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December 2005

December 31, 2005

OS and Browser Statistics for Strategic Board - Dec 05

and of visitors to during December 2005:



Dudu

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December 30, 2005

End 2005, Start 2006 - All Predictions and Summaries from the IT world

So many predictions on what is going to happen in 2005. I couldn''t find many bloggers reviewing their last 2005 predictions but still it is interesting to see how people perceive the near technology future.



Here is the list:


Top 10 Tech Transformations of 2005
http://www.newmediamusings.com/blog/2005/12/the_transformat.html




to Live: Top underrated apps of 2005
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/geek-to-live-top-underrated-apps-of-2005-145442.php




Year in Review: December 2005 at
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/best-of-2005/index.php




No 2006 PR predictions but a thought on fragmentation...
http://www.natterjackpr.com/archives/2005/12/no_2006_pr_pred.html




Naked Conversations: 10 More 2006 Prediction
http://www.desparoz.com/index.php/2005/12/29/naked-conversations-10-more-2006-prediction/




2006 s Round-Up
http://blog.rssapplied.com/public/item/111604



2006 could be year that Jobs falls off pedestal
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kevinmaney/2005-12-20-jobs_x.htm



2006 predictions
http://scripting.wordpress.com/2005/12/23/2006-predictions/



2006: Like it already happened
http://www.blogebrity.com/blog/2005/12/2006-like-it-already-happened.php



2006 Predictions Part One
http://officersclub.blogspot.com/2005/12/2006-predictions-part-one.html




The Year of for Power users and Geeks - Roland's 2006 Predictions Part 6
the-year-of-personal-video-for-power-users-and-geeks-rolands-2006-predictions-part-6


http://rolandtanglao.com/tags/2006-predictions




's Predictions for 2006: Small Steps for Most Firms, Giant Leaps for a Few Firms
http://www.llrx.com/features/giantleaps.htm




Predictions Revisited
http://www.vinnylingham.com/2005/12/predictions-revisited.html




Predictions For in '06
http://wireless.weblogsinc.com/2005/11/30/predictions-for-wireless-in-06/



Predictions
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/linux/university/archives/006759.asp?rss=1



TECH TALK: The Best of Tech Talk 2005: Ecosystem and
tech_talk_the_best_of_tech_talk_2005_emergic_ecosystem_and_netcore



Predictions for 2006
http://chris.pirillo.com/blog/_archives/2005/12/29/1539128.html



Predicting The Future (continued)
http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2005/12/predicting_the__5.html




Wired Co-Founder Sees s in the Future
http://harry.hchen1.com/2005/12/27/208



on
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2005/12/26/ray-kurzweil-on-future-technology/




Ten Defining Moments: Events of 2005
http://tametheweb.com/2005/12/defining_moments_library_20_ev.html




The Smart Future May Bring Simplicity (We Hope)
http://smarteconomy.typepad.com/smart_economy/2005/12/the_smart_futur.html




' s for 2006
http://perens.sourcelabs.com/articles/2005/12/07/bruce-perens-forecasts-for-2006




Future Wireless (4/10/2005)
http://urbantapestries.net/weblog/archives/000140.html


Happy New Year!


Dudu



P.S. Most of the posts mentioned here were found via search of "prediction" - http://www.strategicboard.com/index.php?s=prediction

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December 29, 2005

End of the road for standalone RSS aggregators? No!

"A Thousand s Crying - moves on " by (see post). Nik says that startups are doomed now, after the giant - , have decided to make outlook RSS ready. Although Nick raises many valid points to consider I tend to stay on the rather optimistic side where I believe new products and new giants can emerge as it always been. When I read the post I felt I could do a search and replace to the written company names with different ones from past scenarios and still have with a valid story to tell. You can try with changing Microsoft in this story to (The current big bad wolf) and replace (and other startups) in the current prey position with Microsoft itself back in the early 90's.



Having said that, I fully agree with the "good" things this change will do to the industry by increasing user adoption and getting RSS to .



See my past comment on NewsGator Vs. Microsoft from march 2005 - NewsGator acquires FeedDemon - Consequences.




Marry Christmas to all of you!


Dudu

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December 28, 2005

Strategic Board Tagcloud on Venture Capital - 28 Dec
































Another example on the search results of "".



