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<title>Haaze.com / Sarah02 / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
<description>Test Web 2.0 Content Management System</description>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2011 07:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[French researchers demo attack on Chrome]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=french-researchers-demo-attack-on-chrome</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=french-researchers-demo-attack-on-chrome</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 May 2011 07:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=french-researchers-demo-attack-on-chrome</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Vupen posted a video of the demo of its exploit against Chrome.(Credit:Vupen Security)French security firm Vupen said today its team has figured out a way to bypass security measures in Chrome and offers a video demo it says is a successful attack against the browser running on a Windows machine.  &quot;We are (un)happy to announce that we have officially Pwnd Google Chrome and its sandbox,&quot; the Vupen Security blog said. &quot;The exploit shown in this video is one of the most sophisticated codes we have seen and created so far as it bypasses all security features including ASLR [Address Space Layout Randomization]/DEP [Data Execution Prevention]/Sandbox, it is silent [no crash after executing the payload], it relies on undisclosed (0day) vulnerabilities discovered by VUPEN and it works on all Windows systems (32-bit and x64).&quot;  In the video, someone using Chrome v11.0.696.65 onWindows 7 Service Pack 1 (x64) is tricked into visiting a malicious Web page hosting the exploit. Once the machine is compromised, the exploit code downloads a Calculator program from a remote location and launches it outside the sandbox at &quot;medium&quot; integrity level, according to Vupen.  &quot;While Chrome has one of the most secure sandboxes and has always survived the Pwn2Own contest during the last three years, we have now uncovered a reliable way to execute arbitrary code on any installation of Chrome despite its sandbox, ASLR and DEP,&quot; the post said.  Vupen, which did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment today, said it would not publicly disclose the exploit code or technical details of the vulnerabilities but will share them with its government customers as part of its vulnerability research services.  Asked for comment, a Google spokesman said: &quot;We're unable to verify VUPEN's claims at this time as we have not received any details from them. Should any modifications become necessary, users will be automatically updated to the latest version of Chrome.&quot; Chrome's sandbox technology is designed to isolate code from other parts of the computer so that if malicious code does get in, its damage is limited. Adobe has added sandbox technology to Reader. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[McAfee: Cybercrooks target corporate trade secrets]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mcafee-cybercrooks-target-corporate-trade-secrets</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mcafee-cybercrooks-target-corporate-trade-secrets</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:10:39 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=mcafee-cybercrooks-target-corporate-trade-secrets</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Cybercriminals are increasingly moving from stealing just personal data to capturing trade secrets and other corporate intellectual capital that they can easily sell through the underground market, according to a new report from McAfee and the SAIC.In today's release of a new study, &quot;Underground Economies: Intellectual Capital and Sensitive Corporate Data Now the Latest Cybercrime Currency&quot; (PDF), McAfee and the Science Applications International Corporate find that the theft of trade secrets, marketing plans, R&amp;amp'D data, and even source code is on the rise, especially as such information is often unprotected.Based on a global survey of IT professionals, the report uncovered a number of findings.A quarter of the companies surveyed said a data breach or just the threat of one has put a halt on plans for a merger or new product launch. Among those that actually suffered a data breach, only half of them took the necessary steps to prevent it from happening again.Among companies that have been hit by cyberattacks, only about 3 in 10 have reported all such breaches, while 6 in 10 picked and chose which ones they reported. Along those lines, many organizations specifically look to store their data in countries where the laws are more lax over reporting data breaches to customers.Hit by the recent economy downturn, many companies have been looking at cheaper ways of processing and storing their information abroad despite the potential risks, the report said. Across the world, China, Russia, and Pakistan are thought to be the least secure areas for storing critical data, while the U.S., U.K., and Germany are perceived to the safest. Currently, companies in the U.S., China, and India spend about $1 million a week to secure their sensitive data outside their own countries, the report said.The information technology industry itself continues to be challenged trying to secure the wave of iPhones, iPads, and Android devices that employees are increasingly using on the job for sharing data, the report found. &quot;Cybercriminals have shifted their focus from physical assets to data-driven properties, such as trade secrets or product planning documents,&quot; said Simon Hunt, vice president and chief technology officer for endpoint security at McAfee. &quot;We've seen significant attacks targeting this type of information. Sophisticated attacks such as Operation Aurora, and even unsophisticated attacks like Night Dragon, have infiltrated some of the of the largest, and seemingly most protected corporations in the world. Criminals are targeting corporate intellectual capital and they are often succeeding.