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/

Mindflash Zooms Ahead in Online Employee Training, Adds $3.5 Million

In the world of online training and education, personal video instruction sites like Udacity, Coursera, Khan Academy, and Lynda.com have been sucking up a lot of the oxygen. Certainly, that’s where the big venture dollars are going: Udacity raised $12 million last year, Coursera pulled in $22 million, and Lynda.com recently attracted a whopping $103 … Continue reading “Mindflash Zooms Ahead in Online Employee Training, Adds $3.5 Million”

Mailbox App Is Fun, But There’s Only One Real Fix for E-Mail

I have some difficult news to share. Your e-mail overload problem is here to stay. We’d all prefer to spend less time managing e-mail, and every so often a new app, service, or time-management system comes along promising to help. The latest one is called Mailbox, and it’s been generating a lot of buzz over … Continue reading “Mailbox App Is Fun, But There’s Only One Real Fix for E-Mail”

Facebook Doesn’t Have Big Data. It Has Ginormous Data.

One thing that makes Facebook different from most other consumer Internet services is the vast scale of the data it must manage. Start with a billion-plus members, each with 140 friends, on average. Add some 240 billion photos, with 350 million more being uploaded every day. Mix in messages, status updates, check-ins, and targeted ads, … Continue reading “Facebook Doesn’t Have Big Data. It Has Ginormous Data.”

Big Data at Facebook—A Glossary

Facebook, like many engineering-driven companies, is seldom satisfied with off-the-shelf solutions for its computing problems. Its software teams regularly come up with new algorithms or management systems meant to make the company’s infrastructure more reliable and scalable. Many of these projects are offshoots of open-source technologies like Hadoop, and Facebook ends up contributing many of … Continue reading “Big Data at Facebook—A Glossary”

Stanford’s StartX Launches 10 New Startups—The Story in Pictures

It’s hard to believe StartX is already on its 8th demo day; I remember attending the first one back in the pioneer days of 2010. Since then, the startup accelerator for Stanford students and other affiliates has supported more than 250 entrepreneurs, and four of the more than 100 companies it has spawned have already been acquired. … Continue reading “Stanford’s StartX Launches 10 New Startups—The Story in Pictures”

I’m Returning My iPad Mini. These Pictures Show Why.

[Important! Author’s Note, June 6, 2014: The article below refers to the first-generation iPad mini, released in November 2012. The second-generation iPad mini, released in the fall of 2013, features a 2048 x 1536-pixel Retina display that fixes all of the display-related problems I perceived with the original. Related to this, I wrote a review of … Continue reading “I’m Returning My iPad Mini. These Pictures Show Why.”

NVCA VentureScape

From the event organizers: “NVCA’s VentureScape brings together key players from America’s startup and innovation ecosystems for two full days of compelling content, unprecedented thought leadership and outstanding networking opportunities. …For the first time, the National Venture Capital Association’s annual meeting will include ‘the world’s largest office hours,’ On May 14, 2013. Hundreds of entrepreneurs … Continue reading “NVCA VentureScape”

Debating Robots, Jobs, and the Changing Nature of Work on April 11

If you saw the 60 Minutes segment “March of the Machines” on January 13, you probably came away with some mixed feelings about the state of robotics. The report showed robots doing an impressive array of jobs, from assisting with delicate surgery to driving autonomously on freeways to ferrying medicines down hospital corridors. But don’t … Continue reading “Debating Robots, Jobs, and the Changing Nature of Work on April 11”

Silicon Valley Meets at Facebook Campus to Recruit LGBT Students

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said many times that the company’s mission is to make the world more open and connected. Usually, the connections Facebook fosters are purely virtual, but this weekend the company is getting real, hosting a gathering for almost 200 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students at its … Continue reading “Silicon Valley Meets at Facebook Campus to Recruit LGBT Students”

How Lytro is Shifting Our Perspective on Photography

The first time I got to play with a Lytro light-field camera was in March, 2012. If I had to sum up my reaction in eight words, it would be: “Concept: Mind-blowing. Execution: Not quite there yet.” It was clear that the technology inside the camera—which makes it possible to refocus a picture after it’s … Continue reading “How Lytro is Shifting Our Perspective on Photography”

When Freemium Ain’t Free: Crowdbooster Offers a Painful Case Study

Crowdbooster is a Palo Alto, CA-based startup that solves one of the nettlesome new problems posed by the social media explosion—helping users figure out how many people they’re actual reaching when they share information on Twitter or Facebook. A lot of people like the service: within just two years of graduating from Y Combinator, Silicon … Continue reading “When Freemium Ain’t Free: Crowdbooster Offers a Painful Case Study”

