I came across a nice Isaac Asimov quote this week: “No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.” The copyright dispute that went public this week between the UK’s National Portrait Gallery and the Wikimedia Commons is … Continue reading “Art Isn’t Free: The Tragedy of the Wikimedia Commons”
Author: Wade Roush
Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco.
Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.)
I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia.
I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats.
My personal site: waderoush.com
My social media coordinates:
Twitter: @wroush
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Philips Buys Kamen’s Teletrol
Royal Philips Electronics of Amsterdam announced today that it has acquired Teletrol Systems, a Manchester, NH, company that specializes in providing software that automates the management of power and lighting systems in buildings. With 37 employees, Teletrol was founded in 1985 and was wholly owned by Dean Kamen, the famed inventor and founder of DEKA … Continue reading “Philips Buys Kamen’s Teletrol”
Choicestream Nabs Yahoo, Sermo Execs
Choicestream, the Cambridge, MA, startup that helps companies create targeted, personalized online display ads, said today it has hired three new executives, including two formerly at Yahoo. The Internet portal’s former senior director of retail, Amy Vener, joins Choicestream as director of retail advertising solutions. A former Yahoo video advertising engineer, Rod Perkins, joins Choicestream … Continue reading “Choicestream Nabs Yahoo, Sermo Execs”
Behind Every Good Product Is a Story; The Daily Grommet Brings You One a Day
What the Sam Hill (as my grandpa used to say) is a Daily Grommet? The answer comes in two parts. “Grommet” is the word industrial designer and entrepreneur Jules Pieri has appropriated for the kind of bewitching product that you might discover in an upscale shop in Puerto Vallarta or Tuscany or Vermont—something that’s so … Continue reading “Behind Every Good Product Is a Story; The Daily Grommet Brings You One a Day”
Reserve a Rally Fighter
Local Motors, the Wareham, MA startup building crowd-sourced cars, has announced that starting at noon Wednesday, customers can go online to get in line to buy a Rally Fighter, the company’s first production vehicle. The $50,000 car, which we’ve described in the past as “half muscle car, half dune buggy,” contains a 265-horsepower, 3.0-liter, clean … Continue reading “Reserve a Rally Fighter”
Location-Aware Apps On The Rise, But Many Are Cookie-Cutter ‘Bulk Apps,’ Report Finds
Not surprisingly, given the rush among handset makers and software developers to cash in on the mobile-software explosion, there’s a been a big uptick in the availability of mobile apps that make use of location information, according to a report published today by Boston’s Skyhook Wireless. That’s true not just for the Apple iPhone, but … Continue reading “Location-Aware Apps On The Rise, But Many Are Cookie-Cutter ‘Bulk Apps,’ Report Finds”
Designers Compete to Rethink Zink’s Pocket Printers
Today Bedford, MA-based Zink unveiled the winning designs in a $25,000 contest called “Zero Boundaries,” launched to elicit creative ideas about how Zink’s inkless printing technology might be built into devices that young people and future mobile consumers could use to capture, modify, and share digital photos. We’ve told you the story of Zink, the … Continue reading “Designers Compete to Rethink Zink’s Pocket Printers”
Nuance Acquires Jott
Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the Burlington, MA-based voice technology juggernaut that has already absorbed most of its East Coast competitors, reached west today, announcing that it has acquired Seattle-based Jott. Jott, founded in 2006 by ex-Microsoft employees, started out as a free voice-to-text service that allowed users to record messages via telephone that were then … Continue reading “Nuance Acquires Jott”
The Big Idea at Springpad
Quite a few tasks in life require investigation and planning. Cooking dinner tonight? First you need to find a recipe, then you need to make a shopping list. Going on vacation? Before you can even begin to finalize your itinerary, you’ll probably collect reams of information on plane fares, local attractions, and places to stay. … Continue reading “The Big Idea at Springpad”
Are You Who You Say You Are? Delfigo Security Can Tell From Your Typing
The idea that a computer authentication system might be watching not just for the content of your username and password, but to the way you type them—that is, the exact amount of time your fingers linger on each key, measured to the millisecond—may sound a little spooky. But that’s the premise of Delfigo Security‘s new … Continue reading “Are You Who You Say You Are? Delfigo Security Can Tell From Your Typing”
Tributes.com Raises $1.2M More
