Netflix snatches DreamWorks rights from HBO (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO – Netflix unveiled a coming attraction its disillusioned subscribers might like: the Internet video rights to films and television specials from DreamWorks Animation.

The multiyear deal announced Monday will give Netflix Inc.’s streaming service the exclusive rights to show the latest content from DreamWorks, the studio behind a list of popular franchises that includes “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Madagascar.” It comes after weeks of disruptive changes that irked Netflix’s 24.6 million U.S. customers and spooked its shareholders.

But even this bit of good news had a downside. The DreamWorks rights don’t kick in until 2013, so the studio’s material won’t immediately placate Netflix customers who are clamoring for Netflix’s streaming library to widen its selection of box office hits.

The complaints could escalate early next year when Netflix loses the streaming rights to Walt Disney Co. movies and other films that it got through a licensing deal it had with Starz Entertainment.

Still, the DreamWorks deal represents a badly needed coup for Netflix, which has been reeling from a customer backlash triggered by sharp price increases and an upcoming spin-off of its DVD-by-mail service into a website called “Qwikster.”

Netflix snatched the DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. rights from pay-TV rival HBO, providing the latest sign that Internet video has emerged as a compelling — and lucrative — alternative for Hollywood movie and TV studios.

Although the financial terms weren’t spelled out, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg left no doubt that Netflix is paying his studio more than Time Warner Inc.’s HBO currently is. “This arrangement allows us to get more value for our content while giving us a greater degree of flexibility in how we distribute it across multiple platforms in today’s evolving digital world,” Katzenberg said.

The rising cost for streaming rights is the main reason that Netflix recently increased its prices by as much as 60 percent for U.S. customers who want both DVDs and Internet video.

Netflix, which is based in Los Gatos, Calif., is counting on the higher prices, which kicked in earlier this month, to bring in the additional revenue it needs to keep adding more titles to its streaming library. The strategy could backfire if too many subscribers upset by the higher prices cancel their service; Netflix already has said it expects to end this month with 600,000 fewer U.S. subscribers than it had in June when the total stood at 24.6 million.

Locking in DreamWorks as an exclusive deal also was important to Netflix, too, because it’s facing tougher competition in Internet streaming.

Amazon.com Inc. one of Netflix’s most formidable rivals, expanded its streaming service Monday with the addition of TV shows and movies from News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox studio. Most of the TV shows that Amazon is picking up from Fox already are can be streamed through Netflix. In a notable exception, Amazon will have “The Wonder Years,” a coming-of-age TV series from the 1980s and 1990s that is only available on DVD through Netflix.

Amazon says its streaming service now has more than 11,000 titles, doubling the total it had when it started seven months ago. Netflix’s hasn’t specified how many titles are in its streaming library, but an analysis done last month by another rival, Dish Network Corp., found nearly 32,000 selections.

Amazon includes unlimited video streaming as part of another service, called “Prime,” that provides free and discounted shipping to the Internet merchant’s customers. Prime costs $79 per year, slightly below the $96 annual subscription for Netflix streaming.

The next logical step for Amazon would be to buy Netflix’s streaming service, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. He thinks Netflix is spinning off its DVD-by-mail service primarily to make its streaming service more attractive to Amazon.com. Netflix’s plummeting stock price has made a takeover bid more affordable too. Since the company announced its higher prices in mid-July, Netflix’s stock price has lost more than half its value.

In a Sept. 22 research note, Pachter predicted Amazon would pay up to $7.2 billion for Netflix’s streaming business. That would translate into about $130 per share.

Both Netflix and Amazon declined to comment on the speculation.

Netflix shares gained $2.86, or about 2 percent, to close Monday at $132.22 while Amazon shares added $6.24, or nearly 3 percent to finish at $229.85.

Blog platform Tumblr wins $85 million in financing (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – blogging platform Tumblr has raised $ 85 million in venture capital financing round led by Greylock Partners and Insight Venture Partners, and Chernin Group and Sir Richard Branson.

New York-based income Tumblr little talking, but investors say they are confident the company will find its way to profitability.

