Research in Motion Acquires BlackBerry App Maker Viigo

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Toronto,
Canada –
BlackBerry smartphone maker Research in Motion (RIM) (NASD: RIMM) has acquired Viigo, the
provider of a platform for developing BlackBerry applications, according to a
note on Viigo’s website.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004, Toronto-based Viigo offers its own multi-faceted application
for the BlackBerry platform, in addition to tools that make it easier for
developers to create BlackBerry applications.

"Our team has joined RIM’s
global organization and will continue to bring our expertise in BlackBerry
application development and real-time content delivery to the BlackBerry
platform," CEO Mark Ruddock wrote on the company’s website.

 

Related Links:
http://bulletins.viigo.com/2010/03/26/breaking-news-viigo-joins-rim/

http://www.rim.net

Quora Raises $11 Million for Web Q&A Service

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – Quora, the operator of a
Web question-and-answer service, has raised $11 million in its first round of
funding, led by Benchmark Capital, TechCrunch reported.

The round, which
additional investors may join, valued the company at $86 million, according to
TechCrunch’s sources.

Founded in 2008, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Quora launched
its service in private beta in January.

The service has since become "one
of the hottest private beta tickets in town," according to TechCrunch’s
Michael Arrington, who notes that the "signal to noise ratio is extremely
high" in terms of the discussions on Quora.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v5a3k
(TechCrunch)

http://www.quora.com

U.K. News Corp. Paper The Times Going Behind Paywall

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London
– News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) News International U.K. unit announced on Friday that it plans in
June to place the websites of its The Times and The Sunday Times newspapers
behind a paywall, and charge £1 ($1.49) for a day’s access or £2 ($2.98) for a
week’s subscription. Visitors will get a free trial before being asked to pony
up, while print subscribers will gain access to the sites at no added charge.


 

Related Links:
http://www.newscorp.com/news/bunews_158.html

http://www.thetimes.co.uk

YouTube to Alter Comments System, Improve Video Ratings

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Bruno,
Calif. – Google’s (NASD: GOOG) YouTube this
week announced some changes to the commenting system on its site, which
NewTeeVee noted "trends toward attracting the lowest common
denominator" of public discourse. YouTube’s new "highlights view" o
comments focuses on top-rated comments, those submitted by the uploader of the
video, video responses and most-recent comments. The company will also begin informing
users how many people have "liked" or "disliked" a
particular video, and providing users with a list of "Videos I
Liked."


 
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v3781
(YouTube blog)

http://snipurl.com/v3775
(NewTeeVee)

Sony/ATV Taps Zazzle for 'Lyrical Inspirations' Merchandise

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Redwood City,
Calif. – Sony/ATV Music
Publishing has partnered with on-demand merchandise manufacturer and
distributor Zazzle to let artists and fans customize t-shirts and other
products with song lyrics. The Lyrical Inspirations Fan Merch initiative is
part of Zazzle’s Artistprojekt brand, and at launch designs featuring lyrics
from the Beatles, Madonna and Elvis are available from artists including Luca
Ionescu, Andy Howell and Ginger Che.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v37ha

http://www.sonyatv.com

http://www.zazzle.com/sonyatv

China Issues Strict Media Rules on Covering Google Story

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Washington – In the wake of
Google’s (NASD:  GOOG) decision this week to stop censoring search results in China, the
Chinese government has issued a draconian set of guidelines on how media
outlets in the country must cover the matter, which were first published by
China Digital Times and subsequently republished by The Washington Post. The
rules stipulate that media must use content and talking points about the
controversy from the central government’s media site, and may not "report
Google’s information/press releases." "Related reports need to put
[our story/perspective/information] in the center, do not provide materials for
Google to attack relevant policies of our country."

The rules also order
media sites not to produce topic pages, discussion sessions or engage in
investigative reporting into Google’s move.

