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<title>Haaze.com / yamirsarin / All</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[IE9's 'pinning' brings traffic boost to sites]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ie9s-pinning-brings-traffic-boost-to-sites</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ie9s-pinning-brings-traffic-boost-to-sites</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 08:10:09 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ie9s-pinning-brings-traffic-boost-to-sites</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Microsoft says a small new feature within Internet Explorer 9 is having a big impact on sites that have tweaked their code to make use of it. &quot;Site pinning,&quot; which is new to this latest major version of Internet Explorer, lets users add a shortcut to a site from any page of their own to sit on theirWindows 7 task bar. On the surface this would just seem like any other shortcut, except that Microsoft has provided ways for sites to boost the interactivity, like putting site-specific notifications, navigation, and information in contextual menus that sit behind the icon.Microsoft now says that sites that have gone this extra step are seeing anywhere from a 15 percent to 50 percent increase in site visits, behavior that can be tracked back to a pinned site's increased visibility compared to bookmarks, which are usually kept hidden within a menu inside of the browser.&quot;It shouldn't surprise that much,&quot; Brian Hall, general manager of Windows Live business group, told CNET in an interview last week. &quot;If you think about it there's a reason people have competed aggressively for default home paging for years and years and years. That default home page was the thing that you saw every time you started your browser,&quot; Hall said. &quot;What we enable is the ability to get out of having only one home page. And not go wonky to the level that you have to have multiple paths, which an average customer isn't going to do for their home page set,&quot; he continued.So far more than 900 sites have taken advantage of the feature, meaning that they've added some code to their site to offer up the special features to IE9 users. That includes high-resolution icon and support for Jump Lists, which break out site-specific actions into a menu that can be accessed without hunting around for those same options on the site itself. The feature has long been available to native applications built for Windows 7, with Microsoft positioning IE9 as the first pathway for Web developers to include the functionality into their sites and Web applications. &quot;We have more and more sites that just continue to keep pushing it,&quot; Hall said. &quot;For instance when you have Pandora pinned now you'll notice that when you're paused and the windows is not in the foreground, you'll see a notification that lets you know that you're in pause.&quot;Others have also moved to take advantage of the feature by promoting it when users first visit using IE9. &quot;Huffington Post is interesting. If you go to Huffington Post from IE9, it will actually prompt you to do the pinning because they know that if it's pinned you're going to go there more often,&quot; Hall said. Similar initiatives have been done by mobile Web application developers with the home screen shortcut feature that's built into Apple'sSafari browser on its iOS devices. Microsoft says sites that have been coded to enable things like Jump Lists after being pinned are seeing traffic gains. (Credit:Microsoft)Microsoft also sees site pinning as a way to change the way portal-style home pages typically drove traffic to internal properties. &quot;Let's take a site like Yahoo, which today has obviously good home page share in the United States,&quot; Hall said. &quot;We could encourage people to pin Yahoo, pin Yahoo Mail, pin Yahoo Finance, and all the sudden [Yahoo] doesn't need to try and program everything through that single piece of real estate that is the home page.&quot;Hall said that system encourages users to group together similar sites, or clusters of links. &quot;If you go to 20 different sites, if you just start pinning them you get logical groupings,&quot; he said. &quot;So let's say I'm doing all my research on MSN, I can have 10 links that are logically grouped here, and they're not getting in the way of my de novo browsing section.&quot; But does that principle scale as users begin to pin more and more sites Based on user behavior during the beta, that hasn't proven to be an issue. &quot;I think the majority of people aren't going to have more than 10 pins,&quot; Hall said. For those that do, Hall pointed toward simply expanding the size of the Windows task bar to double or even triple height (or width) to accommodate more pins.&quot;I think what you'll find is, the more sites that do pinning, the more people want to pin. You might see more people going into double height, but that's a problem we look forward to having,&quot; Hall said.Microsoft put out the first, and likely only, release candidate for IE9 last week, though the company has not said when it plans to roll out a final version. The software continues to be offered only to users of the current, and previous iteration of Microsoft's Windows operating systems: Windows 7, and Windows Vista.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[LEDs, EnergyStar drive flat-screen TV efficiency]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leds-energystar-drive-flat-screen-tv-efficiency</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leds-energystar-drive-flat-screen-tv-efficiency</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:11:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=leds-energystar-drive-flat-screen-tv-efficiency</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)The newer your flat-screen TV is, the more energy-efficient it is, according to a study released today by industry group the Consumer Electronics Association. The CEA commissioned an analysis, done by technical services company Tiax, which found a significant decrease in power consumption by flat-screen TVs from mid-decade to 2010. (Click for PDF.)The average &quot;active mode&quot; power use of LCD flat-screen TVs in the 35-inch to 54-inch category was about 250 watts during the years 2005 to 2007, but is now closer to 100 watts, according to the study. From 2003 to 2010, the LCD power density--or wattage per square inch--fell 63 percent in active mode and dropped 87 percent in standby mode. Plasma TVs inherently draw more power than LCDs, the study said, but there was improvement in efficiency over the past few years. From 2008 to 2010, the active mode power density for plasma TVs fell 41 percent and the standby mode fell by 85 percent.According to CNET's TV Energy Efficiency Guide, the average power consumption for plasma TVs is 301 watts. For a traditional LCD, it's 111 watts and 101 watts