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 Facebook: facebook.com/wade.roush LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waderoush Google+ : google.com/+WadeRoush YouTube: youtube.com/wroush1967 Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wroush/ Pinterest: pinterest.com/waderoush/

Boston-area Mobile Investments Spike to $215 Million in First Quarter

Investors put $215 million into mobile technology companies in the Boston area in the first quarter of 2009, according to figures released today by Mobile Monday Boston, the local chapter of the global association for mobile professionals. That’s the largest amount raised by the mobile sector in the last five quarters, and it went to … Continue reading “Boston-area Mobile Investments Spike to $215 Million in First Quarter”

Cutting the Cable: It’s Easier Than You Think

In a column published last July, I vacillated publicly about whether it was time to stop paying extortionate rates to my local cable provider, Comcast, for the privilege of watching 17 minutes of commercials with every hour of programming. Well, it took me a while, but in early March I finally cut the cord. I … Continue reading “Cutting the Cable: It’s Easier Than You Think”

Powerspan Raises $50 Million

Portsmouth, NH-based Powerspan, which is developing electro-catalytic oxidation systems that remove pollutants from flue gas at coal-fired electrical plants, said today that it has closed a new $50 million financing round led by new investors George Soros, Tenaska Energy, Inc., AllianceBernstein LP, and Persimmon Tree Capital. Existing investors NGEN Partners LLC, The Beacon Group, The … Continue reading “Powerspan Raises $50 Million”

GreatPoint in Deal with Dow

Cambridge, MA-based GreatPoint Energy, which is developing technology that converts coal into cleaner-burning natural gas, said today that it has struck an agreement with Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: [[ticker:DOW]]) giving Dow the right to buy natural gas generated at GreatPoint’s facilities. Dow was the lead investor in GreatPoint’s $103 million equity financing round in 2007, … Continue reading “GreatPoint in Deal with Dow”

TopCoder—Crowdsourcing Software Long Before Crowdsourcing Got Cool

Can competitions and prizes get you to the Moon? Google thinks so—it’s backing the $30 million Lunar X Prize, which will be awarded to the first privately funded team that sends a remote-controlled robot to the Moon, drives it 500 meters, and collects video of the trip. Back here on Earth, the $10 million Archon … Continue reading “TopCoder—Crowdsourcing Software Long Before Crowdsourcing Got Cool”

First Wind Secures $376M For UT Project

Royal Bank of Scotland is leading a group of investors providing $376 million in financing for Boston-based First Wind‘s project to build a 97-turbine wind farm in Milford, UT, the company announced today. The other lenders include Banco Espirito Santo, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, CoBank, HSH Nordbank, KeyBank, Société Générale and Credit Suisse. Separately, First … Continue reading “First Wind Secures $376M For UT Project”

DemandWare Raises $15 Million

Woburn, MA-based DemandWare has closed a $15 million Series D funding round, according to a regulatory filing cited this morning by Mass High Tech and PE Hub. The company, which offers hosted e-commerce storefronts for companies such as Zabars and Barneys, obtained the funding from Waltham, MA-based North Bridge Venture Partners and Cambridge, MA-based General … Continue reading “DemandWare Raises $15 Million”

Dataupia Helps Consumer Giants Tackle Big Data

Foster Hinshaw has a theory. The most successful consumer-oriented companies—the Wal-Marts, Amazons, L.L. Beans, and Staples of the world—are successful not just because they understand their customers, but because they can operationalize that understanding. They collect massive amounts of information about past transactions and store it in data warehouses, and they actively mine those warehouses … Continue reading “Dataupia Helps Consumer Giants Tackle Big Data”

Cognex Cuts 85 Staff

Cognex, a Natick, MA-based company that makes machine-vision sensors and systems for industrial automation, announced cost-cutting measures today that will include executive pay cuts and the elimination of 85 employees and contractors. “Unfortunately, conditions have deteriorated beyond what we had anticipated last fall, and because we currently see no sign of improvement in the near … Continue reading “Cognex Cuts 85 Staff”

Redstart Systems’ Voice Command Software Replaces the Keyboard and Mouse—and Not Just for Dictation

