Phone-wallets still years away

The new technology which enables small payments from mobile phones by just flashing the handset is likely to reach masses only around 2012, when one phone from five sold will be equipped with the technology.Consumers will be able to use a phone as a wallet or as an access card simply by waving it over a wireless reader — and in some cases punching a PIN number into the phone — similar to how travelers in Tokyo and London access public transport.

The technology is ready and Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) has introduced four products using it so far — but the limited offering and high costs are hampering the take-up, which could help transport firms to cut costs and cellphone makers to support prices.

“When the 20 percent level is reached it starts to feed itself. That is the critical point,” Jukka Suikkanen, R&D manager at top Nordic telecom operator TeliaSonera (TLSN.ST: Quote, Profile, Research), told an industry seminar in Helsinki.

Research firms Strategy Analytics and ABI Research have forecast the 20 percent penetration would be reached in 2012.

Mikko Saarisalo, a technology manager at the world’s top cellphone maker Nokia, declined to comment on the outlook for the technology, but said 30 percent of phones enabled text messaging (SMS) before it took off.

ABI Research has forecast 6.5 million NFC (Near Field Communication) phones would be sold this year, up 10 fold from 2007, but the growth is hampered by costs stemming from an extra chip needed in phones for data security.

Nokia’s 6131 model sells for 139 euros in Finland, but for the NFC version of the same phone retailers are asking up to 100 euros more.

TeliaSonera’s Suikkanen said additional costs are likely to start falling next year when operators start to add security features to SIM cards, ending the need for an additional chip.

Strategy Analytics said last month that despite support from all quarters of the industry NFC is likely to remain largely limited to the trial phase this year.

“The shortfall is attributed to the slow ecosystem build-out, a half-hearted effort, at best, even though there is visible progress in overcoming the technical and standardization challenges,” the research firm said in a statement.

Last year Nokia and large European and Asian carriers — including KPN (KPN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research), Maxis Communications Bhd MXSC.KL, O2 (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research), Orange (FTE.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), SingTel, SKT and Wind — joined 14 mobile operators which initiated the project earlier.

The world’s biggest payment card company, MasterCard, is also involved in the initiative, which is cheaper and much faster than other wireless payment experiments, like those using SMS text messages.

China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Cingular — owned by AT&T Inc (T.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and BellSouth Corp BLS.N — and Telefonica already support the common wireless chip format on the mobile phones they distribute for their networks.

Together with chip makers NXP NXP.UL and Sony (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research), which pioneered the contactless chip called Near Field Communication (NFC), companies plan a global standard for electronic wallets in mobile phones.

reuters.com

U.S. game sales jump 47 percent in April on GTA4

U.S. sales of video game hardware and software rose 47 percent from a year earlier, as Take-Two Interactive Software Inc’s “Grand Theft Auto 4″ and Nintendo Co Ltd’s Wii console stole the show.The popularity of “Grand Theft Auto 4,” however, failed to boost sales of Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp’s PlayStation 3, which both saw unit shipments fall sharply from the previous month.

U.S. consumers bought 188,000 Xbox 360s and 187,000 PS3s in April, data from market research firm NPD showed on Thursday. That was down from 262,000 units and 257,000 units in March.

“The Easter shift from April to March this year I think had an impact on sales during the month,” Lazard Capital analyst Colin Sebastian said.

“I know on the hardware side it was a little light but let’s see what a month of ‘GTA’ sales does for those platforms as well as a month without a holiday shift,” Sebastian said.

“Grand Theft Auto 4″ launched on April 29 and sold nearly 2.9 million copies in the United States in its first five days, NPD said.

Because the criminal action game can only be played on those two systems, Microsoft and Sony were counting on the title to convince those who hadn’t bought a new gaming system to seize the opportunity.

“It was surprising not to see bigger hardware sales for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 given the release of GTA IV,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier wrote in the report. “However, since the game was only in the market for 5 days during this reporting period, that sales lift could very well be evident in May data.”

Sony said PS3 sales were still up nearly 130 percent from a year earlier, and pointed to upcoming games such as “Metal Gear Solid 4″ and “Resistance 2″ as ones that would spur sales.

“For us it doesn’t end after GTA ships,” Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, told Reuters. “We’ve got a great back half of the year.”

Meanwhile, Nintendo’s Wii juggernaut rolled on, selling more than 714,000 units in a sign of unabated demand for the slim white box and its friendly, simpler games.

