Einstein Letter Goes on Sale

A letter from Albert Einstein to Eric Gutkind goes on sale at Bloomsbury Auctions today. The content of the letter mostly deals with Einstein’s views on religion (Einstein pronounces himself rather unimpressed by the whole idea and rejects it as “childish”). Since his death in 1955, theists, atheists and many in between have engaged in an intellectual tug of war attempting to yank Albert over to their side of the God debate. There is real passion in their efforts to use Einstein as their champion, their expert witness, their proof that really smart people can also be really religious.

Here is a translated excerpt from the letter.

Letter to Eric Gutkind (partial)
Albert Einstein (1954)
Translated from the German by Joan Stambaugh

In general I find it painful that you claim a privileged position and try to defend it by two walls of pride, an external one as a man and an internal one as a Jew. As a man you claim, so to speak, a dispensation from causality otherwise accepted, as a Jew the priviliege of monotheism. But a limited causality is no longer a causality at all, as our wonderful Spinoza recognized with all incision, probably as the first one. And the animistic interpretations of the religions of nature are in principle not annulled by monopolisation. With such walls we can only attain a certain self-deception, but our moral efforts are not furthered by them. On the contrary.

Now that I have quite openly stated our differences in intellectual convictions it is still clear to me that we are quite close to each other in essential things, ie in our evalutations of human behaviour. What separates us are only intellectual ‘props’ and `rationalisation’ in Freud’s language. Therefore I think that we would understand each other quite well if we talked about concrete things.

With friendly thanks and best wishes

Yours, A. Einstein.

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Research in Motion today introduced its slickest, speediest, most powerful, and most connected BlackBerry to date: the BlackBerry Bold 9000. Equipped with support for tri-band HSDPA and quad-band EDGE (which means that it will support the highest-speed GSM-family data networks wherever they are available worldwide), 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, and both assisted and autonomous GPS, the Bold could prove a formidable challenger to Apple’s next-gen iPhone on connectivity alone.

It looks a bit iPhone-esque, with its glassy display area, generally flat profile, and rounded corners. Still, the Bold comes configured with a hardware QWERTY keyboard, and it retains the general dimensions of its predecessors, so it’s much shorter and somewhat thicker than the iPhone. The Bold’s removable back is covered in black leatherette, and you’ll be able to personalize the device by buying replacement backs in different colors (blue, brown, green, gray, and red).

The redesigned keyboard has guitar-inspired frets–thin metal strips–between each row. The keys themselves are sculpted to help users avoid fingertip slippage. The device also carries a 2-megapixel camera capable of up to 5X digital zoom.

Here’s the rundown:
• Has 802.11a/b/g plus good GPS, typically a tradeoff with BBs
• GPS is enhanced and assisted, and the handset has better map rendering, says Laptop
• 480 x 320 resolution screen with 65,000 colors—Crave says “never seen a better-looking display”
• 624MHz Intel PXA270/Marvell Tavor PXA930 processor (reports differ), up from 312MHz
• Runs BlackBerry OS 4.6
• Keyboard has 8800-style “sculpted keys,” says PC Mag, “but the rows are separated by curved barriers”
• 4.5″ tall x 2.6″ wide x 0.5″ deep, weighing 4.7oz
• Side-loading MicroSD/SDHC slot for up to 16GB additional
• 2MP camera with flash
• Talk time of 5 hours, with standby of 13 days
• MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX4 and WMV3 codec support
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• “Pretty powerful speakers—none of that weak, tinny junk,” says Crave
• 128MB of flash plus 1GB of onboard memory (with encryption)
• Black leather back panel that can be swapped for other color leather plates
• Pricing will be $300 to $500 says BGR, a pretty wide (and obvious) range; Crave narrows it to “$300 to $400″

Source: PCW, Gizmodo

AUDIO 2.0

• Bebop - Compare music calendar against your iTunes catalogue. www.bebopular.com/
• Clickcaster - Record, license, publish & promote your radio show. www.clickcaster.com/
• Difm - Radio community. www.di.fm/
• Dottunes - Share your iTunes. www.dottunes.net/
• Enablr - Transcribe podcasts, Text2Snailmail, … www.enablr.com/
• Fluctu8 - Create & share your sourcelists. fluctu8.com/
• Gcast - Podcasting tools & hosting. www.gcast.com/
• Genie lab - Explore, recommend & rate music. genielab.com/
• Itunes love - Share your music tastes. www.ituneslove.com/
• Jamendo - Review, tag, rate & share music. www.jamendo.com/en/
• Lastfm* - Profile your taste, share, personalize your radio. www.last.fm/
• Mercora - Search music & get recommendations. search.mercora.com/
• Muiso - Track your taste, get recommendations. muiso.com/
• Music mobs - Share your tastes & find music. www.musicmobs.com/
• Music strands - Tag, share & post music community. www.musicstrands.com/
• Odeo - Record & share audio. www.odeo.com
• Pandora* - Personalized radio. pandora.com/
• Plurn - List, listen to, create & share music. www.plurn.com/
• Pod bop - Listen to bands that visit your city (Eventful mash-up). podbop.org/
• Podomatic - Create, find & broadcast podcasts. www.podomatic.com/
• Poperti - Save your mp3 on a pop email account. www.poperti.com/
• Predixis - Discover, manage & enjoy music. www.predixis.com/
• Purevolume - Music community. www.poperti.com/
• Radio time - Personalize radio. myradiotime.com/
• Streaming Radio Stations - Choose a type/style/gendre of tunes. www.friendlycanadian.com/mp3s/
• Streampad - List, listen & share your music (= several mash-ups). www.streampad.com/
• Upto11 - Discover & share music. upto11.net/
• Webjay - Playlist community. www.webjay.org/

Mashup ecosystem (Click to see full image)

BLOG2POD 2.0

• Talkr - Converts blog text to podcasts. www.talkr.com/

BLOGGING 2.0

• Bitty - Embed content from Web services. bitty.com/
• Blogburst - Syndicate blogs to mainstream media sites. www.blogburst.com/
• Blog code - Start blog & find similar ones. www.blogcode.com/
• Blogger snap - Add your webcam snapshot to any blog. www.bloggersnap.com/
• Blog goggle - Categorize & rate pro bloggers. www.bloggoggle.com/
• Bloglet - Notification2email. www.bloglet.com/
• Blogs - Notification2email. blo.gs/
• Blurb - Turn your blog into a book. www.blurb.com/
• Cocomment - Track back your commentosphere. www.cocomment.com/
• Feedblitz - Notification2email. www.feedblitz.com/
• Freevlog - Set up free video blog. www.freevlog.org/
• Lifetype - Blogging software. www.lifetype.net/
• Measure map - Blog stats. measuremap.com/
• Qumana - Edit your blog. www.qumana.com/
• Structured blogging - Create, edit & maintain all posts. structuredblogging.org/
• Textamerica - Mobile blog. www.textamerica.com/
• Xanco~ - Mobile phlog & vlog. www.xanco.com/
• Blip - Get video & podcasting on your blog. www.blip.tv/
• Blog ladder - Create & maintain your blog. www.blogladder.com/
• Blogniscient - Rank & read blog articles. www.blogniscient.com/
• Bloxor - Maintain & use your blogroll online. www.bloxor.com/

