Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Feds vs. MySpace: The Game

CNET News.com: "This year has already brought ample paranoia from the Feds and U.S. politicians convinced that legions of child predators lurk in social networking Web sites.
Now the Federal Trade Commission has added a new tool to an existing arsenal of Internet protection tips offered through a site called OnGuardOnline.gov.
On Tuesday, the agency launched a Flash-based game called 'Buddy Builder.' Available in English and Spanish, its goal is to teach kids how to screen out Internet creeps that would like nothing more than to steal their identities or sexually assault them--'hackers, slackers, gawkers and stalkers,' as the introduction puts it. (It's unclear where 'slackers' fit in, other then for poetry's sake.) "

Searching on Zotspot could earn users a 10 spot

CNET News.com: "In a field dominated by Google, some smaller search Web sites are hoping to lure people by offering them money or charitable donations to search.
Start-up Zotspot is set to officially launch on Tuesday a site that pays people to search, and pays them even more based on how many other people they refer to the site.
'To give you a sense of the earning potential, we estimate that each referral who uses Zotspot as their primary search engine will generate between 10 cents and 50 cents for you per year. (We can't guarantee those estimates, but we hope to continue to increase member earnings and even pass those numbers in the future!)' the Web site says. 'If you refer 10 people, they each refer 10 people and so on, you could earn over $250 per year.' "

Google buys JotSpot, dips into wiki world

CNET News.com: "Google has bought JotSpot, a 3-year-old company with a system for building collaborative Web pages called wikis.
JotSpot co-founder and CEO Joe Kraus announced the acquisition on a blog Tuesday morning, saying that being part of search giant Google will give JotSpot access to 'world-class' data centers and engineers.
Google's efforts to offer hosted applications, such as ones for word processing and spreadsheets, mesh with JotSpot's strategy to build online productivity applications, Kraus wrote.
'We watched them acquire Writely, and launch Google Groups, Google Spreadsheets and Google Apps for Your Domain. It was pretty apparent that Google shared our vision for how groups of people can create, manage and share information online,' he wrote. "

Linux guru warns on security of open-source code

Tech News on ZDNet: "Alan Cox, one of the most respected figures in the U.K. open-source community, has warned about complacency over the security of open-source projects.
Speaking to delegates at London's LinuxWorld conference on Wednesday, he emphasized that considerable sums of money were being spent in attempting to hack into open-source systems.
And he cautioned that many open-source projects were far from secure.
'There is a lot of money going into security, but the situation is worse, because there is a lot of money going into breaking security. People are being paid to work breaking down software systems,' Cox, who is employed by Linux seller Red Hat, told delegates. "

Another IE 7 pop-up problem discovered

Tech News on ZDNet: "Security researchers on Monday warned of a problem in Internet Explorer 7 that could allow malicious attackers to alter content in a legitimate Web site's pop-up window.
The browser issue could affect users who visit a trusted site by opening a pop-up window in that site that contains malicious code. This is the second IE 7 problem that has been discovered since Microsoft released the browser two weeks ago. Last week, a security flaw was discovered in IE 7 that could spoof the address of a pop-up window. "

Another IE 7 pop-up problem discovered

Tech News on ZDNet: "Security researchers on Monday warned of a problem in Internet Explorer 7 that could allow malicious attackers to alter content in a legitimate Web site's pop-up window.
The browser issue could affect users who visit a trusted site by opening a pop-up window in that site that contains malicious code. This is the second IE 7 problem that has been discovered since Microsoft released the browser two weeks ago. Last week, a security flaw was discovered in IE 7 that could spoof the address of a pop-up window. "

Total Debt Services provides Debt Settlement, Credit Counseling, Credit Repair, Debt, Debt programs, Debt Consolidation

Total Debt Services : "Total Debt Services is a consumer debt settlement company committed to helping our clients free themselves from the anxiety of overwhelming debt. We offer consumers guaranteed programs for eliminating or reducing their unsecured debt. Our programs provide credit card debt relief as an alternative to traditional bankruptcy, consumer credit counseling, debt management, and debt consolidation loans, including credit card consolidation programs."

