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Non-Tech : Binary Hodgepodge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/4/2009 10:28:09 PM
From: jmiller099  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 6763
 
Carbon free is a total misnomer for electric vehicles. Batteries are storage units, they are not self-generating devices. Given the storage property of batteries, where does the electricity to be stored come from?

Oh yeah, from wind, hydro, coal, and nuclear power generators. Coal is a substantial portion. Is coal carbon free?

Mary Trispas needs to take Harvard courses in common sense.



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/9/2009 11:29:29 AM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Here's a young 16 year old technology entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley debating the value of going to college...

danielbru.posterous.com

-s2@It'sAmazingWhatSomeKidsAreUpToTheseDays.com



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/10/2009 6:06:14 AM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Funding Your Startup

slideshare.net

Funding your ideas (angel or VC) - thoughts and ideas

slideshare.net

Raising Capital: Closing The Deal

slideshare.net

Simple Template to help you be successful in pitching your business to a Venture Capitalist

slideshare.net



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/12/2009 2:23:09 PM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Motionbox Buys Viddyou
_______________________________________________________________

Motionbox, a New York-based provider of online video sharing services, has acquired rival Viddyou. No financial terms were disclosed. Motionbox has raised over $15 million in VC funding, from firms like Canaan Partners, Constellation Ventures, Itochu Corp. and SAS Investors.

PRESS RELEASE

October 12th, 2009 -- Motionbox, the leading personal video sharing service, today announced the acquisition of Viddyou personal video service. Motionbox features easy-to-use online editing tools, secure storage, advanced privacy controls, and full HD video capabilities.

“Motionbox’s HD quality, ease of use, privacy, great customer service and top tier partners like AOL, Shutterfly and Bebo have rapidly established them as the leader in personal video,” said Viddyou founder and CEO Aaron Wadler, “so it is with great pride that we are able to join Motionbox to enhance our vision of creating a high-quality easy-to-use destination for the personal video sharing community.”

“Motionbox has been very impressed by the great user experience and video technology that Viddyou has built, along with a loyal customer base,” said Josh Grotstein, Motionbox CEO, “Motionbox and Viddyou share a common mission: to provide customers with a secure home for their precious video memories. We are very glad to welcome the Viddyou customers and team to the Motionbox family.”

Motionbox and Viddyou are working closely to assure that the transition for Viddyou customers is easy and seamless. Existing Viddyou users will be offered the opportunity to move their account information and videos to Motionbox. Viddyou Premium users will be granted Motionbox Premium subscriptions.

Viddyou customers can expect an elevated level of video performance, enhanced feature sets and superior customer service, opening the door for even greater customer loyalty.

The acquisition comes at a time of great growth for Motionbox and solidifies their position as a leader in personal video sharing.

About Motionbox:
Motionbox enables individuals and families to easily upload, edit, store, and share their personal video memories, including those that have been captured in High Definition. In addition to free membership options on Motionbox.com and via partners such as Shutterfly, Bebo, and AOL Video, Motionbox provides a subscription-based Premium service featuring HD playback and sharing, unlimited archival storage, and download capabilities. Motionbox also offers hard-good products that allow consumers to enjoy personal videos beyond devices and computers. Visit motionbox.com for more information.




To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/12/2009 3:57:27 PM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Starting Findory: Acquisition talks

glinden.blogspot.com



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/14/2009 12:48:13 AM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Hedge Funds Headed for Best Year Since 2003, Eurekahedge Says

By Tomoko Yamazaki

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds returned 2.5 percent in September, heading for their best performance in six years, as global stock markets rose and the U.S. Federal Reserve suggested interest rates will remain low, Eurekahedge Pte said.

The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, tracking more than 2,000 funds, gained for the seventh straight month, bringing its year- to-date advance to 16.1 percent, according to the Singapore- based data provider’s preliminary report based on 52 percent of the funds that reported performances. The industry grew by $26.3 billion last month, bringing total assets managed to $1.42 trillion, the report showed.

Assets are expected to exceed $1.5 trillion by the end of the year and the benchmark index is set to match 2003’s 21 percent return, Eurekahedge said. Hedge funds this year are reversing the record losses of 2008 as stock markets rebound on signs economies are recovering from the first global recession since World War II.

“The hedge fund industry has enjoyed a sort of renaissance of performance in 2009, which has helped mend a reputation which was battered in 2008,” said Kirby Daley, a senior strategist in Hong Kong with Newedge Group’s prime brokerage business. “More needs to be done to win back investor confidence more fully in terms of alignment of interests between managers and investors, and proof that managers can traverse market dislocations with more agility.”

