Category: Internet

National Allies Who Have Taken the Pledge for Digital Inclusion!
MY ORGANIZATION PLEDGES TO BE A DIGITAL INCLUSION CHAMPION.

We support the Media Action Grassroots Network. As a Digital Inclusion Champion, my organization asks the FCC and Congress to create a National Broadband Plan that defines broadband as a universal service, and network neutrality rules that protect an open and non-discriminatory internet.
1. Center for Media Justice: National
2. Waite House: MN
3. Headwaters Foundation for Justice: MN
4. Main Street Project: MN
5. League of Rural Voters: MN
6. Twin Cities Community Voice Mail: MN
7. Southwest Workers’ Union: TX
8. Reclaim the Media: WA
9. La Peña: TX
10. Organizing Apprenticeship Project: MN
11. Global Action Project: NY
12. People TV: GA
13. Community Alliance & Peacemaking Project: WA
14. California Center for Rural Policy/Humboldt State University: CA
15. Housing Assistance Council: DC
16. The Minneapolis Television Network: MN
17. League of Young Voters: National
18. South West Organizing Project: NM
19. Media Literacy Project: NM
20. Honor the Earth: MN
21. On the Commons: MN
22. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: MN
23. La Asamblea de Derechos Civiles: MN
24. District 7 Planning Council: MN
25. Native Public Media: National
26. The White House Project: MN
27. Trans Youth Support Network: MN
28. Mountain Area Information Network: NC
29. Community Action Center of Northfield: MN
30. People Escaping Poverty Project: MN
31. Quilted: CA
32. Asian Media Access: MN
33. Community Alliance for Global Justice: WA
34. Langston Hughes Film Festival: WA
35. MN Center for Neighborhood Organizing: MN
36. 206 Universal: WA
37. Syndicated FuseBox Radio Broadcast/BlackRadioIsBack.com: MD
38. Access Humboldt: CA
39. Rural Broadband Policy Group: National
40. Counter Corp: CA
41. Hope Community: MN
42. Project Hip Hop: MA
43. Alliance for Metropolitan Stability: MN
44. Progressive Technology Project: MN
45. Arts and Democracy Project: National
46. Rural Latino Economic Center: MN
47. Indigenous Peoples’ Green Jobs Task Force: MN
48. Centro Cultural de Fargo Moorhead: MN
49. Praxis Project: National
50. Young Women United: NM
51. Youth Works: NM
52. University of New Mexico Women’s Resource Center: NM
53. Southwest Multimedia Education Collaborative: NM
54. Raza Graduate Student Association: NM
55. Raíces Collective: NM
56. New Mexico Office of African American Affairs: NM
57. MECHa de University of New Mexico: NM
58. La Communidad Habla: NM
59. Fierce Pride: NM
60. El Centro de La Raza: NM
61. Albuquerque Partnership: NM
62. Center for Rural Strategies: National
63. National Hispanic Media Coalition: National
64. Center for Community Change: National
65. PEACE Initiative: TX
66. Design Action Collective: CA
67. Campus Ministry Office of Social Justice/St. Catherine University: MN
68. Cowan Community Center: KY
69. Roadside Theatre: KY
70. Pine Mountain Settlement School: KY
71. West Virginia Community Development Hub: WV
72. Appalachian Community Fund: TN
73. Art in the Public Interest/Community Arts Network: SC
74. Appalshop:KY
75. Youth Media Project: NM
76. Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice: NM
77. Quote…Unqoute Inc.: NM
78. Peace Makers Consulting: NM
79. New Mexico Public Health Association: NM
80. New Mexico Human Rights Project: NM
81. New Mexico Asian Family Center: NM
82. Immigrant Coalition: NM
83. El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos: NM
84. Coletta Reid & Associates: NM
85. Academy of Trades & Technology Charter School: NM
86. BioGeoCreations: NM
87. Community Justice for Youth Network: National
88. Women, Action & the Media: National
89. StoryTelling and Organizing Project: CA
90. Casa Esperanza: New Jersey
91. Brushy Fork Institute: SE Region
92. Progressive Technology Project: MN
93. Afro-Netizen: National
94. NM Tribal Housing Coalition: NM
95. Fuerza Unida: TX
96. Transmission Project: National
97. Spirit in Action: MA
98. People Inc.: TN
99. South Carolina Progressive Network: SC
100. South Texas Media Access: TX
101. Washington Public Interest Research Group: WA
102. Lao Assistance Center: MN
103. Migizi Communications: MN
104. Women’s Network of Red River Valley: MN
105. New Sudanese Community Association
106. Greater Friendship Church: MN
107. Priory of St. Albert the Great: MN
108. POWER: Oakland
109. Applied Research Center: National
110. Ruckus Society: National
111. Movement Strategy Center: National
112. League for Public Schools: TX
113. Windustry: MN
114. Channel Austin: TX
115. Community Action Center, Northfield: MN
116. C4 Workspace: TX
117. Berkeley Community Media: CA
118. Martinez Street Women’s Center: TX
119. Chanel Austin: TX
120. Media Alliance: CA
121. Local 782: TX
122. Backbeat Magazine: TX
123. Echo Town: TX
124. Youth Media Institute: WA
125. The Washington Bus: WA
126. Radio Rootz: NY
127. People’s Production House: NY
128. Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine: WA
129. Community News Production Institute: NY
130. Labor Justice Radio: PA
131. On Blast Radio: PA
132. Philly for Change: PA
133. Media Mobilizing Project: PA
134. Hollow Earth Radio: WA
135. NOW Seattle Chapter: WA
136. Prometheus Radio Project: PA
137. Cosmo Inserra: TX
138. Philly for Change: PA
139. Pocharte: TX
140. Breakthrough TV: National
141. Youth Radio KUNM: NM
142. Healthy Heart: NM
143. The Harwood Art Center: NM
144. Media Arts Collaborative Charter School: NM
145. South Broadway Neighborhood Association: NM
