Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Google's Next Ad Frontier May Be Inside Videogames - WSJ.com
"Google Inc.'s efforts to broker advertisements beyond the Web could soon expand into ads that appear in videogames.
The Mountain View, Calif., company is in talks to acquire Adscape Media Inc., a closely held San Francisco company whose technology allows for the delivery of advertising over the Internet and placement within videogames, according to people familiar with the matter. They added that a deal could be reached as early as next week.
While the possible terms of a deal aren't known, Microsoft Corp. last year acquired Massive Inc., a company that delivers in-game ads, for close to $200 million."
The Mountain View, Calif., company is in talks to acquire Adscape Media Inc., a closely held San Francisco company whose technology allows for the delivery of advertising over the Internet and placement within videogames, according to people familiar with the matter. They added that a deal could be reached as early as next week.
While the possible terms of a deal aren't known, Microsoft Corp. last year acquired Massive Inc., a company that delivers in-game ads, for close to $200 million."
Third Screen: Obopay Buys "Social Money" Startup
"Last summer I wrote an article about how 'social money,' or small person-to-person transactions, would lead the move towards mobile payments. Back then, a slew of startups had just launched, each offering their own slightly different version of text-messaging, WAP or downloadable app-based m-commerce offering. Later in the article, I also wrote about how near field communication (NFC), which lets phones beam money back and forth, would be the real killer app in the market, expected to reach $55 billion in worldwide transactions by 2008. "
DataSynapse Reports Continued Expansion
"DataSynapse, Inc., the global provider of application virtualization software, today announced another solid year of growth in 2006 with revenues and client wins up 60 percent from 2005, as global demand for virtualization technology continues to increase.
According to Gartner Inc.'s 2006 Top 10 Strategic Technologies list, virtualization was a technology most likely to gain widespread adoption this past year. DataSynapse's market leadership confirmed this industry forecast for growth in emerging virtualization technologies. Expanding its global footprint, DataSynapse's customer base now spans 13 countries, where leading companies adopted DataSynapse solutions for their application virtualization strategies.
'Performance at the application layer is crucial to IT operations and leading enterprises have found that DataSynapse's products -- GridServer and FabricServer -- address the principal challenges at this layer,' said Anne MacFarland, director of data strategies and information solutions at The Clipper Group. 'Its tremendous customer success in 2006 illustrated that whether an enterprise was challenged by scale, optimization, heterogeneity, enrichment or complexity, DataSynapse provided tools to address the problems.'"
According to Gartner Inc.'s 2006 Top 10 Strategic Technologies list, virtualization was a technology most likely to gain widespread adoption this past year. DataSynapse's market leadership confirmed this industry forecast for growth in emerging virtualization technologies. Expanding its global footprint, DataSynapse's customer base now spans 13 countries, where leading companies adopted DataSynapse solutions for their application virtualization strategies.
'Performance at the application layer is crucial to IT operations and leading enterprises have found that DataSynapse's products -- GridServer and FabricServer -- address the principal challenges at this layer,' said Anne MacFarland, director of data strategies and information solutions at The Clipper Group. 'Its tremendous customer success in 2006 illustrated that whether an enterprise was challenged by scale, optimization, heterogeneity, enrichment or complexity, DataSynapse provided tools to address the problems.'"
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Goog bye Flickr old skool : (
Dear Old Skool Account-Holding Flickr Member,
On March 15th we'll be discontinuing the old email-based
Flickr sign in system. From that point on, everyone will
have to use a Yahoo! ID to sign in to Flickr.
We're making this change now to simplify the sign in
process in advance of several large projects launching this
year, but some Flickr features and tools already require
Yahoo! IDs for sign in -- like the mobile site at
m.flickr.com or the new Yahoo! Go program for mobiles,
available at: http://go.yahoo.com.
95% of your fellow Flickrites already use this system and
their experience is just the same as yours is now, except
they sign in on a different page. It's easy to switch: it
takes about a minute if you already have a Yahoo! ID and
about five minutes if you don't.
You can make the switch at any time in the next few months,
from today till the 15th. (After that day, you'll be
required to merge before you continue using your account.)
To switch, start at this page:
http://flickr.com/account/associate/
Nothing else on your account or experience of Flickr
changes: you can continue to have your FlickrMail and
notifications sent to any email address at any domain and
your screenname will remain the same.
Complete details and answers to most common questions are
available here:
http://flickr.com/help/signin/
Thanks for your patience and understanding - and even
bigger thanks for your continued support of Flickr: if
you're reading this, you've been around for a while and
that means a lot to us!
Warmest regards,
- The Flickreenos
On March 15th we'll be discontinuing the old email-based
Flickr sign in system. From that point on, everyone will
have to use a Yahoo! ID to sign in to Flickr.
We're making this change now to simplify the sign in
process in advance of several large projects launching this
year, but some Flickr features and tools already require
Yahoo! IDs for sign in -- like the mobile site at
m.flickr.com or the new Yahoo! Go program for mobiles,
available at: http://go.yahoo.com.
95% of your fellow Flickrites already use this system and
their experience is just the same as yours is now, except
they sign in on a different page. It's easy to switch: it
takes about a minute if you already have a Yahoo! ID and
about five minutes if you don't.
You can make the switch at any time in the next few months,
from today till the 15th. (After that day, you'll be
required to merge before you continue using your account.)
To switch, start at this page:
http://flickr.com/account/associate/
Nothing else on your account or experience of Flickr
changes: you can continue to have your FlickrMail and
notifications sent to any email address at any domain and
your screenname will remain the same.
Complete details and answers to most common questions are
available here:
http://flickr.com/help/signin/
Thanks for your patience and understanding - and even
bigger thanks for your continued support of Flickr: if
you're reading this, you've been around for a while and
that means a lot to us!
Warmest regards,
- The Flickreenos
RED HERRING | Piper Jaffray Raises Cleantech Fund
" Piper Jaffray said Monday it has closed a $60-million fund of venture-capital cleantech funds for institutional investors, another sign of maturity for an industry previously on the investment fringe.
The investment bank put the money into cleantech funds at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Nth Power, among others, and says it has a “commitment pending” at Technology Partners, said Scott Barrington, director of private equity at Piper Jaffray.
The Piper Jaffray fund is one of the first handful of so-called “funds of funds” in cleantech, joining banks such as Robeco, Goldman Sachs, and the Credit Suisse Group. Funds of funds allow institutional investors to diversify by investing in a portfolio of cleantech funds, each containing their own portfolios of cleantech companies.
The Piper Jaffray fund represents market recognition that cleantech is becoming mainstream, said David Lincoln, a founder and managing partner for DFJ Element, Draper Fisher Jurvetson’s cleantech fund. "
The investment bank put the money into cleantech funds at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Nth Power, among others, and says it has a “commitment pending” at Technology Partners, said Scott Barrington, director of private equity at Piper Jaffray.
The Piper Jaffray fund is one of the first handful of so-called “funds of funds” in cleantech, joining banks such as Robeco, Goldman Sachs, and the Credit Suisse Group. Funds of funds allow institutional investors to diversify by investing in a portfolio of cleantech funds, each containing their own portfolios of cleantech companies.
The Piper Jaffray fund represents market recognition that cleantech is becoming mainstream, said David Lincoln, a founder and managing partner for DFJ Element, Draper Fisher Jurvetson’s cleantech fund. "
Australian sells own life on Internet - Yahoo! News
"In his sales pitch, Holt said the winner would be entitled to a four-week training course in how to be him -- including lessons on how to surf, climb, skateboard, fire twirl and do handstands -- as well as two months of on-call support afterward.
He also promised to introduce the winner to all his friends and potential lovers, including eight people he had been flirting with."
He also promised to introduce the winner to all his friends and potential lovers, including eight people he had been flirting with."
Monday, January 29, 2007
Brandy may be charged in vehicle death - Yahoo! News
"The California Highway Patrol recommended Monday that actress-singer Brandy be charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in a freeway crash that killed a woman motorist last month, a city attorney's spokesman told The Associated Press. "
Eight Indian Americans in Forbes' Midas list
"Eight Indian American entrepreneurs have made it to the Forbes' 2007 Midas list, an annual ranking of the US' top 100 tech dealmakers.
Leading the Indian pack is tech wizard Ram Shriram, placed fourth on the list released last week. Two years ago, Shriram was one of just two Indian Americans to find a place in the Forbes' list of 400 richest Americans, the other being acoustics pioneer Amar Bose.
Behind Shriram is Arjun Gupta at number 37. An MBA from Stanford, he is the founder and managing partner of TeleSoft Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on high-tech start-ups.
Other Indian Americans on the Midas list include Parag Saxena (38), Rob Soni (42), Promode Haque (52), Navin Chaddha (58), Srinivas Akkaraju (84) and Ravi Mhatre (95).
Shriram's claim to fame has been his association with Google, where he has been a founding board member, director and angel investor. In 2005, his net worth was put at $1.3 billion. A technology industry insider for over 25 years and a former executive with Netscape and Amazon, Shriram founded his own company, Sherpalo, in California in 2000."
Leading the Indian pack is tech wizard Ram Shriram, placed fourth on the list released last week. Two years ago, Shriram was one of just two Indian Americans to find a place in the Forbes' list of 400 richest Americans, the other being acoustics pioneer Amar Bose.
Behind Shriram is Arjun Gupta at number 37. An MBA from Stanford, he is the founder and managing partner of TeleSoft Partners, a venture capital firm that focuses on high-tech start-ups.
Other Indian Americans on the Midas list include Parag Saxena (38), Rob Soni (42), Promode Haque (52), Navin Chaddha (58), Srinivas Akkaraju (84) and Ravi Mhatre (95).
Shriram's claim to fame has been his association with Google, where he has been a founding board member, director and angel investor. In 2005, his net worth was put at $1.3 billion. A technology industry insider for over 25 years and a former executive with Netscape and Amazon, Shriram founded his own company, Sherpalo, in California in 2000."
Light Reading - Optical Networking - Is Infinera Ready for an IPO? - Telecom News Analysis
The long-awaited Infinera Corp. IPO could be ready for takeoff within the next few weeks.
Infinera has sent lock-up agreements to its shareholders, sources say, barring them from selling stock within a certain time period. It's a routine part of the IPO process and, if it's really happened, is a sure sign that Infinera is ready to file its S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) .
Infinera has sent lock-up agreements to its shareholders, sources say, barring them from selling stock within a certain time period. It's a routine part of the IPO process and, if it's really happened, is a sure sign that Infinera is ready to file its S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) .
Light Reading - Ethernet - Mangrove Closes Its Doors - Telecom News Analysis
Mangrove Systems Inc. has decided to cease operations and look for a buyer, ending entrepreneur Jonathan Reeves's winning streak of startup exits.
Mangrove launched in 2002 to high expectations, as founder Reeves had racked up two successes with previous startups. His Sahara Networks got sold to Cascade Communications in 1997 for $212 million. Later, Sirocco Systems got bought out by Sycamore Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SCMR - message board) in 2000 for $2.9 billion. (See Sycamore Goes Shopping and Sycamore Gains Access.)"
Mangrove launched in 2002 to high expectations, as founder Reeves had racked up two successes with previous startups. His Sahara Networks got sold to Cascade Communications in 1997 for $212 million. Later, Sirocco Systems got bought out by Sycamore Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: SCMR - message board) in 2000 for $2.9 billion. (See Sycamore Goes Shopping and Sycamore Gains Access.)"
alarm:clock: LinkedIn Worth A Quarter Billion?
"As we just posted, Silicon Valley’s Bessemer Venture Partners and the European Founders Fund invested $12.8M in LinkedIn placing a value of more than $250M on the business social network. That's a nice round number. Would Wall Street pay that?
At a party at Stinson Beach recently a couple of tech investment bankers who have been around the block were scratching their heads about the value of LinkedIn. We have heard this refrain before. It seems to us that most people complain about the hassle of LinkedIn. Why spend time maintaining your list and then never use it? "
At a party at Stinson Beach recently a couple of tech investment bankers who have been around the block were scratching their heads about the value of LinkedIn. We have heard this refrain before. It seems to us that most people complain about the hassle of LinkedIn. Why spend time maintaining your list and then never use it? "
GigaOM » Startups Take on Amazon Reviews
"While low prices and huge inventory are the main attraction at Amazon.com, the site’s reviews have emerged as an essential online resource. Now, a new generation of start-ups wants to take on the shopping giant by spreading reviews across the web.
As PowerReviews1 CEO Andy Chen puts it, he’s building a “next-generation Epinions.” His competitors in the distributed reviews space include Bazaarvoice2 and European-oriented Reevoo3. Today, a new start-up, Ratepoint4, is throwing its hat in the ring."
As PowerReviews1 CEO Andy Chen puts it, he’s building a “next-generation Epinions.” His competitors in the distributed reviews space include Bazaarvoice2 and European-oriented Reevoo3. Today, a new start-up, Ratepoint4, is throwing its hat in the ring."
Mister Softie Acquisitions
During the six months ended December 31, 2006, we recorded goodwill resulting from the following acquisitions:
• Server and Tools: Softricity, Inc. ($191 million); Whale Communications Ltd. ($66 million); Winternals Software LP ($31 million); and others ($19 million);
• Online Services Business: Gteko Ltd. ($60 million) and other ($10 million); and
• Entertainment and Devices Division: Colloquis, Inc. ($24 million).
• Server and Tools: Softricity, Inc. ($191 million); Whale Communications Ltd. ($66 million); Winternals Software LP ($31 million); and others ($19 million);
• Online Services Business: Gteko Ltd. ($60 million) and other ($10 million); and
• Entertainment and Devices Division: Colloquis, Inc. ($24 million).
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Six Kids and a Full Time Job: Google Earth as a Virtual World
"Heard an interesting rumor today from an academic who heard through the PhD grapevine...Google is working on turning Google Earth into a virtual world a la SecondLife (full disclosure: Benchmark investment) . That would be an interesting development both for Google. After hearing this, I was struck by the language on the Google Earth website: 'One more step to creating a life-like 3-D model of the whole planet..'"
