Bartz couldn't resist a shout out to the beleaguered golfer when speaking to analysts in New York yesterday afternoon. Yahoo's traffic has been doing gangbusters since the Tiger story broke, which in some ways validates their strategy to be a "portal" rather than a search company. When something big and gossipy like this happens, Yahoo's multichannel setup allows them to cover it from a number of different angles. On the other hand, if your sprawling search and content company is set up so that a single tabloid story can "make" your quarter, well, what happens if that story doesn't break?

Oh, that's right. Google drinks your milkshake. [WSJ via Huffington Post]

(Click on the chart for a bigger version.)

For $20, Yahoo will give subpoena-wielding authorities your basic user ID information. For $30-$40, that jumps to the contents of subscriber accounts, including email. And for $60, police basically own the place. Full contents and logs of Yahoo Groups are at their disposal.

Of course, it's good that Yahoo keeps these prices in check, only charging authorities cost for retrieving records (meaning your taxes pay Yahoo less than they could). Then again, it's flat-out alarming to consider the data trail we all leave, its surprising permanence and the ease with which it can be accessed.

And if you really want to be freaked out, Cryptome is assembling these lawful spying policies by company. Their list already includes communication providers Cox, SBC, Sprint and AT&T.

What do you have to use this day and age to be dishonest? Snail mail and walkie talkies? [Cryptome via Slashdot via boingboing]

Is there anything more fun than sitting around, growing your hair, drinking a Bud while listening to Jethro Tull and pondering how to change the balance of power in the search world and unseat Google?

Would the top 1k most visited sites take a cool $1mm each, plus a commitment from Microsoft or Yahoo to drive traffic through their search engines to more than make up for the lost Google Traffic.

Given the increasing power that Google wields, it's an interesting thought. But that upfront cost wouldn't get past Microsoft's stock holders, let alone the US government's anti-competition watchdogs. Nice pot-stirring though, Mark. [Mark Cuban via The Register]

You may also remember that Google already said it would foot the bill for Virgin America Wi-Fi during the same period.

The catch? Once you log into the network, you'll be pestered if you want to set Google to your homepage or try Google Chrome. But that's it. I can deal with that. You'll also have the option to make a donation to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.

Meanwhile, Yahoo is providing free Wi-Fi for an entire year in Times Square, and Microsoft and JiWire will give free Wi-Fi at airports and hotels if you make one search on Bing. I like free stuff! [Google]

Airports for Google-Sponsored Free Wi-Fi:

• Austin (AUS)
• Baltimore (BWI)
• Billings (BIL)
• Boston (BOS)
• Bozeman (BZN)
• Buffalo (BUF)
• Burbank (BUR)
• Central Wisconsin (CWA)
• Charlotte (CLT)
• Des Moines (DSM)
• El Paso (ELP)
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
• Fort Myers/SW (RSW)
• Greensboro (GSO)
• Houston (HOU)
• Houston Bush (IAH)
• Indianapolis (IND)
• Jacksonville (JIA)
• Kalamazoo (AZO)
• Las Vegas (LAS)
• Louisville (SDF)
• Madison (MSN)
• Memphis (MEM)
• Miami (MIA)
• Milwaukee (MKE)
• Monterey (MRY)
• Nashville (BNA)
• Newport News (PHF)
• Norfolk (ORF)
• Oklahoma City (OKC)
• Omaha (OMA)
• Orlando (MCO)
• Panama City (PFN)
• Pittsburgh (PIT)
• Portland (PWM)
• Sacramento (SMF)
• San Antonio (SAT)
• San Diego (SAN)
• San Jose (SJC)
• Seattle (SEA)
• South Bend (SBN)
• Spokane (GEG)
• St. Louis (STL)
• State College (SCE)
• Toledo (TOL)
• Traverse City (TVC)

Remember when Verizon had the best network and the worst phones? Actually, you don't have to remember, since that's still (subjectively) true right now, but not for long—the Big Red's upcoming Android lineup is looking outrageously promising, with the Hero, Sholes, Droid, Calgary, and now a mysterious new handset called the HTC Desire. We spied the name on a Verizon inventory list a month and a half ago, and now we've got a photo of it—and it looks, well, sort of like the Hero. It's clearly boasting HTC's Sense UI and we can very faintly make out a trackball. The only other thing we're pretty sure about is that the Desire will be a touchscreen-only phone: No keyboard here, folks. Honestly it looks a lot like the Hero, but it may have some distinguishing feature we just don't know about yet. [Boy Genius Report]

Yahoo is getting ready to launch a new news blog, which will consist of both original reporting and linking out to other sites, because that's how journalism is done nowadays. They've recruited Andrew Golis, publisher of Talking Points Memo, and will incorporate the new blog into the already popular Yahoo News page. Why's it in Remainders? Because I really, really doubt anyone bothered to read this far into a post about a Yahoo news blog. [Giga Om]

Vuzix's new Wrap 310 video glasses, which begin shipping today, are much in the same vein as Vuzix's previous products, only slightly less silly-looking. This time, they've opted for the "dorky Oakleys" look, while giving a 16:9 picture that appears the same size as a 55-inch picture at ten feet. It also includes, in case you forget, noise-isolating earbuds and compatibility with a whole mess of different video sources (including all iPhone and iPod with video models). It ended up in Remainders because who wears video glasses besides that Reading Raindbow guy? As a side note, sort of, did you guys know that Reading Rainbow has left this mortal coil? Usually I scoff at old people who get teary-eyed about the way things used to be (ha, newspapers!) but seriously you guys we will have to officially cede the title of Greatest Country in the Universe if our bright-eyed children don't have access to Reading Rainbow. [Vuzix, Videogum]

AOL hinted, at the Web 2.0 Summit today, that they've got something big up their sleeves. "We have been working on something for the last three months that I think is a fairly substantial shift in our technology," said Tim Armstrong. CNET surmises that this big shift is something to do with their extensive roster of blogs, since Armstrong mentioned AOL has been poaching writers from respectable publications like the Wall Street Journal and ESPN. Thrilling stuff, you guys. If you have to ask why this is in Remainders, congratulations for not falling asleep already. [CNET]

"Hack Days" are intended to celebrate creativity as developers race to create Web apps in less than 24 hours. And past events have had performances from Beck and Girl Talk. But hiring go-go dancers isn't exactly going to attract more women coders.

