Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million

Rovi Corporation has already gone though a few significant transformations -- it was once the DRM-centered company known as Macrovision -- and it's now set to undergo another big one. The company has just announced a "definitive agreement" to acquire Sonic Solutions in a deal valued at $720 million. Among other things, Sonic owns RoxioNow (the service formally known as CinemaNow), which will give Rovi access to over 10,000 movies and TV shows, and Sonic also just acquired DivX earlier this year, which Rovi points out has a presence on more than 350 million consumer electronics devices. Head on past the break for the official press release, and look for the deal to close sometime in the first quarter of next year if all goes according to plan.

Continue reading Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million

Rovi announces agreement to acquire Sonic Solutions for $720 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/23/rovi-announces-agreement-to-acquire-sonic-solutions-for-720-mil/

Marla Sokoloff Marley Shelton Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Reva's text-to-recharge electric car rolls to a standstill the US

Remember the electric car with the ingenious hook of a reserve battery that can only be accessed in the case of an emergency by texting or calling the car's manufacturer? Well, it appears that the project is having a bit of trouble getting off the ground in the US, though it shockingly doesn't have anything to do with that flagship feature. As the story goes, upstart Bannon Automotive signed a deal with the car's manufacturer, India-based Reva Electric Car Company, that gave it the exclusive license to manufacture and sell the car in the US, but Bannon is now alleging that Reva broke its agreements and says it's been left with no choice but to take legal action. Ill-conceived feature aside, the stakes in the lawsuit are fairly high, as Bannon Automotive was actually formed with the sole intention of bringing the Reva electric car to the US, and it had hoped to bring as many as 250 jobs to Onondaga County, New York.

Reva's text-to-recharge electric car rolls to a standstill the US originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Dec 2010 00:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Syracuse.com  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/y0DYfnF2q8E/

Ashlee Simpson Ashley Greene Ashley Olsen

Bing shopping mall maps help you find the food court

Bing has just announced mall maps, taking maps to the hyper-local department store level. Not only are mall maps "US-only," but nearly all of the current offerings are located in Microsoft's home state of Washington. There are actually a couple of New York malls in the list -- as well as a single one from Boston, Massachusetts.

Bing gives you a fully browsable "you are here" mall directory that integrates seamlessly with the Bing street map. Simply zoom in to get a look at a mall and see the layout of the stores -- try Seattle Premium Outlets to get a feel for what it's like. The Bing team will continue adding malls, but only in the U.S. for the foreseeable future.

Bing shopping mall maps help you find the food court originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/08/bing-now-features-maps-of-shopping-malls/

Lauren German LeAnn Rimes Leeann Tweeden

10 last-minute gift ideas for geeks

You've gone and waited until the last minute to buy the gang at the office their annual holiday gifts. Trouble is, it's too late to order something online -- and who wants to fight with holiday crowds at the mall?

Wouldn't you rather just do some nice, relaxing shopping from the comfort of your cubicle? There's plenty of great stuff you can give digitally via email, Facebook, or even printed off on the fancy color printer at the office you've got at home.

We've tried to cover all the basics, from downloadable games, music, and video on demand -- to truly utilitarian gifts like backup services and Web hosting. Take the jump to see our list of "pay for it now, get it now" gifts -- and share your suggestions in the comments!

Continue reading 10 last-minute gift ideas for geeks

10 last-minute gift ideas for geeks originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/19/10-last-minute-gift-ideas-for-geeks/

Paige Butcher Pamela Anderson Paris Hilton

Deals of the Day [Dealzmodo]

Short deals post before the holiday weekend. We've got deals on a 47" 3D HDTV bundle, a 17" Core i7 laptop, a free copy of Ashampoo Burning Studio, and more. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ZQTjwede1fs/deals-of-the-day

Mischa Barton Missi Pyle Missy Peregrym

LinkedIn shows technical savvy, deactivates Gawker-compromised accounts

It looks like at least one security team has their finger on the pulse: LinkedIn, after hearing about the Gawker Media hack, obtained the database of email addresses and cross-checked it against every member of LinkedIn. If a match was found, the account was immediately deactivated and an email sent to the user, forcing them to change their password.

