startups
Latest
CES 2012 to feature 94 startup companies in 'Eureka Park TechZone'
CES hasn't exactly been known as the place where small startup companies catch their big break, but the CEA seems intent on changing that notion this time around. The organization announced today that its new 'Eureka Park TechZone" will feature 94 startup companies occupying some 9,000 square feet of floor space at The Venetian -- up considerably from the 28 companies that were signed on when the new area was first announced this summer. As CNET's Daniel Terdiman notes, digital imaging companies look set to have a particularly big presence in the area, including the likes of smartphone accessory-maker Kogeto (its Dot device pictured above) and the Cornell Research offshoot Mezmeriz, which is focused on pico projector technology. Needless to say, we'll be there next month to see what comes out of it.
AT&T Foundry innovation center opens its doors in Palo Alto to help devs do what they do
We've heard of keeping up with the Joneses, but this is getting ridiculous. First it was Verizon, then Vodafone, and now Ma Bell -- with an assist from Ericsson -- has built an innovation center in Silicon Valley. This new center completes the triumvirate of AT&T Foundry facilities (the other two are in Texas and Israel), and is a part of the company's strategy to accelerate the process of developing and delivering new products to its customers. Right now, there are over 100 projects in development in Palo Alto, and AT&T is looking to add more. Those who are chosen gain access to AT&T's networks and expertise to ensure that new projects play nice with all of the company's gear, and it's already produced a few things that were on display at the center's grand opening. Want a sneak peek at what's in AT&T's innovation pipeline? Read on past the break to get it. %Gallery-133819%
Vodafone Xone R&D center opens its doors in Silicon Valley, wants to help startups grow
Verizon's doing it, so why not Vodafone too? That's right, folks, the big red telco from abroad has decided to get into the swing of things in Silicon Valley with its new Vodafone Xone R&D center in Redwood City, California. Unlike VZW's Application Innovation Center just a few miles north in San Francisco, the Xone is focused on identifying startups with potential and putting their ideas on the fast track to proof-of-concept trials. In order to do so, the center provides technical expertise, business advice and access to its lab to ensure that products are compatible with Vodafone's global 2G, HSPA, and LTE networks. This R&D center is also aligned with Verizon's facility in Massachusetts, so budding entrepreneurs have access to stateside LTE infrastructure, too. We got a chance to check out the new business incubator ourselves, so read on for more. %Gallery-133022%
Gig. U hopes to bring Gigabit networks and straight cash, homey, to university communities
Familiar with Johnny Appleseed? He who traipsed 'round the country with a sack 'o seeds on his shoulder, planting trees hither and yon leaving apple orchards blooming in his wake? Gig. U is similar, only it's a project that aims to plant Gigabit networks in 29 collegiate communities to facilitate research, attract start-ups, and stimulate local economies. The plan is just getting underway, and the schools in question -- including Virginia Tech, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Alaska -- are asking private telcos and companies to help make their high-speed dreams a reality. In addition to benefiting the immediate areas, Gig. U sees these swift new networks functioning as hubs in a faster nationwide broadband system. The colleges claim that construction of these new information superhighways won't start for several years, so it'll be some time before they can help elevate us from our current state of broadband mediocrity. Chop, chop, guys.
Former Blizzard dev starts Atomic Operations game studio
Industry veteran Chris Millar has been around -- he's been with Blizzard since the WarCraft II days, and has worked on everything from Black and White 2 to Fat Princess – but now he's off to head up his own company called Atomic Operations. In this quick Q&A with Gamasutra, he says that the company will be a grab-bag of methods and products, all using "an evolved production method similar to that of movies." They've already got a project out the door, too: Atomic is the company that's supporting Fat Princess, with the bugfixes released the other day and presumably more to come. Millar and Atomic Operations join the multitude of other Blizzard veterans off working on their own companies. Let's see, there's Keith Lee and his crew at Booyah, the ex-Blizzard folks at Red 5 Studios, the unfortunate souls at Castaway Entertainment and Flagship Studios (now Gravity Bear and Gargantuan Studios), new WoW TCG licensees Cryptozoic, and a few other little developers and divisions headed up by ex-Blizzard devs. Whew, that's a whole lot of babies -- Blizzard is like the Zeus of gaming studios lately. What are they serving in the cafeteria over there, startup cola?
