Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks an ad deal with rival and potential Microsoft ally, Yahoo, could work without incurring the wrath of antitrust investigators. Yahoo shareholders should be the wrathful ones. Soft and fluffy Google as evil, dare we suggest Microsoft-like, competitor? Bill Gates once said Google was the company most like Microsoft that he had ever seen.

via webpronews.com

The world's most popular internet search engine, Google, yesterday added a climate change overlay to its Google Earth function, which shows how climate change could affect the planet over the next 100 years. Using information from the British Met Office Hadley Centre and British Antarctic Survey, the animations illustrate how temperatures are forecast to change in different countries and how the Antarctic ice shelves have retreated during the past 50 years.

via news.com.au

The organization recently released data on surveys from the past five years and said that, although Internet users in the US have grown more trusting of Web sites managed by professional news organizations, almost no one takes at face value all of the information posted by individuals. The findings provide a longer-term view than those released in December 2007 by The Conference Board and TNS.

via emarketer.com

Intel Atom Compliments Mobile Internet Devices Intel Atom is aimed at Mobile Internet Devices and the Intel Centrino Atom technology for portable devices for longer battery life. The international chip maker has announced five new Atom processors as well as the Intel Centrino Atom technology for portable devices, which includes a single-chip with integrated graphics dubbed the Intel System Controller Hub that gives mobile devices PC-like capabilities.

via newsoxy.com

Google executives reportedly met last night to come up with a strategy, and public response, to the newly revived Yahoo/Microsoft deal (whatever form it might take). So says a story in the TimesOnline UK . The story reports that Google founder Sergey Brin said a lot of amazing things regarding a proposed new relationship with Yahoo. Brin reportedly said that Google would have a job waiting for Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang should investors push Yang out via the hostile takever orchetrated by billionaire Carl Icahn.

via networkworld.com

The daily updates for items related to the Banner’s coverage area will be found on our new websites, as part of GateHouse Media’s Wicked Local. Last week the new regional website, Wicked Local Cape Cod, debuted with news and coverage from the entire Cape. Additionally, each of the Cape’s towns has an individual Wicked Local website with news from the GHM newspapers covering them.

via provincetownbanner.com

NEW Sefton based travel website ‘BookMe2.co.uk’ which was set up by former Dune FM presenter John Cooper, has been rated as one of the ‘Best New Websites’ by the leading consumer internet magazine ‘Web User’. The magazine review tells how BookMe2.co.uk ‘lets you quickly compare the prices of flights and hotels – together or separately – from a variety of on-line sources, including budget airlines’.

via southportvisiter.co.uk

The top Republican on the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee asked Google (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) chief executive Eric Schmidt on Wednesday to detail the search engine's privacy practices since it acquired rival DoubleClick. "It is critical that Google's and DoubleClick's policies and procedures for handling this information be transparent, and that every effort is made to protect consumers' data," Texas Rep. Joe Barton wrote in a letter to the company dated May 21.

via uk.reuters.com

Without mentioning the name Yahoo, Microsoft took more than a day to even allude to its deal making with the search company at its yearly advertising conference in Redmond, Washington. "There's not a single company I'd say, 'Hey, here's the one company we'd go acquire'," said Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platform and services group, in response to a question about what types of companies Microsoft might acquire in the advertising market.

via pcworld.com

Jingle Networks has already captured a six percent market share of directory assistance calls with its 1-800-Free411 service. But, with IPO rumors swirling, that might not be a big enough business. What if Jingle expanded into a voice ad network? I have learned that it is preparing to do just that. Confirms CEO George Garrick: At this point I’d call it the Jingle Ad Network. We have advertisers that want to get into more environments, and have technology to serve ads. We are talking to publishers about acquiring enough inventory to be significant.

via techcrunch.com

SpotCrime is a mashup that plots recent criminal activity onto Google Maps, allowing users to shy away from seedier parts of towns they may not be familiar with. The company has offered a website for a few months now, and has just introduced an iPhone version (annoyingly, you have to manually navigate to Crimes are depicted as small icons according to the type of incident, and users can filter crimes over a certain date range or time period. Clicking on an icon brings up more detailed information (when available).

via techcrunch.com

When Michael’s internet went down last month, he vented his frustration on Twitter. And lo and behold, Comcast actually saw his tweet, reached out to him, and proactively worked to solve his problem. Comcast is unusual in its embrace of the Twittersphere, however, since it actually has someone dedicated to putting out fires there before they tarnish its brand too much. Not all companies have that level of savviness so Get Satisfaction, a network of customer support forums, has started to monitor Twitter for them.

via techcrunch.com

Twitter has closed their third round of financing, says Om Malik. He pegs it at a $15 million raise at around an $80 million valuation, but doesn’t know the investor. We (and others I’m sure) have been tracking the same story, and it’s pretty clear the new investor is Spark Capital.
A source says Twitter signed a term sheet with Spark Capital a couple of weeks ago, and Spark partner Bijan Sabet was in San Francisco today visiting “a very special company.” Other hints on Twitter: cofounder Evan Williams remarked that he was walking down Newberry Street in Boston late last month - my guess is he walked right into the building at 137.

via techcrunch.com

Everyone has an opinion on today’s move by Microsoft to shake things up in the search space with their new Live Search Cashback product that shifts search advertising from cost-per-click (CPC) to cost-per-action (CPA) and give a lot of the revenue back to users. Most are negative. Some excessively so. After hearing Bill Gates give the pitch and trying the service myself to make a couple of purchases, here’s what I think: It’s a bold move that goes for Google’s throat, and it will likely have a material impact on their search market share.

via techcrunch.com

Web video distribution player Brightcove is entering the Japanese market with a new subsidiary called Brightcove K.K. Rather than use some of the $86 million it has already raised, Brightcove sold off a piece of the subsidiary for $4.9 million to Japanese investors, some of whom will also act as sales and distribution partners. Participating in the round are Dentsu (biggest advertising company in Japan), J-Stream (biggest content delivery network in Japan), Cyber Communications (biggest online ad network in Japan), and existing Brightcove investor Transcosmos (Japanese media conglomerate).

via techcrunch.com