Google browser displacing desktop software

Google sees new browser displacing desktop software

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept 2 (Reuters) - Google Inc (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is challenging Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) with its own Web browser that lets users run many applications that once worked only when installed on local PCs, executives said on Tuesday.

Google introduced a public trial version of its new browser software, Chrome, which is designed to handle not just text and graphics, but more complex computer programs.

Chrome, available in 43 languages in 100 countries at www.google.com/chrome, has been designed to download software and Web pages faster than existing browsers. It even allows users to keep working when one of its windows crashes.

This represents Google's long-anticipated head-on attack on Microsoft and its Internet Explorer, which has three-quarters of the Web-browsing market. Google has backed Mozilla Corp's Firefox browser, which holds about 18 percent of the market.

Google engineers and executives call Chrome a "fresh take on the browser," a 15-year-old technology that is supplanting 25-year-old desktop software as the basic way users interact with computers.

"You actually spend more time in your browser than you do in your car," said Brian Rakowski, group product manager for Google's browser project.

Chrome was seen by analysts as partly a defensive move due to Google's fear that the recently upgraded Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) could be used to lock out Google. Google's core business of Web search and related advertising depends on browsers.

A Microsoft executive said IE 8 gives users control over how and where they navigate, improves their day-to-day browsing experience, and keeps people safe from new security threats.

"Microsoft understands that Web browsing is crucially important for hundreds of millions of people, which is why we invest in Internet Explorer so heavily," Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer, said in a statement.

CHALLENGE TO MICROSOFT WINDOWS?

Google co-founder Sergey Brin said Chrome was designed to address the shift to using software from within a Web browser rather than as locally installed computer applications running inside Microsoft Windows or some other operating system.

"I think operating systems are kind of an old way to think of the world," Brin told a group of reporters after the news conference at Google's Mountain View, California headquarters. "They have become kind of bulky, they have to do lots and lots of different (legacy) things."

Google believes any task done in a standalone desktop computer application can be delivered via the Web and Chrome is its bet that software applications can be run via a browser.

"We (Web users) want a very lightweight, fast engine for running applications," Brin said.

"The kind of things you want to have running standalone (on a computer) are shrinking," he said, adding that he still edits photos on his computer rather than using a Web program.

GOOGLE BORROWS FROM APPLE, FIREFOX

Chrome borrows liberally from other browsers running open-source software code, including Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Firefox, and company officials said they planned to fully share Chrome code with other developers.

"We have borrowed good ideas from others," Google Vice President of Product Management Sindar Pichai said. "Our goal here was to bring our point of view, but do it in a very open way."

Because Chrome relies on Apple's open-source WebKit software for rendering Web pages, it can run any application that runs on Apple's Safari Web browser, Pichai said.

"If you are a webmaster, and your site works in Apple Safari then it will work very well in Google Chrome," he said.

Greg Sterling, a Web analyst with Sterling Market Intelligence, said Google's entry into the browser market has echoes of the bruising "browser wars" of the late 1990s, when Microsoft crushed Web pioneer Netscape Communications.

But while the competition between Microsoft and Google is likely to produce many improvements for consumers, the likely fallout from the battle will be other browser makers that have only recently begun to pry market share away from Microsoft.

Sterling said Firefox could become a victim of "friendly fire" from Google as many of its users are the same early adopters who are most likely to switch and try a new browser.

"Firefox has softened up and paved the way for Google. Without Firefox, Chrome would not be possible," Sterling said.

Brin said Google planned to continue to work closely with Mozilla, whose primary financial backing has come from Google in recent years. He said he hoped to see future versions of Chrome and Firefox become more unified over time.

Chrome organizes information into tabbed pages. Web programs can be launched in their own dedicated windows.

Among Chrome's features is a special privacy mode that lets users create an "incognito" window where "nothing that occurs in that window is ever logged on your computer," according to a Google promotional guide. (Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Braden Reddall)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0243444120080903?sp=true

Ajax Technology

Web Applications Building Got More Fun through Ajax Technology


Web applications are fun to build. They are like the fancy sportscar of Web sites. Web applications allow the designer and developer to get together and solve a problem for their customers that the customers might not have even know they had. That’s how the blogging tools like MovableType and Blogger came about after all. I mean, before Blogger, did you know you needed an online tool to build your Web site blog?

But most Web applications are slow and tedious. Even the fastest of them has lots of free time for your customers to go get a coffee, work on their dog training, or (worst of all) head off to a faster Web site. It’s that dreaded hourglass! You click a link and the hourglass appears as the Web application consults the server and the server thinks about what it’s going to send back to you.

Ajax is Here to Change That

Ajax (sometimes called Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a way of programming for the Web that gets rid of the hourglass. Data, content, and design are merged together into a seamless whole. When your customer clicks on something on an Ajax driven application, there is very little lag time. The page simply displays what they’re asking for. If you don’t believe me, try out Google Maps for a few seconds. Scroll around and watch as the map updates almost before your eyes. There is very little lag and you don’t have to wait for pages to refresh or reload.

What is Ajax?