It's not much worse than some of the booth babe demonstrations I've seen, though. And don't tell anyone, but I'm a fan of those gals. [Yahoo Developer Blog via Simonwillison.net]

Sorry
I wanted to acknowledge the public reaction generated by the images of female dancers at our Taiwan Open Hack Day this past weekend. Our hack events are designed to give developers an opportunity to learn about our APIs and technologies. As many folks have rightly pointed out, the "Hack Girls" aspect of our Taiwan Hack Day is not reflective of that spirit or purpose. And it's certainly not the message we want to send about our values here at Yahoo!. Hack Days are about making everyone feel welcome, including women coders and technologists.

This incident is regrettable and we apologize to anyone that we have offended. Rest assured, it won't happen again.

Well, push describes a lot of things. Push is simply an action. Versus, say, pulling. Maybe that's horribly abstract, so try this: If information shows up on your phone or neural implant or messaging program without you (or your wares) asking for it—that's push. The info is pushed to you, versus you pulling it from the source. There are tons of ways push can be (and is) used.

Email's a pretty good starting point for grasping the difference between push and the other stuff. You probably know good ol' POP3—you log into your mail server and pull down new messages. Maybe it's on a frequent schedule, so it feels automatic, even instant, but you're still reaching out to the mail server every time to check and see if there's new mail to download.

IMAP is a little fancier than POP, where all of your folders and email are the same on all of your computers, phones and other gadgets, and any change you make on one shows up on the other, since it's all happening on a remote server somewhere. But with the standard setup, it's still the same deal—your mail program has to log in, see what's new, and pull it down. IMAP does have a pretty neat trick though, an optional feature called IMAP IDLE, that does push pretty well—it's what the Palm Pre uses for Gmail, for instance. Essentially, with IMAP IDLE, the mail server can tell whatever mail app that you've got new messages waiting, without you (or your app) hammering the refresh button over and over. When the app knows there's new messages, it connects and pulls them down, so it gives you just about the speed of push, without matching the precise mechanism.

While different systems do things differently (obvs), what true push services have in common is that they generally insert a middleman between you and the information source.

RIM's setup for the BlackBerry is probably the most sophisticated. When your BlackBerry registers with the carrier (which has to support BlackBerry), the details are handed to RIM's network operating center, so the NOC knows where to send your mail. The NOC watches your mail server, keeps tabs on the phone's location, and pushes email through to your phone whenever you get new stuff.

What makes it push is that your phone's not actually polling a server for new messages to pull—it only receives them when they hit your inbox, and are then pushed to your phone by RIM's servers. This means you save a lot of battery life that'd be wasted by making the phone constantly hit the servers for updates. The flipside is that when RIM's servers blow up, you don't get email, since it's all routed through their system—hence the other panic that grips dudes in suits once every few months lately.

The other biggie is Microsoft, who has Direct Push, part of Exchange's ActiveSync. It's architected a little bit differently, so it doesn't need the precise kind of data about where your phone is that RIM's NOCs do: The phone or whatever you've got sends an HTTPS with a long lifespan to the Exchange server—if new mail arrives before it dies, the Exchange tells your device there's new stuff, so it should start a sync. After it syncs, the device sends out another long HTTPS request, starting it all over again.

Apple's weak-sauce substitute for multitasking works pretty similarly: The developer has something its wants to send an iPhone, when its application isn't actually running, like an IM. It sends the notification to Apple's push servers, which send the notification to the phone through a "persistent IP connection" the phone maintains with the servers. This connection, which is only maintained when push notifications are turned on, is needed to locate the phone, but still doesn't draw as much power as constantly pinging the mail server.

Of course, those aren't the only push systems around, and it's only getting more and more important as stuff gets shifted to the cloud. We haven't mentioned Android and Google Chrome, but both utilize push (or will) in different ways. Suffice it to say, Google Sync will soon be a major player in this game. But basically, all kinds of different data can be pushed—calendars, contacts, browser data, hell, even IM is a kind of push—and they all work more or less the same broad way. Just don't ask us why there isn't push Gmail on the iPhone yet.

Still something you wanna know? Send questions about pushing, shoving and pancake massacres to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

Barnes broke up with her boyfriend in 2004, and in a fit of total jackassery, he not only created fake profiles of her but used them in chat rooms to tell creepy dudes to check them out. These profiles contained "some kind of open sexual solicitation," and said creepy dudes soon started "peppering [Barnes'] office with e-mails, phone calls, and personal visits, all in the expectation of sex." As Ars notes, it's basically the modern equivalent of scrawling a phone number on a bathroom wall, only with a lot more initiative.

Because the profiles were fake, Barnes took the appropriate measures to have them officially removed from Yahoo!, by sending in her proper ID and explaining the situation. Yahoo! agreed, and promised to take the profiles down, and then...didn't. Even after a Yahoo! rep personally assured her the profiles would be removed, no action was taken. So Barnes sued Yahoo!.

Publishers like Yahoo! (and Craigslist, and Facebook) have immunity from being prosecuted for the actions of its users, so they were ruled not guilty. But due to the media attention brought by the lawsuit, Yahoo! finally got off their ass and remedied the situation like they should have months earlier. The judge was particularly sympathetic to Barnes, advising her that she could refile the suit as a sort of "breach of contract" suit, alleging that when Yahoo! agreed to remove the offending material, they became contractually obligated to do so.

