Lytro Comes Into Focus (AsiaD Demo)

After shrouding its digital camera in secrecy for the last many months, Lytro has made its big reveal, and showed up at AsiaD to give a hands-on demo.
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Yahoo Executive Talks Acquisitions, Slams YouTube Buy

Yahoo is “gearing up for a very big year” of acquisitions, said a senior director of corporate development at the Internet company.

Inside Facebook's Big Move to Menlo Park

Facebook is holding a press conference later today to announce it will move to a campus in Menlo Park, Calif., that the company expects to become its long-term home.

Retailers Sing the Merits of Social, Local and Mobile in 2010

Three trends accelerated in 2010 that may redefine the way we shop for good: Social, local and mobile. And, in case that’s hard to remember, for short we will refer to it as “so-lo-mo,” like do-re-mi from the “Sound of Music,” except without much “Glee” for retailers.

Shopkick Checks In With Target–CEO Cyriac Roeding Talks About Social Shopping

The idea of being rewarded for being a consumer is getting a lot of heat of late, as retailers seek to take advantage of the fast-moving social phenom among consumers, especially young ones. Thus, a wide range of efforts to combine location-based mobile apps with purchasing, both online and offline. Today, another company in the space, shopkick, announced it had added another store–Minneapolis-based Target–to its list of retailers deploying its platform and mobile app that gives you points for simply walking in a store.

Exclusive: Boku to Be Added as Option to Facebook Credits, Setting Up Face-Off With Rival Zong

For the past 18 months, mobile payments start-up Zong has had the enviable prime spot on Facebook Credits as its sole option for users wanting to use their cell phone number to buy virtual goods for social gaming and other services. But, according to multiple sources, that’s about to change later this week, when the social networking giant starts A/B testing its rival, Boku, as an alternate payment method to Zong. The face-off on Facebook is part of a larger battle for dominance in the fast-growing arena.

Start-Ups Are Drawn to Pulse of Downtown

Many Silicon Valley start-ups are increasingly hankering for downtown, urban offices. The shift can be seen in Redwood City, where many tech companies long have made their homes–but primarily in the Redwood Shores office parks where Oracle Corp. and Electronic Arts Inc. are headquartered. This year, a trickle of start-ups has moved into downtown Redwood City, with digital ad companies Turn Inc., YuMe Inc. and compensation research firm Equilar Inc., among others, relocating to the area since January.

Zong's David Marcus Talks About the Next Big Thing in Mobile Payments

There’s no question that mobile is the way an increasing number of payments are made for a variety of virtual goods. Recently, BoomTown visited San Francisco-based Boku, one of the players in the race to win in this competitive space. And, earlier this week, I motored on down to Menlo Park, Calif., to visit Zong.

Fighting Monsters And Defusing Bombs In Augmented Reality

Osuke Honda, a general partner with Menlo Park, Calif.-based venture firm DCM, says he has been traveling back and forth between Japan and the U.S. all his life. He spearheads many of DCM’s investments in Japanese companies from the firm’s office in Tokyo, and this week participated in a $12 million Series B funding for augmented-reality company Tonchidot Corp.

Painting Silicon Valley a New Shade of Green

Silicon Valley is trying to become a hub for clean technology–companies that specialize in alternative energy or energy-efficient products. Helping to lead the shift are local venture capitalists such as Vinod Khosla.

Mike Homer Laid to Rest Today

Farewell to Mike Homer