Our thoughts, rants and inside knowlege of web design & development!
Industry News
Yahoo Down
Oct 15th
Yahoo -– one of the most highly trafficked websites in the world –- was down at 5:40 p.m. ET and returned back online at 6:10 p.m. ET.
The homepage of Yahoo was simply showing a plain text “Server Hangup” message in the browser. However, Yahoo verticals like Sports (sports), News (news) and Finance appeared to be working just fine.
While almost certainly unrelated (but an amusing coincidence), the downtime comes hours after Google posted massive earnings and less than a day since new rumors surfaced that AOL and a number of private equity firms may be putting together a plan to swoop in and acquire the languishing Yahoo.
Let us know what you think? Did you notice it was down?
AOL Attempting to Buy Yahoo
Oct 14th
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that AOL and several venture capital firms are in talks to buy Yahoo.
Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group are rumored to be in on the deal. Currently, AOL’s market value is around one tenth of Yahoo’s.
Rumors that the two companies were in talks to merge have been swirling around for at least a few days, and still others say it’s Yahoo who is looking to buy AOL; but neither company is willing to make an official statement at this time.
Yahoo personnel haven’t yet been involved in these discussions, according to WSJ’s sources. Because of the intricacies involved in such acquisitions, Yahoo may never be formally approached with an offer.
Yahoo itself instituted “poison pill” mechanisms back during its apex in 2001 to prevent the threat of a hostile takeover — which became a very real possibility two years ago when Microsoft issued an unsolicited bid to buy the company.
Nevertheless, these new rumors are interesting ones. What do you think of AOL’s ambitions, especially in light of that company’s recent acquisition spree involving tech blog TechCrunch, app maker Thing Labs and video network 5min?
More importantly, do you think an alliance between these two fading powerhouses from More >
Two million US PCs recruited to botnets
Oct 14th
The US leads the world in numbers of Windows PCs that are part of botnets, reveals a report.
More than 2.2 million US PCs were found to be part of botnets, networks of hijacked home computers, in the first six months of 2010, it said.
Compiled by Microsoft, the research revealed that Brazil had the second highest level of infections at 550,000.
Infections were highest in South Korea where 14.6 out of every 1000 machines were found to be enrolled in botnets.
The 240-page Microsoft report took an in-depth look at botnets which, said Cliff Evans, head of security and identity at Microsoft UK, now sat at the centre of many cybercrime operations.
The research was undertaken, he said, to alert people to the growing danger from the malicious networks.
Sony’s Google TV-Powered Devices Have Arrived
Oct 13th
Sony has unveiled its newest line of Internet (Internet)-enabled TVs, complete with the highly-anticipated Google TV software.
Sony’s new Internet HDTVs, unveiled earlier today at a press event in New York City, sport 1080p edge-lit LED screens, with the exception of the 24″ model. They come with four USB ports, four HDMI inputs and Wi-Fi capabilities. They are available in four sizes: 24″, 32″, 40″ and 46″. The 24″ model rings in at $599 while the 46″ will cost you a hefty $1,399.
The big selling point of the new TVs is their inclusion of Google TV. The Internet TV software brings Hulu (Hulu), Twitter (Twitter), Netflix, YouTube (YouTube) and Pandora (Pandora) to your living room screen, not to mention search capabilities and a myriad of Android (Android) apps. Web surfing is powered by Google Chrome (Google Chrome), while apps are powered by the Android OS. It integrates the web with your existing cable or satellite TV by making it simple to search your TV shows and your favorite websites at the same time.
One of the more controversial parts of Sony’s new Google TV-enabled devices is the remote, though. It looks like a combination of a PlayStation 3 controller and a QWERTY More >
Google invests in Wind Farm
Oct 12th
Google has just sealed a deal that will help bring clean, renewable energy to almost 2 million households.
The company is investing in the Atlantic Wind Connection (AWC), a plan to erect a 350-mile stretch of wind turbines 10 to 15 miles off the United States’ Atlantic coastline, where waters are relatively shallow. The AWC “backbone” will take advantage of strong, steady winds at sea and deliver energy via underwater cables.
If successful, the AWC will be the first operating offshore wind collection project in the United States.
Yahoo Messenger with Video Chat Comes to iPhone
Oct 12th
Yahoo has just realised a FREE iPhone Messenger app with video calls in Apple’s App Store.