We personally agree with the judge's decision; had he held Yahoo! responsible, it's an awfully slippery slope. But sites like Yahoo! do have an obligation to their customers to take complaints like these more seriously. [Ars Technica, Court Decision (PDF)]

Or you could just be a Gizmodo editor: [Jeremy Johnstone/Flickr via Valleywag]

Yahoo Japan plans to install billboards equipped with cameras and facial analysis technology that identifies each person's characteristics, such as age and sex. In addition to specially-targeted ads, they're programmed to display content like news and weather. I wonder if in the future these things can detect other product preferences from our outward appearances. I just hope they don't reveal anything embarrassing, like a need for incontinence pads. [Nikkei via Crunch Gear]

The Synergy functionality on the Palm Pre really kick-started this craze back in January, when Palm debuted the system of integrating all your web services into their native UI. This week, at the CTIA phone show in Vegas, it seems like everyone wants a piece of this action. Lets look at some of the contenders.

Yahoo Mobile Apps
Yahoo released a torrent of apps on the public this week, which aim to reinvent how you access their services on a mobile basis. Yahoo's Mobile Apps and Portals allow you to:
• Look up your Yahoo contacts
• Check statuses of those contacts and look up your own
• Access yahoo mail and messenger
• Sign into your Oneconnect account for social media updates
• Import RSS feeds and Yahoo content modules for news, sports scores, weather and all that crap

All of this comes together in one place so you don't have to launch 10 different mobile apps to manage this stuff. Good if you're a heavy user of Yahoo services. This service is available via mobile browser, plus there's a standalone app for the iPhone and a Yahoo Go app for the other major platforms (WinMo, Blackberry, Symbian, etc...) which gather all the services into a navigable UI.

3deep
3deep was one of the most impressive mobile apps at CTIA. The idea behind it is that you can manage your calendar, contacts, social media and mail all from a single app, with location-aware integration. It's coming out for Windows Mobile, Blackberry, iPhone, Symbian and Android in the coming weeks, if all goes according to plan. Some of the features include:
• The ability to track location, availablilty and presence—meaning it knows where you're going, what your doing there, how long you'll be there and who you want to meet with most
• "Tell Me When" functionality gives you alerts when selected contacts arrive at a specific location, when they're available to talk/meet, or conversely, will send a shout out when you do the same
• Informatilon on whether it's best to call, SMS, email or IM a selected contact
• Updates from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc....
• Calendar and mail management. Plus auto-integration from your computer and phone cals
• Open API so any developer can make their service compatible with 3deep

While a live demo wasn't available, 3deep reiterated this app would be available as a free download sometime in the next couple weeks. This is some serious Stalker 2.0 right here. Facebook has nothing on 3deep.

HTC TouchFlo 3D
HTC's updated (and upcoming) TouchFlo 3D continues to streamline its design so that it's easier to get pertinent contact info from a single screen. Now using their new tabbed contact screen, you can quickly get up to speed with your friends, including the ability to:
• Check call, email and SMS history.
• Check updates and activity to social media services (Facebook, Skype, etc...)
• Easily send emails, text messages and place calls from the same screen.
• Check upcoming calendar events for a selected contact (if you have their shared cal)

TouchFlo 3D will be available on the Touch Pro 2 and Touch Diamond 2 when they launch in the second half of 2009.

The emerging trend is making sure you can communicate and collaborate with your contacts through a variety of mediums and services, all through one control panel. For the most part, it's done with a degree of visual polish. This is good, because if Web 2.0 can't move to the mobile space gracefully, we're all in for some headaches.

"For me, Microsoft is so last century. They are not the problem," said Christine A. Varney, Obama's pick to head the U.S. government's antitrust division (ouch!). To which I say, has she seen those cute new Windows "I'm a PC" ads with the toddlers? If anything, Microsoft is adorable these days.

"[The U.S. economy will] continually see a problem — potentially with Google [because it already] has acquired a monopoly in Internet online advertising," she said.

The comments were made all the way back in June during a panel discussion sponsored by the American Antitrust Institute, but we're only hearing of them now, most likely because Varney is set to be confirmed by the Senate very soon.

But even as Varney was stretching her legs with lofty antitrust rhetoric last year, she was also praising the Google for being a "spectacular innovator" that dominated the industry with "terrific work" and that obtained its monopoly through lawful business practice. They were the kind of comments that inevitably set up a "but..." statement, and lo and behold, here it is:

"[Google is] quickly gathering market power in what I would call an online computing environment in the clouds. When all our enterprises move to computing in the clouds and there is a single firm that is offering a comprehensive solution, you are going to see the same repeat of Microsoft," she said.

Related to all this is an article I keep thinking about as I learn more about the all-but-confirmed legal onslaught that's growing larger in Google's HUD. In Wired's current 3mm thin issue, there's an article called "The Plot to Kill Google," which starts off with Google lawyers preparing to enter the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust wing, of all places. The discussion was about, wait for it, online advertising. This time with Yahoo. The Wired story took place in October, so the legal wrangling has actually already begun.

Google, for its part, has already started preparing a defense. Bloomberg reports Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said in an email response that stiff competition "is literally one click away" on the Internet. Customers are also free to search the internet using any engine they wish, he said, and nothing Google does prevents that from happening. "Cloud computing is really in its infancy," he said. "There's going to be rich competition in that space for a long time to come."

My personal thought on all this? It's what happens when your sea floor mapping platform discovers Atlantis. [Bloomberg via ComputerWorld]

A camera crew visited Yaroo headquarters to inquire into the strange resemblance between it's logo and that of Japan's most popular search engine (that's right... Yahoo! is Japan's most popular search engine).

But the company spokesman denied that theirs was an imitation. The spokesman explained that the name “Yaroo” was a play on the Japanese word “Yaru,” which means “do.” Since they'll do anything. Including copy stuff, presumably. Ya-boo. [Pink Tentacle]

Not there, you notice is Hulu. BUT, Vizio says they're in "deep talks" with them. So Hulu, directly integrated into your TV, looks likely. The connected platform runs on Yahoo widgets and Adobe Flash Lite, and you can develop your own widgets with Yahoo's SDK. It'll start in two TVs this fall, eventually expanding to Vizio's entire XVT line. Not all of the services were up and running, but overall, it looked and performed well—easy to use, and not intrusive.

