Friday, September 30, 2005
Transforming Grids into Business Tools
"The next two years of funding will determine a lot of the outcome of grids. More innovation tends to occur outside the established big vendors, and small vendors could get funded and push grid adoption internally at their large enterprise customers. Hopefully the result will be serious grid investment and innovation. "
[BPM Today]
[BPM Today]
Signs of a tech recovery and web 2.5
- The new role of "Blog Manager" as commented by Ryan from Pinstorm who asked that we change the destination URL from pinstrom to pinstorm.com. What else do you do as blog manager Brian, just curious?
TuVox buys NetByTel speech software business
"TuVox Inc. has purchased NetByTel Inc.'s speech application business."
Tuvox Inc., provider of enterprise speech applications, has agreed to acquire the hosted speech application business of Boca Raton, Fla.-based NetByTel Inc. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close today. Tuvox has raised around $26.5 million in total funding, including a $15 million Series D infusion in late 2004 at a post-money valuation of approximately $55 million. Tuvox backers investors include Granite Ventures, Foundation Capital and Norwest. NetByTel has raised around $40 million in VC funding from Noro-Moseley Partners, Lazard Technology Partners, and Time Warner Ventures.
[Primack / SJ Biz Journal]
Tuvox Inc., provider of enterprise speech applications, has agreed to acquire the hosted speech application business of Boca Raton, Fla.-based NetByTel Inc. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close today. Tuvox has raised around $26.5 million in total funding, including a $15 million Series D infusion in late 2004 at a post-money valuation of approximately $55 million. Tuvox backers investors include Granite Ventures, Foundation Capital and Norwest. NetByTel has raised around $40 million in VC funding from Noro-Moseley Partners, Lazard Technology Partners, and Time Warner Ventures.
[Primack / SJ Biz Journal]
biddingBuddies.com
BOSTON, MA and BELFAST, N. IRELAND -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/02/2005 -- www.biddingBuddies.com today officially launched as a unique social networking website exclusively for members of eBay. Using eBay's Web services-based platform, biddingBuddies allows members to import their eBay userID, their current eBay listings and other eBay information, and automatically display them in their biddingBuddies profile.
Comments on the site welcome. Best of luck Jim.
Traffic Rank for biddingbuddies.com: 901,198 according to Alexa
Comments on the site welcome. Best of luck Jim.
Traffic Rank for biddingbuddies.com: 901,198 according to Alexa
Sports Loyalty Systems
"Sports Loyalty Systems (SLS), a customer loyalty company that designs, operates, markets and manages programs for Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, today announced it has received $5 million in Series A funding. IDG Ventures Boston co-led the investment with LBO Enterprises which is principally owned by Leslie Otten, vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox. "
Cisco to Buy Nemo for $12.5 Million - Yahoo! Finance
"Major networking equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc. said Friday it will buy privately held Nemo Systems for $12.5 million cash.
Cisco said it will integrate Los Altos, Calif.-based Nemo's technology, which allows users to scale network systems and line card bandwith while cutting the cost of high-performance networking systems."
Study: India gets half of Silicon Valley's outsourced jobs - 2005-09-29
"About half of Silicon Valley's outsourced jobs are going to India, according to a survey of managers released on Thursday by Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. "
WebMD Stock Rises Rapidly After IPO: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"The stock of health information Web site WebMD Health Corp. rose as much as 71 percent in its first day of trading, Thursday.
The New York-based company, which operates the Webmd.com site, opened for trading at $19.80, up from its $17.50 IPO price, then rose rapidly, hitting a high of $30 a share."
The New York-based company, which operates the Webmd.com site, opened for trading at $19.80, up from its $17.50 IPO price, then rose rapidly, hitting a high of $30 a share."
Thursday, September 29, 2005
FuckedCompany.com - Official lubricant of the new economy
"Rumor has it Symantec is planning its second act against HotBar: asking the court to order Hotbar to pay $50M for false pretence.
When: 9/20/2005
Company: Hotbar
Severity: 70
Points: 170"
When: 9/20/2005
Company: Hotbar
Severity: 70
Points: 170"
Gamasutra - Mforma Appoints New Executives
"Mforma, a publisher of mobile phone games, has announced the hiring of two new executives. Jonathan Sacks has been named the new CEO, replacing Daniel Kranzler, while David Oppenheimer has become the company's new senior vice president and chief financial officer."
Vonage declines to comment on IPO report | InfoWorld
"Vonage (Profile, Products, Articles) Holdings Corp., the rapidly growing provider of residential VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol) service, declined to comment Thursday on a press report that the company was planning to go public. "
EMC dishes up Exchange storage special for the little guy | The Register
"After an extended incubation period, Storage Administrator has arrived in all its rebranded glory from EMC with the promise of making Microsoft Exchange Server easier to manage for small- to medium-sized businesses."
Ballmer and Gates make a million | The Register
"Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have finally joined their high-tech peers by scoring annual salaries in the one million dollar range.
Microsoft's chief software architect and chief executive officer were paid $1m during the last fiscal year after each receiving a $400,000 bonus on their $600,000 salaries. Both men were previously just shy of $1m, being paid $901,000 each."
Microsoft's chief software architect and chief executive officer were paid $1m during the last fiscal year after each receiving a $400,000 bonus on their $600,000 salaries. Both men were previously just shy of $1m, being paid $901,000 each."
Steve-O Tanks on "Up Late" - Yahoo! News
"Yes, Steve-O is still a Jackass. And you thought differently?"
Sony continues DVD battle with Toshiba
"The beginning of the end of the global DVD war may be looming, but Sony is far from conceding defeat. What's more, its business allies have remained loyal to the Japanese electronics giant despite some industry analysts expecting Sony will have to retreat from the market in the longer term. "
[Physorg.com]
[Physorg.com]
$100 Linux laptop for schoolkids - vnunet.com
"Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of MIT's Media Lab, has announced a project to develop $100 laptops for schoolchildren.
The non-profit One Laptop Per Child group has ambitious plans to distribute 150 million laptops in three years. The idea is based on applying the concept of open source to education, according to Negroponte."
The non-profit One Laptop Per Child group has ambitious plans to distribute 150 million laptops in three years. The idea is based on applying the concept of open source to education, according to Negroponte."
Yahoo Accused of Stealing Trade Secrets: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"A Silicon Valley technology company is suing Yahoo Inc. for allegedly stealing trade secrets by hiring away 13 key engineers who had nearly completed its interactive speech technology project."
[AP]
Company that is accusing Yahoo! is Nuance who said it would ask a judge to block Yahooo from allowing engineers to work on the speech technology. Sounds like MSFT and Kai Fu.
[AP]
Company that is accusing Yahoo! is Nuance who said it would ask a judge to block Yahooo from allowing engineers to work on the speech technology. Sounds like MSFT and Kai Fu.
WebMD Makes Me Sick: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"On this first day of trading, I have a suggestion for the people who, for some reason, think that WebMD Health (Nasdaq: WBMD - News) is worth 50% more than the $17.50 IPO price."
[Seth]
[Seth]
Red Hat climbs almost 30% after earnings report
"Red Hat Inc. shares climbed almost 30% Thursday after the Linux software distributor reported a second-quarter profit that grew sharply as a result of a surge in corporate subscribers."
[Mktwatch]
[Mktwatch]
More on Vonage ipo plans
"VOIP poster-child Vonage has chosen the investment banks to take it public, sources familiar with the situation say, but some of the bankers involved believe an acquisition might be a better long-term strategy for the N.J. company. (See Sources: Vonage Is Eyeing the Exits). After a six-month bake-off, Vonage has chosen Citibank, UBS AG, and Deutsche Bank AG to lead the IPO, which will happen in five to six months, the sources say. "
[LightReading]
[LightReading]
888 raises 147.7M pounds in ipo sale
"888 Holdings Plc, the world's largest Internet casino operator, sold shares worth 147.7 million pounds ($261 million) in an initial public offering to fund expansion. "
[Bloomberg]
Look to see more consilidation in the onling gaming space. Growth seems to be slightly leveling off. WPTE stock has dropped precipitously since beginning of August.
[Bloomberg]
Look to see more consilidation in the onling gaming space. Growth seems to be slightly leveling off. WPTE stock has dropped precipitously since beginning of August.
Why Apple Won't Up-Charge Downloads - Bus week
"Record execs are clamoring for price flexibility in music downloads, but Steve Jobs is adamant that 99 cents per song is perfect "
Insider Pages and MIVA Announce Pay Per Phone Call Advertiser Relationship
"Insider Pages, the community-based local search engine, and MIVA, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIVA - News), the largest, global independent performance marketing network, today announced a strategic relationship to distribute pay per phone call advertisers to each others' networks. "
[Press Release]
[Press Release]
Elevation Partners
Just closed their inaugural $1.8B fund (above its $1.5b target). Bono participated in 80 investor meetings according to Dan Primack.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Bargains in a Flash - New York Times
"Apple Computer got a bargain on the memory chips that make its new iPod Nano music players so slim. And in doing so, Apple has thrown the market for flash memory into a tizzy: forcing prices up for other manufacturers and driving prices down for consumers. "
Taking On The Comparison Shopping Gorillas - Forbes.com
"Online comparison shopping has undergone several waves of consolidation. The first wave was from 1998 to 2001, when such companies as Junglee, C2B, Liquid Market, Cadabra and MySimon sold out.
In the past year, we've seen another wave, with targets such as PriceRunner, LowerMyBills.com, Kelkoo, Shopzilla, Shopping.com. Because of this, big gorillas--like Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) and eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people )--are now in the shopping comparison game.
Too late for new entrants? Definitely not. Actually, there are next-gen comparison shopping sites hitting the Net. "
In the past year, we've seen another wave, with targets such as PriceRunner, LowerMyBills.com, Kelkoo, Shopzilla, Shopping.com. Because of this, big gorillas--like Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) and eBay (nasdaq: EBAY - news - people )--are now in the shopping comparison game.
Too late for new entrants? Definitely not. Actually, there are next-gen comparison shopping sites hitting the Net. "
Modulus Video Secures $10 Million
"Modulus Video, Inc., an emerging leader in the market for MPEG-4 AVC video compression systems that enable delivery of standard and high definition video over satellite, cable, terrestrial and IPTV networks, announced today that the company has closed its Series B round of venture funding for $10 million led by Thomas Weisel Venture Partners (TWVP) of Palo Alto, California, with participation from Trinity Ventures of Menlo Park, California."
ViVOtech : raises Series B
ViVOtech, the leading supplier of Contactless payment solutions, today announced it has raised $18.25 million in Series B funding. The round is being led by Draper Fisher Jurveston. Also participating in the round are Nokia Growth Partners, DFJ Gotham and previous investor Alloy Ventures.
“The Contactless payment market has begun to expand rapidly,� said Josh Stein of Draper Fisher Jurveston, who is joining the ViVOtech Board coincident with this investment. “Over the next five years opportunities will be enormous as the payments industry introduces innovative new payment methods in the quest to replace cash, and enhance speed, convenience and security at the point of sale. We see ViVOtech as an innovator with ground-breaking payments solutions, very well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities.�
“The Contactless payment market has begun to expand rapidly,� said Josh Stein of Draper Fisher Jurveston, who is joining the ViVOtech Board coincident with this investment. “Over the next five years opportunities will be enormous as the payments industry introduces innovative new payment methods in the quest to replace cash, and enhance speed, convenience and security at the point of sale. We see ViVOtech as an innovator with ground-breaking payments solutions, very well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities.�
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
IGN: CTIA 2005: Halo Goes Mobile
Microsoft Games Studio has tapped mobile maker IN-FUSIO to create a suite of applications (games, ringtones, etc.) based on the hit Xbox game, starring the Master Chief.
Motorola and July Systems Bring the Mobile Storefront to Consumers;
"Motorola (NYSE: MOT) and July Systems, a leading provider of smart mobile retailing technology, are enabling the rapid creation of mobile storefronts to give consumers the convenience of 'virtual mall' browsing and shopping on their handheld devices."
"The companies also announced today that Motorola Ventures, Motorola's equity investment arm, has made an equity investment in July Systems. Motorola Ventures made the investment, along with July's existing investors, as the leader of July's $10 million third round of financing. Financial terms of Motorola's investment in the Company were not disclosed."
[PRNEWSWIRE]
"The companies also announced today that Motorola Ventures, Motorola's equity investment arm, has made an equity investment in July Systems. Motorola Ventures made the investment, along with July's existing investors, as the leader of July's $10 million third round of financing. Financial terms of Motorola's investment in the Company were not disclosed."
[PRNEWSWIRE]
RealNetworks to run Cingular mobile video service - Yahoo! News
"Cingular Wireless, the biggest U.S. wireless service, plans to use RealNetworks Inc.'s (Nasdaq:RNWK - news) video streaming technology to deliver video to mobile phones, the companies said late on Tuesday. "
U.S. broadband Internet use tops 61 pct -report - yhoo
" The share of active Internet users who rely on broadband instead of slower dial-up connections jumped 10 percentage points in the last year to 61 percent, according to a survey by Nielsen//NetRatings."
