Editorial: FTC and Google — why the right decision feels so wrong to so many people

Editorial FTC and Google  why the right decision feels so wrong to so many people

The Federal Trade Commission's absolution of Google after a lengthy investigation into alleged abuse of market power induced expected reactions from the principle players. Microsoft was infuriated. Google was triumphant and exuberantly overstated the FTC's exit. ("Google's services are good for users and good for competition.") Lawyers and lobbyists bunched on both sides of the fence to issue scathing or praiseful statements. The court of common opinion is now divided between nodding approval and eviscerating censure. The comment hate being hurled at Google is partly derived from general monopoly-busting sentiment, but there is also a stuck-in-the-past misunderstanding of what Google has become.

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Microsoft set to get back in the news business with relaunched MSN

Microsoft set to get back in the news business with relaunched MSN

Microsoft isn't exactly a stranger to the news business. It founded Slate Magazine way back in 1996 as part of its then still-nascent MSN website, and it partnered with NBC that same year on the MSNBC cable news network. While it's since sold off both Slate and its stake in MSNBC, it looks like the company is now taking another big swing at producing its own news operation. As Reuters reports, Microsoft is making "big, multi-million dollar investment" to create what is being described as a "decent-sized media operation," one that will be a part of the new-look MSN that the company has also announced today. Details remain light beyond that, but Reuters says the new MSN will still "chiefly aggregate news" from traditional sources like Reuters and the AP in addition to producing its own content. As for that new MSN itself, it's unsurprisingly built with tablets (and Windows 8, specifically) in mind, with a design that's tailored for full-screen use and touch input. Its launch wil coincide with Windows 8's debut on October 26th, but you can get an early look at the link below and in the video after the break.

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Microsoft set to get back in the news business with relaunched MSN originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s official: Comcast buys out Microsoft’s share of MSNBC

Breaking up is hard to do, and it took Microsoft and NBC a few more days to hammer out all the details and make it official. NBC is buying the software maker's half of the MSNBC website for a reporter $300 million, which will be renamed NBC News -- a change which has already taken place if you try to hit up the old site. Its HQ will also move across from Microsoft's hub in Redmond to New York. Following the split, Microsoft is apparently readying its own news service for launch later this year, aiming to hire around the same number of people that were put to work on the previous site -- and looking to improve on its recent online fortunes.

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It's official: Comcast buys out Microsoft's share of MSNBC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePhysorg, Yahoo  | Email this | Comments

Yahoo confirms server breach, over 400k accounts compromised

Yahoo confirms server breach, over 400k accounts compromised

Online account security breaches are seemingly commonplace these days -- just ask LinkedIn or Sony -- and now we can add Yahoo's name to the list of hacking victims. The company's confirmed that it had the usernames and passwords of over 400,000 accounts stolen from its servers earlier this week and the data was briefly posted online. The credentials have since been pulled from the web, but it turns out they weren't just for Yahoo accounts, as Gmail, AOL, Hotmail, Comcast, MSN, SBC Global, Verizon, BellSouth and Live.com login info was also pilfered and placed on display. The good news? Those responsible for the breach said that the deed was done to simply show Yahoo the weaknesses in its software security. To wit:

We hope that the parties responsible for managing the security of this subdomain will take this as a wake-up call, and not as a threat. There have been many security holes exploited in Web servers belonging to Yahoo Inc. that have caused far greater damage than our disclosure. Please do not take them lightly. The subdomain and vulnerable parameters have not been posted to avoid further damage.

In response, Yahoo's saying that a fix for the vulnerability is in the works, but the investigation is ongoing and its system has yet to be fully secured. In the meantime, the company apologized for the breach and is advising users to change their passwords accordingly. You can read the official party line below.

At Yahoo! we take security very seriously and invest heavily in protective measures to ensure the security of our users and their data across all our products. We confirm that an older file from Yahoo! Contributor Network (previously Associated Content) containing approximately 400,000 Yahoo! and other company users names and passwords was stolen yesterday, July 11. Of these, less than 5% of the Yahoo! accounts had valid passwords. We are fixing the vulnerability that led to the disclosure of this data, changing the passwords of the affected Yahoo! users and notifying the companies whose users accounts may have been compromised. We apologize to affected users. We encourage users to change their passwords on a regular basis and also familiarize themselves with our online safety tips at security.yahoo.com.

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Yahoo confirms server breach, over 400k accounts compromised originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTechCrunch, New York Times  | Email this | Comments

Bing Fund taking shape to help Microsoft search for the next big thing in online services

Bing Fund taking shape to help Microsoft search for the next big thing in online services

Microsoft's Online Services Division (OSD) hasn't exactly had a lot of good news to share lately, most painful being the recent $6.2 billion write-down thanks to the aQuantive acquisition, so it's turning to a higher power for its next bet. The company appears to be creating an angel incubator called the Bing Fund, which would foster startups that could "bring a wave of innovation to OSD" -- which currently includes MSN, adCenter and, of course, Bing. While the company is being slightly coy about the details of Bing Fund, hosting only the tangerine teaser shown above at BingFund.com, some digging by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley has revealed that Rahul Sood will be the chief cherub of this angel fund, stepping away from the Entertainment and Devices Division (aka the Xbox Division). Who better, we say, than the open-minded Voodoo PC founder who famously cut his chocolate birthday cake with a MacBook Air and later said: "Every executive in the PC industry should use an Apple notebook."

Bing Fund taking shape to help Microsoft search for the next big thing in online services originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Move Over, Hotmail… It’s Time for Newmail

The very first email account I signed up for was Hotmail. I didn’t think the name was so hot then, but it was pretty easy to use and feature-filled compared to other services available at that time. The service got a little stale over the years, but Microsoft has made recent moves to improve the service as well.

So I was a little sad when Microsoft revealed that they were replacing Hotmail.

microsoft newmail 1

With what, you may wonder? Well, with nothing other than the obvious and not-so-cleverly-named Newmail. Yep, that’s right: Microsoft’s new email service is going to be called Newmail. Or let’s hope that’s just the working name.

Screenshots of Newmail were leaked recently, and I have to say it looks a whole lot better than the previous Hotmail interface. That’s probably because it looks a tad too much like Google’s Gmail email service, with a dash of the new Windows 8 Metro interface thrown in.

microsoft newmail 2

The coolest thing about Newmail has probably got to be the fact that it integrates quite seamlessly with Twitter and Facebook. No word yet on when it will be officially released, but it’s probably soon.

[via Dvice]