Internet

SAN DIEGO--Who needs a computer to access the many social networks people are members of these days?

While thousands, or even millions, of people regularly switch between services like Facebook, imeem, MySpace, and others, it can be cumbersome to do all that switching.

That's what Xumii, which presented at DemoFall Monday afternoon, has set out to obviate.

The idea is that users will be able to access their various social networks through their mobile phones on a single application, rather than having to rely on computers and full browsers.

In the demonstration, the company showed how users can access … Read more

SAN DIEGO--Why carry a computer laden down with data and applications with you everywhere when you could access all that information from any browser?

That's the proposition behind an Israeli company known as G.ho.st, which presented at DemoFall here Monday afternoon.

Already, the company, whose name is also their URL, has a browser-based version that allows anyone to access all this data from anywhere. The idea is that by doing it this way instead of through traditional virtual computer software, which requires a lot of configuration, you can access your data from any computer.

Now, G.ho.… Read more

SAN DIEGO--We all spend a lot of time with our hands too busy to handle and manipulate mobile devices. That, for example, is one of the reasons many states now require drivers to have hands-free headsets for making phone calls.

But what if you're riding a bike and want to get news updates without having to play with your device in order to hear what you want?

That's the premise behind Rocketron, a new service from Asyncast unveiled at DemoFall Monday.

The idea is that users can speak commands into a headset, for example, "Sports news," … Read more

SAN DIEGO--These days, I hear about new photo sharing sites just about every day.

That's especially true when you go to a conference like DemoFall or its winter version, Demo, where over the years, I've seen more photo sharing sites than I could ever care to count.

At the same time, the stock photography business has been turned on its ear by the emergence of Web 2.0 and phenomenons like crowdsourcing.

On Monday here, a startup called Photrade took the stage to show off their new service, which combines both photo sharing and stock photography in a … Read more

SAN DIEGO--There are millions of musicians in the world who are talented but haven't gotten lucky enough to get a record contract.

These days, the Internet makes it easier for these artists to find an audience, but there are still countless numbers of musicians who have some skills, but perhaps not all the ones--such as drumming--that might be necessary to finish a song that could make them money.

That's where a company called MixMatchMusic comes into play. It has built a system that it thinks will help these artists find the collaborators and the audience that will result … Read more

If you've got an iPhone and a desire to maintain a healthier diet, the folks at a start-up called WebDiet may have your order.

The company, founded by Wendell Brown and Craig Gold, veterans of previous ventures like Teleo and eVoice, is expected to launch an iPhone app Monday at the DemoFall conference in San Diego. The app is designed to give people the information they need to eat better when they eat out.

The company's new iPhone app has two major elements.

The first, called Mealsearch, is built to help people find healthy restaurant food no matter … Read more

These days, people are managing so much information on a daily basis that being able to find it quickly and efficiently is becoming crucial.

With its Spotlight desktop search tool--part of Mac OS X--Apple made it possible to search not just text-based files like Word documents, but also things like PDF files that don't have modifiable text.

Windows users, too, have choices for desktop search, like offerings from Google and Microsoft.

But now, Windows users will have a more powerful tool at their disposal, Rebus Technology's Recollect Desktop, a search tool that, according to Rebus, can find just … Read more

If you've spent any time using iPhone apps, you probably have gotten a hint of the fact that they may well be the hottest thing going and, in some ways, the future of software.

That's largely due to the fact that, especially with iPhone 3G, the device combines GPS, an elegant interface, Mac OS X, an accelerometer and high-speed Internet connectivity.

Now, Dial Directions, a company that has focused on providing speech recognition tools to cell phone users, is getting in the iPhone game.

And on Monday, the company announced at DemoFall its Say Where iPhone app, a … Read more

Update, 12:36 p.m. PDT: Business Week now says it is planning to send a reporter from its print side to DemoFall to complement the online reporter it is sending to the TechCrunch50.

If you're a fan of high-tech product announcements, next week could well be heaven for you.

That's because starting Monday, both DemoFall and TechCrunch50 begin, each of which showcases dozens of brand-new products. And on Tuesday, Apple has scheduled one of its semi-regular press gatherings at which CEO Steve Jobs is sure to unveil some hot new iPod, Mac, or iPhone models--or some combination … Read more