Ajax is a way of developing Web applications that combines:

• XHTML and CSS standards based presentation
  
  
• Interaction with the page through the DOM
  
  
• Data interchange with XML and XSLT
  
  
• Asynchronous data retrieval with XMLHttpRequest
  
  
• JavaScript to tie it all together

Yahoo SearchMonkey Apps

Yahoo SearchMonkey Apps – Accept Challenge

Yahoo started a SearchMonkey Developer Challenge last week (Last on June 14, 08 Saturday). It was really a great challenging competition for developers to prove themselves and to earn an existing price by Yahoo. Yahoo accepted applications code from applicants on four different categories which are:

1. Best Enhanced Result
2. Best Infobar
3. Most Innovative Use of Structured Data
4. Best Data Service

Yahoo declared a $2,500 prize for each category which describes all enteries had a chance to win a grand prize of $10,000 by taking participates in all categories. After completion of the challenge Yahoo leaked out few interesting enteries which deserve to get prizes like Wikipedia Infobar and IMDB Enhanced Results all these applications had been added in Yahoo! Search Gallery.

Still, results are pending due to review on other applications as well but we hope for a better future of winning participant of each category.

Good Luck and happy continued developing!

Use power of WEB 2.0

How to Use power of WEB 2.0

The 2008 edition of Web 2.0 Expo has now ended. Check out all the highlights:

• Speaker Presentation Files
• Photos
• News and Coverage
• Video of Keynote Presentations
• Blog
• Live Twittering

Attending Web 2.0 Expo? Use some of the networking tools to connect with other attendees while you are here.

Web 2.0 technologies are empowering us in ways we could only have imagined even just a few years ago. We're able to build more, connect more, have more fun, sell more stuff, share more than ever before—and do it all faster. But as the pace of change and innovation accelerates, separating signal from noise, useful from annoying, genuine from fluff becomes increasingly challenging.

What tools and applications are right for a given project? How can we provide a more meaningful experience for users and customers? How can we have a positive impact on the world we live in? What are the ways we can create more value for our businesses? How do we gather and focus datapoints to deliver relevant information? How can we increase conversation and collaboration?

The second Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco takes the pulse of the Web ecosystem and looks to its future, training a spotlight across the Web 2.0 universe to illuminate how the Internet Revolution is being created and delivered. Web 2.0 Expo is for the builders of the next generation web: designers, developers, entrepreneurs, marketers, business strategists, and venture capitalists, people who have experiences to share and a passion for learning--the hot new thing, lessons from failures, innovations and inspirations, and the practical applications of all of the above.

What will you do with the power of Web 2.0?

Experience Web 2.0 Expo

A companion event to the Web 2.0 Summit, Web 2.0 Expo is an expanded, inclusive gathering for the technology and business communities through a combined conference and tradeshow. Read more about Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco

Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco happens April 22-25, 2008 at Moscone West. Whether you're new to the Web 2.0 world or an expert or in Ajax, Ruby, tagging, the social graph, user experience, meta-programming, search engine marketing, community building, web operations, user-generated content, building startups from scratch, or "Web2.0-ifying" the enterprise, come to Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco and immerse yourself in the Web 2.0 experience.

Tracks at Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco 2008:

• Strategy and Business Models
• Marketing and Community
• Design and User Experience
• Fundamentals
• Development
• Focus on Mobile Web
• Focus on Web Operations
• Focus on Social Platforms
• Sponsored Sessions

In addition to on-stage sessions, keynote presentations, workshops, panel discussions, and demos, Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco will provide ample opportunity for all participants to engage face-to-face:

• A vibrant Expo Hall bustling with essential products, tools, services, and projects at the cutting edge of technology
• Launch Pad, an opportunity to publicly unveil new companies and products
• Web2Open, a space where any participant can lead a conversation with other attendees
• Expo Booth Crawl, parties, and other fun networking events

The inaugural Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco attracted 8,500 attendees from companies and organizations like:

Adobe Systems, America Online, American Greetings Interactive, Apple, BA Venture Partners, BP, Centers for Disease Control, Discovery Health Media, Dow Jones, EMC, Experian Interactive, First Round Capital, Hitachi, Ltd., Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, IEEE, Intel, Intuit, Jet Propultion Laboratory, Labrador Ventures, MTV Networks, Magazine Publishers of America, McGill University,, Merrill Lynch, Monster, Motion Picture Association of America, Nokia, North Bridge Venture Partners, Northrop Grumman, RealNetworks, Simon & Schuster, Standard & Poor's, Sun Microsystems, The Heritage Foundation, The Wall Street Journal Online, Turner Broadcastings Systems Inc., University of Richmond, University of Southern California, Walt Disney, WhitePages.com, and many, many more.

yahoo bid microsoft Deal collapse

Yahoo bid Microsoft Deal's collapse good news for Google

Microsoft needs to rethink its strategy now that it has backed away from its $47.5 billion proposal to acquire Yahoo. Yahoo needs to show Wall Street that it is better off on its own.

Google, on the other hand, appears to have come out on top of the tussle.

The Internet giant has beaten back the biggest threat to its online advertising business, a combination of its No. 2 and No. 3 competitors. It remains No. 1 in online search and search advertising. And it may even emerge with a new advertising partnership with Yahoo.

"There was no outcome that would hurt Google," said Shar VanBoskirk, principal analyst with Forrester Research. "This outcome is good news for them. Now they have a deflated Microsoft and a repositioning Yahoo, and they're still as strong as they were before."

On Monday, Google shares climbed more than 2 percent, or $13.61 per share, to $594.90 per share.

A spokesman for Google declined to comment. But early on, Google made clear its perspective on Microsoft's unsolicited bid: "Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions," said David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer in a blog.