The crazyass QWERTY slider remote, on the other hand, might not be so simple, but it's fully Bluetooth 2.0 compliant, meaning you can do more than control your TV with it.

VIZIO ANNOUNCES NEW AND EXCITING “CONNECTED HDTV” PLATFORM WITH
WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY (802.11n)

- VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV” Platform gives HDTV viewers unprecedented choice and access to
Internet-based content streamed directly to their VIZIO HDTV without the inconvenience and expense
of a PC or set top box.

- VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV” Platform provides a fully customizable and dynamic entertainment
experience with built-in wireless (802.11n) to access on-demand movies, music, news, weather,
sports, gaming and social networking services.

- Content and service providers are rapidly expanding and now include Accedo Broadband, Adobe®,
Amazon®, Blockbuster®, Flickr®, Netflix®, Pandora, Rhapsody® and Yahoo! ®

LAS VEGAS, NV (CES) and IRVINE, CA - - January 7, 2009 - - VIZIO, America’s TV and
Consumer Electronics Company, announced today the unveiling of its “Connected HDTV”
Platform, which enhances the HDTV viewing experience by bringing personalized
entertainment, information and social networking content into the viewer’s living room. With
unprecedented choice and control of web-based and local content from a wide range of popular
content providers and services, including on-demand movies and music, news, weather, sports,
gaming and social networking services, this platform will be integrated as a key feature into
VIZIO televisions shipping to retailers nationwide this Fall 2009 in time for the busy holiday
season.

VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV” Platform is designed to compliment TV viewing. At a single touch of
the VIZIO customized remote control, viewers can access their favorite Internet content from the
easy to navigate on screen display, without interrupting the TV program they are viewing. With
built-in wired and wireless (802.11n) networking, VIZIO televisions with the “Connected HDTV”
Platform will provide true plug-and-play connectivity right out of the box.

“In our recent report on the future of the television, Evolution of the Television - From Passive
Consumption Device to the Entertainment Center of the Home, we noted, 'The television has
evolved from a passive consumption device that received limited over-the air programming, to
the entertainment center of the home where multitudes of activities come together,’” stated
Nathan Safran, Analyst at Forrester Research, Inc. “While broadband set top boxes that deliver
content into the home are interesting because they establish a new way of delivering content to
the television, they have had limited appeal because of the up-front equipment outlay and
because content has been restricted to a single partner. However, when streaming media
capability is integrated directly into the network enabled television, it becomes a game changing
proposition, and is the next step in the evolution of the television, as it eliminates the equipment
outlay for the set top box and gives the viewer a broad range of content to choose from.”

“As consumer demand for content and information grows exponentially, we want to address
what our customers are increasingly looking for – the ability to enjoy their favorite content and
services from the comfort of their living room easy chair,” said Laynie Newsome, VP Sales and
Marketing Communication and Co-Founder of VIZIO.

Paul Gagnon, Director of North America TV Market Research at DisplaySearch also noted, “In a
hyper-connected world, TVs will start integrating more completely with the various sources of
available content. According to a recent study DisplaySearch conducted, 22% of respondents
wanted access to web-based information and more than 31% already watch movies from on-
demand services.”

Along with the expectation of anywhere, anytime access, consumers crave variety and the
freedom to choose from a wide set of entertainment and information sources. “Our ‘Connected
HDTV’ Platform is a key element of VIZIO’s Consumer Ecosystem, which places the VIZIO
HDTV as a focal point, allowing viewers to seamlessly connect to information and entertainment
sources that they want, when they want them,” said Matthew McRae, VIZIO VP. “The platform
also provides an unprecedented opportunity for Internet-based service providers to develop and
deploy innovative applications to a large consumer audience.”

VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV” Platform will incorporate the Yahoo! Widget Engine, which provides
an open platform enabling a new class of Internet services, called TV Widgets, to thrive in the
TV environment. The platform will also include support for Adobe Flash LiteTM, which will
enable developers to deliver rich applications, content, and video over the Web to the television
itself.

Leading popular content and service providers are working with VIZIO’s “Connected HDTV”
Platform to bring a very wide variety of entertainment, information, social networking and other
applications to consumers, including:

Accedo Broadband (www.accedobroadband.com) — Accedo’s popular casual gaming service,
Funspot®, allows viewers to play a variety of fun games from the comfort of their favorite
armchair. Games include Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Sudoku, and QuizzMaster.

Adobe (www.adobe.com/flashplatform) — Adobe Flash® Player and Adobe Flash Lite are on
over 98 percent of connected computers and more than 800 million devices, and deliver more
than 80 percent of Web videos worldwide. Both players are part of the Adobe Flash Platform
and ensure that content and applications are presented consistently in the format users want.

Amazon Video on Demand (www.amazon.com/vod) — Amazon Video On Demand plans to
make its massive selection of over 40,000 movies and TV shows available to users of VIZIO’s
“Connected HDTV” Platform, providing users with the total on demand entertainment solution.
Using the VIZIO television’s built-in Internet connection, Amazon Video On Demand plans to
give customers the ability to browse, shop and instantly watch everything from hit new release
movies to classic movie favorites and individual TV episodes and seasons.

Blockbuster OnDemand (www.blockbuster.com) — One of the nation’s leading digital movie
services, BLOCKBUSTER ONDEMAND makes thousands of titles, including the newest
releases, available for rental and purchase. The service is available on an a la carte basis, no
subscription necessary, and includes content from the major Hollywood studios as well as more
than 30 other studios, television-content distributors and foreign and independent content
providers.

Flickr (www.flickr.com) — Flickr, a Yahoo! company, is one of the world's leading online photo
and video sharing communities where people explore, find and manage pictures and video clips
of life's daily moments with friends, family and the world. The Flickr TV Widget helps users
make their favorite photo content available to the people who matter to them. Consumers can
view, share and organize photos with friends and family or check out what interesting new
photos were recently posted by others — all in the social setting of the living room on their large
flat panel television.

