Google, Yahoo Test New Online Ad Model: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Google, Yahoo Test New Form of Online Advertising That Encourages People to Pick Up Phone
DALLAS (AP) -- Internet giants Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. are testing a new form of online advertising that encourages people to pick up the phone rather than click on a link, lending credibility to the 'pay-per-call' ad model."

Online auction site eBay Inc. is also considering getting into the business, using technology from its recent purchase of Internet phone provider Skype Technologies SA, eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said.

Advocates of pay-per-call, including some merchants who have tried it, say customers who call are ready to buy and aren't just browsing the Internet; thus, search engines can charge more -- $2 to $10 or even more per call, compared with less than $1 per click.

Manufacturing moves into design flow

"After spending time with VC companies reviewing business plans for design-for-manufacturability (DFM) startups, Atul Sharan and Yao-Ting Wang decided they could do a better job themselves. So they left the VC world and started Clear Shape Technologies Inc., promising a new approach to modeling IC manufacturing effects.
Clear Shape is preparing technology that will bring 'design manufacturability check' models into the IC design flow, along with tools to help optimize designs so they won't have problems with optical proximity correction (OPC) or manufacturing. The company promises a fast, accurate and secure way to predict the impact of systematic manufacturing variations without forcing the designer to run OPC or to disrupt established design flows. "

AT&T, BellSouth debut Yellowpages.com venture | Reuters.com

"Telephone operators BellSouth Corp. and AT&T Inc. unveiled their improved online directory, Yellowpages.com LLC, on Thursday, going head-to-head against Internet heavyweights Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. BellSouth and SBC Communications Inc., now part of AT&T, joined together last year to buy Yellowpages.com and combine their own telephone directory services for an online service."

Upload, Store, Play and Share in a Few Clicks - New York Times

"Which leaves only one question: 'What is Glide Effortless?'
Here's another stab: it's a personal Web site (www.glidedigital.com) to which you can upload your favorite photos, MP3 files, video clips and even Word, PowerPoint or PDF documents. (A separate companion program speeds the uploading process by letting you drag and drop big batches of files at once.) Once everything's posted on the Web site, you can do two things with it: manage it or share it."

RED HERRING | Yelp Gets $3M-Plus in VC Cash

"Bessemer Venture Partners said Friday it has backed Yelp.com, a service that combines social networking and online reviews, with a first round of funding in the range of $3 million to $8 million.

Based in San Francisco, Yelp features reviews that compile personal recommendations for things like restaurants, bars, spas, and even moving services. It also facilitates social networking between reviewers."

Googling For Gold - bus week

The Google effect is already changing the delicate balance in Silicon Valley between venture capitalists and startup companies. Instead of nurturing the most promising startups with an eye toward taking the fledgling businesses public, a growing number of VCs now scour the landscape for anyone with a technology or service that might fill a gap in Google's portfolio. Google itself and not the larger market has become the exit strategy as VCs plan for the day they can take their money out of their startups. Business founders have felt the tug as well. "You're hearing about a lot of entrepreneurs pitching VCs with their end goal to be acquired by Google," says Daniel Primack, editor of PE Week Wire, a dealmaking digest popular in VC circles. "It's a complete 180 [degree turn] from the IPO craze of five years ago; now Google is looked at like NASDAQ was then." Other entrepreneurs, meanwhile, are skipping the VC stage altogether, hoping to sell directly to Google.

VC firm targets China for investments

"Ignition Partners LLC, a U.S. venture capital firm founded by former Microsoft Corp. executives, plans to raise $125 million to invest in China, said people who've been briefed by the firm.
Ignition partners Richard Tong and John Zagula will work with Gary Rieschel, a former partner at Mobius Venture Capital, in Shanghai to market and invest the fund, said the people, who declined to be identified to protect their relationships with the Bellevue-based firm."

[SeattlePI]

meebo.com

lots of noise surrounding meebo.com - the young techy team is getting a lotta buzz w. their sticky ajax app - closest comp is trillian and deadaim.

as a business, however, how is the company going to be sustainable and grow to make money?

here are some ideas:
1) k.i.s.s. work on UI, reliability of service and qos.
as aim is adding all these inconvenient ad pop ups, plaxo features,video/messaging services, and other very annoying revenue generating features, the company will no doubt lose users who will either use other aim programs (like meebo) or get on yhoo, msn, goog talk.

2) license the technology to enterprises.

3) grow the user base. not very hard. the app will sell itself. more users = more value to the company remember skype? 50m users, 7m revs and a billion dollar+ valuation. even if meebo gets 1/10 of 1% of that you'll still be making some good loot.

4) slowly add contextual search (adsense) to the meebo background. don't doubt the ad model. it works with scale.

5) like deadaim or flickr pro, add a paypal link for users to purchase an upgraded service.

6) create new bzzzwords: meeblogging. meeespacing.

7) wait for goog to buy you.

8) integrate w/ pay per call the next new new thing imo.

9) or what about adding the 5 meebillion dollar meebo page.

Online Personals Watch: Facebook Founder Interview

I just listened to an interview between Accel VC Jim Breyer and Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's Founder. Here's some interesting points about this phenomenon of good judgement, timing and site design... Mark Brooks

LOOMIA -- Oct 26 -- 450 servers and 25,000 signups a day. 230 million page views a day! Mark considers Facebook, not as a social network but as an online directory. Some have called it a 'walled friendster' but Mark says it's a utility, a directory. They made a decision to keep individual schools walled to keep maximum focus. Users can see fellow alumni only...so they feel more comfortable listing private information such as their cell phone number. "Friendster, myspace and facebook are all very different things. We have this directory, Friendster is a dating site and...who knows what Myspace is." (laughter). Mark is very humble and reveals, (32:08) "I've no idea what I'm doing." Jim adds, "I'll add a couple of comments. (laughter). Mark has a number of skills that one rarely sees...he's a great listener and you learn from listening...I'm still stunned how many entrepreneurs come to our offices and it's all output and there's no thoughtfulness. It's amazing that the very best entrepreneurs are...great listeners and...their organisations tend to be great listening organisations.

Craigslist Founder Slams U.S. Press, Hints at New Online News Project - Yahoo! News

"Craigslist Founder Slams U.S. Press, Hints at New Online News Project - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK Saying U.S. newspapers 'are afraid to talk truth to power,' Craigslist founder Craig Newmark hinted that he's about to launch a major online journalism project within the next few months that will copy the successful 'wisdom of the masses' approach to classified advertising and apply it to journalism. "

WPT Enteprises Teams With Chipleaders to Create World Poker Tour(R) Branded Online Social Network for Poker Fans: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: WPTE - News) announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Chipleaders Inc. (www.chipleaders.com), the leading online social network dedicated to poker."

eBay: Award-winning META-SEARCH engine for sale: jux2.com (item 7554979251 end time Oct-26-05 14:28:21 PDT)

"
Winning bid:US $101,100.00


Ended: Oct-26-05 14:28:21 PDT
Start time: Oct-16-05 14:28:21 PDT
History:116 bids (US $0.01 starting bid)
Winning bidder:3vcap ( 0 ) "


hmm. that sounds like an asset sale to me.

