Silicon Valley Wire

NYT: Google Attacks Emanated from Schools in China

Mountain View, Calif. -- A series of cyber attacks targeting Mountain View-based Google and other U.S. companies emanated from a pair of schools in China, The New York Times reported, citing people involved in the investigation. The paper also reported that the sophisticated attacks, revealed by Google last month, may have started several months earlier than previously thought. Investigators believe that the hacks originated from Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang Vocational School, and aimed to steal trade secrets and computer codes, as well as emails from Chinese human rights activists. Jiaotong is considered to have one of the world's foremost computer science programs, recently beating out schools such as Stanford in IBM's "Battle of the Brains" programming competition. Lanxiang, meanwhile, trains computer scientists for the Chinese military.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/technology/19china.html?ref=todayspaper

Alameda-Based Vook Lands $2.5 Million in Seed Funding

Alameda, Calif. -- Vook, an Alameda-based developer of e-book tools that allow publishers to integrate text, video, pictures, social media and links, said on Friday that it has raised $2.5 million in a new round of seed funding. Investors included Ron Conway; Kenneth Lerer, chairman of the Huffington Post; Maples Investments; Baseline Ventures and Founder Collective. The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate growth in all areas of its business in 2010. Since its formal launch last fall, Vook has formed publishing relationships with Simon & Schuster, HarperStudio and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., and announced titles with bestselling writers including Seth Godin and Anne Rice. "We believe we're bringing Vook to market at the exact right time to help transform an industry, drive creativity and create a whole new media experience for consumers," said Brad Inman, the founder and CEO of Vook.
http://www.vook.com
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Vook-Announces-25-Million-in-Seed-Financing-1119591.htm

Sunnyvale-Based Yahoo Sees Spikes in Olympics-Related Searches

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Excitement about the ongoing Winter Olympics in Vancouver has caused major spikes in related Internet searches this week, according to Sunnyvale-based Yahoo. Among the most popular terms, searches for "ice skating rinks" are up 607% -- particularly among teens -- "red Olympic mittens" are up 182% and the "rules of curling" are up more than 2,800%. Individual athletes also have gotten a lot of buzz, with gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn becoming the top searched athlete on Yahoo. Another popular athlete has been snowboarder Shaun White,  with searches for "Shaun White snowboarding" up more than 1,900%, and related searches for "Flying Tomato" and "Carrot Top" also seeing significant spikes. Speedskater Apolo Ohno also has piqued the interest of Internet users, who have driven searches for "Apolo Ohno girlfriend" up 1,210%.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100219005232/en/Olympics-Online-Mobile-Searches-Spiking-Mittens-Ice

Ticketmaster Settles with FTC Over Springsteen Ticket Sales

Washington, DC -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled charges against Ticketmaster and affiliates over "deceptive bait-and-switch tactics" used in selling tickets to a series of Bruce Springsteen concerts last year. The FTC alleged that Ticketmaster redirected consumers seeking tickets to the shows to TicketsNow, a secondary marketplace where some were charged double, triple or quadruple the face value of tickets. The FTC said that the company also failed to tell consumers that some of these resale tickets "were being sold speculatively -- that is, they were merely offers to try to find tickets." Some Springsteen fans paid for tickets in February for a show in May in Washington, DC that never materialized, and the FTC said that Ticketmaster kept the sales proceeds for more than three months without a reasonable basis for believing it could fulfill those orders. "TicketsNow.com sold phantom tickets without letting consumers know that the tickets did not exist. Then, the company held onto consumers' money, sometimes for months, when it knew those fans weren't going to see Springsteen," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. "Clearly consumers deserve better." Under the terms of the settlement, consumers who have not previously received a refund will get back the extra money they paid to buy higher-priced tickets from TicketsNow. The FTC is using purchase information from TicketsNow's database, and expects refunds to become available in six months.
http://ftc.gov/opa/2010/02/ticketmaster.shtm   

