Archives: April 2008

Is It Just My Imagination, Or Are Microsoft and Yahoo Finally Coming Closer on Price?

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 30, Categories: Yahoo

So let's see: First Microsoft offers $31 a share to buy Yahoo. Yahoo scoffs and says nothing less than $40. Long and winding road of leaks, bluster, stonewalling, threats, interminable...

Jajah Lands Yahoo Deal

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 29, Categories: VOIP

Web-calling service Jajah deserves a pat on the back: Today, the company announced it's landed a big new customer, Yahoo. Jajah will now power Yahoo's premium voice service, allowing people to make low-cost PC-to-phone and phone-to-PC voice calls via Yahoo Messenger, which has nearly 97 million users worldwide.

Microsoft's Silence on Yahoo Has to End Soon

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 29, Categories: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, advertising

When there's no news, journalists (including bloggers) write about the lack of news. Sorry to say, today I can't resist the urge either. I just can't help thinking that Microsoft...

The Tipster Hotline

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on April 29, Categories: Text messaging

In another sign that the cell phone is rapidly becoming an essential part of everyday life, mobile phone users across the U.S., Canada and parts of the U.K. now will...

Intel and Apple, BFF?

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 28, Categories: Apple

It's no secret that Intel and Apple have been best buddies for the past couple of years. But the friendship seems to hit a high today when Apple announced a...

My Head's in the Clouds

Posted by: Steve Hamm on April 25, Categories: Cloud Computing

The term "cloud computing" is being used so promiscuously these days that it's dizzying. I even ran into a company a few days ago that offers its supply chain software...

Reader Poll: Tell Me Your Most Surprising "Switcher" Stories

Posted by: Peter Burrows on April 24, Categories: Apple

So let the call go forth: Bring me your tales of recent Mac owners who you never thought would end up with a Mac.

Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell on Yahoo Bid: We're Standing Firm

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 24, Categories: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo

Overshadowing Microsoft's somewhat disappointing report on third-quarter results were questions about its unsolicited bid for Yahoo. The gist of Microsoft's comments was pretty much the same: We've offered plenty, so...

Will Ballmer Walk?

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 24, Categories: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo

In a word, no. As Sramana Mitra notes, and as we've been saying for awhile, Yahoo's fate as a Microsoft vassal was sealed the day the software giant made its...

Microsoft and Yahoo Russian Roulette

Posted by: Catherine Holahan on April 23, Categories:

There's been a lot of debate recently -- including here at BusinessWeek -- about what Jerry Yang should do with Yahoo's solid first quarter results. Should he rush to the...

Why Actors Should Stick to Acting (Dept. of Bad Metaphors)

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 23, Categories: Net Neutrality

From the testimony of Justine Bateman, actress and sometime Internet entrepreneur, at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the future of the Internet: "Traditional media is now like a pool...

Yahoo Ekes Out a First-Quarter Beat--and More Leverage Vs. Microsoft?

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 22, Categories: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo

Yahoo had to turn in at least respectable first-quarter results today if it was to have any chance of getting Microsoft to up its unsolicited $31-a-share offer to buy the...

Wireless Carriers to Pay for Customers' Switching?

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 22, Categories: wireless

Yesterday, small carrier Cellular South announced an unprecedented offer: It will cover customers' early termination fees if they switch to Cellular South's service. This could be the beginning of the biggest price war to hit the wireless industry yet.

Skype's No. 1 Priority: Ease of Use

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 21, Categories: VOIP

Skype's new CEO, Josh Silverman outlined his plans for the company for the first time today, a few months after assuming the position in February. Not only does he say that parent eBay is unlikely to sell Skype this year, but he also says that his No. 1 priority is making Skype easier to use. That starts with the download and ends with video features, he says. What would you like to see improved?

Google Defies the Naysayers

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 17, Categories: Google

The quick take on Google's earnings, just out minutes ago: Never mind. All that talk about Google potentially turning in an awful quarter didn't come to pass. Google's shares were...

Something's Fishy About This Yahoo-Google Deal

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 17, Categories: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo

Oh, please. An initial test of outsourcing Yahoo's search to Google showed positive results, according to an account in the Journal. Hold it; didn't that test just start this week?...

Earth Day: Unplug Your Cell Phone

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 16, Categories: wireless

According to Nokia, if we were all to unplug our phones as soon as they are charged, we would do Earth some good. You'd be surprised how much, actually -- I know I was.

Net Neutrality--Time for a Little Civility

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 16, Categories: Net Neutrality

Whether it's because they have gotten a lot of bad PR, because they are scare of legislation or regulation, or because they have had a genuine change of heart, big...

Public Safety Spectrum Scuffle Heats Up

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 15, Categories: wireless

Who should fund and be allowed to build out a nationwide public safety network in the U.S.? This topic has been the topic of much debate in Congress this week.

Federated Media Raises $50 Million (and a Few Eyebrows)

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 15, Categories: Federated Media, advertising, blogging, blogs

There's money in blogs after all. Ad network Federated Media, which aims to help blogs and other online sites create the new generation of media giants, announced this morning that...

comScore crowns AOL King of all Digital Advertising

Posted by: Catherine Holahan on April 14, Categories: Google

comScore crowns AOL King, but what about Google's market share

The Truth About Wireless Alerts?

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on April 11, Categories: wireless

It's been interesting to hear the nation's major wireless carriers applaud the Federal Communications Commission's adoption Apr. 10 of a framework for a nationwide mobile alert system. The Commercial Mobile...