CEOs, Legislators Fight Retroactive Tax on Small-Business Investors

In December, reacting to a court ruling, the California Franchise Tax Board eliminated a tax break designed to encourage small-business investment in the state, and it said it would demand retroactive tax payments from everyone who took advantage of the incentive since 2008. Now angry voices are rising in opposition to that decision, which will … Continue reading “CEOs, Legislators Fight Retroactive Tax on Small-Business Investors”

Testing the Bay Lights: Stunning Photos and Video

Few artists have ever had a bigger canvas at their disposal than Leo Villareal. The New York-based “light sculptor” is famous for designing huge, computer-driven LED art installations that cover entire walls of museums and other facilities around the country. But the Bay Lights, an array of individually programmed LEDs stretching across the entire Western … Continue reading “Testing the Bay Lights: Stunning Photos and Video”

The Surreal, Ironic Story Behind California’s Retroactive Tax on Investors

A major tax incentive designed to encourage investors to back startups and other small businesses in California has just evaporated. If you sold stock in a so-called “qualifying small business” (QSB) in 2012, you won’t be able to exclude or defer any of your gains when you fill out your state income tax return this … Continue reading “The Surreal, Ironic Story Behind California’s Retroactive Tax on Investors”

Astia Forms New Angel Group to Invest in Women-Led Tech Companies

Startups led by women have found a new source of cash. It’s Astia Angel, a network of individual investors affiliated with Astia, the San Francisco-based nonprofit that promotes women-led enterprises in infotech, cleantech, and the life sciences. Astia announced the formation of the network today. Alongside the creation of a separate Astia Fund to provide … Continue reading “Astia Forms New Angel Group to Invest in Women-Led Tech Companies”

Who’s Investing in Food Startups? A Photo Gallery

Silicon Valley has acquired a taste for food. Not the kind with calories, but the business of food: making it, distributing it, serving it, and helping people discover it. Among both entrepreneurs and investors, there’s a fast-growing enthusiasm  for finding both high-tech and low-tech ways to bring new shopping and eating experiences to consumers. That … Continue reading “Who’s Investing in Food Startups? A Photo Gallery”

Facebook Used to Be Fun—Graph Search Makes It Useful

I spend a lot of time on Facebook. Probably more than the average user, who spends around 400 minutes on the site per month, or about 13 minutes per day, according to data from comScore. It isn’t exactly wasted time—I’m usually gathering or spreading news and keeping up with my friends by browsing their news … Continue reading “Facebook Used to Be Fun—Graph Search Makes It Useful”

Who Should—and Shouldn’t—Become A Tech Investor? Freestyle Weighs In

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a former entrepreneur in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of investments. Or to put it another way: If you’re a 30-year-old startup founder who’s cashed out of your first company and you suddenly find yourself with a life-altering amount of money (and a lot … Continue reading “Who Should—and Shouldn’t—Become A Tech Investor? Freestyle Weighs In”

Graph Search is Facebook’s Bid to Compete with…Everyone

There’s broad agreement in the tech industry that search should be more personal and more social. Google certainly thinks so—that was the whole point of last year’s “Search Plus Your World” initiative, which saw the search and advertising giant begin to customize its search rankings for individual users to highlight material from people connected to … Continue reading “Graph Search is Facebook’s Bid to Compete with…Everyone”

This Is What You Want Your Next Startup’s Office to Look Like

Yammer celebrated its move to the Central Market area today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and catered gourmet breakfast for all its employees. They’d better get used to the luxuries fast—the new office, on the third floor of the renovated S.F. Furniture Mart building at 1355 Market Street, is one of the spiffiest spaces occupied by … Continue reading “This Is What You Want Your Next Startup’s Office to Look Like”

Turning On to Live Internet Radio with TuneIn

Radio. It’s my periodic obsession, my news lifeline, my aural ecosystem. It’s the most antique of electronic media, yet at the same time, it’s evolving as fast as the Internet, perhaps faster. Where is radio going? How will it thrive? What will it look like (or sound like) in an era when every phone, tablet, … Continue reading “Turning On to Live Internet Radio with TuneIn”

Epocrates Attracted Athenahealth Buyout by Getting Back to Basics

When I sat down with Epocrates CEO Andrew Hurd on December 19, I wanted to know why the company had decided to abandon its ambitious project to build an electronic health record (EHR) system, which previous executives had portrayed as a cornerstone of the company’s expansion. I also wanted to hear what opportunities for growth … Continue reading “Epocrates Attracted Athenahealth Buyout by Getting Back to Basics”

