Yahoo to buy AOL ?

Buying spree continues from the Internet companies... According to Fortune magazine, Yahoo may be again considering a bid for AOL. The magazine's website said that multiple sources have confirmed the company's talks with AOL parent Time Warner, though a source close to Yahoo denied them.

The move would surely help Yahoo to regain some of the spotlight from Mountain View-based rival Google, which in May finalized a $1 billion investment in AOL as part of an even large advertising and search deal.

Yahoo, which reportedly has about $3 billion in cash and equivalents available, has been rumored to be on the verge of a $1 billion acquisition of social networking site Facebook.

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Father backs Madonna adoption

The father of the 13-month-old Malawian boy that Madonna is trying to adopt has insisted he supports her and has criticised human rights activists seeking a legal review of the case.

"Me and my family agreed with the adoption. I just want these people to leave my son alone," said Yohane Banda outside a Lilongwe court yesterday

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Upgrade to Internet Explorer IE 7 will be forced by Microsoft

Starting Wednesday, Microsoft's new, Windows XP-only Internet Explorer 7 will be automatically installed on the computers through XP's Windows Update mechanism. The one exception: An illegitimate copy of XP that fails Microsoft's "validation" test can't get this version of IE.

This forcefull update may confuse some IE users because the interface is different.

Well, if you wouldn't like IE 7 you can always switch to Mozzila :)

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Calcium Pills: No Boon to Weight Loss

CALCIUM PILLS WON'T HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT The milk ads want you to believe that milk drinkers weigh less, but if they are indeed lighter, it's not because of the calcium in the milk. Taking calcium supplements does not help overweight and obese people slim down, researchers from the National Institutes of Health found in a randomized study of 340 adults.

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Mozilla Firefox 2.0 goes live on Tuesday

Mozilla launches Firefox 2.0 browser Tuesday, Oct. 24, competing with Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP. IE 7 whcih went final on Wednesday.


Firefox 2.0 features anti-phishing alerts, session restore, spell checking, suggested searches, and several other enhancement and additions

Mozilla browsers accounted for 12.5 percent of the surfing market.

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Which game system is the best: XBox 360, Playstation 3 or Nintendo?

There are 2 versions of Sony's or PlayStation 3, an entry-level $499 system and higher-end $599 one, will hit North American shelves on Nov. 17, and Nintendo will follow two days for $250. Microsoft's Xbox 360 cost is $399, which has been on the market about a year.


Sony pitches the powerful PS3 as a living room entertainment system. It comes with a high-definition Blu-ray DVD player, and offers to view photos and browse and shop on the Web.

Microsoft will have some of the best-looking games and more titles than Sony and Nintendo combined, plus downoads from Xbox Live online marketplace.

Nintendo's relies less on cutting-edge graphics and more on user-friendly features and family-fun games.

Note: Sony announced, that it will be in short supply. Retailers are expected to have fewer than a dozen PS3 units per location.

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Making Flash websites searchable

Most of the people think that Flash Web sites are not being search engine friendly. Follow the suggestions on the Adobe Developer Center article Making Flash websites searchable and your Flash Web sites will be more accessible too.

Man Charged in Internet Bomb Threats

A 20-year-old Wisconsin grocery store worker was arrested today for posting to the Internet fake threats to detonate radioactive bombs at seven National Football League games this weekend.
He is facing charges of willfully conveying false information threatening the use of weapons of mass destruction and radiological dispersal devices.

The charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine.

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Security alert: Mac attacks rare but rising

Although Apple is prized for being relatively virus-free, RavMonE.exe virus was detected in iPod's shipment. It targeted iPods used with Microsoft Windows-based computers. The threat was highlighted earlier this week.

The problem is thought to have originated in the manufacturing process by another company that builds iPods for Apple and isn't believed to be a direct attack on the widely popular iPod itself.

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Yahoo Talks With Facebook in Slow Motion

Days after Google Inc. announced a $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube Inc., rival Yahoo Inc.'s efforts to extend its Web reach through an acquisition of Facebook Inc. aren't making much progress, say people familiar with the matter.

While discussions are continuing, no purchase of the closely held Facebook social-networking site is imminent, these people say. They say a deal is unlikely unless Yahoo increases its roughly $1 billion offer or changing business conditions made Facebook's management more inclined to sell.

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Who's next after YouTube?

After Google's has acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion, we might see some more activites from the large media companies including Yahoo.

"There will be acquisitions from the big boys. Video needs to be a component of any serious Internet player," said Eric Chin, a partner with Bay Partners, a venture capital firm based in Cupertino, Calif.

And Heavy.com's Carson said: "I think some media conglomerates will make smaller acquisitions and you might see some that make some surprising moves based on the YouTube deal. Some companies are starting to realize that maybe they have to buy"


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China Cancels Jay-Z's Shanghai Concert

China's Culture Ministry has nixed a concert this month by rap artist Jay-Z at Shanghai's Hongkou Stadium, citing a need to protect local hip-hop fans from nasty lyrics, a report said Wednesday.

"Some of Jay-Z's songs contain too much vulgar language," the state-run Shanghai Daily newspaper quoted Sun Yun

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Naked prosecutor caught on camera

A city prosecutor was charged with indecency after a security camera caught him walking around naked in a government building after business hours.

Scott Blauvelt, 35, was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of indecency. He was released from jail to await a hearing in the court where he usually works.

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Small Pane crashed into a building in New York City

A small plane has reportedly crashed into a building on E. 71st Street in New York City.

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North Korea threatens war on US

North Korea warned the United States Wednesday that if it raises pressure on Pyongyang, the communist regime would consider it a "declaration of war" and would take "physical countermeasures."

