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Sony to Launch Online Entertainment Store in 2010Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:23am.
 Tokyo
- Sony (NYSE: SNE) announced plans on Friday to launch a new online store next year that will sell books, music and movies next year, and deliver content to
networked televisions and other devices. The company did not provide many
details about the "Sony Online Service," as it is tentatively being
called, but is expected to be positioned as a competitor to Apple's iTunes
Store.
tags: Games | Video | TV | Sony | Apple | Movies | Publishing | Books | iTunes Store | Sony Online Service |
Google Book Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval; Hearing in 2010Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 11:02am.
 New York
- The judge overseeing the settlement agreement between Google (NASD: GOOG) and authors and
publishers over the direction of its massive book-scanning project has pushed a
hearing on a revised settlement back to Feb. 18, while at the same time granted
preliminary approval to the new deal. "The preliminary approval order
sends a positive initial message; this agreement promises to benefit readers
and researchers, and enhance the ability of authors and publishers to
distribute their content in digital form," Google said in a statement.
tags: Law | Lawsuits | Google | Copyright | E-Books | Publishing | Books | Authors Guild | Google Book Search |
eBay Completes Sale of Skype Unit to Investor GroupAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:34am.
 San Jose,
Calif. - Nearly three months
after first announcing the deal, online auction giant eBay (NASD: EBAY) said that it has
completed the sale of a majority stake in its Skype Internet telephone business
to an investment group headed by Silver Lake Partners. Under the deal, the
investor group -- which also included Joltid Limited, the Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board and Andreessen Horowitz -- paid $1.9 billion and a $125
million note in exchange for a 70% stake in the unit.
tags: Deals | eBay | Acquisitions | Skype | Silver Lake Partners | Andreessen Horowitz | Canada Pension Plan Investment Board | Joltid | Janus Friis | Niklas Zennstrom |
MySpace to Acquire imeem Music Streaming ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 9:29am.
 Los Angeles
- News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace has agreed to acquire streaming music service imeem for
an undisclosed sum, although sources told CNET News.com that the deal is valued
at about $8 million. The deal reportedly includes a payment of $1 million in
cash, as well as earn outs and accounts receivable.
AOL to Cut One-Third of Staff; Voluntary Layoffs to Begin Dec. 4Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 8:51am.
 New York
- Needing to drastically trim costs as it prepares to separate from parent
company Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), AOL said on Thursday that it plans to trim its workforce
by about one-third -- approximately 2,300 workers -- through a combination of
voluntary and involuntary layoffs. The company said that the goal of the
restructuring is to reduce its annual operating costs by $300 million.
Studios Sue Swedish ISP, Demand Closure of OpenBitTorrentAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 11:54am.
 Los Angeles - Several Hollywood movie studios have filed suit against a Swedish
ISP that is hosting OpenBitTorrent, an independent BitTorrent file-sharing
tracker site that was launched in the wake of the The Pirate Bay's announced
sale to Global Gaming Factory, TorrentFreak reported. The studios sued hosting
provider Portlane, demanding that it shutter the OpenBitTorrent website.
tags: Video | Law | Lawsuits | P2P | Music | Copyright | The Pirate Bay | OpenBitTorrent | Portlane |
"Call of Duty" Generates Record $550 Million in First 5 DaysAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 18, 2009 - 11:26am.
 Santa Monica,
Calif. - Video game publisher
Activision Blizzard (NASD: ATVI), a unit of Vivendi, announced on Wednesday that its
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" has become "the biggest
entertainment launch in history," racking up $550 million during
its first five days on sale. The previous five-day sales record for a video game was
set last summer by "Grand Theft Auto IV," which sold 6 million units
and made $500 million; the largest five-day opening worldwide box office gross
is held by "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($394 million).
Time Warner to Spin Off AOL Dec. 9 With $3.5 B ValuationAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 11:39am.
Dulles, Va. - Media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) announced on
Monday that it plans to spinoff its AOL unit on Dec. 9. Shareholders of Time
Warner will be given one share of AOL stock for every 11 shares of Time Warner
they own. Time Warner said in a statement that the spinoff "will result in
the complete legal and structural separation of the two companies." After
the transaction, AOL will have a market value of about $3.5 billion, based on
current share prices.
The Pirate Bay Permanently Shutters File-Sharing TrackerAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 8:41am.
 Stockholm, Sweden - Marking "the end of an era,"
the operators of file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay on Tuesday shut down their
BitTorrent tracker, which grew over six years to become the largest hub for
finding copyrighted materials for download in the world, TorrentFreak reported. "Now that the
decentralized system for finding peers is so well developed, TPB has decided
that there is no need to run a tracker anymore, so it will remain down! It's
the end of an era, but the era is no longer up2date," the Pirate Bay
wrote on its blog. "We have put a server in a museum already, and now the
tracking can be put there as well."
Report: MySpace in Talks to Acquire Music Streamer imeemAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 8:23am.
Los Angeles
- News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace online social network is in "late stage
negotiations" to acquire the music streaming service imeem, TechCrunch
reported, citing multiple unnamed sources. Founded in 2003, San Francisco-based
imeem started off as a music-focused social network application, but later shifted
focus to concentrate on music streaming.
Nokia Lays Off 330 Research and Development StaffAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 10:23am.
Espoo, Finland - Cell phone maker Nokia (NYSE: NOK)
announced on Friday that it will lay off up to 330 employees from its research
and development operations, representing about 2% of its global research and
development staff of 17,000.
Report: Video Viewing on Social Media Sites Doubles in YearAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:56am.
New York - Internet users now spend nearly double the amount
of time watching videos on social networking sites than they did just one year
ago, according to newly released figures from Nielsen.
Details Emerge About AOL's Massive Workforce ReductionsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:50am.
New York
- A day after AOL announced plans to cut one-third of its workforce -- up to
2,500 employees -- details are beginning to emerge about specifics of the plan.
Online Marketer QuinStreet Files for $250 Million IPOAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:40am.
Foster City,
Calif. - QuinStreet, a provider
of online marketing services, has filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) to raise up to $250 million in its initial public offering
(IPO).
Mobile Broadcast Firm IPWireless Lands $15.5 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 8:08am.
San Francisco
- IPWireless, a San Francisco-based developer of mobile broadband and broadcast
technology, said on Wednesday that it has raised $15.5 million in its first
round of funding, led by Spark Capital.
Chegg.com Gets $57 Million for Online Textbook RentalsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 8:06am.
Santa Clara, Calif. - Chegg.com, an online textbook rental company,
said on Thursday that it has raised one of the largest funding rounds for a Silicon Valley tech company this year, landing $57
million in its fourth round.
Judge Shutters Websites Selling "Re-Recorded" Beatles TunesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 11:17am.
Los Angeles
- A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against two websites,
BlueBeat.com and Basebeat.com, that had been selling unauthorized downloads of
songs from the Beatles and other artists on the cheap, the Associated Press
reported.
Senate Judiciary Approves Copyright Czar NomineeAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:56am.
Washington
- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to approve
President Barack Obama's nomination for the newly-created position of copyright
czar, Victoria Espinel.
Staff of Washington Blade to Launch "Modest" Publication FridayAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:39am.
Washington
- Just days after the Washington Blade ceased publication, several former
employees of the 40-year-old gay and lesbian newspaper said that they plan to
launch a new, more modest version of the paper on Friday.
In-Game Video Ad Firm NeoEdge Merges With OffspringAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:22am.
Mountain View,
Calif. - NeoEdge, a provider of
in-game video ad insertion services, announced on Thursday that it will merge
with Offspring, a developer of casual online games.
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