Silicon Valley Wire

Survey: Majority of Bloggers Writing About Personal Experiences

Washington, DC -- The vast majority of bloggers are focused on describing their personal experiences to a relatively small audience of readers, with only a small proportion choosing to write about politics, media, government or technology, according to a new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. More than three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed said that they blog to document their personal experiences and share them with others, with nearly 40% writing about "my life and experiences." Subjects such as entertainment, sports, news and current events each accounted for less than 6% of the content. "Blogs are as individual as the people who keep them, but this survey shows that most bloggers are primarily interested in creative, personal expression," said Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at Pew. The organization said that the blog population has grown to about 12 million American adults, or about 8% of adult Internet users.
http://www.pewinternet.org/press_release.asp?r=130

Palo Alto-Based Newnham Raises $13.25 Million in Second Round

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Newnham, a Palo Alto-based developer of network graphics semiconductor technology, said on Tuesday that it has landed $13.25 million in its second round of funding, led by Esprit Capital Partners. Previous investors Atlas Venture and Benchmark Capital, as well as several private investors, also participated in the round, which increased the company's total funding to $21.75 million. Newnham said that it will use the proceeds to expand the development and worldwide marketing of its interactive networked display software and semiconductor technology.
http://www.newnhamtechnology.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060718/20060718005821.html?.v=1

San Jose-Based Availigent Lands $12.2 Million in Second Round

San Jose, Calif. -- Availigent, a San Jose-based maker of application virtualization software for Linux platforms, said on Tuesday that it has raised $12.2 million in its second round of funding to fuel growth and new product development. Intel Capital led the round, which also included participation from previous investors Diamondhead Ventures and Smart Technology Ventures. Availigent said that its software is designed so that corporate computer applications will experience less than five minutes of downtime a year.
http://www.availigent.com/
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/576997/application_virtualization_software_provider_availigent_closes_122_million_in_financing/index.html?source=r_technology

San Mateo-Based VoiceObjects Raises $10.8 Million in New Funding

San Mateo, Calif.  -- VoiceObjects, a San Mateo-based developer of phone application server products, said on Tuesday that it has raised $10.8 million in a new round of venture capital funding, increasing its total backing to $35 million. Previous investors Telesoft Partners, Wellington Partners, SAP Ventures, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Venture and Enjoyventure all participated in the round, which the company plans to use to boost its U.S. sales and marketing efforts. VoiceObjects also has named industry veterans Bonnie Crater and Kendra Borrego as senior vice president of marketing and CFO, respectively. Crater previously served as a senior vice president and general manager for Salesforce.com’s service and support business unit, while Borrego was the CFO of IMPAC Medical Systems.
http://www.voiceobjects.com/en/news/2006/071806_3.html

San Jose-Based Tessera Completes Acquisition of Digital Optics

San Jose, Calif. -- Tessera Technologies, a San Jose-based developer of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry, said on Tuesday that it has completed its $59.5 million cash acquisition of North Carolina-based Digital Optics, a developer of technology used in semiconductor equipment optics, communications and photonics. Tessera said that the acquisition will build upon the wafer-level image sensor packaging technology assets that it acquired from Shellcase in December. Digital Optics has 83 employees, and its 100,000-square-foot design, development and prototyping facility will become Tessera's Micro-Optics Center of Excellence.
http://www.tessera.com/news/pressRelease.asp?releaseId=883444

Mountain View-Based Google Widens Lead in Internet Search Market

Mountain View, Calif. -- Internet search giant Google, based in Mountain View, gained market share for the 11th consecutive month in June, according to new figures from Reston-based research firm comScore Networks. For the month, Google conducted 45% of all U.S. Internet searches, up about 8% from the previous year. Sunnyvale-based Yahoo (29%) and MSN (13%) followed in second and third place, respectively.  Google and Yahoo also combined to control 95% of the toolbar search market. In all, Americans conducted 6.4 billion searches in June.
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=935

San Mateo-Based YouTube Now Streaming 100 Million Free Videos Daily

San Mateo, Calif. -- YouTube, a San Mateo-based video sharing site,  announced that it is now serving up more than 100 million free videos a day to visitors to its web site, representing 60% of all videos watched online. The company counts 20 million users a month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. More than 65,000 videos are now uploaded daily to the site, which streamed 2.5 billion videos during the month of June. According to data from web audience measurement firm Hitwise, YouTube currently leads all providers of online video, with 29% of the U.S. market.
http://www.youtube.com

