U.S. regulators are reportedly digging deeper into Google’s planned AdMob acquisition. The Federal Trade Commission is asking for sworn statements from the search giant’s competitors and advertisers in what could signal plans to hold up the merger. The news comes as part of a wave of government scrutiny against the maturing company.
According to Bloomberg News, the FTC is seeking to learn whether Google’s proposed purchase of the mobile-ad technology provider would lessen competition in the market for Internet advertising on mobile phones. The FTC couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Bloomberg didn’t identify the names of two companies that said they were asked to sign statements for the probe. However, it’s likely that the FTC spoke with companies like Microsoft, Yahoo, Jumptap and Millenial Media, all of which have stakes in this growing space.
Read the rest of my story on TopTechNews.
March 12th, 2010
In a move to shake up the online gaming industry, OnLive has announced PC and Mac versions of its on-demand, instant-play games will roll out in June during the E3 2010 show. Here’s the rub: Gamers don’t have to buy a console, and they can get broadband speeds.
OnLive delivers games to HDTVs over an Internet connection via a small browser plug-in for PCs and OnLive’s MicroConsole TV Adapter, which will roll out later this year. The company is billing its game service as a way to find, purchase or rent video games from publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft 2K Games, THQ and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
“The idea here is that you buy or rent the games and stream them. That’s pretty challenging when it comes to gaming because you need very quick responses,” said Michael Gartenberg, a partner at the Altimeter Group. “OnLive is an interesting twist. The question is how it’s going to work in real time over the network.”
Read the rest of my story on CIOToday.
March 12th, 2010
The wait is over. Cisco Systems on Tuesday finally took the lid off its hype machine to reveal … a new router. Cisco is positioning its CRS-3 Carrier Routing System as the foundation of the next-generation Internet that will pave the way for rapid growth of video transmissions, mobile devices, and new online services.
The CRS-3 offers three times the traffic capacity of the its predecessor, the CRS-1, Cisco said, and promises to accelerate the delivery of new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace. That’s a lot of hyperbole, but analysts said it’s believable.
“It’s too bad Cisco led up to this router announcement with so much hype. People were expecting Armageddon or something. They had this countdown timer as if something big was going to happen,” said Zeus Kerravala, a vice president at Yankee Group. “At the end of the day what Cisco announced was a big, fast router. But that’s what Cisco does. We expect Cisco to release bigger, faster routers. It’s what they built their company history on.”
Read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.
March 10th, 2010
Older versions of Internet Explorer are under attack. Microsoft 
warned Tuesday afternoon that cybercriminals are actively exploiting a security vulnerability that lets attackers execute malicious code from remote locations.
Microsoft’s internal investigation reveals that the latest version of the browser, Internet Explorer 8, is not affected. Likewise, Internet Explorer 5.01 Service Pack 4 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is not affected.
Here’s a quick list of affected versions for IT administrators looking to implement a workaround to mitigate the risk: Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, and Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7.
“In addition to Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday updates today, the company also issued an advisory for a new zero-day vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer,” said Josh Talbot, security intelligence manager for Symantec Security Response. “Symantec has observed exploitation of this vulnerability in the wild and has created Trojan.Malscript!html and JS.Downloader detection to mitigate this attack.”
Read the rest of the story on NewsFactor.
March 10th, 2010
As Internet and television continue to converge, Google is actively testing a new television-programming search service with Dish Network, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The service reportedly runs on TV set-top boxes that host Google software and enable viewers to find shows on Dish and video on web sites like YouTube. The Journal cited people familiar with the matter who said the service will allow viewers to personalize a lineup of shows.
The report follows TiVo’s launch last week of digital video recorders that combine broadcast and web content. Microsoft and Apple are also looking for their place in the hybrid broadcast-web space. Google’s experiment offers the search giant access to 14 million Dish viewers, signaling the potential to yield valuable results.
Read the rest of my story on TopTechNews.
March 10th, 2010
Microsoft is promoting alternative browsers to millions of Windows users across Europe — and Opera is poised to pounce on the opportunity. With a brand-new, faster iteration of its open-source browser, Opera is working hard to gain the attention of Europeans looking for an Internet Explorer alternative.
Microsoft used to configure Internet Explorer as the default browser for its Windows operating system , but agreed last October to test-market measures to give European consumers an option to download and install competing browsers like Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox.
Microsoft is now offering European Windows users a choice through a browser screen that will be displayed automatically, and users can make any browser the default. Users can even turn Microsoft’s Internet Explorer off, although Microsoft has said there’s no need to turn it off to make another browser the default.
Read the rest of my story on CIOToday.
March 5th, 2010
TiVo on Tuesday set out to reinvent itself with DVRs that blend television and Internet viewing experiences. The TiVo Premiere and TV Premiere XL combine access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music.
TiVo is positioning the new devices as a one-stop shop for entertainment, offering viewers broadband and broadcast integration that lets them search for YouTube clips, Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand and Blockbuster On Demand libraries, and more from one interface. The new offering uses pictures and graphics to make the television guide more interactive as users search through millions of pieces of content.
“TiVo has advanced the state of the art in DVR appliances. There’s no question about that,” said Phil Leigh, a senior analyst at Inside Digital Media. “But whether it’s enough to motivate existing owners of TiVo to spend money on a new box is more debatable. If I didn’t have a DVR, it certainly gives me a material added reason to buy TiVo. But if I just bought a TiVo a year or two ago, I’m not ready to spend more money just to get a newer interface.”
Read the rest of my story on CIOToday.
March 5th, 2010
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