BOOKMARKING 2.0

• 9rules - Validate & share links to content. 9rules.com/
• All your words - Associate & share words with links. www.allyourwords.com/
• Blinkist - Social bookmarking. www.blinklist.com/
• Blogmarks - Social bookmarking. www.blogmarks.net/
• Blummy - Manage your bookmarks. www.blummy.com/
• Bmaccess - Social bookmarking with thumbs. www.bmaccess.net/
• Buddy marks - Social bookmarking. www.buddymarks.com/
• Butterfly~ - Bookmark & annotate. www.butterflyproject.nl/
• Chuquet* - Find buzzes. www.chuquet.com/
• Clipmarks - Social clipping. www.clipmarks.com/
• Common Times - Social bookmarking & clippings. www.commontimes.org/
• Connotea - Social bookmarking (for reseacrhers). www.connotea.org/
• Delicious* - Social bookmarking. del.icio.us/
• Digg* - Social bookmarking. www.digg.com
• Diigo - Social bookmarking on steroids. www.diigo.com/
• Dogear - Social bookmarking. www.eigology.com/dogear/
• Feed marker - Social bookmarking for news. www.feedmarker.com/
• Furl - Clip, store & share web pages. www.furl.net/
• Hyperlinkomatic - Social bookmarking. www.hyperlinkomatic.com/
• Icio - Social bookmarking & rating. www.icio.de/
• Jeteye - Clip & share (parts of) web pages. www.jeteye.com/
• Listible - Folksonomied software & code search. www.listible.com/
• List Mixer - Social bookmarking (temporary links). listmixer.com/
• Live Marks - Live update of Delicious. sandbox.sourcelabs.com/livemarks/
• Look later - Private bookmarking. www.looklater.com/
• Lookmarks - Social bookmarking. www.lookmarks.com/
• Magnolia - Social bookmarking & voting. ma.gnolia.com/
• Mylinkvault - Social bookmarking. www.mylinkvault.com/
• Onlywire - Social bookmarking aggregator. www.onlywire.com/
• Philoi - Social bookmarking. www.philoi.com/
• Qoosa - Social bookmarking. www.qoosa.com/
• Searchfox - Social bookmarking. www.searchfox.com/
• Shadows - Social bookmarking. shadows.com/
• Simpy - Social bookmarking, tagging & search. www.simpy.com/
• Socialmarks - Social bookmarking. www.socialmarks.com/
• Spinspy - Social bookmarking & ranking. www.spinspy.com/
• Spurl - Social - Bookmarking & search. www.spurl.net/
• Startaid - Manage & share your (thumb) bookmarks. www.startaid.com/
• Stumble Upon - Social bookmarking (random sharing). www.stumbleupon.com/
• Surftail - Share your click paths. www.surftail.com/
• Taggle - Social bookmarking, tagged (German). www.taggle.de/
• Tagtooga - Social bookmarking. www.tagtooga.com/
• Tendango - Top 10 social bookmarking. www.tendango.com/
• Thumblicio.us - Displays thumbs of most pupular del.icio.us sites. thumblicio.us/
• Yahoo Myweb2 - Social bookmarking. myweb2.search.yahoo.com/
• Yoono - Save your bookmarks and manage your feeds - www.yoono.com/

BROWSER 2.0

• Camino - Mozilla power & Mac style browser. www.caminobrowser.org/
• Flock - Lightweight browser. www.flock.com/

CALENDAR 2.0

• 30boxes - Manage & share calendar. 30boxes.com/
• Calendar hub - Create & share calendars. www.calendarhub.com/
• Eventful - Create & share events. eventful.com/
• Eventicus - Create & share events. www.eventicus.de/
• Event sniper - Mix your event calendar with feeds. www.eventsniper.com/
• Hipcal - Manage & share calendar & to do lists. www.hipcal.com/
• Meet with approval - Arrange meetings & events online. www.meetwithapproval.com/
• Mosuki - Arrange meetings & events online. mosuki.com/
• Planzo - Arrange meetings & events online & thru sms. planzo.com/
• Skobee - Arrange meetings & events online. www.skobee.com/
• Sponge cell - Arrange meetings & events online; with a.i. spongecell.com/
• Tilika - Share calendars. www.tilika.com/
• Trumba - Create& share events. www.trumba.com/
• Upcoming - Create, manage & share events. upcoming.org/

CHAT 2.0

• 3bubbles - Add a chatroom to your blog. www.3bubbles.com/
• Ajchat - Create chat rooms. www.ajchat.com/
• Campfire - Permalinked chat. www.campfirenow.com/
• Chatsum* - Chat with & leave messages same-site-visitors. www.chatsum.com/
• Conversate - Create your own chat. www.conversate.org/
• PeekoChat - Make every site a ‘place’ (Firefox plug-in). peekko.com/chat/
• Zohochat - Create your own chat room. zohochat.com/
• Ekklesia - CMS for churches. www.ekklesia-systems.com/
• Loudblog - CMS inc. RSS. www.loudblog.de/
• HIVchat - www.hiv-aids-chat.com/
• Pmachine - CMS. www.pmachine.com/ee/
• Tinymce - Wysiwyg editor. tinymce.moxiecode.com/

COLLABORATION 2.0

• Askeet - Ask & answer it. www.askeet.com/
• Asoboo - Find people & places in your city. asoboo.com/
• Favorville - People helping people. www.favorville.com/
• Foldera - Organize & share all work based documents. www.foldera.com/
• Hubpages - Share your genius. www.hubpages.com/
• Ifolder - Filesharing for groups. www.ifolder.com/
• Jotspot - Take one set of notes, live. www.jotlive.com/
• Lime - Help & inspire eachother. lime.com/
• Mayomi - Mind map & share. www.mayomi.com/
• People2pray - Manage & share prayer requests. www.people2pray.com/
• Qype - Find & recommend best spots in town. qype.com/
• Rally point - Share knowledge. www.rallypointhq.com/
• Redlettr - Tag & comment the bible. www.desertfather.com/micah/
• Rel8r - Tag, read, search blogs. www.rel8r.com/
• Rrove* - Save & share places. www.rrove.com/
• Say-So - Share problems & get advise. www.say-so.org/
• Socialight - Share pictures & notes with your cell phone. socialight.com/
• Standpoint - Share & evangelize convictions. www.standpoint.com/
• Study buddy - Share notecards. www.studybuddy.info/
• Tracbac - Share, comment, revise & collaborate. www.tracbac.com/
• Vizu - Create, share & vote for polls. www.vizu.com/
• Webbrush - Collaborative drawing, charting, etc. www.stanfy.com/dev/webbrush/
• What should i read next - Share your bookshelve. whatshouldireadnext.com/
• Wobblog - Rank & share blog postings. www.wobblog.com/
• Zimbra - Work & communicate together. www.zimbra.com/

COLLECT 2.0

• Librarious - Catalogue your collection. lib.rario.us/
• Librarything - Catalogue & share your library. www.librarything.com/
• Unalog - Share what you read, in groups. unalog.com/

COMIX 2.0

• Comics - Create & share comics. www.mainada.net/comics/
• Comic Strip Generator - Personalize cartoon strips. www.comicstripgenerator.com/
• Quicktoons - Create & share comics. www.quicktoons.com/