146. Truman Middle School: NM
147. Young Non-Profit Professionals Network: NM
148. Sannis & Ochoa: TX
149. Color of Change: National
150. Texans For Peace: TX
151. LifeNets: TX
152. Blue Herron Media LLC (We The People News): TX
153. Austin Airwaves: TX
154. Blue Herron Media LLC (We The People News): TX
155. Global Peace: MN
156. Voices for Changes: MN
157. Adios Barbie: National
158. The Topless America Project: National
159. Coastal Caroline University: SC
160. Health Inn Business: WV
161. Clear Creek Festival: KY
162. Mountain Association for Community Economic Development: KY
163. Spoonwood Productions: KY
164. Appalachian Community Fund: TN
165. Art in the Public Interest/ Community Arts Network: SC
166. Women Action and the Media: MA
167. WV Community Development Hub: WV
168. United Mountain Defense: TN
169. Coal River Mountain Watch: WV
170. Shade Tree Productions: Unknown
171. Bright World Education: OR
172. Alternate Roots: GA
173. Fractal Foundation: NM
174. Food Grows Everywhere NM Collaborative: NM
175. University Heights Association: NM
176. Enlace Comunitario: NM
177. North Valley Moving On: NM
178. New Child Production: NM
179. New Mexico Forum for Youth in Community: NM
180. OffCenter Community Arts Project: NM
181. Excel Educational Enterprises, INC: NM
182. Koahnic Broadcast Corp: NM
183. La Raza Unida: NM
184. Kalpulli Izkalli: NM
185. Sembrando Salud: NM
186. Ella Baker Center: National
187. Sustainable Ballard: WA
188. United Workers Association: MD
189. Digital Impact Group: PA
190. Casino Free Philadelphia: PA
191. Philadelphia Digital Justice Coalition: PA
192. Philadelphia Independent Media Center: PA
193. Voluta Interpreters Collective: PA
194. Juntos: PA
195. Zivtech: PA
196. Evolve: PA
197. Radio Tlacuache: PA
198. Philly CAM: PA
199. Asian Americans United: PA
200. G-Town: PA
201. Kevin Pentz: KY
202. Mia Frederick: KY
203. Derek Mullins: KY
204. Debbie Trusty: KY
205. Mark Kidd: KY
206. Barbara Bayes: WV
207. Vincent Smith: KY
208. Donna Porterfield: VA
209. Jareth Smith: KY
210. michael szuberla: OH
211. Tommy Anderson: KY
212. Sandra White: OH
213. Dawn Piscitelli:
214. Marcus Keyes: TN
215. Wayne Carter: TN
216. Karen Howard: MA
217. Joshua Moore: KY
218. Rabecca Gainey:
219. Jessica McFarlin: NC
220. Angel Cornett: WA
221. keir berman: NH
222. Richard Fuller: KY
223. Phoebe Southwood:
224. Edwin Redmon: VA
225. Athena Melville: CA
226. Marsha Raymond: TN
227. Mollie Alexander: MO
228. Jason Fitzgerald: WA
229. Steven Taylor: KY
230. Stacy Gloss: KY
231. Samantha Sparkman: KY
232. Karen Denner: KY
233. Audrey Green:
234. William Demers: CA
235. Ricky Hill: TX
236. Jan Comerford: IL
237. R Wise: TX
238. Sam Sanchez: TX
239. Matt Salter: VA
240. David Fields: KY
241. Erik Lewis: KY
242. Deborah Rudman: PA
243. JOHN HARAGAN: KY
244. Alex Gardner: KY
245. Kathy Stonestreet: KY
246. Annette Welch: WV
247. bethany sedik: PA
248. Anika Cunningham: KY
249. Evelyn Cosgriff : KY
250. Malcolm Wilson: TN
251. Robinson Cassie: KY
252. Joseph Gorman: WV
253. Andy Kachor: KY
254. Anna Katich: MI
255. Michael Frick:
256. Kathy Kontio: KY
257. Jennie Noakes: PA
258. Kim Lyons : VI
259. Sadie Ryanne Baker: DC
260. Elizabeth Sanders: KY
261. Maure Briggs- Carrington: MA
262. Bill Gates: KY
263. Laura Webb: KY
264. Martin Mudd: KY
265. Erica Saccucci: IL
266. Josie Lamb Williams: KY
267. Larry Hovekamp: KY
268. Cody Belcher: KY
269. Rachel Birkhahn-Rommelfanger : IL
270. Elizabeth Speith: HI
271. Elizabeth Forsyth: MA
272. Kelly Drey-Houck:
273. Miranda Brown: KY
274. Dave Newton: KY
275. Deborah M:
276. Michael Fallik:
277. Mary Love: KY
278. Jeff Deal: NC
279. Michelle Reynolds: CA
280. Lora Smith: NC
281. Amira Haqq: TN
282. Elizabeth Desmond:
283. Leanne Haynes: NC
284. michael w smith: KY
285. Sarah Hall: KY
286. Brittany Greer: IN
287. Grace Toney Edwards: VA
288. Debra Callahan: KY
289. Joanna Anderson: KY
290. Matt Anderson: KY
291. Sara Pennington: KY
292. Kris Philipp: KY
293. nancy kelly: KY
294. Dennis Kent: IN
295. Alex Davenport:
296. Graham Boyle: MD
297. Renee Muncy: KY
298. Tina Marie Johnson: KY
299. Tanya Turner:KY
300. Hannah Morgan: VA
301. Wendy Johnston: WV
302. Tricia Shapiro: NC
303. Rachel Sarah Blanton: VA
304. Vernon Haltom: WV
305. Robin Vosburg: CA
306. Vickie Terry: TN
307. Beth Bissmeyer:
308. Jennifer Burks:
309. sierra emrich: KY
310. Albert Taylor: KY
311. Deb Cawood: KY
312. Katey Lauer:
313. Allison Maupin:
314. Lynn Sislo: OK
315. Martha Brown: KY
316. Emily Sarwas : KY
317. sallie sparkman: KY
318. Chris Cress: KY
319. Johny Cress: KY
320. Ronald Duff: KY
321. Mary Fulst: KY
322. Chuck Creech: KY
323. Direct Action Welfare Group: WV
324. Pennsylvania Head Start Association: PA
325. Voices of Philadelphia: PA
326. Poverty Initiative: PA
327. Coalition to Save the Libraries: PA
328. Institute for the Study of Civic Values: PA
329. Essential Services Coalition: PA
330. Coletta Reid & Associates: NM
331. Ser de New Mexico: NM
332. NM Commission on the status of Women: NM
333. National Hispanic Cultural Center: NM
334. Native American Community Academy: NM
335. MBongi Village Loukoua Project: MI
336. Fair West Neighborhood Association: NM
337. Barelas Neighborhood Association: NM
338. Barelas Community Coalition: NM
339. Action for Healthy Kids: NM
340. I Vote Native: NM
341. Seattle Minority Executive Directors Association: WA
342. La Plaza de Encuentro Gathering Place: NM
343. Southwest Creations: NM
February 5, 2010
It’s Official: Ontela Bought Photobucket from News Corp.

