D7 Conference | May 25-27, 2009 | Carlsbad, California

Viral Video (And Perfect Casting): Mark Cuban on "Entourage"

Kara Swisher in News on September 1, 2010 at 1:21 am PT

Of course, it makes perfect sense for Mark Cuban to appear in a very long and involved cameo as himself on the HBO original comedy series “Entourage.” Heck, the fun-loving Internet billionaire could easily slip into the pack of young Hollywood dudes on the show and seem part of the gang.

Que? That’s Spanish for “Where the Hell Is My E-Reader,” Right?

John Paczkowski in News on June 28, 2010 at 11:08 am PT

Consumers who pre-ordered Plastic Logic’s Que ProReader expecting delivery June 24 received something else instead: An order-cancellation notice.

Viral Video: Conflict-Free Technology vs. Blood Phones

Kara Swisher in News on June 28, 2010 at 1:31 am PT

The controversy around minerals from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo that are used in a variety of popular consumer tech devices seems to be getting another round of much needed attention. It should get much more than that, as you will see from the videos after the jump.

Exclusive: Mozilla CEO John Lilly to Step Down and Head to Greylock (Plus Departure Email!)

Kara Swisher in News on May 11, 2010 at 3:22 pm PT

John Lilly, the well-regarded CEO of Mozilla, is preparing to give up his post at the open-source software nonprofit foundation, which is also a for-profit start-up. Lilly is moving to Greylock Partners as a venture partner, sources added, although the affable entrepreneur could eventually end up doing a start-up. While Mozilla makes a number of products, it is best known for its Firefox browser, whose share has steadily increased since it debuted in late 2004.

As Silicon Valley Infighting Gets Ever Nastier, Let's Be Careful Out There

Kara Swisher in News on May 7, 2010 at 8:50 am PT

Last week, BoomTown was in Washington, D.C., my old stomping grounds for 15 years. I miss a lot of things about living there, but most definitely not the poisonous political partisanship that you get sucked into from the minute you arrive. But it’s almost a relief to be there rather than in Silicon Valley, given how increasingly hostile the atmosphere is getting as a range of companies wrestles over a range of issues, both key and trivial.

Palm CEO Jon "Ruby" Rubinstein Talks About the HP Deal–He's Staying, Will Always Love the Pre Mirror and Still Will Not Be Touching Any iPhones

Kara Swisher in News on April 28, 2010 at 4:03 pm PT

After an All Things Digital report last week on Hewlett-Packard being the most likely suitor for Palm, despite multiple reports of intense interest from HTC and Lenovo from China, in an interview with BoomTown this afternoon after the $1.2 billion acquisition was announced, CEO Jon Rubinstein jokingly asked how we knew about the deal. We didn’t! It was a complete guess, Ruby! Actually it was a very informed one by Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski, but his cogent analysis of the synergies between Palm and HP is pretty much what Rubinstein said drove the action.

Palm: Those Were the Videos, My Friend, I Thought Roger McNamee Would Never End (Up Selling)

Kara Swisher in News on April 12, 2010 at 5:27 am PT

With rumors flying hither and yon about the sale of Palm–likely to an Asian company, such as HTC or Lenovo–BoomTown is getting all misty for those days of hope that the little innovative smartphone pioneer might actually prevail against the giants. Not for the creepy lady in the advertising for the Pre, mind you, but everything else. Thus, here are three videos in which the dream was still alive at Palm.

MySpace CEO Van Natta Was Fired by News Corp. Digital Head Miller in Late Afternoon Meeting

Kara Swisher in News on February 10, 2010 at 6:59 pm PT

The long-running telenovela that has been MySpace over the years took yet another dramatic turn late today when News Corp. Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller fired MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, whom he had hired only nine months ago to turn around the troubled social networking site, according to several sources. While News Corp. tried to paint the departure as more mutual in its official statement, it was most definitely not, as problems among top execs finally came to a head today.

Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger Gets Conditional Thumbs Up From DOJ (Plus D7 Video With TKTM CEO Azoff)

Kara Swisher in News on January 25, 2010 at 4:46 pm PT

While many thought it would not sail through regulatory scrutiny easily, and it has taken a year, the merger of two entertainment industry giants–Ticketmaster and Live Nation–can go forward as long as a certain set of conditions is met, the Department of Justice said. And while DOJ’s antitrust head, Christine Varney, told reporters today that she warned the two companies that the federal government was prepared to litigate if necessary, it–well–did not. Now, the combined company will be able to do everything from selling tickets to booking artists to selling their T-shirts and more. Does this concentration of power mean ticket prices will go up for consumers?

The One-Year Report Card of Yahoo's Carol Bartz–Deal-Making: Incomplete

Kara Swisher in News on January 25, 2010 at 9:24 am PT

Sorry for the break in grading Yahoo’s Carol Bartz on her one-year anniversary as CEO. But BoomTown was swanning around the Sundance Film Festival in Utah this weekend, went partying with those boozy Hollywood types and ended up in Provo with the crazy gals from “The Runaways”! I wish! Actually, running away from issuing any grade for deal-making for Bartz is a pretty good way to put it. Because today, after much thought, I have to give the Yahoo leader an incomplete for deal-making.