If you want to dictate notes into your computer without typing, speech recognition software like Dragon Naturally Speaking, from Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), works surprisingly well these days. Even without training, dictation software can hit accuracy rates of 99 percent; once it learns your personal speech patterns, it’s nearly flawless. But using speech … Continue reading “Redstart Systems’ Voice Command Software Replaces the Keyboard and Mouse—and Not Just for Dictation”

DOE Award for QD Vision

Watertown, MA-based QD Vision, which makes solid-state lighting devices based on nanotech “quantum dot” technology, said today it has been awarded $700,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy for a joint R&D project with MIT electrical engineering professor Marc Baldo. The project’s goal is to make organic light emitting diodes more power-efficient and pleasing in … Continue reading “DOE Award for QD Vision”

RunKeeper Crosses Marathon Finish Line

[Update, April 21, 2009: The third RunKeeper video has now been posted.] Maybe Jason Jacobs’ foot injury wasn’t quite as bad as he was suggesting last week. Just minutes ago the CEO of Boston-based FitnessKeeper, which makes a popular iPhone run-tracking application called RunKeeper, crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon with a very … Continue reading “RunKeeper Crosses Marathon Finish Line”

Hubspot, Hybernaut Bury the Twitter Hatchet, For Now

All’s well that ends well. For a while, it looked like the argument last week between Cambridge’s Hubspot and Beta House co-founder Brian Del Vecchio over how startups should use Twitter—a debate carried out on Twitter itself, of course—was going to get ugly. Del Vecchio, known on Twitter as @Hybernaut, was bothered by the way … Continue reading “Hubspot, Hybernaut Bury the Twitter Hatchet, For Now”

Brightcove Basks In Light of Adobe’s New Strobe

Cambridge, MA-based video hosting provider Brightcove has long had all of its eggs in Adobe Systems’ basket: the company’s entire platform is built around Adobe’s Flash streaming media format. But now the two companies’ relationship is growing even closer. At the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas today, Brightcove and San Jose, CA-based … Continue reading “Brightcove Basks In Light of Adobe’s New Strobe”

RunKeeper’s Mad Dash to the Marathon Finish: Of Foot Injuries, Viral Video, and Dressing Up as an iPhone

If you’re out watching the Boston Marathon on Monday and you see a giant iPhone limp past, chances are it’s Jason Jacobs inside. Jacobs is the hyperkinetic founder and CEO of Boston-based FitnessKeeper, which makes a highly popular run-tracking application for the Apple iPhone 3G called RunKeeper. (He was also a panelist at Xconomy’s recent … Continue reading “RunKeeper’s Mad Dash to the Marathon Finish: Of Foot Injuries, Viral Video, and Dressing Up as an iPhone”

DataXu Raises $6M for Web Ad Targeting

According to a regulatory filing cited today by PE Hub, Cambridge, MA-based startup DataXu (pronounced DataZoo) has raised $6 million in Series A funding to commercialize a new Web ad targeting technology. The investors include Atlas Venture and Flybridge Capital Partners. At one time DataXu was headed by former MIT Technology Review publisher Bruce Journey, … Continue reading “DataXu Raises $6M for Web Ad Targeting”

YouRenew Hopes Message of Green Simplicity Will Help It Outrun Gazelle in Gadget-Recycling Market

The Web has drastically lowered the barriers to starting a business. But that benefit has a flip side: established Web businesses are more vulnerable to competitors who can suddenly come up from behind. That’s the story that may play out this year in the electronics recycling market. Last year we ran a couple of stories … Continue reading “YouRenew Hopes Message of Green Simplicity Will Help It Outrun Gazelle in Gadget-Recycling Market”

Mascoma to Cut Staff, Leave Boston

Boston-based Mascoma, a startup developing techniques for making ethanol from high-cellulose feedstock such as wood chips, said yesterday it will consolidate its operations in a new office building and R&D facility in Lebanon, NH, near the Dartmouth College location where the company was founded, and where the majority of its workers are already employed. The … Continue reading “Mascoma to Cut Staff, Leave Boston”

