500 Startups announces another $250k micro-fund for CloudFlower startups

500 Startups, a seed fund and startup accelerator in California, announced today that it is launching another $250,000 fund for micro-investments in startups using the CloudFlower cloud-computing and on-demand labor architecture.

CloudFlower takes a slightly different spin on cloud computing by offering an outsourced workforce in addition to the traditional computing power. The on-demand labor service provides businesses with a pay-as-you-go labor force that will, in theory, do all the things a human being does best.... Continue Reading

Can Twitter’s new CEO turn the company into a real business?

Twitter announced today that the company has a new chief executive – Dick Costolo, who joined last year as chief operating officer.

The swap seems to reflect a growing emphasis on turning Twitter into a profitable company — after all, Costolo has done most of the talking about Twitter’s advertising model. That’s basically what outgoing CEO Ev Williams says in a post on the company blog, though he also emphasizes the fact that he wants... Continue Reading

OnLive eliminates monthly fees for games-on-demand service

OnLive, an Internet-based games-on-demand service, said today it is permanently eliminating its base monthly fee.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company offers server-based games, which are hosted in data centers, unlike most games, which run off of physical media or downloaded copies on PCs or specialized video-game consoles. OnLive’s service allows players to log into their games from anywhere and play high-end games on any type of computer.

The service launched in June with a base... Continue Reading

How the 2011 Coda Sedan hopes to compete with the Nissan Leaf

Coda Automotive, the California startup that will begin delivering its 2011 Coda Sedan electric car at the end of the year, has ambitious plans.

CEO Kevin Czinger expects to sell up to 14,000 all-electric compact sedans in the company’s first full year of operations. The car is assembled in the U.S. from a Chinese-made “glider” fitted with a U.S.-built battery pack containing Chinese lithium-ion cells.

But how will little Coda compete against the marketing might... Continue Reading

Twitter’s ad model takes shape with Promoted Accounts

Twitter revealed the latest piece of its advertising strategy today with a new feature called Promoted Accounts, where companies can try to attract more followers to their Twitter accounts by paying the microblogging startup for prominent placement.

It sounds like the feature will work the way All Things Digital reported last week. Promoted Accounts take advantage of the recently-added “who to follow” box, where Twitter suggests popular users who seem similar to the accounts you’re... Continue Reading

Cisco exec Tony Bates to fill CEO spot at Skype (report)

Internet phone giant Skype has appointed former Cisco senior vice president Tony Bates as its new CEO, multiple news outlets reported Monday.

The changeout at the top spot is one more indicator that the firm is getting closer to going public, a prospect which has had investors salivating on the sidelines since the company filed for an IPO in August.

Skype did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation or comment. Cisco also did not confirm... Continue Reading

Tesla recalls 439 Roadsters

Tesla is recalling 439 Roadsters after a single incident in which a low-voltage auxiliary wire rubbed up against a carbon fiber panel in the car causing a short, smoke and “possible fire” behind the right front headlamp, the company reports.

The issue at hand affects models 2.0 and 2.5 (pictured), and involves the 12-volt cable from a backup system that powers the car’s head, tail, turn and hazard lights, as well as the airbags if... Continue Reading

Warner Bros. taps industry veteran Greg Ballard to run digital games

Movie studio Warner Bros. is getting serious about online games and digital distribution. The company announced today it has hired video game industry veteran Greg Ballard as senior vice president of digital games for two of its divisions.

Ballard is a long time veteran of games who has worked in top executive positions, most recently as chief executive at Transpera, a mobile video ad network. Before that, he was CEO at Glu Mobile, a publicly... Continue Reading

ClairMail raises $13.8M for more mobile banking options

ClairMail, which sells mobile tools for banking alerts and transactions, announced today that it has raised $13.8 million in a late-stage round of funding.

ClairMail offers a suite of mobile applications to help consumers stay aware of their account status with each bank. The platform provides a mobile application, text messaging alerts, and the like to update users on new activity regarding their bank accounts. ClairMail also offers mobile payment options and ways for credit... Continue Reading

Spanish shopping club Privalia aims for Latin America with $95M score

Spain’s largest online sales club, Privalia Venta, is taking sharp aim at a booming Latin America. The company announced today that it has received a $95 million infusion of  financing from Index Ventures and General Atlantic.

Privalia, which already holds majority market share in Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Spain, says it intends to use the funding to tackle new markets after its sales jumped 158 percent over the first half of 2010.