for LED-lit LCDs.The three biggest factors determining power consumption are the size of the screen, the type of TV, and the picture settings, according to CNET's guide. The settings for stores are designed to be very bright but consumers can save a significant amount of energy by adjusting those retail settings. Older cathode-ray tube TVs can be less efficient per square inch, but many consumers buy larger TVs when they buy flat-screen TVs. EnergyStar and industry competition helped propel the efficiency trend, according to the study. On a technical level, the study said that increased use of LEDs, rather than fluorescent lighting, and improvements in power electronics helped cut standby power. &quot;Energy Star, competition, innovation, and technology improvements have all been responsible for lower power draw,&quot; it said.The CEA-commissioned study did not examine what impact3D TVs will have on power consumption. But initial tests by CNET's David Katzmaier found that 3D TVs will consume more, with plasmas showing about double the power than when they are 2D mode.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Moto Atrix 4G and Xoom due next month, Droid Bionic to follow in Q2]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=moto-atrix-4g-and-xoom-due-next-month-droid-bionic-to-follow-in-q2</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=moto-atrix-4g-and-xoom-due-next-month-droid-bionic-to-follow-in-q2</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:10:40 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=moto-atrix-4g-and-xoom-due-next-month-droid-bionic-to-follow-in-q2</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Motorola Atrix 4G(Credit:Josh P. Miller/CNET)If you read CNET's coverage ofCES, you'd know I'm pretty excited for the company's new Atrix 4G and Droid Bionic. So I was even more interested today when Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha announced potential release dates for the dual-core Android handsets.Jha dropped the news during the Q&amp;A session that followed the company's fourth-quarter 2010 earnings call this afternoon. During the session, Jha said that Motorola expects to ship the Atrix 4G and Xoomtablet next month, with the Droid Bionic and LTE Xoom tablet following in the second quarter of the year. After the call, a Motorola spokeswoman confirmed the release windows with CNET, but would not provide more-specific dates.Motorola's huge and successful presence at CES earned the company several accolades, including CNET's Best of CES award for the Xoom. It now heads into 2011 with one of its strongest product portfolios in years. Though Jha also admitted during the call that Motorola is already feeling pressure from the upcoming Verizon iPhone, Jha said Moto's relationship with Verizon remains strong.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[PBS for iPhone streams public-TV shows for free]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pbs-for-iphone-streams-public-tv-shows-for-free</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pbs-for-iphone-streams-public-tv-shows-for-free</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Jan 2011 08:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=pbs-for-iphone-streams-public-tv-shows-for-free</guid>
<description><![CDATA[PBS for iPhone lets you watch full-length episodes free of charge--assuming you can find them in a sea of previews and clips.(Credit:Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET)Last October, PBS took the wraps off an eponymous iPad app, allowingtablet users to stream full episodes of public-television favorites like &quot;American Masters,&quot; &quot;Nova,&quot; and &quot;MotorWeek.&quot;iPhone andiPod users were promised their own version in November, but it never materialized. Thankfully, PBS for iPhone is finally here. It's missing a few key elements, but it's still a great way to watch great shows on the go--free of charge. The app is divided into four sections: Previews, Spotlight, Schedules, and Programs. Most of these are self-explanatory' as with the iPad version, the Schedules section provides you with a calendar of current and upcoming programming from your local PBS station. However, unlike the iPad version, this one lacks both search and bookmark features, which is puzzling.  What's more, according to a PBS rep, the app contains more than 300 hours' worth of full episodes from various shows, including those mentioned up top. The problem is finding them: although it's easy enough to browse the Programs listings, you'll find dozens of previews and short clips mixed in with the handful of full-length episodes. The iPad version has buttons for toggling between previews, shorts, and full episodes, but here you have to troll each list in search of runtimes longer than, say, 30 seconds or three minutes. It's hard to complain about free streaming TV shows, especially those of the caliber produced by PBS, but I do think this app needs a few tweaks to fully realize its potential. Meanwhile, PBS Kids programming remains MIA, though I'm told a dedicated app for that is in the works. Yay! <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[China to become second largest R&D spender]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=china-to-become-second-largest-rd-spender</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=china-to-become-second-largest-rd-spender</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:11:18 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=china-to-become-second-largest-rd-spender</guid>
<description><![CDATA[China will soon overtake Japan as the world's second heaviest spender on research and development, according to a report from the Battelle Memorial Institute.A nonprofit group that conducts scientific research, Battelle published its findings today as part of an article in its R&amp;amp'D Magazine. The article and its full supplementary report (PDF) looked at global R&amp;amp'D spending in general and across six specific segments--Information Technology, Electronics, Life Sciences, Aerospace/Defense/Security, Energy, and Advanced Materials.(Credit:Battelle)Next year, China is expected to spend $153.7 billion on R&amp;amp'D, a big jump from $141.4 billion this year. That will put it in second place globally ahead of Japan, which is due to spend $144.1 billion in 2011, a slight gain from this year's $142 billion. Though most nations pulled back on spending during the recession, Asian countries increased their R&amp;amp'D budgets, according to Battelle.China in particular kept its pace of 10 percent annual growth in R&amp;amp'D spending even during the economic meltdown of 2008 and 2009, one factor that set it apart from many other countries, said Battelle.The continued expansion of R&amp;amp'D in China is both inspiring in magnitude and worrisome from a U.S. competitive perspective,&quot; Marty Grueber, Battelle Research Leader and co-author of the report, said in a statement. &quot;The Chinese are doing everything in their power to grow and develop through an increasing understanding and emphasis on research and technology. Even most of their highest ranking political leaders are engineers.