The new version of Yahoo Messenger enables users to make video calls and stream live video one-to-one over 3G or Wi-Fi. What makes the app really interesting is the ability to establish a video call between an iPhone and an Android device (provided it has a front-facing camera) or between an iPhone and a PC.
You can also make free voice calls to your Yahoo Messenger friends, as well as low-cost international calls with your Yahoo Voice Phone Out account. Unfortunately, this last bit is available only to users in the U.S., France, Germany, Spain and Singapore.
Finally, the new version now supports multitasking, meaning you can work on other tasks on your iPhone while the app happily runs in the background.
The app is available for free in the iTunes store.
Try it out and let us kniow how you get on.
Google Is Testing Cars That Drive Themselves
Oct 10th
Google announced today that it has developed cars that drive themselves automatically in traffic, and that it has been testing them on the streets of California for months. It might seem like an unusual project for Google, but it could actually have big benefits.
We’re not just talking about cars running Google Android. This is the stuff of science fiction. The only accident that has occurred so far: One of the cars was rear-ended by a driver at a stop light. Human error!
The vehicles have been tested on 140,000 miles of California road, from Silicon Valley to Santa Monica. Each car is manned during the tests. One person sits in the driver’s seat, ready to take control of the vehicle instantly by grabbing the wheel or touch the brake should something go wrong with the system. The person in the passenger’s seat is an engineer who monitors the software operations on a computer.
I guess the best thing for Google here is the fact that during the drive the occupants are free to surf or be entertained by other media…
Stuff of the future or just a gimmick – do you think this will happen in the next 5 years?
More >Babes Online – 75% of Children have online presence (UK)
Oct 8th
According to a recent international survey of 2,200 mothers, 81% of children under the age of two currently have some form of online presence — ranging from photos uploaded and shared by their parents, to a full-fledged profile on a social networking site. A full 92% of children in the U.S. have an online presence by the time they are two, compared to 73% in western Europe.
The study, which was conducted by Internet security firm AVG, found that nearly one in four children have an online presence before they are even born. On average, 23% of parents share images from prenatal sonograms on the web; a full third do so in the U.S. The practice is even more common in Canada (37%), and significantly less popular in western Europe (13-15%) and Japan (14%).
After birth, 7% of babies and toddlers have an e-mail address created for them (12% in Spain), and 5% have their own profile on a social network.
When asked why they were inspired to post images of their infants online, more than 70% of parents said it was because they wanted to share them with friends and family; 22% of mothers said they wanted to expand the content on More >
Buying Adobe may not help Microsoft fight Apple
Oct 8th
The rumors are swirling today about a secret meeting between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to discuss a possible Microsoft acquisition of Adobe.
The question is whether it will change the game in favor of Microsoft and Adobe, or whether it benefits their main rival, Apple.
The chatter stems from a report in The New York Times. According to the publication, Ballmer arrived with a small entourage at Adobe’s offices to discuss Apple and its increasing influence over the mobile market via the iPhone (iPhone).
Microsoft, which has lost significant chunks of the mobile market in recent years, is trying to make a big comeback through Windows Phone 7 (Windows Phone 7). Adobe on the other hand suddenly became mortal enemies with Apple after Apple banned Flash from the iPad.
What’s really got the markets stirring though is how the two companies might respond to the Apple threat: via acquisition. According to the report, the possibility of Microsoft acquiring Adobe was discussed. That little tidbit of information drove Adobe’s stock price up 11.5% today.
The Apple brand is way to strong at present with both combined would ‘Microdobe’ or ‘ Adobosoft’ (bad ideas of name merge I know) be able to More >
Firefox 4 Beta for Mobile Is Here
Oct 8th
Mozilla has just unleashed Firefox Beta for mobile on the waiting world.
Formerly codenamed “Fennec,” Mozilla’s mobile project is now simply called Firefox (Firefox).
The initial rollout is available for owners of Nokia N900 phones and any device running Android (Android) 2.0 (a.k.a. Eclair) or higher. Tested and supported devices include the Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Desire, Evo, Galaxy S and more.
iPhone (iPhone) users, we’re sorry, but you’ll have to stick with the Firefox Home app in the App Store (App Store) for now. Mozilla has no plans to work on BlackBerry for now.
Mozilla says this mobile browser is “built on the same technology platform as Firefox 4 for desktop computers, just optimized for browsing on a mobile device.” The browser includes such features as syncing, add-ons and the Awesome Bar.
The product is still in beta; updates will be rolled out regularly before a final version is announced.
What do you think: Will you be downloading Firefox 4 for your phone?