5/23/2007

Google To Buy Feedburner For $100 Million

Filed under: — Aviran Mordo

Rumors about Google acquiring RSS management company Feedburner from last week, started by ex-TechCrunch UK editor Sam Sethi, are accurate and are now confirmed according to a source close to the deal. Feedburner is in the closing stages of being acquired by Google for around $100 million. The deal is all cash and mostly upfront, according to our source, although the founders will be locked in for a couple of years.

Forget Google Phone? Google eyes wireless spectrum

Filed under: — Aviran Mordo

All the rumors about a Google phone may be just slightly off. Rather than sell a mobile handset, Google might instead offer wireless service.

A Google executive on Tuesday said that the company is considering trying to win spectrum in an upcoming FCC auction. “We have not ruled in or out participating in the auction as a licensee,” said Richard Whitt, Washington, D.C. telecom and media counsel for Google.

He was referring to the FCC auction of wireless spectrum in the 700MHz band expected to happen next year. The frequency has been used by television broadcasters but is becoming available as part of the transition to digital television. The 700MHz spectrum is attractive because it can carry signals for long distances, potentially reducing the costs of building a network.

Whitt didn’t reveal more details about what Google would do with the spectrum if it decided to enter the auction and if it managed to win. With spectrum in hand, Google could build a network and offer wireless services directly to users.

Free computer virus finds willing victims

Filed under: — Aviran Mordo

Computer specialist Didier Stevens put up a simple text advertisement on the Internet offering downloads of a computer virus for people who did not have any.

Surprisingly, he found as many as 409 people clicking on the ad saying “Is your PC virus-free? Get it infected here!” during a 6-month advertising campaign on Google’s Adword, said the IT security expert.

“Some of them must have clicked on it by mistake. Some must have been curious or stupid,” said Mikko Hypponen, head of research at data security firm F-Secure.

There was no virus involved, it was an experiment aiming to show these kind of advertising systems can be used for malicious intent, Stevens told Reuters.

How To Disable Reboot After Windows Automatic Update

Filed under: — Aviran Mordo

Microsoft released an update via windows update which causes your windows to reboot after the update is installed. This causes lost of work to many users who did not plan to restart their computer. I just wanted to remind you about a way you can Disable Reboot After Windows Automatic Update

Sony may sell 80-gig Playstation 3 in US

Filed under: — Aviran Mordo

Sony’s PlayStation 3 video game console will come with a beefed up 80-gigabyte hard-disk drive in South Korea, and that model is being considered for the U.S. and other markets, a company official said Wednesday.

The PlayStation 3, which competes against Nintendo Co.’s Wii and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360, now comes with a 60-gigabyte hard drive. A 20-gigabyte version, which has been discontinued in the United States, still sells in Japan and some other regions.

“Increasing capacity for models is one of the options,” said Satoshi Fukuoka, spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “We make such decisions depending on the needs of the market, and every country is different.”

House Approves Bill to Combat Spyware

Filed under: — Aviran Mordo

The House passed legislation Tuesday to combat the criminal use of Internet spyware and scams aimed at stealing personal information from computer users.

Spyware, said bill sponsor Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., “is one of the biggest threats to consumers on the Internet.” She and other lawmakers cited estimates that up to 90 percent of computers in this country are infected with some form of spyware.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., cosponsor of the bill, said it had been written so that it “protects consumers by imposing stiff penalties on the truly bad actors” while protecting legitimate online businesses that are developing new services to keep track of user preferences.

The bill makes it a criminal offense, subject to a prison term of up to five years, to access a computer without authorization to further another federal criminal offense. Obtaining or transmitting personal information with the intent of injuring or defrauding a person or damaging a computer is punishable by up to two years in prison.

Powered by WordPress