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<title>Haaze.com / archibaldj / Published News</title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com</link>
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<pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:12:10 +0000</pubDate>
<language>en</language>
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<title><![CDATA[Huge global pedophile ring busted, officials say]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=huge-global-pedophile-ring-busted-officials-say</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=huge-global-pedophile-ring-busted-officials-say</comments>
<pubDate>Wed, 16 Mar 2011 07:12:10 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=huge-global-pedophile-ring-busted-officials-say</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Police have arrested 184 people accused of participating in what authorities are calling the largest global pedophile network ever uncovered--and more arrests are expected, Europol said today.Authorities infiltrated an Internet child pornography forum that was the center of the network and had as many as 70,000 members at one time, Europol said in a statement. About 670 suspects and 230 children have been identified in the investigation, officials said, adding that the children have been &quot;safeguarded.&quot; The Web site, which has been taken down, was traced to a server in Holland in 2009. Europol got a copy of it and rebuilt it offline to conduct a forensic investigation and gather digital traces that would lead back to the members. The site operated as a &quot;discussion only&quot; forum to protect members from prosecution. People would make contact on the site and then use e-mail to exchange photos and videos, which has been found on seized computers, according to Europol.  The scale of the operation &quot;broke new ground,&quot; Peter Davies, a U.K. police chief who leads that country's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, told The Wall Street Journal. &quot;These offenders felt anonymous, but everything they did online was tracked using the digital footprint.&quot;<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Netflix offers $8 streaming-only option]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-offers-8-streaming-only-option</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-offers-8-streaming-only-option</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:10:44 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Marketing and advertising</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=netflix-offers-8-streaming-only-option</guid>
<description><![CDATA[(Credit:Netflix)Netflix has a new streaming-only option, the company announced today.The video rental company will now offer customers a plan that includes the ability to view movies through its streaming service for $7.99 per month. It was quick to point out that its cheapest plan includes no DVD rentals.In addition, Netflix has increased its streaming-plus-DVD-by-mail plans by $1 to $8 per month, depending on the option. Netflix's previous $8.99 plan, which offered streaming and one DVD out at a time is now $9.99. The company's two-DVD plan, plus streaming, is now $14.99, up from its previous $13.99 price tag.Netflix's three-DVD through eight-DVD plans have gone up based on the number of discs available at one time. So, its six DVD plan went up by $6, while its eight DVD plan is now higher by $8.The company said that it decided to change its plans because &quot;most members want us to deliver unlimited TV episodes and movies two ways: streaming instantly over the Internet plus DVDs by mail.&quot; By increasing the price of that dual option, Netflix says that it can &quot;continue to offer the popular plan choice of unlimited TV episodes and movies streaming instantly along with unlimited DVDs.&quot;By creating a new streaming-only option offered for $7.99 per month, Netflix has matched two other offers in one fell swoop: its Canadian streaming service and Hulu Plus. But it's the latter that it likely cares most about.Last week, Hulu dropped the price of its service from its old rate of $9.99 to $7.99, making it $1 cheaper than Netflix's then-cheapest streaming option. With its new plan, Netflix has put itself on an even playing field with Hulu on the many devices that both services are running on, including thePlayStation 3 and Roku boxes.It seems the streaming war between Hulu and Netflix has officially begun.Further reading:Netflix's secret sauce for acquiring content<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Gravity knows what you like' soon advertisers will, too]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gravity-knows-what-you-like-soon-advertisers-will-too</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gravity-knows-what-you-like-soon-advertisers-will-too</comments>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:10:03 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Mobile &amp; Electronics</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=gravity-knows-what-you-like-soon-advertisers-will-too</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Start-up Gravity is rolling out its ambitious advertising concepts at this week's Web 2.0 Summit. The foundation of the company's pitch is quite simple: CEO Amit Kapur says Gravity knows what you like and what you want better than any search engine. That information, of course, is gold to advertisers.  