Yahoo announced BrowserPlus while Google de-branded Gears!!

Yahoo

Yahoo announced software called BrowserPlus that has a similar philosophy. Expand what’s possible to make Web applications a better alternative to programs running natively on a personal computer. Right now, it’s available only in a “sneak peek” on some Yahoo-operated Web sites.

But a year after the Google launched its Gears project, Google appears to be trying to make it easier for competitors to embrace Gears. At its Google I/O conference here Wednesday, Google de-branded Gears today, taking its name off the project and announcing some new Web browser support in the works.

“BrowserPlus is a technology designed to extend the Web, so that developers can build more exciting Web applications and so end users can get more done inside their Web browsers,” Yahoo said on a BrowserPlus frequently-asked-questions page.

Different Web sites can use BrowserPlus to support things like drag and drop from the desktop, easier file uploads, more efficient and secure acquisition of feeds and information, and native desktop notifications.

BrowserPlus works on Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 machines and on Windows XP and Vista machines. Supported browsers are Internet Explorer 7 or later, Apple Safari 3 or later, and Firefox 2 or later.

Yahoo Replacing Its Search Add System With Google Add?

Y-G-Add

Yahoo will be displaying Google search ads in a small number in its search engine queries, a move likely to be interpreted as the latest in a series of Yahoo maneuvers to resist Microsoft’s acquisition attempt.

The test, expected for two weeks and be limited to up to 3 percent of Yahoo search queries in the U.S., is specifically for Google’s AdSense for Search service. In other words, Yahoo would be acting as one of the Web publishers that carry pay-per-click text ads from Google. The ads will appear only in Yahoo.com.

The announcement was first reported Wednesday afternoon by The Wall Street Journal, quoting anonymous sources. A broader agreement to outsource its search ads to Google could let Yahoo increase its cash flow, because Google ads generate more revenue per search, the Journal reported, referring to a consensus belief among financial analysts and Yahoo investors.
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Yahoo noted that “the testing does not necessarily mean that Yahoo will join the AdSense for Search program or that any further commercial relationship with Google will result.” Yahoo will not comment on the nature or timing of any potential relationship with Google.

Microsoft, whose acquisition offer was rejected by Yahoo’s board in February, on Saturday said it will launch a proxy fight to attempt a hostile takeover if Yahoo doesn’t agree to the acquisition in the next three weeks.

On Wednesday, Microsoft blasted the Google-Yahoo announcement, saying that a broad outsourcing deal would inevitably run into regulatory trouble because it would give Google more than 90 percent of the search advertising market.

“This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo. We will assess closely all of our options,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, in a statement.

“Is this real? Is Yahoo seriously considering replacing its search ad system with Google’s?” Weide said. “Or is Yahoo doing this merely to annoy Microsoft and drive Microsoft away from its acquisition attempt? It’s not clear.”

Should Yahoo enter into this deal with Google, it would be an acknowledgement that it has failed to attain its goals in search advertising, despite numerous efforts, including a significant upgrade of its system called Panama.

source:read

Yahoo! OneSearch 2.0 with Voice Search Service Unveiled

OneSearch 2.0

Yahoo’s new version of its mobile search service has unveiled oneSearch 2.0, that includes features like voice-enabled search, search assist, idle screen access and open search results.

To make voice-enabled search possible Yahoo! is partnering with vlingo, a leading speech-recognition company. With the voice-enabled version of Yahoo! oneSearch, consumers can search for anything, including flight numbers, locations, Web site names, local restaurants, and more, by simply speaking. For example, a search query like “N-C-Double-A” will returns a set of results highlighting the latest tournament scores, upcoming game times, and breaking news. Yahoo! oneSearch with Voice lets user perform “wide open” searches – returning relevant results for practically every kind of query.

Available for select Blackberry devices including the 8800 series, Curve, and Pearl in the United States, the new voice-enabled Yahoo! oneSearch can be downloaded from HERE. Over the coming months, the product is expected to support additional devices and become available internationally.

Yahoo! also plans to make it easier to access the search box. The company today also previewed an innovative idle screen search service that makes it easier to search on the phone by integrating the search box right into the main screen. The idle screen will give users one-click access to Yahoo! oneSearch and the Internet. Searching will be easier and faster, as users will not be required to open their browser.

This idle screen solution is expected to roll out in Q2 2008.

