Web Development Live

Software company Engine Yard said Monday that it has closed on a $15 million Series B round of financing from New Enterprise Associates and Amazon.com. Its previous investor Benchmark Capital also participated in the round.

Engine Yard, a 2-year-old company based in San Francisco, handles deployment and operations for developers that work in the Web development environment of Ruby on Rails, an open-source software framework. It helps developers serve applications through so-called cloud computing, or via third-party data centers. Despite Amazon’s investment, Engine Yard does not use the online retailer’s Web services offering at this time. It plans to in the future, however.

Engine Yard, which had raised about $3.5 million in January, said it will use the money for research and development of its upcoming cloud computing platform, among other projects. As part of the funding announcement, Peter Sonsini, a partner at NEA, will join Engine Yard’s board of directors.

“One thing stood out,” Singh said. “There was no easy way to do file systems.” So Singh decided to create one, even though he worked for Google’s search team at the time and wasn’t part of the company’s Mac development efforts.

The reaction of his bosses to this use of company time? Go for it.

Singh’s project, which became the open-source file-system utility MacFUSE, is just one of the many employee-driven efforts that go on within the walls of the search-engine and text-advertising giant all the time.

Google calls it “20-percent time,” encouraging its engineers to pursue other Google-related interests for up to 20 percent of their work hours—even if that interest has little to do with their regular duties at the search and software company.

Efforts such as 20-percent projects by engineers like Singh are par for the course at Google, a company that sees encouraging employees to pursue subjects they find interesting as a critical part of its own development goals.

“A lot of things that happen at Google are based on empowering people to come up with ideas and pursue them if [those ideas are] good,” said Sundar Pichai, Google’s director of product management.

Many 20-percent projects have wound up becoming major Google products: both Google News and Gmail, for instance, started that way. Among the Mac-specific efforts that began as 20-percent projects are Notifier, which offers Gmail and Google Calendar notifications, and the Google Mac Developer Playground, an online collection of open-source Mac projects created at Google.

His name is Eric Schmidt and hes the chairman and CEO of Google, the search engine and advertising goliath thats building a thriving business based on giving away services and applications for nothing or next to nothing.
The editor and author Chris Anderson calls this effect feeconomics: where the technologies which power the web are driving down the cost of doing business online to the point where they are so cheap, they can be handed out at zero cost.
Its the same philosophy adopted by Google when it came into being a decade ago and which it has pursued ever since through giveaway services such as email, photo editing and storage, video sharing and of course its eponymous search engine.
And most of it for nix, as long as youre happy to accept a smattering of the text-based contextual advertisements served up alongside the freebies, which in turn encourage more time spent on the internet.
The more things that people and companies do online, the more ads they see and the more money Google makes, writes the author Nicholas Carr in strategy+business magazine.
While search continues to be Googles main money spinner, Dr Schmidt took the opportunity yesterday during a visit to Sydney to outline some of the other trends he believes could be among the next big things.
While search continues to be Googles main money spinner, Dr Schmidt took the opportunity yesterday during a visit to Sydney to outline some of the other trends he believes could be among the next big things.
He called one of these in-the-pipeline developments information understanding.
The eventual goal is for Google to make a suggestion as to what you should do tomorrow, he explained during an extended interview with smh.com.au.
Dismissing suggestions that it smacked of Big Brother and or that it encouraged mental laziness, he said such a service could only work with the explicit permission of the user.
Computers are better at remembering things and people are better at reasoning, said Dr Schmidt, 52, a soft-spoken computer scientist who joined Google in 2001 as the grown-up who was supposed to keep an eye on the youthful co-founders and their inexperienced team.
Youre going to have a more interesting life if you have the computer do the stuff the computer is good at and you do the stuff youre good at.
The two other trends are already works in progress. One is the shift from desk-based computing to mobile computing. Later this year, a number of mobile phone makers will launch devices based on Googles new Android mobile operating system.
Just as the PC became this extremely powerful platform and really did change our world, the same phenomenon should occur on mobile phones, he said.
Another big change in the works had to do with what he described as the ubiquity of location-based data - in other words, the kind of information that can placed on a map.
That could include traffic information, flight details, bus routes and schedules - all able to be called up on your computer or phone.
Earlier, at a press conference, he spoke about the coming shift to cloud computing where users will store their files and applications online instead of on their local computers and hard drives.
Dr Schmidt has described the cloud concept as akin to having banks manage your money rather than you manage your money.
What were going to do is were just going to put the intelligence and the data and so forth on servers run by professionals - also known as us - so that you dont need to spend the weekend debugging your computers at home, he said yesterday.
Dr Schmidt admitted, however, that his predictions have not always been on the money.
In October 2000, he made a bad really bad call that could have cost him dearly.
Nobody really gives a sh– about search, he told John Doerr, a venture capitalist who was trying to talk him in to taking a management position at Google.
Dr Schmidt, who was then head of software company Novell, later changed his mind and the following year was appointed chairman then CEO of the fledgling internet search company.
He went on receive stock options that made him a billionaire after Google floated in 2004.
Last month, Forbes magazine listed him as the 48th richest person in the US with a net worth of $US6.6 billion ($NZ8.1 billion).
For the past seven years Dr Schmidt, along with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, has been part of the triumvirate running an operation that has developed a reputation for being one the worlds most admired companies.
These days he has no such misgivings about search.
Last year, between 97 to 98 per cent of the companys revenues of $US16.6 billion were derived from little text advertisements that are largely served up in searches.
Ive made many mistakes, Dr Schmidt said yesterday when reminded about the anecdote from eight years ago and recounted in David Vises book The Google Story.
That was a big one. You learn from your mistakes. Im more careful now to get my facts straight.