Monday, October 30, 2006

A New Advertising Engine

washingtonpost.com: "At Google Inc.'s new office near the Hudson River, Volvo's top U.S. advertising manager has just flown in from California to talk about next year's launch of a new car, aimed at the hip, 20-something crowd.
Linda Gangeri, a Volvo executive, wants to hear Google's ideas about online video. She high-fives the company for its recent decision to purchase online video phenomenon YouTube Inc. and asks for Google's thoughts about how to advertise the new car, which Volvo is considering launching with commercials only on the Internet."

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Friday, October 27, 2006

Six million Xbox 360s sold

CNET News.com: "Microsoft has sold 6 million Xbox 360 video game consoles worldwide since releasing the unit about a year ago, the company said on Thursday.
The software giant, which competes with Sony and Nintendo in the video game console market, said its entertainment and devices division, which includes the Xbox business, trimmed its first-quarter loss to $96 million from $173 million a year earlier.
In July, Microsoft said it had 5 million units in the hands of gamers. The company expects to have shipped 10 million units worldwide by the end of the year."

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Spoofing bug found in IE 7

CNET News.com: "Security experts have found a weakness in Internet Explorer 7 that could help crooks mask phishing scams, the type of attack Microsoft designed the browser to thwart.
IE 7, released last week, allows a Web site to display a pop-up that can contain a spoofed Web address, security monitoring company Secunia said Wednesday. An attacker could exploit this weakness to trick people into believing they are on a trusted Web site when in fact they are viewing a malicious page, Secunia said in an alert. "

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Google releases customizable search

CNET News.com: "A new Google tool will let people use Google's search platform to create search engines focused on the content of their choice.
With the Google Custom Search Engine, announced by the company on Monday, Web site and blog publishers can provide custom results most relevant to their readers, incorporating a site's online community and its ability to provide contextual ads. The customized search engines can also be tailored to aesthetically match any Web site. "

Microsoft's free anti-spyware hits market

CNET News.com: "Microsoft announced on Tuesday the general release of its free anti-spyware program, a move that significantly steps up the software maker's competitive challenge in the security industry.
Windows Defender anti-spyware is now available in English to Windows XP users, with other languages set for delivery in coming weeks. Windows Defender will also be bundled with Windows Vista, Microsoft's next-generation operating system, when it is released in January. "

Monday, October 23, 2006

Google profit nearly doubles

CNET News.com: "Google's third-quarter profit nearly doubled from a year ago as sales of keyword-related advertising continued to grow for the world's top Web search engine.
'Business is very, very good here at Google. We had an excellent quarter in all respects, especially in international,' Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a conference call Thursday after the results were released.
During the quarter, Google saw strong user growth and improvements in search quality and ad sales, Schmidt said.
The news sent Google's stock up shares rising nearly 8 percent to $459.51 in after-hours trade, after closing at $426.06. The earnings announcement was made right after the market closed."

YouTube's no friend to copyright violators

CNET News.com: "People posting copyright material on YouTube shouldn't be surprised if the company makes no effort to protect them in a copyright battle.
The video-sharing site may hand over information on those who post video clips of movies and TV shows if they're accused of copyright infringement, something perhaps not well known by those who do so. "

Google to unveil election mashup

CNET News.com: "Google is expected to unveil on Sunday night a mashup that combines its popular Google Earth mapping program with information about the U.S. congressional races coming up in two weeks.
The Google Earth 2006 election resource tool indicates the country's 436 congressional districts with stars on the popular 3D map of the country. Clicking on a star pops open a bubble window that has information on the candidates in that race. "