&quot;The United States will continue to be the world's biggest R&amp;amp'D spender, doling out $405.3 billion next year, compared with $385.8 billion this year. Spending on industrial R&amp;amp'D should recover following a recessionary downturn. But the huge number of dollars spent on defense R&amp;amp'D (more than two-third of the federal total) may make that area one the first under review for possible cuts.Europe will be under the greatest pressure to justify government spending on R&amp;amp'D, according to Battelle. Facing struggling economies in Greece, Spain, and Ireland, the European Union is unlikely to meet its goal to match the U.S.' level of R&amp;amp'D spending (2.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product).Overall, total spending on R&amp;amp'D throughout the world is expected to rise 3.6 percent to almost $1.2 trillion next year.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Blockbuster laughed at Netflix partnership offer]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blockbuster-laughed-at-netflix-partnership-offer</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blockbuster-laughed-at-netflix-partnership-offer</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:11:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=blockbuster-laughed-at-netflix-partnership-offer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Netflix's toppling of the traditional video-rental market and especially the Blockbuster chain will likely be studied by business students for years to come. (Credit:Greg Sandoval/CNET)So, here's another fun fact to look at: Blockbuster CEO John Antioco was approached in 2000 by Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings about forming a partnership, recalled Barry McCarthy in an interview he gave to the Unofficial Stanford blog two years ago. I turned up McCarthy's interview while researching a story about why he's leaving Netflix after 11 years as chief financial officer.&quot;I remembered getting on a plane, I think sometime in 2000, with Reed [Hastings] and [Netflix co-founder] Marc Randolph and flying down to Dallas, Texas and meeting with John Antioco,&quot; McCarthy said in the interview &quot;Reed had the chutzpah to propose to them that we run their brand online and that they run [our] brand in the stores and they just about laughed us out of their office. At least initially, they thought we were a very small niche business. Gradually over time, as we grew our market, his thinking evolved but initially they ignored us and that was much to our advantage.&quot;It's easy to kick Blockbuster, which filed for bankruptcy protection in September, now that they're down, but the company's overconfidence regarding Netflix can provide lessons today. The past week saw executives from the cable and entertainment industries predict that the early success of Netflix's streaming service would be short-lived. They argue that Netflix's supply of content from studios and TV networks will soon slow down to a trickle. Barry McCarthy departs his Netflix CFO post with $40 million and many triumphs. To read the story of why he's leaving, click the photo.(Credit:Screen shot by Greg Sandoval/CNET)But ask Antioco. Netflix's management is not a group to take too lightly. There were signs of this in 2000 but apparently Blockbuster managers overlooked them. At that point, Netflix had just tweaked the business model and had begun selling subscriptions in September 1999. &quot;It was Reed's insight that the subscription model would resonate with consumers in a compelling way,&quot; McCarthy said. &quot;He re-engineered the Web site and software to support a subscription model...we began to grow exponentially overnight. In 1998, I think the business did $1 million in revenue. In 1999, we did $5 million, then $35 million and then $75 million and $150 million and then almost $300 million...We were I think five years to $500 million and another three years to a $1 billion, all because of the subscription model.&quot;McCarthy told the Unofficial Stanford blog that for Blockbuster it was a classic case of the innovator's dilemma: &quot;You end up competing with a business that you initially ignored.&quot; <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[iTunes 10.1 available now, but iOS 4.2 remains MIA]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itunes-10-1-available-now-but-ios-4-2-remains-mia</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itunes-10-1-available-now-but-ios-4-2-remains-mia</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=itunes-10-1-available-now-but-ios-4-2-remains-mia</guid>
<description><![CDATA[iTunes 10.1 is here, but the much-anticipated AirPrint feature isn&amp;39't--and neither is iOS 4.2.(Credit:Apple)Earlier this week, rumor had it that iTunes 10.1 would drop on Wednesday, followed by iOS 4.2 today. As Lance Whitney reported this morning, iOS 4.2 appears to have been delayed by a Wi-Fi bug--but what happened to iTunes 10.1It's here. I just downloaded it. You can get it yourself by heading to Apple's iTunes download page, or just clicking Help &amp;gt' Check for Updates in your current version of iTunes.As expected, version 10.1 adds support for syncing with iOS 4.2-equipped devices--though iOS 4.2 itself remains MIA. Also included in the update: AirPlay, the much-anticipated feature for streaming media from iTunes to the Apple TV and other devices.Missing, for reasons unknown, is AirPrint, an equally anticipated feature for printing wirelessly from youriPhone,iPod, oriPad to printers on your Wi-Fi network. This has led to rumors of Apple scrapping the feature, but according to a MacRumors post, no less than Steve Jobs said that's not the case. Even so, now that iTunes 10.1 has landed, iOS 4.2 is almost certainly close behind--unless the aforementioned Wi-Fi bug has indeed forced Apple into a holding pattern. We'll have to wait and see, but my money's now on Tuesday for the 4.2 release. Your thoughts <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[U.S. gov't awards $2.4 billion for high-speed rail]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=u-s--govt-awards-2-4-billion-for-high-speed-rail</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=u-s--govt-awards-2-4-billion-for-high-speed-rail</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:10:28 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Eco</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=u-s--govt-awards-2-4-billion-for-high-speed-rail</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Shown is a map of high-speed railroads currently under construction in the U.S., as well as corridors under development, and proposed lines under study.