San Francisco-Based Technorati Raises $7.6 Million in Third Round

San Francisco -- Technorati, a San Francisco-based ad-supported search engine that indexes more than 40 million blogs, has raised $7.6 million in its third round of venture capital financing, VentureWire reported. Previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Mobius Venture Capital participated in the round. Technorati claimed 4.1 million unique visitors in June, up from 338,000 during the same month last year, according to ComScore data. In addition to search, the company also provides blog posts to the web sites of partners including the Associated Press, The Washington Post and Paramount Classics.
http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=20105&lang=fra&NewsRubrique=2
http://www.technorati.com

San Mateo-Based Greylock Launches $150 Million Israeli Tech Fund

San Mateo, Calif. -- Greylock Partners, a San Mateo-based venture capital firm, said on Monday that it has closed a new $150 million fund dedicated to early-stage technology firms located in Israel. The fund, known as Greylock Israel, will be managed by partners Moshe Mor, Erez Ofer and Yoram Snir, all of whom are now based in Greylock's Israel office. Since 2001 Greylock has been a key player in Israel's venture capital market, investing from its U.S. funds in eight Israeli companies.
http://www.greylock.com/news/newsGreylock_release.cfm?Id=32

Santa Clara-Based Berkeley Design Automation Lands New Investment

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Berkeley Design Automation, a Santa Clara-based developer of chip verification technologies, said on Monday that consumer electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial has made an investment in the company through its San Jose-based venture group. The company joined previous investors Woodside Fund and Bessemer Ventures in Berkeley's second round of funding. Matsushita produces products under such brand names as Panasonic, Quasar and Technic.
http://www.berkeley-da.com/news/news01_pr_2006_07_17.html

Gracenote, Music Publishers to Bring Song Lyrics to Online Stores

Emeryville, Calif. - Gracenote, an Emeryville-based provider of music information and CD identification services, said that it has signed agreements with the major music publishers for the rights to distribute song lyrics online. The company's deals with BMG Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Peermusic and other publishers will likely result in the addition of song lyrics to the album cover art and other extras provided when users purchase digital songs at online retailers like iTunes and Rhapsody. The deals also could aid consumers in identifying songs for which they may know a line or phrase, but not the title of the song. The big music publishers have also recently targeted unauthorized sites that offer free lyrics -- like Lyrics.com and AZLyrics.com -- with cease-and-desist letters. 
http://www.gracenote.com/lyrics

ChoicePoint Acquires Danville-Based Insuratec

Danville, Calif. -- ChoicePoint, an Atlanta-based provider of business information and technology products, said on Monday that it has acquired Insuratec, a Danville-based provider of lien holder and mortgagee notification services to the property and casualty insurance industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ChoicePoint said that the acquisition expands its financial institution reporting system, started earlier this year with the acquisition of Elios.
http://choicepoint.com/choicepoint/news.nsf/(webhotbox)/CD75CDF187A9D419852571AB006189C3?OpenDocument

Report: Video Game Sales Up Surprising 25% in June

Port Washington, N.Y. -- Video game sales rose an unexpected 25% during the month of June, according to new data from market research firm NPD Group. Game sales for the month totaled $444.4 million, up from $387.1 million a year ago. The Nintendo DS handheld led overall game console sales with 593,400 units, followed by the PlayStation 2 (311,900 units) and Xbox 360 (277,000 units). "It's really a case of the whole being worth more than the sum of the parts," NPD analyst Anita Frazier told the Associated Press. "That the increases were so widespread -- and not limited to one company or platform -- points to the overall health of the industry."
http://www.npdfunworld.com

Report: Blue Laser Market to Generate $28 Billion in Sales in 2010

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Devices utilizing new blue laser technology, including HD DVD and Blu-ray DVD players and disc drives, and the PlayStation 3, are expected to generate $28 billion in sales by 2010, according to a new report from Santa Clara Consulting Group (SCGG). In particular, the PlayStation 3 is expected to account for more than half of the $2 billion in blue laser-related revenue this year. "Currently the market seems to be preoccupied with the format battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD technologies. What is overlooked is the fact that a market is developing and the opportunity is huge," said David Bunzel, the managing director of SCGG.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060712/sfw044.html?.v=66
http://www.sccg.com