COMMUNICATION 2.0

• E-messenger - Ajax messengers. www.e-messenger.net/
• E-messenger - Integrates several messengers. www.e-messenger.net/
• Gtalkr - Google Talk, Flickr, YouTube, feeds. https://gtalkr.com/
• Iglance - Push-to-talk videoconf and screen-sharing. www.iglance.com/
• Imeem - Share words, files & people (on messenger). www.imeem.com/
• Imvu - 3D messenger. www.imvu.com/
• Iotum - Sorts & processes calls on relevance. www.iotum.com/
• Jabphone - Messenger2phone. www.jabphone.com/
• Jumpclaimer - Inform your relatives about your whereabouts thru sms. www.jumpclaimer.com/
• Kopete - Universal messenger. kopete.kde.org/
• Mabber - Mobile messenger. www.mabber.com/
• Meebo - Integrates several messengers. www.meebo.com/
• Skylook - Record & store all Skype communications. www.skylook.biz/
• Skype - Call, conference, messenger, file sharing. www.skype.com/
• Slawesome - Add voice to your email. www.slawesome.com/
• Soonr - Mobile 2 web & v.v. www.soonr.com/
• Stickam* - Multimedia communication tool. www.stickam.com/
• Tello - Locate & collaborate with your key contacts. www.tello.com/
• Userplane - Chat, messenger, record. www.userplane.com/
• V4s - Add voice to your email. www.orb.com/skype/
• Vyew - Web based video conferencing. vyew.com/
• Waxmail - Add voice to your email. www.waxmail.biz/
• Web2messenger - Send messages from web 2 messenger. www.web2messenger.com/

COMMUNITY 2.0

• 43people - Tag based matching & dating. www.43people.com/
• Ask Me That - Public help forums. www.askmethat.com/
• 43places - Publish & share stories about places. www.43places.com/
• Blogtronix - Blogging & corporate community software. www.blogtronix.com/
• Communitywalk - Share places & routes (map mash-up). www.communitywalk.com/
• Consumating - Tag based dating. www.consumating.com/
• Create & Participate in communities. www.towncrossing.com/
• Dodgeball - Hook in with your mobile & meet friends. www.dodgeball.com/
• Doostang - Community for professionals. www.doostang.com/
• Facebook - Student communities. www.facebook.com/
• Frappr - Put your group on the map, share photos. www.frappr.com/
• Friendster - Connect with friends. www.friendster.com/
• Groups - Create groups & share content. grou.ps/
• HIV/AIDSforum - www.hivforum.com/
• HumanPages – Philanthropic “LinkedIn-Like” People Search. www.humanpages.com/
• Ikarma - Document & promote your reputation. ikarma.com/
• Linkedin - Manage and share your cv. www.linkedin.com/
• Livejournal - Join or create your own community. www.sixapart.com/livejournal/
• Lovento - Find friends & events. www.lovento.com/
• Mapmix. Find your friends (map mash-up). www.mapmix.com/
• Meetro - Find friends nearby (thru messenger). www.meetro.com/
• Meetup - Find common interests & organize meetings. www.meetup.com/
• Mologogo - Share where you are. www.mologogo.com/
• Mozes - Share information & people thru your mobile. mozes.com/
• MySpace - Communicate with & share content with your friends. www.myspace.com/
• OpenBC - Community for entrepreneurs & professionals. www.openbc.com
• Opinity - Manage your reputation. www.opinity.com/
• Orkut - Connect to your friends. https://www.orkut.com/
• Partysync - Meet & sms people. group.partysync.com/
• Peerprofile - Publish & share your profiles. www.peerprofile.com/
• Peertrainer - Buddy up, slim down. www.peertrainer.com/
• Phusebox - Community for sophisticated people. phusebox.net/
• Piczo - Create & share website. piczo.com/
• Placesite - Wi-fi portal & location communities. www.placesite.com/
• Plum - Collect, share, connect. www.plum.com/
• Poddater - Create vodcast & connect. www.poddater.com/
• Pooln - Schedule your car pooling. www.pooln.com/
• Rabble - Create it & share it mobile. www.rabble.com/
• Tagalag - Tag & map your contacts. www.tagalag.com/
• Theblackstripe - Upload & share photos. www.theblackstripe.com/
• Tinfinger - Search persons. www.tinfinger.com/
• Towncrossing - Find & Link to Friends. towncrossing.com/
• Twocrowds - Share & vote for predictions. www.twocrowds.com/
• Vcarious - Travel community. www.vcarious.com/
• Wallop - Phlog & interact. mywallop.com/
• Xanga - Blog rings. www.xanga.com/
• Zaadz~ - Network of inspired people. www.zaadz.com/
• Ziggs - Index of professionals. www.ziggs.com/
• Zoominfo* - Search persons; create your own page. www.zoominfo.com/

CRM 2.0

• 24sevenoffice - Web-based crm & erp. www.24sevenoffice.com/
• Helpspot - Wen nased help desk software. www.userscape.com/
• Pushcrm - Web-based crm. pushcrm.com/
• Simpleticket - Helpdesk solution. www.simpleticket.net/
• Userscape - Web based help desk portal. www.userscape.com/
• Zohocrm - Web-based crm. www.zohocrm.com/

DATABASE 2.0

• Turbodbadmin - Online dbase in Ajax. www.turboajax.com/turbodbadmin.html/

DESIGN 2.0

• Betterdesktop - Share usability tests. www.betterdesktop.org/
• Sign Generators. www.customsigngenerator.com/
• Flickrlogomakr - Make Flickr-like logo in a second. flickr.nosv.org/ (cf. this group’s logo).
• Online Logo Designer. www.text2logo.com/
• Desktop Wallpaper Creator. www.wallpapergenerator.com/
• PreviewHTML - Preview your HTML source codes. www.previewhtml.com/
• Netcocktail - Share color schemes. www.netcocktail.com/
• Custom Banner Advertising Ads. www.bannergenerator.org/
• Neurosky - Bionic interface technology. www.neurosky.com/
• OK-cancel. Collaboration on interface design. www.ok-cancel.com/
• Warning Label Maker. www.dangersigngenerator.com/
• Typetester - Compare screen type. www.typetester.maratz.com/
• Hide Text From Spambots. www.txt2png.com/
• Wufoo - Build & host forms. www.wufoo.com/
• Watermark Images www.signgeneratormaker.com/