(Credit:Federal Railroad Administration)The U.S. government awarded $2.4 billion in funding last week to 54 railroad projects across 23 states in the U.S.This latest round of funding is in addition to the $8 billion that was awarded in January as part of the comprehensive public works project to construct the &quot;first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service.&quot;The funds are going toward new railroad lines and stations, as well as efforts to update and refurbish existing ones to coalesce with the high-speed plan announced in January as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.In this round of funding, Florida received $800 million to build a high-speed railroad connecting Tampa and Orlando with train speeds reaching up to 168 mph at some points along the route, making the trip under an hour compared with 90 minutes bycar. The state's ultimate plan is to extend the line from Orland down to Miami, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).Iowa received $230 million to hook into a new intercity passenger service that would connect Iowa City to Chicago and points in between.California, known for its heavy traffic congestion, received $901 million, of which $715 million will be spent on a new high-speed railroad across its Central Valley. The state's ultimate goal is to have a high-speed passenger service reaching speeds of 220 mph at some points between San Francisco and Los Angeles that would run 2 hours 40 minutes compared with 6 hours by car, according to FRA statistics.Michigan received $161 million to build a high-speed railroad from Detroit to Chicago.Projects that received money in the January round of funding included those in North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Washington, D.C.In addition to the tracks being laid, funds have also been allocated to study the feasibility of building high-speed railroads between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Kansas City and Oklahoma City, and Atlanta and Charlotte, to name a few.Both U.S. and foreign companies have been eligible to apply for the high-speed railroad funds, but to qualify will have to &quot;establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they are hired to build America's next generation high-speed rail lines.&quot;Jobs expected to grow out of the vast initiative include those in railroad planning, engineering, manufacturing, track-laying, maintenance, and operations.The U.S. has come late to the game of high-speed rail. The FRA's promise of trains that &quot;will reach speeds of&quot; 168 mph or 220 mph at certain points during a single train ride seems timid compared to the high-speed trains with continuous running speeds of 200 mph outside the U.S.Japan and Europe have long been using high-speed railroads to move their people and have achieved much faster speeds. In 2003 Japan's Maglev train did 361 mph, though it's up for debate if it qualifies as the world's fastest train since its electromagnetic technology allows it to hover without actually touching its rails. In 2007, the French-made V150 ran 357 mph and also claimed title to the fastest train in the world.Private industry has also been turning to railroads in recent years with  IBM and Siemens each developing technology that's going to be applied to high-speed railroads under development in China.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Facebook app developers sold user info]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-app-developers-sold-user-info</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-app-developers-sold-user-info</comments>
<pubDate>Sun, 31 Oct 2010 07:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=facebook-app-developers-sold-user-info</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Facebook has revealed that a data broker has been buying identifying Facebook user information from app developers, and as a result the social-networking powerhouse has placed some developers on a six-month suspension.The announcement, which Facebook made Friday afternoon on its developer blog, comes on the heels of the revelation that many popular Facebook apps were transmitting user IDs--which can be used to look up a users' names and, in some cases, the names of the app user's friends--to at least 25 advertising and data firms.According to Facebook's developer blog: As we examined the circumstances of inadvertent UID transfers, we discovered some instances where a data broker was paying developers for UIDs. While we determined that no private user data was sold and confirmed that transfer of these UIDs did not give access to any private data, this violation of our policy is something we take seriously. As such, we are taking action against these developers by instituting a 6-month full moratorium on their access to Facebook communication channels, and we will require these developers to submit their data practices to an audit in the future to confirm that they are in compliance with our policies. This impacts fewer than a dozen, mostly small developers, none of which are in the top 10 applications on Facebook Platform.Facebook did not identify the data broker that was purchasing user information but did say it had reached an agreement with Rapleaf, a San Francisco-based data aggregation company that was previously identified as receiving some user information. Facebook said that Rapleaf has agreed to delete all user ID information in its possession and agreed not to conduct any further activities on the social network. The blog post did not indicate whether Rapleaf was the broker involved in the sale of user information, and Rapleaf representatives did not immediately reply to a request for comment.In announcing the suspensions, Facebook said it &quot;never sold and will never sell user information&quot; and has a &quot;zero tolerance for data brokers because they undermine the value that users have come to expect from Facebook.&quot;The social-networking giant has blamed the issue on &quot;referrer URLs,&quot; which tell sites which Web sites directed Internet users to sites, and has proposed a technical solution to prevent future transfers. Facebook also announced it had modified its policy to require developers to use the anonymous identifiers when working with ad networks.       Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.  <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[BioWare founders say corporate humility is key to success (video)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bioware-founders-say-corporate-humility-is-key-to-success-video</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bioware-founders-say-corporate-humility-is-key-to-success-video</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=bioware-founders-say-corporate-humility-is-key-to-success-video</guid>
