Oracle Acquires Hyperion for $3.3 BN
Oracle said Thursday that it had acquired performance management software provider Hyperion in a transaction valued at $3.3 billion. The company says that the acquisition would help it to offer and end-to-end solution for those customers who are looking for a complete performance management and business intelligence solution. The transaction will close next month, Oracle said in a statement.
"Hyperion is the latest move in our strategy to expand Oracle's offerings to SAP customers," said Oracle President Charles Phillips. "Now Oracle's Hyperion software will be the lens through which SAP's most important customers view and analyze their underlying SAP ERP data."
EA Offers Up Game Music on iTunes
Electronic Arts on Thursday began offering soundtracks to its video games on iTunes, but it took a unique approach: instead of actually publishing albums, the company simply created iMixes that link to the already-existing songs on Apple's music download service.
EA says the offer, dubbed EA Trax, comes in response to customer demand for the music it embeds in its games, which ranges from popular rap and pop to obscure indie rock. The game maker says 55 percent of "Need for Speed" players say they have purchased music after first hearing it in the title.
Microsoft Preps Third Zune Update
Microsoft disclosed Thursday that it planned to release an update to the firmware of its Zune music player in mid-March, remedying several issues that users of the device were experiencing. Still missing is direct video download support or support for podcasting; Microsoft has so far declined to give any guidance on a timeframe for that functionality.
Included in March's patch would be a fix for a skipping issue some were experiencing with content purchased from the Zune marketplace; improved device and software reliability, which Microsoft says would offer better device detection and improved syncing; and changes to the FM tuner to prevent it from draining the battery during sleep mode. According to Zune team member Cesar Menedez, Microsoft hopes to have the update out by March 20.
RIAA to College Students: Settle Now
The RIAA said Wednesday that it had sent some 400 letters to individuals at 13 universities offering an opportunity for students accused of piracy to settle with the recording industry. Although the RIAA is not specifying the settlement amount, it is said to be significantly less than what the group would sue for in court.
Over the next several months, the organization expects to send hundreds more settlement offers. According to the RIAA, letters this month were sent to students at schools such as Arizona State University, North Carolina State University, Ohio University, Syracuse University, Amherst, University of Southern California, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and University of Texas, Austin, among others.
Verizon Wireless to Launch TV Services
Verizon Wireless is set to launch its mobile television service on Thursday, according to both the company's Web site and mobile news site RCRWirelessNews.com. The service will be called VCAST Mobile TV and will be available in "select markets" at launch. Qualcomm's MediaFLO technology will power the network, which will be available on two handsets, the Samsung SCH-u620 and LG VX9400.
In announcing the service last month, Verizon Wireless indicated that content would be available from CBS, Comedy Central, NBC, and MTV, among others. The nation's second largest wireless network is not the only one to use Qualcomm's mobile television technology: Cingular announced recently that it also would offer TV services later this year.
Sun Joins Free Software Foundation
Sun Microsystems has become a "patron" of the Free Software Foundation, joining the likes of HP, IBM, Google and MySQL. The announcement was made over the weekend at the FOSDEM conference in Brussels, and follows Sun's decision to license Java under the GPL.
"Sun and the FSF have been promoting software freedom add this to the recent announcement that the Java platform will be licensed under the GPL, and it becomes obvious that the connections must be stronger," said Sun's chief open source officer Simon Phipps. The FSF was founded by Richard Stallman and is credited for helping start the open source software movement.
Google Adds Real-Time Traffic to Maps
Google said Wednesday it had updated its Maps service in more than 30 major United States cities to include real-time traffic information. A new "Traffic" button joins the Map, Satellite and Hybrid options already available, overlaying road conditions with green, yellow and red colors.
"If your route shows red, you're looking at a stop-and-go commute; yellow, you could be a little late for dinner; green, you've got smooth sailing," explained Google software engineer David Wang. Supported cities include New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Washington DC among others.
CompUSA to Close Half its Stores
In a move aimed at helping the company "focus on initiatives that enhance its top performing locations," CompUSA announced Wednesday it would close 126 of its 229 stores as part of a restructuring plan. The closures began last week and would continue into the early part of the summer. The decision would likely impact Apple the most, which stands to lose two percent of its retail locations.