Sought After

"Average revenue per search (yes, any kind of search, not just paid): 12 cents.
Avg. revenue per searcher: $7
Avg. revenue per sponsored click: 62 cents.
Estimated profits for Google in 06: Roughly $4 billion (Bear Stearns)
Revenue growth of Google year to year: 96%
Of Yahoo: 42%
Estimated revenue growth for next year for Google (Bear): 61%
For the average of eBay, Yahoo, and Amazon: 29%
Price target for GOOG (Piper): $445
Number of shares Battelle owns (For all of you who keep asking): 0
Also: Number of employees added in the past year: Nearly 2000
Amount spent on capex, 05 (estimate): $800 million
Amount MSFT is estimated to spend: $810 million"

Genuine VC: Bipolarization of Internet Acquisitions in 2005

"Acquirer Target Price ($M)
Yahoo Dialpad Undisclosed
AOL Weblogs Inc. $25
Google Urchin $30
Yahoo Ludicorp (Flickr) $40
Viacom iFilm $49
Viacom Neopets $160
eBay Verisgn Online $370
eBay Shopping.com $521
News Corp Intermix (MySpace) $580
News Corp IGN Entertainment $650
IAC Ask Jeeves $1,781
eBay Skype $2,600
Yahoo Upcoming.org Undisclosed
Google Dodgeball Undisclosed
AOL Mailblocks Undisclosed
AOL Xdrive Undisclosed
eBay Gumtree Undisclosed
AOL Wildseed Undisclosed
Google Andriod Undisclosed
Yahoo Konfabulator Undisclosed
Yahoo WhereOnEarth Undisclosed
Yahoo Blo.gs Undisclosed"

Google Tests Pay-Per-Call Ads

"Google is testing a pay-per-call feature in ads appearing on its search engine results pages.
Some searchers have begun to see a phone icon next to the company's sponsored listings. By clicking on the icon, they can enter a phone number and click a 'Connect for Free' button to be linked up to the other party.
Google's system first calls the search user, then dials the merchant and makes the connection.
The company details the offering in a FAQ item on its site. In its description, Google tries to head off privacy concerns, saying it will store a person's phone number and call information for less than four months.
'We won't share your telephone number with anyone, including the advertiser,' according to the FAQ. 'When you're connected with the advertiser, your number is blocked so the advertiser can't see it. In addition, we'll delete the number from our servers after a short period of time.' "

[Clickz]

Venrock - vwire pro

"Looking for clean energy deals in its next fund, Venrock Associates has backed a start-up developing fusion power - a risky bet even by venture capital standards. All this makes fund-raising a cinch by comparison, which is a good thing since the firm will probably target $550 million for its fifth fund next year."

SonicWALL Acquires Lasso Logic, Inc. and enKoo

" SonicWALL, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNWL) a leading provider of security, mobility and productivity
solutions, today announced that it has acquired data backup solutions company
Lasso Logic, Inc. (Lasso) and the assets of enKoo, a developer of remote
access technology.
San Francisco-based Lasso is an early-stage company providing continuous
data protection for backup and recovery solutions, for the small and medium
business (SMB) market. Lasso's tapeless, hands-free, appliance-based
technology redefines the traditional approach to data backup and eliminates
the need to purchase separate backup software, hardware, servers and storage
products. enKoo, based in San Jose, Calif., brings to SonicWALL a wealth of
award-winning, secure remote access technology for SMBs."

[Newswire]

another example whereby a larger company has acquired a smaller company - for its technology - before letting the startup grow its revenues. sf based lasso logic only raised their first institutional round of $4m from Outlook Ventures in August of this year. Only $4.5m total into the company. Look for the more acquisitions in the SMB data protection space.

Microsoft buys FolderShare | CNET News.com

old news but not sure if i linked to this msft/foldershare deal. there seems to be an ongoing trend in msft, google, and yhoo's m&a thesis whereby these guys are acquiring technologies - community related sites, collaboration, mobile, social networking, photo, auction, commerce, vertical search, jobs - at an earlier stage at a more reasonable valuation. further these startups have critical technologies that can be quite accretive relatively quickly. read flickr.

more on foldershare:

The software maker purchased the FolderShare service from Austin, Texas-based ByteTaxi. Financial details of the deal were not announced.

The technology offers an alternate way to send large files that are too big to be easily e-mailed.

Windows Live is a collection of online services, most of which will be free and supported by advertising, Microsoft said. Many are rebranded versions of existing MSN services.

TechCrunch ? Companies I?d like to Profile (but don?t exist)

"But there are a number of companies and/or products that I would like to write about but don?t exist. I?ve been keeping a list over the last few months and I am posting it now.
Some of these are big ideas, some small. Some could potentially receive venture backing, most wouldn?t. But I believe that a viable business could be built by an entrepreneur around any of these, and I will be happy to profile them if and when someone builds them. In a way, this is number 11 in my previously post ?Top Ten Things You Can Do To Get Blogged?, but its also much more than that."

McBru Blog

"InformationWeek last week credited bloggers for forcing Sony's hand in withdrawing 50 CD titles with its content protection software because it compromised a computer's security. My initial reaction to the article was twofold:

? The headline, 'Bloggers Break Sony,' is further evidence of the blogosphere's growing power.

? Sony proves that ignoring the blogosphere is a recipe for PR disaster. See the article's subhead: 'Sony made an unpopular product decision and got its reputation incinerated by waves of flaming bloggers. That's a lesson for other companies.'"

Rajan?s Rambling

"Just read this post at venturewoods on metcalfe?s law & india..."

Study Shows Nanoparticles Could Damage Plant Life at Mane?s Space

"A nanoparticle commonly used in industry could have a damaging effect on plant life, according to a report by an environmental scientist at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)."

TIME.com Print Page: Business -- Best Inventions 2005: Roll With It

AjaxWhois.com - Ajax-based domain lookup and Whois for most TLDs

AjaxWhois.com - Ajax-based domain lookup and Whois for most TLDs

Wikipedia Search LuMriX

cool

TipMonkies ? Blog Archive ? The Ultimate Guide to Google Services

"Anyone who has ever used the internet probably knows about Google?s web search, but did you know that Google does a lot more? We?ve discussed many Google services on TipMonkies before, but there are some which some of you may not be aware of. Read the full article to get the giant list of Google services and what each does. We?ll try to keep this list up-to-date as Google begins rolling out more services (because you know they will)."

