AllThingsD » John Murrell

Spreadsheet Pioneer Dan Bricklin Joins Alpha Software as CTO

John Murrell — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:22:03 +0000

Dan Bricklin, co-creator of VisiCalc and known as the “father of the electronic spreadsheet,” has hired on as chief technology officer for Alpha Software, the Burlington, Mass.-based maker of business software development tools. The company also added industry veteran John Cullinane as an investor and adviser, and announced the launch of Alpha Anywhere, a product for developing business software for multiple platforms.

Yahoo Joins Roster of Sponsors for 49er's New Stadium

John Murrell — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:24:28 +0000

The San Francisco 49ers and Yahoo said today they had signed a 10-year agreement that will make Yahoo “the exclusive online sports content, social networking, and photo and video sharing partner” for the team and its new Levi’s Stadium, set to open in 2014 in Santa Clara, Calif. The deal will, among other things, provide the purple portal a prime spot for a Fantasy Football Lounge and viewing area, and will encourage fans to upload photos to Flickr with the chance that they may show up on the stadium’s big screens during the game.

GhostBird Software Lands at Yahoo

John Murrell — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:56:45 +0000

Photography app developer GhostBird Software said today it had been acquired by Yahoo for an undisclosed sum and would be bringing its technology to the Flickr team. The company’s iOS apps, KitCam and PhotoForge2, have been pulled from Apple’s App Store, and no further updates are planned.

Yahoo Search Gets a Facelift

John Murrell — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:00:54 +0000

Yahoo has rolled out a new design for its search pages in the U.S. that moves results higher on the page, adds improved navigation and loads faster.

The KatieCam Collection

John Murrell — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:07:00 +0000

Once again this year, as tech and media luminaries finished their onstage interviews at D11 this week, Katie Boehret nabbed many of them on the way out for some quick, decidedly more casual questioning on topics that often ranged far from the standard tech business fodder. How often do you get to hear Twitter CEO Dick Costolo talk about his theater background? Or Box CEO Aaron Levie recalling his childhood career as a professional magician? Or ex-Windows head Steven Sinofsky expounding on the benefits of yoga? You get the idea.

Here, then, is the full and fun collection of KatieCam videos, suitable for binge viewing:

A Bit of History About the Two Bit Circus

[ See post to watch video ]

A Few More Questions for Twitter CEO Dick Costolo

[ See post to watch video ]

Leaning In With Sheryl Sandberg

[ See post to watch video ]

Talking Fertility With Glow Creator Max Levchin

[ See post to watch video ]

The Lighter Side of Cisco’s John Chambers

[ See post to watch video ]

Talking Theme Park Attractions With Disney’s Tom Staggs

[ See post to watch video ]

Outside the Box With Aaron Levie

[ See post to watch video ]

What Does Ben Silbermann Pin?

[ See post to watch video ]

Jeff Zucker’s Summer Travel Plans

[ See post to watch video ]

Anne Sweeney and I. Marlene King on Parent-Policed TV

[ See post to watch video ]

Troy Carter Dishes on the Best Cheesesteak in Philly

[ See post to watch video ]

Motorola’s Regina Dugan on Dancing and Cooking

[ See post to watch video ]

Motorola Mobility’s Dennis Woodside Loves Triathlons

[ See post to watch video ]

Yves Behar and Jason Johnson on Teamwork

[ See post to watch video ]

Tesla’s Elon Musk on Being a Dad

[ See post to watch video ]

Steven Sinofsky Does Yoga Every Day

[ See post to watch video ]

Atheer’s Soulaiman Itani and Allen Yang Talk About Sleep

[ See post to watch video ]

Just How “Smart” Is SmartThings CEO Alex Hawkinson’s Home?

[ See post to watch video ]

What’s on Nuance CEO Paul Ricci’s Bookshelf

[ See post to watch video ]

Fanhattan’s Gilles BianRosa on Growing Up in France

[ See post to watch video ]

Jed York’s First Game

[ See post to watch video ]

Full D11 Conference Coverage

Box Adds the File-Management Technology of Folders

John Murrell — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:14:51 +0000

Cloud services outfit Box announced today that it had acquired the technology behind the Folders iOS app and brought aboard its developer, Martin Destagnol, to help integrate its features into Box’s app. The IPO-bound Box also recently picked up document-sharing service Crocodoc, and you can expect to hear more about the company’s strategy from CEO Aaron Levie on the D11 stage next week.

