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Serial entrepreneur Kevin Rose, whose past project list includes the social news site Digg and the now-defunct microblogging service Pownce, is now said to be a Google employee.

According to "sources close to the situation" AllThingsD reports that Rose, along with a number of his employees from his startup incubator Milk have been hired by Google.

Google declined to comment, and Rose did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the initial report.

Rose jumped into tech stardom at an early age, appearing on TechTV and later a number of online shows through Revision3. His breakout … Read more

Microsoft is playing nice with startups in its new Windows Azure Accelerator.

The company announced recently that the accelerator, which will rely heavily upon Microsoft's Azure cloud service, will be a four-month program designed for early stage startups "doing big things in cloud, Web, and mobile." Microsoft says that it'll provide the companies with mentors, development tools, and other key elements to help attendees grow their businesses. The accelerator will be held at Microsoft's Israel Research and Development Center.

"Microsoft will provide the participating companies with support at unprecedented scope and quality," Nir … Read more

Every startup CEO, founder, or co-founder hopes that this year, South by Southwest will be the event that turns them into the next Twitter, Foursquare, or Beluga. They come to Austin, Texas, in search of exposure, new friends, more money, and parties (of course). This year, CNET's Brian Tong and I sat down to talk to a few of the companies we thought were interesting--out of the many, many, many others that are also interesting, don't get us wrong.

From our interview home at the Thirsty Nickel, we spoke with Dave Morin, the CEO of Path, who assured … Read more

The location-based craze is moving indoors--fast.

A startup called Wifarer today announced that Boston's Prudential Center is now fully outfitted with indoor positioning software so that the many stores within the complex can pinpoint your location within 4 to 5 feet.

But don't freak out.

Unlike a startup called Euclid, which tracks your every step so long as your carrying a Wi-Fi-enabled smartphone, Wifarer only works after you've downloaded the app. No app, you're invisible, so the choice really is yours.

A number of companies (from biggies like Cisco Systems and Google to fast-growing upstarts like … Read more

Startup Twin Creek Technologies is attacking the cost of solar by getting more bang from a wafer of silicon.

After four years of work, the San Jose, Calif.-based company today is coming out of stealth and introducing its product, a machine designed to slash the cost of solar cell manufacturing. The company claims its Hyperion system cuts the cost of making a solar cell in half and brings total production cost from about 85 cents a watt today to around 50 cents.

Hyperion is now being evaluated by leading solar manufacturers and the company expects to have a number … Read more

AUSTIN,Texas--If you haven't heard of Juan Diego Calle's company quite yet, consider yourself not among the in-the-know here over the last few days.

Yes, the buzz at this year's South by Southwest Interactive has been around social apps like Highlight and Glancee hoping for a Twitter-like breakout. But there's another hot startup here that gets little press and yet is everywhere.

I'm referring to .CO Internet, the Miami company that fought hard to land a contract with the government of Colombia so it could commercialize the country's top-level-domain, or TLD.

At last year'… Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--These days, smartphones seem like they're everywhere. And with their wide array of built-in sensors, those devices--iPhone, Androids, Windows Phones, and others--can provide us with more and more data about where we are and what's around us than ever before.

And yet, the devices sometimes still seem like they're caught in a very 1.0 era--they can tell us where we are, but that information may not be useful in any way beyond helping us get to where we're going.

But what if your iPhone could automatically give you your shopping list when you arrive … Read more

With so many millionaires minted by companies like PayPal, Google, and now Facebook, angel investing has become a big deal, particularly in tech. But some of the more seasoned investors are apprehensive about participation from newcomers.

Investors Paige Craig, David Tisch, and Naval Ravikant discussed the topic of angel investing in a panel led by CNET executive editor Paul Sloan. The group agreed that many investors have no business investing.

According to Ravikant, there are, "too few sophisticated investors," and he'd know. As the founder of AngelList, a network that connects startups with angel investors, he's … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--Standing out amid the army of startups clamoring for attention at South by Southwest Interactive isn't easy. That is why RecordSetter, a site designed to do just as the name implies, and GroupMe brought in competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi do battle with others at a tent giving away grilled cheeses.

Kobayashi, best known as the former champion of the Nathan Hot Dog eating contest, went at it with fury. In a minute flat, he tossed back 13 grilled cheese sandwiches, complete with 26 slices of bread filled with slices of American cheese. His strategy: he dunked each sandwich … Read more