Morgan Hill-Based Alien Technology Sets Terms of Upcoming IPO

Morgan Hill, Calif. -- Alien Technology, a Morgan Hill-based provider of radio frequency identification products and services, said that it will raise up to $124.2 million in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), selling 9 million shares at $10-$12 each. The company, which plans to list its stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "RFID," first filed to go public in April. The IPO comes about a year after Alien raised $66 million in a round of funding led by Palo Alto-based SunBridge Partners, increasing its total backing to more than $200 million. The company makes RFID readers and tags, which are used in areas such as supply chain management, logistics and anti-counterfeiting.
http://ipoportal.edgar-online.com/ipo/displayFundamentals.asp?cikid=705375&fnid=49465&IPO=1&coname=ALIEN+TECHNOLOGY+COR%2E%2E%2E
http://www.alientechnology.com/

S.F.-Based ATEL Ventures to Provide $5 Million in Financing to Cornice

San Francisco -- ATEL Ventures, a San Francisco-based provider of secured financing to emerging growth companies, said on Friday that it has committed $5 million in equipment lease financing to Colorado-based Cornice, a provider of storage software and services. The package is expected to help Cornice to expand its product line and better support its growing customer base. Cornice makes one-inch hard disk drives used in mobile phones, MP3 players, digital video cameras, GPS devices and portable storage products. The move comes after ATEL Ventures recently committed to invest approximately $150 million in venture-backed companies over the next two years
http://www.atel.com/ 
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060714/20060714005111.html?.v=1

Attachmate Shuts Down NetIQ's Durham, N.C. Office, Cuts 50 Jobs

San Jose, Calif. -- Attachmate, a Seattle-based company that acquired San Jose-based security management systems provider NetIQ last week for about $495 million, has shut down NetIQ's Durham, N.C. office, eliminating 50 jobs in the process, the News & Observer reported. The move is intended to cut costs by consolidating the combined companies' research and development centers. The discharged employees in Durham have been provided severance pay but no job relocation offers, a company spokeswoman said.
http://www.newsobserver.com/104/story/460369.html

Sausalito-Based FreeAdvice.com Seeks Help in Finding Online Abuser

Sausalito, Calif. -- FreeAdvice.com, a Sausalito-based providers of online legal information for consumers, on Friday issued a call to the Internet community to help it find an anonymous abuser of its site who has posted thousands of harassing, threatening and obscene messages. The company said that the user, who frequently refers to himself or herself as "IAAL" or "I Am Always Liable," has abused the FreeAdvice Forum site several thousand times, posting obscene and harassing graphics and text messages, many of them personally directed against other users. A hearing for a preliminary injunction in "Advice Company v. Unknown Abusive User" is scheduled for Monday in Marin County Superior Court. A temporary restraining order was issued on June 30, prohibiting IAAL from using FreeAdvice.com and other web sites maintained by its parent, Advice Company.
http://www.freeadvice.com/iaal/

Fox Interactive Media Launches Internet Safety Campaign

San Francisco -- Fox Interactive Media, the unit of News Corp. that controls online properties including MySpace, announced on Thursday that it has partnered with the National PTA and Common Sense Media on a multi-million dollar Internet safety campaign. Starring Keifer Sutherland from Fox TV's "24," the ads will air on Fox's cable TV networks, as well as on Fox websites including MySpace, IGN.com, AmericanIdol.com and RottenTomatoes.com. The ads will be accompanied by an Internet Survival Guide for Parents created by Common Sense Media, a non-profit that provides family-friendly media reviews. A recent national poll from Common Sense found that 85% of parents considered the Internet the most risky form of media for kids.
http://www.commonsense.com
http://www.myspace.com/commonsensemedia

Area Tech Stocks Sell-Off As Nasdaq Hits Lowest Level in 10 Months

San Francisco -- Local technology companies experienced a major sell-off on Thursday on Wall Street, amid increased tension in Israel and Lebanon, and a worse than expected quarterly report from software giant SAP. The Nasdaq Composite Index hit its lowest level in 10 months, ending down 1.73% to 2,054. The Dow fell 1.5% to end at 10,846. Local technology companies that had significant price declines on Thursday included: San Jose-based Electroglas (down 13%), Sunnyvale-based VA Software (down 10%), Sunnyvale-based Supertex (down 8%), Cupertino-based Packeteer (down more than 7%), San Jose-based Micro Linear (down nearly 7%), Santa Clara-based Intevac (down nearly 7%) and Sunnyvale-based Endwave (down nearly 6%).

