chicken

Meet Billy, the Bison Mark Zuckerberg Shot and Hung On Sheryl Sandberg’s Wall

Kara Swisher in Social on December 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm PT

What’s worse than getting an unsolicited a poke on Facebook? Getting shot, killed, eaten and having your head mounted on a wall by its famous founder, that’s what!

Waiting for the Big Fish? The Next Web IPOs Might Surprise You

Kara Swisher in News on February 1, 2011 at 1:00 pm PT

No, not Facebook. Not Zynga. And probably not Groupon. At least not yet, when it comes to the blockbuster Web IPOs that Wall Street and investors have been waiting for, and now expecting to roll out sooner than later in the wake of the return of the Web IPO in recent weeks. Not so fast.

Exclusive: Chegg Buys Cramster

Kara Swisher in News on December 8, 2010 at 12:02 am PT

According to sources close to the situation, online textbook rental company Chegg has acquired Cramster, a social online homework help platform. The Cramster purchase is one in a series of start-up buys that Chegg has been making of late, part of a strategy to be a central place for student needs.

Exclusive: Chegg Raises $75 Million in Additional Funding from Asian Firm

Kara Swisher in News on September 26, 2010 at 8:55 pm PT

Chegg, the online textbook rental service, has raised another $75 million from Asia-based Ace Limited, according to sources. Ace seems to be nonexistent on the Internet, although sources said it is a Hong Kong-based investment firm. The round comes after a huge Series D investment in late 2009, which already brought Chegg’s funding to a whopping $144 million.

Exclusive Video: Adobe CTO Lynch Smacks Back at Apple's "Protectionist Strategy," Calling It "Bad for Consumers" (But He'll Swing Chickens If Forced!)

Kara Swisher in News on April 11, 2010 at 6:06 pm PT

Yesterday, BoomTown conducted yet another sitdown with Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch about the latest drive-by software attack by Apple. This time, rather than taking a more conciliatory tone as in the last video interview we did, the mild-mannered Lynch was more pointed, calling Apple’s actions to block the use of its flagship Flash video technology by developers a “protectionist strategy” that was “bad for consumers.” It’s gotten so bad that Lynch joked that the next rule Apple will force on developers could be: Chicken-swinging.

Rosensweig to Leave Guitar Hero; Takes Over as CEO of Online Textbook Rental Start-Up Chegg

Kara Swisher in News on February 2, 2010 at 11:00 am PT

Longtime Silicon Valley exec Dan Rosensweig is stepping down as president and CEO of the Guitar Hero division of Activision Blizzard to take a new job as CEO of Chegg, the top online textbook rental start-up. The move is unexpected given that the former Yahoo COO landed the job running the top gaming franchise in March of last year.

The One-Year Report Card of Yahoo’s Carol Bartz–Moxie: B+

Kara Swisher in News on February 2, 2010 at 9:15 am PT

You were expecting an A+, right? Because of all the cursing and tough talk and uber-sassy assistant and loyal sidekick, Judy. And especially, the use of elaborate barnyard metaphors from Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz’s growing up in Wisconsin to describe the Internet giant’s current state of affairs. But the colorful exec has been a lot more circumspect than you might realize–more Taylor Swift than Lady Gaga.

“Soggy Pork”: The Other White Meat

John Paczkowski in News on December 1, 2009 at 4:00 am PT

“Fifty years hence, we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” Winston Churchill made that prediction in 1932 and now, some 78 years later, it’s beginning to come true. Scientists in Holland have taken muscle cells from a living pig and cultured them into a “soggy form of pork” in the lab.

Viral Video: The Muppets Do "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Kara Swisher in News on November 25, 2009 at 12:51 am PT

While BoomTown is trapped on, oops, fully enjoying, an overnight train trip to Portland for the holidays (and just beginning to sweat from not enough broadband), here’s a very funny video of the Muppets doing Queen. The puppets–part of Disney’s Muppets Studio–just got themselves a channel on YouTube and this is one of their most popular posts so far.