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Apple's Siri might have been called something else

What's in a name? That which we call Siri, by any other name would be as sassy -- though we might have known the voice assistant technology by another name.

NetworkWorld this morning recounts some of the highlights from a speech given by Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus at Chicago's Technori Pitch event yesterday. While the speech focused mainly on the importance of building Chicago as a startup scene, Kittlaus included a handful of behind-the-scenes tidbits on what led to Siri becoming an Apple technology.

One of those was that late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs originally sought a different … Read more

Wealthfront takes on Wall Street--Silicon Valley style

There's a lot of sudden wealth occurring in Silicon Valley these days, and that's leading to a parade of suits--aka wealth managers--trying to snag customers from the hallways of Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga and other hot companies.

It's a parade that Wealthfront wants to rain on.

Wealthfront, a startup backed by Marc Andreessen and other Valley luminaries, is trying to upend the old-school money management model by replacing it with a system powered by software. The pitch: Why trust your money to a Wall Street money manager who charges steep fees when well-designed software can do a better … Read more

Siri co-founder Kittlaus leaves Apple, report says

Now that the iPhone 4S is on store shelves, Siri co-founder Dag Kittlaus, who headed up Apple's development of the service, has left the Cupertino, Calif.-based company, a new report claims.

Citing sources, All Things Digital is reporting that Kittlaus decided to leave Apple to spend time with his family in Chicago, take time off, and establish new start-ups. According to All Things Digital, Kittlaus left Apple just after the iPhone 4S launched earlier this month.

Kittlaus co-founded Siri in 2007. The company quickly gained notoriety and was acquired by Apple in 2010 for a rumored $121 million. … Read more

Zip-up earbuds aim to ease tangle woes

In my many years reviewing portable headphones, I can honestly say I've never seen anything quite like Digital Group Audio's (DGA) Zipbuds. These unique earphones incorporate a zipper that makes up the Y-cable descending from the left and right earpieces.

The idea behind the design is the prevent the incessant tangling that seems to be inherent to earbuds. It actually makes quite a bit of sense: think about trying to tie a strand of zipper into a knot. Probably not the simplest of feats.

More than that, the zipper is actually kind of stylish in the looks department, … Read more

$9 million for SpotMixer's video ad service

One True Media, the parent company of an online video ad creator called SpotMixer, has announced a fresh $9 million in Series B venture funding. The round was led by DAG Ventures, with contributions from NTT Finance and existing investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Amid widespread financial difficulties (to say the least) in the media business, SpotMixer and its new investors are pitching it as a cost-cutting option for small companies.

"While the market opportunity for video advertising remains well-defined, smaller businesses are more concerned than ever about how to most cost-effectively spend their limited advertising dollars," … Read more

Start-up developing new Web interaction paradigm

In the midst of the financial meltdown and a contentious upcoming election, you might think the U.S. government and taxpayers are just funding wars, bank bailouts, and bridges to nowhere or somewhere. But this is the same government that funded the Internet way back when and is also funding the next generation of technologies that will make the current Internet seem like a Model-T.

Over the last several years, the U.S. government--via DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) grants--has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in PAL, an acronym for "Personalized Assistant that Learns." Smarter software … Read more

Widget maker Gigya gets $11 million Series C

Looks like they're battening down the hatches: Social-network apphaus Gigya has raised $11 million in a Series C funding round led by DAG Ventures.

President and co-founder Rooly Eliezerov called it a "pre-emptive round" in a release Wednesday; the company's Series B round was only seven months ago. But Gigya insists that this new funding is to keep up demand, not to have some disaster insurance in the face of the current financial situation.

Still, economic crisis notwithstanding, Gigya and its brethren may still have a tough road ahead: Blogger Nick O'Neill recently found that … Read more