GigaOM » YouTube makes its power play
"If you are Revver or Metacafe, it is also the worst day of your life, because now a deep pocketed incumbent is going to play havoc with your business model, and hope to run you out of town."
Plush Animals With a Key to Enter Their Web World - New York Times
"A stuffed animal doubles as the key to a Web site with Webkinz, a collectible toy that has been enjoying some playground buzz lately.
Skip to next paragraph
Each of the 60 varieties of soft and squishy animals, sold either as Webkinz ($14) or as smaller Lil’ Kinz ($8), comes with a sealed tag with a code that can be entered at Webkinz World (www.webkinz.com). Once the code is recognized, children meet a virtual version of their pet that they can use to play games and chat with friends. The pet can move into its own furnished home. "
Skip to next paragraph
Each of the 60 varieties of soft and squishy animals, sold either as Webkinz ($14) or as smaller Lil’ Kinz ($8), comes with a sealed tag with a code that can be entered at Webkinz World (www.webkinz.com). Once the code is recognized, children meet a virtual version of their pet that they can use to play games and chat with friends. The pet can move into its own furnished home. "
Tech Barons Take on New Project: Energy Policy - New York Times
"One venture-backed ethanol start-up is Altra, a 50-employee company based in Los Angeles. It offers a twist on ethanol production by making the fuel from nonedible plant matter, producing what is known as cellulosic ethanol.
Altra’s process can create “large volumes of fuel with significantly lower emissions than gasoline, and in a fashion that does not compete with the food supply,” said John Denniston, a partner at the Silicon Valley investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. The firm invested an undisclosed amount in Altra as part of a financing round that raised $50 million, Altra said.
Mr. Denniston said Altra could benefit from policy changes. For example, the government could require that cars be able to run on either ethanol or gasoline, or it could set up a national carbon trading system that would increase demand for ethanol by forcing companies to find greener alternatives to oil and gas. Such a system would put a limit on the volume of carbon dioxide emissions and then create a trading system where companies could buy credits that would permit them to emit more. "
Altra’s process can create “large volumes of fuel with significantly lower emissions than gasoline, and in a fashion that does not compete with the food supply,” said John Denniston, a partner at the Silicon Valley investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. The firm invested an undisclosed amount in Altra as part of a financing round that raised $50 million, Altra said.
Mr. Denniston said Altra could benefit from policy changes. For example, the government could require that cars be able to run on either ethanol or gasoline, or it could set up a national carbon trading system that would increase demand for ethanol by forcing companies to find greener alternatives to oil and gas. Such a system would put a limit on the volume of carbon dioxide emissions and then create a trading system where companies could buy credits that would permit them to emit more. "
CES: New Car Gadgets for 2007 at CarSPIN
"The talk of the automotive world this week has been coming out of Detroit’s NAIAS; however, CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, has been equally wowing enthusiasts.
The annoying lights, inspection-rejection, and ripoff diagnosis and repairs associated with Check Engine lights may be remedied with a new device, the CarMD scanner. Since model year 1996, all vehicles sold in the United States have had the port to plug a scanner into, however, most scanners have been expensive and targeted only at repair shops. CarMD will be targeted towards the individual consumer, and has handy USB plugins to connect the device to your computer. You can reset your system, diagnose a code, and even download repair estimates using CarMD."
The annoying lights, inspection-rejection, and ripoff diagnosis and repairs associated with Check Engine lights may be remedied with a new device, the CarMD scanner. Since model year 1996, all vehicles sold in the United States have had the port to plug a scanner into, however, most scanners have been expensive and targeted only at repair shops. CarMD will be targeted towards the individual consumer, and has handy USB plugins to connect the device to your computer. You can reset your system, diagnose a code, and even download repair estimates using CarMD."
The Hindu Business Line : Carving a distinct identity amidst changing times
"Hughes, Flextronics, and now Aricent - the name has changed over the years. But the company and its clients remain the same, despite having been nurtured by three parents.
Aricent, which was formerly part of Flextronics, changed its identity only four months ago and is now in the throes of evolving to create its own distinct image.
A unique company in itself, it has had to change its identity three times in less than two decades. It started off as Hughes Software System in 1991, and was acquired by Flextronics and named Flextronics Software Systems in 2004. Again in September 2006, it underwent a transition with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &Co and Sequoia Capital acquiring 85 per cent of the business in the company, and re-christening it Aricent.
As transitions go, it must have been painful, but Aricent has been able to stick to its guns and chosen to see the brighter picture for its employees and stakeholders. It continues to leverage on its HR, business and management strengths to create its new identity. "
Aricent, which was formerly part of Flextronics, changed its identity only four months ago and is now in the throes of evolving to create its own distinct image.
A unique company in itself, it has had to change its identity three times in less than two decades. It started off as Hughes Software System in 1991, and was acquired by Flextronics and named Flextronics Software Systems in 2004. Again in September 2006, it underwent a transition with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &Co and Sequoia Capital acquiring 85 per cent of the business in the company, and re-christening it Aricent.
As transitions go, it must have been painful, but Aricent has been able to stick to its guns and chosen to see the brighter picture for its employees and stakeholders. It continues to leverage on its HR, business and management strengths to create its new identity. "
New PSP modchip around the corner? - PlayStation Portable News - PSP Updates
"Adding to the hectic day, we have news that there might be another modchip in the works, coming out soon. While not much is known at this point, the webpage lists the supposed features in the modchip:
Flash your PSP using the internal USB Port
No additional USB Port required
Latest ACTEL ProASIC 3 technology
Low power consumption
Works on all available PSP versions incl. TA-082 and TA-086
Custom BIOS with a lot of cool additional features
Easy to install
Just a bit of soldering skills required, no hardcore installation"
Flash your PSP using the internal USB Port
No additional USB Port required
Latest ACTEL ProASIC 3 technology
Low power consumption
Works on all available PSP versions incl. TA-082 and TA-086
Custom BIOS with a lot of cool additional features
Easy to install
Just a bit of soldering skills required, no hardcore installation"
Digital50: myYearbook.com
\ "myYearbook.com, a leading social networking site for teens, announced today that it has raised $4.1 Million in Series A funding from U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) and First Round Capital. "
No Longer Down in Silicon Valley - WSJ.com
"Silicon Valley's nascent economic recovery gathered steam last year, with the nation's technology capital adding more than 30,000 jobs and showing gains in areas such as average annual wages and household income.
That was the conclusion of an annual report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit group representing businesses and government agencies in the San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., area.
'Silicon Valley is back and it's rebooting,' said Russell Hancock, Joint Venture's president and chief executive. 'This is familiar since the Valley has already done it five or six times over its history. It regroups, then reboots.'
The report comes as Silicon Valley, which prospered during the dot-com frenzy in the late 1990s, has struggled to remake itself in the wake of the tech crash in 2000. In the years since, the region has experienced job losses and a slowdown in growth at many tech companies. The area began to turn the corner in 2005 when a net gain of 2,000 jobs was recorded, the first time since 2001 that there had been an overall increase in jobs. Start-up activity has also become widespread again, with Internet firms specializing in online video, social networking and 'clean technology' springing up."
That was the conclusion of an annual report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit group representing businesses and government agencies in the San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., area.
'Silicon Valley is back and it's rebooting,' said Russell Hancock, Joint Venture's president and chief executive. 'This is familiar since the Valley has already done it five or six times over its history. It regroups, then reboots.'
The report comes as Silicon Valley, which prospered during the dot-com frenzy in the late 1990s, has struggled to remake itself in the wake of the tech crash in 2000. In the years since, the region has experienced job losses and a slowdown in growth at many tech companies. The area began to turn the corner in 2005 when a net gain of 2,000 jobs was recorded, the first time since 2001 that there had been an overall increase in jobs. Start-up activity has also become widespread again, with Internet firms specializing in online video, social networking and 'clean technology' springing up."
China's economy | Still roaring | Economist.com
"ROSS PEROT, a populist American politician, predicted in the early 1990s that a trade pact with Mexico would create a ‘‘giant sucking sound’’ as jobs headed south. Instead, America experienced full employment. So giant-sucking-sound detectors turned to China. In time, China became the workshop of the world, although by then America had long hollowed out much of its manufacturing.
Now there really is a giant sucking sound—not one made by the flight of jobs, but by China ferociously hoovering up commodities and raw materials. Although it accounts for roughly 4% of global GDP (measured at market exchange rates), China consumes 30% of the world’s supply of minerals and other raw materials. This time around, the world has not only heard the sucking sound, but has also felt its effects, as the prices of commodities such as iron ore, copper and zinc have soared, doubling or tripling in just a couple of years. "
Now there really is a giant sucking sound—not one made by the flight of jobs, but by China ferociously hoovering up commodities and raw materials. Although it accounts for roughly 4% of global GDP (measured at market exchange rates), China consumes 30% of the world’s supply of minerals and other raw materials. This time around, the world has not only heard the sucking sound, but has also felt its effects, as the prices of commodities such as iron ore, copper and zinc have soared, doubling or tripling in just a couple of years. "
Techdirt: Amazon Finally Gets Around To Launching Semi-Mysterious Wiki Offering
"Well over a year ago, there were various sightings of the mysterious Amazon 'ProductWiki' which would let people create and edit pages about various products. Last month, they apparently finally did a quiet launch of the offering. Of course, there's already a company out there named ProductWiki, and they probably weren't all that thrilled with Amazon's naming choice. Either way, Rogers Cadenhead wrote in to let us know that he's spotted a new service on Amazon called Amapedia, that basically looks like their attempt to perhaps rebrand the ProductWiki concept (though, they still have a website discussing their own ProductWiki). Randomly, if you do a Google search on the name Amapedia, you come up with the resume of an intern who claims he did coding work on Amapedia for Amazon back in 2005. "
Fugitive Thought - GOOG docs
Recently, Google quietly began placing some of their newer projects and acquisitions into the spotlight. An excellent example has presented itself, particularly with respect to GMail and the related web app, Google Docs and Spreadsheets. A recent update to the GMail feature set highlights increased integration of the many Google projects:
Gmail users receiving attached documents now have the ability to view them via Google Docs and Spreadsheets, which presents a sleek in-browser word processor interface. Emails arriving with a document attached will now display a 'open as a google document' in addition to the usual 'View as HTML' and 'Download' options. "
Gmail users receiving attached documents now have the ability to view them via Google Docs and Spreadsheets, which presents a sleek in-browser word processor interface. Emails arriving with a document attached will now display a 'open as a google document' in addition to the usual 'View as HTML' and 'Download' options. "
Ray Lane buys dinner - Who buys ArcSight?
"I'm a big fan of Ray Lane, the former president of Oracle and one of Kleiner Perkins' top VCs. So whenever there's an opportunity to be around the same table I always take it.
Mr Lane is one of the industry's veterans and one of the savviest in the enterprise software industry. And his presence is large, he doesn't need to check himself for commentary, which is great if you are a journalist.
Tuesday evening Mr Lane and executives from security firm ArcSight, plus a couple of c ustomers, plus a bunch of A-list journalists, from WSJ, News.com, etc met for a roundtable discussion on matters of security. The timing was perfect to chat about security with all the talk of 9-11, and the term 9-11 came up many times during dinner.
ArcSight specializes in spotting aberrant behaviors among staff and flagging potential insider criminal activities. Some of those activities could be accidental, such as 'forgetting' a laptop filled with sensitive company data in an airport lounge. I'm a big fan of Ray Lane, the former president of Oracle and one of Kleiner Perkins' top VCs. So whenever there's an opportunity to be around the same table I always take it.
Mr Lane is one of the industry's veterans and one of the savviest in the enterprise software industry. And his presence is large, he doesn't need to check himself for commentary, which is great if you are a journalist.
Tuesday evening Mr Lane and executives from security firm ArcSight, plus a couple of c ustomers, plus a bunch of A-list journalists, from WSJ, News.com, etc met for a roundtable discussion on matters of security. The timing was perfect to chat about security with all the talk of 9-11, and the term 9-11 came up many times during dinner.
ArcSight specializes in spotting aberrant behaviors a"
Mr Lane is one of the industry's veterans and one of the savviest in the enterprise software industry. And his presence is large, he doesn't need to check himself for commentary, which is great if you are a journalist.
Tuesday evening Mr Lane and executives from security firm ArcSight, plus a couple of c ustomers, plus a bunch of A-list journalists, from WSJ, News.com, etc met for a roundtable discussion on matters of security. The timing was perfect to chat about security with all the talk of 9-11, and the term 9-11 came up many times during dinner.
ArcSight specializes in spotting aberrant behaviors among staff and flagging potential insider criminal activities. Some of those activities could be accidental, such as 'forgetting' a laptop filled with sensitive company data in an airport lounge. I'm a big fan of Ray Lane, the former president of Oracle and one of Kleiner Perkins' top VCs. So whenever there's an opportunity to be around the same table I always take it.
Mr Lane is one of the industry's veterans and one of the savviest in the enterprise software industry. And his presence is large, he doesn't need to check himself for commentary, which is great if you are a journalist.
Tuesday evening Mr Lane and executives from security firm ArcSight, plus a couple of c ustomers, plus a bunch of A-list journalists, from WSJ, News.com, etc met for a roundtable discussion on matters of security. The timing was perfect to chat about security with all the talk of 9-11, and the term 9-11 came up many times during dinner.
ArcSight specializes in spotting aberrant behaviors a"
Bush Plan May Support Clean Tech - Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds -- DealBook - New York Times
"Venture capitalists may have a new ally in their rush to invest in clean technologies: President Bush. As the president outlined an aggressive plan to reduce gasoline use by 20 percent within a decade through a mandatory fuels standard in his State of the Union speech, several V.C.’s said that their investments in ethanol and other environmentally friendly fuels could pay off — and help the United States meet that goal. Companies like Khosla Ventures invested more than $2.9 billion in clean tech in 2006, according to the Cleantech Venture Network.
