Monday, April 1, 2013City of LA Debuts Smartphone App
The City of Los Angeles has launched its own smartphone application, the firm said Monday, called MyLA311, which will allow Angelenos to submit serviec requests, pay their LADWP bills, and also locate city resources. According to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the new app lets users submit request requests for such things as pothole repair, graffiti removal, and bulky item pick up, pay water and power bills, and find nearby parks, swimming pools, and libraries.
The new app, which is free, runs (More info...)
posted on Monday, April 1, 2013(Full story)
Emulex Completes Endace AcquisitionCosta Mesa-based Emulex announced Monday that it has completed its acquisition of Endace, the provider of network performance management and monitoring appliances. Emulex had announced the acquisition of Endace in December. The deal was worth approximately $130M. Emulex is a developer and manufacture of high speed, networking adapters, including Fibre Channel HBAs, 10GbE NICs, iSCSI and FCOE adapters, and other hardware and software.
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ChoicePunch Takes On Life Decisions
A new, Los Angeles startup hopes its service will help users simplify life choices, by asking other users to comment on different questions. ChoicePunch, founded by Hamid Saify, recently launched its services, letting users post their own questions and answers to such questions like "What's the safest car?", and "What should I buy my sister for her birthday"? The company said it is bootstrapped and currently in beta.
Life decisions and voting on choices seems to be a popular theme for lo (More info...)
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Google Nose Not Real, But Electronic Noses AreCan you use your PC or tablet to sniff the world? That's the promise of the (fake) Google Nose, one of the April Fool's jokes to come out of the Internet giant today. But, the whole idea of an artificial nose is not, as the Washington Post points out. Technology from the California Insitute of Technology--and commercialized by startup Cyrano Sciences before its acquisition in 2004--focused on connecting the world of computers and electronics into the world of smell.
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Mobile Roadie Swizzles PricingMobile software developer Mobile Roadie looks to be in the midst of an interesting transition, saying late last week that it is increasing its pricing, to "more closely match the value we are able to offer." Details of those pricing changes were not announced by the company. The firm said the move comes due to an increased amount of R&D, including the addition of enhanced analytics, new marketing campaigns such as polling & golden ticket, and iPhone 5 compatibility. Mobile Roadie did say it woul (More info...)
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Hulu Adds The Itchy & Scratchy ShowTaking a break from ordering the Google Nose? Los Angeles-based Hulu has devoted its April 1st homepage to the "Itchy and Scratchy" show--calling it the "most violent, beloved children's series of all time". Confused? The April Fool's takeover actually directs viewers to the Itchy and Scratchy show--as it exists as part of The Simpson's. Hulu joined the long tradition of April Fool's announcements today with its website; other clever announcements were Virgin's glass bottomed plane, among many o (More info...)
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Proximal Data Gets $2M For Caching SoftwareSan Diego-based Proximal Data, which develops server-side caching software for accelerating I/O access to virtualized machines, said this morning that it has raised $2M in a Series B round of funding. The funding came from Divergent Ventures, along with existing investors Avalon Ventures. The firm said the new funding brings its total raised to $5M.
Proximal Data develops a storage, I/O caching product i calls AutoCache, which it says is designed to remove I/O bottlenecks in virtualized envir (More info...)
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How Rexter Is Turning Connections Into Business, with Andy WilsonIn the age of social networking, everyone has hundreds--even thousands--of connections online. But, to a business person, those connections and network are only good as the real life relationships they create. That's the idea behind Rexter (www.rexter.com), which recently raised seed funding to ramp up its software to put "LinkedIn on steroids". We spoke with CEO and founder Andy Wilson about how Rexter is looking to help business professionals further develop their relationships
What exactly (More info...)
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Fisker Automotive Hires Bankruptcy LawyerAnaheim-based Fisker Automotive has hired legal firm Kirkland & Ellis to advise the firm on a possible bankruptcy filing, according to reports over the weekend. The firm--which just furloughed its entire U.S. workforce last week--has been trying to find a buyer or investor for months. The maker of hybrid electric automobiles was last looking towards China for a buyer.
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MaxLinear Wins Set-Top Box MakersCarlsbad-based RF semiconductor maker MaxLinear said today tht at a number of OEMs are using its silicon tuners in Internet video, set-top boxes. MaxLinear did not say which OEMs were using the firm's chips, however, the company said that the firm's chips are being used to provide free, over-the-air local broadcast channels on Internet video set-top boxes, which stream video from online providers like Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video. MaxLinear said those OEMs are using its MXL603 (More info...)
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Toshiba Names Marketing VPTustin-based Toshiba America Medical Systems announced this morning that it has appointed Nancy Gillen as its Vice President, Marketing. Gillen has previously served at Philips HealthCare, as well as serving for more than 20 years at Siemens Healthcare. Toshiba said that Gillen will manage all marketing activities for the company. Toshiba America Medical Systems is a provider of CT, MR, ultrasound, X-Ray, and other equipment.
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Rhythm & Hues Acquired By Prana StudiosVisual effects and animation studio Rhythm & Hues has been acquired by Los Angeles-based Prana Studios, the firms said over the weekend. Prana is split between Los Angeles and Mumbai, India. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Rhythm & Hues was acquired out of bankruptcy. The visual effects studio most recently worked on the ""Life of Pi".
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