Friday, December 19, 2008


Slacker Lowers Prices
San Diego-based Slacker, which operates an online personalized Internet radio and associated hardware players, told its users today that it has rolled out a new, lower price offering. The firm said its new "Radio Plus" service will allow for ad-free, unlimited song skipping for $3.99 a month based on an annual subscription. The new service is a significant cut from $7.50 per month. Slacker runs a personal Internet radio service which automatically downloads playlists to a Wi-Fi enabled hardware (More info...)
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SpaceX Names President
Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the commercial spaceflight startup headed by ex-PayPal founder Elon Musk, has named a new president the firm said this week. SpaceX said that Gwynne Shotwell has been named as President, reporting to Musk. Shotwell has been at SpaceX since 2002, and has also served at the Aerospace Corporation, Microcosm, and Chrysler Motors. Shotwell will focus on sales, marketing, manufacturing, launch operations, legal, government relations and finance (More info...)
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Microsemi Target Of DOJ Lawsuit
Irvine-based Microsemi, a manufacturer of analog and mixed signal semiconductors, finds itself on the wrong side of a lawsuit filed this morning by the Department of Justice. According to the DOJ, it has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Microsemi over the firm's recent acquisition of Semicoa Inc.'s assets. Microsemi paid $25M in cash for Semicoa, a provider of semiconductors for the military and commercial market, in July. The DOJ said that as a result of the transaction, Microsemi elimin (More info...)
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PixelFish Buys Eyespot
Los Angeles-based PixelFish, which develops video advertising for small and medium sized businesses, said this morning that it has acquired Eyespot, a provider of video hosting services for web sites. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Pixelfish said the buy will help it accelerate the development of its video advertising platform. Eyespot was based in San Diego, and was venture backed by Express Ventures and Gabriel Venture Partners.
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Interview with Rajeev Kapur, Greenwala
Today's interview with with Rajeev Kapur, Chairman and Chief Wala, Greenwala (www.greenwala.com), a recently launched social networking site focused on green/sustainable topics. We spoke with Rajeev about the idea behind the site, how he went from being a General Manager at Dell to green social networking, and where the company is hoping to go. Where'd the idea for Greenwala come from? Rajeev Kapur: I believe that much awareness has been created for the green/cleantech movement, but a lot (More info...)
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GoTV Networks Launches Country Music Channel
Los Angeles-based GoTV Networks, which develops mobile content, disclosed earlier this week that it has launched a new mobile channel focused on country music. The firm said the channel--True Country--will include country music, live performances, itnerviews, new releases, and news. The new mobile channel will be available via Apple iPhone, T-Mobile G1, and Virgin Mobile. GoTV Networks is venture backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures, and Motorola.
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j2 Global Gets Patent Win
Los Angeles-based j2 Global Communications, which provides online FAX and related services, announced Thursday that it has received validation of two of the firm's patents, covering the firm's FAX technology. According to the firm, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted it two official Reexamination Certifications for patents covering its fax technology, patents number 6,208,638 and 6,597,688. The firm also said it has been granted summary judgement in a patent counterclaim filed again (More info...)
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Xirrus Gets Win In San Francisco
Thousand Oaks-based Xirrus has scored a customer win in San Francisco, saying this week that it is deploying its Wi-Fi arrays at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. Xirrus said the hotel has deployed its products to cover 23 meeting rooms, covering 53,000 square feet of meeting space. Xirrus is a venture backed manufacturer of high density, switched Wi-Fi equipment, which combines a 24 Wi-Fi access points into a single device. The firm has been targe (More info...)
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Hydra Hires Creative Director
Hydra LLC reported this week that it has hired Johnny Talisman as creative director. The Los Angeles-based advertising network said Talisman will direct its in-house creative team and, as such, will oversee the development of original creative that yields the highest-possible conversion results. Talisman, Hydra noted, previously worked for McCann-Erickson and Ogilvy & Mather. He has also managed advertising campaigns for Boeing, Cathay Pacific, AltaVista and Shell. Hydra added that it plans to b (More info...)
posted on Friday, December 19, 2008(Full story)