Ed Oswald

Fresh off its efforts to improve its e-mail offerings, the search company debuted Thursday a package aimed at helping businesses better share documents and information.

Called Google Apps Team Edition, the new option expands upon its already existing applications platform by allowing businesses to set up and manage work groups. The standard version, first launched in August 2006, lacked some of these collaborative features.

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The electronic retailer said it was ready for the digital television transition, stocking converter boxes that would be compatible with the US government's rebate program.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) offers $40 towards the purchase price of $59.99. It is only required for those who recieve over-the-air programming: those with cable of satellite service will not need the box.

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The company silently slipped in a fix for a critical vulnerability that prevents PDF files from being used in code execution attacks, eWEEK reports.

Immunity confirmed the fix by reverse-engineering the patch, and discovered a fix for a stack overflow issue, normally afforded a "highly critical rating" by Adobe.

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Vizio fell to third place in holiday quarter LCD TV shipments, while Sony jumped from fourth to first.

It marks the first time that the Japanese electronics maker has ever been on the top of the list in DisplaySearch's quarterly survey. The firm said that its lead was built upon its top showings in the 40-44", 45-49" and 50-54" categories.

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Although the report does not specify a specific partner, it is being viewed as an important strategic move in Google's fight for market share against Baidu.

Three global music companies will be represented, as well as dozens of smaller players. Universal is said to be confirmed to join the effort, and talks are ongoing with EMI and Sony BMG. Warner is said to also be interested, but it appears that there have been no solid talks, according to sources.

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While digital revenues were up 41 percent from last year, Warner Music's overall profits dropped 45 percent and revenues remained stagnant.

Digital music now accounts for 14% of Warner Music Group's total revenue, showing the continuing move by consumers from physical to digital formats. However, this also means the company is making far less money selling music.

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CBS looks to strengthen its already substantial advertising network by adding text message ads to its portfolio.

While most associate CBS with its namesake television network, it already had a decently sized billboard advertising network. When Viacom and CBS split, the company received the advertising arm that was part of Viacom, which also was a player in the billboard space.

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China's government backpedaled slightly from its earlier policy concerning video sites, now saying that existing sites can continue to operate.

China's initial law seemed to suggest that it was going to block any foreign Internet video site that the government didn't control, alarming free speech supporters. Now it seems as if the government is slightly backing down.

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The $5 price hike will affect the states where it acquired new customers through its buyout of BellSouth.

The change will not affect new customers signing up for the company's slowest tier, which offers download speeds of 768 kbps. But current customers on the three slowest tiers will see their monthly rate go up.

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Using technology acquired from Postini last year, the Mountain View, Calif. search company has begun offering new spam filtering and message archiving options for businesses.

The cost of the program ranges from $3 to $25 per user per year depending on the level of functionality the customer desires. In addition, the features are compatible with any e-mail system, including Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, and Novell Groupwise.

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The browser company launched Tuesday its newest version of its mobile browser, redesigning the interface and improving overall speed.

Opera Mobile shouldn't be confused with its Mini product. The mobile version is aimed at the feature and smartphone market, while Opera Mini is a BREW-based browser that can be used by most traditional phones that support Java.

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Apple continued its trend towards flash memory on Tuesday, announcing two new models of both the iPhone and iPod Touch with additional capacity.

Both new models will be available immediately: a 16 GB model of the iPhone for $499 and a 32 GB iPod Touch, also for $499. With the new Touch, it marks the first time a flash-based iPod exceeds the hard-drive models in terms of capacity.

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Reprise Media released results of its fourth annual study on companies' use of search marketing to complement their Super Bowl advertising campaign.

With the cost of ads rapidly approaching $3 million per spot, one would figure that a company would want to make the best of that investment. However in many cases, research group Reprise found that these advertisers were failing to cash in.

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The Google-backed firm that offers analysis of websites and software says users should steer clear of RealPlayer 10.5 and 11, but Real disputes their analysis.

The site says that Real needs to more conspicuous about its intentions to install the message center application in RealPlayer 10.5, and the Rhapsody Player Engine in RealPlayer 11. It recommends that users install neither version until the issues are fixed.

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Even with poor sales, Microsoft isn't giving up on the Japanese market just yet.

Its low-cost Xbox 360 that went on sale for $279 in the US will debut in Japan for around $260 on March 6. Microsoft likely sees the cheaper price as a way to shore up its worldwide sales, which are lagging in the country.

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