As politicians, including President Bush, have begun to call for greater energy independence, several V.C. firms have already made sizeable investments in clean tech. Khosla Ventures, started by the Sun Microsystems co-founder, Vinod Khosla, has invested in dozens of companies, including several cellulosic ethanol plants in California, Massachusetts and upstate New York. Samir Kaul, one of the firm’s executives, told The Deal that the V.C. market for investing in renewable and alternative fuels would be big enough to accommodate many more investors."
As politicians, including President Bush, have begun to call for greater energy independence, several V.C. firms have already made sizeable investments in clean tech. Khosla Ventures, started by the Sun Microsystems co-founder, Vinod Khosla, has invested in dozens of companies, including several cellulosic ethanol plants in California, Massachusetts and upstate New York. Samir Kaul, one of the firm’s executives, told The Deal that the V.C. market for investing in renewable and alternative fuels would be big enough to accommodate many more investors."
YouTube to share some ad revenue with users | Reuters.com
"YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley said the leading online video service is mulling a plan to share advertising revenue with users who contribute to the site, according to a user clip and media reports from Davos, Switzerland.
'In terms of paying users revenue against the content that they are uploading, we definitely are going to be moving in that direction,' Hurley said in video recorded in Davos, by a YouTube user and posted on the site."
'In terms of paying users revenue against the content that they are uploading, we definitely are going to be moving in that direction,' Hurley said in video recorded in Davos, by a YouTube user and posted on the site."
Friday, January 26, 2007
TheDeal.com - Siemens buys UGS for $3.5B
"Munich-based Siemens will pay $2.1 billion in cash and absorb $1.4 billion in debt to buy Plano, Texas-based UGS from private equity owners Bain Capital LLC, Silver Lake Partners and Warburg Pincus.
The three buyout shops stand to make a 140% to 150% gain on their investment after less than three years. The consortium had invested $1 billion in common and preferred equity in a $2.05 billion leveraged buyout of UGS in May 2004, one of the largest tech buyouts at the time."
The three buyout shops stand to make a 140% to 150% gain on their investment after less than three years. The consortium had invested $1 billion in common and preferred equity in a $2.05 billion leveraged buyout of UGS in May 2004, one of the largest tech buyouts at the time."
Globes [online]: Magic Software
"Today I’ll take a look at Magic Software Enterprises (Nasdaq: MGIC; TASE: MGIC) one of the oldest software companies in Israel, and certainly the oldest of all the Israeli companies trading on Wall Street.
Looking at it from the birds-eye vantage point, why is the stock price so low? Maybe the current price of $2.50 isn’t that low? After all, this is a company with a strong balance sheet and $12 million in cash which has shown clear signs of emerging from its recent crisis and moving to profitability. Its has sales upwards of $61 million, a fine reputation with 2000 companies on Main Street, R&D centers in India and Israel, a good management, and other similar strong points. Yet despite all this, its market cap stands at around $80 million only. This looks to me like a value that is out of touch with reality, but let’s take a closer look at the company.
Magic was founded in 1983 by current chairman and CEO David Assia (who left the post twice for fairly long periods, and was then called back twice, essentially to put the company back on its feet, the last occasion being three years ago), and his friend and partner Jack (Yaki) Dunietz, who also founded Mashov Marketing and is one of Israel’s most experienced software managers. Magic was floated on Nasdaq in 1991 in one of the hottest IPOs of the time, and the reason for the success back then was not the amazing achievements that the company told everyone about, but was due instead to a single utterance by a commentator on CNN Financial. His pronouncement that “as far as I can see, there is only interesting flotation this week and that is California-based Magic Software,” turned the IPO from a lackluster event to a really hot one. "
Looking at it from the birds-eye vantage point, why is the stock price so low? Maybe the current price of $2.50 isn’t that low? After all, this is a company with a strong balance sheet and $12 million in cash which has shown clear signs of emerging from its recent crisis and moving to profitability. Its has sales upwards of $61 million, a fine reputation with 2000 companies on Main Street, R&D centers in India and Israel, a good management, and other similar strong points. Yet despite all this, its market cap stands at around $80 million only. This looks to me like a value that is out of touch with reality, but let’s take a closer look at the company.
Magic was founded in 1983 by current chairman and CEO David Assia (who left the post twice for fairly long periods, and was then called back twice, essentially to put the company back on its feet, the last occasion being three years ago), and his friend and partner Jack (Yaki) Dunietz, who also founded Mashov Marketing and is one of Israel’s most experienced software managers. Magic was floated on Nasdaq in 1991 in one of the hottest IPOs of the time, and the reason for the success back then was not the amazing achievements that the company told everyone about, but was due instead to a single utterance by a commentator on CNN Financial. His pronouncement that “as far as I can see, there is only interesting flotation this week and that is California-based Magic Software,” turned the IPO from a lackluster event to a really hot one. "
The Real Value Of Vista
"When Vista finally hits the shelves on Jan. 29, most consumers won't have a clue why they should buy it. Never mind the fanfare it will receive as Microsoft (MSFT ) Chairman William H. Gates III formally launches the new Windows from the stage of the Nokia Theater in New York. Or the hundreds of millions of dollars the software giant plans to spend through June to market it. With all of Vista's many new features, Microsoft seems incapable of really zeroing in on the handful that will truly change the way consumers use their PCs. "
Rumor Smashed: iPhone Will NOT Come With 1.5 Years of Free Service - Gizmodo
"This morning, a reputable investment site made mention that AT&T plans to give away 18 months of service for free with every iPhone. It's not important who said this cough*thestreet.com*cough, but a Cingular rep has told Gizmodo that the rumors are not true:"
Searchme debuts new Wikiseek search engine for Wikipedia
"Searchme Inc., a new search company launched by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, will take on Google and Yahoo with the launch of a search engine at www.wikiseek.com.
The company claims Wikiseek is a vastly improved search engine for the popular, user-edited reference Web site, Wikipedia. Wikiseek is available as a destination site as well as part of Wikipedia as a Firefox extension. "
The company claims Wikiseek is a vastly improved search engine for the popular, user-edited reference Web site, Wikipedia. Wikiseek is available as a destination site as well as part of Wikipedia as a Firefox extension. "
paidContent.org: Virtual Assets
"The market for virtual add-ons to online video games is slated for substantial growth, according to a study of console and handheld online gaming by ABI Research. The study predicts that a growing percentage of gamers’ budgets will go towards the purchase of in-game virtual assets such as “maps, game related add-ons, casual game titles, and, eventually, full core console titles.” Micropayments for consoles alone will account for over $833 million by 2011, as console vendors and their publisher partners look to monetize both in-game and game-related assets beyond initial game purchases. "
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China net use may soon surpass US
"China could soon overtake the US to have the world's largest number of internet users, according to a state-controlled think-tank.
'We believe it will take two years at most for China to overtake the US,' an official at the China Internet Network Information Center told state media.
China had 137m internet users by the end of 2006, an increase of 23% from the year before, the centre reported.
This figure means that more than 10% of the population is now online. "
'We believe it will take two years at most for China to overtake the US,' an official at the China Internet Network Information Center told state media.
China had 137m internet users by the end of 2006, an increase of 23% from the year before, the centre reported.
This figure means that more than 10% of the population is now online. "
VCS: VC Arjun Gupta arrested, charged with domestic violence - Valleywag
"Arjun Gupta, founder of major venture capital firm TeleSoft Partners, was arrested in February and charged with inflicting 'a corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon Vinati Gupta,' his wife at the time."
MEMC Electronic Materials: Solar Demand “Continues To Be Strong" - SeekingAlpha
"MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR), which makes silicon wafers and raw polysilicon used in the semiconductor and solar sectors, reported fourth quarter revenue of $420.5 million and pro forma EPS of 68 cents a share, topping Street estimates of $416.1 million and 59 cents a share."
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Valleywag: Steve Jobs Is in Jeopardy
"Although an internal Apple investigation appeared to clear Mr. Jobs of any wrongdoing in the backdating affair, it is “after all the S.E.C.’s view on his culpability that matters,” Nell Minow, an editor at the corporate-governance research firm Corporate Library, told Bloomberg.
Apple’s internal inquiry concluded that Mr. Jobs did not personally benefit from backdating.
But Valleywag calls that conclusion “bogus, and likely to insult investigators rather than assuage them.” "
Apple’s internal inquiry concluded that Mr. Jobs did not personally benefit from backdating.
But Valleywag calls that conclusion “bogus, and likely to insult investigators rather than assuage them.” "
3i Targets U.S. With New Investment Team - Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds -- DealBook - New York Times
"The 3i Group, a private equity and venture capital firm based in London, said Thursday that it had formed a new division and opened a New York office as part of a plan to increase its investments in United States companies. The firm said its U.S. Growth Capital team will typically make investments of $20 million to $200 million in privately owned companies. "
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Brandy Tells Witness Fatal Crash Was Her Fault - TMZ.com
"In an exclusive conversation with the man driving directly behind Brandy at the time of her fateful crash, TMZ has learned that the singer repeatedly blamed herself at the scene of the accident.
'She got upset, talking about how it was all her fault ... she didn't stop, kept saying how she hit the lady,' says the witness.
He added, 'Brandy walked in front of traffic, crossing the lanes of speeding cars, then she did it again. People were honking at her to get out of the road. She was obviously disoriented and highly upset.'"
'She got upset, talking about how it was all her fault ... she didn't stop, kept saying how she hit the lady,' says the witness.
He added, 'Brandy walked in front of traffic, crossing the lanes of speeding cars, then she did it again. People were honking at her to get out of the road. She was obviously disoriented and highly upset.'"
Online Presence Crucial to Small Business Growth: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Having an online presence is crucial to growing your small business in today's internet world. Adding an internet yellow page listing to your marketing budget can increase your ability to get customers to your local business today, says YP Corp. (OTC BB:YPNT.OB - News), a leading provider of national Internet Yellow Pages and parent company of YP.com. According to Daniel L. Coury Sr., CEO of YP.com, 'Even companies that do not yet have a website should have an online yellow page listing to help them drive customers to their door.'"
Will 'unlocked' cell phones free consumers? | CNET News.com
"The major cell phone operators' hold on which devices U.S. consumers can use on their networks may be slipping as large manufacturers like Motorola and Nokia dabble in selling 'unlocked' phones.
Up until recently, unlocked phones--handsets that can be used on multiple carrier networks--have been available only in 'gray' markets where Americans have bought phones from overseas. Now manufacturers are selling them on their Web sites and through certain retail channels."
Up until recently, unlocked phones--handsets that can be used on multiple carrier networks--have been available only in 'gray' markets where Americans have bought phones from overseas. Now manufacturers are selling them on their Web sites and through certain retail channels."
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
About Openfiler
"Openfiler is a powerful, intuitive browser-based network storage software distribution. Openfiler delivers file-based Network Attached Storage and block-based Storage Area Networking in a single framework.
Openfiler uses the rPath Linux metadistribution. It is distributed as a stand-alone Linux distribution. The entire software stack interfaces with third-party software that is all open source.
File-based networking protocols supported by Openfiler include: NFS, SMB/CIFS, HTTP/WebDAV and FTP. Network directories supported by Openfiler include NIS, LDAP (with support for SMB/CIFS encrypted passwords), Active Directory (in native and mixed modes) and Hesiod. Authentication protocols include Kerberos 5."
Openfiler uses the rPath Linux metadistribution. It is distributed as a stand-alone Linux distribution. The entire software stack interfaces with third-party software that is all open source.
File-based networking protocols supported by Openfiler include: NFS, SMB/CIFS, HTTP/WebDAV and FTP. Network directories supported by Openfiler include NIS, LDAP (with support for SMB/CIFS encrypted passwords), Active Directory (in native and mixed modes) and Hesiod. Authentication protocols include Kerberos 5."
Mayan Majix - Articles - Nobel Prize genius Crick was high on LSD
"FRANCIS CRICK, the Nobel Prize-winning father of modern genetics, was under the influence of LSD when he first deduced thedouble-helix structure of DNA nearly 50 years ago.
The abrasive and unorthodox Crick and his brilliant American co-researcher James Watson famously celebrated their eureka moment in March 1953 by running from the now legendary Cavendish Laboratory in
Cambridge to the nearby Eagle pub, where they announced over pints of bitter that they had discovered the secret of life."
The abrasive and unorthodox Crick and his brilliant American co-researcher James Watson famously celebrated their eureka moment in March 1953 by running from the now legendary Cavendish Laboratory in
Cambridge to the nearby Eagle pub, where they announced over pints of bitter that they had discovered the secret of life."
Text of Bush's speech - MarketWatch
"Here is the text of President Bush's State of the Union address, as released by the White House.
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour - when decisions are hard and courage is tested. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies - and the wisdom to face them together.
Some in this Chamber are new to the House and Senate - and I congratulate the Democratic majority. Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not. Each of us is guided by our own convictions - and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we are all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this Nation's prosperity ... to spend the people's money wisely ... to solve problems, not leave them to future generations ... to guard America against all evil, and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us. "
Madam Speaker, Vice President Cheney, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour - when decisions are hard and courage is tested. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies - and the wisdom to face them together.
Some in this Chamber are new to the House and Senate - and I congratulate the Democratic majority. Congress has changed, but our responsibilities have not. Each of us is guided by our own convictions - and to these we must stay faithful. Yet we are all held to the same standards, and called to serve the same good purposes: To extend this Nation's prosperity ... to spend the people's money wisely ... to solve problems, not leave them to future generations ... to guard America against all evil, and to keep faith with those we have sent forth to defend us. "
G-Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"G-Market was founded in 2000 by Koo Yeong Bae as 'AuctionWeb' & 'ShoppingMall', part of a larger personal site. Originally, the site belonged to Online Market Group, a consulting firm. Bae had tried to register the domain name 'GreenMarket' but found it already taken, so he shortened it to his second choice, 'gmarket.co.kr'. G-Market is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. He has served as G-Market's president and CEO since 2000."
