Spectra Linear takes $4M for computing timers

Spectra Linear, a company that provides internal clocking devices used in computing and internet communications systems, has raised $4 million in debt, rights and securities, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Santa Clara, Calif., it is backed by Horizon Ventures, InterWest Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Velocity Interactive Group.… Continue Reading

Chinese mobile Internet firm buys game maker for $80M

Beijing-based mobile Internet company KongZhong said today it is buying Shanghai Dacheng Network for $80 million.

Shanghai Dacheng Network is a developer of 3-D massively multiplayer online (MMO) games where thousands of people play together in online virtual worlds. The transaction shows that online gaming, on its way to $3.8 billion in revenues in China, remains a hot market.

The aim is to combine KongZhong’s mobile game business with Dacheng’s 3-D game engine and development … Continue Reading

AtheroMed bags $2.4M for minimally invasive treatments for blood vessels

AtheroMed, developer of minimally invasive tools used to repair smaller arterial blood vessels, has brought in $2.4 million of an anticipated $10.5 million round of equity, according to a filing with the SEC. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., the company is backed by Kaiser Permanente, U.S. Venture Partners and Vertical Fund. It doesn’t currently have a web site.… Continue Reading

IMVU and myYearbook set up virtual currency exchange

Two successful online sites are getting together to encourage their users to adopt the other’s services. IMVU and myYearbook are setting up a virtual currency exchange so that users from either service can exchange currency between the sites.

The deal is significant because it is a step toward a universal virtual currency, which could have profound implications for the economies of games and virtual worlds, creating the ability for fluid movement between different sites.

IMVU … Continue Reading

EA gives up rights to sell id's next big game, Rage

ZeniMax Media announced today it has acquired the rights to publish Rage, the next big game from id Software, which ZeniMax acquired earlier this year.

Previously, Rage was going to be published by Electronic Arts through its EA Partners label. Rockville, Md.-based ZeniMax, which also owns other game makers such as Bethesda Softworks, said that the ongoing development of Rage is unaffected by the change.

It’s hard to tell why this happened, but it probably … Continue Reading

Email helper Liaise now open for public use

Liaise, a startup that shared the top prize at DEMOfall 09 (the technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat), is opening to the public today after a period of private beta testing. Liaise’s plugin for Microsoft Outlook makes email more useful by extracting action items, and the Sunnyvale, Calif company is unveiling some new features today.

Liaise sounds useful to me because my email inbox is really the center of my work, but it can often feel … Continue Reading

Bandwidth.com launches FlexNetwork for nationwide VoIP

Companies looking to build voice and telephone applications now have a new choice for their infrastructure — the FlexNetwork, a just-opened, nationwide VoIP network offered by a company called Bandwidth.com.

A number of startups that we’ve covered at VentureBeat are already using the new network, including Yext, which helps businesses get more calls from customers; phone automation platform Ifbyphone;  and Voxeo, which allows companies to automate their customer and employee communications through phone, text message, … Continue Reading

Adknowledge integrates special offers into its automated ad network

Adknowledge is announcing today that it has created a self-serve system for placing special offer ads on Facebook and MySpace applications, just as it does with other kinds of advertising.

The BidSystem 3.0 service lets advertisers bid for leads on a cost-per-action basis within Facebook and MySpace apps. This means that Adknowledge is integrating into its ad network the offer system that it acquired with offer provider Super Rewards.

Each day, millions of consumers play … Continue Reading

Big Fish Games releases Harlequin romance game

Big Fish Games is launching a game aimed at women in a partnership with romance novel empire Harlequin Enterprises.

The game from Seattle-based Big Fish Games is Harlequin Presents: Hidden Object of Desire. It is a “hidden object” game, a popular casual game genre where users can find lots of treasures or secrets just by clicking on the landscape of a game. Of course, the game has a romantic storyline.

The game is inspired by … Continue Reading

AlikeList raises $5M to help local businesses get discovered

AlikeList is applying social networking to the discovery of local businesses. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said today it has raised $5 million in a first round of funding to expand its social platform for listing, referring, and discovering trusted local businesses.