Santa Clara-Based Intel to Cut 1,000 Management Jobs

Santa Clara, Calif. -- In a move designed to cut costs and streamline corporate decision-making, Intel, the Santa Clara-based chip-making giant, said on Thursday that it will cut 1,000 managerial jobs across the company, according to media reports. The layoffs, which will account for about 1% of the company's workforce, come amid increased competition from rival chip-maker AMD. Intel declined to specify how much the cuts will save. In April, Intel reported a 38% drop in first-quarter profits.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060713/intel_management_cuts.html?.v=4
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060713:MTFH16577_2006-07-13_17-47-30_N1370654&type=comktNews&rpc=44

S.F.-Based Feedster Raises Additional Funding, Names New President

San Francisco -- Feedster, a San Francisco-based provider of news, blog and podcast search services, said on Thursday that it has raised an unspecified amount of venture capital in a new funding round. Participants included previous investors Selby Venture Partners, Omidyar Network, Mitsui & Co. and Josh Kopelman's Midas Capital, as well as new investor Felicis Ventures. The company also said that Chris Redlitz has resigned his role as president to pursue interests in earlier stage companies. Feedster has named Tyler Goldman, the former senior vice president of corporate and business development at Movielink and founder and CEO of Broadband Sports, as its acting president.
http://www.feedster.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060713/phth012.html?.v=65

Hologic Completes $220 Million Acquisition of Sunnyvale-Based R2

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Hologic, a Massachusetts-based provider of digital imaging systems for women's health, said that it has completed its $220 million acquisition of R2 Technology, a Sunnyvale-based developer of computer aided detection (CAD) technology. R2 offers technology that assists radiologists in the early detection of breast cancer. The company pioneered the use of CAD for mammography in 1998.
http://www.hologic.com/ir/nr071306.htm

Lycos Sells Wired News to Conde Nast for $25 Million

San Francisco -- Online entertainment portal Lycos said that it has sold its Wired News technology news site to Conde Nast Publications -- which also owns WIRED magazine -- for $25 million. The deal brings the sister publications back under the same ownership after eight years of separation. Massachusetts-based Lycos acquired San Francisco-based Wired News in 1999 as part of its acquisition of Wired Digital. Lycos will retain ownership of the Hotbot, Hotwired and Webmonkey properties. Wired News will now be operated as part of Conde Nast Publication's CondeNet Web division.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060711/nytu190.html?.v=43
http://www.wired.com

Los Gatos-Based LiveWorld and WPP Launch Online Marketing Joint Venture

Los Gatos, Calif. -- Communications services firm WPP and Los Gatos-based LiveWorld, a provider of online customer community marketing services, on Thursday announced the formation of a joint venture that will provide online community and social networking services to major brands worldwide through WPP's global networks. The joint venture, to be known as LiveWorld-WPP, will be equally owned by each company, offering LiveWorld's online community and social networking services as marketing tools for WPP's clients. "Online communities and social networking are starting to offer significant opportunities to forward-thinking marketers," said Mark Read, the strategy director of WPP and CEO of wpp.com. The two companies have collaborated on several projects in the past, most recently on a campaign for Dove soap.
http://www.liveworld.com/news/press/07.13.06a.html

Report: Health Care Firms Reaping Larger Amounts of Venture Capital

Norwalk, Conn. -- The total amount of venture capital committed to health care companies in the U.S. during the first half of this year increased by 9%, compared with the same period a year ago, according to Healthcare Corporate Finance News. During the same period, the median deal size posted a gain of 10%. "Even as consolidation is occurring among biotechs, biopharmas and pharmaceutical companies, investors are backing new companies that will ultimately feed the M&A pipeline," said Stephen Monroe, the managing editor of Irving Levin Associates, publisher of Healthcare Corporate Finance News. The largest deal of the second quarter was the $100 million round that Pelican Life Sciences raised from Grotech Capital and Ferrer Freeman & Co.
http://www.levinassociates.com/pressroom/pressreleases/pr2006/pr607vcq2.htm