"They'll manage to work in the months and years ahead," said John Lilly, a partner at Greylock Partners. A high degree of user involvement led to his investment does Greylock, he said.

Statistics said that the house up to 30 million blogs, page views, inspiring $ 13 billion per month.

Previous investors Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures and Sequoia Capital also a member of the round. CEO David Karp of Tumblr launched the service in 2007. The latest round of funding was 30 million in November 2010.

(Reporting by Sarah McBride dealing with Gunna Dickson)

Groupon says sales half earlier figure, loses COO (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO – chopped Groupon Inc. said its sales by over half in an SEC filing Friday update, because the established way to account for the money it receives from selling tickets. The online site also deal said his Chief Operating Officer, Margo Georgiadis, went to Google where she worked before he Groupon in May.

Groupon, which offers consumers a wide range of transactions each day dedicated to their preferences and the city was preparing its IPO. She first filed registration papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June

Adapting the company said Friday that he still planned an IPO, but it is uncertain when this will happen. A media report in this month the company may postpone his plans because of stock market volatility.

The review, rather than give the total amount that customers pay for the coupons and sales, Groupon now uses the amount held. This is because Groupon always gives a reduction in the total trade in which the coupons redeemed – usually restaurants or spas.

Groupon announced revenue of 2010 was $ 312.9 instead of 713.4 million U.S. dollars. And sales in the second quarter was $ 392.6 million, he says, not $ 878 million, as previously reported. The change affects nearly Groupon losses.

The amendment also request more than one note Groupon CEO Andrew Mason sent to employees last month that was leaked to the press. The SEC imposes a "quiet period" in the companies for an initial public offering, which limits what they can say publicly.

In the note, Mason spoke positively about the company and defended the use of an unusual benefit metric Groupon their initial IPO, reversed a decision in August. The initial deposit with an indicator that excludes the significant cost of the page for marketing and customer acquisition. Groupon later removed from the measure, called "adjusted income of consolidated operating segment," or ACSOI.

Mason announced the departure Georgiadis "Groupon blog Friday, saying that she will become president of the Americas from Google. Groupon said sales channels and international marketing teams attached to it.

Google Inc. has confirmed that Georgiadis was rehired to take over Dennis Woodside, who now heads the integration of research company Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., said in August that it planned to buy for $ 12 500 million.

In the blog, Mason cited Georgiadis, said in a statement that the decision to leave was "tough" and has "full confidence in the team's ability to accomplish its mission."

Yahoo received inquiries from many parties: memo (Reuters)

The headquarters of Yahoo in Sunnyvale shows

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc. has received questions from various parties on "the possible options," but the struggling Web company expects to take months to decide his future, the company co-founder and chairman said in a letter to employees on Friday.

"Our consultants work with us to ideas we will proactively pursue development," says the letter, a copy was obtained by Reuters.

Yahoo is Allen & Co. to help you perform a "strategic review" after his dismissal CEO Carol Bartz, earlier this month.

"These are questions from several parties that have expressed interest in fielding a number of options," read the letter on Friday, signed by the Chairman Roy Bostock and Jerry Yang, co-founder David Filo.

Private equity firms Silver Lake Partners is one of the parties who are in contact with Allen & Co., a source familiar with the matter.

Yahoo's board of directors has a quest for a permanent CEO began in the letter, but provided no details on the progress of research, or that the company has an executive search firm hired to oversee research .

With one hand while meeting the day after Bartz was fired, Yang said the company was not for sale, according to another source familiar with the situation.Although the note does not explicitly mention the sale of the company Friday, said the company was exploring several options to "structure the best approach for the company."

"While moving with a sense of urgency, this process will take time," the letter said. "Months, not weeks."

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment on the note.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, edited by Andre Grenon)

Late ‘Madden’ saps August video game sales (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO – Retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories fell 21 percent in August to $ 649 million, according to market researcher NPD Group, partly because the popular "Madden NFL 12" released later in the month than usual.

