West Virginians choose Clinton, as race plays a larger role - International Herald Tribune

By Patrick Healy – International Herald Tribune

Published: May 14, 2008

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won a lopsided victory over Senator Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary, where racial considerations emerged as an unusually salient factor. Clinton drew strong support from white, working-class voters, who have spurned Obama in recent contests.

The number of white Democratic voters who said race had influenced their choices on Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia voters said race was an important factor in their votes. More than 8 in 10 who said it factored in their votes backed Clinton, according to exit polls.

With Obama solidly ahead of Clinton in the delegate fight, the West Virginia results are unlikely to hurt Obama's chances of winning the nomination. Still, a strong Clinton victory in another general election battleground state like her victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania could raise fresh questions about Obama's ability to carry swing states in a contest against Senator John McCain. With 92 percent of the precincts reporting, Clinton had 67 percent of the vote and Obama had 26 percent. John Edwards, who pulled out of the race but whose name remained on the ballot, had 7 percent.

The surveys showing a strong racial component in the West Virginia voting suggest that Obama would face pockets of Democratic resistance if he becomes the first black nominee of the party. Although he has argued that he could broaden the Democratic base in the fall, given his popularity with independents and strong showing in traditionally Republican states like Colorado and Virginia, the Clinton camp has pointed to his modest support from white voters and blue-collar workers as weak links for him.

Obama supporters accused Clinton of playing the race card last week when she said she had more support among "white Americans" than he did. However blunt she was, white and financially struggling voters in West Virginia and in Kentucky, which votes next week and which Obama has all but conceded, have become a major force keeping her in the race.

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"There are some who have wanted to cut this race short," Clinton said at a victory party in Charleston, West Virginia, where the crowd at one point chanted, "It's not over!" "I am more than ever determined to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard."

In promising to press forward until the June 3 end of the nominating contests, Clinton faces daunting math. Coming into Tuesday, Obama needed 150 delegates to reach the 2,025 required for the nomination.

Even if Clinton won all the delegates in the remaining contests, a practical impossibility, she could not gather the delegates needed to win the nomination. Her fading hopes rest in seating the Florida and Michigan delegations. Those delegations have been barred from the convention because the states held primaries before party rules allowed. Clinton also hopes for a larger share of superdelegates than she has been accumulating.

The West Virginia results raised troubling signs for Obama.

Although exit polls in other states have indicated that many Clinton supporters, including many whites, would back him in the fall, more than half of West Virginia voters said they would be dissatisfied if Obama won the nomination, according to the surveys by Edison/Mitofsky.

As the Clinton campaign noted in a strategy memo on Tuesday, no Democrat has won the White House without winning West Virginia since 1916. Bill Clinton carried it in 1992 and 1996. Al Gore and John Kerry lost the state in 2000 and 2004, respectively.

Hillary Clinton seized on the West Virginia results in an area where she needs particular help: fund-raising. Roughly $20 million in debt despite $11 million in personal loans from Clinton, her campaign sent a text message to supporters' cellphones less than an hour after the polls closed hailing the victory and urging them to donate at her Web site. A similar pitch arrived by e-mail two minutes later.

"With your help, I'm going to carry the energy of tonight's victory into the next contests in Kentucky and Oregon," Clinton wrote in the e-mail message, referring to the primaries on May 20. "You have worked your heart out, put yourself on the line for what you believe in and given generously. And I'm not about to turn my back on you."

    Thursday, May 15, 2008 15:13

India Bombings Prompt Calls for Anti-Terrorism Agency - Washington Post

By Emily Wax - Washington Post Foreign Service

Thursday, May 15, 2008; Page A09

JAIPUR, India, May 15 -- With a dawn-to-dusk curfew stopping everything but funerals a day after seven bombs exploded in this ancient walled city, police and community leaders were hopeful they could prevent an outbreak of communal violence between the local Hindu majority and Muslim minority.

The toll rose to at least 80 killed and 200 injured in Tuesday's attack, India's deadliest since train bombings that killed nearly 200 people in Mumbai in July 2006.

Authorities arrested at least a dozen people and issued a sketch of a suspect said to have a strong accent belonging to the largely Muslim Bengal region, which straddles eastern India and Bangladesh.

