HAPPY NEW YEAR - thanks for reading

It was a great '06 and will be an even better '07. Happy New Year's To All!

What was your 2006 highlight and your 2007 resolution?

Is 'Web 2.0' Another Bubble? - WSJ.com

"Mr. Dagres begins: Web 2.0 is a bubble for 3 reasons: 1) There is far too much money chasing Web 2.0 deals. Too much money means too many companies getting funded at higher valuations. 2) There are virtually no barriers to entry in Web 2.0 and therefore the ability to develop a unique solution and sustain a competitive advantage is virtually nil. Therefore, it's difficult for Web 2.0 companies to build long term value. 3) There is very little liquidity in the market for Web 2.0 companies. The Dow was recently at a high and still no liquidity. Without liquidity, Web 2.0 companies must rely on acquisitions to achieve liquidity and this will put a lid on the potential exit options and ultimate valuations of these companies. In short, they will be playing a musical chairs game in which there are far too many players and too few chairs."

Qualcomm's next acquisition after Airgo | The Register

"Who might Qualcomm buy in WiMAX will be a favorite party game this holiday season, candidates include Soma, which already licenses the giant's patents for WiMAX and so might be friendly to the idea; or an innovative chip specialist such as Sequans. From the point of view of technology and potential for disruption, PicoChip would be a good choice, but would probably be hostile to the idea and would almost certainly attract counter interest from other chipmakers."

Sprint May Add Nokia as Supplier Of WiMax Gear - WSJ.com

"Sprint Nextel Corp. is close to choosing Nokia Corp. as its third primary network-equipment provider for its next-generation wireless network throughout the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
Sprint, which this past summer selected Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. as the other providers, plans to spend about $3 billion on the network using WiMax technology in the next two years. Nokia can expect to get a portion of that as well as additional handset orders from Sprint, which is planning to deploy a network that reaches as many as 100 million people by 2008.
WiMax technology transmits data at speeds similar to those of wired broadband networks and is designed to work with cellphones and computers. Its range is much greater than the Wi-Fi networks that can be found in cafes and airports. WiMax networks could serve entire cities, proponents say."

Netvibes - the next web 2.0 star

"Netvibes is one of the best designed, most user-friendly and intuitive Web 2.0 sites I have seen. It's so intuituve, in fact, that there's no welcome screen or instructions - it just pops you right into a fully customizable home page. On the page you can read RSS feeds from your favorite blogs, check email from numerous accounts, keep track of your MySpace page - pretty much anything that requires you to keep up with new information can be tracked from your Netvibes page. I find myself checking my Netvibes page throughout the day."

Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection - Single Zoom Kiosk Sells $55,000 Worth Of iPods In Just 1 Month

"Setting the gold standard for the kiosk industry, Zoom Systems has revealed that they’ve taken in $55,000 worth of iPod sales from just 1 vending machine at an Atlanta airport over a single month. This is an amazing amount of revenue from a kiosk and may offer a glimpse at how we’ll see high end electronics sold in the future.
Earlier this week, Sanford Bernstein said that they estimated that Apple earns about $4,000 per square foot at their retail stores each year. While this is an impressive number in it’s own right, if Zoom can replicate this type of volume for a full year, it would mean that they have the potential to earn $20,000 in income for each square foot that they take up. "

"Over the last year, Zoom raised $10 million in round C funding and another $35 million in round D funding just six months later. With a very hot kiosk design, an emphasis on high end retail and backing from investors like Goldman Sachs and Motorola, Zoom is well positioned to lead the kiosk industry from snack foods to luxury goods. "

"Mark Mullins, Zoom's executive vice-president, said his company now has machines, which, depending on location, dispense everything from skin-care products to batteries. They are in more than 300 locations the nationwide, including universities, military bases and more than 126 Macy's stores. Mullins said there are 11 Zoom machines in metro Atlanta."

Other related article

LINUXWORLD SF - Motorola turns to Linux for phones

"Motorola is developing all its advanced phone features on Linux first, leading a charge that will accelerate with this week's LinuxWorld Conference and Expo."

iRegift.com

iRegift.com is located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Founded in January of 2004 by Sean Sullivan iRegift.com is empowering consumers. This unique service allows consumers to turn unwanted gift cards or store credit in cash.

"While it’s no doubt that retailers will be busy over the next few months with all of the gift card redemptions, iRegift.com is in a very good position to become the leading provider of this new service. “I think as consumers become more aware that they have options when it comes to gifts and gift cards we’ll see more and more business. We also feel that iRegift.com offers the best service, the highest payouts and the quickest turn around times. It’s a very exciting time for this company.”


Notes: The record setting gift card giving this holiday season has turned into a real boom for companies such as iRegift.com. More than $25 billion has been spent on gift cards this past holiday season. iRegift.com competes with the likes of ebay (which claims to do $5M gift card trading), craigslist and other swapping services that have popped up recently. Iregfit.com pays 80% of the face value, so a $100 gift card equals $80 cash. The site doesn't mention whether they buy cards near expiration, but if they do this certainly is a good service. The key risk for companies in this space are increasingly tight margins from competition and from stores changing gift card policies.

