ability to track the correlation between the speed of their website and their core business metrics. Users can view site speed using real user measurement, and drill down to see precisely where pages are hitting snags -- and what's causing those hang-ups.Viddy Is Raising $30M At A $370M Valuation
Apr 27, 4:26AM
Someone wise once said "If Instagram for video were to happen it would look nothing like Instagram" but, because it was on Twitter, I briefly saw that tweet before it got lost in the ether and now I can't find it, dammit. But whoever said this is right (please reach out if it was you, I want to give you credit) and also didn't tell Viddy, which for the most part looks exactly like Instagram for video. Fine. Anyways, people have been reporting all over the place about Viddy's current insane Series B so I guess I (and you) should care. And quite honestly, I (and you) totally should really care because it's more money than I've ever seen. Seriously, ever seen. Which means co-founders JJ Aguhob and Brett O'Brien might just be onto something, so ...A MicroReview Of The Fantastic $9.99 MicroStylus
Apr 27, 4:00AM
This just might be the best stylus ever made. I'm completely serious. The problem with most styli is that there is never one around when needed. Besides that, the pen form factor is often not conducive for use on a small screen. But the MicroStylus, well, it's so tiny yet functional that it's perfect for the task. Plus it's only $9.99 and stores neatly in a 3.5mm headphone jack.SketchUp Is Google's First Divestment Ever, And It Made A Profit
Apr 27, 2:56AM
Google's sale of a previously purchased arm of the company this morning, 3D modeling software SketchUp, to Trimble, isn't just something it does "every now and again". It's actually Google's first divestment ever, according to two sources, and we're hearing the search giant made a profit, as it sold SketchUp for more than it bought it for back in 2006. This could signal a sea change in how Larry Page executes his vision for a leaner, more focused Google. The company frequently shuts down extraneous products, but that requires redistribution of their team members internally. If it's now willing to sell them instead, Google could streamline around the theme of making user's lives more convenient, while making some money at the same time.Google's Project Glass: An Exercise In Mediocrity?
Apr 27, 12:30AM
So Google X founder Sebastian Thrun was on Charlie Rose last night showing off his latest creation, Project Glass. Which, if you haven't seen by now, is quite possibly one of the most ambitious consumer products to come out of the Googleplex in recent memory. But until Thrun's appearance on Rose, we didn't actually know how the glasses would work other than the sizzle reel that was put together earlier this month. A couple of things struck me as odd, though. Thrun never actually gave any voice commands during his demo of the glasses, while in the video everything was driven by voice. But that's not what has me worried about Project Glass. During the interview, Thrun snapped a photo of Rose and uploaded it to his Google+ account. So far, it appears to work as advertised but take a look at the image quality and tell me whether or not it's acceptable in this day and age. It's not, it's terrible.U.S. House Passes Controversial CISPA Cybersecurity Bill 248 To 168
Apr 27, 12:30AM
This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a vote of 248 to 168. Unlike SOPA, which focused on copyright violations, CISPA wants to give Internet companies and the U.S. government the tools to protect and defend themselves against cyber attacks by sharing information with each other. Critics, however, argued that this information sharing would be happening with very little oversight and would put Americans' privacy rights at risk.Trained By The Best: Facebook And J.C. Penney Hire Apple Design Execs
Apr 26, 11:35PM
So, in case you haven't heard, Apple is doing pretty well. Things are different now without Steve at the helm, but change isn't always bad. Although George Colony, taking the contrarian approach, would like to disagree. Today, we've gotten word that Apple Senior Art Director Sharon Hwang, who headed the graphics design team, has left Apple to join Facebook's product design team. Though it looks like Hwang joined Facebook last month, the Facebook Design Team officially announced her hiring today -- fittingly, on their Facebook page.London Olympics To Visitors: Don't Share What You See
Apr 26, 11:16PM
Don't copy that pole vault! According to the London 2012 Olympic "conditions for ticket holders," you are not allowed to take pictures or video of the events nor are you allowed to "exploit" any video on social networks. Images, video and sound recordings of the Games taken by a Ticket Holder cannot be used for any purpose other than for private and domestic purposes and a Ticket Holder may not license, broadcast or publish video and/or sound recordings, including on social networking websites and the internet more generally, and may not exploit images, video and/or sound recordings for commercial purposes under any circumstances, whether on the internet or otherwise, or make them available to third parties for commercial purposes.
