Business, communication and technology news snipped from my RSS feeds today:
- Microsoft to Launch Fresh Challenge to Google, Yahoo (Wall Street Journal) – Microsoft Corp. tomorrow will start its long-awaited Internet search service, adding fresh competition to Google Inc.
- Firefox and Beyond: Mozilla President Browses the Future (eWeek) – As Mozilla launches Firefox for the masses, the group’s president, Mitchell Baker, outlines goals for gaining more web browser converts and focusing on a development platform play. (Good reason to upgrade to Firefox 1.0: New Firefox supplies patches in nick of time (InfoWorld) – In the very week Mozilla Firefox Version 1.0 was launched, a series of potentially nasty security holes have been uncovered in older versions of the browser.)
- Microsoft Shareholders Applaud Dividend, Question Share Price (InternetWeek) – Microsoft shareholders approve a special one-time dividend of $3.00 per share “- part of a $76 billion thank you to investors “- then chastised company management for the stock’s performance.
- Blogs will influence view of the church (Media Culpa) – Swedish christian web site Crossnet.se reveals plans to launch a blog. Individuals will be able to publish a personal blog under the domain crossnet.se for a small annual fee. Crossnet writes: “Blogging is seen by congregation researchers as a means of changing and developing the new generation’s view of the church.”
- File-Sharing Network Thrives Beneath the Radar (Reuters) – A file-sharing program called BitTorrent has become a behemoth, devouring more than a third of the Internet’s bandwidth, and Hollywood’s copyright cops are taking notice.
- Vodafone 3G is go (The Register) – The first tier one operator to make a pan-European commercial launch of 3G services for the consumer market.
- Oracle Makes a Pitch To PeopleSoft’s Holders (Wall Street Journal) – Oracle Corp. kicked off a campaign for its $24-a-share bid for PeopleSoft Inc. with a presentation that depicted its software rival as a distressed company whose value would plummet if Oracle withdraws its hostile offer.
- AOL to split business into four (BBC News) – AOL, the world’s largest internet services provider, is to split into four separate divisions to cut red tape and boost profits.
- The Art of Listening (Micro Persuasion) – Before running off and starting to publish, online communicators need to instead spend more time using blogs to listen and learn from the market. It’s the consumers control our message now. We must pay attention to what they say.
- Microsoft France also has employees blogs (Loic le Meur) – Microsoft France has launched blogs for its employees.
- Analyze this (Rex Hammock) – I’ll stop there as I think I’m blowing my reputation as someone who disagrees agreeably. [On Forrester Research’s recommendations on blogging polices and code of practice]
- BBC to close more websites (dotJournalism) – The BBC has said it will shut down more websites this year as it focuses on core public service commitments.