Palo Alto-Based Facebook Begins Accepting PayPal Payments

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Facebook, the Palo Alto-based online social network, said that it has partnered with PayPal, the online payments arm of San Jose-based eBay to enable use of the platform on Facebook's advertising and developer systems. Advertisers will now be able to use PayPal to pay for Facebook ads, and PayPal will become a payment option for Facebook Credits, which users can purchase and buy virtual goods.
http://www.paypal.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100218006007/en/PayPal-Pay-Facebook-Ads-Facebook-Credits

Milpitas-Based Ixys Completes Acquisition of San Jose-Based Zilog

Milpitas, Calif. -- Ixys, a Milpitas-based developer of chips used to control and convert electrical power, said on Thursday that it has completed its acquisition of San Jose-based Zilog, a supplier of microcontrollers and universal remote control components. The deal, worth about $62.4 million, was first announced in early December. At the time, Ixys said that the acquisition would compliment its power management technologies, allowing it to increase its penetration in the automotive electronic and electric market. The companies also plan to cut costs by pooling their resources in areas such as research and development and manufacturing.
http://www.zilog.com/  
http://www.ixys.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100218006722/en/IXYS-Closes-Acquisition-Zilog

Redwood City-Based YuMe Lands $25 Million in Funding

Redwood City, Calif. -- YuMe, the Redwood City-based developer of an online video advertising network, said that it has raised $25 million in a new round of funding, led by Menlo Ventures. Previous investors Accel Partners, Khosla Ventures, BV Capital and DAG Ventures also participated. Founded in 2004, YuMe has raised more than $45 million in venture capital, and is now profitable. The company's network includes publishers such as MSNBC, IDG Entertainment and Glam Media.
http://www.yume.com
http://www.yume.com/blog/2010/02/17/yume-raises-25-million/

Google Acquires Email Technology Firm Remail, Eyes Catch Media

Mountain View, Calif. -- Google has paid an undisclosed sum to acquire San Francisco--based Remail, a developer of email search technology, the companies announced on Thursday. Remail's technology initially had been created for Apple's iPhone, but with the acquisition the application has been removed from the App Store. Gabor Cselle, Remail's founder and CEO, will join Google as a product manager on the company's Gmail team.  Mountain View-based Google has also expressed interest in acquiring Catch Media, developer of a cloud-based service that lets consumers access music and other media across a range of platforms and devices, CNET News.com reported. Founded in 2003, Los Angeles-based Catch has already licensed tracks from all four major record labels for its service.
http://www.gaborcselle.com/blog/2010/02/remail-acquired-by-google.html
http://www.catchmedia.com
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10455535-261.html

Yahoo, Microsoft Land Regulatory Approval for Search Deal

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Yahoo and Microsoft announced on Thursday that they have received antitrust approval from both the U.S. Justice Department and European Commission for their proposed search partnership. The companies expect to close the  deal in the coming days, when Sunnyvale-based Yahoo will transition its algorithmic and paid search platforms to Microsoft. Yahoo will become the exclusive sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers globally. "This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo can focus even more on our own innovative search experience," said Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz. The companies said they hope to complete the transition, at least in the U.S., by the end of 2010, while all global customers and partners are expected to be transitioned by early 2012.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100218006053/en/Yahoo%21-Microsoft-Implement-Search-Alliance
http://www.searchalliance.com

Worldwide Cyber Attack Strikes 75,000 Computer Systems

Herndon, Va. -- A newly discovered worldwide cyber attack has stolen login information from more than 75,000 computer systems at over 2,500 organizations, Virginia-based NetWitness announced on Thursday. The infestation, dubbed the "Kneber botnet," gathered user names and passwords to online banking sites, social networking sites and email systems, then allowed the originators of the attack to break into those accounts. NetWitness said that it first discovered the botnet in January. The company told The Washington Post that 10 government agencies were among the victims of the ring, which was based in Eastern Europe. "Conventional malware protection and signature based intrusion detection systems are by definition inadequate for addressing Kneber or most other advanced threats," said Amit Yoran, the CEO of NetWitness. "Systems compromised by this botnet provide the attackers not only user credentials and confidential information, but remote access inside the compromised networks."
http://www.netwitness.com//resources/pressreleases/feb182010.aspx
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021705816.html?wpisrc=nl_tech

