Craigslist Takes Steps to Restrict Obscene Ads
Craigslist, the online classifieds company announced on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with the Attorney Generals of 40 states under which it will restrict the listings of “erotic services”.
In a letter Earlier this year, Richard Blumenthal - the attorney general of Connecticut and representing 40 other states - wrote to Craigslist demanding that it expunge such offensive material from its site and enforce its own rules against illegal activity which includes prostitution. Sex workers have long used that particular section of classifieds on Craigslist to advertise their services. The letter from Connecticut Attorney General led to a series of negotiations between the two sides about what measures Craigslist could take to prevent the listing of such advertisements.
Under the main terms of the agreement Craigslist will now be asking the advertisers of “erotic services” to provide identification. Moreover, the classifieds company will charge such vendors a small fee for every ad - $5 to$10 - and require that they pay through credit cards. Craigslist expects this payment system to confirm the users’ identities, and believes that the mere act of authentication will work as a deterrent for such advertisers. The company further added that the money raised from such ads will be donated to charities including those working against child exploitations and human trafficking.
Google Exits From Advertising Deal with Yahoo
Google Inc walked away from a proposed advertising partnership with Yahoo in the wake continuing pressure from government regulators as well as clients.
Google said in its corporate blog that it was pulling out of the advertising partnership deal with Yahoo as even after four months of anti-trust review, regulators and some advertisers continued to express concerns about the deal. Under the terms of the deal Yahoo would hand over a share of its advertising business to Google in exchange for a share of any resulting revenue. Google chief counsel, David Drummond said in a statement that pushing ahead with the deal would have meant incurring long expensive legal battles as well as soured relationship with clients.
The break up of the proposed advertising deal with Google has left Yahoo in a critical position as it struggles to hold on to its share of the growing market for search advertising on the Internet. The fruition of the partnership deal would have landed Yahoo with hundreds of millions in advertising revenue deal. Yahoo officials responded to Google’s exit from negotiations with disappointment and maintained that the partnership would have been lucrative for all parties.
However by Wednesday afternoon share prices of Yahoo rose by more than 4 percent on hopes that the company would now restart merger negotiations with former suitor Microsoft Corp.
Creator of iPod Quits Apple
A major shuffle in the management at Apple Inc saw Tony Fadell, the creator of the wildly popular iPod, leaving the company with his wife to devote more time to their young family.
Fadell has been credited with being the first to envision the iPod and at the time of leaving he was serving as the Senior Vice President of the company’s iPod division. Fadell quit the full-time position after seven years with Apple Inc but he will continue to stay on as the personal advisor to company CEO Steve Jobs.
Fadell’s exit comes at a time when the iPod stands at a critical juncture facing competition from new entrants in the market for portable digital media players. Still, next generation devices from Apple like the iPod Nano and iPod Touch consistently outsell their nearest competitors by huge margins all over the world.
Fadell will be replaced by Mark Papermaster who will head the iPod and iPhone divisions and report directly to Steve Jobs. Papermaster arrives at Apple after a long 25-year stint at IBM where he was closely associated with the development of several crucial projects. This has led to IBM accusing Papermaster of compromising company secrets to a competitor and even suing him for breach of non-compete agreement.
Malware Threats Rise by 43% says Microsoft Report
Software giant Microsoft has warned that malicious software that can harm computers and pave the way for hackers is spreading faster than ever.
According to data released by Microsoft’s Security Intelligence Report, the amount of so-called malware or unwanted software found in computers has risen by 43% in the first half of the year. More than 90% of the vulnerabilities had an impact on applications while 10% of them affected operating systems. Most of the malicious software makes computers vulnerable to hacking and identity theft operations while most incidences of hacking are motivated by financial gain.
The Microsoft report also revealed that trojan downloaders and “high-risk vulnerabilities” are appearing with greater frequency. However the company report also detailed some steps that users can take to protect their computers from external threats. They should regularly check for and apply security updates, install up-to-date anti-virus and anti-spyware programs besides ensuring that their firewall is enabled. Moreover users should be careful while opening links and attachments embedded in e-mails even when they come from trusted sources.
According to an estimate, more than 90% of all computers run Microsoft’s Window technology which is why Microsoft systems are targeted by hackers more frequently than any other systems.
IBM Files Suit to Stop Executive From Working with Apple
In one of the most striking instances of brain-drain in software industry, IBM has decided to sue one of its former employees in a bid to stop him from taking a position with Apple Inc.
Last week, IBM filed a lawsuit in a district court to prevent former Blade development vice president Marc Papermaster from crossing over to Apple. IBM has contended in its filing that Papermaster knows a lot of IBM trade secrets which would be acquired by Apple and then used against IBM’s business interests if Papermaster is allowed to take up employment at Apple. IBM has further alleged that Papermaster is violating a one-year non-compete agreement by seeking to work with Apple.
Big Blue’s core of objection to Papermaster’s cross-over rises from the importance of IBM’s Power processor architecture. IBM claims that Papermaster’s role in the development of that architecture has made him privy to a lot of confidential information that may be used by business competitors like Apple.