Boston-based obituary listings site Tributes.com, a spinoff of boomer social networking site Eons, has raised a $1.2 million second round of funding, the company said today. That brings the total venture pot for the startup, which earns revenues on partnership with media groups and funeral services companies, to $5.4 million. The company didn’t name the … Continue reading “Tributes.com Raises $1.2M More”
Integra5 Wants to be MediaFriends With You
Woburn, MA-based Integra5 announced today that it has changed its name to MediaFriends, a move intended to underscore the startup’s focus on technology that lets people communicate across multiple devices, including phones, PCs, and televisions. Under the Integra5 brand, the 10-year-old company was known mainly as a supplier of “converged services” software to cable, phone, … Continue reading “Integra5 Wants to be MediaFriends With You”
Some Pixily User E-mails Released
The private e-mail addresses of several hundred customers of Waltham, MA-based Pixily were accidentally shared with other customers Saturday in the aftermath of an Internet routing snafu that left many users unable to reach the document-scanning service for several hours. The breach, in which names intended for the “bcc” line of a customer service e-mail … Continue reading “Some Pixily User E-mails Released”
The Browser Geolocation Wars: Skyhook’s CEO on Why Google Maps is Misreading Your Location
[Updated 9:20 p.m. EDT 7/10/09 with responses from Google; see the sections marked “Update” below] Yesterday Google announced that the “My Location” feature familiar to anyone who’s used Google Maps on a mobile device—the little blue button that shows you your position on a map—is now available to people accessing Google Maps from their laptop … Continue reading “The Browser Geolocation Wars: Skyhook’s CEO on Why Google Maps is Misreading Your Location”
Personal Podcasting with AudioBoo, UK’s “Twitter for Voice”
The human voice is making a comeback. For a while, it looked like e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, RSS, and all of the Internet’s other texty goodness might permanently eclipse the old-fashioned phone call and other voice-driven forms of communication. Even the spread of cell phones hasn’t halted the tide of text—more than a third of … Continue reading “Personal Podcasting with AudioBoo, UK’s “Twitter for Voice””
Brad Feld’s Colorado VC Firm Joins Massachusetts Crusade Against Non-Compete Agreements
The directors of Foundry Group, a Boulder, CO-based venture firm, have signed on as supporters of the Alliance for Open Competition, a group lobbying to outlaw the use of non-compete clauses in employment agreements in Massachusetts and other states. The alliance, founded last year by partners at Boston’s Spark Capital, argues that the non-compete clauses … Continue reading “Brad Feld’s Colorado VC Firm Joins Massachusetts Crusade Against Non-Compete Agreements”
Modiv Checks Out $1.2 Million
SEC documents published online today indicate that Quincy, MA-based Modiv Media, which helps grocery stores deliver in-store digital media, has collected $1.2 million out of a planned $2.52 million financing round. The documents list Ignition Partners partner Steven Hooper and Seapoint Ventures managing partner Thomas Huseby as board members. Modiv completed an $8 million Series … Continue reading “Modiv Checks Out $1.2 Million”
Beacon Power Wins $43M DOE Loan
Tyngsboro, MA-based flywheel energy storage company Beacon Power (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BCON]]) announced last week that the U.S. Department of Energy has extended a loan guarantee amounting to $43 million. The loan will provide more than half of the financing for a planned 20-megawatt commercial flywheel energy storage facility to be built in Stephentown, NY. But the … Continue reading “Beacon Power Wins $43M DOE Loan”
NetApp Bows Out, Clearing Way for EMC-Data Domain Nuptials
Sunnyvale, CA-based NetApp (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]) said today it would not try to top EMC’s $33.50 per share offer for Data Domain (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DDUP]]), clearing the way for the Hopkinton, MA-based storage and information management giant to acquire the much-sought-after provider of data deduplication software. NetApp kicked off the competition for Data Domain on May 20 … Continue reading “NetApp Bows Out, Clearing Way for EMC-Data Domain Nuptials”
Monster to Fire 160, Hire 80
Maynard, MA-based Monster Worldwide (NYSE: [[ticker:MWW]]), which maintains the world’s largest job listings site, said today that it will eliminate 160 positions globally as part of a restructuring. Fifty of the layoffs will occur at the Maynard headquarters. (We’ve updated our Boston Tech Layoff Tracker accordingly.) At the same time, Monster announced that it will … Continue reading “Monster to Fire 160, Hire 80”
$4.1M for Sonian
Dedham, MA-based Sonian, which provides cloud-based e-mail archiving services, has raised $4.1 million out of a planned $6.6 million private stock offering, according to regulatory documents filed yesterday. Prism Ventureworks partner William Kohler is named as a Sonian board member.