Judging by a thread over at Hacker News, other tech-savvy companies might be following a similar process, including Blizzard, the operator of World of Warcraft.

LinkedIn shows technical savvy, deactivates Gawker-compromised accounts originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/15/linkedin-shows-technical-savvy-deactivates-compromised-accounts/

April Scott Arielle Kebbel Ashanti

What Is Google's Holiday Doodle? [Googledoodle]

In a goal to end the year with a bang, Google's Doodlers have drawn up a creative, artsy doodle for this year's holiday season. It's 17 interactive portraits of holiday scenes around the world and took six months of work. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/awKnqbhP-vw/what-is-googles-holiday-doodle

Mandy Moore Maria Bello Maria Menounos

Sad About Missing This Week's Lunar Eclipse? Cheer Yourself Up with 3D Photos of the Moon [Image Cache]

The most recent lunar eclipse was a spectacular sight, so I understand if you're sad about missing it. I've got something to cheer you up though: A Flickr gallery full of 3D space images. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DsUnInk5uu0/sad-about-missing-this-weeks-lunar-eclipse-stare-at-the-moon-in-3d

Shanna Moakler Shannon Elizabeth Shannyn Sossamon

Favimon lets you collect and do battle with your favorite Web sites -- Time Waster

Ah, Pokemon. Your collect-train-battle cuteness is a guilty pleasure for so many geeks. But wouldn't it be nice if we had an alternative to the cutesy little monsters (no offense, Squirtle)? Matthew Hollett thinks so, and he decided to create one for all of us to enjoy. Witness: Favimon!

You'll begin the battle by collecting Favimon's own favicon, and you can then begin searching for other Favimon to do battle with -- just type a domain name into the search box. The game analyzes your choice and assigns stats and abilities to the new Favimon, and the battle is on! Special abilities include winners like Microsoft's Blue Screen of Death and Missed Opportunity to the powerful Tyrannosaurus Chomp packed by Mozilla.

I began by going after a few small, expendable sites so that I could wear down a beefier Favimon I actually wanted to keep -- like Mozilla. The Foxy Favimon powered through opponents like Opera, WebKit, Microsoft, and Chromium without breaking a sweat (dig that crazy defense stat).

Favimon is ridiculously addictive, and it's only going to get worse (or is that better?). Hollett plans to add a save game feature -- right now you've got to leave your Favimon tab open to keep the game going. That said, I've had the tab on my main desktop computer open for two days now...

Favimon lets you collect and do battle with your favorite Web sites -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/22/favimon-lets-you-collect-and-do-battle-with-your-favorite-web-si/

Bar Refaeli Beyoncé Bianca Kajlich

2011 Moto2 Line Up - Corti, Cardus, De Rosa, Debise Confirmed, Pesek Out

As the new year approaches, the Moto2 grid is starting to near completion - though the sudden withdrawal of the Promo Racing / Jack& Jones by Antonio Banderas racing team is a reminder that the grid is only final once the lights go out at Qatar. Over the past couple of weeks, several signings have seen a few of the remaining blank spaces in the rider list fill out, and bringing the grid back up to 39.

The first announcement came from the Italtrans Team, who announced the signing of Italian rider Claudio Corti. Corti had spent 2010 racing alongside Jules Cluzel at Forward Racing, but had been edged aside to make room for Alex Baldolini. Corti now switches to the team that fielded Roby Rolfo and Robertino Pietri for 2010, and will remain aboard a Suter. Rolfo has departed Moto2 altogether, and will be riding the ill-fated Pedercini Kawasaki in World Superbikes, while Pietri is yet to sign a deal in either Moto2 or the AMA, where he raced previously.

The Tuenti Speed Up team announced that they had added Valentin Debise to their line up, signing the Frenchman to run alongside the Spanish prodigy Pol Espargaro. The Speed Up Team will once again be fielding FTR machinery, though this time, under the FTR name, rather than rebadged as a Speed Up, as was the case when Andrea Iannone and Gabor Talmacsi raced for the team last season. 

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/MotoGPMatters/~3/nZudr1iYW7E/2011_moto2_line_up_corti_cardus_de_rosa_.html

Nelly Furtado Nichole Robinson Nicky Hilton