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G.ho.st, the Global Hosted Operating SysTem, is the world’s only true Web OS. Available from any Web browser, G.ho.st provides access to all Web applications and ties them together into a personal computing environment on the Web with a single desktop, a single online file system, single login and data sharing. For the user who wants to be mobile, the G.ho.st Virtual Computer (VC) offers a real Web-based complement or even alternative to Windows.Zvi Schreiber is the founder and chief architect of G.ho.st, the Global Hosted Operating SysTem, and was previously founder and CEO of Unicorn, in enterprise software (acquired by IBM) and Tradeum, in B2B E-Commerce (acquired for $500m). Schreiber holds a PhD in computer science, is an inventor of some 20 patents, and is a frequent speaker and writer – he lives in Jerusalem with Rina and four kids.

As more and more apps are heading to the web, and the need for constant connectivity to all of you data at an all time high, the Virtual Computer market seems to be gaining a lot of steam. Have the masses adopted to the idea of Virtual Computing and if so, how are you seeing it received by the community?

I think G.ho.st is by some way the leading Virtual Computer (or Web OS) but even so its still in alpha – the mass consumer market is not yet aware of this possibility, because it’s still a few months away from prime time. But when people see G.ho.st, especially but not only young people, they just get it and get really excited. Within seconds of seeing it people are saying “Now I can make my school library computer be my own computer” or “this will be my solution to doing my personal computing on my work computer” or “I might not buy that laptop after all” or even “when can I access it from my cell phone”. People get it and have there own ideas for how to use it, some of which we haven’t even thought of.

Considering that G.ho.st is primarily a collaborative company, what have been some of the challenges you have faced in relying on 3rd parties to help develop and delivery your product?

The challenge is that there are absolutely no standards for collaboration between Web-based applications – no standard APIs for single sign-in, data exchange, file exchange etc. So we are partly creating our own standards and partly integrating to partners with a one-off effort each time. That makes the process of adding applications to G.ho.st a little slower than we would like, but we are getting the hang of it and the adding of applications should accelerate a lot in upcoming months.

What lessons learned from your previous startups were you able to leverage in developing G.ho.st?

It’s more fun to create a consumer service than an enterprise product.

BONUS: Of all the patents you hold, what is the one you are most proud of?

Well given that I’m a little bored of software patents, I would mention a patent for power supplies for halogen lights where I am a co-inventor (albeit by no means the primary inventor).

Copyright © 2007 by Will Kern

=) Introducing LawYours 2007…

Entrepreneur27 is hosting LawYours at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Palo Alto on May 10, 2007. This is an exclusive FREE event open to 50 young entrepreneurs. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Apply now to meet the top law firms in the Silicon Valley and connect with fellow up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Date: Thursday, May 10, 2007 Time: 7:00 – 9:30pm Location: Spago, Palo Alto, CA Who is LawYours for? Young entrepreneurs who are in the process of creating a startup and will be seeking venture funding. Sounds like you? Apply.

Presentations from:

• Michael Arrington,
  Techcrunch.com
• David Weekly,
  Founder, CEO, Chairman, Pbwiki.com

Sponsors:

Apply

PicksPal is a for-fun competition to find out who can really predict sports and entertainment outcomes. PicksPal displays the track records of the top pickers (“The Geniuses�?) and allows members to benefit from the wisdom of the smartest of the crowd.Tom Jessiman has helped run some of the biggest sports and entertainment Internet destinations, from CBS SportsLine to a massive sports site abroad, to 1UP.com, a social networking community for video gamers.

What is your past experience with entrepreneurship? What made you decide to start PicksPal?

I have been on the management team of a number of start-ups. Small companies are more fun than big companies. We started PicksPal because we thought there were smarter “Average Joe�? sports fans out there than the folks we see on TV on Saturdays and Sundays.

How has PicksPal changed the face of the sports industry? Was that the site’s original intent?

The original intent was always to find the smart Average Joes and give them a soap box to stand on to prove how well they can pick sports. We have been shocked at just how good our most knowledgeable members have been.

How do you differentiate from sites like MegaBuzz and Betfair?

We’re all about sports and entertainment fans just having fun. No one else has the idea of finding the Geniuses out there and making them stars.

Bonus: Who do you root for most passionately?

The Boston Red Sox.