Yahoo, MySpace & Google Have Agreed to Form The OpenSocial

OpenSocial

Yahoo, MySpace, and Google have announced they have agreed to form the OpenSocial Foundation in order to “ensure the neutrality and longevity of OpenSocial as an open, community-governed specification for building social applications across the web.”

OpenSocial, launched by Google last year, is a common set of APIs for applications across multiple websites that will allow for cross-platform widgets.

The companies say that Yahoo’s support of OpenSocial and role as a founding member of the new foundation are “landmarks” for the rapidly growing specification which will now offer developers the potential to connect with more than 500 million people worldwide.

This move could be seen to put pressure on non-members, such as Microsoft and Facebook, to sign up.

The OpenSocial Foundation will be an independent non-profit entity that will be in place by July 1, 2008.

 source:pocket-lint

Yahoo Unveils New Mobile Bookmaking Tool

Yahoo

OnePlace, to be launched in the second quarter of this year, allows users to mark links, news feeds or search results that lead them to fresh information on favorite topics when clicked.

Bookmarking tools are anything but new — Yahoo’s own del.icio.us is one — but Yahoo says mobile phones, with their small screens, require a different approach and far greater emphasis on sharing.

Yahoo is driving to outmaneuver Google’s clear lead in computer search and advertising by custom-building elegant services for cell phone users and forming alliances with telecoms carriers.

Customers would be able to access the service either through telecoms carriers who have deals with Yahoo such as Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica or Vodafone or directly download it from Yahoo, Boerries told Reuters.

“It’s not Web links you can click on but it’s smart bookmarks that are alive and will give you current information,” he said in a telephone interview.

“There are 52 content types that OnePlace understands,” he added, naming videos, cities, musicians, albums or stock prices as examples of categories. “For all of those types, we have implemented algorithms for what’s most relevant for that type.”

Users can also choose to automatically direct content they mark in social bookmarks manager del.icio.us, post on Facebook or star in Google newsreader to OnePlace, he said.

They can also sort their bookmarks by local relevance or popularity with friends and contacts.

source:pcworld

Microsoft Plans To Authorize A Proxy Fight To Oust Yahoo

 Micro-yahoo

Microsoft plans to strengthen its pursuit of Yahoo this week when it authorizes a proxy fight to get rid of Yahoo’s board, meaning the 19-day-old acquisition attempt will soon turn a darker shade of ugly, according to The New York Times.

The proxy fight will cost Microsoft between $20 million and $30 million, much less than having to significantly up its offer for Yahoo, The Times reported Tuesday morning, quoting anonymous sources.

The aggressive move would be reliable with Microsoft’s statements hinting that it’s willing to acquire Yahoo via unsympathetic means if necessary. Yahoo’s board rejected unanimously Microsoft’s offer, calling it too low.

source:pcworld 

Yahoo Launches OneConnect Mobile Service

oneconnect

oneConnect will be the first mobile product with an open architecture that aggregates communications tools – email, instant messaging (IM), text messaging (SMS), and social networks – for a new level of convenience in mobile communications. Users can view new postings on Facebook, photos on MySpace, or a connection on LinkedIn.

It includes features such as a socially-connected address book, integrated mobile messaging, contact status alerts, and innovative location-sensing technology with proximity alerts. Widgets will offer the capability to access email from major providers, including Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, and AOL.

After its release, oneConnect is expected to become available across hundreds of devices and mobile browsers around the world. The product is expected to be made available in Q2 2008.

source:tech2 

Microsoft,Google, IBM, Yahoo, VeriSign all in OpenID board

openID

At the beginning of 2006, there were less than 500 websites where OpenID could be used. Today there are well over 10,000, according to the Foundation.”OpenID has grown to be implemented by major open source projects such as Drupal, cornerstone Web 2.0 services such as those by 37signals and Six Apart, as well as a mix of large companies including as Apple, Google, and Yahoo!,” it said.

The move follows Yahoo! last month announcing that its accountholders would be able to use any web site supporting OpenID without creating a separate username and password. A year ago, Microsoft pledged to integrate OpenID 2.0 with the CardSpace identity management systems developed in conjunction with Windows Vista.

