More names for the GreenBeat marquee: Gee, Wagner, and Wong
A new flock of experts and industry leaders has joined the roster for GreenBeat 2009, the seminal event on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18 and 19. We are very excited to announce this group, as it spans analysts, purse-string holders, and an inspiring new entrepreneur in the space.
Before we introduce the new cast, remember to register for your GreenBeat ticket today, while you can still get it for $525 — the offer expires on… Continue Reading
WhoDoYouKnowAt: A more exclusive, private LinkedIn
When LinkedIn first launched, it touted itself as the premiere site for networking and personnel discovery on the web. Since then, it has grown massively, with people joining at all ranks and across all sectors. This has put a strain on arguably the most important component of the site: the ability to contact others who could help you further your career. As more users join, top-tier executives are becoming less and less inclined to provide… Continue Reading
Financial reporting software maker HyperRoll sells off assets to Oracle
HyperRoll, developer of software for data aggregation and financial reporting, says it will sell off its intellectual and technology assets to Oracle. Based in Mountain View, HyperRoll was backed by Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners. The deal continues Redwood Shores-based Oracle’s strategy of acquiring smaller companies to expand its own software offerings, particularly its Enterprise Performance Management portfolio.
Previously, HyperRoll provided software to help large companies tally up their finances at the end of each quarter… Continue Reading
Roundup: DOJ approves Oracle-Sun deal, Gamestop falls short, Twitter’s charming memory loss
Here’s the latest action:
The Department of Justice cleared Oracle’s purchase of Sun — Larry Ellison’s $7.4 billion acquisition of the Valley’s rockstar server maker and owner of the rights to Java software, is a transaction on the scale of Yahoo’s ad sales deal with Microsoft. European antitrust regulators are still evaluating whether or not to launch an investigation. The Wall Street Journal reports that an issue about the way Sun licenses rights to Java had… Continue Reading
Oracle gets green light to acquire Sun for $7.4B
Sun Microsystems just announced that its shareholders have approved its landmark sale to Oracle for $7.4 billion at a rate of $9.50 a share. But the software titans aren’t done yet — the deal still has to survive antitrust inspection by the U.S. Department of Justice.
While the DOJ is very close to green-lighting the merger, there’s one last sticking point concerning licensing of Java. Regardless, Oracle says these loose ends should tie themselves up by… Continue Reading
Virtual events draw a live in-person crowd
Yes, these people in the picture are real. What’s weird is they’re attending a conference about virtual events. You know, the kind they have only in cyberspace where you pretend you’re at a live event.
As surreal as it sounds, the fledgling virtual events industry gathered today at a first-of-its-kind Virtual Edge event at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif. While other conferences have been pummeled by the recession, there were 500 people… Continue Reading
Roundup: Twitter’s ready for its close-up, Apple says yes to the Kama Sutra, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Twitter on the tube – More producers are turning to the micro-blogging service for television-based projects, and the site is only too happy to go Hollywood.
Auctions on the way down for eBay — The site is frantically trying to reinvent as its core business starts to decline in earnest. The Wall Street Journal has the details.
The Apple of North Carolina’s eye? — The state may be changing its tax policies to lure technology companies,… Continue Reading
Roundup: Twitter’s inventor readies next big thing, Verizon supports texting bans, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Twitter co-founder to launch iphone payment service — The project, code-named Squirrel, will allow your iPhone to take credit card payments (though it won’t be the first service to do this), TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reports.
Verizon will support bans on text messaging while driving — One such law recently took effect in California.
European Commission fine against Intel expected Wednesday — IDG calls the case, which has been under investigation since 2000, “one of the most significant… Continue Reading
Roundup: Microsoft’s team-up with Verizon, Wolfram/Alpha’s demo, and more
Here’s the latest action:
Are Microsoft and Verizon teaming up on an iPhone rival? — That partnership may be the real source of rumors about negotiations between Verizon and Apple, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Stephen Wolfram demos Wolfram/Alpha search engine — Larry Dignan of ZDNet says the “computational knowledge engine” (a search engine that understands your questions and computes the correct answer, rather than just digging up relevant web pages based on keywords) probably isn’t a Google… Continue Reading
Oracle to buy Sun Microsystems for $7.4B — finally, this makes sense
Updated
Oracle Corporation, the large software database company, said Monday it will acquire the server company Sun Microsystems for $9.50 a share, or about $7.4 billion. It brings together two iconic Silicon Valley powerhouse tech companies that have long shared a spiritual alliance, initially to resist dominance by Microsoft during the 1990s.