Gamers bought more than 1.1 million copies of Nintendo’s cartoony racing game “Mario Kart Wii,” which was the No. 2 game in the month.

“It has a broad appeal that brings in a diverse audience,” Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, told Reuters, referring to the game.

Sony’s “Gran Turismo 5 Prologue” racing game was the No. 6 game, selling 224,000 copies. Other top games included Nintendo’s “Wii Play” and “Super Smash Bros Brawl”, Activision Inc’s “Guitar Hero 3″ for the Wii and “Call of Duty 4″ for the Xbox.

reuters.com

Google social network ad business “improving”: Brin

Google Inc co-founder Sergey Brin said on Thursday advertising on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace was getting better, but was still not perfect.“In general, it’s been improving but we still have a long way to go,” Brin told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Jerusalem to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary.

“Things have been going well this year…it’s hard to predict where social networking will come out.”

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in January the company was having trouble making inroads selling advertising into what is now the hottest market on the Internet.

Brin said it would take time to find the best formula to develop the social networking advertising business, to develop the right technology and to educate advertisers and users.

“People are expecting overnight to wake up to a miracle… but these things take time,” he added.

Brin also repeated that he was “very happy” with a two-week test this month in which rival Yahoo used Google search advertisements. But he said he had nothing to add at this stage on any possible further tie-ups.

Microsoft Corp withdrew a $47.5 billion offer for Yahoo this month that was aimed at building an online advertising powerhouse to compete with Google. It is now under pressure to find an alternative, such as a search deal with its chief rival.

Schmidt said last week the trial with Yahoo provided good reason for the companies to discuss cooperation, but said there was no deal yet. He said there was a good basis for more talks with Yahoo.

Brin said on Thursday Google was “very happy to have worked with them”. When asked about Google’s concerns about any partnership with Yahoo, he said that was “hypothetical” and declined to comment.

Yahoo President Susan Decker, who also spoke at the conference, declined to comment on news that billionaire investor Carl Icahn was considering mounting a proxy campaign to replace Yahoo board members after the failed Microsoft bid.

She declined to say whether Yahoo had been in contact with either Icahn or Microsoft.

reuters.com

Xbox 360 sales surpass Wii, PS3

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday its Xbox 360 game machine beat Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.OS: Quote, Profile, Research) Wii and Sony Corp’s (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 to reach 10 million units in U.S. sales.“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle,” Don Mattrick, a Microsoft senior vice president who heads the company’s Xbox business, said in a statement.

The Xbox 360 was the first of this latest generation of game machines to launch in the United States when it was released in November 2005. The PS3 and Wii were launched in the United States a year later.

The Wii is closing in on the Xbox 360, with 8.8 million units sold as of the end of March, while Sony has totaled 4.1 million PS3 units sold, according to market research firm NPD.

Microsoft also said global membership of its Xbox Live online service reached 12 million members.

reuters.com

EU says Google map images could be a problem

The ability of Google Inc’s map service to put detailed street-level images on the Internet could raise concerns in Europe if it was introduced there, the EU’s data protection agency said on Thursday.Google’s Street View offers ground-level, 360-degree views of streets in 30 U.S. cities. It has become popular among drivers but courted controversy over potential privacy invasion.

“Making pictures everywhere is certainly going to create some problems,” European Union Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx told a news conference to present his annual report.

But Hustinx, who works with Europe’s national authorities to set consistent rules on data and privacy protection through the 27-country bloc, said he was confident Google would take into account European law in any future introduction of the product.

“Apparently there is the capacity to adapt this in different modes,” he said, referring to technical possibilities of limiting what images were published online.

In March Google said it would comply with a Pentagon request to remove some online images from Street View over fears they posed a security threat to U.S. military bases.

Other concerns have been more banal. In one instance, a man was pictured exiting a San Francisco strip club. In another case, a woman was shown sunbathing.

Street View has yet to be introduced outside the United States. Web-based Google Maps and a related computer-based service called Google Earth have drawn criticism from a variety of countries for providing images of sensitive locations, such as military bases or potential targets of terror attacks.

The services rely on civilian versions of satellite maps that it licenses from commercial mapping services.

RIM will launch touch-screen BlackBerry in Q3: report

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd (RIM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)(RIMM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to launch a touch-screen version of the wireless e-mail device in the third quarter as an answer to Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.The device, known as the Thunder, is to be sold exclusively through Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and Vodafone PLC abroad, the Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter.

RIM declined to comment on the report, stating that it does not comment on rumors and speculation. Earlier this week, rumored details of a touch-screen BlackBerry surfaced on the Internet.

