Time Warner Set to Spin Off AOL by Year's End

New set of standards could make email more trustworthy

(NEWSER) - A new anti-phishing effort, backed by the big email service providers as well as banks, PayPal, social networks, and other companies, could dramatically reduce the number of scam emails you get in your inbox. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL are backing the new plan; 15 companies in total have come together to create DMARC.org, which officially launches today and will promote standard technologies to authenticate email. The hoped-for end result? If you get an email that claims to be from paypal.com, you could trust that it is actually from paypal.com. If it works, companies would be able to communicate with customers in new ways, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

They promise to make it central to their local and map products

(NEWSER) - We’re going to bet that Yelp is pretty upset right now, because Google took what looks to be a big step into its turf today by acquiring Zagat to bolster its location offerings, Mashable reports. Marissa Mayer, Google’s VP of Local, Maps, and Location services, announced the deal in haiku form on Twitter , writing, “Delightful deal done; Zagat and Google now one; foodies have more fun!” More»

Dow sees triple-digit rise

(NEWSER) - Is the panic over on Wall Street? The Dow shot up around 131 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq were up 13.5 and 26.2 as of 9:39am EST. Part of the gain came from Google’s blockbuster acquisition of Motorola , which sent the latter’s stock up 60%, according to the Wall Street Journal . Traders were also watching two other major deals—Time Warner is reportedly close to an agreement to buy Insight Communications, and Bank of America sold its credit card portfolio to Toronto-Dominion Bank. More»

Remember when AOL was king?

(NEWSER) - Back in 1996, AOL was king of the Internet; its closest competitor was Webcrawler; and the University of Michigan owned a top 10 domain. Things have changed, as comScore data reveal in Business Insider:

1. 1996: AOL. Today: Google sites.
2. 1996: Webcrawler.com. Today: Yahoo! sites.
3. 1996: Netscape. Today: Microsoft sites.

Meanwhile, Google holds talks with Skype for joint venture

(NEWSER) - Skype is suddenly the prettiest girl in school now that it’s pushed back its IPO. Google is in talks for a joint venture with the online calling company, and Facebook is considering buying it outright, sources tell Reuters . Skype is expected to rake in about $1 billion if it goes public, but Facebook could pay $3 billion to $4 billion for the company, according to someone with “direct knowledge of the discussions.” More»