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We don’t write much about old boring installable software here on Webware. We’re not about that. But a new company, OpenCandy, is taking a proven Web 2.0 model–the ad network–and applying it to software installation. It’s very clever. And it will probably work.

The concept is this: If you’re a software developer, you can insert the OpenCandy library in your app’s installer (Windows only, so far). When users install the app, they get a pitch to also download another app. As the host of the pitch, you can either hand-pick apps you want to associate with, for free (the spread-the-love model), or you can have OpenCandy select from apps that will pay you a bounty if your users choose to install them (the make-money model). Or you can specify a mix: some users will get one of your hand-picked apps pitched at them, others will get one that the network has chosen.

Two installs for the price of one: OpenCandy recommends downloads that compliment the program you're installing.

(Credit: OpenCandy)

The module, when it runs, can base its pitches on information from the user’s computer, which it gathers from the installer. Since installers can sniff the registry to determine what hardware and software is installed on the PC, the recommendations can be specific. For example, the module can tell if the user has one or more developer’s tools installed, and make a pitch for product like Notepad++, a developer’s editor.

Mercifully, the pitch to download the additional software is always opt-in. If you blithely just press “next” on each installation screen, you won’t get the additional product.

Developers who want to take advantage of the network currently have to contact OpenCandy to get onboard, although in the future getting added in may be self-serve. When developers sign up, they can specify the bounty they will pay to other developers, and what types of users they want to pitch their apps to.

I expect that a lot of Web services with downloadable components (think uploaders, toolbars, AIR apps, and so on) will want to use this program, since desktop-resident pointers to Web services are potentially good traffic drivers.

OpenCandy is based on a model that has been proven at least once. CEO Darrius Thompson built the product after adding the download bounty program to DivX, which he co-founded. He says that the program generated millions of dollars a month for DivX, as a ride-along to the company’s consumer software. And that’s just one product.

This is a good business idea for riding on top of the still-kicking software industry.

Developers also get analytics.

Read more:
OpenCandy brings ad market to software installs. What?

AT&T isn’t the brand that comes to mind when you think of online video search, but let’s get past that point: the telecommunications company has announced a beta version of a site called VideoCrawler, which can search more than 1,600 online video outlets. AT&T hasn’t released a full list of compatible video sites, but Google’s YouTube is one of them.

VideoCrawler was developed in conjunction with start-up Divvio, a search company that constructed the VideoCrawler platform.

VideoCrawler doesn’t host any videos, but members can still compile playlists and share them through embeddable widgets.

Other players in this space include Blinkx and the AOL-owned Truveo.

Read the original post:
AT&T debuts video search site

SAN FRANCISCO–Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg takes the stage at 1:45 p.m Thursday here at the Web 2.0 Summit in a talk with John Battelle of Federated Media Publishing. CNET News reporter Caroline McCarthy will analyze the full conversation after the fact. But here’s our take on what Zuckerberg says, as he says it:

See all the Web 2.0 Summit news.

More here:
Live blog: Mark Zuckerberg at Web 2.0 Summit

Hot Topic, a clothing and accessories retailer catering to those interested in alternative music, announced Wednesday that it has launched ShockHound, the company’s first online music site offering millions of MP3s, band merchandise, music videos, and editorial content.

According to Hot Topic, Shockhound offers tracks from major record labels, like Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, and EMI Music, as well as independent labels. The company also says that artists will be able to upload and sell their own music directly to users without requiring a record label to act as the broker between Shockhound and the artist.

“Our goal was to create an authentic, online experience of music discovery,” says Betsy McLaughlin, CEO of Hot Topic. “A place where fellow music lovers can come together and explore, share their likes and dislikes, read the latest music news, and enjoy exclusive content on their favorite artists.”

One of the unique features ShockHound will offer is its editorial section. The site will feature reviews, music news, interviews, original programming, and music videos that are controlled by the editorial team on the site.

Although Hot Topic is well-known for its alternative rock products, ShockHound features music from all genres, so the service definitely has its sights set on competing with iTunes and Amazon.com’s MP3 DRM-free store. But unlike iTunes tracks, each ShockHound song is DRM-free.

For those interested in buying tracks from Hot Topic’s service, each song retails for 99 cents and can be downloaded on the ShockHound page.

Read more here:
Hot Topic launches DRM-free music service

If you’ve used a computer in the last decade, no doubt you’ve come face to face with the Google Toolbar. A Dell computer I bought a few years back came with both the toolbar and Google’s desktop search program pre-installed. Also, an obscene amount of software comes with it as an optional add-on in the installation process since Google pays referrers a fat $1 per new user.

Next month, Google’s toolbar turn eight years old and to celebrate, the company has launched a brand-new version for Internet Explorer, which brings it up to speed with last month’s beta release for Firefox users.

Of all of the features, my personal favorite is the updated autofill system. This lets you have separate autofill profiles, which can be changed on the fly. This is useful if you’re planning to use the toolbar at work, since you can keep one set of information for personal use (e.g. usernames, addresses, phone numbers), and another for business. It can also follow you from browser to browser as long as you’re logged in with your Google credentials.

Other big changes include the introduction of gadgets, which users can affix to the top of their browser and summon with a click. It also throws in Web bookmark sync, and the updated sharing button, which lets you send entire pages to friends via SMS or without having to use an e-mail account.

Google’s put together a pretty neat shot of how the toolbar has progressed since its introduction, which I’ve pasted below.

As the years have gone by Google has relied less on words as much as more recognizable icons. (click to enlarge)

(Credit: Google Inc.)

Excerpted from:
Google celebrates eight years of toolbar with new IE version