&quot;To generate the report, McAfee and the SAIC worked with Vanson Bourne to survey more than 1,000 senior IT decision makers across the U.S., U.K, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and the Middle East during November and December of last year. This latest report is a follow-up to a 2008 report entitled &quot;Unsecured Economies,&quot; which at the time found that cybercrime was costing companies more than $1 trillion globally.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Motorola's ITC complaint against Microsoft to be heard]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=motorolas-itc-complaint-against-microsoft-to-be-heard</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=motorolas-itc-complaint-against-microsoft-to-be-heard</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=motorolas-itc-complaint-against-microsoft-to-be-heard</guid>
<description><![CDATA[If there's any coal in Motorola's stocking this year, it could be from Microsoft.Reuters is reporting that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has agreed to hear Motorola's case against Microsoft, which it filed in late November. Handset maker Motorola Mobility, which Motorola plans to spin off next year, filed its complaint against Microsoft due to the company's use of Motorola patents in itsXbox game console. Included in those patents were things like wireless networking and video decoding.Motorola is seeking an exclusion order, as well as a cease and desist order against Microsoft in order to keep its game systems from being imported into the U.S. The ITC notes that the case still needs to be assigned to one of its six administrative law judges before a hearing can be scheduled. Whatever decision is made by that judge then gets reviewed by the commission, a process that can take up to 45 days after the hearing takes place. Related: ITC to probe Apple patent claims against Motorola<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Yamaha's YSP-2200 brings slim to its sound bars]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yamahas-ysp-2200-brings-slim-to-its-sound-bars</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yamahas-ysp-2200-brings-slim-to-its-sound-bars</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:10:59 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yamahas-ysp-2200-brings-slim-to-its-sound-bars</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Yamaha&amp;39's new YSP-2200(Credit:Yamaha)We've consistently marked Yamaha's Digital Sound Projectors as the best-sounding sound bar home theater systems money can buy, but their high price and bulky designs can be a turn-off to people looking for a more simple home theater solution.Yamaha's newly announced YSP-2200 features a new slimline design that differs drastically from the rest of Yamaha's Sound Projector line. While it's still bigger than many other sound bars, its 3.5-inch height means you can place it in front of your HDTV without blocking the screen. The slim cabinet houses 16 drivers, which reflect sound off nearby walls to create the illusion of surround sound. It's connectivity is highlighted by four HDMI 1.4 inputs--a rarity for sound bars--and each input is 3D compatible. The YSP-2200 also includes a separate 100-watt subwoofer.The YSP-2200's integration of a full Digital Sound Projector system into a slim cabinet is definitely a step in the right direction, but its $1,000 list price is going to be a sticking point for many buyers now that many capable sound bar home theater systems are available for less than $500.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Analyst: Kinect sales already higher than Move]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-kinect-sales-already-higher-than-move</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-kinect-sales-already-higher-than-move</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 02 Dec 2010 08:10:20 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=analyst-kinect-sales-already-higher-than-move</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Kinect is now outselling the PlayStation Move, analyst Michael Pachter says.(Credit:Microsoft)So much for thePlayStation Move's sales lead over the Kinect.Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter released a note yesterday saying Microsoft has sold more units of its motion-control device, Kinect, than Sony has sold PlayStation Move units, even though the Move launched weeks earlier.&quot;The higher-priced Kinect controller appears to have overtaken the Move controller in the sales races, with sales about even notwithstanding Move's six-week head start in the marketplace,&quot; Pachter wrote in a research note to clients.Pachter came to that conclusion by analyzing information offered up recently by both Sony and Microsoft. Earlier this week, Sony said that it sold 4.1 million Move units through November since its motion controller's launch back in September. The company later clarified that its sales were those made to retailers and not to consumers. It wouldn't divulge how many units were actually sold to consumers so far.However, using that figure, Pachter estimates that Sony has sold approximately 2.5 million Move units to consumers since the device's launch. That figure matches Microsoft's own announcement this week, claiming it sold 2.5 million Kinect units to consumers in the device's first 25 days of availability. The motion-gaming peripheral launched on November 4 in North America.Based on his contention that sales were even at the end of November, and considering Microsoft's sales pace is far more rapid that Sony's, Pachter believes Kinect is now outselling the Move. And through the rest of the year, that trend will likely continue. In fact, Pachter believes Microsoft will hit its Kinect sales target of 5 million units sold. He believes Sony will sell a total of 3 million Move units by the end of the year.The latest data Pachter presents follows what analysts, including Pachter, have been saying for quite some time.In an interview with CNET last month, Pachter said that he fully believed that Kinect would hit the 5 million sales mark by the end of the year. He said that he thought Sony would sell 3 million PlayStation Move units by the end of 2010, but it was &quot;possible&quot; for the company to sell 3.5 million Move units with &quot;a pickup in advertising.