In February, RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie said the company may bring out a touch-screen device if customers want it.

This week, Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM announced its BlackBerry Bold, a sleek smartphone with a keyboard aimed at its core base of business users.

Introducing a touch-screen BlackBerry would put RIM in more direct competition with Apple’s popular iPhone. In the past, Balsillie has dismissed concerns that the iPhone could pose a serious competitive threat.

A touch-screen BlackBerry would also build on RIM’s continuing push into the broader retail market as it seeks to diversify its client base beyond the executives, lawyers and other professionals who have been its mainstay.

RIM shares closed C$1.60 higher at C$140.99 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday. On the Nasdaq, they gained $2.15 to finish at $140.71.

($1=$1 Canadian)

reuters.com

Humanity without technology - May 16, 2008

Welcome to the May 16, 2008 edition of humanity without technology.

Kingsley Tagbo presents How To Find Affordable, Flexible Career Training Programs posted at HOW TO LEARN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING FAST OR GET A JOB EASILY.

Alvaro Fernandez presents The Power of Mindsight-by Daniel Goleman posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Daniel Goldman asks, “When you were young, which of these did you feel more often?”"

James Brausch presents Costa Rican Domestic Help posted at Costa Rica HQ.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, “Technology can offer great brain training. Your job itself can, too.”

Life. Money. Development. presents The 7 Attributes of Leadership posted at Life. Money. Development., saying, “An excellent presentation of the attributes every leader should have.”

Raymond presents How To Get A Free Laptop or Plasma TV Through Gift Reward Websites posted at Money Blue Book.

Barbara Y presents Lost Keys Locater posted at Ludicrous Ideas, saying, “Thank you for hosting the carnival, and if your interested in working on a project together feel free to let me now. Cheers, Larry”

Barbara Y presents Plain Water as fuel for your car posted at Ludicrous Ideas, saying, “Thank you for hosting the carnival, and if your interested in working on a project together feel free to let me now. Cheers, Larry”

Heather Johnson presents Guest Blogger Post - Research Made Easy: Top 5 Online Citation Tools posted at Technology at Albany Law School.

Raymond presents Nigerian 419 Scams and Spam Emails Are Funny But They Make Me Paranoid posted at Money Blue Book.

Raymond presents One Great Potential Benefit Of Higher Gas Prices - Less Traffic posted at Money Blue Book.

Michael Law presents Do Online Casinos Cause Gambling Addictions? posted at Online Casino Blog.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Email Hell posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

technology

TheLittlestGuy presents global warming and climate change, here to stay posted at TheLittlestGuy, saying, “Humanity will face two great challenges over the next 100 years: how to make enough energy to support everyone on the planet and how to stop damaging our planet. This blog and article address global warming and climate change and what humanity must do in order to survive.”

Raymond presents File Sharing and Downloading Music - Fun and Free But Beware of The RIAA posted at Money Blue Book.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Time Travel posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Phil B. presents Stop Watering Your Lawn << Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, “My dream is that one day people will stop being so wasteful.”

Amber Fridal presents How to Unlock Your Infinite Potential (Page 3) Internal Instincts & Acting on Impulses: by Nicholas Powiull posted at Conscious Flex, saying, “This aritle does not cover too much about technology, but this is related: quote from article “There was a limiting belief that the body and mind cannot work together to achieve the goal. However, I want you to notice something very important here: because we took the detour. What in turn happened is ‘outer technology advancement’ instead of ‘inner consciousness advancement.’ Nevertheless, through a series of events we developed a technology system so advanced that we can now use it to send information rapidly. Through this vast information, the gap is now a bridge to look to inner conscious advancement.” I hope it helps!”

Zork Brauk presents UFO Recession Tip 41 - Play in Park for Free posted at It’s the Recession, Stupid!.

Heather Johnson presents Sometimes We Depend on Technology Too Much posted at Voice Of Dingchao.

Raymond presents Back Up Plan For Those Dependent On the Internet When The Electricity Goes Out posted at Money Blue Book.

Raymond presents Save Money With Someone Else’s Wireless Internet posted at Money Blue Book.

