Home / mashable.com rss archive / October-01-2007


Microsoft Acquires Social Shopping Network Jellyfish
We’ve just caught wind that Microsoft has acquired Jellyfish, the Wisconsin-based social shopping site. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the official announcement has not yet been made, but is expected very soon. It’s expected that Jellyfish will be incorporated into Windows Live search, but its extensive social networking components [...]

TIOTIs Social TV Guide Officially Launched
TIOTI, which stands for Tape It Off The Internet, is officially launching tomorrow. What started early last year as a TV guide meets YouTube meets BitTorrent, TIOTI has been laying pretty low for nearly a year. A lot has changed within the industry since then, from social search engines and bookmarking sites [...]

Germany Doesnt Like the Idea of Google-DoubleClick
While Google and Microsoft attend Senate hearings in the US regarding the Google-DoubleClick acquisition to represent opposing sides of the issue, the data protection commissioner of the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has spoken out against the purchase as well. The commissioner says that this merger would lead to a “massive violation of data [...]

Proximics Contextual Content Widget
Proximic, a Germany-based startup, has developed a contextually dynamic ad widget that publishers can include on their site for added value to readers and themselves. This is an extension of the browser plug-in launched by Proximic to offer you contextual content as you surf the web, similar to BlogRovr. However, there aren’t any [...]

Coghead XP for Extreme Programming Task Management
Coghead is offering a new web-based app that automates project management tasks for software development teams using the Extreme Programming (XP) methodology. Enter Coghead XP. This tool spurs communication between project managers, programmers, and users with various programming tasks. These revolve around your releases, resources, processes and stories. They’re automatically [...]

Predictify Wants to Pay You For Your Accuracy
Predictify is yet another player in the land of prediction platform sites to launch as of late.It seems like everyone wants to know the future, and there are plenty of sites out there to help you do just that. (We reviewed ZiiTrend just last week) This one however comes with a new twist; [...]

SugarLoving is Link Love
Sugar Publishing, the company behind PopSugar, has just launched a Digg clone for you to give and get some link love. It’s called SugarLoving, and it is a sweeter version of digg. The biggest differentiating factor with SugarLoving is the position of link love, as opposed to competing with everyone else for a top [...]

MoFuse to Launch Tool for Mobile Web Site Creation
MoFuse, a web application that allows content publishers to easily and instantly create a mobile version of their blog or website, will be launching in a few weeks. MoFuse uses the RSS feed of a blog or website as its main source. It then feeds it into a chosen template which can be accessed [...]

Harvard Grads Prep to Lampoon Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg may not have graduated from Harvard, but his schoolmates sure haven’t forgotten him.In a reported five-figure deal, two recent Harvard grads, Greg Atwan and Evan Lushing, are prepping a satire of Facebook. While there are not many details yet about what The Facebook Book will cover, it is sure to be a [...]

Wetpaints Whiteboard App for Facebook
Wetpaint is launching a whiteboard application for Facebook. Now you can collaborate on a whiteboard with friends–wiki style. The Wetpaint Facebook app isn’t live yet, but will be available to all starting tomorrow. You’ll also need to first join the Wetpaint group in order to access the Facebook application. There [...]

United Arab Emirates Block Facebook
The UAEs major ISP, Etisalat, appears to have blocked Facebook. Users are reportedly seeing either an Arabic message explaining the block (shown below), or simply seeing a bogus 404 page when attempting to access Facebook. Earlier this year, the UAE temporarily blocked Orkut.Disabling social networks is becoming increasingly popular in repressive regimes, with [...]

Windows Live Tweaks Ad Algorithm to Focus on Quality
Windows Live is making some changes to its live search as part of the Live Search 2.0 launch, which make the algorithm for ad placement more flexible to match the increasingly dynamic market for ads. These changes are based on Quality Ranking, where ads that “score” above the mainline threshold get more prominent placement. [...]

Googles Crumbling Answer to Privacy Groups: Break It Up.
During an address to the Senate regarding its pending acquisition of advertising company DoubleClick, Google has proposed a “crumbled cookies” approach to the retention of personal data. This means that information gathered from an individual computer will be broken into pieces and saved in separate places, in order to preserve the privacy of users. [...]

