Well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur Blake Krikorian has joined the board of Amazon, according to several sources close to the situation.

Krikorian — who is considered one of tech’s most savvy execs with regard to video and media distribution — co-founded Sling Media, the maker of the innovative video device Slingbox, in 2004.

(He demoed it at the second D: All Things Digital conference in 2004.)

It was sold in 2007 to EchoStar Communications for $380 million. After a short stint there, Krikorian left and has since been working on a variety of projects and making various investments.

Those include some promising start-ups, such as Lytro, Kno, Clipboard, Chirply and Tasty Labs. Another company he invested in, Clicker, was sold to CBS earlier this year.

He has also been a sought-after exec — sources said he had offers over the last year from Google and also Zynga.

Amazon certainly could use a director such as Krikorian as it seeks to enter the media distribution space more aggressively. It is about to launch a Kindle tablet, for example, and also is a major bidder for the Hulu premium video service.

It has been rumored that Amazon will soon offer an interactive television device, too.

Krikorian certainly has much experience in the arena. One of his first jobs was at the fabled General Magic, which pioneered the creation of one of the first interactive mobile products before the Internet.

He also started a mobile computing unit for Philips Electronics, as well as working in adjacent arenas at other firms.

The University of California at Los Angeles graduate has a degree in mechanical engineering.

Other directors on Amazon’s eight-person board, besides CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, include Kleiner Perkins’s Bing Gordon and Hewlett-Packard’s Jon Rubinstein.

Krikorian, who declined to comment, will be its ninth member.

I also have an email in to Amazon PR, and will update if I get a response.

UPDATE: No need, as here is the 8-K regulatory filing by Amazon announcing the appointment:

AMZN-20110908-8K-20110908

D1: Steve Jobs Onstage in 2003, on the Tablet

A day after Bill Gates took the stage, enthusiastic about the future of the tablet computer, Jobs dismissed the idea as a niche product for rich guys. “We looked at the tablet, and we think it’s gonna fail.”

View the full session video of Steve Jobs at D1.

D2: Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2004, on Not Doing a PDA

Specifically referring to ongoing speculation about Apple’s development of a PDA, Jobs said “I’m as proud of the products that we have not done as I am of the products we have done.”

View the full session video of Steve Jobs at D2.

D3: Steve Jobs Onstage at D3 in 2005

As Kara pushed for info about an “iPod phone,” Jobs laid out the challenges of creating such a product, though he didn’t make any outright denials that Apple was doing so.

View the full session video of Steve Jobs at D3.

D5: Steve Jobs Flashes the iPhone

In the first of two appearances at 2007′s D5 conference, Jobs joked with Walt about Apple’s “three businesses and a hobby” and gave attendees an oh-so-quick peek at the forthcoming iPhone.

D5: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates look back

In their first joint appearance in 20 years, Gates and Jobs reminisce about competition between their two companies and the state of the graphic user interface in the mid-nineties.

D5: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates look ahead

Jobs and Gates discuss the future of the industry and the roles of Apple and Microsoft as entertainment delivery systems.

View the highlight reel of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together at D5.
View the full session video of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates together at D5.
View the full session video of Steve Jobs at D5.

D8: Steve Jobs on the iPhone’s Origin

In 2010, Jobs told Walt and Kara how the iPhone actually grew out of a multitouch display Apple was developing for a tablet. The OS was so promising that Jobs put the tablet on the back burner and used the OS for the iPhone instead.

D8: Steve Jobs on Apple’s Relationship With Google

“Just because we’re competing with somebody doesn’t mean we have to be rude.”

D8: Steve Jobs on Foxconn

Apple has a better understanding than most companies in the tech industry of the working conditions in its supply chain, Jobs told Walt and Kara in 2010, but it’s still working to understand the suicide rate at its Foxconn plant in China.

D8: Steve Jobs on iAds Restrictions

Here’s a hint for iOS developers: Don’t put third-party analytics software in your apps, especially not if the analytics firm involved is going to publish personal data about your users and their devices without asking them first. It really pisses Steve off.

D8: Steve Jobs on Television

The reason that Apple TV remains a hobby, Jobs explained at D8, is a balkanized television market that makes it impossible for the company to innovate across the board.

D8: Steve Jobs on AT&T

With the Verizon iPhone deal still on the horizon, Jobs was unable to offer any concrete hope to the Houston-based iPhone user in the D8 audience, whose only real problem with the phone was its inability to make any calls.

D8: Apple CEO Steve Jobs Talks About Flash

At D8, Jobs discussed his still-fresh “Thoughts on Flash” memo with Walt and Kara.

View the full session video of Steve Jobs at D8.

Related posts

• Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple; Cook Takes Reins
• Steve Jobs’s Resignation Letter: “I Have Made Some of the Best Friends of My Life at Apple.”
• Apple Stock Falls After Jobs Announcement
• Steve Jobs Live on Stage in 2010 (Video)
• Tim Cook as Apple CEO: A Tested and Steady Hand
• Essay: Jobs’s Departure as CEO of Apple Is the End of an Extraordinary Era
• What Happens Next at Apple?
• Mossberg on Jobs (Video)
• Analysts Confident in Apple’s Prospects
• Apple Shares Bounce Back
• Tim Cook: Apple Will Continue to Make the Best Products in the World
• Does Tim Cook Need His Own Tim Cook?