The index’s performance for the fist nine months of the year was the best in a decade, Eurekahedge said. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations climbed 3.8 percent in September, bringing its year-to-September advance to 22 percent.

Regional Indexes Climb

Six of Eurekahedge’s seven regional indexes rose last month, with Eastern Europe and Russian funds leading the gains. The measure tracking Japan-focused hedge funds declined 1.1 percent as the yen strengthened, the report showed.

The Eurekahedge Eastern Europe & Russia Hedge Fund Index jumped 10 percent, helped by energy industry gains in Russia and rising currencies in Eastern Europe, the firm said. The gauge tracking emerging markets rose 3.6 percent. The North American index added 2.9 percent, as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose for a seventh-straight month.

All nine Eurekahedge measures tracking different hedge-fund strategies gained, the firm said. An index of so-called event-driven funds gained 4.6 percent, last month’s best-performing index. Event-driven funds invest in companies such as those going through mergers and acquisitions.

An index of managers investing in fixed income climbed 1.8 percent benefiting from Fed statements that it will continue its bond purchase program, Eurekahedge said.

Eurekahedge’s global index last year slid 11 percent, the most since the firm began tracking data in 2000. Hedge-fund assets increased by $21.4 billion in August, growing for a fourth straight month, the data provider said last month.

Hedge funds are mostly private pools of capital whose managers participate substantially in the profits from their speculation on whether asset prices will rise or fall.

Eurekahedge plans to release a full report later this month.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 13, 2009 20:55 EDT



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/14/2009 10:48:02 AM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Ooyala Raises $10 Million
_______________________________________________________________

peHUB -- October 14th, 2009 -- Ooyala Inc., a Mountain View, Calif.-based online video and advertising platform, has raised $10 million in Series C funding. Rembrandt Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backer Sierra Ventures. The company has now raised around $20 million.

From the Ooyala blog:

ooyala.com

We’re excited to welcome Rembrandt Ventures to our group of investors and to have In Sik Rhee (General Partner at Rembrandt Ventures) join the Ooyala Board of Directors. In Sik was the co-founder of both Opsware (Loudcloud) and Kiva Software and has been a venture capitalist for a number of years.

2009 has been a banner year thus far. We’ve more than doubled our headcount (including bringing on a new CEO) and seen an exponential increase in the number and types of customers we service. Our customer logos now include large International Media Companies like Televisa, Warner Brothers and Endemol as well as many enterprise companies like Sybase, Electronic Arts and Cerner. Today, Ooyala reaches more unique users via our customer implementations than Hulu. Our product has also seen tremendous growth and differentiation. This year we released over 15 new features and products including native support of live streaming, real-time analytics, faster loading video player and new syndication and monetization features.

With this new funding round, we will be focusing on three things:

1. Global expansion: Today, we have over 500 customers in over 20 different countries. We expect for International growth to far outpace domestic video growth. So, we’re investing in more people and commercial partners in key growth markets. Jay and Sean will be presenting at Streaming Media Europe in London this week. Drop me a line and I’ll connect you with them.

2. Manic focus on product innovation: We plan to continue to release great products and features on an even more frequent basis. In 2010, we will be focused on further personalizing the video experience. The reality is that the consumers are now in control and the only way to monetize their consumption patterns will be if we can help content owners better target the right kinds of content and monetization models independent of the device on which they’re consuming content. You should expect new analytics, monetization and content recommendation products for the Web, mobile devices and set top boxes.

3. Customers: We will be focusing on building out the services we provide to our new and existing customers so they can take increasing advantage of the platform we provide.

We’re looking forward to playing our part in the growth and adoption of Online Video.




To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/14/2009 4:21:21 PM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Former Citadel Managers Said to Be Starting New Fund

dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com

October 14, 2009

A group of former Citadel Investment Group investment managers are teaming up to hang their own hedge fund shingle, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Ervin Shindell, a former a senior managing director with the hedge fund giant, is starting a Chicago-based fund, RoundKeep Capital Advisors, along with former Citadel investment managers Joseph Rotter, Robert Doherty and Robert Donath, The Journal said, citing a marketing document for the new firm.