&quot;Neither Sony nor Microsoft immediately responded to a request for comment.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Amazon deal: $100 Flip Ultra HD]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amazon-deal-100-flip-ultra-hd</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amazon-deal-100-flip-ultra-hd</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Nov 2010 08:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=amazon-deal-100-flip-ultra-hd</guid>
<description><![CDATA[On sale for $99.99 for a few more hours.(Credit:Amazon)If you're looking for a budget camcorders for the holidays, you might consider grabbing the Flip Ultra HD (third generation--4GB) today at Amazon for $99.99.This isn't the latest Ultra HD, but it normally retails for $149.99, so $99.99 is a good price--it's the lowest price we've seen, though some other online stores are offering it up for a few bucks more. The newest version offers some very modest improvements, but its video quality is very similar. Read our full review of the Ultra HD (4GB) here.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Browsing the Web with a wave of the hand]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=browsing-the-web-with-a-wave-of-the-hand</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=browsing-the-web-with-a-wave-of-the-hand</comments>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:10:12 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Social</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=browsing-the-web-with-a-wave-of-the-hand</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Imagine if you could pray to your computer to stop the beach ball of doom from spinning, the blue screen of death from staring you in the face.Perhaps someday sooner than we think, such a simple, palm-to-palm gesture might actually serve to trigger a series of operations that would lead to an appropriate fix.As reported by Engadget and Read, Write, Web, a group of students at MIT's Media Lab has hacked around with Microsoft's Kinect gaming technology, Google's Chrome browser, and Javascript to allow Web surfers to manipulate a browser with nothing more than gestures.The Fluid Interfaces Group is devoted to moving user interface design beyond the keyboard-and-mouse approach, and this recent Kinect-based project--called DepthJS--does just that, allowing Internet users to navigate through open browser tabs by way of mystical, Obi-Wan-like waving gestures and Bruce Lee-like fist moves. Other gesturally controlled browser and screen operations include scrolling, clicking links, panning around a page, and zooming.Viewing the group's DepthJS video demonstration, it's not hard to imagine myriad applications and various benefits. As several readers of blog posts about the project have noted, it could be a godsend for Google TV couch potatoes. And as one particularly insightful reader pointed out, it could perhaps help mitigate carpal tunnel syndrome (though it might simply replace that affliction with some other condition--browser's elbow).As the Fluid Interfaces Group says on its Vimeo page, &quot;Navigating the Web is only one application of the framework we built--that is, we envision all sorts of applications that run in the browser, from games to specific utilities for specific sites. The great part is that now Web developers who specialize in Javascript can work with the Kinect without having to learn any special languages or code. We believe this will allow a new set of interactions beyond what we first developed.&quot;Developers can check out the DepthJS code on GitHub.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Digg publisher and chief revenue officer departs for start-up]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=digg-publisher-and-chief-revenue-officer-departs-for-start-up</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=digg-publisher-and-chief-revenue-officer-departs-for-start-up</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:21:38 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=digg-publisher-and-chief-revenue-officer-departs-for-start-up</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:All Things Digital)Chas Edwards (pictured here), the publisher and chief revenue officer for Digg, the social news discovery service, is leaving the San Francisco company, according to sources.The exec, who came to Digg in May of 2009 from Federated Media, will move to a start-up called Pixazza, a photo-tagging site for advertising, &quot;by enabling consumers to simply mouse over images to learn more and see related products.&quot;Edwards' title at Pixazza-which confirmed the move-will be as chief revenue officer and publisher development.The Mountain View, Calif.