Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Saturday, May 19, 2007

PatentMonkey.com - Searchable Patent Database

from KillerStartups.com - published startups by ncapretz

Looking for a patent? Patentmonkey.com is a fully searchable US patent text database, with images and PDF documents as well. Whether the patent is active, expired, abandoned or pending, you can find it on this site. Of course there is a fee for this...$10 for a basic monthly membership or you can buy credits for a certain number of downloads. You can also bulk download patents on zip files, or email, post, or blog patents. They have a particularly informative blog on all the latest and greatest with patent disputes and issues, which would undoubtedly be of great interest to those dependent on patents for their business ventures. In their own words: PatentMonkey.com is a patent search and document downloading site built with smart user focused features and tools for the average user and the most experienced patent searchers. Users can quickly scan front pages, build a list of patents to save and download and then choose free single patent downloads or bulk downloads for a fee. PatentMonkey.com has a fully searchable data base of US issued patents with timely data updates. Why it might be a killer: This site is meeting a key niche of finding patents for entrepreneurs and those in other business ventures. The site is comprehensive, thorough and constantly in motion to make sure they are up-to-date and meeting their member's needs. Some questions: Can they make a profit charging only $10 a month membership? How many employees do they have to manage this ever-changing site? Are they open to redesigning the layout of the site, as it has a bland 2-color scheme and doesn't appear as professional looking as it should for a serious business. » original news

10X Revenue (continued)

from A VC by Fred

I wrote a post about the recent ad network/ad infrastructure deals called 10x revenues several weeks ago.

Since then we've seen AQNT trade to MSFT (this morning) for $6bn which is 10x revenues.

But TFSM only got 3x revenues from WPP.

It's interesting that market leaders like DLCK, Right Media, and AQNT get 10x revenues but second fiddles like TFSM get 3x. That shows the power of market leadership for sure.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Compete.com Rank and Visitors - stock photo peers

PictureSandbox is the BLUE line

Microsoft Pays $6 billion for aQuantive: Massive Ad Network Consolidation Is Occuring

from TechCrunch by Michael Arrington

Breaking: Microsoft is acquiring advertising network aQuantive, the parent company to Avenue A | Razorfish, Atlas and DRIVEpm, for roughly $6 billion in an all-cash transaction, the company said this morning.

aQuantive is a public company (AQNT) and had a market cap of just $2.8 billion as of yesterday. The acquisition price of $6 billion is a roughly 2x premium on yesterday’s closing price, which is a reflection of the fact that this were competing bidders (see notes below). The acquisition comes after recent big acquisitions by Google and Yahoo in this space. Google bought Doubleclick for $3.1 billion in April. Later that same month, Yahoo acquired competitor RightMedia for $680 million. Just yesterday, WPP Group acquired yet another company in this space, 24/7 Real Media, for $649 million.

2006 revenues for aQuantive were $442 million. Net income as about $54 million.

aQuantive’s operating companies include both tools and ad agencies. The company is located in Seattle.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Madlix.com - Got 3-D? Madlix Does

from KillerStartups.com - published startups by ncapretz

3D artwork is cool and this new product from Agency9, a leading provider of 3D applications and games, allows anyone to include 3D-content in their web page, blog, Google page, a communication presentation, or wherever. While a bit slow to download, the site offers plenty of 3D examples and it was fun to explore the different options. The downloads are free and easy to integrate into your own applications. Agency9 believes that 3D content is just beginning to grow in popularity and use. Currently, most 3D content is used for defense system applications (i guess to show off all 3 sides of the bomb or tank to see to Congress). Madlix allows anyone to submit 3D artwork to them for review and possible publication as well. In their own words: MADLIX lets you insert true 3D-content into your web page, blog, Google page, community presentation and more. Choose your favourite 3D scene to insert into your space from the 3D gallery at www.madlix.com , or create your own 3D scene. MADLIX is accompanied by the MADLIX exporter tool enabling 3D artists to directly export their 3D artwork from Autodesk Maya to the MADLIX gallery. The exporter features pre-view functionality as well as a standalone viewer, supporting the MADLIX file format and the open standard file format COLLADA. MADLIX runs smoothly inside all Java-enabled web browsers such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera and more. MADLIX also supports a large number of Operating Systems including Microsoft Windows XP, 2000 and Vista, Apple OSX, Linux, Solaris and UNIX systems. Why it might be a killer: As websites get more and more sophisticated, 3D artwork will become more standard for displays and demonstrations. By making artwork free and easily integrated at this stage, they are helping to grow the market and interest in these products. Some questions: How are they going to market this page to the average blogger or website designer? Will the artwork become quicker to download? How are they planning on making a profit?

