Google Misses by a Mile

"Google (GOOG:Nasdaq - news - research - Cramer's Take) missed Wall Street's fourth-quarter profit view by a wide margin Tuesday, sending its shares tumbling 15% in after-hours action.
The Mountain View, Calif., company made $372 million, or $1.22 a share, up from the year-ago $204 million, or 71 cents a share.
More important, the search giant put its non-GAAP earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 at $1.54 a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were looking for $1.76. Net revenue, excluding the money Google shares with advertising partners, was in line with estimates at $1.29 billion."

Turn Inc Jobs

"Turn Inc. is an early-stage company in San Mateo, CA funded by two well-known investment firms. Turn is creating the leading third-generation online advertising network. Through its highly innovative products and technology, the company will completely change the paradigm of online advertising. The Turn Network will provide unparalleled performance and efficiency for companies seeking to connect with customers online. The company's product platform will provide advertisers with the most effective online targeting solutions and will be dramatically easier to use than existing pay-for-performance networks. Turn was founded by two experienced executives with significant backgrounds in Internet search, consumer businesses, and online marketing."

Microsoft wants Vista out the door by year's end - Operating Systems - Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com

"Microsoft has tweaked its testing schedule for Windows Vista as it tries to get the operating system update out by the end of 2006.
Rather than have a formal test version labelled 'Beta 2', the company is now aiming for a series of test releases this year. Each will be targeted at getting feedback from a specific audience, according to Windows chief Jim Allchin.
An update to the current Community Technology Preview (CTP) program, set for release sometime this quarter, will serve as the version that Microsoft wants corporations to test. The software maker said in December it was targeting February for the next CTP release."

Thousands of Words and Now Pictures, Too - New York Times

"Until recently, bloggers have been heard but rarely seen. But now two popular Web sites are considering moving into video.
Gawker.com, the running commentary on New York media published by Gawker Media, recently announced plans to develop and publish original video content.
In a Jan. 19 posting, the Web site solicited participants for its Guerrilla Video Project, suggesting videos documenting Manhattan power lunches and book parties as the kind of 'minidocumentaries on crack' it was looking to feature.
Another site on the same path is PostSecret, which encourages people to publish their secrets anonymously online at postsecret.blogspot.com. The blog gained prominence last summer when the band All-American Rejects used images from the Web site in its video for the song 'Dirty Little Secret.'
In December, Regan Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, published 'PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives,' a compilation whose release coincided with a Washington exhibit of the anonymous postcards received by the blog. The book was ranked No. 41 in sales on Amazon.com at midday yesterday."

Small Times: News about MEMS, Nanotechnology and Microsystems

"Jan. 30, 2006 - Venture capitalists invested more than twice as much money in U.S. nanotechnology companies in 2005 than they did in 2004, according to a Small Times analysis released today.
The investment amount reflects the maturing of the first generation of nanotech startups that were founded earlier this decade, many of which raised large later stage rounds during 2005.
Nanotech funding hit $434.3 million for 2005, up 121 percent over the previous year's $196.4 million. The year's performance set a new record for nanotech funding, according to a Small Times analysis of the MoneyTree Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.* "

'Baby Jessica,' Now 19, Reportedly Marries - Yahoo! News

MIDLAND, Texas - "Baby Jessica," whose dramatic rescue from an abandoned Texas well was televised across the country 18 years ago, got married in a private ceremony, People magazine reported on its Web site.

Kansas City Star | 01/24/2006 | Wireless ventures ring up some venture capital

"Venture capitalists have noticed that consumers are using cell phones for much more than making calls.Handmark Inc. of Kansas City was among the wireless technology companies that attracted a flurry of investments in 2005, driving overall venture capital backing for telecommunications firms to a three-year high of $2.1 billion, according to the MoneyTree Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.�Wireless continues to be the spot in telecom,� Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of the venture capital practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said Monday during a conference call with reporters.Investments in wireless technology companies were part of 2,939 deals across the country that pumped a total of $21.7 billion into young companies showing the promise for rapid growth. This essentially held steady with $21.6 billion in 2004 investments.Information technology and biotechnology were the top two investment categories, though telecommunications recorded a notable surge.Handmark, which raised $5.1 million last fall, packages information and entertainment software for use on mobiles phones and other portable devices.Wireless technology companies elsewhere that also have raised money include Firefly Mobile Inc., which makes cell phones designed especially for children; GoTV, which provides television shows for mobile phones; and Blue Frog Mobile Inc., which provides ring tones for cell phones."