-based company has garnered almost $18 million in funding from Google Ventures, CMEA Ventures, August Capital, Foundation Capital and Shasta Ventures, as well as from angel investors Ron Conway, Gideon Yu and Maynard Webb.The departure from Digg, sources said, is amicable, and Edwards will remain an adviser to the company, which has been undergoing some turmoil of late.That's been due to a much-criticized new version of the once-hot service, as well as some management upheaval.Digg recently appointed Matt Williams as its new CEO. He quickly apologized for the bungled relaunch of the news aggregator and has promised to fix its problems.Story Copyright (c) 2010 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitter confirms analytics test, says there&'s no release date]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-confirms-analytics-test-says-therersquos-no-release-date</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-confirms-analytics-test-says-therersquos-no-release-date</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitter-confirms-analytics-test-says-therersquos-no-release-date</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Twitter is testing an analytics dashboard that will help users, especially corporate users, figure out what&amp;'s is and isn&amp;'t working in their usage of the microblogging service.Mashable first reported the test and published a couple of screenshots (I&amp;'ve reproduced one below). The screenshots show one section for tracking general activity on your account, including how many times you have been mentioned, followed, and un-followed. It also shows which of your messages posted to Twitter seem to have gotten the best response, based on the number of users who marked it as a favorite, retweeted it, and replied to it.There&amp;'s a separate page for Promoted Tweets (which is one of the forms of advertising sold by Twitter sells) showing how often the message has seen, clicked on, retweeted, and replied to.When I asked Twitter about the report, a spokesperson confirmed the test via email:We gave a very small group of Twitter users access to a simple and straightforward analytics dashboard, as part of an alpha test. This first group of testers includes users who have worked with Twitter and are doing interesting things with their Twitter accounts. We&amp;'re experimenting with tools like this to give users insight on how to make their Tweets more compelling for Twitter users, and we don&amp;'t have a timeline for wider distribution. There&amp;'s a strong corporate demand for better monitoring and analytics tools, and we want to help developers take advantage of this significant opportunity. For example, it was announced today that we partnered with Gnip, which will sub-license access to public Tweets and give developers an efficient way to access the Twitter stream for analytics purposes.Back in September, Twitter business development executive Ross Hoffman told an audience of marketers that the company was working on an analytics dashboard developed by the team behind acquired analytics startup Trendly. At the time, we were surprised that Hoffman said the service would be free, but free analytics could be indirectly lucrative for Twitter by helping advertisers track their campaigns.This is shaping up to be a big news day for the company. There are rumors that Twitter is raising more funding at a $3 billion valuation, and co-founder Ev Williams is scheduled to take the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit later this afternoon.Next Story: Tech banker Frank Quattrone foresees lots of cross-industry mergers Previous Story: LinkedIn CEO: &amp;''Keg stands&amp;'' will protect us from Facebook invasionPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: AnalyticsCompanies: Twitter          Tags: AnalyticsCompanies: TwitterAnthony 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[You&'ve got mail &8212' still How AOL failed to catch Facebook]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yoursquove-got-mail-8212-still-how-aol-failed-to-catch-facebook</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yoursquove-got-mail-8212-still-how-aol-failed-to-catch-facebook</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=yoursquove-got-mail-8212-still-how-aol-failed-to-catch-facebook</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Oh, AOL. The Internet giant, in mid-turnaround under CEO Tim Armstrong, can&amp;'t help but seem a bit bumbly still.Take, for example, its announcementthat it had recently revamped its AOL Mail system as part of an overall makeover of the companya4a4s products. It might have seen like a thunder-stealing move to unveil the new AOL Mail on Sunday, amid heavy buzz about a planned Facebook announcement Monday &amp;8212' had Facebook not revealed a messaging service that extends far beyond email.The full AOL product will be released early next year, but interested users can sign up to request an invitation to the beta version today, said the company.Dubbed Project Phoenix, the new AOL Mail has helped itself to some of Gmaila4a4s more popular features&amp;8211'it lets you a4Astara4 messages or rank them by importance, as well as providing a simple, easy-to-read navigation bar at the top.It has a streamlined look that is a far cry from its traditionally busy design, with the aforementioned Quick Bar at the top of the page letting AOLa4a4s users create texts, emails and instant messages quickly and easily.It also now allows users to aggregate all their email in one place, linking all of a usersa4a4 other email addresses to their AOL account. Most importantly, perhaps, it has ways for users to shed their aol.com addresses for newer, perhaps less square, ones, such as wow.com, games.com, ygm.com and love.com.A Smart View sidebar lets them keep content like photos or attachments in unopened messages, even if theya4a4ve given them a quick glance to see what they contain, while you can now have several messages up and open at once without overshadowing the inbox.In addition to keeping it competitive with faster, more nimble competitors like Google and Facebook, revamping their mail feature is crucial to the companya4a4s bottom line: AOL said in a statement that AOL Mail still accounts for as much as 45 percent of the pageviews on the network.