Bigmouthmedia search engine news: email

Yahoo! refuses $48 billion takeover bid from Microsoft

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT

The Guardian reported that takeover talks between Microsoft and Yahoo! ended on Saturday, with Microsoft increasing its offer for the search engine from its initial bid of $42 billion to $48 billion, reflecting a $33 share price. The offer, made at a meeting between senior staff from both camps in Seattle, was intended to create a technological powerhouse capable of taking on Yahoo!'s arch-rival Google.

However, Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo were said to want at least $37 a share, or a price of $53 billion, and their refusal to accept the bid effectively ended a three-month pursuit that was intended to reshape competition for e-mail, search and online advertising.

Commenting on the negotiations, Steve Ballmer, chief executive at Microsoft, said: "Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5bn, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us."

In a statement, Yang said he was "incredibly proud" of his team's unity since Microsoft's approach: "With the distraction of Microsoft's unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will be able to focus all of our energies on executing the most important transition in our history so that we can maximise our potential to the benefit of our shareholders, employees, partners and users."

Created 13 years ago by Yang and Filo while still students at Stanford University, Yahoo! was the most popular entry point and search engine for online users worldwide in the late 1990s. But in recent years the engine has been overshadowed by Google and frustrated investors with its drifting strategy and failure to carve out a distinctive path for itself. One of the reasons for Yang and Filo's reluctance to enter negotiations with Microsoft is their protectivness of Yahoo!'s distinctive quirky company culture.

Among Microsoft's reasons for declining to offer more money were the expensive severance benefits included in the contracts of key Yahoo! employees to compensate them in the event of a takeover. The software giant was also wary of Yahoo!'s experimentation in outsourcing certain search advertising to Google, believing this undermined Yahoo!'s key Panama technology and could cause an exodus of disillusioned engineers.

Microsoft insiders insisted that the firm's decision to end talks was a formal decision rather than a negotiating ploy, but industry experts maintain that the software company could try again at a lower price at a later stage should Yahoo! fail to revive its faltering performance.

The search engine braced itself for a backlash from its shareholders following its decision, and saw shares drop 20 percent on Monday when markets opened, trading at $23.02 per share, down from Friday's closing price of $28.67. This was still well above the $19 per share that Yahoo! was trading at when Microsoft made its initial offer three months ago, and the stock closed on Monday at $24.37, down 15 percent, not nearly as bad as some analysts expected.

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Yahoo! releases Vista beta of its IM service

Thu, 01 May 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Search engine provider Yahoo! has launched a new version of its instant messenger (IM) service for the Windows Vista system, it has been revealed.

The revamped Yahoo! Messenger - which had been available in a text messaging-only preview version since December last year - has a range of new features, such as scalable contacts, tabbed messenger windows and more skins.

In addition, the offering provides users with support for computer-to-computer calls, as well as calls to and from phones.

It can also communicate with mobile phone text messages sent using SMS technology and has integration with the Yahoo! address book

Although the older IM version did work with Windows Vista, these capabilities were missing.

Available to download now, the new system is still in beta and Yahoo! has said it would appreciate user feedback to assist with making improvements.

Commenting on the new offering, CNET News writer Ina Fried said it has an "extremely pleasant look and feel".

She commented: "Using the Windows Presentation Foundation graphics engine built into Vista, the program smoothly resizes Windows and moves buddy icons around based on the screen real estate available."

Ms Fried added that Yahoo! does not have any immediate plans to offer further Vista applications.

Reportedly, the search engine provider intends to "learn its lessons" with the IM program and wait for the number of users who have installed the Vista system to increase.

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Google may join forces with DoCoMo

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Internet giant Google may be set to partner with Japanese mobile carrier DoCoMo, it has been reported.

Under the possible deal, the search engine provider would supply search and email services on DoCoMo's handsets.

Citing unnamed company sources, Reuters and the Japanese newspaper Nikkei stated that an agreement may eventually lead to the development of new functions and handsets.

According to the Nikkei, DoCoMo is interested in the development of a next-generation handset featuring Google's operating system.

Concerning the potential alliance, DoCoMo spokesman Hiroto Nakagawa stated: "We are currently studying the possibility of an alliance in search services with domestic or overseas partners, but nothing has been decided yet."

Spun off from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone in 1991, DoCoMo is a provider of mobile communications services and, by entering into a deal with it, Google would have access to its 48 million users of i-mode mobile phone internet services.

In a note to clients, Nomura Securities analyst Daisaku Masuno stated that the possible deal with Google is expected to bolster the company's data traffic revenue.

DoCoMo already has links with the search engine provider, having last month joined the Open Handset Alliance, a group of over 30 technology and mobile firms that have come together to develop Android.

