IT Masala

With a tiny 6.76% of the search market, compared with Google’s 60%+ search share dominance, Microsoft has decided it’s time to leverage their massive base of global Windows users with juicy wads of cash to switch search providers!

So Whats the deal ? 

Microsoft’s new program is called “Microsoft Service Credits for Web Search” and has been unveiled by John Batelle’s ‘SearchBlog’. The money on offer is significant, especially when multiplied across thousands of PCs. The deal means that companies can earn between US $2 and US $10 per computer on an annual basis, plus a US $25,000 “enrollment credit” which is a nice big wad of cash that will likely need a large-ish, strong and sturdy brown paper bag to hold securely while being passed under the table.  

For companies that have thousands of computers, this could translate into anywhere from US $100,000 to $200,000 per year, which is money that could be put to good use in the IT department or elsewhere in the company.

Bad part of the campaign :

Microsoft will use a ‘Browser Helper Object’ installed into IE7 to track search queries and send information on search back to Microsoft, so they can use the information to improve the results that Windows Live Search delivers. Because of this, IE7 must be used – it doesn’t work with Firefox, Opera or older versions of IE browsers.

Really this is heights !! Is Microsoft so very irked by open source successes ?? anyway..read on.. 

Robert Scoble comments - "Microsoft sucks": 

“What Windows Live lacks, specifically, is an identity. No one can describe it, no one from Microsoft has even tried.”

Former Microsoft employee and blogger Robert Scoble who served as the online face of Microsoft during his three years at the company is not impressed with Microsoft’s moves in deciding to offer companies money to use search.

PS: Each search at click4thecause.live.com results in a financial donation from Microsoft to provide help with education programs to the refugee kids around the globe.

We all know that Google doesn’t need to pay anyone to use its search services – people use them voluntarily because of the quality of the results.

So, is Microsoft really that spooked by Google's dominating success in search, and why is Robert Scoble so unimpressed with the deal? - The answer is quality !

It will be a loooong time until Micro$oft Live search reaches the level of Google searches..Till then keep trying..Good luck, Microsoft, you’re going to need it!

via [ itwire ] 

If companies like Apple Inc. or even Italian fashion designer Prada SpA can design a mobile phone, why not Google Inc.?

A recent job opening posted on the Google Web site appears to confirm the company may now be tinkering with more than just an idea but with some real hardware in its engineering labs.

Today the head of Google in Spain and Portugal has confirmed that Google is working on a mobile phone. "Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone," Isabel Aguilera is quoted as saying on the Spanish news Web site Noticias.com.

Plus, Google has on its payroll. Andy Rubin, the founder of handheld device maker Danger who later started Android, a mobile-software maker that Google bought in 2005. Google also acquired mobile-applications company Reqwireless and Google secretly acquired a company called Skia, whose first product is a portable graphics engine that renders 2D graphics on handhelds. 

"Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone," This could be the 20% free time development but publicizing that would be stupid. Obviously this phone could link in with Google Earth/Maps… it is a marketers dream for targeted advertising."

via [ cnet ] 

Yahoo Inc.'s problems with Indian bloggers over unauthorized reproduction of their content on its Indian portals may be just beginning.

Bloggers claim they have identified more instances of their content being reproduced without permission on Yahoo's Indian portals. Yahoo's Indian subsidiary has yet to come up with an appropriate response that satisfies the bloggers.

Yahoo did not refer to Su or her blog by name, and also blamed the mistake on its content provider Webdunia.com (India) Pvt. Ltd . ( oh! what a nice way to put the blame )

Her blog link is here - Surgayathri

Surgayathri has demanded a written apology from Yahoo for allegedly stealing her blog content.(even though her blog was protected under Creative Common Licensing  ). The blogger describes herself as a housewife from Kerala in south India in her blog.

She said that her next step would be to take the dispute to court on a number of charges including copyright violation, if "Yahoo keeps on washing their hands off and tries to do a mockery of an apology."

Other than Kariveppila blog, Yahoo! India stole contents from another web magazine (Puzha.com) too and from some other Malayalam bloggers.

This image shows that the whole thing was not a simple copy paste. There were many things which were altered , like sequence of the para's,pictures and sentence structures.( thanks CopyrightsViolation blog).

Click here for More screenshots…

Related Posts :

• View a Lawyers opinion about this infringement
• Related news on Kairali Europe

Why do internet giants like Yahoo do like this ? This is the way they set examples ?? Yahoo owes atleast an apology to the blogger. Don't you think so ? Reply with your comments below..

