By Luke Anderson Have you ever been somewhere and thought to yourself “man, I wish that I had a couch”? I know, I think that all the time too. Well if you need to satisfy those urges to sit with some friends, or just lie down for a bit, then you need the SofaBox. This mystical box […]
By Luke Anderson
Have you ever been somewhere and thought to yourself “man, I wish that I had a couch”? I know, I think that all the time too. Well if you need to satisfy those urges to sit with some friends, or just lie down for a bit, then you need the SofaBox.
This mystical box is more than just an ordinary box for storing things in. Open the lid and gaze in wonder at the cushions that appear, then sit upon them and rejoice. Of course you’ll need to haul this thing around whenever you might want a seat for three, and lets face it, no one wants to keep something like in their automobile (not that it would fit, unless you’ve got a big SUV or truck). If you’ve got $2,700 burning a hole in your pocket, and you really like having a sofa with you, then by all means buy a SofaBox.
Search engine Cuil launched earlier this evening, claiming a bigger index size (120 billion web pages) than Google or any other search engine. The pedigree of the founders and execs, which includes three ex senior Googlers, means the service will be compared to Google from day one. And the way they will be compared is […]
Search engine Cuil launched earlier this evening, claiming a larger index size (120 billion web pages) than Google or any other search engine. The pedigree of the founders and execs, which includes three ex senior Googlers, means the service will be compared to Google from day one. And the way they will be compared is index size and, more importantly, relevance/ranking of results.
We’ve been testing the engine for the last hour. Based on our test queries Cuil is an excellent search engine, particularly since it is all of an hour old. But it doesn’t appear to have the depth of results that Google has, despite their claims. And the results are not nearly as relevant.
A search for Dog returns 280 million results on Cuil and 498 million on Google. Judging relevance of results is subjective, but Google returns Wikipedia as the first result, then dog.com. Cuil returns Dog.com, wikipedia isn’t listed on the first page of results. Both are meaningful results, but Google is better.
More searches, Cuil v. Google: Apple (83 m v. 571 million) - neither mention the fruit. France (102 m v. 1.5 billion) - Cuil’s category refinement makes their results better for this query. Stonehenge (800k v. 8.5 million). Silicon Valley (3.2 m v. 24 m). Techcrunch (600k v. 6.5 m).
It seems pretty clear that Google’s index of web pages is significantly bigger than Cuil’s unless we’re randomly choosing the wrong queries. Based on the queries above, Google is averaging almost 10x the number of results of Cuil.
And Cuil’s ranking isn’t as good as Google’s based on the pure results returned from both queries. Where Cuil excels is with the related categories, which return results that are extremely relevant. With Google, we’ve all gotten used to trying a slightly different search to get the refined results we need. Cuil does a good job of guessing what we’ll want next and presents that in the top right widget. That means Cuil saves time for more research based queries.
And I want to reemphasize that Cuil is only an hour old at this point, Google has had a decade to perfect their search engine.
Crunch Network: MobileCrunchMobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.
By Andrew Liszewski If you’ve ever spent half an hour in front of a mirror trying to tie a real tie, you know how tempting those clip-on models can be. But unless you happen to be 7 years old, you probably don’t want to get caught wearing one. So to make the process of tying a […]
By Andrew Liszewski
If you’ve ever spent half an hour in front of a mirror trying to tie a real tie, you know how tempting those clip-on models can be. But unless you happen to be 7 years old, you probably don’t want to get caught wearing one. So to make the process of tying a real one easier, the How Tie (designed by Dima Komissarov and made from 100% silk twill) includes easy to follow instructions on the tie itself. That way when you’re standing in front of a mirror you don’t have to keep glancing down at your laptop to see the instructions you’ve downloaded, since they’ll be staring you right in the face.
By Andrew Liszewski Since sitting in an office chair in front of a personal doesn’t seem to be the most natural position for the human body, it’s not surprising that so many people suffer from back pain these days. But instead of popping pain killers all day, or sitting on a big inflatable ball to ease […]
By Andrew Liszewski
Since sitting in an office chair in front of a computer doesn’t seem to be the most natural position for the human body, it’s not surprising that so many people suffer from back pain these days. But instead of popping pain killers all day, or sitting on a large inflatable ball to ease the pain, you might want to see if your physician will prescribe you a TENS unit from Empi.
TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation, and that’s basically what the device does. It uses a set of electrodes attached to the skin that deliver up to 60 milliamps of current into the nerves where the pain occurs. This jolt serves to disrupt the pain signals coming from those nerves, and instead of hurting, the area ends up feeling tingly or even numb.
The output current can be adjusted, so you really only want to dial in enough juice for the pain to disappear, and it seems to include individual settings for the knees, shoulders, lower back & hips, upper back, and your hands & wrists. Normally I’d raise an eyebrow or 2 at an electronic device that promises relief from pain, but according to Joel Durham Jr. who writes for ExtremeTech, the TENS was quite effective at relieving his own back pain. And while this doesn’t seem like the kind of device you should use without the approval of your doctor, they do appear to be available for sale on the internet to the general public, but expect to pay upwards of $800 if you’re interested.