Study: U.S. Workers Waste $3.9 Billion a Year by Not Telecommuting

College Park, Md. -- People who drive to work could save a total of $3.9 billion a year in fuel costs and save time equal to 470,000 new jobs in the economy if they telecommuted less than two days a week, according to a new study by the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business and technology research firm Rockbridge Associates. According to the study, while a quarter of all workers have the ability to work from home at least part of the time, only 11% are actually doing so. "With national gas prices hovering near $3 a gallon, American workers could suffer less pain at the pump if they took advantage of workplace telecommuting policies,” said Roland Rust, executive director of the Smith School's Center for Excellence in Service. "In addition to saving billions of dollars to the economy, the time and money saved on a long commute -- even just two days a week -- could significantly increase productivity and employee satisfaction."
http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/ntrs/

Emeryville-Based MobiTV Raises $70 Million in Third Round of Funding

Emeryville, Calif. -- In one of the largest funding rounds for a Bay Area tech company in recent months, Emeryville-based MobiTV, a provider of television and digital radio services for cellular, WiFi and broadband-enabled devices, said on Wednesday that it has raised $70 million in its third round, led by Oak Investment Partners. The company plans to use the capital to fuel its expansion in international markets. MobiTV's products currently reach more than 1 million paying subscribers, who can watch news, sports, entertainment and music videos on their mobile devices. The company recently expanded its product line to deliver its service to personal computers across WiFi and other broadband networks, and announced the commercial launch of the service in Latin America. Founded in 1999, the company first launched its mobile TV service late 2003.
http://www.mobitv.com/press/press.php?i=press/release_071206

San Jose-Based Secure Computing to Acquire CipherTrust for $274 Million

San Jose, Calif.. -- Secure Computing Corp., a San Jose-based maker of IT security products said that it has agreed to pay $274 million in cash and stock for CipherTrust, a Georgia-based maker of Internet security software. The deal, which will give CipherTrust shareholders a 14% stake in Secure Computing, includes $185 million in cash. Six-year-old CipherTrust offers products designed to stop inbound messaging threats such as spam, viruses, intrusions and phishing, as well as guard against outbound policy and compliance violations associated with data leaks. Secure Computing expects the deal to add approximately $15-$20 million to its 2006 revenue, and about $80 million in 2007.
http://www.securecomputing.com/press_releases.cfm?p=irol-newsArticle&ID=881037

Menlo Park-Based Gear6 Raises $10 Million in New Funding

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Gear6, a Menlo Park-based developer of storage acceleration technology, said that it has raised $10 million in a new round of venture capital led by InterWest Partners. Previous investor U.S. Venture Partners also participated in the round, which the company plans to use to introduce its new product designed to address the widening gap between increasingly powerful servers and disk-based storage systems. Gear6 was originally founded in 2002 as Engineered Intelligence.
http://www.gear6.com/news.php?newsid=2006-0711

SAIC Acquires Campbell-Based GeoViz.com

Campbell, Calif. -- Technology giant Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) said that it has acquired California-based GeoViz.com, a provider of sophisticated software used in military training and intelligence. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GeoViz's software allows users to view geospatial data in 2D and 3D through a web browser interface, as well as share and control mapping functions from locations around the world. Employees of GeoViz will transition to SAIC's Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Information Technology (C4IT) business unit within the company's System and Network Solutions Group (SNSG), continuing to work from their current engineering facility in Campbell, Calif.
http://www.saic.com/news/2006/jul/11.html

San Francisco-Based Engage.com Lands $5 Million in First Round

San Francisco -- Engage.com, a San Francisco-based online community in which people collaborate with their single friends to help them find mates, said on Wednesday that it has landed $5 million in its first round of funding, led by Advanced Technology Ventures. Seed investors evolution Ventures, The Founders Fund and Josh Kopleman also participated. The company said that it will use the financing to support additional product development, recruiting and marketing efforts. Engage.com works on the principal that a large percentage of marriages are the result of a personal introduction, often made by a friend. Through the service, singles invite their friends and family to play matchmaker, vouching for their character and looking out for their best interests.
http://www.engage.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060712/sfw011.html?.v=63