A Deep Dive with Black Coral Capital
On Monday we learned that Rob Day, a former principal at @Ventures in Wilmington, MA, and one of the dynamic young leaders of the energy investing scene in New England, has taken on a new assignment. He’s become a partner at Black Coral Capital, a Boston-based private equity fund formed in 2008 to build a … Continue reading “A Deep Dive with Black Coral Capital”
Free Carbonite Trial for Java Users
Boston-based online computer backup provider Carbonite announced an agreement yesterday with Sun Microsystems that could broaden the startup’s user base. Computer users who download Sun’s Java runtime environment for the first time, or who upgrade to the newest version of Java, will be offered a 30-day free trial of the Carbonite service. “This program will … Continue reading “Free Carbonite Trial for Java Users”
Day Moves to Black Coral Capital
Rob Day, a former principal at Wilmington, MA-based cleantech investor @Ventures, has announced that he’s moving to Black Coral Capital, a new energy-focused private equity fund with offices in Boston, Montreal, and New York. Day said in a note to colleagues that he will be helping to launch the firm’s investment activities. He’s joined at … Continue reading “Day Moves to Black Coral Capital”
Akamai Delivers Live, High-Quality Video to the iPhone
For a long time, watching video on the Apple iPhone meant YouTube or nothing—and it only worked if you were within range of a Wi-Fi network. But now Cambridge, MA-based content distribution firm Akamai is helping many of its customers optimize live and recorded video for direct delivery to iPhones. Which, in effect, turns Apple’s … Continue reading “Akamai Delivers Live, High-Quality Video to the iPhone”
EMC Raises Data Domain Offer
Determined not to be outbid by rival NetApp for data deduplication software maker Data Domain, Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) today increased its takeover offer to $33.50 per share. In a letter to Data Domain’s board of directors, EMC CEO Joseph Tucci said the EMC offer is “far superior” to the latest $30-per-share bid from … Continue reading “EMC Raises Data Domain Offer”
Press Ganey to Add Boston Office
Press Ganey, the South Bend, IN-based health care improvement consulting company that purchased Boston’s PatientFlow Technology in January, will open a new office outside Boston in Lexington, MA, next month, the company said today. The office, under the direction of Press Ganey vice president and chief information officer Jim Zeoli, will house staff from PatientFlow … Continue reading “Press Ganey to Add Boston Office”
Google Voice Opening, Slowly
Google Voice, a phone line unification and voice mail transcription service created by Grand Central and being revamped by Google, is gradually being opened up to people on its extensive waiting list, according to Twitter posts this week from the Google Voice team. “Still sending invites, many more today, but the list is long. Thx … Continue reading “Google Voice Opening, Slowly”
The Eight (Seven…Six?) Information Devices I Can’t Live Without
If you read Xconomy, chances are that digital information is a big part of your day. You spend quite a bit of time absorbing, manipulating, and repackaging it. So here are a few questions for you: How many different devices do you use to channel all those bits? Is the number going up, or down? … Continue reading “The Eight (Seven…Six?) Information Devices I Can’t Live Without”
Investors Lift LogMeIn Stock
Maybe somebody at LogMeIn (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LOGM]]) has a remote control for the NASDAQ exchange? Shares of the Woburn, MA-based remote access software company are flying high today, selling for more than 25 percent above the $16 per share price set last night for the company’s initial public offering. As of 1:25 p.m. ET, shares were … Continue reading “Investors Lift LogMeIn Stock”
ActiFio Raises $4 Million for Storage