BitTorrent Gets Venture Capital Boost
"P2P-focused startup BitTorrent has received its first infusion of venture capital funding, an $8.75-million round from Doll Capital Management.
Developer of the popular open-source peer to peer file-sharing protocol that shares its name, BitTorrent will use the financing to fuel product development and pursue commercialization of the technology, according to the company. "
Developer of the popular open-source peer to peer file-sharing protocol that shares its name, BitTorrent will use the financing to fuel product development and pursue commercialization of the technology, according to the company. "
DreamWorks-Universal Talks End Amid Price: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"DreamWorks ended talks on what could have been a $1 billion acquisition deal by NBC Universal amid disagreements about price and creative control, DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen said Tuesday."
Vonage weighs up possible sale - Financial Times - MSNBC.com
"Vonage, the private internet telephony start-up, is being encouraged to consider a sale while it presses ahead with plans for an initial public offering. "
L John Doerr, The 400 Richest Americans - Forbes.com
Net Worth: $1.0 billion
Source: Investments, venture capital
Self made
Age: 54
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Hometown: Woodside, CA
Education: Rice University, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Harvard University, Master of Business Administration
Source: Investments, venture capital
Self made
Age: 54
Marital Status: Married, 2 children
Hometown: Woodside, CA
Education: Rice University, Bachelor of Arts / Science
Harvard University, Master of Business Administration
Google to Remove Boast About Index Size: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Google to Remove Front-Page Boast About Index Size After Archrival Yahoo Posts Larger One
[AP]
[AP]
Roamware raises Series C - Unstrung
"Roamware Inc., the global leader in roaming solutions for mobile communications, today announced that it has raised $14 million in a Series C round of financing. The company's previous investors, Accretive Technology Partners, DCM - Doll Capital Management and Shelter Capital Partners, co-led the growth-oriented round. The funds will be used to enhance the company's product line and strengthen global operations to support growing demand for the company's mobile roaming products. "
A New Wireless Order: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Sounds like science fiction, but a world where many different types of wireless networks coexist and compete for traffic is just around the corner. And nobody is pushing harder to make it happen than Finnish giant Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK - News), maker of nearly one-third of the world's mobile handsets. The company whose very name is synonymous with cellular is racing into every imaginable type of wireless technology. Says Antti Vasara, vice-president for corporate strategy: 'The world is not just cellular any more. There are lots of other ways to make bits fly.'"
New WLANs from old school 3Com
"Old school networking company 3Com Corp. has updated its wireless LAN networking offerings with a new switch and access point and is also talking up the benefits of integrating wireless with other types of networking kit."
[Unstrung]
[Unstrung]
Gmail's long-lost Chinese cousin? | InfoWorld | News | 2005-09-26
ISM claims its Gmail service preceded Google's
Samsung unveils portable media player with satellite TV | InfoWorld
"Samsung Electronics unveiled on Tuesday a portable media player that can be used to watch DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) satellite television broadcasts. "
Motorola CEO: 'Screw the nano' - Yahoo! News
"'Screw the nano,' said Zander. 'What the hell does the nano do? Who listens to 1,000 songs? People are going to want devices that do more than just play music, something that can be seen in many other countries with more advanced mobile phone networks and savvy users,' he said."
Monday, September 26, 2005
smugmug
The ultimate in photo sharing. Online photo albums, photo sharing, photo hosting and photo storage.
The new Jobster site - check it out
Jobster's new site just launched this past weekend according to Jason Goldberg, CEO:
"Previously jobster was just a service for employer to reach out to candidates, now we're going the other direction and enabling candidates to leverage their social networks to gain referrals to leading employers. We'll be doing a formal launch of this to the media mid-week"
Jobster has raised roughly $30M to date with backers that include Ignition Partners, Mayfield, Trinity. The last $19.5M round announced a couple weeks ago was entertained by multiple offers according to John at the Seattle Post. Jobster's customers include Boston Scientific, Cisco, Cosi, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Nordstrom, Samsung Telecommunications, Boeing, and Expedia. Company faces stiff competition from the likes of traditional online job sites: Monster, Careerbuilder, Hotjobs, and social networking/job bulletin type sites: LinkedIn, Craigslist, Tribe, H3.com, Indeed.com, Accolo, Simpyhired.com.
Stay tuned - it will certainly be interesting to see how the space plays out.
"Previously jobster was just a service for employer to reach out to candidates, now we're going the other direction and enabling candidates to leverage their social networks to gain referrals to leading employers. We'll be doing a formal launch of this to the media mid-week"
Jobster has raised roughly $30M to date with backers that include Ignition Partners, Mayfield, Trinity. The last $19.5M round announced a couple weeks ago was entertained by multiple offers according to John at the Seattle Post. Jobster's customers include Boston Scientific, Cisco, Cosi, Google, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Nordstrom, Samsung Telecommunications, Boeing, and Expedia. Company faces stiff competition from the likes of traditional online job sites: Monster, Careerbuilder, Hotjobs, and social networking/job bulletin type sites: LinkedIn, Craigslist, Tribe, H3.com, Indeed.com, Accolo, Simpyhired.com.
Stay tuned - it will certainly be interesting to see how the space plays out.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Investcorp vc track record
Investcorp, the global investment group that specializes in alternative investments, today announced two further successful exits, over the past month, of investments from its Investcorp Technology Ventures Fund I: PortalPlayer and Utimaco.
Total net proceeds from these realizations were nearly $70 million, providing clients with an exceptionally high multiple on their original investments.
"With these exits, Fund I will have returned approximately 60% of its committed capital to investors, placing Fund I in the top quartile for venture capital funds of the 2000/2001 era. "
[ameinfo.com]
Total net proceeds from these realizations were nearly $70 million, providing clients with an exceptionally high multiple on their original investments.
"With these exits, Fund I will have returned approximately 60% of its committed capital to investors, placing Fund I in the top quartile for venture capital funds of the 2000/2001 era. "
[ameinfo.com]
Saturday, September 24, 2005
FilmLoop - FilmLoop, Inc.
FilmLoop is free software that gives you the power to create new loops or join existing ones. Loops are strings of images that move across your desktop. They can tell stories, showcase products, communicate ideas, and link to websites. A loop can contain photos of your family's latest vacation, images of the latest happenings around the world, or pictures that link to the latest properties in your local real estate market. And, changes to a loop automatically update on the desktops of everyone in your loop, whether it's two, ten, or a million people.
[Website]
Pretty cool tool. Business model is still a bit unclear after listening to their DEMO presentation. If they are selling the filmloop technology (such as w/ Purina.com), the assumption is that asp's will be rather low as this is simply a feature. The founders mention a key strategic partnership with Photoblog - 12m unique visitors a month - whereby they insert a loop button into the pages. Not sure how the company will monetize this relationship and grow the revenues to a sustainable business with more than $10M+ revenues. The better use for the technology is to leverage the community and social networking aspect of the site (a la flickr, webshots, ofoto, myspace). And, another creative model would be to insert ads into the loops or to use the technology as an ad medium of some sort. That would create further value to the company and allow it to be an acquisition target to, say, a Google (more for the technology feature, less for the ads), Yhoo, Newscorp.
****According to "hiten", the partnership is with Photobucket.com, not photoblog.com. Apologies for the confusion.
[Website]
Pretty cool tool. Business model is still a bit unclear after listening to their DEMO presentation. If they are selling the filmloop technology (such as w/ Purina.com), the assumption is that asp's will be rather low as this is simply a feature. The founders mention a key strategic partnership with Photoblog - 12m unique visitors a month - whereby they insert a loop button into the pages. Not sure how the company will monetize this relationship and grow the revenues to a sustainable business with more than $10M+ revenues. The better use for the technology is to leverage the community and social networking aspect of the site (a la flickr, webshots, ofoto, myspace). And, another creative model would be to insert ads into the loops or to use the technology as an ad medium of some sort. That would create further value to the company and allow it to be an acquisition target to, say, a Google (more for the technology feature, less for the ads), Yhoo, Newscorp.
****According to "hiten", the partnership is with Photobucket.com, not photoblog.com. Apologies for the confusion.
MLSN Sports Picks - Digital Chocolate, Inc.
Demo Says:
A year ago, Digital Chocolate founder Trip Hawkins described the mobile phone as a social computer. Today, he returns to this conference to introduce a set of games that delivers on that prediction. These applications are social experiences that create a connection among members of special interest communities, and transform the way we think about multi-player games.
We Say:
Don't underestimate Trip Hawkins, the guy that built EA, 3DO, and a host of other companies.
That said, with only $21.4M raised from tier 1 vc's KP and Sequoia, Digital Chocolate faces stiff competition from Jamdat, Glu Mobile (formerly Sorrent), mForma, and others. It will be interesting to see what second generation mobile apps - MLSN Sports Picks, gambling, dating, social networking, p2p, etc - the company will launch. We're sick of Jamdat bowling and Blue Lava/Jamdat tetris.
Meru teams with Juniper, Avaya: DEMOletter
Meru Networks (DEMO@15) has been very busy lately – the wireless infrastructure company announced it signed an alliance agreement with Juniper Networks to co-market systems that enable pervasive and secure wireless voice over IP (VoIP). The company joined Juniper's J-Partner Infrastructure Alliance program as a preferred member, and will collaborate with the company on things such as joint sales agreements and other co-marketing activities, the company says. The company also announced a reseller agreement with Avaya, in which Avaya will resell Meru's wireless LAN portfolio. The agreement formalizes a collaborative marketing and sales initiative that Avaya and Meru already had in place. The company also announced it was named to the 2005 Pulver 100, a listing of privately held growth companies. Meru has made the list for the second straight year, it reports.
Barracuda IM Firewall - Barracuda Networks, Inc.
Demo Says
Barracuda Networks has carved a niche in the e-mail marketplace by offering an affordable solution to spam and virus problems. This new product follows suit, providing a managed environment for real-time messaging that protects businesses from the vulnerabilities of instant messaging, the next frontier for malicious activities.
We say:
Highly competitive space and its still unclear whether these apps generate enough money. IM Logic, FaceTime, Akonix, OmniPod, IBM/Lotus, Jabber all compete. Barracuda's appliances are hot selling however.
Barracuda Networks has carved a niche in the e-mail marketplace by offering an affordable solution to spam and virus problems. This new product follows suit, providing a managed environment for real-time messaging that protects businesses from the vulnerabilities of instant messaging, the next frontier for malicious activities.
We say:
Highly competitive space and its still unclear whether these apps generate enough money. IM Logic, FaceTime, Akonix, OmniPod, IBM/Lotus, Jabber all compete. Barracuda's appliances are hot selling however.
ShareBuilder
Sharebuilder is a provider of online investment products and tools that help people to build wealth over the long-term.
Sharebuilder has raised over $65M. The last round raised was in 2002 at a $60M post money valuation. This company was formed during the dot com bubble. Investors include Dell Ventures, Goldman, NBC, Madrona Group.
Company competes with the low cost online brokers like Scottrade and E*Trade.
WSJ.com - Battling Google, Microsoft Changes How It Builds Software
The news got even worse: Longhorn was irredeemable because Microsoft engineers were building it just as they had always built software. Throughout its history, Microsoft had let thousands of programmers each produce their own piece of computer code, then stitched it together into one sprawling program. Now, Mr. Allchin argued, the jig was up. Microsoft needed to start over.
The Real Reasons You're Working So Hard... - Yahoo! News
"Honk if this sounds like you: While much of America is watching Jon Stewart, Letterman, or Leno, you're stumbling out the office door into a car-service Town Car or groping for the clicker to the BMW in the company parking lot. Once home, you slug down a beer or the last of a bottle of white wine on the door of the fridge, stuff some leftovers in your mouth, and collapse into bed beside your sleeping spouse. A half-dozen hours later, you crawl to the shower, throw on a clean shirt, pour some coffee down your throat, maybe drop a kid or two at school, and jump back on the frenetic work treadmill that you can't shut off. "
Kanoodle
Kanoodle provides advertisers an unparalleled opportunity to leverage text-based, cost-per-click sponsored links to reach their customers on the Web's search engines and content destinations. Kanoodle's products -- ContextTargetâ„¢ for content-targeted sponsored links, LocalTargetâ„¢ for locally-targeted sponsored links, BehaviorTargetâ„¢ for behavioral-targeted sponsored links, and KeywordTargetâ„¢ for search-targeted sponsored links -- are distributed on networks of high quality search and content providers, including MarketWatch.com, MSNBC.com, USAToday.com, CNET's Search.com, the InfoSpace search properties and on Kanoodle.com. Kanoodle was founded in 1999 and has offices in Amherst, NY and New York City.
