Business

Security appliance maker Barracuda Networks has agreed to marry its online file-sharing service to storage biz Drobo’s box of hard drives called 5N.

People can upload and download files to and from Barracuda’s Copy cloud, and share their data between desktop computers, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Android devices and Microsoft’s Surface slabs. The accompanying app and basic service offers 5GB of space for free. There are also group sharing functions.

Now Drobo, as part of today’s announced partnership, will plug its 5N desktop filer into Copy’s systems: each box will be able to extend its local storage and document sharing into the Barracuda cloud and back up its data to the remote service. An app for the 5N that can access Copy will ship in March — via redwolf.newsvine.com

It’s a historic day for one of America’s most confounding companies.

AOL ended an eight-year money-losing slump in 2012, the company announced this morning, as all of its divisions ended the year quasi-profitable for the first time under Tim Armstrong’s reign as CEO.

AOL was dubbed by some the hottest tech stock of 2012. You might question the use of the word hottest in that label, but it’s kind of true. Tim Armstrong is doing something right …

… but what is that, exactly? — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Michael Dell is taking the company that bears his name private. As rumored, Dell has signed a leveraged buyout agreement worth $24.4 billion.

Dell, the company’s founder, chairman and CEO, in partnership with global technology investment firm Silver Lake Partners and backed in part with Microsoft’s money, will acquire Dell. Dell stockholders will receive $13.65 in cash for each share of Dell common stock they hold.

The price represents a 25 percent premium over Dell’s closing share price of $10.88 on Jan. 11, 2013. The Dell board unanimously approved a merger agreement, which will ultimately see Dell and Silver Lake take the company private.

It’s not a done deal yet. The merger agreement provides for a so-called go-shop period, during which the Special Committee — with the assistance of Evercore Partners — will actively solicit, receive, evaluate and potentially enter into negotiations with parties that offer alternative proposals. The initial go-shop period is 45 days. The agreement also must be approved by a vote of unaffiliated shareholders — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Axed HMV workers hijacked the music retailer’s Twitter stream to tell the world of a mass execution taking place at HQ.

A fortnight ago HMV — an abbreviation of His Master’s Voice — called in the administrators when bosses realised they were likely to miss banking covenants at the end of January.

Deloitte was brought on board to seek a way forward for the ailing biz but confirmed yesterday it was slashing 190 jobs from HMV’s head office and the distribution network.

But amusingly a running commentary on developments at corp HQ was provided by staffers who had seized control of HMV’s official Twitter feed.

There are over 60 of us being fired at once! Mass execution, of loyal employees who love the brand. #hmvXFactorFiring, the staffer said.

We’re tweeting live from HR where we’re all being fired, it added — via redwolf.newsvine.com

PayPal’s overzealous fraud filters have frustrated customers for years, with an inscrutable verification process that leaves some battling for months to get access to their money.

The eBay-owned payments processor, like other financial companies, has policies in place to ensure that fraudsters aren’t using its system to transfer ill-gotten gains. But PayPal also traps legitimate businesses and charities in its filters, and proving you’re no scam involves a ton of paperwork and time.

PayPal says it’s finally ready to deal with the problem. It’s promising to roll out a massive overhaul of its system within the next several months — but details are scant for now — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The Guardian is to launch a digital edition in Australia, backed by internet entrepreneur and philanthropist Graeme Wood.

Katharine Viner, the Guardian’s deputy editor, will be relocating to Sydney to head up and launch the venture later this year, which follows publisher Guardian News & Media’s move to establish a US digital operation in 2011.

Paul Chadwick, the outgoing director of editorial policy at Australian public service broadcaster ABC, will become a non-executive director of Guardian Australia.

This is such an exciting time to be launching the Guardian in Australia, said Viner. We already have a large number of Australian readers, who tell us they want more of our on-the-ground reporting, lively commentary and groundbreaking open journalism — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The company to which Australia outsources operations of its Do Not Call Register has been fined for making telemarketing calls to numbers listed on the Register (not The Register, which we italicise).

Australia implemented a Do Not Call Register in 2007, after consumer anger about telemarketing moved the federal government to act. If consumers choose to be listed on the Register, telemarketers must not call 30 days after the date of enrolment. The Register was well-received by consumers and the direct marketing industry, with the latter accepting it as an inevitability.

ACMA also says a 10 week campaign arranging installations for energy-saving products conducted by Service Stream used numbers listed on the Register, because the list wasn’t re-checked against the Register.

That’s a silly thing to do, because ACMA suggests calling lists should be checked every 30 days — via redwolf.newsvine.com