Dudu

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Strategic Board Tagcloud on the IT World - 28 Dec

























This is an example dynamic on latest activity in the . This tagcloud is updated according to the latest news and posts from related sources.



Dudu

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December 27, 2005

Strategic Board Visual Mode Early Peek

We've added our first version of in . In every you can switch to visual mode to view a of the search results. The tagcloud is made of the captured context of the news/posts in the results. We plan to enhance the very soon.



Dudu

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December 22, 2005

Changed Layout thanks to Feedback

Frank Gruber and Jeff Jones wrote about with an important feedback about our unorgenized layout of . First, thanks for the valuable feedback.

I agree with both comments especially with the one suggesting a tricky design to create higher clickthrough and I have to confess that adsense grid have caught in a weak moment:)



Anyway, now the design have changed.

Thanks again for the feedback and have a great holidays season!


Dudu

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December 18, 2005

Executive Moves, IPO, Venture Funding and Mergers and Acquisitions










&



, a Vancouver, WA based of secure multi-site managed data networks and dedicated for businesses and communications carriers, for $144 million.




, a Wilmington, MA worldwide provider of monitoring and control for improving productivity in and other advanced processes, acquired Umetrics, a Swedish provider of products and to scientists and engineers to help investigate and optimize complex products and processes, for an .




, an , TX based provider of solutions to optimize the performance of applications running over , acquired (PMG), an Orangevale, CA based provider of result-oriented training, troubleshooting, and documentation services, for an undisclosed amount.







– , CA; a provider of ; $12 million; ; , , , , .




– Aliso Viejo, CA; a company created specifically to bring next-generation services and applications to young adults; $50 million; Round; .




– , CA; a provider of chipsets for ; $20 million; ; , , , Individuals, , , , .




– Santa Clara, CA; a supplier of solutions; $7 million; Series 2; .




– , TX; a of technology for handheld devices; $500K; ; .




– Longmont, CO; a developer of solutions; $75 million; Series C; Caisse de Depot et placement du Quebec, (), , .




– Mountain View, CA; a developer of equipment for systems; $13.4 million; round not specified; , , (), , , .




– , WA; a company; $26.5 million; round not specified; , , , , , , , , .




– , MA; a developer of and communications software for ; $5 million; round not specified; .




– Berlin, ; a of laser modules; $6.6 million; Series B; , .




– Salt Lake City, UT; a developer of and prevention solutions; $16.8 million; Series A; , .




– Edinburgh, Scotland; a developer of software that can make detailed models of large objects; $532K; Series B; .




– Santa Clara, CA; a developer and manufacturer of low-cost, high-performance optical transmitters for , data transmission and other markets; $2.2 million; Series C; , .




– Buckinghamshire, UK; a developer of solutions; $8.1 million; round not specified; , , .




– Santa Clara, CA; a provider of power and software for the nanometer design; $5.3 million; round not specified; , , , , , , .




– Berlin, Germany; a provider of a software player that allows users to view, download and play content on their cell phones; $2.3 million; Series A; .




– Santa Clara, CA; a developer of solutions; $20 million; Series C; , (Asia Pacific), New Enterprise Associates (NEA), .




– Woburn, MA; a provider of and administration services; $10 million; Series B; , , , .




– Dundee, Scotland; an independent developer; $532K; Series A; .

Pricings



(NASDAQ: SPSN)
, CA
Joint venture between and to make and memory devices.
Date of Offering: 12/16/05
Offer : $12.00
Closing Price as of 12/16/05: $13.55







, a based provider of data network services and solutions for global mobile operators, named as VP &. Chan was formerly CFO at .




, a Carlsbad, CA based provider of enterprise-class and restore solutions focused on for heterogeneous environments, named as . Pechon was formerly CEO of .




, a Milpitas, CA based provider of secure solutions for LANs, named as CFO. Buckley was formerly CFO at .




, a Jose based fabless analog semiconductor company, named as and Venkat Bahl as . Jakubowski was formerly VP of at Xytrans. Bahl was formerly VP of at .




, a Sunnyvale, CA based fabless supplier of custom integrated circuits, named as CFO. Lindstrom was formerly VP & CFO at .




