How Big Music Threatened Startups and Killed Innovation
An unprecedented new report has detailed how the destruction of Napster chilled a decade’s worth of innovation in the music industry. Through interviews with 31 CEOs, company founders, and VPs who operated in digital music during the period, we hear how Big Music collapsed startups, turned down ‘blank check’ deals, and personally threatened innovators with ruination for both them and their families.
By interviewing 31 CEOs, company founders and VPs who operated in the digital music scene during the past 10 years, Associate Professor Michael A. Carrier at Rutgers University School of Law has produced a most enlightening report on the decade long aftermath of the Napster shutdown.
http://torrentfreak.com/how-big-music-threatened-startups-and-killed-innovation-120709/
Noise Free says Apple stole its technology, sues to stop patent claim
A Silicon Valley firm called Noise Free says it showed Apple its secret noise cancellation technology in a series of meetings but that Apple then turned around and used the technology without permission for its iPad and iPhone devices.
Now Noise Free is suing Apple for patent infringement, trade secret theft and breach of contract. The firm’s complaint, filed last week in San Jose, Calif., also wants the court to declare that Apple is not entitled to receive a pending patent application for noise-canceling technology.
http://gigaom.com/apple/noise-free-says-apple-stole-its-technology-sues-to-stop-patent-claim/
Q&A with Robert Herjavec, Ferrari Challenge Series driver and “Shark Tank” star
Herjavec wears many hats, from father to 007 Ferrari Challenge racer. MSN Autos met up with him again at the Honda Indy Toronto to see what makes him tick.
http://autos.ca.msn.com/motorsports/qanda-with-robert-herjavec-ferrari-challenge-series-driver-and-shark-tank-star
A Reality Series Finds Silicon Valley Cringing
Silicon Valley is finally getting the treatment once reserved for rowdy housewives and excitable chefs: its own Bravo reality series. But the tech world is not quite ready for its close-up.
When details about the show, tentatively titled “Silicon Valley,” first seeped out, many here were offended, saying it would trivialize the difficult and important work being done in the valley. “Yuck, please stay in LA,” Kevin Rose, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, messaged his million-plus Twitter followers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/technology/silicon-valley-wary-of-reality-series.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Full Tilt CEO Ray Bitar Is Going Home
Ray Bitar, chief executive of Full Tilt Poker, will probably be released on bail Monday evening after spending one week in jail.
A federal judge in Manhattan, Paul Engelmayer, signed off on a bail package that was hammered out on Monday afternoon by federal prosecutors and Bitar’s lawyers. Wearing prison clothes, Bitar appeared relieved he was getting out of prison as part of a bail package that will see him return home for the first time in more than a year to Glendora, Calif., where he will be monitored electronically by the feds.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2012/07/09/full-tilt-ceo-ray-bitar-is-going-home/
GroupMe, a Messaging Start-Up, Rolls Out Group Event Service
Remember the frenzy around mobile group-messaging services?
Group messaging made a splash last spring when a wave of services like GroupMe, Beluga, Yobongo, FastSociety, HurricaneParty and Kik arrived on the market. They dazzled users with sleek apps that let people create a chat room on their phones with a handful of friends, quickly coordinating a beach outing or simply chit-chatting in a more private setting, outside of public social arenas like Facebook and Twitter.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/groupme-a-messaging-start-up-rolls-out-group-event-service/
Exclusive: Microsoft’s Ballmer Throws Down Gauntlet Against Apple
Declaring that Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) and its partners had in the past “ceded some of the boundary between hardware and software innovation” to Apple (NSDQ:AAPL), Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told CRN in an exclusive interview Monday that the company’s Surface tablet marks a new era in which the computer software giant will leave no “stone unturned” in its innovation battle against Apple.
http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/240003421/exclusive-microsofts-ballmer-throws-down-gauntlet-against-apple.htm;jsessionid=vFISdkdDSOKGtjqEhvKQeQ**.ecappj01
Google set to pay record $22.5M fine for violating Apple users’ privacy
Google is expected to pay a $22.5 million fine, the largest in the history of the Federal Trade Commission, for bypassing the privacy settings of users of Apple’s Safari Web browser.
Google is “close” to the settlement terms, officials familiar with the deal told The Wall Street Journal. The FTC has charged Google of tricking the Safari browser into accepting an advertising “cookie” file that allowed the company to track people’s online activities, even if the user had disabled such tracking.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/07/10/google_set_to_pay_record_225m_fine_for_violating_apple_users_privacy.html
Oracle Buys Involver
Today we are excited to announce that we have signed an agreement for Oracle’s purchase of Involver and we expect the transaction to close in the summer of 2012. The proliferation of social media has changed the way that organizations and consumers interact.
Consumers want to have anytime access to information, reviews and recommendations – online and through their mobile devices – from a growing number of social networks. Companies are looking to harness the full potential of social media to increase brand loyalty, connect with potential customers and anticipate buyers’ needs. Social savvy customers expect brands to build social campaigns that are engaging, easy to navigate and that provide a consistent experience across multiple touch points.
http://blog.involver.com/2012/07/10/oracle-buys-involver/
Salesforce.com suffers worldwide disruption after power outage
Salesforce.com has suffered a series of outages that left many unable to use the CRM service. Even the service status page was down for a while.
http://www.zdnet.com/salesforce-com-suffers-worldwide-disruption-after-power-outage-7000000581/