Creating Content

John Murrell — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:10:14 +0000

Journalistic integrity boils down to the individual, and if someone’s willing to be corrupted, it’s probably not just the possibility of a job in the industry that’s a problem.

– Elizabeth Spiers, talking to the Content Strategist about tech reporters who go on to work in tech, sometimes for the companies they cover

Wikimedia Starts Hunt for New Executive Director

John Murrell — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:42:53 +0000

The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia and its sister projects, said Wednesday it had enlisted m/Oppenheim Associates to help in a global search for an executive director to replace Sue Gardner, who is leaving to pursue Internet activism projects. The foundation hopes to have the new hire in place by October.

Mexican Court Tosses $2.75 Billion Award Against Yahoo

John Murrell — Thu, 16 May 2013 21:18:32 +0000

The folks at Yahoo are breathing a bit easier on word today that the Superior Court of Justice for the Federal District in Mexico reversed a lower court’s preliminary damage award of $2.75 billion won in a suit filed by Worldwide Directories and Ideas Interactivas. The plaintiffs had sued Yahoo and Yahoo Mexico over alleged breach of contract and lost profits of a yellow pages listing service. The latest ruling leaves intact only $172,500 in damages against Yahoo Mexico. An appeal is possible.

@WalmartLabs Goes Shopping, Comes Back With Two Startups

John Murrell — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:35:23 +0000

@Walmart Labs, the tech arm of the retail giant’s e-commerce unit, announced a pair of acquisitions today. Now on board are OneOps, which brings its platform-as-a-service technology, and social-software outfit Tasty Labs, along with its founders, Mozilla vet Nick Nguyen, del.icio.us creator Joshua Schachter and HousingMaps creator Paul Rademacher.

PayPal Offers Stores a Trade-In Deal for Their Old Cash Registers

John Murrell — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:44:55 +0000

Aiming to increase its presence at retail checkouts, PayPal today announced a Cash for Registers offer. Beginning next month, the company will provide free credit, debit card, check, and, of course, PayPal processing for the remainder of the year to any qualifying business that chucks its old cash register for a PayPal Here system, comprising an iPad, card reader, iPad stand, cash drawer and printer. Partners including ShopKeep, Vend, Erply and NCR Silver will offer various solutions tailored for different markets. Registration is now open.

Google Loses Its Wallet VP

John Murrell — Wed, 08 May 2013 23:05:02 +0000

Osama Bedier, who joined Google in 2011 and headed the Google Wallet payment business, is leaving the company. Google confirmed a VentureBeat report, saying Bedier had decided to pursue unspecified opportunities.

Yahoo Acquires To-Do App Maker Astrid

John Murrell — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:08:29 +0000

Astrid, which makes a cross-platform to-do app that claims four million users, said Wednesday it had been acquired by Yahoo. Terms were not disclosed. Astrid, which launched in 2008, will continue to support its apps for 90 days.

Yahoo Chairman Fred Amoroso to Step Down in Late June

John Murrell — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:14:21 +0000

Yahoo announced today that board Chairman Fred Amoroso had decided not to seek reelection and will leave the board on June 25. Former LiveOps CEO Maynard Webb will serve as interim chairman.

Here’s the Yahoo news release:

Fred Amoroso Not to Seek Reelection to Yahoo! Board of Directors

April 25, 2013

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) today announced that Fred Amoroso has decided not to seek reelection to the board of directors at the upcoming 2013 annual meeting of shareholders. Amoroso will continue to serve on the board through the shareholders meeting on June 25, but has resigned as chairman of the board. The board has appointed Maynard Webb, Jr. to serve as interim chairman.

“Fred has been a wonderful chairman for Yahoo! over the past year, and I’m personally grateful for his trust and guidance as I took on the role as Yahoo! CEO,” said Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. “Fred’s mentorship and perspective has proved truly valuable to me in my first few months here at Yahoo!.”

“I’m very grateful and proud of the progress Yahoo! has made over the past year,” said Amoroso. “When I took the position as chairman, I told the board that my intention was to serve for one year, in order to help Yahoo! during a critical time of transformation. In that time, Yahoo! hired a great new CEO, brought on a fantastic management team, revitalized the employee base, and has begun to release top notch new products. With Marissa at the helm and the leadership team in place, this is a natural time for me to transition off the board, consistent with what I said a year ago.”

