Firefox share up again in Europe
The average usage share of Mozilla's browser among European nations rose to 28 percent in December, up .7 percent from the month previous, XiTi Monitor finds.
A report by the Web survey institute XiTi Monitor released yesterday showed that, when European nations' averaged their Web sites' usage shares together, usage share for Firefox appeared to rebound slightly.
EBay slashes some fees as incentives for sellers
Online auction powerhouse eBay announced this morning steep fee cuts and several other strategies, as incentives to its customers to help it stay on top.
Speaking at a keynote address at the eCommerce Forum yesterday, outgoing eBay North American division president Bill Cobb highlighted several key changes: First, the site will reduce its own upfront insertion fees by 25% to 50% when sellers list items, while increasing fees when items are successfully sold. Items sold under $25 on EBay will see a commission rise from 5.25% to 8.25%, a move that could have a dramatic impact on used media sold on the site.
Yahoo to cut 1,000 jobs, warns of an uncertain 2008
The bad news may not be over for the nation's #2 search provider, though some analysts yesterday were actually hoping the news would be worse, particularly in the jobs department, in order for things to get better over time.
Yahoo is staying afloat, which is not bad, given the direction it had been heading at this time last year. But with net income down 23.6% annually to $205.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2007 on 7.6% higher revenues of $1.83 billion, it's not exactly in good shape either.
Asustek re-defines 'E-machine' with new Eee desktops
Driven by the success of its budget-priced Eee UMPC, Asustek announced a full line of new Eee-branded products that are planned to be launched this year.
The Eee's major selling point is its affordability, and Asustek's president Jerry Shen has confirmed that the Eee line will maintain that point. The E-DT desktop, which is expected to show at CeBIT, will first use an Intel Celeron processor, come with no monitor and cost between $200-$300. The company is trying to bring down the price to $199 before it comes to retail.
Building brand loyalty requires more creative tactics for the Web
Ad agencies are in the brand-building business, but sometimes their efforts transcend the kind of process automation that intermediaries such as Google and MSN introduce to Web advertising. How can online creativity be bottled and distributed?
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - In the drive to make online advertising more accessible to, and more targeted toward, individual Web users, something may be lost in translation: the creative element that makes most ad campaigns unique and innovative. One of the panel discussions at today's OnMedia NYC conference, sponsored by AlwaysOn, centered around this question, expressed exactly the way it was phrased here by several presenters: "How do we get to creative?"
Lackluster bidding for 700 MHz 'C' and 'D' blocks
With the first eleven rounds of bidding nearly complete in the FCC 700 MHz auction, the minimum bid for the prize package "C-block" that would trigger open access rules has yet to be met.
When the US Federal Communications Commission set forth its guidelines for bidders in its auction of spectrum presently occupied by UHF TV channels, it mandated that the winning high bidder open up any wireless services deployed on the prize "C-block" of that spectrum to the customer's choice of equipment. But it also made a curious rule stating that if the minimum bid of $4.6 billion had not been met or if no one bid, the mandate would be automatically scrapped and the rules revert to the original form.
Web advertisers debate the merits of 'micro-targeting'
The more precisely you can target a Web viewer according to his browsing habits, the more likely you are of converting him into a customer. Few dispute this, but some are arguing today over whether this level of targeting is a job they'd happily outsource.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - "For the next few years, content and advertising are going to become much more specific for individuals on the Web." That was the proclamation this morning from David Moore, Chairman and CEO of 24/7 Real Media, the online advertising services provider acquired last May by Madison Avenue powerhouse WPP Group. Moore's comments came as part of a panel discussion this afternoon at the OnMedia NYC conference, sponsored by AlwaysOn.
BroadbandTV, Vuze join to advance IPTV platform
BroadbandTV hopes that the acquisition of Vuze will solidify its position in the IPTV market, which progressively looks to be the content delivery platform of the future.
BroadbandTV is a Vancouver, British Columbia company that specializes in the "aggregation, optimization, tracking, monetization of video content" over the Internet, according to its company profile. It was founded in 2005.
PayPal acquires a security company in a renewed anti-fraud effort
EBay's PayPal division recently snapped up Israeli security company Fraud Sciences, in a move that could help advance eBay in its long battle against online scammers.
Fraud Sciences' unique software is reportedly able to properly sort "between real and fraudulent transactions with unprecedented accuracy." Yesterday, its chief executives agreed to join PayPal's fraud management division, in a transition which could benefit hundreds of PayPal's merchant customers, and which could bring at least 200 more merchants to PayPal.
Former Earthlink chief leaves Helio CEO post
Mobile virtual network operator Helio has announced that former SK Telecom CEO Wohnee Sull will take over as its chief executive.
Formerly led by Sky Dayton, the founder and former leader of Earthlink, the troubled network that began as a joint venture between Earthlink and Korean communications group SK Telecom is now seeing Earthlink's interest in the project gradually excised. Control of the Helio network has shifted to majority shareholder SK Telecom.
Verizon soon to face the biggest class action lawsuit yet
Yesterday, a class action suit four years in the making was certified against Verizon Wireless over the company's unfair early termination fees.
A trial date has not yet been set, but Eugene I. Farber, the senior arbitrator/mediator for the American Arbitration Association in White Plains, NY, has certified the 70 million former Verizon Wireless subscribers as a class entitled to engage in litigation against the cellular provider.
Google finds a way to embed hyperlinks in newspaper ads
As online advertising continues to put the squeeze on newspaper publishers trying to get ad revenue, Google is looking for innovative methods to cash in on one side of the ad market it has not had much luck penetrating: print.
Google's Print Ads program allows buyers and sellers of advertising to work together through Google, as a way to meld their print campaigns with their online campaigns. But for Google to make this program lucrative, it needs to find some way to make print ads -- especially in newspapers -- more interactive than they've ever been before.
Rapidshare's future in doubt following legal defeat
The popular file-sharing service may be forced to shut down if it can not control the uploading of pirated music to its service after a German court ruling.
The German equivalent of the RIAA, GEMA, won a legal battle in district court in Düsseldorf last week which found that Rapidshare should be held responsible for the uploading of infringing material to its site.
EU court: ISPs need not always disclose subscribers' names
A European Court of Justice ruling this morning appears on the surface to reaffirm the rights of Internet users from having their data subpoenaed in civil trials. But a deeper read of the ruling shows the high court left the matter wide open.
The right of privacy among Internet users trumps the rights of copyright holders to pursue prospective infringers, at least insofar as civil matters are concerned. This was the finding this morning, Belgium time, of the European Court of Justice, in a ruling stating that member states need not compel a defendant ISP in a copyright infringement trial to turn over data on its members to an aggrieved plaintiff.
UK retailer Woolworths moves Blu-ray exclusively
With Blu-ray rapidly gaining momentum in the next-gen DVD war, UK retailer Woolworths has announced it will stop stocking Toshiba's HD DVD format in stores.
HD DVD players will still be available from its online store after March, which is when the company will sell Blu-ray players exclusively in its 820 locations throughout the UK.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. About Us - Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy - Sitemap.
Regional iGaming Content