Threadsy Now Talks Back To Facebook

TechCrunch50 startup Threadsy debuted its all-in-one, web-based communications client a few weeks ago and received positive reviews from the judges and audience, making it as a finalist at the conference. Three weeks later, the startup is already innovating and improving upon its product by launching additional support for Facebook.

Threadsy takes all of your online communication and aggregates it into a single service. All of the messages directed at you (email and Twitter @replies) are put into a single stream of messages, called the “inbound” column. And all of the activity streams that you follow (Twitter, Facebook, etc), is put into a single activity stream, the “unbound” stream. The result is a universal communications platform. Threadsy, which is backed by August Capital, is still in private beta and we have 100 invites for TechCrunch readers here.  More...

Jitterbit Releases Version 3.0 Of Its Open Source Data Integration Platform

Jitterbit, a open source data and application integration company, has launched the 3.0 release of its product. The new release includes the debut of the ‘MX’ Enterprise version of Jitterbit, which the company says is designed for especially large enterprise customers. MX joins the normal Enterprise version (which should be suitable for most businesses), as well as the Jitterbit Community product, which is available for free but doesn’t come with support.

In layman’s terms, Jitterbit helps applications and systems that wouldn’t normally be able to ‘talk’ to each other do just that, and it also helps automate some of the more tedious processes involved in data management, like transferring data between applications. Users map out which fields in various applications are linked, and then Jitterbit automatically handles the synchronization regardless of which protocol is being used. More...

Why Google Wave sucks, and why it doesn’t matter

Now that Google Wave is trickling out into the water supply, I’ve been sucked into “playing” with it alongside FriendFeed, Yammer, Skype, and email. Erick Schonfeld insists on discussing a project we’re readying, and unfortunately I’m able to sign in from my iPhone. The FriendFeed direct message interface is not exposed on the iPhone version, and Skype makes me feel stupid for entering a ping and then watching my battery indicator drop while waiting for some signs of life. In this environment Wave suddenly is acceptably lousy. More...

The Week In iPhone Apps: The Beautiful Game

Don't listen to the pasty dude with the Arsenal shirt who lives downstairs—FIFA 10 isn't the only good thing to land in the App Store this week. Not even close. More...

This Week's 10 Best iPhone Apps

Lite apps are dead! The App Store is diseased! But seriously, enough with the eulogies: here are the best new apps this week, in no particular order. More...

7 Gadgets That Will Keep You Off Your Feet All Weekend

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On your feet all week? Maybe you just want to spend the next couple of days sitting on your ass. If you had these 7 gadgets, you wouldn't have to get up for anything.

Android 2.0 First Look: Fresh Face, Sick Speed

While Android 1.6 is still writhing around in amniotic fluid, BGR had the nerve to publish shots of version 2.0 "Eclair," which doesn't even have a formal due date yet. They look great. Sorry, 1.6: I'm already over you.

You're best off trudging through the entire gallery here, since BGR has annotated every little shot with accompanying (and sometimes subtle) changes. That said, here are some of the highlights (keep in mind that some of these could be subtle features of Donut, or handset manufacturer add-ons—for all we know, this is Motodroid): More...

Ready for sprawling aisles of Microsoft stuff, a guru bar, and giant wall-sized screens? The first store in Scottsdale, Arizona is receiving its final touches, and may open on, or just after Oct 22, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It's uncanny. When known software gets repackaged for iPhones and iPod Touches and passes through the hallowed gates of the App Store, something happens: Almost invariably, it gets cheaper. Waaay cheaper. Good right? Well, not always.

The App Store is a strange new place for developers. Veterans and newcomers engage in bareknuckle combat, driving prices down to levels people wouldn't have imagined charging just a few years ago. Margins drop to razor-thin levels while customers expect apps to get cheaper and cheaper, but with ever increasing quality and depth.

For developers, for other software platforms and potentially for the increasingly fickle customers themselves, it's uncharted, and treacherous, territory. But the most bizarre thing of all is—in an effort to keep people in the App Store, and to prevent competitors from getting a toehold in the mobile app business—Apple's charting a course straight into it.
"The App Store is a very competitive environment," says Caroline Hu Flexer, co-founder of Duck Duck Moose, an indie developer of children's edutainment apps like Itsy Bitsy Spider. "As an independent developer without a large PR budget or well-known brands, it can be very challenging, and you're pretty much at the mercy of Apple." More...

