StartUp Logistics Announces $15 Million First Round Formation of SLV I

Via PrWeb :

Startup Logistics (www.startuplogistics.com) announced the formation Startup Logistics Ventures I (SLV I), a venture fund for start-ups technology companies. Targeted to close over $15 million, SLV I will make seed and early stage investments in compelling advanced software, medical device, communications, digital convergence and nanotechnology companies.

"The high-tech community here is very fortunate to have the right mix of experienced entrepreneurs, intellectual capital of major research universities and leading medical centers, all of whom are developing new technologies that have the potential to be something great. We are excited to do our part in funding these great entrepreneurs and committed to fostering technological innovation and builds emerging business opportunities," states Managing Director and CEO of StartUp Logistics, David Lee. "It's a good place to do business." Over the next 5 years, StartUp Logistics plans to fund roughly 25 start-up technology companies, with initial investments ranging from $100,000 to $2 million.

Female entrepreneurship boom

Business Week reports :

Female entrepreneurs may once have lagged behind their male counterparts, but now they're making up for lost time. Business ownership among women in general is growing at nearly twice the rate (17%) as all businesses (9%), according to a new report released this month by the Center for Women's Business Research. And the number of businesses owned by minority women, long the smallest segment of entrepreneurship in the U.S., is growing at six times the rate of all private companies, the study found.

Why the change? "First and foremost, women who want to start a business are seeing others who are doing it, and they think, 'Wow, I can do this too,'" says Sharon Hadary, the center's executive director.

The steady proliferation of capital and institutional resources has also helped make entrepreneurship a more viable option for women, allowing them more control from a professional -- and personal –- standpoint....

Social Networking Systems & Wikis

Christopher Carfi [Cerado, Inc.] writes Social Networking Systems and Wikis are engaging more and more social customers :

Tony Perkins, creator of Red Herring magazine, has forgone the "one-way" communication of the print world and is debating with his readers online in real time. He makes a lot of typos while doing so.

Microsoft customers are spending their own time and money making unsanctioned and unsolicited videos featuring Microsoft brands and sending them to Redmond. The funny thing is, Redmond doesn't mind.

Customers are starting to get their say. They are doing so in public forums. Their comments are unfiltered. And, more surprisingly, so are the responses of the individuals representing the companies. No PR flaks. No spin. No highly-sanitized, focus-group-approved, completely meaningless Dilbert-speak.

In other words, real people interacting with real people...

Calling all the Bloggers from India :-)

Dear Blogger Friends,

I have started my new venture - IndusNeXus.com. A community social, business and discussion and networking blog. I would request all the Indian Bloggers to have a look at the site, join and contribute in the area of Business, Science & Technology and oblige me.

Please feel free to provide me with your valuable feedback.

Regards,
Santosh Kumar
http://www.indusnexus.com (Beta)
Social & Business Networking | India

India's First Free Job Blog / Weblog

IndusNexus.com : India specidic social and business networking site has introduced Job blogging service to its range of tools. This is India's first weblog based recruitment and employement service.

The Job Blog is categories in to
(1) Full Time / Part Time / Consultant / Contract & Freelance Types

(2) Experience range Fresher / 0-2 / 2-4 / 4-6 / 6-7 / 7-8 / 8-10 / 10+ years

(3) Industry or Role :
Administration & Support
Architecture & Interiors
Automobiles
Aviations & Aerospace
Banking / Finance / Insurance (1)
Sample Job Entry
Bio-tech / Pharma
Civil / Construction / Engineering
Education
Electronics
Facility Management / House Keeping
Fashion & Textile
FMCG & Consumer Goods
Health Care
Hospitality
Human Resource
IT - Hardware
IT - Internet, Web & Ecommerce
IT - ITES / BPO / Call Centers (1)
Efunds requires Team Members
IT - Software (1)
Wipro requires Technical Leads, Architects, Consultants & Engineers`
IT - Systems & Networks (1)
Wipro requires Technical Leads, Architects, Consultants & Engineers`
IT - Telecom (1)
Wipro requires Technical Leads, Architects, Consultants & Engineers`
Legal

(4) The various states of India with their Capitals and important cities
All India (2) Andaman & Nicobar Islands, -Port Blair, Andhra Pradesh -Hyderabad ,Arunachal Pradesh -Itanagar, Assam -Dispur ,Bihar -Patna ,Chandigarh -Chattisgarh ,Raipur ,Dadra and Nagar Haveli -Silvassa ,Delhi (1) -New Delhi ,Goa -Panaji ,Gujarat -Gandhinagar ,Haryana -Chandigarh ,Himachal Pradesh -Shimla ,Jammu and Kashmir -Jammu -Srinagar ,Jharkhand -Ranchi ,Karnataka -Bangalore (1) ,Kerala -Thiruvananthapuram ,Lakshadweep -Kavaratti ,Madhya Pradesh -Bhopal ,Maharashtra (9) - Mumbai (7) - Pune (1) ,Manipur -Imphal ,Meghalaya -Shillong ,Mizoram -Aizawl ,Nagaland -Kohima ,Orissa-Bhubaneswar ,Pondicherry ,Punjab -Chandigarh ,Rajasthan -Jaipur ,Sikkim -Gangtok -Tamil Nadu (1) ,Chennai (1) ,Tripura -Agartala ,Uttar Pradesh -Lucknow ,Uttaranchal -Dehradun ,West Bengal -Kolkata ,

