Top Items:
Matt Marshall / SiliconBeat:
Zillow raises $25, joins ranks of bigger Web 2.0 companies — Zillow.com, the controversial online real estate company that provides value estimates on homes, has raised $25 million in a second round of funding. — It is controversial because it pisses off lots of real estate agents, who think providing values is their job.
Discussion:
John Cook's Venture Blog, PostBubble, Business Filter, Silicon Valley Watcher, CNNMoney.com, i-boy, Screenwerk and TechCrunch
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Om Malik / GigaOM:
The Return of The Big Money VC — Seattle-based real estate information service, Zillow.com raised $25 million, nine months after it raised $26 million. Think about it this way - Zillow has raised $3 million (or about $57 million) for every month of its 19-month existence.
Discussion:
SiliconBeat
Marguerite Reardon / CNET News.com:
Study: Net telephony quality worsening — While it's no secret that Net phone services don't offer the same call quality as traditional phones, a new study suggests that the quality of voice over Internet Protocol is actually getting worse. — Brix Networks, a company that develops monitoring tools …
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Need / brixnet.com:
Strategic Partners Technology Partners Channel Partners — INTERNET PHONE QUALITY DROPS SIGNIFICANTLY AND STEADILY OVER LAST 18 MONTHS — From Brix Networks' TestYourVoIP.com Voice Quality Testing Portal — CHELMSFORD, Mass. — Nearly 20 percent of Internet telephone test calls experienced …
Discussion:
Good Morning Silicon Valley
Reuters:
Google offers live traffic maps on cell phones —Text+SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc. said on Tuesday that the company has begun offering mobile phone users in more than 30 major U.S. cities the capacity to view highway maps with "live" traffic data.
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ResourceShelf:
Google Mobile Adds Traffic Info on Google Maps Mobile & More Sources For Traffic Maps and Cams, Listen to Your Route — Google has added traffic info on their Google Maps Mobile (GMM) product for 30 U.S. cities. No international traffic is available. Also, Google Maps Mobile is only available …
Reuters:
AOL founder says he is 'sorry' for Time Warner merger —Text+NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steve Case, co-founder of the one-time biggest online service AOL, apologized for the company's merger with media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. in an interview with U.S. journalist Charlie Rose.
Marshall Kirkpatrick / TechCrunch:
Amazon to throw its weight at video downloads — Amazon disclosed this weekend that they would be entering the video download space in mid August. AdAge reported on Saturday that Amazon Digital Video will be a subscription service operating through a desktop client.
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AdAge:
Amazon Readies Launch of Ad-Free Video Download Service — Like a Digital Version of the Netflix Rental Model for TV Shows and Movies — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) —As Apple and Microsoft duke it out over music, Amazon is focusing its attention on video. — August launch
Eric Pfanner / New York Times:
Hewlett-Packard Takes a New Tack: Being Cool — FOR weeks, an unusual Web site linked to the World Cup soccer tournament kept visitors guessing: Could this be real? — The site, FingerSkilz.tv, shows what appear to be close-up videos of a man's hand on a desk, using two fingers …
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
Introducing NewAssignment.Net — Enterprise reporting goes pro-am. Assignments are open sourced. They begin online. Reporters working with smart users and blogging editors get the story the pack wouldn't, couldn't or didn't. They raise the money too. Q and A explains.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Magic 8-Ball Answers Your Questions Regarding Microsoft's 'Zune' — Q: So Microsoft has confirmed that Zune, the "iPod/iTunes killer" project that Engadget has been reporting on for a few weeks, is for real. It's a "music and entertainment" project that will involve portable players …
Wagner James Au / GigaOM:
Revenge of Nintendo — Nintendo just boosted their profit estimates for the coming year by $150 million from over half a billion dollars, indicating that the company might be one of the unlikely winners in the console wars. — I would have laughed at that thought even a year ago, but the numbers speak for themselves.
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Evan Blass / Engadget:
Researchers using waves to write on water — Liquid-based displays are nothing new — in a vertical orientation, at least — but apparently it's a lot more difficult to coax a standing pool of water into forming recognizable shapes and characters. In fact, before coming up with their current design …
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Sky News:
Mayfair? Put It On The Card — Monopoly board game players can now pay for properties with debit cards. — Game makers Parker have phased out the standard multi-coloured cash in a new version. — Players will instead use a Visa mock debit card to keep track of how much they win or lose.
Discussion:
Business Filter, Engadget, Techdirt, Alice Hill's Real Tech News and J. LeRoy's Evolving Web
RELATED ITEMS:
Matt Mondok / M-Dollar:
Microsoft releases preview of new Microsoft.com site, disappointing error page for Firefox users — This week Microsoft released a beta preview of its upcoming website redesign. The new look and feel is much different than what's currently on the Redmond giant's homepage.
Jeff / Venture Chronicles:
No Money Down, Zero Percent Financing — If you think objectively about pricing trends in enterprise software you can easily come to the conclusion that almost all software should be free or nearly free. I'll sidestep the entire topic of open source because while that segment is certainly a participant …
Skype for Mac:
Video has arrived - If you're brave! — Finally Video has arrived on Skype for Mac! The video preview of Skype for Mac was released today. Download the video preview now. We know that you've been waiting... and waiting... and waiting... so we've decided to release video early as a preview version.
Scott Martin / GPS Lodge:
New GPS: Lowrance iWay 600C — On the heels of the iWay 250C announcement, Lowrance has introduced the new iWAY 600C (and you thought with the recent merger you wouldn't see anything new from Lowrance....). The iWAY 600C is the first to offer both precision street-ready and marine-ready navigation …
eHomeUpgrade:
Slim Devices Introduces Transporter; The Ultimate Device for Audiophiles — Today, Slim Devices introduced Transporter, the most advanced networked audio system available. Designed to appeal to the most discerning audiophiles and music lovers, Transporter's sound quality surpasses …
Microsoft:
Massive Network Launches Groundbreaking Interactive In-Video-Game Advertising Unit; Toyota Is Debut Advertiser With Innovative Campaign for New 2007 Yaris Sedan — New ad element drives increased consumer engagement with brands, leveraging video games' inherent interactive nature.