Nat JM presents Do communication technology gadgets make us anxious and stressed? posted at I love technology, saying, “A cheeky article reminding people to enjoy life and switch off their mobile devices once in a while… The article is pro technology but anti stress ;-)”

James DeLelys presents WORDS » Articles posted at WORDS, saying, “Prejudice…”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of humanity without technology using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

“Grand Theft Auto” publisher sues over pulled ads

The publisher of the controversial “Grand Theft Auto 4″ video game sued the Chicago Transit Authority on Monday, accusing it of pulling ads promoting the blockbuster without explanation.The video game’s publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. sued the transit authority in Manhattan federal court for violating its free speech and contractual rights, saying it pulled its posters within days of the ads first appearing on April 22.

Take Two accused the authority and its sales agent, Titan Outdoor LLC, of violating a $300,000 (150,000 pounds) ad campaign agreement that included running “Grand Theft Auto 4″ poster ads on the sides of buses and transit display spaces throughout the Chicago transit system scheduled for six weeks between April and June.

The suit seeks an order for the transit authority to run the ads as well as monetary damages of at least $300,000.

The advertisements were removed following a report by a Fox News affiliate that questioned why the ad was allowed to run after a wave of violent crimes in Chicago, the suit said.

Past “Grand Theft Auto” games have been criticized for depicting violence including beatings, carjackings, drive-by shootings, drunk driving and prostitution.

Representatives of the Chicago Transit Authority were not immediately available for comment.

reuters.com

Microsoft brings TV shows from NBC, others to Zune

Microsoft Corp said it will start offering television shows for its Zune portable media device, more than two years after Apple Inc introduced the feature for its iPod player.Microsoft’s Zune has one thing that Apple’s market-defining iPod and accompanying iTunes store does not — TV programs from General Electric’s NBC Universal.

Those shows and more than 800 TV episodes including Comedy Central’s “South Park” and MTV’s “The Hills” will be available at the Zune store starting on Tuesday for the equivalent of $1.99 in Microsoft points that must be purchased in advance.

Last year, Apple split with NBC, removing the network’s television shows from iTunes. Microsoft will carry NBC shows like “The Office” and “Heroes” for playback on the Zune, which has failed to dent the dominant market share of Apple’s iPod since its 2006 debut.

The Zunes have video playback capability, but content available for the devices has been limited to music videos.

reuters.com

Yahoo CEO open to more Microsoft talks

Yahoo Inc chief Jerry Yang signaled a more open stance towards Microsoft Corp on Monday, saying he had been seeking common ground when the software maker abruptly ended deal talks.Yang told Reuters in an interview that he had “mixed feelings” about the weekend outcome, after investors showed their disappointment over the break-up of negotiations by sending Yahoo shares down 15 percent.

“We were negotiating a way to find common ground and then on Saturday they chose to walk away,” said the 39-year-old co-founder of the pioneering Internet company. “They started it and they walked away.”

Asked if Yahoo would still leave a door open for Microsoft to return, Yang said: “If they have anything new to say, we would be open. … I am more than willing to listen.”

After three months of negotiations, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer raised his offer for Yahoo to $33 per share from an initial $31, for a total deal value of about $47.5 billion.

Yang held out for $37 per share, saying that even the sweetened offer did not value Yahoo properly for its Web search advertising technology, its prominence in selling display ads and its lucrative overseas holdings.

But its two largest shareholders independently told The New York Times they would have sold for as little as $34.

“I am extremely angry at Jerry Yang and at the so-called independent board,” Gordon Crawford, portfolio manager for Capital Research Global Investors, the largest Yahoo shareholder with some 16 percent of stock, told the newspaper.

Some analysts said Yahoo shares, which dropped $4.30 to end at $24.37 on Monday, could have fallen 30 percent to closer to $19.18, its price before Microsoft made its bid public on February 1. But the descent was cushioned by investors who are betting Microsoft will eventually come back to the table.

“This is going to play out over the next several months and there is still a chance Microsoft will buy the company for somewhere around $33 a share,” said Todd Dagres, general partner at venture capital fund Spark Capital.

A GOOGLE VICTORY?

Shares of Microsoft rose initially on investor relief that it was not paying billions more for Yahoo, though the stock ended down slightly amid concerns about how the software maker would develop its Web strategy in the face of a dominant Google Inc.

Microsoft courted Yahoo to capitalize on the rapidly growing market for Internet advertising, one that has long been served by Yahoo’s search, e-mail and Web communities.

It is also trying to fend off the expansion of Google, which has made inroads into Microsoft’s home turf with a portfolio of Web based-applications, e-mail and messaging.

But now that a deal has fallen apart, Google has emerged as the key beneficiary. Shares in the company rose 2.3 percent.

