Boston isn’t just home to a bevy of top-rated hospitals—it’s also the birthplace of medical informatics, or the storage and retrieval of health data. (The MUMPS programming language—for Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System—was written in 1966 and is still one of the most widely used languages for creating database-driven clinical applications.) So it isn’t … Continue reading “Beth Israel Deaconess Is First Boston Hospital to Integrate with Google Health”
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
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World Energy Prepares for Nation’s First Carbon-Allowance Auctions
A Massachusetts energy-trading startup is gearing up to host the nation’s first auction for greenhouse gas emissions allowances. The details are still being worked out, but if all goes according to plan, World Energy Solutions (TSX: [[ticker:XWE]]) of Worcester will conduct the online auction—in which power-plant owners will buy and sell the rights to emit … Continue reading “World Energy Prepares for Nation’s First Carbon-Allowance Auctions”
Ignite Boston 3
Mingle and talk tech with your fellow FOOs, alpha geeks, and techies from the greater Boston area in this evening tech-fest sponsored by O’Reilly Media and organized by attendees. Apple iPhone hacker Jonathan Zdziarski and security expert John Viega kick off with keynote talks, followed by lightning-fast, five-minute presentations from local innovators (no sales pitches … Continue reading “Ignite Boston 3”
The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Screens
Liquid-crystal displays are getting bigger by the minute. These days, you can buy a huge 58-inch wide-screen LCD HDTV for under $3,000. Heck, at that price, you could buy 64 of them and hire Los Gatos, CA-based 9X Media to assemble them into a video wall large enough to hold its own in Times Square. … Continue reading “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Screens”
Bender Creates Sugar Labs—New Foundation to Adapt OLPC’s Laptop Interface for Other Machines
Walter Bender, the former president of software and content for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, contacted Xconomy this morning to alert us to the creation of Sugar Labs, a non-profit foundation that will work on new versions of Sugar, the learning-oriented graphical interface Bender developed for the OLPC’s XO Laptop. Coming on the heels … Continue reading “Bender Creates Sugar Labs—New Foundation to Adapt OLPC’s Laptop Interface for Other Machines”
XO Laptop Goes Windows
Microsoft and the One Laptop Per Child Foundation have reached an official agreement to produce versions of the foundation’s XO Laptop that run Windows XP. The move is intended in part to overcome resistance to the XO among bureaucrats in countries where OLPC would like to distribute the laptop. “The people who buy the machines … Continue reading “XO Laptop Goes Windows”
Greenfuel Extends Funding Round, Collects $13.9 Million
Greenfuel Technologies, the Cambridge, MA-based algae farming company temporarily headed by Polaris Venture Partners general partner Bob Metcalfe, said today that it has collected an additional $13.9 million in venture capital from inside investors in an extension of its Series B funding round. The money, which will be used to retire debt and scale up … Continue reading “Greenfuel Extends Funding Round, Collects $13.9 Million”
PV Annual 2008: Shedding Light on Solar
Greentech Media sponsors a daylong conferenced focused on the global market for photovoltaic (PV) solar energy technology. Data to be presented includes: * Global PV module demand, through end of year 2007 * Solar equipment ASPs * Silicon supply issues * Polysilicon capacity growth forecasts * Silicon pricing * Concentrating PV technologies and economics * … Continue reading “PV Annual 2008: Shedding Light on Solar”
Google’s Open House: Of Ping-Pong, the Gov, and Four Local Projects
It wouldn’t be a visit to Google if it didn’t include a game of some sort. In the elevator on the way up to Google’s new Kendall Square digs, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick was “talking smack” about his table-tennis prowess, according to Google’s Cambridge site director Stephen Vinter. So before allowing the governor to leave … Continue reading “Google’s Open House: Of Ping-Pong, the Gov, and Four Local Projects”
Polaris Backs Widget-Maker Sprout
Waltham, MA-based Polaris Venture Partners is the lead funder in a $5 million Series B financing found for Sprout, a San Francisco- and Honolulu-based company that makes software for creating Web widgets, the venture firm announced today. Sprout’s widgets, which can be as complex as mini-websites with tabs, slide shows, and music, are mainly used … Continue reading “Polaris Backs Widget-Maker Sprout”
In Defense of the Drivable Airplane—Terrafugia CEO Responds to Legions of Doubters
We know our readers love to hear about radical new technologies and the business opportunities they create. So we weren’t shocked when our article last week about the Transition, the drivable airplane from Woburn, MA-based Terrafugia, turned up on Slashdot and brought more visitors to the site than any Xconomy story since our launch last … Continue reading “In Defense of the Drivable Airplane—Terrafugia CEO Responds to Legions of Doubters”
On EveryScape, Your Memo Marks the Spot
The folks at EveryScape in Waltham, MA, have been busy trying to live up to their company’s ambitious tag line, “The Real World Online.” At the Where 2.0 conference in Burlingame, CA, today, the startup plans to announce several useful upgrades to its online catalog of street-level views of 14 world cities, including a social … Continue reading “On EveryScape, Your Memo Marks the Spot”
Iron Mountain Buys DocuVault
Iron Mountain, the Boston-based information protection and storage company, said today that it has purchased Denver, CO-based DocuVault for an undisclosed sum. Iron Mountain execs said the acquisition of DocuVault, which specializes in shredding, records storage, and data backup, shores up its presence in the Denver-Colorado Springs area.