Early Thursday, a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen asserted responsibility for setting off the bombs. In e-mails sent to police and a Hindi news channel, they said they chose to attack Jaipur to target the tourism industry. They also said they were able to target economies around the world, including the United States and Britain.

Bombings always lead to fear of Hindu-Muslim riots of the type that have plagued India off and on since 1947, when what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh were split off from India by British colonial authorities amid horrendous communal violence.

But many people were confident Wednesday that Jaipur would remain calm, noting its long tradition of intermarriage and happy coexistence between members of the two faiths. "There may just be no rioting at all over this and Jaipur can heal," said Aril Mishra, a prominent historian in Rajasthan state, which has Jaipur as its capital. "But both communities are worried

.     Thursday, May 15, 2008 15:13

African talks on Zimbabwe crisis

BBC Tuesday

African Union foreign ministers are in Tanzania and will discuss the Zimbabwe crisis a day after a visit to Harare by their newly installed chairman. Jean Ping met both President Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwean Election Commission on Monday. Over the weekend, he met South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been mediating on Zimbabwe. The AU meeting may discuss a possible African-wide initiative as Zimbabweans await a presidential run-off date.

Opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai won the most votes in the poll, but is still debating whether to contest a second-round run-off. His Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the government delayed giving the results for more than a month so it could carry out a campaign of violence against opposition supporters ahead of a run-off.
Zimbabwe's ruling party has called on its supporters to refrain from violence in the second round. Zanu-PF's Nathan Shamuyarira was quoted by the state-run Herald as saying: "We are urging our people to go and campaign peacefully. We are also urging the opposition to avoid violence and respect people's lives."

Results published by Zimbabwe's electoral commission last week gave MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai more votes than President Robert Mugabe, but not the 50% needed to avoid a run-off. Mugabe has said he will stand in a run-off, but a date for the second round of voting has yet to be set. Mugabe would win automatically if his rival refused to take part.

On Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai's MDC said it was discussing the conditions under which it could take part in a second round.

Zimbabwe's reserve bank has begun circulating new notes with face-values of 100m and 250m Zimbabwe dollars. The notes were introduced to help cope with inflation which officially stands at more than 165,000%, but which economists say is probably far higher.     Tuesday, May 6, 2008 15:37

 

Microsoft Withdraws Proposal to Acquire Yahoo!

In a press release Saturday Microsoftt Corp. announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc.

“We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal,” said Ballmer.

“We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals,” Ballmer said.

“We are investing heavily in new tools and Web experiences, we have dramatically improved our search performance and advertiser satisfaction, and we will continue to build our scale through organic growth and partnerships,” said Kevin Johnson, Microsoft president for platforms and services.       Monday, May 5, 2008 15:30

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Windows Vista SP1 available to the public

Microsoft has begun distributing Windows Vista Service Pack 1 as an automatic update, a move which will allow users who have not already downloaded the service pack to obtain it automatically. The service pack pledges improved performance and stability, along with a cumulative security update. A spokesman for Microsoft stated that the update was being distributed in several smaller downloads. Users should wait until all the packages have been downloaded before expecting it to run. Vista SP1 update was released to PC manufacturers in early February, and was made available as a voluntary download in March.   Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

Microsoft – no plan to extend XP deadline

Comments by Steve Ballmer at a press conference in Europe on Thursday have led to speculation that Microsoft is reconsidering its June 30 deadline to stop selling most new Windows XP licenses . A spokeswoman from Microsoft's public relations firm said Thursday that there is no plan for a change in deadline, however. "Our plan for Windows XP availability is unchanged. We're confident that's the right thing to do based on the feedback we've heard from our customers and partners," the spokeswoman said, reading from a Microsoft statement. The spokeswoman said Microsoft is aware that some customers are pushing for an extension to the deadline -- more than 160,000 people have signed a "Save XP" petition launched by Infoworld , for example. But the company has also done its own research among partners and customers, and feels that "the dates are right," she said, speaking on behalf of Microsoft   Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

Scoop: Apple to Unveil New iMacs Next Week!