You can submit jobs free , free recruitment ads, free employment ads and much much more

IndusNexus.com : Free Indian / India Matrimonials

Submit free matrimonial profiles and ads at Indus Nexus. Not only the registration is free , you can also contact your dream mate free and communicate using private messages, email and other options.

Like other matrimonials websites IndusNexus does not disallow you from posting your contact information, everything is open and visible to others if you choose so.

You can search the matrimony profiles on the basis of age-range, mother tongue , religion / caste and residential state/city from India.

For matrmonial sucess you have to fill up your profile and the profile of a dream partner you are looking for. Please use simple, clear and precise information. Provide maximum, comprehensive, detailed and wholesome information.

IndusNexus.com - for : Marriage, Matrimony, Shaadi, Vivah, Sambandh, Matrimonails, Lagan, Life partner, Bride, Groom, Dulha, Dulhan, Banna, Banni - And Aboslutely free.

IndusNexus.com - Social & Business Networking - India

IndusNexus.com a social and business networking site is open for registration and is in the beta release form.

You can post free jobs, free business opportunites, free classifieds , free events, free matrimonials, free forum discussions and much much more.

You are automatically a part of the all india network classified as per states and their capitals.

http://www.indusnexus.com
The Nexus of Indians. The Indus Nexus.

Teens Set Up Venture Startup - Daemonics

The Korea Times reports :

In contrast to chronic job shortages frustrating college graduates, five teenagers have drawn much public attention by setting up an Internet-related startup called Daemonics.

Daemonics, established by four students of Sunrin Internet High School in Yongsan, central Seoul and a middle school student, has focused on developing a series of software named AppSys, which helps Internet users set up their own systems on the Internet such as a Web site or an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system easily.

The teen business entrepreneurs have already applied for five patents, which include three for their AppSys programs, a business proposal related to information providing services on subway systems and another concerning electronic business transactions.

The new software will be presented at the Korea Venture Startup Fair scheduled to be held on Dec. 3-6 at the Seoul Trade Exhibition Center in southern Seoul.

Korea Venture Business Association

Sabeer Bhatia Plans Anti-Spam Startup

Computerworld reports that Sabeer Bhatia , the founder of Hotmail.com is planning to invest in a startup which will work on anti-spam technology :

Speaking to an audience of technology entrepreneurs in Sydney last week, HotMail co-founder Bhatia revealed he will shortly unleash a new product to liberate inboxes of unsolicited offers of sex, drugs and scams.

"I have invested in a [counter] spam company," Bhatia said, adding that spam had become a "real problem" and that "if someone could create spam-free e-mail, that would be revolutionary".

However, Bhatia remained wary of giving away any substantive detail on his new project, saying only that he considered there to be "intelligent solutions by putting an appliance at a network level".

"You have to give a powerful system to users without taking away [functionality]," Bhatia said before dismissing outright Microsoft's spam-killing proposal that users pay a nominal fee to send mail.

* Hotmail creator has a new message
* Mr Hotmail talks about globalisation
* Hotmail inventor inspires entrepreneurial hopefuls
* High-tech startup wizard to outline secrets

Slashdot | New Rules Make Domain Hijacking Easier

Slashdot discusses about the new rule by ICANN which makes domain hijacking easier :

Tanktalus writes "Netcraft seems to have a little ditty about new rules from ICANN that take effect on Friday making it easier to hijack domain names. Essentially, if someone tries to take your domain, and you don't answer within 5 days, they now assume you are okay with the transfer. Previously, the default answer was no, and you had to explicitly state your acceptance of the domain transfer. Owners of small domains, beware: no more computerless vacations that last more than 4 days at a time!"

US startup's product to cut costs

Business World reports:

Azul Systems, a US-based startup, has announced the launch of a chip-based network attached processor. It is an appliance which is connected to the network and attempts to reduce the number of servers an enterprise deploys to run a variety of applications.

While the company has not yet decided on the price of the boxes, it expects clients using the devices to reap an overall 10:1 cost benefit, that is taking into account the operation and maintenance saving to be made by not having to run all those servers.

The appliances, which physically look like a couple of stacks or panels, are in the nature of super computers which have shrunk in size as a result of the strides taken by processors. But these processors are designed for running enterprise applications and do not undertake any scientific work.

