Whatever in World Wide Web

U.S. enables Chinese hacking of Google

webgyan — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:23:56 +0000

Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering. The news here isn’t that Chinese hackers engage in these activities or that their attempts are technically sophisticated — we knew that already — it’s that the U.S. government inadvertently aided the hackers. More…

Cooking up a storm with Bing Recipes

webgyan — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:18:44 +0000

After watching Julie and Julia I think everyone might have a little bit of Julia Child inside of them somewhere (even Stefan…who would’ve thought he had an apron with his name on it). So when you find yourself looking for that new recipe to whip up for dinner or your next cocktail party, Bing makes it easier by providing cooking recipes and details in our new detailed recipe results.

Bing pulls from a number of popular recipe websites (delish.com, MyRecipes.com, epicurious.com, etc.) to bring you correlating recipes that you can sift through by holiday, meals, ratings, and my personal favorite, convenience (with a 10 month old at home, quick is key) and much more… Read more…

Google wants to disintermediate cellular market too

webgyan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 06:14:34 +0000

Ever since Google Android mobile OS was announced last year, everyone has been guessing what is the Google’s endgame here.

Afterall, an operating system for mobile devices has very little to do with Internet search or advertising marketplace of Google AdWords and AdSense, which are the key elements of the power Google wields today.

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Some Facebook users aren’t fond of website’s new faceSome Facebook users aren’t fond of website’s new face

webgyan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:12:36 +0000

Facebook’s new face is drawing frowns from some of its users.

They’re grousing about a spanking new redesign intended to unclutter their profiles on the social network. Several groups requesting a return to the old design have surfaced, including one with 1 million members.

Facebook has shifted millions of users to its new design in a bid to draw more members and advertisers to a cleaner interface. Facebook’s torrid growth — it has added 90 million members the past two years — has put it in a prime position to vie for an estimated $2 billion market for social-networking ads this year.

Digg.com Digs Up Some More Cash

webgyan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:07:06 +0000

Digg, the news site with the nerve to substitute the votes of the unwashed, unpaid masses for the refined talent of professional editors, has raised a new round of venture financing, the company said Wednesday.

Four-year-old Digg, based in San Francisco, raised $28.7 million from existing venture backers Greylock Partners, Silicon Valley Bank and the Omidyar Network. The round was led by the newcomer, Highland Capital Partners, whose partner Richard de Silva will join the Digg.com board. That brings the total amount of money raised by the still-unprofitable company to around $40 million.

More News….

Microsoft walks away from Yahoo

webgyan — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:03:22 +0000

Microsoft Corp. has withdrawn its $42.3-billion (U.S.) bid to buy Yahoo Inc., scrapping an attempt to snap up the tarnished Internet icon in hopes of toppling online search and advertising leader Google Inc.

The decision to walk away from the deal came Saturday after last-ditch efforts to negotiate a mutually acceptable sale price proved unsuccessful.

The talks reached a breaking point after Jerry Yang and David Filo, the co-founders of Sunnyvale-based Yahoo, flew to Seattle in the morning to meet personally with Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and Kevin Johnson, who runs the software maker’s unprofitable online services division, according to someone familiar with the talks. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.

“Clearly a deal is not to be,” Mr. Ballmer wrote to Mr. Yang in a letter sent late Saturday.

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News Corp., AOL Pursue Yahoo Deals

webgyan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:03:53 +0000

Yahoo Inc. and Time Warner Inc.’s AOL are closing in on a deal to combine their Internet operations, a move aimed at thwarting Microsoft Corp.’s effort to acquire Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

But Microsoft is recrafting its assault plan by talking with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, about mounting a joint bid for Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said. Microsoft and News Corp. have yet to reach an agreement on joining forces but one person apprised of the plan described the discussions as serious. Such a deal would combine three of the biggest Internet properties: News Corp.’s MySpace, Microsoft’s MSN and Yahoo.

Negotiating Leverage

The AOL-Yahoo deal under consideration would include the repurchase of some Yahoo shares at a price above Microsoft’s offer. Taken together with a possible search advertising pact with Google Inc., the plan could give Yahoo an alternative to a Microsoft takeover — although many analysts and investors believe Microsoft will ultimately win out. At the least, Yahoo’s efforts could give it more leverage to negotiate a higher price from Microsoft.

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AOL buys BEBO for $850 Million

webgyan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:33:25 +0000

In an unexpected move, AOL has acquired social-networking site Bebo. The price tag: $850 million in cash.

Rumors had floated over the past few months that Bebo, which has over 40 million members, was up for sale. Reports suggested a $1 billion price tag, but there were few hints as to potential buyers. Though Bebo had already partnered with AOL’s AIM messaging client to facilitate friend-invite interoperability between the two services, even the most creative blogger speculation didn’t seem to point to AOL eventually buying the social network.

Ironically, AOL itself has been talked about as an acquisition target. Jeffrey Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner, which operates AOL, has spoken recently about plans to spin off or sell divisions of the company.

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Yahoo Formally Rejects Microsoft Bid

webgyan — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:22:43 +0000

Yahoo Inc.’s rejection of Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited takeover bid left investors guessing the next move in a tense mating dance that may hatch a more imposing challenger to Google Inc. or disintegrate into a bruising brawl.

The rebuff, formally announced early Monday, wasn’t a surprise because Yahoo had leaked its intention over the weekend.

As expected, Yahoo’s board unanimously decided to spurn Microsoft after concluding the offer — originally worth $44.6 billion or $31 per share — ”substantially undervalues” one of the Internet’s prized franchises. The cash-and stock deal is now valued at about $40 billion, or $28.91 per share, because of a drop in Microsoft’s market value.

But Yahoo didn’t raise antitrust concerns about the proposed deal and included language that seemed to invite a higher offer from Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker.

”The board of directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders,” Yahoo said in a statement.

Microsoft, though, didn’t seem inclined to raise the bid Monday, releasing a statement describing its current bid as ”full and fair.”

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Microsoft Makes $42B Bid for Yahoo

webgyan — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:55:29 +0000

Unable to topple Google Inc. on its own, Microsoft Corp. is trying to force crippled rival Yahoo Inc. into a shotgun marriage, with a wager worth nearly $42 billion that the two companies together will have a better chance of tackling the Internet search leader.
Microsoft’s audacious attempt to buy Yahoo, spelled out in an unsolicited offer announced Friday, shows just how much Google threatens the world’s largest software maker’s grip on how people interact with computers.

For Yahoo, the bid represents another painful reminder of how missed opportunities and mismanagement combined to open the door for Google to supplant it as the Internet’s main gateway, decimating its stock price in the process.

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