A source that has previously been good has dropped a rumour our way that Apple is to unveil new iMacs as early as next Tuesday. The new and improved iMacs are said to be at the same price point as the current models and will probably receive a speed bump as well as a hard-drive increase. GeekSugar correctly predicted MacBook and MacBook Pros in the final hours leading up to the last update, which turned out to be accurate. Rumors of both iMac and Mac mini updates have been persistent for weeks. At a minimum, the iMac is expected to adopt the most recent Penryn processors. The iMac was last updated in August 2007   Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

3G IPhone Due on June 9, Analysts Say

Apple's 3G iPhone will be announced June 9, the likely date CEO Steve Jobs' keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, analysts said in research notes on Thursday. Citi analysts Richard Gardner and Yeechang Lee said that the 3G iPhone will be the "first of an impressive wave of new products" from Apple. They also expect an updated Mac laptop and iPod lines. The Apple conference is scheduled for June 9-13 in San Francisco. In addition to a 3G iPhone release in early June, the 2.5G model could have a "minor casing change" and a price drop to between US$299 and $349, compared to the current $399. Apple is confident it will sell 10 million iPhones this year, and sold more iPhones than expected during the 1 st quarter. Apple has other new products in the pipeline that the company is excited about.   Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

Microsoft Shows Gains, but Also Weaknesses

Microsoft reported quarterly earnings Thursday that were slightly better than Wall Street's expectations, and it gave an optimistic outlook for its 2009 fiscal year, which begins in July. First quarter profits this year are down by 11% to $4.39 billion compared to $4.93 billion the previous year. A fine of $1.42 billion failed to make much of a dent in the company's bottom line, mainly because it's happy to pass the costs of its legal indiscretions along the line to the consumer.

The uncertain American economy, Microsoft executives said, has not had a big impact on the company. Two-thirds of Microsoft's revenue now comes from overseas sales, and demand for many of its products remained healthy in the United States. Christopher Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer said he did not favor raising Microsoft's bid for Yahoo, which was worth $44.6 billion when it was announced in February and $44.1 billion at the close of trading on Thursday.

Microsoft's deadline to Yahoo to accept its offer is tomorrow. Mr. Liddell said the company would decide how to proceed next week.    Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

Acer to release Atom based laptop by June

Taiwanese computer manufacturer, Acer has says that it'll be launching its first cheap laptop offering with Intel's Atom chip inside this June at the Computex trade show being held in Taipei.

On Wednesday, J.T. Wang, the company's chairman said that Acer's new low-cost laptop should weigh in at just under 1kg, making it really lightweight. This new laptop is not aimed at third world countries. The Atom processor has been designed especially for use in small, cheap portable computers and mobile Internet device. It measures less than 25 square millimeters. Intel has said that its tiny chip can run at up to 1.8GHz on only 0.6 watts to 2.5 watts power.Two other Taiwanese competitors, Elitegroup Computer Systems and Micro-Star International have also said they'll be unveiling similar cheap Atom based laptop options soon.    Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

Australian state to ban laser pointers

A bill being considered by the governing body in New South Wales could see laser pointers classified as dangerous weapons.The legislation follows a spate of incidents in which aircraft pilots have been temporarily blinded by laser pointers used from the ground. Using a laser pointer 'improperly' would carry a $5,000 fine or two years in jail, or 14 years for improper use of a high-powered device. New South Wales State Premier claimed that the ban would "stop the potential for mass murder". "I cannot underestimate the catastrophic consequences if a plane is brought down by one of these fools, these idiots, these reckless individuals who want to use these high-powered hand-held lasers and think it's a joke," he said. Earlier this year six planes had to divert from Sydney airport after a laser pointer was aimed into the cockpits while on final approach. Last year a rescue helicopter carrying a critically ill patient was also forced to divert due to " laser disruption".    Friday, April 25, 2008 12:49

Report: DOJ Investigating Yahoo-Google Ad Test

According to Reuters, The Department of Justice has opened an anti-trust investigation relating to Yahoo's test of Google advertising in search results. Additionally, the DOJ is looking into whether or not there were anti-trust implications of Google CEO Eric Schmidt contacting Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang after Microsoft made its unsolicited acquisition offer. The report states that “… The Justice Department is concerned that the test may violate antitrust law.”, adding that authorities “have initiated an investigation” of it … The source said that some of the government's concern focused on a telephone call from Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang to offer help in thwarting Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid.” The test of Google advertising, first announced on April 9th, has “yielded positive results” according to a report in The Wall Street Journal last week.    Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

