Latest Technology News

In spite of Google's annual revenue growth of 52%, many Wall Street analysts are now advising their clients to hold off on buying Google stock. Has Microsoft's bid for Yahoo made that much of a dent, or are there other factors at play?

"We think that the first cracks may be starting to appear in Google's hyper-growth story," Jeff Lindsay, a financial analyst at Sanford Bernstein, reportedly wrote in a note to clients at the end of last week.

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Today, MySQL rolled out a new hosting program that offers the company's top-of-the-line software and tools, plus 24-hour support, to partners. With Sun's acqusition of MySQL already under way, is this the start of something bigger?

When Sun announced its acquisition of open source software producer MySQL AB last month, many observers predicted that Sun would optimize the open source database to compete more closely with Oracle, Microsoft and IBM. Today, in a move that could be perceived as a first step in that direction, MySQL launched a new hosting partner program that could position it better against its three major enterprise database competitors: Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM.

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In an announcement late Tuesday, Adobe said it is promoting its current senior vice president and chief software architect, Kevin Lynch, to what appears to be a new post with higher level of seniority.

Kevin Lynch was the Chief Software Architect of Adobe Systems, having joined the company through its 2005 acquisition of Macromedia, where he was seen as the co-creator of the Dreamweaver Web site development environment. Now it appears he'll be taking on new responsibilities there.

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Microsoft has announced a new "green" wireless mouse, with such environmentally-minded features as...an on/off switch.

The Redmond company is gently marketing its new Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 today as being environmentally friendly due to its six-month battery life. This, according to Microsoft, will amount to an 80% reduction in battery consumption over a three-year period

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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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A third component could be key to an effective Yahoo / Microsoft merger could be an enterprise search solutions provider whose crown jewel is now part of Yahoo, but whose core business will soon be part of Microsoft, says an IDC report.

A panel of 13 IDC analysts led by research VP Susan Feldman coalesced all day and into the night on Friday, eventually producing a document touting the benefits not just of #3 online search provider Microsoft acquiring #2 provider Yahoo, but also continuing with its plans announced last month to acquire Fast Search & Transfer, the producer of dedicated search applications for enterprises.

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Two of the four undersea cables that provide data to much of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia which were severed late last week are now undergoing repair.

Reuters reported today that FALCON, the third of the cables to be cut on Friday evening, is currently being repaired. FLAG telecom's repair team was at first delayed in Abu Dhabi, UAE due to untoward weather, but has since managed to lay anchor at the break site despite what the group called "extreme weather conditions."

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Graphics card producer NVidia confirmed late yesterday it is purchasing Ageia Technologies, the first producer of so-called "physics processors" for 3D gamers, for an undisclosed amount.

Ageia Technologies is best known for its PhysX processor, which is supported by popular games such as Gears of War, the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon series, and Unreal Tournament 3. Working under NVidia's wing will help the company properly implement PhysX into future product launches, which should result in a broader target market.

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Today, handset manufacturer Nokia began the rollout of its revised N-Gage gaming service and its new Share on Ovi media sharing site.

After several delays due to numerous software issues, Nokia's N-Gage gaming platform has begun its rollout with "First Access" being granted to N-81 owners. Users of that particular handset have access to a pre-release version of the N-Gage application and four games, including: Hooked On: Creatures of the Deep, Space Impact: Kappa Base, Block Breaker Deluxe, and System Rush: Evolution.

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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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IBM's open source application server is garnering more momentum with this week's introduction of a new OEM partner, Avada Software, plus a new customer, international money transfer and transaction processing specialist Nexxar Group, Inc.

IBM has already picked up about 600 ISV partners for its Apache Geronimo-based open source application server, a free download known as WebSphere Application Server (WAS) Community Edition (CE), said Brenda Haynes, IBM's director of open source development and strategy, in an inteview with BetaNews.

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Despite a high court order last month finding Baidu not liable for copyright infringement, the recording industry's international representatives are renewing their complaint that it provides "deep links" to pirated MP3s.

Today, the recording industry's international representative agency IFPI is backing the efforts of three record labels that have decided to go forward with legal proceedings in China against that country's leading search engine, Baidu, and its #2 portal Sohu. The suit, according to IFPI, renews allegations from 2006 that the two companies provide "deep links" to unlicensed MP3s, and may profit from at least providing advertising alongside those links.

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Yahoo has updated its open source collaboration server software, Zimbra, now including Blackberry support and Yahoo Maps and search integration. However, if Microsoft acquires Yahoo, will this be the last update we see for Zimbra?

Zimbra is an open source solution that acts as an alternative to Microsoft Exchange Server, supporting e-mail, calendaring, contacts, tasks, and more. The software was acquired last September by Yahoo in an acquisition valued at $350 million.

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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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