Risa Stack Leaves Kleiner; Third Valley VC to Join GE

Risa Stack, a partner at premier Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has left the firm to become general manager of emerging health innovations at General Electric. Stack announced the move Sunday night at a dinner organized by the Rock Health startup accelerator in San Francisco, and Kleiner confirmed it in a … Continue reading “Risa Stack Leaves Kleiner; Third Valley VC to Join GE”

Neo Aims to Reorder the Business World with Graph Databases

Today I’m going to tell you about an up-and-coming Silicon Valley startup, Neo Technology, that sells a radical new type of database. I know, databases are about as exciting to the average technology user as carburetors and doorstops. But before your eyes glaze over and you click on to the next article, let me explain … Continue reading “Neo Aims to Reorder the Business World with Graph Databases”

10 Apps That Will Make You Feel Smarter & More Cultured in 2013

Right before the holidays, I shared a list of 20 Must-Have Apps for That Tablet Under the Tree. That list focused on apps for the iPad and Android tablets, and it was intended as an introductory guide for new tablet owners eager to test-drive their gifts with apps that really showcase the capabilities of today’s … Continue reading “10 Apps That Will Make You Feel Smarter & More Cultured in 2013”

At Copious, The Love Button Drives Social Commerce

Here’s the simple premise behind Copious, the San Francisco-based social marketplace: despite all the buzz about “social commerce,” the social networking revolution hasn’t really come to online buying and selling between consumers. The two biggest exchanges, eBay and Craigslist, are products of the first Internet boom, circa 1995, and the experience of discovering products on … Continue reading “At Copious, The Love Button Drives Social Commerce”

Stitcher, the Pandora of Talk, Works to Make Internet Radio Easier

Sometimes we don’t realize what was so great about a traditional medium until a new one comes along and tries to take its place. Consider radio. Web-based radio has been around since the 1990s, and this year marks the 10th anniversary of the technology behind podcasting. Yet old-fashioned broadcast radio is still a $17 billion … Continue reading “Stitcher, the Pandora of Talk, Works to Make Internet Radio Easier”

The Top Stories of 2012 from Xconomy San Francisco

It’s fun to look back at our Web traffic statistics once in a while, because the stories that prove most popular with readers aren’t always the ones we would expect. I wasn’t surprised that our series of stories this year about Google (looking at Google Transit, Google’s M&A strategy, the Google Lunar X Prize, and … Continue reading “The Top Stories of 2012 from Xconomy San Francisco”

20 Must-Have Apps for That Tablet Under the Tree

It’s time for the third annual version of “iStocking Stuffers,” the holiday apps edition of my weekly column World Wide Wade. The slide show above covers 20 of my favorite apps from 2012, which makes it my longest list yet: the 2010 edition of this guide had just 10 apps, and the 2011 version had 15. … Continue reading “20 Must-Have Apps for That Tablet Under the Tree”

Bump Brings Flock Photo-Sharing App to Android

David Lieb thinks there’s a big transition under way in the world of consumer information technology, and he wants his company, Bump Technologies, to be there waiting on the other side. The Mountain View startup’s specialty is helping smartphone owners get photos, address book entries, and other digital information off their phones and onto other … Continue reading “Bump Brings Flock Photo-Sharing App to Android”

Guitar Hero Creator Wants to Put Mobile Games on the Big Screen

Next year, when you’re gathering your friends or family around the big-screen TV for some video game action, it may not be a PlayStation 4, an Xbox 720, or a Wii U powering the experience. It might the Android phone in your pocket. That’s the vision behind Green Throttle Games, the Santa Clara, CA-based startup … Continue reading “Guitar Hero Creator Wants to Put Mobile Games on the Big Screen”

Plug and Play Tech Center: Where Startups Come to Make Connections

If you’re looking for the place in Silicon Valley with the most startups per square foot, it’s probably the huge two-story office building at 440 N. Wolfe Road in Sunnyvale, headquarters of Plug and Play Tech Center. While Plug and Play runs smaller startup communities in Redwood City and Palo Alto, the bulk of its … Continue reading “Plug and Play Tech Center: Where Startups Come to Make Connections”

Google Gets A Second Brain, Changing Everything About Search

In the 1983 sci-fi/comedy flick The Man with Two Brains, Steve Martin played Michael Hfuhruhurr, a neurosurgeon who marries one of his patients but then falls in love with the disembodied brain of another woman, Anne. Michael and Anne share an entirely telepathic relationship, until Michael’s gold-digging wife is murdered, giving him the opportunity to … Continue reading “Google Gets A Second Brain, Changing Everything About Search”

How to Crowdfund Your Dream: Checking In on Our Kickstarter Fund

Back on Nov. 9, I published a list of 10 Kickstarter projects every geek should support, and put my money where my mouth was by creating the World Wide Wade Kickstarter Fund. I pledged $10 to each project on the list (eventually there were 13 in all), and promised that I’d return in a few weeks … Continue reading “How to Crowdfund Your Dream: Checking In on Our Kickstarter Fund”