And, in the end, Google came through as the spoiler of Microsoft's ambitious unsolicited bid. Last month, Google tested a potential advertising partnership with Yahoo, with Yahoo outsourcing its search advertising business to Google. That, in turn, became one of the key reasons for Microsoft's retreat.

In Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's letter to Yahoo announcing the dropping of the bid, Ballmer said that the possibility of Yahoo and Google going ahead with such a partnership was a particular concern.

Among the issues, Ballmer said he felt Yahoo's agreement with Google could undermine Yahoo's advertising business, raise regulatory concerns, spur Yahoo engineers to leave the company and give Google too much control over prices.

"Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft," Ballmer said.

The future of the Yahoo and Google partnership isn't clear, now that Microsoft has withdrawn its bid. But in the end, experts said, Microsoft became a catalyst for Yahoo even to consider such a deal.

Google has been striking similar advertising agreements with other sites, such as MySpace and - though some also believe such a deal was just as helpful to Yahoo to fend off Microsoft - stood to benefit from making similar arrangements with Yahoo. "They've probably been lobbying for this for years," said David Liu, co-head of the Internet and digital media group at Jefferies & Co.

The only downside for Google? That the Microsoft-Yahoo battle didn't draw out longer.

If Microsoft had proceeded with a hostile takeover bid, as many had expected, the move would have distracted Google's top two rivals for some time, allowing Google to pull ahead even more. It would also give Google time to digest its recent acquisition of online advertising company DoubleClick.

Instead, now Yahoo and Microsoft have something to prove, and will likely soon start trying to demonstrate that they're capable of competing against Google.

"That's going to be more of an acute challenge to Google," said Andrew Frank, a research vice president with Gartner.

Google dominates the online advertising business with more than 57 percent of the market, according to eMarketer, followed by Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL. EMarketer estimates that marketers will spend some $25.9 billion this year in online advertising.

"It's great news for Google," said Randy Skoglund, executive director of Americans for Technology Leadership, a Washington, D.C., group of technology professionals. "A Yahoo-Microsoft combination could have emerged as real competition for Google. This ensures they don't have a real competitor in the market."

Lintas Pinstorm tieup digital advertising

Lintas and Pinstorm tie up for digital advertising

Lintas Media Group and Pinstorm announce a Rs100 crore Performance Alliance that will boost their offline and online offerings

Mumbai: Pinstorm and Lintas Media Group have announced a significant non-equity partnership. Designed to push clients to performance-driven media choices, the alliance between the two leading firms in the offline and online worlds will put further pressure on traditional agencies and media houses. This move is being seen in media circles as a positive step towards a more evolved phase in digital advertising.

Lynn de Souza of the Rs1,800 crore Lintas Media Group said, “We don’t think that just buying a digital agency will contribute to our client’s success. What attracted us to Pinstorm was their pure adherence to pay-for-performance – a vastly different model to the commission and retainer structures that Indian clients are used to. We think this model can go a long way in bringing accountability and transparency to investments in advertising.”

The pay-for-performance model was pioneered by Google and Yahoo, and has been pushed further by Pinstorm, India’s only MNC digital ad firm, where the agency pays for the media and the creative – and the advertisers just pays for results.

Mahesh Murthy, founder of Pinstorm said, “around the world, media costs are going up and clients are cutting commissions and retainers because they are unable to see how advertising is performing. At Pinstorm, we simply ask the client to pay for the prospects or results we deliver. Our alliance with Lintas comes from our joint belief that the Rs16,000 crore Indian advertising industry needs a new model. By working together, pay-for-performance advertising can be brought into the mainstream of advertiser choices.”

The alliance estimates that they will be able to drive an incremental Rs100 crore of advertising to move over from traditional models to a performance-driven model in the next 12 months. “Digital advertising accounted for just 4% of spend in India last year. With this alliance and other efforts, investments in digital advertising will cross the Rs1,000 crore mark, almost 100% growth over last year” said Murthy.

“An industry only grows when there is pay-for-performance. For too long have clients worried that their agencies and publishers are simply recommending higher media spends because that’s how they earn more. That era will soon end. Our work with Pinstorm is to collaborate on clients to give performance-driven options initially across digital media - but we hope over time to grow the same basis to traditional media like broadcast, print and outdoor too” added de Souza.

The Lintas-Pinstorm alliance will first come into effect on Lintas’ roster of clients and soon expand to other businesses. Lintas Media Group is among the largest media agencies in India, managing a spend of over Rs1,300 crore on broadcast, print, outdoor and other media for clients like Idea, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, ITC, Sony, UTI and Naukri.

Pinstorm is the largest independent digital advertising firm in South East Asia, with offices in Bombay, Delhi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Santa Clara in Silicon Valley. It uses proprietary technologies across search engine marketing (SEM) search optimization (SEO), email, SMS advertising, online display advertising, online community creation and blog management to handle the performance advertising needs of Yatra, Jet Airways, Taj Hotels, Share khan and HSBC in India.

The alliance is effective immediately and in place across all advertisers in India.

Google Code Blog: Introducing the Google Visualization API

We spend a fair amount of time on data display and visualization projects at Google, and we have found that the "last mile" of these projects tend to become full projects in and of themselves.

Thus when we acquired Gapminder last year, we were excited by the opportunity to use Gapminder's powerful visualization techniques to bring new life and usefulness to Google datasets. And we were not alone -- the web is home to a vibrant community of developers who build amazing visualization applications.