“Google has just kept their foot on the accelerator,” said Derek Brown, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. “Neither Yahoo nor Microsoft in their current state seems to be a material competitive threat.”

Yahoo is likely to press alternative strategies in coming weeks, including a search advertising partnership with Google and a deal for Time Warner Inc’s AOL Internet unit.

A Google deal would boost Yahoo’s operating performance in the near term, but runs the risk of regulatory scrutiny over an alliance between the Internet’s top two players.

Google and Yahoo are hammering out the intricacies of a potential deal and also are sharing their plans with antitrust regulators, a person close to Google who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said.

In a letter to Yang over the weekend, Ballmer warned that any deal between Yahoo and Google would be difficult to unravel and would preclude an agreement with Microsoft.

Yang told Reuters the company would take care to structure any new efforts to “preserve as much (as possible) long-term flexibility for Yahoo, both operationally and strategically.”

SHAREHOLDER PRESSURE

Analysts expect a flurry of shareholder lawsuits against Yahoo, and say it may even face direct pressure on its board.

Already, some Yahoo shareholders have started to question how talks were handled.

Bill Miller, a portfolio manager for Legg Mason, Yahoo’s second-largest shareholder, told the New York Times in a Sunday interview that he would have considered selling to Microsoft for $34 or $35 a share.

While that was more than Microsoft’s offer, it was less than the $37 per share Yahoo’s board had insisted on.

Capital Research’s Crawford also said investors generally were looking for Yahoo to sell at $34. He hoped shareholders pushed Yahoo to revisit the issue but was not optimistic, he told the newspaper. The company owns about 16 percent of Yahoo.

Yang, who owns about 4 percent of the company, was expected to hold a meeting with employees on Tuesday in an effort to reassure staff in the wake of the Microsoft talks ending.

Yang said in a post on the company’s blog on Sunday night: “No one is celebrating about the outcome of these past three months … and no one should. We live and work in a competitive world and the Web is only going to get more competitive. Executing on our strategic plan is what matters most.”

reuters.com

Grand Theft Auto IV breaks UK first day record

“Grand Theft Auto IV”, the gangster-themed computer game that earned both critical claim and strong criticism, broke first day sales records in Britain, according to an industry body’s initial estimates on Thursday.The Entertainment Retailers Association, which represents 5,000 stores selling games, music and films, said the game — published by Take-Two Interactive Software Inc — sold about 609,000 copies on Tuesday.

That beats the previous record held by an earlier title in the same series, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”, which sold 501,000 copies on October 29, 2004.

“The past 24 hours have been like it’s Christmas all over again for our members,” ERA Director Kim Bayley said in a statement. “GTA IV is a phenomenon.”

The game centers on an Eastern European immigrant who deals drugs, shoots police and beats up prostitutes after falling in with a crime syndicate.

Its release was one of the most hotly anticipated in the gaming world in years. Fans queued outside shops around the world to be the among the first to get a copy.

The association said the 40-pound ($79.52) game had eclipsed big releases in the film and music industry.

The PlayStation 3 version of the game scored a perfect 100 in reviews, while the Xbox 360 title achieved a 99, according to Metacritic, an aggregator of gaming reviews.

However, one parents’ group in the United States described it as “crude, crass, disgusting and violent”.

Last week’s biggest selling DVD was Will Smith’s science fiction thriller “I Am Legend”, with 450,000 copies sold in Britain, the ERA said.

The top selling album was indie band The Last Shadow Puppets’ “The Age of the Understatement”, which sold 51,000 copies.

Apple buying microchip designer P.A. Semi

Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is buying P.A. Semi, a designer of low-power microchips, in a move that could bolster its ability to customize key parts for its iPhone, iPod and Macintosh product lines.The deal, first reported on the Forbes magazine Web site, was confirmed on Wednesday by Apple spokesman Steve Dowling, who declined to comment on financial terms or give details.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally don’t comment on their purpose or plans,” Dowling said.

Forbes said the transaction was valued at $278 million in cash. Officials at Santa Clara, California-based P.A. Semi were not immediately available to comment.

Apple, based nearby in Cupertino, already employs many semiconductor experts who work closely with partners to customize chips to make its products stand apart, said Tim Bajarin, head of Creative Strategies, a consultancy.

“Let’s be clear. This has nothing to do with Apple wanting to get into semiconductors. This is purely the need to bulk up their system design teams to enhance their ability to work with third-party vendors,” Bajarin said.