Novatel Wireless Teams with Dell to Provide 3G Modems in Next-Generation Enterprise Notebook Computers

"Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVTL), a leading provider of wireless broadband access solutions, today announced that it will supply Dell with Novatel Wireless EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) mobile broadband embedded modules.

Dell will include the Novatel Wireless third-generation (3G) modems in its next-generation Latitude(TM) notebook computers. The build-to-order 3G-equipped notebooks will enable Dell's mobile customers to wirelessly send and receive emails, surf the Internet, download file attachments and access corporate networks through a virtual private network (VPN). In addition, Novatel Wireless' embedded modules are backward compatible with 2.5G and 2G wireless standards, where 3G networks are not available. The notebooks are expected to be available in the first half of this year. "

MENLO PARK--- 3i Invests $23 Million in Internet Payment Service Click & Buy Aiding Expansion into the U.S. and Asia

"3i, the world's leading private equity and venture capital company, have announced a $23 million investment in Zurich (Switzerland) based Webpay AG, owner of market leader Click & Buy, an ePayment and storefront provider for online and mobile digital content.

Click & Buy is Europe's leading online payment system used by more than 5 million consumers on 4,000 merchant websites. The company opened a New York office in 2004. Webpay International has plans to further expand into other markets in the U.S., as well as expansion plans for Canada, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe with the support of 3i. "

Could Your VoIP Phone Be Tapped? - Yahoo! News

"Several privacy and civil-liberties organizations are mounting a legal challenge to prevent VoIP and other Internet-based communications from being subject to taps from law-enforcement agencies. "

IBM Acquires Argus Software - Yahoo! News

"IBM said Friday that it acquired Argus semiconductor software and related IP property from Inficon. IBM pointed to the acquisition as an example of a broadening trend in which firms are increasingly collaborating in research and development.

IBM said it is working in closer partnership with clients in designing, creating and manufacturing new products and in this case it will meld Argus software for lithography advanced process control for semiconductor manufacturing into existing IBM operations. Financial terms of the acquisition were not released."

Mass High Tech - Airwide Solutions

"Airwide Solutions Inc., formerly known as Taral Networks Inc., has landed $25 million in Series D funding. The new round was led by a new investor, Advent International, with participation from existing investors Artiman Ventures, Axiom Venture Partners, Key Venture Partners, and Kodiak Venture Partners.

Airwide plans to use the investment to continue development of its core messaging, mobile security, and device management products. The company also intends to expand its geographical reach, including its expansion of its recently announced operation in India, according to company officials.

Airwide, now based in London, was founded as Taral Networks in 2000 by its current chief scientist, Jiwei Wang, and its current chief technology officer, Vincent Kadar. In 2004, the then Lexington-based company acquired U.K.-based Schlumberger Messaging Solutions, changed its name to Airwide Solutions and moved its headquarters to London. The company still maintains a facility in Burlington.

Airwide makes mobile infrastructure software for carriers, and claims more than 70 customers in 46 countries, according to officials."

EETimes.com - VC support lacking for WiMax, says report

"Venture capital support for WiMax startups, despite reaching $170 million, has been underwhelming compared with the support that was given to the IEEE.802.11 wireless LAN, according to a Light Reading report that cites an Unstrung Insider report.
The report argued that seven startup 802.16 chipset developers had, by January 2006, raised $170 million. It also argues that chipsets for fixed WiMax (802.16-2004) and for mobile WiMax (802.16e) require different designs and has effectively forced startups to choose which market they wish to participate in and has diluted the $170 million aggregate investment.
The report argues that the relatively low venture capital investment in surprising. However, the report does not consider the argument that many venture capital firms lost firms backing wireless LAN startups that failed to get to market in time and that generally only a few pioneers succeed with such standards-based deployment cycles.
Instead the report argues that North American venture capitalists consider WiMax to be a big company play against which startups may struggle. "

Venture Capital Blogs? They're About Anything But - New York Times

"But Mr. Kedrosky is unconvinced. He said most venture capitalist blogs were 'insincere,' and that the few times the scribes provided interesting material they wound up getting criticized or issuing a retraction. 'There's zero incentive to tell the truth,' said Mr. Kedrosky, who, apart from his academic research, is a partner with the venture capitalist firm Ventures West."

