Tuesday, April 24, 2007Techforward Raises Series ALos Angeles-based TechForward, a firm which provides consumer electronic buyback services for retailers and manufacturers of consumer electronics, has raised a Series A investment from First Round Capital, the firm told socalTECH today. The company's service allows consumers to pay a fee, to guarantee a buy back price for future trade in on their consumer electronics. Company said the funding will be used to expand the reach of its product.
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MySpace Launches Spanish Language SiteLos Angeles-based MySpace has launched a new Spanish version of its online social networking service, the company said today at the Billboard Latin American Music Conference. The social networking web site said that the new site would focus on U.S. based Hispanics, and will also be tied to a new pan-regional site in Spanish for the Latin American market. MySpace said it will also be developing localized communities in Mexico and Brazil. The new Spanish site launches today in beta at latino.myspa (More info...)
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Local.com Adds Free ListingsIrvine-based Local.com, a provider of online business directories, announced today that it has added a new free online listing service. The company's new Local Promote Basic allows local businesses to post and update their contact information. The firm also offers a premium version of the business listings service called Local Promote Premium. Local.com is a provider an online local search engine service.
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Southern California Gets $1.2B In Investments, Led by Surge In HealthcareIn the latest numbers released from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, Southern California saw a surge of venture capital investments totaling $1.2 billion dollars, led by an influx of investments in the healthcare area. Southern California saw $373.4M in investments in the biotechnology area, boosting venture numbers in the region. The total came from 84 venture capital deals.
Nationwide, the report tallied $7.1 billion dollars in investments in the U.S. for (More info...)
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California Ranks First In Tech Employment ReportCalifornia has been ranked number one in terms of the number of workers, job gains, and wages, according to the annual Cyberstates report issued today by the AeA, a high tech trade industry association. The report, which tracks national and state trends in high-tech employment, found that California high tech workers had the highest average wages in the nation, at $95,300. The report found that the there were 14,400 jobs gained between 2004 and 2005 in the state, bringing the state's total high (More info...)
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Blu-ray Disc Sales Hit One Million MarkThe Blu-ray Disc Association is trumpeting the sale of the group's one millionth Blu-ray format disc this morning, saying that it now has more than 70 percent of the high definition movies sold during the first quarter of 2007. The group cited figures from Home Media Research, and claimed that sales of its titles have taken off since the first of the year. The group also claimed that they have been outseling competing HD DVD titles by two to one since the beginning of the year. Blu-ray is compet (More info...)
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Yahoo Music Adds Song LyricsSanta Monica-based Yahoo! Music and Gracenote said today that the firms are in a new licensing deal to offer a catalog of licensed song lyrics to consumers through Yahoo Music. Song lyrics from Gracenote's database of song lyrics, including titles from BMG Music Publishing, EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, along with independents, will be searchable by consumers.
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Alelo Releases Training SoftwareLos Angeles-based Alelo, a spinoff of the University of Southern California providing language training software for the military, said Monday that it has released a version of its software for Afghan language and culture. The firm said that its Tactical Pashto Language & Culture Training System has been released to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, where it will be used to teach communication and cultural sensitivity to the military. Alelo also offers the training software, which is based on a co (More info...)
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OSI Consulting Acquires Consulting FirmWoodland Hills-based OSI Consulting, a technology consulting service provider, said today that it has acquired EML, an Ottawa, Ontario-based provider of technology consulting services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. EML provides consulting services to the Canadian federal government.
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MSC.Software Names ExecSanta Ana-based MSC.Software has named a new executive, saying Monday that it has appointed Toru Kawaguchi as president of the firm's wholly owned Japanese subsidiary. Kawaguchi joins the firm from think3 KK, and has more than 28 years of experience in the CAD/CAM/CAE, PLM, and enterprise software industry. MSC.Software is a provider of simulation tools for the CAD/CAM industry.
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