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Will The Microsoft Surface Tablet Redefine Mobile Computing?
Jun 19, 2:07AM
Microsoft just took the wraps off the all new Microsoft Surface. Even though the name is familiar this is an entirely new product. Simply put, the Surface is a Windows 8 tablet. But it seems so much more. In fact, perhaps I'm still a little drunk on Microsoft Kool-Aid, but the Surface seems like the next generation of mobile computing. While Surface might not kill the iPad, it might revive Microsoft. To be clear, the Surface is Microsoft's hardware. This is a not a Dell or HP tablet running Microsoft's software. Microsoft clearly designed this tablet to best showcase Windows 8. The tablet itself seems fantastic. Compared to the iPad, it's a bit utilitarian with hard lines, full size I/O ports, and heat vents. But it also seems like a serious tablet rather than a plaything.Hands-On With The Microsoft Surface, Inside And Out
Jun 19, 1:42AM
We just had our first hands-on with the Microsoft Surface, the brand spanking new device which appears to be Microsoft's loud and clear answer to the Apple iPad, the MacBook Air, the menagerie of Android-powered tablets, -- basically, the entire landscape of today's powerful mobile computing devices. It's a very ambitious effort that the company is making great pains to emphasize has been built by Microsoft from the inside out, from the hardware to the software.Advengers Assemble! Facebook Gathers Creative Council Of Agency Execs To Advise On Product
Jun 19, 1:14AM
If Facebook is going to get its share price above water, it needs the support the ad agencies. So today it announced the Creative Council -- 14 agency execs that will provide advice, and Studio Edge, a suite of new marketing education tutorials. The Creative Council will be a "sounding board for both Facebook product ideas and key agency needs". The advisors could persuade Facebook to launch flashier ad units or more invasive targeting mechanics. The marketing products the Creative Council guides will benefit from Facebook Studio Edge's interactive guides designed to make Facebook's social marketing products less befuddling for those closer to the Mad Men era than the digital age.Nokia's PureView 808 To Make Its U.S. Debut On Amazon, Complete With $699 Price Tag
Jun 19, 12:53AM
Nokia US chief Chris Weber recently reaffirmed that Lumia smartphones will eventually get a helping of Nokia's impressive PureView imaging technology, but a new post on the Nokia Conversations blog points to another option for mobile photographers itching for a PureView fix. The company has recently announced that the charmingly chunky Pureview 808 will soon make its U.S. debut on Amazon.com, with pre-orders for the Symbian-powered device set to kick off later this week.White-Label Security Firm White Sky Raises $7.5 Million From Prism VentureWorks, Trinity Ventures, And Intersections
Jun 19, 12:29AM
White-label security software provider White Sky has raised a $7.5 million round of financing, as it seeks to staff up after landing major enterprise customers like AOL and Comcast. The round comes from existing investors Prism VentureWorks, Trinity Ventures, and risk management firm Intersections. You might remember White Sky under its former name, GuardID. Around 2007 and 2008 the company was best known for selling a USB-based security stick designed to keep identity thieves away from consumers' personal data. While it was able to get some traction with the overly paranoid, the company realized that it would need to shift to a different business model to gain wider acceptance.Below The Surface: Microsoft Shifted Samsung LCD Product To Grab Name For New Tablet
Jun 18, 11:58PM
At the bottom of the page for Microsoft's new tablet Surface, there is an odd little note: "Looking for the Samsung SUR40 with Microsoft Pixelsense? Visit www.pixelsense.com". Huh? It looks like Microsoft's new Surface tablet is not the first Surface to surface at the company. Before it, there was a large LCD panel, made with Samsung, which could be mounted as a table, or on a wall, that enables people to "share, collaborate and explore together using a large, thin display that recognizes fingers, hands and other objects placed on the screen." The last update for the product was released at the beginning of 2011, during the CES show.The Microsoft Surface, A 10.6-Inch Windows 8 Tablet From Microsoft
Jun 18, 11:26PM
"It embodies hardware and software working together. People want to work and play," Steve Ballmer said today amid much fanfare at Milk Studios in downtown Los Angeles. Microsoft has officially entered the ring with Apple. Microsoft views the Surface as a "stage for Windows 8." It's 9.3mm thin, has full size USB 2.0 jacks, a massive kickstand and weighs only 1.5 lbs. The casing is made out of magnesium (MS calls it VaporMG) and screen is covered in the Gorilla Glass 2 and optically bonded, a feature Microsoft brags was specifically made for the Surface. The Surface is directly aimed at consumers, and with that, the iPad.Live From The Microsoft Event In Los Angeles