Pay-Per-Post Gears Up to Launch Argus
Pay-per-Post is getting ready to launch a new program called Argus. There aren’t many details that have been released about Argus just yet, but it’s posed as another disrupter in the world of blogging where advertisers and writers heavily interact. Argust is scheduled to go live in November, and will basically enable bloggers [...]

YouTube & HP Filmmakers Contest Starts Friday
Project Direct is a joint project being launched on YouTube and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. Aspiring filmmakers are invited to submit short films between 2 and 7 minutes long. The contest runs from October 7 to November 9, 2007, and the seven countries that can participate include the US, the UK, Brazil, Canada, [...]

Facebook Wins Dispute Over face-book.com
Facebook lawyers recently succeeded in a domain dispute with an outfit from the Isle of Mann named YOLAPT - a company which filled the url face-book.com with advertisements for “Russian brides” and “Older Women.” YOLAPT registeredthe domain several months after Mark Zuckerberg initially launched thefacebook.com exclusively for Harvard students. Considering the close proximityof the registrationdates, [...]

AT&T Censors Negative Comments from Customers
Reading the fine print on AT&T’s new terms of service contractis not a priority for most customers. This may change, however, since the communications provider can apparently disconnect your servicefor spreading negativemessages through blog posts or other mediums. Check out the company’s statement: AT&T may immediately terminate or suspend all or a portion of your [...]

GlowDays Over-Indulged Survey Widgets
GlowDay is a survey widget creation tool and community. The site is currently in private beta, and it should stay that way for a little while longer. There are tons of features for creating and customizing your own survey widget, but the actual creation of a widget isn’t intuitive in the slightest, [...]

Microsoft Prepares to Launch Second Generation Zune
Bill Gates will join Design and Development Chief J Allard to introduce a next generation Zune at an event in Redmond tomorrow. Both Gates and Allard are expected to discuss long-term strategy for the Zune and also introduce several new features. Most notably, this installment will include a flash based memory. The [...]

Microsoft Launches Startup Fund in London
Microsoft has launched a UK startup fund called the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Programme. It’s designed to work with startups in the UK that are interested in using some of Microsoft’s products, like Silverlight and Live Services, which is Microsoft’s suite of web-based applications. Five companies have joined the program so far, including [...]

Trillian Astra Integrates Web Services with User Profiles
Trillian Astra, a multi-protocol instant messaging client from Cerulean Studios, now allows its alpha testers to spice up their profile with links to their accounts on different web services including Bebo, Facebook, Flickr, and MySpace. These web services are part of its latest build implemented over the weekend. As a tool for accessing [...]

Technorati Names New CEO
Blog search engine Technorati has just named a new CEO: Richard Jalichandra. Jalichandra replaces Dave Sifry, who resigned as CEO abruptly in August before a replacement had even been named. Previously, Jalichandra was serving as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Battery Ventures, where he was an advisor to MyYearbook and Pixsy.Sifry writes:As Technorati moves from [...]

Mashable-Sponsored Mashup Challenge Starts Today
The Mashup Challenge launches today, and Mashable is a sponsor, so we thought you might be interested. This quarterly contest is designed to encourage innovation for mashups, and push a higher standard for these applications. Participants get 90 days to complete a mashup from a unique list of 5 randomly [...]

Hook Up Facebook Friends with DatesGoWild
BetsGoWild has launched its second Facebook application: this one is for dating. The application is designed to help break the ice between you and your date, and the fun part is seeing what your friends think about the match ups. DatesGoWild lets you “create” dating situations and get your friends to [...]

Lookabees Facebook Apps for Teachers
Lookabee has also launched a platform for teachers to create their own Facebook applications to keep in touch with students. This pilot program is being spearheaded by James Levy, a former developer for Box.net. The applications will enable teachers to hand out homework assignments, class notes, etc. It’s built off the [...]

Podango Adds Kiptronics Video Advertising Network
Podango, the online video network, has partnered with Kiptronic, the podcasting ad network. The deal will integrate Kiptronic’s dynamic ad insertion into its P2 Platform for publishers, and both companies will be selling advertising in each others’ network. A key point for Kiptronic’s advertising tools is that it doesn’t need to be on [...]

Yahoo oneSearch Powering Telefonicas Mobile Search
Yahoo! oneSearch will now be the search engine partner for powering Telefonica’s local subsidiaries’ mobile search. The deal also entails Telefonica’s integration of Flickr and Yahoo Mail into its mobile Internet offerings. Telefonica’s mobile portals in 15 countries, including hose in Europe and Latin America, will now have search powered by [...]