Putting blogs to work for Wall Street

CNET News.com: "Collective Intellect has a goal: Make bloggers work for The Man.
The company has created a service that combs through thousands of blogs, news sites, chat rooms and other Web sites every day and then surfaces rumors and news reports that might be of interest to traders or corporate public relations executives. Other start-ups like Monitor 110 provide similar services.
The idea is to give traders back the early and easy access to critical data that that they used to have when this information came through a lot fewer channels. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, a Bloomberg terminal or subscriptions to news services could give you a jump on the hoi polloi. Today, it's the hoi polloi who often have the jump thanks to blogs and other tipster sites. "

Microsoft sees fast growth in Windows phones

CNET News.com: "Microsoft aims to double the number of mobile phones running its Windows software this year from 6 million at the end of 2005 and to keep up this rate of growth in coming years, a Microsoft executive said.
'The number of devices operating on Windows Mobile doubled to 6 million last year,' Peter Knook, head of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices division, told Germany's Euro am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday.
'We want to make 100 percent again this year and to grow further at this rate in coming years.' "

Friday, October 20, 2006

make a difference day.

make a difference day.: "Your MAKE A DIFFERENCE project can be as big or small as you wish. We have all come up with our own lists of ideas to help get you started. Remember, it is not nearly as important if you help one person or a thousand, all that matters is that you MAKE A DIFFERENCE!"

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Microsoft hopes 7 is lucky number for IE

Tech News on ZDNet: "Some 18 months after Bill Gates pledged to revamp Internet Explorer, Microsoft is ready with the final production version of IE 7. The new Web browser, which has been in testing for months, is now available for download from Microsoft's Web site.
On the feature side, Microsoft is playing catch-up in many areas. It has added support for Web standards, RSS Web feeds and tabbed browsing. The new browser also offers protection against phishing sites--malicious Web sites designed to trick users into handing over their personal information. "

Zombies try to blend in with the crowd

Tech News on ZDNet: "Hackers are trying harder to make their networks of hijacked computers go unnoticed.
Cybercrooks are moving to new Web-based techniques to control the machines they have commandeered, popularly referred to as 'zombies.' Before, they used to send orders via Internet chat services, but with that method, they ran the risk of inadvertently revealing the location of the zombies and themselves. "

AOL to Make Portals for Kids, Teens Free

Newsday.com: "NEW YORK -- AOL's portals targeted at kids and teens will soon be available for free as the company continues its chase for online advertising dollars.

The teen-oriented Red service formally launches Friday at beRed.com, while KOL for kids ages 6-12 and KOL Jr. for those 2-5 kicks off Tuesday at kol.com and koljunior.com. "

CBS Launches YouTube Channel

Broadcasting & Cable: "A week after signing a deal with YouTube, CBS has launched its branded channel on the site. The channel, for which CBS will sell ads and split revenues with YouTube, will offer clips from current CBS-owned shows, library sports footage and the online preview for its evening newscast.
Initial content on the 'CBS Brand Channel' will include the Late Show With David Letterman, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, NCIS and CSI: Miami in addition to old sports footage, such as March Madness highlights, and CBS News First Look With Katie Couric, the daily Webisodes the network has been offering on its own site to precede the TV newscast. "

FBI, hire Arabic speakers, don’t force ISP’s to track my Web surfing

IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband | ZDNet.com: "Yesterday, FBI director Robert Mueller expressed a preference that Internet Service Providers preserve customer Web use records for quite some time.
His reasons: to assist in terrorism probe investigations as well as child pornography and predator-related matters"

Yahoo, Microsoft race to release IE update

CNET News.com: "Microsoft's new Internet Explorer browser is now available--from Yahoo.
Although Microsoft has yet to release the final version of IE 7, its rival has posted a Yahoo-optimized version of the Web browser. The browser is essentially the IE 7 browser with a number of tweaks, such as Yahoo home pages, Yahoo as the default search engine and a Yahoo toolbar. "

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Click fraud rate on Google, Yahoo down, report says