Mr. Shindell spent a decade at Citadel before leaving in March 2008. In his most recent role at the firm, Mr. Shindell oversaw the global event-driven team betting on companies going through mergers and other restructurings, The Journal said. He also served on Citadel’s management committee, a senior-level group that included founder Kenneth C. Griffin, the report said.
___________________________________________________

Fund launches to accelerate, but with fewer assets

money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pace of hedge fund launches is taking off after a year-long slumber, but the incoming class of start-ups is finding it tougher to beat out established giants and lure money from investors still scarred by last year's turmoil.

As recently as four or five years ago, star traders could hang a shingle and instantly attract $1 billion from crowds of investors. But last fall's market meltdown left investors strapped for cash and wary of the hedge fund model; launches slowed to a crawl.

Now, as markets revive and traders see an opportunity to be their own boss, Wall Street's largest prime brokers expect a spate of start-ups in the next year -- just a lot smaller.

"It's a promising environment for new hedge funds," said Alex Ehrlich, the former UBS prime brokerage chief who took over as global head of Morgan Stanley's prime services business last month. "Money is coming in from seasoned investors, many of whom are preparing to redeploy capital."

A few weeks ago, Morgan Stanley hosted its largest ever capital introduction conference for fund managers and investors. It's a positive signal even if the meetings took place in suburban Rye, New York, and not Morgan Stanley's traditional venue in Florida's Palm Beach.

Still, times have changed. Even the most talented traders and managers will have to accept that $100 million is the new $1 billion when it comes to fund-raising.

"The number of start-up proposals that come by our desk each week is consistent with what we saw in earlier times, but the amount of capital they're starting with is much smaller," Goldman Sachs Group global co-head of global securities services John Willian said. "Very few funds will have over $1 billion at their launch."

NEW CROP

Fund managers are in a more "normalized" environment, UBS prime brokerage chief John Laub said. They have to be satisfied with $50 million, even if the same managers might have attracted nine figures in boom times.

One key reason is that young guns are competing for investment dollars with established fund managers with long track records.

"Some of the biggest funds were closed to investors for a long time, but after last year's downturn they reopened and people took advantage," Laub said.

So even as hundreds of managers scour the Street for money, almost no one is hitting their original fund-raising targets, said Louis Lebedin, co-head of JPMorgan Chase & Co's prime brokerage.

"On average, we're seeing clients raise roughly half of what they achieved historically," he said.

According to Hedge Fund Research, start-up activity peaked at 2,073 new funds in 2005 -- an average of one every four hours. That sank to 659 last year as investors pulled out record amounts of cash and 1,471 funds were liquidated.

As recently as the first half of 2009, liquidations outnumbered launches 2-to-1. Now Wall Street's top prime brokerage executives tell Reuters they are gearing up to win their share of a new wave of funds.

Overall, investors have been most interested in funds that invest in easily traded securities, such as long-short equity funds. Clients are also clamoring for Asia-focused funds and credit funds targeting debt at highly distressed prices.

Most of the new crop will be led by traders and portfolio managers departing other hedge funds. Tony Chedraoui of Deephaven Capital Management started Tyrus Capital in London with about $500 million. Philippe Peress, formerly of Fortress Investment Group, started Harness Investment Group.

More recently, Atticus Capital's Ed Bosek and Noam Ohana began work on Beacon Light Capital LLC as Atticus founder Timothy Barakett liquidates two of his funds. Former Citadel Investment Group manager Ervin Shindell is starting RoundKeep Capital Advisors with three other ex-employees.

Wall Street firms also remain a launching pad. Among the biggest start-ups this year was Roc Capital Management, which former Deutsche Bank global arbitrage head Arvind Raghunathan opened for business with $1 billion. (Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone; editing by John Wallace)



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/16/2009 12:32:35 PM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Have Investors Fallen Back in Love with Hedge Funds in 2009?

seekingalpha.com



To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (3416)10/16/2009 2:20:11 PM
From: stockman_scott  Respond to of 6763
 
Box.net Adds $7.1 Million In Funding For Digital File Storage

paidcontent.org

Oct 15, 2009 -- Box.net, an online file-sharing and storage platform, has raised $7.1 million in funding, per an SEC filing. Previous backer Draper Fisher Jurvetson led the round, with participation from U.S. Venture Partners. Box.net has raised $14.6 million in total, including a $6 million round last year, from the two VC firms. The company said it will use the money to fund “day-to-day operations.”

Launched in 2005, Box.net offers pay-as-you-go, cloud-based file storage; it opened its platform to third-party apps from companies like Google, Microsoft and WordPress last year. It recently launched an iPhone-based storage program called OpenBox Mobile that lets users collaborate on projects and share data; BlackBerry, Android and Palm-based versions are slated for a later release.