Sparkplay Media nears launch of its Earth Eternal online fantasy game
Joining the fray of free online fantasy games, Sparkplay Media is preparing to launch its massively multiplayer online game, Earth Eternal.
The fantasy game runs in a web browser, with no download required. But it also has a plug-in option that allows gamers to play… Continue Reading
Roundup: Realtime animation, CNN sources Twitter, Joost ousts CEO
StudioGPU replaces computer animation render farms with $5,000 PC — I’ve seen the demo with my own unbelieving eyes. A single graphics accelerator card on a standard Intel-powered PC can now render in seconds what used to take a roomful of servers all day. Hollywood-based… Continue Reading
Apple-exec-turned-VC sees big opportunity in mobile infrastructure
Bob Borchers, who led Apple’s marketing efforts for the iPod and then the iPhone over the past five years (and even appeared in iPhone videos), recently made the leap to venture capital, becoming a general partner at Opus Capital. Yesterday, I had a chance to… Continue Reading
Cleantech bounces back in Q2 with $1.2B
The big story a couple of months ago was that cleantech investing had fallen off a cliff in the first quarter — signaling what many feared would be a prolonged negative trend in the sector. But it looks like things have started to turn around,… Continue Reading
China’s crackdown on virtual goods transactions could ripple through the game economy
China’s new crackdown on the fast-growing virtual goods industry has many possible outcomes, both good and bad for game publishers.
Those publishers make most of their money through virtual goods transactions. China has more than 298 million Internet users and its online games industry is… Continue Reading
California gets green light for strict greenhouse gas requirements
The White House today approved California’s move to institute tough greenhouse gas emissions regulations for automakers well ahead of similar federal legislation. The waiver, officially granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is said to be a first major step for the country to follow… Continue Reading
PlaySpan expands into new countries with prepaid game cards
PlaySpan said today it has expanded into Brazil, Turkey and other countries with its Ultimate Game Card, a prepaid card sold in stores that gives gamers credits to spend in online games.
These cards are popular among kids too young to have credit cards and… Continue Reading
Meebo launches toolbar ads today, ramping up revenue
Meebo is taking another big step towards making its instant messaging service profitable. It’s officially launching a new product that runs interactive pop-out ads within its IM toolbar available on partner sites. You might be on a racing site, for example, chatting with friends about… Continue Reading
Spain’s Fotowatio plans $500M solar foothold in the U.S.
Fotowatio, one of Spain’s largest solar developers is soon to be one of the United States’ as well. It just announced that its American subsidiary, Renewable Ventures, is close to closing a new fund to back solar projects to the tune of $100 million this… Continue Reading
Video: How to surf faster with Internet Explorer
A few enterprising Microsoft employees have produced a low-cost video that shows how accelerators, a feature of the Internet Explorer 8 browser, reduce the number of steps to perform common tasks.
What Microsoft’s doing is attempting to beat Google by changing the game. Instead of… Continue Reading
Themes: Another way that FriendFeed is getting more like Gmail
Lifestreaming service FriendFeed is getting more and more like Gmail, the popular email service that the startup’s founders built back when they were at Google. Today, FriendFeed is getting themes so users can personalize the site interface — like what Gmail introduced last year. Last… Continue Reading
Does Google Apps break Microsoft Outlook? Not anymore
Those of you who get uncomfortable around confrontations and arguments may be able to breathe a little easier now — it looks like Google has resolved a recent spat between the search giant and Microsoft peaceably, with a bug fix.
The trouble started when Google… Continue Reading
Flickr adds direct-to-Twitter publishing
What took them so long? Flickr now has a built-in feature that lets members tweet their photos. “You can upload directly to Flickr and Twitter simultaneously, or tweet a photo already on Flickr, using a special short Flic.kr URL,” says the company’s FAQ. It also… Continue Reading
Touchscreen netbooks on the way
Digitimes reports a rumor that some netbook makers will produce low-cost computers with touchscreens that replace the mouse and trackpad. The move will free up space for a bigger keyboard.
At least some netbook makers, Digitimes reports, believe that a netbook with a touchscreen and… Continue Reading
Firefox 3.5 takes you back to a time before browser add-ons
Updated
There’s been a lot of activity in the web browser market during the year since Mozilla released Firefox 3 — we’ve seen the release of Safari 4 and Internet Exporer 8, and Google has entered the competition with Chrome. Now Mozilla has a new… Continue Reading
Adobe shuts down for a week
The San Jose Mercury News reports that Adobe Systems, maker of the Flash player used for most Web video clips, has shut down its North American operations for the week as a cost-cutting move.
The move is striking because Adobe is, by most metrics, successful…. Continue Reading
Latest speakers at MobileBeat: Steve Boom and Sam Altman
I’m delighted to announce the latest speakers we’ve recruited for MobileBeat 2009, our conference on July 16 in SF:
–Steve Boom, chief executive of mobile social networking company Mig33, arguably the most downloaded mobile application of all time; and
–Sam Altman, chief executive of another… Continue Reading
AMD stirs up hype with limited-edition processors
Advanced Micro Devices’ latest microprocessor is so rare you can’t even buy one.
The AMD Phenom II X4 42 Black Edition TWKR processor is available today. But not for you. AMD is making only 100 of these chips for super geeks known as “extreme overclockers.”… Continue Reading
First manned solar plane unveiled in Switzerland
The first aircraft designed to run exclusively on solar power was introduced near Zurich, Switzerland after spending six years in stealthy development. Record-setting hot air ballooner Bertrand Piccard plans to take the plane, dubbed the Solar Impulse, on several test flights by the end of… Continue Reading
Inflated laptop battery claims may lead to class action lawsuit
A couple of weeks ago, Advanced Micro Devices blew the whistle on the battery-life claims that laptop manufacturers make in their ads. The chip maker said the battery life cited in these ads cite were based on tests done in ideal conditions that users wouldn’t… Continue Reading