My Internet Notebook

Techcrunch.com has become so successful in covering web 2.0 that startup CEOs are begging for coverage, according to a recent Mike Arrington post.

“… entrepreneurs are no longer talking to us just to get our opinion and hope for a blog post and a little discussion. These guys need press to stand out from the scores of startups just like them. Saying no to them isn’t really an option. They show up at our front door with a bottle of wine or flowers. They instruct their PR firms to do anything necessary to get a story. More than once I’ve had a CEO break down and cry on the phone when we said we weren’t covering them. And more than once, I folded and wrote about them after those conversations.”

Is now really good times for business but bad times for life in Silicon Valley?

Microsoft determined to take the lead from Google and Yahoo by pouring more development resources into its Windows Live service.

One of the key tenets of Microsoft’s Windows Live strategy is to engage web developers that are used to develop using Php & Javascript scripting languages. And Microsoft’s Windows Live API offers some very generous licensing terms to developers.

An application can have up to 1 million unique users per month without having to pay Microsoft. Beyond that, Microsoft will charge 25 cents per user per year.

Source: Microsoft opens up on Web strategy at Mix ’07 | CNET News.com

To capitalize a growing industry (i.e software as service) in Asia in general and China in particular, Salesforce.com is putting more efforts into its China venture, announcing a 10 user subscription plan costing $115 each per year.

Although Saleforece.com had an office in China region since 2003, I have not heard much about SFDC from my friends in China’s IT industry. What I heard many times though, is that selling service in China is very hard. At this stage of IT development in China, purchasing of hardware and OS/RDBMS still rules. But I certainly hope that SFDC can crack the market and introduce a new mentality in the IT purchasing circle. Good for everyone.

Salesforce.com has announced a Chinese edition of its on-demand customer relationship management (CRM) software targeted at small companies in China.

Source: Salesforce.com speaks Chinese – Software – News – ZDNet Asia

The famous Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has entered the Chinese market with a $360 million fund.

Venture capital investments in China grew to $1.8 billion in 2006 from $1.2 billion in 2005, according to data from Hong Kong-based venture market research firm Zero2IPO.

KPCB will have offices in both Beijing and Shanghai, centers of high-tech venture investment and tech innovations. Some might wonder whether KPCB is late to the game given that some VCs in China are openly concerned about over-valuation of Chinese web2.0 companies.

Source: Kleiner Perkins entering China with $360 mln fund | Reuters.com

 To fullfill its commitment to WTO, China has officially granted foreign banks license to offer retail business to Chinese consumers in local currency. However, it will take some time before an average Chinese consumer can benefit from the perceived higher quality of services at the multinational banks operating in China, such as Citibank, HSBC etc. ’cause they charge you a hefty monthly if you don’t have enough deposit in your account.  

从4月23日开始，汇丰银行、花旗银行、渣打银行和东亚银行北京分行正式向本地居民开办人民币业务。虽然对开户的个人客户没有起存金额的要求，但账户余额如果低于一定金额，外资银行将收取不菲的账户管理费，

Source: [调查]你是否会到外资银行开户?