Microsoft gives Yahoo $78m, to start
By Todd Bishop on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 2:00pm PDT
Yahoo posted higher-than-expected profits this afternoon -- boosted not only by a 20 percent increase in online display advertising revenue, but also by a little help from its newfound friend, Microsoft. Yahoo received $78 million in reimbursements from Microsoft as they moved to implement their Internet search partnership. The payment from Microsoft was not insignificant for Yahoo, which posted net income of $308 million for the March 31 quarter, on revenue of slightly less than $1.6 billion. Yahoo said the payment comprised transition costs and search operating costs that Microsoft agreed to reimburse the company under their deal. | | SPONSORED POST | Powerful Connections breakfast, April 30th
Come hear Scott Oki keynote, and support NPower's work in the non-profit community. Generous support from our sponsors (Microsoft, Accenture, Point B, Lake Partners, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), means all donations at the event will go directly to technology know-how for nonprofits. RSVP here. |  | | Read Ballmer's lips? Guess not
By Todd Bishop on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 12:55pm PDT
Last week, after seeing this television clip of Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen courtside at a Portland Trail Blazers game, I was inspired by one of my all-time favorite sports columns to seek out a lip reader to see if I could find out what the Microsoft CEO was saying to the Microsoft co-founder. Were they talking basketball? Cooking up some secret business venture? Complaining privately about Bill Gates? Brilliant idea, huh? Well, no, as it turns out. "This video is very poor for lip reading transcription purposes," explained Consuelo Gonzalez, a professional lip reader who usually works on more important stuff, in an email response to my extraordinarily off-the-wall inquiry. "But after watching the relevant first seconds repeatedly, this is the likely transcript." | | SPONSORED POST | Seattle University Software Engineering
Upgrade your career! Earn your Masters degree while continuing to work full-time. Our balanced curriculum of technical and management courses enhances professional leadership in planning, design and development of today's software systems. More information here. |  | | Data via light and mirrors: Microsoft testing Lightfleet tech
By Todd Bishop on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 11:58am PDT
Lightfleet Corp., a small company based in Camas, Wash., announced today that it has sold its first commercial alpha Direct Broadcast Optical Interconnect (DBOI) system to Microsoft Research. The company says the system uses "broadcast light" and mirrors to change the way computing nodes work in data centers, all but eliminating the need for cables and switches. | Bellevue's DreamBox Learning bought in deal led by Netflix CEO
By Todd Bishop on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 9:13am PDT
DreamBox Learning, a Bellevue-based provider of adaptive online learning games, has been acquired by the Charter Fund, a non-profit venture capital firm that made the purchase in partnership with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings -- who will become DreamBox chairman as a result of the deal. Financial terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed. Ben Slivka, the former Microsoft executive who founded DreamBox in 2006, sold his stake in the company as part of the deal. In addition to the purchase price, Hastings and Charter Fund say they are investing an extra $10 million in DreamBox to fuel its expansion. DreamBox, which has 18 employees, will remain for-profit startup, said Sarah Daniels, the company's vice president of marketing. The additional funding is expected to help the company hire more people, develop new products at a faster pace, and expand its footprint. | Electric vehicles on the rise: Airbiquity, Hitachi strike deal
By Todd Bishop on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 8:11am PDT
Can you feel the electric vehicle movement gaining momentum? Marking the latest in a series of EV-related announcements from Seattle-area companies, technology company Airbiquity says it has struck a global partnership with Tokyo-based Hitachi Automotive Systems to develop the communications and data infrastructure for connecting electric vehicles to information services -- such as battery information, advice on optimal driving routes, or pointers to the nearest charging stations. | VCs optimistic about a recovery
By John Cook on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 6:16am PDT
The economic recession certainly has taken a toll on early-stage technology companies. But Seattle area venture capitalists are getting more bullish about the prospects of their portfolio companies, according to a survey released today by the Washington Technology Industry Association. The tech group's second quarter Venture Capital Outlook Survey shows increased optimism when it comes to hiring, revenue growth and early-stage investments. | Amazon.com sues North Carolina over customer data demand
By Eric Engleman on Monday, April 19, 2010, 5:12pm PDT
Amazon.com has filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Department of Revenue, seeking to block the state's demand for the "name and address of virtually every North Carolina resident who has purchased anything from Amazon since 2003, along with records of what each customer purchased and how much they paid." The online retail giant says disclosure of the data would "invade the privacy and violate the First Amendment rights of Amazon and its customers on a massive scale." The lawsuit appears to be part of a broader struggle between Amazon and North Carolina over sales tax collection. North Carolina sought unsuccessfully to get Amazon to collect sales tax on web purchases in the state. Now the state is auditing Amazon's compliance with state sales and use tax laws. Post updated with comment from Amazon, North Carolina. | Volcanoes, metagames, and social media in your clothes
By Todd Bishop and Eric Engleman on Monday, April 19, 2010, 5:04pm PDT
Seattle designer Jennifer Darmour has been getting lots of attention on the gadget blogs for a concept dubbed Ping, a "social networking garment, that uses flexible sensors and circuitry to connect to Facebook. "Lift up a hood, tie a bow, zip, button, and simply move, bend and swing to ping your friends naturally and automatically," she explains. "No phone, no laptop, no hardware. Simply go about your day, look good and stay connected." A whodunit mystery that riveted the British literary community has been solved. An anonymous reviewer called the Historian who was badmouthing various Russia-themed books on Amazon's U.K. Website has now been revealed as the wife of author Orlando Figes, an author and professor of Russian history. | Microsoft wades into politics with 'TownHall' social networking tech
By Todd Bishop on Monday, April 19, 2010, 2:39pm PDT
Social networking and online transparency are big right now in politics and government, and Microsoft today threw its hat into the ring with a new social media platform called "TownHall" that political campaigns and government officials can use to run interactive online sites for use by their constituents. Microsoft announced the platform today at the Politics Online Conference as part of a broader system called "Campaign Ready." Check out some sample TownHall screenshots here. (They have a bit of an Obama White House feel to them, don't they?) | |
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