Micorosoft Not Taking Over Yahoo
Microsoft has previously warned Yahoo that it will lower its offer if Yahoo fails to come to an agreement within three weeks. Now Microsoft has officially pulled out its bid for Yahoo.
Microsoft’s Steve Balmer wrote to Yahoo’s shareholders, “While there has been some limited interaction between management of our two companies, there has been no meaningful negotiation to conclude an agreement”. Read Yahoo’s response to Microsoft pulling out of the merger.
Google Photo Ranking Search
Goolge has unveiled a cutting-edge image ranking technology “VisualRank” for ranking similar images at the International World Wide Web Conference in Beijing. Google uses image recognition software to find which images in the group are most similar to each other. It then estimates “visual hyperlinks” between them to produce a final ranking.
Source: PageRank for Product Image Search (PDF)
Skype Offers Unlimited Long Distance Plan
Skype will offer an unlimited long-distance calling service for customers without computers or Internet access. The unlimited calls to landline and mobiles in the U.S. and Canada will set you back for $2.95 a month. In addition to that unlimited calls to phones in Australia, China, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom for $9.95 per month.
Source: Skype Press Release
PayPal To Block Safari and Old Browsers
PayPal is considering blocking some browsers with no anti-phishing features from accessing its site. This would include Apple’s Safari, old versions of Microsoft IE and Mozilla Firefox.
From PayPal, “In our view, letting users view the PayPal site on one of these browsers is equal to a car manufacturer allowing drivers to buy one of their vehicles without seatbelts”.
Source: PayPal to Block Users With Old Browsers
Opera Goes For Google Android
Norway based Opera Software has unveiled the first major third-party browser for the Google Android mobile phone operating system. Opera mini will appear on Android as a technical preview release.
Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner said, “Today we’re glad to deliver our mass-market mobile browser to the Android development groups. Opera Mini will be able to empower users of Android-based handsets with access to all of their favorite Web sites with popular features for smooth effects and scalable, tailored viewing.”.