From Ultracapacitors to Soybeans to Sludge: University Teams Pitch Local VCs

Three local venture firms put on what amounted to a university startup fair at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square yesterday. I went hoping for a peek at a few of the companies that could be pulling down Series A rounds a year or two from now. Now in its second year, the invitation-only University … Continue reading “From Ultracapacitors to Soybeans to Sludge: University Teams Pitch Local VCs”

EMC Updates Storage for the Cloud

Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) announced today that its 19-year-old line of Symmetrix storage servers, the company’s flagship product, has been overhauled for the era of virtualization, in which users expect to be able to yoke hundreds or thousand of machines together and manage them as if they were a single resource. The new Symmetrix … Continue reading “EMC Updates Storage for the Cloud”

Risk and Reward: GoCrossCampus Morphs Into Casual Games Site for Teams

If you’re a startup that organizes giant games of Risk on college campuses, it doesn’t matter how many thousands of dorm residents you can recruit to participate—there’s still a fundamental flaw your business model. It’s that the game and the semester eventually end, and everyone goes home. The antidote? Keep people involved year-round by moving … Continue reading “Risk and Reward: GoCrossCampus Morphs Into Casual Games Site for Teams”

Going Green, Gradually: Catching Up with Local Motors and Its Crowd-Sourced Car

The Rally Fighter is half dune buggy, half muscle car. Designed for off-road racing in the deserts of the Southwest, it looks a lot like any ride you might see on the cover of Road & Track. But what’s different about the Rally Fighter is that it’s a product of the Web 2.0 revolution: it … Continue reading “Going Green, Gradually: Catching Up with Local Motors and Its Crowd-Sourced Car”

The Digital Combine: The Next Generation Employer and Talent Showcase

MITX sponsors a new kind of job fair. From the official event announcement: “We all have former colleagues, friends, and family members who are currently searching for work. It’s not easy. Finding a job in today’s economic times is like competing for a spot in the NFL draft. You go through a series of drills, … Continue reading “The Digital Combine: The Next Generation Employer and Talent Showcase”

Boston Can Survive, Even Thrive, Without Today’s Globe

It’s difficult to see how the Boston Globe can last long in its current form. Even if its owner, the New York Times Co., extracts the entire $20 million in concessions that it demanded this week from the paper’s unions, the paper would still lose $65 million this year, according to the company’s own figures. … Continue reading “Boston Can Survive, Even Thrive, Without Today’s Globe”

At CHI Meeting, Microsoft Turns Computing Interfaces on Their Head, and Side, and Back

I spent a couple of days this week at CHI, the big annual meeting of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). It was the first time since 1994 that the conference—the main international gathering for scholars and practitioners in user interface design—has come to Boston. But it wasn’t … Continue reading “At CHI Meeting, Microsoft Turns Computing Interfaces on Their Head, and Side, and Back”

First Wind Proposes Maine Turbines

First Wind of Newton, MA, said today that it has filed a permit application with Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection to build a 34-turbine wind farm in Aroostook County in the state’s northern tip. The 1.5-megawatt turbines, which would be placed near the town of Oakfield, would generate power for up to 20,000 homes, according … Continue reading “First Wind Proposes Maine Turbines”

Extend Media Expands Video Delivery Options for Cable Providers—But Will They Bite Fast Enough to Stop Defections?

Last month I connected by phone with Extend Media‘s founder and president Keith Kocho. At the time, Kocho was sole leader of the Boston-based startup, which makes video management software for media companies. Given that Extend specializes in delivering video content across multiple platforms—over the broadband Internet to PCs, over traditional cable networks to TV … Continue reading “Extend Media Expands Video Delivery Options for Cable Providers—But Will They Bite Fast Enough to Stop Defections?”