Netflix (www.netflix.com) — Since launching its streaming functionality in January 2007, Netflix
has grown its catalog to more than 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes to watch
instantly on the TV via a number of Netflix ready devices. Netflix members pay as little as $8.99
per month for unlimited instant streaming and unlimited DVDs from a catalog of more than
100,000 DVD titles in more than 200 genres.

Pandora (www.pandora.com) — Based on the Music Genome Project begun in 2000,
Pandora’s personalized Internet radio and music discovery service delivers personalized
playlists built from a database with over 550,000 songs analyzed by more than 30 trained
musicians and assessed against nearly 400 distinct musical attributes.

Rhapsody (www.rhapsody.com) — Rhapsody’s award-winning digital music service gives
consumers access to more than six million songs on their PC, on their portable device and in
the home. Now, VIZIO “Connected HDTV”-enabled users will have living room access as well to
Rhapsody's extensive music catalog, professionally programmed music channels, personalized
recommendations and thousands of themed playlists.

Yahoo! — Yahoo! provides the best of the Internet in perfect harmony with the simplicity and
reliability of the television. The innovative Yahoo! Widget Engine, which will help drive VIZIO’s
“Connected HDTV” Platform, will offer VIZIO customers an enhanced viewing experience by
bringing to market a new class of interactive applications called TV Widgets. Initial Yahoo! TV
Widgets available will include Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! News, and Yahoo! Finance, soon to be
followed by Yahoo! Sports and Yahoo! Video. Yahoo! Video puts a wide range of news, sports,
lifestyle, and entertainment video content in one place for users to enjoy on their TV via the
Internet. Additional well-known content providers already developing TV Widgets for deployment
include CBS, Showtime®, TwitterTM, The New York Times® and MySpace®.

By collaborating with leading content, service and technology partners to create a truly
compelling and personalized user experience, VIZIO sees its new advanced platform as part of
its continual evolution to deliver consumers more of what they love. “The quality of the platform
partners that we are attracting validates our approach. Our partner list will continue to expand,”
stated Matthew McRae, VIZIO VP. “This platform offers innumerable opportunities given VIZIO’s
hefty HDTV market share and growth expectations for the future.”

Much to Brian Lam's heart content, that's what Yahoo! Search says. Their top 10 searches are:

• Britney Spears
• World Wrestling Entertainment
• Barack Obama
• Miley Cyrus
• RuneScape
• Jessica Alba
• Naruto
• Lindsay Lohan
• Angelina Jolie
• American Idol

While Yahoo! Search is not Google's zeitgeist, statistically is probably very near this. And yes, that sound you hear, dearly beloved, is the sound of the Fourth Trumpet. God saves us all. [BBC News]

YouTube fetched over 2.6 billion search queries that month, trumping Yahoo's 2.4 billion—though Google itself still reigns supreme with 7.6 billion queries (together, Google and YouTube field 10.2 billion). That's a hell of a lot of video, just on YouTube. And I don't even wanna know how many of those were looking for Rick Astley's magnum opus. [TG Daily]

You see, it appears that the hacker(s) used the proxy Ctunnel.com to access the account. Smart move, using a proxy! What was less smart was including the entire address in your screenshots, as that kind of defeats the purpose of using a proxy. Says Ctunnel.com owner Gabriel Ramuglia:

Usually, this sort of thing would be hard to track down because it’s Yahoo email, and a lot of people use my service for that. Since they were dumb enough to post a full screen shot that showed most of the [Ctunnel.com] URL, I should be able to find that in my log.

Oops! If the hacker in question wasn't doing his work from an internet café or using a second anonymizing service, it shouldn't be tough to track them down. And since this was definitely a federal offense, anonymous might be getting a little less anonymous in the not-too-distant future. [The Register via Boy Genius]

Intel and Yahoo's solution can pull down Flickr photos, weather, and related TV content and dump it into widgets along the bottom of the screen. It's nothing we haven't seen before. But at least now Intel's FCC plea for mandatory ethernet jacks on all STBs makes a lot more sense. The folks at Laptop had a chance to walk through the interface:

CE 3100 predates Atom, so it does not appear to be the Atom-based SoCs hinted at previously. Also, it packs more muscle than what's required to simply dump some web widgets on the screen, so we'll probably see some more robust media extender technology running on the platform soon. [Video: Laptopmag]

Full release from IDF:

Intel Introduces First IA System on Chip for Consumer Electronics, Expands Internet to TV Experience

Internet on TV Collaboration with Yahoo!®, Mobile Internet Device Momentum and ‘Boundless’ Opportunities for Software Developers Highlighted
IDF San Francisco 2008

SAN FRANCISCO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—NOTE TO EDITORS: photos, videos and more facts available at www.intel.com/pressroom/idf.

At the Intel Developer Forum, Intel Corporation introduced the Intel® Media Processor CE 3100, the first in a new family of purpose-built System on Chips (SoCs) for Consumer Electronics devices based on the company’s popular Intel Architecture (IA) blueprint.

Executives on Wednesday also provided updates on the Mobile Internet Device (MID) category and Intel Atom™ processor, unveiled a brand with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. around the shift to 3-D movie-making and outlined a number of efforts to speed many-core processor software design.

The CE 3100 has been developed for Internet-connected consumer electronics (CE) products such as optical media players, connected CE devices, advanced cable set top boxes and digital TVs. The media processor (previously codenamed “Canmore”) combines leading-edge CE features for high-definition video support, home-theater quality audio and advanced 3-D graphics, with the performance, flexibility and compatibility of IA-based hardware and software. Intel expects to begin shipments of this product next month.

Intel and its customers have been working together to develop a variety of products for emerging growth areas – consumer electronics, MIDs, netbooks and embedded computers – each based on Intel architecture that enables uncompromised Internet access.

“As consumers look to stay connected and entertained regardless of where they are and what device they are using, the Web continues to affect our lives in new ways and is quickly moving to the TV thanks to a new generation of Internet-connected CE devices,” said Eric Kim, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the company’s Digital Home Group. “As Intel delivers its first IA SoC with leading-edge performance and Internet compatibility for consumer electronics devices, we are providing a powerful and flexible technology foundation upon which the industry can quickly innovate upon. This technology foundation will help the high-tech industry bring devices to market faster, as well as encourage new designs and inspire new services, such as connecting the TV to the Internet.”

