TechCrunch

LiveUniverse Buys Another Loser: Peerflix
Jason Kincaid Sat, 06 Sep 2008 02:01:21 -0000
We're getting reports that Peerflix, the tumultuous company that switched from acting as a DVD-swapping service to an ad network, has been acquired by Brad Greenspan's LiveUniverse for an undisclosed amount (though we're guessing it's pretty low). We've asked LiveUniverse to comment. Peerflix was founded in 2004 as a "peer-to-peer Netflix", helping users to swap DVDs they owned for a dollar. The site abandoned the flat fixed pricing scheme for a demand-based model in 2006, but that didn't work well either: in November 2007 it decided to launch a media network that had nothing to do with its original DVD swapping service. Peerflix finally canned the DVD trading business earlier this year, so Live Universe is acquiring it solely for its ad network.
Shasta Ventures Expands Team
Michael Arrington Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:18:23 -0000
Shasta Ventures, a venture fund managing $460 million and investments in startups like Mint, Flock and Turn, has promoted Jason Pressman to Managing Director and added a new associate, Evan Liang, to the team.
SideTaker: Crowdsourcing Your Private Disputes, With Hilarious Results
Jason Kincaid Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:45:19 -0000
Every couple has its ups and downs, but most people try to keep their dirty laundry to themselves. But what about those times when you just can't come to an agreement with your significant other? Today sees the launch of SideTaker a site that asks couples to upload both sides of their arguments and let the crowd settle their debates. SideTaker members can vote on which side they agree with, or leave comments to ask for further details or voice their opinions. The site is hilarious. Disputes range from cheating spouses to toilet flushing, oftentimes filled with more detail than anyone would want to know.
MyAWOL Becomes LP33.TV, Launches IMDB For Musicians
Jason Kincaid Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:35:19 -0000
Last July I wrote about MyAWOL, a web-centric music label looking to compete with traditional labels, which are becoming increasingly less relevant as artists turn to digital distribution methods to gain exposure. While the site has the potential to break some new ground in the online music world, it has run into a major snag during its buildup to launch: its name sounds almost exactly like My.AOL when spoken aloud. In light of this, the company has decided to rename the site to LP33.TV, which should hopefully be less confusing. LP33 is more memorable, but I think the company should consider dropping the .TV extension entirely since they already own the .com. Along with the name change, LP33.TV is also launching its database for music industry professionals, TheMIDB, which hopes to fulfill the same role as the movie and television industry's popular IMDB. The derivative name will probably confuse just about everyone, but at least it makes the site's purpose clear.
Tatango Opens Their Group SMS Service To The Public
Greg Kumparak Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:35:06 -0000
Tatango, the ad-supported group SMS service previously known as networkText, spent the last few months in a private beta following a functional and visual overhaul and a round of funding by Bellingham Angel Organization. Now everyone is free to get in on the group texting good times; they’ve opened the doors to the public. The service is dead simple to use, as it should be. I made the jump from accountless bum to en masse messaging mogul in all of about 2 minutes.
Google’s Picasa Moves Onto Flickr’s Turf: Adds Ways To Explore Interesting Public Photos
Erick Schonfeld Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:21:40 -0000
On the heels of a major upgrade earlier this week that added facial recognition and video-editing features to its Picasa photo management service, Google added a new Explore page today that shows off the most popular public photos uploaded by members. In addition to the featured photos, shown in a 3 X 4 grid, the Explore page also shows the most recent photos uploaded in a slide-show widget. Below, it offers a list of the most popular tags. For instance, here are pictures tagged "New York." The Picasa Explore page also has a Where In The World? game that is mashup opf geotagged photos and Google Maps. It shows you a photo and you have to guess where it was taken. If you guess wrong, it tells you how far off you are in kilometers. This is fun for outdoor photos, but when people upload geotagged photos of a generic apartment of a plate of food, it can become tricky.

InternetNews Realtime News for IT Managers

KVM vs. Xen vs. VMware. Is it a Hypervisor War?
Competitors weigh in on the open source virtualization market shakeup.
Samsung Buying SanDisk? Rumor Mill Heats Up
That's one way for Samsung to get out of its $400 million yearly royalty payment to SanDisk
Boon Time for Storage Players
Vendors reaping revenue, but the good times won't last forever.

