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<title>Haaze.com / rubultya / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Kinect developer claims credit for hack bounty idea]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kinect-developer-claims-credit-for-hack-bounty-idea</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kinect-developer-claims-credit-for-hack-bounty-idea</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 08:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Gaming</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=kinect-developer-claims-credit-for-hack-bounty-idea</guid>
<description><![CDATA[On Monday, Microsoft announced the Windows SDK for Kinect, and just hours later, a former core member of the Kinect team said he had been behind the idea for a bounty to hack the hit motion controller. (Credit:Microsoft)Just after Microsoft announced a Windows software development kit for its hit Kinect motion controller today, a former &quot;core&quot; member of the device's development team said the idea for a bounty contest to hack the Kinect was his.In a post on his personal blog, former Kinect team &quot;core contributor&quot; Johnny Lee said that he was happy to see news of the new SDK from Microsoft and that it was something he'd been promoting internally before he left in January to join Google as a &quot;rapid evaluator.&quot; In the post, Lee also revealed a &quot;secret&quot; about the bounty offered by the open-source hardware firm Adafruit Industries, and its principals, Phil Torrone and Limor Fried. I actually have a secret to share on this topic. Back in the late Summer of 2010, trying to argue for the most basic level of PC support for Kinect from within Microsoft, to my immense disappointment, turned out to be really grinding against the corporate grain at the time (for many reasons I won't enumerate here). When my frustration peaked, I decided to approach AdaFruit to put on the Open Kinect contest. For obvious reasons, I couldn't run the contest myself. Besides, Phil and Limor did a phenomenal job, much better than I could have done. Without a doubt, the contest had a significant impact in raising awareness about the potential for the Kinect outside ofXbox gaming both inside and outside the company. Best $3000 I ever spent.In its own blog post, Adafruit wrote today that &quot;Johnny approached us (while at Microsoft, he's now at Google) and we said we'd help out--so, we reverse engineered the Kinect on our own, started the contest, posted the USB logs to GitHub--and then Hector won. Since we didn't need to put up all the cash ourselves, a chunk went to the EFF. It was a little spy vs. spy for us to keep Johnny safe, and that also made it (more) fun.&quot;Neither Microsoft nor Lee immediately responded to a request for comment.For those who have watched the Kinect hacking community blossom almost overnight in the wake of the offering of the bounty last November, Lee's admission is surely worth a big smile. That someone internal and central to the Kinect team was the one behind the push to the hacking world to break the new device is certainly a delicious development. Clearly, Lee wanted Microsoft to open up the device from the get-go, and when corporate politics made that impossible, it seems he went underground and took matters into his own hands.Almost immediately after Kinect hacking became a reality--just days after the offer of the bounty, an event that itself happened the same day as the device was released--talk started that Microsoft would eventually release an SDK. Despite word from Microsoft at the time that it would &quot;work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant,&quot; it wasn't long before two members of the Kinect team went on National Public Radio and told listeners that on the one hand, the Kinect interface had been left unprotected &quot;by design&quot; and that on the other, they were &quot;inspired&quot; by the community finding new uses for Kinect.It's hard to say, of course, if Microsoft would have moved so quickly to put out an SDK if hackers hadn't more or less forced the issue. But now that nearly anyone using Windows will be able to develop their own uses for the motion controller, it would be logical to conclude that, with Microsoft's blessing, the sky may well be the limit for what programmers can do with the device.One can assume, however, that Microsoft will find ways to restrict how Kinect can be used in conjunction with adult-oriented games and software. And if that's the case, then it is also probably safe to assume that the hacking community will just have to work on that itself.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[CES: Sony, Lenovo look to move beyond Netbooks]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-sony-lenovo-look-to-move-beyond-netbooks</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-sony-lenovo-look-to-move-beyond-netbooks</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Business &amp; Finance</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ces-sony-lenovo-look-to-move-beyond-netbooks</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Sony will move beyond traditional Netbooks, a market it has never fully embraced, while Lenovo is making a case for these more powerful, but small laptops already. Lenovo&amp;39's 11.6-inch ThinkPad X120e looks like a Netbook but, like the 11.6-inch MacBook Air, offers better performance. (Credit:Lenovo)Sony will move its Netbook-class laptops up-market with Advanced Micro Devices newest Brazos processors, according to sources. Those AMD chips integrate two processing cores and graphics silicon with robust performance--the latter