Cellular NationWide Network and other cell phone MOD companies

Cellular NationWide Network specializes in cellular accessories for brand names such as SonyEricsson, NEC, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, Sanyo and Samsung. We sell only the highest quality housing, keypads, LCD screens, chargers, batteries, data cables, parts at greatly discounted prices you won't find at other web stores.


Notes: There is a rather large market for aftermarket mod phone parts and accesories - PC article. Other sites include: www.motomodders.net, www.getjar.com (full of free Java applications for most non-Verizon phones.), alternative or replacement parts on eBay or from Cellular Nationwide Network (www.cnn.cn).

Motorola RAZR V3 Mods and Unlock reference

Excellent reference from Rich Tong (Ignition) on modding the RAZR V3. Features include Unlock (for use with any GSM phone), Video Enabling, Wallpaper,Increased Memory, Battery life, Brighter and Clearer Screen.

The best Moto Razr V3 hack site around from Mark
Cheapest software: http://www.blazingsamples.com/unlock6.html

TenMojo.com - Top 10 Lists Site

"Think of it as an almanac of the arbitrary. At tenmojo.com you'll find a remarkable aggregation of Top 10 lists - soccer rankings, honeymoon spots, and tax deductions, sure, but also cat names, best rock movies, outrageous statements, and other compilations you never considered. Each list is sourced; you make the call regarding credibility. Then start drafting Top 10s of your own."

TechJournal South: Market10

"Market10 has raised $13 million in its second round of financing. Menlo Ventures led the round, with a second investment from New Enterprise Associates of Baltimore, MD. This recent investment brings the total funds raised to $21 million.

'We're pleased Menlo Ventures, a distinguished and respected venture capital firm, has joined as an investor,' said Rob McGovern, Chairman and CEO of Market10. 'This financing round is enabling us to expand into new markets, offering an advanced solution that well surpasses outdated first generation job sites.' "

YouTube - Dmv drivers license prank part 2

Blog network's revenue tops $1 mln a month - MarketWatch

"In a little-noticed pre-holiday posting, John Battelle said Federated Media Publishing's stable of 100 Web sites and blogs had a great '06.
'I won't gloat, but ... we beat my year's estimated revenues by nearly 30%,' he wrote on Searchblog.
He added that the revenue run rate is now $1 million a month. Battelle also said a moratorium on adding bloggers is over. 'By mid-January or so, we'll be announcing an amazing array of new sites joining FM,' he said. "

YouTube - uShip 'The Office" Mocumentary

Gags-to-riches tale of the Welsh wizard who bet on YouTube | Business | The Observer

"Moritz believes that, for most investors, backing venture capital at all is too high a risk. True, his firm has made large sums of money - the exact amount is a closely guarded secret - but he still believes T-bills (US government bonds) are a safer bet. 'In all the businesses that... I know well,' he says, 'the profits are concentrated in a handful of firms. I think that's true in the venture business. You don't want to be an investor in the 15th venture capital firm any more than in the 12th personal computer company.'
He also warns that there is a danger of another venture capital investment bubble, similar to that seen in the late Nineties. 'I think it's a fool's game. With the exception of a very short list, venture capital as a category has been a very disappointing place for most people to invest for a long time. It's the age-old story and every time around brings a new parade of suckers.'"

Orb- show me the money?

"While Orb's technology has impressed some analysts, the company's business model has others doubting it can make it as an independent company. Gartner analyst Mike McGuire wonders whether its ambitions are so broad that its message is hard for regular consumers to understand. 'Orb's ability to make content portable is really cool, but is the mass consumer really asking for it?' says McGuire. 'I don't know how they make money.'
Costello insists Orb is onto something big and says he's intent on pushing forward despite the long odds. He claims Apple is the only company that is truly revolutionizing the way people use digital technology to be entertained. So long as that's the case, he's convinced there's room for other visionaries. 'Steve Jobs is doing a fabulous job, and I'm not taking anything away from him,' says the 6-foot, 7-inch Costello. 'But I'm sure I'd be a star basketball player in the Pygmy league.' "

Orb Wants to Free Digital Content

"Now, Costello is back at work in Silicon Valley trying to build another big software company. Costello is betting Orb Networks can forever change the way people view digital media.
The 30-person company, which he helped found and finance three years ago, makes software that lets users get to what's on their home PC from any device capable of running a Web browser—be it a laptop, cell phone, or, coming soon, the TV. 'Digital media today is locked up on the PC, but we get it anywhere—on any screen,' says Costello, who had been chairman of the company since 2005 but became full-time CEO in October, after leaving Think3. "

Tech World: Tarang

"Tarang Software, a Bangalore-based firm that provides eLearning solutions and courseware to enterprises, is poised to further expand its offerings with the aim of having a significant pie in the eLearning industry.

