Friday, January 4, 2008Warner Abandons HD-DVDBurbank-based Warner Bros. Entertainment announced Friday afternoon that it will begin to release its high definition DVD titles in only Blu-ray Disc format, beginning later this year, and will not be issuing HD-DVD titles after May. According to Jeff Bewkes, President and CEO of Time Warner, the choice to distribute just Blu-ray "comes at the right time and is the best decision both for consumers and Time Warner." The high definition DVD market has been suffering from consumer confusion over th (More info...)
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AeroVironment Gets Win With USAFMonrovia, California-based AeroVironment, a developer of unmanned aircraft systems and energy products, said Thursday that the United States Air Force has approved a program which includes the firm's Wasp III micro air vehicles. According to Aerovironment, the United States Air Force BATMAV (Battlefield Air Targeting Micro Air Vehicle) has received approval and authorization for full rate production. Aerovironment was awarded a contract for BATMAV in December of 2006. AeroVironment's UAV weights (More info...)
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Evolution Robotics Signs Licensing DealPasadena-based Evolution Robotics, the Idealab-backed provider of robotic technology, said Thursday that the firm has licensed its technology to the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH). Evolution Robotics said that KITECH has licensed the firm's visual pattern recognition technology, as part of a kits for Korean academic organizations. Financial impact of the licensing deal was not disclosed. Evolution Robotics said the KITECH robot platform software development kit is being devel (More info...)
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Audyssey Rolls New Audio TechnologyLos Angeles-based Audyssey, a provider of technology for the audio market, said Thursday that it has launched a new product targeted at managing volume levels on television broadcasts. The firm, which is a spinout of research from the University of Southern California's Immersive Audio Laboratory, said its new technology, Dynamic Volume, levels distruptive changes in volume levels while watching movies and while watching television shows and commercials. The firm said it expects to see its techn (More info...)
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Acacia Expands TeamNewport Beach-based Acacia Research, which acquires and licenses technology patents, said yesterday that it has expanded its team with two new executives. Acacia said that it has hired Bradley Botsch as Vice President, and Phillip Mitchell as VP of Engineering. Botsch joins the firm from ON Semiconductor, where he was VP and Chief Intellectual Property officer; he has also served at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Motorola. Mitchell joins from JMAR Technologies, and has previously been at Melle (More info...)
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Ixia Names Operations VPCalabasas-based Ixia, a provider of testing systems for IP networking, said Thursday that it has named Raymond de Graaf as Vice President of Operations. According to Ixia, de Graaf joins the firm from Precision Communications, where he was Vice President and General Manager. de Graaf has also served at Flextronics, where he was Director of Global Operatons. Ixia also announced that Dave Anderson, the firm's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Business Development, has left the company t (More info...)
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EnActen Acquires Canadian Hosting FirmLaguna Niguel-based EnActen, a new firm focused on the web hosting market, said Thursday that it has acquired Alentus Corporation, a Canadian dedicated and shared web hosting company. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. EnActen said that the firm was founded in 2007 to acquire Web hosting companies. Alentus provides Windows based hosting services, and is based in Edmonton, Alberta. According to EnActen, Alentus has been profitable for the last 8 and a half years, and was foun (More info...)
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CRG West Expands In VirginiaLos Angeles-based Internet colocation provider CRG West said Thursday that it has acquired a new data center and office property in Reston, Virginia. The firm said it acquired a 285,000 square-foot data center in Northern Virginia, which is expected to be open in Q2 of 2008. The new property expands the company's existing, Washington D.C. colocation space. The new space comes in addition to colocation space in San Jose, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C. CRG West (More info...)
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Sony Pictures Technologies Names PresidentCulver City-based Sony Pictures Technologies said earlier this week that it has appointed a new President, Christopher J. Cookson. According to Sony, Cookson will oversee development and implementation of the studio's technology policy and processes. Cookson joins the firm from Warner Bros. Entertainment, where he was Chief Technology Officer and President of its Technical Operations Division. Cookson has also served at CBS Television and ABC.
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