News Corp. Hired World's Second Best Hacker for Corporate Espionage

News Corp, the media conglomerate that's parent to a number of New and Old Media properties including the Wall Street Journal, MySpace and Fox News Channel, may be subject to a stunning billion dollar civil judgement against them soon, based on the testimony of a hacker described by the Dish Network's attorney Chad Hagan as one of the “two best hackers in the world.” The hacker in question, Christopher Tarnovsky, was allegedly hired by a subsidiary of News Corp to develop ‘pirating software' designed to penetrate the security system of a rival satellite television source, according to a Reuters report yesterday. Tarnovsky says that he was paid in cash (the first payment was $20,000), and payment was hidden inside electronic devices mailed from a Canadian location.    Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

Sony Ericsson posts appalling 1 st quarter results

Sony Ericsson said its first-quarter net profit fell 48% as weaker sales of lucrative high-end phones and investments in emerging markets weighed on earnings. The company slipped to the No. 5 spot among the world's largest mobile-phone makers in terms of units shipped in the first quarter and now ranks behind Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., according to research firm Gartner. The handset maker shipped 22.3 million phones in the quarter. As had been expected, Sony Ericsson's 1 st quarter was terrible: Sales and profits dropped as people preferred cheaper phones and the company pushed up its Research and Development spending. The mobile phone maker, which is a joint venture of Sony and Ericsson, reported €2.7 billion ($4.3 billion) of revenue, down 7% from €2.9 billion for the same period last year. Profits fell to €133 million ($213 million) against €254 million a year ago. Sony Ericsson's market share dropped to 8% from 9% in Q4.    Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

Microsoft Unveils list of proposed Yahoo Directors for Proxy Fight

In spite of earlier implying in Milan yesterday that Microsoft would walk away from the Yahoo deal, later the same day, Microsoft, keeping its options open, leaked many of the names on the slate of directors it plans to file if instead it goes forward with a proxy fight. The list has 10 nominees and three alternates, says the Wall Street Journal. The nominees include:

• John Chapple, former Nextel Partners Inc. CEO
• Edward Meyer, former Grey Global Group Inc. CEO
• Jaynie Studenmund, former chief operating officer of Overture Services
• Vanessa Wittman, Adelphia Communications Corp. CFO

The nominees will probably have a short stay in which they do one thing, vote to merge with Microsoft.     Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

Salesforce Stock Price Up 10% To All Time High

Salesforce's stock price jumped over 10% yesterday to an all time high. The company's market cap rose $743 million, to $8.06 billion. Why the big jump? There is no public information or news emerging to support the increase, though Google acquisition rumours may have played a part,

and short sellers may have moved to cover their positions, magnifying the rumour effect. 2.92 million shares traded today, about 55% more than average.A week ago Google and Salesforce announced broad integration of Google Apps (Docs, Calendar, Gmail, and Gtalk) and Salesforce's online enterprise apps, which, our sources say, may just be a test of a more serious relationship. Cisco and Oracle are said to be interested in Salesforce as well, but not Microsoft.     Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

Microsoft will not pay more for Yahoo

Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, has announced that there is no way that he is paying anything more than he has offered for Yahoo! Speaking in Milan, Ballmer said that $44 billion for a search engine with Yahoo's mileage was more than enough. He knew what Yahoo was worth and he would not pay a cent more. He said that $44 billion was a lot of money and Microsoft will not raise its bid. He added he was prepared to go into the search engine world without Yahoo if the bid does not succeed. Yahoo has hinted that, if Steve quietly ups his bid from the current $31 per share, it's board might just think about it. However, as Ballmer pointed out, Yahoo was only worth $20 per share before Microsoft stuck its bid in.     Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

Apple Reports Record 2 nd quarter results

Apple® announced financial results for its fiscal 2008 second quarter ended March 29, 2008 yesterday. The company posted revenue of $7.51 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion. These results compare to revenue of $5.26 billion and net quarterly profit of $770 million in the same quarter a year-ago. Gross margin was 32.9%, down from 35.1%. in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter's revenue. The company shipped 2,289,000 Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing 51 percent unit growth and 54 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. 10,644,000 iPods were sold during the quarter, representing one percent unit growth and eight percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone™ sales were 1,703,000.    Thursday, April 24, 2008 18:28