Impinj Embedded Nonvolatile Memory Shipments Surpass 100 Million Units: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Impinj, Inc., the fabless semiconductor company whose patented Self-Adaptive Silicon� technology enables its two business lines: high performance radio frequency identification (RFID) products and semiconductor intellectual property (IP), today announced that its multiple-times programmable (MTP) nonvolatile memory (NVM) IP cores have delivered enhanced functionality, security and performance while reducing cost in over 100 million semiconductor chips worldwide."

SiliconBeat: Sling gets "large" round of venture capital

"We don't know the exact amount, but have it on good authority it is a large round. We know they have raised about $15 million over past two years. So given the attention they've received so far, it is probably about time they raised more cash."

Amr Awadallah Blog�Blog Archive � Google will miss 2005-Q4 quarter revenue estimates.

"That said, there is many other reasons to sell GOOG, for example:
1. YPN will be hitting the Adsense program hard in 2006 once it�s out of beta. The adsense program is indeed starting to slow already, the google network revenue grew by 7% sequentially in Q3-2005 as opposed to 20% for google site.
2. Google is going nuts with capital spending (it spent almost twice what Yahoo spent)
3. Google is also hiring like nuts, 800+ people in Q3, on top of 700+ people in Q2 (i.e. a 1/3 of Google�s work force joined in these two quarter). There is two downsides to this: (a) they are hiring lower quality folks (we interview same folks and see who they pick), (ii) they are hiring like yahoo was in 1999/2000, i.e. hiring today expecting that more revenue will come later, that is not always true (as yahoo learned the hard way and laid off a ton of folks in period 2001-2003).
4. Google has been growing the cost of revenues much faster than revenue, in fact their operating margin fell from 35.2% in Q1 of 2005 to 33.5% in Q3"

StrongMail gets $9.5M funding - 2006-01-23 - Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

"StrongMail Systems Inc., which develops e-mail infrastructure software, said on Monday it has closed a $9.5 million second round of funding.
Globespan Capital Partners, which has offices in Palo Alto and Boston, led the round. Also participating in the funding are existing investors Sequoia Capital, which has offices in Menlo Park and Israel, and Evercore Ventures, part of Evercore Partners, which has an office in San Francisco.
Venky Ganesan, managing director of Globespan, will get a seat on StrongMail�s board. "

RED HERRING | ITA Nabs $100M in Equity Deal

"ITA Software, which develops IT platforms and services for the airline industry, announced Wednesday it took in $100 million in equity financing.

The funding was led by Battery Ventures with participation from General Catalyst Partners, PAR Investment Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Spectrum Equity.

Michael Moritz, general partner at Sequoia, said the timing was right to invest in ITA, because of the many economic woes currently besetting the airline industry.

�Most airlines still depend on software and systems developed before Woodstock,� Mr. Moritz said. �The only airlines that will prosper in the future are those that embrace fresher technology and the Internet.�

He predicted ITA�s approach would help airlines save money, allow travel agencies to offer higher-value packages to customers, and �usher in the era of worldwide self-service.�"

EETimes.com - Cooley: EDA startup Tera Systems 'missing in action'

"Deepchip.com moderator John Cooley's latest posting openly wonders if Tera Systems, the EDA startup that was chosen semiconductor entrepreneurial company of the year in 2004 by consultant Frost & Sullivan, has shut its doors.
Responding to a reader email, Cooley indicates that he has heard, but not confirmed, that Tera Systems is no longer in business. Calls to company management, he said, went unreturned and he noted that it does not seem possible any longer to reach a human being by calling the company's headquarters. "

WORLD-TRACKER.COM :: affordable GPS based Vehicle/Asset Trackers

NEat

Verizon adding GPS to LG Migo - Engadget

Sprint Ups IPWireless Investment - 1/18/2006 10:53:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6300280

"Sprint Nextel added $10 million this week to its investment in IPWireless.
The move is the second major financial move from Sprint Nextel with IPWireless, a San Bruno, Calif.-based company specializing in mobile broadband and multimedia technology. Sprint's initial investment, totaling $4 million, came in July.
'With Sprint leading our latest round of investment,' says Jon Hambidge, IPWireless' vice president of marketing, 'we see this as a huge endorsement for what we've been doing. It's a nice boost for us.'"