deals, Software, Analysis

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Back in December, we reported that Seattle mobile imaging startup Ontela merged with Photobucket, the Denver-based photo sharing site previously owned by News Corporation. Financial terms of the deal weren’t released, but News Corp. ceded some control of Photobucket to Ontela’s investors while retaining an equity stake in the merged company, which retains the Photobucket name.

Yet the full story, and its significance, never really came out. Before the companies announced the merger, rumors were swirling that Ontela was buying Photobucket. Well, I’ve done a little sleuthing, and can now confirm those rumors were accurate. Ontela did in fact acquire Photobucket, according to a Form 10-Q that News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) filed with the SEC yesterday.

The statement in the form (on page 9) reads: “In December 2009, the Company [News Corp.] entered into an agreement to sell its Photobucket subsidiary, a web-based provider of photo- and video-sharing services, to a mobile photo uploading platform in exchange for an equity interest in the acquirer. A loss of approximately $29 million on this transaction was included in other, net in the unaudited consolidated statements of operations for the three and six months ended December 31, 2009. As a result of this transaction, the Company’s interest in the acquirer, which is not material, was recorded at fair value and is now accounted for under the equity method of accounting.”

In any merger, of course, one company holds more cards than the other. In this case, it was Ontela, which is a bit surprising. The significance here is that a small Seattle startup has acquired a top-50 website (according to comScore) at what sounds like a pretty good price. TechCrunch reported the sale would be worth $60 million; News Corp. originally acquired Photobucket in 2007 for $250 million plus a $50 million earnout. Whatever the price for Ontela’s investors—which include Steamboat Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Covera Ventures, and Voyager Capital—it was apparently $29 million less than what News Corp. had valued the subsidiary at. So maybe it’s time to call Photobucket a Seattle company.

As of December, Ontela had 23 employees. The company was formed in 2005 and was backed by about $15 million in venture funding. Earlier this week, Ontela co-founder and former CEO Dan Shapiro said he is leaving his role as chief technology officer of Photobucket in the next month, but will remain an advisor to the company. Photobucket went through a round of layoffs last June, leaving it with about 85 employees at that time.

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February 5, 2010
Baidu’s monopoly opportunity

Google Inc.’s impasse with the Chinese government could lead to Baidu Inc. becoming a monopoly in China’s search market. This obviously has long-term strategic implications that the market is trying to wrap its head around.

In order to value Baidu shares, RBC Capital Markets Stephen Ju introduced a scenario analysis based on a 75% chance that Google withdraws from China. As a result, his price target climbs from US$403 to US$554.

“We have assigned a higher probability to the scenarios that contemplate a Google exit, as we believe its position in China has become untenable,” Mr. Ju told clients.

The Chinese government has little incentive to agree to any concessions on unfiltered search, so Google’s days in China are numbered, he added.

However, Alibaba Group’s Taobao is apparently preparing a general search platform as it seeks to leverage its traffic into additional businesses. Since e-commerce traffic comes with the intent to buy something, it is very valuable, which makes Taobao a potential threat to Baidu in the long run.

Jonathan Ratner

February 5, 2010
eClinicalWorks Tops $100M Sales as Doctors Move from Paper to Pixel Records

Health IT, EMRs, Web

Ryan McBride wrote:

Most health records in the U.S. today are still gathering dust, tucked away in filing cabinets, existing only on paper. Even though the idea of electronic medical records is still a relatively new concept at most hospitals and clinics, the EMR software industry has its share of dinosaurs living alongside the newer species. At eClinicalWorks, one of the new generation electronic medical record companies, business is thriving even as it fights some much larger and older competitors who are pursuing the same customers.

The Westborough, MA-based company experienced eight-figure revenue growth for its sixth consecutive year, with annual revenue of an estimated $105-$106 million in 2009, up from $85 million in 2008, according to the firm. (The company is privately held, and doesn’t reveal full financial data, like what its profits are.) After nearly 11 years in business, the firm has grown to 930 employees and now has operations Pleasanton, CA, New York City, Alpharetta, GA, as well as here in Massachusetts.

To a certain extent, eClinicalWorks is riding a wave of demand for electronic medical records. (One of the firm’s counterparts, Horsham, PA-based NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, reported a similar rate of revenue growth during the last nine months of 2009.) The federal stimulus package passed last February set aside $17 billion in incentives for doctors who adopt electronic records, and physicians are eligible for as much as $44,000 in Medicare incentives starting in 2011 for implementing the records systems in their practices. That eClinicalWorks was growing rapidly before the government announced the plan bodes well for the future. But the company co-founder and CEO Girish Navani is not relying on federal dollars to exclusively pave the way for the firm’s future prosperity.