The marriage comes after speculation increased last week that such a deal might be in the works, because it makes a lot of sense. Sun… Continue Reading
Appnomic snags $4.2M for application management
Information technology software provider Appnomic Systems (formerly Vitage Technologies) announced today that it brought in $4.2 million from Norwest Venture Partners to gain traction in the U.S. and advance product development. Based in Bangalore, India, it already has an office in Palo Alto, Calif.
In particular, Appnomic gives its client companies tools to gauge how their applications are performing and being used, and alerts users to any deviation from the norm. It says it already has… Continue Reading
Roundup: Obama’s potential Blackberry replacement, internet does not equal “To Catch a Predator” episodes, plus layoffs
Here’s the latest action:
Alternatives to Obama’s favorite Blackberry — One option for the email-addicted President-elect is an NSA-approved secure PDA, the Sectera Edge, which costs $3,350 — but hey, you can drop it four feet onto concrete repeatedly without worry (it’s waterproof and dustproof!), according to CNET.
Graphics chip maker Nvidia forecasts steep revenue drop — The company blames sagging PC sales for a drop as steep as 40 to 50 percent for its fourth quarter revenue, following… Continue Reading
Roundup: RIM sales holding up, Panasonic buys Sanyo, TV sales slowing
Here’s the latest action
RIM offers good guidance: Research in Motion said the third quarter was weak but the fourth quarter is turning out better than expected thanks to sales of new BlackBerry models such as the Storm.
Twitpay lets you send money via Twitter: The social messaging service will let people send small payments. Now you can pay for someone else’s drinks using your cell phone.
Illegal downloads losing ground to legal music: Sales of legally downloaded songs are… Continue Reading
Oracle scoops up Tacit’s intellectual property
Oracle announced yesterday that it has purchased intellectual property rights from Tacit Software for an undisclosed amount. The smaller, Palo Alto, Calif.-based company makes applications for sharing knowledge across companies.
Its KnowledgeMail product, for instance, culls information from employees’ email accounts, and other sources to determine who in an organization has exprtise in which areas. Oracle plans to integrate this automatic profiling service into its own Beehive platform, which encompasses email, calendars, messaging media and online… Continue Reading
Hungry Oracle gobbles up software maker Haley
Oracle is capitalizing on the economic downturn to make key acquisitions. The latest: Ruleburst Holdings Limited, parent company of rule-management software provider Haley, Oracle’s tenth buy this year. It won’t actually add new technology to the large company’s portfolio, but it should win it some clout with the public-sector and government organizations that make up most of Haley’s client base. Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.
Based in Washington, D.C., Haley develops applications to help… Continue Reading
Texert brings in $3M for risk management
Risk management software provider Texert raised $3 million in a first round of funding from New Venture Partners to update its J-Port product and expand sales and marketing efforts.
The Dallas-based company says the new version of the software will take a more comperehensive approach to risk management, looking at all aspects of a business environment, like IT support, employee compliance, etc. instead of individual pieces. The information it provides should also be more detailed, to… Continue Reading
Roundup: European leaders agree on rescue plan, Microsoft to release Silverlight 2 and more
Here’s the latest action:
European leaders agree on financial rescue plan — The move will involve the injection of billions of Euros into banks in Germany, France and other countries. It was spurred by a similar British plan announced last week.
Memeorandum Colors visualizes political bias — The new Firefox extension/Greasemonkey script identifies the bias of the different publications on political news aggregator site Memeorandum.
Microsoft to release Silverlight 2 on Monday? — The company says it has “a significant announcement… Continue Reading
Oracle acquires application management startup ClearApp
Oracle Corp. announced in September that it has acquired ClearApp, a Redwood Shores, Calif.-based maker of application performance management software for an undisclosed amount. ClearApp previously raised more than $20 million in venture backing from 3i Group, Partech International and Sierra Ventures, according to VentureWire.
Microsoft acquires DATAllegro data warehouse appliance company
Microsoft has acquired data warehouse appliance maker DATAllegro in an attempt to strengthen its presence in the enterprise business intelligence market.
DATAllegro specializes in large-volume, high-performance data warehouse appliances with anywhere from 1 terabyte of data to hundreds of terabytes. Microsoft said the addition of DATAllegro means that its SQL Server product will now scale to large-scale data warehouses. Microsoft said it would retain most of DATAllegro’s team in Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Terms of the deal were… Continue Reading
Oracle buys LogicalApps, a corporate governance software co.
Oracle, the large database and application company, keeps on acquiring companies.
Its latest purchase is LogicalApps, an Irvine, Calif company that offers corporate governance, risk and compliance management software.
LogicalApps was backed by Mission Ventures and Sequoia capital.
From the statement:
LogicalApps delivers out-of-the-box automated application controls in the areas of access, setup and transaction monitoring. Its technology helps enforce proper segregation of duties in enterprise applications, reduces fraud using preventative controls, and provides evidence of a proper control… Continue Reading