SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Yahoo has began weaving trendy social-networking features into its popular free email service as it vies to be the preferred launching point for Internet surfers.
Yahoo says it is providing tools that let people use its email service to build interactive communities based on friends and interests.
"Mail is the largest dormant social graph," Yahoo Mail vice president John Kremer said while outlining enhancements to the service used by 275 million people worldwide every month.
"This is the first time we are exposing that in a significant way."
A "smarter inbox" puts messages from friends or family in a separate, tabbed file so they don't get buried under mountains of spam or work email.
The inbox for the the first time lets people install third-party applications such as movie-recommendation service Flixster and blogging tools from WordPress.
Technology from startup Xoopit (pronounced swoop-it) will fetch all pictures buried in stored emails, even retrieving images from website links found in messages.
"Email is a place where a lot of people live," said Xoopit co-founder Bijan Marashi.
"Yahoo users have years of gems in old emails. There are hundreds of millions of people not on social networks, but with years of data in their email."
Marashi pulled up his three-year-old email account as an example, revealing it held 7,745 pictures.
Yahoo Mail is being infused with a "social dimension" that builds on similar features being added to the California firm's other Internet properties, according to Open Strategy director of product development Cody Simms.
Mirroring a winning move by social-networking star Facebook, Yahoo opened up its platform this year to let third-party developers create fun, hip, or functional applications adapted to its online offerings.
Yahoo wants to enhance the social aspects of its website in order to attract new people to its online services and get existing users to spend more time on its advertising-supported pages.
Yahoo claims more than 500 million users worldwide but has been struggling to cash-in on its popularity.
Yahoo isn't trying to be a MySpace or Facebook, but wants to add "the right bits of social that make sense to our audience," said Yahoo Audience Product Division vice president Ash Patel.
"There are maybe 150 to 250 million users on those networks," Patel said of the top two social-networking services. "With the billion people on the Web, that means some 800 million don't use those services."
Yahoo is aiming to give its half a billion users tools that let them better connect as a community while using its Web pages, according to Patel.
"To be a starting point in this day and age you have to add the best of the Web -- social elements," Patel said, referring to Yahoo's stated goal of being the preferred launch point for Web surfers.
"Yahoo started off linking people to the rest of the Web. It is part of our culture. It is part of our heritage."
Yahoo's move is the latest salvo in an escalating war to become the preferred base of operations for people's increasingly immersive and diverse online activities, according to Flixster co-founder Joe Greenstein.
Facebook Connect lets people link profiles to outside websites so they can flit about the Internet without straying from the social networking website.
Internet search firms treasure their slots as "default" pages set to automatically open in Web browsers.
"It is going to be a really interesting war to see where the user bases end up," Greenstein said. "My guess is we will see multiple winners by demographics. Yahoo has one of the clearest visions as a starting point."
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Source: Yahoo Technology News
Showing posts with label Pure gadgets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pure gadgets. Show all posts
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Another Yahoo investor seeks Microsoft search deal
A large Yahoo Inc. shareholder has joined a growing chorus urging the beleaguered Internet company to set aside its past differences with Microsoft Corp. and renew negotiations to sell its search operations to the spurned suitor.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Yahoo's board, Ivory Investment Management called upon the directors to make amends for "acting unreasonably" in their earlier talks with Microsoft by quickly closing a deal with the software maker now.
Ivory Investment, which owns a 1.5 percent stake in Yahoo, reasoned the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company could persuade Microsoft to pay $15 billion for its search operations and still emerge with more earning power than it currently has.
The net result: Yahoo could nearly double its current stock price to at least $24, based on the financial assumptions made in Ivory's analysis.
Some of Ivory's math is debatable, but there is little doubt left on Wall Street that a search deal with Microsoft now appears to be Yahoo's best bet, said Stanford Group analyst Clayton Moran.
"It's a very reasonable question for Yahoo shareholders be asking right now: why the company isn't talking to Microsoft right now," Moran said. "The pressure should be mounting for them to talk because there is no good explanation for them not to be doing so at this point."
Investors reacted as if Ivory's cajoling will help bring Yahoo and Microsoft back to the bargaining table. Yahoo shares surged $1.21, or 10 percent, to close at $13.40 while Microsoft shares rose 1 cent to $20.61.
Yahoo spokesman Brad Williams declined to comment on Ivory's letter.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but Chief Executive Steve Ballmer reiterated last week that he remains interested in exploring a search deal with Yahoo as he tries to come up with a way to undercut Google Inc.'s dominance of the online advertising market.
Although it trails Google by a wide margin, Yahoo's search engine is the Internet's second most popular, with a U.S. market share of about 20 percent, according to comScore Inc. Microsoft's search engine ranks third at 8.5 percent.
