September 22, 2009
Juice Pitcher leaderboard
What am I Missy Episode 35 - Juice Pitcher, Microsoft poaching Apple employees, and Smule
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Smule. For those of you who have the Ocarina app on your iPhone or iPod touch, Smule has just released a new songbook. Head over to Smule.com to download it and learn to play folk songs from around the world!"
The newest event in Silicon Valley is shaping up to be a hot one. Juice Pitcher, hosted by TheFunded and Vator.tv is being held on the evening of Oct. 6. Since launching the competition to find the 10 startups to present that night to an audience of some 300 people, more than 100 participants have entered the contest. The competition has been heating up and votes are becoming more intense. The five companies that are leading are Spreezio with 113 votes, Rentcycle with 78 votes, GadgetTrak with 51 votes, Amplified Analytics with 43 votes, and Umapper with 39 votes.
But we’ve got two weeks left. Anything can happen. So, make sure that you cast a vote for your favorite. Unlike other events where select judges decide who’s going to present on stage, the Juice Pitcher is democratizing the process. So, we need your votes to make a difference.
Microsoft is reportedly poaching Apple Store employees for its own retail store to be opened this year. According to “The Loop”, Microsoft has been offering “significant raises” to lure Apple employees away. Smart move, after all it’s tough to get retail employees with decent technological knowledge. Many are apparently going to make the jump… but a point of contention has been raised by those who work at Apple’s Genius Bar. Apparently, they like the honor of being a “Genius” and being a helper at Microsoft’s Answer/Windows Bar just doesn’t have the same appeal.So, Microsoft is coming up with its own names: All-knowing Bar? Jinni Bar? God Bar? My favorite is Brilliant Bar.
See: Microsoft allegedly luring Apple retail staff
Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
UMapper
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
UMapper makes it easy to create, manage, distribute and monetize online maps.
UMapper is currently in Beta and serves millions monthly map views. Our customers include National Geographic, StarTribune, Boston.com, Sacramento Bee, Cookie Magazine and many others.
With UMapper you can:
- Create interactive maps
- Distribute them across multiple destinations
- Track usage
- Monetize map views with display advertisement
Background
UMapper is an offshoot of Advanced Flash Components, based in Denver, CO. With several years of experience building custom components and interactive maps for a diverse audience of developers, designers and end-users, the Advanced Flash Components team has built up a strong expertise in interactive map technology and rich Internet application development.
Smule
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Smule develops interactive sonic applications for the iPhone and other technology platforms. Smule is developing the new sonic network, connecting users across the globe through expressive audio. Smule's Ocarina, I Am T-Pain, and Leaf Trombone have set the standard for iPhone applications, combining innovative uses of the hardware with compelling social experiences.
Spreezio
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
SpreezioTM is a mobile/web-based shopping company that specializes in driving consumers to local merchants, service providers, and retail sales reps. Think of us as Priceline on steroids enabling shoppers to make a coupon for almost any product or service! We accomplish this through unique real-time purchase requests sent from a consumer's Smartphone/PC to businesses, which ensure that customers get the best possible local deals.
GadgetTrak Inc.
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
If your laptop, mobile phone or removable media device is stolen, GadgetTrak® software will tell you where it is, who has it and in some cases even what they're wearing.
Based in Portland, Oregon, GadgetTrak Inc. is the leading innovator of theft recovery and data protection solutions for mobile devices. GadgetTrak's innovative and patented solutions protect today's most popular mobile platforms including Mac OS X, Windows, Blackberry,Windows Mobile as well as custom embedded solutions. GadgetTrak notonly provides the technology to recover and protect data on thesedevices, but also recovery assistance.
GadgetTrak has three core products:
GadgetTrak® Laptop Security utilizes advanced wi-fi positioning to provide the device owner with the precise location of their device within 10-20 meters of accuracy without the need for GPS. In addition if the system has a web camera integrated, it will capture a photo of the thief every 30 minutes. The software currently supports both Mac and Windows.
GadgetTrak® Mobile Security provides the most advanced data protection and theft recovery solutions for smart phones, enabling control of your device and data in the event of theft. The software allows the device owner to send remote commands via SMS to wipe data from the device, track it, make it call another number so you can listen in on thief, back data up and other features. The software currently supports Blackberry and Windows Mobile.
GadgetTrak's USBTrak is tracking technology for portable media devices including flash drives, external hard drives and other devices with a memory partition. When a device with the software is accessed it will trigger it to hijack the computer it is connected to and send data to the device owner.
GadgetTrak's Lost & Found Tags - Our lost and found service consists of metalic highly durable tags that can be placed on items and registered through the GadgetTrak website. The tags are sold online as well as bundled with our software or part of customer loyalty plans in key resellers.
Getable
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Meet your mobile toolbox. Getable is like a remote control for equipment management. We let construction professionals order and manage equipment from their smartphone. We let rental providers increase overall utilization of their assets. The company serves the tool & equipment rental industry, a $32B space that is projected to grow to $46B by 2016.
Amplified Analytics Inc.
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Amplified Analytics aggregates and analyzes online customer product reviews. Our algorithms deliver granular and normalized research data, that we make available to our customers through stand-alone Social CRM tools for Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) and Customer Business Intelligence (CBI) to enable them to improve their customer's experiences.
We produce and publish unbiased and consistent Product Reputation Ratings. A Product Reputation is an aggregate summary of customer experiences with a specific product. Product Reputation Metrics measure delta (the difference) between the customer's expectations and experiences with a product.
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