Monday, December 17, 2007Goodreads Gets Angel FundingLos Angeles-based Goodreads has raised an angel round of funding, the firm said Monday. Amount of the round was not announced. The funding came from James Currier of Ooga Labs, Michael Birch of Bebo.com, Chris Michel of Military.com, Mike Jones of Userplane, along with True Ventures and Stand Chudnovsky, also of Ooga Labs. Goodreads operates an online social networking web site focused on sharing information about books.
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Continuous Computing Gets Win At HughesSan Diego-based Continous Computing said Monday that the firm's Trillium software has been selected by Hughes Network Systems. Financial impact of the deal were not disclosed. Continuous Computing's software provides 3G and 4G wireless capability to wireless products. The firm said the software will be used in Hughes' new mobile 3G satellite base station subsystem, and the deal also includes use of the firm's professional services. Hughes Network System is a provider of broadband satellite netwo (More info...)
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Interview with Ian Kilpatrick, BeenUp2BeenUp2 (www.beenup2.com)is a web site which is combining photos with social updates, much like a cross between Flickr and Twitter. The site allows users to upload a stream of photos and comments, and interact with friends and contacts with comments and other social networking features. To get some perspective on the startup, we spoke with Ian Kilpatrick, the firm's co-creator. Ian is based in Los Angeles, and spoke with Ben Kuo.
What's the idea behind the service?
Ian Kilpatrick: The sit (More info...)
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Qualcomm Buys SoftMaxSan Diego-based wireless firm Qualcomm said this morning that it has acquired SoftMax, Inc., a provider of noise reduction technology for mobile devices. Financial terms of the acquisition were not diclosed. SoftMax, which is also based in San Diego, provides multi-microphone noise suppression, and echo cancellation products used for reducing noise on mobile handsets, VoIP phones, and notebook PCs. SoftMax was founded in 1998 as a spinout of The Salk Institute and the University of California, S (More info...)
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Epicor Buys NSB Retail SystemsIrvine-based Epicor Software said Sunday that it has acquired NSB Retail Systems PLC, a provider of software for the retail market, in a deal worth $322M. Epicor said it will purchase NSB Retail, to create a larger, stronger, and more profitable company. NSB is publicly held on the London Stock Exchange. The deal is being funded by $100M in a revolving loan facility, $100M in a term loan, and $155M which the firm has existing in cash. USB Investment Bank is advising Epicor in the deal; Close Bro (More info...)
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Juice Wireless Pulls In $6MLos Angeles-based Juice Wireless said today that it has closed on $6M in a third round of venture capital. The round was led by 21Ventures. According to Juice Wireless, investors in the company also include Qualcomm and Citizen's Communications. Juice Wireless is developing a social networking community and related software for mobile phones. Juice Wireless said that it now employs 30 full time people focused on its JuiceCaster mobile social networking service.
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Loop'd Network Teams With Watch FirmSan Diego-based Loop'd Network, an online video and photo sharing and social networking web site focused on sports, said today that it is in a strategic partnership with action sports watch firm Freestyle. According to Loop'd, the deal includes a weekly contest sponsored by Freestyle awarding people who contribute the best video and photo entries to the site. Loop'd also said that Freestyle will also provide a one-year sponsorship and a spot on its team. Financial terms of the deal were not disc (More info...)
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Smith Micro Launches Mobile Media SoftwareAliso Viejo-based software developer Smith Micro Software said today that it has launched a new, multimedia applicaiton for smart phones. Smith Micro said its Revue software allows users to take music, photos, and videos with them on the road; the new software works with Windows Mobile or PocketPC phones. Smith Micro said its new software includes a music player with support for MP3 and WAV files; a photo viewer and editor; and a video player. The new software is available for $29.99 via a downl (More info...)
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