Silicon Valley Wire

WSJ: Google in Talks To Buy 5% Stake in AOL for $1 Billion

Mountain View, Calif. -- Despite recent talks about a potential
advertising deal with Microsoft, America Online is now in exclusive
negotiations to expand its current advertising partnership with Mountain
View-based Google and potentially sell the search engine giant a 5%
stake in AOL for $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online
edition Friday. Citing people close to the situation, the Journal said that a
deal could be finalized after AOL parent Time Warner's board meeting on
Wednesday. The deal will likely allow AOL to sell ads among Google
search results. Google, reportedly, also is likely to promote AOL's
properties in the sponsored links in its search results. AOL had been in
talks with Google since January. Microsoft entered the discussions in
September.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113474972003024745.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo  (subscription required)
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/051216/media_timewarner_google.html?.v=5

Sunnyvale-Based Spansion Raises $506.4 Million in IPO

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Shares of Sunnyvale-based Spansion rose more than 12% in their
debut Friday after the Flash memory joint venture of Sunnyvale-based AMD and Fujitsu
raised $506.4 million in its initial public offering (IPO). It was the second largest IPO for
a U.S. technology company this year. That in spite of the fact that the company priced its
42.2 million shares at $12 each, below its expected range of $13-$14, which itself had
been lowered from $16-$18. Spansion's technology is used in consumer electronics
products such as cell phones, PCs, set-top boxes and DVD players. The company's
shares, trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol "SPSN," closed at $13.44.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051216/nyf035.html?.v=29

S.F.-Based Siren Systems Lands $2.3 Million in First Round

San Francisco -- Siren Systems, a San Francisco-based developer of a tool that
helps consumers to find, sample and purchase music, said on Thursday that it
has landed $2.3 million in its first round of financing, led by Amicus Capital.
Nueva Ventures was among the other participants. Steve Skrzyniarz, the CEO
of Siren, said that the company will use the proceeds to accelerate the creation
of new products, expand the team and enhance its infrastructure to handle
increasing demand. Developed over five years, Siren's Soundflavor search
engine combines song-level search navigation and personalized
recommendations into one package. The company licenses the tool to
consumer and commercial music providers. In October, the company a deal to
integrate its tool onto the web site of Ricall, a music research and licensing
network. When launched, the site will allow creative professionals to quickly
find and license songs to match any mood or setting.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051215/sfth020.html?.v=35

Mountain View-Based Google Launches Music Search Feature

Mountain View, Calif. - Google, the Mountain View-based search engine
giant, has introduced a new music search feature that the company said will
provide more relevant results when users search for music-related
information. The tools allows users to enter names of bands, artists, albums or
songs on Google Music, and receive music-related results at the top of the
page. The results will include album cover art, reviews and links to retailers
including iTunes, Amazon.com and eMusic. The company said that the
service currently skews toward popular U.S. artists, but will be expanded to
encompass classical and lesser-known artists worldwide. "This has been one
of the longstanding unfilled user needs," Marissa Mayer, Google's vice
president of search products and user experience, told News.com. "We saw a
search need where we weren't providing users with the highest-quality results
that we could." Mayer added that Google isn't planning to launch its own
digital music store.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/searching-for-music.html
http://news.com.com/Google+whistles+a+new+tune/2100-1024_3-5995864.html

Report: November U.S. Game Sales Down 18%; 325,902 Xbox 360s Sold

New York - U.S. video game sales were down 18% in November, despite the
launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console during the month, according to
data from market research firm NPD Group. The reissued figures from NPD --
which previously had estimated just a 4% drop -- indicated that there will also
likely be a decline in game sales for the overall fourth quarter. NPD also
reported that nearly 326,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold during the month
in the U.S., where retailers remain short on supply. The device went on sale
Nov. 22. Overall, the top-selling games during November were "Star Wars
Battlefront II" and "Madden NFL 06," while the top-selling Xbox 360 game
was by far Activision's "Call of Duty 2."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13609 
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13605 

Gartner: Compliance, Governance to Make up 10-15% of Corp IT Budgets

Stamford, Conn. -- Spending on financial compliance management will
increase to between 10%-15% of total IT budgets in 2006, up from less than
5% last year, according to a new survey by market research firm Gartner. The
firm said that the trend is a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S. -- a
response by Congress to widespread corporate fraud -- as well as related
regulatory mandates in other countries. The Gartner survey included 326
audit, finance and IT professionals in North America and Western Europe.
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=487387