San Fran Torch Relay

Posted by: Catherine Holahan on April 10, Categories: Silicon Valley

Hi Everyone, Rachel King was at the Torch Relay in San Francisco. Here's her guest blog: When I was 14, I had the chance to glimpse the Olympic torch relay...

Open-Sourcing Online Ad Targeting

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 10, Categories: AdBrite, Google, advertising, behavioral targeting

There's a glut of online ad networks out there, hundreds of them, each using their own particular flavor of targeting technologies--from Google's contextual AdSense to many others that track people's...

Jerry Finally Gets Busy: Now Yahoo Could Hook Up With AOL

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 09, Categories: Google, Yahoo

After all these weeks and months of trying to find alternatives to Microsoft's bear hug, finally Yahoo seems to have gotten a move on. Just hours after announcing plans for...

It's True: Yahoo Will Test Outsourcing Search Ads to Google

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 09, Categories: Yahoo

By the time you read this, Yahoo will have announced that it is launching a test to run Google ads alongside a limited number of Yahoo search results. I've confirmed...

The HDTV Fallout

Posted by: Cliff Edwards on April 08, Categories: TV

Could the long-awaited HDTV shakeout finally be happening? Once considered one of the most technologically savvy consumer electronics companies in the world, Royal Philips Electronics says it's getting out of...

Sonopia: It's Still Around

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 08, Categories: wireless

Rumors are swirling today that yet another mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) -- Sonopia -- has bit the dust. Not so, says CEO Juha Christensen. "Sonopia has laid off some of its employees, but is still here… ," he told me in an e-mail.

An Android in Your Pocket? Openness and AT&T

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 08, Categories: wireless

AT&T is continuing to warm up to Google's Android open wireless phone software, even though AT&T membership in the Open Handset Alliance may not be imminent, Ralph de la Vega,...

Google App Engine Goes Up Against Amazon, But That's Not the Point

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 07, Categories: Amazon.com, Google, startups, web services

Sure, Google App Engine, the service Google's announcing tonight, looks pretty similar in concept, if not details, to the trio of Web services Amazon.com offers, including the EC2 computing engine,...

Yahoo Responds to Microsoft: Quit Lowballing Us and We'll Deal

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 07, Categories: Microsoft, Yahoo

In the latest twist in the tango between Microsoft and Yahoo, the struggling Internet portal's chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang have sent a public letter back to Microsoft...

Microsoft's Patience Finally Wears Out: Issues Deadline to Yahoo

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 05, Categories: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo

Microsoft just dropped the bomb on Yahoo. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer today sent a letter (in full after the jump) giving Yahoo's board three weeks before it initiates a proxy...

Artwork Made of Cell Phones

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 04, Categories: wireless

If you happen to be in Boston next week, it might be fun to stop by this art exhibit opening April 10. Artist Rob Pettit used some 5,000 cell phones to create his masterpiece.

Yahoo Gets Taste of What Happens If Microsoft Pulls Out

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 04, Categories: Microsoft, Yahoo

Yahoo's stock is down at least 3% in after-hours trading today after someone close to Microsoft implied to Reuters the software giant might offer up even less than its...

Guest Post: Rob Frieden on "Whose Wireless Handset Is It?"

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 04, Categories: wireless

Robert M. Frieden is a professor at the Penn State law school, a frequent commentator on network neutrality issues, and author of the New America Foundation's white paper "Wireless Carterfone....

The Real Reason Behind Google's Challenges

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 04, Categories: Drudge, Google, Search

Forget about the economy. I just discovered a new reason why Google might be slowing down. It's those lefties running the place. Here's a sampling of some astute analysis from...

Just One Question on Friendfeed: Who Are You People?

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 03, Categories: FriendFeed

Like plenty of digerati, apparently, I've discovered FriendFeed, a sort of social media- and feed-sharing aggregation service where I can "follow" a bunch of people's doings, whether they post stuff...

AT&T: Looking at Google's Android

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 03, Categories: wireless

Over the past several months, quite a few people have begun to doubt Google's ability to attract a significant number of carriers and handset makers to its Android operating system for cell phones. Well, today's comments by AT&T at CTIA could change that.

Can Doug Merrill Save Music?

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 02, Categories: Digital Music

Could the surprising departure of Google Chief Information Officer Douglas Merrill be the salvation of the music industry? Merrill was hardly your typical corporate CIO. He seemed far more interested...

Prepaid Broadband Access Coming Right Up

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 02, Categories: wireless

Up till now, we could only get prepaid phone cards and prepaid wireless service. Now, it appears that the idea of prepaid broadband access is taking off.

Post Secret Founder Trying to Save Lives

Posted by: Catherine Holahan on April 02, Categories: Social Media

For four years, Frank Warren has collected strangers' deepest secrets for display on his community art blog PostSecret.com. About 1,000 secrets are mailed to Warren each week, ranging from humorous...

Beware the Perfect Story

Posted by: Stephen Wildstrom on April 02, Categories: Curmudgeonly

During my many years as an off-and-on editor, one time-test rule I observed was to watch out for the story that seemed too perfect. The Internet has only made this...

Wireless Net Neutrality: It Won't Happen Yet

Posted by: Olga Kharif on April 01, Categories: wireless

In his speach at the annual CTIA wireless industry conference, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin disclosed that he will not give a green light to a petition from alternative phone service Skype. The upshot: This could delay the emergence of open wireless networks in the U.S.

Microsoft Grows Impatient with Yahoo. Again.

Posted by: Rob Hof on April 01, Categories: Microsoft, Yahoo

Microsoft is saying without saying that it's not going to raise its offer for Yahoo. According to the Journal: Such pronouncements are standard in deal negotiations but people close to...