The company says that when looking for a local business — a restaurant, doctor, or contractor — people trust the recommendations of people they know. Based on this principle, the company created a social … Continue Reading

RockYou hacked, 32 million account passwords potentially exposed

RockYou has suffered a serious hacker attack that has exposed 32 million of its customer usernames and passwords to possible identity theft. And it has apparently taken RockYou more than 10 days to inform its users of the breach.

The security firm Imperva informed RockYou that its site had a serious SQL injection flaw, according to reports. Imperva said that some users’ passwords had already been compromised as a result of the vulnerability by the … Continue Reading

Kongregate launches Konduit app platform for browser-based games

Indie-oriented game site Kongregate is launching an application platform today that allows developers to integrate Kongregate’s community features into any browser-based game.

Previously, developers uploaded games to Kongregate, which served the games from its own infrastructure. With the Konduit Application Platform, developers can replicate the way they operate on Facebook; they can create games in Javascript and other languages and host the games on their own servers. But they can also tap into Kongregate’s platform … Continue Reading

Eventbrite gives event planners new tools to track ticket data

Event management service Eventbrite has released new reporting, analytics and insight tools for its event organizers. The tools let event organizers track ticket (in real time) purchasing trend, such as where and when tickets are being bought, attendee demographics, discount code usage, sales by ticket type, and attendance/no show trends. This is in addition to offering Google Analytics code that event organizers can add to their ticketing pages.

CEO Kevin Hartz explains that while Google … Continue Reading

Can't sell your house? Rent it out on Zillow

Real estate site Zillow says it’s already attracting 8.3 million monthly visitors who want to search for (and see the estimated value) of a new home. Now the Seattle company is moving into the rental market.

To be clear, Zillow won’t necessarily replace Craigslist when I decide to search for my next apartment. If you read the company’s blog post, it sounds like Zillow isn’t trying to become a general rental site but rather target … Continue Reading

5 o'clock roundup: Facebook smooths Android kinks, Google's Mayer gets hitched, Boxee Beta leaks and more

Here’s the latest action:

Facebook for Android just got a whole lot better — Facebook has released an update to the Android version of its application, making it almost as good as its offering for the iPhone. The one feature still lacking: the ability to send or receive messages on Android phones.

Marissa Mayer ties the knot — Google’s glamorous vice president of search married entrepreneur Zach Bogue on Saturday on San Francisco’s Treasure Island … Continue Reading

Swype raises $5.6M for novel text-entry technology

Swype has raised $5.6 million in a second round of funding and has shown further momentum in getting its new text-entry technology off the ground.

Swype lets you enter text more easily into a cell phone text message. You begin typing a message with a virtual keyboard on a touchscreen phone. The device suggests different words for you to choose, and you make your choice by swiping your finger through the right word on the … Continue Reading

Gamer population surges — consoles in 60% of households

Video game console usage is hitting new heights, with 60 percent of U.S. households now owning a video game console, based on the fourth annual State of Media Democracy report based on a survey of the media habits of Americans.

That figure compares to just 44 percent three years ago and represents the triumph of the Nintendo Wii, which has broadened the audience for video games. The growth is driven by Generation Xers and Baby … Continue Reading

Activity guide nextstop comes to the iPhone (but not the App Store)

Nextstop, an online activity guide that launched earlier this year, is now offering an iPhone version that lets users find cool activities nearby.

San Francisco-based Nextstop competes with many other activity guides by trying to provide information in the most accessible and fun way. The iPhone site (yes, it’s a mobile website, not an application downloaded from Apple’s App Store) certainly delivers on that front. When you open it, the site lists a bunch of … Continue Reading

Bit.ly goes pro, giving publishers custom URLs

Just a few hours after pundits were wringing their hands over how URL shortener Bit.ly might soon face challenges from competing services created by Facebook and (in particular) Google, the company announced a new program of its own. So even if other companies take some users from Bit.ly, the company will still bring in money with a customized service for publishers.

There are two components to Bit.ly Pro — custom URLs and improved analytics. With … Continue Reading