Drag drop online site creator PHP

EETimes.com - Canadian startup launches fuse-memory

"Sidense Corp., a startup formed by Polish engineers, has said it has developed a fuse-based one-time programmable non-volatile memory (NVM) intellectual property (IP) core targeted at a standard logic CMOS manufacturing process.
Sidense (Kanata, Ontario, Canada) did not disclose on its website the underlying fusing technology but claims no additional programming voltages are required and that no charge storage is required for data retention in excess of ten years duration. The company said its design does not require any additional masks or process steps, and utilizes only one transistor as a memory cell positioning it as a leader in area efficient NVM IP core solutions. Although the memory element is one-time-programmable fuse it is possible to emulate multi-programmability through movable addressing. The IP is offered as a series of hard macros supporting different configurations and targeted towards different foundries? processes with supporting documentation, test benches and design files, the company said. Sidense calls its technology ?1T-Fuse? and said the structure has been proven in silicon at 130-nm and can be ported to 90-nm, 65-nm and below. "

EETimes.com - Brown researchers claim first silicon laser

EETimes.com - Brown researchers claim first silicon laser: "Researchers from Brown University have created what they believe is the first directly pumped silicon laser, a breakthrough that they say could eventually help to make faster, more powerful computers or fiber optic networks.
According to Brown, scientists have fashioned lasers since 1960 from substances ranging from neon to sapphire. But the structure of silicon would not allow for the proper line-up of electrons to emit light. "

EETimes.com - Cadence segments Incisive verification platform

"Looking to borrow a page from successful enterprise software companies like Oracle Corp. and SAP AG, Cadence Design Systems Inc. Monday (Nov. 14) released the Incisive Enterprise family of products, the top tier offering in the newly segmented Incisive functional verification platform.
According to Steve Glaser, Cadence vice president of marketing, the specialization of designers and verification engineers working on leading-edge system-on-chips (SoCs) at top tier companies has created disconnect, making overall management of the process one of the biggest challenges. The Incisive Enterprise family is designed to address that, he said, providing linkages between all of the various specialists involved with a project, including project/verification managers and verification, hardware design, software, systems and systems validation engineers. "

Cramer's 'Mad Money Lightning Round': Home on the Grainger

"Cisco Systems (CSCO:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take): 'They went and bought a second-rate cable box operator. SellSelSell. I release you from that Cisco house of pain.' "

TiVo offers downloads to iPods, PlayStation Portables: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"TiVo Inc. said Monday that it will let users of its digital video recorders download any TV show stored on their TiVo boxes onto iPods and PlaySation Portables.
Alviso-based TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO - News) is greatly expanding what can now be watched on the devices sold by Cupertino-based Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) and Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE - News)."

Amp'd (fucked?) Engadget

Is Amp?d in trouble? The cloyingly hip MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) targeted at the youth of today hasn?t even launched yet and there already some signs that things aren?t going well. MocoNews reports that three senior execs have recently jumped ship (one to Voce, that MVNO for Luxist readers we reported on the other day) and that an executive recruiter they spoke to has reported seeing a number of resumes from current Amp?d employees looking for an exit. To make matters worse, the company?s new COO has been barred from working there while a judge decides whether her former employer (T-Mobile) can enforce a non-compete agreement she signed. To be fair, plenty of companies churn through executives and do more or less ok, but a steady stream of upper-level management departures like this before Amp?d has even launched its service isn?t exactly confidence-inspiring. Amp?d is still slated to launch sometime around the end of the year."

News from PC Magazine: WeatherBug Launches Labs to Get Weather Ideas Brewing

"Following in the footsteps of Google Inc., WeatherBug last week launched WeatherBug Labs with the intent of seeding ideas on how to get weather in front of more faces faster?before tornadoes, hurricanes or other natural disasters have a chance to wreak havoc.
WeatherBug's parent company is AWS Convergence Technologies Inc., which owns and operates the world's largest live weather network. "

Google lets Web sites sign up advertisers directly - Yahoo! News

Advertisers wishing to place ads on Google-supported Web sites can sign up directly on those sites, the Web search leader said on Friday, in a move analysts said addresses concerns about its growing advertising clout.

"While Yahoo and Kanoodle have sought to make their ad systems more transparent to publishers, Google keeps key details of how its system runs secret from customers and asks them to trust that it markets ads in an even-handed fashion."

MSFT / Friendster???

Domain Name (Unknown)
IP Address 63.116.4.# (BBH)
63.116.4.3
ISP UUNET Technologies
Location Continent : North America
Country : United States (Facts)
State : New York
City : New York
Lat/Long : 40.739, -73.9835 (Map)



"Referring URLhttp://www.google.co...+acquires+Friendster
Search Enginegoogle.com
Search Wordsmicrosoft acquires friendster
Visit Entry Page http://techstartups....es-2-technology.html
Visit Exit Page http://techstartups....es-2-technology.html"

Digg

"Digg is a technology news website that combines social bookmarking, blogging, RSS, and non-hierarchical editorial control. With digg, users submit stories for review, but rather than allow an editor to decide which stories go on the homepage, the users do. "

buy.com

"WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Internet retailer Buy.com Inc. plans to sell 4.2 million shares of stock for between $11 and $13 a share in an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing on Friday.
Underwriters, led by Thomas Weisel Partners LLC, have the option to buy an additional 625,000 shares to cover over-allotments, according to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."

match.com sued | Reuters.com

"Match.com, a unit of IAC/Interactive Corp. (IACI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , is accused in a federal lawsuit of goading members into renewing their subscriptions through bogus romantic e-mails sent out by company employees. In some instances, the suit contends, people on the Match payroll even went on sham dates with subscribers as a marketing ploy."

Greylock closes $500M software, IT and Internet fund: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Greylock Partners closed a $500 million fund, its twelfth in 40 years, which it plans to invest in Internet, software and other information technologies.
Limited partners in the fund include university endowments, industrial families and non-profit organizations."

UARM: Real-Time ECN for UNDER ARMOUR INC - Yahoo! Finance

UNDER ARMOUR INC (RT-ECN)
Symbol: UARM
Last Trade: 26.01 11:11AM ET
After Hours Change: N/A
Today's Change: 13.01 (100.08%)
Bid: 25.76
Ask: 26.15

OQO has a new sugar daddy

"OQO is a company that has been attempting to mainstream a PDA that runs Windows XP. It?s an ambitious project, but one that will be ongoing for a good while longer. They have received $20 million in an oversubscribed round of financing. The new money will be used to increase sales and marketing and accelerate research and development on the next generation of mini-computers.

The funding, raised by Washington, D.C. based Paladin Capital Group, comes from existing investors in the company along with a new investor ? Motorola Ventures, the venture capital arm of Motorola. Clearly this is much more than just a case of Motorola looking for good return on their money. It will be interesting to see what comes of this new cash infusion. Certainly, having full XP usability in your pocket would be a great advance."

Cisco to buy Scientific-Atlanta - Yahoo! News

"Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO - news) on Friday said it would buy Scientific-Atlanta Inc. (NYSE:SFA - news), a leading U.S. maker of cable television set-top boxes, for $6.9 billion in a deal that would move the networking equipment giant more deeply into the consumer market.
The deal is part of Cisco's efforts to find new technologies and businesses to spark revenue growth and boost its stock."

Google Opens 'New Chapter' With Two Service Launches - Forbes.com

"Piper Jaffray maintained an 'outperform' rating and $445 target price on Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), saying the recent launch of Google Base could be 'the start of a new chapter' for the Internet company.

Earlier this week, Google launched Google Base, a platform for users to enter and save content on the web that can then be easily categorized and found by others. "

Mom Makes Teen Stand on Street With Sign - Yahoo! News

EDMOND, Okla. - Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades, her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson.

She made Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read: "I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food."

OQO Announces $20M Financing Round: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"OQO, Inc., manufacturer of the model 01 and model 01 ultra personal computer, today announced $20 million in Series D financing. The oversubscribed round was led by Washington D.C.-based Paladin Capital Group with existing institutional investors Azure Capital Partners and AsiaTech Management, as well as new key strategic investor Motorola Ventures, the venture capital arm of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - News). This round will be used to scale the sales and marketing efforts while accelerating research and development of next generation ultra personal computer products and related technologies."