Copyright © 2007 by Sonia Aggarwal

Brad Feld is a Managing Director at Foundry Group and Mobius Venture Capital. Prior to Mobius, Brad founded Feld Technologies, which was sold to AmeriData Technologies in 1993, where he became Chief Technology Officer. Brad currently serves on the boards of a number of private companies, including ClickCaster, ePartners, FeedBurner, Gold Systems, Judy’s Book, Lijit, Me.dium, NewsGator, Rally Software, and StillSecure. In addition, he is on the board of The National Center for Women & Information Technology, The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County, and The Colorado Conservation Trust. Brad has previously been a member of the board of directors of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization and founded the Boston and Colorado chapters. He holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

What lessons learned can you impart on young entrepreneurs that you gained from your first venture, Feld Technologies?

“Just go for it.” When my partner and I started Feld Technologies, we funded it with $10. Not $10,000. $10. We didn’t know any better and just got going.

TechStars is a very interesting program that you are running, what was the inspiration behind it? Have you found that the applicants have skewed a bit on the younger side age wise?

Here’s a good overview of how TechStars came together: http://www.feld.com/blog/archives/002136.html. The basic inspiration behind it was David Cohen’s desire to work with a group of investors and successful entrepreneurs to try to help young entrepreneurs create some companies. The applications did skew toward younger entrepreneurs, but we did have a wide range of ages in the applicant pool.

For young entrepreneurs, what would be your advice on approaching VCs for funding?

Find an experienced entrepreneur who has raised VC money before and get him involved as an angel / mentor.

What is the youngest company (founder’s age wise) that you have funded?

Early 20’s. I’ve funded a number of companies with entrepreneurs still in college.

Copyright © 2007 by Will Kern

We are now accepting applications for LawYours 2007 (View details of the event here). LawYours will take place on the evening of May 10, 2007 in Palo Alto, California. We will be selecting only 50 young entrepeneurs to attend the event. If chosen, you will meet the top law firms in the Silicon Valley and connect with fellow up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

How to apply? Simply answer the following questions:

1. What is your proudest achievement?
2. What do you want to get out of LawYours?
3. Got a website? Show us.

Submit your responses to lawyours at entrepreneur27 dot org.

Those in the top 50 submissions will attend LawYours 2007.

Presentations from:

• Michael Arrington
  Techcrunch.com
• David Weekly
  Founder, CEO, Chairman, Pbwiki.com

Sponsors:

Apply

Dabble is a video search and social community. We index video from around the web (like at Youtube, iFilm, Brightcove, Comedy Central, Revver, etc) and make it searchable, though the video continues to live out at those sites. We also have a social community that selects video it finds interesting for discovery. Mary Hodder founded Dabble in 2005. Before that, Mary worked at various live web search companies, blogged at Napsterization.org stories about disruptive technology and Biplog.com on intellectual property, security and privacy from a technology builder’s point of view. Mary holds a Masters in Information from UC Berkeley.

In developing Dabble, did you see a gap in the current video space that led you to develop the product or was there some other inspiration behind the idea?

Yes.. in early 2005, there were only about 3 video hosters (Google video hadn’t yet come online) and so people I was working with were skeptical that we needed video search since it wasn’t too hard to go search three sites. But by the winter of 2005, there were 50+ and it was becoming clear that search in a very particular domain with very particular metadata and activity would be very helpful. Also, we realized that discovery was much more important than search, but that if we did what we needed to for search, we would also make discovery easy.

Given the competitive landscape that you are in on the West Coast, how do you attract and maintain good talent?

We are working on something interesting, so we have a lot of people who come to us. But you are right that its hard to find good people. I think people really like the challenge we’ve laid out for ourselves. It’s meaty.

When the company was in my apartment, I would make lunch for the engineers once a week or so, but now that we are in an office space, that’s harder. Though I did get lunch the other day. But I try to make them cookies or something now and then. We also do a daily stand up for engineering which I think helps people feel coordinated and in sync.

Since Dabble does not host any videos directly, does this free you up from any potential legal issues that may arise?

Yes, because we aren’t hosting we can point to videos around the web, but not be liable for distribution. We work with the owners of video like Comedy Central to show their videos at their site. We are still working with hosters and others to show the right videos. We want to be as agnostic and neutral as possible.

What is your favorite video out right now that you have a shortcut for in Dabble?

Here is a playlist for God, Inc. It’s terrific!
http://dabble.com/playlist/6726751

Also, here is a video I absolutely love, that I found online through a Dabble recommendation:
http://dabble.com/node/390690

Copyright © 2007 by Will Kern

Are you a young entrepreneur creating a startup?

Do you plan to seek funding for your venture? Then chances are you’ll be choosing a law firm. LawYours is an exclusive event open only to 50 young entrepreneurs. You will meet the top law firms in the Silicon Valley and fellow up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

We will begin accepting applications on April 9th. More details to come.