Ballmer has maintained that Microsoft no longer is willing to buy Yahoo in its entirety — an option that was pulled off the table seven months ago when Ballmer withdrew a takeover offer of $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang was holding out for $37 per share.
With Yahoo's stock in the doldrums, other shareholders besides Ivory Investment already have been lobbying for the company to reconcile with Microsoft.
Yahoo director Carl Icahn, who owns 5.5 percent of the company, has been leading the charge, and others, like Mithras Capital, also have thrown their support behind a Microsoft deal.
Last month, Yang said he is ready to talk if Microsoft wants. He made the comments shortly after Google scrapped a planned advertising partnership that Yang had been counting on to boost Yahoo's revenue by as much as $800 million annually.
Yahoo is now searching for a new CEO to replace Yang, who co-founded the company 13 years ago.
As his 18-month stint as CEO winds down, Yang is overseeing layoffs of about 1,500 employees as part of an effort to lower Yahoo's annual expenses by $400 million. Yahoo handed out pink slips to most of the affected U.S. employees Wednesday. The company also might close some of its unprofitable products during the next few weeks and shift other, less popular services into "maintenance mode," Williams said.
Yahoo also has been talking to Time Warner Inc. about a possible purchase of AOL — an idea that Ivory Investment adamantly opposed in its letter.
Ivory Investment, a hedge fund run by Curtis Macnguyen, devoted most of its letter to a detailed breakdown attempting to justify why a $15 billion sale of Yahoo's search engine to Microsoft would pay off for both sides.
The firm estimates Yahoo would lose more than $2 billion of annual revenue from the sale but would gain about $1.6 billion a year in commissions. The analysis assumes Microsoft would be able to leverage the additional search market share it would pick up from Yahoo to boost its Internet revenue by about $1 billion annually.
------------------------------
Source: Yahoo Technology
In a letter sent Wednesday to Yahoo's board, Ivory Investment Management called upon the directors to make amends for "acting unreasonably" in their earlier talks with Microsoft by quickly closing a deal with the software maker now.
Ivory Investment, which owns a 1.5 percent stake in Yahoo, reasoned the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company could persuade Microsoft to pay $15 billion for its search operations and still emerge with more earning power than it currently has.
The net result: Yahoo could nearly double its current stock price to at least $24, based on the financial assumptions made in Ivory's analysis.
Some of Ivory's math is debatable, but there is little doubt left on Wall Street that a search deal with Microsoft now appears to be Yahoo's best bet, said Stanford Group analyst Clayton Moran.
"It's a very reasonable question for Yahoo shareholders be asking right now: why the company isn't talking to Microsoft right now," Moran said. "The pressure should be mounting for them to talk because there is no good explanation for them not to be doing so at this point."
Investors reacted as if Ivory's cajoling will help bring Yahoo and Microsoft back to the bargaining table. Yahoo shares surged $1.21, or 10 percent, to close at $13.40 while Microsoft shares rose 1 cent to $20.61.
Yahoo spokesman Brad Williams declined to comment on Ivory's letter.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but Chief Executive Steve Ballmer reiterated last week that he remains interested in exploring a search deal with Yahoo as he tries to come up with a way to undercut Google Inc.'s dominance of the online advertising market.
Although it trails Google by a wide margin, Yahoo's search engine is the Internet's second most popular, with a U.S. market share of about 20 percent, according to comScore Inc. Microsoft's search engine ranks third at 8.5 percent.
Ballmer has maintained that Microsoft no longer is willing to buy Yahoo in its entirety — an option that was pulled off the table seven months ago when Ballmer withdrew a takeover offer of $47.5 billion, or $33 per share. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang was holding out for $37 per share.
With Yahoo's stock in the doldrums, other shareholders besides Ivory Investment already have been lobbying for the company to reconcile with Microsoft.
Yahoo director Carl Icahn, who owns 5.5 percent of the company, has been leading the charge, and others, like Mithras Capital, also have thrown their support behind a Microsoft deal.
Last month, Yang said he is ready to talk if Microsoft wants. He made the comments shortly after Google scrapped a planned advertising partnership that Yang had been counting on to boost Yahoo's revenue by as much as $800 million annually.
Yahoo is now searching for a new CEO to replace Yang, who co-founded the company 13 years ago.
As his 18-month stint as CEO winds down, Yang is overseeing layoffs of about 1,500 employees as part of an effort to lower Yahoo's annual expenses by $400 million. Yahoo handed out pink slips to most of the affected U.S. employees Wednesday. The company also might close some of its unprofitable products during the next few weeks and shift other, less popular services into "maintenance mode," Williams said.