CNET News.com: "According to a new report on the scope of fraudulent clicks on search-related ads, the click fraud rate among top-tier search sites like Google and Yahoo is dropping. It fell to 11.9 percent in the third quarter, compared with 12.8 percent in the previous quarter.
But at second-tier search providers, it rose to 23.2 percent from 20.3 percent. The overall industry rate inched down to 13.8 percent from 14.1 percent, according to figures released on Wednesday from Click Forensics, which operates the Click Fraud Index. The index compiles data from more than 2,500 online advertisers and agencies. "

Windows virus worms onto some Apple iPods

Tech News on ZDNet: "Apple Computer warned on Tuesday that some of its latest iPods have shipped with a Windows virus.
The company said that a small number of video iPods made after Sept. 12 included the RavMonE virus. It said it has seen fewer than 25 reports of the problem, which it said does not affect other models of the media player, nor does it affect Macs.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company apologized on its Web site for the problem, but also used the opportunity to jab at Microsoft, its operating system rival. "

Yahoo goes punk with a Zen twist

CNET News.com: "Google made a huge splash with its $1.65 billion acquisition of viral video site YouTube last week, but rival Yahoo is quietly shaking things up from the inside out.
Search pioneer Yahoo has assembled a plethora of its own Web 2.0 acquisitions, from photo sharing Web site Flickr to bookmark site Delicious, into a veritable Web-hosted media empire.
The company also has its own Web 2.0 guru whose mission is to hack Yahoo 'for its own good.' Bradley Horowitz, vice president of Yahoo's product strategy group, told CNET News.com that he is drawing on his background in yoga, meditation and even punk rock to embark on a spiritual effort to improve the company and its products, one Web-based software application at a time. "

Google plans largest U.S. solar-powered office

CNET News.com: "Google plans a solar-powered electricity system at its Silicon Valley headquarters that will rank as the largest U.S. solar-powered corporate office complex, the company said Wednesday.
The Web search leader said it is set to begin building a rooftop solar-powered generation system at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters capable of generating 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 1,000 California homes.
'This is the largest customer-owned solar electric system at a corporate site,' said Noah Kaye, director of public affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association, an industry group based in Washington, D.C. "

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Yahoo to carry local CBS news footage

Yahoo to carry local CBS news footage : "News video from CBS-owned local stations will appear on Yahoo News starting Tuesday.
CBS Television Stations, a division of CBS, announced a syndication agreement with Yahoo on Monday that will make local news clips available on the Web company's news section. The two companies will share ad revenue generated from advertising placed next to the video content on Yahoo's site.
Yahoo News users can expect to see 10 to 20 news videos a day, according to a statement from Yahoo. The clips will include feature pieces, as well as breaking news footage. Visitors will be able to search for local video using ZIP codes."

Phishers hijack IM accounts

CNET News.com: "In a twist on phishing, cybercrooks are hijacking instant-messaging accounts to lure people to their information-thieving Web sites.
Traditional phishing scams send out spam e-mail that contain links to fraudulent Web sites. These sites try to trick people into giving up sensitive information, such as credit card details, Social Security numbers or login credentials for online services.
In a tactic that includes an arsenal of online weapons, scammers are now also commandeering IM accounts to spread their bait. The barrage of attacks used includes account hijacking, phishing and SPIM, or spam via instant messaging. "

Monday, October 16, 2006

Blurry vision for Wal-Mart blog

CNET News.com: "A photographer for the Washington Post found himself in hot water earlier this month, after it was disclosed that he had done some freelance work for Wal-Mart.
Jim Thresher shot photos for a pro-Wal-Mart blog during a cross-country trip. The paper has ordered him to remove the photos and to repay travel expenses covered by Working Families for Wal-Mart, a group that advocates for the chain and used the photos on its Web site, Editor & Publisher reported.
The incident caused both old and new media to shake their heads. Traditional media analysts focused on the ethics of a photographer working for a company that he may be required to cover, and many bloggers were outraged over the creation of a 'fake' blog. Wal-Mart's PR firm, Edelman, also came in for its share of abuse."