Yahoo! acquisitions and mobile focus
"We are also making important acquisitions in this area that we believe will, over time, further enhance our position. We have agreed to acquire [Bics.com] which is an engaging contest platform across categories such as karaoke, dance, comedy and others that will bring a whole new level of sharing, expression, interacting across Yahoo! services.
We also acquired MyBlogLog, an innovative service that is going to change the way publishers connect to their audience, and even the way people connect to each other. In the few days since we announced this acquisition, the number of sites that have adopted their badges to establish relationships with people reading their sites has taken off. In fact, yesterday was a record day with literally millions of these badges viewed across the Internet. Our ultimate goal is to encourage every user on Yahoo! to participate in the consumption and publishing of information and knowledge through tagging, reviewing, sharing and other social media activities.
In the video area, we continue to integrate new original and partner programming throughout the network, enhancing Yahoo!'s position as one of the leading video destinations online. During the quarter, we signed over a dozen video, news, information and entertainment relationships across our media sites, including the BBC, FOX News, ABC News, the Food Network and the CW network.
Video is also a rich medium for advertising, and we saw strong success with some of our innovative ad-sponsored video initiatives such as Nissan live sets on Yahoo! Music, The Nine, which is presented solely by Pepsi, and the Doritos sponsored program to choose a user-submitted commercial that will actually run on this Super Bowl.
Together, Yahoo! Answers. Flickr, del.icio.us, and Yahoo! Video have surpassed 100 million monthly users, continuing our position as a leading force in social media. Interestingly enough within this group, 50% of our users are under the age of 35. To put that into perspective, it puts us ahead of properties such as MySpace and Facebook in this attractive demographic.
Mobile also continues to be a major focus for Yahoo! with the launch of several key new products and strategic partnerships, we have demonstrated our intention of becoming the number one player in mobile, mobile search and mobile monetization.
At CES earlier this month, we announced the beta launch of Yahoo! Go For Mobile 2.0 and partnerships with Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and RIMM. Yahoo! Go 2.0 is available on 70 devices today and we are working to bring it to more than 400 devices by the end of this year.
Yahoo! also redefined the mobile search category with the launch of Yahoo!'s innovative One Search which delivers answers directly in the results rather than a list of web links. One Search will be a key feature on Apple's iPhone, along with Yahoo! Mail, and will be used exclusively in Opera, which is a leading provider for web browsers for mobile phones. "
We also acquired MyBlogLog, an innovative service that is going to change the way publishers connect to their audience, and even the way people connect to each other. In the few days since we announced this acquisition, the number of sites that have adopted their badges to establish relationships with people reading their sites has taken off. In fact, yesterday was a record day with literally millions of these badges viewed across the Internet. Our ultimate goal is to encourage every user on Yahoo! to participate in the consumption and publishing of information and knowledge through tagging, reviewing, sharing and other social media activities.
In the video area, we continue to integrate new original and partner programming throughout the network, enhancing Yahoo!'s position as one of the leading video destinations online. During the quarter, we signed over a dozen video, news, information and entertainment relationships across our media sites, including the BBC, FOX News, ABC News, the Food Network and the CW network.
Video is also a rich medium for advertising, and we saw strong success with some of our innovative ad-sponsored video initiatives such as Nissan live sets on Yahoo! Music, The Nine, which is presented solely by Pepsi, and the Doritos sponsored program to choose a user-submitted commercial that will actually run on this Super Bowl.
Together, Yahoo! Answers. Flickr, del.icio.us, and Yahoo! Video have surpassed 100 million monthly users, continuing our position as a leading force in social media. Interestingly enough within this group, 50% of our users are under the age of 35. To put that into perspective, it puts us ahead of properties such as MySpace and Facebook in this attractive demographic.
Mobile also continues to be a major focus for Yahoo! with the launch of several key new products and strategic partnerships, we have demonstrated our intention of becoming the number one player in mobile, mobile search and mobile monetization.
At CES earlier this month, we announced the beta launch of Yahoo! Go For Mobile 2.0 and partnerships with Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and RIMM. Yahoo! Go 2.0 is available on 70 devices today and we are working to bring it to more than 400 devices by the end of this year.
Yahoo! also redefined the mobile search category with the launch of Yahoo!'s innovative One Search which delivers answers directly in the results rather than a list of web links. One Search will be a key feature on Apple's iPhone, along with Yahoo! Mail, and will be used exclusively in Opera, which is a leading provider for web browsers for mobile phones. "
Yahoo! Q4 2006 Earnings Call Transcript - SeekingAlpha
"Fourth, we continue to respond to the changing mix of available inventory. In October, we announced that Yahoo! had acquired a 20% stake in Right Media, the largest emerging online advertising exchange for both buying and selling ad inventory, and that we would also join the Right Media Exchange. As the quarter progressed, we gradually increased our allocation of non-premium inventory to the exchange and worked with direct marketers to educate them on how to utilize Right Media's performance optimization tools. We believe these and other initiatives continue to help ensure that Yahoo! remains the first and most attractive choice for display advertisers. "
Slain editor remembered as loyal dad, free thinker
"The story of Rex Farrance's slaying this month, when the longtime PC World editor was shot to death in his home in Pittsburg, is rife with ironies and contradictions.
Farrance was a patriotic American with the utmost respect for the police, a member of the National Rifle Association and a physical fitness buff who took care of his body, colleagues say. In his death, however, friends and family say he was falsely identified as a possible drug user or dealer. And they say they're outraged that this longtime editor with a solid reputation as a scrupulous fact-checker was tarred by the police, and subsequently the news media, in what they feel was an erroneous rush to judgment."
Farrance was a patriotic American with the utmost respect for the police, a member of the National Rifle Association and a physical fitness buff who took care of his body, colleagues say. In his death, however, friends and family say he was falsely identified as a possible drug user or dealer. And they say they're outraged that this longtime editor with a solid reputation as a scrupulous fact-checker was tarred by the police, and subsequently the news media, in what they feel was an erroneous rush to judgment."
Venture Capital Climbs as 'Web 2.0' Bubble Expands Rapidly
"Venture capitalists invested $25.5 billion in 2006, marking the industry's biggest burst of dealmaking since the dot-com bust clogged the financial spigot for entrepreneurs five years ago.
A renewed interest in Internet startups, combined with expanding opportunities in the health care and alternative energy markets, spurred a 12 percent increase from the $22.8 billion invested in 2005, according to figures jointly released Tuesday by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association.
Last year's activity, spread across 3,416 deals, generated the highest level of investment since venture capitalists forked out $40.7 billion in 2001, the end of a manic era driven by a lemming-like pursuit of dot-com riches. "
A renewed interest in Internet startups, combined with expanding opportunities in the health care and alternative energy markets, spurred a 12 percent increase from the $22.8 billion invested in 2005, according to figures jointly released Tuesday by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association.
Last year's activity, spread across 3,416 deals, generated the highest level of investment since venture capitalists forked out $40.7 billion in 2001, the end of a manic era driven by a lemming-like pursuit of dot-com riches. "
Bloomberg.com: Macau > Las Vegas
"Macau's gaming revenue surged 22 percent in 2006, surpassing the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest casino market.
The Chinese city's gambling industry reaped 55.9 billion patacas ($6.95 billion) in revenue, according to the Web site of the industry regulator. Analysts estimate the Las Vegas Strip took in between $6.5 billion and $6.6 billion last year.
Macau's gambling revenue started to surge in 2004, when Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Galaxy Casino SA ended the four-decade monopoly of billionaire Stanley Ho. Foreign investors are staking $20 billion on making the city, a former Portuguese colony, into the gambling capital of Asia. "
The Chinese city's gambling industry reaped 55.9 billion patacas ($6.95 billion) in revenue, according to the Web site of the industry regulator. Analysts estimate the Las Vegas Strip took in between $6.5 billion and $6.6 billion last year.
Macau's gambling revenue started to surge in 2004, when Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Galaxy Casino SA ended the four-decade monopoly of billionaire Stanley Ho. Foreign investors are staking $20 billion on making the city, a former Portuguese colony, into the gambling capital of Asia. "
Thursday, January 18, 2007
alarm:clock euro: Ubiquisys And Cisco Rumor Archives
"Unstrung is citing unnamed sources that Cisco is mulling an investment in Ubiquisys, a UK-based developer of smaller cellular basestations for home and small businesses."
A vending machine for iPods? - USATODAY.com
"'Automated retail is in the midst of an explosion,' says Michael Kasavana, a professor specializing in vending commerce at Michigan State University. 'Self-service applications have become prevalent is all aspects of business, especially where labor costs have become excessive.'
As the executive vice president for Zoom Systems, a vending machine seller in San Francisco, Mark Mullins loves automated retail. Self-checkout aisles at grocery stores, ticket kiosks, vending machines – you name it – if Mr. Mullins can control it, he'll fiddle with it in no time. 'Anything that's automated, I say 'Let's give it a try,' ' he says."
"American society has given birth to "Generation P" (for plastic), says Mr. Kasavana, and paying with plastic is good business for Mullins. A Zoom machine in the Atlanta airport recently sold in the neighborhood of $50,000 in merchandise, Mullins says, without revealing the actual figure."
As the executive vice president for Zoom Systems, a vending machine seller in San Francisco, Mark Mullins loves automated retail. Self-checkout aisles at grocery stores, ticket kiosks, vending machines – you name it – if Mr. Mullins can control it, he'll fiddle with it in no time. 'Anything that's automated, I say 'Let's give it a try,' ' he says."
"American society has given birth to "Generation P" (for plastic), says Mr. Kasavana, and paying with plastic is good business for Mullins. A Zoom machine in the Atlanta airport recently sold in the neighborhood of $50,000 in merchandise, Mullins says, without revealing the actual figure."
Tech Trader Daily: Google: Checkout Making Inroads, But PayPal Still Rules In Online Payments
"His conclusion: Checkout is making progress, but PayPal still dominates.
The survey found that 6% of consumers have used Checkout.
That compared to a 42% adoption rate for PayPal.
Khan says Checkout usage is 2x higher among men.
34% of Checkout users have incomes above $75,000 a year (versus 25% in that category for PayPal).
57% of Checkout users are under 35 years old, compared with 36% for PayPal and 35% for credit-card users.
Asked about their service experiences, 65% of online credit-card users rate their experience good or very good; that compares to 44% for PayPal users and a disturbingly low 19% for Google Checkout users.
43% of users prefer PayPal over Checkout; just 2% say they prefer the reverse.
56% of those surveyed have never heard of Google Checkout.
Still lots of work for Google to do here, I’d say."
The survey found that 6% of consumers have used Checkout.
That compared to a 42% adoption rate for PayPal.
Khan says Checkout usage is 2x higher among men.
34% of Checkout users have incomes above $75,000 a year (versus 25% in that category for PayPal).
57% of Checkout users are under 35 years old, compared with 36% for PayPal and 35% for credit-card users.
Asked about their service experiences, 65% of online credit-card users rate their experience good or very good; that compares to 44% for PayPal users and a disturbingly low 19% for Google Checkout users.
43% of users prefer PayPal over Checkout; just 2% say they prefer the reverse.
56% of those surveyed have never heard of Google Checkout.
Still lots of work for Google to do here, I’d say."
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Buzztracker - World News - 2007-01-17 - San Francisco
(7) SF Gate Yalies shocked by S.F. attack on vocal group
(7) SF Gate U.S. Attorney for Bay Area resigns / Ryan investigate...
(7) SF Gate Yalies shocked by S.F. attack on vocal group
(5) SF Gate Yalies' case -- not mayor's race -- brings Gonzalez b...
(5) SF Gate Yalies' case -- not mayor's race -- brings Gonzalez b...
(3) SF Gate Judge finds mom who tossed kids legally insane
(2) SF Gate Parts of Bay Area dusted in snow / Black ice warning ...
(2) WIST News Mom who threw kids in San Francisco Bay is found in...
(2) WIST News Mother convicted in drowning deaths of three sons
(2) SF Gate Cab firm sued over tire death of SF mom
(2) The Globe and Mail Mom who threw kids into San Francisco Bay ...
(7) SF Gate U.S. Attorney for Bay Area resigns / Ryan investigate...
(7) SF Gate Yalies shocked by S.F. attack on vocal group
(5) SF Gate Yalies' case -- not mayor's race -- brings Gonzalez b...
(5) SF Gate Yalies' case -- not mayor's race -- brings Gonzalez b...
(3) SF Gate Judge finds mom who tossed kids legally insane
(2) SF Gate Parts of Bay Area dusted in snow / Black ice warning ...
(2) WIST News Mom who threw kids in San Francisco Bay is found in...
(2) WIST News Mother convicted in drowning deaths of three sons
(2) SF Gate Cab firm sued over tire death of SF mom
(2) The Globe and Mail Mom who threw kids into San Francisco Bay ...
Rackable Systems shares fall 35% after profit warning - MarketWatch
"Rackable Systems Inc. shares plunged more than $11, to $21.40 Wednesday after the computer server and storage-technology developer issued a foruth-quarter earnings warning. After the market closed Tuesday, Rackable said factors such as higher DDR memory pricing and lower-than-expected sales of its RapidScale products affected its fourth-quarter results, and that it now expects to earn 17 cents to 18 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, Rackable forecast a loss of 2 cents a share to a profit of a penny a share. By that measure, the company's results will fall far short of the 27 cents-a-share estimate from analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call."
paidContent.org: Cisco and Video
"Yesterday, we mentioned an analyst’s forecast that there won’t be much ad revenue from the explosion in user-gen video and we know the content community has yet to see major returns. At least one sector is doing well, as AP reports: broadband network equipment makers like Cisco Systems. These companies are experiencing greater demand from service providers upgrading their networks to accommodate the extra internet traffic from surging amounts of video. An estimated 210 million people have broadband subscriptions worldwide, and some 40 to 50 million new subscribers are expected to sign on each year, according to networking and telecommunications industry researcher Dell’Oro Group. "
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Companies Vie For Ad Dollars On Mobile Web - WSJ.com
"A company called AdMob Inc. opened for business in January 2006 as a middleman for ads displayed on mobile-phone screens. A year later, it has distributed ads nearly a billion times, attracted big-name venture-capital funding and enlisted talent from the likes of Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc.'s YouTube.