MSN Money - Financial Times Business News: ICE prices IPO at top end of range

"The IntercontinentalExchange on Tuesday priced its initial public offering at the top of its revised indicative range in a move that will value the energy derivatives specialist at $1.44bn when trading starts on Wednesday.
The world's second-largest energy exchange this week hiked the indicative range for the offering by a third and boosted the issue size by 60 per cent, reflecting investor appetite to buy into the combination of both fast-growing derivatives and the buoyant commodities sector."

Light Reading - Services Software - Stoke Wins $20M - Telecom News Wire

"MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Stoke, Inc. exited stealth mode today and unveiled plans to deliver an IP service delivery platform built for converged fixed and mobile networks. The company is led by a world-class management team from some of the most prominent names in IP and telecommunications infrastructure. The company also announced it has secured $20 million in Series B funding in an oversubscribed round, bringing the total funding for the company to $30 million.
Investors in the Series B round include existing backers Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital, as well as new investors Integral Capital Partners, Pilot House Ventures and Presidio STX, LLC. "

RED HERRING | Ruckus Outside the Home

"In-home wireless networking device startup Ruckus Wireless introduced a customer premise device on Monday that will find and manage the strongest possible metropolitan Wi-Fi connection to the home to prevent signal degradation and instability.

The company, which launched its in-home wireless routing system in September, will market its MetroFlex 2201 initially through Tropos Networks, a Sunnyvale, California-based provider of wireless mesh technology. Tropos? products have been used in a number of metropolitan Wi-Fi networks, including those built in Philadelphia and Anaheim, California."

FT.com / By industry / Telecoms - Stoke seals new round of funding

"Stoke, a telecommunications equipment start-up backed by leading venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia, unveiled on Monday its technology to manage the convergence of fixed and mobile networks.

Stoke's emergence from stealth mode will also be marked by the announcement that a second round of funding worth $20m has closed. Original backers Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital were joined by Integral Capital, Pilot House Ventures and Presidio STX, a venture arm of Japan's Sumitomo, in adding to the $10m already raised for Stoke."

Youtube.com in clear lead in video community sites mkt

Myricom and Extreme Networks Target High Performance Computing and Data Centers with Proven 10-Gigabit Solutions: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Myricom, Inc. and Extreme Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:EXTR - News), the leader in open converged networks, are teaming up to help customers with High-Performance Computing (HPC) and mainstream networking applications with jointly tested network solutions that achieve 10-Gigabit performance."

RedOrbit - Technology - Start-Up Aims to Join Telephone and Wireless Calls

"A secretive start-up backed by two powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firms will on Monday outline its plans for bridging the gulf between mobile telephones and fixed-line phone networks.
Executives of Mountain View, California-based Stoke Inc. say they are developing a way to offer so-called 'fixed mobile convergence' inside offices, at home and around town as well -- a major stumbling block the communications industry is facing."

But the blue-chip start-up will need more than veteran executives and well-connected financial backers to succeed in a market analysts say is far from defining common standards.

"That whole area is really problematic until we get standards," said Ken Dulaney, Gartner Inc.'s senior wireless industry analyst. "There are lots of political problems here."

Cellphone OS Developer SavaJe Announces New CEO, CFO

Cellphone OS Developer SavaJe Announces New CEO, CFO
By VentureWire Staff Reporters 11/15/2005

Cellphone operating system developer SavaJe Technologies Inc. has hired networking technology veteran Gregory Koss as its new chief executive.

Koss gives the company a formal replacement to long-time CEO Bob Gilkes, who stepped down from the top post during the summer.

George Grey, the company's president and chief operating officer, served as interim CEO from the time Gilkes left until last month, when Koss joined.

Users Crowd into MySpace - Businessweek

"When News Corp. (NWS ) announced in July that it would buy MySpace for $580 million, some observers wondered whether the media giant would kill the Internet site's phenomenal popularity (see BW Online, 08/16/05, 'The Birth of Murdoch.com'). But MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson say the social-networking pioneer is growing even faster than before.

MySpace has been adding about 150,000 new users a day during the first half of November, up from about 100,000 a day last summer, CEO DeWolfe said, citing internal reports. 'The growth rate is amazing,' he notes (see BW Online, 11/14/05, 'MySpace Growing Even Faster Since Acquisition').

UP TO NO. 4. The site's growth in visitor numbers, which had leveled off during the summer, has picked up again. In October, MySpace logged 24.2 million unique users, up 12% from 21.6 million in September, according to a new report from researcher comScore Networks. A copy of the report, which is scheduled to be released officially to the public later this month, was provided to BusinessWeek Online. The number of unique visitors was roughly flat at 21 million in July, August, and September. "

Is Friendster up for sale? | CNET News.com

"The San Francisco-based company has hired Montgomery & Co., a boutique investment banking firm in Santa Monica, Calif., to find a buyer, CNET News.com has learned. Company executives have been talking to several Internet media companies about an acquisition, according to those sources.
Friendster spokesman Jeff Roberto declined to comment for this story. A spokeswoman from Montgomery said the company could not confirm nor deny whether Friendster is a client.
Earlier this year, Friendster was shopping for a buyer, and according to one source, it was looking for a sale price in the ballpark of $200 million. Now its price has been lowered to the range of $50 million to $100 million, the source said."

Microsoft Launches Search for Businesses

"Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday released a business version of software that aims to help people more quickly find documents, e-mail and other data stored on Windows-based computers.
The free new desktop search product comes after years of complaints over how hard it can be to locate Microsoft Word documents, sort through long e-mail lists and find other data people use during the workday."

[AP]

Web Dating Game Heats Up

"Troublemakers on the online dating scene may have met their match in a group of increasingly brand-conscious Internet giants. Yahoo!'s (YHOO:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) Yahoo! Personals and IAC/InterActiveCorp's (IACI:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) Match.com, two of the largest Internet dating sites, are stepping up their efforts to weed their services of abusive, obnoxious or married people. "

[The Street]

Knight Ridder to Explore Possible Sale - New York Times

"Knight Ridder Inc., the nation's second biggest newspaper company, said Monday its board is working with longtime financial adviser Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore its strategic alternatives including a possible sale of the company to boost its value for its shareholders.
The announcement comes as the publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Miami Herald and 30 other papers is under pressure from at least two big shareholders to put the company up for sale."

MercuryNews.com | 11/13/2005 | Hot idea attracts VCs' cold cash

"In the end, Shah raised $8 million from DFJ and USVP, at a valuation of more than $20 million. In other words, VCs agreed that the portion of the company they didn't own, largely controlled by Shah, was worth more than $12 million. Again, a lot of money considering it was little more than an idea. ``That's pretty high for three guys and some slides,'' Shah concedes."

Juniper Networks to buy Funk Software for $122 mln | Reuters.com

"Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , the network equipment maker, on Monday said it agreed to buy Funk Software for about $122 million in cash to add network access security products.
Funk, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, develops products and technology that protects computer networks by ensuring that users meet companies' security policies before gaining access."

Wired News: Riya Eases Pain of Pile of Pix

"The field of online photo-sharing sites is becoming pretty crowded, but a new service hopes to distinguish itself by automating the tedious job of tagging pictures by using artificial intelligence and face-recognition technology.
Riya has developed software that can automatically recognize who is in a picture and tag it with their names."