Report: China Overtakes U.S. as World's Largest IT Supplier

Brussels -- China has overtaken the U.S. as the world's largest exporter of
IT products like computers, laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras,
according to a new report from the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD). The organization said that
China's IT-export market grew by 46% to more than $180 billion last year
-- about $26 billion more than the U.S. (China's figures would have been
even larger had the report included data on goods shipped through Hong
Kong). The OECD also found that IT imports into Asia from Europe and
the U.S. were on the decline. "To manufacture laptops and advanced
mobile phones, China previously relied on electronic components such as
computer chips imported from the EU and U.S.," the OECD said. "These
are now also being increasingly sourced from other Asian countries."
http://www.oecd.org/document/60/0,2340,en_2649_201185_35834236_1_1_1_1,00.html

Mountain View-Based Fabric7 Raises $13.4 Million in Funding

Mountain View, Calif. -- Fabric7 Systems, a Mountain View-based
maker of corporate servers, said that it has raised $13.4 million in a new
round of venture capital funding. The company said that participants
included a "major silicon vendor," new investor Sanmina-SCI and
previous investors New Enterprise Associates, Goldman Sachs, Selby
Ventures, Foundation Capital and Vanguard Ventures. Fabric7, which at
the time of its launch boasted $32 million in private funding, said that it
will use the new capital to build its sales and support organization.
http://www.fabric7.com/_press/newsevents_pr20051212.php

S.F.-Based Siren Systems Lands $2.3 Million in First Round

San Francisco -- Siren Systems, a San Francisco-based developer of a tool that
helps consumers to find, sample and purchase music, said on Thursday that it
has landed $2.3 million in its first round of financing, led by Amicus Capital.
Nueva Ventures was among the other participants. Steve Skrzyniarz, the CEO
of Siren, said that the company will use the proceeds to accelerate the creation
of new products, expand the team and enhance its infrastructure to handle
increasing demand. Developed over five years, Siren's Soundflavor search
engine combines song-level search navigation and personalized
recommendations into one package. The company licenses the tool to consumer
and commercial music providers. In October, the company a deal to integrate its
tool onto the web site of Ricall, a music research and licensing network. When
launched, the site will allow creative professionals to quickly find and license
songs to match any mood or setting.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051215/sfth020.html?.v=35

Milpitas-Based Sigma Designs to Acquire San Jose's Blue7 Communications

Milpitas, Calif. -- Sigma Designs, a Milpitas-based maker of silicon-based
media processors for consumer electronics products such as high-definition TVs
and portable media players, said on Thursday that it has agreed to pay $14
million in stock to acquire Blue7 Communications, a San Jose-based developer
of advanced wireless technologies and ultra-wideband semiconductor products.
The deal is expected to close in February. Four-year-old Blue7 has 20
employees, including 18 engineers. Once the deal is completed, Sigma said that
it plans to move Blue7's operations to its headquarters in Milpitas.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051215/20051215005907.html?.v=1

Murray Demo Resigns as CFO of San Jose-Based Adobe Systems

San Jose, Calif. -- Murray Demo, the executive vice president of finance
and CFO of San Jose-based Adobe Systems, has resigned to spend more
time with his family, the software company said on Thursday. The
company said that it has launched a search for Demo's successor. Adobe
also announced the hiring of Peg Wynn as its senior vice president of
human resources and Garrett Ilg as the president of Adobe Japan. Wynn
is the former vice president of human resources for Xilinx, while Ilg was
the was a senior vice president and head of Asia Pacific for BEA
Systems.
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200512/121505AdobeMgmtChange.html

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo Opens Research Center in New York City

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Hoping to forge new business relationships and
expand its presence in the East Coast research community, Sunnyvale-
based Yahoo said on Thursday that it has opened a new research center in
New York City and named Ron Brachman as its vice president of
worldwide research operations. The center will focus on key technologies
in the areas of computer science and social media, the company
said.Yahoo Research also has facilities in Sunnyvale, Burbank and
Berkeley, Calif. Brachman most recently served as the director of the
U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA)
Information Processing Technology Office, and previously was a research
vice president at AT&T Labs. He also recently completed a two-year
term as president of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence.
Yahoo spends about $500 million a year on research and development.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051215/20051215005281.html?.v=1

Report: Financial Compliance to Make Up 10%-15% of IT Budgets

Stamford, Conn. -- Spending on financial compliance management will increase
to between 10%-15% of total IT budgets in 2006, up from less than 5% last
year, according to a new survey by market research firm Gartner. The firm said
that the trend is a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S. -- a response by
Congress to widespread corporate fraud -- as well as related regulatory
mandates in other countries. The Gartner survey included 326 audit, finance and
IT professionals in North America and Western Europe.
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=487387