How Gravity gets that data and the theories behind it are a bit more complex than the simple pitch. Gravity has created an ontology of interests. Underneath all the company's data-mining technology is a database of about 4,000 concepts that are connected to 7.5 million &quot;interests&quot; and 100 million colloquial phrases. Human &quot;ontology monkeys&quot; (my term, not Kapur's), algorithms, and eventually crowdsourcing will keep the ontology up to date.  When you use one of these 100 million phrases in a social update--a Facebook post, a tweet, or a blog entry--Gravity notes which concepts you're talking about and files them under your name. Likewise, when you include a link to a Web page in an update, Gravity divines the top concepts from that page and those go in your profile too. <br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[5 car video game crossovers we want to see]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=5-car-video-game-crossovers-we-want-to-see</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=5-car-video-game-crossovers-we-want-to-see</comments>
<pubDate>Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:10:17 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=5-car-video-game-crossovers-we-want-to-see</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In light of the Jeep Wrangler making an appearance in the new Call of Duty: Black Ops, and the associated Wrangler Black Ops edition offered by Jeep, we came up with five other video gamecar crossovers we would like to see. We looked at the top games either available now or coming soon on GameSpot, and picked five likely candidates for a crossover deal.&amp;nbsp'Game&amp;nbsp'CarFallout: New VegasFord Shelby GT500If we're roaming the post-apocalyptic wastelands around New Vegas, we want to do it Mad Max-style. The Shelby GT500 has the mean looks and high horsepower to deal with missions in the Fallout world, and, most importantly, the engine has a blower. A Fallout edition Shelby GT500 should be primer black with gloss stripes.Fable IIIMitsubishi i-MievWith its pumpkin shape, the i-Miev would best fit in the fairytale world of Fable. These adventure games often require a lot of tedious walking from place to place, so we would rather drive. And the i-Miev's silent power train won't disturb the mythological creatures in the world. A Fable edition i-Miev would need appropriate livery, a heraldic design with plugs and lightning bolts.Halo: Reach Infiniti FX50Let's face it, the Warthog has been around for a long time. It's time for an update, and we can think of no more space-age-looking vehicle than the Infiniti FX50. With its big, powerful V-8 and all-wheel drive, it can tear across the landscape, mowing down anything that gets in your way. Of course, the game version will need a .50-caliber gun mounted out of the sunroof.Kinect Joy Ride Mazda MX-5 MiataOn the cartoony racetracks of Kinect Joy Ride, no car would fit in better than the Miata. Mazda's newest styling language gives the front of the Miata a big, silly grin. The car is pretty much a cartoon already. For the Joy Ride edition, it will need some CarLashes.Assassin's Creed: BrotherhoodLexus GX 460The main character in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood leads his revolution, occasionally using wagons to strike at opponents. But a Lexus GX 460 would give him the ability for quick drive-bys. Imagine this big SUV pulling up fast to the curb, loaded with assassins wielding crossbows and unleashing a volley at the bad guys. The Assassin's Creed edition of the GX 460 would need wood paneling, of course, for a better fit in this world.What cars would you like to see in video games, outside of the obvious Need for Speed and Gran Turismo franchises Tell us in the comments.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Apple starts churning out iPad 2]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-starts-churning-out-ipad-2</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-starts-churning-out-ipad-2</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Technology</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=apple-starts-churning-out-ipad-2</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Apple has started manufacturing the second version of its iPad tablet computer, according to the Wall Street Journal.The iPad 2 will come with a built-in camera (other reports have said two cameras) and a faster processor than the A4 processor in the original iPad that debuted in April, 2010, the WSJ said in a report that cited anonymous sources. Apple declined comment.The new device will be thinner and lighter than the first one and will have at least one camera on the front of the device for features such as video conference calls.The resolution of the display will be similar to that of the first iPad. Some observers had hoped that Apple would beef up the display to have much sharper high-definition clarity. The device will have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor. None of that is a surprise.The new iPad will be available