Palo Alto-Based VuCast Media Raises $5.5 Million in Second Round

Palo Alto, Calif. -- VuCast Media, a Palo Alto-based developer of private wireless datacast services, said on Wednesday that it has raised $5.5 million in its second round of funding, led by Artiman Ventures. The company, which now has raised more than $9 million since its inception, said that it will use the proceeds to launch a major expansion into the consumer electronics application space. VuCast is introducing game-changing wireless connectivity solutions for devices like e-readers, digital picture frames, tablets and mobile phones," said CEO Vivek Pendharkar. VuCast's networks cover six continents, serving applications ranging from streaming audio services to digital signage connectivity.
http://www.vucast.com 
http://www.vucast.com/news/press_releases/2010.02.17.php

Google Further Enhances Gmail Buzz Privacy Settings

Mountain View, Calif. -- Responding to users' complaints, Mountain View-based Google said that it has revamped the set-up process for its new Buzz social service for Gmail. The company also has ditched the "auto-follow" model of automatically choosing Gmail contacts, switching to an "auto-suggest" model where Buzz only suggests friends to follow. "We've heard your feedback loud and clear, and since we launched Google Buzz four days ago, we've been working around the clock to address the concerns you've raised," the company wrote in a blog post. "Many people just wanted to check out Buzz and see if it would be useful to them, and were not happy that they were already set up to follow people... You won't be set up to follow anyone until you have reviewed the suggestions and clicked 'Follow selected people and start using Buzz.'" The company also said that Buzz will no longer connect a user's public Picasa Web Albums and Google Reader shared items automatically.
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-buzz-start-up-experience-based-on.html

Report: Apple CEO Steve Jobs Authorizes First Biography

Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs is collaborating with Walter Isaacson, the former managing editor of Time magazine, on his first authorized biography, The New York Times reported. People briefed on the project told the paper that the project is still in early planning stages, but is expected to cover Jobs' entire life. Isaacson also has penned biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. The Times noted that Jobs previously has reacted "angrily" to the publication of several unauthorized biographies, "and in some cases has directed Apple stores to temporarily remove other books from the same publishers from their shelves."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/technology/companies/16apple.html

IBM Acquires Menlo Park-Based Intelliden

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Technology giant IBM said on Tuesday that it has acquired Intelliden, a Menlo Park-based developer of network automation software that helps clients control, manage and scale their networks. financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. IBM said that the acquisition will bolster its service management portfolio. "The typical company is managing a more complex and ever changing infrastructure stretched across digital and physical assets," said Al Zollar, the general manager of IBM Tivoli. "Intelliden's intelligent network automation is an important addition to IBM's portfolio to extend automation across all business and IT assets." Intelliden's tools, currently in use by clients such as Cbeyond, Scotia Capital, Telecom Italia and TELUS, are designed to let users automate the configuration of thousands of manually managed network devices like hubs, routers and switches from dozens of vendors. The technology will be integrated into IBM Tivoli Software.
http://www.intelliden.com/
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/servicemanagement/index.html
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29323.wss

Mobile Payments Firm mopay Opens U.S. Headquarters in Palo Alto

Palo Alto, Calif. -- German mobile payments firm mopay said on Tuesday that it has opened U.S. headquarters in Palo Alto, making the firm's first foray into the country. The company, whose technology allows users of gaming and social networking sites to purchase virtual goods and other digital content through their mobile phone accounts, has named Managing Director Kolja Reiss to lead the office. mopay specializes in allowing people without bank accounts or credit to purchase digital goods and services, and considers itself a strong challenger to provider such as BOKU and Zong. The company currently has nearly 100 employees and more than 500 million users, worldwide. "The U.S. market is ripe for change and primed for growth in the mobile payment market," said Reiss. "European providers have been ahead of the mobile payment curve for a number of years, successfully embracing the full potential of how easy it is to pay for goods and services via mobile."
http://www.mopay.com
http://www.mopay.com/en/company/press/