Report: November U.S. Game Sales Down 18%; 326,000 Xbox 360s Sold

New York -- U.S. video game sales were down 18% in November, despite the
launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console during the month, according to
data from market research firm NPD Group. The reissued figures from NPD --
which previously had estimated just a 4% drop -- indicated that there will also
likely be a decline in game sales for the overall fourth quarter. NPD also
reported that nearly 326,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold during the month in
the U.S., where retailers remain short on supply. The device went on sale Nov.
22. Overall, the top-selling games during November were "Star Wars
Battlefront II" and "Madden NFL 06," while the top-selling Xbox 360 game was
by far Activision's "Call of Duty 2."
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13609 
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13605 

Santa Clara-Based Telsima Raises $20 Million in Third Round

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Telsima, a Santa Clara-based developer of
converged network technologies, said on Wednesday that it has raised
$20 million in its third round of funding, led by NewPath Ventures. New
investors New Enterprise Associates, CMEA Ventures and JAFCO Asia
also participated. Telsima's broadband wireless access products, used
most heavily in India, combine system-on-a-chip designs with smart
antenna and radio frequency systems. The combination allows operators
to deploy broadband wireless services in dense urban, suburban and rural
environments.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051214/20051214005097.html?.v=1

Petaluma-Based PhotoTLC Lands $10 Million; Acquires Club Photo

Petaluma, Calif. -- PhotoTLC, a Petaluma-based provider of personalized
photo gifts and digital photo restoration services, said on Wednesday that
it has secured $10 million in a new round of venture capital funding, led
by Steamboat Ventures, the venture capital arm of The Walt Disney
Company. Previous investor El Dorado Ventures and new investor  Bay
Area Equity Fund also participated. Ed Bernstein, the CEO of OhotoTLC,
said that the Steamboat investment is especially important because it
gives his company " access to business relationships within the Disney
organization." PhotoTLC offers a range of personalized photo gifts and
digital photo restorations at more than 15,000 retail locations across the
U.S., including Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Meijer and Albertsons.
Separately, PhotoTLC said that it has expanded its manufacturing
capacity by acquiring Texas-based Club Photo, its largest outsource
supplier of photo gifts. Financial terms of that deal were not disclosed.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051214/20051214005030.html?.v=1

Seagate Technology to Invest $157 Million in Northern Ireland Plants

Scotts Valley, Calif. -- Seagate Technology, a Scotts Valley-based maker
of hard disc drives, said that it plans to invest $157 million into two
factories in Northern Ireland. The company said that the investment,
which is expected to create at least 300 new jobs, includes $47 million in
support from Invest Northern Ireland, the area's economic development
agency. Seagate has two facilities in Northern Ireland. At its Springtown
wafer fabrication plant, the company develops and manufactures
recording heads, which write information onto and read information from
the recording disc inside a computer's hard drive. The company's
Limavady facility produces nickel-plated aluminum substrates, the core
material on which computer hard disc drives read, write and store digital
information.
http://www.seagate.com/cda/newsinfo/newsroom/releases/article/0,1121,2913,00.html

S.F.-Based StepUp Commerce Raises $6.6 Million in Second Round

San Francisco -- StepUp Commerce, a San Francisco-based provider of
local shopping services that helps retailers use the Internet to display their
in-store products, said on Wednesday that it has raised $6.6 million in its
second round of funding. The round was co-led by Allegis Capital and
Granite Ventures, and also included participation by the company's
previous investors. StepUp said that it will use the funds to continue
developing its technology designed to automate the process of
synchronizing retail inventory information. Trevor Traina, the company's
chairman, Jad Dunning, its president, and Kendall Fargo its founder and
CEO, each either founded or held key positions with e-commerce
companies such as CompareNet, Beyond.com and CyberSource. Allegis
Capital was previously an investor in CompareNet.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051214/flw002.html?.v=36

S.F.-Based Critical Path to Sell Hosted Messaging Assets to Tucows

San Francisco -- Critical Path, the San Francisco-based provider of
messaging software and services, said on Wednesday that it has reached a
deal to sell its hosted messaging assets, to Tucows, a Toronto-based
provider of Internet services and downloadable software, for up to $8
million in cash. Under the deal, Tucows also will assume some of the
company's contractual liabilities. In return, it will acquire Critical Path's
hosted messaging hardware, related customer base and workforce.
Tucows said that the deal will make it a major player in the hosted email
space, especially hosted email for Internet service providers and web
hosting companies. Critical Path said that the sale will allow it to focus
more on developing software for mobile, fixed-line and broadband
service providers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051214/20051214005761.html?.v=1