"If the US increases pressure upon the DPRK, persistently doing harm to it, it will continue to take physical countermeasures, considering it as a declaration of a war," the statement from the Foreign Ministry said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Bush, on the other hand, said that the United States “also reserves all options to defend our friends and our interests in the region against the threats from North Korea.”


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The Dolan family Buys Cablevision for 7.9 billion

The Dolan family acquired Cablevision for 7.9 billion They plan to make it private to provide greater flexibility for strategic initiative and product development.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cablevision shareholders would receive US$27 per CVC share in cash which is 4.9% higher than the 2005 proposal. After the transaction closes, the Dolan family will own 100% Cablevision Systems Corporation.

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Putin criticised over journalist remarks

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has been criticised for saying that the murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya had exerted little influence on Russian political life.

Anna Politkovskaya, who investigated human rights abuses in Chechnya and openly criticised Putin, was shot on Saturday in what police called a professional hit.

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Google Search Actually Helps Book Sales

According to Reuters, specialty publisher Springer Science reported sales growth of its backlist catalog using Google Book Search, with 99 percent of the 30,000 titles it has in the program getting viewed, including many published before 1992.

Meanwhile, Google is still being sued by the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers for infringing on copyrights with Google Book Search.

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Google buys YouTube for $1.65 Billion

Google agreed to buy YouTube for $1.65 Billion dollars in stock confirming all recent rumors. With the purchase, however, comes YouTube's bagage like issues with copyright infringement and numerous lawsuits including nasty fight with Universal Music.
Investors, on the other hand, for the most part have been happy with the idea of a Google-YouTube merger.

USA Today reports:

The deal would be by far Google's most expensive in its eight-year history. The lofty price underscores how important Google expects online video to become as more viewers and advertisers migrate from television to the Internet.

P.S. What's next, Yahoo acquiring Facebook.com or Nycwave.com ;)?
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Abducted by aliens? Call now for compensation!

An attorney from Dresden, Germany, is hoping to represent alien abductee clients who feel they deserve state money for their troubles.

From Reuters: "These people could appeal for therapies or cures," he said. Lorek, 41, is pinning his hopes for success on a German law which grants kidnap victims the right to state compensation.

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All Americans Urged to Get Flu Shots

For the first time this year, health authorities are recommending that children aged 23 months to 5 years be vaccinated against the flu. Other high-priority groups include children aged 6 to 23 months; anyone 50 years of age or older; people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease or HIV; and health-care professionals, caregivers and people who have household contact with individuals at high risk.

Last year, the percentage of fully vaccinated children was low, while the proportion of people aged 65 and older who got the flu shot fell from 68 percent in 2004 to 63 percent in 2005.

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Archaeologists find 18th-century store

Archaeologists find 18th-century store of a merchant's establishment that sold wine, rum, tobacco and other goods to oldiers who passed through this region during the French and Indian War.

"It's definitely the richest one we've ever found in Fort Edward," said a New Hampshire college professor who has led a series of summertime excavations here and elsewhere in the region since the early 1990s.

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Google to buy YouTube?

There are rumors Google is currently in talks to buyYouTube for $1.6 billion. There are discussions taking place and there is still a possibility the deal may not go through.

Google, YouTube were not available for comment.

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Google Unveils Code Search Tool

Google came up this week with a new online search tool that combines publicly available software source code and connected documentation online.

Google said the new beta service, Google Code Search, will help software developers quickly find source code using more precise "regular expressions," and will scour the Internet for code based on programming language, license or file name.

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MySpace co-founder says he was ripped off

MySpace co-founder Brad Greenspan says that MySpace parent company Intermix Media knowingly sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for far less than its true value and locked out other bidders including Viacom.

Greenspan has released a nine-chapter report at FreeMySpace.com that he says presents proof of Intermix executives' wrongdoing.

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No More Free Lunch for pirates of Microsoft Vista

Microsoft will take much harsher steps to curtail piracy than previous versions of Windows, including crippling the operating system in computers found to be running unlicensed copies.

People running an unlisecesed version of Windows Vista will initially be denied access to some of the most awaited Vista features, including Windows Aero, an improved graphics technology, the company said Wednesday.

If a legitimate copy is not purchased within 30 days, the system will curtail functions much further by restricting users to just the Web browser for an hour at a time, said Thomas Lindeman, Microsoft senior product manager.

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Tough times between Russia and Georgia

A massive anti-Georgian campaign has been launched in Russia. Police probe into firms owned by native Georgians. The Federal Migration Service is scrutinizing invitation letters based on which Georgians received entry visas to the Russian Federation. The Georgian National Ballet show in St. Petersburg has been canceled.

“The U.S. and EU called on Russia to lift sanctions against Georgia… But in response the Russian authorities said that measures will remain in force and recommended that the western powers not meddle in Russian-Georgian relations.

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Avril Lavigne apologizes for spitting

Lavigne issued a statement apologizing after she spat at photographers in two separate incidents last weekand in Los Angeles.

She said her behavior was "a reaction to the persistent attack from the paparazzi" and she said "it's trying at best dealing with their insistent intrusions."

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George Michael in trouble again

George Michael was found half-unconscious behind the wheel by London police. They breath tested him, and discovered a small amount of cannabis in his pocket. He was taken to a hospital and released later.

It is the second time in eight months that George has collapsed behind the wheel of his car.

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Internet Gambling Unlawful in US

U.S. Congress passed the bill (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act), outlawing credit-card and money-transfer companies from accepting payments to gambling Web sites.

For large online gambling companies like PartyGaming, 888.com which get most of the business from the U.S., the bill was "a massive blow."

"The passing of the act was unexpected," said John Shepherd, a spokesman for PartyGaming. "But it's been clear for some time that various members in Congress were looking to take action against non-U.S. online gaming companies."

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