Matter Ventures Aims To Launch “The Next Great Media Institutions”

Once upon a time, public radio and TV stations were the new kids on the media block, disrupting the commercial media world by offering educational, cultural, and community-based content of a type that just wasn’t available from the privately owned networks. But that was 60 years ago: the nation’s flagship public stations, WGBH and KQED, … Continue reading “Matter Ventures Aims To Launch “The Next Great Media Institutions””

Photo Books from Blurb: A High-Tech Gift Idea with Low-Tech Charm

SPOILER ALERT: If your name is Paul or Patricia Roush and you live in Central Lake, MI, stop reading now or you’ll ruin one of the surprises under the Christmas tree this year. Really. You’ve been warned! Every year I put “Amazon gift certificate” on my holiday and birthday wish lists so that I can … Continue reading “Photo Books from Blurb: A High-Tech Gift Idea with Low-Tech Charm”

Broken iPhone? Call iCracked, the Aspiring “AAA of Smartphones”

In the underappreciated 2000 M. Night Shyamalan thriller Unbreakable, Bruce Willis played a security guard with powers of invulnerability and super-strength, and Samuel L. Jackson played his brittle-boned archnemesis, Mr. Glass. Imagine that you were recasting the movie with Apple’s iPhone in a starring role—which part would the device play? After AJ Forsythe’s iPhone had … Continue reading “Broken iPhone? Call iCracked, the Aspiring “AAA of Smartphones””

And the Global Capital of Robotics Is…Everywhere

Here at Xconomy we’ve spilled considerable ink over the question of why Silicon Valley robotics companies seem to lag behind their peers in big centers of robotics like Boston and Pittsburgh. But if you look at the locations of robot makers worldwide, it’s clear that no single region really dominates this emerging industry. Makers of … Continue reading “And the Global Capital of Robotics Is…Everywhere”

Trapit Adapts AI-Driven Personal Search for Paying Customers

When the global artificial intelligence of the 22nd century—let’s call it, oh, Skynet—is writing its autobiography, it will find that some of its grandparents were born in Silicon Valley in the years 2003-2008. That’s when the defense-backed CALO Project was underway at the contract research outfit SRI International in Menlo Park, CA. Short for Cognitive … Continue reading “Trapit Adapts AI-Driven Personal Search for Paying Customers”

Y Combinator Alters Investment Package to Avoid “Contested Divorces”

Startups admitted the Winter 2013 class at Y Combinator, the prestigious startup accelerator in Mountain View, CA, will be greeted by a smaller investment package. Under a new program outlined in a blog post today, startups will get $80,000 each from a group of four outside venture investors, in addition to Y Combinator’s investment of … Continue reading “Y Combinator Alters Investment Package to Avoid “Contested Divorces””

Here’s the Agenda for “The Power of the Pivot” on December 4

Pivot (ˈpɪvət) n. Basketball: The stationary foot around which the ball handler is allowed to pivot without dribbling. Also: Figuratively, that on which some matter or result hinges or depends; a turning-point. The first definition comes from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition; the second comes from the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia. (Both … Continue reading “Here’s the Agenda for “The Power of the Pivot” on December 4″

Tel Aviv, L.A. Right Behind Silicon Valley in Startup Genome Rankings

Brace for some surprising news. As a place to build a startup, Tel Aviv, Israel, outranks every other major startup hub in the world except Silicon Valley. That’s according to a report set to be released today by Startup Genome, a San Francisco-based R&D project. All right, you say; surely the No. 3 spot after … Continue reading “Tel Aviv, L.A. Right Behind Silicon Valley in Startup Genome Rankings”

ICYMI: A Look Back at Fall Tech Stories in Xconomy San Francisco

For the last couple of years I’ve been sending out irregular e-mail updates to friends and followers via my Google Group. Usually they’re just link-filled lists of the stories I’ve been working on lately. People say they appreciate the updates, since they’re often too busy to visit Xconomy every day. This week it hit me … Continue reading “ICYMI: A Look Back at Fall Tech Stories in Xconomy San Francisco”

A “Restart” for Entrepreneurship Programs at UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco, is no stranger to commercialization of academic research. UCSF professor Herbert Boyer co-founded Genentech, the company that arguably kicked off the entire biotechnology revolution, back in 1976. In more recent years the life sciences-focused campus has continued to produce faculty-led spinoffs such as Intellikine, Calithera Biosciences, Principia Biopharma, and … Continue reading “A “Restart” for Entrepreneurship Programs at UCSF”