DICTIONARY 2.0

• Visualthesaurus - Find & visualize synonyms. www.visualthesaurus.com/

ECOMMERCE 2.0

• 12 Wists - Share shopping lists. www.wists.com/
• 43deals - Find best deals. www.43deals.com/
• Adgenta - Add ads to your site, blog or rss feed. www.adgenta.com/
• Amazon* - Shop, sell, review & rank. www.amazon.com/
• Auctionmapper - Map Ebay auctions. www.auctionmapper.com/
• Bigcartel - Start, review & recommend online shops. bigcartel.com/
• Blish - Buy & sell digital things. www.blish.com/
• Broadbandgenie - Find best provider. www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/
• CafePress - Free to design, sell, buy custom products. www.cafepress.com/ (join affiliate program)
• CafePress Live JavaScript Feed. www.web20appz.com/cafepress/javascript.asp
• Carbonmade - Publish & manage your portfolio online. www.carbonmade.com/
• Clipfire - Shop search engine & community. www.clipfire.com/
• Closo - Start & advertise your online shop. www.closo.com/
• Cooqy - Find things faster on Ebay (client). www.cooqy.com/
• Coverpop - Mash-ups of everything. www.coverpop.com/
• Darmik - Sell & share profits with charities. www.darmik.com/
• Ebay* - Sell, rate & buy; auction. www.ebay.com/
• Etsy - Buy & sell handmade things. www.etsy.com/
• Flyspy - Graph all of your choices in air travel. www.flyspy.com/index.php/
• Fotogopo - Animated local route map; Google Maps & Geocoder mash-up. www.fotogopo.com/
• Froogle* - Local shopping search engine; Google Maps mash-up. www.google.com/sellonfroogle/
• Garbagescout - Find treasures on NY streets; Google Maps mash-up. www.garbagescout.com/
• Gumshoo - Auction analyzer; Ebay mash-up. www.gumshoo.com/
• Hawkee - Tagged price comparison. www.hawkee.com/
• Homethinking - Search, find, contact & review realtors. www.homethinking.com/
• Hotpads - Houses for rent. hotpads.com/
• Inods - Shopping review aggregator. inods.com/
• Insideflyer - Convert loyalty points. insideflyer.com/
• Judysbook - Review & rate your neighbourhood. www.judysbook.com/
• Kayak Buzz - Find cheap destinations; Google Maps mash-up. www.kayak.com/h/buzz/flights
• Licketyship - Home-delivery supermarket; retail & couriers co-operation. www.licketyship.com/
• Licketytrip - Last minute vacation rentals (map mash-up). www.licketytrip.com/
• Lopico - Social business directory. www.lopico.com/
• Mapeire - User generated lowest price finder; Google Maps mash-up. www.mapeire.com/
• Motionmall - Design & insert webads. www.motionmall.com/
• Paguna - Travel booking with 1 page Ajax interface. https://www.paguna.com/
• Peerflix - List & trade DVDs. www.peerflix.com/
• Pricenoia - Amazon price comparison. www.pricenoia.com/
• Qoop - Publish & sell photos & photo products. www.qoop.com/
• Redtoucan - Share photos & review products. www.redtoucan.com/
• Reevoo - Review & buy electronics. www.reevoo.com/
• Revver - Upload, share or sell your videos. www.revver.com/
• Savedsearchpro - Find Ebay deals easier. www.savedsearchpro.com/
• Shoposphere* - Create & share pick lists. shopping.yahoo.com/shoposphere/
• Site flavored Google* - Tailor adwords to your site. www.google.com/services/siteflavored.html
• Sofortpreis - Mobile shopping assistent. www.sofortpreis.de/
• Souki~ - Local shop search. www.souki.com/
• Spymedia - Publish & sell news photos. www.spymedia.com/
• Stylehive - Get recommendations fitting your product interests. www.shopify.com/
• Tenbills - Design & buy your T. www.tenbills.com/
• Thandora - Tag based search in yellow pages. www.thandora.com/tagit.do/
• Tictap - Price comparison for mobile. www.tictap.com/
• Tnook - Build, manage & trade your collections. www.tnook.com/
• Wazima - Coupon aggregator. www.wazima.com/
• Web20milliondollarhomepage - Pixel ads. www.web20milliondollarhomepage.com/
• Wists - Social shopping. www.wists.com/
• Wuraweb - Find local prices & credentials. www.wuraweb.com/
• Yelp - Find, review & discuss local restaurants etc. www.yelp.com/
• Yub - Meet, hang & get discounts in shopping mall. www.yub.com/mall/
• Zazzle - Design, sell & buy custom goods. www.zazzle.com/
• Zillow - Get your home valuated (map mash-up). www.zillow.com/
• Zipingo - Find local business based on community input. www.zipingo.com/

ECONOMY 2.0

• Aidpage - People help people. www.aidpage.com/
• Associatedcontent - Produce & publish content, get paid. www.associatedcontent.com/
• Billmonk - Manage debts. https://www.billmonk.com/
• Castingwords - Get your podcasts transcribed. castingwords.com/
• Couchsurfing* - Home swapping & holiday dating. www.couchsurfing.com/
• Daylo - Contribute to local yellow pages. daylo.com/
• Democracy2.0* - Consumers/Citizens unite! d2.stevemagruder.com/hub.php
• Donorschoose - Donate to schools. www.donorschoose.org/
• Elevatorpitch - Upload, read & rate pitches. www.yourelevatorpitch.com/
• Fundable - Pledge for funding. www.fundable.org/
• Gather - Share passions & get paid. gather.com/
• Givebobadollar - Begging. www.givebobadollar.com/
• Givemeaning - Give or take fundraising community. www.givemeaning.com/
• Givezilla - Create fundraising storefront. www.givezilla.com/
• Google answers - Get your questions answered for money. answers.google.com/answers/
• Ikarma - Document & promote your reputation. ikarma.com/
• Lendmonkey - Trade everything. www.lendmonkey.com/
• Listsomething - Share any list to buy & sell things, services. www.listsomething.com/
• Million dollar homepage* - Buy pixels to finance study. www.milliondollarhomepage.com/
• Mturk - Complete simple tasks & get paid. www.mturk.com/mturk/welcome/
• Myfreelanceauction - Buy or sell web services. myfreelanceauction.com/
• Oolsi - Share links to free things. www.oolsi.com/
• Prosper - P2P lending. www.prosper.com/
• Rawsugar - Social bookmarking directory & revenue sharing. www.rawsugar.com/
• Secondlifeboutique - Buy real things with virtuaa money. slboutique.com/
• Smarkets - Stock markets for products. www.smarkets.net/
• Smashmyviper - Buy pixels to destroy car. www.smashmyviper.com/
• Stuffopolis - Keep track of things you lend or borrow. www.stuffopolis.com/
• Swabba - Online garage sale (German). www.swabba.de/
• Zopa - P2P banking services. www.zopa.com/

E-LEARNING 2.0

• Elgg - Open source e-learning software. elgg.org/
• Nuvvo - On demand elearning. www.nuvvo.com/
• Medical Portal. www.medchecker.com/

EMAIL 2.0

• Dropsend - Email large files. www.dropsend.com/
• Mail2RSS - Inmail2RSS. www.mail2rss.org/
• Myemail - Check email anywhere. myemail.com/
• Newsletterarchive* - Store & share your newsletters. www.newsletterarchive.org/
• Onesens - Send teasing webmail messages. www.onesens.com/
• Quickmail - Email2RSS. quickmail.johanfitie.com/
• Sendspace - Email large files. www.sendspace.com/
• Tempinbox - Receive inmail anonymously. www.tempinbox.com/
• Trustmymail - Spam filter based on your circle of contacts. www.trustmymail.com/
• Yousendit - Email large files. www.yousendit.com/
• Irows - Web based spreadsheet. www.irows.com/
• Numbler - Excel spreadsheet online. numbler.com/
• Numsum - Collaborate online on spreadsheets. numsum.com/
• Sundera - Collaborate online on spreadsheets. www.sundera.com/

FILESHARING 2.0

• Bittorrent - Share files & bandwidth. www.bittorrent.com/
• Civilnetizen - File swapping. www.civilnetizen.com/
• Lphanr - Multi compatible P2P file sharing. www.lphant.com/

FINANCIALS 2.0

• Blinksale - Web-based invoicing. www.blinksale.com/
• Dimewise - Manage your finances. www.dimewise.com/
• Frugalbetty - Manage your spendings. frugalbetty.com/
• Ioweyou - Manage loans & shared expenses. www.ioweyou.co.uk/
• Networthiq - Track, share & compare your net worth. www.networthiq.com/
• Secondsite - Web-based invoicing. www.secondsite.biz/
• Secondssite. Finance tools. www.secondsite.biz/

Read the Part 2 of this list here: Web 2.0’s Top 1,000 List - Everything 2.0 - Part 2

Read the Part 3 of this list here: Web 2.0’s Top 1,000 List - Everything 2.0 - Part 3

Search giant Google wants to push forward with a new, improved form of image search that’s based on visual characteristics, not just text. Last week, two of the company’s scientists presented a paper outlining a system they’re calling VisualRank. They’ve told the New York Times it could be as important for image search as the now-legendary PageRank paper was for normal text search.