According to Technology Business Research, these heavies joining the board will accelerate the secure us of the Internet for commerce, communication, and social networking and go well beyond a one-size-fits-all user ID.  “TBR believes the major corporations that joined the OpenID Foundation board today will help OpenID address problems of security, provider trustworthiness, and user education. Eventually, there will develop a somewhat more complex identity environment than the single sign-on that the creators of OpenID first envisioned, one in which uses have several IDs, tailored to their business and social needs.”

While the OpenID Foundation serves a stewardship role around the community’s intellectual property, the Foundation’s board itself does not make any decisions about the specifications the community is collaboratively building. However the Foundation claimed that “By bringing on these companies and their resources, the OpenID Foundation will now be able to better serve the needs of  the entire OpenID community. In 2008, we can expect to see a larger focus on making OpenID even more accessible to a mainstream audience, the development of a World-wide trademark usage policy (much like the Jabber Foundation and Mozilla have done), and a larger international focus on working with the OpenID communities in Asia and Europe.”

TBR said that such a multi-tiered ID scheme would “make it easy for the website provider to screen users without the burden of verification. In addition, an easy way to implement a user identification system makes it easier for providers to monetise their websites by blocking – or removing – content for anonymous users. Many providers have been unable to monetise their content due to the low willingness of users to register for every little website. With an easy-to-use and open system, every website could require a login.”

source:itwire

As I said in earlier post Yahoo to step up talks with Google

ygoogle

As I said in my earlier post Yahoo Inc.’s negotiations with Google Inc. have intensified as Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang races to find alternatives to Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited $44.6-billion takeover offer, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

Yang told Yahoo employees in an e-mail that the board of directors was evaluating “a wide range of potential strategic alternatives” and had “made no decisions” about the Microsoft bid, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He did not offer specifics, but the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Internet company has hired investment banks Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Lehman Bros. to evaluate options.

Analysts said Yahoo’s best hope for maintaining its independence would be a search advertising pact with Google, which generates significantly more revenue for each search query than does Yahoo. Although it could raise antitrust concerns, such a pact could open the door for rival bids, other financing deals or a sweetened offer from Microsoft.

Neither company would comment on the discussions.

No “white knights” have emerged, with News Corp. and others saying they were not interested.

“Jerry is as motivated as hell to try anything he can,” a person familiar with the matter said. “Google is hyper-competitive and it wants to do anything it can, any time it can, to stop Microsoft from getting one foot in the door.”

Former executives say Yahoo has long considered turning over its search advertising business to Google, most recently in Europe. Doing so would mean that Google would place paid ads on Yahoo search pages, and the two companies would share the money generated. That would dramatically increase revenue and cut costs for Yahoo, a step that analysts have long called for.

Google generated 71.2% of U.S. search-advertising revenue in 2007, dwarfing Yahoo’s 8.9%, according to research firm EMarketer Inc. A Citigroup Inc. analyst estimated that Yahoo could boost its cash flow by 25% by outsourcing its search business to Google.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google has determined that it cannot bid for Yahoo because of regulatory hurdles. Even a partnership between the two biggest search providers would raise concerns about competition in online advertising, antitrust experts said. But such a deal could help Yahoo regain investor confidence, which has slipped as it continues to struggle under Yang’s leadership. Yang, who co-founded Yahoo, took over for ousted CEO Terry Semel last summer.

Yahoo rejected advances from Microsoft last year when Yahoo’s stock price was much higher. Microsoft made the $31-a-share bid Friday. Google CEO Eric Schmidt phoned Yang that day to offer the assistance of the search giant.

Yahoo has not set a timetable for responding to Microsoft. Analysts say pressure will mount on Yahoo to make a decision in coming weeks.

“This is an unsolicited offer, so it is clear this was not Yahoo’s first choice,” said Ellen Siminoff, who worked with Yang at Yahoo and now heads search-engine marketing firm Efficient Frontier.

By bidding for Yahoo, Microsoft is looking to secure a larger stake in Web advertising and search to take on Google. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said the combination would create a stronger No. 2 challenger to Google.

Google has launched a campaign in Washington to challenge the proposed deal. The company’s lobbyists are asking regulators to scrutinize the proposed merger, saying it raises competitive issues.

This marks an escalation in the acrimony between Google and Microsoft, which increasingly compete on numerous fronts. Google is challenging Microsoft’s dominance in desktop software by expanding its online offerings of word processing, spreadsheets and other software. Google plans to release a version today that allows teams to more easily collaborate.

source:latimes