Y Combinator is seeking iPad app developers
Y Combinator is a relatively famous tech startup firm, a company that invests in startup companies on a regular basis, both to encourage innovation and of course to pick up a tiny share of the equity. Their latest RFS (or Request For Startups) has them asking specifically for companies interested in iPad applications, and the reasons for this interest are pretty intriguing. They say straight off the bat that they don't think the iPad is just bigger iPhone or another tablet computer -- they believe that "the iPad is meant to be a Windows killer. Or more precisely, a Windows transcender." Apple, they say, believes this as well, but rather than take on Windows face first, they've chosen to sideswipe them through the tablet platform. Consumers will pick up an iPad, and almost won't even notice that they're slowly using it more and more while neglecting their more traditional computers. And by the time the iPad is boasting apps that aren't even available on traditional PCs, it's game over. Could it happen? Even Y Combinator admits that it's still only a possibility, but given that they're a company that makes their livelihood by investing in the future, it definitely seems like the windmill is turning in the iPad's direction. [Via DF]
Virtual world toolbox Metaplace closing its doors
Another virtual world reaches the end of its existence, as Raph Koster announced early last week that Metaplace, the online world that was supposed to be the end-all, do-all of such things, is going to close for good on January 1, 2010. It's a common story with MMO startups these days: developer has "revolutionary" idea for user-generated content, gets a bunch of money and support to put it into place, users don't actually vibe with the idea they way they were expected to, and the dev is left having to explain why it didn't work out. Oh, and the people who were actually enjoying the world get stuck without a place to go. Koster says the company has created this Metaplace veterans forum for anyone who enjoyed the service and wants to stay in touch with their contacts there. We'd recommend you head over there to say hi (and talk about what's next), but given that the world is shutting down, odds are you probably weren't playing with it anyway. [Via Massively]
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's Squirrel project revealed... as the Square iPhone Payment System
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/17/twitter-founder-jack-dorseys-squirrel-project-revealed-as-th/'; tweetmeme_source = 'engadget'; Remember the Square iPhone Payment System we told you about back in August? If you'll recall, the device -- which involves an iPhone app and associated dongle -- enables an iPhone or iPod touch to become a kind of mini credit card reader, allowing payments to be taken on the spot, no matter where you are or how big (or small) the transaction may be. When we'd first reported the device, word on the street was that it was only being alpha tested around New York City, and there wasn't much else to say. Now, we may have a little more insight on just where this device is headed, and who's behind the project. Jack Dorsey, the man who all but built Twitter in a matter of two weeks, has been working on a half-secret start-up project since around May. His new venture -- dubbed, funnily enough, Squirrel -- is based around the concept of using the iPhone as... yep, a portable, personal cash register; essentially the exact device which Square has created. And that's no accident. In the images we ran of the Square system, you can see a domain name on a receipt: squareup.com. Squareup.com is the domain of the Square System (obviously), and a casual investigation into the site's WHOIS profile reveals registrant info that points to an office in San Francisco, and a contact email address which reads... billing@paybysquirrel.com. Square, squirrel, square... are you getting it? So the cat, er, squirrel appears to be out of the bag. Now the question is whether or not Dorsey and co. can turn this fairly obscure piece of tech into the kind of firestorm which Twitter has become -- and who knows, maybe there'll even be a business model this time. [Thanks, Little Birdie]
Chumby, the snuggly bedside computer
If Chumby, maker of this rugby ball-sized computer by the same name, has its way, then it will replace all of our bedside digital clocks with a stripped-down computer stuffed in a cuddly exterior case. Apparently the Chumby is designed to be a little hackable nugget that will play Flash applications (known in Chumby-speak as "widgets") that can do various other things like (you guessed it): play music, check your RSS feeds, and display your photos. Inside this little furball is a 266 MHz CPU, 32MB SDRAM, 64MB Flash RAM, 320 x 240 3-inch screen, two USB ports, 2W speakers, and WiFi. Basically, it does everything that your regular computer does (except smaller and a little slower), but it comes in a fuzzy little self-contained box so you can snuggle up to it at night and have it try to read Engadget quietly to you while you sleep. That is, when they're actually available to the public.[Via Dyl World]