Nokia Acquires Navteq GPS for $8.1 Billion!
Nokia has announced its plans to acquire digital mapping company Navteq for $8.1 billion. The acquisition of Chicago-based Navteq is pending approval by regulators and Navteq shareholders. I imagine this won’t be a problem for shareholders as the price of $8.1 billion amounts to $78 in cash for each Navteq share– a [...]

Bebo and Atlantic Records to Place Music Act in KateModern
Bebo and Atlantic Records UK have formed a partnership to integrate the band The Days into episodes of KateModern, the web-based drama that airs exclusively on the social networking site. The marketing effort is set to coincide with the release of the bands upcoming album, Evil Girls.KateModern will feature performances from the band, as [...]

Blinkx Signs Content Deal with CelebTV
Video search engine Blinkx has signed a deal to index content from entertainment site CelebTV. CelebTV publishes daily Hollywood news in video format, ranging from celebrity gossip to fashion tips. Under the deal, CelebTVs video content will be now searchable by Blinkx users. Blinkx claims to have more than 14 million hours [...]

Former Googlers Team Up to Launch FriendFeed
FriendFeed is a new service that applies the concept of the Facebook News Feed to see what your friends are sharing on various web sites. For example, you can see what songs your friends are listening to on last.fm, what movies they have added to their Netflix, or new photos they have published to [...]

BBC Worldwide Acquires Lonely Planet
BBC Worldwide, the international arm of BBC, has acquired Lonely Planet, the Australia-based travel information group. The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler get to keep a 25% share in the company. Lonely Planet has been creating travel guides and programming for channels like [...]

Wikinvest Gets $2.5M in Series A Round
Wikinvest, the wiki community for stock junkies, is officially launching today, with $2.5 million in a Series A round of funding, led by DCM venture capital firm. You’ll remember that wikinvest operates around individual contributions to information regarding the stock market, all within the transparent community consisting of wikis. Establish yourself as [...]

Microsoft Office Live Workspace Coming Soon
Microsoft has announced its competitor to Google Docs & Spreadsheets: Microsoft Office Live Workspace. Rather than offer a web-based version of all of its office products, Office Live Workspace will be an extension of Microsofts leading desktop applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation software. The feature will allow people to store and [...]

Radiohead to Let Fans Pick the Price for New Album
Radiohead will be offering its newest album by digital download, allowing fans to pay whatever they think is a fair price for their newest 10 songs. The band will allow users to pay a minimum of 1 pence (plus a 45p credit card processing fee) to download the In Rainbows album from the bands [...]

eBay Desktop Runs On AIR
eBay is another company that’s created a new tool on Adobe AIR, and will be announcing it at the Adobe MAX event this week. The new product is called eBay Desktop and it of course runs both online and offline. Previously referred to by the code name “eBay Disruptive Innovation program,” its [...]

Skype Co-Founder Resigns as CEO
Niklas Zennstrom, who co-founded Skype and had served as CEO since eBay acquired the company, has resigned. He will remain as the non-executive chairman of Skypes Board of Directors. Michael van Swaaij will become interim CEO of Skype. Previously, vann Swaaij was serving as eBay’s Chief Strategy Officer.Additionally, eBay announced that [...]

Adobe to Acquire Makers of Web-Based Word Processor Buzzword
Adobe Systems has acquired Virtual Ubiquity, the parent company of the Buzzword web-based word processing software. Buzzword was built using Adobe Flex and runs in the Adobe Flash Player, making it a logical fit for the software company. Additionally, users can use Buzzword both online and offline using Adobe AIR. Much like Google [...]

Krillions StockCheck Offers Real Time Search Data
Krillion, the local search service for purchase-ready buyers, is adding a new feature called StockCheck. This will display the in-store availability for items you’re searching. The data for inventory is real-time, so this should make it much easier for users to find the best store with the best prices and product availability. [...]

Playyoos Mobile Gaming Community Launches with Contest for Developers
London-based Playyoo is getting ready to launch an online community for mobile game creators and players. In preparation for this upcoming community, Playyoo is offering up its SDK to independent mobile game developers using Adobe Flash Lite technology. The team will be announcing this at Adobe MAX this week. This sneak [...]