Google Talk's potential searchable conversations
I was thinking the other day that one of the things you can do with VoIP is to record it, using shareware like SoundStudio to record them to your hard drive (look at all of the podcasting interviews being done over Skype). Once it’s on the hard drive, you could then run speech recognition against the file and create an index that can be searched by, yup, you’ve got it, Google Desktop Search.
[Charlene Li's Blog]
What would be more interesting is if they wrap contextual ads around the speech that is recorded (if it is even legal in the first place).
[Charlene Li's Blog]
What would be more interesting is if they wrap contextual ads around the speech that is recorded (if it is even legal in the first place).
Ikanos launches public offering - Yahoo! News
The company raised $69 million in its initial public offering of stock, which was somewhat well received on Wall Street in spite of a slow market for new tech offerings. Ikanos shares started trading at $12 a share and rose as high as $14.25 during the day, but fell back to $13 by the close of trading.
Now the competition is heating up for a second version of the chip, dubbed VDSL2, which can transfer data at high speeds over longer distances than VDSL1 chips. Chip makers such as Germany's Infineon, Texas Instruments, Conexant Systems and Broadcom plan to challenge Ikanos, as do smaller players such as Metalink and Centillium Communications. Japan, Germany and France are in the adoption stage now. But the VDSL chip makers have to wait for the phone companies to mobilize in the United States.
``We are seeing the interest growing in all markets worldwide,'' said Imran Hajimusa, senior director of marketing at Infineon in San Jose. ``But overall, it's a tough market because there are a lot of competitors.''
[Yahoo]
Lots of risk around Ikanos.
From their S-1 filing:
Sales to NEC Corporation (Magnus), Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Dasan Networks, Inc. and Millinet Co., Ltd., our four largest OEM customers, accounted for 95.0% of our net revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2005. In addition, sales in Asia accounted for 97.2% of our net revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2005.
Now the competition is heating up for a second version of the chip, dubbed VDSL2, which can transfer data at high speeds over longer distances than VDSL1 chips. Chip makers such as Germany's Infineon, Texas Instruments, Conexant Systems and Broadcom plan to challenge Ikanos, as do smaller players such as Metalink and Centillium Communications. Japan, Germany and France are in the adoption stage now. But the VDSL chip makers have to wait for the phone companies to mobilize in the United States.
``We are seeing the interest growing in all markets worldwide,'' said Imran Hajimusa, senior director of marketing at Infineon in San Jose. ``But overall, it's a tough market because there are a lot of competitors.''
[Yahoo]
Lots of risk around Ikanos.
From their S-1 filing:
Sales to NEC Corporation (Magnus), Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Dasan Networks, Inc. and Millinet Co., Ltd., our four largest OEM customers, accounted for 95.0% of our net revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2005. In addition, sales in Asia accounted for 97.2% of our net revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2005.
NEA Invests in China VC firm, Northern Light
Private EquityOnline reports that NEA has recently made an undisclosed investment into a new Chinese VC firm, Northern Light. General Partner Scott Sandell calls his firm's relationship to this company, one akin to a "special LP," whereby Northern Light will not only receive part of its institutional backing from NEA but will also provide NEA with deal flow. That appears to be the daily mantra of more Sandhill Road VCs after a careful reading of their tea leaves.
[China Venture News]
[China Venture News]
SQL Full Text Search: Search startup Intellext partners with Microsoft...
More integration of WDS and personalized search tools. This time from a startup called Intellext.
I've read Google has made similar partnerships with startups.
I've read Google has made similar partnerships with startups.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Ellison predicts a big future / He sees Oracle doubling in size within a few years
"Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison believes his company can double in size in the next few years, from $14.5 billion in revenue this year to nearly $30 billion in the near future. "
-- Whether Oracle might acquire San Jose business software maker BEA Systems: "At one time, BEA was very high on our list. Now they're less so. We passed BEA up in terms of more license sales. We have more than twice as many users. ... And they don't want to be bought. They have a poison pill. ... I'm not interested in getting into a big fight over BEA."
[SFGate]
Growth through acquisition.
-- Whether Oracle might acquire San Jose business software maker BEA Systems: "At one time, BEA was very high on our list. Now they're less so. We passed BEA up in terms of more license sales. We have more than twice as many users. ... And they don't want to be bought. They have a poison pill. ... I'm not interested in getting into a big fight over BEA."
[SFGate]
Growth through acquisition.
Wireless Carriers Banking on Mobile Music: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"When someone dials Leah Balecha's mobile phone, it doesn't ring. It jams with the sounds of 50 Cent, OutKast, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson.
Like a growing number of mobile phone users, the 30-year-old videographer and student has taken to customizing her handset, sometimes paying more than $3 for just a snippet of a single song to turn it into an audible fashion accessory."
Like a growing number of mobile phone users, the 30-year-old videographer and student has taken to customizing her handset, sometimes paying more than $3 for just a snippet of a single song to turn it into an audible fashion accessory."
FreeMySpace LLC
FreeMySpace LLC, the group led by Intermix' largest non-insider stockholder Brad Greenspan, said it would pay Intermix shareholders $13.50 a share to become "the significant stockholders" in Intermix.
Diversified media conglomerate News Corp. had on July 18 said it would pay $580 million, or $12 a share, for Intermix. Apart from MySpace, Intermix also owns grab.com, a gaming and entertainment site, and Internet marketing unit Alena.
[Reuters]
Some major value in myspace.com perhaps.
Diversified media conglomerate News Corp. had on July 18 said it would pay $580 million, or $12 a share, for Intermix. Apart from MySpace, Intermix also owns grab.com, a gaming and entertainment site, and Internet marketing unit Alena.
[Reuters]
Some major value in myspace.com perhaps.
Force10 raises (another) mezzanine round
"Force10 Networks Inc. has raised another $40 million in venture funding, which investors believe will be enough to take it to IPO, Light Reading has learned.
The funding, which closed during the summer, was intended as extra margin while Force10 undergoes the IPO process, says Dick Kramlich, a Force10 board member and a partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). (See the recent Light Reading interview: Dick Kramlich, Founder & General Partner, NEA.)"
[Light Reading]
Valuation will prob have to be over a billion for investors to make any substantial money back on the deal. $324M total pumped into the company.
The funding, which closed during the summer, was intended as extra margin while Force10 undergoes the IPO process, says Dick Kramlich, a Force10 board member and a partner at New Enterprise Associates (NEA). (See the recent Light Reading interview: Dick Kramlich, Founder & General Partner, NEA.)"
[Light Reading]
Valuation will prob have to be over a billion for investors to make any substantial money back on the deal. $324M total pumped into the company.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Ikanos Sets IPO at $12 Per Share: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Ikanos Communications Inc., a maker of networking chips, on Thursday priced its initial public stock offering at $12 per share, the high end of its estimated $10 to $12 range."
Delete Now
For $2.99 a month not only does DeleteNow remove your information from hundreds of sources but we also check and make sure you are registered with:
The Direct Marketing Association Do Not Call and Do Not Mail lists.
You'll get instructions in your alert section to put yourself on the Do Not Mail Pre-approved Credit Card Offers list.
Plus we'll ask you to be removed from a number of other national databases just for joining.
[Company Website]
The company is self-funded to the tune of $150,000 and the biggest expense has been the hiring of a public relations firm to help generate some buzz for the service.
"We're here to get some attention," Berman said matter-of-factly. "We feel we have a valuable business with no real competitors and we're here to demo it for everyone."
[eWeek]
Sure. I'd pay $2.99 but not $2.99 a month. How's this that much different from the clear history or clear cache feature in internet options. I assume this model would work better for public workstations rather than one-off sales to consumers.
The Direct Marketing Association Do Not Call and Do Not Mail lists.
You'll get instructions in your alert section to put yourself on the Do Not Mail Pre-approved Credit Card Offers list.
Plus we'll ask you to be removed from a number of other national databases just for joining.
[Company Website]
The company is self-funded to the tune of $150,000 and the biggest expense has been the hiring of a public relations firm to help generate some buzz for the service.
"We're here to get some attention," Berman said matter-of-factly. "We feel we have a valuable business with no real competitors and we're here to demo it for everyone."
[eWeek]
Sure. I'd pay $2.99 but not $2.99 a month. How's this that much different from the clear history or clear cache feature in internet options. I assume this model would work better for public workstations rather than one-off sales to consumers.
AeroScout investment from Cisco
"AeroScout provides enterprise visibility solutions based on Wi-Fi and other wireless-networking standards. The AeroScout Visibility System is the most advanced location system available, combining innovative positioning technologies for real-time location (RTLS), active radio-frequency identification (Active RFID) and telemetry in a single solution."
They just announced an investment from Cisco
They just announced an investment from Cisco
The Internet Stock Blog � The New Yahoo Mail is Far Superior to Gmail (GOOG, YHOO)
So says WSJ personal technology columnist Walter Mossberg in his review of Yahoo Mail today. He argues that Yahoo mail is closer to the desktop email program experience which most people know and prefer, and that Gmail, in contrast, is “quirky and limited�.
[InternetStockBlog]
[InternetStockBlog]
Oracle buys Global Logistics - 2005-09-20
Oracle Corp. will buy privately held Global Logistics Technologies Inc. (G-Log), which makes software used in transportation and logistics.
[Silicon Valley Journal]
Range was $60 - $80M according to alarm:clock
[Silicon Valley Journal]
Range was $60 - $80M according to alarm:clock
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Globes [online] - I'll bet Accel will invest over $200m in Israel
Accel Partners partner Joseph Schoendorf explains how to do business in China.
Microsoft, Google Millionaires Bulldoze a New Aspen in Montana
Too much money, way too much money on hand.
Busy VCs at Sequoia
"Bloomberg has a good story today about Sequoia Capital VCs (and other wealthy people) transforming Montana with newly built estates and private clubs. Some locals are fretting. Speaking of Sequoia, the firm has been dealing up a storm lately. "
[Biz Week]
[Biz Week]
India Vies for Share of Video Game Market: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Rajesh Rao, a 34-year-old businessman, spends a good part of his workday playing video games on his mobile phone. He also insists his new employees spend their first few weeks doing the same. He's not a flippant amateur refusing to grow out of his childhood. Instead he's part of a small breed of entrepreneurs trying to make India the world's studio for developing games on mobile phones, computers and consoles."
[Yahoo]
As Rao says, few indians grow up playing video games because they are too busy studying and thinking about the future. That said, analysts say India could amount to 40% cost savings to such tasks as art design. Philippines is currently one of the more popular places for art design.
[Yahoo]
As Rao says, few indians grow up playing video games because they are too busy studying and thinking about the future. That said, analysts say India could amount to 40% cost savings to such tasks as art design. Philippines is currently one of the more popular places for art design.
America Online Switching Spyware Vendors - Yahoo! News
"America Online Inc. is switching the vendor it uses to protect its Internet access subscribers from spyware and other malicious threats, a move the company says will mean more comprehensive scans. "
Opera Makes Its Browser Free, With No Ads: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Opera Software ASA is now giving away its Web browser and removing ads in an effort to broaden its user base and capture revenues by referring traffic to search engines and e-commerce sites."
Realtors see California home prices cooling in 2006 - 2005-09-21
"The Realtors group projects median home prices in California will increase 10 percent to $575,500 in 2006 compared with a projected median of $523.150 this year. It sees sales falling 2 percent to 630,610 units next year. "
MercuryNews.com | 09/21/2005 | Google WiFi hints are on Web
Outsiders have been speculating about Google's WiFi plans in earnest lately, especially after the publication of a Business 2.0 magazine story in August that suggested that Google wants to build a massive broadband network.
The story was based on Google's relationship with the Union Square hotspot and the fact that Google has been buying up massive amounts of unused fiber-optic cable, once used by telecommunications companies that collapsed.
Others believe that Google intends to use its network to deliver video content to its users.
Jupiter Research analyst Julie Ask said Google's involvement in WiFi would make sense. WiFi providers can determine the location of their users to within about 300 feet, offering many opportunities to customize the type of content users see based on their geography.
``The potential for local search and local advertising comes into play,'' Ask said.
The story was based on Google's relationship with the Union Square hotspot and the fact that Google has been buying up massive amounts of unused fiber-optic cable, once used by telecommunications companies that collapsed.
Others believe that Google intends to use its network to deliver video content to its users.
Jupiter Research analyst Julie Ask said Google's involvement in WiFi would make sense. WiFi providers can determine the location of their users to within about 300 feet, offering many opportunities to customize the type of content users see based on their geography.
``The potential for local search and local advertising comes into play,'' Ask said.
Unstrung - Google Wifi
"Search giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG - message board) is getting into the remote connection VPN market for wireless LAN with a free offering that one of its engineers put together in his 'free time' at the company."