on Verizon Wireless and AT&amp;amp'T but not on Sprint Nextel or T-Mobile USA in the U.S. Apple has sold more than 14.8 million units of the first iPad, capturing more than 75 percent of the tablet computer market in the fourth quarter. The tablet contributed $4.6 billion in sales, or 17 percent of overall revenue in the most recent financial quarter.The WSJ expects the new iPad to debut in the next couple of months at prices similar to the $499 to $829 prices for current versions of the iPad. Hon Hai Precision Industry, known as Foxconn, is assembling the new iPad.It will be interesting to see if this design will be as smashing as that last one. Rivals such as Samsung, Motorola Mobility, and Research in Motion are coming on strong with Android tablets. Hewlett-Packard is also expected to debut a new tablet computer tomorrow with the WebOS operating system from Palm, which HP acquired. Dell is expected to launch a 10-inch tablet computer with Windows 7.Next Story: There&amp;'s no room for common sense in startups Previous Story: Nokia CEO prepares troops to jump into the unknown &amp;8212' AKA Microsoft (Updated)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Foxconn, Hon Hai Precision Industry, iPad 2Companies: Apple          Tags: Foxconn, Hon Hai Precision Industry, iPad 2Companies: AppleDean 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[Honeycomb: Up close with Google&'s Android 3.0 for tablets (video)]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=honeycomb-up-close-with-googlersquos-android-3-0-for-tablets-video</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=honeycomb-up-close-with-googlersquos-android-3-0-for-tablets-video</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=honeycomb-up-close-with-googlersquos-android-3-0-for-tablets-video</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Google showed off more details of its Android 3.0 operating system for tablet computers today, code-named Honeycomb. We had a chance to get up close to see some of the new features such as a better way of presenting email, videos, music and home screen via rich graphics.Honeycomb is Google&amp;'s attempt to catch up with Apple&amp;'s iPad tablet and fuel a host of Android-based rivals. If it takes off, Apple will have some serious competition in the fast-growing tablet market, which Apple dominated in 2010. We took a bunch of video at today&amp;'s Android 3.0 event at Google&amp;'s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.As you can see from the picture of the user interface for YouTube, running on the Motorola Xoom tablet above, Honeycomb gives tablets a much more visually appealing, touchscreen-focused user interface. Honeycomb tablets can take advantage of 3D hardware acceleration and dual-core ARM-based microprocessors.Check out the video walk-through of some key features of Honeycomb below. You&amp;'ll see new features such as fragments, the action bar and the home screen.Next Story: CNN shows off an Android tablet app where users can post news (video) Previous Story: Disney Mobile throws its weight behind Android tablets (video)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Android 3.0, Honeycomb, iPad, Motorola Xoom, tabletCompanies: Apple, Google          Tags: Android 3.0, Honeycomb, iPad, Motorola Xoom, tabletCompanies: Apple, GoogleDean 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[The road to green is paved with data]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-road-to-green-is-paved-with-data</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-road-to-green-is-paved-with-data</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=the-road-to-green-is-paved-with-data</guid>
<description><![CDATA[This article is brought to you by Thomson Reuters and the Knowledge Effect. To learn more, please click here. As always, VentureBeat is adamant about maintaining editorial objectivity. Thomson Reuters had no involvement in the content of this post.Could information be the ultimate renewable energy sourcePerhaps. According to Jennifer Pulliam, director of innovation for electricity retailer TXU Energy, data is one of the most exciting opportunities in the smart grid &amp;8212' a much-needed upgrade to our power infrastructure driven by information technology.Data, Pulliam told me, allows customers to understand how they use energy &amp;8212' which in turn guides them to pick the best option from a broad menu of energy efficiency and pricing options that TXU has been working to cultivate in order to stay competitive in the deregulated Texas electricity market.Of course, making energy use data interesting and engaging is part of the challenge of selling consumers on the power of data. But opportunities in data go far beyond just what&amp;'s presented to consumers.Data was the biggest theme at VentureBeata4a4s GreenBeat conference last year. Software and services that will enable smart-grid analytics &amp;''will represent one of the largest growth opportunities in the utility sector over the next few years,&amp;'' according to Pike Research. The market &amp;8211' with contenders from IBM to Accenture to Siemens to Itron &amp;8212' will balloon from a size of $356 million last year to $4.2 billion in annual revenues by 2015.The use of data to yield energy savings