In This Update:
• Microsoft to Buy Portuguese Mobile Data Company MobiComp
• eBay Acquires Media Sharing Firm VUVOX
• Chrysler Vehicles to Offer Wi-Fi
• MySpace Releases API for Data Availability
• New York Passes Videogame Bill
• Electronic Health-Record Standards Agreed
• Amazon Acquires Fabric.com
• Sony Outlines Strategy for Growth in TV, Videogame Businesses
• New Bill Mandates Closed Captioning for Internet Video
• Windows XP Support Extended Until 2014
• NBC.com Releasing Video-Viewing Data Per Show
• Amie Street Inks Deal with Indies, will Add 1 Million Songs
• Global WiMAX Equipment Sales Jump 59% in Q108
• Greystripe Unveils Improved Mobile Ad Platform
• SpringSource Raises $15 Million for Java Infrastructure
• Mobile Game Developer Xendex Raises $3.6 Million Round
• BlogTalkRadio Raises $4.6 Million First Round

Microsoft to Buy Portuguese Mobile Data Company MobiComp
REUTERS
Microsoft has agreed to buy Portuguese mobile software company MobiComp in the U.S. software giant’s biggest ever investment in Portugal, Microsoft’s chief in Portugal said on Thursday. MobiComp has developed an array of products: MobileKeeper Backup & Restore, MobileKeeper Sharing & Communities, and Active mTicker. They’re used by companies to back up data stored on mobile phones, submit content from mobile phones to social networks like Facebook, and access news and other mobile media. No financial details of the purchase were disclosed.
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eBay Acquires Media Sharing Firm VUVOX
SEEKING ALPHA
eBay has quietly acquired media sharing and mash-up firm, VUVOX. The deal – which was closed for undisclosed terms – will see VUVOX integrated into eBay, allowing users to embed VUVOX media tools into their personal listings. VUVOX is a service that lets users create virtual collages by mixing different media, including videos, photos and music. With background colours, users can customise the embeddable collage – which can be scrolled through in a similar way to picture slideshows.
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Chrysler Vehicles to Offer Wi-Fi
CNET
Chrysler is turning cars and trucks into wireless hot spots. The company announced Thursday a new feature that will let people purchase a “Uconnect” in-car wireless system as part of a dealer upgrade in 20 various 2009 Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep models. The system offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity within the car to allow people to sync their cell phone address books with the car’s 30GB hard drive or control their Apple iPods using the radio and steering wheel controls. And it provides navigation and real-time traffic features that can be controlled by voice recognition or a touch screen.
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MySpace Releases API for Data Availability
WEBWARE
MySpace is set to release on Thursday the application programming interface (API) for Data Availability, a developer project that the News Corp.-owned social network announced in early May. Through Data Availability, participating social sites can let users synchronize accounts with MySpace profiles, importing public profile data like photos, interests, and friend lists. Data Availability’s formal launch partners are Yahoo, eBay, Twitter, and News Corp.’s Photobucket, but with the release of the API, any third-party site can have access to it.
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New York Passes Videogame Bill
GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ
Legislation creating a governmental advisory council to examine the potential impact of violent videogames has passed the New York State Senate on a 61-1 vote. The bill – which mirrors one passed by the New York State Assembly – is now on its way to Governor David Paterson. If he signs it, the new law would go into effect in September of 2010. The legislation also requires console systems to be equipped with parental controls and would mandate that ESRB ratings be displayed on packaging. The 16-member advisory council created by the bill will make recommendations regarding the ESRB rating system and establish “a parent-teacher violence awareness program to identify and appropriately assist students who may have a propensity toward violence.”
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Electronic Health-Record Standards Agreed
REUTERS
A major consumer group, insurers together with Google Inc and Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday they have agreed to standards intended to speed adoption of personal electronic health records. The electronic medical record field remains in its infancy. While U.S. privacy laws govern actions by medical providers such as doctors, there is little in the way of other established privacy, security and data usage standards despite decades of industry efforts.
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Amazon Acquires Fabric.com
TECHCRUNCH
Amazon has acquired Fabric.com , an online fabric store that calls itself “The Place To Go When You Sew”. According to the press release, the deal will allow Fabric.com to expand its selection of sewing materials while giving Amazon a better catalog of hobby and craft materials. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.
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Sony Outlines Strategy for Growth in TV, Videogame Businesses
WALL STREET JOURNAL
After spending the last three years restructuring the company, Sony Corp. set a new growth strategy centered around video-downloading services and electronics products that can be connected to each other and to the Internet. The Japanese electronics maker said Thursday that it planned to offer a video-downloading service through all of its key products, such as its televisions, computers, music players, and videogame devices in the next three years. It also plans to make 90% of its product categories network-enabled and wireless capable in the same period.