Why I Fear Google WiFi [Fool.com: Motley Fool Take]
"Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) got tongues wagging again. Today, speculation's buzzing that the firm is going to roll out its own wireless Internet service, possibly called 'Google WiFi.' This is an old rumor, actually, but it's gained new fuel with the discovery of WiFi-related pages on Google's site inviting users to download a free program called 'Secure Access.'"
QueueCard.com
"Founded in 2003, QueueCard Inc. is a venture funded innovator in credit card authentication solutions established in the Stanford University Research Park, the center of Silicon Valley technology research. The experience of the team is one of the most outstanding in the industry and from a simple, yet intuitive, idea, they will change the nature of card payments. "
QueueCard just announced a round of financing led by Allegis Capital and Worldview. The company also announced a strategic investment made by SG, perhaps a beta customer. With lots of hype in the space, new credit card technology - authentication, smartcards, etc - still has not reached mass market adoption.
QueueCard just announced a round of financing led by Allegis Capital and Worldview. The company also announced a strategic investment made by SG, perhaps a beta customer. With lots of hype in the space, new credit card technology - authentication, smartcards, etc - still has not reached mass market adoption.
U.S, casinos, stymied at home, eye Asia for growth
"U.S. casino operators, faced with little appetite for commercial casinos in states outside of Nevada, New Jersey and Mississippi, are looking to Asia for their biggest growth opportunities."
[Reuters]
Las Vegas Sands stock has taken a beating since going public recently. Stock is currently trading down 6% at 31.75 way below 100 moving day average.
[Reuters]
Las Vegas Sands stock has taken a beating since going public recently. Stock is currently trading down 6% at 31.75 way below 100 moving day average.
OANDA raises $17M
"Index Ventures, a leading venture capital firm based in Europe, today announced a solo $17 million investment in OANDA, an innovator for global currency trading. OANDA has been
profitable since it launched FXTrade, the world's first end-to-end,
fully-automated currency trading platform in 2001. OANDA offers the lowest spreads in the online Forex market and will use its venture capital funding to further extend its market position and reach."
[Press Release]
Index just sold Skype, and also has a related investment in Betfair (along with Benchmark Europe).
Welcome Oanda discussion group. Like this blog? Click on the ad on the right for us : )
profitable since it launched FXTrade, the world's first end-to-end,
fully-automated currency trading platform in 2001. OANDA offers the lowest spreads in the online Forex market and will use its venture capital funding to further extend its market position and reach."
[Press Release]
Index just sold Skype, and also has a related investment in Betfair (along with Benchmark Europe).
Welcome Oanda discussion group. Like this blog? Click on the ad on the right for us : )
Court Nixes Some Ads Sent to Cell Phones - Yahoo! News
"An Arizona appellate court ruled Tuesday that a 1991 federal law's ban against using autodialers to call cell phones applies to sending e-mail text messages with unsolicited advertisements � a technology not in vogue when the law was enacted. "
Seeding The Hedge Fund Universe - Forbes.com
"But the hot money now isn't in the hedge funds. It's in backing new funds--hedge fund incubators. "
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Psychopaths could be best financial traders? - Yahoo! News
"A team of U.S. scientists has found the emotionally impaired are more willing to gamble for high stakes and that people with brain damage may make good financial decisions, the Times newspaper reported Monday."
Avaya buys Ottawa IP phone specialist Nimcat Networks for $46 million US - Yahoo! News
"American business communications systems provider Avaya Inc. is paying $46 million Cdn in cash for Nimcat Networks, a privately held Ottawa company. "
Yahoo blends Web e-mail with speed of desktop
"Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that it is upgrading Yahoo Mail, the most popular Web e-mail program, to make it run more efficiently than other Web-based systems and nearly as fast as desktop e-mail."
[Reuters]
Haven't tried it but am excited to. Yhoo mail is overly simple and unexciting from a features and usability point of view.
[Reuters]
Haven't tried it but am excited to. Yhoo mail is overly simple and unexciting from a features and usability point of view.
Girls Gone Wild for Katrina Relief
(San Francisco, California) The makers of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series, Mantra Films, have announced that they are donating proceeds from sale of their popular breast-flashing titles to the Red Cross for hurricane relief. The money donated will come from sale of videos tied to Mardi Gras, representing about a third of the 19 titles distributed by the company.
I guess this would make porn tax-deductible.
[Interested-Participant]
I guess this would make porn tax-deductible.
[Interested-Participant]
Dell, HP to sell laptops with Verizon Wireless chips | InfoWorld | News | 2005-09-20
"Hewlett-Packard and Dell (Profile, Products, Articles) plan early next year to start selling laptops with embedded radios that allow users to access the Internet via Verizon Wireless' data network, the two U.S. manufacturers said Monday in separate statements. "
Monday, September 19, 2005
Ruckus launches Wi-Fi box - Computerworld
"Ruckus Wireless Inc. has launched a Wi-Fi adapter designed to handle multimedia. The adapter will be built into IP television services for consumers first, reaching businesses when IP voice services take off. "
AirDefense Launches Free Wi-Fi Security Tool - Yahoo! News
"AirDefense launched today consumer and enterprise versions of a product designed to help protect users from wireless security risks while their laptops are logged on at coffee shops, libraries, airports, hotels and other hotspots. "
Investing - The Soul of a Moneymaking Machine - FORTUNE
Poignant story on Valero and Hurricane Katrina
HOKU - up 22% today
A caller wanted to know if the buying in Hoku Scientific (HOKU:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take), which is up about 65% the past two days, had been overdone. The newly public company was the subject of two bullish research reports Thursday, and Cramer also spoke positively of the stock on his "Mad Money" TV show. Cramer said the stock had "moved too much," and he would wait for a pullback before buying. However, he added, the company, which has research and development agreements with Nissan, Samsung and the U.S. Navy, is making money and is "for real." But it's not the same stock at $10 as it was at $5, said Cramer.
[The Street]
[The Street]
Google - bankers making pitches
1. Google's offering a hit, bankers make their pitches
Google seems to have won over fund managers. They have piled into the stock, but to at least one pundit, all this recalls the bubble days. The big question for fund managers and investors is whether there is any upside left. Meanwhile, bankers are keenly aware that Google has built a $7 billion cash war chest. While still way out of Microsoft's league, the word seems to be out that the company is entertaining more acquisition ideas. There's something of a frenzy as bankers line up with their pitches.
[Fierce Finance/Nypost]
Google seems to have won over fund managers. They have piled into the stock, but to at least one pundit, all this recalls the bubble days. The big question for fund managers and investors is whether there is any upside left. Meanwhile, bankers are keenly aware that Google has built a $7 billion cash war chest. While still way out of Microsoft's league, the word seems to be out that the company is entertaining more acquisition ideas. There's something of a frenzy as bankers line up with their pitches.
[Fierce Finance/Nypost]
BEA Systems Weighed Down By Open-Source Pressure - Forbes.com
"Piper Jaffray reiterated a 'marketperform' rating and $8 target price on BEA Systems (nasdaq: BEAS - news - people ), saying it expects the company to continue feeling pressure from the open-source movement. "
Hewlett-Packard buys Peregrine Systems and AppIQ: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Palo Alto-based HP (NYSE:HPQ - News) said it will pay $425 million in cash for San Diego-based Peregrine (Pink Sheets:PRGN - News), which makes software for managing information technology assets and services. It is paying $26.08 for each share of Peregrine, a nearly 37 percent premium over its closing price of $19.10 a share on Friday."
No terms were disclosed for HP's purchase of privately-held AppIQ. The Burlington, Mass.-based company makes enterprise server and storage management technology and has 135 employees.
AppIQ's investors include Menlo Park-based Matrix Partners, Waltham, Mass.-based North Bridge Venture Partners, Palo Alto-based Advanced Technology Ventures and Santa Clara-based Intel Capital.
No terms were disclosed for HP's purchase of privately-held AppIQ. The Burlington, Mass.-based company makes enterprise server and storage management technology and has 135 employees.
AppIQ's investors include Menlo Park-based Matrix Partners, Waltham, Mass.-based North Bridge Venture Partners, Palo Alto-based Advanced Technology Ventures and Santa Clara-based Intel Capital.
Google Earth Goes On Safari - InsideGoogle - part of the Blog News Channel
"Google has added an cool new feature to Google Earth: Information on Africa courtesy of National Geographic, complete with links to feature articles and 500 high resolution photographs of people, animals and geologic formations."
Cellular Carriers Hit Bottom With IT ... - Computerworld
"On satisfaction. ForceNine Consulting, which is part of Washington-based telecommunications consultancy ForceNine Services LLC, surveyed the satisfaction level among more than 600 IT managers who work at $1 billion-plus companies and oversee the use of over 6 million wireless voice and data devices. And the bliss level was pretty low. According to Andy Roscoe, a partner at ForceNine, a mere 21% of the respondents said they were happy with their cellular carriers. "
Silver Peak Systems gets $12.5M funding: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"A new company developing network acceleration appliances in Mountain View said on Monday it has received $12.5 million in venture capital."
Benchmark Capital, of Menlo Park, and Greylock Partners, of San Mateo, are among the investors.
Benchmark Capital, of Menlo Park, and Greylock Partners, of San Mateo, are among the investors.
Alert Logic Secures $2.3M
"Alert Logic, Inc., the company that protects distributed enterprise networks from within, today announced that it has raised $2.3 million in Series A venture capital financing. The funds will be used to expand sales and marketing for the company's line of hosted products and services that help businesses model, rank, and remediate security threats without human intervention. The round was led by DFJ Mercury and OCA Ventures, with participation from Access Venture Partners. "
Startup Stars, Eager for an Encore
"Tech veterans will be plentiful at DEMOfall, where a full roster of ready-to-roll outfits share the spolight"
[BusinessWeek]
[BusinessWeek]
Sunday, September 18, 2005
World mobile subscribers top 2 bln: study: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"The number of mobile phone subscribers in the world has surpassed the 2 billion milestone Wireless Intelligence, an information service set up by industry body GSM Association and consulting firm Ovum, said on Sunday."
Katrina Crook! - New York Post Online Edition
"A man who arrived in Newark with a heart-rending tale of woe about fleeing Hurricane Katrina was exposed as a scammer - and arrested yesterday for fraud, officials said. "
Chinese Internet vs. free speech / Hard choices for U.S. tech giants
"U.S. tech giants are helping the Chinese express themselves online -- as long as they don't write about democracy, Tibet, sex, Tiananmen Square, Falun Gong, government corruption or any other taboo subject. "
[SF Gate]
[SF Gate]
Canon Powershot SD550 7.1MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
One of the best cameras around.
Realtors Bubble. Skeptics Blog. - New York Times
"HURRICANE KATRINA will lift home prices across the country, the National Association of Realtors declared this week. News outlets that picked up the story passed it along wholesale. MarketWatch.com presented a news release rewrite at the top of its home page with its usual screaming headline. "
The China Stock Blog: Who Are You Gonna Listen To About Baidu.com (BIDU, GOOG)?
Susan Mernit's Blog: Will MSN buy AOL? Or will Google?
MSN will probably buy AOL, not GOOG. Looking at Google's past acquisitions (dodgeball, etc.), they are all about small technology acquisitions - this may, however, change given their secondary offering which netted them a handsome sum of cash.
Psst: Want to Know My Net Worth? - New York Times
"APRIL was a stellar month for Jim Wang, 25, a software engineer who has kept a scrupulous record of his struggle to save for a down payment on his first home. "
[NY Times]
Anyone who would reveal all their financial worth online to strangers must be nuts.
[NY Times]
Anyone who would reveal all their financial worth online to strangers must be nuts.
Cell phones: Future is here - OrlandoSentinel.com: Technology
"Dan Fox was enjoying lunch with his wife at a Maitland steakhouse recently when he had a 'guy moment' and decided to use his cell phone's high-speed Internet access to solve a business-related network problem."
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Flock has landed.
Well, we're pretty much a bunch of regular folks trying to shake things up.
We started Flock to build tools that empower people and smooth out some of the more hairy parts of living and working online. As it is, we live and breathe this stuff everyday and wanted better tools to do the things that we love doing online.
Sounds delicious esque.
We started Flock to build tools that empower people and smooth out some of the more hairy parts of living and working online. As it is, we live and breathe this stuff everyday and wanted better tools to do the things that we love doing online.
Sounds delicious esque.
MBA Blogs (BETA): Home
(Kinda) cool idea. Niche vertical, but Businessweek.com is all about selling ads and this will generate page views.
Gartner: VoIP Security Uncertain in EBay/Skype Deal
"In another twist on the eBay/Skype deal, a research firm cautions big businesses should steer clear of the combined companies' technology. The problem: lackluster VoIP security."
10 rules for dealing with a car dealer: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Haggling is virtually essential, or you'll pay more than you really need to. And then you'll pay interest on that higher price.