Jun 18, 10:59PM
We're here at the Milk Studios in Hollywood for Microsoft's big mysterious Los Angeles media event. The off-duty actors and actresses are offering champagne flutes, the tech journalists are ignoring them while making sure their laptops work, and the electronic music is pumping as we all wait to see what is in store. TechCrunch will be liveblogging the entire event here, so stay tuned.Enterprise Perks Management Startup ChoicePass Acquired By Salesforce, Will Shut Down June 30
Jun 18, 10:30PM
Corporate perk management platform ChoicePass has been acquired by Salesforce, according to a blog post on the company's website. As a result of the acquisition, the team will be joining the Salesforce organization, but its website and operations will be shut down on June 30, 2012. ChoicePass was founded about a year ago, with the goal of "making HR sexy." The startup had a Perks product that was designed to make it easier for employees to track and take advantage of corporate rewards and incentive programs. In May it launched an Android app and reportedly had plans to also roll out an iPhone and iPad app, but never quite got there.Sonos Lands $135M For Its Classy Wireless Home Audio Systems
Jun 18, 10:11PM
Sonos, the developers of a sexy, high-end wireless home audio system, has raised $135 million in funding led by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Previous investors Redpoint Ventures and Elevation Partners also contributed to the round, bringing the company's total funding to just under $200 million. As part of the round, KKR's David Kerko, Elevation Managing Director Fred Anderson, and Rhode Island School of Design President John Maeda will be joining the company's board of directors. The participation of Elevation's Avie Tevanian and Fred Anderson in the investment is of particular note, as both are former Apple executives, with Anderson being the former CFO.Why You Should Apply For The TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield
Jun 18, 9:52PM
TechCrunch Disrupt is one of the most anticipated technology conferences of the year, and Startup Battlefield (Click here to apply) is the very heart of the event. Some 30 companies, chosen from hundreds of applicants, launch their products on the Disrupt stage before a live and online audience in front of a panel of expert judges. After the demos, pitches and a tough round of questions, TechCrunch's editors, working with the VCs, seasoned entrepreneurs, and product experts, select six companies for a final, drama-filled round on the third and final day of Disrupt. Only one Battlefield contender can take home a $50,000 check and the coveted Disrupt Cup.Klout: We've Delivered 700K Perks Across 350 Campaigns
Jun 18, 9:05PM
Do Klout Perks — where brands can offer special goods and services to users with the right Klout scores — work? Well, Klout is releasing some numbers suggesting that the program has considerable momentum. The company says it has been about two years since it launched the Klout Perks program in July 2010. Since then, it has delivered 700,000 perks in more than 350 campaigns. More than 300 brands have participated, including Disney, Microsoft, HBO, American Express, Chili's, Chevy, Spotify, and Gilt And customers seem happy with their Perks, giving them an average customer satisfaction rating of 4 out of 5 stars.Report: Over 24% Of The Web's Top 10,000 Sites Now Use Facebook's Official Widgets
Jun 18, 8:22PM
According to a new study by website monitoring service Pingdom, 24.3% of the top 10,000 websites in the world (as reported by Alexa) now feature some form of official Facebook integration on their homepages. That's already a pretty impressive number, but once you also include basic links to Facebook, the number goes up to 49.3%. The company's official like button is featured on 7.3% of these sites.WordPress Plugin SlideDeck Adds Multiple Content Sources And Custom HTML
Jun 18, 7:47PM
SlideDeck is a WordPress plugin that's supposed to make it easy for publishers to add "content sliders" (basically a gallery/slideshow interface for browsing content) to their sites, and it's already attracting some positive notice from tech bloggers. Today Digital Telepathy, which which makes the plugin (as well as the Hello Bar), is releasing a preview version of its latest update.HTC Confirms Wi-Fi Connection Issues In Some Tegra 3-Powered One Xs
Jun 18, 6:57PM