, a Milpitas, CA based company, named as CFO. Moley was formerly CFO at .




, an Austin, TX based developer of chips for enterprise-class servers, named as & Operations. Warwick was formerly VP of & Operations at .




, a Santa Clara, CA based provider of carrier-class systems, named as CFO, Marty Hahnfeld as of Sales, Wes Schaefer as and Allen Adolph as . Robertson was formerly VP and CFO at Narus. Hahnfeld was formerly & CEO of HyperEdge. Schaefer was formerly employed by Airespace. Adolph was formerly employed by .




, an , CA based fabless semiconductor company, named as VP of Sales & , Tim Heenan as VP of Operations and Bruce Tolley as Director of Marketing. Perrott was formerly and Heenan was formerly VP of Operations for Applied Circuits. Tolley was formerly a Senior Manager at .




, a , CA based fabless semiconductor company providing high-performance switch fabrics, named as VP of and Derek Granath as VP of Marketing. Frostholm was formerly at . Granath was formerly Director of & at






Contributor: Venator Partners - Venator Partners is a Boston-based executive search firm that specializes in recruiting senior-level executives in the software and communications industries.

Copyright: Copyright © 2004. Venator Partners, LLC.

Covered Categories: M&A, Start-ups, Personnel Changes




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December 17, 2005

Is Web 2.0 Standing on the Shoulders of Giants?

Defining nowadays seems to be a a very popular sport for many important s and s. Our self definition of as a "web 2.0" company/technology invites me to express my thoughts on Web 2.0 although I am not sure I wear pink glasses when I look at it.



Web 2.0 being as one of the many transformations the goes through can be broken to different parts:



Web 2.0 Technological Changes:
RSS - "machine readable" format of changes to a web site. Blogs as unique form of websites that supports RSS enable anyone to publish content on the web very easily. This huge pool of sources(feeds) enable all forms of to satisfy each internet user information needs. RSS created new forms of publishing that didn't exist before such as , co-publishing and more.



Tagging - A behaviour of internet users to mark specific content with designated . Once exists another level of is available using , aggregation and display. Several tools to support each one of these activites have been created to support this behavior.



Wikis - A new form of knowledge base where the users of the build and maintain it. Pretty much similar to the movement where still a very few build and really contribute to the source while the majority just enjoy using it. High level of user adoption made this form of knowledge creation highly effective to certain groups.




Infrastructure
Search - Several s that provide access to the newly created RSS/Tagged content. These search tools are mostly characterized by the charecteristics of the content they index. The "live" nature of new content (content is being published all the time 7 X 24) and the "permanence" of content published by a blog (a post usually doesn't change, which makes indexing different). Blogs content has very similar charecteristics to old fashion news except for the numbers of publishers.

Other- RSS , , , (s) services, feed/blog s and probably a lot more then what is mentioned here. These tools and platforms are the basis of a "working" .





Main Drivers:
No bandwidth problems - being creative as a developer or publisher has never been so easy thanks to the fact that users can enjoy it in a timely fashion.


Working internet infrastructure - many people/companies/s have invested and built a rather reliable web . These investments, which burst to the face of stakeholders during 99-02 serves today the wave of web 2.0 s. In simple words it is not really a problem today to get a new web 2.0 service up and running.



Content content content - users adoption and ability to express whatever is on their mind via blogs created a huge pile of raw material for innovation. Internet users in my opinion are the real "heroes" and drivers of the Web 2.0 phenomena.



Open source platforms - today you can build a fully scalable using only open source tools. You've got an for free, a very good , scalable languages and many other small tools to make your life easier. Building a similar Web 2.0 product few years ago that relys on similar infrastructure would not be possible without external and "unique" s.



Browser UI advancement - the , which once was a simple text/ viewing tool became a and for almost any application you can dream of. As much as it makes manufacturers of operating systems sad it makes us Web 2.0 developers very happy.



Alternative financing sources or a.k.a Google ads - nothing more to say about this:). Google brings us the traffic, Google pays for the traffic and Google makes money on the traffic - everyone are happy.



Customers tolerance for incomplete products - As in many "exciting" transformations, users are highly tolerant to s and low quality products hidden behind the "" curtain. This enables very early interaction with users, which makes products much more valuable eventually. This tolerance can also be attributed to the hunger users accumulated during the "dry" years of 99-03.