With the community in mind, we're please to introduce the Google Visualization API, which is designed to make it easier for a wide audience to make use of advanced visualization technology, and do so in a way that makes it quick and easy to integrate with new visualizations.

There are a two key elements here: simplicity and ubiquity. We hope we nailed the first, but of course we want to hear your feedback on that. The second will take more time, but we hope we're on the right path. We're releasing this API at an early stage so we can get continuous feedback and be sure we're building it the right way.

This launch is in tandem and in cooperation with the Google Docs team, who just announced support for gadgets and the Visualization API in spreadsheets. This includes a set of gadgets created by Google and several other companies, including some that add pivoting, grouping, and other new functionality to your spreadsheets. You can see all of those in our 'featured' list within the visualization gallery, which includes the Gapminder Motion Chart that has proven especially popular among within Google.

We hope you're as excited about the Google Visualization API as we are -- please be sure to tell us what you think. We'll also be at Google I/O on May 28-29 for deeper discussions about the API or visualization techniques in general.

Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta Download

Yahoo Messenger 9.0 Beta Download

Your friends come first

Enjoy a fun new look, with more room for friends' images, info, updates.

Express your true self

Add your personality with new Emoticons, plus new skins.

Share your passions

Use Flickr to swap photos (and always keep all your friends in the picture).

Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 Beta Download

How Useful Are DNS Block Lists

DNS block lists can be a nice way to reduce the amount of email spam received by a mail server. They are usually cheap, easy to install and resource-friendly. As the name implies they work with the help of domain name servers. If a mail server uses DNS block lists it queries a name server for the address of a name built from the hostname or IP address of the sending mail server and the name of the block list. Depending on the result of the query the mail message gets accepted or rejected.

Probably the first DNS block list was the Realtime Blackhole List (RBL) started by MAPS (Mail Abuse Prevention System). It is now a service you have to pay for but the majority of DNS block lists is still available for free.

It is easy to include DNS block lists in the configuration of the most common mail servers (sendmail, postfix, exim, ...). The block lists are integrated on the server side and you save bandwidth because you don't need to receive the spam mails. The connections are rejected in the SMTP dialog between the sending and the receiving mail server. DNS block lists use a very low amount of resources from your mail server compared to spam or virus filters that have to analyse the contents of your mail messages.

Of course there are disadvantages also. Probably the most important disadvantage is that you are outsourcing the decision whether you accept or reject mails from a certain source. If the sending mail server is listed in one of the blocklists you are using you will reject every mail from this server. Usually you will not know the administrator of the blocklist but you have to trust him that he adheres to the policy of the blocklist. Even if the admin is trustworthy sometimes there will be mail servers listed that should not be on the blocklist. Imagine an ISP who has a lot of good customers but one customer who is a spammer. If the spammer sends out spam over the mail server of the ISP, the mail server may get listed on a blocklist. It will need some time until the ISP solves the problem with his bad customer and gets his mail server off the blocklist. In the meantime you will not receive mail from the good customers of this ISP. Another problem is that DNS blocklists don't live forever. If a blocklist is abandoned and your mail server still tries to query it, you may block mails that you wanted to receive.

So how useful are DNS block lists after evaluating the pros and cons? They can be very useful to lower the overall CPU usage of your anti spam strategy. It is advisable to use a small number of carefully chosen blocklists. If you are using a block list, subscribe to the mailing list or newsletter of the organisation who runs the block list. That way you will take note of any problems that the block list may have and you will be informed if it gets shut down. DNS blocklists should never be your only strategy against spam. They should be combined with other mechanisms to help keeping spam out of your inbox.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andreas_Stiasny

FTE Outsourcing Offshore story

The way we do business has rapidly changed in the last few years, technologies of telecommunication, information technology and media have of course been a major catalyst. The most recent and in some sense the oldest trend has been outsourcing and contract based work-FTE. Though both ideas have been here since the industrial revolution, their combination and organization plus the new technologies has led to a revolution in the way work is done.

To increase their flexibility, economy and creativity, many large and small companies have developed a strategy of focusing on their core business, and offshore outsourcing or work or FTE hiring.

Frequently, work is offshored in order to reduce labor expenses, to enter new markets, to tap talent currently unavailable domestically or to overcome regulations that prevent specific activities domestically as well.

Outsourcing Vs Offshoring

Outsourcing is the practice of using outside firms to handle work normally performed within the company. Offshoring is also a type of outsourcing; it involves having the outsourced business functions of the company done in another country.

Offshoring is sometimes contrasted with outsourcing.

• Companies subcontracting in the same country would be outsourcing, but not offshoring.

• On the other hand a company moving an internal business unit from one country to another would be offshoring, but not outsourcing.

• A company subcontracting business to a different company in another country would be both outsourcing and offshoring.

Offshoring Vs Full Time Equivalent

FTEhiring is a system which hires employees who work on a contract basis, Having FTE of 1.0 means that the person is equivalent to a full-time worker; while an FTE of 0.5 signals that the worker is only half-time.

Again when FTE is combined with outsourcing or offshoring it simply means that using the FTE standards you are subcontracting business to a different company in another country

Reasons & Benefits

There are many numerous reasons why Offshoring -FTE & outsourcing are considered

Control capital costs- Cost-cutting may not be the only reason to outsource, but it's certainly a major factor. Offshoring releases capital for investment elsewhere in your business, and allows you to avoid large expenditures in the early stages of your business.