feature a major departure from Intel's Atom, the standard for Netbooks. &quot;Sony wants to get out of Netbooks,&quot; one source said. Intel has &quot;created a great opening for AMD. They can now drive a big truck through that [performance] gap and gain a bunch of loyalty with&quot; PC makers,&quot; said the source.When contacted, Sony would not comment. And, today, Lenovo announced what it is calling an &quot;ultraportable&quot;--the 11.6-inch ThinkPad X120e. &quot;Integrating an AMD Fusion E-Series [processor] gives users 65 percent faster graphics performance,&quot; according to Lenovo's release. These new AMD-based systems from Sony and Lenovo--expected to make an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show this week--are not labeled Netbooks. Lenovo's X120e, for example, has the same screen size as Apple's 11.6-inch MacBook Air ultraportable laptop. Intel says the competition was not unforeseen. &quot;We always expected to compete with AMD in this space, and I guess this is further proof that the death of the Netbook has been greatly exaggerated,&quot; said Intel spokesman Bill Kircos, in a statement. &quot;Over the past two years, we've learned that size, connectivity, battery life and price matter most in companion PC devices like Netbooks, and that's where our priorities are,&quot; he said. Sony has been marketing the Vaio W series of Netbooks. But the PC maker may exit the low-cost, traditional Netbook business in the U.S.(Credit:Sony)Sony currently markets the Vaio W series of Netbooks that sport Intel Atom processors and are priced from $449 on Sony's Web site. At the high end, Sony also has the 1.6-pound Vaio X series based on Atom processors. But Sony has been careful not to call the Vaio X a Netbook. Both Vaio X models are currently being discounted. For example, the lower-end model has been cut to $1,099 from $1,299. The new AMD-based Sony models will be dropped into a non-Netbook price band, above $500. &quot;Sony is more of a premium brand and this makes sense for them from that perspective,&quot; said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC. Another analyst says AMD-based systems bode ill for Netbooks using Intel's Atom chip. &quot;These higher-end products may work to snuff out the traditional Netbook market,&quot; said Richard Shim, an analyst at DisplaySearch. &quot;The market liked the price [of Netbooks] but didn't like the performance,&quot; said Nathan Brookwood, the principal analyst at Insight64. Toshiba is also set to bring out an AMD-based system--what Toshiba's European release says is &quot;much more than a normal Netbook.&quot; But Intel is adamant that the Atom-based Netbook still has plenty of life left. &quot;CES attendees will see some very cool, ultra-sleek Netbooks with outstanding battery life, and plans for Intel to adopt popular and unique features like Wireless Display in future Netbooks. All told, we expect some 100 new Netbook and tablet devices coming to market in the coming months on top of all those already on retail shelves,&quot; Kircos said. Both Intel's Atom and AMD's Brazos processors fuse the central processing unit, or CPU, with the graphics processing unit, or GPU. Intel has been doing this since last year, while AMD is doing this for the first time. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[New scam tactic: Fake disk defraggers]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-scam-tactic-fake-disk-defraggers</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-scam-tactic-fake-disk-defraggers</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Dec 2010 08:10:33 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=new-scam-tactic-fake-disk-defraggers</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Beware of this fake disk defragger program. (Credit:GFI Labs)We've all heard about fake antivirus programs, also known as scareware. These programs falsely claim that your computer is infected with malware and prompt you to buy a product that will do nothing for you, except put your credit card number into the hands of criminals. Well now there are fake disk defraggers that masquerade as applications that fix disk errors on a computer. In a post today the GFI Labs (formerly Sunbelt Software) blog Dubbed the programs FakeAV-Defrag rogues and said they had names like HDDDiagnostic, HDDRepair, HDDRescue, and HDDPlus. It would appear that the scammers are trying out the new programs to see which might best confuse potential victims and evade detection by legitimate antivirus software. The defragger clones emerged last month with names like UltraDefragger, ScanDisk and WinHDD and which pretended to find &quot;HDD read/write errors. Earlier this month, there was PCoptimizer, PCprotection Center, and Privacy Corrector that were more generic security products rather than specifically antivirus, the post says. Computer users should be suspicious of applications that are advertised via e-mail, pop up warnings about problems (especially immediately after you click on a Web page video), demand that you make a purchase before it will fix the problems, and prompt you to update your browser, GFI Labs said. If you aren't sure if a program is legitimate, you can search by the name on a search engine or on GFI Labs' site. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Red Foundry Raises $1.1 Million To Help Create And Manage iOS&nbsp'Apps]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=red-foundry-raises-1-1-million-to-help-create-and-manage-iosnbspapps</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=red-foundry-raises-1-1-million-to-help-create-and-manage-iosnbspapps</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=red-foundry-raises-1-1-million-to-help-create-and-manage-iosnbspapps</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Chicago-based mobile app development startup Red Foundry has raised $1.1 million in Series A funding from OCA Ventures and I2A Fund. Red Foundry, which is in private beta, develops a SaaS that allows users with limited technology experience to create and manage iOS apps. We have 200 invites for TechCrunch readers with the code &amp;''TechCrunch&amp;'' here. Red Foundry&amp;'s software allows users to create professional-looking iPhone and iPad apps that include menus, RSS feeds, images, videos, maps and more. Apps have built in sharing options like Twitter, Facebook, email, and comments and include a built-in storage and delivery solution. The platform allows you to visualize test apps, handle remote content updates without requiring app resubmission, and features a one-click submission to the App Store. And Red Foundry handles all the logistics with the App Store approval process. Beyond just being able to create and publish apps, Red Foundry also includes analytics, which allows activity reporting by timeframe, geography, loyalty, device, app version, and more. And the software features the ability to deliver push notifications to apps targeted by location, social activities and more. Of course, the mobile app development space is chock full of competitors including Mobile Roadie, iSites, and AppMakr. But Red Foundry is hoping to differentiate itself by moving away from the consulting business, meaning the startup&amp;'s software automates the development the apps and Red Foundry doesn&amp;'t actually participate in the creation process. And the startup says that its platform is so easy to use that users with no development experience can create and manage apps. The company is currently close to signing deals to license the software to several big-name media companies. CrunchBase InformationRed FoundryInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[GreenBeat in pictures: John Doerr, Vinod Khosla, and more]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=greenbeat-in-pictures-john-doerr-vinod-khosla-and-more</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=greenbeat-in-pictures-john-doerr-vinod-khosla-and-more</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=greenbeat-in-pictures-john-doerr-vinod-khosla-and-more</guid>
<description><![CDATA[VentureBeat held its big cleantech conference this week, GreenBeat 2010, at Stanford University. Our lead green writer, Iris Kuo, has already reviewed one of the conferencea4a4s big themes &amp;8212' that data may be the next big wave in cleantech.Looking beyond the ideas, herea4a4s a gallery of photos from the event, taken by Dean Takahashi. In the image above, VentureBeat founder Matt Marshall welcomes attendees to the conference.Kevin Dasso, senior director of transmission and distribution at PG&amp;amp'E, talks about why utility companies must evolve.Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla discusses the smart grid, warning against hype and wishful thinking.Stanford professor Yi Cui looks ahead at the future of storage.Note that VentureBeat Executive Editor Owen Thomas is wearing a green shirt in keeping with the conference theme.John Doerr, a venture capitalist whose investments include Amazon and Google, considers the cleantech investment landscape and says the industry is waiting for its a4ANetscape momenta4 &amp;8212' which could come next year.Katie Fehrenbacher of the Earth2Tech blog moderates a panel on the role that consumer behavior plays in saving energy. From left to right, the panel included Scott Hublou of EcoFactor, Rod Morris of Opower, Google green energy czar Bill Wiehl, and Saul Zambrano of PG&amp;amp'E.This is probably a good time to mention once again that GreenBeat wouldna4a4t have happened without the eventa4a4s sponsors and especially our co-hosts, SSE Labs.Next Story: Apple fails to fix iPhone Daylight Savings Time alarm bug for US Previous Story: Week in review: BlueGlass challenges Demand Media with new publishing toolPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: GreenBeat, GreenBeat 2010People: Bill Wiehl, John Doerr, Katie Fehrenbacher, Kevin Dasso, Matt Marshall, Owen Thomas, Rod Morris, Saul Zambrano, Scott Hublou, Vinod Khosla, Yi Cui          Tags: GreenBeat, GreenBeat 2010People: Bill Wiehl, John Doerr, Katie Fehrenbacher, Kevin Dasso, Matt Marshall, Owen Thomas, Rod Morris, Saul Zambrano, Scott Hublou, Vinod Khosla, Yi CuiAnthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Is Google&'s data spat with Facebook a prelude to social war]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=is-googlersquos-data-spat-with-facebook-a-prelude-to-social-war</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=is-googlersquos-data-spat-with-facebook-a-prelude-to-social-war</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=is-googlersquos-data-spat-with-facebook-a-prelude-to-social-war</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Last weeka4a4s dispute between Google and Facebook continued today over a rather arcane topic &amp;8212' data portability.Google appeared to pick a fight last week, when it changed its terms of service to block an application from importing your Google contacts if that application doesn&amp;'t allow you to later export that data to another app. It was obviously a move to block Facebook, and Google even released a statement saying that the social network and sites with similar policies a4Aleave users in a data dead end.a4Last night, TechCrunch reported that Facebook has created a workaround &amp;8212' a single page where users can select one button to download their Google contacts onto their computer desktop, then another to upload the file into Facebook. Users could already do this on their own, but the simple two-button approach makes it much easier.Then Google responded by sending out the following statement to a bunch of tech reporters this morning:We&amp;'re disappointed that Facebook didn&amp;'t invest their time in making it possible for their users to get their contacts out of Facebook.  