The company has made investments in distinguishing itself among the field of EMR providers, including the industry giants such as Allscripts (NASDAQ:MDRX), General Electric (NYSE:GE) , and McKesson (NYSE:MCK). Navani told me that his firm’s electronic records and practice management software are user friendly, easy to customize, and provided with comprehensive technical support. The company also charges …Next Page »

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February 5, 2010
Ironwood Goes Public, Glasshouse and BG Medicine Aim to Do the Same, Vivox Collects $6.8M, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Roundup, deals, IPOs

Rebecca Zacks wrote:

For the first time in as long as I can remember, IPOs dominated the New England tech and life sciences deals news this week.

—Glasshouse Technologies, an IT consulting firm in Framingham, MA, indicated in an SEC filing that it’s planning an initial public offering worth as much as $75 million. Glasshouse, which is aiming to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GLAS, had abandoned a previous attempt to go public back in March 2009.

—BG Medicine also revived its IPO ambitions this week, after nixing an $80 million offering in January 2008. The Waltham, MA-based developer of molecular diagnostics is now proposing to raise as much as $86.3 million to help bring its test for heart failure to market in the U.S. and Europe.

—The much-anticipated initial public offering from Cambridge, MA-based Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IRWD) priced below its proposed range of $14 to $16 per share on Tuesday, with 16.67 million shares going for $11.25 apiece. The stock’s price climbed modestly on its first day of trading, closing the day up 3.6 percent at $11.65.

—In non-IPO news, Westford, MA-based BioBehavioral Diagnostics raised $10 million in a Series B financing led by Sevin Rosen Funds and Tullis Dickerson. The startup intends to use the funds in part to expand sales and marketing efforts for a system used to diagnose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

—Software maker Vivox of Natick, MA, raised $6.8 million in a third round of venture financing led by new investor IDG Ventures SF and joined by return investors Benchmark Capital, Canaan Partners, and GrandBanks Capital. Vivox’s technology allows gamers and inhabitants of virtual worlds such as Second Life, EVE Online, and EverQuest to talk with each other over the Internet.

—Unica (NASDAQ:UNCA), a marketing software firm in Waltham, acquired the MakeMeTop search marketing business from UK-based Microchannel for an undisclosed sum.

—Robotics startup CyPhy Works raised $1.75 million in a round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The Cambridge-based startup is led by iRobot co-founder Helen Greiner.

—Lexington, MA-based 1366 Technologies, a developer of more efficient photovoltaic panels, nabbed $5.2 million in a Series B financing round, according the company’s president, Frank van Mierlo. North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners provided $5 million of the funds and members of 1366’s management provided the rest, van Mierlo said.

—Cancer therapy developer Syndax Pharmaceuticals of Waltham collected $9 million of a planned $16 million in an offering of equity, options, and warrants, according to regulatory filings.

—Newton, MA-based Powerhouse Dynamics, a developer of home energy usage monitoring tools, closed a $1.02 million financing round. The deal was led by Lexington-based CommonAngels.

—Tepha, a Lexington-based maker of polymers for medical applications spun off by Cambridge-based Metabolix (NASDAQ:MBLX), raised $3 million in an equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The deal could eventually total $7.4 million, the filing indicates.

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February 5, 2010
Datacastle, with Aussie Connections, Moves Into Corporate Data Management

Software, IT, startups

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Managing data on desktop and laptop computers is a perennial problem for businesses. That’s because IT managers and administrators don’t have control over individual machines the way they do the servers inside their own data center. So dealing with issues around each laptop’s security, privacy, and data backup and recovery tends to be costly and inefficient.

Enter Datacastle, a Seattle company that has been running quietly for almost five years. Originally focused on small-scale data backup and recovery, Datacastle is branching out into the broader business and enterprise market for all sorts of data management applications—encryption, automatic backup, recovery, read-write access, device tracing, and information shredding—all wrapped up in a single product it released last week, called RED.

Datacastle’s customers include companies in finance, retail, healthcare and insurance, says CEO Ron Faith. Its products are available as a Web service, or to be installed on company computers, through its partners in North America, Europe, and Australia. Currently the software works with Windows operating systems—XP, Vista, and Windows 7—but Faith hinted that the company is interested in exploring Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud-based operating system, as well as other platforms like Apple.

The enterprise market seems like the most likely way for a small company like Datacastle to get enough revenue to succeed. Faith says that it costs companies an average of $6.75 million each time they lose data. And last year was the worst on record, with some 220 million data records breached (some high-profile credit card company snafus come to mind).

Datacastle says it competes mainly against individual services for things like online backup (Iron Mountain, Symantec), encryption software (PGP), and remote data and device tracking (Absolute Software’s LoJack). Some other notable companies in the data backup space, like Mozy, aim to serve consumers more than businesses.

The key to Datacastle’s success will be the ability to put it all together in one package that minimizes the headache involved in installing all these separate data-related features. Faith has valuable perspective on this point, having worked at Apple and Qpass, the Seattle-based mobile commerce firm, where he had to worry about security with software-as-a-service. “If you put friction in place trying to implement security, end users will try to get around it or block it,” he says.

The company’s founder and chief technology officer, former Microsoftie Gary Sumner, is from Australia, as are some of the company’s developers. So it’s no surprise that Datacastle is backed by Aussie venture firm CM Capital Investments, which most recently put in $3 million in November (on the heels of a $5.3 million Series A round in 2008). Faith says he has gotten interest from Seattle and Bay Area investors as well, but the fit with CM Capital has been “fabulous.” He originally had some concerns about having board members and investors on the other side of the world, but says he now makes the trek Down Under twice a year.

Since he’s a former Apple guy, I also had to ask him about the iPad. “I like the product,” Faith says. “People had such high expectations. I think it has high potential. I’m a heavy Kindle user, but I think there’s room for [another]. I see it as a casual device. It has potential [as an e-book platform].”

