OPINION
He finds dependence stunningly strong
Washington Post Sep 7, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser)
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On the tenth anniversary of Google, Colbert Report writer Rob Dubbin attempts to avoid using the Internet behemoth for 24 hours—and finds its tentacles impossible to escape. He discovers "deeper" dependence than expected, "encompassing personal use" and the "nested dependencies of people and institutions surrounding me"—a "harrowing" discovery. "The blue 'G' found a way to surprise me around corners, grinning like some horrible fanged maw," he details in his diary.
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But TV's still tops, NBC says
New York Times Aug 25, 08 6:28 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Internet played an unprecedented role in Olympics viewing this year, with NBCOlympics.com and Yahoo leading the online-coverage pack, the New York Times reports. With 1.2 billion page hits and 72 million video streams, NBC more than doubled its Web traffic from the past two Olympics combined. The Internet lets viewers “create their own broader Olympics experience,” said a ratings analyst.
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Washington Post Aug 8, 08 9:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Internet giant Yahoo will offer users the opportunity to opt out of targeted advertising as concerns mount over consumer privacy, the Washington Post reports. The move comes as Congress is taking a closer look at how web sites track users' data and translate it into ads. Watchdog groups say even with the opt-out option, Yahoo and others continue to collect a wealth of information from web surfers.
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Content sometimes generates odd associations
Associated Press Aug 4, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Automatic "tagging"—the generating of related links and targeted advertising, custom-tailored to whatever the reader is browsing—is now commonplace across the web. But the young technology is not without its share of kinks. The AP examines the sometimes inexplicable, often embarrassing links served up when when human editors aren’t looking.
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Ballmer says company can be more flexible now in Google fight
Wall Street Journal Jul 24, 08 4:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
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CEO Steve Ballmer is spinning Microsoft’s failure to acquire Yahoo expertly, telling analysts today that, unburdened by the search giant, the company can be more frisky and adaptable in its fight with nemesis Google, the Wall Street Journal reports. Actions might speak louder than words, though: Microsoft announced yesterday it would give the leader of its online efforts the boot, and restructure.
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ANALYSIS
Iffy Q2 results make a deal, with Microsoft or Google, best option
BusinessWeek Jul 23, 08 12:09 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Yahoo’s earnings report yesterday didn’t portend an immediate turnaround, Catherine Holahan writes in BusinessWeek , meaning the company must do something to meet the “grandiose claims” it made in rejecting Microsoft’s bid. Some still see Yahoo ultimately taking that path, and expanding its deal with Google is another option that might justify Yahoo standing firm on its third-quarter and yearly forecasts.
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Activist investor gets seats for 2 allies
Wall Street Journal Jul 21, 08 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Yahoo will add two seats to its board of directors and put Carl Icahn in one of them, reports the Wall Street Journal, in a deal that ends Icahn’s proxy fight. Eight of Yahoo’s current board members, including CEO Jerry Yang, will keep their seats, while a ninth will resign. The board will select two members of Icahn’s proxy slate to fill his seat, and the newly created one.
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Link shows decline in businesses he's worked with
PC World Jul 19, 08 12:22 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A new button on Yahoo's homepage links users to the company's case against activist investor Carl Icahn, PC World reports. Icahn is seeking to unseat Yahoo's board at its Aug. 1 general meeting. The page links to voting forms and leaves shareholders in no doubt how the company thinks they should vote: A purple banner carries the Icahn quote, "It's hard to understand these technology companies."
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Software giant is seeking an alternative to Yahoo
Wall Street Journal Jul 16, 08 3:11 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Microsoft will sit down today with executives from Time Warner's AOL to explore a joint venture between the two companies, reports the Wall Street Journal. The software giant is looking for alternatives to its failed Yahoo buyout. Microsoft and Time Warner have been considering a deal for months, though no specifics have been ironed out. Yahoo, meanwhile, is pursuing its own talks with AOL as it fights off a hostile takeover attempt led by Carl Icahn.
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Yang admitted deal with Google would hurt competition: Microsoft
Los Angeles Times Jul 16, 08 11:08 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Congressional hearings on Yahoo's proposed ad deal with Google got a little heated yesterday, with a Microsoft lawyer testifying that Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang recently admitted, in a private meeting, that the pact would reduce competition, the Los Angeles Times reports. Yahoo’s general counsel said he recalled no such remarks at the meeting, and a spokesman later swatted the charge aside.
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Opinion
Microsoft off the hook as Congress goes
after its archrival
Seattle Times Jul 14, 08 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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You have to forgive Microsoft if it indulges in some schadenfreude today, writes Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times. Archrival Google is facing a peril that’s all too familiar in Redmond. Steve Ballmer can sit back tomorrow as Google’s top execs go before the Senate subcommittee on antitrust, secure in the knowledge that he helped put them there.
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Says new offer was better, but still not in shareholders' interest
Wall Street Journal Jul 13, 08 6:20 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Yahoo has rejected another takeover push, this time from Microsoft and investor Carl Icahn, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bidders gave the Internet giant less than 24 hours to decide on an offer that would sell its search component to Microsoft and the rest of the company to Icahn in a move that would have required Yahoo to dump its current board.
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CEO accuses
Icahn-allied giant of pretending to want deal
Wall Street Journal Jul 9, 08 8:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang launched a fresh offensive in the Yahoo-Microsoft war of words yesterday, reports the Wall Street Journal . Microsoft has said it would be interested in reopening merger talks if Yahoo's current board was replaced—but the Yahoo co-founder accuses the company of tactics to destabilize Yahoo without any real interest in cutting a deal.
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'Good corporate citizens' send blogs, photos, videos to the trashbin
Associated Press Jul 7, 08 6:52 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A variety of websites are deleting postings that could offend, and with full legal protection—sparking debate about whether free speech exists online. Case in point: an image of a young smoker posted on Yahoo's photo service. It was cut for promoting underage smoking, but the photographer calls it a comment on Romanian street life. "I never thought of it as a photo of a smoking kid," he said.
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