Santa Clara-Based SkyPilot Networks Lands $21 Million in New Funding

Santa Clara, Calif. -- SkyPilot Networks, a Santa Clara-based provider of broadband wireless mesh networks, said on Tuesday that it has secured $21 million in a new round of funding that will fuel its growth in the municipal Wi-Fi market. August Capital led the round, which also included participation from previous investors Mobius Venture Capital, INVESCO Private Capital, Palo Alto Investors, Nexit Ventures and Selby Venture Partners. SkyPilot, which has now raised a total of $68 million since its inception, said that it will use the new capital to continue expanding its sales, marketing, engineering and customer service efforts. The company's technology allows service providers, municipalities and public safety agencies to rapidly deploy wireless applications such as broadband access, Voice-over-IP, Wi-Fi and video surveillance. In the first half of 2006, SkyPilot won key deals in Portland Oregon; Aurora Illinois;  Brookline Mass.; and Foster City.
http://www.skypilot.com/company/pr_071106.htm

Campbell-Based G2 Micorosystems Lands $14 Million in Second Round

Campbell, Calif. -- G2 Microsystems, a Campbell-based developer of integrated circuits for the asset tracking and telemetry markets, said that it has raised $14 million in its second round of venture capital funding, led by previous investor Siemens Venture Capital. Previous investors Deutsche Bank Capital Partners, Starfish Ventures and UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, as well as angel investors, also participated in the round. The company said that it plans to use the new capital to ramp up production, as well as expand into the healthcare, automotive, transportation, government, biopharmaceutical, oil, gas and chemical industries. G2 had previously raised over $8 million.
http://www.g2microsystems.com/pressSBF.htm

San Jose-Based Cellfire Raises $10 Million for Mobile Coupon Service

San Jose, Calif. --  San Jose-based Cellfire said on Tuesday that it has secured $10 million in its second round of funding to grow its new nationwide mobile coupon service. Menlo Ventures led the round. Launched initially in Decemberto a controlled user base in California, Cellfire released its national service in June. The company's free downloadable application offers coupons from both local and national retailers within a user's geographic region. To redeem coupons, users press "use now" on their cell phones and show them to the cashier. Initial partners offering coupons include T.G.I. Friday's, Hollywood Video and 1-800-flowers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060711/sftu020.html?.v=58
http://www.cellfire.com/about-us/articles/2006-06-27_national-launch.php

Sunnyvale-Based Opsware to Acquire Creekpath Systems for $10 Million

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Opsware, a Sunnyvale-based provider of IT automation software, said on Tuesday that it has signed a deal to acquire Colorado-based Creekpath Systems, a developer of storage management software, for $10 million in cash. Under the deal, Opsware could pay up to $5 million more, based on Creekpath's future performance. Opsware plans to build on the acquired technology, using it as the foundation for its upcoming application storage automation product, scheduled to be released in the first half of 2007. Opsware plans to close Creekpath's Boulder, Colorado facilities and relocate personnel to its offices in Redmond, Washington. The deal is expected to close in early August.
http://www.opsware.com/news/pressrelease/2006/07-11-06.html

San Jose-Based PayPal to Open Arizona Facility, Hire Hundreds

San Jose, Calif. -- PayPal, the San Jose-based online payment arm of eBay, said on Tuesday that it plans to open a new technology development center in Scottsdale, Arizona, hiring hundreds of local technical professionals over the next year. The company said that it is now accepting applications from technical professionals with expertise in product development, operations and infrastructure design, engineering and support. PayPal also has locations in the Dublin and the Omaha, Neb., areas.
https://www.paypal.com/jobs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060711/20060711005775.html?.v=1

San Leandro-Based TriNet Acquires Customer Assets of Outsource Group

San Leandro, Calif. -- TriNet, a San Leandro-based provider of human resource outsourcing services for small and mid-sized companies, said on Tuesday that it has acquired the customer assets of Outsource Group, a Walnut Creek-based provider of HR services. The deal includes customer contracts for nearly 200 companies, as well as the rights to Outsource Group's name and web site. In addition, certain employees of Outsource Group will become employees TriNet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. TriNet had previously acquired the customer assets of the E3 Group in Texas, as well as books of business from ALTRES in Hawaii and HR Logic in Boston.
http://www.trinet.com/about_us/news/press_releases/pr_outsourcegroup.htm

