Archive for March, 2008
A new study from The New York Times is trying to pin down how just how much consumer data Internet companies have. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft 
, AOL and MySpace — the five largest Web firms — record at least 336 billion transmission events each month, according to the Times. That does not count their advertising networks.ComScore conducted the analysis for the Times. Advertising executives say it is the first broad estimate of how much consumer data Internet companies have in their control. The results confirmed what privacy advocates have been warning about: Companies use the information to predict what content and advertisements Web-site visitors are likely to want to see.
“The Web companies are, in effect, taking the trail of crumbs people leave behind as they move around the Internet and then analyzing them to anticipate people’s next steps,” The Times reported. “So anybody who searches for information on such disparate topics as iron supplements, airlines, hotels and soft drinks may see ads for those products and services later on.”
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March 11th, 2008
Amid ongoing controversy, Swiss bank Julius Baer has dropped its lawsuit against whistle-blower Web site Wikileaks.org. In a filing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Julius Baer dismissed the lawsuit against Wikileaks and the site’s registrar, Dynadot. The bank offered no explanation and officials were not immediately available for further comment.
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March 6th, 2008
Road warriors who are tough on notebooks have reason to rejoice. On Tuesday, Dell unveiled its first fully ruggedized laptop , the Latitude XFR D630. Selling for $3,899, the system promises extreme durability without compromising performance. The target audience is government and commercial users.”The Latitude XFR D630 represents a tectonic shift toward simplicity in the ruggedized laptop space,” said Brett McAnally, director of the Dell Product Group. “We are taking a multidimensional approach that focuses on simplified deployment, service and durability without sacrificing performance. Major competitors focus their efforts on ‘rugged’ only.”
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March 6th, 2008
Yahoo has amended its bylaws to extend the deadline for nominating directors to its board from March 14 to 10 days after the public announcement of the date for its annual meeting of stockholders.The amendment gives stockholders who want to nominate one or more directors, including Microsoft , more time. The extension also lets Yahoo pursue alternatives to a Microsoft takeover.
“Yahoo’s board of directors remains committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for Yahoo’s stockholders,” the company said. “To the extent that the extension of the nomination deadline has the effect of postponing the nomination of one or more directors by any party, it will allow Yahoo’s board to continue to explore all of its strategic alternatives for maximizing value for stockholders without the distraction of a proxy contest.”
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March 6th, 2008
Microsoft and Yahoo are competing again, but this time it’s not about a takeover but the mobile Web. While Microsoft has partnered with Nokia to put its Silverlight platform on mobile phones, Yahoo on Tuesday unveiled onePlace, a mobile-content management tool.Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo’s Connected Life, said onePlace is an essential component of Yahoo’s mobile products. “Yahoo onePlace is where users will be able to find what matters to them the most, no matter where their interests, passions and information come from,” he said. “Yahoo onePlace will provide mobile users with a rich and dynamic content experience.”
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March 4th, 2008
Cisco’s latest routers focus on data, voice and video. Developed over five years at a cost of $250 million, the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Aggregation Services Routers were introduced Monday.The new product line features software virtualization to enable “instant-on” provisioning and simultaneous use of multiple services, including a firewall, virtual private networks, deep-packet inspections and Session Border Control. The goal was to eliminate the need for multiple single-function appliances in addition to a router.
Part of what makes the grouping possible is the new Cisco Quantum Flow Processor, an integrated and programmable engine. The processor scales services and allows the platform to be retasked to new requirements as they emerge and as networking evolves, Cisco says.
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March 4th, 2008
The Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the nation’s first felony spam conviction. The ruling Friday decided Virginia’s antispamming law does not infringe on the First Amendment right to free speech.”This is a historic victory in the fight against online crime,” Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell said. “Spam not only clogs e-mail inboxes and destroys productivity; it also defrauds citizens and threatens the online revolution that is so critical to Virginia’s economic prosperity.”
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March 4th, 2008
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