Hey, all: I, John Biggs, will be in Israel from the Sept 5 through the 10th. I’d love to meet up with some great start-ups in the Jerusalem/Tel Aviv area. I’m most interested in the great gadgets coming out of there but I’m happy to sit down with local folks to talk web services. If you’d like to sponsor an hour of drinks, please let me know. Either way, RSVP to john@crunchgear.com with the subject line “RSVP ISRAEL” or visit the Event Page at Facebook. UPDATE - We’re teaming up with the Tel Aviv Beer Tweet-up on the same night at the Dancing Camel Club from 8pm to 11:30pm. We’ll see you there!
Hey, all: I, John Biggs, will be in Israel from the Sept 5 through the 10th. I’d love to meet up with some great start-ups in the Jerusalem/Tel Aviv area. I’m most interested in the great gadgets coming out of there but I’m happy to sit down with local folks to talk web services. If you’d like to sponsor an hour of drinks, please let me know. Either way, RSVP to john@crunchgear.com with the subject line “RSVP ISRAEL” or visit the Event Page at Facebook. UPDATE - We’re teaming up with the Tel Aviv Beer Tweet-up on the same night at the Dancing Camel Club from 8pm to 11:30pm. We’ll see you there!
Israeli startup Cellogic, makers of the fine FlyScreen software, have spent the last 8 months or so developing a custom version for the Android platform to complement their currently Symbian-exclusive version. Today, the company is debuting the private alpha version of the Android-compatible program, and we have 1,000 invites to offer for those carrying around HTC phones running Android 1.5 (it works on the Samsung Galaxy too but is less optimized for that particular device). So what’s FlyScreen? Essentially, a collection of expandable widgets that comprise syndicated content (such as TechCrunch) and small apps that hook into Twitter, Facebook etc. You can use it to fetch the RSS feed of your favorite blogs, and thus be able to quickly access previews of published content, tag articles for later reading or share posts on Twitter and/or Facebook in just one click.
Israeli startup Cellogic, makers of the fine FlyScreen software, have spent the last 8 months or so developing a custom version for the Android platform to complement their currently Symbian-exclusive version. Today, the company is debuting the private alpha version of the Android-compatible program, and we have 1,000 invites to offer for those carrying around HTC phones running Android 1.5 (it works on the Samsung Galaxy too but is less optimized for that particular device). So what’s FlyScreen? Essentially, a collection of expandable widgets that comprise syndicated content (such as TechCrunch) and small apps that hook into Twitter, Facebook etc. You can use it to fetch the RSS feed of your favorite blogs, and thus be able to quickly access previews of published content, tag articles for later reading or share posts on Twitter and/or Facebook in just one click.
Chris Sacca, a prolific Silicon Valley angel investor, is closing on a new venture fund he’ll call Lowercase Capital, we’ve confirmed. The fund size will be in the $5 million range, and will make investments ranging from $50,000 - $150,000 per deal. Sacca was previously the head of strategic initiatives at Google (he left Google in 2007), has invested in at least twenty or so startups in the last three years. Investments include Photobucket, Twitter, bit.ly, Someecards, Posterous and others. Our understanding is that the fund is partially closed, and some or all of Sacca’s previous investments, including Twitter, will be moved to the new fund. Meaning new investors in the fund will start off with stock in Twitter.
Chris Sacca, a prolific Silicon Valley angel investor, is closing on a new venture fund he’ll call Lowercase Capital, we’ve confirmed. The fund size will be in the $5 million range, and will make investments ranging from $50,000 - $150,000 per deal.
Sacca was previously the head of strategic initiatives at Google (he left Google in 2007), has invested in at least twenty or so startups in the last three years. Investments include Photobucket, Twitter, bit.ly, Someecards, Posterous and others.
Our understanding is that the fund is partially closed, and some or all of Sacca’s previous investments, including Twitter, will be moved to the new fund. Meaning new investors in the fund will start off with stock in Twitter.
Sacca didn’t respond to my request for comment. But I did track down Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham and asked for his thoughts on Sacca, who has invested in a number of Y Combinator startups. Said Graham: “This fund could make a difference, because Chris is so different from most VCs. He isn’t driven primarily by fear.”