All the economic development professionals can rest easy: Forbes magazine still favors Boise.Earlier this month, a Forbes reporter was in town interviewing executives at tech companies for the company’s annual Best Places for Business and Careers edition, which comes out in about a month.Shane Vaughan, the marketing director at the Boise software company Balihoo, was interviewed. He said it looks as if Boise will make the top 5 of this year’s list.The story will focus on Boise’s growing tech industry. The reporter interviewed other tech executives, including Kevin Benedict with MobileDataforce and Jason Crawforth, who recently sold his company Treetop Technologies to MobileDataforce.It is always cool to see the tech industry get a little more national recognition. But it’s too bad the article won’t come out until after the Legislature leaves town.Speaking of this session of the Legislature: Not much is happening for the tech industry.Last year, the Governor’s Tech Council had me somewhat excited about its $50 million package of incentives to help tech. But the governor soon put the kibosh on that.The governor, however, did offer me a glimmer of hope when he named a tech guy as the new Commerce Director.Jim Ellick, a former Silicon Valley executive with decades of tech-company experience, took over the job on July 1.I think Ellick didn’t make the best impression, partly because he wasn’t that accessible at first, and he’s not a very savvy politician.But from my interview with him and from what others have told me, he did know what he was talking about.I found it refreshing to hear from him that Idaho wasn’t doing enough to compete with other states and that the state should do something to help Micron.
But I don’t think our legislators found his views that refreshing. A month ago, Ellick took a sudden and unexplained leave of absence. I’ll be surprised if he comes back.His departure also left the fate of the governor’s council up in the air. The governor disbanded it, and Ellick was tasked with coming up with something new to replace it. When I first blogged on this, most people who commented weren’t surprised.”Idaho doesn’t want Micron. Why wouldn’t the guy in charge of trying to save tech in Idaho bail? He assumed that any state wouldn’t want to lose a employer as large as Micron … as anybody would. When he realized he was wrong, time to get out,” said Idaho123.Speaking of Micron: The company plans to unveil its plans for its image-sensor business at a media and analyst event Tuesday in San Jose . The company is pitching it as a new identity, but I’ll be curious to see if it also involves bringing on a new partner. Also mark your calendars for March 10, because that’s when Aaron Stanton says he’ll be releasing the big idea he pitched to Google more than a year ago.Stanton, of Boise, is the one behind the Web site CanGoogleHearMe.com. He launched the site after attempting to make an unsolicited visit to Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters to pitch his idea. He was turned away, but didn’t give up. He kept posting on his Web site and blogging about the effort and finally caught the attention of Google. But the last year, he’s been sworn to secrecy while he developed the idea.His Web site is still up and running, so you can catch up with all that he’s been up to over the last year.One final thought on the Forbes article. I’ll probably write a story about this when the article comes out, but I’m still not sold on the benefit of all this national publicity. The Boise Valley Economic Partnership is driving a lot of this. It has been forking over big bucks to its New York public relations firm to pitch Idaho to the national media. The group says we’ve already had 44 print and broadcast stories this year. I’ll feel a lot better about this flood of fluff if it finally leads to some meaningful jobs.Ken Dey is the high-technology reporter at the Idaho Statesman. Read his TechIdaho blog at IdahoStatesman.com. Reach him at 672-6757 or kdey@idahostatesman.com.