<description><![CDATA[One of the core values at Canadian game developer BioWare is corporate humility. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, the founders of BioWare (a highly successful game division at Electronic Arts), believe that being humble is key to success.In an environment where corporate bluster is the norm, humility can be viewed as a weakness. But Muzyka (left) and Zeschuk (right), two medical doctors who quit their profession to make video games at BioWare, believe in it so much that they instilled it in their company&amp;'s corporate culture. They say it&amp;'s an acknowledgment that anything can change in business. Many industries are in a state of constant chaos and disruption. Being humble shows you are willing to change your ways, the founders said in their talk at an elite video game conference and in an interview.The two men are being honored today in gaming&amp;'s Hall of Fame for their contributions to the game industry over the past two decades. They are being inducted into the rarified group of gaming pioneers by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, which is staging the Dice Summit in Las Vegas this week.Muzyka says what the company means by humility is the ability to acknowledge mistakes, discuss them and learn from them.&amp;''Some of that comes from being in medicine,&amp;'' Zeschuk said. &amp;''The minute that you think you know everything you can get into trouble.&amp;''Muzyka and Zeschuk have a lot of old-fashioned values. They run their company as a meritocracy. They keep their promises. They communicate with a clear measure. They focus on quality. They are persistent in the face of adversity.Those values may seem bland. But executing them over the course of decades will earn a leader the trust that he or she needs from the rest of their team. The result is that BioWare is one of the unique companies in the video game business that has had hit after hit, from Neverwinter Nights to Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Origins.Here&amp;'s a video interview with Muzyka and Zeschuk talking about corporate humility.Next Story: Groupon shakes up board with Starbucks CEO Previous Story: Is one million electric cars by 2015 too ambitiousPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 2, Neverwinter NightsCompanies: Bioware, Electronic ArtsPeople: Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka          Tags: Dragon Age Origins, Mass Effect 2, Neverwinter NightsCompanies: Bioware, Electronic ArtsPeople: Greg Zeschuk, Ray MuzykaDean 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[Investors thrash Amazon.com after sales miss the mark]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=investors-thrash-amazon-com-after-sales-miss-the-mark</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=investors-thrash-amazon-com-after-sales-miss-the-mark</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=investors-thrash-amazon-com-after-sales-miss-the-mark</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Shares of Amazon.com were down almost 10 percent in extended trading after the company posted less-than-stellar earnings for its most recent operating quarter.Amazon.com generated about $12.95 billion in sales in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 36 percent from $9.5 billion in the same quarter in 2009. The site served as a major hub for shoppers during the holiday season.Holiday sales were quite good by most metrics,so expectations were pretty high for Amazon. The site had 25 percent more unique visitors during the holiday shopping season in 2010 when compared to a year earlier, according to comScore.But that just wasn&amp;'t enough for investors, with its shares dropping to around $166.45. Analysts on Wall Street estimated that the company would bring in $13.01 billion in revenue. While Amazon just barely missed the mark, the fact that it underperformed during what was supposed to be a heavy shopping season a4&quot; now that the economic recession has for most intents and purposes come to an end a4&quot; apparently didn&amp;'t bode well for the company.Bezos did his best to spin the news in a positive light, pulling a card from Apple&amp;'s deck in exclaiming that the company finally hit a $10 billion quarter (Steve Jobs was on Apple&amp;'s third-quarter conference call to commemorate the company&amp;'s first $20 billion quarter.) Unfortunately for Bezos, Amazon didn&amp;'t have the firepower to crush earnings expectations like Apple typically does. The online retailer&amp;'s income was up 8.3 percent, from $384 million in the holiday shopping season in 2009 to $416 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.The company (as usual) was mum about how many Kindles, the company&amp;'s electronic book reader, it sold during the holiday season. The device is typically pegged as one of the top Christmas gifts on many sites. But it did say that for every 100 paperback books sold off Amazon.com, the company sold 115 eBooks for Kindle readers.Next Story: LinkedIn: We&amp;'re powered by obsessives Previous Story: LinkedIn files for its IPOPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: online retail, stocksCompanies: AmazonPeople: Jeff Bezos          Tags: online retail, stocksCompanies: AmazonPeople: Jeff BezosMatthew Lynley is VentureBeat's enterprise writer. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he studied math and physics, in May 2010. He has reported for Reuters. He currently lives in San Francisco, California. You can reach him at mattl@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @logicalmoron. 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[Biofuel maker Codexis IPOs &8212' but for less than hoped]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=biofuel-maker-codexis-ipos-8212-but-for-less-than-hoped</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=biofuel-maker-codexis-ipos-8212-but-for-less-than-hoped</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Science</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=biofuel-maker-codexis-ipos-8212-but-for-less-than-hoped</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Less than six months after filing to go public, Codexis,  one of several makers of microbes and catalysts used to generate green  fuels and chemicals, debuted on the Nasdaq this morning under the symbol CDXS. But  the news is bittersweet for the cleantech sector. Yes, the company made  it to market &amp;8212' but it only fetched $78 million in what it expected to  be a $100 million sale.Based in Redwood City, Calif., Codexis  sold 6 million shares to its existing investors for $13 each (instead of  $15). Its most significant backer, Royal Dutch Shell, is holding on to  its sizable stake. Today&amp;'s IPO is the culmination of a long journey for  both the company and its investors, who had originally planned to take  it public two years ago before the economic downturn set in.While  it may not have performed as hoped, Codexis still marks the first IPO  of 2010 for the green sector, which could open the floodgates for more.  