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
By Andrew Liszewski Great news! You no longer have to go to an expo/world’s fair/amusement park/science center to experience one of those omni dome theaters. The TOOB provides the same basic experience, though on a considerably smaller scale. Created by Alexander McDonnell, the TOOB consists of a half-dome movie screen that’s large enough for a couple [...]
By Andrew Liszewski
Great news! You no longer have to go to an expo/world’s fair/amusement park/science center to experience one of those omni dome theaters. The TOOB provides the same basic experience, though on a considerably smaller scale. Created by Alexander McDonnell, the TOOB consists of a half-dome movie screen that’s large enough for a couple of people to sit in front of, as well as a specially shaped mirror that reflects the image from a projector onto the dome’s surface. And since it’s powered by a regular home theater projector (instead of proprietary hardware) you can use it with any video source like a DVD player or a gaming console.
According to Cool Hunting, the home version of the TOOB, which measures 3-feet by 6-feet with an 18-inch reflector, sells for $1,440, but the hardware can be rented and is also available in a considerably larger 8-foot by 16-foot inflatable version for use outdoors.
I liked Songbeat the minute I started using it. First released as a desktop app for Seeqpod back in January 2008, the upgraded version that was introduced nearly 12 months after that not only made searching for music extremely simple but also offered an excellent way to download tracks to your computer. And like Seeqpod, it was also an easy way to obtain copyrighted material from the many places on the Web where that kind of stuff can be found. Evidently, the music industry took notice and sought to shut the service down in court. Warner Music was the first to file a lawsuit against the startup behind Songbeat and ultimately forced the fledgling company to take the service offline, but not without them promising to return with something bigger and bolder in the future. Yesterday, the guys behind Songbeat came out with a revived version of the desktop client, which has been renamed Songbeat 360. Music lovers are going to love it. The music industry, however, is not.
I liked Songbeat the minute I started using it. First released as a desktop app for Seeqpod back in January 2008, the upgraded version that was introduced nearly 12 months after that not only made searching for music extremely simple but also offered an excellent way to download tracks to your computer.
And like Seeqpod, it was also an easy way to obtain copyrighted material from the many places on the Web where that kind of stuff can be found.
Up, down, and up again
Evidently, the music industry took notice and sought to shut the service down in court. Warner Music was the first to file a lawsuit against the startup behind Songbeat and ultimately forced the fledgling company to take the service offline, but not without them promising to return with something bigger and bolder in the future.
Yesterday, the guys behind Songbeat came out with a revived version of the desktop client, which has been renamed Songbeat 360. Music lovers are going to love it.
The music industry, however, is not.
The app
Songbeat 360 is an Adobe AIR powered desktop music player with a powerful music search engine - unambiguously baptized Songbeat Search - at its core. Search for artists or songs and the app returns a list of 50 search results, along with links to the originating source. Double-click tracks and you can instantly play them from the integrated player, or right-click to download tunes to your computer. Drag music tracks to the left-hand column and create custom playlists straight from the app. Slick, fast and easy.
Wanna learn more about an artist? Simply hit the ‘Discover’ button and you’ll get all sorts of information from across the web delivered right to the desktop client interface, including similar artists so you can find more music you like by browsing their profiles and albums. Interested in knowing when the artist in question (or another) is playing at or nearby your location? Click the ‘Live’ button and you’ll get a list of gigs based on your location, which you can easily modify. Wanna let your friends know what you’re listening to? The integrated Twitter button will make that easy for you too.
The cost
Songbeat has set up an unusual way of monetizing the service. When you launch the application for the first time, you’ll see 50 credits at the right top of the client. Every time you do a search for an artist or song, a credit comes off your inventory. Scroll to the bottom of the list and you’ll get 50 more results, once again taking a credit off your account. If you run out of credits, which takes away the ability to search music using Songbeat Search, you can purchase additional credits at any time through Paypal, with a rate of €10 or roughly $15 for 1,000 credits.
Here’s the funny thing: actually streaming music or downloading music doesn’t cost you any credits at all. Nothing. Zip.
And that’s of course what will make users love it, and labels (and many music artists) hate it.
