demand

'Negawatts' provider EnerNoc boosts revenue

EnerNoc, a company that makes money by throttling corporate energy use, on Wednesday reported a spike in fourth-quarter revenue, but a larger-than-anticipated loss drove down its stock price.

The company said that fourth-quarter 2007 revenue was $19.7 million, up 234 percent year over year, and full-year revenue more than doubled to $60.8 million.

The net loss for the quarter was $9, or 48 cents per share, more than the First Call consensus of 30 cents. EnerNoc's stock price dropped nearly 15 percent Wednesday on the news. Update: EnerNOC's stock was down over 27 percent by 1:… Read more

Pick and play a song right now with Songerize

If you've got a song stuck in your head, this is the place to get it out (or make it worse through repeated plays). Go to Songerize, select a song name, artist, and hit play. That's it. No confusing interface, no sign-in screen, no extraneous information, no ads.

It doesn't find everything--in my quick tests, it had about a 50% success ratio, and completely failed on PiL and Jane's Addiction. But it found just about every pop and classic rock radio title I could think of.

(Thanks to Listening Post for the tip.)

BBC's iPlayer getting Mac version in 2008, Web version continues to dominate usage

If there are lessons to be learned about the need for big companies to create platform-agnostic services, the BBC's iPlayer project may be one of the most shining examples.

Since the launch of the iPlayer, the BBC has been under fire not only from its viewers, but also members of the British Parliament. Parliament members have come down on the broadcasting corporation for its lack of support for open standards, and soaring costs in the development of the Windows-only software whose cost is estimated to be close to ?6 million pounds (nearly $11 million dollars).

We've blogged about … Read more

VOD services get new releases when they're still new

Renting movies on DVD could soon be a thing of the past, as cable operators experiment with new ways to get movies and even TV shows to viewers quicker, using their video-on-demand platforms.

On Monday, Comcast announced that it would provide some Hollywood hit movies on its video-on-demand, or VOD, service the same day they're offered on DVD. It also announced that some new television series will premiere on its VOD service at least one week before airing on regular TV.

Time Warner Cable started experimenting with a similar program in March 2007 in Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio. … Read more

"Stealth mode" Loopfuse to be unveiled

Loopfuse has been actively selling to customers and blogging about its successes for nearly a year now. Yet such is the industry - where open source has become so mainstream that we often neglect the rise of truly innovative software - that it's not surprising that IDG missed Loopfuse until now. We forgive you, IDG! :-)

Regardless, if you haven't heard of Loopfuse or started using its (or a competitor's) marketing automation software, you need to correct this fault. Immediately. Here's what it does:

Lead generation products track the activities of potential customers on a company's Web site and use factors like their job titles and activities on the site to assign "lead scores," which help salespeople to target their efforts. The products work in tandem with customer relationship management software.

This is, in part, what open-source Loopfuse (as well as proprietary products like Eloqua) does. It's more than this, though this would be enough.… Read more

Vudu drops price to fend off resurgent Apple TV

Vudu is knocking 25 percent off the price of its eponymous video-on-demand box. Effective immediately, the Vudu is now $295, down from its original $399 asking price. Customers who've purchased the unit in the past 30 days can get a $100 movie credit by calling the company's customer service line (888-554-VUDU).

The price drop is a direct response to the newly resurgent Apple TV. When it was first introduced in September 2007, the Vudu box delivered several advantages versus the Apple: it offered PC-free movie downloads with instant-on playback and good video quality, and included content from all … Read more

Last.fm offers complete songs on demand

Like most online radio stations, Last.fm has been forced by music copyright owners to behave more or less like a traditional radio station. A highly customizable radio station--users could enter a favorite artist and Last.fm would pick a song by that artist, then add in songs from similar artists--but a radio station nonetheless. Content was pushed, not pulled. Users who wanted to pick songs to play on demand either had to download them from a service like iTunes or pay for a subscription service like Rhapsody (which does let you stream 25 songs a month for free).

Today, … Read more

National labs examining impact of plug-in hybrids

If plug-in hybrid cars become popular, the cars could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil. But will they cause electricity prices to zoom?

Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Labs are trying to figure out that right now, according to staff scientist Michael Kintner-Meyer in an interview. PNNL hopes to issue a report this summer that will help answer that question.

Last year, PNNL studied how well the grid, as it exists today, could accommodate an influx of plug-in hybrids. (Unlike a conventional Prius hybrid, plug-ins can be charged from a wall socket. General Motors, Toyota … Read more

Energizer's versatile 'Light on Demand'

There's more to Energizer than the bunny. Despite the pink ears worn by some booth reps at CES, we did like what we saw of the versatile, new Energizer "Light on Demand" range.

At the heart of this series lies a removable light stick that packs onboard rechargeable batteries. What makes it so usable is that the light stick can function independently of its specific setup like, say, a Wall Sconce ($45). Detached from the main unit, it can work as an emergency flashlight. And if those rechargeables konk out, simply slot in AAA batteries, and you'… Read more