An open and free mobile platform, Google describes Android as "a commitment to openness, a shared vision for the future and concrete plans to make the vision a reality".

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Alterations to Google Reader cause controversy

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

A recent change to Google Reader has sparked controversy among some of its users.

Announced on December 14th, the alteration takes blog posts or articles that users have marked for sharing and makes them available to each person that the user has listed as a contact or friend on Google Talk.

In a company blog, Google's Chrix Finne stated: "We've linked up Reader with Google Talk (also known as chat in Gmail) to make your shared items visible to your friends from Google Talk."

This was done in order to make the process of sharing articles and blogs more convenient as it removes the need to distribute shared items links to friends, he added.

However, the move was greeted with anger by a number or users, with one - named Modulo Noh - commenting: "This is the worst feature [Google has] ever introduced," Mercury News reports.

Meanwhile, another person, called Banzaimonkey, added that the people on his contact list are not necessarily his friends, stating: "This is a major privacy concern."

In response to the complaints, a Google employee assured users that the search engine provider was listening to their concerns.

Indeed, while on his Christmas holidays, a spokesman for the firm emailed Mercury News a statement that the update had been built with "user choice" and "transparency" in mind.

According to founder of the Privacy Forum Lauren Weinstein, the new feature does not in fact cause major privacy concerns. However, he added that Google had mishandled the way in which it was rolled out to users.

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Social networking from your inbox could be on the horizon

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The social networking sites created by Google and Yahoo! have thus far been no match for sites such as MySpace and Facebook. But, as we all know, there's more than one way to keep people connected on the web.

Before the proliferation of instant messaging and social networking sites, most of us kept in touch by e-mail. It's true that time marches on - and you might be forgiven for thinking that e-mails were heading the way of the handwritten letter. But, with new plans to revamp their e-mail services in response to the challenge posed by social networking sites, Google and Yahoo! are hoping to revitalise the humble e-mail.

Reports suggest that Yahoo! has been working on "Inbox 2.0": an inbox based on what you want to see rather than what people send you with handy new features, like the ability to prioritise e-mails from friends. You may also be able to create a personal profile page on Yahoo! Mail - where birthdays and news about your friends' antics can be updated. Speaking to Saul Hansell at the New York Times, Brad Garlinghouse, head of communication and community products at Yahoo!, said "The exciting part is that a lot of this information already exists on our network, but it's dormant."

Yahoo! Mail and iGoogle already have knowledge on the connections between their users. After all, msot people trawl through their e-mail list for friends when joining a social networking site. Building services using this existing knowledge might just give Yahoo! and Google the much needed edge in the increasingly crowded social media space, as well as allow them to place their new e-mail services on the social networking map.

So will these advances fare better than the social networking options offered by Yahoo! and Google in the past? "This isn't a separate product," Mr. Garlinghouse told the New York Times, adding, "This is an integration that has to be seamless to the user." And, as Joe Kraus, who runs Google's OpenSocial project, told the same newspaper, "It is much easier to extend an existing habit than to create a brand."

Checking your e-mails could become a whole different experience if Yahoo! and Google are successful. In time, you might even find yourself questioning whether it's worth opening the e-mail in your revamped inbox saying that you've been left a message at a separate social networking site.

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Yahoo! Mail now available in Hindi

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Yahoo! India has announced it is to provide its email and instant messaging services in Hindi, as well as in other regional languages.

The move is a reflection of Yahoo!'s intention to cater to the specific needs of different countries.

As part of the rollout, Yahoo! Mail users are now being offered the opportunity to experience a "complete Hindi interface", according to a company press release.

The new service will include all the same features as its English counterpart, but with a "distinct local touch".

John Kremer, vice president at Yahoo! Mail, stated: "We have always been focused on making it easy for people to connect to those who matter most to them. Now, with Yahoo! Mail Classic, we are creating a more local email experience."

The firm's product and engineering teams situated in India have played a key role in the localisation process, he added.

Mr Kremer also said that Yahoo! Mail Hindi is a product relevant to the 200 million Indians who, it is anticipated, will get online over the next few years, as well as for the advertisers who wish to reach them.

As well as Hindi, the new service will allow users to chat in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi and Bengali.

With this initiative, Yahoo! has become the first company to offer such services in Hindi, according to NEWS TRACK india.

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Yahoo! launches new version of IM tool

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

A new version of the popular Yahoo! Messenger instant messaging (IM) tool has been announced on the application's official blog today.

Yahoo! Messenger 9.0 Beta comes with a new look for its contact list, which allows users to switch between detailed and compact list views, depending on whether they wish to see larger avatar images for their buddies.

