Thursday at Three: New App May Retire “Cash Only”; Palm Bought Out by HP; Google’s Exit from China Leaves Plenty of Room for Baidu
April 29, 2010 | Thursday at Three, Today's Headlines | 1 Comments
New App May Retire “Cash Only”
Ever dined out with friends only to notice the “cash only” sign after you’ve sat down for your meal? Thankfully, most of us have that friend more than willing to pony up the cash in exchange for an IOU. Happily, a new app may make these awkward moments a thing of the past.
There are several companies, including Apple, currently developing apps that would allow a consumer to make a purchase by credit card over a smartphone. In fact, with PayPal’s cellphone app, a transfer can be made simply by touching two phones together. The idea is exciting for both consumers and small business owners, the vast majority of whom who would be more than willing to accept credit cards if it were affordable.
As someone who only carries plastic, I know that makes me happy.
Palm bought out by HP
Total cost: $1.2 billion. That is the price HP paid to acquire Palm, a mobile products company struggling to stay afloat since October, when their shares began their downward spiral. As of yet, no one knows HP’s reasoning, but webOS users can be best assured (for the time being) that palm isn’t going anywhere.
Google’s exit from China leaves plenty of room for Baidu
Since the announcement that Google was pulling out of China, Baidu has done its best to take full advantage and fill the void as the number one leading internet search company. In just the 1st quarter alone, Baidu took hold of 64 percent of China’s internet search market, and predictions are that that number could climb to 70 percent in the second quarter. Meanwhile, company profits continue to stream in at a steady rate with no end in sight.
Nothing like taking advantage of a little censorship and political oppression, huh?
Salesforce buys Jigsaw for $142M, Happy Earth Day!, Microsoft and Facebook team up to create Docs.com
April 22, 2010 | Thursday at Three | 0 Comments
Salesforce, a provider of CRM cloud computing services, announced an agreement to buy Jigsaw, a “data-as-a-service” company. The price tag – $142 million – may seem hefty, but the price will be worth it for Salesforce. Jigsaw just doubled its revenue for the fourth year in a row. Once the deal is approved, Salesforce customers will have access to the 21 million contacts at the 4 million companies currently listed on Jigsaw.
Earth Day is about working together to improve the environment and that is exactly what Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund is doing. On Earth Day, the non-profit launched the Renewable Energy Atlas of Vermont, a GIS web-based application that allows Vermonters to identify and analyze potential sources of renewable energy at a specific location down to the town-level. This free web app is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will help in educating, preparing and directing energy committees, small businesses and entrepreneurs to local renewable energy resources.
At the F8 developer conference yesterday, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg announced a partnership with Microsoft to develop Docs.com, an innovative new application that will allow Facebook friends the freedom to create, edit, and share any Microsoft Office document over the social network. This new platform paves the way for Facebook to ultimately become the defacto leader of, well, pretty much everything performed online.
Apple’s Anonymity ‘Glitch ‘
April 20, 2010 | Today's Headlines | 0 Comments
Just in case you missed it, Apple reversed course today and approved Mark Fiore’s political satire app, Newstoons, for sale in the iPhone store.
This was not unexpected, especially after Lauren McGann of the Nieman Journalism Lab let it slip that Apple had rejected the Pulitzer Prize winning online journalist’s app on the grounds that it ‘ridiculed public officials’. This was, of course, prior to learning that he was famous. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was quick to spin the rejection as a ‘glitch.‘
Good for Fiore. I enjoy his cartoons and I’ll download Newstoons within the next couple days. However, I take a bit of offense to Job’s characterization. I, for one, never thought not being famous was a ‘glitch’.
-Mike
In case you missed it, Gizmodo and TechCrunch on the new iPhone
April 19, 2010 | Today's Headlines | 0 Comments
Exclusively from Gizmodo
Looks like $10,000 and maybe a drunk night in a San Jose bar could lead to you scooping Apple and starting rumors on the design of the new iPhone.
Check out TechCrunch and Gizmodo’s coverage here.
April Fools!, And the Countdown Begins…, New Ways to Ditch your Date
April 1, 2010 | Thursday at Three | 0 Comments
It all began in 2000 with “MentalPlex,” Google’s first ever mind-reading technology, allowing websurfers to access the search engine by thought alone. Since then, Google has been on the scene as one of April Fools days’ biggest pranksters and this year is no different.
Today, Google announced that they have changed their name from Google to “Topeka” in honor of Topeka, Kansas. Google employees are no longer to be referred to as “Googlers” but as “Topekers.”
Past shenanigans include: Luna/X, Google’s very own research facility located on the moon, Google Gulp, a new beverage which would increase the drinker’s intelligence and Virgle, a joint project between Google and the Virgin Group to establish a human settlement on Mars.
So you tell me, how does this year’s joke compare to past pranks?
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We are only days away from the April 4 release of the iPad and the reviews are pouring in. Of course there are going to be people on both sides of the aisle who either hate it or love it no matter what, but lets take a look at what is being said thus far.
Two noted tech reviewers wrote about the new iPad, describing it is a “giant iPod touch”. The battery life is approximately 10 hours, which is pretty exceptional. While reviews differ on the touch keyboard,people are definitely in positive agreement when it comes to screen size. However, for some users, the lack of Flash support is a big let down.
Personally, I’ll reserve judgment until I race down to an Apple Store this Saturday and TRY to get my hands on one.
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Have you ever been on a date and had a friend purposely call mid-date to alert you of an impending “emergency” that is so unique, only you can come to the rescue? In reality it is you that needs saving from the date from hell, but who enjoys possibly breaking someone’s heart?
Sure, everyone’s done it at some point, but fear not, now there are apps that make ditching someone that much easier.
Gotta Go, Fake Conversation, and Fake-A-Call are new smartphone apps that let a user choose someone from your contacts to call or text at a previously specified time with a specific message. In fact, some of the features even allow you to have a text message conversation in which an individual can have an actual converation with AI – although, be aware, the replies don’t always make sense. Other unique features include automated voice responses alerting you that someone you know is hurt or in trouble, as well as the ability to record voice messages that will play back when you answer your “emergency” phone call.
If anything, it should make everyone think twice the next time their blind date rushes out of the restaurant because something “important” came up.
-Liz