Roundup: Green chemicals get started, gaming is ubiquitous, MySpace Music slowed again, and more

Venture Beat — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:59:54 -0700

Genomatica creates renewable chemical from sugar water — While most chemicals are petroleum-based, several startups are trying to create new alternatives. One of the first to succeed is Genomatica, which says it has a cheap process to make 1,4-butanediol, a component chemical of many common materials, from sugar and water, potentially disrupting a $4 billion industry. More on Genomatica’s process here.

Gaming becoming ubiquitous — A national survey showed that almost all teens play games.

MySpace Music may get another delay — The launch of MySpace’s online music store will likely be pushed back a week or more, yet again. For a laugh, check out our coverage from way back in April, when this launch was expected to happen within five days.

Windows 7 coming along — Microsoft, on the other hand, is shattering expectations by actually hitting its deadlines. Development of Windows 7, the replacement for the unfortunate affair known as Vista, is reportedly humming along, with a potential delivery date as soon as the end of 2009.

Lehman’s venture arm may live — Failed investment bank Lehman Brothers may not drag its venture unit to the grave with it, according to peHUB.

New game advertising startup launches — Worlds and Games, a stealth-mode San Francisco startup by two gaming veterans, is launching today with a focus on advertising in and around games. GameDaily has an interview.

Houses approves cleantech credits, offshore drilling — A bill allowing both offshore drilling and an extension of the Federal cleantech investment credit has passed the House of Representatives. However, it still has to pass muster in Senate, an undertaking similar bills have failed before.

Khosla talks down fashion-based cleantech — The cleantech investor disparaged some of today’s most popular alternative energy icons at a recent talk, including solar panels, the Pickens Plan, and the Prius.

Adobe profits down, but not out — The software giant’s quarterly profits fell seven percent, yet beat the Street’s expectations. Acrobat and LiveCycle drove profits, according to the company.

WebMD buys QualityHealth owner for $50M — Online health firm WebMD has shelled out $50 million for Marketing Technology Solutions, a venture-backed company that owns health information portal QualityHealth.com.

The Industry Standard - Roundup: Green chemicals get started, gaming is ubiquitous, MySpace Music slowed again, and more - Comments

Roundup: Green chemicals get started, gaming is ubiquitous, MySpace Music slowed again, and more