Tech Investors Dive Into Adrian Grenier's New Beer Startup, Churchkey
Apr 26, 10:42PM
Old movie buffs (and older readers) may remember a time when beer was sold in steel cans that were opened with a "church key." Entourage star Adrian Grenier is tapping into that nostalgia, we hear, with a new beer startup he's cofounding, Churchkey Can Co. The cans are the old-timey variety that you probably haven't seen since the 60s. They're made of fully-recyclable steel, and require a churchkey opener to get into. You puncture one corner of the top, then make a deeper puncture on the other side to drink out of. Ever noticed a triangle-shaped piece of metal on the other end of some bottle openers? It's for these types of cans.Hacker Jailed For Stealing Facebook's Source Code Tells All, Claims Innocence
Apr 26, 10:30PM
He stole Facebook's source code, but never copied, published, or sold it. Then he was arrested and imprisoned. Now released after four months in jail, Glenn Steven Mangham claims in a blog post that he's an innocent white hat hacker who was trying to help Facebook patch security vulnerabilities. However, Facebook responded to my request for a statement about the 26-year old's claims with "Mr. Mangham's excuses have already been evaluated and rejected by a court of law, resulting in his conviction and jail time." Mangham says he planned to inform Facebook of the vulnerabilities, and could have entered Facebook's White Hat program that offers security researchers protection against legal repercussions. However, Mangham was arrest after possessing the source code for three weeks without informing Facebook. Is he telling the truth, or lying through his teeth?Amazon CFO Dodges Questions On Antitrust, Patents, Kindle Plans
Apr 26, 10:15PM
Amazon just wrapped up its earnings call for the first quarter fo the year, and the most common phrase may have been, "I probably can't help you." To be fair, earnings calls are always a dance, where analysts try to pry more financial details and future plans out of executives, while executives don't want to give anything away. But today's call felt like a particularly egregious example — anytime anything interesting was asked, CFO Tom Szkutak would say he couldn't help, then maybe offer an extremely vague answer.Zynga CEO Mark Pincus: $180M OMGPOP Acquisition Was A "Rare Instance"
Apr 26, 10:11PM
Stepping back from remarks a few weeks ago that suggested that Zynga was about to go on a shopping spree, Zynga chief executive Mark Pincus said the $180 million acquisition of Draw Something-maker OMGPOP was a "rare instance." Although OMGPOP was certainly a step up from anything Zynga has ever done before, Pincus said it didn't represent a change in strategy from last year. He said Zynga will continue to be "prudent and bottom line-oriented" in its decisions today during the first-quarter earnings call. That's a change in tone from an interview with Bloomberg a few weeks ago when he said that he expected to do "a few" OMGPOP-sized deals in the next three to five years. His remarks helped send shares tumbling 13.9 percent from the day the story appeared.Onion Browser: A Mobile Browser For The Truly Paranoid
Apr 26, 9:43PM
If, for whatever reason, you need to cover your tracks while you are browsing the web on your desktop, you have plenty of options to keep anonymous. Thanks to Orbot, Android users, too, have the option to use the Tor network to anonymize their web browsing sessions and avoid being monitored. Now, thanks to Onion Browser ($0.99), iPhone and iPad users also finally get an easy option to encrypt and tunnel their web traffic through the Tor Onion router network.(Founder Stories) Send The Trend's Gugnani On Seizing An Idea, Surviving A Crash & Being Acquired By QVC
Apr 26, 9:00PM
Divya Gugnani is the co-founder of Send the Trend, a New York based startup that was recently acquired by QVC, just a year-and-a half after launching in 2010. Gugnani, whose founding team includes Project Runway winner Christian Siriano, describes Send the Trend as "an online destination that offers curated and customized woman's fashion accessories and beauty." Items are priced at $29.95, and every month users have the option to purchase everything from earrings to bracelets specifically tailored to their taste.The Decline Of Android Foretells The Rise Of A Total Apple Monopoly
Apr 26, 9:00PM
We have always built and destroyed monopolies. Companies often start out good but slowly turn, for lack of a better word, evil. The twin dark stars of profit and market share bring even the kindest companies into a collision course with failure. I'd say Apple is headed down that road. The company announced its 2012 Q2 earnings earlier this week and as MG pointed out, they're nearly as impressive as the previous blockbuster quarter. A dive at wireless carrier's financials shows that the iPhone accounted for a whopping 59% of smartphone sales in the U.S. last quarter. The iPhone 4S downright crushed a league of new Android flagship handsets. Android is faltering at the hands of the iPhone. Apple is on pace per some analysts to be the first trillion dollar company in history and will do so on the back of a trivial amount of products and services.Amazon's Q1 2012: Revenue Up 34 Percent To $13.2B, Net Income Down 35 Percent
Apr 26, 8:35PM
Amazon just reported earnings for the first quarter of 2012. Net sales increased 34% to $13.18 billion in the first quarter, compared with $9.86 billion in first quarter 2011. Net income decreased 35% to $130 million in the first quarter, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared with net income of $201 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, in first quarter 2011. Analysts expected a profit of $0.07 per share on revenue of $12.9 billion for the quarter. "I'm excited to announce that we now have more than 130,000 new, in-copyright books that are exclusive to the Kindle Store – you won't find them anywhere else. They include many of our top bestsellers – in fact, 16 of our top 100 bestselling titles are exclusive to our store," said CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.If at any time you'd like to stop receiving these messages, just send an email to feeds_feedburner_com_techcrunch+unsubscribe-hmdtechnology=gmail.com@mail.feed2email.net.
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