Increase efficiency- Companies that do everything themselves have much higher research, development, marketing, and distribution expenses, An outside provider's cost structure and economy of scale can give your firm a boost and advantage.

Reduce labor costs-This is another big incentive as hiring or training staff for short-term or peripheral projects can be very expensive. Offshoring enables you to hire expert and trained employees at the fraction of the cost.

Take new projects quickly- An offshoring firm has the resources to start a project right away. Handling the same project in-house might involve months to hire people, train them, and provide the support they need. And if a project requires major capital investments the startup process can be even more complicated.

Focus on your core business-Offshoring can help your business to shift its focus from peripheral activities toward work that serves the customer, and it can help managers set their priorities more clearly.

Give you competitive edge-Outsourcing can help small firms by giving them access to the same economies of scale, efficiency, and expertise that large companies enjoy.

Reduce risk- Outsourcing providers assume and manage this risk for you, and they generally are much better at deciding how to avoid risk in their areas of expertise

Not many businesses really understand the benefits of outsourcing. It's true that outsourcing can save money, but that's not the only reason to do it.

• Staffing flexibility
• Acceleration of projects and quicker time to market
• High caliber professionals
• Ability to tap into best practices
• Knowledge transfer to permanent staff
• Cost-effective and predictable expenditures
• Access to the flexibility and creativity of experienced problem solvers
• Resource and core competency focus
• Reduce overheads, free up resources
• Avoid capital expenditure
• Offload non-core functions
• Enhance tactical and strategic advantages
• Spread your risks
• Focus scarce resources on time-critical projects

Finale

Offshoring can not only reduce costs but can also make you a global player in a very short time and within limited resources. There is almost a never ending list of services and tasks that could be Offshored, some are fairly rare, but others, such as IT and Human Resources, are becoming very common indeed.

New Facebook COO

New Facebook COO will be organization czar

On Tuesday, Facebook announced that it had hired six-year Google veteran Sheryl Sandberg as its chief operating officer, a big move as the hot social network attempts to convince the Valley that it's here to stay and slated to keep growing fast.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had a few minutes to chat on the phone about Sandberg's new role at the company.

The 23-year-old CEO insisted that Sandberg isn't a pure replacement for outgoing executive Owen Van Natta. From what it sounds like, her role will be significantly more extensive. Not surprisingly, she's going to be in charge of keeping things running smoothly--and probably keeping Facebook's young executives in line, too.

Do you think this is going to help advertiser confidence?
Mark Zuckerberg: The reason why we did this is primarily to scale all of our different business operations. Advertising is definitely one piece of that, and Sheryl has a lot of experience there. But the primary reason why we did this is just because Facebook is scaling very quickly, and if we want to reach our goal, which is to help everyone in the world communicate more efficiently, we need to build an organization that's going to grow and scale globally. And someone like Sheryl, who has experience doing this, is going to be a tremendous asset to us in doing that.

Sheryl Sandberg is the latest in a handful of high-profile Google employees hired at Facebook (i.e. Benjamin Ling, Gideon Yu). Are we seeing a "Google-ization" of Facebook here?
Zuckerberg: I think there are a lot of really interesting companies out there, and different experiences that people have before they joined here. (Sandberg) is really the only senior executive at the company who's come from Google so far. Gideon (Yu) was at Google for a very short period of time after YouTube was sold to Google, but that's not his primary experience.

What will be the first area where we see Sandberg's influence and expertise at Facebook?
Zuckerberg: I think it's going to be subtle in a lot of ways because the nature of operations is that you're scaling an organization and powering other people. It's not that Sheryl is going to be doing all these things herself, but Facebook already has 500 employees and it's scaling very quickly, and I think it's just going to go a lot more smoothly with someone who's talented like her here.

How will her role be different from Owen Van Natta's role as chief operating officer and then chief revenue officer?
Zuckerberg: Well, they were different roles. Owen, as chief revenue officer, was mostly focused on direct sales, which is what we have now, and business development. He was just focused in different areas. I wouldn't view this as really a replacement there, as other people have characterized it. Owen was doing that role, and he wanted to be a CEO, and I think Owen did great work here and I'm supporting him in doing that. With bringing in a COO, we just decided it was the right time for him to go and do that. Sheryl's role is going to be managing sales and business development but also a handful of other things.

So there's going to be all the different sales channels, direct and inside and online sales, and human resources, and marketing, communications and public policy...Sheryl will be in charge of all these different operations, and our consumer operations, the user operations group. It's a large organization for someone to oversee, and she's going to be primarily responsible for scaling that organization and scaling those operations.

What do you expect Facebook's employee head count to be at the end of 2008?
Zuckerberg: We have our projections that say we will probably get very near, maybe over a thousand, but it really just depends. We're hiring very aggressively just in terms of finding as many talented people as we can, and right now we're having a lot of success in doing that. So I think there's a good chance that we'll continue to grow very quickly this year, but I think over the long term in order to meet our goal just in terms of building this communication system that helps everyone in the world communicate more efficiently, that's going to require building a substantial business, and probably a lot of people all over the world, and we're going to need an organization, a set of operations that can do that. Sheryl's going to be really critical to helping us do that.

Microsoft bid Google Sweats Yahoo Mulls

Update on the Microsoft Bid: Google Sweats, Yahoo Mulls

It's taken a couple days to digest the news, but Google finally coughed up a response to Microsoft's unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo. And from the sound of it, Google execs are truly terrified.

"Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions," David Drummond, senior vice president, corporate development and chief legal officer, wrote in an official blog post. "This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation. . . Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC?"

Yahoo, meanwhile, has indicated it's going to take its sweet time reviewing the bid.

"The Yahoo! Board is undertaking a deliberate review process," a corporate FAQ said. "They’re going to take time to thoroughly evaluate the proposal in the context of Yahoo!'s strategic plans. This will include evaluating all of the Company’s strategic alternatives -- including maintaining Yahoo as an independent company. That process will take some time, but the Board will ultimately pursue the option that it believes can best maximize value for our shareholders . . . A review process like this is fluid, and it can take quite a bit of time."

We're sure Yahoo employees are fine with a long review period, especially since all this speculation has done wonders for the stock.

Source: http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/02/update-on-the-m.html

Future of Internet and Yahoo

Future of Internet and Yahoo | Yahoo! and the future of the Internet

The openness of the Internet is what made Google -- and Yahoo! -- possible. A good idea that users find useful spreads quickly. Businesses can be created around the idea. Users benefit from constant innovation. It's what makes the Internet such an exciting place.

So Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation.

Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies -- and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets.

Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft -- despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses -- to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? In addition, Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email, IM, and web-based services? Policymakers around the world need to ask these questions -- and consumers deserve satisfying answers.

This hostile bid was announced on Friday, so there is plenty of time for these questions to be thoroughly addressed. We take Internet openness, choice and innovation seriously. They are the core of our culture. We believe that the interests of Internet users come first -- and should come first -- as the merits of this proposed acquisition are examined and alternatives explored.

Source:

Yahoo! and the future of the Internet

Microsoft Bid for Yahoo online advertising

Q&A: Microsoft's Bid for Yahoo

Microsoft Corp. has made an unsolicited bid to buy Yahoo Inc. for $44.6 billion. Yahoo has said it will consider the offer, which would unite two companies looking to increase their Internet search traffic and advertising revenues in the shadow of Google Inc.'s dominance.

If approved, the deal would be Microsoft's largest ever. The move raises questions about what's at stake for Yahoo, as well as Microsoft, and what government hurdles may have to be cleared.

What does Microsoft stand to gain in this deal?

Microsoft would be paying a lot of money, $44.6 billion, but the company has been eager to improve its position among search engines and compete with Google, the undisputed leader in online search. A combined Yahoo and Microsoft would have about a third of the U.S. search audience, which would still trail well behind Google's nearly 60 percent, according to data from comScore, which measures the market.

Microsoft also would like to get a bigger share of the online advertising market, which the company estimated at $40 billion last year and expects to grow. Yahoo's themed search areas, like finance and sports, draw the eyes of customers who visit the site for its free e-mail and instant-messaging programs and could offer greater opportunities for advertising. Microsoft also could use its sizable pocketbook and software power to entice more ads to the merged company.

What's in it for Yahoo?

Financial stability. In the last year, Yahoo's finances have deteriorated. Earlier this week, the company announced a 23 percent drop in quarterly profits, then said it would cut some 1,000 jobs — about 7 percent of its workforce. The company has also given a cautious outlook for 2008. For shareholders, Microsoft's offer of $31 per share — 62 percent more than what Yahoo's stock was worth when the market closed Thursday — has to be attractive.

Yahoo also would gain access to Microsoft's extensive computing power and data capacity, which might make it possible to offer software like Microsoft's Office suite over the Internet.

This isn't the first time Microsoft has made an offer. What happened last time?

Microsoft and Yahoo have talked about a possible deal since 2006, and the software giant made a similar offer last year. Former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel rejected that deal, but Semel resigned from Yahoo's board on Thursday. As Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer said in a letter sent to Yahoo's board shortly after Semel's departure, "A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved."

Could government regulations stand in the way of a deal?

The Justice Department has said it would be interested in looking into the potential takeover to see if it would violate any antitrust regulations. But the bigger hurdle could be overseas. The European Union, which could play a role in approving the deal, has shown concern about Microsoft's dominance in the software market. In October, Microsoft ended a lengthy legal battle with European regulators in an antitrust case that cost the company millions of dollars in fines.

Are there other possible bidders?

While a surprise bid from another quarter is always possible, any company would find it difficult to compete with Microsoft's vast resources.

Written by Erica Ryan, with reporting by Uri Berliner.

Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18615517&ft=1&f=1003

Microsoft Bids Yahoo Targets Google

Microsoft Bids $44.6B for Yahoo; Targets Google

The rumors are reality. On Friday, Microsoft revealed it has made a $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo. Microsoft's offer equals $31 a share, a 62 percent premium to Yahoo's closing stock price on Thursday, with half cash and half Microsoft common stock.

The acquisition would be Microsoft's largest, would offer relief to Yahoo shareholders who have watched the search-engine giant's stock struggle, and would give Google a fierce competitor for advertising. Yahoo officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the offer, which came in the form of a letter to Yahoo's board of directors.

"We have great respect for Yahoo, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said. "We believe our combination will deliver superior value to our respective shareholders and better choice and innovation to our customers and industry partners."

The Advertising Game

The online advertising market is growing fast, from more than $40 billion in 2007 to nearly $80 billion projected by 2010. Today this market is increasingly dominated by one player: Google.