More broadly, Faith has some inspiring words for companies in Seattle and beyond. “Startups that make it through periods like this end up being very nice wins for all concerned,” he says. “It’s times like this when members of the entrepreneurial community win their stripes. The companies that do well through this period, they’re well poised to succeed on the other side.”

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February 4, 2010
Microsoft, NSF Team Up in Cloud

Software, Internet, research

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Microsoft announced today it has formed a partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide free cloud-computing resources to selected researchers and research groups through Windows Azure. Financial details of the agreement weren’t given, but NSF will be in charge of awarding and managing the projects through its usual review process. Microsoft will grant researchers access to Azure’s cloud tools for three years.

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February 4, 2010
Is Google Planning To Add Store Views To Google Maps?

A store in New York City called Oh Nuts, which apparently sells nuts and nut-based goods, told the blog Search Engine Land that someone from Google showed up and took a series of photos of the interior as part of an upcoming “Google Store Views” service. Google has officially said no comment, so I guess now it’s a waiting game to see if this shows up as an offshoot of Google’s street view offering, or if Oh Nuts reports in the next few days that they’ve had their entire inventory stolen by nut fiends who knew the layout suspiciously well.

“Google Maps To Add “Google Store Views”” [searchengineland.com]

February 4, 2010
Google Partners with NSA; FBI, DHS Advice Also Sought

(image: SearchEngineWatch)

Ellen Nakashima has a startling, but I guess unsurprising, article in this morning’s Washington Post on internet giant Google’s new partnership with the NSA:

Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google — and its users — from future attack.

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google’s policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans’ online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users’ searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

The article indicates Google initiated the matter by approaching the NSA after the recent discovery of intrusive attacks by Chinese interests last month, which is interesting in light of the fact Google made a point of publicly stating in 2008 they had never cooperated with the NSA on the Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Nakashima also notes that NSA is also soliciting involvement of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. You have to wonder exactly what the FBI and DHS are going to lend that NSA cannot if this is truly just technical advice, because neither agency is particularly known for its geeky brilliance with computers. You would have to wonder is this is not a step in the direction of the “cyber protection” program the government has been hinting at initiating for some time now.

“As a general matter,” NSA spokeswoman Judi Emmel said, “as part of its information-assurance mission, NSA works with a broad range of commercial partners and research associates to ensure the availability of secure tailored solutions for Department of Defense and national security systems customers.”

Despite such precedent, Matthew Aid, an expert on the NSA, said Google’s global reach makes it unique.

“When you rise to the level of Google . . . you’re looking at a company that has taken great pride in its independence,” said Aid, author of “The Secret Sentry,” a history of the NSA. “I’m a little uncomfortable with Google cooperating this closely with the nation’s largest intelligence agency, even if it’s strictly for defensive purposes.”

Mr. Aid isn’t the only one a little uncomfortable with this new spirit of cooperation between the world’s most spooky governmental spy agency and the world’s most ubiquitous information technology and database company. And so the descent down the slippery slope picks up a little more speed.

(Image courtesy of SearchEngineWatch.com, a very nice resource by the way)

February 4, 2010
H.264 Will Stay Royalty-Free for Free Internet Video Through 2016 (But Don’t Clap Yet) [Video]

Appropriately following our explainer on why HTML5 won’t save the internet (yet) and the embedded discussion about video codecs and the future of internet video, MPEG LA—who licenses the h.264 codec—has announced they’re going to continue H.264’s royalty freeness for free internet video through 2016.

Which sounds like it melts some of Mozilla’s core objections to anointing h.264 the internet video standard, but shnope. They’re pretty committed to a fully free and open standard. Just see Mozilla engineering VP’s longer post on the subject. What, you thought things would actually get resolved anytime soon? [MPEG LA via Daring Fireball]

February 3, 2010
JooJoo Tablet Strikes Back: A Web App Store and Full Production Is GoGoGo [Joojoo]

After the iPad was announced for $499, (a few) people asked, “What about JooJoo?” the first $499 web tablet, formerly known as CrunchPad. Well, it’s on. JooJoo’s now in full production, and plans to open a web app store.

I talked to Fusion Garage CEO Chandra, who said they’re not only getting another round of investing, they’ve struck a deal CSL Group, Malaysia’s largest OEM—they make fabulous BlackBerry knockoffs called Blueberrys—to cover their full outgoing manufacturing cost in exchange for revenue sharing. In other words, CSL’s covering the cost to make the tablet (which is being made by one of the “top three or four” Taiwanese OEMs, according to Chandra), and CSL gets a slice of cash from every JooJoo sold. The upshot is that they’re expecting to hit their target of shipping JooJoos within 8-10 weeks of taking pre-orders—so like, end of this month—with enough produced to “meet demand,” though Chandra wouldn’t reveal specific numbers.

The other big news is that they’re planning on opening a web app store. Chandra says that one of the iPad’s advantages over JooJoo was the App Store, which made app discovery easy through categorization. The JooJoo take is that “the internet is the largest app store,” and what they’ll be doing is categorizing all kinds of web apps in an “app store” to make them easy to find. (Personal aside: The app store concept must diiiiiiieeeeee.)

To that end, the other thing the iPad has over JooJoo is that app developers can tap into the hardware natively, which is why Fusion Garage is introducing APIs to let web developers get at the JooJoo hardware, like to use the accelerometer for gaming. Chandra says that the APIs are “unique, but standards driven,” and easy to extend current web apps with their relatively simple APIs. We’ll see.

Asked what he thinks about the iPad more broadly, and Chandra said that he’s amazed Apple’s jumping “into a category that we’ve defined.” He points out that JooJoo is African for “magical,” which is exactly how Apple described iPad, and that the iPad even comes in at the exact same pricepoint of $499. (No, I’m not really sure how “African” is a language.) But, despite Apple being, uh, Apple, he thinks JooJoo has a few advantages: They’re launching first; they’ve got a bigger screen (12.1 massive inches); and it’s an “uncompromised” web experience, since they’ll have Flash, and you’ll be able to use sites like Facebook in their full glory, not miniaturized app form.