Skyhook and Eye-Fi Hook Up to Automatically Geotag Your Photos
“Geotagging”—a geeks-only term as recently as a year ago—is moving quickly into the mainstream. And Boston’s Skyhook Wireless is doing as much as any company to make that happen. Back in February I wrote about a collaboration between Skyhook and Locr, a German photo-sharing community designed especially for pictures that have been geotagged—that is, assigned … Continue reading “Skyhook and Eye-Fi Hook Up to Automatically Geotag Your Photos”
An Elegy for the Multimedia CD-ROM Stars
On balance, I’m a fan of all things Web. But every successful new medium disrupts or transforms the media that came before—just as the movies killed vaudeville, TV killed episodic radio, MP3s are upending the music industry, and Netflix is killing the neighborhood video store—and it’s important to recognize the value that can be lost … Continue reading “An Elegy for the Multimedia CD-ROM Stars”
Novartis Increases Stake in Alnylam
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), a Cambridge, MA, biotech firm working on RNAi-based therapies, said today that pharmaceutical giant Novartis had exercised an option to purchase approximately $5.4 million worth of Alnylam’s unregistered shares (i.e. restricted shares that were never offered for sale on the public market). The purchase boosts Novartis’s ownership stake in Alnylam slightly, … Continue reading “Novartis Increases Stake in Alnylam”
From the Runway to the Road: Terrafugia Redefines the Flying Car—Make That Drivable Airplane
Don’t call it a flying car. It’s a “roadable aircraft.” It’s named the Transition, and the first full-scale model is taking shape inside a former machine shop on an industrial back alley in Woburn, MA. Between now and late July, the 10 employees of angel-funded startup Terrafugia will be spending “a lot of long days, … Continue reading “From the Runway to the Road: Terrafugia Redefines the Flying Car—Make That Drivable Airplane”
The DNA of Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned Across the Generations
The MIT Enterprise Forum presents a fireside chat on how entrepreneurship is born – and how it can be passed from parent to progeny and from mentor to mentee. The speakers include: George Hatsopoulos, founder and chairman emeritus of Thermo Electron Corporation (now Thermo Fisher Scientific), which he managed from inception through its growth to … Continue reading “The DNA of Entrepreneurship: Lessons Learned Across the Generations”
Picture Grows by $3 Million at Frame Media
Frame Media, the Wellesley, MA-based provider of content for digital picture frames that we profiled last September, has raised an additional $3 million in what it’s calling a Series A-1 investment round. The round, led by Longworth Venture Partners and CommonAngels, brings the company’s total funding to $5.2 million. Digital frame owners can use Frame … Continue reading “Picture Grows by $3 Million at Frame Media”
InnoCentive Raises $6.5 Million for Innovation Network: “Ready for Prime Time,” says CEO in Our Q&A
There’s endless debate about how to encourage more innovation inside technology companies. But in Waltham, MA, there’s a startup that says, in effect, don’t bother: innovation can be outsourced to a global community of freelancers. InnoCentive was set up by Eli Lilly in 2001 as an experimental way to farm out some of the giant … Continue reading “InnoCentive Raises $6.5 Million for Innovation Network: “Ready for Prime Time,” says CEO in Our Q&A”
Our Mascoma Math Coma
Here at Xconomy, tracking venture funding for local technology startups is one of our favorite pastimes. We don’t report on every single funding round we hear about, but when large amounts are involved we like to bring you all the facts. There’s one local startup, however, whose big Series C funding round has had us … Continue reading “Our Mascoma Math Coma”
Enterprise 2.0 Conference
United Business Media’s TechWeb, formerly the Business Technology Group of CMP, sponsors a four-day conference on the challenges and opportunities of running businesses in the Web 2.0 era. Topics include: Social Networking in Business Social Networks as New Media Microblogging & Twitter Enterprise Mash-ups Enterprise RSS & Syndication Developing a Next Generation Workforce Socializing Search … Continue reading “Enterprise 2.0 Conference”
Front End of Innovation
The Product Development and Management Association and the Institute for International Research co-sponsor a three-day conference on cutting-edge innovation methods and how they can benefit your company. Featured keynoters include Xconomist Dean Kamen, inventor Ray Kurzweil, and A.G. Lafley, the CEO of Procter & Gamble. Information and registration here; conference blog here.