“I Love TV” – Intel Extends the Power of IA into Consumer Electronics

As another SoC product from Intel, the Intel Media Processor CE 3100 is a highly integrated solution that pairs a powerful IA processor core with leading-edge multi-stream video decoding and processing hardware. It also adds a 3-channel 800 MHz DDR2 memory controller, dedicated multi-channel dual audio DSPs, a powerful 3-D graphics engine enabling advanced UIs and EPGs, and support for multiple peripherals, including USB 2.0 and PCI Express.

The Intel Media Processor CE 3100 also features Intel® Media Play Technology that combines hardware-based decoding for broadcast TV and optical media playback with software-based decode for Internet content. When a consumer watches broadcast TV or content on optical media players, the video is encoded in standard formats, such as MPEG-2, H.264 or VC-1. Intel Media Play Technology software routes the video to the on-chip hardware decoders. When viewing Internet content, the software automatically routes the video, and audio as applicable, to a software codec running on the IA processor core. As the Internet becomes more omnipresent, the ability to decode multiple video and audio formats will provide the industry with greater flexibility to evolving standards and technologies, and consumers with more viewing experiences.

The Intel Media Processor CE 3100 is scheduled to ship to CE manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.1 and Toshiba1. More information is available at www.intel.com/go/celink.

In related news, Intel and Yahoo! Inc. previewed an applications framework for televisions (TV) and related CE devices that use the Intel Architecture, which blends the openness, personality and community aspects of the Web with the simplicity and entertainment strengths of the TV. This application framework, called the Widget Channel, introduces a new and user-friendly way to enjoy Web content while watching TV programs. The Widget Channel is powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine and is optimized to use the performance and the capabilities of Intel Media Processor CE 3100. [A separate press release and more information about the Widget Channel and the Yahoo! Widget Engine are available at www.intel.com/pressroom/idf or connectedtv.yahoo.com/newsroom.]

Intel also announced the formation of The Intel® Consumer Electronics Network, a member-based community of hardware, software and services providers aimed at speeding the delivery of Internet-connected CE devices based on IA SoCs. Together, the network, which includes Alticast Inc1., Futarque A/S1, Giga-Byte Technology Co., LTD1, Tatung Co1., Unihan Corporation, Videon Central Inc1., and VividLogic Inc1., will receive early access to Intel CE platforms and will work to develop and market more feature-rich products to ultimately provide consumers with more choice.

Mobile Internet Devices: “Platform for Innovation”

Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager for the Ultra Mobility Group, discussed how Intel® Atom™ processor Z5xx series-based MIDs are becoming platforms for innovation in the mobile ecosystem. He added that the Internet revolution continues unabated with the rapid growth of social networking, user-generated content and location-based services. These trends are even more important for mobile users who are demanding the right device to take this experience with them.

Building on the launch of the Intel Atom processor for MIDs in April, Chandrasekher reinforced the growing need for performance, Internet and software compatibility, and wireless broadband connectivity in order to bring Internet innovations to pocketable devices. He showcased a range of MIDs coming to market across the target market segments and welcomed executives from Clarion1 and Panasonic1 to launch their products in the U.S. market. Chandrasekher also demonstrated the world’s first full 1080p high-definition video playback in a handheld device on the upcoming OQO1 MID. Additionally, he highlighted MIDs from Fujitsu1 and Lenovo1.

Supporting the diverse range of devices spotlighted at IDF this week in San Francisco is a rapidly developing software ecosystem based on the Moblin-based operating system. More than 10 software vendors, including GyPSii1 for social networking, Fuel Games1 for online gaming, Move Networks1 for Internet TV programming and Neusoft1 for UI and applications, announced plans for making their applications available for Moblin-based MIDs.

Continuing on the path of innovation, Chandrasekher reinforced Intel’s MID roadmap with the next-generation platform codenamed “Moorestown,” which is on track for 2009/2010. Holding up the first wafer, he announced that first silicon has been produced, reinforced the versatility of the architecture, and the opportunity to target the communication MID with data and voice capabilities.

Developing for the Future of Computing

Renee James, vice president and general manager of Intel’s Software and Solutions Group, described how software developers play an essential role in bringing emerging technologies and Internet opportunities to life. Processor performance and the move to Intel’s multi-core processors with multi-threaded software are accelerating advancements in all aspects of visual computing for richer and more believable experiences.

James and DreamWorks Animation1 CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg jointly unveiled a new brand, InTru™ 3D, that will represent the next generation of movie storytelling and enhanced 3-D viewing experience. The InTru 3D logo represents stunning computer generated 3-D imagery made possible by the unique combination of Intel technology and DreamWorks creativity. The logo will be employed by Intel and DreamWorks in promotion of 3-D movies, and presented within all of DreamWorks’ 3-D movies beginning with “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

James also announced Visual Adrenaline, Intel’s new visual computing developer program. The program offers resources to help developers, publishers, artists, animators and other gaming and digital content creation and consumption professionals take full advantage of Intel products and technologies as they create tomorrow’s most compelling visual experiences. More information on Visual Adrenaline is available at www.intel.com/software/visualadrenaline.

Additionally, Intel announced the next generation of parallel programming tools that offer new options for multi-core software development for mainstream client applications. The Intel® Parallel Studio includes expanded capabilities for helping design, code, debug and tune applications to harness the power of multi-core processing through parallel programming. Intel Parallel Studio will ease the path for parallel application development to deliver performance and forward scaling to many-core processors for Microsoft Visual Studio developers. For more information, visit www.intel.com/go/parallel.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Intel, Intel Atom and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

AM is extremely easy to set up and has lots of options so you can choose which contacts you see. It supports Gtalk and AIM protocols in addition to ICQ, MSN, Yahoo and Jabber. AM even logs your IM sessions so you can refer back to old conversations. But best of all, it keeps your IM conversations going, even when you are on a call or out of the program, and sends Mail style notifications alerting you to how many IMs came your way while you were gone. All in all, an extremely good experience for IMing on the go, so jailbreak if you haven't yet, and install this puppy. [Google via Lifehacker]

Mr. Jerry Yang CEO and Chief Yahoo Yahoo! Inc. 701 First Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Dear Jerry:

After over three months, we have reached the conclusion of the process regarding a possible combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!.