 

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404 CNET News.com - Mozilla comes of age

CNET News.com - On the Net, there is such a thing as free labor. ODP and AOL use of volunteers.
Meta Description: [ On the Net, there is such a thing as free labor | Some Internet companies lean heavily on volunteer labor, raising the question of whether they will pay more in the future. | September 7, 1999, 5:00 AM PT | Jim Hu ]

CNET News.com - Netscape to launch user-driven directory.
Meta Description: [ Netscape to launch user-driven directory | Hoping to attract surfers that want a more human touch to their Web searches, Netcenter is launching a directory compiled and edited by volunteers. | January 24, 1999, 8:40 PM PT | Jim Hu ]

CNN - Search engines to fit any style - Danny Sullivan article
Meta Description: [ Like fashion designers, search engine proprietors are constantly coming out with new looks. ]

Internet.com - Perlhoo Featured on Internet.com's WebReference Site

Netscape Launches Next Generation Internet Search Service - The search is based on the Open Directory Project, which currently offers 675,000 sites in over 100,000 categories and from 229 countries in 44 languages. If you type a search term that doesn't appear in the Open Directory, Netscape queries meta-search engine Google, which quickly pops up results.
Meta Description: [ Start your Internet experience at AOL.com and find what you are looking for; including AOL downloads, video on demand, email, and more. ]

New York Times - Changes in Search Industry Create Strange Bedfellows [registration required]

500 PC Week - Portals to glean open directories
Meta Description: [ Blogs on technology, for business and IT professionals. Updated daily,ZDNet Blogs provides analysis, expertise, and a filter on the news. RSS feeds available for all blogs. ]

404 PC World - Lycos Wants You to Rank the Web

404 PC World News - Netscape's Volunteer Army Indexes Web

San Jose Business Journal - Online directories beginning to charge
Meta Description: [ American City Business Journals Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of metropolitan business newspapers, serving 41 of the country's most vibrant markets. ]

San Jose Mercury News - Can Open Directory survive at portals geared to commerce?

Search Engine Laisha's List - The history of the Open Directory Project.

Search Engine Watch - Netscape Integrates Directory
Meta Description: [ Netscape has created a branded version of the former NewHoo directory that it acquired last November and begun integrating it into the Netscape site. ]

Search Engine Watch - Lycos Transforms Into Directory
Meta Description: [ In an unprecedented move, Lycos changed itself in April from a crawler-based search engine into a Yahoo-like directory of web sites. Never before has a major crawler-based service abandoned automation in preference to human categorization. Even more dramatic is the fact that Lycos is getting its ... ]

Searchenginewatch - The 'New' AltaVista
Meta Description: [ With great fanfare, the "new" AltaVista was launched last week. Now owned by CMGI, the revamped service is being firmly targeted as a challenger against more established portals such as Yahoo, Excite and Lycos. ]

Searchenginewatch - AOL Search Big Improvement For Members
Meta Description: [ The old AOL NetFind service never really offered any particular advantages to AOL members, who were its main users. In contrast, the new AOL Search service should be a top choice for AOL's millions of members. That's because for the first time, you can search for information within AOL and across... ]

TechWeb - Yahoo Gets 'Open Content' With GeoCities Deal

Webreference - Netscape's Open Directory Project aims to out-Yahoo

Wired News - Lycos Embraces Open Web Index.
Meta Description: [ Get Wired's take on technology business news and the Silicon Valley scene including IT, media, mobility, broadband, video, design, security, software, networking and internet startups on Wired.com ]

404 Wired.com - Lycos and Hotbot make use of ODP data
Meta Description: [ Read in-depth coverage of current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, politics, and culture at Wired.com. ]

500 ZDNet - Netscape Promotes Open Directory
Meta Description: [ Blogs on technology, for business and IT professionals. Updated daily,ZDNet Blogs provides analysis, expertise, and a filter on the news. RSS feeds available for all blogs. ]

500 ZDNet - Netscape Improves Search Service
Meta Description: [ Blogs on technology, for business and IT professionals. Updated daily,ZDNet Blogs provides analysis, expertise, and a filter on the news. RSS feeds available for all blogs. ]

PC World - Lycos Wants You to Rank the Web

PC World News - Netscape's Volunteer Army Indexes Web