Daily Marauder

ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA

The WSJ is reporting that Google is set to launch a venture fund to give it the option of investing in startups instead of just flat out buying them. The fund will be led by Google’s SVP Corporate Development David Drummond and Bill Maris, a long time business friend of Anne Wojcicki, Sergey Brin’s wife. Maris is a tech entrepreneur with a degree in neuroscience and worked with Wojcicki at a San Francisco-based for-profit company called Catalytic Health. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/30/google-to-launch-venture-fund 7/30)

Indicating increased interest in video customization, YouTube purchased video mashup/presentation toolmaker Omnisio in a rare acquisition. Omnisio enables users to select clips from multiple sites, post them on a profile page then superimpose comments. (Cynopsis 7/31)

The Motion Picture Association of America is filing a lawsuit against FOMDB.com and MovieRumor.com, claiming that the two sites “profit from massive copyright infringement.” Both sites offer free streams of recently released films, including Time Warner’s “Batman: The Dark Knight.” (http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/legal/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209900532 7/30)

Sci Fi is trying to generate buzz as well as viewer engagement for its new “Eureka” show by creating a Twitter.com account for an artificially intelligent talking house named S.A.R.A.H. The house plays a key role on the series, and more than 1,000 viewers have signed up to receive the updates from S.A.R.A.H. Adweek (7/30)

Apple, which most recently updated its iTunes software on the day before the debut of the new iPhone, came out with yet another upgrade Wednesday night. The company said that version 7.7.1 “includes fixes to improve stability and performance.” Macworld (7/30)

Mygazines.com, a new Web site that enables users to “share” popular consumer magazines, is prompting threats of legal action from the Magazine Publishers of America, as well as publishers including Hearst. The service is accused of “blatant copyright infringement.” (Iwantmedia 7/31, http://www.foliomag.com/2008/another-free-peer-peer-magazine-portal-launches 7/30)