EnerNOC Buys Baltimore Firm, Expands Energy Procurement Services
As more states have deregulated their energy markets—giving corporations, city governments, and other organizations more choices about where to buy their electricity and gas—a new group of consulting companies has sprung up to help these organizations make wise decisions. And in the space of eight months, Boston-based EnerNOC has gone from being a non-player in … Continue reading “EnerNOC Buys Baltimore Firm, Expands Energy Procurement Services”
Social Movie Rentals Premiere at Lycos; Chat Room Has Everything But the Popcorn
It turns out that old dogs can learn new tricks. For several years in the late 1990s, search company Lycos, known for its Labrador Retriever mascot, was one of the world’s most trafficked and most profitable Web portals. It scooped up other hot brands such as Wired Digital, Tripod, and Angelfire, and in 2000, Spain’s … Continue reading “Social Movie Rentals Premiere at Lycos; Chat Room Has Everything But the Popcorn”
Cornerstone Buys Critical Therapeutics
Lexington, MA-based Critical Therapeutics, which owns the rights to the asthma drug Zyflo and is developing other treatments for respiratory and inflammatory diseases, said today that it will be acquired by Cary, NC-based Cornerstone BioPharma. The stock-based transaction will leave Cornerstone stockholders with 70 percent ownership of the combined company and Critical Therapeutics shareholders with … Continue reading “Cornerstone Buys Critical Therapeutics”
Medicare Will Cover Abiomed Heart
Abiomed of Danvers, MA, said today that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has decided to reimburse hospitals that give patients Abiomed’s AbioCor artificial heart, reversing a 22-year-old policy against Medicare coverage for heart replacement surgery. The self-contained, fully-implantable AbioCor unit, which has no infection-prone tubes or wires that pierce the skin, is … Continue reading “Medicare Will Cover Abiomed Heart”
GM Chips In for Mascoma’s Cellulosic Biofuel Technology
In January General Motors announced an investment in Coskata, a Warrenville, IL, company that has backing from Advanced Technology Ventures of Waltham, MA, and is developing a chemical-thermal technology for making ethanol out of high-cellulose materials such as wood chips. But apparently GM wants to hedge its bets as it searches for ways to encourage … Continue reading “GM Chips In for Mascoma’s Cellulosic Biofuel Technology”
Unbuilt Boston: The Ghost Cloverleaf of Canton
Last Halloween, a Boston startup called Untravel Media published a multimedia walking tour called “Boston’s Little Lanes and Alleyways” that guides listeners through some of the city’s oddest secret passageways and back streets. I took the tour myself, and found that its dramatic combination of photography, music, and narration taught me about a side of … Continue reading “Unbuilt Boston: The Ghost Cloverleaf of Canton”
Mozy Releases Mac Version of Online Backup Service
MozyHome for Mac, a program that backs up your personal files online, went into full production today after a long period in beta testing. For several weeks now, I’ve been using the service—which, for the moment, represents one of the only ways everyday computer users can tap into the emerging “cloud computing” phenomenon—and I’ve found … Continue reading “Mozy Releases Mac Version of Online Backup Service”
ZeeVee Makes Watching Your PC on Your HDTV EeZee
It’s one of those strange ironies in consumer technology. Now that it’s possible to buy a flat-screen HDTV for under $1,000, millions of American homes boast huge, beautiful high-definition displays. But as anyone who has invested in an HDTV knows, only a fraction of the content available from broadcasters and cable systems is in high … Continue reading “ZeeVee Makes Watching Your PC on Your HDTV EeZee”
“Lord of the Rings Online” Publisher Turbine Reported to Raise $40 Million
According to a report yesterday at the financial news site PE Hub, Westwood, MA-based Turbine, publisher of graphically rich online role playing games such Lord of the Rings Online, has nearly doubled its venture capital pot through a $40 million Series C influx from Granite Global Ventures and partners. PE Hub said its report was … Continue reading ““Lord of the Rings Online” Publisher Turbine Reported to Raise $40 Million”