The problem
The announcement of the all new Songbeat starts like this:
“Why should I pay for music when it’s available for free everywhere anyway? This is the question everyone is asking themselves today.” says Claudio Fritz-Vietta, CEO of Songbeat Distribution Ltd.
Nothing short of provocative, and when I inquired about the specifics of deals that are in place with record labels or artists to make sure the latter get adequate compensation for their work, Fritz-Vietta made it clear that he is trying every trick in the book to prevent having to pay up for that. Which means that, unlike Spotify (which Songbeat loves to compare themselves with), there are zero arrangements with the music industry in place yet, and I doubt there ever will be.
Like Seeqpod before them, Songbeat hides behind the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by stating they are only search providers offering users access to music that is already available on the Web, and that the company never actually hosts any digital files on its own servers. Seeqpod tried to play that game, got sued all over the place anyway, ultimately filed for bankruptcy only to be (presumably) picked up by Microsoft for its core technology and team some time after.
Songbeat also says it actually wants to help artists and their labels market their music, concerts etc. better by - get this - offering them free ad space inside the client interface. The idea is that they’d advertise better quality tracks, concert tickets, etc. using ad units that are displayed whenever someone ends up on the artist’s profile.
Somehow, I don’t think that’ll stick.
This is part of their pitch:
“There are no deals with any labels in place yet, but we are open for talks and are willing to work with them and with each individual artist. We are not doing this to steal from anyone. Whatever we earn with this we are willing to share in a fair way. We want to offer a new and alternative revenue stream. Artists and labels will have to use as many revenue streams as possible to keep their businesses going - we will be one of them.
It’s about controlling what’s out there at the moment - and right now - as we can see the labels & artists have no way to control it. We want to help them control any content that’s out there may it be claimed legal or illegal.
Regarding the legal situation Songbeat 360 and Songbeat Search fully comply with the DMCA and all major copyright laws internationally. Songbeat has learned a lot in the past after being sued by Warner Music in Germany. There is a take-down notice and each source from each individual track found is shown. It would actually be a perfect tool for labels to find all copyright infringements that are online and get them taken down.”
In a perfect world, maybe. A serious shame we’re not living in one.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Matt Galligan, CEO of CrashCorp, a company working on a product called SimpleGeo providing “location as a service” as well as an Augmented Reality SDK for app developers. (We covered their founding here.) As such, Galligan clearly has a stake in the AR game, but he was genuinely surprised by the revelation of the AR element to the Yelp app update yesterday. You can follow Matt on Twitter here.Yelp has had no shortage of hullabaloo surrounding the most recent improvement to its iPhone app. Rightfully so, it added an Augmented Reality view for its restaurant reviews. Using the AR view, users of the Yelp app can pan around using their camera, and see information overlaid, presumably, on top of the restaurant of their query, garnering review information. While this functionality is certainly useful, and nothing short of excellent eye candy, could there be a thorn with this rose?
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by Matt Galligan, CEO of CrashCorp, a company working on a product called SimpleGeo providing “location as a service” as well as an Augmented Reality SDK for app developers. (We covered their founding here.) As such, Galligan clearly has a stake in the AR game, but he was genuinely surprised by the revelation of the AR element to the Yelp app update yesterday. You can follow Matt on Twitter here.
Yelp has had no shortage of hullabaloo surrounding the most recent improvement to its iPhone app. Rightfully so, it added an Augmented Reality view for its restaurant reviews. Using the AR view, users of the Yelp app can pan around using their camera, and see information overlaid, presumably, on top of the restaurant of their query, garnering review information. While this functionality is certainly useful, and nothing short of excellent eye candy, could there be a thorn with this rose?
Augmented Reality has been all the rage with app developers recently, originally employing unreleased SDK features to build the technology. However, in recent months, it was discovered that the new iPhone OS 3.1 upgrade changed the camera functionality in a way that would enable app developers to build their Augmented Reality views in a more sanctioned environment. This development has been a shot in the arm for AR developers, and there seems to be many implementations being built. However, it was understood that the world would have to wait for AR on the iPhone, at least until iPhone OS 3.1 was released. That was, until, Yelp’s most recent iPhone app got approved in the store with an easter egg that, after shaking the device three times, enabled an Augmented Reality view.