Currently, image search engines (notably Google Image Search) locate and rank pictures based on the text describing them on a web page. This can lead to some very hit-or-miss search results — typing in “mcdonalds”, for example, gives you a wide range of images, many of them with little visual relevance to the McDonald’s fast food chain. (Irrelevant, that is, unless it turns out you actually are looking for photos of fat giraffes.)

The new system proposed in the Google paper ranks images based not on text, but on the common “visual themes” found in each search result. In the McDonald’s example, the VisualRank system would see that the company’s famous golden arches are a common visual theme, and prioritize pictures that feature the arches prominently. Tests of this new system returned 83 percent fewer irrelevant search results than Google Image Search, according to the VisualRank paper. (In the “search graph” below, the two large images in the center are ranked the highest because they feature the common visual themes in a search for “mona lisa” most prominently.)

If Google can deliver on its promises, VisualRank could bring a sea change to applications like product search, where customers are often want to find and compare specific products, but may not know the exact words to describe them. There are already product comparison startups, such as Like.com, that use visual search. But Google’s plan to the image ranking process is much more ambitious, which is probably why Munjal Shah, chief executive of Riya (which owns Like.com), told the Times that Google’s goals are “largely impossible.”

Whether or not that’s true is a debate better left to computer scientists. But wagering against Google’s search technology has been a sucker’s bet in the past.

The latest release of the popular Linux Distribution Ubuntu, numbered 8.04 and code-named “Hardy Heron,” is available for download and upgrading. Check out the new features and improvements like a nifty Windows-based installer, file-handling improvements and upgraded applications, for yourself hassle-free with a live CD. Ubuntu 8.04 is a free download for any system with a 32- or 64-bit Intel or AMD processor, but you can also request to have free CDs shipped to you. How stable and smooth have you found Hardy Heron to be? What feature or change are you still waiting to see included? Let’s hear it in the comments.

New features include the Wubi Windows installer and Firefox 3 beta 5.

Check out Linux Format’s overview of the release

Download Ubuntu here

The mirrors are already getting hit with heavy traffic, so we recommend using the torrent, which is available from the release page.

Ubuntu is released every six months with many new features and the latest versions of popular desktop software applications. Ubuntu 8.04, which is codenamed Hardy Heron, is the second Ubuntu release to offer long-term support, which means that security and maintenance updates will be available for this version for three years on the desktop and five years on the server.

Ubuntu 8.04 includes GNOME 2.22, the latest version of the popular open-source desktop environment. There are many new features and significant architectural improvements in GNOME 2.22, including GVFS—a completely redesigned virtual filesystem abstraction layer—and PolicyKit, a secure privilege elevation system that is safer and more flexible than the anachronistic gksudo mechanism.

Ubuntu now also includes PulseAudio, a powerful new sound server with support for network transparency and advanced mixing capabilities. Although PulseAudio has a lot to offer on the desktop, it still suffers from some transitional issues and integration weaknesses in this release that manifest themselves in certain configurations.

One particularly significant feature included in this release is Wubi, a Windows-based installer that allows Ubuntu and Windows to coexist on the same partition. Wubi installs a fully functional Ubuntu environment into a folder on the Windows filesystem and sets up a boot menu that allows the user to enter Ubuntu at startup. Wubi doesn’t require the user to partition their hard drive and it makes it possible to uninstall Ubuntu directly through the Add/Remove Programs utility in Windows.

There are a handful of new applications included by default in this release, such as the Transmission BitTorrent client, the Cheese webcam application, and a new CD burning program called Brasero.

The next major version is Ubuntu 8.10, which is codenamed Intrepid Ibex and is scheduled for release in October. During the Intrepid Ibex development cycle, the focus will be on mobile computing and desktop scalability. The planning process will begin early next month at the Ubuntu Developer Summit.

Several popular Ubuntu flavors and derivatives have also been released today, including Kubuntu, Xubuntu, UbuntuStudio, Edubuntu, and Mythbuntu. The Ubuntu 8.04 server edition has also been released and includes an impressive set of enterprise-oriented features. It has already been certified on a variety of Sun server products and has ActiveDirectory integration, virtual appliance support, and improved AppArmor security policies.

Update:

Check out some cool snapshots here: Gallery: A peek at Umbutu 8.4

The Linux world was almost shell-shocked last week over Red Hat’s announcement that the company won’t be focusing on the desktop market.

Here’s the meat of the announcement:

It’s worth pointing out what’s missing in the list above: we have no plans to create a traditional desktop product for the consumer market in the foreseeable future.

An explanation: as a public, for-profit company, Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with desktops this is much harder to do than with servers. The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today’s Linux desktops simply don’t provide a practical alternative. Of course, a growing number of technically savvy users and companies have discovered that today’s Linux desktop is indeed a practical alternative. Nevertheless, building a sustainable business around the Linux desktop is tough, and history is littered with example efforts that have either failed outright, are stalled or are run as charities. But there’s good news too. Technical developments that have become available over the past year or two are accelerating the spread of the Linux Desktop.

But I have been thinking, why would RH want to do this? Over the years, RedHat was *the* brand that was almost synonymous with Linux which has support. Corporates and businesses when asked the techies “who will support open source” almost always got some pointers in RedHat’s direction. And then this!

What is Red Hat really scared of - Microsoft? But this exit of RedHat will announce in no uncertain terms the victory of Ubuntu too! Today, if XP etc rule the desktop market, Ubuntu has slowly got the mindshare of the Linux users and is the most dominant Linux distribution today.

Does Red Hat’s exit now leave the desktop Linux field open to Ubuntu? I would say, yes!

Microsoft has “dramatically” changed because of open-source software, the company’s Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said Thursday as part of a wide-ranging discussion during the annual Most Valuable Professional summit in Seattle. He also talked about Microsoft’s mesh concept and the importance of virtualization.

“Microsoft fundamentally, as a whole, has changed dramatically as a result of open source,” Ozzie said. “As people have been using it more and more, the nature of interoperability between our systems and others has increased.” That means that from the very start when Microsoft begins developing new products, it considers what components it will want to open up to outside developers, he said.

Still, that doesn’t mean that Microsoft is changing its approach to business. “We have a software business that is based on proprietary software. We tactically or strategically will take certain aspects of what we do and open source them where we believe there will be a real benefit to the community,” he said. The open sourcing of the .Net framework is an example of that, he said.

Ozzie also spoke a bit about Microsoft’s vision for using the Web to connect devices and content, in what may foreshadow an announcement the company plans for next week. “The Web really is a hub. It can be viewed conceptually as a hub for a social mesh and device mesh,” he said. Using the Internet as a hub for a social mesh means people can connect a wide range of online content like information they tag and rank, content they publish and information they subscribe to, he said.