Mountain View-Based AirTight Raises $12 Million in Second Round

Mountain View, Calif. -- AirTight Networks, a Mountain View-based developer
of wireless network security products, said on Tuesday that it has raised $12
million in its second round of funding, led by Trident Capital. Previous
investors Walden International, Granite Ventures and Blueprint Ventures, as
well as new investor Siemens Venture Capital, also participated in the round,
which increased the company's total funding to $22.25 million. Founded in
2002, AirTight makes firewalls that help prevent Wi-Fi security vulnerabilities.
http://www.airtightnetworks.net/news/news_company30.html

Palo Alto-Based HP to Acquire European Online Photo Service Pixaco

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Looking to extend the reach of its online photo
services throughout Europe, Palo Alto-based  Hewlett-Packard said on
Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire bilderservice.de, which operates
European online photo site Pixaco. Financial terms of the deal were not
disclosed. The move follows HP's purchase of online photo site Snapfish
earlier this year. The company said that it plans to extend many of
Snapfish's capabilities to the Pixaco service, including several printing,
sharing and photo storage functions. HP also plans to create more
partnerships with European retailers, in much the same way that Snapfish
works with more than two dozen retailers in the U.S. Snapfish currently
has 20 million registered users in the U.S. and U.K., while two-year-old
Pixaco has customers in 11 countries.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2005/051213a.html

Santa Clara-Based Sequence Design Lands $5.3 Million in Funding

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Sequence Design, a maker of power and signal-integrity
software for system-on-chip designers, said on Tuesday that it has secured $5.3
million in a new round of venture capital led by Focus Ventures. Previous
investors First Plaza, GM Capital, IVP, Lake Street Capital, Menlo Ventures
and Sigma Partners also participated. The company plans to use the funds to
further expand its sales and support operations in fast-growing markets such as
Japan, India and Southeast Asia. Sequence, which currently has more than 125
customers, also said that that it plans to increase its research and development
spending in the U.S. and India.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051213/20051213005235.html?.v=1

High-Tech Toilet Seat Maker Brondell Lands $1.3 Million in Funding

San Francisco -- Nearly a year after first marketing its high-tech toilet seat
known as the Swash, San Francisco-based Brondell said on Tuesday that it has
secured $1.3 million in its first round of funding, including an investment from
billionaire technology entrepreneur Mark Cuban. Brondell introduced the Swash
in January to target the luxury bathroom products market. The high-tech toilet
seat, which starts at $429, features two retractable wands that spray warm water
onto posterior and feminine areas, as well as a heated seat and push-button
operation. The deluxe model, which sells for $549, also includes a warm air
dryer and wireless remote control. Brondell said that it will use the investment
to finalize the development of new products, and expand distribution and
marketing. Cuban joins Brondell's advisory board along with packaged-goods
veteran Todd Schmidt and high-tech marketing veteran Scott Epstein.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051213/sftu068.html?.v=35 

Santa Clara-Based W&W Raises First Outside Round of Funding

Santa Clara, Calif. -- W&W Communications, a developer of video codec
technology, said that it has secured an undisclosed amount in its first outside
round of financing, led by Burlingame-based Neuva Ventures. Other
participants included Hi-Tech Venture Capital and angel investor Don
Hutchison. The company, founded in 2001, said that the funds will help it to
more rapidly expand its product and intellectual property portfolios. W&W
develops software and hardware that enable video communications applications
used in video surveillance, streaming video, video conferencing and distance
learning.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051212/dam009.html?.v=29

Top Cable TV Providers to Offer Family-Friendly Subscription Packages

Washington, DC -- Responding to pressure from the chairman of the FCC and
several senators, a number of top U.S. cable TV providers plan to offer "family-
friendly" subscription options early next year, Reuters reported. Kyle
McSlarrow, head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association,
said that Comcast, Time Warner, Insight, Advance Newhouse and two other
cable TV firms will offer packages that exclude channels featuring content that
some deem to be indecent. No details were provided on which channels would
be offered or excluded in the plans, or how much the  programming packages
would cost subscribers. The plans, however, most likely won't allow subscribers
themselves to cherry-pick which channels they want.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCompanyNewsArticle.jhtml?duid=mtfh14377_2005-12-12_22-07-34_n12287384_newsml

