A Billion Bucks For Start-up Tech Firms Going Green

Backed by the success stories of Sun Microsystems and empowered by his billions of dollars in capital, Vinod Khosla is at it again. He’s pouring a billion bucks back into Silicon Valley to make the world a bit greener, technology a bit more progressive, and maybe his wallet a bit fatter.

Just yesterday, Khosla Ventures announced that they have raised $1.1 billion for two funds. Vinod Khosla’s venture-capitol firm has solicited funds from outside tech investors and from public sources for a major influx of money into exclusively green technology projects. It is the biggest dedicated fund of its kind in the last three years. This is received as good news for the reviving tech sector as well as for environmental technology research, which Khosla predicts will be big in the years ahead.

Both funds are focused on green tech research as well as IT startups with a focus on innovation and environment. The first fund, the larger of the two, consists of nearly $800 million. The goal of this “Khosla Ventures III Fund” is to aid the traditional pursuits of solar power, biofuels, energy efficiency, renewable batteries, and similar research. As Khosla himself remarked, it’s for “almost anything that can be made renewable, sustainable, more efficient and cheaper.” The money will flow toward research-focused firms which are in their early stages or mid-stage of research. One fourth of this fund was filled by CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System), which boasts the biggest public pension fund nationwide. Sheeraz Haji, who advises green tech research, regards this as a good omen for the future of the fund: “the fact that an investor like CalPERS is stepping up is a good sign.”

The other side of the fund, $250 million worth, is not for your traditional technology. It’s for the wilder side of green research, the kind that Khosla describes as firms who will “take risks that nobody else will take.” Khosla is one to take risks, which is part of the reason he is so successful. But clean tech start-ups which are commonly regarded as too pricey and too risky for investors, are just the kind of start-ups that Khosla wants to empower. He describes the investment strategy as an old-school strategy with a new-world focus: “This is the 1980s style of venture capital — real technical risk with small amounts of money and small teams.” And, while some of the money may get spilt along the way, that’s part of investing, according to the experienced investor himself, who said, “We will often invest in things that have a high probability of failure.”

Violent video games are a hot button issue in this country. Just what effects do they have on our youth, and are they propagating a more violent culture? While the debate rages on, and ratings become more important the issue has really taken off in Venezuela. The lawmakers in the South American country are looking to pass a law that would ban violent video games in the country.

In the capital city of Caracas, crimes occur in droves. Sometimes for something as small as a cell phone. The figures of how many murders there are have been under debate. Many believe that Hugo Chavez has exaggerated the figures so that he can rush laws he deems important into conception.

The ban against video games is a perfect example of Chavez using these statistics. The bill hasn’t been passed yet but there’s a good chance that it will. In order for it to become law, it has to pass two votes in the National Assembly. If it makes it through that step, then all that is left is for Hugo Chavez to sign it.

[via: Reuters]

Have you ever read the stories that have people or entities continuously fighting? God vs. Satan, Hatfield vs. McCoys, and of course Microsoft vs. the European Union’s Competition Commission. The Microsoft vs. EUCC is one battle that has seen some epic moments, most of which have caused Microsoft to pony up a lot of dough or give into demands I’m sure made them cringe.

The latest fight concerns Microsoft’s lack of browser options when their OS is installed. The EUCC has had this issue in the spotlight for quite sometime, and finally it looks as though an agreement has been made. It concerns only one word — ballots. You read that correctly.

To provide Windows users more options when deciding on a web browser, Microsoft will now implement a ballot system when the OS is being installed. So, if you happen to buy a computer in Europe and then install Windows you’ll be given a list of choices for browser installs.

As of yet there is no word as to what browsers will be included, which is the key problem with the proposal. What basis will the EUCC go on with deciding what browsers get included in the Window’s installs? Will they only make them include four, or will there be a massive list of browsers? Believe me there’s plenty of browsers up there to make a gigantic ballot.

It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out. I can only imagine what the meeting sounded like when this plan was read at Microsoft’s HQ.

In a curious sign of our times, worldwide PC sales are predicted to hit a major slump in 2009. The news, dished out by iSuppli hit the computer manufacturing industry, with its web of subindustries, like the actual news of a long-expected death.

The news was particularly hard for the PC industry, since this is the first time it has sunk for over eight years. Mammoth corporations HP and Dell are coping with the downturn my beefing up other sectors of their business, but the decline is still a big ouch.

iSupli’s senior analyst Matthew Wilkins reported that “an annual decline in unit shipments is highly unusual in the PC market. Even in weak years PC unit shipments typically rise by single-digit percentages.”

2009 got off to a rough start, specifically in the desktop sector. In the first quarter, computer manufacturers were distributing a quarter less computers than they were before.

But the sad news is only part of the story. There is good news, too.

First, laptop sales are better than ever. The notebook industry watched a soaring increase in shipments, a jump of nearly 12 percent. For the first time in the brief history of computers, laptops are selling more than desktops.