Ozzie’s vision could hint at a service, Live Mesh, that Microsoft plans to unveil on Tuesday. The company has not revealed any details about the offering except to say it will be unveiled next week during the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. Ozzie briefly described a similar mesh vision earlier this year at the Mix 08 conference.

Microsoft already offers an online sharing service, SkyDrive, which is still in beta. SkyDrive is an online storage system that users can access from their PCs and from any other device with a browser, like a smartphone.

Beyond content, the Internet can also serve as a hub for devices, Ozzie said. “From a device standpoint, the Web can be a hub in terms of bringing devices we have together,” he said. While enterprises often connect and manage thousands of computers in a business, individuals have a variety of devices such as phones, PCs, media centers and music players that are mostly unconnected, he said.

Microsoft has already done some connecting of devices, including a service that lets Xbox and Zune users share media between the devices via the Web.

That model can also be extended to broaden the way that enterprises connect devices, he said. For example, a mobile user could take a photograph and use the picture in a project the user is working on via a PC and the Web, he said.

Ozzie also touched on two other principles guiding the work at Microsoft, including getting the mix of software and services right and moving away from “monolithic” programs to fragmented pieces of software that end-users can choose to use as appropriate.

Virtualization is another area that Microsoft thinks will be increasingly important. “Within the enterprise, virtualization is the simplest and most straightforward way to make the best use of data center resources,” he said.

Ozzie also praised the work the MVPs do in providing feedback to Microsoft. The software industry “used to be so supply constrained,” he said. “You could build almost anything and there’d be an audience waiting for it.” Today, however, there’s an abundance of software and services that users can choose from. That means Microsoft’s challenge is to better understand what users want in order to best target their needs, he said.

About 4,000 technology experts make up Microsoft’s MVP program. Nearly 1,800 of them met this week in Seattle at an annual summit.

Source: PCW

It’s weird to see people talk about Google App Engine online because I think many people focus on minor details. Like, to make apps scale horizontally you do need a “shared-nothing” infrastructure, so that’s not really novel. The BigTable aspects are sorta interesting except there’s nothing there (in terms of application design) that you couldn’t have gotten out of the paper, and the App Engine API is so high-level it’s not that close to BigTable. It’s more like any other high-level flat-address object database, like maybe CouchDB. The Python thing is also pretty irrelevant; they just picked a language they have experience with (having Guido around helped), and it’s easier to launch supporting one API than n languages’ worth. A good engineer just solves the problem with the tools available, and Python is a pretty good tool to start with.

As for evil plans to steal ideas or code, that’s between you and your skepticism. Big companies are surprisingly good at doing shitty things, and Google is definitely big, but it’s also true that within Google people really try to do the right thing. I was touched to see a privacy-concerned friend of mine start using Gmail after he was hired, saying that only after he saw how seriously they take privacy inside the company could he feel confident about using it. But I can’t tell you anything that will change your mind about this subject.

I developed an internal application using Google App Engine on and off over a period of months (during its development I kept trying it out) and then finally rewriting a few weeks before launch (after the APIs had all settled).

Here are some real problems I’ve encountered:

1) All code runs only in response to HTTP fetches. So that means no cron jobs, and no persistent server-side processes. I know I just wrote above that you can’t really have persistent jobs if you want to scale, but ultimately real apps do occasionally need these. For example, imagine a timed test app that needs a consistent view of time no matter which server (or datacenter!) the user hits. A time server becomes a single point of failure but when it’s critical for your app it can be engineered around.

2) No long connections means no “comet” (server-push messaging).
My first thought on hearing about App Engine was to port lmnopuz but I can’t.

3) Playing around with your data is hard. Since there’s no way to perform operations on your data except by uploading code to the server, you’re often left creating a new URL per operation you want to perform. Hacks like the shell helps with this, but a lot of the time I want to be able to just run a local script and see the output. (For my project I found a decent workaround: make a URL that accepts Python code as a POST and runs it. Then your scripts just need to know to serialize themselves into strings and send them over the wire.) But see the next point.

4) Slow table scans. My app had ~1200 rows that it performs various analyses on and produces graphs. I can appreciate that such a query is labor-intensive, and so I had written it to cache the results of the graph generation (the rows only change once a day). But I can’t even seed the cache once because fetching 1200 rows is too slow to happen within a single query.

5) Bulk operations are hard. Say you want to delete all objects in a table (or class, I forget the App Engine term). The “delete” operation requires you fetch the object first, and then you’re back into slow table scans land. The best you can do is batch up your processing into multiple smaller stages, each of which write their intermediate output into the data store: either make a page that auto-refreshes itself with Javascript and leave a browser pointed at it, or make a command-line script that repeatedly hits a URL on your app.

6) No arbitrary queries. (If you haven’t read the docs in detail, you wouldn’t know this, but any query that involves multiple attributes [columns, if you're still thinking SQL] of an object must have an index exactly matching the query. They make index creation and maintenance trivial, and even automatic in most cases.)
Though everyone’s repeatedly shoehorned SQL underneath object-relational mappers, App Engine (and others) demonstrate that you can provide an object storage API and gain performance by not using SQL underneath. I argue the real utility of SQL is that it lets you quickly (in terms of programmer time, not machine time) perform queries that you haven’t done before and won’t do again. Say I learn about a bug where I built all of March’s data with the word “none” in place of where a column should really be null (None in Python terms) — that’s a line of SQL to fix but it’s a world of pain with App Engine due to the bulk operations thing.

