Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Monday, July 28, 2008

Great Apps Using The CrunchBase API

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/347840357/

Since launching the CrunchBase API less than two weeks ago we’ve seen a great response from developers, who have already developed a number of impressive plugins and applications. The CrunchBase API offers access to information from thousands of tech companies, VCs and startup entrepreneurs. It's free to use, there are no accounts to sign up for and no request throttling. The API returns clean, pretty-printed JSON, and only basic attribution is required. Here are some of great applications already in the wild:

CrunchBase WordPress Plugins

Two plugins sprung up that make it easy to insert the CrunchBase widget into WordPress blog posts. The first, developed by Vaibhav Gadodia, queries the CrunchBase API to determine the CrunchBase URL for a company. Joost de Valk, the author of numerous WordPress plugins, also released a CrunchBase widget plugin that supports all of the CrunchBase entity types (companies, products, people, and financial organizations).

CrunchBase Social Graphs

Finnish readers Mikko Kivelä and Bemmu Sepponen have generated whopper social graphs using the full web of CrunchBase data. One of the graphs maps company connections in CrunchBase, while the other is concerned with the people involved. They also created a fun text file that counts the degrees of separation from any company to Google (TechCrunch is 2 away). We’d love to see a version of They Rule using financial organizations instead of board members.

Semantic CrunchBase

Quite possibly the most exciting use of the CrunchBase API is Semantic CrunchBase, a RDF/SPARQL mirror of CrunchBase that adheres to the principles of the Semantic Web. Semantic CrunchBase comes to us from active Semantic/RDF community developer Benjamin Nowack. A RDF/SPARQL interface enables queries to be run against the CrunchBase data. For example, you can query for all the companies that were funded during January 2008 (which you can already do via a web interface with our advanced search page). Semantic CrunchBase is a great add-on that will open up new doors with respect to the applications people can create with CrunchBase data.

If you are doing something cool with CrunchBase data we’d love to see it. Become a member and post on the CrunchBase Google Group. Follow us on Twitter. Subscribe to the CrunchBase Blog.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Moondo Fuses Casual Gaming With Massively Multiplayer Games

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/348012168/

One of the biggest draws for massively multiplayer online games (MMO’s) is the satisfaction that comes from earning in-game items and abilities. Unlike simple Flash games where your accomplishments vanish the moment you step away from your computer, MMO’s allow you to acquire virtual goods and work your way up a skill ladder, in the hopes of eventually becoming powerful enough to dominate over everyone else. Unfortunately, many people simply can’t spare the hundreds of hours a game like World of Warcraft takes to finally reach this leet status.

Today sees the launch of Moondo, a new gaming “world” that is trying to merge the best parts of MMOs and the casual games that litter the web. The Moondo world is comprised of a number of multiplayer minigames that feature 3D graphics that rival those seen on most MMOs. Each minigame is intended to require only about 15-20 minutes, though they include multiple levels that should keep gamers satisfied for hours at a time.

What differentiates Moondo from most other multiplayer minigames is the introduction of persistent goods and a leveling system. For example, a shield that a user might acquire during the course of a shooting game could later be used on the platform’s driving game. As gamers continue playing, they progressively acquire more goods and skills, and the platform’s matching system ensures that they are only pitted against players of comparable experience. At launch, there are two games available (an FPS and a racing game), but that number should grow quickly, as Moondo says that the platform is designed so that it can pump out a new game every 8 weeks.

Moondo’s biggest challenge lies in making the powerups and levels acquired by each gamer seem worthwhile. It’s one thing to be known as a powerful wizard or knight in a persistent world like World of Warcraft - everyone knows you’ve earned it. But when such advantages are carried over to smaller minigames, it might just make them unbalanced and less fun.

For the time being Moondo is only available as a standalone client on Windows, but the company plans to roll out browser support (so that it should be platform-agnostic) by October. The game is the first product from Funtactix, a Benchmark and JVP-funded company that has spent the last eighteen months developing the platform that powers Moondo. Another company that is introducing persistent accomplishments to casual gaming is CasualCafe which we covered here.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Google Beats Cuil Hands Down In Size And Relevance, But That Isnât The Whole Story

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/348058066/

Search engine Cuil launched earlier this evening, claiming a bigger index size (120 billion web pages) than Google or any other search engine. The pedigree of the founders and execs, which includes three ex senior Googlers, means the service will be compared to Google from day one. And the way they will be compared is index size and, more importantly, relevance/ranking of results.

We’ve been testing the engine for the last hour. Based on our test queries Cuil is an excellent search engine, particularly since it is all of an hour old. But it doesn’t appear to have the depth of results that Google has, despite their claims. And the results are not nearly as relevant.

A search for Dog returns 280 million results on Cuil and 498 million on Google. Judging relevance of results is subjective, but Google returns Wikipedia as the first result, then dog.com. Cuil returns Dog.com, wikipedia isn’t listed on the first page of results. Both are meaningful results, but Google is better.

More searches, Cuil v. Google: Apple (83 m v. 571 million) - neither mention the fruit. France (102 m v. 1.5 billion) - Cuil’s category refinement makes their results better for this query. Stonehenge (800k v. 8.5 million). Silicon Valley (3.2 m v. 24 m). Techcrunch (600k v. 6.5 m).

It seems pretty clear that Google’s index of web pages is significantly larger than Cuil’s unless we’re randomly choosing the wrong queries. Based on the queries above, Google is averaging nearly 10x the number of results of Cuil.

And Cuil’s ranking isn’t as good as Google’s based on the pure results returned from both queries. Where Cuil excels is with the related categories, which return results that are extremely relevant. With Google, we’ve all gotten used to trying a slightly different search to get the refined results we need. Cuil does a good job of guessing what we’ll want next and presents that in the top right widget. That means Cuil saves time for more research based queries.

And I want to reemphasize that Cuil is only an hour old at this point, Google has had a decade to perfect their search engine.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Highway to the Danger Zone!

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/345398624/

When you think of Military Air Bases, what do you think about? Over- budgeted super secret spy planes by Bruce Wayne? Maverick and Iceman in a pissing contest, high five-ing each other to bad 80s music? Well that was the question put forth in the latest design contest by auto design site Localmotors.com. They want the undiscovered Top Guns of automotive design to step up and show their true grit. Like this super rad racer by Popa Lucian (aka: Sleepy) inspired by jet fighters. He included a side mounted engine and exhaust, a tubular chasis with carbon fiber body paneling, side mounted cooling system and a fighter style HUD (heads up display). All that and some cool fighter style stickers make me want to go vroom vroom rattatatatatat while gnawing on a cigar.

Designer: Popa Lucian [ Via: Local Motors ]

Popa Lucian

The Softer Side of Hard Drives

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/345407258/

Designing electronic gadgets specifically for women has always seemed like either an insult to their sensibilities or simple pink pandering. Either way, you run the risk of a ton of pink back stock or pissing them off. My advice, design gadgets for humans. Except when it is done to the high degree of slickness as this “Costume” Samsung 2.5″ Hard Drive by Joongoo Lee. Joongoo’s design was inspired by a ladies make-up compact found at the bottom of most hand bags. Fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand (not that hard drives need to be in the palm of your hand) this design makes me want to explore my feminine side a bit further. Do these jeans make me look fat?

Designer: Joongoo Lee