Economic/Business State:
Business models - Currently the only business model for Web 2.0 is the long "lived" eyeballs model. We have returned to this notorious model in our Web 2.0 companies mainly because this is what interests the most our "saviours" with their deep pockets - , and . There are few companies who offer premium services but still they mainly take pride in the number of their free users. Some of the companies try to squeeze their innovation towards the "enterprise startup" model as a magic bullet though enterprises seem to be the last ones to jump on the Web 2.0 wagon and if they jump at all.



Exit Strategies - During 2005 there were few s of very successful (in terms of user adoption) Web 2.0 companies for surprisingly very low prices in comparison to what you would expect from the respective level. This trend may raise very fundamental questions of the level of belief Web 2.0 entrepreneurs have in their venture future (Google was once a small startup too) as well as explains why VCs are not fully into Web 2.0. It might be still a residue of scepticism we have got left from the internet bust for businesses without a "milking cow" . I personally see these days as only the "beginning" for innovation and finging new uses for the Internet and as in every start we need to be patient.





As a bottom line, I see Web 2.0 to be the maturity state of the revolution initiated in the internet boom from the 90's. It feels much more like picking ripe fruits of people who have established the web infrastructure rather then seeding them. Still, the fact that internet users have gained much more influence in guiding the industry direction can take "Web 2.0" innovation to very interesting places.





Recent web 2.0 mentioning from my Google Alerts folder


Sun updates portal server for 'Web 2.0' addict3d



Reflections on Web 2.0 and 2005 corante
"This year has been exciting but Web 2.0 has yet to have a true impact on the average Internet user."



Top Ten Web 2.0 Moments of 2005 blogs.zdnet



Topix.net Leaps Into Web 2.0webpronews
"Topix still mixes stories from blogs and news sources in its categories, but the shaded background used to identify blog posts has been eliminated in favor of a small white 'B' on an orange dot." "Topix has continued to embrace tagging, a simple way of categorizing stories. Clicking a tag takes visitors to related stories where that particular tag, like "George Bush," has been applied. "



Web 2.0 Won't Mean New Version of Internet Bubble: Matthew Lynn bloomberg



Can Web 2.0 stoke interest in bigger things? blogs.zdnet



Web 2.0 Powering Verticals webpronews



John Battelle on Web 2.0 & Google imediaconnection



Web 2.0 Business Models webpronews



Joshua Porter on Web 2.0 corante



Is there a Web 2.0 revolution ? 7days




Yahoo!: Quiet Technology, Web 2.0 Power betadot



Yahoo: From Dot-Com Survivor to Web 2.0 Powerhouse eweek



Web 2.0 redefined seattlepi.nwsource



Web 2.0: Upgrade or Revolution? clickz
"Do I really need another personal home page?"



Joel Spolsky on Web 2.0: The Antihype Is Thickening corante


Overwhelmed by Web 2.0 realtechnews



Tech guru O'Reilly on Web 2.0 bbc.co.uk



From Enterprise 1.0 to Web 2.0 infoworld


Is SOA a 'mini-me' of Web 2.0? zdnet.com

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December 12, 2005

Executive Moves, IPO, Venture Funding and Mergers and Acquisitions










Mergers & Acquisitions


, a , CA based of Systems, , a Chicago based provider of standards-based for use in -oriented applications, for an .


, a Mateo, CA based provider of that improve online and communications , acquired the business unit of , a , MA based provider of and services to manage online , for an undisclosed amount.




, a based provider of an interactive event-based notification , acquired , a Bedford, MA based provider of s, for an undisclosed amount.




, a Bedford, MA based provider of for the , acquired , a based provider of online and solutions for financial institutions, for $145 million.




, a Milpitas, CA based provider of a browser-based lifecycle solution, merged with , a Milpitas, CA based provider of , project , and software solutions, for an undisclosed amount.




, a , CA provider of software solutions for the of business information, processes, and applications in various industries, acquired , a , CA provider of software, for an undisclosed amount.




, a Shelton, CT based of integrated digital and mixed signal devices for the and data communications markets, acquired , a Santa Clara, CA based developer of high-performance, low-power, s for the communications industry, for $5 million.