Key Apple partners include Intel Corp (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which supplies the processors for Mac computers, and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS: Quote, Profile, Research), which makes the iPhone processor.

But having a larger pool of chip expertise could come in handy if Apple contemplates moving into new product areas.

“You can’t count out the fact that if you have this level of capability, you could expand into potentially other types of products,” Bajarin said. “It gives them a lot more flexibility to be innovative in the future.”

P.A. Semi, which launched its first products in late 2005, has a family of chips based on the Power architecture from IBM (IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) but that use far less electricity than other designs.

P.A. Semi said its chips could be used in everything from printers to video game systems to supercomputers. It is a “fabless” chip company, meaning it uses contract manufacturers and does not own its own production facilities.

Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64, said P.A. Semi’s existing chips were targeted at high-performance computers and would not be suitable for mobile devices.

“Maybe Apple just needed the people, but out of a couple hundred people at P.A. Semi, maybe 100 would have skills Apple could deploy in other areas. That’s $2.7 million per person, which is a very high headhunter fee.”

Apple shares rose 1.8 percent to $163 in afternoon trading on Nasdaq, ahead of the company’s quarterly earnings announcement after the market close.

reuters.com

Google introduces brand-image ads for phones

Google Inc said on Wednesday it has introduced brand-image ads for mobile phones, in a bid to extend beyond the computer-based Web market into the emerging market for advertising on phones.In a statement on the Silicon Valley company’s Web site, the company said it had designed mobile images to look like standard graphical display ads for desktop computer Web pages, but made them smaller to fit on mobile phone screens.

The company said all mobile image ads are targeted according to the keywords users type into phones to search for information. The ads are priced on a cost-per-click basis, and must link to Web pages optimized to work on mobile phones.

Only one image ad is displayed on each mobile page, a move to that appears designed to limit clutter on small screens.

“For advertisers, mobile image ads serve as a branding tool and have shown to have good click-through rates,” Alexandra Kenin, a product marketing manager, for Google Mobile Ads said in a blog post on the company’s site.

Mobile image ads are available in 13 national markets: Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the United States, Google said.

reuters.com

Consumer groups urge “do not track” registry

Two consumer groups asked the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to create a “do not track list” that would allow computer users to bar advertisers from collecting information about them.The Consumer Federation of America and the Consumers Union also urged the FTC to bar collection of health information and other sensitive data by companies that do business on the Internet unless a consumer consents.

The call echoed those of other privacy advocates who filed statements with the FTC on Internet companies’ use of “behavioral advertising.” That is the practice of tracking a computer user’s activities online, including Web searches and sites visited, to target advertisements to the individual consumer.

In December, the FTC approved Google’s purchase of advertising rival DoubleClick over the objections of some privacy groups.

At the same time, the agency urged advertisers to let computer users bar advertisers from collecting information on them, to provide “reasonable security” for any data and to collect data on health conditions or other sensitive issues only with the consumer’s express consent.

In comments to the FTC on online behavioral advertising, advertisers made clear a strong preference for self-regulation rather than government dictates on how personal data are collected, what disclosures are made to computer users and how long the information is stored.

Consumer groups said on Tuesday they were skeptical of self-regulation.

“Self-policing schemes are not enough to protect consumers’ privacy and offer no enforcement against improper behavior,” said Chris Murray, senior counsel for Consumers Union, in a statement.

“While companies like Google are trying to put pretty good practices in place, we don’t want to rely on the good graces of the companies because they might change their minds,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Several child advocacy groups, including the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Academy of Pediatrics, urged the FTC to bar advertisers from collecting information on or advertising to anyone under the age of 18.

Several advertisers also questioned whether the FTC and privacy groups had established that any harm had been done by the data collected and pointed out that the advertisers subsidized the free information often sought on the Internet.

“The associations (of businesses and advertisers) strongly believe that self-regulation and leading business practices comprise the most effective framework to protect consumers and further innovation in the area of privacy and behavioral advertising,” the American Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers and other organizations said in a statement.

“We believe that any additional principles or guidelines should be issued only after the commission specifically identifies harms and concerns so that business is in a position to consider and address them,” the group said in its comments to the FTC.

EBay to end links to open-outcry live auctions

EBay is pulling out of “live auctions,” where members join in real-world auction-house bidding, in the latest in a series of moves to restructure its online auctions business, the company said on Tuesday.The online auction leaders said it plans to shut down the eBay Live Auctions business as of December 31, 2008. The format represents a little-known, tiny piece of eBay’s auction businesses — most of which connect buyers and sellers online.