First Microsoft Store May Open for Windows 7's Arrival

Everyone Gets A Room With A View In Europe's First Rotating Hotel

How annoying is it to get to a hotel and find that you're facing land instead having an ocean view? At the Šolta Island Resort that won't be an issue, because it rotates to give everyone a nice sight. More »

Wufoo Launches Integrated Payments Feature For Online Form Builder

Wufoo, an online HTML form builder that helps anyone create contact forms, online surveys and event registrations without writing a single line of code, has launched a new feature that now lets users collect money. When you design a form with Wufoo, it basically does all the heavy-lifting for you and builds the database, backend and all of the scripts needed to collect and understand data, which is hosted by Wufoo. One you build a form, you can either embed the code on your website or blog or provider access to the form via a Wufoo link. We previously wrote about Wufoo, which was funded by startup incubator Y Combinator, here.
Now, Wufoo is integrating payments into its forms, letting users create forms with payment collection options, including PayPal Payments Pro and USA ePay. After a Wufoo form is submitted, the user will not be taken to another page on the merchant or gateway’s web site. Instead, there is a seamless transition from data submission to payment collection.

ReadMore....

Comcast launching “HomePoint” technology; welcome to 2001

Comcast is preparing to launch their new service, Homepoint, which will provide a VoIP handset with integration to email, news, weather, and other services. Wait, doesn’t my mobile already do that? ReadMore......

iPhone OS 3.1.2 now available

(Yeah. My iPhone’s name is Sancho. So what. Wanna fight about it?)
Alright, folks; it’s that time again. If you’re not a jailbreaker, get to hittin’ that update button in iTunes (if you are a jailbreaker, you probably want to wait to make sure this update is safe.) Apple just pushed version 3.1.2 of the iPhone OS down the pipes. It’s a minor update, but it fixes a couple little bugs that have personally driven us bonkers.

This is what happens when your mother-in-law uses Internet Explorer

I removed IE from the desktop, taskbar, Start Menu, and even hid the icon in Windows Explorer. I then installed Firefox and Chrome and renamed them both “Internet.” But yet somehow my mother-in-law still found a way to use Internet Explorer and wonders why her computer runs like poo. Oh, and she wants to keep all of the toolbars. She uses them.

Sride to unrock: Chinese Palm Pre clones attack

When your country can’t have a Palm Pre you might as well make your own. This is a “half-iPhone, half-Blackberry” device with slide out keyboard running the Ophone OS.
The phone includes a slide-to-unlock feature along with analog TV and FM radio playback and “Java Application.”Read More

CTIA supports Micro-USB and 3.5mm for (future) industry-wide adoption

As anyone who follows the mobile space knows, the CTIA, aka the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry, is holding its annual conference this week in San Diego. Besides serving as a stage for new wireless products and services, the CTIA Board has convened to discuss a variety of issues that affect the industry as a whole.
Perhaps the most important news to come out of the conference this week is the Board’s decision to back universal standards to “[s]implify input/output features on mobile devices.”

Nokia N900 unboxed at Maemo Summit ‘09

300+ developers attending the Maemo Summit were given a (pre-production) Nokia N900 for a 6 month “trial” period. One of the lucky attendees was kind enough to share his unboxing video (above) with the world. See, kids. Dreams can come true.

[via UMPCPortal]

Motorola to LiMo: Sorry, We’re with Android now

Motorola has made no secret of its new-found love affair with Google’s mobile OS, Android. Having just recently kicked WinMo to the curb, word on the mobile street is that Motorola has now dumped LiMo as well.
According to jkOnTheRun, Motorola VP, Christy Wyatt, has abandoned her seat on the LiMo Foundation Board. In order to make sure its new position is clear, Motorola took things one step further by changing its association with LiMo from that of a founding member to lowly associate member.

Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network

The news may overflow with stories about the social networking giants, such as Facebook and MySpace, but a horde of companies are doing their best to reduce the fundamental features of these websites to mere commodities. These up-and-coming companies provide so-called “white label” social networking platforms that enable their customers to build their own social networks (often from scratch) and to tailor those networks to a range of purposes.
The idea of white labeling a network is to make the platform provider as invisible as possible to the social network’s users and to brand the network with the builder’s identity or intent. While definitions of “social networking” may vary, social networks are primarily defined by member profiles and some sort of user generated content. More...

Interview: Mike Paolucci, The Founder Of Space-viewing Service, Slooh

In honor of the LCROSS impact we talked to Slooh.com founder Mike Paolucci about his telescope system and his mission to bring astronomical content to a wider audience. Slooh streamed the LCROSS impact live this morning.
Tell me about Slooh.There was a time when the only option for star gazing was paying around $2000 for a backyard telescope. But, Slooh is offering an innovative way for space enthusiasts to control multi-million dollar telescopes for about 10 cents a minute.
Slooh provides consumers of all ages an unparalleled opportunity to explore space live by taking control of mountaintop telescopes situated throughout the world with their Mac or PC. The Web-based program offers live viewings of outer space, 24-hours a day through powerful telescopes located in Europe, Chile and Australia. The Slooh concept is changing the way we think about space discoveries, as anyone now has the capability to discover a comet! Slooh’s patented technology makes celestial images appear like Polaroids during 5 minute “missions.” These images can be saved, altered and shared in a person’s mission log.
Slooh Kids organizes themed mission packs, which present an experience in a broader context and provides a storytelling component with a beginning, middle and end.
Slooh has been operating since 2004 and sells online and at retail stores (activity books which include time on the telescopes), as of this year at ToysRus, Barnes & Noble, and many others. More...

SmackDown vs. Raw 2010: Road to WrestleMania Mode Spotlight

My created wrestler in WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2010 is named Rich "Bill" Barnhardt; he's a highflyer with a purple Mohawk and purple back hair to match. He also wears oven mittens--the left hand bears the Mexican flag; the right hand proudly displays the Canadian flag. In the middle of his torso, he has a tattoo that states simply, "Hi!!" Clearly, Rich Barnhardt is going places in the WWE. But, midway through his story in Road to WrestleMania mode--one of the many game features in the upcoming WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2010--Mr. McMahaon decides to completely change his gimmick. Instead of rocking the cool eMo-hawk, my boy Barnhardt is forced to don neon green tights, as well as affect a disgusting-looking moustache and mullet. Now, he basically looks like a cross between Eastbound & Down's Kenny Powers and Shawn Michaels from their day with The Rockers.
I guess you do what you have to do to make it to the biggest show of all: WrestleMania. More...

Android Gets Its Own Everything Search Box

We wrote about Google’s Quick Search Box (QSB) a few months ago when the product was officially launched. We found the Twitter plug-in particularly interesting because QSB was able to turn into a Twitter app that let you post Tweets from the search box itself. Now, Google is launching a version of QSB for the Android Phone which provides similar functionality from the phone’s home screen.
QSB on the Android aims to cut down on keystrokes by providing suggestions as you type and provides a single search box to let you search a variety pf content on your phone, including apps, contacts, and browser history, as well as content from the web, like personalized search suggestions, local business listings, stock quotes, weather, and flight status. And QSB is intuitive; the search box will pull up items that you search for and use most often.

Tweetie 2 Lives! Get It While It’s Hot

A couple weeks ago we did a preview of Tweetie 2, the next version of the iPhone Twitter client. To say there was a lot of interest in obtaining the app is an understatement. And now you can. Earlier today, Apple approved the app, and it just went live in the App Store.
You may not be able to find it through a search right now, but use this link to go directly to it.

Google Squared Gets Better, But It Still Can’t Find Mars

A few months ago, Google launched an experimental new search project, called Google Squared, that literally tries to take all the messy, unstructured information on the Web and put it into neat little, labeled boxes.
It is still very much in Labs, but today it got better. Google Squared can now deal with four times as many squares of data, 120 up from 30. Columns can now be sorted, and results can be exported into Google Spreadsheets were the data can be manipulated, charted, and so forth. In other words, it is turning random facts found on the Web into data that can be played with and computed. ReadMore...