FTC Pulls Plug On $100 Million Adware Business

"A U.S. federal court shuttered one of the world's top five adware and spyware suppliers at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the government agency announced Thursday.
The move was the first FTC action that targeted a major player in the adware space. "

Man Spends $100,000 On Virtual Space Station In Online Game - Yahoo! News

" In one of the largest sales yet of property in an online game, a Miami resident has bought a virtual space station for $100,000 and wants to turn it into a cross between Jurassic Park and a disco. "

Nanosys

"Palo Alto, Calif. -- Nanosys Inc., a manufacturer of ultra-small technology that can make devices sleeker and more efficient, said it has raised a $40 million Series D round of financing, led by El Dorado Ventures.

The announcement comes more than one year after the company filed for an initial public offering of its shares, then changed its mind.

New investors in the latest round include Masters Capital, Medtronic Inc. and Wasatch Advisors. The financing also includes a portion from new investor In-Q-Tel, the venture group of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. "

Founded in 2001, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Nanosys has taken in some $95 million in funding to date. In July 2004, riding a wave of interest in nanotechnology companies, it filed an IPO of 6.25 million shares of its stock, with an estimated price range of $15 to $17 per share.

Garcia said Nanosys subsequently withdrew the IPO because "the market conditions were really poor, and the company decided to pull back and focus on the business." Roberts added that the company, thanks to a downbeat tech earnings season at the time, simply "could not get the pricing on the IPO we thought was reasonable."

Intel-Based Commercial WiMAX Networks Under Way With 24 Carriers Worldwide: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Thirteen carriers from around the world are now deploying the world's first fixed WiMAX networks based on Intel Corporation WiMAX technologies, delivering high-speed broadband access to businesses and residences from Germany to Guatemala. Eleven more carriers are preparing to deploy additional Intel-based WiMAX networks by year's end."

Intel Announces 25 Percent Cash Dividend Increase and Authorizes $25 Billion in Share Repurchases: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has approved a 25 percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 10 cents per share beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the first quarter of 2006. The Intel board also authorized the repurchase of up to $25 billion in shares of common stock under the company's ongoing stock repurchase program."

Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Hot Steamy Stoxxx!!

Cramer is hot on porn mobile - the next killer app. He's bullish on MOT, BRCM, VZ as a plays in the space. His thesis is that the larger the screen the better the quality and the more willing consumers are willing to upgrade to a better phone. Cramer doesn't talk about AAPL but their future plans for a wifi ipod, PodPhone, and their latest Ipod Video will position them right in the middle of the growth in mobile and porn.

Nvidia's Revenue Rises

"Nvidia (NVDA:Nasdaq - news - research - Cramer's Take) gave investors something to cheer about on Thursday, announcing that its third-quarter profit more than doubled and predicting that its profit margins would continue to expand. "

[The Street]

Google Text Search Ads Going To Newspapers

"Remember those display-style ads Google's placing in print magazines? Vinny Lingham reports a new twist. This time, Google is apparently to put its text ads (just like you see in search results) into a Chicago newspaper. Hmm, where? The classifieds section, maybe? If so, perhaps there's hope for newspaper classifieds yet."

RED HERRING | More iPod Suits Blast Apple

"U.K. and Mexican users file class action suit against Apple saying the ultra-thin digital music devices screen is defective."

Ozzie memo shows Microsoft rolling with punches | InfoWorld | News | 2005-11-09 | By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service

"A memo written by Microsoft (Profile, Products, Articles) Corp. Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie sheds more light on directions in which Microsoft already has been moving to ensure it doesn't miss the opportunity of the next generation of Web-based services, what industry analysts have dubbed 'Web 2.0.' "

Gates memo: Brace for 'services wave' | CNET News.com

A decade after warning staff to brace for the Internet boom, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is rallying the troops again to face the challenge from Web-based, ad-supported software. Last week, the company announced its plans for two new online services: Windows Live and Office Live. In a memo sent late last month, Gates gave his view of the realities of online competition.

Study Says There Is More Sex on TV - Yahoo! News

There has to be more sex on tv in order to attract the ever picky 18-35 demographic.

Technology News: iRobot's successes bringing venture capitalists into the robotics industry

Venture capitalists tend to be fairly conservative people -- despite their reputation for risk taking.
Consequently, few robot-makers have received venture funding.
In fact, it's possible that many VCs put robot business models on a par with time travel and jet-pack transportation.
With the announcement of a $115 million IPO by Burlington, MA-based iRobot, though, companies commercializing robot technology are beginning to attract VC attention.

Gates Warns of 'Sea Change' in Memo - Yahoo! News

"SEATTLE - The technology industry shift's to Internet-based software and services represents a massive and disruptive 'sea change,' Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates wrote to top-level executives in a memo aimed at rallying his troops against the new competitive threats the company faces. "

TechFinance.ca :: Motorola Ventures Acquires Stakes in Tekion

"Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) announced today that through Motorola Ventures, its equity investment arm, it has made a strategic investment in Burnaby, BC based Tekion, Inc., a developer of micro fuel cells for mobile products.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. "

Daily Wireless - Newspaper Circulation Down

The average weekday circulation at U.S. newspapers fell 2.6 percent in the six month-period ending this September. Here are the figures for the 20 biggest U.S. newspapers, as reported Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The percentage changes are from the comparable year-ago period.


USA Today, 2,296,335, down 0.59 per cent


The Wall Street Journal, 2,083,660, down 1.10 per cent
The New York Times, 1,126,190, up 0.46 per cent
Los Angeles Times, 843,432, down 3.79 per cent
New York Daily News, 688,584, down 3.70 per cent
The Washington Post, 678,779, down 4.09 per cent
New York Post, 662,681, down 1.74 per cent
Chicago Tribune, 586,122, down 2.47 per cent
Houston Chronicle, 521,419, down 6.01 per cent
The Boston Globe, 414,225, down 8.25 per cent
The Arizona Republic, 411,043, down 0.54 per cent
The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. , 400,092, up 0.01 per cent
San Francisco Chronicle, 391,681, down 16.4 per cent
Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul, 374,528, down 0.26 per cent
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 362,426, down 8.73 per cent
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 357,679, down 3.16 per cent
Detroit Free Press, 341,248, down 2.18 per cent
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, 339,055, down 4.46 per cent
The Oregonian, Portland, 333,515, down 1.24 per cent
The San Diego Union-Tribune, 314,279, down 6.24 per cent.
Circulation has been steadily declining at newspapers for several years as readers look to other media such as cable TV and the Internet for news. Tougher rules on telemarketing have also hurt newspapers' ability to sign up new readers.

Newspapers also face sluggish growth in advertising, higher newsprint prices and increasing concern among investors about their growth prospects. The second-largest newspaper publisher in the country, Knight Ridder Inc., is facing a revolt from two of its top shareholders, who want the company to be sold.

Fo... the ShortiesThe Obligatory Facebook Article - The Tech

"Since the advent of the Internet, the Web has proven itself valuable for legally sharing media, talking to friends, and most importantly downloading enough porn in minutes to last us, well, at least one session. The Facebook, however, initiated a paradigm shift in modern Internet use. (On a side note, everyone should use the word ?paradigm? more. No one knows what it means, so you can get away with almost anything. For example: I could really use a paradigm sandwich right now. Wow, look at the paradigm on her. If I found 20 cents, I would paradigm all over myself.) "

Netezza Performance Server System Now Supported by BusinessObjects Data Integrator XI; Netezza and Business Objects Continue to Expand Relationship

"Netezza Corporation today announced that Business Objects has added formal support for the Netezza Performance Server(R) (NPS(R)) system within BusinessObjects(TM) Data Integrator XI. The combined offering of the NPS system and BusinessObjects Data Integrator gives data-intensive organizations the power to leverage enterprise data fully, while ensuring high data availability.