&amp;''Email remains one of the most vital communication tools despite all of the new sites and apps available to consumers today,&amp;'' said Brad Garlinghouse, president of AOL&amp;'s Consumer Applications Group. &amp;''There is still so much innovation to be done in the space and Project Phoenix is just the beginning.&amp;''Still, despite AOL&amp;'s enthusiasm about the project, it is clear that the changes made through the hopefully named Phoenix are largely predictable, cosmetic and long overdue.The new features also showed very little of the inventiveness and agility displayed today by its younger, far hipper rival Facebook &amp;8212' proving AOL obviously has a long way to go before it can convince an increasingly sophisticated user base that it isn&amp;'t your mother&amp;'s dial-up web connection anymore.Next Story: E-recruiter RealMatch scores $4.7M in funding and a Monster CEO Previous Story: Google chief says web-connected TVs will lead to fountain of new revenue sourcesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: AOL Mail, email, Facebook Messages, project phoenixCompanies: aol, FacebookPeople: Brad Garlinghouse, Tim Armstrong          Tags: AOL Mail, email, Facebook Messages, project phoenixCompanies: aol, FacebookPeople: Brad Garlinghouse, Tim ArmstrongRiley McDermid is a contributing reporter to VentureBeat. She was previously the online editor at institutional investing and trading forum Markets Media, which she joined in 2008 from Dow Jones/MarketWatch in New York. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, the Associated Press, Portfolio Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Barrona4a4s. She has won awards from the American Society of Business Publishers and Editors, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Mississippi Press Association and the Atlanta Press Club, and was a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize for excellence in news reporting.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[Andreessen Horowitz Isn&'t Hedging its Bets with Picplz and Instagram' It Has Picked&nbsp'Picplz]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=andreessen-horowitz-isnrsquot-hedging-its-bets-with-picplz-and-instagram-it-has-pickednbsppicplz</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=andreessen-horowitz-isnrsquot-hedging-its-bets-with-picplz-and-instagram-it-has-pickednbsppicplz</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=andreessen-horowitz-isnrsquot-hedging-its-bets-with-picplz-and-instagram-it-has-pickednbsppicplz</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It&amp;'s a strict rule in the venture business that you don&amp;'t fund two direct competitors, for obvious reasons. There&amp;'s a massive difference between the valuation of the number one player in the market (think YouTube) and the number two player (think any of the other hundreds of online video companies launched in the mid-2000s). It&amp;'s in a venture capitalist&amp;'s best interest to make his presence on a board of directors a competitive advantage, otherwise he&amp;'s just a checkbook and checkbooks are interchangeable in an industry with too much money floating around. Two companies can&amp;'t very well have the same competitive advantage.So yesterday&amp;'s announcement that Andreessen Horowitz was following up a seed investment with a venture investment in Dalton Caldwell and Bryan Berg&amp;'s new company Picplz was a bit of a surprise, given the firm&amp;'s existing investment in Halloween-costume-capturing-darling Instagram. The two are essentially direct competitors. I asked Marc Andreessen about it today, and he was quick to point out that&amp;'s not how the two started, and if they had the firm wouldn&amp;'t have invested in both of them.What&amp;'s more&amp;8211' now that the firm has made the decision to do a venture capital round in Picplz, it has essentially picked between the two. Without another pivot, the firm will not make another investment in Instagram, he said. Already, Andreessen Horowitz didn&amp;'t have a board seat in the company, and it will become an even more passive investment for the firm as a result of the Picplz deal. &amp;''This kind of stuff happens all the time. Entrepreneurs are like heat-seeking-missles' they gravitate towards good opportunities,&amp;'' Andreessen says. &amp;''It&amp;'s less of a choice against Kevin and Instagram as it was we were just very excited about working with Dalton.&amp;''Andreessen had nothing but kind words for Instagram&amp;'s founders, giving them credit for pivoting away from the original vision, as we wrote about here. The company was originally called Burbn and was a larger, more vague iPhone app that the team worked on for a year, and then mostly tossed out in favor of the part they liked, which wound up being Instagram.Picplz has hewed closer to its original plan, although the vision is much larger. &amp;''We&amp;'re taking a big swing here,&amp;'' Caldwell said on the phone today. So far, the entrepreneurs are mum on details&amp;8211' understandable given the bruising experience with their previous company Imeem. But the idea is to build something in the vein of Zynga, Slide or ngmoco, a company that leverages a common technology stack, distribution network and monetization engine to roll out lots of apps built by a network of small teams. That makes it less surprising this is the companya4sAndreessen Horowitz picked. The firm prefersa4sbig potential homerun companies, not so much solitary iPhone apps.It&amp;'s gotta be awkward though. And given the huge increase in seed funding this kind of thing will happen more and more.CrunchBase InformationInstagramInformation provided by CrunchBaseCrunchBase InformationpicplzInformation provided by