DMW Daily, July 21, 2008

 Top Stories
Sunnyvale, Calif. - Heading off a likely proxy battle, Yahoo said on Monday that it has reached a settlement with dissident investor Carl Icahn that will give the billionaire a seat on the company's board. [more..]
New York - Video game publisher on Monday rebuffed Electronic Arts' fifth extension of its $2 billion offer to buy the company, which now will expire on Aug. 18. [more..]
Los Angeles - Noted game industry analyst Michael Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan Securities, has given his review of this year's E3 convention -- which this year returned to the downtown Los Angeles Convention Center, albeit in its much-scaled-down form -- proclaiming that the event is "headed for extinction." [more..]
New York - Struggling digital music service Napster, which has not posted a profit in four years and has seen its share price tumble 95% over the past six years, may be ripe for a takeover now that its nearly $70 million in cash and investments exceeds the $52.1 million its shares are now worth, Bloomberg reported. [more..]
Washington - Looking to reorganize its finances ahead of its pending merger with Sirius, DC-based XM Satellite Radio said on Monday that it plans to raise $400 million through a new debt offering. [more..]
Seattle - Social music discovery service iLike announced on Monday that it has surpassed 30 million registered users, and said it signed a deal with RealNetworks to offer full-length song playback via that company's Rhapsody service. [more..]
Beijing - Chinese video-sharing site Ku6.com announced on Monday that it has raised "several tens of millions" of dollars in its second round of venture capital financing, from investors including UMC Capital, SBI, Itochu and Hotung Group. [more..]
Emeryville, Calif. - Qumu, a developer of Web-based software that allows clients to publish and distribute video content, said on Monday that it has raised $10.7 million in its third round of funding, led by Advanced Technology Ventures. [more..]
Washington - LivingSocial.com, an online community that allows people to review and share their favorite movies, books, games, music, restaurants and beer, said on Monday that it has raised more than $5 million in its first round of funding, led by Grotech Ventures. [more..]
Santa Monica, Calif. - GumGum, the provider of a licensing and distribution platform for online content, is raising a $1.2 million first round of financing from investors including First Round Capital, VentureBeat reported. [more..]
London - Raindance.TV, a site that distributes independent features, shorts and documentaries online, has raised just under $1 million in its first financing, and plans to launch its own streaming website in the fall, Variety reports. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
San Francisco - A hacker group called the "iPhone Dev Team" has announced the release of software it says can "jailbreak" Apple's new iPhone 3G so that any third-party application may run on the device, CNET reported. [more..]
Kansas City, Mo. - A Missouri man was arrested this weekend for allegedly using a camcorder to capture "The Dark Knight" at a movie theater in Lee's Summit, Missouri, TorrentFreak reported, citing local accounts. [more..]
Palo Alto, Calif. - Online social network Facebook on Monday unveiled the first elements of its website redesign, offering users the opportunity to preview and test new features and functionality before they are made available to all of Facebook's 80 million members over the coming days. [more..]
New York - NBC plans to begin webcasting a series of nightly webisodes in the fall featuring Jimmy Fallon, the "Saturday Night Live" alum who is set to take Conan O'Brien's late night TV slot host next year when O'Brien replaces the retiring Jay Leno, The New York Times reported. [more..]
Los Angeles - Nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards have been announced, and NewTeeVee highlighted the online video programming that was recognized in the "Special Class Program," "Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media" and other categories. [more..]
New York - Hearst's Esquire magazine on Monday announced that its October issue will be the first magazine to incorporate E Ink's electronic paper technology into a mass-produced print product. [more..]