The service is located here

Live Auctions represent a throwback to traditional open outcry auctions by linking eBay users remotely to auctions moderated by live auctioneers, both in physical locations or online. Unlike eBay’s typical 10-day window for auctions to close, Live Auctions conclude when there are no further bids.

In a posting on one of the company’s user discussion boards, a company executive said “maintaining and improving this platform falls outside our immediate focus, and will, therefore, be retired at the end of the year.”

For several years, eBay has partnered with a small number of independent auction providers who in turn worked directly with the live auction houses to supply merchandise and auctioneers for eBay Live Auctions.

The move will affect several hundred eBay sellers who list their items directly using the Live Auctions format, said Jim Ambach, vice president in charge of eBay’s Seller Experience.

reuters.com

Humanity without technology - April 16, 2008

Welcome to the April 16, 2008 edition of humanity without technology.

Kingsley Tagbo presents How To Find Affordable, Flexible Career Training Programs posted at HOW TO LEARN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING FAST OR GET A JOB EASILY.

Alvaro Fernandez presents The Power of Mindsight-by Daniel Goleman posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Daniel Goldman asks, “When you were young, which of these did you feel more often?”"

James Brausch presents Costa Rican Domestic Help posted at Costa Rica HQ.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, “Technology can offer great brain training. Your job itself can, too.”

Life. Money. Development. presents The 7 Attributes of Leadership posted at Life. Money. Development., saying, “An excellent presentation of the attributes every leader should have.”

technology

TheLittlestGuy presents global warming and climate change, here to stay posted at TheLittlestGuy, saying, “Humanity will face two great challenges over the next 100 years: how to make enough energy to support everyone on the planet and how to stop damaging our planet. This blog and article address global warming and climate change and what humanity must do in order to survive.”

Raymond presents File Sharing and Downloading Music - Fun and Free But Beware of The RIAA posted at Money Blue Book.

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Time Travel posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Phil B. presents Stop Watering Your Lawn << Phil for Humanity posted at Phil for Humanity, saying, “My dream is that one day people will stop being so wasteful.”

Amber Fridal presents How to Unlock Your Infinite Potential (Page 3) Internal Instincts & Acting on Impulses: by Nicholas Powiull posted at Conscious Flex, saying, “This aritle does not cover too much about technology, but this is related: quote from article “There was a limiting belief that the body and mind cannot work together to achieve the goal. However, I want you to notice something very important here: because we took the detour. What in turn happened is ‘outer technology advancement’ instead of ‘inner consciousness advancement.’ Nevertheless, through a series of events we developed a technology system so advanced that we can now use it to send information rapidly. Through this vast information, the gap is now a bridge to look to inner conscious advancement.” I hope it helps!”

Zork Brauk presents UFO Recession Tip 41 - Play in Park for Free posted at It’s the Recession, Stupid!.

Heather Johnson presents Sometimes We Depend on Technology Too Much posted at Voice Of Dingchao.

Raymond presents Back Up Plan For Those Dependent On the Internet When The Electricity Goes Out posted at Money Blue Book.

Raymond presents Save Money With Someone Else’s Wireless Internet posted at Money Blue Book.

Nat JM presents Do communication technology gadgets make us anxious and stressed? posted at I love technology, saying, “A cheeky article reminding people to enjoy life and switch off their mobile devices once in a while… The article is pro technology but anti stress ;-)”

James DeLelys presents WORDS » Articles posted at WORDS, saying, “Prejudice…”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of humanity without technology using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Microsoft prefers own Yahoo bid among options: source

Microsoft Corp wants to stick with its original takeover offer for Yahoo Inc, but is not ruling out News Corp joining its bid or other options, a source close to the company said on Friday.Separately, a source familiar with the matter said News Corp continues to talk directly with Yahoo on reaching a deal without Microsoft. The source declined to provide details on what a potential deal structure would look like.

The source close to Microsoft said the company’s preference all along has been to retain the original deal structure that would involve paying $31 per share in cash and stock to acquire Yahoo. But Microsoft has not ruled out bidding with partners.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp, reported that people close to Microsoft said the software maker plans to pursue Yahoo alone rather than with News Corp, which had held talks with Microsoft on a joint bid for Yahoo.

The Journal also said Yahoo’s board of directors met on Friday to assess their options, including deepening their negotiations with Time Warner Inc’s AOL on a deal to merge Yahoo and AOL, but that no decisions were reached.