And at least it beat biofuel competitor Amyris Biotechnologies,  which just filed, to market. Both cylindrical solar module maker Solyndra and  electric car darling Tesla Motors have filed to go public as well  this year. And Smart Grid networking company Silver Spring Networks has retained underwriters for a  prospective IPO.There are concerns attached to all of these  companies waiting in the wings. Solyndra has run into roadblocks as auditors have called  attention to its avalanche of debt. Tesla Motors has yet to break  into the black for any length of time, and Silver Spring Systems could  be acquisition bait for bigger players like Cisco Systems. Codexis&amp;'  modest success today could be a bellwether for these deals to come.The  sector is also tinged by the lackluster performance of last year&amp;'s big  green IPO, A123Systems. Mere months after its blockbuster  sale, the company&amp;'s net loss for 2009 reached $85.8 million, an increase  over the $80.5 million lost in 2008. Yes, revenue is growing, fast,  jumping 33 percent between 2008 and 2009, but it still has investors on  the edge of their seats.Compared to that, Codexis is doing  reasonably well. It reported $82.9 million in revenue for 2009, a 64  percent spike from 2008. And it narrowed its losses by 55 percent, to  $20.3 million. At this rate, it could hit profitability by 2011. This  sounds harrowing, but green shareholders don&amp;'t seem to be deterred by  long roads out of the red &amp;8212' at least so far. If A123 and Codexis fail  to pull up on schedule, they could doom the cleantech companies  following in their footsteps.Codexis also benefits from a  healthy green chemicals and pharmaceuticals business. Sure, its major  investors Shell and Chevron have their eyes on the fuel opportunities,  but the company also counts Pfizer as a big supporter, as well as CMEA Capital. The process  the company uses to engineer microbes&amp;' DNA can be applied to manufacture  a variety of substances.Codexis says it will use the funds  generated by the sale to expand its production volume of biocatalysts.  It also lists turning Shell into a major biofuel distributor as a  primary goal.Here&amp;'s  a copy of the SEC filing for today&amp;'s CDXS debut.Next Story: Apple not banning analytics from apps Previous Story: Time Warner invests in Simulmedia&amp;'s targeted TV promotionsPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: biofuelsCompanies: Amyris Biotechnologies, Codexis, Royal Dutch Shell, Silver Spring Networks, Solyndra, Tesla Motors          Tags: biofuelsCompanies: Amyris Biotechnologies, Codexis, Royal Dutch Shell, Silver Spring Networks, Solyndra, Tesla MotorsCamille was the lead writer for GreenBeat until August 2010. To reach VentureBeat's current writers, email tips@venturebeat.com.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[Sans IPO, Bayhill secures $350M in Genentech licensing deal]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sans-ipo-bayhill-secures-350m-in-genentech-licensing-deal</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sans-ipo-bayhill-secures-350m-in-genentech-licensing-deal</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Science</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=sans-ipo-bayhill-secures-350m-in-genentech-licensing-deal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Months after giving up on its IPO hopes last year &amp;8212' when the market was especially brutal for lifescience companies &amp;8212' Bayhill Therapeutics has landed a licensing deal worth $25 million in upfront cash and equity with Genentech. It could bring in as much as $325 million more if it hits certain sales and regulatory milestones, joining the ranks of several biotech firms that ditched public offerings for lucrative equity deals, VentureWire reports (citing Elixir Pharmaceuticals and Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals as examples).Genentech has essentially acquired Bayhill&amp;'s therapy for type I diabetes, with plans to absorb research, development and commercialization rights and costs as soon as the current clinical trial is complete. San Mateo, Calif.-based Bayhill will reserve the right to co-market the drug in North America.The company has several other therapies in the works &amp;8212' including a treatment for multiple-sclerosis &amp;8212' and is looking for further licensing deals to advance their development. Earlier this year it made agreements &amp;8212' each worth $3 million &amp;8212' with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Iacocca Foundation.Since its inception in 2002, Bayhill raised about $90 million in capital from Boston Life Science Venture, CMEA Capital, De Novo Ventures, Grand Cathay Venture Capital, Latterell Venture Partners, Lilly Ventures, Montreux Equity Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, Pac-Link Management, Pappas Ventures, PharmaBio Development, Prudence Venture Investment, Quintiles PharmaBio Development, U.S. Venture Partners and Vertical Group.Next Story: Tesla founder sues company, CEO Elon Musk Previous Story: Smart phone demand drives Qualcomm to raise financial estimatesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Companies: Bayhill Therapeutics, Boston Life Science Venture, CMEA Capital, De Novo Ventures, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Grand Cathay Venture Capital, inv:Montreux Equity Partners, inv:Morgenthaler Ventures, inv:US Venture Partners, Latterell Venture Partners, Lilly Ventures, Pac Link Management, Pappas Ventures, PharmaBio Development, Prudence Venture Investment, Quintiles PharmaBio Development, Vertical Group, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals          Companies: Bayhill Therapeutics, Boston Life Science Venture, CMEA Capital, De Novo Ventures, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Grand Cathay Venture Capital, inv:Montreux Equity Partners, inv:Morgenthaler Ventures, inv:US Venture Partners, Latterell Venture Partners, Lilly Ventures, Pac Link Management, Pappas Ventures, PharmaBio Development, Prudence Venture Investment, Quintiles PharmaBio Development, Vertical Group, Xanodyne PharmaceuticalsCamille was the lead writer for GreenBeat until August 2010. To reach VentureBeat's current writers, email tips@venturebeat.com.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[Taiwan&'s SemiLEDs IPOs &8212' can U.S. cleantech manufacturers keep up]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=taiwanrsquos-semileds-ipos-8212-can-u-s--cleantech-manufacturers-keep-up</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=taiwanrsquos-semileds-ipos-8212-can-u-s--cleantech-manufacturers-keep-up</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=taiwanrsquos-semileds-ipos-8212-can-u-s--cleantech-manufacturers-keep-up</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Earlier this month, Taiwanese company SemiLEDsquietly IPO&amp;'d on the NASDAQ to some nice results, but its success begs the question: Can American cleantech manufacturing startups keep up with AsiaThe company makes components and chips for LEDs. Its debut offering price was $17 but rose to $24 on the first day of trading, and it&amp;'s now trading around $28. It is backed by one venture investor, WI Harper, a firm with a China focus.