, an , TX developer of a set of automotive industry-specific solutions, acquired , an Oakland, CA provider of solutions for automating and simplifying the building, maintenance, and ongoing evolution of large, complex, data-intensive , in a valued at $3.3 million.





Funding



 – Tel Mond, ; a developer of communications semiconductors; $8 million; ; , , .




 – , OR; a developer of end-to-end that automatically and intelligently delivers prioritized, relevant RSS information to anyone in the world and on any device; $9 million; ; , .




 – Palo Alto, CA; a developer of tools to simplify the design of systems; $7 million; Series B; , , ().




 – , CA; a provider of end-to-end design and systems integration services for the industry; undisclosed amount; Series D; , , , , , .




 – New York, NY; provider of and monitoring services; $4 million; Series B; , , .




 – Woburn, MA; a provider of (BLM) solutions; $8 million; Series B; (Lead), , .




 – Franklin, MI a nationwide telephone assistance ; $5 million; Series A; , , , .




 – , MA; a developer of carrier-centric technology; $21 million; round not specified; , , .




 – , CA; a developer of online archive management solutions for file classification, management, and retrieval; $6 million; ; , [VC], , .




 – Santa Clara, CA; a provider of solutions; $13 million; Series D; , , , , .




 – Redwood Shores, CA; a developer software that enhances the value of by integrating with and wireless devices; $5 million; Series A; , ., .




 – West Henrietta, NY; a developer of optics devices to measure the thickness of film and medical products; $1.3 million; Series A; Stonehenge Capital, Empire State Development.




 – Trondheim, Norway; a provider of , and solutions; $5 million; Series A; , .




– Paris, ; provides digital for games via ; $7.03 million; round not specified; , , , , .




 – , MA; a developer of automated software; $6 million; Series C; , , .




 – Orlando, FL; a provider of (BI) software; $5 million; Series A; , New Enterprise Associates (NEA).




 – Naperville, IL; a provider of () and ( Subsystems) servers; $12 million; Series D; , , .




 – Palo Alto, CA; a provider of enterprise data security and encryption solutions; $10 million; round not specified; , , SVB Capital, .




 – Santa Clara, CA; a provider of high performance analog ICs; undisclosed amount; round; .




 – Chelmsford, MA; a developer of an , (TM)-based for phones; $40 million; round not specified; , , , , .




 – , MA; a provider of a software-only system that leverages a nationwide of known access points to calculate the precise location of any Wi-Fi enabled device.; $6.5 million; Series B; , , .




 – Mountain View, CA; a supplier of () ™; $12 million; Series D; , , , , .




 – , GA; a provider of and testing products; undisclosed amount; corporate round; .




 – Warrington, PA; a developer of spectoscropy instruments for detection of trace contaminants in gasses; undisclosed amount; Series B; .




 – , CA; a developer of a turnkey technology and services for creating s (s) in the United States; $30 million; Series D; , (), , , , , , .




 – Spokane , WA; a provider of Ethernet solutions; $25.5 million; Series D; , , , , (), .

IPO Pricings




(NASDAQ: VOCS)
Lanham, MD
Provider of software that helps automate some public relations duties; it organizes media contacts, manages collection, and analyzes public relations effectiveness.
Date of Offering: 12/07/05
Offer : $9.00
Closing Price as of 12/9/05: $10.16





IPO Filings




(NASDAQ: NEXT proposed)
San Jose, CA
Provider of Maverick automated testing products used to screen nonvolatile () memory, microcontrollers, application-specific integrated circuits, and (SOC) semiconductors for defects.
Date of Registration: 12/02/05
Offering amount: $80 million
Lead Underwriter: , Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated




 (NASDAQ: PXPL proposed)
Seongnam-si Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Designs and markets high-resolution image sensor chips used in mobile-phone cameras.
Date of Registration: 12/05/05
Offering amount: $60.75 million
Lead , Inc.





Executive Moves




, a , CA based provider of an for enterprise servers, named as . Frank was formerly employed by .




, a based provider of wireless, solutions,, promoted Chief Architect to and named as of & and as VP of Indirect Sales.




, a San Jose based fabless analog semiconductor company, named as & . Willey was formerly President & CEO of .




, a New York based developer of the

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