It is a two-year old company which has so far received three rounds of funding and employs 150 people. No further financial information is available. At least 20 customers have shown interest and the boxes will undergo field trials at some of these Fortune 200 customers without any commitment of revenue.

Wireless LAN switch startup Extricom raises $8 million

CommsDesign reports :

Wireless LAN (WLAN) switch startup Extricom Ltd. received $8 million in second-round funding for a "breakaway architecture" that it claims can eliminate the coverage and capacity limitations of traditional WLAN architectures, as well as the need for cell-planning and site surveys.

Based in Herzlia, Israel, the company will use the funds to accelerate the penetration of its WLAN products into the North American and AsiaPAC markets. Those markets are already being hotly contested by startups such as Trapeze Networks, Aruba, Airespace and Chantry, as well as networking incumbents Cisco, Nortel, Foundry, Extreme, Proxim and Symbol, all of which have announced their version of what a WLAN switch should look like.

Blog on Web Hosting Startup

Jonathan Wold of WebHostStartup.com has started a startup blog. This is his story on his journey to build the next successful web hosting company.

From newspapers-jobsites-ebays-craiglists to RSS

Silicon Beat writes about the reshaping of the classified ads model with the help of RSS aggregators.
* Google's Price Absurd, but Business Model Has a Long Tail
* The Digital Media Jobs Blog, from paidContent.org

The New Entrepreneur :: AO

[ Via Emergic ] William Reichert of Garage Technology Ventures writes :

Intro to the article :

Silicon Valley did not invent the entrepreneur, but it certainly shaped the stereotype over the years: from Bob Noyce and the Fairchildren with their Cold War pocket protectors and engineer buzz cuts, to Jobs and Wozniak shaggy and jean-clad, dropping out and changing the world from their garage, to Page and Brin parlaying a Ph.D. project into billions. Famous entrepreneurs throughout high tech are elaborations and variations on the stereotype—Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell—and have created for us the model of the bold, brash, aggressive, passionate, wildly successful entrepreneur.

As the tech world emerges from its long, painful drought, investors hearken back to these standards of entrepreneurship. Gone are the "tourists," as one VC disparaged the dot-com generation. Back are the "old-fashioned entrepreneurs," as another VC referred to them: the gritty company builders who want to create something of lasting value, not just make a quick buck. As my partner Guy Kawasaki puts it, the post-drought generation of risk-averse investors is now more interested in "serial" entrepreneurs who have been there and done that, and less interested in "cereal" entrepreneurs who are still eating Cap'n Crunch for breakfast.

To be sure, the entrepreneurs starting companies today are not like the ones we saw, and now ridicule, in the late 90s. But they are also not like the ones we saw in the 80s and early 90s. We are not going back to an earlier breed of entrepreneur. If you are an investor looking for the kind of entrepreneur who built companies in the "good old days," you are making a mistake. The innovators who are creating companies today represent a new breed of entrepreneur, a species that can trace its lineage back through each of the species that went before, but which is very different nonetheless.....

Tech Whiz Aims to Boost Third World Care

ABC News reports about Vikram Kumar and his health care startup - DiMagi:

Vikram Kumar poses at his office at DiMagi in Cambridge, Mass., Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004. As a teenager in India, Vikram Kumar saw firsthand how villagers can adapt to new ways despite skepticism from local politicians and government officials. The 28-year-old MIT graduate, Kumar is both a doctor and an engineer, also knows the power of handheld electronics to overcome geographic, language and literacy barriers in the world's resource-poor areas. A startup Kumar runs pairs developing-world resourcefulness with handhelds' abilities to tackle health care challenges. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

About Dimagi :

Dimagi provides technical consulting and outsourcing services to businesses and academic institutions in the fields of healthcare, clinical trials and population research.

We specialize in the development of mobile and wireless solutions that empower researchers, healthcare workers and patients outside the traditional hospital setting.

Socialtext : How far this startup can go ?

E-Commerce News has an article on the upcoming startup Socialtext :

At first glance, Socialtext doesn't look like a company running on a shoestring budget. Founded less than two years ago, it now has more than 50 customers around the world, including Walt Disney and Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) , which use its Web software to help people collaborate online. Yet a peek behind the slick Web site reveals a truly virtual company: no offices, only 10 full-time people -- all working at home, and a chief executive who answers the phone himself.

Socialtext co-founder and CEO Ross Mayfield makes no apologies for the threadbare setup.

Increasingly inexpensive and ubiquitous information technologies such as the Internet, wireless connections and cheap computer servers, he says, allow him to run the company with far less money and fewer people than he could have a decade ago -- without scrimping on features or quality. Says the 34-year-old serial entrepreneur: "This is the prototype of the new Internet startup."