What MTV says about Google-YouTube marriage

CNET News.com: "A recent Google collaboration with MTV Networks may have offered a window into what the combination of Google's online advertising network and YouTube's content will look like.
Google began distributing clips from MTV Networks over its AdSense advertising network in August, in what Jennifer Feikin, Google's director of video and multimedia search partnerships, said at the time was the first, but not the last, syndication deal of its kind.
'It's an amped-up form of AdSense,' Feikin said. 'We really have high hopes for this test, and we will look to roll the model out to other content providers.' "

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Google-YouTube and the value of social computing

CNET News.com: "Google's purchase of user-generated video site YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock is a massive demonstration of the power of social computing.
The search giant already has the No. 3 video site, but now it will own a networking platform that makes video stickier--and better for advertisers.
To make this huge purchase worthwhile, Google must move rapidly to do three things: first, address the problem of users uploading copyrighted content; second, encourage marketers to think beyond traditional video advertisements; and third, maintain YouTube's excellent video selection and viewing experience. "

MSN mobile search tool to list clickable ads

CNET News.com: "Microsoft plans to place advertising on MSN's Windows Live Search for Mobile service that will let users click on an advertisement to place a call for more information.
The software powerhouse said Monday is partnering with San Francisco-based Ingenio to provide the embedded ads when mobile search requests are performed with Windows Live Search. An ad will be placed above the regular search results when mobile phone users are searching with Windows Live Search. Then users can click on the advertisement and make a phone call directly to whoever is advertising--restaurant, store, service provider and so on."

Smart-phone sales are soaring

CNET News.com: "Demand for smart phones and personal digital assistants is continuing to grow rapidly, according to the latest statistics from Gartner.
Smart-phone sales have already increased by 75.5 percent in the last year to 37.4 million units, and will grow by a further 66 percent during 2006, according to data released last week by the analyst firm.
Sales of PDAs also continue to rise, racking up a 5.7 percent increase in the last year to 7.4 million units. Growth of 6.3 percent is predicted for 2006, as PDAs continue to be eclipsed by more voice-centric smart phones. "

Monday, October 09, 2006

Google to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion

News.blog | CNET News.com: "Google has agreed to purchase online video phenomenon YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, the companies announced Monday after the close of the stock market.
The deal, which had been rumored for days, will dramatically improve Google's video-sharing service with one of the Internet's hottest properties in YouTube, which allows Net users to upload video clips and share them with the world, for better or worse. YouTube will operate independently, and the companies will work together on building new features for independent users as well as for aspiring directors, they said in a press release. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2006."

Google Buys YouTube?

WIRED: "After marathon negotiations over the weekend, Google could announce a deal to buy YouTube.com, the popular video-sharing Web site, for about $1.6 billion as early as Monday afternoon, people involved in the talks said... Discussions could still break down, however, or another party could present a more-attractive offer.
Negotiations between Google and YouTube began in earnest late last week after a lower bid from Google was initially rebuffed, these people said."

YouTube cuts three content deals

CNET News.com: "YouTube announced on Monday partnerships with Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Group and CBS that let their artists' music and videos be included in original content posted on YouTube's site.
The media groups will authorize the use of their copyright-protected content if YouTube users are willing to pay for it.
As part of its deal with Universal Music Group, the video-sharing site has agreed to use new technology to filter out any unauthorized content. Universal Music Group owns multiple record labels, including Island Def Jam Music Group, Geffen Records and Verve Music Group."

Blogs to books: A six-figure industry?