The company has also announced to strengthen its engagement with Volvo by providing it with complete eLearning solutions.

Tarang, a Sequoia Capital-funded company initially focussed on providing payment solutions to BFSI industry. In 2002, the company began looking at eLearning as an emerging opportunity. Its engagement with Volvo started in 2004 when the company bagged a project from Volvo for their content management services."

NewTeeVee » Tom Leaves GUBA

"Tom McInerney, one of the co-founders and chief executive officer of GUBA2, a San Francisco-based online video sharing and download service, has resigned and is leaving the company. Eric Lambrecht, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of GUBA is going to take over as the CEO of the company."

YouTube - funny and creative clip

Merry X-Mas!

See you all next year!

Motorola gains video tech with Tut acquisition | CNET News.com

"Motorola and Tut Systems, a maker of digital video technology, have signed a merger agreement, both companies announced Thursday. As part of the agreement, Motorola will acquire Tut as a wholly-owned subsidiary and it will become part of its Motorola Connected Home Solutions business. The terms of the deal include outstanding shares of Tut common stock at $1.15 per share, totaling $39 million. "

Sequoia to put in $3 million in TutorVista-Finance-Finance / Insurance-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

"BANGALORE: In a move to re-emphasising VCs interest in online consumer firms in India, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India has committed an additional $3 million (Rs 13.5 crore) investment in Bangalore-based online educational tutoring company TutorVista Global."

Financial Content and Investment Commentary at RealMoney.com

"BULL: AA AAPL AGN AIG AXP BA BBY C CAT CC CSCO DD GE GIS GM GOOG HPQ INTC KO MHS MMM MO SIE T XOM

BEAR: AAPL FDX GOOG MAMA QQQQ SPY SWC"

Private equity set to reshape VC industry

"Private equity firms, already reshaping wide swathes of American business, are poised to begin shaking up the venture industry, too.
In a new survey of venture capitalists' 2007 predictions, 71 percent of the 200 individuals polled by the National Venture Capital Association said that selling their startups to these giant buyout firms may become an 'attractive option' next year."

Sex.com: A URL -- All Crime And No Sex

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

Equilibrium Capital Management

"Equilibrium Capital Management LLC is an investment management and business development company with offices in Silicon Valley and New York City. The investment management division caters to accredited and sophisticated investors and institutions. The business development arm serves the entire spectrum of companies from stealth and early stage to public.


(c) 2006 Equilibrium Capital Management LLC"

YouTube - Donald Trump vs Rosie O'Donnell

YouTube - DONALD TRUMP VS. ROSIE

Cold comfort: hibernation helped man survive 24 days in wild - World

"A JAPANESE civil servant has described for the first time how he survived for more than three weeks in a mountain forest without food or water in what doctors believe is the first known case of a human in hibernation. Mitsutaka Uchikoshi went missing on Mount Rokko, in western Japan, on October 7 after a barbecue with colleagues. Rather than joining them for the return trip by cable car, the 35-year-old decided to walk down the mountain, but lost his way, slipped in a stream and broke his pelvis."

MercuryNews.com | Illumio lets you search other people's brains

"Imagine if you could search through the information in your colleagues' heads and uncover unknown areas of expertise and serendipitous connections -- like a mutual interest in organic gardening or open-source databases.
That's not a search you can do on Google. But it is one you can do thanks to the Internet and a free application called Illumio developed by Tacit Software of Palo Alto.
Illumio, which was released last month, is a new approach to the challenge of ``social search,'' finding information that other people know but haven't uploaded to a Web page."

Venture Capital's New Adventure - WSJ.com

" Like Mr. Lanza, other venture capitalists have broadened their roles beyond investing in and nurturing start-up businesses. They more often find themselves handling spinouts -- or buying units of publicly traded companies -- as well as so-called rollups and buyouts, and generally engaging in more-complex financial transactions.
In other words, they have stepped into the realm of private equity, now one of the finance world's hottest arenas. The change could make investing in venture-capital funds more risky."

Bebo adds widgets | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com

"For the first time, Bebo users can select photos from their personal profiles, create their widget of choice, and display it on their Bebo profile with a series of simple clicks.
Bebo only allows widgets from the three approved providers, and displays the widgets in iframes hosted on a separate URL, to prevent access to the rest of the page. "

Visto Corporation :: Visto Awarded Permanent Injunction and Damages in Patent Case Against SEVEN Networks

"The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued its final judgment awarding Visto Corporation double damages (a total of $7.7M) plus costs and attorneys' fees for SEVEN Networks' willful infringement of Visto's patented intellectual property. The opinion follows a ruling from the jury on April 28, 2006 that SEVEN willfully infringed on the system that Visto created over a decade ago. The judge also granted a permanent injunction against SEVEN Networks, which will be stayed pending appeal."