Sprint, MSpot to Offer Full-Length Movies Streamed to Cell Phones

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Wireless giant Sprint said that it has partnered with Palo
Alto-based MSpot to launch a service that lets subscribers stream full-length
movies on their cell phones. The service, known as MSpot Movies, will cost
$6.95 a month and will give subscribers on Sprint's PCS Network access to
movies in seven genres. The movies will be streamed in individual chapters
lasting five minutes each, with seven new films added each week. In addition to
movies, the service will also offer TV shows like "Conan the Adventurer," and
live concert performance videos. Sprint also offers its subscribers MSpot's
mobile radio and music services.
http://www2.sprint.com/mr/news_dtl.do?id=9440

Survey: 80% of U.S. Radio Stations Now Receiving Songs Digitally

Los Angeles - Nearly 80% of U.S. radio stations now receive some of the songs
they play in digital format from record labels -- as opposed to on CD --
according to a new report from Billboard magazine and Musicrypt. The report
also said that 84% of broadcasters would prefer digital distribution if it were
more secure and easier to access and manage than CDs, and 30%v feel that
record labels aren't keeping up with market demand for delivering music digitally.
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=102590

Santa Clara-Based Beceem Communications Raises $20 Million

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Beceem Communications, a  provider of chipsets for the
wireless broadband market, said on Monday that it has raised more than $20
million in its third round of funding, led by Samsung Ventures America.
Previous investors Global Catalyst Partners, KTB Ventures, Sequoia Capital,
Walden International and Vinod Khosla also participated, along with new
investors AmBex Venture Group and Mitsui Incubase. Beceem said that it will
use the funds to accelerate its chipset product development, adding that it
already has demonstrated its prototype chipsets to several telecom equipment
manufacturers currently in the process of developing and deploying mobile
WiMAX networks.
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/051212/91052.html

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo Acquires Social Networking Site del.icio.us

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Adding to its social networking offerings, Sunnyvale-based
Yahoo said that it has acquired del.icio.us, a New York-based startup that
allows users to keep links to Internet content and access them from any
computer on the web. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Del.icio.us
will remain in charge of its site, which also allows users to share their favorite
links with others, as well as search through other people's favorites. The
company, which has nine employees, has signed up more than 300,000 users
since its inception in 2003. Yahoo also has recently acquired social networking
sites Flickr and Upcoming.org.
http://www.namcnewswire.com/releases/content/view/386/2/
http://del.icio.us/

AOL Co-Founder Steve Case Calls For Breakup of Time Warner

Dulles, Va. -- Steve Case, the former head of America Online who six years ago
spearheaded that company's merger with media giant Time Warner, now says
that it's time to undo the much-maligned merger, advocating the break-up of the
company into four independent parts. Writing in Sunday's Washington Post,
Case said that while the original intent of the deal was to spur collaboration
between Time Warner's various businesses, that spirit never took hold. In fact,
innovation sputtered, particularly with regard to AOL. "Instead of propelling
AOL to new heights, the association with Time Warner has weighed AOL
down, while its competitors, such as Mountain View-based Google and
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo, have made important strides forward," Case wrote. He
said that he expressed his views to the company's board in July, calling for its
separation into four freestanding companies -- Time Warner Cable, Time
Warner Entertainment, Time Inc. and AOL. With its own stock, he said, AOL
could return to its old philosophy of growing through acquisitions, such as it did
by acquiring companies like MapQuest and ICQ, and would be more free to
push forward into areas such as Internet phone and social networking. Case,
now the chairman and CEO of DC-based private investment firm Revolution,
recently gave up his board seat at Time Warner but remains one of its largest
shareholders, with holding of more than $250 million.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/10/AR2005121000099.html

Mountain View-Based Inuit Completes $200 Million Sale of ITS

Mountain View, Calif. -- Intuit, the Mountain View-based maker of
QuickBooks and TurboTax software, said on Monday that it has
completed the $200 million sale of its Information Technology Solutions
business (ITS) to private equity and buyout firm TA Associates. Intuit
originally entered the business when it acquired Blue Ocean Software in
2002. Intuit has treated ITS as a discontinued business for accounting
purposes since it announced its decision to sell the business in May.
http://web.intuit.com/about_intuit/press_releases/2005/12-12.html 

