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Alibaba buys browser-maker UCWeb, claims the deal is China’s largest tech acquisition

Jun11
by on June 11, 2014 at 2:40 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia

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Another big Alibaba deal has just taken place: the e-commerce giant has swallowed up the whole of UCWeb. Financial terms are not disclosed, but the two firms call it the “biggest deal in Chinese internet history.” Internal letters reveal that the deal values UCWeb at far more than the $1.9 billion that Baidu paid for 91 Wireless, which is China’s largest internet acquisition to date. Prior to this, Alibaba already held 66 percent of UCWeb. The e-commerce firm will buy over the remaining shares of UCWeb in the form of its own stock and cash. UCWeb will be fully integrated…

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Amobee buys Adconion and Kontera for a combined $359m to boost its digital marketing arsenal

Jun11
by on June 11, 2014 at 1:55 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, Insider

Thailand Coup D'etat As Military Seize Control
Digital marketing firm Amobee, which was acquired by Singtel in 2012 for $321 million, announced today that it has purchased two companies for a total of $359 million. Amobee is buying cross-channel digital advertising firm Adconion for a valuation of $235 million, with a consideration payable of $209 million excluding debt. At the same time, it is also taking over data analytics firm Kontera for $150 million. The two companies will be fully integrated into Amobee. Amobee CEO Mark Strecker said that with the two firms joining its stable, the company seeks to be a one-stop place for digital marketers…

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Halftoning 101: How to halftone images in Photoshop

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 11:55 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, How-To's

Halftone
Jordan Roland is a staff designer/illustrator for the Shutterstock blog. This post was originally published on the Shutterstock blog and has been adapted with permission. When developing your skill set as a designer, you also start to pick up habits. I use Photoshop differently than my coworkers, and their use of the program may vary from your own. Whatever the end result — in this case, halftoning an image — there are multiple ways to arrive at it. First, let’s talk halftones. I use halftones predominately for screen printing artwork. The idea is that you take a solid color and break it up…

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Index Ventures raises a 7th early-stage fund, worth $542m

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 11:01 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ seems to be the mantra at Index Ventures, which has just announced a new €400 million ($542 million) fund. As with its predecessors, the London-based firm’s seventh early-stage fund – covering from seed-stage up to €15 million ($20 million) – will invest in predominantly European startups, with US and Israeli companies thrown into the mix. The fund is sticking with the same sectors, such as big data, financial services, marketplaces, fashion and ecommerce, mobile and security, too. Looking at the performance of the Index portfolio over the past year, it’s easy to see…

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Google Glass update adds photo syncing, Google Now cards for World Cup, parking location, and package tracking

Jun10
by on June 10, 2014 at 10:30 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Google

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google appear
Google today announced the latest update to its Glass project, adding five new features for those who have shelled out $1,500 for the wearable device. The new additions include better photo sharing for Android users, as well as Google Now cards for the World Cup, parking location, and package tracking. Google has also added a battery notification for when Glass drops below 20 percent, in response to feedback from current device owners. First up, the photo-sharing update means when you take a picture on Glass, you’ll see it instantly on your Android phone when you open the MyGlass app. Tap…

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