News Byte

Minor Controversy: Zuckerberg Wants Young Kids on Facebook

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview this week he would like to create a safe and educational social networking environment for kids younger than 13. (According to Consumer Reports, 7.5 million such American kids already use Facebook by lying about their age.) “That will be a fight we take on at some point,” Zuckerberg reportedly said of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which mandates parental permission and other protections for young users. And here we thought China was Facebook’s next big controversy…

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Kayak Hires First-Ever CFO Ahead of Pending IPO

Six months after filing to go public, online travel service Kayak has gotten around to hiring its very first CFO: Bill H. Smith, previously VP of global finance for Novell, where he worked for 13 years. Earlier this year, Kayak’s plans faced a delay as the Justice Department examined (and ultimately okayed) Google’s acquisition of ITA Software, but the Norwalk, Conn.-based company is likely encouraged today by LinkedIn’s frothy IPO.

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PopCap Plans IPO for November as It Emphasizes Mobile and Social Games

Making good on its announced intentions, Seattle’s PopCap Games, a casual game maker known for titles like Bejeweled, confirmed it is preparing to go public as soon as November, according to a company spokesperson. Popcap has been busy recently beefing up its mobile and social game offerings, today launching the first social version of Plants vs. Zombies on the Chinese social networking site Renren. It also has released its first Android games via an exclusive in the Amazon Appstore.

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San Francisco Adopts Microsoft's Cloud-Based Email

Microsoft has struck a deal with the city of San Francisco to provide Microsoft Exchange Online, its cloud-based email system, for the city’s workforce, beating out competing products from Google and IBM. It was the latest move in a steadily unfolding battle with Google to land government cloud contracts. In 2009, Google won a round by landing a Google Apps contract with the city of Los Angeles.

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Yahoo Confirms Purchase of 5to1

As tipped a week ago by All Things D’s Kara Swisher, Yahoo is buying 5to1, a self-serve premium advertising platform for major media publishers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a figure of $25 million has been tossed around. After the transaction closes in Q2, the 5to1 team will join Yahoo’s Ad Marketplaces group.

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You, Too, Can Edit the Atlantic. Now About That Paycheck…

Ever have the desire to edit a big Web site, for free? Clever Gabe Snyder figures there are a few of you out there: He’s asking readers of the Atlantic Wire, a buzzy offshoot of the print magazine’s main site, to play along with his staff as they chat about what the site ought to be covering, in real time. You’ll need a Disqus account to take part.

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Travelzoo's New CFO is Ex-eBay Controller Glen Ceremony

Travelzoo has appointed former eBay Controller Glen Ceremony to the position of CFO, starting June 15. Travelzoo’s current CFO, Wayne Lee, will stay on board until July. The discount travel company said Lee is stepping down to take time off with his family and pursue other opportunities. Before joining eBay in 2004, Ceremony held positions at Electronic Arts and PWC.

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A New Guest At The Nortel Patent Party?

The queue to bid in the auction for Nortel’s collection of patents grows longer by the day. Earlier this month we learned that Research In Motion and patent risk solutions provider RPX were considering participating in the auction. Today comes word of a new potential bidder: Ericsson AB. People familiar with the company’s plans tell Bloomberg that it’s mulling an offer for Nortel’s IP, perhaps in concert with Google, Microsoft or Intel.

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Samsung Mobile Scraps May 24 Launch Event in New York

Whatever it was that Samsung planned to launch on May 24, it will be a little while longer before it gets launched. Samsung Mobile said on Monday that it is postponing the New York event it had slated for that date. It’s not clear if the event would have been for the U.S. launch of the already announced Galaxy S II, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 or some other device. “We apologize for the inconvenience,” Samsung said in an email to reporters. “We will be in touch soon with more details.”

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Winklevoss Brothers Shot Down by Court Again

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected (PDF) a request by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to rehear their case against Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. The Winklevii had petitioned for an “en banc” hearing, in which eleven judges hear the case rather than the usual three. The usual three had already unanimously rejected the Winklevoss’ claims that their settlement with Facebook be thrown out due to securities fraud. The only step left is the Supreme Court…or returning to a life as millionaires with chips on their shoulders. (Please see the disclosure about Facebook in my ethics statement.)