Rings, cameras--now sex is latest phone feature | CNET News.com
"At present, sales of pornography over mobile phones in this country amount to virtually nothing. But cell phone commerce is on the rise, with sales of ring tones alone expected to reach $453 million this year, according to the Yankee Group, a research firm. The company estimates that by 2009, sales of pornography for phones will hit $196 million, still meager compared with a projected $1.2 billion for ring tones. "
[CNET]
Porno has drived popularity of new technologies like the VCR, online video (streaming), and is a major source of revenue for media companies - think pay-per-view. Interesting that pornography hasn't driven the rise of mobile data services.
[CNET]
Porno has drived popularity of new technologies like the VCR, online video (streaming), and is a major source of revenue for media companies - think pay-per-view. Interesting that pornography hasn't driven the rise of mobile data services.
Database Aims to Lower Firefighter Deaths - Yahoo! News
"It's a scene that plays out in firehouses every day: Firefighters return from a blaze or rescue call and talk about a close call that could have injured or killed someone. The International Association of Fire Chiefs wants firefighters nationwide to learn from such stories through the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System. "
Cisco Systems Completes Acquisition of Sheer Networks - Yahoo! Finance
"Cisco Systems today announced it has completed the acquisition of privately held Sheer Networks of San Jose, Calif. and Petach Tikva, Israel. "
Wine-Drinkers Down by a Million in France - Yahoo! News
"French people are drinking less wine, with 1 million fewer wine drinkers today than five years ago, according to a new study published Friday."
Friday, September 16, 2005
Barron's Online - Google Conquers Blog Frontier
"TODAY, GOOGLE INTRODUCES BLOGSEARCH, thus ending a long running frustration of bloggers everywhere with Technorati.
Google reminds everyone why it is such a fabulous technology company -- more than its sparse and clean interface, Google's products simply work better than everyone else's -- and often by orders of magnitude.
My first try with BlogSearch revealed 613 links in 0.08 seconds, some as recent as 37 minutes old. Competitors typically lag by days and sometimes weeks."
Google reminds everyone why it is such a fabulous technology company -- more than its sparse and clean interface, Google's products simply work better than everyone else's -- and often by orders of magnitude.
My first try with BlogSearch revealed 613 links in 0.08 seconds, some as recent as 37 minutes old. Competitors typically lag by days and sometimes weeks."
Survey: Broadband Prices Up, DSL Down - Yahoo! News
"The price gap between cable broadband service and phone carriers' digital subscriber lines widened to an all-time high in August, according to a survey by SG Cowen. "
"Cable-modem service was, on average, 75.8 percent more expensive than DSL during the month, up from a 53.3 percent gap in July. While phone carriers cut prices — the average DSL price decreased by 9.2 percent — cable companies raised them."
"Cable-modem service was, on average, 75.8 percent more expensive than DSL during the month, up from a 53.3 percent gap in July. While phone carriers cut prices — the average DSL price decreased by 9.2 percent — cable companies raised them."
BEA seeks open source accommodation - Yahoo! News
"At face value, it might appear that BEA Systems has its work cut out for it competing with free, open source alternatives to its own commercially available WebLogic Server application server platform. "
Microsoft seeks more control with Xbox 360 - Yahoo! News
"The first time around, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) wanted to establish a beachhead in the video game business. Now, with its much anticipated Xbox 360 console, it wants to rule that $25 billion global market. "
This week in merger mania | CNET News.com
"The week started off with a bang on 'Merger Monday' when software maker Oracle announced it will acquire rival Siebel Systems, and then, within hours, auction site eBay revealed plans to buy Net telephony provider Skype. "
Orbimage to Buy Space Imaging for $58.5M
"Space Imaging LLC said Friday it is being acquired by rival Orbimage Holdings Inc. in a $58.5 million cash deal expected to create the largest satellite imagery company in the United States."
[Washington Post]
[Washington Post]
Crude Falls as Traders Shorten Up
"Oil prices dropped Friday as traders exited long positions ahead of the weekend. OPEC is scheduled to meet in Vienna on Monday to decide whether it will increase its formal production quotas by 500,000 barrels a day. Crude for October delivery closed down $1.75 to $63 a barrel on Nymex. Gasoline futures dropped 11 cents, or 6%, to $1.78 a gallon. "
[The Street]
Time to take a position in crude at this discount price.
[The Street]
Time to take a position in crude at this discount price.
Gold settles at new 17-year peak - Yahoo! News
"U.S. benchmark gold futures closed at a 17-year high on Friday as robust demand for bullion and jitters over inflation and the U.S. economy stoked a buying spree in the precious commodity for a second straight day. "
KA- CHING
What an IZ Is Is Hard to Say, but It's Easy to Say What It Isn't: Quiet - New York Times
The heart - and belly - of iZ is a two-inch speaker that plays audio piped in through a standard jack at the back. When music is playing, iZ responds with synchronized colored lights inside its trumpetlike mouth. Its eyes bounce in their sockets, and it throws in burps and gurgles that may or may not be music commentary.
How to Turn Your Old Laptop Into a Digital Video Recorder - New York Times
"The Instant TV for Notebooks card from ADS Technologies (adstech.com) can retrofit a not-cutting-edge laptop and let it record the latest episode of 'Lost' to your hard drive."
IPod's Law: The Impossible Is Possible - New York Times
"APPLE says its iPod music player and iTunes music store have 74 and 85 percent of their worldwide markets. But according to Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray analyst, the end is near. 'Nobody can sustain an 80 percent market share in a consumer electronics business for more than two or three years,' Mr. Munster told CNN. 'It's pretty much impossible.' "
Novera's Got a New PON Spin - Light Reading
As South Korea's DSL mania gives way to fiber, one components startup has a chance to capture KT Corp.'s heart with a new type of passive optical networking (PON).
While EPON and GPON tussle for Asian markets, Novera Optics Inc. is in trials with 50,000 lines of WDM-PON at KT. That's compared with 10,000 lines for KT's EPON trials, says Novera CEO Yoon Kim.
While EPON and GPON tussle for Asian markets, Novera Optics Inc. is in trials with 50,000 lines of WDM-PON at KT. That's compared with 10,000 lines for KT's EPON trials, says Novera CEO Yoon Kim.
ScanSoft and Nuance Close Merger: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"ScanSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSFT - News), and Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN - News), today announced that the companies have closed the merger of Nuance with ScanSoft. As consideration, Nuance shareholders will receive 0.77 shares of ScanSoft common stock and $2.20 of cash for each share of Nuance common stock that they own. "
888 in a spin after rival warning - New York Times
"888.com on Thursday dropped the price range for its initial public offering set for the end of this month, after its rival PartyGaming last week warned about a slowdown in the growth of online poker."
Wired News: Yahoo Overhauling Free E-Mail
"Yahoo will begin testing a sleeker version of its free e-mail service Wednesday, shifting to a more dynamic design that mimics the look and feel of a computer desktop application like Microsoft's Outlook."
Wired News: Tech Sniffs Out Bad Meat
"Researchers in the United Kingdom have developed a technology that can identify contaminated meat in seconds using infrared spectroscopy and genomic algorithms. "
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Movielink - Company Overview
"Movielink (www.movielink.com) is the leading broadband movie download service offering U.S. customers an extensive selection of new and classic hit movies, foreign films and other hard-to-find content. The service is owned and operated by Movielink, LLC, a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios. Movielink draws its content offerings from the vast libraries of those studios as well as Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax, Artisan and others on a non-exclusive basis."
SeattlePI.com: John Cook's Venture Blog: News Corp.'s Internet push
Scout Media acquisition in tehe $60M neighborhood according to John Cook.
SearchViews -
Dispatches and Discussions on the Search Engine Industry. Brought to you by Reprise Media
Jyve
We, at Jyve, believe that with the advent of Skype, a free, high quality VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) application. World Communication is nearing a dramatic shift.
We are at a unique juncture in History; for the first time ever, people will be able to talk freely with others around the world for free. We envision that International Voice communication will someday be as common place as surfing the internet or sending emails. How will this affect the world? Increasing communication between people can only change it for the best.
Jyve hopes to play a role of catalyst in the mainstream adoption of Skype VOIP as the predominate medium for communication in the World; in turn, becoming the largest voice community on the internet. Why? Because we believe that voice is a more natural and dynamic medium for people to discuss and exchange ideas as well as entice creativity, collaboration and learning.
The world has yet to fully grasp the positive impact free voice communication will have on the world. Jyve plans to champion the cause.
Market Pulse: Hoku Scientific shares soar on two upbeat broker notes: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Shares of Hoku Scientific Inc. soared $1.51, or 24.7% to $7.63 in afternoon trading Thursday after two brokers started coverage on the company with an outperform rating. Piper Jaffray analyst Jesse Pichel said Hoku is one of the best-positioned component suppliers to the emerging fuel cell industry."
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog. Goodbye comment spammers (hopefully).
BWA Vendors Grab Cash
CEO Reza Ahy expects the final amount of Series E funding to be “around $20 million.
We believe this round is enough to take us to cashflow positive and to fund our new WiMax product line, he tells Unstrung. We have revenue of approximately $10 million per quarter. Founded in 1999, Aperto has a headcount of 125."
[Unstrung]
If I were a betting man, I'd bet against Mr. Ahy's comment that this is their last round of financing. Check back again in 18 months.
We believe this round is enough to take us to cashflow positive and to fund our new WiMax product line, he tells Unstrung. We have revenue of approximately $10 million per quarter. Founded in 1999, Aperto has a headcount of 125."
[Unstrung]
If I were a betting man, I'd bet against Mr. Ahy's comment that this is their last round of financing. Check back again in 18 months.
Old Is New Again
"It took Rusty Schmit, founder and chief executive of Albuquerque's Advent Solar, nearly a year to scrape together the $8 million in venture capital he needed to start developing a new generation of solar cells. His silicon-wafer technology allows solar panel manufacturers to cut costs and make lighter-weight, more aesthetically pleasing products. But back in 2004, when Schmit was first raising money, he says venture capitalists weren't much interested in renewable energy. "
[Business Week]
[Business Week]
RED HERRING | AllAbout IPO Soars 727%
"The market's reception was a big win for backer DCM-Doll Capital Management, a venture firm based in Menlo Park, California. DCM invested $540,000 in AllAbout's first round of financing in 2000 along with Recruit, a Japanese job advertising agency. AllAbout raised a total of $3.5 million in that equity round and later collected another $3.7 million in convertible debt. DCM's stake in the company is now worth $21 million, said Doll Capital investor David Chao."
Starbucks' Schultz Bemoans Health Care Costs - Forbes.com
"Starbucks' chief barista Howard Schultz has been committed to healthcare coverage for his employees, but his generosity may be brewing up trouble for the coffee seller. "
Mastercard - $2.45B IPO
MasterCard Inc. may raise up to $2.45 billion in an initial public offering of stock, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.
Although no expected price range is included in the prospectus, the company expects to sell 61.5 million shares while underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 4.6 million share to cover over-allotments.
[Reuters]
Although no expected price range is included in the prospectus, the company expects to sell 61.5 million shares while underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 4.6 million share to cover over-allotments.
[Reuters]
Mirra acquisition price
According to VentureWire Staff Reporters, range was $15M - $30M. Investors probably made their money back and some - certainly not a home run.
US Senate turns aside Web gambling ban for now - Reuters.com
: "The U.S. Senate on Thursday turned aside an attempt to restrict Internet gambling in a procedural move, but Sen. Jon Kyl vowed he would try again and said he expected the legislation would become law eventually."
Now, Oracle May Finally Rest - NewsFactor Network
"Oracle's purchase of Siebel will greatly enhance the vendor's efforts to challenge SAP in the world of applications software, according to analysts. The acquisition provides a missing puzzle piece within Oracle's product line, and it's very likely that compatibility among its products won't be an issue. That's clearly good news to enterprises using Oracle or Siebel solutions."
[Fierce Enterprise/NewsFactor]
[Fierce Enterprise/NewsFactor]
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Seagate Buys Mirra - Terms Undisclosed
Seagate has purchased Mirra Wednesday afternoon, adding storage appliance technology for the home and small office.
Peter Radsliff, VP Marketing had commented on our blog earlier in the year that the company was doing well. Mirra raised a total of $11M from Seqouia, Ventures Strategy Partners, Camp Ventures, and others. Company had good distribution channels (Amazon, Besbuy, dell, newegg, etc) and an importantpatent (Peer to Peer Remote Data Storage and Collaboration). Seagate, Maxtor, Western Digital all trade at roughly a 0.5x - 1x this and next year's revenue multiple so the Mirra acquisition would probably be in that range or slightly higher. Mirra has found a nice home considering the highly competitive space it plays in against the likes of Maxtor, D-Link, Xformx, and PrismIQ, who all offer a similar type of solution.