I first want to convey my personal thanks to you, your management team, and Yahoo!'s Board of Directors for your consideration of our proposal. I appreciate the time and attention all of you have given to this matter, and I especially appreciate the time that you have invested personally. I feel that our discussions this week have been particularly useful, providing me for the first time with real clarity on what is and is not possible.
I am disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting our offer. I first called you with our offer on January 31 because I believed that a combination of our two companies would have created real value for our respective shareholders and would have provided consumers, publishers, and advertisers with greater innovation and choice in the marketplace. Our decision to offer a 62 percent premium at that time reflected the strength of these convictions.

In our conversations this week, we conveyed our willingness to raise our offer to $33.00 per share, reflecting again our belief in this collective opportunity. This increase would have added approximately another $5 billion of value to your shareholders, compared to the current value of our initial offer. It also would have reflected a premium of over 70 percent compared to the price at which your stock closed on January 31. Yet it has proven insufficient, as your final position insisted on Microsoft paying yet another $5 billion or more, or at least another $4 per share above our $33.00 offer.

Also, after giving this week's conversations further thought, it is clear to me that it is not sensible for Microsoft to take our offer directly to your shareholders. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest and eventually an exchange offer. Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo! undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.

We regard with particular concern your apparent planning to respond to a "hostile" bid by pursuing a new arrangement that would involve or lead to the outsourcing to Google of key paid Internet search terms offered by Yahoo! today. In our view, such an arrangement with the dominant search provider would make an acquisition of Yahoo! undesirable to us for a number of reasons:

• First, it would fundamentally undermine Yahoo!'s own strategy and long-term viability by encouraging advertisers to use Google as opposed to your Panama paid search system. This would also fragment your search advertising and display advertising strategies and the ecosystem surrounding them. This would undermine the reliance on your display advertising business to fuel future growth.

• Given this, it would impair Yahoo's ability to retain the talented engineers working on advertising systems that are important to our interest in a combination of our companies.

• In addition, it would raise a host of regulatory and legal problems that no acquirer, including Microsoft, would want to inherit. Among other things, this would consolidate market share with the already-dominant paid search provider in a manner that would reduce competition and choice in the marketplace.

• This would also effectively enable Google to set the prices for key search terms on both their and your search platforms and, in the process, raise prices charged to advertisers on Yahoo. In addition to whatever resulting legal problems, this seems unwise from a business perspective unless in fact one simply wishes to use this as a vehicle to exit the paid search business in favor of Google.

• It could foreclose any chance of a combination with any other search provider that is not already relying on Google's search services.

Accordingly, your apparent plan to pursue such an arrangement in the event of a proxy contest or exchange offer leads me to the firm decision not to pursue such a path. Instead, I hereby formally withdraw Microsoft's proposal to acquire Yahoo!.

We will move forward and will continue to innovate and grow our business at Microsoft with the talented team we have in place and potentially through strategic transactions with other business partners.
I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table.

But clearly a deal is not to be.

Thank you again for the time we have spent together discussing this.

Sincerely yours,

Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation

[BBC News via Slashdot]

Also under Google's (probably sore) thumb: googleporn, porngoogle, googlerotic, google-yahoo-sex, google-yahoo-porn, sexogoogle and to top it all off, sexpornotits. (The WHOIS doesn't match up for that last one, but it's definitely on Pingdom's list.) There's like a bajillion more, if you wanna rifle through the whole thing at TechCrunch, but most them are boring permutations of Google and Google services (gooooooooooooooooooogle) to combat cybersquatters. Not so sure about that sexpornotits one, though. [TechCrunch]

First, there's a 90-second time limit on all uploads. Needless to say, that's extremely low. Flickr acknowledges that it "might seem arbitrary." And it is. Whether or not it supports tighter editing or cleaner presentation, why 90? Why not 89? 60? The time limit might not be a bad thing, but it's certainly arbitrary.

And also to note: not everyone can upload videos. Pro users have the option, but standard users will need to spend some dough for the privilege.

A quick test finds that the service is no more difficult than uploading photos, and it's pretty quick to boot. Also, advanced embedding functions allow for users to choose their preferred width or height for the video and the service will calculate the dimensions and update the code accordingly. That sounds like a small touch. It is, but it's also a pretty good one lacking in just about all video on the web. [flickr video]

Yahoo!'s Board of Directors Responds to Latest Microsoft Letter

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Apr 07, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Board of Directors of Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today sent the following letter to Steve Ballmer, Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corporation.

Dear Steve:

Our Board has reviewed your most recent letter with regard to the unsolicited proposal you made to acquire Yahoo! on January 31, 2008.

Our Board carefully considered your unsolicited proposal, unanimously concluded that it was not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders, and rejected it publicly on February 11, 2008. Our Board cited Yahoo!'s global brand, large worldwide audience, significant recent investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential, as well as its substantial unconsolidated investments, as factors in its decision.

At the same time, we have continued to make clear that we are not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders. Our position is simply that any transaction must be at a value that fully reflects the value of Yahoo!, including any strategic benefits to Microsoft, and on terms that provide certainty to our stockholders.

Since disclosing our Board's position with respect to your proposal, we have presented our three-year financial and strategic plan to our stockholders, which supports our Board's determination that your unsolicited proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo!. Those meetings with our stockholders have also provided us an opportunity to hear their views.

We have continued to launch new products and to take actions which leverage our scale, technology, people and platforms as we execute on the strategy we publicly articulated. Today, in fact, we are announcing AMP! from Yahoo!, a new advertising management platform designed to dramatically simplify the process of buying and selling ads online.