Objects of Desire, Week of 5/6/07

http://www.luxist.com/2007/05/06/objects-of-desire-week-of-5-6-07/

Posted May 6th 2007 8:03AM by Deidre Woollard

Decor and Gadgetry Hermès Travel Domino Set Handmade Painted Driftwood Mirror Christopher Paul Mats For Your Summer Decor Trump Home Furniture Collection The Erich Ginder Ghost Tree More Information on the Lomme Bed Pair of 1950s French Bergere Arm Chairs Add a Moroccan Glow with the Chandelier Mamounia The Loet Vanderveen Imperial Rhino Crushed Glass Vase Beolab 9 Speakers from Bang & Olufsen Pininfarina Hard Drives 47 Vases in One Accuro-Korle Ecstasy Stainless Steel Radiator Handbags Cole Haan Vivian Hobo, Handbag of the Day Lauren Merkin Eve Plaid Clutch, Handbag of the Day Isabelle Fiore Peacock Clutch, Handbag of the Day Antrobus Convertible Bag, Handbag of the Day Vive Le Rock, Allison Burns, Handbag of the Day Louis Vuitton Monogram Dentelle Batignolles Horizontal, Handbag of the Day Real Estate The Austonian Chickering Lane, Estate of the Day Golf Drive, Estate of the Day Seven Isles, Estate of the Day North Haven, Estate of the Day What $10 Million Buys You in Dubai Rosemary Beach, Estate of the Day Belle Epoque, Estate of the Day Santa Fe, Estate of the Day Wine and Spirits Xellent Vodka Danny DeVito's Premium Limoncello Vodka Goes Acai 360 Vodka, Drink the Vodka Save The World Spirit of Toronto Whisky Gala Crown Royal XR Whisky For The Queen Pahlmeyer Goes Pinot Kendall-Jackson Highland Estates Wine Wheels Tesla To Electrify Chicago Porsche 911 Turbo Spied Topless 2008 Porsche Cayenne Hits The Press Fleet Shaq Supersizes His Lambo McQueen's Ferrari On The Block The Skinny On Maybach Luxury In Excess? Colnago for Ferrari Bicycles Journeys De-Age Your Face At The New Guerlain Spa Set To Open This Fall Luxe City Guides Offer Only the Best Scooops, a New Spa Just For Kids The Camelback Inn Plans A Massive Renovation Sleep Under the Stars in the "Honey Room" at L'Albereta Amuleto, Paradise Down Mexico Way RiverStone Lodge, Luxury Comes To Pigeon Forge The Stoli Hotel Is Not For Overnight Stays Watches and Jewelry FDR's Watch To Sell At Auction Brilliant Lady 21, How Many Facets Can Fit On One Diamond? Lauren Bacall Will Have Her Own Jewelry Line Wings Aruba has New Airport Terminal for Private Jets BMW Enters The Jet Design Business With The 787 VIP Business Jet Water Perini Navi Launches Tamsen The Plans For Pretty Woman

A New Visa Card For Spending Green

Posted May 4th 2007 11:01AM by Deidre Woollard Filed under: Services

Your Centurion card comes with a lot of perks but saving the planet isn't one of them. The first card that purports to do that is the ReDirect Guide Visa , a credit card that promises to help fight climate change with every purchase and offers customers discounts from green businesses. A percentage of each purchase goes to carbon offset programs to fund renewable energy and sustainable development programs through Sustainable Travel International. The card is offered through ShoreBank Pacific which is the first FDIC-insured commercial bank in the U.S. committed to sustainable community development.

copyclaim.com - Proof of Authorship?

Augustine: uuuuhhhh... getting a timestamp and hash of a piece of digital content you have on your computer does not prove you own it or created it ("ownership or authorship")... am I missing something here? (and their java app crashed my Firefox! damn!) from KillerStartups.com - published startups by Alexstl

Have you ever felt that someone is stealing your ideas, or plagiarizing your work? CopyClaim can help put a stop to that. CopyClaim is an internet tool that allows you to take a time stamp of your creative work, such as audio and video files, or pictures, enabling you to prove possession of the digital content at a certain time and certain date. With the time stamp you can then register your work and have the ability to prove the time of creation. There is no need to upload your files to the site, only hash values are registered, like MD5 and SHA. It is a safe and convenient way to protect your work. In their own words: "A free timestamp service without the need of additional software. You even don't need to create a user account." Why it might be a killer: Musicians, artists, and writers are increasingly posting songs, stories, pictures, and many other forms of creative work on the internet. No one wants their work to be stolen, or credited by someone else. CopyClaim can simplify the process of having your work copyrighted, and it soon could become a necessity for all creative works to be protected with a copyright. Some questions: Will people trust the site with their information that they want kept secret or protected? » original news

Researchers utilize electricity to move magnetically-stored data

Posted May 14th 2007 3:31AM by Darren Murph Filed under: Storage

While Fujitsu works overtime in order to boost hard drive capacity by 500-percent in just two years, researchers at the University of Hamburg in Germany are devising a method to move magnetically-stored data around a HDD "a hundred times faster than currently possible." Guido Meier and colleagues are purportedly using "nanosecond pulses of electric current to push magnetic regions along a wire at 110-meters per second," which easily trumps today's method of using comparatively slow spinning discs to access data. Additionally, their vision of the next-generation hard drive will sport fewer mechanical parts in order to lessen the "wear and tear" that existing units face. Notably, the idea behind the creation was actually conjured up by an IBM employee in 2004, but if the Germans crafting the current prototype have anything to say about it, said idea could turn into reality sooner than later. read more