Following the completion of Amoroso’s term at the annual meeting, the board will comprise 10 members.

Amazon TV Set-Top Box Reportedly in the Works

John Murrell — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:11:56 +0000

There has been chatter in the past about Amazon’s interest in selling a set-top box to advance its video businesses and compete with similar accessories like Apple TV, Boxee and Roku (and, as Peter Kafka reported in September, even word that it had made a bid to buy Roku). But the talk freshened today, with sources telling Bloomberg Businessweek that a team of video hardware vets at Amazon’s Lab126 is developing such a device, and aiming for a fall debut.

QOTD: Never Mind Your GPA -- When's Your IPO?

John Murrell — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:32:05 +0000

The center of gravity at the university appears to have shifted. The school now looks like a giant tech incubator with a football team.

– Nicholas Thompson, in a New Yorker article entitled, “The End of Stanford?”

Icahn Discloses Stake in Nuance

John Murrell — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:00:47 +0000

In an SEC filing Monday, billionaire investor Carl Icahn revealed a 9.27 percent passive stake in voice-recognition firm Nuance Communications, whose technology is reportedly behind Apple’s Siri. The stock had slid 21 percent over the past 12 months, but rose more than 8 percent after hours on the news.

Biz Stone Loosens the Lid on Jelly

John Murrell — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:59:17 +0000

Acknowledging that “news of Jelly emerged unexpectedly early,” Twitter co-founder Biz Stone today confirmed the existence of his new startup, but left the description of its product vague: A free, mobile-first, “we”-oriented tool to help people do good. And “it won’t be ready for a while.”

Microsoft Sets Build 2013 for June 26-28

John Murrell — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:56:19 +0000

Microsoft said today that Build, its annual developer conference, will be held June 26-28 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Registration opens at 9 am PT Tuesday, April 2. Microsoft also confirmed the existence of a new wave of products and services, code-named Blue.

Accel Closes $475 Million European Tech Fund

John Murrell — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:04:04 +0000

Accel Partners said today it had closed its $475 million London IV fund, which will focus on early and growth-stage tech companies in Europe and Israel. The venture capital firm said the fund was raised in just eight weeks and was “significantly oversubscribed.”

Yahoo Brings Jybe Team Back Into the Fold

John Murrell — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:50:36 +0000

Yahoo said Wednesday it had acquired Jybe, maker of a personalized social recommendation app, and its five-member team, all former Yahoos. Neither the terms of the deal nor the plans to integrate the technology into Yahoo’s platform were disclosed.

Seagate Plans $180 Million R&D Center for Empty Solyndra Plant

John Murrell — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 23:56:50 +0000

The vacated Solyndra solar plant in Fremont, Calif., is getting a new tenant focused on the future of a more mature technology. Seagate Technology on Friday announced plans for a $180 million research and development complex, employing as many as 600 people, to work on next-generation disk drives. The Solyndra plant, highly energy efficient and powered in part with solar panels, is “as close as we could get if we were building a custom facility tailored to our needs,” said Steven Deason, Seagate’s facilities director.

UpTo Picks Up $1.5M in New Funding, Opens Event Streaming Platform

John Murrell — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:00:23 +0000

UpTo, which makes an app that lets users feed event streams into their calendars, said today that Detroit Venture Partners and Ludlow Ventures had injected a fresh $1.5 million into the company. UpTo also announced that it was opening its platform to allow any business or organization to create an event stream for free.

Fix for Kindle iOS Bug Now Live in the App Store

John Murrell — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:32:42 +0000

After a quick review, Apple has cleared an update to Amazon’s Kindle for iOS app that fixes a bug in the previous version that deregistered iOS Kindle devices, deleting libraries, bookmarks and other settings. The updated app is now available in the iTunes App Store.

Yahoo Says Work-From-Home Ban Is Strictly an In-House Issue

John Murrell — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:02:18 +0000

Yahoo on Tuesday responded to the controversy over its decision to require remote workers to relocate to company offices, issuing a statement that went only fractionally beyond “no comment.” “This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home — this is about what is right for Yahoo right now. We don’t discuss internal matters,” the statement read in its entirety.