“Celebrity Services” Startup Gets $2.5M Credit Line
Paid, Inc., a Boston startup that provides services such as online community building, Web design, merchandising, and VIP fan ticketing to musical and sports celebrities including Patti Labele, Keith Lockhart, Doug Flutie, and the group Aerosmith, said yesterday that it has closed a $2.5 million revolving line of credit with Lewis Asset Management of New … Continue reading ““Celebrity Services” Startup Gets $2.5M Credit Line”
Cortera Collects $8 Million
Cortera, a Quincy, MA-based company that helps other companies research prospective customers and score their creditworthiness, said yesterday that it has raised $8 million in new funding from CIBC Capital Partners, with additional participation by Battery Ventures and majority stockholder Fidelity Ventures. The latter firm acquired the company (formerly known as eCredit) in 2006.
3Com’s New CEO Based in China
Robert Mao, named yesterday by Marlborough, MA-based 3Com as the replacement for outgoing CEO Edgar Masri, will be based in China, where he’ll be able to oversee Internet switch and router maker H3C, 3Com said in a press release. Currently 3Com’s only profitable division, H3C started out as a joint venture between 3Com and Chinese … Continue reading “3Com’s New CEO Based in China”
TrustPlus Out to Build Its Rep with eBay Data
Trust is a funny thing. I first interviewed Shawn Broderick, founder and CEO of TrustPlus, last September. But I didn’t write a story about the startup, mainly because there was something about the interview that didn’t feel right. Maybe I didn’t ask the right questions. Maybe it was the way TrustPlus’s marketing video was such … Continue reading “TrustPlus Out to Build Its Rep with eBay Data”
Cox Buys Adify, Venrock Cashes Out
Adify, a “vertical” Web advertising network based in San Bruno, CA, said in its blog today that it’s accepting a $300 million cash takeover offer from Atlanta-based media conglomerate Cox Enterprises. That’s good news, presumably, for Venrock. The venture firm, which has offices in Cambridge, MA, Menlo Park, CA, New York, and Israel, participated in … Continue reading “Cox Buys Adify, Venrock Cashes Out”
Summit Closes Two New Funds
Summit Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with offices in Boston, London, and Palo Alto, said yesterday that it has closed two new investment funds, a €1 billion European private equity fund and an $825 million subordinated debt fund. (We looked it up, and “subordinated debt” is debt that’s paid off after most … Continue reading “Summit Closes Two New Funds”
VMware’s R&D Lab: A Little Piece of Palo Alto in the Heart of Kendall Square
When Xconomy set up shop in Kendall Square, Cambridge, last year, we knew it was the innovation hub of New England, but we still didn’t realize just how deep the bench is here. Practically every week we learn about a new startup or an established technology firm with an office near ours. My most recent … Continue reading “VMware’s R&D Lab: A Little Piece of Palo Alto in the Heart of Kendall Square”
Netezza Boosts Data Warehouse Capacity
Netezza (NYSE: [[ticker:NZ]]) sells high-performance data warehousing appliances to companies such as Neiman Marcus, Amazon, and TJX that need to analyze terabytes of customer data quickly to detect fraud or help with marketing decisions. Thanks to new compression techniques being rolled out next month as part of the latest software upgrade for Netezza’s appliances, they’ll … Continue reading “Netezza Boosts Data Warehouse Capacity”
Black Duck Swallows Up Koders Code Search Engine
Waltham, MA-based Black Duck Software, whose products help companies manage big software projects that incorporate open-source code and other third-party software, said today that it has acquired Santa Monica, CA-based Koders, proprietor of the Web’s leading open-source code search engine. Black Duck paddled up to software developers in 2004 with the promise of helping them … Continue reading “Black Duck Swallows Up Koders Code Search Engine”
GamerDNA Targets Xbox Community
