If you have a Microsoft Kinect and a good idea for a new way to use it, you might be able to turn it into a business. Microsoft has announced a program that will help ten people launch businesses around products for Kinect, the controller that senses motion and voice. READ MORE
Google has acquired Apture, a start-up that brings instantaneous search to content on the web. Apture developed Apture Highlights, a browser extension that aims to plug what it calls the “search leak,” which occurs when a user is reading content, wants more information about a keyword or phrase and then opens another browser tab to search for the information on Google, Bing or Yahoo. For content publishers this isn’t ideal—it means the user has disengaged and left the page. Apture Highlights enables you to highlight any word or phrase on a page and instantly bring up in a window search results from more than 60 sources including YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia, Google and more for extra context around content. READ MORE
If you’re thinking of launching a data-driven start-up, the time is right: Accel Partners just launched a $100 million V.C fund aimed at the space. READ MORE
Barnes and Noble unveiled its new Nook Monday morning, a 7-inch, $249 device. Building on its previous success, Barnes and Noble hopes the tablet can become Amazon’s Fire and Apple’s iPad’s worst nightmare. READ MORE
IBM in India has developed a special solar power system for data centers that can reduce their (often enormous) power usage by 10 percent. The system increases efficiency by reducing losses that usually result from converting alternating current on the grid to direct current for servers, explains Kota Murali, who normally works in nanotechnology at IBM India, but created this pilot on the side. READ MORE
Now that Microsoft’s Kinect has become part of the gaming experience, what’s next? If a recent Sony patent application is any indication, we could have biometric controllers in the next three to five years, says TG Daily’s Trent Nouveau. READ MORE
Diptyque makes tall high-end speakers, but if you don’t love that look, they can look like something else altogether. The speakers can be covered by a tall fabric panel that resembles a room-dividing screen. READ MORE
The standard plan of attack for many people looking to learn how to do something is to search for help online. Sometimes you get lucky and hit a good resource right off the bat, and other times you fumble around for a bit, popping around and hopping off sites as soon as it becomes apparent they’re useless. A new web site just launched that aims to streamline that process using crowdsourcing. READ MORE
An innovative green-tech power company has a factory that can’t cover its costs and despite tens of millions in federal government credit, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This may sound like a familiar story, but Beacon Power, the company in question, insists that it’s not another Solyndra. READ MORE
Microsoft just announced it will open up the use of its Kinect software development kit (SDK) for commercial applications, reports WinRumors. READ MORE
