I’m a huge fan of startups, hence, my career.  One of the startups who I have been following, Riya, due to my background in technology, media, and the photo world, continues to intrigue me.  Munjal, Riya’s CEO, blogs about his experiences regarding the launch of his service.  It’s quite a fantastic read and I’m sure all entrepreneurs can relate to it…  You can read his posting here.

Tags:  riya, startup, entrepreneur, and photo

For those of you who were tuned into American Idol this past week (and throughout the whole season), you weren’t the only people spending time with the show.  Advertisers across the US embraced the show with top dollar advertising - but why?

The numbers are in…. 35.4 million people saw the finale of "Idol" according to Nielsen Media Research.  During the last half hour of "Idol" when Hicks’ victory was announced over Katharine McPhee, just under 43 million people were tuned in, Nielsen said.

As for the "Idol" finales, this was the second most watched behind only 2003’s competition.

According to Nielsen, ABC’s two-hour "Lost" finale averaged 17.6 million viewers but after "Idol" ended, the numbers jumped to 19.3 million during the final half-hour.

Google and Dell have agreed to preinstall Web and desktop search software on the PC maker’s computers announced Eric Schmidt (CEO) yesterday at the Goldman Sachs conference in Las Vegas.

I’ve been hearing about this deal for quite some time and it’s finally out in the open.  Google is the number 1 search engine and is teaming up with the number 1 PC maker which gives each other a significant stronghold amongst competition.

Millions of Dell PCs will be pre-loaded with the Google toolbar for Web and PC search alogn with a co-branded home page before they are shipped to consumers.

Thoughts?

I was contacted today by a representative of AOL as they are releasing AIM Triton 1.5 Preview Edition today.  It is available for free download on AIM.com.

I generally get turned off when companies contact me to promote their product, but I am actually intrigued by the features available including but not limited to:

• AIM Phoneline & Phoneline Unlimited
• AOL Video Module
• AIM Pages
• AIM Location

I am extremely intrigued by AIM Location as it will allow users of AIM Triton 1.5 to find each other on a Mapquest Map.  I’d like to geographically see where my buddies are… nice use of a "mashup."

I use Trillian on my work computer as it allows me to log into multiple providers’ accounts but will probably check out this new release from AOL shortly.  Will let you know how it is.

Haystack 4000 launched today. Apparently, it’s a call to action for anyone who has anything music related…. they’re looking for original content.Â

This could be a secret song no one has heard, a picture from a concert with a great story behind it, a video of your mom break-dancing, or even a funny dream about John Lennon taking over the world in a King Kong jumpersuit.

The 4000 stands for the “first 4000″ submissions will be granted access to the content and to the site upon launch.

For those of you who know me outside of the office, many know that tennis runs in my family bloodline. I’ve always tried finding a tennis video game but haven’t been awed by any as of yet…

Enter Top Spin 2 by 2K Sports. I heard some great things about this game and recently purchased it from a local GameStop in Manhattan. I was somewhat skeptical of the game because it’s really hard to emulate tennis on an XBOX 360 - let alone any console. From the first minute of playing however, I was drawn into the game and have not looked back since.

The graphics are extremely impressive right down to the sound of the ball. The engine that runs the game and the physics of tennis are pretty spot on as well. There are some things that I wish the game had, but overall, this game is fantastic.

I was fortunate to have some friends over this past weekend and we actually played a 4 person tennis match (doubles). We had a fantastic time and the wireless controllers of the xbox 360 and the realism of the game added to the fun.

If you are a tennis fan who is looking for an intense game that is highly addicting, Top Spin 2 is the game for you. The only downsides to the game are the “powershot controls”, “no let’s”, and “net play.”

Remember Jerry and David’s Guide To the World Wide Web?  We now know the company as a small little search engine/portal/media company called Yahoo!

I was looking for a bunch of Web 2.0 applications and came across eConsultant which lists over 900 differnet Web 2.0 apps. Certainly worth a look. You can access the site here.Â

I’m currently on my way out to Las Vegas to the Avenue A | Razorfish publisher summit.  This year, IGA Worldwide Inc., was given the title of "Breakthru Company of 2006."  Not only does this account for in-game advertising, but this accounts for all media.  I’ll be meeting with lots of friends within the industry and hope to report from Vegas.

AA-RF puts out a great report called the Digital Media Outlook.  I’d recommend to read it if you are someone who is involved in the media/interactive industry.  You can download it here.

Apologies if posting is "light" but I’ll be back on Sunday evening.

Here are some more updates for the Xbox 360 (from various sources)

• MSN, Hotmail will be connected with LIVE. They want to attract people of all age. They are also adding 8 new countries: South Africa, Chile, India, Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia.
• 3 million LIVE subscribers, 6 million planned by next year. Next level of Xbox LIVE is connecting it with PC and the Windows Mobile world. Connecting it with 230 million MSN Messenger users, 150 million Windows gamers and 1 billion game-ready cellphone.
• “We’re going from Live to Live Anywhere”. Live Anywhere will be part of Windows Vista. 1 interface, 1 identity, 1 friendslist, 1 message centre, 1 marketplace. You could for example start game on 360 and continu it on cellphone.
• “Shadowrun”, you can call up friends list and see what they are doing nomatter what platform they are on.
• One gamertag no matter what the platform is. You can even do achievement comparisons across different platforms.
• They use a Motorola Q running Windows Mobile. Showing Marketplace on Windows Mobile and how you can play Zuma with your gamertag on your mobile.
• Other example is to edit car skin on Vistawith Paint Shop and race with it on Xbox 360.

Tags:Â xbox 360, microsoft, E3

Many new product announcements today including Microsoft and Nintendo. I have gone through quite a bit of news sources and have compiled a list of new announcements for Microsoft’s XBOX Platform:

• Gamers can expect more than 160 high-definition games by the end of 2006 for the Xbox 360 platform
• 57% of Xbox 360 purchasers connect their machine to the XBOX Live platform
• Microsoft Game Studios titles in development for Xbox 360 including “Alan Wake,” “Fable 2,” “Forza Motorsport 2″ and the next installment in the critically acclaimed “Halo” franchise, “Halo 3.”
• Xbox Live, surpassing 3 million connected members
• Over 90 percent of connected members are downloading content from Xbox Live Marketplace, driving more than 18 million downloads in the first six months
• The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player, available this holiday, delivers a superior digital audio and visual experience to consumers, enabling them to enjoy blockbuster movies in stunning high definition through their Xbox 360 system. It includes the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote.

Tags:Â E3, xbox 360, msft, and video games