A range of new skins and emoticons are also available, including some that are based on submissions to Yahoo!'s Emoticontest competition earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the tool's photo-sharing facility now comes with Flickr integration, while a new media player is now available for use within the application, enabling users to view video clips, photos and maps from around the web in IM windows.

Those who make use of Yahoo! Messenger's voice call service, incoming Phone In or free PC-based calls can now get calls forwarded to other numbers, with the added ability to listen to voicemail messages via an mp3 attached to an automatic email.

The application is available in six new international markets - the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India (in Hindi) and Vietnam - and is available to download from today.

Yahoo! announced on its Messenger Blog last week that a second release of the Mac 3.0 Beta 2 version of the tool is now available, making it compatible with Apple's newly-released Leopard operating system as a result.

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Yahoo!, eBay and PayPal team up to reduce email fraud

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Yahoo! has announced it is joining forces with eBay and PayPal to protect consumers against email fraud and phishing scams.

The collaborative effort will mean eBay and PayPal customers who use Yahoo! Mail will receive fewer fake emails claiming to be sent from the companies.

In a statement, the search engine declared: "Yahoo! Mail is the first web mail service to block these types of malicious messages for eBay and PayPal through the use of DomainKeys email authentication technology."

DomainKeys technology allows internet service providers to determine if messages are real and should be sent to a user's inbox.

The technology upgrade is due to be rolled out across the world over the next four weeks to all users of Yahoo! Mail.

Michael Barrett, chief information security officer at PayPal, stated: "While there is clearly no silver bullet for solving the problems of phishing and identity theft, today's announcement is great news for our customers who rely on Yahoo! Mail."

Chief information security officer at eBay Dave Cullinane added that, through industry cooperation, firms can collectively attempt to "stamp out" phishing and other kinds of email scams.

Yahoo!'s announcement comes in the wake of uSwitch research that suggested homes in the UK receive almost 82 million spam emails each day, equating to 947 every second.

According to the figures, Britain now ranks fourth in the world for spam attacks.

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MSN UK launches new homepage

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Microsoft brand MSN has launched a new version of its homepage for UK users.

The internet portal has made a number of attempts at improvements on the page, including adding a right-hand column which houses links to Windows Live Hotmail, MSN Spaces blogging tools and Windows Live Messenger.

On the homepage blog, executive producer of MSN UK Peter Bale states: "There is more of everything you already enjoy on MSN: the new page is wider, deeper and, we hope you will agree, more useful."

In another addition to the page, users will be able to view their Hotmail status and any messages waiting will appear on the screen.

MSN UK has also updated the main navigation panel to put the most used sections in more convenient locations.

Mr Bale advises: "In the main news and feature area of the site in the left and centre we hope you will find more information more easily and discover more direct paths to your favourite areas such as Cars, Entertainment, News, Money and Video."

Lower down, the site contains a rolling news section, updated in real time and, below this, users will now find a directory of all the homepage's contents.

Mr Bale concludes his blog by inviting people to leave comments as to their thoughts regarding the alterations.

In related news, MSN is set to limit the number of pre-roll video advertisements it delivers to users as part of a significant overhaul of MSN Video, scheduled to go live today, MediaWeek reports.

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Gmail revamp in the works

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Google is currently working on a new version of its free web-based email service Gmail. In the past, the service has drawn many favourable reviews from users for its unique organisation. However, there has been criticism concerning Gmail's privacy policy and its web interface, which has remained largely untouched since its initial launch in April 2004.

Evidence for a revamped Gmail service has been revealed by a translator. Rather than employing professional translators to convert Google services into multiple languages, Google asks users to translate snippets of text for their applications.

Among other things, these snippets of text uncovered Google's plans to integrate Google Gears with Gmail. Google Gears offers software that enables offline access to services that normally only work online. It installs a database engine on the client system and locally caches the data to be used when a user works offline. The data in the local cache is subsequently synchronised with the online service.

Additionally, a new feature concerning email account access is about to be integrated with Gmail. Users will soon be able to check how many computers or browser sessions currently are in their account. This new feature will enable users to check current as well as past account activity and identify IP addresses of computers accessing the account.

Other Gmail features on which the web community is speculating are increased storage, the ability to easily switch between different Gmail accounts and further improvements to the interface. Multiple attachment selection, the option to view messages from the inbox or in a new tab and the introduction of sorting options are also considered desirable.

Currently, only very few Google employees and select trusted testers outside the company have access to the new version of Gmail and a release date cannot be anticipated. However, the new Gmail is likely to be equipped with some innovative new features in an attempt to gain ground from Yahoo! Mail, who is currently the most popular web mail service in terms of overall usage.

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