In This Update:
• Tennis Stars Agassi, Graf Serve Up Investment In UK-Based Ticket Reseller Viagogo
• Mobile Restaurant Ordering (Finally) Hits the App Store
• Handmark Acquires Mobile RSS App Firm FreeRange
• Microsoft: Update on Windows 7 UAC Issues
• Alloy Media Acquires Sports Site Takkle
• American Chief Leaves Lenovo
• House Votes to Delay Digital TV Transition by Four Months
• IAC Pursues Vertical Search Strategy as Ad Revenue Plummets
• WPP’s Spence: ‘We Got The Memo: Keep On Acquiring’
• Zag Round Totals $37.4 Million

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Tennis Stars Agassi, Graf Serve Up Investment In UK-Based Ticket Reseller Viagogo1
PAIDCONTENT
Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are among the “high-profile individuals” to have invested $15 million (£10.2 million) in UK-based secondary tickets marketplace Viagogo, after it already raised $25 million in 2006 and $30 million a year later. It’s now highly geared on $70 million venture funding. Founded by U.S. secondary-ticketing agency StubHub‘s founder Eric Baker, Viagogo competes here with Seatwave and says this money will help it to become a market leader in Europe-even though it’s already based in Europe, London specifically.
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Mobile Restaurant Ordering (Finally) Hits the App Store
TECHCRUNCH
In the last week, a pair of new iPhone applications have appeared on the App Store that put the menus of hundreds of restaurants at users’ fingertips. Dubbed GrubHub and CityMint , both applications allow users to order food on the go from online menus, buying entrees, appetizers, and drinks on the fly without the hassle of human interaction. Our appetites were first whetted three weeks ago, when Chipotle released an official app that let users build their burritos from their iPhone. Unfortunately, the application was pulled down only a few hours after release as a throng of users overwhelmed the app’s servers. The Chipotle app is still missing in action, but these new offerings should be able to hold us over.
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Handmark Acquires Mobile RSS App Firm FreeRange
PAIDCONTENT
Handmark, the Kansas City, MO-based mobile applications and software firm, has acquired Freerange, the Portland, OR-based mobile RSS applications firm. No financial details were disclosed. Handmark’s flagship software Pocket Express is a MyYahoo-like portal that serves up customized news, weather and sports on wireless devices, including newer ones like iPhones and Android-based systems.Early last year, Handmark also acquired UK-based Astraware, a developer and publisher of casual games for smartphones. In 2006, it received $5 million in its second round of funding from Motorola ventures, and previous investors Apax Partners, Borealis Ventures, Village Ventures and Hanna Capital Management. Paul Reddick, the former VP of content/data at Sprint Nextel, took over as CEO of the company in Oct 2007
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Microsoft: Update on Windows 7 UAC Issues
NEOWIN
As Windows 7 was receiving much positive feedback than expected from the beta testers, we had Long Zheng and Rafael, two Windows enthusiasts, come with a proof that malware can turn off UAC in Windows 7. Later Microsoft responded insisting that this is by design and actually not a bug. Later, again, we had Zheng and Rafael come out with a second flaw which showed Windows 7 UAC was still flawed. At this time, everybody thought Microsoft had done the right thing with Windows Vista UAC and compromised security over consumers’ feedback in Windows 7.
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Alloy Media Acquires Sports Site Takkle
TECHCRUNCH
Alloy Media and Marketing has acquired Takkle.com, a social networking site focused on high school athletes. The property has a largely male user base, which Alloy says will help balance out its mostly female audience. Takkle lets high school athletes create player and team profiles, share videos and photos, and track statistics. It also allows students to connect with team coaches and college sports recruiters. The site covers multiple sports, including baseball, football, cycling, and more than 35 others. Takkle will join Alloy’s other teen and youth-focused community Web sites, including Alloy.com, gURL.com (purchased from iVillage), Teen.com, and ChannelOne.com. Two years ago the company launched an ad network anchored by Teen.com. The firm also operates out-of-home and recruitment advertising businesses, along with other marketing services.
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American Chief Leaves Lenovo
NEW YORK TIMES
Lenovo, the big Chinese computer maker, reported a sharp decline in its third-quarter sales and profit on Thursday and said its chief executive, William J. Amelio, had stepped down as part of a management shakeup.The company, which said it was reeling from the effects of the global financial crisis, severed ties with Mr. Amelio, a former Dell executive who was hired in 2005 to help remake Lenovo after the company acquired I.B.M.’s personal computer business. Mr. Amelio, an American, had pushed to transform Lenovo into a global company and brought in at least five other Dell executives to help operate the company. But after what analysts say were significant strides in making the company profitable, Lenovo lost some ground in the personal computer business and then got hurt badly by the global economic downturn.
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House Votes to Delay Digital TV Transition by Four Months
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Congress on Thursday granted a four-month reprieve to the millions of consumers who risk losing access to television signals during the nation’s switch from over-the-air television to digital. Although broadcasters say they were ready for the Feb. 17 transition, requiring them to keep broadcasting in analog until June 12 gives more time for consumers to prepare their TV sets. It also lets the federal government revamp its converter-box subsidy program, which had run out of money, and issue coupons to the millions of people on a waiting list.
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IAC Pursues Vertical Search Strategy as Ad Revenue Plummets
CLICKZ
If the financial crisis had not come last fall, IAC would be in a bad way right now. In its earnings report this week, the search and online media firm, whose properties include Ask.com, blamed a combination of factors, both external and “self-inflicted,” for a steep decline in its fourth quarter ad revenue. One of those factors was Google’s decision to stop serving AdSense for Search ads to some Ask partner sites, decimating its network revenue. Another was the search engine’s internal search quality efforts, which reduced ad impressions. “We got less queries because we were making the product more efficient,” said CEO and Chairman Barry Diller.
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WPP’s Spence: ‘We Got The Memo: Keep On Acquiring’
PAIDCONTENT
While the sputtering economy has slowed M&A activity considerably the last few months, WPP Group apparently didn’t get the memo that now’s the time to retrench and wait. Actually, Sheila Spence, SVP in WPP’s corporate development, told attendees at the DeSilva + Phillps Dealmakers Summitt that she’s gotten a very different memo. Speaking on a panel with other ad agency execs, Spence said: “We did get a memo: keep on acquiring. If you look at the deals we’ve done, they fall bull’s-eye into the company’s strategic goals, including having one-third of our revenue from BRIC companies and building up our digital assets.” In the past week alone, WPP has taken a 49 percent stake in South Africa’s The Jupiter Drawing Room and invested $25 million in Seattle web analytics firm Omniture.
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Zag Round Totals $37.4 Million
SOCALTECH
Santa Monica-based Zag has finally revealed the total invested in its latest, strategic round of funding, saying Thursday that it raised $37.4M. The round came from USAA, and included Capricorn Investment Group, LLC, GRP Partners and Anthem Venture Partners. USAA is an affinity group which is using Zag’s automotive configuration software and services. The firm’s venture round had earlier been reported to be worth $32.4M, and included USAA–however, the firm had refused to confirm those details until today. Zag also provides online car buying software for a number of AAA motor clubs, Overstock.com, Capital One Auto Finance, American Express, and Administaff.
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