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Sun Buys Belgian Cloud Computing Startup Q-layerYesterday

Sun Microsystems has acquired Q-layer, a cloud computing startup that manages public and private clouds. No financial terms were disclosed. Q-layer has raised around $10.7M since 2006, from Big Bang Ventures, Partech International and Wellington Partners. Q-layer generates a cloud layer over a company's virtualized computing, and manages all elements from a Web console. Q-layer charges about $2K per host. It competes with the likes of 3terra. Recent Interview with Q-layer View - site...

Wait To Fall Into The GapJanuary 7

Today's big headline in the tech world was Intel's (INTC:NASDAQ) announcement that sales were down 23 percent from a year earlier. Even though Intel has been lowering investor's expectations over the last few months, today's announcement still came as a shock to many. And while Intel's news was unsettling, EMC's announcement gave us a little more insight on the immediate future of the tech market. While the company said their Q4 earnings will meet analyst expectations, EMC will be laying off 2,400 employees and CEO Joseph Tucci and his top executives will start the new year with a pay decrease and the rest of the company's employees will not be getting pay increases this year. EMC is definitely giving us the impression that the tough times are going to be around for quite a bit longer. It's a good time to check your bank account and make sure you have adequate cash reserves for the long haul. Quite a few people emailed us about San Francisco's favorite clothing retailer, Gap (GP:NYSE). Since it's been quite a few years since, and several sizes, since the staff at tech:stocker shopped at the Gap or Banana Republic for clothes to wear, sizing...

Israeli Video Startup SundaySky Raises $8M 1st RoundJanuary 6

Israel's SundaySky has raised $8M in Series A led by Carmel Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners. The startup was founded in 2006 and had raised angel funding before those. The concept is a nice one. Visitors to eCommerce sites and other sites on the Net show again and again that they like video over text. SundaySky has figured out a cheap way to convert photos and text to video so that if you are on a site that sells baby clothes, Sundaysky will take the products and make a video out of it....

Rich Media Syndication's Pictela Raises $1.25MJanuary 6

NYC-based Pictela has raised $1.25M from Avalon Ventures and former Tacoda CEO Dave Morgan, says PEHub. Co-founder and CEO Greg Rogers was Tacoda's VP of sales. We know little else about them at this point but expect to hear from them. View - site...

Shedding A Few Pounds With NutriSystemJanuary 6

Today's market closing left us a little puzzled. As the Dow finished up 62 points, we couldn't help but wonder why considering the Fed's announcement that the recession is a little worse than they originally believed. Be careful investors. Along these lines, Bank Of America (BAC:NYSE) made the grandiose announcement that he wasn't going to accept a bonus for 2008. Are we supposed to thank him for being a responsible corporate executive or criticize him for the egotistical moves he made during 2008 (the acquisition of Merrill Lynch immediately comes to mind). In our opinion, not only should he not get a bonus, but possibly a written warning saying that his reckless string of acquisitions will not be tolerated in the future. We're willing to bet that he gives himself a larger bonus in 2010 because of his "sacrifice" this year. On a more optimistic note, many American's are trying to honor the traditional New Year's pledge to lose weight this year. To help them and investors, we are continuing this week's "grab bag of stock picks" by weighing the pros and cons of investing in NutriSystem (NTRI:NASDAQ). Tipping the scales in NutriSystem's favor is the announcement yesterday that...