Launch Pad Archive

  • Stanford Graduates Release Pulse, A Must-Have News App For The iPad

    Stanford Graduates Release Pulse, A Must-Have News App For The iPad

    Posted on May 31, 2010 | No Comments
    Akshay Kothari and Ankit Gupta, two Stanford grads who signed up for the Launch Pad class at the University's Institute of Design (aka d.school), could have hardly chosen a better path to try their hands at startup life. The pair has gone from idea to a (very cool) digital news app for the iPad in just 5 weeks, and they're just getting started. The application, called Pulse, is essentially a visually attractive RSS-based news aggregator. On sale for $3.99 (iTunes link), the app is aimed to please both hardcore RSS reader users and people who are willing to pay top dollars for single publication apps.

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  • Fring gets Skype video chat support on Nokia devices

    Fring gets Skype video chat support on Nokia devices

    Posted on November 24, 2009 | No Comments
    If we were to make a “Amazing ideas” list and a “Things that have totally failed to take off” list, there would be at least one item that you’d find on both: mobile video chat. Blame the carriers for not agreeing on a standard, or blame the consumer populace for not pressing hard enough; either [...]

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  • TV Everywhere is Comcast and Time Warner’s answer to free Internet video

    TV Everywhere is Comcast and Time Warner’s answer to free Internet video

    Posted on June 24, 2009 | No Comments
    Cable providers Comcast and Time Warner might be late to the Internet video party, but that doesn't mean they are going to let us enjoy content for free that they pay for. Oh no, the TV Everywhere Model is designed to give Comcast and Time Warner paying subscribers access to content and block-out everyone else. And this system might find its way into Hulu. You can't blame the cable operators for their plans. They have to pay good money for access to cable stations. Then they, of course, pass along the cost to subs via a monthly bill. The thought is that those people that pay for the content should be able to watch all of it on both their TVs and computers. Of course the other side is that if you don't pay for those services, then you'll be shut out. This authentication system will be used initially on sites like Comcast's video site, Fancast, but there is always the possibility that it could eventually make its way on to Hulu.

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