Windows XP SP3 released to manufacturers Tuesday

At long last Microsoft released it's Windows XP Service Pack 3 to manufacturers yesterday, and will shortly make it available to its OEM and Enterprise customers. But what can you expect to be included in it? SP3 will contain All previously released Windows XP updates, including security updates and hotfixes. Also included are some out-of-band releases and a small number of new OS enhancements. SP3 also includes Network Access Protection, which is a network policy enforcement platform previously seen in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Through Windows Update the typical download will be in the region of 70Mb, though through the Microsoft Download Center the download swells to around 580Mb     Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Windows XP SP3 released to manufacturers Tuesday

At long last Microsoft released it's Windows XP Service Pack 3 to manufacturers yesterday, and will shortly make it available to its OEM and Enterprise customers. But what can you expect to be included in it? SP3 will contain All previously released Windows XP updates, including security updates and hotfixes. Also included are some out-of-band releases and a small number of new OS enhancements. SP3 also includes Network Access Protection, which is a network policy enforcement platform previously seen in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Through Windows Update the typical download will be in the region of 70Mb, though through the Microsoft Download Center the download swells to around 580Mb     Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Yahoo Holds Steady in Economic Slowdown

Yahoo's first-quarter financial results issued Tuesday were a little better than Wall Street's expectations, but analysts said the numbers were unlikely to help Yahoo's efforts to fend off Microsoft's hostile bid or to extract a higher price. Yahoo's chief executive, Jerry Yang, said that the company's solid performance reaffirmed the board's conviction that Microsoft's unsolicited takeover offer undervalues Yahoo. “Yahoo remained open to “any and all” alternatives, including a deal with Microsoft.” He said. Analysts said that Yahoo shareholders were likely to be relieved that the company's business appeared to have avoided any fallout from the economic slowdown. But they said the results would not break the stalemate between the companies. “I wish Yahoo all the success with its results but it doesn't affect the value of Yahoo to Microsoft,” Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said Tuesday in Morocco.    Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Forget Google's 20% Jump, Baidu UP 78% In Month

The strength of Chinese search engine Baidu in the Asian market has been reflected in investor confidence - beating Google in the valued China market. While Google made back some of their recent drop in value, Baidu gained 78% over the past month, extremely impressive figures. Baidu has been on the move in many ways, expanding outside its search engine stronghold with recent incursions into instant messaging, consumer auctions, online games, and even a bold leap into the mature yet lucrative Japanese search engine market. Nice to see another engine growing in a Google like manner, both financially and corporately.      Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Apple Buys Chip Designer

Late Tuesday, in response to questions from Forbes.com, an Apple spokesman said Apple has agreed to buy a boutique microprocessor design company called PA Semi. The company, which is known for its design of sophisticated, low-power chips, could spell a new future for Apple's flagship iPhone, and possibly iPod products as well. The 150-person chip company, P.A. Semi, was founded in 2003 by Dan Dobberpuhl, who was a lead designer for the well-regarded Alpha and StrongARM microprocessors developed by Digital Equipment in the 1990s. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not comment on our purposes and plans," said an Apple spokesman. He declined to comment on the value of the deal, which has been suggested was done for $278 million in cash. Apple is due to announce its quarterly earnings today.     Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Intel price cuts twist knife in AMD's back

In something close to firing a torpedo at AMD's already sinking ship, Intel announced yesterday that it would be cutting prices on several of its processors by up to 50 per cent. Chipzilla released a new price list yesterday, which shows that many of the firm's going-out-of-fashion processors built on 65nm technology are selling at rock bottom prices to make way for processors built on Intel's new 45 nm process. An Intel spokesman is quoted as saying “We're in the process of refreshing our line. If you see a 65nm [chip], it's older technology and we're moving on from it."

This is good news for anyone who was planning on buying Intel's Q6700 Core 2 Quad processor or an Intel Xeon X3230, which have just dropped 50 per cent from $530 to $266 for shipments of 1,000 chips.     Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Sony Virtual Universe not yet ready

Sony, has decided to delay the release of its PS3 virtual universe for the PS3 for a second time. PS3 fans had expected the online universe to explode on cyberspace and expand across the firmament in late in 2007. However there has been a black hole where the virtual universe should be ever since. The only thing we had seen from Sony was that it should be with us until early 2008. Now Sony Computer Entertainment has issued a press release that says that we will see a beta version of the virtual universe in the second half of 2008.