Them’s is fighting words, for sure. I’m glad to see them pushing on in the face of crushing odds, actually, to keep things interesting, if nothing else.

FUSION GARAGE MOVES INTO FULL PRODUCTION OF BREAKTHROUGH JOOJOO WEB TABLET
Innovative Manufacturing Agreement and Investment from CSL Group Helps
Reinvent Consumer Electronics Business Model

SINGAPORE, February 3, 2010 – Fusion Garage today announced that its category-creating JooJoo Internet tablet has moved into full production with initial shipments expected to reach consumers at the end of February. Helping fuel the JooJoo’s arrival and Fusion Garage’s next phase of corporate growth is an innovative manufacturing agreement and strategic investment from mobile device OEM and distribution giant CSL Group of Malaysia.

Fusion Garage is expected to announce a second round of investment within the next two weeks which would augment today’s investment from CSL and the company’s initial round secured in November 2009.
CSL, established in 1998, has rapidly grown to a major conglomerate, with sales of nearly $300M USD, and the organization is one of the largest manufacturers of cell phones, mobile devices, netbook and notebook computers in SE Asia.

The strategic relationship between the companies calls for CSL to absorb all up front manufacturing costs associated with JooJoo production. This agreement virtually eliminates the normal high cost of mass market entry – often in the tens of millions – for any emerging Consumer Electronics (CE) hardware developer. In exchange, CSL will receive a revenue royalty from each JooJoo sold globally. Additionally, CSL has made a strategic venture investment in Fusion Garage which will help the company to move to the next phase of its corporate growth and product development.

“This is landscape changing manufacturing agreement in the CE hardware market in much the same way Dell changed the PC business model with its direct to consumer sales approach back in the 1990s,” said Fusion Garage founder and CEO, Chandrasekar (Chandra) Rathakrishnan. “CSL’s confidence in JooJoo and strategic investment enables us to concentrate on the expansion of our organization, software development and, ultimately, building a world class CE company.”

“We are justifiably bullish – not only on the promise of the JooJoo and the Internet tablet market’s potential but also on Fusion Garage’s forward looking vision,” said Dato Eric Chuah, Chairman of the CSL Group of Companies. “We have an opportunity to expand our business via this relationship, enter a hot market with a trusted partner and turn the traditional CE hardware manufacturing model on its head. We are betting on volume here and firmly believe our bet will be a winner.”

About JooJoo
JooJoo, officially introduced in December 2009, is the category-creating Web tablet that provides near instantaneous Internet access and the best online experience. The African word “joujou” means magical object and Fusion Garage’s JooJoo brings users into an online world where everything on the Internet is just a single touch away. Powered by Fusion Garage’s innovative browser-based operating system, JooJoo enables users to quickly and easily tap into Internet applications, news, music, high definition video, social media and web services. JooJoo has revolutionary hardware, including the largest capacitive touch screen of any device on the market – 12.1 inches –providing full screen content viewing. Its ultra-portable, ultra-thin design offers the best Internet experience anywhere – on the couch or on the go, standing or sitting. JooJoo’s gesture-based user interface allows easy transitions between Websites and turns pages in a digital publication via the movement of a finger. A full-size touch keyboard appears when users need it, and disappears when viewing content or paging through digital content. JooJoo is available directly from Fusion Garage at www.thejoojoo.com.

About Fusion Garage
Fusion Garage enables the best Internet experience through innovative software and hardware devices. Founded in 2008, Fusion Garage’s core browser-based operating system provides near instantaneous Internet access and has spurred the development of an entirely new category of consumer electronics devices dedicated to online usage. Fusion Garage is based in Singapore and is privately funded.

February 3, 2010
BlueKai Brings In Big Money, Siemens Licenses HealthVault, Intellectual Ventures Buys Avistar Patents, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

Roundup, deals, VC

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Deal activity picked up a bit in the Northwest this week. But most of the action was in two or three big deals in the software and Internet sectors, with a smattering of deals in biotech and clean IT.

—Portland, OR-based Coaxis raised $10 million in growth capital from Updata Partners, based in Virginia and New Jersey. The money will be used to help Coaxis’s business, Viewpoint Construction Software, expand internationally. Viewpoint’s software, which is built on Microsoft’s .NET platform, is used by construction firms in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

—SinglePoint, the wireless software firm based in Bellevue, WA, sold off its mobile aggregation business to Swedish giant Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) for an undisclosed amount. SinglePoint makes mobile marketing software, and its service will help Ericsson expand its reach in text messaging.

—Bellevue, WA-based BlueKai raised a $21 million Series C round led by new investor GGV Capital, as Erin reported. Existing investors Battery Ventures and Redpoint Ventures also participated in the deal. BlueKai is a data exchange firm that enables websites to sell data on consumer demographics or buying behavior to companies that want to target their advertising more directly and efficiently. The company has raised about $35 million in venture capital dating back to March 2008.

—Seattle-based Hemaquest Pharmaceuticals raised $6 million in equity financing from undisclosed investors, as Luke reported. Hemaquest is developing experimental treatments for sickle cell anemia and viral-related blood cancers. The company was founded in 2007 and is backed by Forward Ventures, De Novo Ventures, and Lilly Ventures.

—Seattle-based SEOmoz has formed a partnership with U.K.-based Distilled to hand off its consulting business, which will be worth an estimated $1 million in the first year. As part of the deal, Distilled is opening a small office in Seattle. SEOmoz is now focusing solely on its search engine optimization and Web analysis tools and software.

—Seattle-based Voyager Capital co-led a $14 million Series B investment in Coulomb Technologies, a startup focused on electric vehicle infrastructure, based in Campbell, CA. Rho Ventures is the other main investor in the round. Voyager Capital seems to be making a push in the “clean IT” sector.