Yahoo also has been talking to Time Warner Inc. about a possible purchase of AOL — an idea that Ivory Investment adamantly opposed in its letter.
Ivory Investment, a hedge fund run by Curtis Macnguyen, devoted most of its letter to a detailed breakdown attempting to justify why a $15 billion sale of Yahoo's search engine to Microsoft would pay off for both sides.
The firm estimates Yahoo would lose more than $2 billion of annual revenue from the sale but would gain about $1.6 billion a year in commissions. The analysis assumes Microsoft would be able to leverage the additional search market share it would pick up from Yahoo to boost its Internet revenue by about $1 billion annually.
------------------------------
Source: Yahoo Technology
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
PlayStation Home Arriving as Open Beta From Thursday
Sony Computer Entertainment will open up its Home online virtual environment to all PlayStation 3 users from Thursday, it said Wednesday.
Home allows users to create their own avatars and participate in a real-time virtual world, something like a cross between the Mii avatars on Nintendo's Wii and the Second Life community. Users can interact with others through voice and text chat and the service also offers mini-games, videos and special events.
The opening up of the beta test, which has been anticipated for sometime, follows several delays for the service. It was first unveiled in July 2007 and initially promised for a global release later that year but was pushed back once to early this year. It was again delayed due to Sony's desire to "refine" the service and rescheduled as a "fall" launch as an open beta.
From Thursday Home will be available to any PlayStation 3 user that has their console hooked-up to a broadband Internet connection. Users will be able to download the software from the PlayStation Network section of the menu.
"We are committed to providing PS3 users with exciting gaming experiences with PlayStation Home and together with our partners and users, expand the new world of interactive entertainment as we move forward," said Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony's gaming unit in a statement.
Some content will vary by region.
In North America virtual environments will be launched for the "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," "Far Cry 2," "Warhawk Resistance" and "Guitar Hero" games in which users can talk strategy, discuss games and get additional content and clues. Sony said it is working with Activision, Disney Eidos, Electronic Arts, Lucas Arts, THQ and Ubisoft, to develop virtual environments among other content for PlayStation Home.
Commercial tie-ups with companies including drinks-company Red Bull, fashion-house Diesel and furniture-designer Ligne Roset will also bring content to the service.
In Europe and other PAL territories the environments will start with "Far Cry 2" and be joined soon by those for "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," "Warhawk Resistance," "Motorstorm" and "SOCOM." European tie-ups include Atari, Electronic Arts, Midway, Sega and Ubisoft on the games side. Video content will also be available from Hexus TV and Eurogamer.
In Japan content includes "Namco Museum" and lounges for the "Siren" and "Everybody's Golf" games. Sony also plans special events including a Christmas event and New Year countdown through the service.
Home allows users to create their own avatars and participate in a real-time virtual world, something like a cross between the Mii avatars on Nintendo's Wii and the Second Life community. Users can interact with others through voice and text chat and the service also offers mini-games, videos and special events.
The opening up of the beta test, which has been anticipated for sometime, follows several delays for the service. It was first unveiled in July 2007 and initially promised for a global release later that year but was pushed back once to early this year. It was again delayed due to Sony's desire to "refine" the service and rescheduled as a "fall" launch as an open beta.
From Thursday Home will be available to any PlayStation 3 user that has their console hooked-up to a broadband Internet connection. Users will be able to download the software from the PlayStation Network section of the menu.
"We are committed to providing PS3 users with exciting gaming experiences with PlayStation Home and together with our partners and users, expand the new world of interactive entertainment as we move forward," said Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony's gaming unit in a statement.
Some content will vary by region.
In North America virtual environments will be launched for the "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," "Far Cry 2," "Warhawk Resistance" and "Guitar Hero" games in which users can talk strategy, discuss games and get additional content and clues. Sony said it is working with Activision, Disney Eidos, Electronic Arts, Lucas Arts, THQ and Ubisoft, to develop virtual environments among other content for PlayStation Home.
Commercial tie-ups with companies including drinks-company Red Bull, fashion-house Diesel and furniture-designer Ligne Roset will also bring content to the service.
In Europe and other PAL territories the environments will start with "Far Cry 2" and be joined soon by those for "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," "Warhawk Resistance," "Motorstorm" and "SOCOM." European tie-ups include Atari, Electronic Arts, Midway, Sega and Ubisoft on the games side. Video content will also be available from Hexus TV and Eurogamer.
In Japan content includes "Namco Museum" and lounges for the "Siren" and "Everybody's Golf" games. Sony also plans special events including a Christmas event and New Year countdown through the service.
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