Two of Boise’s better-known high-tech companies are joining forces.MobileDataforce, which develops software for mobile computing applications, announced Tuesday that it had bought Treetop Technologies, a company that focuses on database management, Web design and Web development projects.The sale price was not disclosed.Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce, said the purchase will better position his company for future growth.”We keep doing bigger and bigger worldwide projects that require bigger and larger enterprise databases and more complex skills and for 11 years Treetop has focused on delivering those solutions,” said Benedict, who will continue to lead the merged company. MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 as a information-technology consulting company but in 2004 started transforming itself into a mobile software company.Benedict joined the company in 2004 as CEO. Originally from the Seattle area, where he worked in the software industry, Benedict came to Boise in 1999 to take become an e-commerce manager for Micron Electronics, now MPC Corp.Founded in 1997 by Jason Crawforth, Treetop Technologies is one of Boise’s highest profile technology companies. In 2005, Inc. Magazine named the company the 18th fastest-growing software company in America. Crawforth, the CEO and an Idaho native, has been a leading voice in the Idaho tech sector’s effort to better promote itself and win more support from state leaders. Crawforth served for more than two years on the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council before it was disbanded earlier this month.The merger will combine MobileDataforce’s 30 employees with 13 from Treetop. All employees will be located at MobileDataforce’s offices at 3380 Americana Terrace.Benedict said MobileDataforce had already been contracting with Treetop to provide things like database management, Web design, Web development and integration, so it made sense to combine the two companies.Although he’s relinquishing the CEO title, Crawforth said he will remain with MobileDataforce as a board member and the company’s chief strategy officer.Benedict said the company plans to hire more employees.”The merger was based upon growth, and we expect in the next 24 months to double the size of MobileDataforce,” Benedict said.MobileDataforce will benefit from Treetop’s client list, which includes companies like Bose, Hewlett-Packard and the state of Idaho, he said. Since the company was founded in 2000, Benedict said the demand for MobileDataforce products has grown each year. The company’s primary product is called PointSync, which allows users to develop custom software applications on mobile computing devices like personal digital assistants, cell phones and laptop computers. “Everyone is always pushing the envelope for efficiencies, and instead of having someone out with a clipboard writing things down and going back to an office and typing information in, we’re automating the entire process from end to end,” Crawforth said.Ken Dey: 672-6757

Two of Boise’s better-known high-tech companies are joining forces.MobileDataforce, which develops software for mobile computing applications, announced Tuesday that it had bought Treetop Technologies, a company that focuses on database management, Web design and Web development projects.The sale price was not disclosed.Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce, said the purchase will better position his company for future growth.”We keep doing bigger and bigger worldwide projects that require bigger and larger enterprise databases and more complex skills and for 11 years Treetop has focused on delivering those solutions,” said Benedict, who will continue to lead the merged company. MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 as a information-technology consulting company but in 2004 started transforming itself into a mobile software company.Benedict joined the company in 2004 as CEO. Originally from the Seattle area, where he worked in the software industry, Benedict came to Boise in 1999 to take become an e-commerce manager for Micron Electronics, now MPC Corp.Founded in 1997 by Jason Crawforth, Treetop Technologies is one of Boise’s highest profile technology companies. In 2005, Inc. Magazine named the company the 18th fastest-growing software company in America. Crawforth, the CEO and an Idaho native, has been a leading voice in the Idaho tech sector’s effort to better promote itself and win more support from state leaders. Crawforth served for more than two years on the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council before it was disbanded earlier this month.The merger will combine MobileDataforce’s 30 employees with 13 from Treetop. All employees will be located at MobileDataforce’s offices at 3380 Americana Terrace.Benedict said MobileDataforce had already been contracting with Treetop to provide things like database management, Web design, Web development and integration, so it made sense to combine the two companies.Although he’s relinquishing the CEO title, Crawforth said he will remain with MobileDataforce as a board member and the company’s chief strategy officer.Benedict said the company plans to hire more employees.”The merger was based upon growth, and we expect in the next 24 months to double the size of MobileDataforce,” Benedict said.MobileDataforce will benefit from Treetop’s client list, which includes companies like Bose, Hewlett-Packard and the state of Idaho, he said. Since the company was founded in 2000, Benedict said the demand for MobileDataforce products has grown each year. The company’s primary product is called PointSync, which allows users to develop custom software applications on mobile computing devices like personal digital assistants, cell phones and laptop computers. “Everyone is always pushing the envelope for efficiencies, and instead of having someone out with a clipboard writing things down and going back to an office and typing information in, we’re automating the entire process from end to end,” Crawforth said.Ken Dey: 672-6757

