Bootstrap

I have seen the future of the remote control.

Actually, I've seen several futures of the remote control, from the ultimate expression of the traditional infrared remote (the Logitech Harmony products), to strong "second screen" apps (like Dijit) that use a smartphone's smarts and interface to build a better guide or remote, to the latest iPhone apps that you can download for nearly every new home entertainment product (most are awful).

One company, though, has gone off in a different direction: Clik. I think it has a new, powerful idea and a platform technology to go … Read more

After less than a month in the wild, Open Graph is already a huge source of traffic and engagement for Facebook Timeline apps.

Facebook revealed last fall that it would be expanding its lexicon beyond the "like" with Open Graph, which helps third-party publishers link their content with the social network and allows users to see what friends are doing on other sites and join in. Although it's only been a few weeks since additional verbs like eating, buying, and listening to began appearing in earnest, the social network is pleased with the early results.

Facebook today … Read more

Niklas Zennstrom changed the telephone industry when he co-founded VoIP juggernaut, Skype. Now he's preparing to attack the industry again with the introduction of free mobile broadband from FreedomPop.

FreedomPop today announced that it would partner with Clearwire for its upcoming mobile broadband service. Backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, FreedomPop aims to disrupt the mobile broadband industry by providing mobile Internet to consumers free of charge.

FreedomPop had previously named LightSquared as its launch partner, but it appears that relationship has stalled due to mounting complications in the LightSquared camp. The FCC yesterday suspended LightSquared's waiver to … Read more

Let's start with this: Jonathan Schwartz knew that the sale of Sun Microsystems was inevitable.

Schwartz, you may recall, was Sun's last chief executive--the guy who, in 2006, inherited control of a trailblazing company that had seen better days. He was full of personality until his departure, which he announced in a haiku tweet, but he acknowledges that there wasn't much he could have done to reverse the slide that eventually led to Oracle's 2009 deal to buy the company for $7.4 billion.

Could Schwartz have slowed Sun's decline? Sure. But stopped it? Not … Read more

A new social network--yes, I know, I know--is on the scene, this one coming from Australia. And it's worth keeping an eye on.

It's called Kondoot, a play on the word conduit, and it's all about video--more specifically, live broadcast. The site (there are also mobile apps for iPhone and Android) doesn't want you simply to upload and share your videos, a la YouTube, and it's not going after straight live broadcasting via the Web, like Ustream.

Kondoot wants users to broadcast live events, big and trivial, and it's built a social network … Read more

Much of the investment world is about relationships, says Ryan Spoon, a venture capitalist with Polaris Ventures and co-founder of Dogpatch Labs.

Dogpatch Labs was founded in 2008 as a place where early-stage startups could innovate. Entrepreneurs share work space, but more importantly it's a place where they can interact with each other and share knowledge, says Spoon.

There are no contracts or commitments for the startups participating in Dogpatch. The upside from an investment perspective is that Polaris gets a first look at startups early on. SmartPlanet visited Dogpatch Labs in Palo Alto, Calif., its newest office, to … Read more

For a new crop of biofuel companies, ethanol is out and "biogasoline" is in.

One of them is Primus Green Energy, which plans to open a demonstration plant by the end of the year that will convert wood pellets into high-octane gasoline. The Hillsborough, N.J.-based company intends to raise $50 million to $100 million this year for a commercial-scale plant that would start producing at higher volumes in 2015.

Many companies break down biomass into sugar through different methods and then ferment that to make ethanol or speciality chemicals. Primus Green Energy and others are seeking … Read more

When Zite's Mike Klaas examines usage data for his company's news aggregation app, something very interesting pops out: he can pretty much paint a picture of how his users are spending their days.

The upshot? People use Zite on their iPhones pretty much any time they have a few spare minutes during the workday and when they're in bed late at night. But in the evening, they settle in on their iPads for longer, more relaxed stretches of time.

The data are very clear on this, and it's a lesson that other news aggregators with both … Read more

When is a handshake deal not a deal? When it's on national TV.

On the ABC show "Shark Tank" earlier this month, a young, first-time entrepreneur, Megan Cummins, successfully pitched the panel of five "sharks" to raise money for her company, You Smell Soap. It's safe to say that the sharks liked her moxie. Cummins turned down offers from Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran, and took the deal from Canadian software mogul Robert Herjavec: $55,000 for 20 percent of her company, with a $50,000 kicker as her "salary" for the … Read more