startups

Everybody knows we all need faster Web sites: speedy load times and responsive pages means that people stay on a site longer, look at more photos, see more ads, and buy more stuff. Much of the work to speed things up has happened in the browser, but a startup called Instart Logic hopes to profit by changing what happens on the server, too.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company came out of stealth mode Thursday, describing how its technology works and touting customers including Game of Thrones Ascent, GameStop, Bonfaire, and Kitchit.

"We generally drop people's load time … Read more

Cosmos System Care Free is touted as your all-in-one maintenance tool to keep your computer system healthy and clean. Indeed, when you first download the program, you are offered the chance for an immediate scan. However, while this program seems to be wide in scope, the free version only offers to scan your computer for problems; it doesn't fix them.

Cosmos System Care Free took more than 35 minutes to download, extract, and install on a dual processing system. The program scans for security problems including privacy issues, includes a file decryptor and encryptor, and backs up or restores … Read more

As a full-fledged, detailed optimization tool, Anvi Startup Booster gives a large amount of information about programs and services that start with the computer. The program ranks each item according to its "blocking rate," a metric of how much the program or service slows down your startup rate.

Downloading Anvi Startup Booster was extremely easy and the publishers didn't try to push additional add-on software. It is a small program that immediately scans your computer when opened. The scan takes seconds at most and is very comprehensive. The program shows you a list of startup programs and … Read more

At startup Pics.io, a Ukrainian trio thinks it's time for the Web browser to take on a computing task that thus far has resisted the inexorable shift toward cloud computing: raw photo editing.

Eager for higher quality and flexibility, photography enthusiasts and pros have gravitated toward raw photos formats, which record cameras' image data directly without processing into a more convenient but limited JPEG. But handling raw photos is a processor-intensive task -- the kind of thing that Web-based software historically hasn't been good at and the kind of thing that people buy specialized software such as … Read more

Spider silk is about four or five times stronger than steel, but it is remarkably lightweight. So, what would it feel like to walk around in a suit woven of the stuff?

Spiber, a startup in northern Japan, is showing off a dress made from synthetic spider silk. The firm is one of several groups looking into how to make and use artificial spider silk, a task that has proven to be very challenging for scientists.

The electric-blue dress was created from a material Spiber calls Qmonos (from kumonosu, or "spider web," in Japanese). The material is extremely strong and more flexible than nylon. … Read more

Amid questions to Google from Congress about privacy concerns related to Google Glass, a San Francisco startup is preparing an API to recognize faces with the controversial gadget.

The Google Glass Face Recognition API (application programming interface) from Lambda Labs will be available to developers within a week, TechCrunch tells us, quoting co-founder Stephen Balaban. … Read more

If you feel bad about leaving Fluffy home alone, consider giving her the laser treatment.

Petcube is stylish box that lets you play with your pet when you're away. It beams leasers around the room while you control it from afar via smartphone.

Connected to your home Wi-Fi network, Petcube is a 4-inch cube that has a wide-angle camera, microphone, and low-intensity laser pointer.

The prototype is made of glass and aluminum and is being developed by robot enthusiast Alex Neskin, along with Yaroslav Azhnyuk, and Andrey Klen. The Ukranian startup recently showed it off at Seedcamp Week Berlin. … Read more

For the snooze kings and queens of the world, an even more annoying alarm clock is a must. Well, here's a droid with a "hilarious personality" that looks like it needs a good kick.

Tim-e is an iPhone dock with arms and legs. It wriggles and dances and is generally annoying. But that's the whole point.

The subject of a Kickstarter campaign that's aiming for $150,000, Tim-e (pronounced "Timmy") uses your iPhone screen as an animated face.

In the promo video below, it has a blue, animated mug and puts on a snarky routine. It recalls the genie from Disney's "Aladdin." … Read more

New legislation introduced to Congress on Monday aims to change the patent review process to curb the influx of new patent-related lawsuits.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, presented a new bill that amends 2011's America Invents Act by making permanent a temporary revision that allows the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review a patent after it has been granted.

The new legislation, called the Patent Quality Improvement Act, would also change language for what types of businesses are covered under current America Invents Act, something Schumer says would better include technology start-ups.

"The … Read more