Archive for August 14th, 2007
Yahoo has taken the top spot away from Google. According to the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), while Google might still be the search king in market share, consumers prefer Yahoo.The annual ACSI report on e-business Web sites includes measurements of search engines and portals as well as online news and information sites. Yahoo’s customer satisfaction score of 79 on the ACSI’s 100-point scale is up almost 4 percent this year, while Google slipped 3.7 percent to 78, its second yearly decline in a row.
“Even more important than Yahoo’s first lead over Google is the trend of their scores moving in opposite directions,” according to Larry Freed, online satisfaction expert and president and CEO of ForeSee Results, which sponsors the ACSI e-business report. “Since the ACSI is a leading indicator of financial performance on the macro scale and at the company level, we may see a real turnaround for Yahoo in the next year.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on TopTechNews.
August 14th, 2007
Forget the battle between Microsoft 
Word and Google Apps for a minute, and set aside the notion of search engine supremacy. Microsoft and Google are now battling for technology enthusiasts in yet another area: online storage.This week, Microsoft came out with a twist in the online-storage game, renaming its storage service Windows Live SkyDrive and relaunching it with a revamped interface. Google, meanwhile, is offering extra storage options on both Gmail and Picasa.
“As someone who tests Google products daily, I know that the simplest solution is often the one that works best,” Ryan Aquino, software quality assurance engineer lead for Picassa, wrote in the Google blog. “In the case of online storage, whether it’s a picture, a video, or an e-mail, you should just, well, be able to store it without having to worry about whether you’ve got enough space in each particular product.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on NewsFactor.
August 14th, 2007
Is it the end of the digital rights management (DRM) world as we know it? On Friday, Universal announced plans to peddle thousands of DRM-free albums and tracks through various online music outlets.Between August 21 and the end of January 2008, participants including Google, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, RealNetworks, Transworld, Passalong Networks, Amazon.com, and Puretracks will offer Universal downloads to consumers in the DRM-free format of their choice in a variety of bitrates. For the most part, the DRM free downloads will be offered at standard wholesale prices.
The unrestricted offerings include albums and songs from many of the company’s top-selling artists, such as 50 Cent, Amy Winehouse, The Pussycat Dolls, The Police, and Johnny Cash. Unrestricted MP3 files are compatible with every portable digital music player on the market.
Click here to read the story on NewsFactor.
August 14th, 2007
While Novell’s CEO is calling for Linux to expand its market, the Linux Foundation’s executive director is declaring that the open-source OS is moving into its second stage of growth.At the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco, Linux Foundation exec Jim Zemlin told attendees what they probably already knew: The battle for computing platform supremacy is ultimately between Linux and a certain software giant in Redmond, Washington.
“Windows is not going to go away,” Zemlin asserted in his Wednesday speech. Moreover, he added, Microsoft deserves respect. The way Zemlin sees it, Microsoft has done a good job executing public relations campaigns and creating doubt about open-source software and the legal issues related to its use.
Click here to read the rest of this story NewsFactor.
August 14th, 2007
Forget about the trademark battle with Cisco over the use of the name iPhone and prepare for the onslaught of patent claims against Apple’s latest device. One of the first is a patent suit over the iPhone’s touch-screen keyboard.SP Technologies has sued Apple for infringement on a patent that SP filed in August 2000. SP Technologies, a Florida company, is seeking a permanent injunction against the Mac-maker. SP also seeks damages and attorney fees.
SP’s patent, which was awarded in August 2004, is for a “method and medium for computer readable keyboard display incapable of user termination.” The document describes software that allows users to input directions on a virtual keyboard that cannot be minimized or closed. That description sounds much like the iPhone keyboard.
Click here to read the rest of this story on TopTechNews.
August 14th, 2007
A new study is signaling improvement in privacy practices of major search engines, but critics say the study is backed by groups attempting to thwart government regulation of the industry.First the progress. According to a report published this week by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), a civil liberties advocacy group, the largest Internet search companies are beginning to compete aggressively with one another to offer stronger privacy protections.
“We hope this signals the emergence of a new competitive marketplace for privacy,” CDT President Leslie Harris said in a statement. “By themselves, these recent changes represent only a small step toward providing users the full range of privacy protections they need and deserve, but if this competitive push continues, it can only stand to benefit consumers.”
Click here to read the rest of this story on TopTechNews.
August 14th, 2007
Novell and IBM are getting a little cozier by the Linux fire. The companies took advantage of the LinuxWorld trade show in San Francisco to reveal their battle plans in the server market.Under a new agreement, Novell will deliver and support WebSphere Application Server Community Edition (WAS CE), Big Blue’s open-source-based application server that runs on Apache Geronimo, as part of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. IBM and Novell will offer support and migration tools to help customers using JBoss move to WAS CE.
“Customers today are looking for an integrated solution to solve their application development needs,” Roger Levy, senior vice president and general manager of Open Platform Solutions for Novell, said in a statement. Novell and IBM, he added, are working together to meet those needs.
Click here to read the rest of this story on CIOToday.
August 14th, 2007
