First Solar Chairman and former CEO Michael Ahearn is raising a $300 million venture fund, according to an SEC filing. Will the money be going to solar startups, or even cleantech? Read More »
Archive for January 2011
Groupon may be getting all the headlines lately, but competitor LivingSocial launched a gift-card promotion with Amazon today that shows the kind of marketing power the group-buying company now has at its disposal, as a result of the recent $175-million investment from the online retailing giant. Read More »
Netfix is the primary reason for people to watch online video on their TV set, be it through a connected device, or simply by connecting their computer to the TV. 70 percent of online video viewers watch Netflix this way, according to a new survey. Read More »
Playboy is coming to the iPad starting in March. And that’s not just a big screen conversion of the watered-down app currently available on the iPhone and iPod touch. No, it’s the fully uncensored magazine, both past and current issues. Read More »
You may love social media, but even the biggest fans of the social web will find some sources of frustration. What is your social media pain point? I thought I’d explore some of the main ones I’ve identified and offer up some potential solutions. Read More »
Starbucks is taking mobile payments nationwide with the rollout of payments by smartphone at more than 7,500 locations. The payment system builds off a limited trial from last year and has the potential to push mobile payments into the mainstream for the first time. Read More »
Green IT – doing more computing for less energy — has a couple of potential breakthroughs brewing in 2011. That might give the IT industry a better view of just how important saving energy is for their customers. Read More »
Amazon Web Services, which built and popularized cloud computing with its Elastic Compute Cloud and Simple Storage Service has moved up the stack from infrastructure to providing Amazon Elastic Beanstalk, its brand new Platform-as-a-Service play. With Beanstalk, Amazon hopes to outgrow the competition. Read More »
Gravity Power is developing a new way to store massive amounts of energy for the power grid: gravity and a new invention using pistons, water-filled shafts in the ground and a motor. Read More »
Today on the Internet: MTV discusses its social media strategy for the show Skins; Boxee considers subsidized deals to compete with Apple; and a new upgrade of RealPlayer for Android comes out, based on user feedback. Read More »
Conditions imposed on Comcast and NBC Universal by the FCC and DOJ will require the companies to make their cable content available to new online video distributors. But those over-the-top distributors have some hurdles to jump before the regulatory agencies will enforce those conditions. Read More »
Unlike last quarter, today’s conference call did not include a cameo by iconic CEO Steve Jobs, who announced a leave on absence on Monday. In fact, his name didn’t even come up, and that’s one of five things Apple watchers should know about today’s call. Read More »
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