mayolawnsplourd-blog

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Oracle competitor Tidemark launches, wins more cash

SAN FRANCISCO Oct 17 (Reuters) - Cloud-based analytics company Tidemark took the wraps off its business after two years in stealth mode, and announced a new funding round.The company is another in a list of start-ups aimed at helping businesses deal with sorting through growing amounts of data. It works using the cloud -- meaning data gets stored on a network of computers and is accessible from anywhere.But in a sign of the tough fund-raising environment that has emerged over the last couple of months, the company raised less money this year than it did last year. Typically, companies raise a bigger sum with each funding round.Tidemark, formerly known as Proferi, raised $6.3 million in its A, or first significant, funding round last year, and said total equity raised totaled "more than $11 million." A spokesman confirmed the new round was slightly smaller than the previous round, and said Tidemark didn't want to raise more cash than it needed at this stage.Its software takes on established players like Oracle and SAP , and will allow customers to quickly see the possible outcomes for a variety of scenarios: "For what happens if a competitor enters your space, or if you change a product line," Chief Executive Officer Christian Gheorghe told Reuters as examples.Fellow cloud-based business-software company Box said last week it won $81 million in a late-stage round of funding. Domo, a cloud-based business intelligence company founded by former Omniture CEO Josh James, won $33 million in July.Tidemark's initial customers are sales & marketing company Acosta; US Sugar, and a large technology company it declined to name.Its backers include venture-capital firms Greylock Partners and Andreessen Horowitz; and Dave Duffield, co-founder of Workday and founder of PeopleSoft, both business-enterprise companies.

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Mr. Cooper, please meet Mr. Cooper

Madame Tussauds wax figures are one of those rare enigmas of an ancient art that has not only lasted but has flourished when, by all accounts, it has been surpassed by technology. When we want to see what famous people look like all we have to do is sit down at a computer or TV and we can find out more than we ever really needed to know. We can find out what they look like, where they eat, who they are dating, who they are not dating, or even what they did last night. With all this information out there why do wax figures of famous people still have the ability to draw us in? Personally, I don’t know, although the robust line to take a photograph with Captain Jack Sparrow was probably a pretty good clue. I hadn’t thought much about it until Reuters television producer Alicia Powell called me to ask if we were interested in doing a picture package along with a television package on how these figures are made. The pictures department agreed that it was a rare chance to cover the process and we agreed that it could make a nice package. I was curious to see how they manage to make such realistic likenesses of everyone from famous despots to the latest and greatest in Hollywood glitterati. The process is quite detail-oriented and unbelievably thorough. We met with producers from Anderson Cooper’s new daytime talk show, Anderson, and the people from Madame Tussauds in a hotel room in New York in June. At first glance it looked like pretty much every other hotel room I have been in for press availability portraits; the off-white satin covered walls, big gold curtains, windows with a fascinating view, and lots of really nice wooden furniture was all par for the course. Then I noticed the box of eyeballs. Nothing says unusual situation like a box full of dozens of unblinking blue eyeballs staring at you. It was here that I realized just how thorough this process was and that I was going to be in for a little more than the half an hour I imagined this would take. Anderson arrived and after introductions the process began almost immediately. The crew from Tussauds, consisting of a sculptor, a company representative who assisted in the measuring, and a photographer, along with assorted helpers, began working right away. One of the first tasks at hand was looking through the aforementioned eyeballs to choose a pair that would stand up to what is commonly known as one of Cooper’s finer physical traits. This was followed by the matching of details like teeth and hair by comparing them to dozens of samples that the crew had brought with them. A relatively simple task and one that Anderson seemed to quite enjoy as he held up eyeballs pointed in odd directions in front of his own peepers. Once the sample matching was over it was time to get down to brass tacks. Cooper was placed upon a revolving circular disc that was on the ground and was photographed from every angle as he rotated around multiple times. The crew then made measurements of particulars like height, length of individual leg segments, arm segments, feet, hands, wingspan, chest, waist; I don’t even remember what else. Once the big measurements were made the Tussauds crew had Anderson sit and they marked roughly a dozen small dots on his face with which to make more detailed measurements. The distances between these were measured with massive calipers that looked fairly frightening but were actually designed to measure the distance from Anderson’s nose to his cheekbone, his eyebrow to his chin, his forehead to his ear, his… well you get the picture. There are a LOT of measurements that go into this process. I kind of lost track of time at this point as I was working hard to get the right image with the calipers in it. It is rare to have large menacing metallic objects near my subjects face (I know, boring!) so I was probably a little over-excited about the possibilities. In fact, it was probably around an hour later when it became time for Anderson to make his hand imprint, sign a signature, then head off for work. The manufacture of the figure took over three months from the measuring of Anderson to the point where he would see it for the first time. Reuters managed to coordinate with Tussauds in London and photographer Toby Melville was able to document the final coloring and painting of his face that would give the figure its lifelike ‘skin’ before the unveiling in New York. Fortunately, the Reuters television crew and myself were able to come to a taping of his talk show, Anderson, and photograph the unveiling of the statue for the first time. Anderson looked quite amazed by the three dimensional mirror image that stood staring back at him after the raising of the curtain. It was a rare moment of genuine emotion that I was happy to have captured. It was amusing watching him prod the statue while declaring over and over how odd it was to be staring at a three dimensional copy of yourself. I suppose it’s this tactile ability to compare oneself to the personalities you see all over media that maintains the allure of Tussauds wax figures. You can watch as much video of your favorite star as you want but it is only thanks to this still thriving art that you can literally stand next to them all while on a trip to a wax museum.