Creative Technology Hints at Patent Claim Against Apple iPod

Cupertino, Calif. -- British consumer electronics firm Creative Technology, a
maker of portable MP3 and video players, has told the BBC that it intends to
"pursue aggressively" a patent it holds on player software that would likely
include Cupertino-based Apple's iPod. The company won a patent in August
that covers a hierarchical, multi-screen menu system for organizing files on a
portable player. "We will pursue all manufacturers that use the same navigation
system," Creative CEO Sim Wong told the BBC. "Hopefully this will be
friendly, but people have to respect intellectual property." In a thinly-veiled
reference to the marketing success for the iPod, Wong added, "We are focused
on the technology…this is the key difference between a technology company
and a branding company."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4510044.stm

NBA Partners with Silicon Graphics to Create Online Video Archive

Mountain View, Calif. - The National Basketball Association (NBA) has
partnered with Silicon Graphics, a Mountain View-based  provider of high-
performance computing and storage products, to digitize all of the league's
historical archive of video and post it on NBA.com, CNET News.com reported.
The project, which will digitize 60 years of video footage, may take up to six
years to complete, but the NBA may begin posting some video as early as next
year. "This is a migration that all sports leagues are going to have to make,"
Stephen Hellmuth, senior vice president of operations and technology for NBA
Entertainment, told News.com. "We're thinking of making the video available to
[fans] so they could edit their own highlight videos and hopefully make them
available [in turn] to NBA.com." Hellmuth added that the archive will
eventually include a searchable database of plays that would "note the players
involved, their exact location on the court, at what point in the game the play
happened, the outcome of the play and a rating for it."
http://news.com.com/NBA+to+create+huge+digital+archive/2100-1025_3-9364.html?tag=nefd.lede

Report: EA's "Madden NFL 2006" Is Holiday Season's Most Popular Game

Brisbane, Calif. -- "Madden NFL 2006," the hot-selling football game from
Redwood City-based Electronic Arts, is the most popular game across all
platforms this holiday season, according to a new report from Brisbane-based
IGN Entertainment. The rankings are based on more than 25 million users'
activity on IGN.com, GameSpy.com, TeamXbox.com and fileplanet.com. Other
games in the top five included racing title "Need for Speed Most Wanted,"
sports title "NBA Live 06" and first-person shooters "Call of Duty 2" and
"Perfect Dark Zero."         
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051212/20051212005684.html?.v=1

Santa Clara-Based Quellan Lands Investment from Samsung

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Quellan, a Santa Clara-based developer of analog
chips designed to have above average signal integrity, said that it has
landed an undisclosed investment from Samsung Ventures America. The
move follows the company's recent $12 million funding round led by
Menlo Ventures. Tony Stelliga, the CEO of Quellan, called the
investment, from one of the world's largest consumer electronics
companies, "an ideal fit." Quellan has benefited from the rapid adoption
of its noise cancellation technology in the consumer marketplace.
http://www.quellan.com/s2/samsung_press_release.html

WSJ: NTP Willing to Settle Blackberry Patent Dispute

Arlington, Va. -- NTP, the Virginia-based company contending that the
technology behind the popular Blackberry devices infringes on its
patents, is apparently willing to settle its long-standing dispute with
Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian company that operates the
BlackBerry service, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. NTP
would be willing to accept 5.7% of RIM's future Blackberry revenue in
the U.S., a person "familiar with the situation" told the Journal. NTP's
patents expire in 2012. Last week, a judge in Richmond ruled that a $450
million settlement agreement between NTP and RIM was not valid,
opening the door for a potentially much larger settlement. The two
companies have been meeting through a court-appointed mediator.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113414402231618520.html?mod=home_whats_news_us  (subscription required)

Nickelodeon Acquires S.F.-Based GoCityKids Family Events Site

San Francisco -- Nickelodeon, the New York-based children's cable TV
network owned by Viacom, said that it has acquired San Francisco-based
GoCityKids, an online city directory that indexes family-friendly local
events in 14 U.S. cities. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Launched in 2000, GoCityKids.com currently features information on 14
destinations for family travel, including San Francisco, New York,
Washington, DC, Chicago and Los Angeles, and plans to expand to 20
cities by early 2006. Clare Ellis, the founder and president of
GoCityKids, will become the editorial director of Nickelodeon Online,
managing the site's editorial content from San Francisco. Ellis is the
former editor of Family Fun Magazine and BabyCenter.com.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051208/nyth094.html?.v=29

