Tuesday, April 17, 2007Yahoo!, United Online Extend Search DealWoodland Hills-based United Online and Yahoo! announced this afternoon that the two are in a new, exclusive multi-year agreement for Yahoo! to deliver its sponsored search and web search results on United Online's Internet services. The firms said that the deal covers NetZero, Juno, and Bluelight, United Online's Internet access brands. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The agreement is an extension of an existing agreeement between the firms.
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Barbie Launches Virtual WorldEl Segundo-based Mattel is getting into the online virtual world space, saying Tuesday that it has launched BarbieGirls.com, an online community focused on girls. The new online community allows girls to interact in a virtual world, hang out in virtual rooms, and go shopping. The new virtual world is part of a new platform being rolled out by Mattel based on its Barbie brand, and allows users to create their own avatars, customize their environment, and interact and chat with friends and other u (More info...)
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Melissa Data Buys Peoplesmith SoftwareRancho Santa Margarita-based Melissa Data, a provider of software for the direct mailing industry, said Tuesday morning that it has acquired Peoplesmith Software. Financial terms were not disclosed. Peoplesmith develops software used for correcting and standardizing mailing list and contact information, including correcting punctuation and spelling in mailing addresses.
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VC Fundraising Slows In Q1New venture capital fundraising slowed down in the first quarter, according to a report released Monday by Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). According to the groups, fifty six venture capital funds raised $4.9B in Q1 of 2007, the lowest level for an opening quarter since 2004. The amount raised a 25.7% decline from the first quarter of last year, but was still 19.5% more than Q4 of 2006, when 56 funds raised $4.1B in commitments.
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Autobytel, Wilson Automotive In Marketing DealIrvine-based Autobytel said today that it is in a deal with Wilson Automotive Group, an automotive dealer group, to provide online customer referral programs. Size of the deal was not disclosed. The firm said that Wilson Automotive is the nation's 13th largest dealer group, based on Automotive News. Wilson Automotive operates dealerships including Honda Santa Ana, Toyota of Orange, South Bay Toyota, and a number of other Southern California dealerships. Autobytel will provide customer referrals (More info...)
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DivX Bundles With Intel MotherboardsSan Diego-based DivX said today that Intel's next generation Intel Media Series motherboards will be bundled with its DivX for Windows software. The DivX software allows users to encode their own DivX format content. The Intel Media Series motherboards are PC motherboards targeted at system builders for creating media PCs, who use the motherboards to assemble their own Intel-based white label PCs. DivX is a developer of compression/decompression technology for video.
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Absolute Analysis Rolls Out 8Gbps Fibre Channel TesterNewbury Park-based Absolute Analysis has rolled out a new, 8Gbps Fibre Channel protocol tester, the firm said today. The new test equipment is used by developers in the storage area networking industry to analyze the Fibre Channel storage protocol. According to Absolute Analysis, the new system provides traffic generation, protocol analysis, BERT testing, and other features.
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Siafu Announces Storage AppliancePoway-based Siafu Software introduced a new storage appliance at Storage Networking World, which is ongoing in San Diego. Siafu said that its new Siafu Swarm 100 provides storage networking through iSCSI and NAS connections, and is targeted at the Microsoft Windows environment. The new appliance supports from 1TB to 3TB of storage.
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SmartSound Launches Web ServiceNorthridge-based SmartSound Software, which provides music and scoring software for film and video producers, said today that it has launched a new web site for its customers. The new customer-only web site, BackStage Pass, will include an online cue sheet service, access to its library of royalty-free music, along with custom music composing services. SmartSound develops software and royalty-free music used by music and video producers for scoring videos.
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Twistbox Names ExecsLos Angeles-based Twistbox Entertainment, a publisher of mobile entertainment, said Monday that it has appointed two new executives. Twistbox has named Russell J. Burke as Chief Financial Officer, and Patrick Dodd as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and marketing. Burke was most recently at Weight Watchers International, and has also served at Sony Music. Dodd was most recently at Gemstar, and has also served at Speedvision, outdoor Life NEtwork, and NBC Cable.
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