Copy and Paste has long been one of the most requested features on the iPhone, and its continued absence has been both frustrating and confusing for many. How can it be that the iPhone - running a finely tuned version of Mac OS X - is unable to perform functions that have been included […]
Copy and Paste has long been one of the most requested features on the iPhone, and its continued absence has been both frustrating and confusing for many. How can it be that the iPhone - running a finely tuned version of Mac OS X - is unable to perform functions that have been included in text editors since the 80’s?
MagicPad, a new application from Proximi that is currently waiting for approval on Apple’s App Store, is finally making copy and paste a reality on the iPhone. The application is essentially an improved version of “Notes”, and features rich text editing, allowing users to alter font type, size, and color. And best of all, it allows for copy and paste. Users need only drag their fingers over text to select it, and adjustments can then be made on a menubar that appears above the onscreen keyboard (see the video below).
Unfortunately, MagicPad isn’t going to bring true Copy-and-Paste to the iPhone, as there will be no way to duplicate text between applications (say, from Safari to the Mail client). You’ll be able to replicate and paste between multiple notes within MagicPad, which will make it a step up from Notes, but in reality it serves as more of a proof of concept than a solution.
So when will we finally get true, systemwide, copy and paste? Earlier this month, Apple’s Greg Joswiak finally commented on the issue, explaining that it was on Apple’s to-do list but that it hasn’t been a priority. The lengthy wait is nearly certainly due to issues with creating an intuitive interface for copy and paste on the iPhone’s buttonless touchscreen. MagicPad’s interface looks care about it works well enough, but it takes up a massive portion of screen real estate and is less elegant than what we’ll probably see from Apple.
You can see another proof-of-concept for copy and paste on the iPhone here.
If you want to know where the mobile Web is going, join us here at TechCrunch at 3PM PT for the live video stream of our Mobile Web Wars Roundtable The mobile Web is finally here and developers have to select what platform they want to bet on. Do they go with Apple’s beautiful […]
If you want to know where the mobile Web is going, join us here at TechCrunch at 3PM PT for the live video stream of our Mobile Web Wars Roundtable The mobile Web is finally here and developers have to choose what platform they want to bet on. Do they go with Apple’s beautiful walled garden, wait for more open Android pastures to arrive, or do they hope that Nokia figures out how to update Symbian into something that can compete with the newer platforms?
Right now, the iPhone has the momentum and the apps. Will Apple repeat the mistakes it made in the PC era and keep its platform so tightly controlled that it will leave an opening for a more open platform to become the Windows of the mobile world. And what platform has the chops to lay claim to that title? A lot of people are hoping that will be Android, despite a lack of phones and grumbling among developers that it isn’t ready yet. How long does Android have to get its act together?
We have a great panel to help answer these questions (and ask superior ones). You can watch it live here on TechCrunch and ask your own questions. Twitter them in to MobileWars.
Here’s who will be there:
David Rivas, Nokia, Vice President of Technology Management for S60 Software Walt Doyle, CEO Ulocate Tom Conrad, CTO Pandora Greg Yardley, CEO of Pinch Media CEO Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous David Hornik, partner, August Capital Jed Stremel, Director of Mobile at Facebook (replacing Joe Hewitt) Guy Ben-Artzi, Founder of Real Dice and CEO of Mytopia Jason Devitt, CEO of Skydeck Gannon Hall, CMO of Kyte Sam Altman, CEO of Loopt Marc Davis, chief scientists of Yahoo’s mobile group Omar Hamoui, CEO of AdMob Richard Wong, partner at Accel Andreas Weigend, people & data (former chief scientist, Amazon) Tatsuki Tomita, SVP of Consumer Product, Opera Mike Rowehl, chief architect, SkyFire Mary Ann Cotter, CEO, Cooking Capsules John Faith , GM and VP of Mobile for MySpace
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By Andrew Liszewski I don’t know about you, but as soon as the fireworks are extinguished at the beginning of July, I’m ready to haul out the Hallowe’en decorations. Sure pumpkins might be next to impossible to find in the middle of Summer, but if you plan ahead and throw a couple in the freezer come […]
By Andrew Liszewski
I don’t know about you, but as soon as the fireworks are extinguished at the beginning of July, I’m ready to haul out the Hallowe’en decorations. Sure pumpkins might be next to impossible to find in the middle of Summer, but if you plan ahead and throw a couple in the freezer come October, you’ll be ready for an early start next year. But why stop at just a pumpkin on the front porch when you can give your whole house the macabre treatment? Even your lavatory can now be dressed up for Hallowe’en with this Bloody Serial Killer Shower Curtain.
Taking a cue from Hitchcock’s Psycho, the curtain features the silhouette of a knife-wielding maniac (though without a wig) and enough blood splatters to take it well beyond the point of being a subtle gag. But there’s more! The shower curtain also features a sound and motion-activated speaker that plays the famous Psycho music as well as a clip of a woman screaming. It’s powered by 3 AA batteries which I’m sure you’ll be removing once the novelty wears off. (My guess is about 3 minutes into your first actual shower with it.)