Even though IBM and Apple occupy relatively different areas of the computer chip market, IBM claims that Papermaster’s employment at Apple will place him in a position of competition with Big Blue. This is because IBM’s line of SMB servers are in competition with Apple’s only line of servers, title Xserve.
Microsoft to Introduce Web Versions of Office Apps
The forthcoming version of Windows Office would contain simplified forms of its apps that would be available through Web browsers, announced Microsoft at the Professional Developers Conference on Tuesday.
The software giant said that while it will be putting its Office apps like Word, Power Point and Excel online, it will not completely do away with the traditional versions. Online apps have proved to be very popular with users because of the many advantages they offer – mainly the ease with which documents created in an online app can be opened up for sharing and collaboration. It is this convenience that Google has been leveraging in its Google Docs suit.
Another major advantage of putting up apps online is that the user base grows virally. The user merely has to share a document and the app comes along with it for free. On the other hand, with paid and installed software the user base cannot be expanded so rapidly.
However Microsoft has not had a good track record for developing apps which move seamlessly between online and offline use. For instance its Outlook Web Access is a weaker version of the desktop app and the company has itself claimed that the forthcoming online apps will not come equipped with all the features of the desktop apps.
Google Settles Lawsuit with Publishers for $125 million
Google has agreed to pay $125 million to settle lawsuits filed by authors and publishers which charged the web search group of copyright violations.
In 2005 group of publishers and writers had challenged Google’s book scanning project that digitised and offered excerpts of books without permission from copyright holders. the suit against Google was brought on by the Authors Guild and members of the American Association of Publishers which includes McGraw Hill, CBS-owned Simon & Custer, Pearson Education, Penguin as well as John Wiley & Sons.
The agreement is the latest development in the dispute between Google and the publishing industry which has become increasingly wary of the media company’s shadow over their business. However the settlement is expected to put in place a legal and financial framework which will guide the digital distribution of millions of books over the internet in United States and later perhaps in other parts of the world.
The settlement is still subject to approval of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Once approved, readers will be able to look for and read extracts from millions of out-of-print as well as copyrighted books over the web besides having the option of buying access to the books.
Internet Brings Families Closer, Finds Pew Study
Businesses are not the only ones to benefit from the greater collaboration brought about by the Internet. A recent study has found that families come closer and collaborate better by the use of Internet and mobile technology.
The study commissioned by the Pew Internet and American Life Project included telephonic interviews with 2252 American adults aged 18 and older between December 13 and January 13. The study, conducted by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International focussed on the answers of 1267 respondents who were married – or in a similar relationship with a partner – and had children.
The results of the study, titled “Networked Families”, showed that the Internet and mobile phones help the members of a family to stay connected with each other and promote shared online experiences. The report also looks at how families use technology to negotiate changing social and family configurations. With dual income families on the rise and spouses spending increasingly more time away from each other in paid work, internet and mobile phones have emerged as important ways to keep in touch. The use of mobile technology as a device to connect and coordinate lives becomes particularly significant if the family includes children since larger families with more members have the most relationships to coordinate.
Report Suggest Facebook Seeking a Partner for its Music Service
Popular social networking site, Facebook might soon be making an entry into the business of digital music, according to a report in the New York Post. This comes in the wake of News Corp launching MySpace Music last month.
The founder and Chief Executive of Facebook, Mark Zucherberg has reportedly been talking to several song streaming services as well as music community portals like Rhapsody.com, LaLa.com, iMeem.com and iLike.com regarding an outsourcing deal, said the Post citing sources familiar with the situation. Other Facebook executives too have been busy meeting record companies and exploring the possibilities of a tie-up. Facebook is most likely to partner with an outsider label that has all the licensing in place and the technology ready to offer a comprehensive music streaming feature across its site.
In the MySpace deal, the social networking site had traded equity in its music venture in exchange of licenses to stream ad-supported songs. However Facebook is not interested in securing licenses to distribute music or in creating a proprietary service from scratch, said the Post quoting its sources. Facebook representatives were not immediately available for comment on possibilities of a digital music venture while sources revealed to the New York Post that nothing was imminent and that Facebook may even walk away from all negotiations in the end.
Yahoo Experiments with Small Changes on Front Page
With small steps at a time, Yahoo has undertaken what may be the largest overhaul of its home page in recent times.
Yahoo.com is most visited portal page on the Internet with over 100 million people from America alone, stopping by the site every month. A major revamp of a home page of such staggering popularity is fraught with enormous risks. If the changes do not meet the expectations of even a small proportion of Yahoo’s audience, the company stands to lose millions of users and several millions of dollars in advertising revenue.
This is the reason why the changes on Yahoo’s home page are being introduced in very small measures and to a small segment of its audience at a time. The company is also keenly awaiting feedback from its users on the changes that have been introduced in the front page. Eventually Yahoo intends to put up, several months from now, a completely different and presumably better home page without alienating any of its users with the impact of a sudden change. This form of stealth innovation is increasingly becoming common among the biggest Internet portals which face the challenge of introducing new features without putting off their loyal audiences by springing sudden changes on their sites.
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