The latest round... Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Siemens buys SureGrid, Fenix debuts portable electricity for developing countries

Siemens has purchased building management firm SureGrid, Green Tech Media reports. The acquisition is a sign of interest in building efficiency startups, which make software that integrates into building management systems created by big companies like Siemens and Honeywell. There’s also an overall trend of conglomeration within the smart grid sector, the article notes, and highlights a few startups as potential acquisition targets: Audra Technologies, Building IQ, Hara, Optimum Energy, Lumenergi and Redwood Systems.

Startup... Continue Reading

Blizzard confirms World of Warcraft Cataclysm launch for Dec. 7

Following through on its pledge to launch two major games in a year, Blizzard Entertainment said it will release World of Warcraft: Cataclysm on Dec. 7. The game is a surefire hit because World of Warcraft remains the most popular paid subscription service game with more than 11.5 million paying subscribers.

The Cataclysm game is an expansion pack for World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer online game where millions of players can play simultaneously in... Continue Reading

Google TV gets more real: Content partnerships and more apps announced (video)

Google has been fairly quiet on the progress of Google TV since it was announced five months ago, but now the company seems ready to spin up its hype machine once again.

In a blog post today, Google TV product manager and developer Ambarish Kenghe listed several content partners the company has attracted — including HBO and NBC Universal — and offered a glimpse at some Google TV applications (see video below). The company has... Continue Reading

LG’s “iPad killer” Optimus tablet delayed for Android 3.0

Don’t make promises you can’t keep. South Korean electronics giant LG set the Internet on fire in August when it said its Android-based Optimus tablet “will be better than the iPad.” Now it appears that we won’t be seeing that tablet anytime soon, Reuters reports.

LG has apparently dropped its plans to release the tablet with Android 2.2 (codenamed “Froyo”) — a decision which will likely delay its release from late this year to early... Continue Reading

Oops! Verizon refunding $90M to customers for data charges

Verizon Wireless announced yesterday that it’s refunding $90 million to around 15 million customers who were mistakenly charged for data access on their phones over the past few years.

The majority of affected customers will see credits in the $2 to $6 range on their next bill. Former customers who have moved on to another carrier will receive checks.

The charges stemmed from customers who mistakenly accessed data sessions on their phones, even though they... Continue Reading

Worldwide chip sales grow in August, but more slowly

Despite some headwinds, global sales of semiconductor chips grew, if barely, in August. Chip sales were $25.7 billion, up 1.8 percent from July’s sales of $25.2 billion, according to the chip industry trade group Semiconductor Industry Association. But sales compared to a year ago remain strong, with August sales up 32.6 percent compared to a year ago.

Year-to-date sales are $194.6 billion, up 44.4 percent from $134.7 billion a year earlier. All sales are based... Continue Reading

5 things you should never say in an exit interview

(Editor’s note: Curtis Smolar is a partner at Ropers Majeski Kohn & Bentley. He submitted this column to VentureBeat.)

Exit interviews are important tools to uncover potential legal liability early and learn if there are morale  (or other) problems in an organization.  Done wrong, though, they can land you in some hot water. As such, it’s best to follow certain guidelines when conducting these talks.

For example, create a script of general questions.  And always... Continue Reading

IBM launches smarter-planet game CityOne

Games are serious business at IBM. The company is announcing the launch of CityOne today, a game that simulates a big city’s operations and shows business and civic leaders how to make their cities and industries run smarter by solving real-world business, environmental and logistics problems.

The game is related to IBM’s Smarter Planet theme, an initiative to get the world running on smarter and greener technologies. CityOne helps city planners, developers, and government agencies... Continue Reading

Nukotoys aims to be Silicon Valley’s toy company (exclusive)

Toys and electronics are still in search of a happy marriage. Nukotoys believes it has the answer with toys and games that merge virtual and real world activities. The startup is coming out of stealth mode today in the hopes of becoming Silicon Valley’s toy company.

The San Francisco company is announcing a number of interconnected toys that combine online virtual world games and collectible cards that can be scanned by computers. The company will... Continue Reading

Microsoft’s Ballmer evangelizes Windows Phone 7 launch, set for Oct. 11

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the company’s Oct. 11 launch of its Windows Phone 7 operating system for cell phones will show that it finally has a compelling story in mobile phones.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ballmer confirmed the launch date and said that Microsoft and its partners plan to launch a bunch of handsets with Microsoft’s software that will be a direct challenge to Apple’s iPhone and... Continue Reading