jenniferleclaire.com » 2008

Yahoo Opens Platform To Third-Party Developers

Yahoo has officially opened its platform to developers. It’s all part of the search company’s vision for a more open Yahoo that leverages outside innovation, unlocks the power of social networking, and meshes the Yahoo experience with other sites to bring viewers the best of the Web.That’s the vision. And Yahoo has taken one more step toward it by making its tools and data available to developers to build applications for a more customized network.

According to Jay Rossiter, senior vice president of Yahoo Open Strategy, the most obvious impact will be the social aspects. At a high level, he said, Yahoo is rolling out a social platform that will draw on the hundreds of millions of connections on Yahoo — everything from random encounters with someone who commented on the same photo as you, to connections with friends who know nearly everything about you.

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

October 31st, 2008

Army Says Twitter Could Coordinate Terrorist Attacks

The U.S. Army has identified Twitter, a popular micro-blogging service, as a potential vehicle for terrorists to plot destructive schemes. Global Positioning System maps and voice-changing software were also listed in the draft report by the 304th Military Battalion.The Federation of American Scientists has posted the report, which examines mobile and Web technologies and how they could be used by terrorists, on its Web site. The Army based its report on Open Source Intelligence.

According to the report, Twitter has become a social-activism tool for socialists, human-rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and send messages to broader audiences.

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

October 28th, 2008

Netflix Adopts Silverlight, Opens Streaming To Macs

Netflix on Monday made announcements that favored both Microsoft and Apple and opened up a new audience for its streaming video service.First, Netflix has started deploying Microsoft Silverlight to enhance the instant-watching component of its service. Second, that move opens the door for subscribers to begin watching movies and TV episodes instantly on Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers.

The Silverlight deployment, which will initially touch only a small percentage of new Netflix subscribers, is the first step in an anticipated rollout of the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.

“Instantly streaming from Netflix directly addresses the needs and wants of today’s Web users by providing on-demand, high-quality online video,” said Scott Guthrie, vice president of the developer division at Microsoft. “By using Silverlight, Netflix can deliver to its subscribers a higher-quality video experience on the Web, on more platforms.”

Click here to read the rest of my story on Newsfactor.

3 comments October 28th, 2008

Windows Hole Could Be Used By Dishonest Employees

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it gets the attention of the security world. Microsoft on Thursday issued an out-of-band patch designated as critical for Windows XP and older versions, and important for Windows Vista.MS08-67 resolves a vulnerability in the server service that affects all currently supported versions of Windows. Because the vulnerability is potentially wormable on older versions of Windows, Microsoft is encouraging customers to test and deploy the update as soon as possible.

Microsoft discovered the vulnerability as part of its research into a limited series of targeted malware attacks against Windows XP systems. Researchers found attackers were using a new vulnerability that was potentially wormable. The company planned a Webcast on Friday to discuss the release.

Symantec tracked the issue as BugTraq ID 31874. The weakness allows an attacker to take complete control of a vulnerable system. While Symantec isn’t reporting a widespread exploitation of this issue, there have been reports of a certain file, n2.exe, being downloaded on compromised computers. According to the security firm, this file copies another piece of malicious code onto the compromised computer.

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October 26th, 2008

Bill Gates Launches Mystery Company Called bgC3

Did anyone really think Bill Gates would actually retire? Apparently Gates has launched a new company called bgC3. No outsiders know what it’s about, but there is plenty of speculation.Indeed, there is no public Web site for bgC3. There is no press release surrounding its plans. And Gates hasn’t offered a peep about what he is doing — or plans to do –with the startup. However, a trio of Seattle-area reporters have been digging for the scoop.

John Cook, Eric Engleman and Todd Bishop, three well-known tech and venture-capital writers in the Northwest, wrote a story about Gates’ mysterious new firm as part of the launch of a new venture of their own — a tech blog dubbed TechFlash.

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

October 24th, 2008

AdMob Turns Profit, Aims To Boost Mobile Advertising

In what marks a positive sign in a struggling economy, AdMob on Wednesday announced it has achieved positive cash flow and secured a $15.7 million Series C investment fund.Led by Sequoia Capital’s Growth Fund — with existing investor Accel Partners also participating — AdMob intends to use the cash infusion to expand its market position in mobile advertising. The company has posted strong year-over-year growth. In fact, the mobile-advertising platform more than tripled the number of ads served on a monthly basis to 4.5 billion in September.

AdMob’s publisher network now includes more than 6,000 partners worldwide, including MySpace and MovieTickets.com. In September, AdMob ran more than 25 campaigns for brand advertisers, including CoverGirl, Toshiba and Comedy Central.

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Add comment October 23rd, 2008

Yahoo Will Lay Off 1500 Employees as Earnings Tank

Yahoo is laying off at least 1,500 workers in the wake of sluggish corporate profits. The layoffs equate to 10 percent of the Internet company’s workforce.Yahoo stumbled in its third-quarter earnings report. Revenues were $1.79 billion for the quarter, a one percent increase compared to the year-ago period. But operating income was $70 million, a 53 percent decrease from $150 million in the same period of 2007.

Jerry Yang, cofounder and chief executive officer, said as economic conditions and online advertising softened in the third quarter, the company remained highly focused on its strategy to invest in initiatives that strengthen its long-term competitiveness.

Click here to read the rest of my story on NewsFactor.

Add comment October 23rd, 2008

Archive for October, 2008

Yahoo Opens Platform To Third-Party Developers

Army Says Twitter Could Coordinate Terrorist Attacks

Netflix Adopts Silverlight, Opens Streaming To Macs

Windows Hole Could Be Used By Dishonest Employees

Bill Gates Launches Mystery Company Called bgC3

AdMob Turns Profit, Aims To Boost Mobile Advertising

Yahoo Will Lay Off 1500 Employees as Earnings Tank