In his monthly report to the NPD Group said Thursday that sales of video game software – which refers to the sale of the games themselves – fell 34 percent in August to 265 million, compared to almost $ 404 million in August 2010.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier says much of this decline results from the video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc., decision of the latest "Madden" release of the game of football, "Madden NFL 12" at the end of August, which was later than usual rolls new version of the game. She added that the coming months a "strong release schedule" and that full-year sales could potentially play flat or slightly up from 2010 contains.

The research firm does not include game downloads and online games on monthly data for retail, so the number of times that show a decline, though more people play on Facebook, cell phones and other places.

Sales of video game hardware, including portable game systems and game consoles like Nintendo Co. 's Wii and Microsoft Corp.' s Xbox 360 is down 12 percent to $ 249 million from $ 283 million last year. Sales of video game accessories rose 1 percent to $ 135 million.

Add in sales of PC games, total sales in the United States fell by 23 per cent of the total of $ 670 million.

The games were sold during the month "Deus Ex: Human Revolution" by Square Enix, Inc., "NCAA Football 12" from Electronic Arts Inc. and "Call of Duty: Black Ops" Activision Blizzard Inc.

For the month, waiting Frasier "Madden NFL 12" to take first place.

Veteran Apple executive Eddy Cue gets expanded role (Reuters)

Apple Vice President Eddy Cue, speaks during the introduction of the new iPad News Corporation news release, "The Journal" in New York

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc Executive veteran promoted to senior vice president of software and Internet services Eddy Cue, marking one of the turnover for the first time the new chief executive officer Tim Cook, who happened to Steve Jobs last week.

Cue, who rose to fame by managing the App Store in iTunes, now also oversee the advertising service called Apple and icloud IAD, stressing the importance of combining new range of products from Apple Computer to be launched this fall.

"He is a veteran of Apple 22 years and plays a large organization of wonderful people," Cook said in an e-mail to employees announcing the expansion of the role Cue."Apple is a company and culture is like no other in the world and get leaders like Eddy, dass Apple is in your blood."

Cue said Cook also played an important role in creating online store of Apple in 1998, the iTunes Music Store in 2003 and the App Store in 2008.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Andre Grenon)

Lawsuit says Microsoft tracks customers without consent (Reuters)

Retail customers to the new Microsoft Store in Bellevue

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microsoft probably detect the position of the mobile clients, even when users require the monitoring software are disabled, according to a new trial.

The proposed class action, filed in federal court in Seattle on Wednesday, saying that Microsoft deliberately camera software on the Windows 7 Phone to the needs of their customers can not be traced ignore.

A Microsoft representative was not immediately available for comment.

The case comes after concerns emerged earlier this year that the Apple iPhone location data collected and stored for up to one year, even if the software was apparently turned off location. Apple has released a patch for the problem.

However, the revelation prompted renewed scrutiny of the relationship between space and privacy. At a hearing in May, the U.S. lawmakers accused the industry of technology to take advantage of location information for marketing – an industry potentially billions of dollars – without obtaining proper consent of the millions of Americans.

The lawsuit against Microsoft cites a letter it sent to Congress, which Microsoft has said that only collects data Geolocation with the user's express consent.

"Microsoft was false representations to Congress," says the cause.

The dispute brought on behalf of a mobile user Windows 7, Microsoft claims transmitting data – including the approximate latitude and longitude of the user's device – while the camera application is activated. It seeks an injunction and punitive damages, including legal remedies.

The case in the U.S.District Court, Western District of Washington, Rebecca Cousineau, individually on their own behalf and on behalf of all others in the same position against Microsoft Corp., 11-CV-1438th

(Reporting by Dan Levine, editing by Bernard Orr)

Salesforce.com’s Benioff inspired by Arab Spring (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The head of the web software company Salesforce.com Inc. executive Marc Benioff unveiled a series of social networking tools and said he was inspired by the recent revolutions in Egypt and Libya.

Benioff said Salesforce.com was to strengthen their existing chat services company to allow better interaction between people who do business together, after Facebook and Twitter have been widely used in the overthrow of dictators in Egypt and Libya.