Finally, our Board has been actively and expeditiously exploring our strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value, a process which is ongoing. All of these actions have been driven by our overarching commitment to maximize stockholder value.

Our Board's view of your proposal has not changed. We continue to believe that your proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and our stockholders. Contrary to statements in your letter, stockholders representing a significant portion of our outstanding shares have indicated to us that your proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo!. Furthermore, as a result of the decrease in your own stock price, the value of your proposal today is significantly lower than it was when you made your initial proposal.

In contrast to your assertions about the effect of general economic conditions on our business, Yahoo!'s business forecasts are consistent with what we outlined in our last earnings call. As you know, we recently reaffirmed our Q1 and full year guidance, which is a testament to our ability to perform in line with our expectations despite the current economic environment. In addition, our three-year financial and strategic plan which we have made public demonstrates significant potential upside not previously communicated to the financial markets. This plan has received positive feedback from our stockholders, further strengthening the view that Yahoo! is worth well more as a standalone company than the value offered in your proposal, and would be even more valuable to Microsoft. Your own statements have made clear the strategic importance of Yahoo!'s substantial assets and capabilities to Microsoft.

We regret to say that your letter mischaracterizes the nature of our discussions with you. We have had constructive conversations together regarding a variety of topics, including integration and regulatory issues. Your comment that we have refused to enter into negotiations to conclude an agreement are particularly curious given we have already rejected your initial proposal, nominally $31 per share at the time, for substantially undervaluing Yahoo! and your suggestions in your letter and the media that you are considering lowering the value of your proposal. Moreover, Steve, you personally attended two of these meetings and could have advanced discussions in any way you saw fit.

As to antitrust, we have discussed with you our concerns. Any transaction between us would result in a thorough regulatory review in multiple jurisdictions. As a follow up to a recent meeting among our respective legal advisors we had on this topic, and at your request, we provided to you on March 28 a list of additional information we would need to further our understanding of the regulatory issues associated with any transaction. To date, you have still not provided any of the requested information.

We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction. We are confident that our stockholders understand that our independent Board is best positioned to objectively and knowledgeably evaluate our Company's alternatives and to maximize value.

In conclusion, please allow us to restate our position, so there can be no confusion. We are open to all alternatives that maximize stockholder value. To be clear, this includes a transaction with Microsoft if it represents a price that fully recognizes the value of Yahoo! on a standalone basis and to Microsoft, is superior to our other alternatives, and provides certainty of value and certainty of closing. Lastly, we are steadfast in our commitment to choosing a path that maximizes stockholder value and we will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value.

Very truly yours,

Roy Bostock Jerry Yang
Chairman of the Board Chief Executive Officer

[Yahoo!]

According to Hitwise data and this Lifestyle Quadrant Analysis, while lots of people are using Yahoo search (those are the dots in the upper left), groups that have spent more that $500 or more online tend to use Google (those are the dots in the lower right, the bigger dots designate $500+ spenders). So while Yahoo has the "struggling societies" market cornered, Google is fairly pleased with their "affluent suburbia" and "upscale America" user base.

So what do you think of the stats, are you aptly represented? [hitwise via techcrunch]

RHAPSODY AND YAHOO! ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN DIGITAL MUSIC

Yahoo! to Exclusively Offer and Promote Rhapsody for On-Demand Music Services

SUNNYVALE, CA AND SEATTLE - February 4, 2008 - Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Rhapsody® America, the award winning digital music service of RealNetworks® (RNWK) and Viacom's (NYSE:VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks, today announced a broad strategic relationship in digital music. Rhapsody will be the exclusive on-demand music service for Yahoo!, replacing Yahoo! Music Unlimited. Yahoo! Music and Rhapsody also intend to collaborate on other digital music services such as music downloads. The partnership introduces Rhapsody's award-winning subscription music service to the largest online music audience through Yahoo! Music and reinforces Yahoo!'s focus on providing users with a destination to easily access the best music services and content from across the web.

In the coming months, Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscribers will be migrated to Rhapsody's digital music service through a simple process that will convert Yahoo! Music Unlimited subscribers' music libraries to Rhapsody. Current Yahoo! Music subscribers will have the opportunity to maintain their existing pricing tiers for a limited time period after migration to the Rhapsody service. Additional details will be communicated to Yahoo! Music subscribers closer to the date when account migration begins.

"By partnering with Yahoo!, we are connecting Rhapsody's 'jukebox in the sky' with one of the biggest music audiences on the web," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "Soon, tens of millions of Yahoo users will be able to access their favorite music through Rhapsody - wherever they go, whenever they want it."

"This agreement allows Yahoo! to continue its focus on being the Internet's leading starting point by creating an indispensable music experience that will drive music fans to Yahoo! first on their path to music discovery," said Scott Moore, Senior Vice President and Head of Media, Yahoo!.

The partnership coincides with an announcement by Yahoo! that it has acquired FoxyTunes, the company that developed a popular toolbar plug-in that enables users to control more than 30 desktop and Web-based music players. FoxyTunes also allows users to easily find lyrics, videos, bios and more, based on what is currently playing in a user's media player. By giving Yahoo! users an easy and agnostic tool with which to control and play music, FoxyTunes' functionality across multiple music sources and services also furthers Yahoo!'s goal to be more open. To read more about this announcement, please visit Yahoo!'s corporate blog at yodel.yahoo.com.

"Our partnership with Rhapsody, the acquisition of FoxyTunes and the release of the web-based Yahoo! Media Player moves Yahoo! Music closer to our goal of enabling users to play all of the music on the Web," said Ian Rogers, Vice President of Video and Media Applications, Yahoo!. "But, it doesn't end there, Yahoo! Music will continue to innovate and forge new ways to marry music content with the rich content of the Internet."

"Rhapsody connects fans with more music, in more ways and through more devices than any other on-demand music service," said Neil Smith, Vice President of Marketing for Rhapsody America. "As an unlimited access, on-demand service, Rhapsody is a perfect complement to Yahoo!'s vibrant Yahoo!Music site."