'As the amount of data collected by companies continues to increase, there is a constant search for business intelligence solutions that allow for rapid analysis of large volumes of data,' said Ronaldo Ama, vice president of data integration at Business Objects. 'Our enhanced integration with Netezza enables joint customers to leverage the NPS system's exceptional data performance capabilities to provide business intelligence users with fast and reliable data access to help drive enterprise performance.' "

PRESS RELEASE YouTube Receives $3.5M in Funding From Sequoia Capital

"YouTube, a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos through a Web experience, today announced it has completed a $3.5M round of private equity funding from Sequoia Capital. YouTube, founded by Internet commerce pioneers from PayPal, has developed a new service that allows people to easily upload, tag, and share personal video clips through www.YouTube.com and across the Internet on other sites, blogs and through e-mail. The service also allows users to create their own personal video network. "

iRobot Scooba Wins Popular Science ''Best of What's New'' Award

"iRobot Corp. today announced that the iRobot Scooba(R) Floor Washing Robot has been honored with a Popular Science 'Best of What's New' Award in the Home Technology category. Scooba is the first floor washing robot designed for home use.


Each year, the editors of Popular Science select the top 100 technology innovations of the year for the 'Best of What's New' awards. These products represent a significant leap in their categories.
''Best of What's New' is the ultimate Popular Science accolade, representing a year's worth of work evaluating thousands of products,' says Mark Jannot, editor of Popular Science. 'These awards honor innovations that not only influence the way we live today, but that change the way we think about the future.'"

MediaPost Publications - In-Game Ad Company Gets $10 Million - 11/08/2005

"IN-GAME ADVERTISING FIRM DOUBLE FUSION Monday announced it had hired Geoff Graber, the former general manager of Yahoo! Games, as its CEO. The company, which intends to soon move its headquarters to New York City from Jerusalem, also announced that it had closed a $10 million financing round led by Accel Partners and Jerusalem Venture Partners. "

No Sure Bet At TiVo - Forbes.com

"NEW YORK - In a new-media world that changes as quickly as couch potatoes click through channels, Yahoo! may be the closest thing there is to a sure bet--enormous market share, plenty of cash and a brand that works throughout the world. You can't blame TiVo for trumpeting a tie-up Monday morning.

Take a closer look, though, and you'll find little there to cheer up the set-top box company's investors. Yes, the Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) deal will let a third of TiVo (nasdaq: TIVO - news - people ) subscribers program their boxes via the Web. But they could already do that via TiVo's own Web site, as well as through Time Warner's (nyse: TWX - news - people ) America Online."

TI Could Continue To Outgrow Semi Market. - Forbes.com

"Banc of America Securities analyst Sumit Dhanda initiated coverage of Texas Instruments (nyse: TXN - news - people ) at 'buy' with a 12-month price target of $36.

'Our positive stance is based on the belief that TI can continue to outgrow the semi market with its strong position in key segments,' Dhanda wrote in a research report. 'While the consensus belief appears to be that fundamentals have peaked near term, we are more optimistic and think that TI, on a pro forma basis, could earn $1.72 [per share] in 2006 (versus Street estimate of $1.68).' "

Wired News: Some Technologies Will Annoy

"If you're waiting for the 'home of the future,' filled with talking appliances and complex networks that let all our devices communicate with each other, prepare to keep holding your breath. It's not that those things aren't technically possible. It's just that if we had them, they'd irritate us.
In this week's column, professional futurists weigh in on which talked-about technologies are likely either to flop, under-deliver or take longer to reach critical mass than we might expect. Top on their list are things that sound better suited for a Jetsons set than a real-life home or workspace. Additionally, there are a lot of technologies that sound neat, but probably won't inspire us to open our wallets. "

Toll Brothers cuts forecast, stocks fall - Yahoo! News

"Toll Brothers Inc.(NYSE:TOL - news) on Tuesday cut its outlook for 2006, saying tougher land-use reviews will mean a lower supply of houses and softening demand in some markets will slow its ability to raise prices, sending its shares tumbling 12 percent in premarket activity. "

Women lag in the scramble for startup venture capital

"VENTURE CAPITAL investment has risen from its post dot-com doldrums to $16.3 billion for the first nine months of this year, with 2,201 companies funded. That's a four-year high, according to the National Venture Capital Association.
But does that mean a commensurate rise in VC funding of startups run by women?
No. Not even close."

[Inside Bay Area - Business News]

Stocks in Motion: Homestore

"Shares of Homestore (HOMS:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) were among Nasdaq's winners Monday, rising 12% after private equity firm Elevation Partners agreed to invest $100 million in the online real estate company.
Elevation, which focuses on media and entertainment-related investments and counts rock star Bono among its partners, will invest $100 million in the form of convertible preferred stock. Fred Anderson and Roger McNamee, managing directors and co-founders of Elevation, will join Homestore's board of directors. 'Homestore fits perfectly with our investment strategy. The online real estate media opportunity is very large and Homestore is the undisputed leader in the category,' Anderson said in a statement. "

InformationWeek > > No Job Too Big For Windows Anymore, Ballmer Says > November 7, 2005

"The release of Microsoft's latest database and development tools came with data from partners to back up its claim"


Microsoft on Monday released new versions of its database software and development tools, along with test results intended to prove the software has improved ability to run the largest computer programs at corporations. During a keynote address in San Francisco to launch the products, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made the claim that no job is too big for Windows anymore.
Microsoft and SAP AG ran a benchmark test that allowed 93,000 concurrent users of SAP's software with Microsoft's SQL Server 2005 database, which became generally available Monday. That's 10 times more users than can be supported in the largest SAP installation today, Ballmer said. Ballmer also said SQL Server 2005 running Microsoft's .Net middleware has beaten an IBM benchmark result using its WebSphere middleware running on Oracle's database.

Podtech.net: InfoTalk Podcast Series

"Web 2.0 with Sequoia Capital's Mark Kvamme and LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman"

Anything but Another Plane Jane

"How do you launch a luxury airline that simply has to stand out from the pack? If you're Dave Spurlock, you start with the seats "

[BusinessWeek]

Nextweb

"NexTone Communications Inc. has closed on $35 million in Series D financing to expand its product line and keep pace with the growing use of voice-over IP by telecommunications carriers and enterprise customers.

New investor One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., led the up round, investing $25 million. "

[Dealbook]

Google Offers Software for Mapping Service - Yahoo! News

"Google Inc. is introducing software Monday designed to make its local search and mapping service easier to navigate on mobile phones, continuing the Internet search engine leader's effort to extend its reach beyond personal computers. "

Yahoo! Buys Out Softbank in Europe, Korea

"Yahoo! also set plans to offer a new service with Tivo (TIVO:Nasdaq - news - research - Cramer's Take) that would allow people to use Yahoo! to direct their Tivos to record television shows. The service is available starting Monday. Word of the pact sent Tivo up 11%."