is also core to many of the most promising segments of the energy efficiency market, from greening data centers to better building controls. Not coincidentally, all three sectors are expected to do well this year.Redwood Systems and SynapSense use sensors to find energy inefficiencies in energy-hogging data centers, while JouleX offers building controls monitoring and analytics. The latter two companies have attracted investment from GE.Weather will be a huge part of the opportunity, too, with companies like Genscape and even Google looking to use weather data to play in energy markets.One startup, Onsemble, wants to use weather and sensors atop wind turbines to produce more accurate weather forecasts. Better accuracy in weather forecasts are then used by building controls data-crunchers and analyzing software to help users save money on their energy bills.Building controls players like BuildingIQ, for example, loop in weather forecasts and past energy use to predict a buildinga4a4s energy needs &amp;8212' and recommend actions to offset them, such as pre-cooling a building in the morning, when load is lighter and electricity prices cheaper, say on a day expected to get hot in the afternoon. SCI recently nabbed $15.6 million for itsbuilding predictive analytics.Of course, it&amp;'s not just companies that can get hooked on data. Players like Motorola&amp;'s 4home, Verizon, Tendril and Intel are betting that their engaging displays will win over consumers and get them to adopt home energy and security management systems. Consumers love raw weather data too &amp;8212' smart thermostat maker Ecobee&amp;'s CEO Stuart Townsend told me today at the Smart Energy Summit in Austin that it&amp;'s one of users&amp;' favorite features in home energy displays.If data can capture energy consumers&amp;' imaginations, then perhaps it can power much-needed change across the sector.[Image via Flickr/LaMenta3]Next Story: Obama urges 80 percent clean energy by 2035, gives electric cars a shoutout Previous Story: Mobile app revenue will hit $15B in 2011PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: cleantech, data, predictive analytics, Smart Grid, weatherCompanies: Ecobee, Genscape, Google, IBM, itron, JouleX, Redwood Systems, SCI, Scientific Conservation, siemens, Synapsense, TXUPeople: Jennifer Pulliam, Stuart Townsend          Tags: cleantech, data, predictive analytics, Smart Grid, weatherCompanies: Ecobee, Genscape, Google, IBM, itron, JouleX, Redwood Systems, SCI, Scientific Conservation, siemens, Synapsense, TXUPeople: Jennifer Pulliam, Stuart TownsendIris 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). 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[On the GreenBeat: BP says renewable energy growth to beat oil, more of California&'s solar panels come from China]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=on-the-greenbeat-bp-says-renewable-energy-growth-to-beat-oil-more-of-californiarsquos-solar-panels-come-from-china</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=on-the-greenbeat-bp-says-renewable-energy-growth-to-beat-oil-more-of-californiarsquos-solar-panels-come-from-china</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=on-the-greenbeat-bp-says-renewable-energy-growth-to-beat-oil-more-of-californiarsquos-solar-panels-come-from-china</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Here&amp;'s the latest action we&amp;'re following on the GreenBeat today:BP predicts renewable energy growth to outpace oil &amp;8212' The company&amp;'s Energy Outlook 2030 sees renewables,nuclear and hydropower growing steadily in the next two decades, outpacing the growth of oil. Solar, wind and geothermal willcontribute 18 percent to energy growth between 2010 and 2030, CNET reports. The numbers are still small, though. By 2030, renewable energy will make up 6 percent of primary energy use, up from 2 percent now. The report also forecasts the  continued decline in global energy market share for oil and coal, while gas will increase, with the three reaching roughly equal market share in 2030.Chevron to start $3 billion natural gas project in Asia &amp;8212' The interest in natural gas continues to rise from major oil companies. Chevron wants to jumpstart a natural gas project in the Gulf of Thailand this year to serve Asian demand, the Wall Street Journal reports.GE to supply 50 gas turbines to China &amp;8212' The deal is expected to bring half a billion dollars in revenue to GE, $350 million of which will come in exports from the U.S., Reuters reports. GE is expected to announce $2 billion in deals with China this week to coincide with a state visit from Chinese president Hu Jintao. Yesterday, GE announced it would team with China&amp;'s Shenhua for a clean coal joint venture.A growing number of California&amp;'s solar panels come from China &amp;8212' The China-versus-U.S. solar power debate has been heating up lately, with the U.S. poised to bring a world trade violations case against China on its subsidies for solar and the New York Times hosting an op-ed debate today on the subject. Grist reports that solar projects subsidized by the California Solar Initiative &amp;8212' worth about 3,000 megawatts of solar installations &amp;8212' sourced 39 percent of its panels from four Chinese makers in the