Four Old Gadgets We Love (and Four We Hate)

You may remember Clive Sinclair as the inventor of the pocket calculator, but you may not realize that his company still exists. In fact, Sinclair released a super-compact, folding "A-Bike" only a few years ago. It still lives! More »

Strange, One-of-a-Kind Nintendo Cartridge Fetches Highest Price Yet More »

Livestream Redesigns Player To Be More Twitter And Facebook Friendly

Video streaming service Livestream, which was known as Mogulus until a few months ago, just launched a redesign of its streaming player and channels. Livestream lets anyone create and produce live webcasts through an embeddable player. The startup offers free ad-supported players and premium players, which are ad-free, can be branded and offer high quality streaming. ReadMore....

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How to Watch the Moon Bombing In Real Time

Lets now go for some serious space fireworks. Here you can see how NASA bombs the Moon from orbit using this huge thing: More »

This Week's 10 Best iPhone Apps

In this week's net-neutral iPhone app roundup: Wild Things, physics games, Photoshop!, Twitter again (but that's ok!), horse music, human music, and much, much more. ReadMore....

Track Your Heart Rate With Your iPhone

The iPhone heart rate monitor prototype by Corventis will of course be useful by people who actually need to keep track of their heart health, but it could actually be used as a unique physical input device for apps. ReadMore...

This Week's Gaming Stories You Cannot Miss

There were many, many interesting stories happening in the world of video games this week. From Wolverine claws appearing on PlayStation Home to these gross-looking beasts from the latest Final Fantasy, there's a lot to see over at Kotaku. More »

Google Wave Is Easier To Understand Than...

As we’ve noted several times, Google Wave is a service that is fairly hard to explain. And for many people, it’s also hard to understand. That seems somewhat reasonable given that it’s trying to be a new form of communication and that it is still very early in its life span. But just how hard is it to understand? A new website brilliantly takes a look. Easiertounderstandthanwave.com pits Wave against the other hard-to-understand aspects of life. On the site, you are given a picture of Wave and a picture of something else and asked to click on which is easier to understand. Wave’s competition includes: Metaphysics, the end of Donnie Darko, Ozzy Osbourne, Death, osmotic pressure, cardiothoracic surgery, the health care-reform bill, Google Fast Flip, and even Sarah Palin. ReadMore....

Facebook Tries To Suck The Last Drops Of Life Out Of Orkut In The US

Facebook has seen amazing growth over the last few years, and has long since established itself as the largest social network in the world. But the battle isn’t over yet — Facebook is still duking it out overseas with a number of other social networks to establish regional dominance. In India, Google-owned Orkut has nearly twice as many unique visitors as Facebook. So Facebook has taken to some fairly aggressive measures: it now actively promotes a special Orkut import tool that lets users transfer their social graphs over to Facebook. And in a fairly bizarre move, Facebook is taking the fight against Orkut back home to the United States. Where Orkut has approximately 1% of the unique visitors that Facebook does.

Settling The Google Book Debate and Other Unicorn Fantasies

Despite ongoing legal wranglings, Google is still on the offensive against critics of its book settlement. The latest salvo is an Op-Ed in the New York Times by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. He goes over much the same ground that he articulated at a meeting with reporters on Wednesday: Google has done the hard work of digitizing more than 10 million books, while its competitors who oppose the settlement like Microsoft and Amazon have done nothing. “I guess they scanned 15 books,” Brin quipped at the meeting. ReadMore...

Bathtub In Hyperspace

Soft LED lighting, go. Water jets, go. Hovering shower, go. Warp drive, go. Life support, go. Champagne bottle, go. Good company, go. All systems go for zowielala bath for two. More »

AT&T Complaint Prompts FCC Letter To Google Inquiring About Google Voice

Two weeks ago AT&T wrote a letter to the FCC about Google Voice, complaining that the service was preventing users from calling certain numbers, which is against FCC policy (AT&T has previously attempted to do the same thing but was prevented from doing so). Google promptly responded, explaining that it was not a traditional phone carrier and thus should not be held to the same rules as AT&T. Earlier this week AT&T’s complaints (along with some greasing from lobbyists, no doubt) prompted a number of members of Congress to decry Google’s actions. Today, the FCC has decided to follow up on the matter, issuing a letter to Google with the subject line “Google Voice Calling Restrictions”. ReadMore...