Category: Tech News

Yahoo Board to Reject Microsoft Bid: Wants More or Help from Google

February 9, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 20 Comments

Microsoft Yahoo The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) just broke the story that Yahoo’s board plans to reject Microsoft $44.6 billion offer, citing our favorite source: “a person familiar with the situation.” Apparently, $31 per share “massively undervalues” Yahoo, according to the same source. The logic is that the offer doesn’t take into account risks Yahoo would go through (that is, if regulators overturned the deal) by entering into an agreement with Microsoft.

Accordingly, Yahoo’s board will send a letter to Microsoft on Monday explaining the situation. This article comes just hours after another WSJ article quotes several investment bankers who basically say that “investors have lost confidence in Yahoo management’s ability to reverse the company’s fortunes on its own.” Nevertheless, here’s Yahoo’s reasoning for rejecting the offer:

Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0, Yahoo

2008 Super Bowl Ads: Watch Them Online on Hulu or AOL

February 2, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

I admit it; I’m really not into football but am one of those that tend to tune into the Super Bowl mostly to check out the commercials. I’m not alone, apparently.

TiVo, the company known for its digital video recorder by the same name, usually makes it so that consumers can record TV minus the commercials. But last year Todd Juenger, TiVo’s vice president and general manager of audience research and measurement, explained how it was actually the commercials themselves that consumers were watching:

Media, Tech News, Web 2.0

Breaking: Microsoft Offers $44.6 Billion for Yahoo

February 1, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 11 Comments

Microsoft Yahoo The rumors of this kind of deal have been around for a while but never seemed to materialize. Microsoft will hold a conference call to discuss the details of the proposal, though CEO Steve Ballmer has already laid it out pretty clearly in his public letter to Yahoo (see below for full text). One aspect of the letter to note:

“Depending on the nature of your response, Microsoft reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo!’s shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal.”

Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0, Yahoo

Organized Crime Targeting Apple Computers for the First Time

January 31, 2008July 14, 2008 Bob Caswell 82 Comments

Apple Logo While it’s nothing new for organized crime to focus on phishing and identity theft, Windows-based computers have traditionally taken the brunt of most attacks. So much so, in fact, that plenty of my Apple friends claimed it as yet another reason to switch to the below-the-radar Mac. Too bad, then, that a report out last week shows that the end of 2007 was the beginning of “financially-motivated” organized crime targeting Apple computers.

Is this good news or bad? After all, it could be taken as a sign of Apple’s success. Macs finally appear to be popular enough that cybercriminals care. However you frame it, check out this call to arms of sorts from Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos (the firm responsible for this report):

Apple, Internet, Privacy, Tech News

eBay: No Matter How Hard You Try, You’re Still No Amazon

January 30, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 23 Comments

eBay My top issues with eBay: Prices aren’t that competitive, service is inconsistent, time is wasted, and the shipping is a wild card. It’s no wonder then that, due to lackluster growth, eBay recently announced changes including “holding sellers to higher customer-service standards.” But I gave up on eBay years ago when I discovered Amazon has all the same stuff at around the same price but with real customer service.

Just for fun, I thought I’d revisit eBay and see what kind of deals I skipped out on by searching for the last few items I ordered on Amazon. Here’s how the process works: you search for your item and get excited when you see an amazing deal! Oh wait, that auction still has 12 hours before it’s over. So you save it to your watch list and waste more time searching for other deals.

Amazon, Shopping, Tech News, Web 2.0

Could HD DVD Make a Comeback? Pricing Now Close to DVD

January 28, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 7 Comments

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray Even if plenty of news is out already assuming HD DVD is dead, other sources are pointing us to facts that show the battle isn’t over yet. After all, you can now get HD DVD players with 7 movies for $126 whereas Blu-ray’s alternatives are, at best, nearly three times as expensive with players starting in the $300’s.

Most all coverage, positive or negative, is relying on data from the NPD Group. Interesting, then, that the NPD Group had to issue a statement addressing how its numbers were being used:

Amazon, Media, Tech News

Amazon MP3 Expanding Internationally, More DRM-Free in 2008

January 27, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 12 Comments

Amazon today has announced plans to take its DRM-free MP3 music store to countries beyond the United States. In the U.S., at least, Amazon MP3 is already the online music store of choice.

It’s hard to compete with the largest library (3.3 million songs from 270,000 artists) of restriction free music, much of which is priced lower than the going rate of $0.99/track. And it integrates seamlessly with iTunes (or other desktop music applications) plus works with pretty much any digital music player available.

Amazon, Apple, Internet, Music, Tech News, Yahoo

How Much Is All Your Email Worth? Answer: $50

January 26, 2008 Bob Caswell 16 Comments

Email This past week a national cable and high-speed Internet provider by the name of Charter Communications accidentally deleted all the contents of 14,000 active email accounts. A spokeswoman for the company explained that there is no way for them to retrieve anything that was erased. The spokeswoman offered this explanation and apology:

“We really are sincerely sorry for having had this happen and do apologize to all those folks who were affected by the error… During this maintenance we erroneously deleted active accounts along with the others. It’s never happened before. They are taking steps to make sure it never happens again.”

Internet, Microsoft, Privacy, Tech News, Web 2.0, Yahoo