As passionate believers that people should be able to control the data they create, we will continue to allow our users to export their Google contacts.At first, the whole exchange seems a bit strange. Is it fair for Google to ask, a4AWhy should we share our data with you if youa4a4re not sharing anything with usa4 Sure. But the company seems to be devoting a lot of self-righteousness to a relatively minor feature.The argument makes more sense in the context of a larger competition between Google and Facebook. Google executives have complained that too much data is locked up inside Facebook and hidden from search engines, a situation exacerbated (from Googlea4a4s perspective) by Facebooka4a4s decision to share some of that social data with Googlea4a4s competitor Bing.Meanwhile, Google is working on its own social products. While the exact nature of those products remains unclear, we and other reporters have heard that Facebook is developing its own improvements as a way to fight back. Google has struggled with its social networking strategy in the past, and once these skirmishes turn into a real social battle, the search giant could be at an even bigger disadvantage if Facebook can access Googlea4a4s social data, while Facebooka4a4s social data is blocked off from Google.Next Story: Get Matt Marshall&amp;'s take on the business cloud live &amp;8212' register now to reserve your spot Previous Story: Online game firm Gazillion raises $60MPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: data portabilityCompanies: Facebook, Google          Tags: data portabilityCompanies: Facebook, GoogleAnthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gawker peeks into the war room of the hackers at Anonymous]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gawker-peeks-into-the-war-room-of-the-hackers-at-anonymous</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gawker-peeks-into-the-war-room-of-the-hackers-at-anonymous</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gawker-peeks-into-the-war-room-of-the-hackers-at-anonymous</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Anonymous, the internet hacker group that has law enforcers chasing after it for various cyber attacks, may not be so anonymous for long.Web news site Gawker has published a story that describes the inner workings of the internet &amp;''hacktivist&amp;'' group, which has carried out a series of high-profile cyber attacks against establishment organizations. And the chat logs show a big rift within the ranks of the group that may result in the outing of its members.If the logs are true and they result in some arrests, it shows the internet doesn&amp;'t always guarantee anonymity to those who wish it, and that there is always some kind of loose thread that can be unraveled by journalists or investigators.Right now, it&amp;'s hard to tell if the logs are the work of irreverent anti-establishment hacktivists or a bunch of teens joking around. Gawker says it has chat logs of internet chat rooms for the group that ostensibly runs Anonymous and directs its attacks against various internet targets. If the chat logs are real, then those Anonymous leaders are likely to be hunted down by authorities.The group made headlines when it took revenge against companies like PayPal and MasterCard when they denied service to Wikileaks, the site dedicated to leaking official secrets.In what some observers called a cyber war, Anonymous claimed to have launched a bunch of attacks in December that took down PayPal, MasterCard, and the Westboro Baptist Church&amp;'s web sites and penetrated the computer networks of security firm HBGary. After breaking into HBGary, Anonymous posted 71,000 of the company&amp;'s emails on the web. The chat logs show some of the leaders boasting about breaking into HBGary.The chat logs were turned over to Gawker by two anonymous sources who claimed to be former members of the group. Those sources told Gawker they also turned over the logs to federal authorities and gave the law enforcers the real names of the people who are talking in the logs under nicknames.The dissidenting former members of Anonymous now call themselves &amp;''Backtrace Security&amp;'' and say that the current leadership has betrayed the roots of Anonymous, which was more fun-loving destructive nihilism, not political hacktivism that Anonymous has engaged in for the past year. A Backtrace member who goes by the name of Hubris told Forbes that it plans on releasing more information in the coming week about the leadership of Anonymous.The very notion of &amp;''leadership&amp;'' within a group like Anonymous is strange, as the group claims to operate with a hive mind, with no one in charge. But the logs show that there is a hierarchy within the group that doles out assignments, selects targets, and criticizes members who go astray, Gawker said. The logs show that the culture of the hackers involves a lot of swearing and code language. Gawker says the chat logs show that one member of Anonymous was involved in breaking into Gawker itself last December.Gawker said the logs come from an invitation-only Internet Relay Chat channel &amp;8212' a bare bones chat room that is the preferred means for anonymous communications among hackers. The IRC channel is called HQ and was used by people with the nicknames Sabu, Kayla, Laurelai, Avunit, Entropy, Topiary, Tflow, and Marduk.The logs were turned over to Gawker by individuals who go by the handles Metric and A5h3r4 who describe themselves as former Anonymous supporters. They were upset that Anonymous leaders used children and teens in risky hacking operations. And they felt &amp;''the bastards are becoming arrogant sociopaths&amp;'' as a &amp;''vigilante group &amp;8230' a mob without conscience.