"Based on changing conditions in the consumer retail electronics market, the company identified the need to close and sell stores with low performance or non strategic, old store layouts and locations faced with market saturation," CompUSA CEO Roman Ross said. In addition to the closing of stores, the retailer also said it received a $440 million cash infusion from an unnamed source.
WSJ: AOL to Acquire Mobile Ad Provider
AOL is rumored to be close to a deal with Third Screen Media, a mobile advertising startup, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday. The company had previously been in talks with Microsoft over a possible deal, however negotiations fell apart. The AOL deal is said to be worth some $80 million, and is "fairly advanced," the paper reports.
The purchase of Third Screen would make sense for AOL, as it has transitioned away from a subscriber-based to an ad-supported business model. While at the current time the market for mobile advertising is small, it is expected to grow over the next several years. Neither AOL nor Third Screen would comment publicly on the latest rumors.
Microsoft Donates to Katrina Rebuilding
Microsoft said Monday that it donated $1.7 million to support rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, with the money being awarded to non-profit partners in Louisiana and Texas. With its latest donation, the company will have donated over $55 million as part of its Unlimited Potential charity program. Through this effort, Microsoft donates cash, software and technology to communities in need.
"In a post-Katrina world, retaining and rebuilding a skilled work force is critical to the future of the Gulf Coast economy," CEO Steve Ballmer said at an event to announce the grant in Louisiana. "Microsoft is committed to working with our Gulf Coast partners to help expand opportunity for people and businesses throughout this fantastic region."
Apple TV Delayed Until March
Apple informed customers who had ordered its new Apple TV entertainment device late Monday that it would miss its original target shipping date of February, instead promising delivery starting in mid-March. While the company did not give a specific reason for delay, it did say that final development of the product was "taking a few weeks longer than we expected."
The Apple TV device costs $299 USD, and is the company's first attempt at extending its dominance in digital entertainment to the living room. It was first introduced at Macworld along with the company's first mobile phone, called the "iPhone."
BenQ to Dismantle, Sell Mobile Division
Taiwan based BenQ acknowledged over the weekend that its mobile handset division had no chance of being sold as a whole and thus would be liquidated after filing for bankruptcy last September. BenQ had acquired the struggling business from Siemens in June 2005, but failed to turn it around.
German paper Sueddeutsche Zeitung first reported the decision, noting that some 3,000 jobs would likely be lost - although employees will receive wages for up to a year thereafter. Siemens was barely able to keep the phone unit afloat when it sold it to BenQ in exchange for a 2.5 percent stake in the Taiwanese electronics maker. At the time, BenQ expected the acquisition to give it more exposure and double annual handset sales.
Microsoft Buys Health Data Search Firm
Microsoft said Monday that it would acquire Medstory, a company that develops web search technology for health information. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Redmond company said that it intends to use the move to begin a push into the realm of consumer health. Medstory would be folded into the recently created Health Solutions Group at Microsoft.
Medstory's technology allows users to perform searches on health information in a more intuitive way, which more closely mirrors the way a person thinks. Microsoft said this helps searchers to receive more relevant results, and allows the user to make better health-related decisions.
Watermark Helps Track Movie Uploader
A man who allegedly uploaded a copy of the movie "Flushed Away" to the Internet was tracked down using a wartermark on the film and now faces a felony charge that could send him to prison for up to three years. 27 year-old Salvador Nunez Jr. obtained the movie from his sister, an Oscar voter.
Nunez admitted to also uploading "Happy Feet," but only "Flushed Away" was discovered on his hard drive when FBI agents visited his house. Movie screeners, which are sent to voters in advance of their official DVD release, are often leaked to the Internet and watermarking technology has recently been implemented to track their source.
Indie Films Added to iTunes Movie Store
IFC said Wednesday that it will initially add the movies that it received a nomination for the 2007 Independent Spirit Awards to the iTunes Movie Store, of which six have gained that nod. Another seven will also be added, which have been nominated in previous years. Among the films added are "American Gun," "Happy Here and Now" and "Land of Plenty," among others. All downloads would be priced at $9.99 USD.
New York based IFC Films is one of the largest independent distributors and garnered the most Spirit Award nominations of any one company. "By making IFC films available on the world's most popular online movie store we're giving independent filmmakers the exciting opportunity to reach a wider audience of movie enthusiasts," IFC's senior president of sales and devlopment Lisa Schwartz said.
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