fourth quarter of last year. Yingli Green Energy made up 17.5 percent of the market in 2010, up sharply from 1.2 percent in 2009, when it first entered the market.Masdar halts hydrogen power project with BP in Abu Dhabi&amp;8211' The $2.2 billion hydrogen power plantwas put on hold, reportedly due to disagreement over prices at which the plant&amp;'s carbon dioxide and electricity would be sold to its customers, Reuters reports. Masdar also ended plans for a solar manufacturing plant.Joule brings on board White House veteran John Podesta &amp;8212' The biofuels company announced it has elected Podesta to its board of directors. Podesta is currently president and CEO of think tank Center for American Progress and served as chief of staff to President Clinton and co-chaired President Obama&amp;'s transition team.Former First Solar CEO starts $300 million venture fund &amp;8211' Michael Ahearn&amp;'s fund has already raised $192 million, Earth2Tech reports, but it&amp;'s unclear whether the fund will go to support clean energy technologies.Energy efficiency startup SCI raises $15.65 million &amp;8212' The company makes software with energy automation controls for commercial buildings that it claims can shave 15 to 25 percent off a building&amp;'s energy costs annually, playing in the hot field of building energy efficiency. The round was led by DFJ Growth Fund. SCI was also a winner last year in GE&amp;'s Ecoimagination contest.[Top image via Flickr/XcBiker' bottom image via Flickr/ricardodiaz11]Next Story: Vudu HD streaming video lands on Boxee Box, Netflix coming soon Previous Story: Josh Klein explains how &amp;''Hacking Work&amp;'' can build a smarter business (Q&amp;038'A)PrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: biofuels, China, ecoimagination, energy efficiency, gas turbines, Hydrogen, hydrogen power, natural gas, oil, renewable energy, SolarCompanies: California Solar Initiative, Chevron, First Solar, GE, Joule, Joule Unlimited, Masdar, SCI, Scientific ConservationPeople: Hu Jintao, John Podesta          Tags: biofuels, China, ecoimagination, energy efficiency, gas turbines, Hydrogen, hydrogen power, natural gas, oil, renewable energy, SolarCompanies: California Solar Initiative, Chevron, First Solar, GE, Joule, Joule Unlimited, Masdar, SCI, Scientific ConservationPeople: Hu Jintao, John PodestaIris 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[More Details On Skype&'s Big Move To The&nbsp'Web]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-details-on-skypersquos-big-move-to-thenbspweb</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-details-on-skypersquos-big-move-to-thenbspweb</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=more-details-on-skypersquos-big-move-to-thenbspweb</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Earlier today we broke the news that Skype was ramping up in preparation for newa4sweb-based products a4&quot;a4sa big shift for the company, which has historically offered its extremely popular service via native desktop clients.Now we&amp;'ve heard more details from one source about what this new service may entail. We&amp;'re still working to firm up the specifics, but here&amp;'s what we&amp;'ve gathered so far:According to our source, Skype is hoping to launch its web-based service in the first quarter of next year. a4sThe launch will likely include integrations on multiple partner sites a4&quot; Skype is gunning for some big partners, and we hear that LinkedIn has been in discussions about a possible integration (LinkedIn declined to comment).As for the web service itself, we hear it will actually be based on browser plugins a4&quot;a4sthis isn&amp;'t a full HTML5 solution (note that Google took a similar approach with its own web implementation of Google Voice earlier this year). Skype will promote the plugins to users of its existing native apps.To monetize, we hear that Skype will be offering a number of premium features, which may include SMS functionality and advanced telephony options. Partner sites that integrate Skype will get a revenue split for the users that they drive toward these premium features. It is possible that these premium features may not be slated for the initial release and will roll out later.Finally, in addition to the hiring boost we reported earlier today, Skype is also planning to bolster its growth in these areas by acquiring smaller companies.Obviously VoIP service is going to play an increasingly important role in the coming years, and it sounds like if Skype has its way, it will become a standard feature on many of the web&amp;'s most popular sites. We&amp;'ll keep digging for more.CrunchBase InformationSkypeInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[After A Four Year Run, Firefox Is No Longer The Top Browser On TechCrunch a4a4 Chrome&nbsp'Is]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=after-a-four-year-run-firefox-is-no-longer-the-top-browser-on-techcrunch-mdash-chromenbspis</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=after-a-four-year-run-firefox-is-no-longer-the-top-browser-on-techcrunch-mdash-chromenbspis</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=after-a-four-year-run-firefox-is-no-longer-the-top-browser-on-techcrunch-mdash-chromenbspis</guid>