It's the next Internet gold rush: With two billion cellphones around the world, upstarts and technology giants alike are scrambling to find ways of making money from cellphone ads. 'Everybody's just trying to dip their toes in the water and figure out what's going to work,' says AdMob's 29-year-old boss, Omar Hamoui."
It's the next Internet gold rush: With two billion cellphones around the world, upstarts and technology giants alike are scrambling to find ways of making money from cellphone ads. 'Everybody's just trying to dip their toes in the water and figure out what's going to work,' says AdMob's 29-year-old boss, Omar Hamoui."
Greg Isaacs' Weblog :: Q1 and Q2 misses due to the iPhone
"One of the oldest tricks in the tech product launch book is pre-announcing a product well in advance of actual launch. This tactic is used to freeze potential customers from buying competing products. Apple recently utilized this tactic with the launch of the iPhone. In announcing the iPhone six months in advance of launch, customers of competing products (e.g. Treo, Blackberry Pearl) may put off a purchase and wait until the iPhone hits the market. Apple’s tactic also has a benefit to Cingular as wireless customers may be more inclined to hold off on switching away from Cingular or more rapidly leave a competitor (e.g. Verizon).
This got me thinking...when all these companies (e.g. Nokia, Motorola, Sprint, etc) start missing their Q1 and Q2 Wall Street estimates, will they blame the iPhone. Public companies like to point the finger at uncontrollable factors (e.g. price of oil, natural disaster, etc) that caused them to miss their estimates. I wonder how many are going to point to Steve Jobs as causing their anti-halo Apple effect. "
This got me thinking...when all these companies (e.g. Nokia, Motorola, Sprint, etc) start missing their Q1 and Q2 Wall Street estimates, will they blame the iPhone. Public companies like to point the finger at uncontrollable factors (e.g. price of oil, natural disaster, etc) that caused them to miss their estimates. I wonder how many are going to point to Steve Jobs as causing their anti-halo Apple effect. "
Monday, January 15, 2007
Netflix to Deliver Movies to the PC - New York Times
"Netflix is also entering a more crowded market that includes not only the likes of Apple and Amazon, but also MovieLink, CinemaNow and video-on-demand services offered by cable companies. And while Netflix’s DVD rental business has thrived in part because of the company’s superior logistics, that competitive edge will not mean much in the world of digital distribution. "
Goodbye Findory.bomb
"Findory.com launched on January 2, 2004. The website just passed its three year anniversary and, including the early work on the ideas behind Findory, Findory has been in my life for nearly four years.
In the last few months, I have been evaluating new directions for Findory. I asked colleagues I trust for their thoughts and pulled in two senior advisors (thanks, Bill and Dan).
Some good options came out of these discussions, but none lead down a path I am passionate about. I built Findory to follow a passion."
In the last few months, I have been evaluating new directions for Findory. I asked colleagues I trust for their thoughts and pulled in two senior advisors (thanks, Bill and Dan).
Some good options came out of these discussions, but none lead down a path I am passionate about. I built Findory to follow a passion."
VRSN and Adobe agreement
"VeriSign and Adobe to collaborate on integrating Adobe Flash technologies with VeriSign's peer assisted content distribution tech Co and ADBE announce their intent to collaborate on integrating Adobe Flash technologies with VeriSign's peer assisted content distribution technology. "
Cause of Death: Sloppy Doctors -- Monday, Jan. 15, 2007 -- Page 1 -- TIME
"Doctors' sloppy handwriting kills more than 7,000 people annually. It's a shocking statistic, and, according to a July 2006 report from the National Academies of Science's Institute of Medicine (IOM), preventable medication mistakes also injure more than 1.5 million Americans annually. Many such errors result from unclear abbreviations and dosage indications and illegible writing on some of the 3.2 billion prescriptions written in the U.S. every year. "
AOL Bids for Sweden's TradeDoubler - WSJ.com
"AOL, the Internet unit of Time Warner Inc., in a bid to boost its online advertising business in Europe, offered to buy Sweden's buy TradeDoubler AB in a deal valued at about $900 million.
But Swedish occupational pension-fund manager Alecta rejected the bid by AOL -- a move that will likely force AOL to raise its offer if it wants to gain control of the Swedish online advertising firm.
TradeDoubler is Europe's largest provider of so-called performance-based online marketing services, matching advertisers with online sites, which are then rewarded based on the response to a specific ad. AOL said it plans to merge its third-party advertising network, advertising.com, with TradeDoubler."
But Swedish occupational pension-fund manager Alecta rejected the bid by AOL -- a move that will likely force AOL to raise its offer if it wants to gain control of the Swedish online advertising firm.
TradeDoubler is Europe's largest provider of so-called performance-based online marketing services, matching advertisers with online sites, which are then rewarded based on the response to a specific ad. AOL said it plans to merge its third-party advertising network, advertising.com, with TradeDoubler."
EoPlex: Printing gets new dimension / Getting it together: Redwood City startup can build 3-D objects by adding layers of materials
"Chait, a manufacturing expert who has built components for customers like Cisco Systems, has raised about $13 million and created four prototypes. So he has a fair idea where EoPlex is headed.
'This technology is perfect for manufacturing parts that are the size of your thumbnail and are hard to make,'' he said.
EoPlex backer Warren Packard with the Draper Fisher Jurvetson venture capital firm allowed that it is an unusual investment.
'At least when we started, it was a solution looking for a problem,' he said.
Now the company is poised to serve a new industrial market -- mass-producing tough, tiny 3-D components far more complex than anything that can be made today. "
'This technology is perfect for manufacturing parts that are the size of your thumbnail and are hard to make,'' he said.
EoPlex backer Warren Packard with the Draper Fisher Jurvetson venture capital firm allowed that it is an unusual investment.
'At least when we started, it was a solution looking for a problem,' he said.
Now the company is poised to serve a new industrial market -- mass-producing tough, tiny 3-D components far more complex than anything that can be made today. "
LG Migo: LBS
"The Wilson children, ages 5 and 6, each have their own Migo, a small phone for kids with a built-in computer chip that communicates their location. The Wilsons clipped the phones to their son's and daughter's clothing. If their children wandered out of sight, the parents could have used their own cell phones, also embedded with special microchip technology, to find them. The location awareness service, called Chaperone, was developed by Verizon Wireless.
Chaperone is only one of many emerging services now available in cell phones as a result of chip technology that communicates with global satellites and cell phone towers."
BlackBerry Pearl Goes White - WSJ.com
"Less than a week after the launch of Apple Inc.'s iPhone with AT&T Inc. cellphone service, other carriers and makers of smartphone are striking back.
T-Mobile USA will release a white version of the BlackBerry Pearl smartphone on Monday, which was first launched on T-Mobile network in September in black.
BlackBerry Pearl
The sleek-looking BlackBerry Pearl is the first consumer-focused BlackBerry wireless email device from Research in Motion Ltd. and has been popular among both business users and regular consumers since its launch in September. RIM said that the Pearl was the most successful launch in its history. The device allows users to access the Internet, play music and take pictures."
Cathartic Game Designed by Cancer Patient - Kotaku
GamePolitics links to a CBS report on a young man fighting leukemia in an unconventional way. His method? "Swords and all that stuff." See, in addition to the real life horror of fighting cancer, 11-year-old Ben Duskin has taken his fight with cancer to the virtual space - and he did it by designing a game all his own. The game is downloadable via the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Notes: Downloaded 200k times on Make-A-Wish foundation website.
Notes: Downloaded 200k times on Make-A-Wish foundation website.
Xradia, Inc. Lands $4 million Series D
"Harris & Harris Group, Inc. announced today that it has invested $4 million as a lead investor in a Series D Preferred round of financing in Xradia, Inc., of Concord, California, that includes an investment from an existing investor. Alexei A. Andreev of Harris & Harris Group will join the Board of Directors.
Xradia designs, manufactures and sells a suite of ultra high resolution 3D x-ray microscopes and fluorescence imaging systems capable of nondestructive micrometer and nanometer scale imaging of internal structures of semiconductor IC’s and packages as well as biological specimens. Detailed information about Xradia can be found on its website at www.xradia.com."
Xradia designs, manufactures and sells a suite of ultra high resolution 3D x-ray microscopes and fluorescence imaging systems capable of nondestructive micrometer and nanometer scale imaging of internal structures of semiconductor IC’s and packages as well as biological specimens. Detailed information about Xradia can be found on its website at www.xradia.com."
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Verisgn P2P « Scobleizer - Tech Geek Blogger
Netflix is dead « Scobleizer - Tech Geek Blogger: "As an example over there I dropped in on Verisign’s booth. It’s very easy to miss what they are now shipping: a Netflix killer.
Here’s what they were demoing: a peer-to-peer system for selling and distributing high-def videos. It really rocks. I downloaded a movie while there in the booth and the quality wasn’t distinguishable from the HD-DVD’s I get from Netflix."
"But on Monday Verisign announced a deal with Adobe who’ll distribute their P2P infrastructure along with the next version of the Flash player. That’ll get it into tons of homes nearly overnight."
Here’s what they were demoing: a peer-to-peer system for selling and distributing high-def videos. It really rocks. I downloaded a movie while there in the booth and the quality wasn’t distinguishable from the HD-DVD’s I get from Netflix."
"But on Monday Verisign announced a deal with Adobe who’ll distribute their P2P infrastructure along with the next version of the Flash player. That’ll get it into tons of homes nearly overnight."
Venice Project
"Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom roiled the music industry with their first venture and the telecom world with their next. Now, the Scandinavian entrepreneurs behind the KaZaA file-sharing software and Skype Internet calling are backing an online video start-up that could shake up the television and cable industries as well.
Their closely held venture, which goes by the code name 'The Venice Project,' promises to let users watch professional video such as TV shows and movies whenever they want on their personal computers with better image quality than many popular video sites. The free offering combines elements of traditional TV, such as channels that users can flip between, with Web functions such as chatting between users and keyword search for programs that consumers can then pull up on demand."
Their closely held venture, which goes by the code name 'The Venice Project,' promises to let users watch professional video such as TV shows and movies whenever they want on their personal computers with better image quality than many popular video sites. The free offering combines elements of traditional TV, such as channels that users can flip between, with Web functions such as chatting between users and keyword search for programs that consumers can then pull up on demand."
Sun’s Chief Doesn’t Fear the Snarky - New York Times
"You know, I write a blog; Scott doesn’t write a blog. I enjoy wine; Scott enjoys wine out of a box. I mean I love food; Scott thinks food is fuel. I don’t go to SuperCuts for my haircut; Scott does. But I think in terms of the people we value inside of Sun, the customers we value, the technologies we value, that’s almost identical."
Pocket Change: Gold diggers dating site
Entrance to Speed Dating based Solely based on wealth
Salary:
Age 25 or below $200K +
Age 26-30 $300K +
Age 30+ $500K +
Invested Assets: $1 million +
Trust: $4 million +
*Men will be asked to provide documented proof
Ticket Price $500
Ex-armory turns into porn site / Kink, a Web-based pornography distributor, buys historic S.F. building to film its bondage movies
"A friendly band of San Francisco pornographers can't wait to get inside the old armory on Mission Street and start tying people up, artistically.
Not only tying them up, but also spanking them, swatting them, cuffing them and whipping them, with sensitivity. "
Not only tying them up, but also spanking them, swatting them, cuffing them and whipping them, with sensitivity. "
Digital media reaches critical mass - Digital Lifestyle - Macworld UK
"Over the last three years, broadband has become ubiquitous, both in the wired and wireless worlds,” said Mark Kirstein, vice president of multimedia content and services at iSuppli. “Worldwide broadband subscribers have reached 248 million, while the number of 3G wireless subscribers will pass one billion at the end of 2006. The electronics industry now is turning its attention to delivering the high-value applications and content that will capitalise on these fast-access networks.”
The implications of this are huge, as virtually all technology markets are being driven by media distribution, the analyst explains.
iSuppli predicts that portable media player shipments will grow by over 30 per cent this year, reaching 160 million sales — fantastic news for Apple and its iPod product range. "
The implications of this are huge, as virtually all technology markets are being driven by media distribution, the analyst explains.
iSuppli predicts that portable media player shipments will grow by over 30 per cent this year, reaching 160 million sales — fantastic news for Apple and its iPod product range. "
itnetwerk: interesting cisco patents
"The Cisco iPhone trademark was registered 11/16/1999 (Reg. No. 2293011). In order to keep a trademark registration active, you have to file a Declaration of Use on or before the sixth anniversary of the registration date, in which you state, under penalty of perjury, that you have been using the trademark continuously during that period. The sixth anniversary would have been 11/16/2005. Cisco did not file the Declaration of Use by 11/16/2005, which if they had been using the trademark would seemingly have been easy to do. However, the USPTO gives you an extra six months grace period, if you pay an extra fee. This grace period would have expired 5/16/2006. Cisco filed a Declaration of Use on 5/4/2006 which kept their registration active. Had they not filed, their registration would have been canceled."
More from ZDNET http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=236
More from ZDNET http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=236
Friday, January 12, 2007
paidContent.org: Exec Responsible For Marketing MSN, Windows Live Leaves MSFT Suddenly
"Martin Taylor, the 13-year MSFT vet who was supposed to lead the marketing effort for MSN and Windows Live, has suddenly left the company, according to a Bloomberg report. His departure comes just three months after his promotion to corporate VP; as recently as Monday, he was part of the PR push for the new Windows Live IM although, as Bloomberg notes, he wasn’t available for interviews then. "
And from valleywag:
Choska says:
The rumor mill in Redmond is that Taylor was spending a lot of time time fishing off the company pier, and that he had been doing that for years, but that isn't what got him fired.
