Tuesday, December 18, 2007Big Stage Launches Beta, Names CEOPasadena-based Big Stage said Tuesday that it has named Chuck Huebner of Activision as President and CEO of the firm, and also launched a beta of the firm's 3-D avatar technology. The firm, which is a spinoff of the University of Southern California, said that its 3-D capture technology allows users to take three pictures of themselves, upload them to the web, and have those pictures converted to a 3-D avatar. The firm, which was formerly known as Clone Interactive, was quietly venture backed by (More info...)
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DFJ Frontier Gets $5M From City of VenturaVenture capital firm DFJ Frontier has received $5M from the City of Ventura for potential investment in the city, as part of the DFJ Frontier II Fund. Ventura's City Council approved the investment Monday evening as part of a "Jobs Investment Fund" to attract more jobs and employment to the city, which despite being located along the 101 corridor has relatively few high tech companies. According to the City Council, the one time Economic Development Fund, will go towards creating high value, hi (More info...)
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Helio Rolls PC Media SoftwareLos Angeles-based MVNO Helio said this morning that it has launched new software, Helio Player, for managing music, videos, and pictures on their PCs. The new software, which Helio said was developed for the firm by RealNetworks, is targeted at allows Helio members to transfer their music to Helio mobile devices. According to Helio, the new software is available for free to its members. The software was developed as part of the partnership the firm has with RealNetworks, which operates the Helio (More info...)
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Velocity, ComVentures MergeLos Angeles-based Velocity, the investment group headed by former Fox Interactive Media head Ross Levinsohn and AOL's Jonathan Miller, and venture capital firm ComVentures, said today that the firms have merged to form Velocity Interactive Group. The firms said that they will have $1.5B in assets and have made a series of investments in the digital media and communications area. Velocity Interactive said that the firm has made investments in Indian firms NDTV Networks and IndiaTV, and has also m (More info...)
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DivX Gets Win With LGSan Diego-based DivX said Monday that the firm's technology has been adopted by electronics maker LG Electronics. According to the firms, they have launched two additional models of DivX certified TVs targeted for South America. According to the firms, the LG Time Machine TV Series, supports recording and time shifting of television content using the DivX digital video encoding format. Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. DivX is a developer of video encoding/decoding technology, whic (More info...)
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AtomicOnline Taps Internet Brands For VPLos Angeles-based AtomicOnline, a firm which acquires and operates niche web sites, said today that it has named Mike Dodge as SVP and General Manager. Dodge joins the firm from Internet Brands, where he was General Manager of Home and Real Estate. Dodge has also previously served at GE Money-WMC Mortgage, ZENSYS A/S, McKinsey & Co., and Proctor & Gamble. AtomicOnline said that Dodge will be responsible for branding, strategic planning, business development, marketing, and sales through all of t (More info...)
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Truston Inks Deal With Trend MicroSanta Barbara-based Truston, which provides online identity theft prevention services, is announcing today that it has inked a deal with Trend Micro to provide a trial offer and discount to the firm's service. Truston is backed by Santa Barbara Technology Group. According to Truston, the promotion will include a 90 day free trial of the service, plus a 50 percent discount to the company's monthly subscription fee.
posted on Tuesday, December 18, 2007(Full story)