&amp;''The general lighting market is transitioning from fluorescent into LED lighting,&amp;'' said PeterLiu, WI Harper&amp;'s founder and chairman, adding that the company has three other investments in companies in the LED space. &amp;''I believe that we are in the first inning of what is shaping to be an explosion of LEDs in general lighting.&amp;''LEDs are more efficient than traditional bulbs, and costs are coming down. Companies like Digital Lumens and Lunera have made LEDs the backbone of their lighting systems offerings.Though the market is still dominated by flourescent lights, LEDs are expected to grow by 30 percent and earn over $1 billion in annual revenue by 2014, according to a recent Groom Energy and Greentech Media Research report. SemiLED itself tripled revenue for the nine months ended May 21. There areAmerican LED makers competing in the space, like startup Bridgelux (which just opened a factory in Livermore, Calif.) and the older, larger public company Cree. The other oft-mentioned name in LED manufacturing is Lemnis Lighting, but it&amp;'s a Dutch company that has a U.S. presence.While Bridgelux located a factory in the U.S., it seems to have been something of a fluke. The companyfound a second-hand factory for cheap. But CEO Bill Watkins told the San Francisco Chronicle that when the company expands production in the future, it will look to Asia because of the cheap labor and, in China, government subsidies.The Department of Energy&amp;'s loan chief Jonathan Silver, who oversees the massive loan guarantee program, told us he believes it&amp;'s key for American cleantech to have a manufacturing backbone. It recently offered a $400 million loan guarantee to Abound Solar so the company could expand its thin-film manufacturing capacity.Still, Chinese companies have put a lot of pricing pressure on American solar panel makers, according to the New York Times. China offers subsidies that give its solar companies a pricing advantage, which has led to a free trade violations charge from the U.S., spurred by a complaint from the United Steelworkers union.According to WI Harper&amp;'s Liu, it will be hard to beat Asia when it comes to LEDs:&amp;''Asian companies, particularly in Korea, Japan and greater China, are likely to have the upper hand in LEDs because of the skilled manufacturing personnel and semiconductor ecosystem, tuned for large-volume semiconductors manufacturing and packaging. U.S. startups will need to find low-cost manufacturing to stay competitive at todaya4a4s prices and products,&amp;'' Liu said.He predicts that China will lead the way as a producer and consumer of LEDs. The former seems to be in line with Ernst &amp;amp' Young&amp;'s recent report that found China leads the world in cleantech investing.That said, there&amp;'s a lot of market out there to be had. Lighting giants Phillips and GE could step in and put up serious competition. Or U.S. LED manufacturers to go to Asia next, but that would mean not a lot of LEDs being made in the U.S.New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that the government should focus on startups and innovative ideas, rather than manufacturing. But Intel senior advisor Andy Grove disagreed in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek column, saying that loss of American manufacturing capacity has been to the country&amp;'s detriment.For whatever LED company wants to go public next, note this: The guys at SemiLEDs might have already taken your stock symbol &amp;8212' LEDS.Next Story: Skype competitor magicTalk launching on Christmas Previous Story: From Kinect to Angry Birds &amp;8212' the biggest video game stories of 2010PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cleantech manufacturing, LEDs, lightingCompanies: BridgeLux, Cree, Digital Lumens, GE, Lunera, Phillips, SemiLED, WI HarperPeople: Andy Grove, Jonathan Silver, Peter Liu, Thomas Friedman          Tags: cleantech manufacturing, LEDs, lightingCompanies: BridgeLux, Cree, Digital Lumens, GE, Lunera, Phillips, SemiLED, WI HarperPeople: Andy Grove, Jonathan Silver, Peter Liu, Thomas FriedmanIris Kuo is the VentureBeat's lead GreenBeat writer. She has reported for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, Houston Chronicle, the McClatchy Washington Bureau and Dallas public radio. Iris attended the University of Texas at Dallas and lives in Houston. Follow Iris on Twitter @thestatuskuo (and yes, that's how you  pronounce her last name).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[Foundry Group bets that Urban Airship&'s mobile infrastructure will keep flying]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=foundry-group-bets-that-urban-airshiprsquos-mobile-infrastructure-will-keep-flying</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=foundry-group-bets-that-urban-airshiprsquos-mobile-infrastructure-will-keep-flying</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=foundry-group-bets-that-urban-airshiprsquos-mobile-infrastructure-will-keep-flying</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Urban Airship, which provides back-end services for popular mobile apps like Tap Tap Revenge, just raised $5.6 million in a second round of funding.The goal, as representatives from Urban Airship (as well as Push.io, another app infrastructure startup) have explained, is to free developers to focus on the things that will actually make their apps stand out, rather than worrying about  building support for push notifications and in-app purchases. Asked about competition, a company spokesperson said Urban Airship is the only company that has &amp;''built an entire mobile services platform, with a solid infrastructure and host of tools.&amp;''The Portland, Ore. company launched in June 2009, demonstrating at our MobileBeat conference that month. It announced its initial $1.1 million in funding in February of this year. Since then, Urban Airship said it has added more than 2,500 customers, sent more than 1 billion notifications to 35 million more devices, and powered more than 650,000 in-app transactions. Verizon Wireless has also named Urban Airship as the preferred push notification providers on the Verizon developer network.The company&amp;'s next product will be aimed at mobile marketers, allowing them to target different users with different messages.The new funding was led by the Foundry Group (this is Foundry&amp;'s first investment with its new fund), with participation from True Ventures and the Founders Co-op. Urban Airship has raised a total of $6.5 million.Next Story: Cloud Sherpas raises $1.6M to sell Google apps to companies Previous Story: Andreessen Horowitz raises $650M fundPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: app infrastructure, push notificationsCompanies: Founder&amp;'s Co Op, Foundry Group, True Ventures, Urban Airship          Tags: app infrastructure, push notificationsCompanies: Founder&amp;'s Co Op, Foundry Group, True Ventures, Urban AirshipAnthony 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[WordPress.com Rolls Out &''Top Authors&'' Stats With A&nbsp'Bonus]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wordpress-com-rolls-out-8220top-authors8221-stats-with-anbspbonus</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wordpress-com-rolls-out-8220top-authors8221-stats-with-anbspbonus</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=wordpress-com-rolls-out-8220top-authors8221-stats-with-anbspbonus</guid>