What got him fired was that he was arranging for a woman-who-was-not-his wife to come with him on business trips, even though she had no reason to go on those trips. She was then filing expense reports for those trips.
Good to know that in Redmond you can ship shitty products and not get fired, but if you bill the company for flying your mistress/subordinate around the country your days are numbered.
And from valleywag:
Choska says:
The rumor mill in Redmond is that Taylor was spending a lot of time time fishing off the company pier, and that he had been doing that for years, but that isn't what got him fired.
What got him fired was that he was arranging for a woman-who-was-not-his wife to come with him on business trips, even though she had no reason to go on those trips. She was then filing expense reports for those trips.
Good to know that in Redmond you can ship shitty products and not get fired, but if you bill the company for flying your mistress/subordinate around the country your days are numbered.
Interactive connection finally coming together
"San Mateo's Sling Media generated a lot of buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show with its SlingCatcher, a device coming out later this year that will cost less than $200 and let people beam content from computers to television screens. Palo Alto tech giant Hewlett-Packard, known mainly for its computers and printers, made a move into the digital entertainment industry, introducing a line of flat-screen televisions and a media server to help families access the music and videos stored on computers throughout their home. "
NPR podcast on Sequoia
"Sequoia Capital made a large, early bet on the video-sharing Web site YouTube. The Silicon Valley venture capital company has won big in the past with early stakes in Apple, Electronic Arts and Google. This time around, its return on investment is astronomical."
Why Does Intel Care About WiMAX? at Nyquist Capital
"Virtually all carriers are divided between UMTS (HSDPA) and CDMA2000 (EV-DO) as evolutionary 3G technologies. They don’t care about WiMAX because they have a big installed base (2G) they must migrate. There is Clearwire (aborted S-1 excepts here), and Sprint (S ), which has committed to building out a WiMAX infrastructure. There is also Korea, which never met a communication infrastructure it didn’t love (ATM, ISDN, DSL, two flavors of FTTH, 3G - what haven’t those guys deployed?). But the opportunity is dwarfed by the size of the existing mobile voice and data standards.
If Intel was really committed to growing a mobile wireless business they would identify a product that could both fill their fabs AND meet the needs of existing carriers - not build something counter to their desires.
Here are my three possible theories:"
If Intel was really committed to growing a mobile wireless business they would identify a product that could both fill their fabs AND meet the needs of existing carriers - not build something counter to their desires.
Here are my three possible theories:"
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Saints Capital Ranks As Most Active Investor in U.S., Venture-Backed Companies - 2007-01-10 09:35:13 | Venture Capital News
"Saints, a leading global, direct secondary investor, today announced investment details for the first three quarters of 2006. Saints experienced tremendous momentum and growth during this period, solidifying its leadership position in the direct secondary market.
In the first three quarters of 2006, Saints made more equity investments in U.S. venture-backed companies than any other investor.1 Saints made 63 new investments in U.S. venture-backed companies. Of those investments, 51 represented significant ownership stakes in the companies. Saints’ growth in investments in 2006 is a clear indicator of the growing market for venture capital investors to sell their investments on a secondary basis. This leading market presence underscores the firms’ value in providing options for sellers seeking value creation and liquidity alternatives."
In the first three quarters of 2006, Saints made more equity investments in U.S. venture-backed companies than any other investor.1 Saints made 63 new investments in U.S. venture-backed companies. Of those investments, 51 represented significant ownership stakes in the companies. Saints’ growth in investments in 2006 is a clear indicator of the growing market for venture capital investors to sell their investments on a secondary basis. This leading market presence underscores the firms’ value in providing options for sellers seeking value creation and liquidity alternatives."
Mobile VoIP Start-Up Truphone Gets $24.5 Million in Venture Capital
"If there’s any doubt left that investors are confident in the promise the mobile VoIP holds for the telecommunications industry - there shouldn’t be anymore: London-based mobile VoIP provider Truphone announced recently that it has secured $24.5 million in venture capital from several prominent investment groups – the largest round of Series A funding in the European tech sector for 2006."
Vercuity : Telecom Expense Management
"Vercuity delivers the intelligence you need to make smart business decisions - in the IT department and beyond.
As the nation's largest and most experienced provider of Telecom Expense Management solutions, Vercuity offers a robust portfolio of fully-managed services, from contract negotiation and procurement through audit services and expense allocation, invoice and asset management services. "
As the nation's largest and most experienced provider of Telecom Expense Management solutions, Vercuity offers a robust portfolio of fully-managed services, from contract negotiation and procurement through audit services and expense allocation, invoice and asset management services. "
Major Sling Feature - Tech Trader Daily
"It took me a while to really understand this, but Sling Media announced something at the CBS keynote a little a while ago with profound implications for a variety of players in online video. Basically, Sling announced this thing called Clip and Sling, which is incredibly powerful. People watching TV via the SlingPlayer software used with a Sling Box - a device which lets you remotely watch TV from any source in your house that is connected to the Internet - will be able to capture, edit and then send to others a snippet of any program on television. The snippet is uploaded to a Web site; the person you are sending the clip to gets notification of a URL to visit, so they don’t need to have the Box. Nice, but hang on; there is a lot more to this."
EBay-StubHub Deal a Boon to Start-Ups - WSJ.com
"EBay Inc.'s purchase of ticket-reselling Web site StubHub Inc. is the latest sign of how a wave of scrappy new Web start-ups is thriving even as some onetime Internet highfliers see their growth slowing.
The online auctioneer announced late yesterday that it has agreed to acquire closely held StubHub for approximately $310 million. The deal, subject to approval from regulators and StubHub stockholders, is expected to close in the first quarter.
StubHub, San Francisco, acts as a middleman between people who have tickets to sports contests, concerts, plays and other events and those who want to buy. It was founded in 2000 by Jeff Fluhr, now 32 years old, and Eric Baker, 33, classmates at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business."
The online auctioneer announced late yesterday that it has agreed to acquire closely held StubHub for approximately $310 million. The deal, subject to approval from regulators and StubHub stockholders, is expected to close in the first quarter.
StubHub, San Francisco, acts as a middleman between people who have tickets to sports contests, concerts, plays and other events and those who want to buy. It was founded in 2000 by Jeff Fluhr, now 32 years old, and Eric Baker, 33, classmates at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business."
PCMag senior editor shot dead in home invasion
"Four masked men burst into a Pittsburg home, pistol-whipped a woman and fatally shot her husband -- a senior editor for PC World magazine -- in what police believe was a targeted attack because they said the victims had been involved in drug activity.
Rex Farrance, 59, senior technical editor at PC World in San Francisco, was shot in the chest and killed shortly after the assailants forced their way into his home on Argosy Court about 9 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said today. "
"We have substantial reason to believe that the victim and his wife were involved in the possession and, potentially, the distribution of illegal narcotics," said Conaty, who declined to specify what type of drug. Police also would not say whether the killers had taken anything from the house. "
NOTES: Some other Rex Farrance articles on PCMag:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127105/article.html
http://www.pcworld.com/search/results?qt=Rex+Farrance#
Rex Farrance, 59, senior technical editor at PC World in San Francisco, was shot in the chest and killed shortly after the assailants forced their way into his home on Argosy Court about 9 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said today. "
"We have substantial reason to believe that the victim and his wife were involved in the possession and, potentially, the distribution of illegal narcotics," said Conaty, who declined to specify what type of drug. Police also would not say whether the killers had taken anything from the house. "
NOTES: Some other Rex Farrance articles on PCMag:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,127105/article.html
http://www.pcworld.com/search/results?qt=Rex+Farrance#
Private Equity Firms Pay Up For Talent - Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds -- DealBook - New York Times
"The report estimated that total compensation for senior associates and vice presidents at buyout firms will rise by 16 percent to 18 percent this year. Principals’ total compensation will rise 9 percent, it predicted. Employees of venture capital firms were expected to see similar increases."
"The Glocap study found that some business-school graduates can get compensation of more than $375,000 from the larger leverage-buyout firms."
"The Glocap study found that some business-school graduates can get compensation of more than $375,000 from the larger leverage-buyout firms."
Cisco Sues Apple for Trademark Infringement: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Cisco® today announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Apple, Inc., seeking to prevent Apple from infringing upon and deliberately copying and using Cisco's registered iPhone trademark.
Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after completing the acquisition of Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear's original filing for the trademark dates to March 20, 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year. On Dec. 18, Linksys expanded the iPhone® family with additional products.Cisco® (NASDAQ:CSCO - News) today announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Apple, Inc., seeking to prevent Apple from infringing upon and deliberately copying and using Cisco's registered iPhone trademark.
Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after completing the acquisition of Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear's original filing for the trademark dates to March 20, 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year. On Dec. 18, Linksys expanded the iPhone® family with additional products."
Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after completing the acquisition of Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear's original filing for the trademark dates to March 20, 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year. On Dec. 18, Linksys expanded the iPhone® family with additional products.Cisco® (NASDAQ:CSCO - News) today announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Apple, Inc., seeking to prevent Apple from infringing upon and deliberately copying and using Cisco's registered iPhone trademark.
Cisco obtained the iPhone trademark in 2000 after completing the acquisition of Infogear, which previously owned the mark and sold iPhone products for several years. Infogear's original filing for the trademark dates to March 20, 1996. Linksys, a division of Cisco, has been shipping a new family of iPhone products since early last year. On Dec. 18, Linksys expanded the iPhone® family with additional products."
Corrigo Acquires Aligo
"Corrigo, Inc.®, the leading provider of on-demand service management solutions, announced the acquisition of Aligo, a complementary provider of mobile field service and service management solutions. The combined company will offer the most comprehensive suite of on-demand applications for field service management available through wireless carriers. Corrigo will serve over 1500 customers in 65,000 locations in managing over ten million service transactions a year. "
Apple went to great lengths to keep iPhone a secret - Fortune
"One of the most astonishing things about the new Apple iPhone, introduced yesterday by Steve Jobs at the annual Macworld trade show, is how Apple (Charts) managed to keep it a secret for nearly two-and-a-half years of development while working with partners like Cingular, Yahoo (Charts) and Google (Charts).
The iPhone, which won't be available in the United States until June, represents a close development partnership with America's largest wireless phone company (Cingular, now a part of AT&T (Charts), has 58 million subscribers), the world's largest e-mail service (Yahoo has a quarter-billion subscribers worldwide), and the world's dominant search company. Although speculation was rampant before the introduction that Apple would introduce a phone with iPod capabilities, actual details of the device were scarce. Even some senior Apple managers whispered during the keynote that they were seeing the iPhone for the first time, along with the 4,000 other Apple followers who crammed the Moscone meeting center here. Indeed, Apple's emphasis on secrecy may have influenced Apple's choice of Cingular to be the exclusive provider for iPhone service in the United States. "
The iPhone, which won't be available in the United States until June, represents a close development partnership with America's largest wireless phone company (Cingular, now a part of AT&T (Charts), has 58 million subscribers), the world's largest e-mail service (Yahoo has a quarter-billion subscribers worldwide), and the world's dominant search company. Although speculation was rampant before the introduction that Apple would introduce a phone with iPod capabilities, actual details of the device were scarce. Even some senior Apple managers whispered during the keynote that they were seeing the iPhone for the first time, along with the 4,000 other Apple followers who crammed the Moscone meeting center here. Indeed, Apple's emphasis on secrecy may have influenced Apple's choice of Cingular to be the exclusive provider for iPhone service in the United States. "
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
New Social Search Engine Targets Boomers
"Eons, a social network for the over-50 crowd launched last year by Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor, has launched a new Web search engine that will apply user behavior from its network to sort search results.
Cranky.com is built on a base of Ask.com's index, with editorial oversight from Eons' team, and an initial behavioral 'lens' created using data from market research firm Compete's panel. Compete has been tracking the user activity in its panel for more than a year, and will extract the top 5,000 sites visited by users in the over-50 demographic to use their behavior as a relevance filter for Cranky.com's search."
Cranky.com is built on a base of Ask.com's index, with editorial oversight from Eons' team, and an initial behavioral 'lens' created using data from market research firm Compete's panel. Compete has been tracking the user activity in its panel for more than a year, and will extract the top 5,000 sites visited by users in the over-50 demographic to use their behavior as a relevance filter for Cranky.com's search."
Yahoo Ups the Mobile Ante
"Yahoo is counting on user adoption of its new mobile search and content platform to boost ad inventory and create broader mobile reach for advertisers. Along with promoting the new Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 application to its huge online audience, the publisher hopes pre-bundling of the app on devices from Samsung and Motorola will also grow market share. The publisher's new wireless search service has also been designed to speed up information gathering for users in the hopes of boosting usage.
'With Go 2.0, we're now going to be able to grow the client [application] inventory,' said Yahoo Senior Director of Global Mobile Products Ojas Rege. The company will now offer display ads targeted based on content and behavioral data, or targeted to specific carriers. No new advertisers are running ads in conjunction with the platform launch, Rege added, mentioning Pepsi as a recent mobile advertiser. "
'With Go 2.0, we're now going to be able to grow the client [application] inventory,' said Yahoo Senior Director of Global Mobile Products Ojas Rege. The company will now offer display ads targeted based on content and behavioral data, or targeted to specific carriers. No new advertisers are running ads in conjunction with the platform launch, Rege added, mentioning Pepsi as a recent mobile advertiser. "
GigaOM » Mega Dollars for Mobile VoIP
"You might have heard of names like Jajah2, iSkoot3, Mobiboo and Fring, with some of them getting big cash infusions from the likes of Sequoia Capital and Khosla Ventures. Add Truphone4 to this list. The UK-based mobile VoIP startup has raised £12.5 million ($24.5 million) in Series A funding from Wellington Partners, Independent News & Media, Burda Digital Ventures and existing investors Eden Ventures and angel investors. "
Apple ushers in new era with iPhone, iTV | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
"Apple CEO Steve Jobs ushered in a new era at the technology company he co-founded more than 30 years ago, jumping into the cell phone market Tuesday with the highly anticipated iPhone and cementing the company's part in the rapidly changing digital media landscape."
