sxsw

The 404 1,231: Where time is brain (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Check out our interview with B.O.B. and Big Boi for their new game, "Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel."

- Mico headphones let your brainwaves choose the music.

- Google Images adds filters for animated GIFs.

- Detroit doctors link garbled texting as first sign of a stroke.… Read more

At SXSW, hardware goes soft

AUSTIN, Texas -- An open-source Android gaming console and 3D printers ready to scan you Tron-style were what the organizers of the annual South by Southwest Interactive conference here wanted badge-holders to care about.

Instead, people chose Grumpy Cat.

The annual show took a hard turn toward hardware in an attempt to expand its mandate, but badge holders swerved in another direction -- toward memes.

Hardware was unusually ever-present but remarkably unappreciated. It was as if conference organizers, who put new devices center stage in keynote presentations, wanted to intentionally shift the show's focus away from consumer Internet applications … Read more

'Star Trek' computer inspires future of Google search

AUSTIN, Texas--At Google, the future of search looks an awful lot like something out of one of the iconic science fiction franchises of the past.

At least that's the impression given by Google's Amit Singhal when he was interviewed on-stage by Guy Kawasaki at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin recently.

No matter how much Kawasaki prodded Singhal for insights into the inner workings of Google's algorithms, the senior vice president of search seemed far more interested in talking about his apparent obsession with the computer from "Star Trek."

"For those of you who have never watched an episode of 'Star Trek,' please go do that," Singhal implored the audience at one point.… Read more

How one cartoonist 'live-tooned' SXSW

AUSTIN, Texas -- Without a doubt, Grumpy Cat was the most talked-about sensation at the Mashable tent here at South by Southwest Interactive over the weekend. Editorial cartoonist Shannon Wheeler has been "live-tooning" the show for VentureBeat, and he chronicled his experience of not being able to see the diminutive feline.

The line for Grumpy Cat was the longest line at the show this year, winding around the block and requiring several hours of waiting. Wheeler, for his part, noted accurately that, "Grumpy Cat is more popular than Al Gore."

Google Glass could have been the hit of SXSW. It wasn't

AUSTIN, Texas--Did you see the hundreds of people walking around SXSW this week sporting Google Glass and promoting the search giant's much-hyped new augmented reality product?

Don't be disappointed if you missed them. It didn't happen.

Google was in town this week, showing off its hot high-tech eyewear, both at a branded booth alongside a series of other prototype products, and later at a panel. But it didn't avail itself of the chance to give the vast majority of the thousands of geeks at SXSW a peek at Google Glass. If the company was hoping to … Read more

AMC Networks launches 'Yeah' movie-streaming network

For those who like watching their favorite flicks over and over again, AMC Networks has launched a movie-streaming service, Yeah, that runs new bonus material alongside cult classic movies.

AMC, which launched the pay-per-view service at South by Southwest Interactive today, is jumping into a crowded, and competitive, video-streaming market. Big players like Amazon and Netflix fight for fresh content constantly. Meanwhile, content producers stream their shows directly, as with HBO Go, or cut deals with other established streaming services.

But Yeah has decided to go in another direction: older movies with established fan bases. General Manager Lisa Judson said … Read more

SXSW shocker: For LevelUp, business strategy trumps buzz

AUSTIN, Texas--If the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, perhaps the optimal way to engineer real affection for your startup is to cook up a similar approach.

That seems to be the logic behind mobile pay service LevelUp's presence at South by Southwest, a show where brands are drowning out startups in search of their breakout moment.

LevelUp, a 2-year-old mobile pay service operated by Boston startup SCVNGR, skipped dog-and-pony-show antics for a far more practical strategy that is drumming up dollars instead of buzz. The company is powering mobile pay at every food … Read more

It's Matthew Inman's world, SXSW just lives in it

AUSTIN, Texas -- If a Web comic about bears, beastiality, righteous indignation, and Nikola Tesla tickles your funny bone, the place to be at this year's South by Southwest Interactive was Exhibition Hall 5 in the Austin Convention Center.

Matthew Inman, creator of the Web comic The Oatmeal, entertained a packed room at the close of the Interactive segment of the festival. Inman might appear to some as an unlikely hero of the Internet and an unusual choice to deliver a closing keynote address, but he found himself right at home on stage.

"I'm not a cartoonist. … Read more

Spotify's Daniel Ek: I don't worry about Apple, Google

AUSTIN, Texas -- Google is aiming to roll out two subscription music services this summer, and Apple is reportedly trying again to tackle the streaming business. But Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek says he's not concerned, because his company is laser-focused on music and music only.

"We're obviously watching what everybody is doing," said Ek, who wore a Gibson guitar T-shirt and was interviewed by Forbes Associate Editor Steve Bertoni at the SXSW Interactive conference. "Music is something that is so inherently important to people that it makes sense for gigantic companies to have … Read more