Call it sneaky, call it clever, but I call it deceit. Apple has put forth specific guidelines, and “rules” around their app development, and while I don’t always agree, it’s the reality of how we must work with them for now. Yelp hid their easter egg behind shaking the device, which isn’t always the most intuitive action to take on an app that contains some maps and lists. As a result, the unsanctioned Augmented Reality view was gone from Apple’s radar. The same would seem to be true with a couple other applications that snuck in AR features as updates to their apps. As recently as last month, Apple was telling developers making AR apps that they would have to wait for iPhone 3.1. It was only after approval, that Yelp announced that the functionality existed. There was palpable excitement around the Yelp’s announcement (and the other apps), having been the first AR apps to be approved, but something smelled afoul.
My concern is that Yelp has set an awful precedent by this act. Now, every app developer will likely undergo even more scrutiny. Accessing private API’s goes against the agreement every iPhone developer has to abide by when submitting applications to the App Store. By subverting this agreement through an “easter egg”, Yelp could very well cause the approval process to become more draconian. Whereas before, Apple was primarily looking for trademark violations, “correct” usage of their Human Interface Guidelines, and show-stopping bugs, they’ll now have to go over each app with fine-toothed comb to make sure no feature that is likely to be unsanctioned will be released. Now granted, this may also be seen as a big cry for openness in the App Store, but so long as the App Store approval process remains in the status quo, deceitful acts like this won’t continue to go unnoticed by them.
The implications are simple: a longer wait time for apps to be approved, longer time for bug fixes and overall, a poorer experience for developers and users both. While I hope for a less strict App Store, so long as that’s not the case, I hope more that developers stick to more of the straight and narrow (read: not so shady tactics) so they don’t ruin it for the rest of us.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
By Chris Scott Barr Yes, we all know that Snow Leopard is coming out today. I’ll be heading to Best Buy to pick up my copy in a few hours (No, I’m not pirating it. It’s only $30 for crying out loud.) so I thought I’d share a little info with those on the fence. Specifically, [...]
By Chris Scott Barr
Yes, we all know that Snow Leopard is coming out today. I’ll be heading to Best Buy to pick up my copy in a few hours (No, I’m not pirating it. It’s only $30 for crying out loud.) so I thought I’d share a little info with those on the fence. Specifically, those still running 10.4 Tiger.
Apple has stated that those using Tiger should probably buy their $170 Box Set for the full experience. I wouldn’t worry about spending that much. It has been confirmed that you can both upgrade and do a clean install (I’d recommend a clean install) from Tiger to Snow Leopard. Save that extra $140 and buy yourself something pretty.
Microsoft’s ad blitz for Bing is still going strong, and it’s starting to hone in on a new target: your wallet. Bing’s latest TV ad, which aired for the first time last night, is focused on Bing Cashback, the program that allows users to save money when they purchase items found using Bing search. Cashback has been around for a while, most people probably had never even heard of the program until now. This is the first time Microsoft has ever aired an ad for Cashback, and you can be sure that it’s going to strike a chord with plenty of viewers.
Microsoft’s ad blitz for Bing is still going strong, and it’s starting to hone in on a new target: your wallet. Bing’s latest TV ad, which aired for the first time last night, is focused on Bing Cashback, the program that allows users to save money when they purchase items found using Bing search. Cashback has been around for a while, most people probably had never even heard of the program until now. This is the first time Microsoft has ever aired an ad for Cashback, and you can be sure that it’s going to strike a chord with plenty of viewers.
Microsoft launched Cashback on its old search engine, Live Search, in May 2008, when we called it a “desperate and brilliant move” to trade search revenue for market share. As it turned out, Cashback failed to do much to improve Live Search’s market share last year, but it did result in a significant increase in advertising revenue. Now that Bing is picking up some steam, CashBack may turn in to the traffic driver Microsoft originally envisioned.