Xconomy Forum Speakers: Exciting But Tricky Times for Mobile Entrepreneurs

A standing-room-only crowd gathered yesterday for Xconomy’s Forum on the Future of Mobile Innovation in New England, hosted by Microsoft at its gorgeous new New England Research and Development Center (or NERD, as Microsoft’s Reed Sturtevant called it). Google’s Rich Miner, MIT’s Sandy Pentland, and two panels’ worth of mobile entrepreneurs were on hand to … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Speakers: Exciting But Tricky Times for Mobile Entrepreneurs”

Spark Capital Backs Brownsberger’s Bill to Ban Non-Competes

Boston’s Spark Capital came out publicly today in favor of Massachusetts House Bill 1794, which would outlaw non-compete agreements in employment contracts in the state. The venture firm has been vocal on the issue for some time—its partners helped found the Alliance for Open Competition and sent Governor Deval Patrick an open letter opposing non-compete … Continue reading “Spark Capital Backs Brownsberger’s Bill to Ban Non-Competes”

Segway, GM Collaborate on Next-Generation Personal Transport

I had to check the calendar when I heard about this to make sure it wasn’t still April Fool’s Day. It appears that Bedford, NH-based Segway and Detroit-based General Motors (NYSE: [[ticker:GM]]) are joining forces to develop a new electric-powered, two-seater vehicle that, like the famous Segway Personal Transporter (PT), balances on two wheels. The … Continue reading “Segway, GM Collaborate on Next-Generation Personal Transport”

See You This Afternoon at the [Sold Out!] Xconomy Forum on Mobile Innovation in New England

[Update 12:15 p.m. I’ll be live-tweeting from the event. You can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/wroush. Please use the hash tag #xconmobile if you’re tweeting or blogging about the event.] We’re packing up our laptops, posters, and banners in a couple of hours and heading over to Microsoft’s New England Research and Development Center for Xconomy’s … Continue reading “See You This Afternoon at the [Sold Out!] Xconomy Forum on Mobile Innovation in New England”

A123Systems Will Supply Batteries for Chrysler’s Electric Vehicles

If struggling automaker Chrysler survives its current financial crisis, it will likely come out the other end with a different owner (the Obama Administration wants it to link up with Italy’s Fiat) and a different lineup of vehicles. In fact, it’s already working on a line of electric-only automobiles, including five Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler … Continue reading “A123Systems Will Supply Batteries for Chrysler’s Electric Vehicles”

Everypoint Launches News Reader for Java Phones

Back in December 2008 we wrote about the launch of Everypoint, a Boston startup working on a platform that makes it easy for developers to write cool iPhone-like applications for Java-capable phones, which includes most feature phones (i.e. non-smartphones) these days. To seed developer efforts, Everypoint started out by releasing a few of its own … Continue reading “Everypoint Launches News Reader for Java Phones”

Ember Raises $8 Million on Strength of Obama Administration’s Smart Grid Plans

Ember, the Boston-based maker of wireless mesh-networking chipsets for communications between devices such as utility meters and thermostats, will announce today that it has topped off its coffers with an $8 million funding round from a group of venture firms and strategic partners. CEO Robert LeFort says that if government stimulus spending on energy efficiency … Continue reading “Ember Raises $8 Million on Strength of Obama Administration’s Smart Grid Plans”

PE Fund Acquires M/A-COM

Lowell, MA-based wireless chipmaker M/A-COM Technology Solutions, formerly a unit of UK-based Cobham, has been acquired by John Ocampo, owner of GaAs Labs, a California private equity fund specializing in semiconductor companies, M/A-COM announced today. Ocampo paid $30 million in cash and $30 million in senior loan notes, and could pay up to $30 million … Continue reading “PE Fund Acquires M/A-COM”

Xconomy’s Mobile Innovation Forum Coming on Tuesday—Don’t Miss It

If you followed the the CTIA convention in Las Vegas this week, then you’ve been steeped in news about things like the Palm Pre, Skype for the iPhone, Firefox’s Fennec mobile browser, 4G services from Verizon and Clearwire, Kindle competitors from Verizon, AT&T, and News Corp., and new application stores for Blackberry, Nokia, and Windows … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Mobile Innovation Forum Coming on Tuesday—Don’t Miss It”

