Greenbelt, Md. – Autodesk, a developer of 3D design,
engineering and entertainment software, said on Tuesday it will pay $36 million
in cash to acquire Scaleform, a developer of user interface (UI) tools and
middleware.

The deal is expected to close by the end of April.

Maryland-based Scaleform’s
technology has been licensed in the development of at least 800 games across
major hardware platforms, including the PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
and Nintendo Wii.

The company’s flagship product, known as Scaleform GFx,
allows developers to more easily take advantage of the 3D hardware acceleration
capabilities of modern systems to create cinematic quality menus, in-game heads
up displays, animated textures, mini-games and mobile games and applications.

Marc Stevens, the vice president of games at Autodesk Media &
Entertainment, said the acquisition will help his company provide clients with
"more complete workflows to more rapidly develop immersive 3D and casual
game experiences."

Brendan Iribe, the president and CEO of Scaleform, as
well as CTO Michael Antonov and COO Marc Bennett, will join Autodesk in
unspecified roles.

Scaleform’s offices will remain in Greenbelt, Md.

Related Links:
http://www.scaleform.com

http://www.autodesk.com/scaleform

Washington – The auction of underutilized broadcast spectrum
by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could produce more than $33
billion in net proceeds for the U.S. Treasury, according to a study conducted
by mobile industry trade group CTIA and the Consumer Electronics Association.
"With support from the U.N. and thanks to the efforts of President Obama,
the FCC, the NTIA and numerous policymakers, it’s clear there’s a recognition
that our industry needs more spectrum so we can remain the world’s wireless
leader," said CTIA head Steve Largent. "Our members are willing to
spend billions to purchase unused or underutilized broadcast spectrum to fuel
the ‘virtuous cycle’ of innovation and competition."

Related Links:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110215006809/en

http://www.ce.org

http://www.ctia.org

Mountain View, Calif. – Google (NASD: GOOG) has released a new extension
for its Chrome Web browser that lets users block certain Web domains from
appearing in their search results, billed as part of its efforts to detect
content farms, or "sites with shallow or low-quality content." The
Personal Blocklist extension for Chrome lets users block any sites, sending
information to Google, which will "study the resulting feedback and
explore using it as a potential ranking signal for our search results."

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4wghhhh
(Google blog)

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/nolijncfnkgaikbjbdaogikpmpbdcdef

Los Angeles – Online auction giant eBay (NASD: EBAY) has signed its first
deal to have its mobile app and website pre-loaded on mobile phones, partnering
with Telefonica in Europe to load the eBay on most devices its sells via O2 in
the U.K., TechCrunch reports. The two-year deal covers Android, Windows 7,
Symbian and Bada devices.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4lmkj3v
(TechCrunch)

London – Songkick, a consumer site that tracks musical
artists’ touring information, has raised $1.9 million of an expected $2 million
funding round, Billboard reported, citing a regulatory filing.

Founded in 2007,
London-based Songkick offers concert listings culled from 133 ticket vendors,
venue websites and local newspapers, that artists’ fans can track and share via
social media.

While details on investors in the current round were not
disclosed, previous Songkick backers include SoftTech VC, The Accelerator
Group, Index Ventures and Y Combinator.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4mufpyn
(Billboard)

http://www.songkick.com

Los Angeles – The National Football League (NFL) has
restructured its deal with "Madden NFL" video game publisher
Electronic Arts (NASD: ERTS), extending their relationship a year beyond 2012 and
"significantly" reducing EA’s obligations, Sports Business Daily
reported.

The move comes as the NFL and players’ union approach a March 4
expiration date for their contract, which could jeopardize the 2011-12 NFL season.

It’s unclear how much less EA will have to pay NFL for the rights to use its
league and team logos and names under the restructured deal; EA also separately
pays the NFL Players Association for rights to players’ likenesses.

The NFLPA derives $30 million to $40 million annually from EA, Sports Business Daily
noted, citing Labor Department filings.

"For one of our core partners in a
difficult environment, we say let’s look at this, and maybe it makes some sense
to extend something out longer and give our partner some relief in the short
term but gain something on the back end," Wayne Weaver, Jacksonville
Jaguars owner and chair of the NFL’s business ventures committee, told Sports
Business Daily.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4g72bvh
(Sports Business Daily)

New York – Sirius XM Radio (NASD: SIRI) added 1.4 million net new subscribers last
year, ending 2010 with a record 20.2 million subscribers, up 8% from the end of
2009.

The company reported 2010 revenues of $2.82 billion, up 14% over 2009
revenues, and earnings of $626 million, up 35% from the prior year. Net income
was $43.1 million, compared with a net loss of $538.2 million in 2009.

The
company reported a fourth-quarter 2010 net loss of $81.4 million, compared with
net income of $11.8 million in the same period of 2009.

"Our renewed
contracts with Howard Stern and the NFL, as well as investments in exciting new
content, ensure that our subscribers will continue to enjoy the unparalleled
entertainment that has made SiriusXM the largest subscription radio company in
the world," said Karmazin.

"With the outlook for improving U.S. auto
sales, declining capital expenditures and the expanded functionality coming
with the launch of SiriusXM 2.0, we look forward to another year of growth and
strong financial performance."

For 2011, Sirius XM anticipates it will add
another 1.4 million net new subscribers.

Related Links:
http://investor.sirius.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=550111

Los Angeles – IsoHunt, a search engine that helps users find
files available for download from the BitTorrent file-sharing network, has been
sued by 26 record labels for facilitating copyright infringement in its home
country of Canada, TorrentFreak reported.

The suit against isoHunt and owner
Gary Fung seeks a shutdown of isoHunt; related sites Podtropolis and
TorrentBos; and over $4 million in damages.

"The isoHunt Websites have
been designed and are operated by the defendants with the sole purpose of
profiting from rampant copyright infringement which defendants actively
encourage, promote, authorize, induce, aid, abet, materially contribute to and
commercially profit from," the labels’ complaint reads.

Hollywood movie
studios represented by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) previously
sued isoHunt in U.S. federal court last year, and in May the court handed down
a permanent injunction against isoHunt.

While that ruling is currently under
appeal, isoHunt was compelled to filter its search engine based on keywords
provided by the MPAA for its U.S. visitors.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4jz565v
(TorrentFreak)

http://tinyurl.com/2f3mlx9
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.isohunt.com

Barcelona – Taiwan-based mobile phone maker HTC on Tuesday
introduced two new handsets that feature prominent Facebook branding, and tight
integration with the online social network.

The HTC ChaCha and HTC Salsa both
feature a dedicated Facebook button, which will light up whenever a user
performs a task that could double as a Facebook post, such as snapping a photo,
or sharing what music is being listened to.

The phones also display an incoming
caller’s most recent Facebook status update.

Other features on the
Android-based phones include 5-megapixel still cameras, and front cameras for
video calls.

The ChaCha and Salsa are expected to first ship in Europe and Asia
in the second quarter, before being released by AT&T in the U.S. later this
year.

Related Links:
http://www.htc.com/www/product/chacha/overview.html

http://www.htc.com/www/product/salsa/overview.html

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-20031904-78.html

Boston – Ayeah, an interactive entertainment software
company based in Boston, has raised $530,000 in venture capital and debt,
according to a filing by the company with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.

Founded last year, Ayeah develops, publishes and distributes
interactive social reality software for personal computers, wireless devices
and the Internet.

The company’s first product, "FanSwarm," blends
photography and actual events to transform current celebrity news into a
free-to-play game.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4cspgfk

http://www.ayeahgames.com