According to ExtremeTech, "Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but were not materially significant. Mirra's 34 employees will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seagate, effective immediately. "
More here at Zdnet
Peter Radsliff, VP Marketing had commented on our blog earlier in the year that the company was doing well. Mirra raised a total of $11M from Seqouia, Ventures Strategy Partners, Camp Ventures, and others. Company had good distribution channels (Amazon, Besbuy, dell, newegg, etc) and an importantpatent (Peer to Peer Remote Data Storage and Collaboration). Seagate, Maxtor, Western Digital all trade at roughly a 0.5x - 1x this and next year's revenue multiple so the Mirra acquisition would probably be in that range or slightly higher. Mirra has found a nice home considering the highly competitive space it plays in against the likes of Maxtor, D-Link, Xformx, and PrismIQ, who all offer a similar type of solution.
According to ExtremeTech, "Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but were not materially significant. Mirra's 34 employees will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seagate, effective immediately. "
More here at Zdnet
Google Launches Blog Search
Google has introduced its long awaited blog search service, becoming the first major search engine to offer full-blown blog and feed search capabilities.
It's been nearly two and a half years since Google purchased Pyra Labs, the company that built the hugely popular Blogger publishing service, and Google has been promising blog search ever since then.
[Search Engine Watch]
Here's the url
It's been nearly two and a half years since Google purchased Pyra Labs, the company that built the hugely popular Blogger publishing service, and Google has been promising blog search ever since then.
[Search Engine Watch]
Here's the url
Amazon Wants Your Loose Change - Yahoo! News
"Amazon.com on Tuesday said Coinstar Inc., best known for coin-counting machines found in many supermarkets and drug stores, has agreed to let customers exchange their loose change for certificates redeemable at the online retailer. "
[Yahoo]
Obviously offering the Amazon option to consumers only helps Coinstar as they can make money on the non-redeemed Amazon certificates. Who would want a certificate when they can get cash though.
[Yahoo]
Obviously offering the Amazon option to consumers only helps Coinstar as they can make money on the non-redeemed Amazon certificates. Who would want a certificate when they can get cash though.
Big Day in the Search Space - TheStreet
"It's a big day for Internet investors, with Google (GOOG:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) readying a $4 billion stock sale and two brokerages commenting skeptically on Chinese search engine Baidu.com (BIDU:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take). "
Aperto
"Aperto Networks, a leading WiMAX systems provider, announced today it has raised $17 million in the first tranche of a Series E financing round. The funding was led by Canaan Partners and was raised from existing investors, including JK&B Capital, Alliance Ventures, Innovacom, Tyco Ventures, Labrador Ventures, and Satwik Ventures. The latest round brings the company's total capitalization to $94 million."
[Unstrung]
[Unstrung]
Yahoo Launches Test of E-Mail Upgrade: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Yahoo Inc. on Wednesday will begin testing a sleeker version of its free e-mail service, shifting to a more dynamic design that mimics the look and feel of a computer desktop application like Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook."
Airgo chips leap in speed past Wi-Fi: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Privately-held Airgo Networks Inc. said on Wednesday it has developed wireless chips that are more than four times faster than Wi-Fi, a short-range wireless technology that delivers the Web to laptop computers in homes, offices and public places."
This is revolutionary technology (MIMO) that improves data throughput so much that wireless home networks may eventually allow consumers to watch streaming video and TV.
The prediction is that Broadcom, Atheros, Intel will acquire Airgo shortly. That is unless they register for IPO.
This is revolutionary technology (MIMO) that improves data throughput so much that wireless home networks may eventually allow consumers to watch streaming video and TV.
The prediction is that Broadcom, Atheros, Intel will acquire Airgo shortly. That is unless they register for IPO.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Video54, err, Ruckus Wireless
"Wireless startup Video54 will announce next week that it is changing its name to -- wait for it -- Ruckus Wireless and that it has grabbed $9 million in VC funding."
[Unstrung]
[Unstrung]
SmartBargains brings in $18M and a new CEO
"SmartBargains Inc., a Boston-based off-price web retailer, has new funding and a new top executive.
The company has received a commitment for $18 million in equity funding from its investors including Highland Capital Partners, Maveron, General Catalyst, Gordon Brothers and Time Warner."
[MassHighTech]
The company has received a commitment for $18 million in equity funding from its investors including Highland Capital Partners, Maveron, General Catalyst, Gordon Brothers and Time Warner."
[MassHighTech]
Truveo
"Computer scientists who helped pioneer online search on Tuesday unveiled a Web crawler called Truveo that one analyst called 'a step ahead' of what Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) have accomplished in video search."
New Approach From Gap to Cut Down on Clicks - New York Times
Toby Lenk, of Gap Inc. Direct, says its new Web sites more closely mimic store shopping.
I'll believe it when I, err, experience it.
I'll believe it when I, err, experience it.
Microsoft, Partners Offer IP-Based TV Platform - Yahoo! News
"The nascent Internet Protocol television (IPTV) market has taken a leap forward with the launch of new set-top boxes and other equipment provided by software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) and a handful of its IPTV collaborators. "
Stoke -- Company Overview - Learn more about who we are
"Stoke is a telecommunications company focused on designing and manufacturing a new category of service delivery infrastructure that enables fixed-mobile convergence supporting any service over any infrastructure using any end-user device. The Stoke portfolio includes platforms, systems, software and services.
Stoke, Inc., based in Mountain View, CA, is a development stage company formed early in 2004. The company is backed by the world's top two venture capital investors, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital and is led by a seasoned team of IP network and wireless industry veterans.
"
[Website]
Stoke Inc., a Mountain View, Calif.-based telecom company, has raised $19.8 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Pilot House Ventures and Integral Capital Partners. The company’s website says that it is manufacturing a new category of service delivery infrastructure that enables fixed-mobile convergence supporting any service over any infrastructure using any end-user device. www.stoke.com
[PE Week Wire]
Stoke, Inc., based in Mountain View, CA, is a development stage company formed early in 2004. The company is backed by the world's top two venture capital investors, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital and is led by a seasoned team of IP network and wireless industry veterans.
"
[Website]
Stoke Inc., a Mountain View, Calif.-based telecom company, has raised $19.8 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Pilot House Ventures and Integral Capital Partners. The company’s website says that it is manufacturing a new category of service delivery infrastructure that enables fixed-mobile convergence supporting any service over any infrastructure using any end-user device. www.stoke.com
[PE Week Wire]
Landmark Communications to Take CoolSavings Private; CoolSavings Stockholders to Receive $.80 Per Share in Cash: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Landmark Communications, Inc. ("Landmark") today announced the execution of a definitive agreement for Landmark to purchase all of the shares of common stock ("Common Stock") and Series C convertible preferred stock of CoolSavings, Inc. ("CoolSavings") (OTC Bulletin Board: CSAV - News) held by each of Richard H. Rogel and Hugh R. Lamle and certain of their respective family members and related persons (the "Selling Stockholders"). Landmark is CoolSavings' largest stockholder with beneficial ownership of approximately 83% of CoolSavings' Common Stock, assuming Landmark converted all of its Series B convertible preferred stock.
Linksys WiFi/Cellular Access Point
Linksys WiFi/Cellular Access Point: "Over the next few weeks it will be introduced in Germany, Greece, Italy, Holland, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa and United Kingdom. Announced today in Spain, through Wireless-G 3G/UMTS Router is said to bring the convenience of WiFi to travelers even without hotspot access. With a data subscription plan and a Cardbus UMTS adapter..."
[WLAN Central]
[WLAN Central]
Linksys Debuts Affordable Mimo Router: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Linksys, a Division of Cisco Systems, Inc., the recognized leading provider of voice, wireless and networking hardware for the consumer, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business customer, today announced a new addition to its award-winning SRX family of Wireless-G Broadband Routers. The WRT54GX2 Wireless-G Broadband Router with SRX200 uses MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology to bring users increased speed and range at a lower price."
Uses Airgo chipsets.
Uses Airgo chipsets.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Software Only: Skype + eBay = Deal! $1.3B cash + $1.3 stock + $1.5 earn-out = $4.1B!
More commentary around ebay/Skype.
Software Only: Siebel ecosystem being put out of its misery by Oracle for $3.6B net
Benioff and Jurvetson are quoted.
XM radio signs $100 mln deal with NHL - Yahoo! News
"XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq:XMSR - news) on Monday said it bought the rights to broadcast National Hockey League games, starting this October, in a $100 million 10-year deal to compete against rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. "
Flickr Widget
"Here's yet another fun way to add some Flickr goodness to your blog or website -- the Flickr RSS widget is an unobtrusive little javascript button that, when clicked, expands to display an assortment of thumbnails of the latest photos in any Flickr RSS feed. "
Will Salesforce.com's vision outlast Siebel's? | InfoWorld
"When people talk about Silicon Valley's new crop of software executives cut from the mold of Oracle (Profile, Products, Articles) leader Larry Ellison, Salesforce.com founder and Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff is always at the top of the list. Like Ellison, his one-time boss and current rival, Benioff is brash, aggressively competitive, and always ready with an inflammatory quote. Also like Ellison, he likes to make grandiose projections about how his company will reshape and dominate its industry. He's taken seriously because many of those projections have come true. "
eBay to buy Skype for $2.6 billion in cash, stock | CNET News.com
Skype expects to generate $60 million in revenue this year and more than $200 million during 2006, Skype's chief operating officer, Michael Jackson, said in a joint interview with Dutta. The company has yet to post a profit, he said, adding that business users account for 25 percent of Skype's audience.
As of October 2004, Skype had raised $24 million from several private equity firms including Mangrove Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Bessemer Venture Partners and Index Ventures.
While allowing potential benefits from providing communications services between buyers and sellers, particularly in China, Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto said in a note to clients Friday that a licensing partnership could accomplish this without requiring eBay to buy Skype.
"We struggle to see enough of a benefit to the marketplace from offering this service to get a sufficient return on a potential multibillion-dollar price tag," Noto wrote.
As of October 2004, Skype had raised $24 million from several private equity firms including Mangrove Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Bessemer Venture Partners and Index Ventures.
While allowing potential benefits from providing communications services between buyers and sellers, particularly in China, Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto said in a note to clients Friday that a licensing partnership could accomplish this without requiring eBay to buy Skype.
"We struggle to see enough of a benefit to the marketplace from offering this service to get a sufficient return on a potential multibillion-dollar price tag," Noto wrote.
The Observer | Business | Demand for price cut puts 888 float at risk
"The planned �700 million flotation of online casino firm 888 Holdings could be cancelled as potential City shareholders demand the business slashes its float price by up to a third."
TheDeal.com - Handmark lands $5M
"Mobile information and entertainment software maker Handmark Inc. is expected to announce a second round of venture funding worth $5 million that will support the increased compatibility of its products with mobile phones.
Lead investor Apax Partners LP of London and New York said it joined Borealis Ventures of Hanover, N.H., and Village Ventures of Williamstown, Mass., as co-leaders of the round. Also participating were first-time backer Argnor Wireless Ventures of Stockholm, as well as founding investor Hanna Ventures LLC, the personal investment vehicle of David Hanna."
Lead investor Apax Partners LP of London and New York said it joined Borealis Ventures of Hanover, N.H., and Village Ventures of Williamstown, Mass., as co-leaders of the round. Also participating were first-time backer Argnor Wireless Ventures of Stockholm, as well as founding investor Hanna Ventures LLC, the personal investment vehicle of David Hanna."
EBay paying up to $4 bln for Skype: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"EBay (NasdaqNM:EBAY - News) has agreed to buy fast-growing Internet start-up Skype for up to $4.1 billion in cash and shares, in a move to tap new sources of growth and add free Web telephone calls to its online auctions."
Sunday, September 11, 2005
"IPhone" could be music to Apple's ears - Yahoo! News
"With the help of Motorola Inc., Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) Chief Executive Steve Jobs finally made good last week on his pledge to deliver a cellular phone that plays music like an iPod, Apple's wildly successful digital music player. "
Wired News: Smoke Breaks Boost Memory
"For a couple of thousand years, smokers have sought a quick concentration boost by firing up a cigarette.
It turns out that cognitive buzz isn't just in smokers' heads. Scientists have found that nicotine really does boost certain transmitters in the brain that can help people think better. Now, the pharmaceutical industry hopes to improve on the effect, minus the lung cancer. "
It turns out that cognitive buzz isn't just in smokers' heads. Scientists have found that nicotine really does boost certain transmitters in the brain that can help people think better. Now, the pharmaceutical industry hopes to improve on the effect, minus the lung cancer. "
FogBugz - Introducing FogBugz 4.0
FogBugz is a complete project management system for software teams. Designed by Joel Spolsky of Joel on Software fame, FogBugz helps you make better software by tracking, prioritizing, and coordinating the thousands of small tasks a development team has to do.
VenChar: What do Golf, Startups, and Slots have in common?
They all conform to one of the fundamental rules of human behavior conditioning - provide random and variable rewards to reinforce repeated behavior.
