GigaOM

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 4 days ago
There’s grim data out today from two sources that track venture capital exits, both of whom noted that not a single venture-backed company went public in the second quarter of 2008. This is a grim news indeed, but not surprising. What’s worse is that M&A activity is down by almost half, median deal prices [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 4 days ago
UTStarcom, an equipment maker whose fortunes have taken a trajectory resembling a bouncing ball today announced that it was getting out of the handset business all together. It had stopped making handsets a while ago, but today it said it was spinning off its Personal Communications division, “selling the handset distribution business to Personal Communications [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 1 day ago
At GigaOM’s recent Structure 08 event, Meebo co-founder and engineering chief, Sandy Jen, joined a panel to talk about scaling your computing infrastructure for explosive growth. Jen also spoke with Found|READ, this time to offer founders tips on how to overcome what she calls the internal scaling challenge: hiring. Meebo launched in September 2005, when [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 4 days ago
You know the joke about Microsoft - they normally get things almost right on the third try. After failing miserably to get Yahoo in two initial attempts thus far, Steve Ballmer and Company might be returning for yet another try, reports The Wall Street Journal. Indeed, two weeks ago, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 19 hours ago
The weeklong whirlwind of a tour to Israel is finally over. Waiting for my flight, I am wondering when I would get to sleep in my own bed. It is about 18 hours of flying time - London and Philadelphia are to stops on the way - with about six hours of layovers. Given that [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 2 days ago
AT&T, long before it merged with SBC had made a half-hearted attempt at getting into consumer VoIP by selling a service called, CallVantage. It was surprisingly good, especially its call quality. Unfortunately, the company never quite made the commitment to it. And when SBC merger happened, well it fell victim of save-your-mentality that comes with [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 3 days ago
For a while there, covering the chip industry was like covering a race run by a rabbit and a cheetah. AMD was the rabbit, while Intel — with its much larger market cap and greater profits — was the cheetah. Evey now and then the rabbit would fool you into thinking he was going to [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 5 days ago
If you want a 3G iPhone without an AT&T contract, you can get one. Eventually. For $599 for the 8 GB version or $699 for the 16 GB version. That’s a 200 percent markup over the $199 price tag for the 8 GB version with a contract. AT&T isn’t providing details yet on when this [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 5 days ago
Last week, OStatic noted the rumor, first reported by VentureBeat, that Microsoft intended to buy Silicon Valley semantic search engine Powerset for $100 million. Lo and behold, Microsoft and Powerset are confirming today that an acquisition agreement has been signed. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the rumored $100 million figure [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 5 days ago
As the average consumer embraces ever more complex technology, Verizon is offering a series of classes beginning in New York City to show consumers what their PDAs and smartphones can do for them. I’m sure many of our readers aren’t in need of such a class — which will teach users all about texting, syncing [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 3 days ago
The promise of web video was that cheap cameras, easy editing software and free online distribution would open up new vistas of creativity. Instead we’re just seeing the same things, mostly parodies, over and over. Some are just recycling the same ideas. It’s just becoming faster and easier, which is spawning more of it, as [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 3 days ago
While pop stars’ fortunes these days are heavily dependent on building an online fan base, the reverse is even more true. Social media sites are tripping over themselves to score the one celebrity who will shower them with rabid fans. I’m surprised to see how often the words “The Jonas Brothers” show up in my [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 3 days ago
With the economic slowdown and faltering housing sales, the US broadband growth has hit a speed bump. And that's not good news for broadband providers, who hope to overcome the odds by offering speed boosts. Even that might not be enough. Continue Reading. ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 5 days ago
As important as cloud computing is for startups and random, one-off projects at big companies, it still has a long way to go before it can prove its chops. So let's turn down the noise level and add a dose of reality. Here are 10 reasons enterprises aren't ready to trust the cloud. ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 2 days ago
You just had to squeeze a little more work in on this Fourth of July holiday, didn’t you? Well, we’re glad you stopped by. But before your fire up the BBQ, take a minute to catch up on what you might have missed over at NewTeeVee. A federal judge ordered YouTube to hand over its [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 4 days ago
Vyyo, loosely translated, means “air” in Hindi. And air is what the Norcross, Ga.-based cable broadband equipment maker with that name might have run out of. The company, which used to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker VYYO, is down to some $5.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, according to an SEC filing. The [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 4 days ago
I’ve been in Tel Aviv for almost two days and I still haven’t been able to shake off the jet lag, mostly because I’ve been so busy catching up with old friends, making new ones, and learning all I can about what’s going on in this tiny country, which has the highest number of startups [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 7 hours ago
Founders Gary Swart and Stephen Pieraldi presided over the Venture Capital and Seed Financing Workshop at GigaOM’s recent Structure 08 conference . This week, the pair sat down with Found|READ to share additional lessons from their careers in fundraising. Swart is CEO of oDesk, a staffing platform that lets companies hire and manage their global talent [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 5 days ago
Imagine what it would be like if gas were $7 a gallon, or three and a half times the price at the beginning of last year. According to CIBC World Markets analyst Jeff Rubin, unless something gives, that’s what we can expect two pay — in less than two years time. Earth2Tech has the [...] ...

Source: networks.feedburner.com --- 2 days ago
GigaOM’s Structure 08 event offered a terrific opportunity to survey the changing landscape of computing infrastructure. But as with all technology shifts, innovation won’t just belong to the big established players like VMWare, Amazon, Google, Sun Microsystems, Salesforce.com and NetSuite. With that in mind, Found|READ asked a panel of conference participants to share their thoughts [...] ...