Thursday, September 4, 2014Opoli: 250 LA Drivers Now On Ride AppLos Angeles-based smartphone ride service Opoli says it now has over 250 drivers on its app in Los Angeles, since it launched last month, as it looks to attract professional, commercially licensed drivers to its smartphone app. The app aims to provide Uber-like service, without the uncertainty and controversy that swirls around Uber. Opoli--which is led by Rattan Joea--says it offers a "safer and better alternative" to other services, due to only using commercially insured drivers of town cars, (More info...)
posted on Thursday, September 4, 2014(Full story)
CheapAir.com Starts Accepting Litecoin, Dogecoin For TravelAre you an alternative currency mogul, wishing you could directly spend your Litecoin or Dogecoin cryptocurrency for an airline ticket? Calabasas-based travel booking site CheapAir.com says that it has begun accepting those two cyber-currencies -- which are similar to Bitcoin -- for booking airline flights, hotels, and train seats. CheapAir.com--which has been accepting Bitcoin since November of 2013--says it has seen sales of more than $1.5M for Bitcoin sofar, and is hoping the expansion of pay (More info...)
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Yardi Sells Point2's Listing Syndication ArmSanta Barbara-based property management software provider Yardi has sold off a part of its Point2 real estate marketing operation, saying that it has sold its listing syndication service to Move, Inc.. Financial details of the buy were not disclosed. Point2 was owned by Yardi Canadat Ltd. Move is making that service part of its ListHub real estate syndication service.
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ecoATM Hits Three Million Devices CollectedSan Diego-based ecoATM, which operates a network of automated, electronic recycling kiosks, reports today that it has now collected a total of three million devices. The company said the total include all of the phones, tablets, and MP3 players it has collected since being founded in 2008. ecoATM said that more than a third of those--one million devices--were collected since January of this year. According to ecoATM, the most recycled devices through its kiosks are the Apple iPhone 4 and iPhone (More info...)
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HireRight Names New CEOIrvine-based HireRight, the provider of online employment background checks, drug and health screening, said today that it has named a new CEO. According to the firm, it has named John Fennelly--formerly head of the wealth management division of Thomson Reuters--as CEO. Fennelly will be based in Irvine.
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Radical.FM: Taking On Pandora, Ad FreeThere are an awful lot of Internet music services out there nowadays--how does a startup try to compete with all that noise, and do it ad-free? Los Angeles-based Radical.FM (www.radical.fm) thinks it has a new formula for Internet streaming, and can take on Pandora and others in head to head competition. We spoke with founder and CEO Tom McAlvey about the company.
Explain what Radical.FM is about?
Tom McAlvey: As of today, we would define ourselves more readily for public consumption as a (More info...)
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Transphorm Gets PatentsGoleta-based Transphorm, the developer of Gallium Nitride (GaN) power conversion technology, reports that it has scored two patents covering its technology. The company said the two patents are number 8,816,751 titled "Inductive Load Power Switching Circuits", and patent application 13/887,204 titled "Bridge Circuits and Their Components", which it describes as "landmark patents" for its technology. The first patent names James Honea and Yifeng Wu as inventors, and was initially filed in August (More info...)
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Wallaby Launches Android Wear AppPasadena-based Wallaby Financial, the developer of apps to help consumers optimize the use of their credit cards to earn the most points and benefits, is rolling out a new app today for Android Wear. Android Wear is the Android related wearable effort which includes software to help anticipate a user's next move and helps provide information automatically about things like upcoming appointments, and more. According to Wallaby Financial, Wallaby for Android Wear lets users activate key commands b (More info...)
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Teledyne Buys Bolt TechnologyThousand Oaks-based Teledyne Technologies said Wednesday afternoon that it has acquired Bolt Technology Corporation, a supplier of equipment for the offshore energy exploration market. According to Teledyne, it will pay approximately $171M for Bolt, or $22.00 per share cash for the publicly held company. Bolt, which was founded in 1965, develops replacement parts for offshore energy exploration, high-reliability underwater cables and connectors, electronic controllers, monitoring systems, and ot (More info...)
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Japan's KVH Connects Network To LATokyo, Japan-based network provider KVH Co. Ltd. said yesterday that it has connected its network to Los Angeles, as well as New York, to help expand its network in the United States. The company--which interconnects data centers with ultra-low-latency networks and dedicated Ethernet--said the new route makes Los Angeles its new transit hub between Asia and the U.S., and will help it serve customers on the West Coast of the United States. The company says its is targeting customers in the Intern (More info...)
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BuyAutoParts.com Names CFOSan Diego-based auto parts e-commerce provider BuyAutoParts.com has named a new CFO, saying that it has appointed former JC Penney and Amazon executive Chris Struempler to the position. Struembler was most recently Senior Finance Director for JC Penny's Digital Commerce business. He also served in a number of financial roles at Amazon.com, including VP & Treasurer for Amazon Capital Services. Struembler also had been at Procter & Gamble. BuyAutoParts.com provides both retail, Internet sales of (More info...)
posted on Thursday, September 4, 2014(Full story)