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New Bill Mandates Closed Captioning for Internet Video
ARS TECHNICA
Congress’s biggest telecom disability rights advocate has introduced new legislation that would, among other provisions, extend close captioning to some Internet video. Edward Markey’s (D-MA) “21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008″ (H.R. 6320) covers about a dozen areas. The law says that 18 months after its enactment, the Federal Communications Commission must set up regulations that include “an appropriate schedule of deadlines for the provision of closed captioning of video programming distributed to the public over the Internet.” Three kinds of video would be affected by the law: preproduced material that has already been captioned for TV viewing, live programming, and video that is “generally considered to be comparable to programming provided by multichannel programming distributors.”
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Windows XP Support Extended Until 2014
TECHTREE
Microsoft has finally given in to public demand. The company has decided to offer technical support for Windows XP with updates and security patches for an extended period until April 2014. However, it will not go back on its decision to discontinue Windows XP sales after June 30. This means that after June 30, Microsoft will stop distributing Windows XP as a stand-alone product, as well as stop licensing it to PC manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and others.
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NBC.com Releasing Video-Viewing Data Per Show
BROADCASTING & CABLE
NBC will release viewing data for videos streamed on NBC.com, the company said Wednesday. The data, to be distributed through Nielsen Online’s VideoCensus service beginning in July, is meant to provide more accurate viewing data to advertisers and to make it easier to analyze cross-platform consumption. A spokesperson said all programming streamed on NBC.com will be measured, including NBC shows such as The Office and American Gladiators, as well as Web-only fare such as Pale Force.
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Amie Street Inks Deal with Indies, will Add 1 Million Songs
ARS TECHNICA
Since launching in July 2006, indie music store Amie Street has been making a name for itself with a variable pricing model, unique social features, and scoring some big-name artists. Amie Street surprised the industry last August with a Series A financing investment from Amazon, and today a deal was announced to sell over 1 million new songs from indie distributor The Orchard.
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Global WiMAX Equipment Sales Jump 59% in Q108
DIGITIMES
Communications market research firm Infonetics Research reported recently that the worldwide WiMAX equipment market, including fixed and mobile WiMAX equipment, increased 59% sequentially to US$363 million in the first quarter of this year. Infonetics’ report indicates the surge in the market was led by especially strong mobile WiMAX (802.16e) equipment sales, which jumped 141% this quarter to overtake revenue from fixed WiMAX (802.16d) equipment for the first time.
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Greystripe Unveils Improved Mobile Ad Platform
ADOTAS
Greystripe, a distributor of ad-supported mobile games, has introduced a new Mobile Engagement Platform. Currently, Greystripe offers advertisers the entire mobile screen at the beginning and end of game play, but the new platform offers interactive advertisers access to a greater depth of sponsorship in which users will encounter the brand in instances beyond those two ad spaces. The platform offers advertisers Web and mobile Web download site sponsorship; all of the full-screen ad space for every sponsored play; a branded in-game on device portal which appears at the start of every game play giving the advertisers a permanent presence on the game player’s phone and complete campaign management and reporting metrics.
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SpringSource Raises $15 Million for Java Infrastructure
VENTUREBEAT
SpringSource, a maker of open source Java infrastructure software, has raised a $15 million second round of funding led by Accel Partners. First round investor Benchmark Capital also participated. The San Mateo, Calif.-based startup’s recent releases include a Java application server called the SpringSource Application Platform, and SpringSource Enterprise, through which the company charges for a certified version of its open source Spring framework, and for technical support.
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Mobile Game Developer Xendex Raises $3.6 Million Round
MOCONEWS
Xendex, a mobile game developer in Europe, said today that it raised EUR 2.3 million ($3.6 million) in venture capital from Pontis Venture Partners and other angel investors. The company, which was founded in 2001, has about 45 employees and has offices in Vienna, London and Krakow, Poland. Xendex develops games based on its own intellectual property as well as working with brands, such as Vodafone, Coca-Cola, Disney and THQ.
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BlogTalkRadio Raises $4.6 Million First Round
ADOTAS
BlogTalkRadio, popular online radio hosting site that allows amateurs to broadcast their own shows online, has raised $4.6 million in a Series A led by The Kraft Group, owners of the New England Patriots. BlogTalkRadio will use the funds to expand white-label services and push into video. The company was founded by Alan Levy in 2006. BlogTalkRadio’s listeners reportedly stream or download shows 3 million times a month.
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Tags: Accel Partners, Amazon, Amie Street, Apple, Benchmark Capital, BlogTalkRadio, Brand, Chrysler, CNET, Dell, Disney, EBay, Facebook, Financing, Google, Grey Stripe, Greystripe, IAB, IGA, Indie, Intel, IPO, ISP, Microsoft, MobiCamo, Music, MySpace, NBC, New England, Open Source, SEC, Series A, Sony, SpringSource, The Orchard, THQ, Turn, U.S., UBM, Venture Capital, Video, VOD, VUVOX, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Xendex, Yahoo