—Microsoft said that German giant Siemens has licensed its HealthVault technology platform, as Ryan reported. Financial details weren’t given. Germany will be the third country (after the U.S. and Canada) to adopt HealthVault, which enables people to store their personal health records in a secure online account and to share information with their doctors. Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) released the technology in the U.S. in 2007.

—Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures, the invention firm led by CEO Nathan Myhrvold, acquired the majority of the patent portfolio of Avistar, a video-conferencing technology firm in San Mateo, CA. The deal is worth $11 million upfront, with Avistar also to receive a full grant back license that protects its products under these patents.

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February 3, 2010
ViaSat on New Trajectory Following Deal to Create Satellite-Based High-Speed Internet

Internet, Satellite-based Internet, deals

Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

It was a big deal in October when ViaSat (NASDAQ: VSAT), the Carlsbad, CA-based specialist in satellite-based communications technologies, announced it was acquiring WildBlue Communications, a suburban Denver, CO-based internet service provider. The acquisition, once revealed, made a lot of sense. As a satellite-based provider of high-speed Internet service in mostly rural communities, WildBlue made a good fit with ViaSat’s broadband networking business.

But the size of the transaction, a cash-and-stock deal valued at $568 million, was a sign that ViaSat has attained a higher plane of corporate existence. While it did not rank among the 10 biggest M&A deals of 2009 (or even among the tech industry’s 10 biggest M&A deals), it was among the biggest venture-backed M&A deals in the last three months of last year. It serves as one more indication that the 24-year-old company that prides itself on its steady growth and stability changed its trajectory dramatically two years ago when it announced plans to build and launch its own $450 million communications satellite to provide high-speed Internet service.

To get a better understanding of ViaSat’s changing strategy, I recently sat down with chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg, who co-founded the company in 1986 with Mark Miller and Steve Hart. (When we met last month, Dankberg told me the ViaSat-1 satellite, which is being built by a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, remains on schedule for launch in 2011.)

The ViaSat co-founders’ initial strategy was to parlay their expertise in military satellite communications into contracts for engineering and proposal support with defense prime contractors on major satellite programs. Over time, they expanded beyond government communications by developing a variety of satellite-based equipment, software, and services for commercial customers.

By 2007, the year ViaSat’s revenue surpassed $500 million for the first time, Dankberg says the company was on the threshold of deciding whether or not to build its own satellite. As Dankberg explains it, the company had been in the satellite business all along, so the core issue that emerged was bandwidth, and the realization that satellite-based Internet users—like Internet users everywhere—have a voracious appetite for more of it.

But the bandwidth that ViaSat could …Next Page »

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February 3, 2010
We’ve All Got the Internet Blues

So according to a recent study, the Internet is making us depressed.

While the scientists behind the study link depression to the amount of time spent in a virtual world, I have a few of my own theories as to why the Internet is making us all very, very sad.

1: Checking on the Ex. If you are about to say that you have never fallen prey to Facebooking our ex you’d better grab a fire extinguisher, because your pants are on fire. After a break-up, as detailed by Ted Mosby on “How I Met Your Mother,” there is a clear winner and a clear loser. And of course, you want your ex to be the loser. So you’ll casually click on his Facebook, just to see how he’s doing (i.e. hopefully read a bunch of depressing status updates regarding his horrible life since you guys broke up, maybe some encouraging wall posts from his friends trying in vain to get him out of his depression of knowing that there was no one else for him than you…) and what do you find? NEW PICTURES OF HIM AND SOME GIRL?! IT’S ONLY BEEN A WEEK! WHO IS THIS “JESSICA”??! You click through the entire album at least twice, only to find that this little witch is now apparently dating your vile ex, and (after a small amount of clicking) she’s just gorgeous and cool and perfect. <Insert depressing Status Update here.>

2: Online Shopping. You avoid the expensive stores in the mall because you know you can’t afford them, but there’s no avoiding that amazing Botkier bag or Louboutin pump that you happen to come across while absentmindedly surfing the web in lecture. And seeing it there, taunting you with its beauty, sends you into a deep fit of depression when you know you can’t afford it.

3: Hey, I’m Doing So Much Better Than You! Even though you know that Facebook trawling is just as harmful as it is helpful (if not more so), you still can’t stay away. So you see in your Newsfeed that one of your old classmates is putting up pictures from their trip abroad this summer. Oh it’s no big deal – they just spent a month in Paris in cafes and then trekked down to the coast of the Mediterranean and spent a couple of weeks on the beach. Oh and there another friend spent, like, two months surfing in Australia. And this friend over here just changed their work info; oh they’re just casually working at NYLON now…while you are currently in a snow covered dorm boiling water on the sly for oatmeal. Depression.

4: WHAT TIME IS IT?! You may think that the internet is just good for killing time between things that you’re doing, but what if those other activities become the things that you’re using to kill time between your Internet time? It starts with Facebook (everything starts with Facebook now); you’re just casually clicking around, “catching up” with friends and, suddenly, you happen to catch the time. “How is it possible that I’ve been on Facebook for an hour?” But then you feel the need to start catching up on shows you missed last night on Hulu, which shouldn’t take long since these shows are only about 20 minutes long. But then you happen to glance at the clock again and, “ARE YOU KIDDING? HOW DID I LOSE TWO MORE HOURS ON THIS NONSENSE?!” And now you’re depressed and anxious because all of this mindless clicking means you missed out on everything. Including writing that paper, which will now have you up all night.

5: What social interaction? Admit it: you’ve IMed someone in the same room as you. If that’s not depressing, I don’t know what is.

February 3, 2010
PBS Digital Nation – Watch it
PBS Digital Nation (full 90 mins program online) – Watch it, think about what you see, and consider of what all these mean to your understanding of the new world, I am.

