Analysis: The impact of Microsoft's bid for Yahoo on customers
If the massive deal does go through, Google will at last face a major threat to fend off. Technical integration between Microsoft and Yahoo could be a nightmare, according to some analysts. Yet customers might stand to gain.
Although Microsoft will edge up in market share closer to number one player Google, the deal will call for immense amounts of technical integration, analysts and users tend to agree. On the other hand, the potential effects of the mammoth buyout on customers and smaller ad and search competitors are still less clear.
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo get competition from smaller search firms
Chances are you've been hearing more than the usual news this week about Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. But a lot of other search technology is also going strong right now, all of it vying for more than fifteen minutes of fame.
Google's earnings were lower than expected this past quarter, yet Microsoft is now trying to play catch up by acquiring Yahoo. But with these three search giants drawing so much attention this week, it shouldn't be ignored that search technology from a variety of smaller specialists is also in use right now among real customers.
New Italian law may have unintentionally legalized MP3 sharing
A new copyright law in Italy making its way through Parliament seems to suggest that trading in MP3s would become legal so long as no profit is made from its distribution.
The law states that music or images that are at "degraded or low resolution" can be distributed on the Internet "for scientific or educational use, and only when such use is not for profit," according to a rough translation.
Sony BMG, XM reach deal on Pioneer Inno
The deal could be a sign that the satellite radio provider's legal woes surrounding the recording functionality of some of its receivers may be waning.
Pioneer's portable XM receiver was one of the devices targeted by the RIAA in its suit filed in May 2006. At the time, the recording industry representatives accused XM of committing "massive wholesale infringement."
Submarine data routes in crisis
Day two of the Eastern hemisphere's widespread Internet outage has seen an incremental worsening of the situation as another submarine cable is severed.
Today, another Flag Telecom cable, known as FALCON, was reported to have snapped, this time some 35 miles (56 km) off the coast of Dubai. FALCON was the first privately-owned multi-terabit cable to reach the west coast of India, celebrating its completion in 2005.
SanDisk places bet on SDHC with new 32GB card
While Compact Flash may have been the dominant removable memory format for years, SanDisk says the future is now in SDHC, announcing a 32GB card that will go on sale in April.
SanDisk is targeting its new SDHC cards at handheld high-definition video cameras, which require a great deal of storage capacity. Newer digital cameras with high megapixel counts also require big file sizes, making the high-capacity cards a hot commodity these days.
Microsoft, Novell sign joint deal with Renault
While many deals on operating systems for corporations result in a loss for one side or the other, this case could be seen as a net benefit for both.
Instead of Renault switching over to Linux completely, the French car manufacturer will purchase more than 1,000 priority support certificates from Microsoft to use with Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Linux mobile developer releases Web 2.0 platform suites
The mobile Linux company Azingo announced a new line of open source software it hopes can satisfy new phone applications developers' needs to offer Web 2.0 technology to mobile phone users.
Azingo's software package includes Mobile Communications, Mobile Entertainment, Mobile Internet and the Mobile Productivity software suites. The company hasn't publicly named which manufacturers are interested in using its technology, but promises fireworks when new partners are announced next week.
Intel, Micron announce faster NAND flash chips
The two companies have collaborated on a new NAND flash memory technology which is said to speed up data transfer rates fivefold.
Intel and Micron first came together in November 2005 to co-develop new flash technologies, and are already supplying chips through 2010 to Apple, who uses them in various flash-based iPods.
Nine-hour network outage cripples AT&T mobile data traffic
Beginning at around 5:30 EST on Thursday, AT&T's EDGE and UMTS data networks went down for reasons even now unknown to company technicians.
AT&T has not reported what the cause of the outage was, or even how many customers were affected. Message boards tracking user complaints counted 18 states among those suffering from lost 2.5/3G connectivity. These states were: Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Indiana, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nevada, New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Motorola steers clear of Trolltech after Nokia acquires it
After Nokia announced plans to acquire open source technology maker Trolltech earlier in the week, Motorola ended the week by showing its support for open source technology, while also stating how it will shift away from Trolltech technologies.
Motorola began its relationship with open source five years ago, after releasing the A760 phone with Trolltech's Qt technology in 2003, and has shipped millions of Linux-based devices.
Ballmer: Yahoo would give Microsoft a 'consumer face' online
It would be a merger whose size and scope could only be rivaled by pharmaceutical companies earlier this decade. But Microsoft's objective now is to somehow convince everyone -- Yahoo's shareholders, its board, their combined customers, and let's not forget the trade regulators -- that the whole of the two companies will somehow be greater than the sum of all the other sums of their parts put together.
There are an inordinate number of questions arising from Microsoft's announced takeover bid of Yahoo, only a few of which financial analysts managed to successfully squeeze in this morning, during a conference call that was abruptly cut short at under a half-hour.
FTC hands down sanctions against 'free product' spammer
The agency said this week that it had settled with a spammer who had failed to tell consumers they actually had to spend money to receive "free" products.
MemberSource Media will be required to pay $200,000 in fines, as well as clearly disclose the requirements to qualify for the products or services. The company did business as ConsumerGain.com, PremiumPerks.com, FreeRetailRewards.com, and GreatAmericanGiveaways.com.
A potential buyer for Motorola's mobile division: Ericsson
Sony Ericsson has recently been trailing behind competitors Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola in sales, but with Motorola's recent announcement of mobile business restructuring, its co-parent Ericsson is considering an uncharacteristic move.
Ericsson's company strategy has never been to seek out acquisitions and deals, but rather to focus on R&D and "organic growth." But with a new president, Hideki Komiyama, for its Sony Ericsson division jointly owned with Sony, Ericsson could be poised to move in a new direction. Komiyama recently told Reuters that the company would be giving higher priority to North America and higher-income consumers in emerging markets in 2008.
Apple TV 'Take 2' update delayed, MacBook Air ships
Owners of the set-top device will have to wait a little longer for the highly-anticipated upgrade that allows the renting of movies from iTunes.
Apple says it needs an extra week or two to finish the upgrade to the $229 device, which should make it a much more attractive item to consumers. At Macworld, CEO Steve Jobs had promised the software by the end of January.
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