"SEVEN Networks was found guilty in April of this year of violating claims from three separate patents Visto brought to trial. At that time, the jury awarded Visto damages at a royalty rate equivalent to 19.75% of SEVEN's infringing products' revenue, or about $3.6 million. In the Court's opinion issued yesterday, it moved to double these damages (plus interest) and awarded Visto $7.7 million. In addition, the Court also awarded the reimbursement of Visto's legal fees, which is expected to increase substantially the total damage award."

Visto Corporation :: Visto Awarded Permanent Injunction and Damages in Patent Case Against SEVEN Networks

"The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has issued its final judgment awarding Visto Corporation double damages (a total of $7.7M) plus costs and attorneys' fees for SEVEN Networks' willful infringement of Visto's patented intellectual property. The opinion follows a ruling from the jury on April 28, 2006 that SEVEN willfully infringed on the system that Visto created over a decade ago. The judge also granted a permanent injunction against SEVEN Networks, which will be stayed pending appeal."

"SEVEN Networks was found guilty in April of this year of violating claims from three separate patents Visto brought to trial. At that time, the jury awarded Visto damages at a royalty rate equivalent to 19.75% of SEVEN's infringing products' revenue, or about $3.6 million. In the Court's opinion issued yesterday, it moved to double these damages (plus interest) and awarded Visto $7.7 million. In addition, the Court also awarded the reimbursement of Visto's legal fees, which is expected to increase substantially the total damage award."

Report: In-game ads failing to deliver - FierceGameBiz

"According to a report from U.K.-based behavioral consultancy research firm Bunnyfoot, in-game advertising shows 'significant shortcomings' that 'fail to factor in emotional engagement and moments of peak excitement.' The study looked at 120 games over eight months, using their Sponsor Fixation Index (SFI), an 'emotive engagement model' which tracks consumer response to ads by monitoring factors like heart rate to gage excitement. Bunnyfoot says re-engineering the ad placement to correlate with moments of excitement in the game will improve recall rates, which in some cases is 'exceedingly low' to 'completely absent.' "

ZDNet India > News > Executive shakeup at video site Revver

"A management reorganization at video-sharing site Revver has resulted in the departure of two of the company's three founders.
A Revver spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that co-founders Ian Clarke and Oliver Luckett were among an undisclosed number of people who have left the company. The other co-founder, Steven Starr, remains the company's CEO, said the spokesperson, who added that Clarke and Luckett may stay on as consultants.
A few members of the Revver senior executive team have transitioned to consulting roles, the company said in a statement. 'Some supporting staff are no longer with the company,' the company said."

PC World - Seagate Buys EVault

"Hard drive maker Seagate Technology will buy EVault for $185 million in an acquisition designed to bolster Seagate's managed services business, the company said today.
EVault, based in Emeryville, California, provides online network backup, recovery, and data protection products for small-to-medium size businesses. Seagate said the market segment comprises 74 million businesses and represents a multi-billion dollar growth area.
EVault is a privately held company founded in 1997 and has 250 employees and 8500 customers in financial, heath care, and legal organizations."

UGGs Regain Popularity During Holidays: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Their name may sound like it's short for 'ugly,' but the fuzzy Australian sheepskin boots are among this season's hottest ways to keep your feet warm.
A whole slew of new styles are available, but the classic, clean styles remain dominant.

UGGs (NASDAQ: DECK) became hot among fashionistas more than four years ago but then lost some coolness amid a flood of copies.Their name may sound like it's short for 'ugly,' but the fuzzy Australian sheepskin boots are among this season's hottest ways to keep your feet warm.
A whole slew of new styles are available, but the classic, clean styles remain dominant.

UGGs became hot among fashionistas more than four years ago but then lost some coolness amid a flood of copies."

Note: Deckers CEO, makers of UGGs, will be on CNBC this morning talking about UGGS boots regaining popularity. "They're on fire," again, said Jennifer Black, president of Jennifer Black & Associates, an equity research firm specializing in apparel companies and specialty stores. She noted she has been trying to find a certain style of UGG boots in her size, but has not been successful.

Maynard Webb Joins LiveOps As CEO

"LiveOps, the leader in distributed contact centers, announced today that Maynard Webb, former eBay
COO, will be joining the company as CEO effective immediately. Previous CEO Bill Trenchard will continue as Chairman. 'There are very few executives who have the experience of building and scaling a global community of empowered entrepreneurs on top of a world class technology platform. Maynard is, in my opinion, uniquely qualified to help capture the opportunities we have today at LiveOps and lead us forward to build one of the world's leading companies,' said Trenchard."

Advertising Age - Digital - 10 Internet Acquisitions from 2006

"1 YouTube by Google , $1.65 billion
The year's biggest valuation is also the most debated: Is YouTube going to be a steal at Google's purchase price once it becomes the future of TV, or a growing source of legal hassle as more networks request to have their content removed?

2 Massive by Microsoft, $200 million-$400 million
The gaming industry's most active in-game advertiser was a wise investment for Microsoft, which was a minor player in the crowded market.