Arlington Hosts Somber 9/11 Remembrances - Yahoo! News
"Under a sky as cloudless blue as four years ago, throngs of people on Sunday sang 'God Bless America' outside the Pentagon and marched in remembrance of the terrorist attacks and in tribute to troops fighting abroad. "
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Is the time right for phone-music player hybrids? | CNET News.com
Mobile-phone customers are already consuming music on their handsets. Nokia's N91, Samsung's SGH i300 and Sony's Walkman W800 are examples of handsets that play digital music files.
Apple's iPod costs likely went up--in a flash | CNET News.com
"The two new music players introduced by Apple Computer on Wednesday are smaller than the existing iPod Minis--and they probably cost more to make, too. "
IPod phone isn't perfect, but it's a start | CNET News.com
"You'd better believe it. When Apple announced that it was about to unveil something big, its stock price zoomed to a record high. The Gizmodo Web site posted an exhibit of no fewer than 24 different faked 'iPod phone' photos that have circulated online. Gadget freaks worldwide went foamy at the mouth."
Start-up gives online shopping a makeover | CNET News.com
"Shopping cart abandonment--it's been a thorn in the side of e-retailers and shoppers alike for years. Allurent, a 12-person start-up based in Cambridge, Mass., has set out to tackle the problem with Web animation technology. The company's shopping cart program is designed to let consumers easily revise an order at any stage of checkout within a single online form. Shoppers don't need to download anything to run the application because it relies on Macromedia's popular Flash Player, already installed on most computers. "
RED HERRING | China's Markets Face Reform
If it gets its policies right, some predict Shenzhen could overtake the Nasdaq by 2013.
[Red Herring]
[Red Herring]
Friday, September 09, 2005
Vue Technology Bought by VC Investors
"Aliso Viejo-based Vue Technology, an inventory tracking software company, said it was bought by two venture capital investors for an undisclosed amount.
Vue Technology's software tracks products from the warehouse to store shelves to the point of sale via radio frequency identification tags. "
[Orange County Business Journal Online]
Vue Technology's software tracks products from the warehouse to store shelves to the point of sale via radio frequency identification tags. "
[Orange County Business Journal Online]
Former Boeing Chairman Lew Platt Dies: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
Lewis "Lew" Platt, a director and former chairman of Boeing Co. who also served as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard Co. in the 1990s, has died, Boeing said Friday. He was 64.
[AP]
RIP Lew. We miss you.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
PartyGaming turns into busted flush as shares collapse
"PartyGaming, the online poker giant that floated amid a blaze of publicity in June, had more than 2bn pound wiped off its valuation yesterday after it admitted that the internet poker craze had started to wane. "
[The Independent]
[The Independent]
News Corp. Buys Online Game Business - AP
"Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. made its latest acquisition in the Internet sector Thursday, agreeing to pay $650 million in cash for online video-game company IGN Entertainment Inc."
[AP]
According to SEC filings, IGN did $42M in 04 revenues and was tracking at $28M for first 6 months of 2005. At a 15x LTM rev multiple, NewsCorp has paid a significant premium for this property. This acquisition comes on the heels of the company's $580m cash deal to acquire Intermix Media Inc/MySpace.com, also paid at a premium.
[AP]
According to SEC filings, IGN did $42M in 04 revenues and was tracking at $28M for first 6 months of 2005. At a 15x LTM rev multiple, NewsCorp has paid a significant premium for this property. This acquisition comes on the heels of the company's $580m cash deal to acquire Intermix Media Inc/MySpace.com, also paid at a premium.
MetaCarta plots path to $10M
"Cambridge-based MetaCarta Inc., a provider in geographic-based business intelligence, has received $10 million in a Series C round of funding, and added two to its board of directors.
The latest round of financing was led by new investors FA Technology Ventures and Hunt Ventures and also included long-time company backers Sevin Rosen, Solstice Capital, Chisholm, In-Q-Tel and ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures. "
[Mass High Tech]
The latest round of financing was led by new investors FA Technology Ventures and Hunt Ventures and also included long-time company backers Sevin Rosen, Solstice Capital, Chisholm, In-Q-Tel and ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures. "
[Mass High Tech]
Facebook, a fun resource or invasion of privacy?
"Just when everyone thought that stalking was a major taboo in America and surfing the web for countless hours was an activity reserved for computer nerds and sociophobes, thefacebook.com came along and proved that a peeping tom lives inside all of us, easily aided by the Internet."
[The Athens NEWS: Twice weekly alternative]
[The Athens NEWS: Twice weekly alternative]
Verizon Wireless to sell music-playing phones - Reuters
"Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service, plans next week to start selling three mobile phones with built-in digital music players, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday."
eBay in Talks for Skype for $5B: Reports - The Street.com
"eBay is in talks to buy Luxembourg-based Internet-phone service company Skype Technologies, according to published reports Thursday.
The Internet auctioneer would pay $2 billion to $3 billion for Skype, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of talks between the two sides. The New York Post reported that eBay is set to pay about $5 billion for Skype. "
The Internet auctioneer would pay $2 billion to $3 billion for Skype, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of talks between the two sides. The New York Post reported that eBay is set to pay about $5 billion for Skype. "
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Buddhist monks in Shanghai seek to attain...MBA - Yahoo! News
"A Shanghai business school is offering an MBA programme with Buddhist characteristics for harried abbots trying to balance spiritual wealth with the other kind. "
Crouching tiger, hidden donkey - Yahoo! News
"The cat is out of the bag at a restaurant in northeast China that had been serving donkey meat spiked with tiger urine in pricey dishes advertised as endangered Siberian tigers. "
How Did Wilson Sonsini Lure Carmen Chang Back for Its China Practice?
"Call it love, Silicon Valley style: Barely two years after eloping with Wall Street firm Shearman & Sterling, Carmen Chang has returned home to the waiting arms of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The newly crowned head of Wilson Sonsini's China practice, Chang will be spearheading the firm's official foray into China, making it the first major indigenous Silicon Valley firm to open an office outside of the United States. "
[LegalTimes]
[LegalTimes]
NerdTV Available by Free Internet Download - AP
NerdTV identifies its target audience with its very name and with its format: It's not available over the air but rather via a free Internet download.
The tech-focused interview show, created by pundit and PBS host Robert X. Cringely, is meant to be unlike anything on regular TV or elsewhere on the Internet, where video tends to come in short clips.
The tech-focused interview show, created by pundit and PBS host Robert X. Cringely, is meant to be unlike anything on regular TV or elsewhere on the Internet, where video tends to come in short clips.
TI Develops New Digital Video Technology - Yahoo! News
"Texas Instruments Inc. says it has developed semiconductor technology that will let manufacturers quickly produce digital video devices with more power and features. "
Apple's Rokr iTunes phone ready to roll | CNET News.com
Ending months of fervent speculation, Apple Computer on Wednesday rolled out a cell phone capable of playing music and accessing iTunes.
Search Firms: Google, Yahoo ... And Sun? - Yahoo! News
Searching for ways to set its servers apart, Sun Microsystems is working on a trio of projects to develop software designed to make it easier to find and organize digital media, including music and spoken words.
Motorola and Apple Launch the World's First Mobile Phone with iTunes
Here's the press release. AAPL stock is back down 1% - news about the phone was factored into yesterday's stock price.
Apple unveils new combination iPod/cellphone
"Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday unveiled a cellphone that works like an iPod music player, in a bid to extend its domination of the digital music market."
[Reuters]
[Reuters]
News junkies find Wikipedia more than encyclopedia - Reuters
Interesting article on the rise of the wikipedia, which has surged this year to become the most popular reference site on the Web, overtaking several major news sites as the place where people swarm for context on breaking events.
DTV middleware jump-starts digital STBs
"Micronas and LogiWays SA have prepared a new digital STB format by integrating their MDE 95xyD STB chip and Magello DTV middleware, respectively, offering a complete hardware solution that enables fast and easy market access. "
[EETimes]
[EETimes]
Some Video Games Force Players Off Couch - Yahoo! News
"Every article about America's obesity epidemic seems to mention video games. That's not surprising, considering that video games have been blamed for juvenile delinquency, low SAT scores, teenage promiscuity, high gasoline prices and just about every other problem facing the nation. "
EETimes.com - Power device market to shrink in 2005, says analyst
"The global market for power semiconductor devices has been forecast to decline in 2005 from the figure of $11.2 billion in 2004, which was up by more than 20 percent on 2003, according to IMS Research. "
Intel backs Negevtech in $26 million VC round, says report
"Intel Capital has helped wafer inspection company Negevtech Ltd complete a $26 million round of financing, according to a Globes Online report that referenced unnamed sources close to the company. "
[EETimes Asia]
[EETimes Asia]
Venture capital eyes telecom innovators
Venture capitalists plan to invest $7 billion over the next three years in California startups that develop uses for the increasing mix of telecommunications, Internet, cable and wireless technologies, according to a survey released Tuesday.
[Inside Bay Area]
[Inside Bay Area]
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Wired News: The Next Mother Lode: Mars
"Space entrepreneurs eyeing Mars as a hub of some future solar system economy launched a startup on Tuesday to mine the red planet for building materials.
The new company, 4Frontiers, plans to mine Mars for building materials and energy sources, and export the planet's mineral wealth to forthcoming space stations on the moon and elsewhere. "
The new company, 4Frontiers, plans to mine Mars for building materials and energy sources, and export the planet's mineral wealth to forthcoming space stations on the moon and elsewhere. "
Group: Yahoo Helped China Jail Journalist - Yahoo! News
"A French media watchdog said Tuesday that information provided by Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. helped Chinese authorities convict and jail a writer who had penned an e-mail about press restrictions."
F5 Networks to pay $43M for competitor - bizjournals.com
"Network security specialist F5 Networks Inc. said it has agreed to buy Swan Labs Corp., a provider of wide area network (WAN) technology, for $43 million in cash."
Linux firm Trolltech readies board for IPO - Reuters
"Trolltech, the world's biggest producer of Linux software for mobile devices, has appointed two ex-Microsoft executives as it gears up for a possible initial public offering, sources close to the company said on Tuesday. "
Investors get behind podcasting, but will the listeners? - The Boston Globe
The entrepreneurs at PodShow and Odeo harbor big dreams for podcasting.
''Our mission is to bring as many people into podcasting as possible," says PodShow chief executive Ron Bloom. ''We think it has to be 100 million for the medium to take hold" -- that is, to sell advertising and sponsorships. (By comparison, commercial radio stations reach about 200 million listeners.)
The money and guidance that Odeo and PodShow will receive from their venture capital backers seem destined to turn them into the leading lights of podcasting, along with Apple's iTunes Music Store, which in June began distributing podcasts for free. (Another company to watch is publicly held Audible Inc., of New Jersey.)
''Our mission is to bring as many people into podcasting as possible," says PodShow chief executive Ron Bloom. ''We think it has to be 100 million for the medium to take hold" -- that is, to sell advertising and sponsorships. (By comparison, commercial radio stations reach about 200 million listeners.)
The money and guidance that Odeo and PodShow will receive from their venture capital backers seem destined to turn them into the leading lights of podcasting, along with Apple's iTunes Music Store, which in June began distributing podcasts for free. (Another company to watch is publicly held Audible Inc., of New Jersey.)
Led Into Temptation? Who Wasn't? - New York Times
BEFORE he became an Internet analyst, Henry Blodget wanted to be a writer.
[NYTimes]
[NYTimes]
Intel Capital invests $16M in Czech software maker
"Intel Capital said on Tuesday it has agreed to take a $16 million stake in Grisoft, a Czech Republic anti-virus software maker.
The Santa Clara-based investment wing of Intel Corp. said this is its biggest equity investment in Eastern or Central Europe."
The Santa Clara-based investment wing of Intel Corp. said this is its biggest equity investment in Eastern or Central Europe."
Apple iTunes Phone
Unidentified "industry sources" have indicated that Apple will announce the iTunes phone tomorrow in San Francisco. Many speculate that the phone will be offered by Cingular, but a recent T-Mobile presentation included a reference to a "mobile with iTunes" that will be available by Christmas.
[Fierce Developer]
[Fierce Developer]
99Bill Corporation signs agreements with Sohu and China.com
"99Bill claims to be the first company in China offering email and mobile phone number based online payment platform and solutions."
[eyefortravel.com]
[eyefortravel.com]
DCM, Others Bet Big on Chinese Micropayment Startups
In China, credit cards and personal checks have always been more of an abstract idea than a reality.
The region also boasts that some 100 million people go online daily, sometimes to shop.
Such factors go a long way in explaining why, in succession over the last couple of weeks, two China-based online payment services have received funding from U.S. and Chinese investors and why more competitors are sure to emerge to take part in backing micropayments.
[PE Week]
The region also boasts that some 100 million people go online daily, sometimes to shop.
Such factors go a long way in explaining why, in succession over the last couple of weeks, two China-based online payment services have received funding from U.S. and Chinese investors and why more competitors are sure to emerge to take part in backing micropayments.