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German green power charges to rise 1.8 percent in 2012

The data showed Germany is beginning to rein in an exponential rise in renewable power driven by generous subsidies which have become increasingly burdensome for users.The four leading high voltage network operators (TSOs) cited calculations by independent researchers who they said had arrived at a modest forecast for the anticipated renewable power charge (EEG tariff) that is shared by all consumers.Under German law, green power from sources like wind and solar must be fed into the electricity grid and paid above-market rates in a system partly administered by the TSOs."Consumers in 2012 will contribute to promoting renewable energies in 2012 by paying 3.592 euro cents ($0.0492) per kilowatt hour (kWh)," the statement said."This is just little more than 3.530 cents/kWh paid this year."The statement also said that photovoltaic power capacity is due to rise to 28.3 gigawatt (GW) in 2012, compared with 23.8 GW expected by the end of 2011 and 17.3 GW recorded at the end of 2010, according to the research.This would represent an 18.9 percent year-on-year rise in 2012 compared with what is expected for the full year of 2011.By comparison, the increase in 2011 over 2010 is set to reach 37.5 percent while in 2010, the year-on-year increase had amounted to 74.8 percent.This was triggered by a wave of orders for solar units from owners aiming to lock in long-term profits before a foreseeable end to the rapid expansion.The four grid firms are Vattenfall Europe's former high voltage grid unit called 50Hertz, owned by Belgian Elia and Australian fund IFM, E.ON's former high voltage grid unit TenneT, RWE's former unit Amprion, and EnBW's grid unit, still with its owner.RWE sold a 75 percent stake in high voltage grid firm Amprion to a group of financial-industry investors in June.Germany's households currently pay around 700 euros a year for their power and the additional cost from the 1.8 percent overall rise per household will be less than 3 euros next year, say experts.Renewable power installations contributed 20.8 percent of all German power in the first half of 2011, industry data have shown.Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said in a statement, "The stable development of the EEG charge shows that our aim to reach 35 percent (of renewables in total power) up to 2020 is manageable."He said that recent polls had shown that 80 percent of the population thought that 3.5 cents/kWh paid for subsidizing renewable power was adequate, or even too low. ($1 = 0.730 Euros)

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OriginOil to issue licenses for algae know-how

"The (algae) industry is still too small, so we will start supplying test systems for them (industries) to explore the best use of algae in their production cycle," Eckelberry told Reuters in an interview.He said he expects the global algae market to increase in size from $271 million in 2010 to $1.6 billion in 2015 as biofuels producers shift from grains to algae. That in turn would reduce pressure on food prices.He also said that the energy-intensive chemical industry will benefit from the use of algae to produce plastics and fertilizers.Carbon and other gases released by chemical plants can be liquefied and transported to big water tubes to grow algae which are then used for production of plastics without releasing CO2. Carbon dioxide accounts for more than two-thirds of green house gas emissions.