The announcement that Yahoo and AOL may be closer to a deal to combine forces, as well as the possibility of help from News Corp in allowing Microsoft to acquire Yahoo, sparked heavy coverage in the major print and online news sources, with many stories appearing on the front pages of papers and Business sections. Writers were generally surprised by these added twists to the Yahoo-Microsoft saga.
A front-page story at the Wall Street Journal (4/10, Karnitschnig, Delaney, Marr, A1, 2.06M) reports, “Yahoo Inc. and Time Warner Inc.’s AOL are closing in on a deal to combine their Internet operations, a move aimed at thwarting Microsoft Corp.’s effort to acquire Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.” The AOL-Yahoo deal under consideration “would include the repurchase of some Yahoo shares at a price above Microsoft’s offer. Taken together with a possible search advertising pact with Google Inc., the plan could give Yahoo an alternative to a Microsoft takeover — although many analysts and investors believe Microsoft will ultimately win out. At the least, Yahoo’s efforts could give it more leverage to negotiate a higher price from Microsoft.” The Journal continues, “Under the terms being discussed between Yahoo and Time Warner, the latter would fold its AOL unit into Yahoo and make a cash investment in return for about 20% of the combined entity, people familiar with the situation said.” The deal “wouldn’t include AOL’s dial-up access business,” and “would value AOL at about $10 billion.” As part of the deal, Yahoo “would use the Time Warner cash and additional funds to buy back several billion dollars worth of its own stock at a price somewhere in the middle of the range between $30 and $40 a share, the people said.”
A story on the front page of the Business section at the Washington Post (4/10, Whoriskey, Ahrens, D01, 723K) reports, “The competition for Yahoo heated up last night, as the Internet portal became the prize in a sudden and furious flurry of dealmaking among the world’s largest media and Internet titans.” Yahoo “is working out a complicated deal to acquire most of AOL from Time Warner, the world’s second-largest media company, in a move that would create the Internet’s largest portal, according to a source close to those talks.” The escalation “comes as Yahoo is fighting to maintain its independence and resist Microsoft’s offer … The global media giants are jockeying against one another in a high-stakes race to seize control of Internet advertising, which is growing at a 20 percent yearly clip.”
The Los Angeles Times (4/10, Guynn, Menn, 881K) reports, “If consummated, the deal could let Yahoo wriggle out of a situation that this week had seemed inevitable: succumbing to Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited $42-billion takeover bid.” The Times continues, “Combining AOL and Yahoo would create a consumer Internet giant with hundreds of millions of monthly visitors and a dominant position in online news, instant messaging, e-mail and other ad-supported services. It also would deal an enormous blow to Microsoft’s Web ambitions. But all three companies are far behind Google in the most profitable form of online advertising: search.” An AOL alliance “is a key part of Yahoo’s plan to show that it can again grow as an independent company and offer shareholders a viable alternative to Microsoft.”
USA Today (4/10, Swartz, 2.28M) reports, “Yahoo’s accelerated talks with AOL signal an abrupt turnabout. On Monday, Yahoo said it did not oppose a deal with the world’s largest software maker but wanted a better offer.”
The San Jose Mercury News (4/9, Ackerman, 231K) reported, “Antitrust experts say a full-blown arrangement between Yahoo and Google would raise red flags. An AOL deal would also be scrutinized. Google owns 5 percent of AOL and provides search and search advertising to the struggling portal.” Yahoo “would have to persuade shareholders the two deals would not be blocked by regulators and would create more long-term value than an immediate sale to Microsoft.” This “could be a hard sell, as a significant portion of Yahoo’s shares are held by arbitrage firms that are counting on a quick profit.”
Bloomberg News (4/9, Thaw), the Hollywood Reporter (4/9, Scalai), paidContent.org (4/9, Ali), and Computerworld (4/9, Nystedt) also reported this story.
Commentary. Charles Cooper wrote on the “Coop’s Corner” blog at CNET (4/9), “Just when I thought it was safe to head for the bar comes news, courtesy of our colleagues over at the Wall Street Journal, that Yahoo and AOL are working on a deal to combine the two companies’ Internet operations.” He continued, “Say this much for Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang: He’s giving it the old college try–anything to make sure he doesn’t wind up reporting to Steve Ballmer.” Cooper noted, “The WSJ story correctly raises the possibility that this may all be a negotiating ploy to squeeze a higher price out of Microsoft. If that is the case, Microsoft isn’t letting on just yet–at least not publicly.”
Erick Schonfeld wrote at TechCrunch (4/9), “Things are moving fast in the Yahoo-Microsoft drama. All the different forces are aligning for an endgame. The latest twist: The WSJ is reporting that Yahoo is close to signing a deal to combine with AOL.” He commented, “Tellingly, that $10 billion valuation is half of what AOL’s business was pegged at when Google invested $1 billion for its 5 percent stake in AOL a little over two years ago. (But that does not include the dial-up business). What we are witnessing is all sorts of contortions on both sides to make the numbers work. We’ve believed all along that Time Warner will put an offer on the table, but it will be difficult to make it pencil out, especially if an AOL-Yahoo combo is up against a three-way Microsoft-MySpace-Yahoo deal.”
Henry Blodget wrote at Silicon Alley Insider (4/9)
, “As we’ve argued in the past, combining Yahoo- and AOL’s assets makes sense. Until recently, Time Warner’s interest in a cash sale made the deal seem impossible, but recent speculation has been that Time Warner is now willing to swap AOL for equity in Yahoo.” He continued, “Also, AOL has no future as a standalone company, so it might as well merge with Yahoo or Microsoft now rather than later, in whole or in part. And there’s certainly no reason for Time Warner to hang onto it.” Blodget commented, “The big advantage of an AOL-Yahoo deal would be that it could happen relatively fast. (Though Microsoft would likely scream bloody murder and go rushing to the regulators). To make the deal successful, Yahoo’s management would have to be absolutely ruthless about cutting costs and eliminating redundancy, bureaucracy, etc, and ruthlessness is not their strong suit. But no matter what happens, after three years of feckless deterioration and two months of what seemed like bumbling post-bid denial, two big, aggressive moves from Yahoo in the space of a week would be a strong step toward redemption. If nothing else, Founder and CEO Jerry Yang would go down swinging.”
Om Malik wrote at GigaOm (4/9), “With Legg Mason, 7% owner of Yahoo opposing the Microsoft offer, the new plan could work. To make this plan come apart at seams unravel, Microsoft has to up the offer by a few dollars per share. I say this again, Yahoo has some serious problems. Buying AOL, already troubled in its own right, is only going to compound problems.”
Dana Farber wrote on the “outside the lines” blog at CNET (4/9), “I never thought that Microsoft’s unsolicited bid for Yahoo could get so interesting. It’s taking on Shakespearian dimensions, with various factions lobbying, forming alliances and establishing dowries for Yahoo’s favor.” He commented, “Google would benefit by the Microsoft block, its AOL relationship and potentially partnering with Yahoo, which would mean that Google is the big winner. Microsoft would be the big loser if it doesn’t succeed in acquiring Yahoo. Of course, the antitrust regulators might have a say in the matter. In some ways, Yahoo could be a loser as well in that Microsoft would technically and financially be a stronger mate than AOL, especially in battling Google over the long term. Given all the recent activity, Yahoo’s fate is less clear than when Microsoft was the only option. Perhaps, Yahoo has created an elaborate illusion to convince Microsoft to up its bid.”
Mark Hopkins at Mashable (4/9) also comments on this announcement.
News Corp. Discusses Joining Microsoft Bid For Yahoo. A story on the front page of the Business section at the New York Times (4/10, Sorkin, Helft, C1, 1.18M) reports, “Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft’s MSN and News Corporation’s MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape.” The talks “are a surprising twist in the two-month-long takeover story that began when Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo.” The Times continues, “If News Corporation throws its weight behind Microsoft’s offer, that could allow Microsoft to raise its bid, putting even more pressure on Yahoo and its shareholders. At the same time, the alignment of Microsoft and News Corporation would remove a possible alternative for Yahoo, leaving it with fewer opportunities to escape Microsoft’s grasp.” The talks “represent a change of sides for Mr. Murdoch. Just days after Microsoft made its bid, he flew to the West Coast and had dinner with Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s chief executive, offering his assistance in fending off Microsoft.”