[PE Week]
Monday, September 05, 2005
BidHero PPC Bid Management
BidHero is a bid management solution that integrates with ClickTracks Pro to optimize PPC campaigns based on visitor conversion, advertising ROI and other advanced web analytics data.
Google Maps add Hurricane Katrina before/after feature - CyberJournalist.net
"Google Maps had added a Hurricane Katrina before/after feature. Now, when you look up a map showing areas hit by Hurricane Katrina, you'll see a red button labeled 'Katrina.' Click on that to see a satellite photo after Katrina hit. Click on 'satellite' to see the before image."
Telecom Damage Tops $400 Million
Telephone company BellSouth Corp. yesterday estimated that it would cost $400 million to $600 million to repair the damage from Hurricane Katrina and said it could take four to six months to restore service in the hardest-hit areas of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.
[Washington Post]
[Washington Post]
A 'Weather Nerd' in Indiana Sent a Warning to the Mayor - New York Times
One of the earliest and perhaps clearest alarms about Hurricane Katrina's potential threat to New Orleans was sounded not by the Weather Channel or a government agency but by a self-described weather nerd sitting on a couch in Indiana with a laptop computer and a remote control.
Here's his blog
Here's his blog
Napster UK touts subscriber numbers | The Register
"Napster UK's 750,000 users have downloaded or streamed 55m tracks since the service launched in May 2004, the digital music provider said today."
Skype and Tom Online create Chinese joint venture - Yahoo! News
"Free Internet telephone software provider Skype has formed a joint venture with China-focused Internet portal Tom Online, in a bid to boost its subscriber base in the fast-growing Asian market. "
Ballmer vowed to "kill" Google CEO, court hears
"Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer vowed to 'kill' Google in an expletive-laced, chair-throwing tirade when a senior engineer told him he was leaving the company to go to work for Google, the engineer claimed in court documents made public on Friday."
[WebWatch]
[WebWatch]
Xfire releases Voice Chat
As you may have noticed, Xfire has recently been working on increasingly sophisticated versions of our voice chat technology. The most recent release added the ability to choose differing quality levels, so you can optimize Xfire voice chat to best utilize your internet connection without disrupting your game. We've also made big improvements behind the scenes to improve sound fidelity and reduce any disconnection problems.
We'll soon be moving the existing voice chat system out of beta status, meaning voice chat is ready for you and your friends to use full time! Now you can easily open up a voice channel and chat away as you play. Of course, we'll still be working on future improvements to the voice communication, so keep an eye out for future releases for new features!
[Xfire Newsletter]
We'll soon be moving the existing voice chat system out of beta status, meaning voice chat is ready for you and your friends to use full time! Now you can easily open up a voice channel and chat away as you play. Of course, we'll still be working on future improvements to the voice communication, so keep an eye out for future releases for new features!
[Xfire Newsletter]
Big bucks back next mobile frontier: Broadcast TV - Yahoo! News
Reuters Photo
"SAN FRANCISCO (Billboard) - Want to watch TV on your mobile phone? The wireless industry is betting billions that you do. "
RED HERRING | SAIC Plans $1.7B Offering
With an eye on acquisitions, IT provider Science Applications International Corporation said Thursday it would make a public offering of stock in 2006.
The employee-owned San Diego company aims to raise $1.7 billion with the offering. With revenue in 2004 of $7.2 billion and a net income of $409 million, SAIC is one of the largest information technology providers to the U.S. federal government. In 2004, it won $2.5 billion in contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense, making it the ninth-largest Pentagon contractor.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Yahoo Rapped Over Funding Spyware
"How Yahoo Funds Spyware out now by spyware researcher/activist Ben Edelman looks at how Yahoo ads run in plenty of places beyond Yahoo, including syndication partners he says make use of spyware or adware. It raises again the question of why the major search engines are dragging their feet on letting people pick-and-choose where their ads will run?"
[SearchEngineWatch]
[SearchEngineWatch]
hi5.com - on fire
Hi5.com has crept out of nowhere to become the 68th most trafficked site on the internet according to Alexa.com. Hi5 now exceeds friendster and orkut in terms of number of page views.
And all that talk about TheFacebook.com and their 100M+ valuation. Hi5 has way more traffic than thefacebook.com (note the drop in August).
Yahoo! Slurp
Yahoo! Slurp is Yahoo!'s web-indexing robot. The Yahoo! Slurp crawler collects documents from the Web to build a searchable index for search services using the Yahoo! search engine. These documents are discovered and crawled because other web pages contain links directing to these documents.
Yahoo's bot has been slurping this blog.
Yahoo's bot has been slurping this blog.
Tech Startups - powered by FeedBurner
I've been playing around w/ Feedburner and I like what I see. Their optimize page offers some neat tools to spice up your blog. For instance, I added the "LinkSplice" feature and also inserted Hurricane Katrina donation banners into my feeds. My feed readers can now click through to make a credit card donation - Check it out here. I set the feature to "display an ad every 1 feed item I publish" so it is quite an eyesore. Sorry.
Friendsand.com "in life it's who you know"
Yet another social networking site. Found this one through a spam email.
Microsoft Makes Own VOIP Move with Teleo Purchase
More on MSFT and their Teleo acquisition from eweek.
Tech Startups - Ads from Adbrite!
We've just begun testing out Adbrite's ad network.
If you're interested in advertising, click on the link or email us at techstartups@gmail.com
If you're interested in advertising, click on the link or email us at techstartups@gmail.com
Nanobiotechnology Under Pressure to Justify the Enormous Private and Public Funding it Has Received
"Nanobiotechnology Under Pressure to Justify the Enormous Private and Public Funding it Has Received"
[medicalnewstoday.com]
[medicalnewstoday.com]
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Kleiner Perkins' Latest Energy Investment
Menlo Park, Calif. VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in July led a $3 million preferred stock investment in EEStor Inc., a Cedar Park, Texas startup that is developing breakthrough battery technology.
[BusinessWeek]
[BusinessWeek]
Friday, September 02, 2005
Houston Struggles to Keep Up With a Surge of Evacuees Estimated at 200,000 - New York Times
"An estimated 200,000 people were in Houston alone, taking up most of the hotel rooms in the United States' fourth-largest city and forcing Houston to begin canceling conventions."
Online Usage Plummets in Battered Gulf - New York Times
"The statistics make it look as if someone just flicked a switch and turned off the Internet, and that's not too far from the hurricane truth. In the battered Biloxi-Gulfport region of Mississippi, where about 160,000 people might go online during a typical weeknight, Internet usage had fallen ''below reportable levels'' by Tuesday, according to the tracking firm comScore Networks."
When Your PC Is on the Fritz, Who You Gonna Call? - New York Times
"Adam Sanderson, chief executive of ComputerOverhauls, getting down to work at a home in Larchmont, N.Y. For $149, he promises to clean a computer, install the appropriate programs and have it running in tip-top shape. "
Japan: Where being a geek can save you money | News.blog | CNET News.com
"Being a geek has been chic since the heyday of the technology boom, but a movie theater in Japan is taking the idea a step further, encouraging people to celebrate their inner nerd."
New Scientist Breaking News - 4G prototypes reach blistering speeds
"Cellphones capable of transmitting data at blistering speeds have been demonstrated by NTT DoCoMo in Japan.
In experiments, prototype phones were used to view 32 high definition video streams, while travelling in an automobile at 20 kilometres per hour. Officials from NTT DoCoMo say the phones could receive data at 100 megabits per second on the move and at up to a gigabit per second while static. At this rate, an entire DVD could be downloaded within a minute. DoCoMo's current 3G (third generation) phone network offers download speeds of 384 kilobits per second and upload speeds of 129 kilobits per second. "
In experiments, prototype phones were used to view 32 high definition video streams, while travelling in an automobile at 20 kilometres per hour. Officials from NTT DoCoMo say the phones could receive data at 100 megabits per second on the move and at up to a gigabit per second while static. At this rate, an entire DVD could be downloaded within a minute. DoCoMo's current 3G (third generation) phone network offers download speeds of 384 kilobits per second and upload speeds of 129 kilobits per second. "
Kanye West Rips Bush During NBC Concert - SFGATE
"It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But 'A Concert for Hurricane Relief,' a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.
Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed 'George Bush doesn't care about black people' and said America is set up 'to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.'"
Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed 'George Bush doesn't care about black people' and said America is set up 'to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.'"
Photo Captions From Katrina Stir Debate
In the first, the young man, who is black, is described as having "looted" the items. In the second, the pair, who are white or light-skinned, are described as "finding" the items.
[SFGATE]
[SFGATE]
Techdirt:Spin Can't Mask Lack Of Interest In Mobile TV
Despite study after study that can't explain why mobile television will succeed or highlights how little interest there really is in it, the hype rolls on.
Google Opens Digital Library - Yahoo! News
"Google Inc. is asking European book publishers to submit non-English material to its Internet-leading search engine � a move that may ease worries about the company's digital library relying too heavily on Anglo-American content. "
Magazine - Gas Prices: Expect the Misery to Continue - FORTUNE
"From the consumer's point of view, Katrina could not have landed at a worse time, as refinery outages and high demand have been pushing up prices at the pump all summer."
Skype denies Hutchison Whampoa bought 5 pct stake - Reuters.com
"Skype [SKYP.UL] dismissed as inaccurate a report which said Kong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) acquired a 5 percent stake in it, valuing the Internet software telecoms provider at 1 billion euros ($1.26 billion)."
Cisco IP Phone 7985G Videophone
"Cisco has a new Color IP VideoPhone called the Cisco IP Phone 7985G Videophone coming to market that until now has been kept under top-secret wraps."
[TMCNet Blog]
[TMCNet Blog]
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Price of Laptop Computer Drops to $1,000 - Yahoo! News
"Good news if you're in the market to buy a laptop computer: The price is coming down. The Wall Street Journal reports the average price of a laptop is now about $1,000, down from $1,250 last year and $1,640 in 2001. Some are selling for even less. "
Jerome Williams Retires From the NBA, Will Remain Wit
"A lot of guys play for the championship, but I don't live
for it,'' Williams said, adding that he would've played for New
York next season if he wasn't waived. ``The only thing I leave
this game regretting is that I didn't dunk on Shaq.'' "
The Knicks cut Williams using the league's amnesty
provision, meaning they'll have to honor the final three years
and $19 million on his contract. The nine-year veteran said he
opted to retire rather than play for another team because of
community-relations commitments he made upon joining the Knicks
a year ago.
[Bloomberg]
for it,'' Williams said, adding that he would've played for New
York next season if he wasn't waived. ``The only thing I leave
this game regretting is that I didn't dunk on Shaq.'' "
The Knicks cut Williams using the league's amnesty
provision, meaning they'll have to honor the final three years
and $19 million on his contract. The nine-year veteran said he
opted to retire rather than play for another team because of
community-relations commitments he made upon joining the Knicks
a year ago.
[Bloomberg]
MercuryNews.com | 09/01/2005 | Valley firm has big plans for its tiny RFID chips
"Alien Technology likes to think both big and small. The company has built a semiconductor chip assembly factory in Morgan Hill that has the capacity to assemble 2 billion chips a year. In North Dakota, the company is building another factory that can produce 20 billion chips a year."
Billion-Dollar Baby Dot-Coms? Uh-Oh, Not Again - New York Times
"JIM BREYER, a top Silicon Valley venture capitalist, knows that the $12.2 million his firm paid for a modest stake in Facebook, an online service immensely popular with the college set, is a lot of money. "
"So he's not surprised that some are pointing to that deal as proof that inflation is back in the venture world - a development that can't help but stir memories of the late 1990's. "
"So he's not surprised that some are pointing to that deal as proof that inflation is back in the venture world - a development that can't help but stir memories of the late 1990's. "
Creative says it has patent covering iPod technology - cnn
"We consider it a dead certainty that Creative will go after Apple for royalties or some other type of compensation for what Creative will assert is infringement of its patents, currently and in the past," Leigh said.
Gap August same-store sales fall 9 pct - Reuters.com
"Gap Inc. said on Thursday its sales at stores open at least a year rose fell 9 percent, worse than analysts had expected."
The rising gas prices act as a tax and ultimately will affect apparel sales say analysts. This is not good news for retailers like Gap, Abercrombie, (though they may be more sheltered than say Walmart who cater to the lower income households), etc.
The rising gas prices act as a tax and ultimately will affect apparel sales say analysts. This is not good news for retailers like Gap, Abercrombie, (though they may be more sheltered than say Walmart who cater to the lower income households), etc.
Troops, Police Deployed to Stop Looting - Yahoo! News
"National Guardsmen in armored vehicles poured into New Orleans on Thursday to curb the growing lawlessness as Mississippi's governor vowed to deal with looters in the neighboring state as 'ruthlessly as we can get our hands on them.' "
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