Archive for August, 2007
Today Microsoft announced it has agreed to acquire Chicago-based Parlano, maker of MindAlign, a leading application for enterprise group chat. Microsoft expects to add Parlano’s group chat functionality as a new feature of Microsoft Office Communications Server and Microsoft Office Communicator, Microsoft’s server and client software for presence, instant messaging, conferencing and VoIP.
“Parlano has been successful in meeting the rigorous communications needs of companies in financial services and other vertical markets,†said Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president of the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft. “Parlano’s expertise and technology, added to Microsoft’s unified communications offering, will deliver customers the most complete presence, instant messaging and group chat solution on the market.â€
Founded in 2000, Parlano offers group chat technology that enables people to carry on topic-specific, multiparty instant messaging discussions that persist over time. Parlano’s software is used by companies in a variety of industries, including financial services, call centers and technology, to conduct ongoing business-critical conversations.
“Parlano has helped many organizations enhance operations, improve service delivery and increase sales through more effective ongoing group communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing,†said Nick Fera, chairman and chief executive officer of Parlano. “The resulting competitive advantage will be further enhanced as we bring Parlano technology together with Microsoft Office Communications Server and Office Communicator.â€
Because Microsoft’s unified communications technologies are based on standards and open protocols, Parlano has been able to create its technology architecture from the ground up to integrate with Microsoft’s unified communications offerings. Currently, Parlano’s MindAlign application integrates with Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 and Office Communications Server 2007.
After the deal closes, Microsoft will add the group chat functionality to Office Communications Server and Office Communicator, and plans to offer group chat as part of the standard client access license for Office Communications Server 2007 Software Assurance customers. Current Parlano customers, many of whom already use Microsoft unified communications software, will have increased access to the breadth of Microsoft unified communications software.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. The deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. Following the closing of the acquisition, members of the Parlano team are expected to join the Unified Communications Group at Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., campus. Parlano is a privately held company and was represented by Revolution Partners and Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP.
August 30th, 2007
Google announced today that George Reyes has informed the company of his intention to retire as Chief Financial Officer. Reyes indicated that he will remain to assist in the search for a new CFO and to assure an orderly transition, which Google expects will occur by the end of the year.
“I’ve known and admired George since our days together at Sun,” said Google Chairman and CEO, