Thursday, May 8, 2008Los Angeles, Orange County Among Top 10 eBay MarketsOnline auction site eBay released their list of the most active markets for the site Thursday, reporting that both Los Angeles-Long Beach and Orange County were among the top 10 markets for the firm. According to eBay, the Los Angeles-Long Beach area ranked number one in the U.S. for eBay sales, selling $1.3 billion dollars in items on the site last year; Orange County ranked sixth in the nation for eBay sales, with over $636M in sales for last year. Other top markets for eBay sales were New Yor (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 8, 2008(Full story)
Pandemic In Deal For Lord of the Rings TitleLos Angeles-based video game studio Pandemic Studios said Thursday that it is developing a new title based on Lord of the Rings. The studio, which is a unit of Electronic Arts, said that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest will ship for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC, and Ninendo DS platforms. The game, which is being released in partnership with New Line Cinema, is being developed by the team which build Star Wars Battlefront and the Star Wars Battlefront II titles. Pandemic said the game is set for r (More info...)
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Yardi Systems Buys Software ProductsSanta Barbara-based Yardi Systems, a developer of real estate software, said Thursday that it has acquired ARGUS Property Management (CTI) and ARGUS INSIGHT Reporting, two products from ARGUS Software. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. According to Yardi, the deal will also include a strategic alliance with ARGUS, where ARGUS will become a reseller of its products, and where Yardi will market its Yardi Voyager Commercial title to ARGUS customers. Both companies provide softw (More info...)
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MySpace Opens Profile Data, Links to Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket, and TwitterLos Angeles-based MySpace said Thursday morning that it has launched a new initiative to allow Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket, and Twitter to pull public profile data into their websites. MySpace said its "Data Availability" effort will allow users to dynamically share their public profile information with other sites. MySpace will allow users to control what information they share with who, including basic profile information, photos, videos, and friends. The initial links will show up in Yahoo's Ins (More info...)
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Interview with Kihong Bae, MusicShakeWe recently ran into Kihong Bae, who is general manager of MusicShake (www.musicshake.com), a startup focused on allowing users--with no music training--to create their own music online. The firm--which started in South Korea--recently opened up its U.S. operations here in Los Angeles. We spoke with Kihong about the company, what it offers, and why it decided to locate here.
Describe what MusicShake is, and how it came about?
Kihong Bae: We are originally from South Korea, where we have b (More info...)
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Cogent Systems Buys Security FirmSouth Pasadena-based Cogent Systems said today that it has completed the acquisition of MAXIMUS Security Solutions Division, a provider of identity management and credentialing services, security consulting, and web application development. Cogent said it paid $5M in cash for the division, which is part of MAXIMUS. Cogent said the deal is expected to add $5M in revenues for the remainder of 2008. The MAXIMUS Security Solutions Division provides biometrics technology services to the federal gover (More info...)
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MusicIP Adds Board Member, Sales VPMonrovia-based MusicIP, a provider of music discovery software and related products, said Wednesday that it has tapped Microsoft for a new board member, and also appointed a new VP of Sales. the firm said that former Microsoft corporate VP Lindsay Sparks has joined the board, and appointed Scott Lehr as the firm's Vice President of Sales, Strategy, and Business Development. Lehr was most recently a consultant, and has previously served as an SVP at MyStrands, and as an executive at Muze. MusicIP (More info...)
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Channel M Names CTOLos Angeles-based Channel M, a venture backed, digital out-of-home video advertising network, said Wednesday that it has named Peter Lee as the firm's Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer. Lee joins the company from The Walt Disney Company, where he was Vice President, Business Development New Technology in the firm's Corporate Strategy, Planning, and Technology Group. Lee has also served as President and CEO of GeoVideo Networks, COO/CTO of Hitplay Media, and also served at IBM. (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 8, 2008(Full story)