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110826/steve-jobs-through-the-years-highlights-from-the-d-conference/feed/ 7 http://allthingsd.com/20100525/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d5-in-2007/ http://allthingsd.com/20100525/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d5-in-2007/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 13:35:54 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=28793 Apple CEO Steve Jobs is making another appearance onstage, at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference in exactly one week, on June 1.

Until then, every week, I am posting one of the previous interviews he did at past D events.

Here’s the video, below, of the full solo interview from D5 in 2007. And pictured here: Jobs during the interview.

I have posted the video of Jobs’s appearances at D3 in 2005, D2 in 2004, D1 in 2003.

The final video, next Tuesday, the day Jobs appears next, will be his joint D5 interview with Microsoft (MSFT) head Bill Gates, in 2007.

One caveat: The source material of the earlier interviews is of varying quality, so audio synch is a little iffy.

So, without further ado, until the Apple (AAPL) leader holds forth again, here is the D5 video (and check out the gallery of the whole event here):

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100525/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d5-in-2007/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100517/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d3-in-2005/ http://allthingsd.com/20100517/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d3-in-2005/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 15:23:11 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=28436

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is making another appearance onstage at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference on June 1.

Until then, every week I am posting one of the previous interviews he did at past D events.

Here’s the video, below, of the full interview from D3 in 2005. And pictured here: Jobs during the interview.

I have posted the video of Jobs’s appearances at D2 in 2004 and D1 in 2003.

The last video, coming next week, will be a solo interview at D5, along with Jobs’s joint D5 interview with Microsoft (MSFT) head Bill Gates, in 2007.

While the D5 videos were posted on the All Things Digital site in full, the others have not been easy to access.

One caveat: The source material of the earlier interviews is of varying quality, so audio synch is a little iffy.

So, without further ado, until the Apple (AAPL) leader holds forth again, here is the D3 video (and check out the gallery of the whole event here):

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100517/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d3-in-2005/feed/ 1 http://allthingsd.com/20100510/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d2-in-2004/ http://allthingsd.com/20100510/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d2-in-2004/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 23:04:56 +0000 Kara Swisher http://kara.allthingsd.com/?p=28237 Apple CEO Steve Jobs is making another appearance onstage at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference on June 1.

Until then, every week I am posting one of the previous interviews he did at past D events.

Here’s the video, below, of the full interview from D2 in 2004. And pictured above: Jobs during the interview.

Last week, I posted the video of Jobs’s first appearance, at D1 in 2003.

The rest, coming soon, include: D3 in 2005 and a solo interview at D5, along with Jobs’s joint D5interview with Microsoft (MSFT) head Bill Gates, in 2007.

While the D5 videos were posted on the All Things Digital site in full, the others have not been easy to access.

One caveat: The source material of the earlier interviews is of varying quality, so audio synch is a little iffy.

So, without further ado, until the Apple (AAPL) leader holds forth again, here is the D2 video (and check out the gallery of the whole event here):

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100510/blast-from-the-d-past-apples-steve-jobs-at-d2-in-2004/feed/ 6 http://allthingsd.com/20100510/steve-jobs-apple-d2/ http://allthingsd.com/20100510/steve-jobs-apple-d2/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 23:04:19 +0000 Kara Swisher http://d8.allthingsd.com/?p=268 Apple CEO Steve Jobs is making another appearance onstage at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference on June 1.

Until then, every week I am posting one of the previous interviews he did at past D events.

Here’s the video, below, of the full interview from D2 in 2004. And pictured above: Jobs during the interview.

Last week, I posted the video of Jobs’s first appearance, at D1 in 2003.

The rest, coming soon, include: D3 in 2005 and a solo interview at D5, along with Jobs’s joint D5interview with Microsoft (MSFT) head Bill Gates, in 2007.

While the D5 videos were posted on the All Things Digital site in full, the others have not been easy to access.

One caveat: The source material of the earlier interviews is of varying quality, so audio synch is a little iffy.

So, without further ado, until the Apple (AAPL) leader holds forth again, here is the D2 video (and check out the gallery of the whole event here):

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100510/steve-jobs-apple-d2/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20090724/a-voicemail-transcription-scandal-in-britain/ http://allthingsd.com/20090724/a-voicemail-transcription-scandal-in-britain/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:33:05 +0000 Marisa Taylor http://voices.allthingsd.com/?p=13769 SpinVox, a British company that converts voicemails into text with speech recognition technology, has been accused by the BBC of using humans at call centers to manually conduct the majority of the translations.

The U.K.-based company, which boasts 30 million users across five continents, says that voicemails are translated into text via conversion technology known as “D2,” or “the Brain.” Customers can read the messages and post them on blogs, social networking sites, or send them to their email inboxes.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20090724/a-voicemail-transcription-scandal-in-britain/feed/ 0