今日科技：安息吧，Flip、Flock和Download Squad
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????? 官方消息：Flip視頻攝像機部門準備關閉（永垂不朽的Flip）。2009年，思科（Cisco）耗資5.9億美元將新創企業Flip收入囊中，不過如今，由于思科重組其消費性電子產品部門，該公司準備將Flip關閉，同時裁掉Flip的所有員工，共計550人。思科此舉讓人頗為遺憾，因為Flip目前仍是消費性視頻攝像頭領域的主導者。（All Things Digital） ????? 事情還沒有完，Flock也宣布停止開發。Flock是一款聚合了社交網絡和媒體功能的瀏覽器，曾在2005年名噪一時。其開發團隊實際上早在今年1月份就被休閑游戲開發商Zynga收購，不過Zynga與Flock的停止開發無關。（TechCrunch） ????? 最后一條噩耗，在完成了對赫芬頓郵報（Huffington Post）的收購后，美國在線（AOL）關閉了旗下兩家科技站點：專注于軟件方面的科技博客Download Squad和綜合性科技網站Switched。（Download Squad和 Switched） ????? 新聞集團（News Corp）正向潛在買家發放MySpace的項目建議書，而TechCrunch似乎得到了該建議書。MySpace是從社交網站轉型成為娛樂資訊平臺。TechCrunch表示，2011財年，MySpace的營收將僅有1.09億美元，而支出約為2.74億美元，這將導致1.65億美元虧損；該公司預計，2012年其收入將下滑至8400萬美元（盡管預計將取得1500萬美元利潤）；而2013年，收入將上升至1.01億美元；2014年則為1.19億美元。不過，TechCrunch表示，要達到上述目標，MySpace很可能需要裁員。（TechCrunch） ????? 蘋果（Apple）代工商富士康科技集團（Foxconn Technology Group）可能向巴西投資120億美元，這是富士康在深圳之外擴張業務的又一舉動。[路透社（Reuters）] ????? 基于位置的簽到是最新技術趨勢之一，Foursquare、Gowalla和Loopt等服務是該領域的領跑者，不過，這項技術會在今年消亡嗎？ReadWriteWeb的一位用戶似乎這樣認為。請登錄ReadWriteWeb網站查看他的文章。（ReadWriteWeb） ????? T-Mobile將提供一項不限語音、短信和數據業務的套餐，起價為59.99美元。不過該套餐有一項限制：如果用戶的數據流量超過2GB，那么T-Mobile將降低用戶的數據接入速度，直到下一個賬單周期到來。（Silicon Alley Insider） ????? 由Flickr聯合創始人斯圖爾特?巴特菲爾執掌的在線社交游戲開發商Tiny Speck，獲得了來自Andreesen Horowitz和Accel Partners的1070萬美元投資。(VentureBeat) ????譯者：項航 |
????? It's official: The Flip digital cam is dead. (Long live, Flip.) Cisco, which bought the startup behind the product line for $590 million back in 2009, will close down the business and lay off all 550 staffers as part of a restructuring of its consumer electronics division. The move comes despite the fact that the Flip remained the leading consumer video camera company. (All Things Digital) ????? But things didn't end there... Flock, which made a splash back in 2005 with a web browser that aggregated social networks and media, also got the boot. The team behind it was actually acquired by Zynga back in January, though the casual game maker was not involved in the product's quiet death. (TechCrunch) ????? And last but not least, software-focused blog Download Squad and general tech site Switched became the latest digital brands to get shuttered by AOL post-Huffington Post acquisition. (Download Squad and Switched) ????? TechCrunch supposedly got its hands on the MySpace pitch book News Corp. is floating around to potential buyers of the social network-turned-entertainment hub. According to the tech blog, MySpace's revenues for fiscal year 2011 will be just $109 million, while expenses will come in around $274 million, resulting in a $165 million loss. Moving forward, the company expects sales to decrease further to $84 million (albeit with $15 million in earnings) in 2012, then climb back up to $101 million in 2013 and $119 million in 2014. For all that to happen, however, TechCrunch says layoffs are likely. (TechCrunch) ????? Apple products manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group may invest $12 billion in Brazil towards expanding its operations outside of the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. (Reuters) ????? Will location-based check-ins, one of the latest tech trends pioneered by services like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Loopt, die off this year? One user over at ReadWriteWeb seems to think so. Hear him (or her) out. (ReadWriteWeb) ????? T-Mobile is offering an unlimited voice, text and data plan starting at $59.99, but the deal comes with a catch: use more than 2 GB of data, and the wireless carrier will slow down the connection speed until the next billing cycle. (Silicon Alley Insider) ????? Online social game maker Tiny Speck, headed by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield, just raised $10.7 million from Andreesen Horowitz and Accel Partners. (VentureBeat) |