Sites must also monitor their
comments sections, as well as "’clean up’ text, images and sound and
videos which support Google, dedicate flowers to Google, ask Google to stay,
cheer for Google and others have a different tune from government policy."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v3675
(Washington Post)

http://snipurl.com/v366c
(China Digital Times)

Report: RapidShare Seeking Legal Download Talks With Studios

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– RapidShare, the online file-hosting service that has come under fire from
copyright holders for hosting unauthorized content, has sought negotiations
with media company executives on distributing licensed content through the
service, TorrentFreak reported.

Communications obtained by TorrentFreak,
purportedly from RapidShare general manager Bobby Chang to unnamed parties, outline
the company’s recent efforts to terminate the accounts of people uploading
copyrighted content, and to focus on distributing authorized content.

One
tactic the company pitched was to direct users trying to download unauthorized
files to legal downloads of the content.

"If a user finds out that several
attempts to download an illegal copy of a DVD are in vain, and if his several
attempts to ‘steal’ this DVD have just brought him to an online-store, he may
finally be frustrated and willing to purchase a licensed version of this
movie," Chang wrote.

RapidShare partnered with Warner Bros. last year to
launch RapidMovies, a site that currently offers promotional content but is
envisioned as a legal content store.

"We are willing to invest
substantially into this online store and I would be glad to not just talk about
RapidShare as a threat for the entertainment industry, but also about
RapidShare as an interesting option to sell your products," Chang added.

"My company does have several million users per day. I am sure, that quite
a significant proportion of these users may be willing to buy your companies’
movies."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v35rw
(TorrentFreak)

http://snipurl.com/v360o
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.rapidshare.com

Lionsgate Urges Shareholders to Adopt Poison Pill on Icahn Bid

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Vancouver,
Canada – In a
letter to shareholders sent on Friday, Canadian film studio Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) urged shareholders to adopt a "poison pill" as a means of deflecting activist investor Carl Icahn’s hostile takeover bid for the
company, to be voted on in a special shareholders’ meeting on May 4.

At the
meeting, shareholders will be asked by the company’s board to approve a
"poison pill" shareholder rights plan, meant to discourage takeover
bids like Icahn’s by potentially diluting the resulting ownership stake.

Lionsgate
reiterated that it believes Icahn’s offer of $6 per share offer is
"financially inadequate and coercive and is not in the best interests of
Lionsgate, its shareholders and other stakeholders."

The company also touted
its financial and market performance in recent years, and cautioned that Icahn’s
investor group "lacks industry experience and its ambition to run
operations could harm Lionsgate and the value of your investment."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v358z

http://snipurl.com/v358k
(AP)

http://www.lionsgate.com

Report: Project Playlist Seeking Funding, Spoke to AOL

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – Project Playlist, a
social music site that lets users create and share song playlists, is in talks
with potential investors including AOL (NYSE: AOL) about providing additional backing to
the company, CNET reported, citing multiple sources.

The Palo
Alto, Calif.-based company has raised more than $23 million in
financing to date.

The company was sued by two of the four major record labels
for copyright infringement, while it has secured licensed from Sony Music and
EMI.

Former CEO Owen van Natta left Facebook to helm the company, but left
after only five months to take the job as CEO of MySpace.

"Unfortunately
we cannot offer any comments about any potential fund-raising. If we have any
news to announce in the near future I will let you know," Project Playlist
founder Jeremy Rimber told CNET.

 

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20001262-261.html

http://www.playlist.com

Sirius XM Schedules Delisting Hearing with Nasdaq

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Satellite radio firm Sirius XM (NASD: SIRI) has scheduled an April 29 meeting with the
Nasdaq to lay out its plan for regaining compliance with market rules.

The
company, which has failed to meet the market’s $1 minimum price requirements
for continued listing, said it may implement a reverse stock split to boost its
share price.

The stock has traded below the $1 mark for all but a few days
since September 2008.

The Nasdaq Listings Qualification Panel may grant Sirius
XM until Sept. 13 to regain compliance.

"The company intends to take all
necessary steps to maintain the listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq
Global Select Market," Sirius XM said in a statement.

"The board of
directors intends to effect the reverse stock split only if it determines the
action to be in the best interests of stockholders."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/v353h

http://www.siriusxm.com

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