SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microblogging service Twitter is looking for a director to bolster its board’s business credentials and diversity, and candidates include a former Google Inc executive, a person familiar with the matter said.

The search is in its early stages. But some names that have come up include Mariam Naficy, chief executive officer of paper goods company Minted.com, and Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, chief executive officer at fashion retail site Joyus and the former president of Google’s Asia-Pacific and Latin American operations, the person told Reuters.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Microblogging service
Twitter is looking for a director to bolster its board’s
business credentials and diversity, and candidates include a
former Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) executive, a person familiar with
the matter said.

The search is in its early stages. But some names that have
come up include Mariam Naficy, chief executive officer of paper
goods company Minted.com, and Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, chief
executive officer at fashion retail site Joyus and the former
president of Google’s Asia-Pacific and Latin American
operations, the person told Reuters.

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 14 (Reuters) – When the Department of
Defense decided it needed a device that could detect heartbeats
from hundreds of feet away, it didn’t know where to look. So it
turned to some tech-savvy friends: venture capitalists.

Using its little-known “DeVenCI” — Defense Venture
Catalyst Initiative — the Department of Defense can tap into a
network of venture capitalists when it needs new ideas. The
reasoning: Pentagon types aren’t experts in ferreting out
emerging technology, and companies with technology that might
help the Pentagon don’t know how to reach it.

Oct 6 (Reuters) – Venture-capital dollars have helped make
the United States a top developer of medical technology, but a
new report shows venture investors are cutting back,
potentially resulting in the United States losing some of its
luster in medical innovation.

A survey of 150 firms from the National Venture Capital
Association, released on Thursday, shows that VCs have been
cutting back on their investments in biopharmaceutical and
medical-device companies over the past three years and expect
to further cut those investments in the future.

/NEW YORK, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Computer buffs
and admirers of technology rushed to Apple shops from New York
to Australia on Thursday to mourn Steve Jobs, praising him as a
visionary who transformed the daily activities of countless
millions.

Flags outside Apple’s headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in
Cupertino, California, flew at half mast as mourners gathered on
a nearby lawn. Distraught Apple fans left flowers and a man
played the bagpipes.

/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple fans from New York to Australia gathered to mourn the death of Steve Jobs, leaving Apple products, bouquets and heartfelt messages in tribute to the man who transformed the computing, music and phone industries.

Flags outside Apple’s headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, California flew at half mast as a group of mourners flocked to a nearby lawn. Distraught Apple fans left flowers in tribute and a man played the bagpipes.

FREMONT, California (Reuters) – Electric carmaker Tesla Motors threw open its factory doors to customers who have preordered its forthcoming Model S sedan on Saturday evening.

Customers got tours of the Fremont, California, factory, rides in a prototype of the Model S, and a plea for support from Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, a co-founder of eBay.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Bill Nguyen is getting
what many Silicon Valley entrepreneurs can only dream of: a
second shot.

In a cut-throat industry littered with the carcasses of
half-formed ideas, failed start-ups and collapsed venture
firms, the one-time hotshot is unveiling the second incarnation
of his Color social-pictures service on Thursday.