December, 2007 Issue

A set of policy position documents reportedly authored by Microsoft made the case that Google could use DoubleClick's advertising network to peer into competitors' traffic -- a position the FTC apparently rejected last week.

Gnomie Sam Horne writes:

There are many keyphrase tools out there, but any quality search engine optimization company should know that they are in no way replacements for true market research. When one is embarking on a campaign of marketing on the Internet, it is important to select keyphrases that represent an understanding of one’s audience. In this article, we’ll discuss two crucial aspects of keyphrase research that your search engine optimization company should be taking into consideration: knowing the prospect and knowing the company.

I’ve noticed a nasty trend for the past two years… so it sounds like it’s not a fad: Gray text on white. This isn’t a cool trend as it’s harder to read text. On top of that, on many sites you can’t change the size of the text unless you’re using a browser like Firefox. So what if black text is boring? There’s a reason for that — it’s readable.

The Nasdaq market has delisted The SCO Group, the Linux-seller-turned-Linux-litigant now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Given that the point of Windows Home Server is to allow you to store your media files, a bug in the storage process that could result in corrupted files is bound to get attention.

IBM has licensed its next-generation technology for manufacturing processors to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, the largest chipmaker in China, the companies said on Wednesday.

Russia has taken a major step towards creating a satellite system to rival Europe's Galileo navigation system.

A US federal appeals court handed Google a setback in a patent fight on Wednesday, tossing out part of a summary judgment in the web search engine's favour in a lawsuit filed by Hyperphrase Technologies.

Last week I described how to use a simple Javascript to determine the age of a Web page. The only problem: if the page has any dynamic elements that update automatically when the page loads (and these days most Web pages do), the script shows the current time and date.

Russia may soon prosecute the authors of the "Pinch" Trojan, an easy-to-use malicious software program available on the Internet that steals a variety of data.

Mozilla Labs launched a new online service called Weave yesterday. The idea behind Weave is that all your personal information such as bookmarks, passwords and are synced to your Mozilla account via Firefox.

It's the start of a new era for the company that once argued that giving away the keys to its protocols would somehow reveal the secret of Windows itself: Microsoft has made its first obligatory agreement with a key open source provider.

In his first official visit to the US in 2006, China president Hu Jintao arrived for dinner at Microsoft chairman Bill Gates' house with a gift for the host.

To settle a lawsuit over backdating, McAfee has restated its finances reports for 10 years and taken a $137.4 million charge.

As part of a European antitrust settlement, Microsoft will supply protocol documentation to developers of the open-source software.

Google is working to fix a bug in the Google Toolbar that could allow criminals to steal data or install malicious software on a system, a security researcher warned Tuesday.

Open-source proponents, including Samba, strike deal with Microsoft for Windows server code licensing

Google's AdSense earnings are threatened by a Trojan that replaces the search giant's paid-for adverts with its own, in order to hijack advertising revenue.

Microsoft says it is investigating reports that a security update for the Internet Explorer browser issued last week has crippled some users' ability to get on the Web.

Opera Software, the Norwegian maker of web browsers, has filed the first complaint against Microsoft to the European Commission since the software giant lost a landmark antitrust case earlier this year.

Microsoft said on Thursday that it has begun public trials of virtualisation software that will compete head-on with programs from VMware, saying the tests were starting ahead of schedule.

Online auction site eBay said on Wednesday it would appeal a US court ruling in a patent dispute with MercExchange.

Microsoft has hit back at Opera antitrust claims regarding Internet Explorer, denying that it is abusing its dominant market position to lock users into the web browser.

Google has refused to comment on speculation that it might bid for radio spectrum in the UK, after Ofcom announced plans to auction radio frequencies as part of the "digital dividend".

Search and advertising giant Google is developing a user-generated online encyclopaedia that could rival Wikipedia.

Kohnke Communications is suing Gods & Heroes maker Perpetual Entertainment, claiming the game developer owes it money for favorable press coverage.

A Russian Web site is offering a tool that simulates chatroom conversation and solicits personal information from victims.

Its number one challenge is fending off a variety of potential challenges that might disrupt its dominant position in the online advertising marketplace, researchers say.

Microsoft says it remains happy with enterprise sales of Vista; however, the software behemoth acknowledges that many businesses which have bought Vista licences are yet to deploy the software.

Skype has sought to reassure its business customers that they can trust it in the future, despite the withdrawal of thousands of central London numbers from its SkypeIn users.

Microsoft said Wednesday that has scooped up Multimap, a United Kingdom-based mapping service.

Microsoft has released a toolkit to let businesses block service pack updates for Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003.

BT Wholesale is to distribute a software suite that could improve the performance of broadband connections through the use of multiple lines.

Google is releasing a new application for Apple's iPhone that combines the web leader's services such as email, search and calendar into a single interface.

Connecting their individual voice networks to the NHS N3 network could help hospital trusts across the UK cut their phone bills.

Skype has fixed a critical security hole in the latest version of its Windows VoIP software, which could have allowed specially crafted websites to load and run malicious code on victims' PCs.

Ron Paul is not a botmaster.

The standby and hibernate modes in Windows XP, and Vista's sleep mode are great time-savers, but too often a sleeping PC wakes up on its own, or it doesn't awaken when you want it to. The latter problem is particularly common with Vista, which is proving itself to be pretty worthless, even as Windows versions go.

If there is one tip I have been looking for a simple, duplicable solution to, it has to be s simpler way to make Gmail your default email client. Seriously, would it not be fantastic to simply click on a mailto link in Firefox and then have it automatically set you up with the right “write” page with Gmail? Well today is your lucky day.

Short-range home networks link Web radio, picture frames, cameras, and even cell phones in many new uses.

Microsoft on Friday launched Service Pack 1 for Windows Exchange Server 2007. Features include additions to the Exchange management console, Outlook web access and disaster recovery.

Google said on Friday that it will bid for coveted mobile airwaves in a move that could pit the web-search leader against US wireless service providers.

Being Yahoo president sure pays well.

Following declining sales and lack of a successful follow-up to the popular Razr handset, Motorola's CEO is stepping down after three years on the job. Chief Executive Ed Zander will resign from his post at the end of the year, the company announced Friday.

Few Motorola followers were shocked by the company's announcement Friday that CEO Ed Zander would be stepping down--they were just surprised it didn't happen sooner.

A year since its launch, there is only the smallest of fairy cakes for Vista. Although Microsoft claims high achievements for its new Windows operating system, the sense on the ground is that the OS is lagging badly behind people's expectations. Meanwhile sprightly geriatric XP is about to get a new shot of monkey glands in Service Pack 3.