To help drive more interest to Cashback, Microsoft launched a limited promotion on August 10th called Double Cashback, during which Microsoft would match the amount of the rebates being offered by retailers (e.g. if Nike normally offered a $10 discount rebate, the promotion would give them $20). That special turned out to be too successful — it drove so many sales that Microsoft wound up ending it three days early, after distributing the maximum amount of money Bing had allocated for the promotion.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
TweetMeNews is a recently launched Twitter application that will tweet you personalized, relevant news based on your interests and preferences. The app will ask you questions about what genre of news you are interested in (business, technology, advertising, venture capital and health) and what types of publications you’d like news from (blogs, newspapers, video, magazines). TweetMeNews then analyzes data, including your Twitter feed, and uses a proprietary algorithms to send you stories that match your interests and behavior. TweetMeNews’ co-founder Brett Hellman says that the startup even checks your feed to make sure not to send your news that you’ve already received. You can choose for the service to send you up to ten stories per day. In theory, the idea sounds great. But as a blogger, I need news fast. I tested the service out and it sent me a Tech news story from yesterday, which isn’t terribly helpful when it comes to receiving breaking news. Other news firehoses, like Techmeme’s are far more valuable to me when it comes to reporting breaking news throughout the day, because it’s fast, comprehensive and varied. But for users who aren’t concerned with the speed of breaking news, TweetMeNews could be a useful Twitter-focused news service to add to the mix.
TweetMeNews is a recently launched Twitter application that will tweet you personalized, relevant news based on your interests and preferences. The app will ask you questions about what genre of news you are interested in (business, technology, advertising, venture capital and health) and what types of publications you’d like news from (blogs, newspapers, video, magazines).
TweetMeNews then analyzes data, including your Twitter feed, and uses a proprietary algorithms to send you stories that match your interests and behavior. TweetMeNews’ co-founder Brett Hellman says that the startup even checks your feed to make sure not to send your news that you’ve already received. You can choose for the service to send you up to ten stories per day.
In theory, the idea sounds great. But as a blogger, I need news fast. I tested the service out and it sent me a Tech news story from yesterday, which isn’t terribly helpful when it comes to receiving breaking news. Other news firehoses, like Techmeme’s are far more valuable to me when it comes to reporting breaking news throughout the day, because it’s fast, comprehensive and varied. But for users who aren’t concerned with the speed of breaking news, TweetMeNews could be a useful Twitter-focused news service to add to the mix.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
Tatango, the Seattle, WA-based easy-to-use group text messaging platform has introduced version 2.0 of the product. The biggest change in 2.0 of Tatango is a redesign, as well as a new set of features and updates to the product and a new business model. In a blog post, Andrew Dumont, VP of Marketing, explains some of the new features; specifically noting a new billing system, improved site performance, increased messaging speeds and overhaul of the Tatango website.
Tatango, the Seattle, WA-based easy-to-use group text messaging platform has introduced version 2.0 of the product. The biggest change in 2.0 of Tatango is a redesign, as well as a new set of features and updates to the product and a new business model.
In a blog post, Andrew Dumont, VP of Marketing, explains some of the new features; specifically noting a new billing system, improved site performance, increased messaging speeds and overhaul of the Tatango website.
Notably, with the new version of Tatango is a new business model. Tatango has eliminated free ad-supported accounts, and moved to a pay-only model, offering a free 30-day trial option.
Founder and CEO Derek Johnson explained that while he still believes there is a future for SMS-based advertising, the wide array of groups using Tatango made it extremely difficult to find appropriate and targeted ads, creating difficulties in monetizing their message traffic.
Although Tatango didn’t disclose the number of messages sent, Johnson says they are on track for profitability by the end of 2009. Tatango has raised upwards of $500,000 since it was founded in October 2007. Tatango opened up their platform to the public in September 2008.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
Hey, all: I, John Biggs, will be in Israel from the Sept 5 through the 10th. I’d love to meet up with some great start-ups in the Jerusalem/Tel Aviv area. I’m most interested in the great gadgets coming out of there but I’m happy to sit down with local folks to talk web services. If you’d like to sponsor an hour of drinks, please let me know. Either way, RSVP to john@crunchgear.com with the subject line “RSVP ISRAEL” or visit the Event Page at Facebook. UPDATE - We’re teaming up with the Tel Aviv Beer Tweet-up on the same night at the Dancing Camel Club from 8pm to 11:30pm. We’ll see you there!
Israeli startup Cellogic, makers of the fine 
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Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by 
Editor’s Note: This guest post was written by 
Microsoft’s ad blitz for 
Microsoft’s ad blitz for 
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