3 Atom Films by Viacom, $200 million
A move criticized by some as a me-too acquisition by Viacom, which shelled out $200 million for the seven-year-old web company. But Viacom did get a global digital media officer out of the deal-Atom CEO Mika Salmi.

4 DMarc by Google, $102 million
DMarc marked Google's entry into the radio-advertising business. The deal was valued at $102 million upfront but could be worth as much as $1.2 billion, depending on how dMarc performs over three years.

5 Xfire by Viacom, $102 million
Xfire's social-networking, instant-messaging and gaming-information services so impressed Viacom it was willing to shell out upward of $100 million.

6 Platform by Comcast, $80 million
The Platform is a cornerstone of Comcast's fledgling online-video play. The broadband-services provider cost the cable company in the neighborhood of a rumored $80 mil.

7 Grouper by Sony, $65 million
Sony gave copyright-shirking YouTubers a run for their money by purchasing this legit video-sharing site. Should its main competitor ever go down in a sea of lawsuit-induced flames, expect Grouper to emerge as the next major player.

8 JotSpot by Google, $50 million
Google's venture into the wiki world was a questionable move for a company that has been notoriously low on ad inventory. Offering JotSpot's previously paid services free to users also raised questions of monetizing possibilities.

9 Petfinder by Animal Planet, $35 million The year's biggest (and cutest) no-brainer was the announcement that Animal Planet would unite TV fans and pet owners to help locate long-lost animal friends. Petfinder could give a dog a bone or five thanks to the $35 million buyout.

10 Wired.com by Conde Nast, $25 million Better late than never. Nearly a decade after its initial purchase of the tech mag, Conde Nast finally put its hot print property under the same roof as its web counterpart."

paidContent.org: 10 Internet Acquisitions from 2006?

AdAge has a handy list, some of which we would agree with, and some we won’t, only because it is too early to judge how these acquisitions will pan out:

"1. YouTube by Google
2. Massive by Microsoft
3. Atom Films by Viacom
4. DMarc by Google
5. Xfire by Viacom
6. Platform by Comcast
7. Grouper by Sony
8. JotSpot by Google
9. Petfinder by Animal Planet
10. Wired.com by Conde Nast
Your guesses? "

Ericsson Buys Redback for $2.1 billion

Redback Networks (RBAK - news - Cramer's Take - Rating) has agreed to be bought by telecommunications equipment supplier Ericsson (ERIC - news - Cramer's Take - Rating) for $2.1 billion, or $25 a Redback share, the companies said late Tuesday.
The acquisition, when complete, will boost Ericsson's plan to help telecommunications carriers lower costs and upgrade their networks, as well as "build leadership in the fast-growing broadband and IP services market," said Carl-Henric Svanberg, Ericsson's CEO.
Shares of the San Jose, Calif., networking-equipment maker soared more than 17%, or $3.63, to $24.80 after hours on the news. Ericsson rose 4 cents to $40.66.

An online outlet for road rage / Fast-growing Web site lets drivers vent, but privacy an issue

"Try www.platewire.com, a Web site created by two frustrated commuters who decided that the antics of their roadmates needed a public forum -- someplace to snitch on all those idiots you see during the slog to work.
PlateWire, where the above rants originated, was 'born out of frustration from years of driving alongside drivers who seem to have no concern with anyone's safety, including their own,' founders Mark Buckman, 32, and Luke Sevenski, 27, announce on their site. "

McAfee SiteAdvisor Plus Adds Support for Firefox, AOL Instant Messenger and AOL Mail: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"McAfee, Inc. today announced that McAfee® SiteAdvisor(TM) Plus, the first Web safety tool to actively shield consumers' computers from dangerous Web sites encountered when browsing, searching, instant messaging or e-mailing, now supports Firefox, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), and AOL mail."

Guidance Software: A Lawsuit's Best Friend: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"There's something unusual about the Guidance Software: The company never received any venture capital. But then again, it offers what is becoming a 'must-have' product."

"Essentially, Guidance helps its customers conduct digital investigations. Since 1998, thousands of customers have used the company's applications for criminal and civil cases -- including the officials involved in the Scott Peterson murder trial. The software has actually been cited in more than 35 judicial opinions. The track record is certainly a major competitive advantage for Guidance, and it has allowed the company to build an impressive board of directors, which includes former CIA director George Tenet and former U.S. cyber-security chief Amit Yoran."

YouTube brings out media giants' competitive claws - Technology & Media - International Herald Tribune

"Now, a handful of giant media companies, like NBC Universal, News Corp., Viacom and possibly CBS, are close to announcing a new Web site that will feature some of their best-known television programming and other clips in an attempt to build a business for distributing video on the Internet to rival YouTube. The new business could be announced as soon as this week.
Whether or not the new venture goes ahead — and such a collaboration among these companies would be nearly unprecedented — the flurry of activity around its creation underscores the complex and high-stakes dance that media companies are having with new online outlets for their wares, and the potent combination of Google and YouTube in particular.
Executives from the companies have been in intense negotiations over the ownership and management structure of the new entity — which is not yet named — and the talks could continue until the end of the year or fall apart entirely."

Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed: Google and the Rise of Index Funds

"There is a useful piece in the current San Francisco magazine describing the rise of index funds. Its hook is the Google IPO, and the company's attempts to indoctrinate Googlers in the perils of active fund management, mutual funds, and so on."

UPDATE 2-Clearwire files again for $400 million IPO | Reuters.com

"Clearwire Corp., a builder and operator of wireless broadband networks, filed with regulators on Tuesday to raise up to $400 million in an initial public offering of Class A common stock.
The Kirkland, Washington-based company said in a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Merrill Lynch & Co., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan are the lead underwriters for the IPO."

Mywaves Lets Users Set Up Video Lineups: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"A new startup hopes to draw cell phone users with a service that allows them to design channel lineups for watching videos on their phones.
Sunnyvale-based mywaves Inc. plans to officially launch its service Monday after quietly releasing the test version in October, which has been attracting more than 20,000 new users per week, according to the company.A new startup hopes to draw cell phone users with a service that allows them to design channel lineups for watching videos on their phones.
Sunnyvale-based mywaves Inc. plans to officially launch its service Monday after quietly releasing the test version in October, which has been attracting more than 20,000 new users per week, according to the company."

YouTube - Spyware Rubbernecking

YouTube - "Impossible is Nothing"

Jangl: win or go home

"This is part 7 of many on how Jangl got started. I’ve been writing about our early days of fund raising and the lessons learned along the way.
Back in Spring 2005, Bessemer, Benchmark and USVP had all passed on investing in us. If you’ve been following along, you’ll see that Outlook Ventures’ Randy Haykin had made these introductions. These next two were Venrock’s Brian Asher and Battery’s Roger Lee. "

Venture-Capital Mood Soars With IPOs: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"A recent string of successful high-tech public offerings is lifting spirits in the nation's venture-capital community and giving hope to managers of troubled bubble-era funds.

Venture investors in Silicon Valley and on the East Coast say their outlook is suddenly less gloomy and their forecasts more bullish for a rebound in returns for this still recuperating industry. Though improving, five-year returns remained at negative 3.5 percent in the second quarter, and three-year returns, after slipping slightly, held at 9 percent, well behind the 20-year mark of 16.5 percent, according to a National Venture Capital Association study.A recent string of successful high-tech public offerings is lifting spirits in the nation's venture-capital community and giving hope to managers of troubled bubble-era funds.
Venture investors in Silicon Valley and on the East Coast say their outlook is suddenly less gloomy and their forecasts more bullish for a rebound in returns for this still recuperating industry. Though improving, five-year returns remained at negative 3.5 percent in the second quarter, and three-year returns, after slipping slightly, held at 9 percent, well behind the 20-year mark of 16.5 percent, according to a National Venture Capital Association study."

Unstrung - WLANs/WiFi/802.11 - Aruba Files for IPO - Wireless Networking News Analysis

"Enterprise wireless LAN startup Aruba Wireless Networks has filed for a long-anticipated IPO and plans to raise up to $100 million with the float.
Aruba filed its S-1 late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . Goldman Sachs & Co. and Lehman Brothers are the lead underwriters. Aruba expects to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ARUN."

YouTube - Nintendo wii commercial - neat

U.S. Is Proposing to Cut Medicaid’s Drug Payments

"The Bush administration on Monday will propose sweeping reductions in payments to pharmacies as a way to save money for Medicaid, the health program for more than 50 million low-income people.
The goal is to ensure that Medicaid can get drug discounts similar to those provided to large customers in the private market, including companies like Caremark Rx and Medco Health Solutions that manage drug benefits for people who have health insurance through an employer. Congressional investigators have found that Medicaid pays 35 percent more than the lowest price available in the private market for some commonly used brand-name drugs. "

Express plans $26 billion hostile bid for Caremark: NY Times

"Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. is planning to make a $26 billion hostile bid on Monday for rival Caremark RX (NYSE:CMX - News), the New York Times reported on its Web site, citing people briefed on the company's plan."

Harrah's nears buyout deal with Apollo, TPG - sources | Top Business News | Reuters.com

"Private equity firms Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group were near reaching a deal to buy Harrah's Entertainment Inc., the world's largest casino operator, with an increased $16.7 billion bid, sources familiar with the situation said."

YouTube - Mr. Softi Vista Test Drive

RED HERRING | Google Gets Into Domain Biz

"Google said it has signed an agreement to resell Web site addresses held by domain name registrar services GoDaddy.com and eNom beginning Friday. Registration has been integrated in Google Apps for Your Domain.

Registration fees are $10 annually. The service will support .com, .org, .net, .biz, and .info domains. The Mountain View, Calif., company said the service also includes the ability to create an administrative account to manage the site and a configuration tool to ensure the Google Apps is available on the new site."