Will Hunch Help You Make Decisions? Signs Point to Yes

Last week I wrote about Twitter, a flawed and difficult-to-grasp social media technology that nonetheless becomes addictive once you get the hang of it—so much so that it’s quickly changing the way many people communicate. This week I’m going to write about Hunch, a flawed and difficult-to-grasp social media technology that nonetheless becomes addictive once … Continue reading “Will Hunch Help You Make Decisions? Signs Point to Yes”

Sepaton Wins $15.5M Series F Round

Marlborough, MA-based Sepaton, a maker of “virtual tape library” backup appliances and data deduplication software for enterprise data protection, said today that it has secured a $15.5 million Series F funding round. The round was led by new investor Focus Ventures of Palo Alto, CA. Existing investors Jerusalem Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Valhalla Partners, and … Continue reading “Sepaton Wins $15.5M Series F Round”

Imprivata Buys IdentiPHI’s Biometric Technology

Lexington, MA-based Imprivata, the password management compay we first profiled in November 2007, said today that it has acquired the assets of IdentiPHI, an Austin, TX-based maker of systems that replace password-based access to Windows systems with biometric or smart-card-based access. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Dimdim Upgrades Its Alternative Web Conferencing System

In last week’s interview with Dimdim CEO DD Ganguly and chief marketing officer Steve Chazin, I hinted that the 5.0 version of the Methuen, MA, company’s Web-based conferencing software was nearing release. Well, today it’s out. Organizations tired of paying high prices to use systems like Cisco’s WebEx, Citrix’s GoToMeeting, and Microsoft’s Live Meeting may … Continue reading “Dimdim Upgrades Its Alternative Web Conferencing System”

New E-Mail Management Software from EMC Helps Companies Cope with Litigation

It’s a rare event for EMC, the Hopkinton, MA-based storage and information management giant that has been on an acquisition spree over the last few years, to launch a new product line in-house. But that’s what’s happening this week as EMC rolls out “SourceOne,” a new family of software products designed to help companies prepare … Continue reading “New E-Mail Management Software from EMC Helps Companies Cope with Litigation”

Tizra Makes Stimulus Bill Searchable

Until now, the only way to read the 400-plus-page American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (otherwise known as the Stimulus Bill) has been to download a 13-megabyte PDF version or scroll through messy, unpaginated HTML versions. But now Tizra, the Providence, RI online publishing company we profiled in February, has used its platform to … Continue reading “Tizra Makes Stimulus Bill Searchable”

Rich Miner, New Manager of Google Ventures, Calls New England “A Fertile Ecosystem…A Great Place to Be”

It’s official: Google has launched a venture investing wing called Google Ventures, and Rich Miner, who is based at the company’s Cambridge, MA, office and is the former leader of its Android mobile operating system project, is one of the managing partners. A sharp-eyed reporter for Reuters broke the news about Miner’s new job on … Continue reading “Rich Miner, New Manager of Google Ventures, Calls New England “A Fertile Ecosystem…A Great Place to Be””

Sepracor Asks FDA to Okay Epilepsy Drug

Marlborough, MA-based Sepracor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SEPR]]), known mainly for its sleep aid Lunesta, said today that it has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval of a compound called eslicarbazepine acetate as an adjunct to other therapies in adult epilepsy patients. Sepracor says the sodium-channel blocker—developed by Portuguese pharmaceutical company BIAL-Portela and licensed … Continue reading “Sepracor Asks FDA to Okay Epilepsy Drug”

The Xconomy Mobile Innovation Showcase

On April 7, Xconomy will hold its first-ever Forum on the Future of Mobile Innovation in New England, an afternoon-long event designed to highlight the technologies and ideas that will lead the local mobile industry through—and past—the economic downturn. CEOs, engineers, analysts, and investors from more than 15 local companies and venture firms will be … Continue reading “The Xconomy Mobile Innovation Showcase”

Semilab Snaps Up Two Firms

Semilab, a Natick, MA-based maker of metrology tools for characterizing materials in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D, announced today that it has purchased two smaller cousins: Advanced Metrology Systems, also of Natick, and Billerica, MA-based QC Solutions. AMS makes technology for studying 3D structures, while QC Solutions makes non-contact systems for testing the electrical properties of … Continue reading “Semilab Snaps Up Two Firms”