A Journey to the Center of Yahoo - New York Times

"What's this all about? After talking with the chief executive, Terry S. Semel, and other officials, I came away with two big impressions. One is that while Yahoo is ever conscious of Google and determined to match it head to head in familiar keyword search, in the long run its plans for search seem quite different from Google's. The other is that Yahoo views the very scale and sprawl of its operations - the seemingly random assemblage of sites and functions, the 200 million active users in more than 20 countries - as a crucial competitive advantage."

Dirty Downloads Ready to Go on IPods - Yahoo! News

"SAN FRANCISCO - Purveyors of porn and entrepreneurs who spied a niche when Apple Computer Inc. unveiled its video-playing iPod are proving that sex even sells in tiny packages especially when it is portable. "

Just Googling It Is Striking Fear Into Companies - New York Times

"Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, often intimidates its competitors and suppliers. Makers of goods from diapers to DVD's must cater to its whims. But there is one company that even Wal-Mart eyes warily these days: Google, a seven-year-old business in a seemingly distant industry.
'We watch Google very closely at Wal-Mart,' said Jim Breyer, a member of Wal-Mart's board."

IPO of AMD's Spansion unit targeted at $835M: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s flash memory unit expects to raise about $835 million in an initial public offering of stock and debt, according to a government filing Friday.
Spansion Inc. plans to offer two forms of stock in the offering: 35.3 million Class A shares priced between $16 and $18 each, and 8 million shares of convertible preferred stock at $25."

Velogix Names former Altera Executive Erik Cleage Chairman of the Board

Velogix Names former Altera Executive Erik Cleage Chairman of the Board: "Velogix Inc. announced today that Erik Cleage, 45, has been appointed chairman of the company's board of directors. Cleage brings with him 24 years of semiconductor experience, 19 of them at Altera Corporation, a leading programmable logic supplier and industry pioneer. He held various management positions at Altera between 1986 and 2005 including 15 years as an executive officer. Most recently he held the position of senior vice president of marketing.

Cleage comes with a demonstrated track record of success, helping to grow Altera from a $3-million pre-IPO startup to a multi-national, billion-dollar high-technology powerhouse, shaping much of today's programmable logic marketplace in the process. He is currently a private investor in emerging technology companies and serves as an independent board member and advisor to company management teams. Cleage joins existing board members Jack Carsten of Horizon Ventures, Steve Krausz of U.S. Venture Partners, Mark Stevens of Sequoia Capital and company co-founder Ashok Vittal on the Velogix board. "

Velogix Names former Altera Executive Erik Cleage Chairman of the Board

Velogix Names former Altera Executive Erik Cleage Chairman of the Board: "Velogix Inc. announced today that Erik Cleage, 45, has been appointed chairman of the company's board of directors. Cleage brings with him 24 years of semiconductor experience, 19 of them at Altera Corporation, a leading programmable logic supplier and industry pioneer. He held various management positions at Altera between 1986 and 2005 including 15 years as an executive officer. Most recently he held the position of senior vice president of marketing.

Cleage comes with a demonstrated track record of success, helping to grow Altera from a $3-million pre-IPO startup to a multi-national, billion-dollar high-technology powerhouse, shaping much of today's programmable logic marketplace in the process. He is currently a private investor in emerging technology companies and serves as an independent board member and advisor to company management teams. Cleage joins existing board members Jack Carsten of Horizon Ventures, Steve Krausz of U.S. Venture Partners, Mark Stevens of Sequoia Capital and company co-founder Ashok Vittal on the Velogix board. "

Porncasts Appear on Video-Playing iPod - Yahoo! News

"Purveyors of porn and entrepreneurs who spied a niche when Apple Computer Inc. unveiled its video-playing iPod are proving that sex even sells in tiny packages especially when it is portable. "

[AP]

AAPL, Vivid Entertainment, and Playboy should see a nice uptick in valuation as a result of the podporn phenomena.

Telecom Stocks: Telecoms rebound to close higher; UTStarcom gains

"The index derived much of its momentum from UTStarcom Inc. Last: 6.47+1.06+19.59%, whose stock surged as much as 20% despite a subpar quarterly results and a lower forecast. The company said it would cut more jobs and expenses to counter a decline in sales."

Lots of insider selling in UTSI, despite mgmt acquisitions in april 04 time frame - price at the time was $14 or so

Amazon Mechanical Turk - Welcome

Thanks for checking out Amazon Mechanical Turk. We’re currently experiencing extremely heavy traffic to this beta site, mturk.amazon.com. To read about Amazon Mechanical Turk and its web services APIs, go to www.amazon.com/webservices (where page load times are fast). Also, send a blank email to aws@amazon.com if you want us to email you when page load times recover at mturk.amazon.com.

yelp

Yelp closed its first round of venture funding, which was led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Yelp operates a web site for localized social networking and directory services.

IPorn? - Forbes.com

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

RED HERRING | Sperm Donor Dad Found on Net

"A 15-year-old boy uses genetic testing and the web to locate his anonymous father.
November 3, 2005
A cheek swab kit, a few hundred dollars, the Internet, and some ingenuity were all a young man needed to track down his genetic father late last year, British weekly New Scientist reported on Thursday.

The 15-year-old�s use of modern technology raises serious questions about the anonymity guaranteed to sperm donors."

Samsung to bolster ties with partners to rival iPod - Yahoo! News

"Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.KS), striving to make up ground on Apple's popular iPod, said on Thursday it will offer technical support to its online music partners such as Napster to help sales of its portable music players. "

REVIEW: Flock Browser Promotes Creation: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"NEW YORK (AP) -- Web browsing used to be mostly about just that: Surfing site after site for information and goods. But lately, more people are using the Internet as much to produce and share things as to consume them. A new browser called Flock seeks to address the new reality of enhanced online creativity and community."

Microsoft Acquires 2 Technology Companies: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it has acquired FolderShare, a service that helps computer users share and synchronize large files without needing to use e-mail, burn CDs or upload information to the Internet.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Launched in 2002 and run by Austin, Texas-based ByteTaxi Inc., FolderShare gives customers private, remote access to their files through any Web browser, Microsoft said. ByteTaxi is privately held.
Blake Irving, corporate vice president of the MSN communication services and member platform group, said the technology will be offered with Windows Live, a new Web-based service the company unveiled this week that will unfasten some of Microsoft's applications from computer hard drives."

Microsoft buys FolderShare | CNET News.com

"Microsoft said on Thursday that it has acquired an online file-sharing service that it will incorporate into the Windows Live service announced earlier this week.
The software maker purchased the FolderShare service from Austin, Texas-based ByteTaxi. Financial details of the deal were not announced. "

Amazon beats VCs to the punch | CNET News.com

"Corporations aren't the only clear choice now for venture capitalists seeking to sell their portfolio companies. Big high-tech companies are also beginning to claim venture capitalists' prime investment candidates even before they launch. Here's one example. "

BEA snaps up Austin company: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"BEA Systems Inc. bought privately held SolarMetric Inc. of Austin for an undisclosed amount, BEA said Thursday.
SolarMetric, founded in 2001, employs 13 people at 701 Brazos St. in downtown Austin. BEA spokeswoman Karesha McGee says those employees are transferring to BEA, but it hasn't been determined yet whether they will work in Austin or at BEA's headquarters in San Jose, Calif."

