AEDs

Does 'platform as a service' mean developer lock-in?

As people get their heads around Google App Engine, they see some things they may not like. Namely, the dreaded "lock-in."

Tim O'Reilly dissected whether Google's App Engine is a lock-in play on Monday, and RedMonk analyst Stephen O'Grady hit the issue head-on with his excellent Q&A on what Google App Engine actually is.

Developers for years have been clamoring for more openness and standards. They are tenets of the open-source movement.

But as more application development moves to hosted platforms, does data and application portability get lost in "the cloud"? … Read more

Battle of developer ecosystems heads for the cloud

Right now, some may look like the online equivalent of a quaint corner store. But catalogs of online applications are the front lines of a brewing battle among platform-as-a-service providers.

Start-up Coghead on Tuesday plans to launch Coghead Gallery, an online store where people in small businesses can hunt for applications.

The applications, written with Coghead's visual-development tool, run on its hosted platform. The platform, built using Adobe Systems' Flex, runs on Amazon Web Services.

At the start, there will be about 30 partners listing their business applications. Coghead's software is aimed at small development shops or tech-savvy businesspeople. … Read more

MP3 Insider 92: MP3 players can't all be roses

Jasmine vents her frustrations about the iriver E100 to Donald and the rest of the captive audience. Then, we spread some happy happy love to Sony and the Zune. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 92

iriver E100 rant: http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9886336-1.htmlSony NWZ-A728 review: http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/sony-walkman-nwz-a728/4505-6490_7-32893773.html?tag=links;reviewSix sleek & stylish MP3 players: http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6490_7-6613404.html?tag=links;cocoSony MDR-AS50G Headphones: http://reviews.cnet.com/headphones/sony-mdr-as50g/4505-7877_7-32909105.html?tag=links;reviewHeadphones for $50 or less: http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-7877_7-6606890.html?tag=feat.1… Read more

Symantec to buy AppStream

Symantec is acquiring AppStream, a maker of application streaming technology.

Symantec already uses AppStream's technology in its Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) Pro. Using application streaming enables end users to perform functions by accessing parts of a software program over the network as needed, without having the program fully installed on the client computer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of June, Symantec says.

(Credit: Symantec)

Yahoo to acquire marketing analytics company

Yahoo announced Wednesday that it plans to acquire Tensa Kft., a Hungarian company known professionally as IndexTools, which makes marketing analytics tools for the Web.

Financial terms of the deal were not released, but Yahoo hopes that the acquisition will be finalized by the middle of 2008. Yahoo, currently battling with both a Microsoft takeover offensive and its status as second-string to Google in online advertising, plans to use IndexTools' technology to bolster its existing marketing analytics software. The initial target, a release from Yahoo explained, will be the 150,000 small and medium-sized businesses using Yahoo's marketing analytics … Read more

As expected, Imeem bails out Snocap by acquiring it

Social-media site Imeem, which focuses on ad-supported music and video playlists, announced Monday that it has acquired Snocap, the music-licensing company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Reports of the acquisition had first surfaced in February.

The deal is all about Snocap's technology, as the company hasn't exactly been healthy recently: over half of its staff was let go last year. But the tools Snocap created, which handle digital music licensing and which power embeddable music-sale stores, appealed to Imeem, which was already using Snocap technology to identify files that users uploaded to … Read more

Report: Tech deals tumble slightly in quarter

When it comes to technology-related mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter, think "still waters run deep."

According to a first quarter M&A spending report released Friday by The 451 Group, proposed technology deals totaled $92 billion in the three-month period for 778 deals, down a notch from $100 billion in the same period a year ago for 1,059 transactions.

But keep in mind, and rightly so, Microsoft's initial blockbuster $44.6 billion buyout bid for Yahoo, accounts for nearly half of the technology M&A deals proposed in the quarter.

"Although … Read more

Hands-on with Sony's NWZ-A820 Bluetooth Walkman

The Sony NWZ-A820 series Walkman has arrived, and it's a stunner. As a follow-up to our beloved NWZ-A810, the A820includes a larger screen, brilliant EX-style earphones, a detachable kickstand, and best of all--wireless Bluetooth audio.

As we reported back in February, the NWZ-A820 comes in both 8GB and 16GB capacities, priced at $270 and $320, respectively. If you don't care about Bluetooth, an identical-looking version of the player (the NWZ-A720) can be snatched at a discount.

We'll have our in-depth review of the NWZ-A820 Walkman up later this week. In the meantime, check out our Crave photo gallery. … Read more

Google to buy Expedia? That's the rumor

Updated 1:55 p.m. PDT with no comment from Expedia.

Correction 12:45 p.m. PDT: This blog initially misstated the day the price of Expedia shares rose on rumors of a possible bid by Google. It was Tuesday.

Does Google want to buy travel site Expedia? A Wall Street analyst referred to rumors Tuesday morning that Google could make a bid and that drove up the stock of Expedia about 9 percent at one point, according to Reuters.

The rumors are just that though, at this point.

The move doesn't exactly make sense given that Google has … Read more