Sony's game unit chief Kazuo Hirai told AP that the service needs to be refined before it is released. When it arrives, PS3 users will be able to set up a virtual apartment and can invite friends over just like life was like before the invention of video games.     Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

Get Ready for Water-Powered Cell Phones

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on water. Oh Yong-Soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics' research centre, said that when the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power. Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung's needs only water. Since the micro-fuel cell can generate up to three watts of electricity, it could be used in mobile devices. The new fuel cell could power a handset for ten hours, twice as long as rechargeable batteries. Oh Yong-Soo said water-powered handsets are expected to hit the market by 2010.  Wednesday, April 23, 2008 17:18

AT&T to lay off more than 4,000 employees

IDG News Service reports that Telecom giant AT&T announced Friday that it plans to lay off 1.5% of its employees, mostly management, in an effort to streamline its operations. This effectively means that more that 4500 employees will be laid off. The company began notifying the affected employees on Friday, and gave them a 60-day notice, a spokesman said. "The bottom line is that we remain one of America's largest employers, and we are putting jobs where our customers are." AT&T reported a net income of $3.1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2007.    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 16:50

Google 1 st quarter profit soars to $1.31 billion

Google's report on the first quarter of 2008 shows an unexpectedly strong start to the year for the company. On a total income of $5.19 billion for January to March the company made a profit of $1.31 billion. The revenue of $5.19 billion is a 42% increase over the same quarter last year. Sites owned by Google accounted for $3.4bn, making up 66 per cent of the company's total revenues. AdSense accounted for nearly all the remaining income, bringing in $1.69bn and accounting for 33 per cent of revenues. Some 51% of income came from outside the US, including $803million from the UK. Google credited a portion of this to the weak US dollar, estimating that around $18m of its revenues were due to the favourable currency rate. Google stock rose 20 per cent following the release of the report, the largest single-day surge on the stock market for the company since 2004.    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 16:50

Yahoo Continues Search Update .

As the index receives another round of adjustments at Yahoo, the search experts there managed to fix an annoying Site Explorer issue. Crawling, indexing, and ranking should all see changes over the next few days. The post comes a day ahead of another announcement, Yahoo's 1 st quarter financials, which takes place today after market close. Part of the update included a fix for an issue being reported by several webmasters to Yahoo, some of whom encountered problems deleting URLs from Yahoo's Site Explorer. This problem has apparently been fixed. As always when a search engine makes some updates, rankings for sites may have changed. Site publishers should check in to Yahoo over the next few days to see if their websites have outlived any such changes.     Tuesday, April 22, 2008 16:50

Microsoft keeps spending and acquiring

A day before Yahoo posts its quarterly numbers, media mogul Murdoch says he hasn't ruled out teaming with Microsoft to buy the company. In response to a reporter's question about his interest in pursuing a bid with Microsoft for Yahoo, Murdoch said "Depends on the deal." The 77-year-old Murdoch also repeated earlier remarks about not having the financial firepower to top Microsoft's bid. "I certainly can't afford to bid against Microsoft" for Yahoo, Murdoch told attendees at a speech he gave at the Atlantic Council, an international affairs group     Tuesday, April 22, 2008 16:50

News Corp. still thinking about Yahoo joint bid with Microsoft

A report in today's Guardian e-Newspaper names Google as the world's Number 1 brand, with its value estimated at $86bn. The report quotes research company Millward Brown as putting Google at number one in its annual top 100 global brand power list for the second year in a row with a 30% year-on-year increase in its value. Google beat Gene ral Electric to the top spot, with the NBC Universal owner's brand value estimated at $71.4m. The next most valuable brands are Microsoft at $70.89m, Coca-Cola at $58.2m and China Mobile at $57.2m, according to Millward Brown. "Google's rank has been driven by fantastic financial performance and equity value," said Peter Walshe, the global account director at Millward Brown. Apple was the biggest mover in the top 10, and a new entry, moving up nine places to rank seventh, with a massive 123% increase in brand value to $55.2m    Tuesday, April 22, 2008 16:50

Sweeping Changes in New Linux Kernel .

Linux kernel 2.6.25 marks its largest-ever set of changes, with driver improvements and real-time enhancements topping the list. The new kernel's extensive list of enhancements continues Linux's forward momentum, as it enjoys escalating success both in terms of developers and in customer spending. Kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman said "The rate of change is also higher than almost any previous kernel release as well, and I think more developers and more companies contributed than ever before," he told InternetNews.com. Kroah-Hartman recently co-authored a recent study that found nearly 1,000 developers are now working on the Linux kernel, representing over 100 corporations. The update from the prior 2.6.24 kernel incorporates more than 12,000 individual changesets, totaling nearly 370,000 lines of code.   Tuesday, April 22, 2008 16:50

Google named as world's Number 1 brand.