As Internet Reaches 747 million Users, Mobile Webvertising Gets a Boost.The survey, conducted by TNS Media and Entertainment in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, found that 76 percent of cellphone owners in those countries now have access to the Web from mobile devices. The researchers, who polled about 1,000 people in each country, found that more than a third of those with mobile Web access used such services.

For instance, i started using my mobile for web browing recently, i liked the way the sites are dsiplayed..etc.. I also liked the way ads were put.. There was really no problem of browsing using my (not so euqipped handset-Motorola W200), but still its nice browsing using the mobile.

I a fan of deepika padukone , and so i downloaded a beautiful wallpaper using Airtel Live.It cost me Rs 10, but it was worth it. The trend is changing, there was a time when everybody asked only for FREE stuff, but now people are ready to pay , as they know they will get the best stuff. This changing trend will be a boost to the mobile advertising arena.

I even downloaded A.R.Rahman's ringtone which was available free of cost, while doing so, i don't mind clicking on the ads which i am interested .. So we are ready for the mobile era now. Advertising on the mobile is gradually picking up and there is a huge market in advertising on mobile phones ..

The cost of mobile internet has come to Rs 5 per day(to browse wap sites only) ( by Airtel) and Rs 20 per day(to browse all sites), we can browse any number of sites , but if you download something it will be charged. This is really a nice facility by Airtel,slowly every other provider will also start his own service on mobile at cheaper prices.

Some facts :

- 49 Percent of Mobile Web Users Check for Sports

- one-third (34%) of mobile Web users internationally say they will watch advertisements in exchange for free mobile content

- 53% of all online weather consumers leverage their mobile access to get weather information

- 35% of online stock quote consumers

- More than 50% of mobile Web consumers use the same brands they use on their PC.

- Nearly one-in-ten consumers actually made a purchase based on a mobile Web ad.

- Other common actions include: checking out a website (23%); requesting more information about a product or service (13%); and, going to a store to check out a product (11%).

- Paid Online Content U.S. Market Spending Report says ; Nearly one-quarter (24%) of Americans have paid for tech news, followed by lifestyles content (21%) and product information (20%).

- Consumers who read technology news on the mobile Web: 73% rely on PC Internet brands. Mobile Web users that access stock quotes (69%), business news (66%) and health news (65%) also rely heavily on PC Internet brands.

- On-portal mobile game revenue jumped to $151 million in Q4 2006

- 65% of all games are purchased by women

- 40% of all games are purchased by mobile consumers age 25-36

Nick Lane, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media said :

"By the end of 2007, 797.6 million mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, or roughly 25%, will include web browsing"

via [ playfuls ] 

Mojungle, the media sharing site that had put itself up for sale on ebay, only to withdraw the listing, because of zero-bids has been sold to Peak Performance Solutions of Columbus, Ohio.The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Mojungle is a mobile-media sharing application and virtual community allowing users to store and share photos and videos directly from their mobile device in real-time, communicate, network, browse profiles, and make friends from around the world in a secure environment. Mojungle was founded in early 2006 and has established a large user base in a short time period.

Former Mojungle CEO, Ophir Tanz, states:

"We are pleased to be leaving Mojungle in such capable hands and look forward to seeing Peak Performance grow the existing Mojungle service and successfully integrate the mobile sharing capabilities into their existing software, a move which is sure to cause a stir in the industry."

Steve Isaac, CEO of Peak Performance Solutions, states:

"Mojungle is a highly innovative solution that will allow cellular telephone technology capabilities to be incorporated into core insurance and risk management business application functions".

via [ peakpsi ] 

Oracle is buying Hyperion Software for $3.3 billion or about $52 a share in cash.

Quick look at Hyperion :
- Hyperion generated revenues of US$765 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2006
- traded under the Nasdaq symbol HYSL
- Named one of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For (2004)
- Global leader in Business Performance Management software.
- Hyperion Earns a Spot on the InformationWeek500 List for 2006

Visit [ Hyperion ]

Corporate Customers use ICICI's Business Banking and get Google Ads FREE. What ICICI does to attract Corporate Customers for their Business Banking.

They say : "Make 2 financial transaction on Coporate Internet Banking and get Google Ads  worth Rs 1000 absolutely FREE. "

Get premium advertising space on Google worth Rs 1000 absolutely FREE. All you need to do is make 2 online financial transactions on your Roaming Current Account . While you save time by reducing your visits to the branch , thousands of prospective customers would be trying to reach you through Google ..

Offer Period : 15th January 2007 to 28th February 2007

This mailer had come to me loong back , forgot to see it. What a deal , this way both are benfited and the customer is also happy. What an nice way of attracting customers offline and online.

Such things point to the things we are going to see in the near future..