CNET News.com: "Bloggers are scoring rich paydays by turning their online diaries into books, but some publishers say the craze could fizzle out with a glut of new titles destined to yield disappointing sales.
Penguin became the latest to jump on the bandwagon when it bought 'La Petite Anglaise,' the memoirs of Catherine Sanderson, who was fired by her company because of her blog, in one of the more hotly discussed acquisitions this week at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
'The blogs should be almost incidental to us as publishers,' said Katy Follain, publisher at Penguin imprint Michael Joseph, which bought 'La Petite Anglaise.' "

Google bungles Blogger security

CNET News.com: "Advertisers who use Google's AdSense program got a surprise this weekend, when the company's official blog posted a note saying that an upcoming test of a new feature had been canceled.
But the post itself had numerous spelling errors, and was quickly taken down. Turns out, the message wasn't from Google after all--a bug in Google's Blogger software allowed a hacker to create a fake post on the site.
The blogosphere quickly moved from discussing the AdSense test to commenting on Google's security breach. If the company can't keep its own blog safe, how well can it protect those of users, they wondered."

Friday, October 06, 2006

Women outnumber men in online games, survey finds

Women outnumber men in online games, survey finds | CNET News.com: "While male video gamers still outnumber women 2 to 1, women have the edge in online games, a survey has found.
Of the 117 million active gamers in the U.S., 56 percent play games online. Sixty-four percent of those online gamers are female, according to results of the survey, released by Nielsen Entertainment on Thursday.
The survey defined active gamers as those who are 13 years or older, own at least one game device, and play at least one hour of video games a week. Game devices include game consoles, personal computers and handhelds. Nielsen surveyed 2,200 active gamers online in July. "

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Google crawls into source-code search

CNET News.com: "Google is taking its search expertise to one of its favorite audiences: software developers.
The company on Thursday launched a Web site, Google Code Search, which the company says will let programmers search billions of lines of code for tips on how to write their own software.
The service, conceived by the Google Labs early technology group, will crawl publicly available code, most of which is made available through open-source projects. The search and indexing covers code on Web pages and code that resides in compressed files, said Tom Stocky, a product manager at Google. "

Yahoo serving up search ads on mobile phones

CNET News.com: "Yahoo on Wednesday launched a beta version of sponsored search results on mobile phones in the United States and United Kingdom.
Like Yahoo's sponsored search results on the Web, advertisers will bid in an auction on keywords that will display their ads on the search results page. The service will work on most mobile phones and handhelds that have Web browsing capabilities.
Clicking on the link will take a user to the advertiser's mobile Web site or a landing page that offers more information, including the ability to call the advertiser, Yahoo said. "

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

What does Yahoo's ad warning mean?

CNET News.com: "Yahoo startled the fast-growing Internet advertising community last month when it warned that a slump in ads from automotive and financial services companies would hurt upcoming earnings.
The question, obvious to many, was: If multibillion-dollar Yahoo was worried about ad sales, should every other Internet company be nervous as well?"

Google ducks a legal bullet

Perspectives | CNET News.com: "In the mostly uncharted territory of Internet jurisprudence, Google's policy of selling keywords has won a legal reprieve--at least for now.
A recent court ruling says Google is within its rights to include Internet links from competitors to a trademark holder when people search on the corporate name. "

Google offers mini applications to other sites

CNET News.com: "Google has made it easier to add hundreds of miniature programs to third-party Web sites, in a move that brings features to people instead of making people come to the search giant's site.
The move means that Google has suddenly jumped ahead of rivals--such as Apple Computer, Yahoo and Microsoft--that offer small application modules when a person has installed special software on individual computer desktops. The modules are called applets, widgets or in Google's case, gadgets."

