[Software News] Yahoo share gain short-lived after earnings
[Software News] Netflix shuts movie financing arm to focus on core
NEW YORK - The movie-rental service Netflix Inc. is closing a small unit that finances independent movies, partly to avoid competing with Hollywood studios with which it partners for DVD and Internet distribution. The financial impact on the company will be small, and only four out of about 400 employees are losing their jobs. But the move could make it more difficult for smaller producers to find h...
[Software News] Google opens Knol website, a wiki with bylines
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc opened its website Knol to the public on Wednesday, allowing people to write about their areas of expertise under their bylines in a twist on encyclopedia Wikipedia, which allows anonymity. "We are deeply convinced that authorship -- knowing who wrote what -- helps readers trust the content," said Cedric DuPont, product manager for Knol. The n...
[Software News] Summary Box: Study sees online banking flaws
INCREASING RISKS: A new study finds that online banking customers are more vulnerable to fraud when their banks' Web sites have design flaws that teach bad surfing habits. WIDESPREAD DANGERS: University of Michigan researchers found such design flaws in 76 percent of the 214 U.S. financial institution Web sites they studied. Researchers aren't detailing which banks had problems. THE FINDINGS: Resear...
[Software News] Red Hat Ups Length Of Top Technical Support For Enterprise Linux
Red Hat on Wednesday said it is extending the first phase of its product lifecycle support for Enterprise Linux, when the most technical support resources are made available, from three years to four. That means that new hardware coming out at any time during the first four years of an Enterprise Linux lifecycle will be supported. That "full support" phase previously only lasted for th...
[Software News] Nokia-Qualcomm Trial Postponed, German Court Favors Nokia
The long-pending court trial between Nokia and Qualcomm was suddenly postponed Wednesday just as the proceedings were about to get underway. But there was still plenty of action for the firms as a German court ruled that an important Qualcomm patent was invalid and as Qualcomm said its earnings and revenues rose in the second quarter. The German Federal Patent Court said that the patent was rel...
[Software News] Studies: Banking Web sites, corporate computers are insecure
A new study about security problems with financial Web sites may have you thinking twice about doing online banking. And a separate study found widespread security problems in corporate computers across numerous industries. More than 75 percent of the Web sites of more than 200 financial institutions were found to have at least one design flaw that could put customer data at risk, according ...
[Software News] Web video slowly creeps up on TV in Europe-Jupiter
LONDON (Reuters) - More than one in four Europeans regularly watches online video on sites such as Google's YouTube but the medium has a long way to go to catch up with regular TV, according to Internet research firm Jupiter. In a report released on Thursday, Jupiter said 28 percent of Europeans watched online video at least once a month, mainly short clips but also full-length video via...
[Software News] Report: Microsoft Online Chief Leaves for Juniper Networks
The man behind Microsoft's troubled bid to acquire Yahoo is leaving to run Juniper Networks, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Kevin Johnson, head of Microsoft's struggling online business, will step down as president of Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division. Johnson is also responsible for the development and marketing of Windows and oversees 14,000 Mi...
[Software News] Report: Head of Microsoft's Online Group Leaves for Juniper
A week after Microsoft released financial earnings dragged down by its online services group, the head of its online operations, Kevin Johnson, has taken a new job at Juniper Networks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Juniper spokeswoman Sarah Sorensen would not confirm the report, saying the company does not comment on "rumors and speculation." Microsoft has not responded to a reque...
[Software News] Google's Answer To Wikipedia, Knol, Launches
Google on Wednesday launched Knol, a collaborative reference site. It's similar in concept to Wikipedia, except that Knol allows its authors to generate income from the articles they've authored. "The Web contains vast amounts of information, but not everything worth knowing is on the Web," said Cedric Dupont, a Google product manager and Michael McNally, a Google software engin...
[Software News] Nokia, Qualcomm End Patent Disputes
On the heels of their courtroom drama Wednesday, Nokia and Qualcomm announced a new licensing agreement regarding various wireless technologies, and have settled all litigation between the companies. Under the terms of the 15-year agreement, Nokia has been granted a license for all of Qualcomm's patents to use in mobile phones and its Siemens Networks infrastructure equipment. The patents reg...
[Software News] Facebook Takes Steps to Clean House
At Facebook's f8 developer conference, the company announced some initiatives to improve the quality of applications on its site, but it may have disappointed developers by making no significant new additions to the platform. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off Wednesday's event by acknowledging that Facebook has made mistakes in the year since it threw its site wide-open to third-par...
[Software News] Amazon shrugs off high gas prices, weak economy
NEW YORK - Amazon.com Inc. doesn't seem to be bothered by high gas prices or the sputtering U.S. economy. On Wednesday, the Internet retailer reported second-quarter earnings that more than doubled and easily topped analysts' expectations. It also raised its full-year revenue projections. The Seattle-based company's shares jumped $6.04, or 8.6 percent, to $76.58 in after-hours trading, after finishi...
[Software News] Baidu Second-quarter Profit Grows 87 Percent
Baidu, China's most popular search engine, saw year-on-year profit grow by almost 87 percent in the second quarter of 2008, the company reported Thursday as part of its quarterly results announcement. Net income for the quarter was 265 million yuan (US$38.6 million) on total revenues of 802.6 million yuan. Net income was up 86.7 percent over the same period in 2007. Total revenue growth for the ...
[Software News] Microsoft exec who led Yahoo buyout team to leave
SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said Kevin Johnson, the executive in charge of its Windows and Web operations and an instrumental player in the company's failed $47.5 billion bid to buy Yahoo Inc., is leaving the company. After a short transition, Johnson will step into the role of chief executive officer at Juniper Networks Inc., a networking hardware maker, according to a person familiar wi...
[Software News] Facebook Connects to the Wider Web
Facebook showed off a new service for its social networking site that will allow people to take their Facebook profile and use it on other sites around the Web. Called Facebook Connect, the service was announced back in May and received its first full public airing Wednesday at Facebook's f8 developer conference in San Francisco, complete with demonstrations of how it will work with Digg, Cityse...
[Software News] Microsoft's Online Woes Hint at Larger Vulnerability
Microsoft has built its massive software business by watching other companies take the lead in emerging technology markets and then following fast with competitive products that eventually become dominant once those markets begin to pay out. The company did it against IBM during the birth of the PC, Netscape during the browser wars, and is currently making a strong showing against Sony and Nintendo...
[Software News] Facebook to help some programmers, punish others
SAN FRANCISCO - Facebook Inc. is introducing more tools to help the software applications fueling the online hangout's popularity and is promising to intensify its efforts to weed out programs that violate its rules for protecting users' privacy. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's precocious chief executive, outlined on Wednesday the steps in a programmers' conference that underscored the growing influence...
[Software News] Apple 'Product Transition' Chatter Sparks Web Speculation
Apple's tease of a "product transition" in the works sparked debate among pundits Tuesday about what the Mac and iPod maker may be planning. In a conference call Monday, CFO Peter Oppenheimer told financial analysts that product development contributed to a drop in gross margin in the fiscal second quarter to 34.8%. Moreover, the "product transition" would help push the m...