&amp;''The conversations show the group talking about the break-in at the HBGary firm and their next target, Hunton and Williams. They also fret about whether they are under investigation, if anyone is on their trail, how to disguise the leadership of the group, and how to represent themselves to the media. It&amp;'s an interesting look into an internet subculture.Previous Story: Another Reddit employee says goodbye, accepts a4dream offera4a4 from GooglePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: AnonymousCompanies: WikiLeaks          Tags: AnonymousCompanies: WikiLeaksDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Boku to move from virtual-goods billing to real-goods billing in Germany]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=boku-to-move-from-virtual-goods-billing-to-real-goods-billing-in-germany</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=boku-to-move-from-virtual-goods-billing-to-real-goods-billing-in-germany</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>rubultya</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=boku-to-move-from-virtual-goods-billing-to-real-goods-billing-in-germany</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Boku has built a nice business handling direct mobile billing for online virtual goods. If you buy fuel for a tractor in a social game, you can use Boku to pay for it by typing in your mobile phone number' the charge shows up on your monthly cell phone bill.Now that simple way of paying for goods will be used to handle online purchases of physical goods in Germany. That opens up a much larger potential market to Boku and puts the company in a position to eventually compete with credit card companies and PayPal. That&amp;'s a first for Boku.The move could help the company get on a bigger growth trajectory, and it sets up a way for mobile phone carriers to compete with credit card companies.&amp;''This is like an inflection point in our industry,&amp;'' said Ron Hirson, senior vice president of product and marketing at Boku in San Francisco, in an interview.Boku is making the move through an alliance with Telefnica O2 Germany, a provider of broadband and mobile service and a division of Spanish telecommunications giant Telefnica. O2&amp;'s customers can pay via MPASS &amp;8212' the online payment system backed by Deutsche Telekom, Vodaphone and O2 &amp;8212' for either virtual goods or physical goods and use Boku&amp;'s payment platform to pay for goods that range in price from 0.09 euros to 30 euros.Upon checkout, the user types in his or her mobile phone number and verifies the transaction via text message. The item is then billed to the shopper&amp;'s monthly phone bill. Boku does this now for virtual goods, which are maybe a $2 billion market in the U.S. But physical goods is a much larger market, with hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions.Using carriers for billing in the past hasn&amp;'t worked so well for physical goods because they often took huge 30 percent fees, or higher, from the merchant, compared to just 3 percent fees for credit card companies. The carriers also often required purchases to be in set amounts &amp;8212' such as $1, $2, or $10 but nothing in between.Boku has negotiated low fees for its transactions with the carriers. And it has full pricing granularity in the 0.09 euro to 30 euro range, said Hirson. The Boku-O2 deal also has support for one-off and subscription payments in Germany, in-app billing, web billing, and full financial transaction and refund support. Boku&amp;'s payment is thus &amp;''bank-grade,&amp;'' Hirson said. He said he hopes more carriers will provide physical goods with mobile billing options this year.The 30 euro limit exists because users still sometimes get sticker shock when they see their phone bills at the end of the month and are more likely to reverse a transaction if the amount is too high, Hirson said. But if users really want to spend more than 30 euros, Boku could switch them over seamlessly to a system that bills their bank account instead.The system could work pretty well in Germany because there are actually very few credit card transactions. Many Germans use payment systems that bill direct to their bank accounts. Boku is connected to 230 mobile operators in more than 65 countries. More than 2.5 billion customers could potentially use its mobile billing option.Eventually, Hirson said, he hopes the physical goods billing system will make its way to the U.S. Boku&amp;'s investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. Rivals include Mopay, Zong, BilltoMobile and others. The company has raised more than $40 million. Boku has 65 employees and was founded in 2009.Previous Story: Yahoo shows signs of life with Search DirectPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: mpassCompanies: Boku, o2, TelefonicaPeople: Ron Hirson          Tags: mpassCompanies: Boku, o2, TelefonicaPeople: Ron HirsonDean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat. Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.comVentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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