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UPDATE 1-Hulu taken off the block

"Our focus now rests solely on ensuring that our efforts as owners contribute in a meaningful way to the exciting future that lies ahead for Hulu," the owners said in a joint statement.Reuters reported last month that the auction of online video site Hulu has been slowed due to conflicts over complicated digital rights, a wide bid-ask gap and the lack of commitment to sell by Hulu's owners, among other things.This is the second time its owners have fashioned a full or partial exit strategy that has failed. After nearly six months of planning, the owners ditched an initial public offering last December to raise up to $300 million.

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Carlyle, Cerberus, Platinum eye Cooper Standard-sources

* Cooper has been valued at over $1.5 bln-sourcesBy Soyoung KimNEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group, Cerberus Capital Management and Platinum Equity are among the private equity firms interested in buying U.S. auto parts maker Cooper Standard , but tough financing markets make a deal uncertain, people familiar with the matter said.Cooper Standard, which has hired JPMorgan Chase and Lazard Ltd to explore a sale, is in the second round of the auction, which has been moving slowly in a volatile financing market, one of the people said.While financing remains relatively cheap for companies with strong credit ratings, buyout deals typically need leveraged loans and high-yield bonds -- the riskier form of lending that carries some of the highest interest rates and often is the first financing to be withdrawn when credit tightens.Representatives for Carlyle, Cerberus and Platinum Equity all declined to comment. Cooper was not immediately available for comment.Wall Street banks are becoming more selective about what financing deals they commit to or are stiffening lending terms, making buyout deals like Cooper Standard more costly for buyers and therefore limiting their ability to pay.The company emerged from bankruptcy in May of 2010 under the control of a handful of hedge funds, including Silver Point Capital and Oak Hill Advisors. The Novi, Michigan-based company, which makes body sealing systems and fluid handling systems for the automotive industry, could be valued at more than $1.5 billion, several people told Reuters previously.Meanwhile, Carlyle is also bidding for another auto parts supplier TI Automotive, which competes with Cooper Standard in the fluid system segment and has been considering a sale since early this year, people familiar with the matter said on Sept. 29. Bain Capital and London-based buyout firm Pamplona Capital Management are the other remaining bidders for TI Automotive, the people said at that time.TI Automotive and Cooper Standard are the world's two largest suppliers of systems that control, sense and deliver fluids and vapors in vehicles. But TI has greater exposure to the fast-growing Asian markets, drawing roughly a quarter of its revenue from China and other Asian markets.

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CDC says condom use increasing among teens

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday that condom use by teenagers is on the rise even though overall teen sexual activity remains unchanged.The CDC said that eight in 10 teen males ages 15-19 surveyed as part of its National Survey of Family Growth reported they had used condoms during their first sexual experience.That is up 9 percentage points from 2002, the last time the data was collected.The authors of the report did not explain why condom use has jumped. But they said the rise was consistent with other trends they've seen in recent years, including a decline in teen pregnancies.While condom use among males has spiked, the use of "other methods" of birth control, including withdrawal and sterilization, has fallen among teen boys' partners, the CDC said.The CDC also found a significant increase in the percentage of female teens using hormonal methods other than the pill, such as injectables and contraceptive patches, to prevent pregnancy.Six percent of teen females in the latest survey said they used a non-pill hormonal method at their first sexual experience, up from 2 percent in 2002.CDC researchers interviewed 2,284 teen girls and 2,378 teen boys -- the largest sample of teenagers undertaken as part of their ongoing National Survey of Family Growth.Teenagers' overall use of contraceptives has changed little since 2002, the CDC said. One exception was the number of teens who said they were employing a two-pronged approach to pregnancy control, combining the use of a condom with birth control pills or other hormonal contraceptives.The study found that 16 percent of teen males used a condom in combination with a female partner's hormonal method, up from 10 percent in 2002.About 43 percent of never-married female teens it surveyed, and about 42 percent of never-married male teens, reported they were sexually experienced, similar to 2002.When CDC researchers asked teens who have not had sex why they were abstaining, the primary reason given was that it was "against religion or morals," not because they were worried about unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.Overall, sexual activity among U.S. teenagers seems to be holding steady, the CDC said.Of those teens who said they were sexually active, 78 percent of females and 85 percent of males said they employed some form of contraception during their first sexual experience, virtually unchanged from 2002.