ActiFio, a stealth-mode startup based in Weston, MA, has collected $4 million of a planned $8 million equity financing round, according to regulatory documents published online today. The documents do not reveal the identities of the investors, but James Goldstein of North Bridge Venture Partners is named as a board member. Led by storage industry … Continue reading “ActiFio Raises $4 Million for Storage”
Emo Labs, Making Sound Leap Off the TV Screen, Woos Asian Electronics Makers
Thanks to ongoing advances in liquid crystal display and plasma screen technology, flat-panel TVs keep getting flatter. Sharp’s new 46-inch Aquos X model is only 1.35 inches deep—thinner than three iPhones stacked together. But while all this thinness may be sexy, it comes at the cost of decent sound: the less room a conventional loudspeaker … Continue reading “Emo Labs, Making Sound Leap Off the TV Screen, Woos Asian Electronics Makers”
In Drought-Ending IPO, LogMeIn Logs $107 Million
In the year’s first initial public offering by a venture-backed company from New England, Woburn, MA-based remote access software maker LogMeIn has raised $80 million, according to a report late Tuesday night in the Wall Street Journal. Through lead underwriters Barclays and JP Morgan Chase, the company sold 5 million shares at $16 per share—the … Continue reading “In Drought-Ending IPO, LogMeIn Logs $107 Million”
Dell Taps Skyhook for Location-Enabled Netbooks
Dell (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DELL]]) announced today that starting next week, customers will be able to order versions of its Mini 10 netbook computer equipped with GPS hardware as well as hybrid GPS and Wi-Fi-based location-finding software from Boston’s Skyhook Wireless. It’s the first time Round Rock, TX-based Dell has licensed Skyhook’s software for its products, and … Continue reading “Dell Taps Skyhook for Location-Enabled Netbooks”
LogMeIn IPO Expected Tomorrow
[Update, 7/1/09: The IPO went forward last night as planned—see our full coverage.] The underwriters of LogMeIn’s planned initial public offering are expected to price the stock this evening and begin trading it on the NASDAQ exchange tomorrow, the Wall Street Journal and several other outlets are reporting today. As we wrote on June 16, … Continue reading “LogMeIn IPO Expected Tomorrow”
CloudSwitch Doubles Venture Pot, Names CEO; Startup Wants to Make Cloud Computing Safe and Simple for Enterprises
Within a few years, says John McEleney, sheer economics will force most companies to stop buying their own computer hardware and offload some or all of their processing and storage to the cloud. But at the moment, figuring out which business applications can safely be transferred to the cloud—meaning pay-as-you-go, off-premises storage and computing power—is … Continue reading “CloudSwitch Doubles Venture Pot, Names CEO; Startup Wants to Make Cloud Computing Safe and Simple for Enterprises”
Fluent Mobile’s New iPhone App—An Elegant, Multi-Source News Reader
Ah, the beauties and the pitfalls of the new mobile-software ecosystem. With ready-made distribution platforms like Apple’s iTunes App Store, it’s possible for a couple of entrepreneurs to launch a company on the cheap around a single application. But if you go that route, you’re entirely at the mercy of Apple, where the App Store … Continue reading “Fluent Mobile’s New iPhone App—An Elegant, Multi-Source News Reader”
Yahoo to Wind Down Maven Video Publishing Service
[Update 12:30 a.m. 6/30/09: We’ve revised this story after speaking with a Yahoo official.] A report Monday in TechCrunch asserting that Yahoo is killing off its Cambridge, MA-based video hosting company Maven Networks just 16 months after acquiring it for $160 million is inaccurate in some respects, but accurate in others, according to the company. … Continue reading “Yahoo to Wind Down Maven Video Publishing Service”
$3M for IntelligentMDx
IntelligentMDx, a Cambridge, MA, startup developing DNA- and RNA-based tests for a range of human diseases, announced last week that it has raised an additional $3 million from a group of unnamed, non-venture investors. The new funding brings the startup’s total capital pot to $26.5 million.