Atheros Communications Endorses IEEE 802.11n Draft: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Atheros Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHR - News), a leading developer of advanced wireless solutions, today announced support for the approved IEEE 802.11n draft. On Jan. 19, the IEEE voted unanimously in favor of the Joint Proposal specification, adopting it as the 802.11n working draft specification. The confirmation vote occurred during the IEEE's bi-monthly meeting in Kona, Hawaii."

IGN: New Xbox 360 Dates From Japan

Patriot Search

ELOQUA CORPORATION - Automating Demand Generation - About Us

"Eloqua provides the leading integrated demand-generation platform for marketers who must produce a continuous flow of quality leads for a professional sales force. "

SAP a likely acquirer

RED HERRING | New Chief at CIA�s VC Arm

"During his six-year tenure at In-Q-Tel, a private, nonprofit funded by the CIA, Mr. Louie oversaw the company�s investment in 90 companies including 3VR Security, Dust Networks, and MetaCarta. "

* More recently, former NEA GP Stewart Alsop announced plans to raise a fund with Gilman Louie, the former head of In-Q-Tel. Source: (Private Equity Week Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)

Kitu joins NEA as GP

Tid bits on Neoteris:
The speed behind Neoteris’ funding was echoed in their outcome. Neoteris was soon acquired by NetScreen. Three months later, Juniper Networks announced its intention to acquire NetScreen for approximately $4 billion. One of the largest technology acquisitions in years, it represented the second liquidity event for this investment in only four months.

Father of Pentium returns for an encore

"(Indian Express)A decade after he developed the chip that revolutionised the PC industry, 'Father of Pentium'' Vinod Dham has done an encore, this time, with a chip that is 100 times more powerful than the last one. And at the core of it is his 170-member team from Pune. 'The dream of building a product company (Nevis Networks) is coming to fruition, thanks to 170 people from Pune. This chip, Supernova, is 100 times more powerful than the Pentium chip which I have developed,'' Dham, who is the founding partner and managing member of venture capital firm NewPath Ventures, said. "

IT Observer | Nevis Networks Selected as a MoneyTree FutureCentric Company

"Nevis Networks, a provider of ASIC-based LAN security appliances, announced today that it has been named a MoneyTree(TM) FutureCentric(SM) Company in the list based on the MoneyTree Survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics, and the National Venture Capital Association. The survey singled out Nevis for its breakthrough approach to enterprise LAN security with its comprehensive 10Gbps ASIC-based appliances. Nevis' LANenforcer(TM) products uniquely combine dynamic user-based network access control and microsecond threat containment, making it the first security solution to fully protect network assets and individual users from threats. FutureCentric companies are selected from a list of entrepreneurial companies that received venture backing in 2005 and are building ideas that shape the future."

3VR Security Closes $10 Million From Top Investors to Fuel Growth of the Intelligent Video Management System Market: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"3VR Security, Inc., pioneer of Intelligent Video Management Systems (IVMS) that convert raw, unstructured video feeds from security cameras into compact, intelligently structured searchable information, today announced that it has raised $10 million in Series B funding led by technology heavy-weight Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers (KPCB), an innovator in providing venture and relationship capital services to entrepreneurs to build important new companies."

"According to JP Freeman, companies spend $3.5 billion on physical security every year and yet the sector has seen minimal innovation even as threats have increased-leaving businesses vulnerable," said Ted Schlein, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. "3VR trumps traditional physical security methods through the application of some of the most innovative technology coming out of Silicon Valley today. For the first time, companies and organizations can prevent loss, reduce expenses and accelerate investigation and recovery by turning vast amounts of raw video into intelligent, searchable, actionable data using the 3VR Intelligent Video Management System. 3VR is delivering the IVMS technology that will set the standard for physical security in the future."