Visa, Nokia turn mobile phones into mobile wallets: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
"Visa, the world's biggest credit card payment system, has launched a global system to turn mobile phones into wallets for millions of customers in a deal with the world's top handset producer, Nokia (NOK1V.HE)."
Me, Bill Gates And The Startup - Forbes.com
"'Wow. They were obviously looking for us,' said a slightly trembling Dan Karr, Tzero's senior vice president, after he returned from his impromptu briefing with Gates and Allen. 'To come see us first thing on Monday morning back in the corner of this hall--wow.'
Karr is right--Gates was obviously looking for him. Gates has limited time on the show floor; he must make a short list of top visits and stick to it. That he chose Tzero implies Gates is curious about the potential of Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology to network the home--perhaps in a future version of Windows Media Center PCs? Karr wouldn't tell me exactly what Gates wanted to know, saying only that Microsoft wanted to demonstrate a piece of software to Tzero at a later date."
Regardless of Gates' true motives in visiting tiny Tzero, it is a major vote of confidence for the company, which uses the largely undeployed UWB wireless standard in its primary product, which provides a wireless link between high-end audio and video systems. Think of marrying an HD-DVD player and a wall-mounted HD-TV, without ugly wires.
Karr is right--Gates was obviously looking for him. Gates has limited time on the show floor; he must make a short list of top visits and stick to it. That he chose Tzero implies Gates is curious about the potential of Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology to network the home--perhaps in a future version of Windows Media Center PCs? Karr wouldn't tell me exactly what Gates wanted to know, saying only that Microsoft wanted to demonstrate a piece of software to Tzero at a later date."
Regardless of Gates' true motives in visiting tiny Tzero, it is a major vote of confidence for the company, which uses the largely undeployed UWB wireless standard in its primary product, which provides a wireless link between high-end audio and video systems. Think of marrying an HD-DVD player and a wall-mounted HD-TV, without ugly wires.
Private Firms Lure Chief Executives With Top Pay - New York Times
"Robert L. Nardelli’s unceremonious departure from Home Depot may spell the end of the era of super-size pay packages for chief executives of public companies, but a new refuge for lavish compensation and private jets is emerging elsewhere."
Monday, January 08, 2007
Nokia
"Not to be outdone by Motorola Nokia the world's biggest mobile phone maker, has unveiled three new multimedia N-series handsets at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, including a thin flip handset in the N7x range of phones which sell in large volumes.
The new N76 is 13.7 millimeters thick and will be available in the first quarter of 2007 before subsidies from operators or local taxes, Nokia said."
The new N76 is 13.7 millimeters thick and will be available in the first quarter of 2007 before subsidies from operators or local taxes, Nokia said."
Today @ PC World You Knew This Was Coming: YouTube On Your HDTV
"I’m really not too sure that I WANT to watch YouTube stuff on my HDTV, but that’s progress, I guess, and Netgear is hoping you’ll think that putting Internet videos on your big screen (via HDMI no less) with its new Digital Entertainer HD (EVA8000) is a pretty cool idea."
Great Expectations Juice Up Apple's Trade Show - WSJ.com
"The image is classic Apple showmanship, a teaser for this week's Macworld conference in San Francisco, where the company is expected to put an end to months of speculation about the new products it has on deck for 2007. The anticipation for this year's Macworld -- the main trade show for Apple products -- has been unusually strong, stoked by a widening array of bloggers who constantly churn out Apple rumors.
For one thing, people familiar with the matter say Apple is working on a device that combines the iPod with a cellphone, which is expected to be announced as early as today. Cingular Wireless, owned by AT&T Inc., will provide cellphone service to go with the phone, these people say. Such a product would give Apple access to the huge wireless business, with nearly a billion handsets shipped every year. That dwarfs the nearly 70 million iPods Apple has sold over the past five years."
For one thing, people familiar with the matter say Apple is working on a device that combines the iPod with a cellphone, which is expected to be announced as early as today. Cingular Wireless, owned by AT&T Inc., will provide cellphone service to go with the phone, these people say. Such a product would give Apple access to the huge wireless business, with nearly a billion handsets shipped every year. That dwarfs the nearly 70 million iPods Apple has sold over the past five years."
Shutterfly chairman Jim Clark is Chad Hurley's father in law
"Clark, a veteran founder of Silicon Valley start-ups for 25 years, is the father-in-law of Chad Hurley, the co-founder and chief executive of video-sharing sensation YouTube, which late last year was acquired by Google Inc."
Buh-Bye Browster?
"However, evidence of the company’s demise is publicly available. The site is currently down. The company blog hasn’t been updated since September. Meanwhile, Browster CEO Scott Milener is listed with another company, Vieweo (non-functional website) on LinkedIn.
Alexa reports the site has been up within the last week, but has seen a severe decrease in visitors, with a 60 percent drop in “reach” over the last three months."
NOTES: What is the real story, Scott?
Silicon Image acquires German IP house for $13.5M
"Silicon Image Inc. has acquired German design service and intellectual property (IP) provider sci-worx GmbH from Infineon Technologies AG for approximately $13.5 million in cash, the company disclosed last week (Jan. 4).
The company said the acquisition would accelerate the expansion of its SoC design capabilities for the storage, distribution and presentation of high-definition (HD) content in the consumer environment.
Founded in 1990 as Sican, sci-worx owns 18 registered and pending patents, according to the company. sci-worx derives revenues from more than 50 IP products in the area of video/image processing, wireline communications, security and bus interfaces, Silicon Image said, adding that sci-worx has approximately 172 employees, more than 80 percent of whom are engineers."
The company said the acquisition would accelerate the expansion of its SoC design capabilities for the storage, distribution and presentation of high-definition (HD) content in the consumer environment.
Founded in 1990 as Sican, sci-worx owns 18 registered and pending patents, according to the company. sci-worx derives revenues from more than 50 IP products in the area of video/image processing, wireline communications, security and bus interfaces, Silicon Image said, adding that sci-worx has approximately 172 employees, more than 80 percent of whom are engineers."
eetimes blog | Gates, a fast learner, calls the tune at CES
"I have never seen Bill Gates in a more upbeat mood than at his CES keynote tonight.
Maybe its just that the chief software architect knows he's a short timer, due to retire--or at least change careers--in a few months. But I think Gates has reason to be satisfied both in his pending shift to full time philanthropy and Microsoft's competitive position today."
Maybe its just that the chief software architect knows he's a short timer, due to retire--or at least change careers--in a few months. But I think Gates has reason to be satisfied both in his pending shift to full time philanthropy and Microsoft's competitive position today."
IGN: CES 2007: Bill Gates' Keynote
"Today marked the 10th anniversary of Bill Gates' opening night keynotes at CES. Microsoft has premiered many major products at CES in the past, including Windows 95. A video montage of Gates' previous keynotes preceded the great man's actual arrival on stage, the memories of which would serve as a springboard for the theme of the 'Digital Decade' that Microsoft aims to encapsulate with Windows Vista and the variety of integrated services attached to the OS.
Over the course of the keynote Bill Gates unveiled a few exciting new developments, like the upcoming IP-TV initiative based upon the Xbox 360 and Windows Home Server, but also devoted a lot of time to far more established releases like Windows Vista. The Microsoft vision of the upcoming year is very much based upon the leverage the Vista operating system will permit the company in embracing a personal computing age in which content, either download or user created, is king. "
Over the course of the keynote Bill Gates unveiled a few exciting new developments, like the upcoming IP-TV initiative based upon the Xbox 360 and Windows Home Server, but also devoted a lot of time to far more established releases like Windows Vista. The Microsoft vision of the upcoming year is very much based upon the leverage the Vista operating system will permit the company in embracing a personal computing age in which content, either download or user created, is king. "
Mark Cuban's Ode to Bobby Knight
"Congrats on more wins than any other coach in NCAA Div 1 Basketball. Thats quite an accomplishment.
There are a lot of things I could say thank you for. The great times watching IU Basketball. (even though I wasnt a fan when I got there. I thought any team with Kent Benson should go undefeated).
The first time I met you at IU at the Deans residence where they tried to butter me up with a fancy lunch and we both showed up in sweaters. (AT least I got to wear jeans :)
The time you spent talking to me down in Miami.
But thats not really what I appreciate most about you."
There are a lot of things I could say thank you for. The great times watching IU Basketball. (even though I wasnt a fan when I got there. I thought any team with Kent Benson should go undefeated).
The first time I met you at IU at the Deans residence where they tried to butter me up with a fancy lunch and we both showed up in sweaters. (AT least I got to wear jeans :)
The time you spent talking to me down in Miami.
But thats not really what I appreciate most about you."
Yahoo offers consumers mobile Web search
"Yahoo Inc. is gearing up to offer its Web search software straight to mobile phone users, bypassing its reliance on network carriers and handset makers, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
Company officials plan to offer software that mobile phone users can download themselves and will introduce the product at a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, the paper said."
Company officials plan to offer software that mobile phone users can download themselves and will introduce the product at a news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, the paper said."
Will Venture-Capital Woes Migrate to the Oil and Gas Space?
"Sevin Rosen Funds, one of the oldest and most successful venture- capital firms that backs technology start-tips, says it is returning money to its investors, rather than investing those funds, because it now thinks current investment opportunities are not attractive. Might this attitude migrate to the private-equity funds and hedge funds that hack oil and gas deals? "
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Early start-up firms fail to attractVC
"Innovative early stage start up firms in India are lagging behind in gathering investment from venture funds as compared to their counterparts in other countries, with figures indicating that India accounts for a dismal 12 per cent of the venture capital in the early-stage innovative start up firms as compared to 29 per cent in European Union, 41 per cent in China and 50 per cent in Israel, according to a study conducted by TiE Stanford.
The study was conducted by Dr Rafiq Dossani, Senior Research Scholar, Stanford University and Asawari Desai, Director TiE Global."
The study was conducted by Dr Rafiq Dossani, Senior Research Scholar, Stanford University and Asawari Desai, Director TiE Global."
Tentoe - menlo ventures company
"Tentoe product merchandising solutions deliver a highly interactive shopping experience at the point of purchase, the product page, through powerful content transformation tools, just–in-time delivery and real-time analytics.
As experts in the online shopping world, Tentoe transforms existing product information into interactive product merchandising solutions that inform, entertain and motivate consumers.
Tentoe acts as a conduit between vendors and resellers creating a vast network of delivery points. Just-in-time delivery is achieved through patented syndication technology that provides unlimited content deployment across the Tentoe Network, guaranteed. "
As experts in the online shopping world, Tentoe transforms existing product information into interactive product merchandising solutions that inform, entertain and motivate consumers.
Tentoe acts as a conduit between vendors and resellers creating a vast network of delivery points. Just-in-time delivery is achieved through patented syndication technology that provides unlimited content deployment across the Tentoe Network, guaranteed. "
Google Stock Boom Boosts Calif. Coffers: thanks LARRY!
"Mega-sized tax filings from Google executives began flowing into state coffers in earnest in 2006, two years after the company went public. The receipts helped fuel a multibillion dollar tax windfall last spring that allowed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to pour money into roads, classrooms and other popular programs, pleasing political enemies and helping smooth his path to re-election.
Schwarzenegger's good fortune, it turns out, did not end there.
As Google's stock topped $500 in 2006, company executives continued to sell hundreds of thousands of shares each month, according to an analysis of insider transaction data provided to The Associated Press by research firm Thomson Financial.
The analysis makes clear that California will reap big benefits from a rebounded tech economy for the budget year that will begin in July. The revenue even might allow Schwarzenegger to avoid painful cuts to a budget that ballooned 11 percent last year, to $131.4 billion."
Schwarzenegger's good fortune, it turns out, did not end there.
As Google's stock topped $500 in 2006, company executives continued to sell hundreds of thousands of shares each month, according to an analysis of insider transaction data provided to The Associated Press by research firm Thomson Financial.
The analysis makes clear that California will reap big benefits from a rebounded tech economy for the budget year that will begin in July. The revenue even might allow Schwarzenegger to avoid painful cuts to a budget that ballooned 11 percent last year, to $131.4 billion."
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Google Rich --- bitch
"Google's initial public offering immediately minted more than 900 millionaires at the company, by one estimate. Even many rank and file employees became instantly wealthy. The total has grown over time as its shares have catapulted in value.
Financial freedom gave the former Googlers in this article wide latitude in deciding what to do with their lives. The reasons for leaving are many: a lack of new challenges, ambivalence about the company's growth and a desire for a career change are just a few. "
Financial freedom gave the former Googlers in this article wide latitude in deciding what to do with their lives. The reasons for leaving are many: a lack of new challenges, ambivalence about the company's growth and a desire for a career change are just a few. "
Dr. Bob Sports: A leader in sports betting information - Basketball, Football, Baseball
"About Dr. Bob Sports
I started Dr. Bob Sports in 1987 while studying statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and I produced my first newsprint publication while at Cal. Since then, my Best Bets have been profitable in all the major sports including the NFL and College Football, the NBA, and College Basketball.
I have a winning and profitable record in every sport that I analyze and my success is built on a foundation of discipline, logic, experience, and a thorough understanding of probability and statistics. I use a variety of technical and fundamental indicators, in conjunction with unique mathematical valuation models, and have discovered the proper balance of indicators and line value. "
I started Dr. Bob Sports in 1987 while studying statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, and I produced my first newsprint publication while at Cal. Since then, my Best Bets have been profitable in all the major sports including the NFL and College Football, the NBA, and College Basketball.
I have a winning and profitable record in every sport that I analyze and my success is built on a foundation of discipline, logic, experience, and a thorough understanding of probability and statistics. I use a variety of technical and fundamental indicators, in conjunction with unique mathematical valuation models, and have discovered the proper balance of indicators and line value. "
The Man Who Shook Up Vegas - WSJ.com
"If you've never placed a sports bet in America, you are fast becoming a member of the minority. Since its beginnings at Colonial horse tracks in the 17th century, the amount of money Americans wager on sports has grown to rival the gross domestic product of New Zealand.