The AP (4/10) reports, “If Yahoo’s maneuvering raises the pressure for a higher bid, Microsoft reportedly may mount its counterattack with a surprising ally — Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., whose media empire already includes the Fox television networks, The Wall Street Journal and the popular online hangout MySpace.com.” If Microsoft and News Corp. “were successful in a joint bid, it would unite three of the Internet’s most popular Web sites — Yahoo, along with MySpace and MSN.com.” The AP notes that Microsoft “might alienate one of partners, Facebook Inc., if it teams up with News Corp. in an attempt to buy Yahoo. Microsoft last year paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, which is the second largest online network behind News Corp.’s MySpace.com.”
MarketWatch (4/9, Gallagher) also covered this story.
More Commentary. Rafat Ali wrote at paidContent.org (4/9), “This just gets better and better by the second: now Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and News Corp (NYSE: NWS) are in talks about combining forces to bid for Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), in an unlikely meeting of minds. This would create a behemoth out of MSN, Yahoo and MySpace, and be even more difficult to pass the anti-trust muster.” Yahoo’s board “is expected to meet this week to discuss its options.”
Duncan Riley wrote at TechCrunch (4/9), “A combined Microsoft/ News Corp/ Yahoo would marry Fox Interactive Media and most notably MySpace with Yahoo’s web properties and Microsoft Live and MSN services, creating an even bigger challenger to Google.”
Dawn Kawamoto wrote on the NewsBlog at CNET (4/9), “Are Microsoft and News Corp. locking arms for a joint bid for Yahoo? That would be something.” She continued, “Ironically, just last month, News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch said he had no plans of getting into a bidding war over Yahoo with Microsoft. Talk about a cliche: If you can’t beat them, join them.” Kawamoto commented, “The day-by-day, nearly hour-by-hour, developments involving Yahoo since Microsoft on Saturday issued a three-week deadline for its reluctant target to do a deal is enough to make your head spin … One thing is for certain as the days count down to the three-week deadline: the volume of noise is going to get even louder and more frequent.”
Yahoo Teams With Google For Possible Ad Alliance. The Financial Times (4/10, Waters) reports,
“Yahoo yesterday moved to improve its bargaining position with Microsoft as it announced the test of a potential advertising alliance with Google.” Yahoo “said that, under the test, Google would supply relevant adverts alongside Yahoo’s search results.” The Times notes, “It signals the revival of an idea that Google earlier abandoned as impractical given the high possibility that antitrust regulators would block such a link between the two biggest internet search advertising companies. Microsoft itself was quick to raise the antitrust flag yesterday. … Analysts were also sceptical that the relationship could expand beyond a trial. … Even some people close to the situation warned that the chances were small that the advertising test would eventually lead to a full-blown partnership. However, they said it could be viewed as a way for Yahoo to gain greater negotiating leverage over Microsoft.”
Bloomberg News (4/9, Levy) reported, “Yahoo! Inc., seeking to scuttle Microsoft Corp.’s $44.6 billion acquisition bid, plans to run some Internet search advertisements from Google Inc. as a way to resuscitate revenue growth.” The test, “limited to the U.S., will include no more than 3 percent of search queries and will last as long as two weeks, Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo said today in a statement.”
The AP (4/9, Liedtke) reported, “Yahoo is surrendering some of its advertising space to Internet search leader Google in an unusual test that appears designed to frustrate Yahoo’s unsolicited suitor, Microsoft.” Yahoo “will still use its own technology - acquired and developed at a cost of more than $2 billion - to place ads next to the other search results on its website. The Sunnyvale-based company also will continue to distribute search ads to its own partners.” The piece noted, “Together, Google and Yahoo control more than 80% of the U.S. search market, making it highly unlikely that antitrust regulators would allow the Silicon Valley rivals to form a long-term advertising alliance, analysts said. A broader relationship between Yahoo and Google also would face intense political scrutiny, said Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, who chairs a committee overseeing antitrust issues.”
Stephen Shankland wrote on the NewsBlog at CNET (4/9), “Yahoo indicated the Google test is part of its attempt to evaluate new business options, but offered cautious words about what the test might lead to.” He continued, “With the prospect of a proxy fight looming after Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer gave Yahoo a three-week ultimatum, Yahoo shareholders are increasingly important to Yahoo’s future. This is especially true of institutional investors such as insurance companies that hold large numbers of shares.” Yahoo “definitely needs to send strong signals to those shareholders, if it wants to persuade them that Chief Executive Jerry Yang’s position that Microsoft’s price is too low has merit. In a report Monday, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said that of a ‘limited sample of 20 institutional Yahoo investors, the majority suggest they prefer the current deal (with Microsoft) to no deal.’”
InformationWeek (4/9, Gonsalves) reported, “In announcing the test, Yahoo made no mention of Microsoft’s $42.2 billion takeover bid. Instead, the portal said the company’s board ‘is exploring strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value, including exploration of potential commercial business arrangements.’” Michael Gartenberg, analyst for Jupiter Research, said, “Despite not mentioning Microsoft, Yahoo likely had the software maker in mind when it met with Google. ‘This is a way of reminding Microsoft that it [Yahoo] is still an independent company, and it still can do these types of deals.’”
Adweek (4/9, Morrissey) reported, “Outsourcing its search results to Google would amount to a stunning about-face for Yahoo!, which has battled Google tooth and nail in the search market since it bought its own algorithmic search technology and paid search system in Overture in 2003. It devoted considerable resources into overhauling its paid search platform last year, debuting Panama in October 2006.” Yet Yahoo! “has been unable to match Google in the market. Its search share has continued to fall while Google’s grows. The situation has set off a dynamic where Google is able to attract more searches, more advertisers and even higher price clicks.”
The Hollywood Reporter (4/9, Bond) and bizjournals.com (4/9) also reported this story.
Bloggers React To Yahoo-Google Ad Trial. Mark Hendrickson wrote at TechCrunch (4/9), “In what can only be interpreted as a move in its extended chess match with Microsoft, Yahoo has decided to run a two-week-long trial of Google’s AdSense for Search.” He commented, “Yahoo is eager to point out that the trial will not necessarily blossom into a long-term relationship with Google. And so the pushing continues.”
John Paczkowski wrote on the “Digital Daily” blog at All Things Digital (4/9), “Well this ought to cause a chair-tossing tantrum or two up at Microsoft HQ.” The Internet portal “will soon begin a ‘limited’ two-week test of Google AdSense with an eye toward a broader search-ad outsourcing arrangement. That said, this tentative first step is by no means a harbinger of a larger deal.” He continued, “It certainly doesn’t. Not if Microsoft has anything to say about it. In a hastily issued statement Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel, cried monopoly over the exploratory alliance. ‘Any definitive agreement between Yahoo! and Google would consolidate over 90 percent of the search advertising market in Google’s hands,’ Smith said.”
Duncan Riley wrote at TechCrunch (4/9) concerning Microsoft’s reaction, “The 90% market share in the first line is where the deal may well come unstuck (presuming its expanded). Will Government regulators sit back and allow Google to take a 90% market share through a deal with Yahoo?”
Joseph Weisenthal wrote at paidContent.org (4/9), “So far, it doesn’t have an official strategic response, other than that it’s weighing its options. But it does deliver a key message to Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) shareholders: ‘Our proposal remains the only alternative put forward that offers Yahoo! shareholder
s full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.’” He commented, “Basically, if you want to get paid for your shares, you’ll go with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT). If you want to see the value of your holdings collapse, then sign an ad deal with Google and good luck going it alone.”
David Kaplan wrote at paidContent.org (4/9), “A number of online ad industry execs expressed extreme skepticism that Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) is serious about pursuing a larger, more long-term outsourcing arrangement with Google on paid search. Yahoo has taken care to make this a very limited test: only U.S. searches on Yahoo.com are involved, affiliate deals will not be affected in any way and it’s over in two weeks.” He continued, “While most of the execs I spoke to believe this is merely a way to thwart Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), some believe that, if carried further, this kind of relationship would severely harm its relationship with advertisers across all its vehicles and ultimately undermine the enormous time, energy and money the company has spent in fashioning itself as a major seller of online ad inventory.”