HassleMe to keep up with resolutions - Yahoo! News

"Email reminder service HassleMe sends reminders to your inbox at unpredictable intervals to remind you to keep going for your goals."

MySpace intent on staying user-friendly - Yahoo! News

If MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe has his way, the quirky social networking site he co-founded two years ago will hold tight to its homegrown roots, even though it now boasts more unique users than Google or America Online and has a new owner at its helm.

Myspace is on the way down.

Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing: Digging out the golden nuggets

"There are several services that attempt to sift through all this and rank the best content. Digg, Reddit, Techmemeorandum, Slashdot, Findory, and others use collaborative filtering, user voting, and various algorithms to find and rank popular content by category."

Digg vs. Slashdot (or, traffic vs. influence) (kottke.org)

EETimes.com - Power management company raises $25 million

"FyreStorm Inc., a fabless semiconductor company developing power conversion and power management circuits, said it has raised $25 million in a Series C round of funding led by Worldview Technology Partners.
FyreStorm (Sunnyvale, Calif.), founded in 2002, also announced that it has leased and occupied a 20,000 square foot building with approximately double the space of previous facilities. "

Nikkei Plunges 2.9 Percent: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"The benchmark index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange plunged 2.9 percent Wednesday in a trading session shortened by a surge of transactions amid concerns about a probe into a leading Internet company.
The Nikkei 225 index dropped 464.77 points to 15,341.18 points. The index fell 2.8 percent Tuesday to bring its two-day loss to nearly 6 percent."

China Internet users hit 111 million in 2005 - Yahoo! News

"The number of Web users in China, the world's second largest Internet market, grew by 18 percent in 2005 to 111 million, the Economic Daily reported on Wednesday."

Rumor Mill Turns to Juniper

Juniper on the block?

"Among the rumors in recent circulation was talk that wireless giant Motorola (MOT:NYSE - news - research - Cramer's Take) had an interest in Juniper as a way to diversify its cell phone-centric business. The idea caught on briefly with investors Tuesday, sending the stock up more than 4% at one point. But the rally quickly faded after the rumor lost momentum."

"An estimated offer of $500 million to buy closely held Ethernet switch shop Force10 failed to bring a deal for Juniper last year, say analysts.
Still, some analysts see plenty of deals ahead. "

GOOG: Real-Time ECN for GOOGLE - Yahoo! Finance

"GOOGLE (RT-ECN)
Symbol:GOOG
Last Trade:448.50 4:36PM ET
After Hours Change: 18.61 (3.98%)
Today's Change: 17.75 (3.81%)"

uh Oh

YAHOO INC (RT-ECN)
Symbol: YHOO
Last Trade: 35.92 4:34PM ET
After Hours Change: 4.19 (10.45%)
Today's Change: 3.98 (9.97%)

INTEL CP (RT-ECN)
Symbol: INTC
Last Trade: 23.75 4:35PM ET
After Hours Change: 1.77 (6.94%)
Today's Change: 2.04 (7.91%)

INTL BUSINESS MACH (RT-ECN)
Symbol: IBM
Last Trade: 82.09 4:34PM ET
After Hours Change: 0.91 (1.10%)
Today's Change: 1.08 (1.30%)

Google to buy radio advertising company - Yahoo! News

"Web search leader Google Inc. on Tuesday said it agreed to buy dMarc Broadcasting Inc., a radio advertising company, for an up-front payment of $102 million and additional payments totaling up to $1.14 billion over the next three years. "

CyberWyre � Highest Paying Search Terms

mesothelioma $84.08
mesothelioma attorneys $80.93
mesothelioma lawyers $69.04
malignant pleural mesothelioma $55.95
Asbestos Cancer $54.17
mesothelioma symptoms $53.66
peritoneal mesothelioma $52.27
trans union $51.91
lung cancer $43.12
search engine optimization $30.19
mesothelioma diagnosis $28.70
home equity loans $20.06
Baines and Ernst $18.47
consolidate loans $17.74
Lexington law $17.68
Lexington law firm $16.81
debt problems $16.28
register domain $15.74
home equity line of credit $15.61

Samsung sets goal of 155 million handsets sold in 2006

"For the first time, Samsung passed the 100 million unit barrier in sales of handsets in 2005. That�s not enough for them, though. The company is aiming to increase sales to 115 million units this year. "

New Technology Boosts Hard Drive Capacity - Yahoo! News

"Seagate Technology LLC has started shipping a notebook PC hard drive that overcomes an obstacle many feared would be a major roadblock to the further expansion of disk capacity � and the overall growth of the storage industry.
ADVERTISEMENT

The new approach that aligns bits of data vertically rather than horizontally enables Seagate � and other drive vendors � to further boost the density of drives without increasing the risk of scrambling data."