"The combination of these two great teams would enable us to jointly deliver a broad range of new experiences to our customers that neither of us would have achieved on our own," said Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft. This combination has been rumored for some time, and Microsoft talked with Yahoo last year about alliances or a merger. But Yahoo declined to be acquired. This year, the response may be different.

As Microsoft sees it, the merger would create a more efficient company with synergies in four areas: scale economics driven by audience size and increased value for advertisers; combined engineering talent to accelerate innovation; operational efficiencies by eliminating redundant costs; and innovation in emerging user experiences such as video and mobile. Microsoft believes these four areas could be worth at least $1 billion a year.

"The combined assets and strong services focus of these two companies will enable us to achieve scale economics while reaching R&D critical mass to deliver innovation breakthroughs," said Kevin Johnson, president of the Platforms & Services Division of Microsoft. "The industry will be well served by having more than one strong player, offering more value and real choice to advertisers, publishers and consumers."

A Brand New Yahoo

Yahoo's stock jumped nearly 60 percent in pre-market trading Friday morning, reflecting investors' positive reaction to the proposed acquisition. Even though Yahoo's stock has been battered in recent quarters, Microsoft's offer is a statement of the Internet brand's inherent value, according to Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.

"Yahoo is still one of the largest sites on the Internet and Microsoft is recognizing that acquiring the company would accelerate its Internet business in a way that it could not do on its own without this acquisition," Sterling said, noting that Microsoft's offer could flush out other bidders, including Google, AT&T or News Corp.

Even if Yahoo declines Microsoft's offer, Sterling said, Yahoo is not going to be the same company after today.

"A process has started that will change the company forever," Sterling noted. "We're either going to see a Microsoft acquisition, an acquisition by some other company, or a strategic relationship that Yahoo enters into. But we won't see the exact same Yahoo going forward that we saw yesterday."

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080201/bs_nf/58149;_ylt=A9G_R21KtqhHCG0BLht4PDQD

Technology Online

Technology Online

The dramatic rise in demand for technology has seen a rise in the demand for professionals within this field. Anyone wishing to enter a career in computer and information technology will find a variety of suitable degrees and courses that can help with their career. Those already working in a computer and IT related field can also gain from these courses, as they can aid career advancement.

Online technology degrees are popular because Technology specializations and career opportunities are continuously expanding.

Online learning with rich, interactive media is the ideal "classroom" for all aspects of IT.

Technology platforms, standards and best-practices change quickly, and online course materials are continuously updated

Courses available in technology and information technology

Computer information systems degree: A CIS degree prepares you for entry positions within the IT field. Those already working in a junior position can also benefit from a Computer Information Systems degree, as this can lead to an increased chance of promotion.

Computer networking degree: A computer networking degree helps you to learn and develop the skills and knowledge required for work, as well as enabling those already working with computers in advancing their careers. Qualified and capable computer networking professionals are always in demand.

Computer programming degree: For those already working a computer programming degree is an effective tool and valuable asset in career advancement. It will help you secure a more competitive salary. This is a specialist role that requires special knowledge and skills, and the computer programming degree program is the perfect way to learn and develop these skills.

Computer science degree: If you are want to get an entry level position in computer technology and science, this degree will prove invaluable. Computer related positions are very well paid and trained, able professionals are always in demand. If you already work in the area of computer technology, a computer science degree is the ideal way to pursue career advancement.

Engineering degree: An engineering job in the computer industry can be a wide-ranging and interesting one, and you could be working for all sorts of companies, from banks and pharmaceutical companies to governments and law enforcement agencies. All businesses need access to competent engineers should the need arise.

Information technology degree: An IT degree is valuable for those wanting to begin in the IT field as well as for those already working in IT. This degree will prove to possible employers that you have the specialist skills and knowledge required to work in this particular field. you may cover a variety of IT areas, such as networking, database administration, and programming etc.

Management information technology Master degree: With a this degree under your belt, you could find yourself working for high profile companies as well as smaller ones. Your management information technology Master degree will be looked upon positively by potential employers, and will show that you have mastered the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a higher level IT role.

MCSE training/degree: The MSCE training/degree qualification is highly valued by employers and can lead to a very satisfying, well paid position. When you undertake MSCE training/degree courses you will be trained in the latest methods and technologies, and you will develop the skills and knowledge required to work with proficiency and confidence in the area of Microsoft solutions and infrastructures.

Network security certification: Network security certification is a necessity for those wanting to work in the area of network security, enabling them to provide an important service that protects computer users from the risks of data theft and security breaches. With network security certification, you can develop the skills and knowledge required to build and implement defensive security strategies.

Web development training: On completion of your web development training, you will have specialist skills and knowledge in the use of a variety of popular applications, ranging from JavaScript and Flash to Dreamweaver and FrontPage. Your web development training will provide you with an important base that will enable you to enjoy career and advance in it.

Third undersea cable cut in Middle East

Dubai, Feb 02: A third undersea cable was cut on Friday, just two days after two breaks near Egypt disrupted web access in parts of the Middle East and Asia, Indian-owned cable network operator FLAG Telecom said.


Egypt lost more than half its Internet capacity because of Wednesday's breaks and intends to seek compensation, its Ministry of Communications said in a news release.


India's booming outsourcing industry, which provides a range of back-office services, like insurance claims processing and customer support to overseas clients over the Internet, played down Wednesday's disruption, saying they had used back-up plans.


