Stefania Spagnuolo

Google's vice president for content partnerships, David Eun, recently revealed in an interview that Google is just as perplexed as the rest of the world with respect to the future of online video. Many were shocked when Google paid over one and ... three quarters of a billion dollars to acquire the emmensly popular YouTube web portal. Notably so. And yet, one might assume that in order for Google to make such a large purchase, the company must have had some prediction as to where things may lead. However, the opposite may be true. Eun admits that analysts have been unable to determine both the ... (view more)

When investment firm J.P. Morgan Securities conducted a survey of online shopping habits, they found that Google Checkout has already snatched 6% of the market share despite only being open for eight months. Despite initial results, Google should ... not be celebrating. The survey also found that Google Checkout significantly lags PayPal in terms of customer satisfaction, a hindrance that could likely cripple the company's market share. (Source: arstechnica.com ) Google's quick market penetration is attributed to the company's offering of discounts and rebates. Unfortunately, Google has failed in ... (view more)

This past Tuesday, Netflix unveiled its new "Watch Now" service. The service gives subscribers the option of downloading movies to their PC at no additional charge, an attractive alternative to Netflix's traditional mail delivery method. "Watch Now" ... will be introduced to only a small portion of Netflix subscribers initially; however, the company will be allowing about 250,000 subscribers into the system each week until June. (Source: physorg.com ) Viewers can use the service after accepting a computer applet that takes under a minute to install. Subscribers to the $18 monthly package can ... (view more)

PayPal will soon be offering users a new tool to protect against malicious phishing attacks. The PayPal Security Key is a small electronic device that generates a new six-digit password every 30 seconds. PayPal users with the Security Key will use ... their original passwords as well as the password generated on the device in order to sign into their accounts. (Source: pcworld.com ) "If a fraudulent party somehow got hold of a person's username and password, they still wouldn't be able to get into the account because they don't have the six-digit code," says PayPal spokesperson Sara Bettencourt ... (view more)

Google hasn't been shy about announcing its mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible. But accessible to whom? This is the question that many are asking after it was recently discovered that terrorists used ... Google Earth to pinpoint the location of British soldiers. (Source: hardocp.com ) British Intelligence discovered images taken from Google Earth after a series of raids on insurgent safe houses in Iraq. Officers describe the images as having "significant detail" of British camps in Iraq. (Source: canadafreepress.com ) "This is evidence as far as we are ... (view more)

Many consumers have never heard of the Cisco iPhone. Thus, Cisco's lawsuit, which claims trademark infringement on Apple's iPhone, came as a shock to many. But on Wednesday January 10th, Mark Chandler, Cisco's SVP and General Counsel, blogged about ... the case and why Cisco is putting its foot down. (Source: hardocp.com ) In the company blog, Chandler reminds readers that Cisco has owned the trademark "iPhone" since 2000, when Cisco bought the company Infogear. Infogear had owned the rights since 1996, before iMacs and iPods were on the market. Chandler also notes that Cisco has been shipping ... (view more)

Are you sick of watching media clips and movies on your 17 inch monitor? If so, you're in luck: Steve Jobs has unveiled Apple's newest product: Apple TV. At Macworld Expo, Jobs explained the new product that allows users to watch content from iTunes ... on their television. The device, which was introduced in September under the code name "iTV," bridges a gap that computer companies have been itching to fill: a variance between the computer and home entertainment system. (Source: pcworld.com ) Specifically, Apple TV brings the company head to head against Microsoft for the living room battle. ... (view more)

These days, lawsuits are as common as windy weather in Chicago. But Luxpro has taken the art of suing one step further: the company has sued Apple as a result of Apple's former suit against Luxpro, claiming that Apple's lawsuit cost Luxpro lost ... sales. While the $100 million lawsuit is hefty enough to be noteworthy, another aspect makes this suit unique. The companies have already met in court in 2005 -- except at that time, the two parties were on opposite sides of the courtroom, with Apple as the plaintiff and Luxpro as the defendant. Apple had sued Luxpro for infringing on its iPod Shuffle ... (view more)

Microsoft recently revealed details of the Vista Ultimate Extras add-on package. Although there has been talk about Ultimate Extras for months, Microsoft has remained relatively tight-lipped about the specifics. But on January 7th, at the Consumer ... Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft officials finally detailed the final lineup for the Ultimate Extras package. (Source: zdnet.com ) First up is a Vista enhanced version of the Texas Hold 'Em poker game. (Source: zdnet.com ) Also in the package are multi-user interface language (MUIL) packs. These packs allow users fluent in different ... (view more)

It probably won't be your 4.0 GPA that lands you a job at Google. But it might be the fact that you have pets. Or the fact that you started a club. In typical Google fashion, the company has created a new method for sifting through the 100,000+ job ... applicants itching to work at Google each month. The company has ditched the typical hiring methods in their quest to hire more well-rounded candidates. (Source: nytimes.com ) Job applicants will now be asked to fill out a survey which assesses intelligence and personality. The algorithm will then rate each candidate on a scale from 0 to 100. ( ... (view more)