I can't imagine most U.S. HTC fans were glad to hear that AT&T's version of the One X would go without the quad-core Tegra 3 chipset, but now it seems as though they've dodged quite the bullet. Earlier today, HTC acknowledged that some of their Tegra-packing flagship devices were having issues with latching onto a Wi-Fi signal and announced that they've put together a fix for it. Sadly, it'll take more than a software update to remedy the issue (and besides, they already tried that).Facebook Did Not Confirm Hyper-Local Mobile Ad Product, But Here's How It Would Target You
Jun 18, 6:45PM
Facebook may one day let advertisers target mobile users based on their exact current location, but VP Carloyn Everson did not confirm that such a product is in the works to Bloomberg, Facebook tells me. The New York media company misinterpreted statements from Everson, who merely said you could imagine the product evolution afforded by a mobile phone's location awareness. So we won't say Facebook is "readying" such a product, but that doesn't mean it won't emerge eventually. let's imagine how it could look. Real-time hyper-local Facebook advertising could allow local businesses to advertise to people in sight of their brick-and-mortar store, or let travel companies target people when they're away from their home city. And competition to reach those out-and-about users could drive up ad prices and earn Facebook more money.Much Ado About Nothing: The Truth Behind Netflix's API Changes
Jun 18, 6:29PM
Last week, Netflix made some changes to its API program and Terms of Use for connecting with it. Since then, there's been some confusion about what the changes actually mean for developers. That confusion was highlighted in a blog post by Goodfil.ms Monday morning, which claimed that Netflix was "quietly smothering its third-party ecosystem." While there are some significant changes, there's nothing that should stop third-party developers from adding values to subscribers looking to access the service through mobile, web, or other connected device applications.Knight Foundation Bets Mobile Sensor Startup, Behav.io, Is The Future of Journalism
Jun 18, 6:00PM
"Our social networks are not Facebook," says Nadav Aharony, an Android project manager and one of the six winners of the Knight Foundation's $1.3 million in grants for media innovation. Instead of intentional online connections, his startup, Behavio, looks at how peoples' location, network of phone contacts, physical proximity, and movement throughout the day can help us predict range of behaviors -- anything from fitness to app downloads to mass protests. The entire big-data mobile smorgasbord is based on an open source project he helped built at the MIT Media Lab, Funf, a public database of android-friendly software for turning cell phone toting-humans into willing lab rats of social experimentation.YC-Backed Submittable Makes It Easy For Publishers To Manage Submissions
Jun 18, 5:54PM
If you're a publisher looking for submissions (whether they're stories, essays, videos, or whatever), what's the best way to manage the process? It sounds relatively straightforward, but once those submissions start piling up, trying to track and sort them can turn into a headache. It's a problem that Submittable, part of the latest class of startups incubated by Y Combinator, may have solved. Co-founder Michael FitzGerald says there have been a few submission-management products designed for academia, but none for a broader customer base. In fact, he says Submittable's biggest competitor is Gmail. That's certainly the case at TechCrunch, where we manage guest column submissions through an unwieldy mix of email, Google Docs, spreadsheets, and Asana. (If you've submitted a guest column to TechCrunch and it seems to have disappeared into a black hole: I'm sorry, we're working on it.)The MacBook Pro Strikes Back (With Retina Power)
Jun 18, 5:43PM
It was nearly two years ago that I said goodbye to my MacBook Pro. I loved the device, but the new MacBook Air was that good. My Pro — which was only six months old at the time! — seemed like total overkill for my computing needs. The Air was finally fast enough to use on a daily basis, and it was (obviously) significantly thinner and lighter. It was a no-brainer in my mind: Air all the way. And in these past 20 months, the Air has been my go-to machine. But last week, a new challenger was unveiled: that old familiar friend, the MacBook Pro. Armed with both a slimmer body and a killer new screen, the device is stunning. And at least in my mind, it has brought back that old debate as to which is the best MacBook. Following Apple's WWDC keynote, I got to play around with the Retina MacBook Pro for a bit, and was given a demo unit to take home. I quickly posted some initial thoughts as to how it could fit into my computing life — long story short: I wasn't sure. A week later, I have a bit more understanding as to how the new MacBook Pro fits in.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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