Friday, May 26, 2006FreeConference.com Gets Bought OutLos Angeles-based FreeConference.com, a provider of free telephone conference calling services, has been bought out by American Capital Strategies. American Capital strategies said yesterday afternoon that the firm now owns 84 percent of the company. Glickman Capital and Broadstream Capital Partners are also investing in the firm. American Capital is a buyout and mezzanine fund that is traded on the Nasdaq as ACAS.
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Dynamic Direct Acquired For $5.5MValencia, California-based Dynamics Direct has been acquired by London-based Alterian, for $5.5M. Dynamics Direct is a provider of email marketing software that is used by Princess Cruises, Countrywide Financial Services and Marsh Affinity Insurance. Alterian said that the move gives it integration of online and database marketing. Dynamics Direct's software is used for permission-based email and online marketing, list management, campaign management, and reporting. The firm has received over $1 (More info...)
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Interview with Multi-Factor AuthenticationFor our interview today, I spoke with Craig Lund and Garret Grajek, founders of Multi-Factor Authentication (www.multifa.com), a startup company in the security software area that is based in Irvine. Craig is CEO of the firm, and Garrett is President. They gave me a demo of their web and phone-based security software, and explained a bit about how they're trying to reach the market with an integrated product that allows companies to use a cell phone to authenticate users, instead of a traditiona (More info...)
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Lawsuit Accuses MPAA Of Hiring HackerThe Motion Picture Association of America has been accused of hiring a hacker to spy on Torrentspy.com, an online file swapping site, to obtain private information. According to a lawsuit filed by Valence Media and posted online, which operates Torrentspy, the MPAA allegedly paid $15,000 to a hacker to steal e-mail and trade secrets from the company. Valence Media is seeking damages and injunctive relief against the MPAA. The MPAA had charged Torrentspy with facilitating movie piracy earlier thi (More info...)
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DivX Rolls Out Mac ReleaseSan Diego-based DivX has released the latest version of the company's software for the Mac platform, saying yesterday that Divx for Mac 6.5 was released for download. The upgrade to the company's codec allows Mac users to play back full-screen DivX encoded videos, and supports conversion of other video formats into DivX. DivX develops its own codec used for encoding and compressing video streams, which it licenses to consumer electronics firm and others. The firm is currently on tap for an IPO, (More info...)
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Low.com Adds Metrics ProgramLos Angeles-based Low.com, a lead generation portal that is operated by Oversee.net, said this week that it is now monitoring metrics for its customers, measuring application rate, contact rate, credit pulls, and closed loans based on leads from its web sites. The firm said that its new metrics are based on a data warehouse, and help it generate high-quality leads for its customers. Oversee.net operates Internet advertising, lead generation, and other web sites.
posted on Friday, May 26, 2006(Full story)
Eyespot Targets Online VideoSan Diego-based Eyespot, a startup funded by Michael Robertson of MP3.com, this week announced the availability of a new web site for organizing photos and videos. The firm announced that its web site is now providing a service that allows users to upload pictures and video, mix and edit those videos and music, and share the content with friends and family.
posted on Friday, May 26, 2006(Full story)
Qualcomm Ships Mobile TV ChipSan Diego-based Qualcomm has shipped a new, universal mobile TV chip that the company said unifies three of the most common standards for mobile TV. The firm said that it's new, single-chip Universal Broadcast Modem (UBM) solution supports Qualcomm's Media FLO technology, digital video broadcasting--handheld (DVB-H) and integrated service digital broadcasting--terrestrial (ISDB-T). The firm said that the chip is targeted at providing mobile TV on handsets. The new chip is compatible with CDMA20 (More info...)
posted on Friday, May 26, 2006(Full story)