<description><![CDATA[It has finally happened. It took a little longer than anticipated, but Chrome has now passed Firefox as the browser most often used to visit TechCrunch. For the month of November, Chrome is number one for the first time, edging out Firefox 27.80 percent to 27.67 percent.Back in early September, on Chrome&amp;'s second birthday, we noted that Google&amp;'s browser had been making huge gains over the past couple of years and was only about 3 percent away from passing longtime leader (again, in terms of browsing traffic to TechCrunch) Firefox. The quickly progressing Firefox 4 beta likely slowed Chrome&amp;'s march to the top a bit, but it couldn&amp;'t fully hold it back. Now the question is: can Chrome hang onMozilla is slated to launch Firefox 4 early next year. So far, the update looks to be a big improvement both in terms of speed and functionality. Features like F1 (Mozilla&amp;'s experimental social browser add-on) and Panorama, are sure to be hits.Microsoft, meanwhile, is preparing to launch the initial release of IE9, a version of the web browser which finally seems ready to adhere to actual web standards.And then there are the social browsers, which are coming around again: Flock and RockMelt. The difference this time is that both of these browsers are built on top of Chromium, the open source browser that Chrome is also built on top of. Previously, Flock was built on top of Firefox.But Google isn&amp;'t sitting around doing nothing. The search giant has been refreshing their browser like it&amp;'s going out of style. About every six weeks we now get a new version of Chrome. The big changes are less common than they were a year ago, but Google still has plenty of stuff they&amp;'re working on.The Chrome Web Store, for example, is about to launch. This willa4sfeature web apps that can be downloaded through Chrome. And while Google says that many of these apps should work fine in &amp;''modern browsers&amp;'' (their cute way of basically saying &amp;''anything but IE&amp;''), you&amp;'ll still need to access the store through Chrome.And then there is Chrome OS, which will launch in beta before the end of the year. It&amp;'s Chrome, but it&amp;'s also your entire operating system.Here&amp;'s the breakdown of the big boys for the month of November:Chrome: 27.80%Firefox: 27.67%Safari: 20.42%Internet Explorer: 15.74%What&amp;'s most surprising here may actually not be that Chrome passed Firefox, it may be how high Safari is. If Chrome has something to worry about, it might actually be Safari, believe it or not.If you&amp;'re wondering how Apple&amp;'s web browser is so high on the list,a4sremember that it&amp;'s the browser used on every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch now. These devices boost Safari&amp;'s numbers by well over 10 percentage points. And if mobile traffic keeps growing the way it is, there&amp;'s a chance (just a chance) that Safari could even eclipse Chrome and Firefox as the top browser viewing TechCrunch. Since August, Safari has grown by two percentage points, while Chrome has gained just one.Prior to this month, Firefox had been the number one browser visiting TechCrunch since at least late 2006, when we started keeping track of such stats. While IE was obviously the dominant browser back then (and still is number one overall), the Firefox usage shouldn&amp;'t be too surprising since those users tended to be more tech-savvy, and more likely to be reading TechCrunch. The problem for Mozilla now is that many of those same people are now using Chrome instead.It has been a nice four-year run, Firefox, but we&amp;'re now in the age of Chrome.CrunchBase InformationGoogle ChromeFirefoxSafariInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[iPad beats back first Android tablet &8212' what does it all mean]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-beats-back-first-android-tablet-8212-what-does-it-all-mean</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-beats-back-first-android-tablet-8212-what-does-it-all-mean</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=ipad-beats-back-first-android-tablet-8212-what-does-it-all-mean</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Samsung announced this morning that its Android-based Galaxy tab sold 600,000 units globally in the first month of its launch. Meanwhile, Apple&amp;'s iPad sold over a million units in the same time period (and in even fewer nations than Samsung&amp;'s global count). Furthermore, some pundits see consumer anticipation of the &amp;''iPad 2&amp;8243' as weakening the whole tablet market till Q1 of next year when such a product could be announced by Apple.So just a month in,the first model in a new series of Android-based tablet computers is already losing to Applea4a4s market-defining iPad.Will the iPada4a4s advantages with a market-leading developer ecosystem and unmatched pricing power in the supply chain give Apple the last laugh in this new round of computing turf wars, or will it eventually lose significant market share to the Android tabletsTim Bajarin, principal at technology consulting firm Creative Strategies and a 30-year veteran of the computing field, has spent a lot of time advising companies on their tablet strategy. He believes that Android tablets will do more to expand the entire