TechCrunch

Microsoft’s Next OS To Be Called “Windows 7″. Seriously
Jason Kincaid Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:27:12 -0000
Microsoft has announced that the latest version of Windows, due in the next couple of years, will be called - drumroll please - Windows 7. It's about time Microsoft adopted a naming system that might actually make some sense to users, but I can't wait for hordes of customers to start asking if they somehow missed Windows 1 through 6. Windows has had one of the most ridiculous naming schemes in the history of software. First there were logical (but ugly) version numbers, like the once commonplace "Windows 3.1". Then with the release of the overhauled Windows 95 the company adopted a naming system based on the year of release, which it continued until Windows 98. Windows Me (perhaps the worst operating system I've ever used), sacrificed the scheme for a chance to be clever (it stood for "me" and the millennium at the same time!) Next up we hit Windows XP, which has served most of us reasonably well since 2001. It sounds sort of cool, it's catchy, and we have no idea what it means. Fine.
RjDj Generates An Awesome, Trippy Soundtrack For Your Life
Jason Kincaid Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:30:03 -0000
RjDj, a new iPhone application that was released earlier this week, is one of the coolest things I've seen released on the still fledgling platform. Download it now, if only to try it for a few minutes. You can download the full version for $2.99 here, or you can try out the free version (which only has one 'scene'). The application is difficult to describe and on paper it sounds sort of silly (see the video below for a convincing demonstration). Using the iPhone's built in microphone, the application listens for ambient noise which it then modifies and infuses into an automatically generated dynamic soundtrack. Each of the application's six different "scenes" has a different feel to it, with options like a trance-like beat that might fit in at a club and a track that is based entirely on percussion. Each track also treats the incoming audio differently - some tracks loop the input, while others distort it.
More MashLogic Invites Available on InviteShare
Mark Hendrickson Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:26:11 -0000
We've run out of our 500 pre-allotted beta invites for MashLogic, a new Firefox plugin that puts users in control of website links. But you can get one by putting your name down on InviteShare, where current MashLogic users are encouraged invite up to two people each. Also check out David Cowan's post on the release of MashLogic. Cowan, a partner at Bessemer, describes the plugin as important for restoring Tim Berners-Lee's original vision for the web.
AmEx Card Members, Vote Now And Help DonorsChoose Win $1.5 Million
Erick Schonfeld Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:59:08 -0000
Are you an American Express card holder? Then your vote can help provide supplies to 100,000 school children in the U.S. American Express is giving away $2.5 million to the top charities its members vote for, and DonorsChoose right now is in third place for the top $1.5 million prize. And it is only about 1,000 votes away from second place. There are about six hours left to vote. You can vote here for DonorsChoose, or go here to see all top 25 contenders. (Only AmEx members can vote). We are participating in this year's DonorsChoose Blogger's Challenge, and the top three TechCrunch donors who give at least $1,000 will receive tickets to every TechCrunch event for the next year and a chance at a pitch session with angel investor Ron Conway. (More details here). But if you are have an AmEx account, you might do more good by simply voting. DonorsChoose is an educational charity that lets you find and fund specific teacher's projects. If you want to fund a project directly, you can do so here through TechCrunch. For instance, for only $153 you can buy some Flip video cameras for a class of underprivileged students in Virginia. If you made money in today's market rally, you can afford it. And it is tax deductible.
Can Twitter Authors Capture The Magic Of LonelyGirl15?
Jason Kincaid Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:19:51 -0000
Last year we ran a post introducing the idea of Twitter as a conduit for fiction when we wrote about Twittories, a series of crowdsourced stories comprised of 140 Twitter messages from up to 140 different people. Now it seems that some individual authors are exploring using Twitter as an alternative to the traditional novel. Professional author and freelance writer Nikki Katz has launched her own story called MyLifeIn140 - the tale of a "sixteen-year-old fictional character who learns that she can change her world around her, all by editing photos in her Yearbook room."
Flash Web Editor Wix Raises $3.5 Million, Shows Signs of Early Growth
Erick Schonfeld Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:48:53 -0000
Today, Wix announced that it raised a $3.5 million series B round From Mangrove Capital Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. The Israeli startup offers a Web-based Flash editor for making artful widgets and Websites, but without losing any SEO juice. (I've embedded two examples below). The service has been showing some healthy growth since it launched in public beta last June. Co-CEO Allon Bloch tells me that Wix just crossed the 200,000-user mark, and is adding between 2,000 and 3,000 a day. These users are creating 2,000 new Web pages and widgets every day (the split is about 75/25 in favor of full-blown Web pages on MySpace and elsewhere). In September, says Bloch, Wix content across the Web generated 20 million pageviews, up from 13 million in August.

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