Neither safe nor secure on the Internet

Perspectives | CNET News.com: "Most of us don’t like speed limits, but we accept the rules of the road because they represent the reasonable application of oversight and practical insight.
Recent congressional hearings underscore the intense interest of policymakers in a similar debate regarding the Internet as the cyberspace superhighway.
The domain name system (DNS) is the backbone of the Internet, providing the virtual signposts for an enormously complex environment with tens of millions of virtual and perilous 'pathways and intersections.' Some believe that we should allow the DNS to operate without 'burdensome' oversight. But if we don't concede to some reasonable rules of the road included in the pending proposals to operate top-level domain (TLD) registries, we won't be very safe or secure. "

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Spammers plead guilty after EarthLink probe

CNET News.com: "Two spammers could go to jail after an investigation by EarthLink found they were sending thousands of unsolicited messages from PeoplePC accounts.
Jared Cosgrave and Mohammed Haque pleaded guilty last week in a U.S. District Court in Southern Florida to charges of fraud and violation of the Can-Spam Act. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16, and the two could be sentenced to up to three years in jail and given a fine of up to $250,000.
The two were identified in an investigation last year by EarthLink's fraud and abuse team into activity at its PeoplePC subsidiary. The team discovered more than 25,000 junk e-mails had been sent through 10 PeoplePC accounts that originated from Miami, Fla. The e-mails contained such subject headers as 'I'm finally back home' and 'I just got back in town,' and contained messages that marketed herbal supplements. "

Survey: For big news, consumers bypass blogs

CNET News.com: "For many Americans seeking news during important events, blogs are just about the last place they look, relying instead on traditional outlets, a survey says.
Fifty percent said they turn to traditional media like television, radio and newspapers as their primary source for information during major events such as hurricanes over 'emerging media,' according to a survey of 333 business professionals and 1,167 consumers between the ages of 25 and 64. The survey was sponsored by LexisNexis.
The survey characterized 'emerging media' as Internet sites by citizen journalists in the form of blogs, podcasts or Internet-only publications. Internet news sites, such as those grown from newspapers or television networks, were grouped with traditional media or broken out into their own category."

Google takes a bigger bite of Big Apple

CNET News.com: "After a year of speculation, the company on Monday officially opened a new, bigger and more Google-y office in the Big Apple in the trendy Chelsea neighborhood in Manhattan.
The company, which has had an advertising sales presence in Manhattan since 2000, moved its more than 500 New York City employees into the new office at 111 Eighth Ave. and invited the press to take a sneak peek at its new digs. The office, specially designed and built for Google, houses the company's largest advertising sales team. And it's also home to the largest engineering group outside of the main office in Mountain View, Calif."

M/C/C Celebrates 20 Years of Killer Work

M/C/C Celebrates 20 Years of Killer Work : "Dallas, Texas - M/C/C has come a long way since its humble beginning at the kitchen table of founder Mike Crawford. But 20 years later, past the dot com boom and subsequent bust, through the evolution of cell phones from brick to sleek flip phones, and past the migration from VCR to DVR, M/C/C's unique and innovative techniques have helped the agency to develop a long list of client success stories on its way to becoming one of the Southwest?s premier advertising and public relations agencies.

'Twenty years is an exceptional amount of time to be around, particularly in the volatile technology industry,' Crawford said. 'One of the main reasons we have been so successful is because of the dedication of our people. They understand technology, they embrace it, and that helps us develop real relationships with our clients.'

Since 1986, M/C/C has utilized an unexpected way of thinking about creativity, paired with proactive, straightforward advice, to drive its success. Whether it is for a media or PR strategy, or for a new advertising campaign, for a start-up company trying to build credibility, or for a large, publicly-held enterprise wanting to stay ahead of the game, M/C/C infuses creativity into every program ensuring that it produces killer ideas for each client."

M/C/C Celebrates 20 Years of Killer Work

M/C/C Celebrates 20 Years of Killer Work a>: "Dallas, Texas - M/C/C has come a long way since its humble beginning at the kitchen table of founder Mike Crawford. But 20 years later, past the dot com boom and subsequent bust, through the evolution of cell phones from brick to sleek flip phones, and past the migration from VCR to DVR, M/C/C's unique and innovative techniques have helped the agency to develop a long list of client success stories on its way to becoming one of the Southwest?s premier advertising and public relations agencies.

