Powerset's Search: Does It Deliver?

Powerset has rolled out its semantic search engine and has managed to get a ton of attention. The larger question for me: Does it deliver? And where does Powerset make the most sense? Powerset on Monday introduced its natural language search for Wikipedia content (Techmeme). This effort is really a proof of conceptâ€"a strong oneâ€"to indicate what is possible if the Web were to go semantic. Powerset has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding and as Dan Farber notes will need more money if it's going to index the Web.

• May 12, 2008

More on RIM's Moat: Launches BlackBerry Bold; App Developer Fund

Business people can be hip too. That appears to be the message from Research in Motion and its motives behind its new BlackBerry Bold smartphone. There's definitely a hint of some iPhone envy here, but the device isn't a direct competitor.

• May 12, 2008

If You Want to Sell a Startup, Plan a Shutdown

Almost a month ago, Mowser founder Russell Beattie was lamenting his debts and telling folks his creation was disappearing. He also questioned the idea of the mobile Web overall. Fast forward a bit and Beattie is announcing the sale of Mowser to dotMobi. Go figure. Beattie writes: It took a f...

• May 9, 2008

Logged Into Google? You May See More Ads

Google may be using its propertiesâ€"iGoogle, Gmail and Appsâ€"to step up its behavioral ad efforts. That's the conclusion from Piper Jaffray Gene Munster who tracks 400 searches on Google and Yahoo each month. Munster defines a behavioral ad as one that pertains to a past query. His takeawa...

• May 9, 2008

Vonage Narrows Losses; Inks Deal with Covad

Vonage is still losing money, but the bottom line is moving in the right direction. The company also signed a deal with Covad to offer DSL service. The VOIP provider on Thursday reported a first quarter net loss of $9 million, or 6 cents a share, compared to a loss of $72 million, or 47 cents a s...

• May 8, 2008

AMD Still Mum on Its 'Asset Smart' Strategy

The wait for AMD to outline its so-called "asset smart" strategy continues. AMD CEO Hector Ruiz in his annual shareholder meeting address failed to add any more detail about its manufacturing strategy going forward. AMD outlined its new server roadmap on Wednesday. In many respects, Ruiz rei...

• May 8, 2008

Monetizing Social Media: Still an Uphill Climb; Some Friends May Be Worthless

News Corp. confirmed what had been reported for weeks: Fox Interactive revenue isn't going to hit its targets. The problem: Social networking is still very hard to monetize. Does inventory matter when you can't sell it? Peter Chernin, News Corp.'s operating chief, delivered his state of MyS...

• May 8, 2008

AMD's New Roadmap: Can It Execute?

AMD has revamped its server processor roadmap with plans to jump to six and then 12 cores in the first half of 2010, but the larger question is whether the company can actually deliver. Given that AMD has had a hard time delivering its quad-core chips and only recently started shipping it's a b...

• May 8, 2008

Microsoft Still Shopping; Approached Facebook

Microsoft, just a few days removed from walking away from its Yahoo bid, is reportedly sniffing around Facebook. According to Kara Swisher, Microsoft's bankers contacted Facebook to see if Mark Zuckerberg and company would be interested in selling the company. The Wall Street Journal also repor...

• May 7, 2008

WiMax Saved: Sprint, Clearwire Form Joint Venture; Google, Intel Among Backers

Sprint and Clearwire have combined their WiMax businesses to form a new venture that will be focused on next generation broadband services. The company will be backed by $3.2 billion from the likes of Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. This new venture, which wil...

• May 7, 2008

RIM's Balsillie: 'Not Religious' About Form Factors; B2B the Company's Core

The Research in Motion vs. Apple smartphone face-off makes for a good story, but the companies present an interesting business strategy question: Is it better to start in the enterprise and then go consumer or vice versa? In an interview with me at SAP Sapphire (all resources) in Orlando RIM co-C...

• May 6, 2008

SAP Aims to Make Upgrades Easier; Rolls Out Enhancement Packages; Touts Analytics

Henning Kagermann, co-CEO of SAP, wants to do away with the upgrade-go-round with its upcoming Business Suite 7.0 with "enhancement packages," small optional updates designed to add functionality to enterprise resource planning applications. Enhancement packages are small SOA-enabled packs th...

• May 6, 2008

Would the Addition of Sprint Screw Up T-Mobile?

Deutsche Telekom is reportedly mulling a bid for Sprint Nextel and plans to combine it with its T-Mobile unit. The move, reported by the Wall Street Journal, is interesting on a few fronts. For starters, a combined Sprint-T-Mobile would be the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. with roughly 82 ...

• May 5, 2008

SAP CEO: Ballmer Should Have Bought Yahoo

If Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were to call SAP CEO Henning Kagermann for advice on what he should do with his $40 billion to $50 billion the advice would be: Spend it on Yahoo. That call isn't totally out of the question given that Ballmer and Kagermann are partners on many fronts. Microsoft c...

• May 5, 2008

Yahoo's Yang Gives His 'Don't Crush Our Stock We're OK' Address

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang on the company's corporate blog gave investorsâ€"that's who he's really speaking toâ€"a "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" missive. Yang had to say something given he's in for an ugly Monday following Microsoft's walkaway over the weekend. However, itâ...

• May 5, 2008

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