Stefania Spagnuolo

Fri
23
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Is Your ISP Selling Your Clicks?

It turns out that not only is big brother watching you, he's profiting from you. At the Open Data 2007 conference in New York last Tuesday, Compete Inc. CEO David Cancel revealed that ISPs are selling the clickstream data of its subscribers. ... Clickstream data includes each webpage that a user visits and the order in which the pages were viewed. (Source: seekingalpha.com ) Although the data is not sold with the corresponding user name and information, it is theoretically possible to tie the information to an ISP (Internet Service Provider) account. Cancel went on to say that his company earns ... (view more)

Thu
22
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

New Music Service Takes on iTunes and Satellite Radio

Apple has enjoyed a healthy share of the digital media player market, thanks to the iPod. Moreover, the iPod and iTunes have set a new standard in the digital music industry -- a standard that many have tried to imitate but no one has surpassed. ... However, a new music service dubbed "Slacker" has got many industry buffs talking about whether or not this new device can knock Apple off its podium. Broadband Instruments has just launched a beta version of Slacker. Users can register for a beta account to receive free, ad-supported access to the company's 10,000 music stations. Users also have the ... (view more)

Fri
16
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Next Up for Google: Mobile Phones?

If you were getting bored with the lack of juicy gossip in the tech world, don't worry: there's a new Google rumor making waves. Ex-entrepreneur and technology buff Simeon Simeonov has posted a blog giving his two cents on what he thinks is Google's ... next move: the Google Phone. He purports that Andy Rubin, former founder of the company Danger, is working with a group of 100 Google staff members to develop the phone. (Source: theinquirer.net ) Simeonov also points out that Google has been slowly acquiring mobile-centric companies. Reqwireless, Inc., which produces mobile applications, and Skia ... (view more)

Fri
16
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Pays Big Bucks to Acquire Tellme Networks

Microsoft has reportedly made its most pricey acquisition since 2002. The Redmond-based company purchased Tellme Networks, and although the price remains undisclosed, it is estimated to be upwards of $800 million. (Source: theregister.co.uk ) Tellme ... Networks is a voice recognition company and has made a name for itself by becoming a leader in recognizing and responding to voice inquiries on the telephone. Tellme currently powers over 40% of all directory assistance calls in the US. (Source: arstechnica.com ) Meanwhile, Microsoft has been experimenting with voice recognition capabilities for ... (view more)

Thu
15
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

My Yahoo Start Page to Begin Beta Testing

Last Thursday, Yahoo announced a new beta version of its personalized My Yahoo start page. The launch will be gradual and will begin over the next few months. Although only a limited number of Yahoo members will be able to try out the beta version, ... these users will have access to create their personalized space by simply dragging and dropping the content they would like to include on their My Yahoo start pages. Beta testers will also have access to a pre-created My Yahoo page based on the other Yahoo services that they use. For example, members who often use Yahoo's shopping service will see ... (view more)

Wed
14
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Google Answers Get Recycled

Although Google pulled the plug on its Google Answers service in November, not everyone who worked on the project was quite as willing to toss their service in the trash. A group of researchers who worked on the Google Answers project have decided ... to reincarnate the service into a similar one called Uclue. Uclue is definitely reminiscent of Google Answers. It allows users to ask a question and set a price, ranging from $5 to $250, in return for having their question answered. Although Google eliminated Google Answers when the service failed to rake in solid traffic, the researchers who worked ... (view more)

Thu
08
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Woman Sues Yahoo for $20M over Email Message

Yahoo was recently slapped with a $20 million dollar lawsuit from an Ohio woman claiming that the Yahoo.com portal used her photo without permission in a welcome email sent to its new users. Shannon Stovall filed the lawsuit late February at the ... U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Stovall said she discovered the her photo was being used when she signed up for Yahoo's email service in October 2006. (Source: news.com ) The email begins with the headline "Hooray! Your first email" and includes a photo of two women, one of which is allegedly Stovall. According to the complaint ... (view more)

Wed
28
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Sued for Trademark Infringement on 'Office Live'

I wonder if Microsoft knew all of the roadblocks it would run into when it decided to pursue the "Live" moniker? Recently, Microsoft came under some heat from emailers frustrated at the company's decision to change "Windows Live Mail" to "Windows ... Live Hotmail." The name game drama has not stopped for Microsoft, which has recently been slapped with a lawsuit claiming trademark infringement on the name "Office Live." A company called Office Live filed the lawsuit last Friday, asking courts to grant an injunction against Microsoft using the name for its online office and web application suite. ( ... (view more)

Tue
27
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

OLPC Adds Anti-Theft Kill-Switch to XO Laptops

The One Laptop Per Child XO laptops will now include an anti-theft kill-switch to deter thieves from selling the low priced machines for a hefty profit in the black market. (Source: arstechnica.com ) The decision to add the kill-switch stems from ... requests from the OLPC project's main clients: governments. OLPC Director of Security Architecture Ivan Krstic wrote last month that "the OLPC project has received very strong requests from certain countries considering joining the program to provide a powerful anti-theft service that would act as a theft deterrent against most thieves." (Source: ... (view more)

Wed
21
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Google Apps No Longer Free

Google will be taking its applications in a new direction soon: the company will begin charging business for the use of its set of apps, known as "Google Apps for Your Domain." The package includes G-mail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Page ... Creator, a start page, and will soon include Google Doc's word processing and spreadsheet applications. Google has said that they have been flooded with requests from business wanting to use these services -- and it hasn't just been small companies itching for Google Apps. Disney, Pixar, and the University of Arizona have also shown interest in ... (view more)

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