Two of Boise’s better-known high-tech companies are joining forces.MobileDataforce, which develops software for mobile computing applications, announced Tuesday that it had bought Treetop Technologies, a company that focuses on database management, Web design and Web development projects.The sale price was not disclosed.Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce, said the purchase will better position his company for future growth.”We keep doing bigger and bigger worldwide projects that require bigger and larger enterprise databases and more complex skills and for 11 years Treetop has focused on delivering those solutions,” said Benedict, who will continue to lead the merged company. MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 as a information-technology consulting company but in 2004 started transforming itself into a mobile software company.Benedict joined the company in 2004 as CEO. Originally from the Seattle area, where he worked in the software industry, Benedict came to Boise in 1999 to take become an e-commerce manager for Micron Electronics, now MPC Corp.Founded in 1997 by Jason Crawforth, Treetop Technologies is one of Boise’s highest profile technology companies. In 2005, Inc. Magazine named the company the 18th fastest-growing software company in America. Crawforth, the CEO and an Idaho native, has been a leading voice in the Idaho tech sector’s effort to better promote itself and win more support from state leaders. Crawforth served for more than two years on the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council before it was disbanded earlier this month.The merger will combine MobileDataforce’s 30 employees with 13 from Treetop. All employees will be located at MobileDataforce’s offices at 3380 Americana Terrace.Benedict said MobileDataforce had already been contracting with Treetop to provide things like database management, Web design, Web development and integration, so it made sense to combine the two companies.Although he’s relinquishing the CEO title, Crawforth said he will remain with MobileDataforce as a board member and the company’s chief strategy officer.Benedict said the company plans to hire more employees.”The merger was based upon growth, and we expect in the next 24 months to double the size of MobileDataforce,” Benedict said.MobileDataforce will benefit from Treetop’s client list, which includes companies like Bose, Hewlett-Packard and the state of Idaho, he said. Since the company was founded in 2000, Benedict said the demand for MobileDataforce products has grown each year. The company’s primary product is called PointSync, which allows users to develop custom software applications on mobile computing devices like personal digital assistants, cell phones and laptop computers. “Everyone is always pushing the envelope for efficiencies, and instead of having someone out with a clipboard writing things down and going back to an office and typing information in, we’re automating the entire process from end to end,” Crawforth said.Ken Dey: 672-6757

Two of Boise’s better-known high-tech companies are joining forces.MobileDataforce, which develops software for mobile computing applications, announced Tuesday that it had bought Treetop Technologies, a company that focuses on database management, Web design and Web development projects.The sale price was not disclosed.Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce, said the purchase will better position his company for future growth.”We keep doing bigger and bigger worldwide projects that require bigger and larger enterprise databases and more complex skills and for 11 years Treetop has focused on delivering those solutions,” said Benedict, who will continue to lead the merged company. MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 as a information-technology consulting company but in 2004 started transforming itself into a mobile software company.Benedict joined the company in 2004 as CEO. Originally from the Seattle area, where he worked in the software industry, Benedict came to Boise in 1999 to take become an e-commerce manager for Micron Electronics, now MPC Corp.Founded in 1997 by Jason Crawforth, Treetop Technologies is one of Boise’s highest profile technology companies. In 2005, Inc. Magazine named the company the 18th fastest-growing software company in America. Crawforth, the CEO and an Idaho native, has been a leading voice in the Idaho tech sector’s effort to better promote itself and win more support from state leaders. Crawforth served for more than two years on the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council before it was disbanded earlier this month.The merger will combine MobileDataforce’s 30 employees with 13 from Treetop. All employees will be located at MobileDataforce’s offices at 3380 Americana Terrace.Benedict said MobileDataforce had already been contracting with Treetop to provide things like database management, Web design, Web development and integration, so it made sense to combine the two companies.Although he’s relinquishing the CEO title, Crawforth said he will remain with MobileDataforce as a board member and the company’s chief strategy officer.Benedict said the company plans to hire more employees.”The merger was based upon growth, and we expect in the next 24 months to double the size of MobileDataforce,” Benedict said.MobileDataforce will benefit from Treetop’s client list, which includes companies like Bose, Hewlett-Packard and the state of Idaho, he said. Since the company was founded in 2000, Benedict said the demand for MobileDataforce products has grown each year. The company’s primary product is called PointSync, which allows users to develop custom software applications on mobile computing devices like personal digital assistants, cell phones and laptop computers. “Everyone is always pushing the envelope for efficiencies, and instead of having someone out with a clipboard writing things down and going back to an office and typing information in, we’re automating the entire process from end to end,” Crawforth said.Ken Dey: 672-6757