CrunchBaseCrunchBase InformationAndreessen HorowitzInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Local Hero: Keith Lee, Booyah]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=local-hero-keith-lee-booyah</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=local-hero-keith-lee-booyah</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=local-hero-keith-lee-booyah</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Company: BooyahLocation: San FranciscoFounded: August 2008Founders: Keith Lee, Brian Morrisroe, Sam ChristiansenFunding: $29.5 millionEmployees: 50In the heart of San Francisco, Booyah cofounder and chief executive Keith Lee is taking his video-gaming experience and bringing it to the location world. Often times referred to as the new Monopoly, Booyah&amp;'s MyTown, an iPhone and iPod Touch game, allows users to buy their favorite locations and charge virtual rent as a way of scoring points. The gaming model goes beyond other services&amp;' badges and titles for a potentially more engaging experience. We caught up with Lee to talk more about his quest to build a new generation of games and how MyTown is helping to lead that charge.Why did you start the companyAll the founders worked at Blizzard Entertainment and were hardcore gamers. While there, we worked to create epic games with the goal of deep engagement. We began to notice the iPhone and other platforms starting to explode, so we said, &amp;''Why dona4a4t we make a real-life game and improve peoplea4a4s lives by validating their location and having fun&amp;''Whata4a4s the coolest place you checked into recentlyAT&amp;amp'T Park. Unfortunately, I wasna4a4t at a playoff game, but still ended up paying $80 for parking.When did you realize it was working I remember going to several parties and events and having people come up to me saying the game was really cool and that it was liike playing Monopoly on their phones. After the first month, there wasna4a4t a location in our database in the U.S. that hadna4a4t been bought yet on the game.What&amp;'s next for the location-based industry and servicesNow that people are familiar with the check in, ita4a4s now about providing the incentive and activities to make people want to continuously share their location. In addition, the technology for validating a check-in is going to get better and better and is going to be critical. Finally, the check-in is going to expand outside of location and be a key for validating any activities you do. For example, if you go to Equinox to exercise, the check-in will allow the user to share that they went running, which opens up a lot of great opportunities.Where are you checking in nextThe Hard Festival in Los Angeles for Halloween.VentureBeat&amp;'s Local Heroes series is sponsored by Adobe and is also available as an Adobe Acrobat X Pro portfolio. Check out the portfolio to read the entire series and get additional content.Next Story: Are venture capitalists sheep Why cleantech investing is down Previous Story: Local Hero: Josh Williams, GowallaPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: iPhone, iPhone games, Local Heroes, location based services, MyTownCompanies: BooyahPeople: Keith Lee          Tags: iPhone, iPhone games, Local Heroes, location based services, MyTownCompanies: BooyahPeople: Keith LeeCody Barbierri is a social and digital media consultant. He works for Piehead and blogs about social media at Social Tab. (None of his posts are about clients or their competitors.) Reach him at Cody@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Cody 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[IBM, Intel, TechStars and the White House start up America]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ibm-intel-techstars-and-the-white-house-start-up-america</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ibm-intel-techstars-and-the-white-house-start-up-america</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ibm-intel-techstars-and-the-white-house-start-up-america</guid>
<description><![CDATA[No, America didn&amp;'t suffer a breakdown. But according to a &amp;''Startup America&amp;'' campaignlaunched by the White House to encourage high-growth entrepreneurship in the U.S., it could use a jump-start of entrepreneurial energy. Multiple tech companies will contribute to the campaign but some of the biggest announcements come from IBM, Intel and Techstars, a startup-incubation program.IBM has announced that it will invest 150$ million in 2011 to fund programs thatpromote entrepreneurs and new business opportunities in the United States. Intel Capital will commit $200 million of new investment to U.S. companies. Startup accelerator Techstars will launch national startup accelerator network which aims to create 25,000 new jobs by 2015.Recent research concluded that new companies like high-tech startupscreate the greatest number of jobs so it&amp;'s not surprising that the White House wants to encourage startups.IBM launched an extensive global entrepreneur program in 2010 providing startups with mentoring and access to IBM research, software and customers. This included the IBM smartcamp competition, won by the San Francisco-based Streetline. IBM will spend $150 million in total on the entrepreneur program in the U.S. this year.I talked to Mike Riegel, vice president of ISV and developer relations at IBM, about the program. He told me about some new additions to IBM&amp;'s entrepreneur program such as establishing centers of excellence on college campuses which produce employees with the skills startups need. IBM is also launching a Skills Tour that will visit 15 universities andbring together students, professors, venture capital and non-profit leaders to discussthe skills needed for leadership jobs in the 21st century. Three local smartcamp competitions are scheduled in the U.S. in 2011.Startup accelerator