LG Philips announces A4 color e-paper

Posted May 14th 2007 5:50AM by Darren Murph Filed under: Displays

While this doesn't mark the first time that we've caught wind of colorized electronic paper, South Korea's LG Philips has announced that an A4-sized rendition of the vivid bendable display has successfully been developed in its labs. The panel reportedly measures just 35.9-centimeters diagonally, is 0.3-millimeter thick, and can display up to 4,096 colors while maintaining the energy efficient qualities that inevitably come with using energy only when the image changes. Unsurprisingly, the company plans on marketing the device as one of convenience and doesn't hesitate to tout its greenness in the process, but unfortunately, it failed to mention when this would find its way out into the general public. [Via Physorg]

Dubai Burj al-Taqa skyscraper to generate all its own energy

Posted May 14th 2007 8:16AM by Conrad Quilty-Harper

Filed under: Household

A skyscraper in Dubai is being designed so that it generates all of its energy through renewable means such as wind turbines and solar panels. On top of the tower will be a 200 foot turbine that harnesses the power of the wind, and an array of solar panels on the roof and a series of islands that stretches over 161,459 square feet. The tower will also feature a massive solar shield to protect it from the sun, and vacuum glazed glass that will reduce the amount of heat absorbed from the extreme temperatures (up to 50 degrees C / 122 degrees F), presumably meaning less reliance on traditional air conditioning. Talking of air conditioning, the main system for cooling the air inside the tower uses a convection system which pulls in cold air at the ground level, and sucks it up out of the top of the tower. The air conditioning will use seawater, and underground cooling units lower the temperature inside to 18 degrees C / 64.4 degrees F. This building may be a technological beacon for environmentally friendly skyscrapers, but as a commenter on metaefficient points out, new building designs don't do much to solve the inefficiency of older buildings in cities. Although that doesn't mean we can't imagine what it'd be like to work and live in a sea of glass and metal without feeling slightly bad about it. [Via Metaefficient]

'Layered-layered' materials promise longevous Li-ions

Posted May 14th 2007 9:54AM by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

It's been a tick since we've heard details on an emerging battery technology that promises to trounce even the best products currently available, but researchers at the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have reportedly developed yet another approach to boosting Li-ion capacity and stability. The technology is "based on a new material for the positive electrode made of a unique nano-crystalline, layered-composite structure," which allows an active components to provide for charge storage while residing in an inactive components which assists in keeping the risk of explosion low. Current claims are putting the capacity right around "double that of conventional Li-ion cells," and it could be used in a variety of wares from "mobiles, laptops, pacemakers and defibrillators, or even hybrid / electric vehicles." Unfortunately, there was no timetable as to when scientists expected said technology to actually be available commercially, so until then, we'll consider this yet another promise on pause.

3G option coming to MacBook Pros?

Posted May 14th 2007 10:34AM by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

Not that any of this should be a surprise, but AppleInsider says that Apple may offer a "3G wireless" option on future notebooks. Citing an "unproven but seemingly credible source," the venerable rumor mongering site says that Apple has asked for a PCI Express mini-card adapter to integrate a WWAN module inside the display lid of some future Apple laptop. While the source would not state which 3G technology would be used or which laptop(s) would benefit, HSDPA in a MacBook Pro is certainly the most likely combination what with Apple's new found love-in with AT&T. Best part? Bluetooth back to your WWAN-enabled MacBook and you've got the world's first 3G iPhone.

Samsung poised to introduce white LED-backlit displays

Posted May 14th 2007 4:04PM by Erik Hanson

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Samsung LED LCD television

Samsung believes that by 2010, 30% of all LCD televisions will include LED backlights instead of the conventional flourescent used in most sets now. What's different from the LED units we've seen before is that Samsung wants to use white LEDs, with single diodes custom-coated to produce the same backlight previously requiring combinations of red, green, and blue bulbs. Samsung recently invested in Intematix, which produces custom phosphor coatings for LED bulbs to create uniform color -- required in a television to faithfully reproduce colors. Until recently costs have been higher for LED backlight units, keeping them relegated to higher-end models. Samsung claims the single bulb process reduces costs by 40%, but time will tell whether white-only LEDs are truly better or cheaper than tri-color LEDs, or if they are just the next "Reveal lightbulb" marketing gimmick.

Fujitsu's 250GB slimster for ultra-portable laptops

Posted May 15th 2007 5:28AM by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Slide on over Samsung, you'll need to make room on your "world's biggest" pedestal for Fujitsu's new 250GB, 2.5-inch drive for laptops. The MHY2BH matches Samsung's line-up nearly spec-for-spec: 12-ms average seek, 8MB cache, SATA interface, 5,400rpm, 24dB operational wheeze, and a slightly better 1.9W power draw. Still, neither can match the 300GB capacity of Fujitsu's other 2.5-incher. But Fujitsu's latest, just like Sammy's, measures in at a mere 9.5-mm thick -- a full 3-mm less than the 300GB beast -- making these the highest capacity drives available in the ultra-portable slimsters we all crave.

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