From Monday's college-football championship game between Florida and Ohio State through the next calendar year, more than 100 million Americans will wager an estimated $96 billion on sports. Less than $3 billion will be offered legally at Nevada casinos where bettors must be present to wager. The bulk of it -- about $93 billion, according to analysts and law-enforcement officials -- flows through office pools, local bookies and offshore online casinos. While these forms of gambling are illegal under U.S. law, the authorities rarely prosecute individual bettors."
From Monday's college-football championship game between Florida and Ohio State through the next calendar year, more than 100 million Americans will wager an estimated $96 billion on sports. Less than $3 billion will be offered legally at Nevada casinos where bettors must be present to wager. The bulk of it -- about $93 billion, according to analysts and law-enforcement officials -- flows through office pools, local bookies and offshore online casinos. While these forms of gambling are illegal under U.S. law, the authorities rarely prosecute individual bettors."
Entertainment gets spotlight at CES
"Entertainment is going extreme as content providers, distributors and electronics makers race to keep pace in a world in which digital media becomes accessible anytime, anywhere.
The frenzy will be more evident than ever next week in Las Vegas at the International Consumer Electronics Show, a showcase of the latest products seeking to secure a spot in today's digital age."
The frenzy will be more evident than ever next week in Las Vegas at the International Consumer Electronics Show, a showcase of the latest products seeking to secure a spot in today's digital age."
Verizon to offer TV shows on cellphones-NY Times | Reuters.com
"Verizon Wireless is expected to announce on Sunday that it will offer full-length programming to its cellular subscribers from major U.S. television networks, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
Citing 'people apprised of the deal,' the Times said that the service, which should be in operation by the end of March, will consist of eight channels and will include popular shows from NBC, CBS, Fox and MTV. ESPN is reportedly also in negotiations to offer programs, which will be offered for the cellphone screen soon after they appear on television, the newspaper said."
Citing 'people apprised of the deal,' the Times said that the service, which should be in operation by the end of March, will consist of eight channels and will include popular shows from NBC, CBS, Fox and MTV. ESPN is reportedly also in negotiations to offer programs, which will be offered for the cellphone screen soon after they appear on television, the newspaper said."
Friday, January 05, 2007
Tech Trader Daily : Cisco Gets Warm Reception For IronPort Deal
"More than that, investors seem enthused about Cisco’s determination to expand its offerings in the security sector.
Prudential’s Inder Singh noted in a research note today that IronPort holds 9% of the market for secure content management appliances, and 12.5% of the market for messaging security appliances. (By appliances, he means basically specialized servers.) He also notes that IronPort recently acquired PostX, a company which provides email encryption technology, and partners with Vontu, a data leakage prevention company. “We believe Cisco’s move strengthens its security portfolio, and integrating IronPort technologies raises the competitive pressure against other messaging security vendors such as Symantec (SYMC) and CipherTrust,” a unit of Secure Computing (SCUR)."
"Bill Choi, an analyst with Jefferies & Co., estimates that IronPort’s last 12 months revenue topped $100 million, while growing more than 50% quarter-over-quarter. As Merrill Lynch’s Tal Liani points out, that makes the deal look pretty expensive, at more than 6x expected 2007 sales, assuming a growth rate this year or more than 40%. On the other hand, Liani notes, Merrill expects the security gateway market to grow 36% compounded through 2009, supporting “a premium valuation.”
Prudential’s Inder Singh noted in a research note today that IronPort holds 9% of the market for secure content management appliances, and 12.5% of the market for messaging security appliances. (By appliances, he means basically specialized servers.) He also notes that IronPort recently acquired PostX, a company which provides email encryption technology, and partners with Vontu, a data leakage prevention company. “We believe Cisco’s move strengthens its security portfolio, and integrating IronPort technologies raises the competitive pressure against other messaging security vendors such as Symantec (SYMC) and CipherTrust,” a unit of Secure Computing (SCUR)."
"Bill Choi, an analyst with Jefferies & Co., estimates that IronPort’s last 12 months revenue topped $100 million, while growing more than 50% quarter-over-quarter. As Merrill Lynch’s Tal Liani points out, that makes the deal look pretty expensive, at more than 6x expected 2007 sales, assuming a growth rate this year or more than 40%. On the other hand, Liani notes, Merrill expects the security gateway market to grow 36% compounded through 2009, supporting “a premium valuation.”
paidContent.org: Linden Labs Figures
"-- Roughly 1.5 million “unique people” have logged into Second Life at least once (differentiated from the 2.3 million “residents” claimed in the game)
-- Roughly 252,000 people have logged in more than 30 days after their account creation date.
-- Monthly growth in that figure appears to be greater than 20 percent.
Outsiders may see this as an inside-baseball dustup, and it is, but it’s more too. As more evidence accumulates to suggest that we’re in Bubble 2.0, it’s more and more important for journalists to be more and more skeptical and ask tougher and tougher question of the flavor of the week. We all remember what happened during Bubble 1.0. Don’t we? "
-- Roughly 252,000 people have logged in more than 30 days after their account creation date.
-- Monthly growth in that figure appears to be greater than 20 percent.
Outsiders may see this as an inside-baseball dustup, and it is, but it’s more too. As more evidence accumulates to suggest that we’re in Bubble 2.0, it’s more and more important for journalists to be more and more skeptical and ask tougher and tougher question of the flavor of the week. We all remember what happened during Bubble 1.0. Don’t we? "
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Cellphone Video Gets On the Beam - WSJ.com
"Cellular carriers and other technology companies have come up with numerous ways to deliver video and even live TV to cellphones over wireless networks in recent years. So far, the results have been a limited success.
Now, Samsung Electronics Co. says it has come up with a novel approach to provide video on the go: equip cellphones to pick up digital signals from local TV broadcasters. Cellphones using the technology would essentially become portable television sets that would get the same reception as TVs using antennas."
Now, Samsung Electronics Co. says it has come up with a novel approach to provide video on the go: equip cellphones to pick up digital signals from local TV broadcasters. Cellphones using the technology would essentially become portable television sets that would get the same reception as TVs using antennas."
Ferris Research Weblog: Ironport revs $50 - $75M
"We estimate IronPort's revenues have hovered around in the $50M-$75M mark for some time, which must have been frustrating for investors. IronPort has 408 employees."
iSuppli's Semi Forecast Both Depressing and Wildly Optimistic
Stock Market Beat - Our beat is the stock market. Our job is to beat it.: "Good news for the semiconductor industry: 2007 will be the peak year of the present growth cycle, with double-digit growth expected, according to El Segundo, Calif.-based market research firm iSuppli Corp.On the other hand, the bad news for the semiconductor industry this year is that due to the changing dynamics of the business, growth will amount to only 10.6 percent—far below historical market peaks.
Still, iSuppli expects worldwide semiconductor revenue to expand to $285.8 billion this year, from $258.5 billion in 2006, compared to iSuppli’s newly revised forecast of 9 percent semiconductor growth in 2006.
After this year, growth is expected to decelerate to 8.7 percent in 2008 and bottom out at 3.7 percent in 2009, before bouncing back to a 7.4 percent rise in 2010."
Still, iSuppli expects worldwide semiconductor revenue to expand to $285.8 billion this year, from $258.5 billion in 2006, compared to iSuppli’s newly revised forecast of 9 percent semiconductor growth in 2006.
After this year, growth is expected to decelerate to 8.7 percent in 2008 and bottom out at 3.7 percent in 2009, before bouncing back to a 7.4 percent rise in 2010."
Cisco acquires Ironport for $830M
"Cisco has announced a definitive agreement to acquire IronPort Systems, a privately held company that provides appliances to protect enterprises against spam and spyware. Cisco will pay about $830 million in cash and stock and the deal is expected to close in Q3 of Cisco's FY 2007. IronPort was founded in 2000 and has 408 employees. This makes IronPort the largest private company that Cisco has acquired in terms of people, and the second largest in terms of acquisition price. IronPort will operate as a business unit within Cisco's Security Technology Group. "
IronPort raised $94M+ in total VC funding from Allegis Capital, Menlo Ventures, Amicus LLC, ChevronTexaco, General Motors, New Enterprise Associates, Rembrandt Venture Partners, Starter Fluid and Western Technology Investment.
IronPort raised $94M+ in total VC funding from Allegis Capital, Menlo Ventures, Amicus LLC, ChevronTexaco, General Motors, New Enterprise Associates, Rembrandt Venture Partners, Starter Fluid and Western Technology Investment.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Motorola: Demand For The RAZR Dulling
"Pacific Crest’s James Faucette asserts that demand is slipping for the vaunted Motorola (MOT) RAZR cell phone. “Our most recent checks indicate that the RAZR’s reign as the top-selling phone in the United States may have begun to fade quite considerably in the past few weeks of the holiday selling season,” he wrote in a research note today. And he adds that “in Western Europe, the RAZR also seemed to fade late in December, particularly for post-paid contracts.”"
mitchell's blog: Mozilla doing $53M revs
"In 2005 the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation combined had revenue from all sources of $52.9M. $29.8M of this was associated with the Foundation (both before and after the creation of the Corporation). The bulk of this revenue was related to our search engine relationships, with the remainder coming from a combination of contributions, sales from the Mozilla store, interest income, and other sources. These figures compare with 2003 and 2004 revenues of $2.4M and $5.8M respectively, and reflect the tremendous growth in the popularity of Firefox after its launch in November 2004. "
Web 2.0 Companies: What's Hot and What's Not - SeekingAlpha
"Here are some of the biggest advancers over the last six months:
* Imeem
* Crazyegg
* Clipmarks
* Stickam
* Clipshack
* Panoramio
* Videoegg
* Songbirdnest
* Quintura
* Coverpop
* Notlong
* Thebeststuffintheworld
* Voonoo
* Yoono
* Adaptiveblue
* Omgili
* Megite
* Hotpads
* Kaneva
* Yorz
Here are some of the biggest decliners over the last six months:
* Textamerica
* Qoop
* Peerflix
* Crisscross
* Gliffy
* Airset
* Krugle
* Pubsub
* Homethinking
* Zohowriter
* Sexbyrss
* Zoomclouds
* Picturecloud
* Yellowikis
* Root.net"
* Imeem
* Crazyegg
* Clipmarks
* Stickam
* Clipshack
* Panoramio
* Videoegg
* Songbirdnest
* Quintura
* Coverpop
* Notlong
* Thebeststuffintheworld
* Voonoo
* Yoono
* Adaptiveblue
* Omgili
* Megite
* Hotpads
* Kaneva
* Yorz
Here are some of the biggest decliners over the last six months:
* Textamerica
* Qoop
* Peerflix
* Crisscross
* Gliffy
* Airset
* Krugle
* Pubsub
* Homethinking
* Zohowriter
* Sexbyrss
* Zoomclouds
* Picturecloud
* Yellowikis
* Root.net"
Yahoo! to Announce Partnership With GPS Provider Dash Inc. - SeekingAlpha
"Yahoo! Inc. and Dash Navigation Inc. have inked a partnership that will put Yahoo's local-search on Dash's soon-to-be-released Dash Express auto-navigation system. The device, to be sold in consumer-electronics stores, will connect to the web using a cellular or Wi-Fi connection when it senses one is available. Adding local-search means drivers can zero-in on a nearby restaurant or store -- Dash's GPS technology will enable Yahoo to narrow search results to businesses nearby. Here's what the exec's had to say: Dash's CEO Paul Lego: 'When you use Yahoo! Local search in your car, you will be amazed by the freedom that it delivers..."
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Joel Greenblatt Stock Picks -- Buy, News -- GuruFocus.com
ARO - Aeropostale
LEA - Lear Corp
WMT - Wal-Mart
AXP - AMEX
LYV - Live Nation
LEA - Lear Corp
WMT - Wal-Mart
AXP - AMEX
LYV - Live Nation
Grid, Virtualization Get Closer
"For 2007, the analysts predicted that:
Virtualization will go mainstream, changing the data center.
Grid infrastructure will get baked in to support utility computing, on-demand and SaaS activities.
SOA will move from experimentation to implementation.
Virtualization will allow grids to be absorbed into enterprise fabrics.
DataSynapse and Platform 'will continue to segue into adjacent verticals and away from using the 'G' word,' while companies such as EDS, CSC, Capgemini, Accenture and Atos Origin will begin to offer grid-based utility services. VMware, XenSource and Virtual Iron 'will begin to bump up against grid management vendors,' they said. "
Virtualization will go mainstream, changing the data center.
Grid infrastructure will get baked in to support utility computing, on-demand and SaaS activities.
SOA will move from experimentation to implementation.
Virtualization will allow grids to be absorbed into enterprise fabrics.
DataSynapse and Platform 'will continue to segue into adjacent verticals and away from using the 'G' word,' while companies such as EDS, CSC, Capgemini, Accenture and Atos Origin will begin to offer grid-based utility services. VMware, XenSource and Virtual Iron 'will begin to bump up against grid management vendors,' they said. "
The Return Of The Tech IPO (biz week)
"As a result, bankers and investors say somewhere between 60 to 75 technology startups could make their debut on U.S. public capital markets in 2007, including such anticipated offerings as wireless broadband provider Clearwire Corp. and security software maker Sourcefire Inc. "[2007] will be the biggest year since 2000," predicts M. Benjamin Howe, chief executive of investment firm America's Growth Capital."
Seth Godin's Web 2.0 Traffic Watch List on Alexaholic.com
Interesting list of companies including picpix.com at #12
Monday, January 01, 2007
Mac Rumors: Macworld San Francisco 2007 Rumor Roundup
With Macworld San Francisco (MWSF) quickly approaching, MacRumors provides this Rumor Roundup as a summary of major rumors circulating around the Mac Web before the big event. (Previous MacRumors MWSF roundups: 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002.)While Apple's popularity continues to rise, the media coverage for Apple rumors reached an all time high this year.
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