<description><![CDATA[A couple weeks ago, we noted that Automattic was testing out a new Top Author stat area on the Site Stats page found on WordPress.com blogs. Today, they&amp;'ve rolled out the feature with a couple little bonuses.First of all, the widget itself has been prettied-up quite a bit from the one we shared. You&amp;'ll now see author icons next to the author names. More importantly, you&amp;'ll see a plus sign, which, when clicked, presents a drop down that shows you exactly what stories by that author are brining in traffic on any given day. WordPress.com also removed the number of posts area, after that caused some confusion. &amp;''the top spot is not about who wrote the most posts, ita4a4s about which author wrote the posts that got the most visits,&amp;'' they note.WordPress.com says that they liked the new icon and drop down so much, that they&amp;'ve also added it to the Referrers box as well. The result is a simple way to see things like which Twitter account is sending the most traffic your way. Pretty nifty.WordPress.com says the stats upgrade is available for all blogs on WordPress.com and it will&amp;nbsp'automatically&amp;nbsp'appear if your blog has two or more authors with traffic on their posts. Automattic also notes that these features will be coming to the Stats plugin for self-hosted WordPress blogs shortly.CrunchBase InformationWordPress.comInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Zynga finally caters to international audience with localized versions of next game]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zynga-finally-caters-to-international-audience-with-localized-versions-of-next-game</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zynga-finally-caters-to-international-audience-with-localized-versions-of-next-game</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>yamirsarin</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=zynga-finally-caters-to-international-audience-with-localized-versions-of-next-game</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Zynga&amp;'s games on social networks already have a lot of international appeal. It seems the social game giant is finally catering to that market with the release of its next game.Zynga today announced that it will launch (soon) several localized versions of its next game for Facebook, a sim-city like city building game called CityVille.That means the games won&amp;'t have haphazard translations, but a complete conversion to other languages &amp;8212' including French, German, Italian and Spanish. In addition to a language conversion, Zynga is including other cultural quirks a4&quot; such as the option to build an Eiffel Tower in the localized French version.Zynga&amp;'s games are already available internationally, but they aren&amp;'t localized to specific regions. The only other game Zynga has made a localized version of is its poker game, which it translated to Traditional Chinese a few months ago. This is the first out-the-gate launch that is geared toward international players in addition to English-speaking players.Zynga is already one of the largest gaming companies in the world. Legendary investor John Doerr with Kleiner Perkins Caufield &amp;amp' Byers said Zynga was easily the best investment that his firm has ever made. The social networking game maker is already the largest app developer on Facebook. And some recent valuations show thatZynga is actually larger than Electronic Arts, one of the largest video game publishers in the world. All that is after the company launched in 2007.But for the most part, Zynga has focused on developing its games for English-speaking countries. Facebook has grown tremendously since Zynga originally launched its first game on the social network a4&quot; from 50 million users in 2007 to around 500 million today. Zynga really took off in the middle of 2009 when it launched FarmVille, which is still the No. 1 game on Facebook with 57.4 million monthly active users, according toAppData. Overall, Zynga has 214.5 million users. Zynga&amp;'s clearly the dominant player in the social networking game space, so it wouldn&amp;'t be surprising if other social networking game makers like Playdom and Playfish will followed suit with international launches.CityVille hasn&amp;'t launched yet a4&quot; in fact, Zynga was mum as to when the game would finally come out. But the game does have a number of new features that Zynga&amp;'s games haven&amp;'t featured yet. The game is rendered with 3D polygons that allow players to rotate the map and see their city from multiple perspectives. It also has a guided tutorial that will teach new players the best way to play the game.Like the rest of Zynga&amp;'s games, the fastest way to progress in the game is to buy CityVille cash with Facebook Credits. The second fastest is to partner up with other friends and open franchises in their cities to generate more money and experience points and progress faster. CityVille players can still play the game independent of other social connections, but it will progress much more slowly than others. That&amp;'s a little different from games like FarmVille, which required social connections to expand the size of a farm.Much like FarmVille, Zynga expects the typical session in CityVille to last anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes. The company wouldn&amp;'t say how many servers they are spinning up for the launch a4&quot; or give any kind of estimates of how big they expect the game to be. The game is not going to be included in the initial set of games headed to Yahoo. Zynga wouldn&amp;'t say whether the company would retroactively localize its other popular social networking games a4&quot; but it&amp;'s an idea that would certainly be passed around.Next Story: Looking for perfect event pic CrowdOptic says: Look no further Previous Story: Federated Media&amp;'s buying spree continues with FoodbuzzPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: CityVille, Farmville, social networkingCompanies: Zynga          Tags: CityVille, Farmville, social networkingCompanies: ZyngaVentureBeat 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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