tablet market instead of actually taking away market share from the iPad. He advises, a4AApplea4a4s ecosystem is so far ahead of Androida4a4s that at the very least, Apple will have the upper hand through 2011. The bigger question is whether the Android world can get their act together and create an equally powerful ecosystem of hardware, software and services in the future.a4But Bajarin doubts whether Androida4a4s a4Awild wild westa4 marketplace for applications a4&quot; lacking any real vetting process or quality controls a4&quot; could sustain heightened consumer and developer interest. a4AWhile they have been criticized for this, our research shows that consumers really like the extra care from Apple,a4 says Bajarin, who believes that Apple&amp;'s ecosystem is thoughtfully designed, with the lack of malware and objectionable content as a boon to consumers.Bajarin cautions that he cana4a4t rule out the possibility of Android coming together to deliver an equally attractive ecosystem. However, he cites Googlea4a4s lack of a cohesive tablet strategy as a telltale sign that Android will not take a chunk out of iPad&amp;'s market share in the near future. a4AApple also has a very controlled road map for hardware, software and services,a4 he says, while noting that, a4AGooglea4a4s goal is to create the OS and give it to vendors and let them figure out what to do with it. There is no master plan involved other then to help Google make money.a4There are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the fighting chances of Android tablets: the release of Android 3.0 (also known as Honeycomb), a tablet-specific version of Android designed for screen sizes between 5-10 inches, should be released sometime in Q1 or Q2 of 2011. This could provide the more focused strategy currently lacking in Googlea4a4s approach that would do much to bolster the emerging platform.Matthew Hagger, the developer behind Zkatter, a real-time mobile web broadcasting and discovery service currently in stealth that will be one of the first applications to debut on the Samsung Galaxy Tab, is one of these optimists. He confidently proclaims not just a fighting chance, but a a4Aknock outa4 by Android that could come a4Awithin two years in the tablet space.a4Going so far as to say that the Android platform could control 80% of the tablet market, Hagger believes that the variety of software verticals supported by multiple app stores and a wide geographic net supported by carriers and device-maker partnerships will turn the tables in Googlea4a4s favor in due time.He also believes that the variety of hardware devices are going to become more important to developers and their software, since they wona4a4t have to focus on inconvenient and costly porting. a4AThese devices have varied use cases,a4 he said, citing his own service as taking early advantage of the special use case made possible by the dimensions of the Galaxy tab.Victor Chong, product manager at mobile app developer Linkworks agreed, citing the plethora of manufacturers preparing to ship Android tablets as a sign that the platform will be able to a4Acater to many more market segments than the iPad can.a4 Pointing to Androida4a4s higher market share than Applea4a4s iPhone in recent months, Chong joins the chorus of optimists who believe the flexibility and pricing power allowed by a wide variety of Android smartphone devices could perform similar feats for Google in the nascent tablet space.Whatever the outcome of this next battle for the future of personal computing, ita4a4s probably best to keep the moderate words of Tim Bajarin in mind: odds are, Android tablets will do more to expand the market rather than create a turf war within it. Samsung&amp;'s Galaxy tab may be an early victim of the fight, but in the long-term, other Android tablets could make more headway.Next Story: Paula Abdul takes a crack at startups with a way to find fame on the Internet Previous Story: Zamzee fights childhood obesity with activity meters and Omidyar fundingPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Android, Galaxy Tab, iPad, tabletsCompanies: Apple, Google, Samsung          Tags: Android, Galaxy Tab, iPad, tabletsCompanies: Apple, Google, SamsungBefore joining VentureBeat, Michael has played with really cool technology across a variety of fields, from working with Congressmen to being a disc jockey to studying the brain in a neuroscience lab to working at a global software development consultancy to attacking radical campus hate and bigotry as a student leader at UC Berkeley, where he studied Political Economy. His fanatical passion for tech is strangely matched by his equally intense desire to be an attorney. Reach Michael via email, follow him on Twitter, or visit his personal site .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[420M People In China Have Internet Access, 99% Use Baidu For&nbsp'Search]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=420m-people-in-china-have-internet-access-99-use-baidu-fornbspsearch</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=420m-people-in-china-have-internet-access-99-use-baidu-fornbspsearch</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=420m-people-in-china-have-internet-access-99-use-baidu-fornbspsearch</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Baidu CEO Robin Li made a rare appearance at the Web 2.0 Summit this afternoon and revealed some interesting information on the extent of his company&amp;'s reach. &amp;''Baidu answers more search queries in China than any other search engine in any other market, including Google in the US.