Report: Over Half of All Mobile Games Are Downloaded to Phones

San Francisco -- Over half of all mobile games are downloaded to phones, according to a new report from San Francisco-based market research firm Telephia. Another 39% come preloaded in phones, while 8% are played on the mobile web. When purchasing mobile games, familiarity with the title from its console or PC version was cited as the most important factor by nearly half of those surveyed, behind only price and the availability of a free trial version. "Cohesive marketing across all platforms -- PC, console and mobile -- is critical to a mobile game title's overall success," said Telephia's Kanishka Agarwal.
http://www.telephia.com/news.htm

Milpitas-Based ConSentry Networks Raises $20 Million in Fourth Round

Milpitas, Calif. -- ConSentry Networks, a Milpitas-based developer of security software for local area networks (LANs), said on Monday that it has raised $20 million in its fourth round of funding. Participants included previous investors Accel Partners, INVESCO Private Capital and Sequoia Capital, as well as new investor Duff Ackerman & Goodrich (DAG) Ventures. The company has now raised a total of $51 million. ConSentry said that it will use the funds to expand its worldwide presence, as demand for LAN security products gains momentum in Asia and Europe.
http://www.consentry.com/news_pr071006.html

San Jose-Based Tessera to Acquire Digital Optics for $59.5 Million

San Jose, Calif. -- Tessera Technologies, a San Jose-based provider of miniaturization technologies to the electronics industry, said on Monday that it has signed a deal to acquire North Carolina-based Digital Optics Corp., a developer of micro-optics technology used in semiconductor equipment optics, communications and photonics, for $59.5 million in cash. Tessera said that the acquisition will build upon the wafer-level image sensor packaging technology assets that it acquired from Shellcase in December. Founded in 1994, Digital Optics currently has 83 employees. Its 100,000-square-foot design, development and prototyping facility will become Tessera's Micro-Optics Center of Excellence. The deal is expected to close before the end of the third quarter.
http://www.tessera.com/news/pressRelease.asp?releaseId=879965

New Firm Acquires Software Line from Sunnyvale-Based Juniper Networks

Sunnyvale, Calif.. -- Proxy Networks, a newly formed company based in Massachusetts, said on Monday that it has acquired the Proxy Remote Control software product line of Sunnyvale-based Juniper Networks. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Proxy is a remote control software product that lets users access and control other PCs or servers on local or wide area networks, or across the Internet. Proxy Networks has assumed responsibility for the continued development, marketing, sales and support of the Proxy product family, which Juniper acquired as part of its purchase of Funk Software. Proxy Networks also has retained the core product development and sales teams, with Robert Paul, principal architect of the Proxy products, joining Proxy Networks as its CTO.
http://www.proxynetworks.com/news/pr_071006_proxyAcquires.shtml

New Enterprise Associates Closes Largest-Ever Fund at $2.5 Billion

Menlo Park -- New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a technology-focused venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park, Baltikore and Northern Virginia, said on Monday that it has raised a new $2.5 billion fund -- the largest in the history of the 28-year-old firm. NEA said that the fund, known as NEA 12, increases its total committed capital to $8.5 billion. The firm plans to expand on its current strategy of investing in all stages of a company's growth -- from seed stage to initial public offering (IPO). A portion of the fund also will be used to continue NEA's expansion into fast-growing markets in China and India.
http://www.nea.com/NewsAndEvents/PressReleases/NewsFromNEA2006/

San Francisco-Based CNET to Restate Results; Correct Accounting Errors

San Francisco -- CNET Networks, the San Francisco-based technology-focused media company, said on Monday that it expects to restate previously issued financial statements to correct errors related to accounting for stock-based compensation. The company said that the changes shouldn't have any impact on its previously reported revenues or cash positions. CNET said that it and a special committee from its board has reached the preliminary conclusion that the actual measurement dates for certain stock options granted between 1998 and 2001 differ from the recorded measurement dates. As a result, the company said that it expects to record non-cash charges for stock-based compensation expenses. CNET's brands include GameSpot, TV.com, MP3.com, Webshots and ZDNet.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060710/20060710005331.html?.v=1