GamerDNA, the social network for video gamers that just 10 days ago announced a new name, a broader mission, and a new pot of venture money from Flybridge Capital Partners, is continuing its expansion streak. CEO Jon Radoff said today the company has acquired Chicago-based It Can Talk Inc., which owns an Xbox community website … Continue reading “GamerDNA Targets Xbox Community”
Turn Your HDTV into a Digital Art Canvas
You no longer need to be a multi-billionaire to have large-scale digital art in your home. When Bill Gates built his 40,000-square-foot mansion on Lake Washington in the early 1990s, one of the most talked-about features was a 22-foot-wide, rear-projection video wall in the reception hall, showing digitized versions of fine art, historic photographs, and … Continue reading “Turn Your HDTV into a Digital Art Canvas”
One Laptop Per Child Foundation No Longer a Disruptive Force, Bender Fears; Q&A on His Plans for “Sugar” Interface
Walter Bender, the former president of software and content for the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, says he left his post last week because of a growing split with founder Nicholas Negroponte over whether the foundation should continue in its gadfly role in the computing world. Negroponte—who told BusinessWeek in March that OLPC has been … Continue reading “One Laptop Per Child Foundation No Longer a Disruptive Force, Bender Fears; Q&A on His Plans for “Sugar” Interface”
Geezeo Takes a Walk on The Sunny Side of TheStreet.com
TheStreet.com, the investment news site headlined by famously loud-mouthed CNBC host Jim Cramer, said today that it’s making a strategic investment of its own in Framingham, MA-based Geezeo, the personal-finance website we profiled last August. TheStreet.com is putting $1.2 million into Geezeo in return for a 13 percent stake in the company, and has the … Continue reading “Geezeo Takes a Walk on The Sunny Side of TheStreet.com”
Independent Film Festival Boston
Now in its seventh year, Independent Film Festival Boston is a week-long bonanza of great new feature, documentary, and short films from independent producers. We particularly recommend two technology-oriented films: Nerdcore Rising: East Coast premire of a film documenting the world of geeksta rap with a focus on Damian Hess, aka MC Frontalot. The premiere, … Continue reading “Independent Film Festival Boston”
Veveo’s vTap Comes to Sony Ericsson Phones
Andover, MA-based Veveo (which we profiled last August and again in April) said today that it has launched a version of its vTap mobile video search service optimized for Java-capable Sony Ericsson mobile phones. Using the software, available through the “Fun & Downloads” section of Sony Ericsson’s web portal, phone owners can search, view, and … Continue reading “Veveo’s vTap Comes to Sony Ericsson Phones”
Mobile Marketing and Advertising
It’s almost time for the next Mobile Monday Boston meetup. May’s session will focus on the market for advertising on mobile platforms, which happens to be the focus of several Boston-area companies, such as ThirdScreen Media. A panel of experts will ask whether mobile advertising is a real business yet. Panelists will include:Phuc Truong – … Continue reading “Mobile Marketing and Advertising”
TV and the Web: Can Backchannelmedia Make You Lean Forward?
Back in November, we covered a Boston company called Backchannelmedia that’s giving broadcasters and advertisers a new marketing channel by adding a Web bookmarking function to TV programming. I stopped by Backchannelmedia’s office for a demo of the latest version of its system a couple of weeks ago, and I’ll be sharing a few of … Continue reading “TV and the Web: Can Backchannelmedia Make You Lean Forward?”
Artaic Pieces Together a Robot Revolution in Mosaic-Making
Mosaic has been a popular form of public art since Roman times, but the techniques behind it haven’t advanced much over the millennia. Assembling the glass, stone, or marble pieces of a mosaic, called tesserae, is still a manual process that takes even experienced craftspeople two to three hours per square foot. (If the artist … Continue reading “Artaic Pieces Together a Robot Revolution in Mosaic-Making”