&amp;'' This might be one of the many data points supporting why the Baidu stock has more than doubled since January, now at a market cap of 40 billion. That is roughly the size of eBay&amp;'s.&amp;''We have a lot of room for growth,&amp;'' Li said, as 1/3 of China currently has Internet access which boils down to about 420 million people. According to Li 99% of those people use Baidu as their search engine and that number can more than double with growing popularity of mobile phones.So why Google was not as successful in China &amp;''China is a very different market and Google was not close enough to feel the market.&amp;'' Li also blames Silicon Valley. The proliferation ofa4sVC money poured into the local search market was one of the reasons Google failed to reach market share. Before it redirected its Chinese site to Google Hong Kong, that is.Interestingly enough, Li himself said he thought about moving Baidu to Hong Kong a year after starting Baidu because of Chinese censorship. Li&amp;'s decision to stay has been somewhat vindicated by the fact that Baidu&amp;'s revenue has grown by 30 times over the last 5 yrs.Li also does not regret having turned down offers in the $1.5 to $2 billion range froma4sGoogle, Yahoo and Microsoft. &amp;''I knew Baidu had more potential than 1-2 billion,&amp;'' Li said.CrunchBase InformationBaiduInformation provided by CrunchBase<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Twitter&'s union with Apple&'s Ping turns all of us into mindless iTunes ads]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitterrsquos-union-with-applersquos-ping-turns-all-of-us-into-mindless-itunes-ads</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitterrsquos-union-with-applersquos-ping-turns-all-of-us-into-mindless-itunes-ads</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<dc:creator>archibaldj</dc:creator>
<category>Latest News</category>
<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=twitterrsquos-union-with-applersquos-ping-turns-all-of-us-into-mindless-itunes-ads</guid>
<description><![CDATA[In a bid to simplify music discovery for Twitter users, Twitter today announced a partnership with Apple&amp;'s beleaguered Ping social network.The union will let Ping users publish their activity to their Twitter streams, and it will also let users listen to iTunes song previews and purchase music directly from Twitter&amp;'s website. The news seems harmless enough, but I have a sinking feeling that the union isn&amp;'t so much about music discovery as it is about turning Twitter&amp;'s users into living and breathing iTunes ads.If anything, the partnership exemplifies the antisocial nature of Ping. Instead of being a resource for finding out what music your friends actually like, Ping seems more focused on telling people what you&amp;'ve bought on iTunes and connecting you with artists (so you can buy their music). Now Apple is bringing that commerce-first sensibility to Twitter.The partnership is also significant because it&amp;'s the first instance of Apple playing well with other social networks when it comes to Ping. We previously reported that Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed off Facebook integration with Ping, but once the service launched to the public, the Facebook integration mysteriously disappeared. &amp;''Onerous terms&amp;'' apparently led Apple to abandon the integration, which would have let new Ping users bring in friends from Facebook.It&amp;'s not as if Twitter users don&amp;'t have other ways to share music with their friends. You could post a link to any website with music, or use a music-focused service that lets your followers listen to full songs (I like Blip.fm for this). Both of those methods are also much easier than finding a link to a particular artist or album in iTunes, and they also keep your friends inside of a web browser, instead of forcing them to launch iTunes.The union is also an indicator of just how much Apple is losing out by relying on iTunes as a standalone application instead of making it a web-based service (an issue that could be fixed with Apple&amp;'s rumored cloud-based iTunes service). Users can&amp;'t buy or preview music on the iTunes Store without Apple&amp;'s software &amp;8212' so Apple clearly needs Twitter to give it some visibility on the web, more than Twitter needs Apple.You can view a demonstration of Twitter&amp;'s Ping integration below:Next Story: Nvidia expects strong sales of its mobile chips heading into the holiday season Previous Story: In crowded ethanol market, waste has the edgePrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: Discovery, iTunes, music, Ping, social network, tweetsCompanies: Apple, Blip.fm, Twitter          Tags: Discovery, iTunes, music, Ping, social network, tweetsCompanies: Apple, Blip.fm, TwitterDevindra 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.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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