Another bit of good news that puts the bad news into perspective is the rabid spread of the netbook. With its unassuming genesis into the alternative laptop market, it slowly grew into a massive market force. Although it is a trimmed-down version of the notebook PC, it still gives users the ability to do what they always did on their PC anyway: surf the web. But the price drop from their notebook cousins was what lured most recession-fearing consumers into making the purchase. Now, netbooks pack enough punch to make them near-equals in terms of power. The dire expectation of a slowing PC market does not take into account the happy news of consumers thirsty for small (and cheap) machines, fueling the mushrooming market of the netbook.

And there is another reason. The world is going mobile. The ‘curious sign of our times’ is not that the economy is failing. The ‘curious sign of our times’ is that the world is going mobile. Lighter, faster, and more powerful smartphones have washed into the tech market like a tsunami. Even big PC makers are jumping onto the wave in order to capitalize on consumer’s who crave the pocket power of an iPhone or Blackberry. These tricked-out devices may never entirely replace a desktop, but they could slow down the purchase of one for a while.

So, with all due condolences to a sliding PC market, there is good news in the market, too.

Insiders have released information on Dell’s newest enterprise—a handheld device with Internet access. Unlike the recent spate of smartphones hitting the market, Dell’s new device will not be a cell phone. Rather, it will be modeled after Apple’s iPod Touch—a mobile device like the iPhone, minus the phone. The platform for the handheld device will likely be the Android software, an open source operating system developed by Google.

Rumors about the gadget surfaced soon after Wall Street Journal’s Justin Scheck published information gained from a “person who was briefed on the company’s plans.” However, plans are apparently still in the mix, as the insider reported that Dell may or may not decide to go through with the plans, which are understandably still in the early planning stages. Although conversation about such a device was in nascent form last year, key decision-makers tabled the plans, possibly due to economic uncertainty. Those plans are now being revised, and speculators forecast that Dell may have the new device ready this year.

MID—acronym for Mobile Internet Device—is technology’s opening frontier, a frontier forged by netbooks and smartphones. The Dell device would fit that category, and like Apple’s iPod Touch, be loaded with plenty of features, just not the cell phone. Unlike the iPod Touch, the Dell device will be more Internet-capable. While the Touch is confined to Internet access in WiFi hotspots, this device may have mobile freedom, through 3G connectivity. The constant Internet access will be a key difference from other mobile devices if Dell’s device comes to fruition.

In addition to online connectivity, the device will revive what had failed in the media-focused products attempted by Dell in the past. As an MP3 player, video player, and a sure variety of applications, the Dell device bears a glimmer of hope on the rough path that has been Dell’s effort to keep up with other companies which are always dishing out devices with great consumer appeal.

But better success against the giant, Apple, is notoriously difficult, especially for Dell. Portable music players didn’t work, and cell phones have had some trouble getting off the ground. However, with an MID and possible subsidy from not-yet-selected wireless carriers, Dell forges into this new venture with high hopes.

The MID is not Dell’s only experimental venture. In addition to shifting a market focus from the flagging laptop/desktop market, Dell has produced a smartphone, expected to be released in China sometime this year.

While Amazon’s front page currently lures readers to take a look at their Kindle, it appears that the new Kindle DX is now out of stock, just 2 days after it was released. Eager readers won’t even have to wait a week, though; Amazon claims it will be back in stock on June 17, allowing time for a possible expedited Father’s Day shipment.

What does the Kindle DX offer that the Kindle doesn’t? For starters, the display is a massive 9.7 inches, compared to the original Kindle’s 6 inches. This is enough real estate to give users the feeling that they really are holding a book, while at the same time displaying more at-a-glance information. With a bigger screen, though, comes a bigger everything, stretching the DX’s measurements to 10.4″ x 7.2″ x 0.38,” in contrast to it’s forerunner’s slim size of 8″ x 5.3″ x 0.36.” In addition, the DX comes preloaded with a native PDF reader, and can store up to 2,000 books more than the original Kindle.

The rapid Kindle DX sellout is a positive sign of its growing popularity. While most young techies aren’t trading in their iPhones for a Kindle, Kindle definitely has a market. Out of the 48 so-far reviewers on Amazon.com, the Kindle DX has a 4 out of 5 star rating. Several users have commented that the PDF viewing is not as they had imagined, but most of the displeased are an audience that hasn’t even tested the Kindle or Kindle DX. The Kindle’s popularity may be in for some tough competition. As the smartphone market gets smarter, many developers are launching onboard e-readers to compete with a growing market that the Kindle has illuminated.

Perhaps the smaller audience is because many of the younger tech-loving generation would rather bang out something on Guitar Hero than read The Hemingses of Monticello. And while hardbacks may eventually become a bit dated, reading won’t. So for now, there’s Kindle DX-a library that doesn’t require a bookshelf.