Report: Mobile Games Market Doubles in 2005 to Surpass $2 Billion

London -- The world mobile games market doubled in value over the past
year to surpass $2 billion in revenue, and will be worth $8.3 billion by
2010, according to a new report from market research firm Screen Digest.
The U.S. and European mobile games markets are beginning to erode the
positions of their Asian counterparts, now making up more than half of
the total market. Major game publishers, however, have largely faltered in
the space, with Los Angeles Jamdat Mobile, and France-based Gameloft
together accounting for 30% of mobile game revenues in the U.S. and
Europe. On Thursday, Redwood City-based Electronic Arts announced
plans to acquire Jamdat for $680 million. Over $500 million has been
invested in the mobile games market since 1999.
http://www.screendigest.com/reports/05wiregambus/press_releases_07_12_2005/view.html

MIT, Harvard Researchers Completes Dog Genome Sequence

Cambridge, Mass. -- Scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
have completed a "high quality" genome sequence of the domestic dog,
and have published their research in the Dec. 8 issue of the prestigious
journal Nature. The research "sheds light on both the genetic similarities
between dogs and humans and the genetic differences between dog
breeds," MIT said. A catalog of 2.5 million specific genetic differences
across several breeds identified in the study can now be used "to unlock
the basis of physical and behavioral differences, as well to find the
genetic underpinnings of diseases common to domestic dogs and their
human companions," according to the release.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2005/dog-genome.html

Report: Theater-to-DVD Release Window Shrinks Again in 2005

Monterey, Calif. -- The average time between a movie's release in
theaters and its DVD release in stores shrunk by 15 days this year to an
average of 129 days, according to a new report from Monterey-based
Kagan Research. The firm, which credited the decrease to piracy
concerns among movie studios, believes that the window will not be
reduced much further. "If it shrinks significantly more, it would encroach
on the box office," said Wade Holden, a research analyst at Kagan. Films
that made less than $30 million at the box office went to video in an
average of 115 days, while films that grossed over that amount averaged
132 days. The report comes as director Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic,"
"Ocean's 11") prepares to release his upcoming film, "Bubble,"
simultaneously in theaters, on DVD and on a high-definition cable TV
network.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051207/20051207005792.html?.v=1

Redwood City-Based EA to Pay $680 Million for Jamdat Mobile

Redwood City, Calif. -- Looking to expand its offerings for mobile phones,
Electronic Arts, the Redwood City-based developer and publisher of video games,
said late Thursday that it plans to acquire Los Angeles-based Jamdat Mobile, a
publisher of wireless entertainment content, for approximately $680 million in
cash. The two companies together plan to publish over 50 games for mobile
phones in the first year following completion of the deal, including such titles as
Tetris, Bejeweled, Need For Speed and Madden NFL Football. Jamdat has 350
employees at offices in Honolulu, Montreal, Tokyo, London, Bucharest and
Hyderabad. Mitch Lasky, Jamdata's CEO, will lead EA's mobile games business
worldwide.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051208/20051208005771.html?.v=1

Electronic Arts Opens Game Development Studio in Singapore

Redwood City, Calif. -- Electronic Arts, the Redwood City-based developer and
publisher of video games, said that it plans to open a game development studio in
Singapore that will focus on translating games into five languages for the Asian
market while also developing new online games. The company has named Irene
Chua as its vice president of operations for Asia, in charge of heading the new
studio. Chua will manage a team of 20 developers from Japan, Korea, Taiwan,
Singapore and Holland. EA veteran Chris Thompson, the vice president and
general manager of EA Southeast Asia, also will be based in Singapore to oversee
EA's publishing business.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051205/20051205005826.html?.v=

Santa Clara-Based Intel Narrows Revenue Outlook; Shares Tumble

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Shares of Intel fell more than 3% in after-hours
trading after the Santa Clara-based chip giant on Thursday lowered the
top end of its previous revenue range for the current quarter. The
company said that it now expects its fourth quarter sales to be between
$10.4-$10.6 billion, compared with its previous range of $10.2-$10.8
billion. Many analysts had been hoping for a more favorable outlook
from Intel, given the recent high demand for semiconductors.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051208/20051208005687.html?.v=1

Financier Icahn Warns Time Warner, Parsons About Potential AOL Deal

New York. -- As media giant Time Warner continues to hash out the details of a
potential advertising partnership between its America Online unit and either
Microsoft or Mountain View-based Google, billionaire financing Carl Icahn has
issued a warning to the company about agreeing to any deals that could get in the
way of a future spin-off or sale. In a statement, Icahn, who leads a group of hedge
funds that hold a 3% stake in Time Warner, said that it would be "another
egregious error in judgment" if the company's board approved a deal that would
"make it more difficult to realize value at AOL or Time Warner." He also warned
that if Time Warner Chairman and CEO Dick Parsons takes steps to lessen the
value of his company in an effort to make it a less attractive takeover target, "such
action would be a breach of the fiduciary duty of loyalty" and he would "hold Mr.
Parsons and the board personally liable for the inevitable damage to shareholder
value." Icahn is in the early stages of a proxy fight to gain control of Time
Warner's board.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051207/nyw131.html?.v=35