Hospitality Net - Industry News - Kayak.com Recognized as Best New Travel Web Site

Kayak.com, the comprehensive travel search engine, kicks off the New Year by today announcing that a number of leading media outlets, including the New York Post, BusinessWeek Online and U.S. News & World Report, have recognized Kayak.com as one of the Best Travel Web Sites of 2005.


On December 27, 2005, the New York Post ran its annual Web Guide of the top travel Web sites and selected Kayak.com as the "Best New Web Site" with the following review:

Text for free with ad-supported i-Text service - Engadget

"If you send a lot of text messages and aren't on a cellphone plan that lets you get away with it without breaking the bank, you may want to give i-Text a try. The free service works with any Java-enabled GSM/GPRS phone, and serves up an ad every time you send a text message. Of course, you're still going to have to pay for GPRS usage, as well as for text messages you receive, so you'll have to do the math to see whether using this service (and paying for the bandwidth to download the ads) is a better deal on your plan than just paying your provider for SMS."

RED HERRING | ColdWatt Gets a Cool $16M

"ColdWatt said Friday it raised $16 million from investors to continue its work in developing high-density, power-efficient circuit boards as the power management startup looks to shake up a field of computing that has been largely commoditized.

The money will go to expand sales and marketing for the startup, which began selling its printed circuit boards during the fourth quarter of 2005. The boards are designed to handle intra-computer power needs more efficiently."

WSJ.com - Stern and SIRI

"The Stern package includes $80 million each year for five years, which must cover the show's expenses as well as line Mr. Stern's pocket. In addition, he gets 34 million shares of Sirius stock, which were valued at just over $100 million when the deal was signed, and now are valued more than $200 million. The contract provides for further stock incentives if Sirius's performance continues to exceed expectations."

Video Content Battle Hits Prime Time

"Yahoo! and Google, for example, have both talked about their search services on mobile phones before, but partnerships with Motorola (MOT:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) introduce features, such as one-click Internet access, to make using the Internet on phones a much easier process.
Or take Page's much-anticipated announcement on Google Video. While the project itself was announced early last year, Google's pricing plan is enticingly disruptive: When a content provider, say CBS or the National Basketball Association, retails its programming through Google, it not only names its own price, it gets to keep 70% of the revenue. Not only are independent producers going to find that 70% very attractive, but cable companies, say, are going to find it very tough to compete with those prices. "

AOL Acquires Video Search Startup Truveo: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"America Online Inc. is acquiring a video search startup that has built technology to more easily find the latest news, sports and other online video offerings.
The acquisition of Truveo Inc., announced Tuesday, underscores the importance of video in drawing visitors to AOL's ad-supported sites, a big component in AOL's year-old strategy of emphasizing free content over its declining access-subscription business."

Mercury Interactive to pay $105M for Systinet: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Systinet Corp. is being acquired by Mercury Interactive Corp. for $105 million in cash.
Systinet has raised $28 million in financing since its launch in 2000. The company employs 125 people, and has its headquarters in Burlington, Mass., and a development facility in Prague."

Exchange 12 Has Competitors, Execs Insist

"Open-source and proprietary software companies have railed against comments Microsoft Corp. officials made earlier this week when releasing the first beta of Exchange 12, the upcoming e-mail, calendaring and messaging server, that it faced little competitive threat from open-source solutions. "

Scalix is a fuckedcompany no?

Barracuda Networks gets $40M funding - 2006-01-09

"Barracuda Networks Inc. said on Monday it has raised $40 million in its first outside investment. "


Sequoia and Francisco were first round investors - most likely a mezzanine round given the number of customers and size of the round. There is fierce competition in this space with startups Fortinet and others leading the charge.