and seed investor TechStars launched the Techstars network to connect independently owned and operated startup accelerator programs from dozens of cities across the United States, from Miami to Seattle and Nashville to New Orleans. The network aims to create 25,000 jobs by 2015 with the involvement of5,000 experienced business leaders and investors as mentors to 6,000 entrepreneurs. Currently there are 16 TechStars Network member organizations across the United States and around the world.TechStars previously announced an international expansion of its accelerator program from the first location outside the US &amp;8211' Copenhagen &amp;8211' to Madrid, London and Berlin in 2011.Next Story: On the GreenBeat: Think&amp;'s electric car gets recalled, Khosla bets against lithium-ion car batteries Previous Story: Users give mobile apps one shot 26% of the timePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: startup, White HouseCompanies: IBM, Intel, streetline, techstarsPeople: Mike Riegel          Tags: startup, White HouseCompanies: IBM, Intel, streetline, techstarsPeople: Mike RiegelCiara Byrne is a full time techie and part-time writer. She has worked as a software developer, team lead, engineering manager and mobile standards expert. Ciara is based in Amsterdam and her interests include creative companies, useful technology, torture by piano and cycling in high heels. Follow her on Twitter at @deciara.  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[Survey suggests local businesses checking in to Facebook Places]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=survey-suggests-local-businesses-checking-in-to-facebook-places</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=survey-suggests-local-businesses-checking-in-to-facebook-places</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=survey-suggests-local-businesses-checking-in-to-facebook-places</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Facebook Places, the feature that allows users to check in and share their location, may be winning the hearts and dollars of local businesses, according to a MerchantCircle quarterly report of more than 8,000 U.S. local businesses.First reported by The Financial Times, Facebook Places is getting a larger percent of businesses using the service compared to location-based competitors Foursquare and Gowalla. The survey suggests that 32 percent of businesses are promoting their services through Facebook Places, while 12 percent plan to over the coming months. Just 9 percent of businesses are currently using Foursquare and Gowalla comes in at around 3 percent, both also have businesses planning to use their services in the near future, though small percentages.While one might think that Facebook would naturally have an advantage over these startups because businesses are already creating business Pages, the Places check in feature is relatively new, launching in August of 2010. Foursquare and Gowalla were both launched in 2009 and, while first to the scene, it appears that Facebook&amp;'s already established presence among businesses is paying off in the space. This may be because there is an easier transition for businesses to go from using Pages to promote themselves to Places.The survey also noted that 72 percent of local businesses only plan on spending less than $5,000 a year with 34 percent of that number spending less than $1,000. With so much competition for these dollars, it makes one wonder if these startups have alternative business models in mind.Next Story: Applea4a4s iPhone 5 may sport a 4-inch screen Previous Story: Madison Avenue meets Sand Hill Road: KBS+P Ventures bets on ad startupsPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: check-in, Facebook Pages, Local, local business, local businesses, location based services, location-based, promotionCompanies: Facebook Places, Foursquare, Gowalla, MerchantCircle          Tags: check-in, Facebook Pages, Local, local business, local businesses, location based services, location-based, promotionCompanies: Facebook Places, Foursquare, Gowalla, MerchantCircleCody Barbierri is a social and digital media consultant. He works for Piehead and blogs about social media at Social Tab. (None of his posts are about clients or their competitors.) Reach him at Cody@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Cody on Twitter. 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[iPad 2 rumors settle on thinner body and cameras, no high-res display]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-rumors-settle-on-thinner-body-and-cameras-no-high-res-display</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-rumors-settle-on-thinner-body-and-cameras-no-high-res-display</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-2-rumors-settle-on-thinner-body-and-cameras-no-high-res-display</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Now that we&amp;'re only a week away from Apple&amp;'s iPad 2 launch event, rumors surrounding the tablet are finally coming into focus. At this point, we can expect the iPad 2 to feature a thinner design, hardware upgrades and front and rear cameras, a source tells the gadget blog Engadget.Missing on that list is the often-rumored high-resolution display for the iPad 2, as well as a Secure Digital card slot for expanding memory. A source that Engadget describes as being &amp;''dead right on specific Apple plans&amp;'', says that engineering issues led Apple to drop the features.If true, the news means the iPad 2 will feature the same 1024 by 768 resolution display as the iPad 1, which pales in comparison to the sharper resolutions found on competing tablets like the Motorola Xoom (which has a 1280 by 800 display). It also keeps the iPad 2&amp;'s display from rendering text and images as well as the iPhone 4&amp;'s incredibly sharp &amp;''Retina Display.