Two of Boise’s better-known high-tech companies are joining forces.MobileDataforce, which develops software for mobile computing applications, announced Tuesday that it had bought Treetop Technologies, a company that focuses on database management, Web design and Web development projects.The sale price was not disclosed.Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce, said the purchase will better position his company for future growth.”We keep doing bigger and bigger worldwide projects that require bigger and larger enterprise databases and more complex skills and for 11 years Treetop has focused on delivering those solutions,” said Benedict, who will continue to lead the merged company. MobileDataforce was founded in 2000 as a information-technology consulting company but in 2004 started transforming itself into a mobile software company.Benedict joined the company in 2004 as CEO. Originally from the Seattle area, where he worked in the software industry, Benedict came to Boise in 1999 to take become an e-commerce manager for Micron Electronics, now MPC Corp.Founded in 1997 by Jason Crawforth, Treetop Technologies is one of Boise’s highest profile technology companies. In 2005, Inc. Magazine named the company the 18th fastest-growing software company in America. Crawforth, the CEO and an Idaho native, has been a leading voice in the Idaho tech sector’s effort to better promote itself and win more support from state leaders. Crawforth served for more than two years on the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council before it was disbanded earlier this month.The merger will combine MobileDataforce’s 30 employees with 13 from Treetop. All employees will be located at MobileDataforce’s offices at 3380 Americana Terrace.Benedict said MobileDataforce had already been contracting with Treetop to provide things like database management, Web design, Web development and integration, so it made sense to combine the two companies.Although he’s relinquishing the CEO title, Crawforth said he will remain with MobileDataforce as a board member and the company’s chief strategy officer.Benedict said the company plans to hire more employees.”The merger was based upon growth, and we expect in the next 24 months to double the size of MobileDataforce,” Benedict said.MobileDataforce will benefit from Treetop’s client list, which includes companies like Bose, Hewlett-Packard and the state of Idaho, he said. Since the company was founded in 2000, Benedict said the demand for MobileDataforce products has grown each year. The company’s primary product is called PointSync, which allows users to develop custom software applications on mobile computing devices like personal digital assistants, cell phones and laptop computers. “Everyone is always pushing the envelope for efficiencies, and instead of having someone out with a clipboard writing things down and going back to an office and typing information in, we’re automating the entire process from end to end,” Crawforth said.Ken Dey: 672-6757

The largest software company is hosting its Financial Analyst Meeting at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters, where Ballmer described Microsoft’s strategy as making several big bets on emerging businesses while drawing more revenue from its mature desktop and server software franchises.

Microsoft is transforming its product development and business models around “software plus services”, or software complemented with online services, he said. The company has been criticised by financial analysts for being slow to capitalise on advertising revenue as search giant Google has done.

“We are hell-bent and determined to allocate the talent, the resources, the money, the innovation to absolutely become a powerhouse in the ad business,” Ballmer said.

Company founder Bill Gates, who made a presentation before Ballmer, announced that Microsoft is opening a dedicated centre to research online advertising and search called the “Internet Services Research Center”. Headed by Harry Shum, the centre’s research will focus on search relevance, spam prevention and searching scanned images, such as book pages.

Ballmer said that the company is tackling disruptive technology changes head-on, namely the shift to advertising-supported web services. Its commitment to online services and consumer devices are necessary because they provide avenues for the company’s software.

He defended continued investments in two unprofitable divisions: Online Services and the Entertainment %26amp; Devices division. Microsoft’s multi-year commitment in server software for corporate data centres diversified the company and created a multibillion dollar revenue engine.