Let the Good Times Roll by Guy Kawasaki

"�Oracle is too big/dumb/slow to be a threat.� Larry Ellison has his own jet. He can keep the San Jose Airport open for his late night landings. His boat is so big that it can barely get under the Golden Gate Bridge. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs are flying on Southwest out of Oakland and stealing the free peanuts. There's a reason why Larry is where he is, and entrepreneurs are where they are, and it's not that he's big, dumb, and slow. Competing with Oracle, Microsoft, and other large companies is a very difficult task. Entrepreneurs who utter this lie look at best naive. You think it's bravado, but venture capitalists think it's stupidity. "

Let the Good Times Roll by Guy Kawasaki: The Top Ten Lies of Venture Capitalists

"Venture capitalists are simple people: we've either decided to invest, and we are convincing ourselves that our gut is right (aka, “due diligence�) or there's not a chance in hell. While we may be simple, we're not necessarily forthcoming, so if you think it's hard to get a “yes� out of venture capitalist, you should try to get a conclusive “no.�

Doll Capital Management Appoints New General Partner

"Doll Capital Management announced today that Mr. Hurst Lin, co-founder and chief operating officer of SINA Corporation (Nasdaq: SINA), will join the top-performing, early stage venture capital firm as a general partner. Beginning in April, Mr. Lin will co-lead DCM's China practice at the firm's newly expanded offices in Beijing."

WSJ.com - Tech Stocks Seem Set for Comeback

"Technology companies, once the star performers in the IPO market, are expected to receive a wider audience in 2006 after years of struggling to win back investors.
The queue of technology companies that have registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for IPOs in 2006 is hovering at about a dozen deals, but investment bankers believe the backlog doesn't reflect the growing number of discussions going on between companies and Wall Street. They say it's likely that technology-stock deals will pick up beginning around the second half, as companies get a few more successful quarters under their belts, and exceed the number of deals in 2005, which totaled 30, according to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital in Greenwich, Conn.
'In 2005, because the markets were difficult, I think a lot of people looked at the market and said, 'Maybe we should wait until 2006, when we might be able to get a better valuation based on our future earnings,' ' says Andy Fisher, head of technology equity capital markets at Goldman Sachs Group Inc."

WSJ.com - Poor Start to '06 For Dollar Signals Tough Year Ahead

"It hasn't been a very happy new year for the dollar.
After a surprisingly strong performance in 2005, when the U.S. currency rose 15% against the euro and the yen, the dollar has stumbled out of the gate in what some worry may be an ominous sign for 2006.
In the first two trading days after last Monday's holiday in the U.S., the dollar suffered its largest two-day decline against the euro in five years as it tumbled 2.5%. While the stock market shrugged off weaker-than-expected employment numbers released Friday, the dollar didn't. The currency fell again on heightened fears of an economic slowdown, and that raised the possibility that last year's dollar rally may be petering out."

TiVo Uncharacteristically Quiet at CES: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"TiVo Inc., the digital video recorder pioneer, made headlines a year ago in vowing to take TV to the next level with support for high-definition video, software that can sling shows outside the box and a plan to pipe movies over the Internet."


Maybe they're being acquired

Light Reading - VOIP - Telecom IPOs Rare in 2005 - Telecom News Analysis

"Venture-backed telecom companies found M&A to be a far more attractive exit strategy than the public markets in 2005, according to Thomson Venture Economics and Dow Jones research unit VentureOne . (See Startup Valuations.)"

Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki - Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki

Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki - Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki

Sudoku - Miniclip.com

Sudoku - Miniclip.com

EETimes.com - LG, Samsung unveil DVB-H, Media FLO phones

"Battling to preempt the world's mobile broadcasting-enabled phone market, LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. simultaneously announced Monday (Jan. 2) they have developed the first handset models based on the DVB-H and Media FLO mobile broadcasting standards."

Samsung and LG.Philips start new LCD production - Yahoo! News

Samsung and LG.Philips start new LCD production - Yahoo! News: "Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the world's largest maker of flat screens, said on Sunday it was set to start up its newest mass production line for liquid crystal display TV panels, three months ahead of schedule. "