A report in today's Guardian e-Newspaper names Google as the world's Number 1 brand, with its value estimated at $86bn. The report quotes research company Millward Brown as putting Google at number one in its annual top 100 global brand power list for the second year in a row with a 30% year-on-year increase in its value. Google beat Gene ral Electric to the top spot, with the NBC Universal owner's brand value estimated at $71.4m. The next most valuable brands are Microsoft at $70.89m, Coca-Cola at $58.2m and China Mobile at $57.2m, according to Millward Brown. "Google's rank has been driven by fantastic financial performance and equity value," said Peter Walshe, the global account director at Millward Brown. Apple was the biggest mover in the top 10, and a new entry, moving up nine places to rank seventh, with a massive 123% increase in brand value to $55.2m    Monday, April 21, 2008 17:58.

2,000 Microsoft fans convince Steve Ballmer no one uses Yahoo search

Speaking to a crowd of nearly 2,000 at a technology conference in Seattle yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer asked how many in the audience used Yahoo search as their number 1 search engine. "Only a handful of hands went up," reports Reuters. Fewer, in fact than went up when he asked who used Microsoft Windows Live Search. Taken aback, Ballmer responded: "Wow! We offered 31 bucks a share. The overwhelming majority raised their hands for Google Inc, which Microsoft is seeking to challenge as an online advertising powerhouse." In March, 59.8 percent of all U.S. searches went through Google, 21.3 percent through Yahoo, and 9.4 percent through Microsoft, according to ComScore. Yahoo and Microsoft, which rank No. 2 and 3 in Web search respectively, are at a stand-off. Microsoft has said its $31 a share offer is fair, while Yahoo has said the cash-and-stock offer significantly undervalues the company.   Monday, April 21, 2008 17:58

China leaps past USA in Internet users

China has passed the USA as the world's No.1 nation in Internet users. The number of Chinese using the Internet was more than 220 million as of February, according to estimates from official Chinese statistics by the Beijing-based research group BDA China. The government is likely to confirm the leap at its half-yearly report in July. The longtime Internet leader, the USA, which founded and developed the network of computers, had 216 million users at the end of 2007, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. The percentage of American users (71%) still exceeds China's 17%. China has 1.3 billion people, compared with nearly 304 million in the USA. China, however, has a higher growth rate, says BDA's chairman, Duncan Clark.    Monday, April 21, 2008 17:58

Time running short for Yahoo as Microsoft deadline approaches

Yahoo Inc faces a critical week that could decide whether the pioneering web company can remain independent or must surrender to an unsolicited takeover by Microsoft Corp. When it reports first-quarter results on Tuesday, Yahoo has perhaps a last chance to demonstrate some financial strength and progress it has made in stabilizing the company's Internet media and advertising business after two years of decline. Mid-week, Yahoo is set to complete a test with Google Inc on whether Google should run a piece of its web search ad sales, a move sources familiar with the talks say is part of a plan to merge with Time Warner's AOL and fend off Microsoft. Time runs out by Saturday, the date Microsoft has set for Yahoo to accept the deal or face a drawn-out proxy battle by Microsoft to unseat Yahoo's board. Two weeks ago the software giant threatened to lower its offer if Yahoo did not conclude friendly merger talks with Microsoft by April 26th.   Monday, April 21, 2008 17:58

Skype offers unlimited long-distance plan

Internet calling company Skype said today that it would offer an unlimited long-distance calling service for customers who want to reach friends and family without computers or Internet access. Skype, owned by eBay, is one of the best-known Internet calling organizations which allow free calls among Internet users. Users pay to call landlines and mobile phones, but the fee is often lower than standard long-distance services. The company said it was offering unlimited calls to landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada for $2.95 a month. It also offers unlimited calls to phones in 34 countries including Australia, China, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, for $9.95 per month, it said. Skype's new chief executive, Josh Silverman, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that he was pleased with the support it has received from eBay, and brushed off media reports that Skype might be put up for sale.   Monday, April 21, 2008 17:58