Edward C. Baig: Personal Tech - Sprint Music Store hits sour note with price - Yahoo! News

This week, Sprint Nextel introduced the Sprint Music Store, a service that lets you browse, preview, buy and download songs on the fly. The songs can be grabbed by one of two compatible handsets: the $230 (with rebate and two-year service contract) Sanyo MM-9000 and the $250 (also after rebate) Samsung SPH-A940. Each is also a camera-phone that offers you live TV, among other multimedia tricks. But it's over-the-air downloadable music that catches your attention.

Invasion of the Stock Hackers

"Arriving home from a five-week trip to Belgium and India on Aug. 14, a jet-lagged Korukonda L. Murty picked up his mail -- and got the shock of his life. Two monthly statements from online brokerage E*Trade Financial (ET ) showed that securities worth $174,000 -- the bulk of his and his wife's savings -- had vanished.

During July 13-26, stocks and mutual funds had been sold, and the proceeds wired out of his account in six transactions of nearly $30,000 apiece. Murty, a 64-year-old nuclear engineering professor at North Carolina State University, could only think it was a mistake. He hadn't sold any stock in months. "

Zag.com closes $8.5M Series B, Wraps Up C Round - Venturewire

"Los Angeles -- Zag.com's bare-bones Web site doesn't imply a lot of activity at the stealthy auto sales start-up. But in the past eight months alone, Zag has closed on $10.1 million across two rounds of venture financing, acquired a profitable auto-buying service, and nearly wrapped up a Series C round.

The Los Angeles company's quick start has come under the guidance of successful entrepreneur Scott Painter, the co-founder of CarsDirect.com who formed Zag earlier this year and serves as the company's chief executive.

Though he hasn't revealed much about his company's business model, Zag works with auto dealers and lending organizations to create private-label automobile shopping and buying Web sites. Using the platform, consumers can find out information about particular cars, get financing rates and also be connected to a car dealer in their area."

Murdoch Buys U.K. Real Estate Ad Web Site - Forbes.com

"Murdoch's latest counterstroke: His global media leviathan's newspaper arm, News International, bought Propertyfinder.com, a U.K. classified ad Web site, for 14.3 million pounds ($25.3 million).

According to the BBC, the terms of the acquisition call for News International and sibling firm realestate.com.au to buy 95% of Propertyfinder.com's owner Asserta Holdings. Realestate.com.au is 44% owned and largely influenced by News Interactive, the spearpoint of Murdoch's Internet strategy. "

IBM (NYSE: IBM) has acquired iPhrase Systems

IBM has acquired iPhrase Systems Inc., a Mass.-based provider of software designed to improve ecommerce sales, online service and support. IPhrase has raised around $52 million in VC funding since its 1999 inception, from firms like Charles River Ventures, Greylock, Mayfield, Reed Elsevier Ventures, Sequoia Capital and FT Ventures.

Financial terms undisclosed.

Friendster :: Friendster and Grouper Partnership Fuels Personal Media File Sharing

"Friendster and Grouper Networks today announced a partnership that will allow Friendster users to share unlimited personal media files with each other using Grouper's personal sharing network.
Grouper(TM), launched by the founders of Spinner (now AOL Radio), enables people to share personally-created media like video and photos to the audience of their choice -- friends, family or the general public. Users have the ability to share unlimited amounts of media because Grouper leverages a distributed computing platform. For example, you can share unlimited personal video, pictures, and stream music with your friends!"

Struggling Upstream - Forbes.com

"Kayak.com aims to be the most comprehensive travel site on earth. A tough feat but not nearly as hard as getting paid."

FT.com - IVillage considers sale that could fetch $700m

"IVillage, a company based in New York that owns websites aimed at women and identifies itself as a top 'women's community site', is considering a sale that could value it in excess of $700m."

New York Post Online Edition: business

"Bankrupt trading firm Refco Inc. struck back at hedge fund pioneer Jim Rogers yesterday, claiming two funds he partially controls approved the transfer of $362 million in assets to a unit now under Chapter 11 protection.
The Rogers funds 'authorized the transfer of certain assets into their new accounts at Refco CM [Capital Markets] and did so with their eyes wide open,' Refco said in bankruptcy court filing late Monday. "

Microsoft shifts to ad-backed Web software services | Reuters.com

"Outlining what it said was its biggest strategy change in five years, the Redmond, Washington-based company told analysts and reporters on Tuesday that it would deliver many of its key products and services online, some supported by advertising, as well as by selling subscriptions or licenses for software installed on computers."

How-To: Get TV shows off of Windows MCE and onto your iPod (with video) - Engadget

Videora iPod Converter is my current tool of choice for massaging video into an iPod-friendly format. Like many conversion applications you’ll encounter, free or otherwise, Videora simplifies the process by providing a front-end for the command line ffmpeg. Videora iPod Converter and her older brother PSP Video 9 are good choices because they’ve canned common settings, offer batch conversions, and cost exactly zero dollars.

Microsoft to Enter Online Services Market - Yahoo! News

"Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new strategy Tuesday to move software and services online, seeking to fend off a growing threat from Google Inc. and other nimble upstarts born on the Internet.

With a new Web site called 'Windows Live,' Microsoft hopes to create a new platform that will unfasten some of its applications from computer hard drives.
The site, available at http://www.live.com, repackages some of the features Microsoft already offers at its heavily trafficked MSN.com, adds more customization tools and makes it easier to view the same products and services at any time from any place whether it be a home computer or a mobile phone in a shopping mall."

TheDeal.com - PreCash links with $10M

"Seven years after its establishment, profitable electronic payment provider PreCash Inc. of Houston has raised $10 million in its first institutional round of venture funding.
Austin Ventures LP of Austin, Texas, supplied all of the capital in the round. Senior vice president of marketing Randy Templeton said PreCash received offers from multiple venture firms, including several who wanted to invest more than $10 million.
PreCash chose Austin Ventures' offer after discussing the deal with about a dozen firms, Templeton said. He would not discuss the specific terms of the deal or the company's valuation.
'Austin Ventures had done some investing in this space already,' said Templeton. 'We had no particular connections with them beforehand, but they emerged as the most attractive investor out of the several offers we received.'
PreCash had previously been funded by a large number of individual investors. Templeton said that the company has 'a couple of hundred shareholders' who have provided capital since its inception.
Although PreCash has been cash flow positive for about two years, the company chose to add outside funding in order to expand internationally. Templeton said the company is close to its first partnership outside the U.S., and could make an announcement regarding a deal within a few weeks.
PreCash posted $15.1 million in revenues during 2004, up 28% from the previous year's $11.8 million. The company turned a profit of more than $33,000 in 2004, and had an accumulated deficit of about $47.5 million at year's end."

MercuryNews.com | 11/01/2005 | Start-up set to jump into server arena

"Fabric7, a start-up in Mountain View, plans to announce its first products today in a bid to enter the high-end server market dominated by IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard.
The company, founded three years ago by a team with combined experience in high-performance servers and networking, has raised $32 million in funding so far. Investors include New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs, Selby Venture Partners and others."

Level 3 Buys Internet Services Company - New York Times

"Level 3 Communications said on Monday that it had agreed to acquire the Internet access and services company WilTel Communications Group from the Leucadia National Corporation for about $680 million."