'Twenty years is an exceptional amount of time to be around, particularly in the volatile technology industry,' Crawford said. 'One of the main reasons we have been so successful is because of the dedication of our people. They understand technology, they embrace it, and that helps us develop real relationships with our clients.'

Since 1986, M/C/C has utilized an unexpected way of thinking about creativity, paired with proactive, straightforward advice, to drive its success. Whether it is for a media or PR strategy, or for a new advertising campaign, for a start-up company trying to build credibility, or for a large, publicly-held enterprise wanting to stay ahead of the game, M/C/C infuses creativity into every program ensuring that it produces killer ideas for each client."

Monday, October 02, 2006

Judge sides with Google in dispute over keywords

CNET News.com: "A federal court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Google over its practice of allowing companies to buy search-related ads that are displayed when people type in the name of a competitor.
In early 2005, computer repair company Rescuecom sued Google in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, alleging that Google was violating trademark by selling ads to Rescuecom's competitors that show up next to search results when someone types in 'Rescuecom.'
Rescuecom argued that Google was violating trademark by attempting to 'free-ride' on the goodwill associated with Rescuecom's name, preventing Internet searchers from reaching Rescuecom's Web site, altering the search results and using the trademark internally. The court rejected those arguments, saying the facts do not establish trademark use as a matter of law. "

Second third-party fix out for Windows bug

CNET News.com: "For the second time in as many weeks a group of security professionals has released a third-party fix for a Windows flaw that is actively being used in cyberattacks.
The group, calling itself the Zeroday Emergency Response Team, or ZERT, created the patch so Windows users can protect their PCs while Microsoft works on an official update. People have a choice of third-party fixes. Security company Determina on Friday released a patch it authored for the same flaw. "

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Yahoo to give away e-mail code

CNET News.com: "SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Yahoo is set to allow outsiders to create new services using the world's most popular consumer e-mail program, in the broadest move the Web has yet seen to enlist independent programmers to build a company's products for it.
Officials of the world's largest Internet media company said on Friday it planned to give away the underlying code to Yahoo Mail, one of the crown jewels of its business, in a bid to encourage software developers to build new applications based on e-mail.
The move to open up the underlying code of Yahoo Mail--used by 257 million people--is designed to spark development of thousands of new e-mail applications built not only by Yahoo engineers but by outside companies and individuals. "

Cybercrooks add Windows flaw to arsenal

Cybercrooks add Windows flaw to arsenal | CNET News.com: "Cybercrooks have started exploiting a flaw in the Windows Shell only days after sample attack code for the vulnerability surfaced. Web sites that exploit the vulnerability are popping up and attempt to load malicious software onto vulnerable Windows PCs in a way that is undetectable to users, experts said.
'There are professionals at work using the exploit code,' security firm Websense said in an alert. The miscreants taking advantage of the flaw appear to be part of the same group that in December used another Windows flaw to hoist spyware onto PCs, Websense said. That flaw stemmed from the way Windows handled Windows Metafile, or WMF images. "

Another zero-day threat hits Windows

CNET News.com: "Sample code is circulating on the Internet for an attack using a flaw that Microsoft knows about, but has not yet fixed.
On Thursday, Microsoft warned people about a vulnerability in the Windows Shell, the part of the operating system that presents the user interface. The flaw affects Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 and could be exploited via the Internet Explorer Web browser through a component called WebViewFolderIcon, the company said in an advisory. "

Yahoo in deal to feature services on HP computers

CNET News.com

Yahoo has agreed to a deal with Hewlett-Packard to have Yahoo search and other services appear on HP personal computers sold in the United States and Europe, the company said on Thursday.
The Internet media company said HP has agreed to feature a co-branded Yahoo/HP Internet toolbar on HP computers and to make Yahoo the default search service in Microsoft's upcoming Internet Explorer 7 on HP consumer desktop and notebook PCs.

Yahoo spokeswoman Kelly Delaney said financial terms were not being disclosed.