Open Source OR Outsource

Rajesh Jain quotes InfoWorld CTO Chad Dickerson who says "commercial software has its place, but open source and hosted solutions now dominate." :

I'm finding the "open source or outsource" question at the center of my IT decision-making process these days. My team is still implementing scalable and flexible systems that I'm confident will serve the needs of our business for the foreseeable future, but I'm buying very little software these days. Custom-developed software built on reliable open source frameworks wins the day when the benefits of slick commercial software can't outweigh the licensing costs.

On the other hand, when done for the right reasons, outsourcing can save money and reduce unnecessary distractions for in-house IT teams. I have never been a fan of outsourcing as a dumping ground for IT problems, but outsourcing is becoming increasingly attractive in two particular scenarios. The first instance deals with outsourcing relatively generic functions that rely on widely used commercial software packages that require specific expertise and near-perfect uptime -- think hosted Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes. In these scenarios, it's difficult to run these systems noticeably better than an outsourcer.

The second, more interesting emerging scenario is the Web-based hosted service with a well-documented Web services API, an offering pioneered by Salesforce.com with their sforce platform. In this type of outsourcing arrangement, you get all the benefits of a core service without having to own software or hardware, but you retain the option to extend the system to address specific needs of your business. I think of this phenomenon as "open outsourcing" -- a service that sits outside of my datacenter with secure access to a rich API. Platforms such as sforce dispel the notion that outsourcing is about cramming a variety of square-pegged businesses into a single hosted round hole.

Richard Epstein: Why open source is unsustainable ? And my answer

Richard Epstein (FT.com) writes Why open source is unsustainable. This is a law professors' article hence he digs things, things which if applied to proprietary stuff will also make it unsustainable.

To explain opensource you don't need a Lawyer you need a biologist. Opensource is governed by law of nature. Forget the sustainibility part , it would be very stupid to make this world slaves of few IBMs, Microsofts and Oracles. The natural course - was to create the competition for these, the software market decided to go opensource, it is not one man propoganda. Similarly when bunch of people were busy making high end bulky computers for fortunate fews, some people from Apple, Microsoft and Intel were thinking about Desktop and at those time this people were nobody.

So if open source is not sustainable there will be a market correction available for it also. And in Computing I dont think there is anything like sustainablity, there is only one word "innovation". The computing world has to stick with innovation and not sustainability, nothing can be planned and no holistic statements can be made in agreement/opposition of open source/ proprietary softwares. They both have their places.

Even if opensource becomes extinct in the future, it would have actually evolved in something else may be something more open, easy and more sharable. Or it may not but still the derivative or that 'something new' would still be a by product or a derivative of opensource. The commercial computing world is hardly few decades old and to come to conclusion at this is very funny.

To my belief Richard Stallman , Linux Torvalds, Eric Raymond, Steve jobs, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and many more are not the end of the computing scene they are just the initial torch bearers and there much more to computing than proprietary / opensource. By taking the sides of any one is projecting a one-eye vision. Google is not even a decade old and has snatched the search engine market from the hands of Microsoft and Yahoo.
May be something like this can also happen in software programming, but how can we neglect or understate the importance of sharing the immense knowledge created by the opensource softwares and the markets created by proprietary softwares.

Can't they co-exist and grow simultaneously. The timeline on which we are sitting is not governed by governments, rocket scientists, stock exchanges and billiondollar entrepreneurs. There will be no other Bill Gates in the future and there will be Linux Torvalds in the future ? History is in the making and we have just flipped the cover.

Wait and Watch. No holistic comments please.

Digital Camera Comparison By Output / Samples

Camera Database and Museum at PBase.com : From last few months I am thinking of buying something for me a good music system / digital camera . But I have a very noisy brain, I start comparing things, features and prices and when I mixup all these things I land up with a professional system config ranging in thousands and lakhs and end up with not buying anything.

Just today in the morning I made up my mood to look for a entry level digitial camera and start doing something and laded here at Pbase.com Camera List.

if the database is correct, then it is really helpful to see the output or sample image from the camera that you are thinking of buying. For example, youc an actually see how a camera works in outdoor and indoors, potraits, landscapes, macros, etc. This web site almost covers all the digitial camera models from practically all the digital camera vendors.

But again, I am confused between Nikon 3200, Nikon 4100 / Nikon 4500 and Canon Powershot series A75, A85 etc. The sample outputs are round about similar but more you read more you get confused. I dont know which camera I will end up buying or not buying....

Joe Kraus on Potting Plants

Joe Kraus provides the tip to unwind & pot plants :

I was trying to recruit someone recently for my new company. Despite hours of pushing by me and the team, they ultimately concluded that they needed to take time off before deciding what to do next.

There was a time, five years ago maybe, where I would have tried to push through their reasoning.

"You'll miss an incredible opportunity"

"There will always be time to take off but not always a time to have a huge impact like this"

You get the idea.

This time I let it go and wished them well. Why?.....