Wednesday, December 9, 2015


Miss Piggy Goes Live With Online Chats On Facebook
Attention Muppet fans! Did you ever wish you could talk to Miss Piggy on a one on one chat? Miss Piggy has been offering up one-on-one, live chats via Facebook Messenger all this week--part of the first deployment of technology from the Disney Accelerator. According to Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Labs, The Muppets Studios and Disney Accelerator company imperson, Miss Piggy offered up live chats both Monday and Wednesday, and will also do so on Friday between 10am and 11am PST (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

SGN Buys Two Game Development Studios
Los Angeles-based SGN said today that it has acquired two, new game development studios, as a result of its recent $130M strategic investment round. SGN said it has acquired Fat Rascal Games, based in Seattle, and the talent behind Kiwi Inc. in Palo Alto. Financial details of the buy were not disclosed. SGN said that the team at Fat Rascal have produced popular titles such as Zynga Slingo, Matrix Online, and Hidden Chronicles. SGN said the team from Kiwi have owkred on titles like Shipwreck, Che (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

San Bernardino Turns To GoFundMe To Support Victims
The City of San Bernardino said this morning that it has opened up a GoFundMe campaign to help support victims of last week's terrorist attack. The new Support San Bernardino campaign was established by the Mayor and Common Council of San Bernardino. The group said that San Diego-based GoFundMe will be waiving all of its fees associated with the fund, so that the total sum will go only to the victims. The new campaign comes a day after it was revealed by law enforcement that a different, crowdfu (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

Interlude Scores $18.2M From MGM
Interule, a media startup which says it is developing video that responds to a person's emotions and interests, has raised $18.2M in a new funding round. The funding came from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM), along with Sequoia Capital, Intel Capital and others. Inerlude--which has an office in Los Angeles, but is based in New York--said that MGM CEO Gary Barber has joined the company's board as an observer. Interlude's tools allow for the creation of non-linear story paths in content. The com (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

Illumina Invests In Desktop Genetics
San Diego-based life sciences equipment maker Illumina has made an investment in UK-based Desktop Genetics Ltd., Desktop Genetics said late last night. Financial details of the investment round were not announced. Desktop Genetics Ltd develops software used for gene editing. According to Desktop Genetics, the funding will go towards development and commercialization of its products.
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

GoPro Links With UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television
Action camera maker GoPro said Tuesday that it has tied with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), to launch a program to provide students with GoPro cameras and accessories to create content, and where it will also provide guided workshops, education, and one-on-one mentorship to students. According to GoPro, the link with UCLA is an extension of its university program--originally launched at USC in October--and also includes a deal with the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. G (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

EcoSense Lighting Buys Journee Lighting
Los Angeles-based LED lighting manufacturer EcoSense Lighting has acquired fellow LED lighting developer Journee, according to EcoSense. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Journee Lighting, which was based in Westlake Village, developed downlight and track lighting. Journee was founded by Clayton Alexander in 2005. EcoSense Lighting is led by Mark Reynoso.
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)

Ixia Wins University of Texas
Calabasas-based network testing equipment and software developer Ixia is reporting a win with the University of Texas at Austin this morning, saying that its products have been selected to provide end-to-end network visibility in a security effort at the school. FInancial details of the win were not announced. Ixia said the school is using its Net Tool Optimizer NTO 7300 and Application and Threat Intelligence Processor (ATIP) products.
posted on Wednesday, December 9, 2015(Full story)