Menlo Park's New Enterprise Associates Invests $3 Million in Pentaho

Menlo Park, Calif. -- New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm with West
Coast headquarters in Menlo Park,  said on Thursday that it has invested $3
million in Florida--based open-source business intelligence firm Pentaho. NEA
led the company's $5 million first round, and partner Vladimir Jacimovic has been
appointed to Pentaho's board of directors. Pentaho has developed an array of open
source business intelligence tools, from reporting and analysis to dashboards to
data mining. NEA previously has invested in several other open-source
companies, such as SugarCRM, Xensource and SourceFire.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051208/20051208005216.html?.v=1

Wal-Mart, RadioShack Lead Major U.S. Retailers in Mobile Sales

San Francisco -- Among people who purchased wireless devices from a major
U.S. retailer over the past six months, 60% bought theirs from either Wal-Mart or
RadioShack, according to a new study by San Francisco-based Telephia. Wal-
Mart captured 32% of the market share, up from 15% two years ago, while
RadioShack captured another 28%. Best Buy (12%), Target (8%) and Circuit City
(7%) rounded out the top five. Overall, however, big box and consumer electronic
retailers accounted for just 11% of the total market share, with nearly half of all
mobile device sales taking place at retail stores owned by the service providers,
themselves.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051207/20051207005325.html?.v=1

Study: Quarter of Computer Users Hit by Phishing Attempts Each Month

Dulles, Va. -- Phishing attacks aimed at identity theft now affect roughly one in
four Americans each month, according to a new study by America Online and the
National Cyber Security Alliance. The report also found that more than two-thirds
of consumers who received such the emails thought they were from legitimate
companies, and one in five said that a friend or family member had already fallen
victim to an online identity theft scam. Adding to that, only 42% of study
participants said that they were even familiar with the term "phishing." Most
phishing emails appear to come from legitimate companies -- like banks or credit
card companies -- and attempt to convince consumers to surrender personal
information like credit card numbers or passwords.
http://media.timewarner.com/media/newmedia/cb_press_view.cfm?release_num=55254491

Oxford Dictionary Names "Podcast" 2005 Word of the Year

New York - The editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected
"podcast" as the Word of the Year for 2005. Defined as "a digital recording of a
radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for
downloading to a personal audio player," the word will be added to the next
online update to the dictionary in early 2006. Runners-up included "bird flu,"
"IED," "persistent vegetative state," "reggaeton" and "rootkit." "Podcast was
considered for inclusion last year, but we found that not enough people were
using it, or were even familiar with the concept," said Erin McKean, the
dictionary's editor-in-chief. "This year it's a completely different story. The word
has finally caught up with the rest of the iPod phenomenon."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051205/nym208.html?.v=26   

San Jose-Based Nextest Systems Files for $80 Million IPO

San Jose, Calif. -- Nextest Systems, a San Jose-based maker of automated
test equipment systems for the semiconductor industry, has filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $80 million in an upcoming
initial public offering (IPO). Specific details such as the number of shares
to be offered or price range have yet to be determined. The company has
applied to list its stock on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol
"NEXT." Nextest's systems are predominantly used by customers to test
semiconductors found in a range of consumer products, such as portable
music players, cell phones, digital cameras and USB flash drives.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051205/sfm104.html?.v=31

Microsoft CEO: "No Comment" on AOL Talks

Washington, DC -- Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer said on Wednesday that
his company is committed to expanding its advertising-based offerings,
but would not comment on a possible alliance with America Online.
"Online advertising is of keen interest to us, but I have absolutely nothing
to say about the AOL deal -- or no deal," he said. The Wall Street Journal
reported on Wednesday that AOL and Microsoft are continuing to
negotiate on an advertising alliance designed to challenge both Mountain
View-based Google and Sunnyvale-based Yahoo. Google is also
reportedly interested in acquiring a stake in AOL or forging an alliance,
as well. Ballmer said that Microsoft currently has about 600 employees in
the DC area, along with its three largest clients -- the U.S. Army, Air
Force and Navy. He said that Microsoft will increasingly move toward a
software-as-service model, allowing software to be hosted on remote
computers.