Music on the Move as Mobile Applications Multiply

"This past year marked the beginning of a revolutionary experiment to sell and distribute digital music to and from mobile phones. The stage is only just being set, with the business models, pricing and marketing issues still evolving. "

ZdNet » Exclusive: Glam.com Samir Arora

"

"Glam Media reflects an aspirational women’s lifestyle experience, Samir Arora, chairman and founder, told me in announcing the company’s $18.5 million series C venture capital funding earlier this week (see "Glam.com's fashionable $18.5 million").
Arora also shared with me the aspirational business development “story” behind Glam Media, which he says is going “after a multi-billion dollar opportunity”:

Cavium Networks Wins FSA's Most Respected Private Company Award

"Cavium Networks, a world leader in networking, security and embedded processor solutions, today announced that the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA), voice of the global fabless business model, recognized Cavium Networks as the Industry's Most Respected Private Fabless Company at the Association's 2006 Awards Dinner Celebration in Santa Clara, California. Cavium Networks received this award for an unprecedented third time, for its product, vision, strategy and future opportunity.
From over 900 private fabless semiconductor companies worldwide, this award is bestowed annually upon the company most respected in terms of product, vision, strategy, future opportunities and likelihood of long-term success. Previous winners of this award include NVIDIA, Marvell and Atheros Communications. The award process consists of nomination by an FSA committee of industry experts and then final selection by the fabless community, semiconductor financial and industry analysts and suppliers. "

PE Hub: VCs Game Shy

"Venture firms pulled back on gaming investments in 2006 despite lucrative exits early in the year. Investment dollars dropped nearly 38% in 2006 to $137 million, down from the $219 million invested during 2005, according to data from Thomson Financial (publisher of PEHub.com).
It seems odd there would be a dip in 2006. Especially after VCs scored with the sale of Massive and XFire.
Massive allows advertisers to tap directly into the game play, posting ads within the video games. It raised nearly $18 million in three rounds from DFJ Gotham, Tobat Capital, Newlight Capital, RRE Ventures and NeoCarta Ventures. The purchase price was undisclosed, though an investor in XFire pegged the acquisition at about $150 million. (The Wall Street Journal reported Microsoft paid between $250 million and $400 million.)"

Will Price: Presenting to Win - buy this book!

"Jerry Weissman's great book, Presenting to Win, is a practical how-to guide on the "art of telling your story." The book is the culmination of several decades of coaching technology companies and legends on how best to connect with audiences and effectively communicate ideas. His past clients include Sequoia, CSCO, Yahoo, MSFT, and many others."

Techcrunch » Yahoo’s “Project Fraternity” Docs Leaked

"Rumors about the possible acquisition of Facebook, usually with Yahoo as buyer, have been around for most of this year. Not that Yahoo or Facebook have asked for this attention, but the media is getting antsy. Robert Young put it best last week when he asked - Yahoo & Facebook: Deal or No Deal?. That is certainly the question of the fiscal quarter.
We know that Facebook has been pursued almost since the beginning of its existence. They narrowly avoided a $10 million acquisition by Friendster in mid 2004, just months before they took their first round of financing from Accel Partners. Former Friendster execs say that the deal was close to closing, but last minute negoations over control ultimately disrupted the deal. Since then, Facebook has certainly been approached by every major Internet company. "

Askville is now public

Dear Askville Beta testers,

We are excited to announce the public beta launch of Askville.com byAmazon. For everyone who has been helping us beta test Askville for thepast several months - thank you for all your feedback, suggestions, andinput; without your help we wouldn't be where we are today! If you haven'tbeen back in a while, check us out as we've made a ton of improvements, alot of them based upon the suggestions and ideas you've recommended to us.As you know, Askville is a community based website where users can easilyask and answer questions, share their knowledge and meet others withsimilar interests. Additionally, you can earn experience points in varioustopics and Quest coins, Askville?s virtual currency. Eventually, you willbe able to your Quest coins on an upcoming site called Questville.com scheduled to launch in 2007.

Pluggd Gets Investment From Intel

"Seattle-based Pluggd, an online service for finding and listening to podcasts, has reported raised $1.65M from Intel Capital and angel investors. According to venture news site VentureBeat, angels in the round include former Microsoft employees Scott Oki and Paul Maritz, Brian Magierski of Kalivo, Fraser Black, Bill Bryant, Alex Alben, NeoCarta's Barry Newman, and Mark Klebanoff, former CFO of RealNetworks. Pluggd also had disclosed funding activity in a regulatory filing November 13th. "

Burnham's Beat: A GOOD Exit: Good for VCs, Bad For Microsoft

"Which brings me back to why Good's exit is so damn good. To get $500M for a company 6 months AFTER the death warrant for its main product line has been very publicly signed, sealed, and delivered from Redmond, WA is absolutely awe inspiring."
Hello Moto ... Hello

VentureBeat » YouTube and Sequoia Capital’s family ties

"Now it emerges that, through reporting of PE Week’s Alex Haislip (sorry the full version is subscription only), that David Lamond, son of Pierre (Pierre pictured here), is an investor at hedge fund Artis Capital. Another family connection, and again, who cares?"