Redwood City, Calif. -- In a bid to "retain valuable employees" in light of the company's falling share price, Redwood City-based video game publisher Electronic Arts said that it will seek to allow employees who were granted stock options now trading lower than the price at which they can buy them to exchange them for restricted shares. EA has seen its shares lose nearly a third of their value over the past year. At their current value, many employees would actually lose money if they cashed in their stock options. Reuters reported that the matter will be presented to EA shareholders at a meeting later this month. Over 90% of the company's employees hold stock options that would be eligible for the exchange.
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060705:MTFH29186_2006-07-05_22-17-59_N05316158&type=comktNews&rpc=44

Report: AOL Plan to Include Thousands of Layoffs, Near Halt to Marketing

Dulles, Va. -- Two weeks away from pitching his radical plan to transform AOL into a free, ad-supported service, CEO Jonathan Miller is expected to call for thousands of layoffs and a "near halt" to marketing of the company's trademark Internet service, The New York Times reported on Monday. Miller, who will detail his proposal to the board of parent Time Warner, is expected to "defend his unusually draconian plan by arguing that trying to wring every last dime from its dial-up subscribers is preventing AOL from being as aggressive as it can in competing with Yahoo, Microsoft and Google on the web," the paper reported, citing anonymous AOL executives. The plan, however, could be a tough sell to some board members, since they would initially have to accept lower profits until the company is able to boost its advertising revenue. The plan is scheduled for public announcement on August 2.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/10/technology/10aol.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Predicant Biosciences Raises $11 Million, Acquires Pathwork Informatics

San Jose, Calif. -- South San Francisco's Predicant Biosciences said that it has raised $11 million in new venture capital and used it to acquire San Jose-based Pathwork Informatics. The resulting company, to be called Pathwork Diagnostics and based in San Jose, will develop and commercialize genomic diagnostic tests for oncology. Participants in the funding round included Prospect Venture Partners, Advent Venture Partners, Novus Ventures, Venrock Associates and Versant Ventures. Deborah Neff, Predicant's CEO, has been appointed president and CEO of Pathwork Diagnostics, while Glenda Anderson, the CEO of Pathwork Informatics, has been named CTO. The new company's first product will be a test to aid in the diagnosis of the origin of some malignant cancers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060706/sfth057.html?.v=58
http://www.pathworkdx.com/

CTDI Acquires Fremont-Based GoDigital Networks

Fremont, Calif. -- Communications Test Design Inc. (CTDI), a Pennsylvania-based provider of telecommunications repair and logistics services, said on Friday that it has acquired Fremont-based GoDigital Networks, a supplier of broadband network access products. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CTDI will continue to manufacture, sell and support GoDigital-branded products, and GoDigital's Fremont facility will become the newest of CTDI's 37 locations. Frank Akers, GoDigital's president and CEO, will lead the Fremont branch and its staff, focusing on R&D, sales and marketing. "The acquisition of GoDigital Networks strengthens CTDI's product, repair and service portfolios," said Jerry Parsons, the chairman and CEO of CTDI.
http://www.ctdi.com/news.htm

Report: Microsoft to Launch Portable Media Player by Christmas

Cupertino, Calif. -- Taking direct aim at Cupertimo-based Apple's iPod, Microsoft is planning to  launch a wireless digital music and video player by Christmas, Reuters reported. The device will reportedly allow users to download media over the air. "They're proposing an iTunes model approach," a source told Reuters. "They're now interested in controlling the whole vertical stack of technology from the device to the service to the software." The project is headed Robbie Bach, president of the company's entertainment and services division, and J. Allard, vice president of the team that launched Microsoft's Xbox video game console. Microsoft declined to comment on the report.
http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-07-05T225228Z_01_N05308816_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-MICROSOFT.xml

Google Earth to Let Fans Follow Tour de France on 3D Satellite Maps

Mountain View, Calif. -- Mountain View-based Google said that it has launched a new feature for its Google Earth satellite imagery service that will allow users to follow the Tour de France cycling road race from space. Through July 23, users will be able to view 3D satellite imagery and "fly" over all 20 legs of the race, as well as click on information about the race of the day and results for each rider from the various stages.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/tour-de-france-goes-3d-with-google.html
http://www.letour.com/2006/TDF/LIVE/us/400/r2_google_earth.html