Highland Puts Off Fund Close
According to report today by PE Hub’s Dan Primack, Highland Capital Partners of Lexington, MA, has postponed the close of its eighth venture fund until mid-July to allow more time for limited partners to pony up. Primack’s analysis, based on conversations with unnamed limited partners, is that lackluster venture returns (8 percent on Highland’s sixth … Continue reading “Highland Puts Off Fund Close”
Oneforty Gets Funded
Oneforty, a company creating an online clearinghouse of applications related to Twitter, is the first participant in the TechStars Boston summer startup incubator program to receive funding, according to a report last Friday from Boston Globe reporter Scott Kirsner. The San Francisco company, led by CEO Laura Fitton, has reportedly raised under $250,000 in funding … Continue reading “Oneforty Gets Funded”
ZDNet Founder Starts Video Marketing Firm
Michael Kolowich—the founder of ZDNet, former president of AT&T New Media, and former chief marketing officer at Lotus—is among the founders of Channel One Marketing, a social media marketing firm that launched today in Concord, MA. Channel One, which is allied with video production studio DigiNovations, also based in Concord, says it specializes in promoting … Continue reading “ZDNet Founder Starts Video Marketing Firm”
Balancing Computer Security and Innovation—A Talk with RSA’s Art Coviello
It’s no surprise that the president of RSA, the security division of Hopkinton, MA-based information management giant EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), has strong views about the need for better security practices within corporations and government agencies. But Art Coviello, who joined RSA in 1995 and helped engineer its 2006 acquisition by EMC, says the problem isn’t … Continue reading “Balancing Computer Security and Innovation—A Talk with RSA’s Art Coviello”
Hang Out with Xconomy at DEMO’s Boston Scouting Party
The organizers of DEMO, the semiannual conference where tech startups do six-minute onstage demonstrations of their newest products, are coming to Boston next week to scout for stealth-mode innovators interested in launching their companies at DEMOfall 09, planned for September 21-23 in San Diego. This Monday, come help Xconomy’s Bob Buderi and me welcome DEMO … Continue reading “Hang Out with Xconomy at DEMO’s Boston Scouting Party”
ClickFuel Raises $2.5M
Boston-based ClickFuel, which offers Web-based services that help small and medium-sized businesses manage Internet marketing campaigns, said today that it has raised $2.5 million in a Series A round led by Chicago-based Baird Venture Partners. Launched last month, ClickFuel is led by Steve Pogorzelski, a former senior executive at career site Monster Worldwide.
SugarLabs Releases Sugar on Stick
SugarLabs, the Boston-based organization leading the development of Sugar, the open-source operating environment originally developed for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s XO Laptop, said today that it is now distributing a self-contained version of Sugar that boots from a thumb drive. Called “Sugar on a Stick,” the product was described in detail by SugarLabs … Continue reading “SugarLabs Releases Sugar on Stick”
Spark-funded Clear Shuts Down
Clear, a five-year-old biometric passenger identification service intended to speed air travelers’ passage through security checkpoints, shut down last night. According to the service’s website, parent company Verified Identity Pass of New York, NY, was unable to obtain credit to continue operations. Boston’s Spark Capital led a $44.4 million Series C venture funding round for … Continue reading “Spark-funded Clear Shuts Down”
Successful Startups Put Some Distance Between Their HQ and Their VCs
The conventional wisdom used to be that technology startups should be located as close to their venture investors’ main offices as possible. That way, it’s easier to call on your venture partners’ experience and networks, get them to attend your board meetings, and so forth. But the conventional wisdom may be dead wrong. Private equity … Continue reading “Successful Startups Put Some Distance Between Their HQ and Their VCs”
Should You Sign Up for Google Voice? Xconomy Readers Share Their Beta Experiences
Back in March, I wrote a column about Google Voice, the reincarnated version of a voicemail unification service that Google acquired from Grand Central back in 2007. The free service gives you a single phone number for life that isn’t tied to any particular land line or cellular device—instead, calls ring through to whichever phones … Continue reading “Should You Sign Up for Google Voice? Xconomy Readers Share Their Beta Experiences”
Boston’s Digital Entertainment Economy Begins to Sense Its Own Strength
Let’s say you live in Boston and you’ve just hit on a great concept for a cross-media property, with all the attendant merchandising tie-ins: a special-effects-laden movie, a console video game, a comic, a kids’ cartoon, action figures, a novelization, a persistent online world—in other words, the next Matrix or Transformers or Harry Potter. To … Continue reading “Boston’s Digital Entertainment Economy Begins to Sense Its Own Strength”