The Roku Video Player now has the ability to stream HD baseball videos from MLB.TV.  Roku is able to play Netflix and Amazon.com video rentals too.  The $99 Roku Video Player can play, pause, and rewind HD baseball games in 720p from the website.  The Roku Video Player can also play archived games from the previous week.  To get the HD baseball games to play, there is a one time subscription fee of $35.

[via Engadget]

The Retro Cassette Tape 4-Port USB Hub will make you nostalgic because the ports are actually built into a peripheral in the same size and shape as a cassette.  The USB hub has four ports and sells for $25.  The device also comes with a 4″ cable and works for either the Mac or PC.

[via Gizmodo]

VirtenSys is a U.K. based company with headquarters in the U.S. The company recently announced that they have raised $16 million Series C.

VirtenSys raised the funding from Scottish Equity Partners, Gimv, and Celtic House Venture Partners.  VirtenSys develops virtual systems that includes software and semiconductors.

VirtenSys helps cut down server space and costs for their clients.  Energy usage is also cut down.  VirtenSys CEO Ahmet Houssein announced in February that the company raised $30 million from three venture capital firms.

VirtenSys employs about 45 people.  Company revenues are expected to be about $50 to $100 million next year.

[via BizJournals]

Doug Cutting, co-creator of the Hadoop technology that powers Yahoo!’s search index is leaving to join Cloudera.  Cutting will be joining Cloudera at the end of August.  Cutting is heading out shortly after Microsoft made a deal with Yahoo! to power their search engine and share in ad revenues.  However Cutting claims that his resignation does not have to do with the deal.

“This has been in the works for awhile and is unrelated,” stated Cutting. “I am definitely not leaving in any sort of protest, and the thing I like least about this move is that it might be perceived that way.”

Cutting will be doing a similar job at Cloudera.  He will continue working with Yahoo! developers at Cloudera.  Hadoop is open source software made for data mining.

[via SearchEngineLand]

DriveCam is a company that improves risky drivers by setting up video event recorders on the windshield behind the rear-view mirror.  DriveCam reduces claims costs and improves the way people drive.

DriveCam offers driver coaching and expert analysis.  The company has announced that they have raised $19 million Series D.

The $19 million Series D round of investment was led by Triangle Peak Partners.  Other investors include Menlo Ventures, Insight Venture Partners, JMI Equity, and Integral Capital Partners.

DriveCam had year-over-year revenue growth and an 85% growth in their client base.  The company also had a positive cash flow for the first time in history.

[via NYT]

Gilt Groupe Inc. announced that the company has raised $43 million from General Atlantic and Matrix Partners.  General Atlantic led the round of funding.  Matrix Partners raised the Series A and B rounds.

Gilt Groupe launched the website Gilt.com in November 2007.  Gilt.com sells luxury and designer goods at members-only prices.  Since launching, the company quintupled membership in the last year.  There are about 1.3 million registered members in the U.S.  There are over 200,000 on their 5 month old Japanese website.

“We couldn’t be happier that General Atlantic has chosen to invest in Gilt Groupe, and look forward to working with Anton Levy and the GA team,” stated Gilt Groupe CEO Susan Lyne. “The company’s impressive track record and investment philosophy make them ideal partners and a valuable resource as we execute on our aggressive growth plan.”

The company plans to launch a service called Gilt Fuse, which focuses on fashion for younger members.  Gilt also plans to launch a travel website called jetsetter.com.

Disney has launched a couple of netbooks through a partnership with ASUS.  The netbooks come in “Magic Blue” and “Princess Pink” colors.  There are several customized themes for Windows XP on the netbooks as well.  There are parental controls in place that prevent kids from getting viruses or accessing adult content.  The two Disney netbooks are available for preorder at a price of $350 each.  The devices will most likely start shipping next week.

[via Engadget]

Earlier this week U.S. Dictrict Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled in favor of the movie studios in a legal battle against RealNetworks.  The legal battle was over RealNetworks’ software RealDVD.  RealDVD would have allowed customers to rip and burn copies of DVDs.

This grants an injunction made against RealNetworks that prevents them from selling RealDVD.  The judge made this ruling based on a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.

“We are very pleased with the court’s decision. This is a victory for the creators and producers of motion pictures and television shows and for the rule of law in our digital economy. Judge Patel’s ruling affirms what we have known all along: RealNetworks took a license to build a DVD-player and instead made an illegal DVD-copier. Throughout the development of RealDVD, RealNetworks demonstrated that it was willing to break the law at theexpense of those who create entertainment content,” stated Dan Glickman, CEO of the MPAA.

[via NYT]