Android’s Login Is Cool, But Is It Secure?
1 hour, 38 minutes ago
I've been hearing a lot about Google's innovative login feature for the Android phone, but only saw it today for the first time (Loren Feldman, who recently did some video of one, sent a screenshot). Unlike other phones, which require a four digit number for unlocking, the Android simply puts nine dots arranged in a square on the touch screen, along with the words ... [read]
Eyealike Sets Its Image Recognition Technology On A New Target: Advertising
3 hours, 45 minutes ago
Eyealike, the startup that lets you use photo recognition to help find your ideal mate, is expanding to apply its image processing technology to a new market: advertising. The company says that the new system will allow businesses to place highly targeted advertising alongside photographs that appear on their site (which have long been difficult to monetize). For now the image recognition is restricted ... [read]
MySpace Launches “My Ads” Self Serve Ad Platform
5 hours, 26 minutes ago
MySpace launches their self serve ad platform, called My Ads, tonight, which was first talked about a year ago. Like Facebook's similar product, it allows anyone to quickly create a targeted ad and serve it on MySpace. Unlike Facebook, which only allows text ads, MySpace is only allowing display ads for now. Users can choose between a 728x90 or 300x250 ad unit and can ... [read]
The Prickly Prince From Microsoft Strikes Again
11 hours, 7 minutes ago
Dare Obasanjo, a Microsoft employee and the son of a former President of Nigeria, doesn't like it when people disagree with him. I found that out in 2007 when Obasanjo vandalized the TechCrunch Wikipedia page in response to a post we wrote that was mildly critical of Microsoft's hiring of a blogger to edit certain Wikipedia entries relating to Open Office standards. His actions ... [read]
Will Verizon’s New Three-Cent Hike Kill SMS Services?
15 hours, 6 minutes ago
On Friday, word got out that come November 1 Verizon Wireless plans to tack on an extra 3-cent charge for every SMS message sent by Web information services to any of its mobile subscribers. That hike will be on top of the 20 cents per message that Verizon subscribers already pay (even those with "unlimited" plans). Thus, in one fell swoop, Verizon is attempting ... [read]
Brightcove 3 (Leaked ScreenShots)
18 hours, 35 minutes ago
Brightcove, the Web video distribution platform used by media companies including Dow Jones, Warner Music, and the New York Times, is getting a massive makeover. Most people won't see it, but its customers will. A new version of the Web-based software that they use to upload, manage, and distribute their videos is rolling out soon. It will be called Brightcove 3. We received the ... [read]
MashLogic: Take Back The Web (By Getting Awesome Links)
22 hours, 59 minutes ago
Bessemer Venture Partners is launching an incubated startup called MashLogic into private beta today, with the audacious promise of helping people "take back the web." They say (and they're not alone) that the web today is driven by page view economics and search engine optimization goals, which leads publishers to link to themselves too often. The result is a less than optimal web experience. ... [read]
Profit Maximization V. Survival Maximization
1 day, 6 hours ago
A lot of criticism has been aimed at venture capitalists the last few days. The VCs are telling their portfolio companies to get ahead of the curve and conserve cash right now, and companies are starting to take their advice. The criticism is coming from people who don’t understand that the world has changed in [...] [read]
Forget the Front Desk: Hotels Go High Tech
1 day, 9 hours ago
There's nothing like a bit of luxury when staying at a nice hotel. Be it in-room dining or the staff waiting on your every need, feeling like a king for a day is a matter of taking advantage of the hotel's services. Unfortunately, the systems in place for requesting such things are years behind, teetering on the edge of archaic. You can stare at ... [read]
Twitter to IM: Drop Dead
1 day, 13 hours ago
It took a worldwide financial meltdown for Twitter to finally cough up the IM hairball. At BearHug Camp, I spent about 10 of the 30 minute executive visitation trying to pin down Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, and Alex Payne on when exactly Track and IM would be back, and in what order. Turns out the IM part isn't coming back; it's been moved from ... [read]