FCC Head Unveils Broadband Goal: 100 Million Households at 100 Mbps

Washington, DC -- Looking to establish America as a world leader in broadband Internet adoption, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday unveiled his agency's goal of 100 million U.S. households connected at ultra-high speeds of 100 megabytes per second. Speaking at a conference in Washington, DC, Genachowski said that the plan, dubbed the "100 Squared" initiative, "will set goals for the U.S. to have the world's largest market of very high-speed broadband users." Mountain View-based Google last week unveiled plans to test an ultra high-speed Internet service that the company said is more than 100 times faster than most broadband connections currently offered by cable and telecom providers. Genachowski applauded the move, while urging others to follow suit. "We must have broadband networks of such unsurpassed excellence that they will empower American entrepreneurs and innovators to build and expand businesses here in the United States," said Genachoswki.
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296262A1.pdf (PDF)

Foster City-Based AB Sciex Acquire Business from Eksigent

Foster City, Calif. -- AB Sciex, a Foster City-based developer of scientific instrumentation, software and services used in the life sciences, said on Tuesday that it has acquired the liquid chromatography business of Dublin-based Eksigent Technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. AB Sciex said that the acquisition "significantly strengthens" its position in liquid chromatography -- a technology used frequently in a broad range of life science applications such as protein biomarker research, drug discovery and basic research. "We expect to further develop and broaden the use of these technologies for a variety of life science applications," said Andy Boorn, the president of AB Sciex.
http://www.absciex.com/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AB-SCIEX-Acquires-Eksigent-bw-549062483.html?x=0&.v=1

San Jose-Based SVTC Technologies Names Founder as New CEO

San Jose, Calif. -- SVTC Technologies, a San Jose-based provider of equipment and services to semiconductor manufacturers, on Tuesday named company founder Bert Bruggeman as its new CEO. He replaces Joe Bronson, who will remain on the company's board. Bruggeman had served as SVTC's vice president of operations, and previously was the vice president of solar wafering manufacturing at MEMC and senior director of process technology development and worldwide foundry operations at Cypress Semiconductor. "Bert is the right person to lead the company into its next major growth and development phase," said Luis Arzubi, a partner at investor Tallwood Venture Capital. SVTC, originally a business of Cypress Semiconductor known as Silicon Valley Technology Center, became an independent company nearly three years ago when it was purchased by Tallwood and Oak Hill Capital.
http://www.svtc.com/
http://www.svtc.com/news-and-events/press-releases/svtc-announces-new-ceo-bert-bruggeman

Survey: U.S. Broadband Adoption Rises but Digital Divide Persists

Washington, DC -- Though Americans are now using broadband connections at higher rates than ever before, a "significant" portion of the U.S. population remains offline, according to a new report from the  Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Overall, 64% of households have broadband Internet, up 13% from two years ago. The digital divide, however, continues to persist, with low-income households, seniors, minorities, the less-educated, non-family households and the non-employed lagging behind other groups in home broadband use. The two most commonly cited reasons for not having broadband at home are that it is perceived as not needed (38%) or too expensive (26%). Americans also cite the lack of a computer as a major factor. "Broadband Internet access is critical to creating jobs in America, improving our global competitiveness, and enhancing our quality of life," said Lawrence Strickling, the NTIA's administrator. Strickling said that the survey data will be useful to "the broader research community working to address the digital divide." The complete report is available at the link below.
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/reports/2010/NTIA_internet_use_report_Feb2010.pdf (PDF)