The latest technology and life sciences news in WRALTechWire’s Bulldog Bulletin roundup:

  • Amazon May Start Internet TV Service

NEW YORK – Amazon.com, the world’s largest online retailer, has approached U.S. media companies to acquire rights for an online pay-television service, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The service would expand on the Web retailer’s Prime Instant Video subscription service by offering live programming similar to traditional pay-TV providers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Amazon, based in Seattle, began reaching out to media companies in recent weeks, one of the people said.

An initiative by Amazon would bring to three the number of U.S. companies planning Web-based pay-TV businesses to challenge existing cable and satellite providers. Sony Corp. this month said it will offer an online service. Verizon Communications Inc. said yesterday it will introduce a nationwide plan with technology acquired from Intel Corp., expanding beyond its existing FiOS territories.

  • Intel Sells Internet TV Group to Verizon

NEW YORK - Verizon Communications has agreed to pay less than $200 million to buy Intel Corp.’s Internet- television startup, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The two companies announced the deal in a statement Tuesday, saying it included about 350 Intel employees coming to Verizon. The people familiar with the price asked not to be identified because the companies aren’t disclosing the transaction’s financial terms.

In Verizon’s hands, Intel Media’s OnCue could provide fresh ammunition against cable and satellite providers. The second- largest U.S. phone company said the purchase will speed up the introduction of new features for its FiOS network, and Verizon will offer it as an Internet-based service outside of its coverage area and on mobile devices.

  • Railinc gets new board chair, members

CARY – Railinc Corp., a company that provides rail data, IT and information services to the railroad industry, has elected BNSF’s Jo-ann Olsovsky to be the Cary company’s board chair.

Along with Losovsky, Fred Ehlers of Norfolk Southern and Serge Leduc of Canadian National Railway were appointed to the board.
Olsovsky joined Railinc’s board in 2008. She has been vice president, technology services and chief information officer for BNSF Railway Company for the past five years. Before joining BNSF in 2006 she held leadership positions at Verizon and GTE and spent 13 years at AT&T.

Ehlers is vice president information technology for Norfolk Southern Corp. He has served in transportation roles and executive leadership positions-including vice president network and service management-prior to assuming his current role in 2013. Leduc is vice president and chief information officer for Canadian National Railway. He joined CN in 2013 after 25 years of IT experience with both Canadian and international organizations.

  • Epic Games hiring for work on ‘Fortnite’

CARY – Epic Games is hard at work on its what could be its next big blockbuster, Fortnite, according to several job listings that have been posted to LinkedIn. The jobs include UX Designer, Concept Artist, and Producer, all for at Epic’s Cary headquarters. The Concept Artist and Producer job descriptions both mention Epic’s upcoming game Fortnite. The UX Designer description is the only job not mentioning a specific game focus.

  • Clinverse partners with Datatrak

RALEIGH – Clinical trials payment software company Clinverse is partnering with another company, Datatrak, to combine their software in a single offering.

Raleigh-based Clinverse has software for pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations that manages payments in clinical trials. Datatrak, which has offices in Ohio and Texas along with a site in Cary, developed electronic data capture software to catch the data generated during clinical trials. The companies say the the combination of their offerings will streamline the payment process; reduce workload, time and other related costs; and trigger payments based on the actual data that’s entered into the electronic data capture system.

No financial terms of the partnership were disclosed.

  • Silicon Valley sees shortage of EV charge stations

PALO ALTO, Calif. – An increasing number of electric-vehicle driving employees at Silicon Valley companies are finding it hard to access car-charging stations at work, creating incidents of “charge rage” among drivers.

Installation of electric vehicle charging ports at some companies has not kept pace with soaring demand, creating thorny etiquette issues in the workplace, the San Jose Mercury News reported (http://bit.ly/1joxwJ6).

Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer for German software company SAP, says the company’s 16 charging stations are now not nearly enough for the 61 employees who drive electric vehicles.

Graf says cars are getting unplugged while charging, creating animosity between employees. A charge can take as little as 30 minutes.

“Cars are getting unplugged while they are actively charging, and that’s a problem,” Graf told the newspaper. “Employees are calling and messaging each other, saying, ‘I see you’re fully charged, can you please move your car?'”

The company is drafting guidelines for EV-driving employees.