Spokesmen for Microsoft, News Corp, Time Warner and Yahoo were not immediately available to comment.

The newspaper’s Web site cited unnamed sources as saying that Time Warner had been expecting Yahoo’s board to move closer to backing an AOL deal and that Yahoo’s delays suggested that the company was hesitant to proceed.

A source familiar with the situation was unwilling to confirm to Reuters the Journal’s characterization of Time Warner’s thinking, but said that talks continue between Time Warner and Yahoo.

Microsoft had threatened last Saturday to launch a hostile bid for Yahoo and could lower its offer of $42.4 billion around April 26 if it does not get a deal.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that News Corp was in talks to join Microsoft’s bid for the Web pioneer.

Yahoo also announced on Wednesday a test to outsource Web search advertising to Google Inc, which sources say is part of a three-way alliance that would combine Yahoo with Time Warner Inc’s AOL instead of Microsoft.

Google enlists video ID tools to combat child porn

Google Inc is enlisting the same image-recognition technology the company uses to trace copyright violations on its YouTube video site to fight online child pornography, the company said on Monday.Google said it is working the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) of Alexandria, Virginia to help automate and streamline how child protection workers troll through millions of pornographic images to identify victims of abuse.

The project is applying so-called video fingerprinting technology, which Google has been urging media copyright holders to adopt as a means for policing widespread piracy of professionally created video programming on the Web.

A small team of Google engineers have worked for more than a year with federal agencies and NCMEC’s analysts in its Child Victim Identification Program to create software to automate the review of some 13 million pornographic images and videos that analysts at the center previously had to review manually.

The Google technology promises to let analysts more quickly search the center’s video and image databases to identify files that contain images of child pornography victims. Other tools from Google also help analysts quickly review video snippets.

Shumeet Baluja, a research scientist at Google said in a company statement he had recruited a handful of fellow engineers to create the video detection tools as a side project to their day jobs during the course of 2007. He describes the work in a company blog post at tinyurl.com/63n64m/.

Nokia, Ericsson and others in mobile tech agreement

A number of the world’s largest technology companies agreed to commit to a licensing framework for their patents for the emerging mobile network technology known as Long Term Evolution (LTE).The companies, which include the world’s largest cellphone maker Nokia and top mobile network gear maker Ericsson, said on Monday they were aiming to boost take-up of the new technology by agreeing to license their patents on fair and reasonable terms.

LTE promises to make everything from mobile-video sharing to music downloads speedier, but it may not show a visible boost in sales for the network equipment industry any time soon as the first networks are not expected for two years and many operators will wait longer until the technology matures.

“Today’s announcement is a step towards establishing more predictable and transparent licensing costs in a manner that enables faster adoption of new technologies,” Ilkka Rahnasto, head of Nokia’s intellectual property rights said in a statement.

The companies have committed to keeping royalty levels for essential LTE patents in handsets below 10 percent of the sale price, with the maximum royalty in LTE-enabled notebooks staying below $10.

The group also included Alcatel-Lucent, NEC Corp, NextWave Wireless, Nokia Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson.

Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service, has decided to build out an LTE network, while China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile provider, said earlier this year it would test LTE.

Alcatel-Lucent and Japan’s NEC signed a joint-venture deal to pool their development and marketing of the technology. Even Qualcomm Inc has promised chips for LTE, a competitor to its own Ultra Mobile Broadband technology.

Appeals court denies EchoStar rehearing request

TiVo Inc n Friday said a federal appeals court has denied EchoStar’s request to have a panel of judges rehear arguments related to their long standing patent dispute.TiVo, the maker of television recording technology, said the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington to deny EchoStar’s request for a “rehearing en banc” brings their patent fight closer to a resolution.

In January, the court upheld a lower court’s damage award of $74 million plus interest, saying that EchoStar infringed a TiVo patent in building digital video recorders. With interest, the damages would be $94 million.

An EchoStar spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

That lower court had ruled that EchoStar’s digital video recorders infringed what it called the “software” claims of a TiVo patent. But the appeals court reversed a portion of the lower court’s decision that said the EchoStar devices also infringed on what it called “hardware” claims.

EchoStar has said it has developed and deployed ‘next-generation’ DVR software that does not infringe the TiVo patent at issue.

Shares of TiVo rose 8 cents, or about 1 percent, to $8.86 in afternoon trade on Friday. EchoStar shares fell 3.5 percent to $30.53 on Nasdaq.