Apple unveils iAd platform
By John Cook on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 1:40pm PDT
Less than a week after the iPad's debut, Apple continues to shakeup the technology world. (Nearly all of the top stories on the Techmeme tech news aggregation site right now are about Apple). Earlier today, we noted how Apple plans to bring "multitasking" for third party apps to the iPhone and iPod touch as part of the upgrade in the company's mobile operating system. But that's not the only news coming out from the Cupertino, Calif. computer giant (whose market value of $217 billion is fast approaching Microsoft's $262 billion). Apple today also introduced iAd (Yes, yet another offering which uses the letter "I.") The mobile ad platform was expected in part because of Apple's recent purchase of Quattro Wireless. As part of the offering Apple -- which will sell and serve ads -- plans to give app developers 60 percent of the mobile advertising revenue. | | SPONSORED POST | Don't leave money on the table
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By John Cook on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 12:49pm PDT
Allrecipes.com president Lisa Sharples has been promoted at the Reader's Digest Association, taking on the role of president of the community division which oversees all aspects of the company's brand. Sharples -- who will report directly to president and CEO Mary Berner -- will remain in Seattle as part of the promotion. Sharples already was leading the company's digital assets, including the Reader's Digest Web site. In the new role, the tech executive will help the company "leverage its reach through new multimedia platforms." | | SPONSORED POST | Seattle University Software Engineering
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By Todd Bishop on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 10:47am PDT
Down at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters this morning, CEO Steve Jobs announced something that many iPhone application developers have been waiting a long time for: Multitasking for third-party apps. "Happy day," said Bryan Trussel, the CEO of Redmond-based Glympse, when I called and told him the news. "We've been lighting incense and worshipping at the altar of Apple to get that," he joked. The issue is particularly important for Glympse because of the way its service works. People can choose to automatically share their real-time location with other people from their phones. But without the ability to run third-party apps in the background, people who used Glympse on the iPhone had to remain in the app -- without exiting to check email, surf the web or anything else -- to continue sharing their location. | | SPONSORED POST | Attention Web Developers
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By Todd Bishop on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 9:45am PDT
Sure, the technology world is fixated on whatever Apple will be announcing later this morning (and we'll be posting on that, as well) but in terms of pure head-scratchers, the announcement that has been occupying more of my thoughts lately is Microsoft's impending "Project Pink" unveiling next Monday. If you haven't been following this one, the company sent out invites to reporters to an event in San Francisco next week, with the teaser "It's Time to Share." Microsoft, partnering with Verizon Wireless, is widely expected to unveil a new line of phones targeted to younger mobile phone users -- building on the technology that the company picked up through its acquisition of Danger Inc., the company behind T-Mobile's Sidekick. Here are a few of the things I'll be watching when Microsoft makes its announcement next week. | Dendreon hires Roche exec
By John Cook on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 9:30am PDT
Dendreon has made a key hire as it awaits final approval on its Provenge prostate cancer drug. The Seattle biotechnology company today named Varun Nanda -- who most recently served as the senior vice president and global head of oncology at Roche/Genentech -- as senior vice president of global commercial operations. Nanda will oversee a number of functions at the company, including sales and marketing. Of course, that role will become increasingly important in the coming months as Dendreon is expected to rollout Provenge. | TeachStreet shifts to paid listings
By John Cook on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 9:13am PDT
TeachStreet today announced a major overhaul to its business, shifting to a paid model in which teachers who want to be listed in the online directory must pay $3 per month. The company also will continue to operate its Pro membership service in which teachers pay $29.95 per month. It will also reduce payment processing fees from 4.9 percent to 2.9 percent, with Pro members continuing to receive free credit card processing. But the elimination of the free service is a big change for a site that once boasted about its comprehensive directory, and it is unclear how teachers will ultimately react. The Seattle startup plans to implement the changes in the coming weeks, and over time the free listings from yoga, language, cooking and other classes will eventually be phased out. In a blog post, TeachStreet founder Dave Schappell said that he's hopeful that the changes will make the community a "better place for teachers and students." But he also acknowledged that the decision was being driven by economics. | Is Microsoft Bing losing steam?
By Todd Bishop on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 3:08pm PDT
It was more of a flattening out than a significant decline, Google actually fell even more, and one month does not make a trend. That said it's worth noting that Microsoft's Bing search engine experienced a decrease in market share in the U.S. for the first time in four months in March, according to new data from Experian Hitwise. Bing fell to 9.62 percent of the U.S. market in March, from 9.7 percent the month before, the research firm said in a news release today. The report followed three straight months of increases for the Microsoft search engine, as measured by Experian Hitwise. | Kindles headed to Target?
By Eric Engleman on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 2:39pm PDT
Since launching the first Kindle back in 2007, Amazon.com has only sold the electronic readers through its website. But that may be changing, according to Engadget, which reports Kindles may be headed to a Target near you by April 25. Perhaps Amazon sees a greater need for a brick-and-mortar sales channel for its e-readers as competition heats up. Apple is selling the iPad at its own retail stores and at Best Buy; Barnes & Noble sells its Nook reader at its own bookstores (and soon, it's rumored, at Best Buy as well). Update: Amazon shares were up 4.52 percent to $140.96 Thursday in the wake of the Target report. | |
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