One of the biggest draws for massively multiplayer on the internet games (MMO’s) is the satisfaction that comes from earning in-game items and capabilities. Unlike simple Flash games where your achievements vanish the moment you step away from your computer, MMO’s allow you to acquire virtual goods and work your way up a skill ladder, in […]
One of the biggest draws for massively multiplayer on the internet games (MMO’s) is the satisfaction that comes from earning in-game items and abilities. Unlike easy Flash games where your accomplishments vanish the moment you step away from your personal, MMO’s grant you to acquire virtual goods and work your way up a skill ladder, in the hopes of eventually becoming powerful enough to dominate over everyone else. Unfortunately, many people simply can’t spare the hundreds of hours a game like World of Warcraft takes to finally reach this leet status.
This day sees the launch of Moondo, a new gaming “world” that’s trying to merge the best parts of MMOs and the casual games that litter the web. The Moondo world is comprised of a number of multiplayer minigames that feature 3D graphics that rival those seen on most MMOs. Each minigame is intended to require only about 15-20 minutes, though they include multiple levels that should keep gamers satisfied for hours at a time.
What differentiates Moondo from most other multiplayer minigames is the introduction of persistent goods and a leveling system. For example, a shield that a user might acquire during the course of a shooting game could later be used on the platform’s driving game. As gamers continue playing, they progressively acquire more goods and skills, and the platform’s matching system ensures that they’re only pitted against players of comparable experience. At launch, there are two games available (an FPS and a racing game), but that number should grow swiftly, as Moondo states that the platform is designed so that it can pump out a new game every 8 weeks.
Moondo’s biggest challenge lies in making the powerups and levels acquired by each gamer seem worthwhile. It’s one thing to be known as a powerful wizard or knight in a persistent world like World of Warcraft - everyone knows you’ve earned it. But when such advantages are carried over to smaller minigames, it might just make them unbalanced and less fun.
For the time being Moondo is only available as a standalone client on Windows, but the company plans to roll out browser support (so that it should be platform-agnostic) by October. The game is the first product from Funtactix, a Benchmark and JVP-funded company that has spent the last eighteen months developing the platform that powers Moondo. Another company that is introducing persistent accomplishments to casual gaming is CasualCafe which we covered here.
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Continuing the tradition of selling bad Web businesses for less than they were bought for (in the vein of Cnet selling Webshots for $45 million three years after paying $70 million for it), AOL is trying to unload on the web storage service Xdrive. Three years after buying Xdrive for a rumored $30 million (never officially […]
Continuing the tradition of selling bad Web businesses for less than they were bought for (in the vein of Cnet selling Webshots for $45 million three years after paying $70 million for it), AOL is trying to unload on the web storage service Xdrive. Three years after buying Xdrive for a rumored $30 million (never officially disclosed), the price it is now trying to fetch is $5 million, and going south, states a source. Maybe AOL should put it on eBay.
It is a sad ending for Xdrive, which now will be best known for giving birth to MySpace (both Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe worked there). In an e-mail to staff explaining why AOL is powering down Xdrive and other businesses, EVP Kevin Conroy explained (bold added for emphasis}:
The changes described below are in no way a reflection of the hard work and creativity of the people who built and maintain them.
- Personal Media: Bluestring, Xdrive and AOL Pictures will be sunset. These consumer storage products haven’t gained adequate traction in the marketplace or the monetization levels necessary to offset the high cost of their operation. We’ve found that building media management applications within the context of a social experience is a more rapid and effective way to grow the business. For example, today the Bebo audience is uploading over three million pics per day. To effectively grow the XDrive on the internet storage business we would need to focus on subscription revenues vs. monetizing through advertising revenue, and this business model isn’t in strategic alignment with our company’s goals. We are exploring plans to migrate our users assets to ensure the best possible transition experience.
Subscription businesses are so AOL, circa 1999.
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In a blog post today Google says they’ve identified 1 trillion one-of-a-kind URLs on the internet. It’s actually more, they state, but some web pages have multiple URLs with exactly the same content or URLs that are auto-generated copies of each other. What they note way down in the fourth paragraph, however, is that they don’t […]
In a blog post this day Google states they’ve identified 1 trillion one-of-a-kind URLs on the web. It’s actually more, they state, but some web pages have multiple URLs with exactly the same content or URLs that are auto-generated copies of each other.
What they note way down in the fourth paragraph, however, is that they don’t actually index all of those pages, so you can’t find them on Google. Estimates on the true size of the Google index are a mere 40 billion pages or so.
Why don’t they index all the pages they’ve found? Some of them are spam. But it’s also very pricey to index sites. And the fact that Google indexes many news sites, blogs and other rapidly changing web sites every 15 minutes makes all that indexing even more costly. So they make value judgment on what to actually index and what not to. And most of the web is left out.
Google also says “But we’re proud to have the most comprehensive index of any search engine.”
That may be true this day, but it probably won’t be true next week (check back here then). Google knows that as well as we do, and that’s why they posted this this day.
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By Andrew Liszewski
If you want to know where the mobile Web is going, join us here at TechCrunch at 3PM PT for the live video stream of our 
By Andrew Liszewski
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