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Hot Off the Wire – AOL links messaging with Facebook; MySpace CEO quits; Twitter hires Pixar CFO; Oracle buys Convergin; Motorola invests in chip maker; Activision beats street.

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A roundup of the latest high-tech news from The Associated Press:

• AOL links instant messaging to Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO — Users of AOL's main instant-messaging service can now chat directly with friends on Facebook.

AOL Inc. said Wednesday that a new version of the AIM software connects with the chat function on Facebook's Web site, letting AIM users communicate with friends who are logged on to the social network.

The AIM user still needs a Facebook account, however, and it's the Facebook persona rather than AIM's that appears to the friend on Facebook.

Users who download the new AIM software and link it with their Facebook profile will see their AIM buddy list include online Facebook friends in a separate section.

New York-based AOL said it was making the changes as part of ongoing efforts to improve the user experience.

Excluding mobile, AIM has about 17 million users - a fraction of the more than 400 million on Facebook.

Before the rise of cell phones and social sites such as Facebook and Twitter, AIM was a pioneer in online social networking. Its instant-messaging service was one of just a few that made it easy for people to communicate instantly on the Web.

In an effort to keep users engaged on its platform more recently, AIM launched a "lifestreaming" feature last year that let users see friends' latest posts on social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

AIM also has had arrangements with other instant-messaging services, including Google Chat, which is incorporated into Google's Gmail service and lets AIM users sign in to their accounts from the e-mail site.

• MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta quits

LOS ANGELES — Owen Van Natta is stepping down as CEO of struggling social networking site MySpace, effective immediately, after less than a year on the job.

MySpace's parent, News Corp., made the announcement late Wednesday. The former chief revenue officer at MySpace rival Facebook will be replaced by Mike Jones and Jason Hirschhorn, who were promoted to be co-presidents.

All three men joined MySpace last April.

Jon Miller, the chairman of digital media for News Corp., said he and Van Natta agreed to his resignation after discussing his personal and professional priorities.

"Owen took on an incredible challenge in working to refocus and revitalize MySpace, and the business has shown very positive signs recently as a result of his dedicated work," Miller said in a statement.

Van Natta, 40, had continued to commute to MySpace's Los Angeles headquarters from his home in Palo Alto in northern California, although that was not specifically cited as a reason for his leaving. He had replaced MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe.

• Oracle buys service brokering software firm Convergin

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. — Oracle Corp., the world's largest maker of proprietary database software, said Wednesday that it agreed to buy privately held Convergin, which makes real-time service brokering software.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Oracle expects the deal to close in the first half of the year.

• Motorola invests in chip maker Zenverge

SAN FRANCISCO — Motorola Inc. said Wednesday that it invested in privately held chip maker Zenverge Inc. through its venture capital arm, Motorola Ventures.

Financial terms of the mobile phone maker's investment was not disclosed. Current Zenverge investors DCM and Northwest Venture Partners also contributed financing, Motorola said.

Zenverge makes media integrated circuits that are used in devices like HD televisions, Blu-ray players and PCs.

• Twitter names Pixar CFO as its finance chief

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter said Wednesday that Ali Rowghani, the Chief Financial Officer at Pixar Animation Studios, will become its CFO.

The short-messaging site said Rowghani will start in March.

Rowghani is now CFO and senior vice president of strategic planning for Pixar, Disney Animation Studios and Disney Toon Studios.

He has been at Pixar since 2001.

• Activision Blizzard beats street earnings expectations

NEW YORK — Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc. shot higher Wednesday after the maker of "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" posted fourth-quarter results above expectations and said it would pay its first dividend.

Investors focused on these bright spots even though the company said it remains cautious about the economy and its 2010 forecast fell below analyst expectations.

"We are in a great position as a company," said CEO Bobby Kotick.

Shares rose 61 cents, or 6.1 percent, to $10.70 in after-hours trading.

For the last three months of the year, Activision posted a loss of $286 million, or 23 cents per share. This compares with a loss of $72 million, or 5 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 5 percent to $1.56 billion.

But the company beat Wall Street's expectations with its adjusted results, driven by record-breaking sales of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" over the holidays. Those results exclude one-time charges and account for deferred revenue on games whose online components reap sales over an extended period.

On this basis, Activision earned $632 million, up 47 percent from a year earlier. Its adjusted profit of 49 cents per share was above the 43 cents that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

Adjusted revenue was $2.5 billion, beating analysts' expectations for $2.23 billion and up 7 percent from a year earlier.
 

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