"There were signs saying" thank you Microsoft, there were signs saying "Thank you for IBM," said Marc Benioff as a slide show of Arab protesters during his speech to the convention of Salesforce.com 's annual San Francisco.

"No. Look at this:" Thanks to Facebook, in all these different languages, in all these different cultures. "

Salesforce.com has become a darling of investors, who see themselves as blessed with the holy trinity of Silicon Valley social media, cloud computing and mobile devices. The stock is trading at a massive 77 times expected annual profits and increased by 3.38 percent Wednesday.

Stimulation of a stage and auditorium shaking hands with members of a captive audience, Marc Benioff also showed off software tools to help Salesforce.com customers use its services more easily on the Apple iPhone and other mobile gadgets.

"Salesforce.com is a social enterprise to be fast," he said. "Smartphones and tablet to take. We recognize that. "

The new social networking tools, it will be easier for customers to learn by following and analyzing their activities on Facebook and Twitter. It will also enable customers and suppliers to create the social network media where their employees can work together.

Rock Legend Neil Young and rapper MC Hammer Benioff appeared in both the event and said she's tools Salesforce.com 's social networking business using.

Feeding the hope that cloud computing companies can avoid getting caught in a possible slowdown in technology spending, Salesforce.com this month increased its annual profit forecast.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich)

Bits Blog: Apple Seeking Product Security Manager

Apple can hope for a new hire "security product manager" or in respect of the laity, someone go, the new iPhones away, lost in bars Stop: Do not know how easy this task may seem deceiving.

The new position was posted on Apple's Jobs for the loss of another iPhone prototype, which is missing in San Francisco last month.

In the past year lost an Apple engineer a prototype iPhone 4 in a bar, which featured ended Gizmodo, the technology blog.

Although Apple could be the brunt of jokes about the repetition of iPhone loss, new job ad is definitely not fun and games.Among the many high security demands, the new candidates have at least five years experience in the field of security, an advanced degree in risk management and a good understanding of international safety standards.

Unlike Apple’s usually cryptic job postings, this one is blatantly clear:

Bits Blog: Apple’s Unusual Hunt for a Missing iPhone

09:58 | Updated revised throughout to reflect new information about searching for the phone.

If Apple thinks you have something that belongs to him, his security staff come to your home, input gain with the help of the police and the search for physical and electronic evidence in your possession?

Although many details remain unclear, which is apparently what happened in San Francisco in July when, for the second time, have an Apple employee lost a test version of a model in an upcoming iPhone bar. According to CNet, which broke the story, and the SF Weekly, which gave a more complete picture of the event, Apple is working hard to try to get their property back astray.

Apple used a GPS phone to a track to a house near the bar.Sergio Calderon, a 22-year-old resident of the house, was by SF Weekly as saying that he, the bar where the iPhone has been cited five disappeared, visited the Tequila Lounge Cava22, but it lacks the phone. Mr. Calderon said he was six people, four men and two women, one was attended in uniform. He assumed they were all policemen, an assumption they made no attempt to correct.

One of the people, gave a phone number of Mr. Calderon, who traced the SF Weekly to an Apple security officer. A police spokesman in San Francisco, told the newspaper that the real police remained outside while the couple sought by Apple M. Calderon house and car and examined his computer, a scheme that raised more questions than answers about Apple and the police.

When the incident unfolded as reported what the police think she attended? Why did the police initially said that no official report on the investigation?Police officers were on duty? Why did it take four of them to accompany the investigators to Apple? And most importantly, where's the phone?

The police spokesman, Troy Dangerfield, did not respond to the many. A statement has been promised but had not appeared in the early evening. Apple, as usual, would not comment. Calderon could not be reached.

IPhone in the incident last year is missing, the men who found the phone was sold at the forefront Blog Gizmodo for $ 5000, and the blog, then put the details of the new features of the phone. Allegations of criminal offenses have been filed against the two men. 6 Perhaps the iPhone will be available with a device that allows Apple to remotely detonate so it does not happen again.