FLAG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's number two mobile operator Reliance Communications, said on its website on Friday its FALCON cable had been reported cut at 05:59 GMT, 56 kms (35 miles) from Dubai, between the United Arab Emirates and Oman.


Egyptian telecom authorities said about 55% of the country's Internet capacity had been restored by Friday, thanks to rerouting of traffic.

Egypt is to ask FLAG and SEA-ME-WE to compensate its Internet and call centre companies.

The Communications Minister, Tarek Kamel, has also decided to make Egypt's Internet Service Providers and Telecom Egypt compensate all their Internet subscribers by providing them with a month's subscription free of charge.

The International Cable Protection Committee, an association of 86 submarine cable operators dedicated to safeguarding undersea cables, has declined to speculate on the cause of the breaches, saying investigations were underway.

It said more than 95% of transoceanic telecoms and data traffic are carried by undersea, the rest by satellite.

Repairs

"The repair ship has been notified and expected to arrive at the (Dubai) site in (the) next few days," FLAG said.

The Internet Service Providers' Association of India said cable repair ships had already been sent to fix the breaches off northern Egypt, which are in segments of two intercontinental cables known as SEA-ME-WE-4 and FLAG Europe-Asia.

FLAG said these repairs should start by Feb 5 and be complete after one week.

Rajesh Chharia, President of the Internet Service Providers' Association, said all of FLAG's traffic had now been shifted to the SEA-ME-WE-3 cable network.


FLAG's rival, Indian Internet service provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), said the majority of its Internet services to the Middle East and North Africa had been restored within 24 hours, as had services to India.

VSNL said in a statement it had used the SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-WE-ME-4 eastbound and TIC cable to reroute customer traffic.

US phone companies Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc both use the cables which were affected on Wednesday. AT&T said on Thursday its networks were already back to normal as it had rerouted traffic and Verizon expected service to be restored for all its customers within days.

One of the biggest disruptions of modern telecoms systems was in December 2006, when a magnitude 7.1 earthquake broke nine submarine cables between Taiwan and the Philippines, cutting connections between southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

Internet links were thrown out in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines, disrupting the activities of banks, airlines and all kinds of email users.

Traffic was rerouted through other cables, but it took 49 days to restore full capacity.

Bureau Report

source: http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=421962&sid=ENV&ssid=29

Shift key breaks CD copy locks

A Princeton University student has published instructions for disabling the new anticopying measures being tested on CDs by BMG--and they're as simple as holding down a computer's Shift key.

In a paper published on his Web site this week, Princeton Ph.D. student John Halderman explained how he disabled a new kind of copy-protection technology, distributed as part of a new album by BMG soul artist Anthony Hamilton.

Under normal circumstances, the antipiracy software is automatically loaded onto a Windows machine whenever the Hamilton album is run in a computer's CD drive, making traditional copying or MP3 ripping impossible. However, simply holding down the Shift key prevents Windows' AutoRun feature from loading the copy-protection software, leaving the music free to copy, Halderman said.

The technique was confirmed by BMG and SunnComm Technologies, the small company that produces the anticopying technology. Both companies said they had known about it before releasing the CD, and that they still believed the protection would deter most average listeners' copying.

"This is something we were aware of," BMG spokesman Nathaniel Brown said. "Copy management is intended as a speed bump, intended to thwart the casual listener from mass burning and uploading. We made a conscious decision to err on the side of playability and flexibility."

The ease with which Halderman and others have disabled BMG and SunnComm's latest copy-protection techniques illustrates the delicate balance that record labels and technology companies are trying to strike in protecting content without angering listeners.

SunnComm's technology is the most flexible version of CD copy-protection to hit the market yet. It includes "pre-ripped" versions of the songs on the CD itself, each of which can be transferred to a computer, burned to CD several times, or transferred to many kinds of portable devices. These differ from unrestricted MP3 files in that only limited copies can be made, and not every portable music device can play them.

The Anthony Hamilton CD is the first release in this new generation of copy-protected CDs that come preloaded with these "second session" tracks designed for use on a computer, a strategy also being pursued by SunnComm rival Macrovision. Record labels have pushed for these tracks, mostly provided in Microsoft's Windows Media format, to be included on copy-protected CDs in order to ameliorate consumers' concerns about not being able to use their music on computers.

SunnComm CEO Peter Jacobs said the technology--which will be improved in future versions--should still be attractive to record companies. Though simple, the act of holding down the Shift key in order to enable copying does let computer users know they're doing something unauthorized, he said. That alone will dissuade many people from making copies, he added.

"This is not an all-or-nothing thing," Jacobs said. "People can break into your house, because there's lots of information out there on how to pick locks. But that knowledge doesn't mean you don't buy a lock."

In order to fully prevent the antipiracy software from loading, a listener has to hold the Shift key down for a long period of time, at exactly the right time, every time they listen to the CD on a computer. Moreover, anyone who doesn't load the software won't get access to the second session tracks, which on future CDs will increasingly include videos and other bonus material, record company insiders say.

For his part, Halderman says the workaround is so simple that it's hard to fix. Nor is he worried about falling afoul of laws that make it illegal to describe how to get around copy-protection measures.

"I hardly think that telling people to push Shift constitutes trafficking in a (copy-protection technology) circumvention device," Halderman said. "I'm not very worried."

Sourcs: http://www.news.com/2100-1025-5087875.html