[Software News] Google buys Korean blogging software company
[Software News] Google buys South Korean blogging software company
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. has snapped up South Korean blogging software company Tatter and Company, or TNC, in a bid to expand the Internet search leader's reach in Asia. The acquisition, announced by TNC's co-CEO Chang-Won Kim in a blog posting Friday and confirmed by Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, reflects Google's efforts to open up new distribution channels for its ads beyond its ubiquito...
[Software News] Obama skewers McCain as White House truce scrapped
DOVER, New Hampshire (AFP) - Barack Obama ripped into 72-year-old John McCain as an out-of-touch economic illiterate who had slept through the Internet revolution as war resumed on the White House trail. The Democrat vowed to wield the "truth" against his Republican adversary's "lies" and seize the policy high ground, but McCain denied resorting to outright u...
[Software News] EU welcomes Google move on data stocking
BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Commission welcomed as a "good step" Thursday the decision by Internet giant Google to halve the time that it keeps certain private web search data. EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot "considers this move towards compliance with European privacy principles and EU data protection laws as a good step in the right direction," a stat...
[Software News] Amazon to sell U.S. wine online: vintners
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com, the largest global online retailer, plans to start selling U.S.-produced wine on its website within the United States by early October, wine industry insiders said on Wednesday. Napa Valley Vintners, a nonprofit group representing 315 vintners in the famous California wine-producing region, has already begun to set up workshops for wineries interested in...
[Software News] Google Invests in Satellite 'Net Firm
Google announced Thursday that it will invest in a company that intends to provide high-speed Internet access to developing countries via satellite. The search engine giant will contribute an undisclosed amount of money to O3b Networks, which is looking to provide fiber-like Internet services by utilizing medium-orbit satellites. "This means data can be quickly transmitted to and from eve...
[Software News] One in five bosses screen applicants' Web lives: poll
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Written references could become old hat for hiring managers with one in five saying they use social networking sites to research job candidates -- and a third of them dismissing the candidate after what they discover. A survey by online job site CareerBuilder.com of 3,169 hiring managers found 22 percent of them screened potential staff via social networking profiles, up...
[Software News] Another App Turns Smartphones into Routers
After many a techie event or press conference, we journalists often to dash to Starbucks--not just to refuel with caffeine after a long demo, either. Just as often, we need to get to a Wi-Fi hotspot, then file a story and check e-mail. Of course, just as many people are likely to pull out a dongle and plug it in their laptops to get online. But soon that might not even be necessary: Morose Media ...
[Software News] Internet bookie bwin loses German court case
VIENNA (Reuters) - Internet bookmaker bwin.com has lost a regional court case in the aftermath of Germany's crackdown on online betting, Germany's state lottery said on Thursday, sending bwin shares down 7 percent. In the case before a Cologne court, bwin had requested suspension of the immediate execution of a ban on Internet gambling issued by Germany's states, pending a Federa...
[Software News] EU welcomes Google move to cut data retention time
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's top justice official welcomed on Thursday a move by Google Inc to halve to nine months the time it stores personal data gathered from its users' Web surfing habits. The Internet search giant has come under pressure from European data protection officials to do more to protect the privacy of users visiting its sites. European Justice Commissioner Jacque...
[Software News] Yahoo to open music site to other services
SUNNYVALE, California (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc plans to open its online music site to feature information about songs and artists from outside services such as Apple Inc iTunes or Amazon.com, an executive said on Thursday. "We are going to completely open up Yahoo Music in the next few weeks," Scott Moore, the executive in charge of Yahoo's media businesses, told reporters at a br...
[Software News] EU justice chief welcomes Google privacy move
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The EU's top justice official on Thursday welcomed a recent move by Google Inc. to cut the time it keeps users' search details. Jacques Barrot, the EU's justice and home affairs commissioner said Google's announcement earlier this week was "a good step in the right direction." He said however, Google's move to cut its retention of data logs from 18 months to nine should be trimme...
[Software News] Fast Google Chrome Browser Is Building a Following
Though it has only been available since the start of September, the new beta version of Google Chrome is already attracting a following. As of Wednesday evening, about one percent of Internet surfers were using Google's open-source browser, according to Net Applications. By comparison, the longtime Opera browser had a 0.74 percent share of the global browser market in August. Obviously, Chr...
[Software News] Japan, Sweden, Netherlands lead in broadband: study
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Sweden and The Netherlands have the best performing broadband Internet connections in Europe, helped by investments in high-speed fiber-optic links and upgrades to cable TV networks, a study found. Japan was the global leader by a large margin in the study, released on Friday, carried out by the Universities of Oxford and Oviedo and sponsored by network gear maker Cisco...
[Software News] Yahoo's home page, other sections to get makeover
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Yahoo Inc. is preparing to tweak several popular sections of its Web site, including its home page, during the next few months to accommodate more material from rival services as the Internet company tries to polish its tarnished franchise. The makeover outlined for reporters Thursday represents a key step in Yahoo's push to regain the momentum that it lost while being outmaneuve...
[Software News] On the Net: Celebrities blog about the election
Paris Hilton is not alone. The heiress' entry into politics with a memorable Web video for FunnyOrDie.com earlier this summer may have been purely for laughs, but she's just one of many entertainers using the Internet to express views on the upcoming election. Politics and celebrity have always been somewhat awkward bedfellows — some fans resent their favorite movie star using their fame to pol...
[Software News] New tool creates fake YouTube pages for spreading malware
Cybercriminals are getting more and more business-like. The latest examples involve a tool that automates the creation of fake YouTube Web sites that can be used to deliver malware and password-cracking services for sale. Panda Security said it has uncovered a tool circulating in underground hacking forums, dubbed YTFakeCreator, that enables anyone to easily create a fake YouTube page that surrep...
[Software News] NBC shows return to iTunes after year-long feud
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Apple Inc. and NBC Universal have ended a year-long disagreement over pricing that had been keeping NBC TV shows off the iTunes Store. Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the occasion of the company's "Let's Rock" event in San Francisco to announce that, beginning immediately, NBC shows including "Heroes" and "The Office" are ava...
[Software News] AOL Opens Site to Other Email Accounts
AOL added a feature to its Web site on Wednesday that lets users access several Web-based e-mail accounts directly from AOL.com. A window on the right side of AOL.com now features boxes that lets users sign in to Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, and Hotmail. The move is part of a larger revamp of the company's main site, which will soon include new features to give users more control over displayed content...
[Software News] AOL rolls out one-stop e-mail service
AOL on Wednesday unveiled a new e-mail feature designed to allow users to access multiple e-mail services from one location on the site. The e-mail service is part of AOL's plans to debut new features to the site over the coming weeks; the features aim to provide customization and give users more control, such as adding Web links to the main navigation bar and accessing custom feeds from a v...