Ongoing notes as I watch the show (work-in-progess):
1. Awareness of potential problems identified by scientifically reputable researches are the first steps toward deeper understanding of the problems and how may we “solve” them.
2. In Korea, the big problem of people seemingly addicted to gaming. (I need more time to think about the full implications first.)
3. Learn from the Korean experiences and the problems their youth are facing. “Causalities of the digital revolution”.
4. The video games in the “Army Experience Centre“.
Filed under: Computer Science, Documentary, Internet, Science & Technology, social media, social network
February 3, 2010
Picnik Vs. Flickr: A Growth Comparison

startups, Internet, Analysis

Gregory T. Huang wrote:

Just a quick observation here. Seattle-based Picnik, the popular photo-editing startup, said yesterday it has reached the “1 billion photos edited” mark. Is this a big deal?

Well, if you compare the growth of Picnik to that of arguably the world’s top social storage site for photos, Flickr, it could be a very revealing milestone. For reference, here’s Flickr’s growth chart, in terms of the number of photos uploaded. The site has had three distinct phases of growth: an exponential rise until June 2007 (when it absorbed Yahoo! Photos), followed by two super-fast linear growth stages bringing it to 3 billion photos about a year ago.

In comparison, Picnik’s chart (see below) shows faster growth than Flickr’s, starting from its launch in 2007—if you compare the exponential portions of the curves. Flickr reached 500 million uploads in its first 3.5 years, whereas Picnik has reached 1 billion uploads in three years since January 2007 (these uploads include photos opened from social sites like Flickr and Facebook). It’s the kind of classic hockey-stick growth you’d show to investors—except, oops, Picnik doesn’t have outside investors, it was all self-funded.

Picnik is celebrating by opening its premium service to all users for free for 24 hours starting at 9 am Pacific Time today.

Here’s Picnik’s growth curve:

.

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February 3, 2010
Google Pours “Incredible” Computing Power into Antibody Drug Discovery With Adimab

Biotech, Internet, startups

Luke Timmerman wrote:

Google is the undisputed king of Internet search and advertising, but its second act as a company might be to invent a new computer model for efficiently discovering targeted antibody drugs.

“Google is committing incredible resources to it. Incredible resources,” says Tillman Gerngross, the founder and CEO of Lebanon, NH-based Adimab. “The infrastructure alone is in the millions of dollars of raw computational power.”

Gerngross won’t say exactly how much money and manpower Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is putting into his startup, so it would be easy to dismiss this as chest-thumping from an overzealous biotech entrepreneur who’s just trying to raise cash. But Gerngross isn’t in that tight spot. He’s the Dartmouth professor who founded GlycoFi to make faster, cheaper antibody drugs in yeast, and sold the company to Merck for $400 million in 2006. His new company, Lebanon, NH-based Adimab, has struck deals in the past year to produce antibody drug candidates for Merck, Roche, Pfizer, and one other unnamed pharmaceutical giant. Those partnerships have given Adimab enough cash to run for the next 10 years, Gerngross says.

Google first made its interest in Adimab clear back in October. That’s when its corporate venture arm led an undisclosed financing that included Polaris Venture Partners, SV Life Sciences, OrbiMed Advisors, and Borealis Ventures. I spoke with Gerngross at length about the strategy behind this investment a couple weeks ago at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. We met one day before Adimab held a board meeting not far from the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.

Tillman Gerngross

What interest does a computing giant like Google have in a little antibody company like Adimab? First, a little background. Adimab is positioning itself as one of the emerging discovery engines for making targeted antibody drugs which can zero in on specific targets on diseased cells, while sparing healthy ones. The market, born in the late 1990s, now generates about $25 billion in annual sales for targeted drugs like Roche’s rituximab (Rituxan) and trastuzumab (Herceptin).

Traditional antibody discovery is time-consuming and risky. Adimab has developed its advantage with a fast yeast-based model that can be used to synthesize hundreds of antibodies against a certain target in just eight weeks of work, compared with six to 18 months of labor with the traditional methods used in biotech labs around the world, Gerngross says. Once that work is done, the major drug companies still need to spend years of labor and hundreds of millions of dollars testing those drugs in animals and humans, determining which of these hundreds of candidates bind the best with the target and have the strongest effect against disease.

While Adimab represents a huge potential gain in efficiency with its faster, cheaper platform for discovering antibody drugs on the front end, Gerngross and Google are thinking about the next big revolutionary change at the early phase of the antibody discovery process.

That’s where computers enter the picture. Biologists currently have …Next Page »

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February 3, 2010
Postarticles.info » Forex Real Time Trading

Areview Forex: Forex real time trading is the assumption on which the trader expects the movement of exchange rates of foreign currency in the pair.He goes to the purchase and sale of a particular currency pair at the current exchange rate. …

February 3, 2010
8 including 3 foreigners killed in Dir blast

AReview: DIR: A bomb blast in lower Dir killed eight people including three foreigners and injured 65 otherson Wednesday. Girls’ students were also included among the wounded. The blast occurred in the roadside bombing in Koto village, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from Taimargara, the main town in Lower Dir district. The explosion also damaged the girls’ school building. According to sources, the foreigners killed in the blast were belonged to USAID organization. ISPR said one security man was also martyred in the attack. Sixty-five persons, most of them girls students sustained injuries. The bodies and wounded were rushed to district hospital Timergara.

February 3, 2010
4 foreigners among 6 killed in Dir Lower blast

AReview: DIR: An explosion occurred near a Girls school in Koto area in tehsil Balambut of Lower Dir on Wednesday. According to DPO, six persons including four foreigners were killed and 16 female students injured in the blast. Some other sources said at least 25 children wounded in the incident. Two female teachers are also among the wounded persons. The reports said an explosion happened when a convoy of security forces along with foreign journalists was traveling from Timergara to tehsil Maidan. It was a remote- controlled bomb plant with roadside. Security forces and locals started rescue operations and shifted bodies and injured to district headquarter hospital Timergara.

February 3, 2010