At least one hacker has penetrated the user e-mails and passwords on RockYou.com. E-mails and passwords were stored in plain text and was vulnerable because of aSQL security holes. This happened even after a security firm warned RockYou about their vulnerabilities. A class action lawsuit was filed against RockYou on December 28 at the U.S. District Court in Northern California.

Alan Claridge, a RockYou member, accused RockYou for not securing data. The civil lawsuit claims unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices, and violation of consumer protection legislation. RockYou raised a total of $119 million from Sequoia Capital, Partech International, Lightspeed Venture Partners, DCM, and Softbank.

Viralheat.com is a social media monitoring and analytics company that monitors data in real-time. The company has raised $75,000 in debt financing according to a document filed with the SEC. Viralheat sells tracking social media tools from $9.99 per month to about $139.98 per month.

Whiskey Media has raised $2.5 million from CNET founder Shelby Bonnie and several other angel investors. Whiskey Media operates several content websites such as ComicVine, GiantBomb, and AnimeVice. Whiskey Media started in 2007 and the company runs several wiki-like content websites where content can be edited by users. Whiskey Media receives about 3 million unique visitors and the funding will be used to launch several new content sites.

The Wall Street Journal has heard from a source that the Apple tablet will start shipping in March. The estimated number of how many tablets that will be sold in the first year is 10 million. The tablet will have a 10 or 11 inch screen. How will the device connect to the Internet? It is likely that it will connect through WiFi or 3G through a partnership with a telecommunications partner. The 10 million units sold in the first year estimation was provided by Lee Kai-fu, founding President of Google China.

Below are some of the other specifications that were predicted by Kai-fu:
- Looks like a bigger version of an iPhone
- Videoconference support
- Virtual keyboard
- Will cost less than $1,000
- Equipped with 3D graphics card

GlobalMotion Media is a company that developed GPS travel community EveryTrail.com. The $1 million in funding was provided by Band of Angels.

The EveryTrail iPhone application encourages users to share running, skiing, hiking, and other outdoor activity videos through the mobile device. EveryTrail turns on the GPS and geo-tracks the outdoor videos. The application also allows you to share videos on Facebook and Twitter. Over 200,000 trips have been shared on EveryTrail so far.

A Colorado Department of Transportation employee may be in trouble for forwarding an e-mail to friends that contains this fake image of President Barack Obama shining the shoes of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The 73 year old unnamed woman forwarded this e-mail to at least 4 friends.

The e-mail contained a statement from a non-government employee saying “It appears he (Obama) has found his niche.” The original photo was taken by Ted Szukalski and was of a man shining a woman’s shoes. The government employee may be reprimanded for suspension. The meeting will take place next week.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook is one of the most important figures at the company and he is well compensated for that fact. When CEO Steve Jobs had to take 6 months leave from the company, Cook stepped in to perform Jobs’ duties. Apple’s stock has been surging throughout the year which further increased Cook’s wealth.

According to SEC documents (BusinessInsider), Cook earned $7 million in stock awards in 2007 and $6 million in 2008. This year, Cook has earned $12.3 million in stock awards and his salary is about $800,000 for the year. This means that Cook earned $14 million in 2009. Steve Jobs paid himself a $1 salary and a $1 bonus, but he owns 5.5 million shares of Apple stock.

Curse.com is a MMOG Portal website that has raised $6 million in their second round of funding. The funding was provided by Ventech, SoftTech VC, and existing investor AGF Private Equity. Curse.com allows players to create profiles, read news, access forums, and download games. Curse.com charges $4.95 for their services per month, but there is a basic service available for free.

Curse raised $5 million in July 2007 for their first round of funding. This year, Curse.com earned about $3 million in revenues and the company is profitable. Curse.com was founded by Hubert Thieblot.