Motorola Backs Virtual Handset Tester - 12/5/2006 10:33:00 AM - Wireless Week - CA6397359

"Motorola is investing an undisclosed sum in Mobile Complete through its investment arm Motorola Ventures.
Mobile Complete introduced DeviceAnywhere.com in December 2005. The service is deigned to provide remote access to pre-released and commercial handsets connected to major U.S. and European mobile operators, according to Mobile Complete. Specifically, the service helps content providers address the issue of handset proliferation by accessing real mobile devices over the Internet at any time, from any location."

News Briefs for Dec. 7, 2006 Wireless Week

"Sequans Communications, a supplier and developer of fixed and mobile WiMAX semiconductor solutions, announced that Zvi Slonimsky has joined its board of directors. Slonimsky served as CEO of Alvarion from 2001 to 2005.
Artificial Life, a Hong Kong-based provider of mobile technology and applications, has signed a contract with Israel telecom carrier Pelephone to launch its 2G and 3G content and games in Israel. Pelephone was the first company to offer mobile phone service in Israel.
Meru Networks announced that more than 25 health care facilities across the United States have deployed its wireless LAN system. The Meru solution enables health care organizations to provide improved patient care, safety and service while realizing a cost savings, according to the company. St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill., for example, has saved more than $2 million per year with Meru's solution."

VentureBeat » Fred Wilson’s fortunes, sexy commenters & latest on Mojungle, MobiTV and Edgeio

"Fred Wilson sells home listed at $37.5 million — Fred Wilson, the venture capitalist at Union Square Ventures in New York, who has one of the most widely read VC blogs, AVC, has sold his 15,000-square-foot townhouse in Manhattan. If it closed near the asking price, the 1847 mansion would be the most expensive single-family residence downtown, reports the Observer. In 1996, the home apparently sold for $3.9 million."

MercuryNews.com | 12/06/2006 | Takahashi: Silicon Valley start-ups still show ingenuity

"Can you hear me now? If you've ever lost a cell phone call during the middle of a conversation, you'll be interested in a new invention from Quellan.
The Santa Clara chip start-up has figured out a way to clean up weak wireless signals in a way that could dramatically improve reception for cell phones and a wide variety of other devices that are susceptible to electronic interference."

Notes: Quellan incubated this technology for a long time. The company started in Atlanta in 2001, creating a communications technology for the now-defunct Global Crossing and its optical networks that served as the backbone of the Internet. After the tech downturn, the project got mothballed. Menlo Ventures, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing have raised $23 million in the past year for Quellan.

Qualcomm buys two wireless technology businesses

Wireless technology firm Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM - News) said on Monday it will buy two micro-chip businesses to boost its expertise in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless technology for mobile Internet access.

"Qualcomm said it is buying the majority of RF Micro Devices Inc.'s (NASDAQ:RFMD - News) Bluetooth assets for $39 million and paying an undisclosed amount of cash to buy startup Airgo Networks Inc., which provides wireless local area network technology."

Palo Alto, California-based Airgo, which makes chipsets and software for wireless networking, was founded in January 2001 and had investment from venture firms including OVP Venture Partners, Oak Investment Partners and BlueRun Ventures, according to the company's Web site.
Oppenheimer's Harris said the Airgo deal could help bolster Qualcomm's expertise in Wi-Fi, a technology that is built into most laptops and an increasing number of cell phones.

Vodafone Gives Mobile Advertising a Push - WSJ.com

"Vodafone Group PLC is ramping up its efforts to push ads to its cellphone-service customers in a move that -- if successful -- could help shape the nascent mobile-advertising industry."

MySpace Is in Talks on China Entry - WSJ.com

"News Corp.'s MySpace.com is in talks to bring the social-networking site to China with Boston technology trade publisher International Data Group's Chinese venture arm and former China Netcom Group Corp. Chief Executive Edward Tian, according to people close to the situation.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, is also likely to join the board of MySpace China, these people say. The post would be her first official job at the media conglomerate since she married Mr. Murdoch in 1999.
Although News Corp. has publicly announced its intention to expand MySpace into China, people close to the matter caution no deal has been completed yet."

MySpace Is in Talks on China Entry - WSJ.com

"News Corp.'s MySpace.com is in talks to bring the social-networking site to China with Boston technology trade publisher International Data Group's Chinese venture arm and former China Netcom Group Corp. Chief Executive Edward Tian, according to people close to the situation.
News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng, is also likely to join the board of MySpace China, these people say. The post would be her first official job at the media conglomerate since she married Mr. Murdoch in 1999.
Although News Corp. has publicly announced its intention to expand MySpace into China, people close to the matter caution no deal has been completed yet."