&amp;''The iPad 2 is expected to run Apple&amp;'s new dual-core A5 chip, which will likely make its way to the iPhone 5 as well. It will have more RAM than the original model (512 megabytes), and at this point it&amp;'s pretty certain that the tablet will have front and rear cameras. Apple may also use the iPad 2 launch event to show off some new features in iOS 5, the next major version of its mobile operating system.The lack of an SD card slot may work against the iPad 2, as competing tablets often include it as a standard feature. It allows users to plug in their own memory cards to expand the storage on their tablets. The iPad 2 may seem overly restrictive in comparison. But of course, that won&amp;'t stop Apple from selling a ton of them.Next Story: Grameen IT CEO on how technology transformed Bangladesh Previous Story: Why China could rule the new age of gamesPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: iOS, iPad, iPad 2, tabletsCompanies: Apple          Tags: iOS, iPad, iPad 2, tabletsCompanies: AppleDevindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra. 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[Damnit Amex, Give Me A Credit&nbsp'Card]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=damnit-amex-give-me-a-creditnbspcard</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=damnit-amex-give-me-a-creditnbspcard</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=damnit-amex-give-me-a-creditnbspcard</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Just about every evening investor Dave McClure sends me an email pitching one of his startups for a story. Company X just got a user! That sort of thing. Tonight though the pitch was a little more interesting. Credit Karma, a startup we first covered late last year, now has more than 2 million members. Revenue is &amp;''8-10X higher than last year,&amp;'' but without a hard number and my understanding that last year they had zero revenue makes that somewhat less impressive.But the service is really cool. I have recently been in credit card hell. Chase dropped my credit limit on my United card to absolutely nothing for no reason at all last year, and won&amp;'t increase it. I&amp;'ve also been declined by American Express, repeatedly, for a Starwood credit card. Yeah, I know. Boo hoo. But the point is I need a credit card for travel and to otherwise live my life. I&amp;'m too lazy to ever check my credit score, but Credit Karma made it easy enough even for me. I gave it just about all of my personal data and hit submit. Then, zap &amp;8211' I see that my credit score is 748, which is considered &amp;''excellent&amp;'' and in the 78th percentile. &amp;''Given that you have a high credit score lenders should be able to conclude that you are capable of repaying your debts,&amp;'' says Credit Karma, and I wholeheartedly agree.There&amp;'s more. I can also see a detailed report on how my credit score is calculated.Open Credit Card Utilization: 0%. That&amp;'s bad, and I get a &amp;''C&amp;''Percent On Time Payments: 100%. That&amp;'s good. An &amp;''A&amp;''Average Age Of Open Credit Lines: 9 years, 1 month. An &amp;''A&amp;''Total Accounts: 15. That&amp;'s bad, too few, no idea why, a &amp;''C&amp;''Hard Credit Inquiries: 6. That&amp;'s me trying to get Chase and Amex to give me credit. Too many, a &amp;''C&amp;''Total Debt: $0. Apparently that&amp;'s bad too.If I owned a bank, and I hadn&amp;'t yet embezzled all of my customers&amp;' money and moved to Brazil, I&amp;'d definitely give me a credit card. All the bad stuff is that I&amp;'m not actually using credit, or have too few credit accounts, and don&amp;'t have any debt. I mean seriously Amex. Give me a damn credit card. Whatever you&amp;'re using to figure out who gets one is really broken.Update: Hilarious.CrunchBase InformationCredit KarmaInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Former Digg VP Of Engineering Lands At Gilt&nbsp'Groupe]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=former-digg-vp-of-engineering-lands-at-giltnbspgroupe</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=former-digg-vp-of-engineering-lands-at-giltnbspgroupe</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sarah02</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=former-digg-vp-of-engineering-lands-at-giltnbspgroupe</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Well there&amp;'s at least one former Digg engineer out there that had a happier Thanksgiving.a4sWe&amp;'ve gotten word that John Quinn, former Digg VP of Engineering, will be joining luxury discount marketplace Gilt Groupe as VP of Engineering come next Monday. Quinn will be working out of the Gilt Groupe New York office under CIO Steve Jacobs.Prior to Gilt Groupe, Quinn had spent three years at Digg and before that was VP of Engineering at Squaretrade. According to our sources, Quinn was instrumental in the problematic Digg v4 redesign and its bumpy move over to a Cassandra versus MySQL database. Judging by the Digg team page Digg has not yet replaced Quinn as VP.Gilt Groupe CIOa4sSteve Jacobs tells TechCrunch that the new hire will be focusing on scaling and that the company is growing rapidly, &amp;''Gilt is expanding into new businesses all the time and we&amp;'re making sure that we have the right people in place. People do not think of Gilt as a technology company and we are a technology company.&amp;'' When asked about concerns that Quinn bore responsibility for some of Digg&amp;'s infrastructure stumbles, Jacobs said, &amp;''I&amp;'m not worried about that for Gilt.&amp;'' Gilt Groupe, which has $83 million in funding led by Matrix Partners, recently launched Gilt City, a local deals network that aims to be a more high-end niche Groupon.CrunchBase InformationGilt GroupeJohn QuinnInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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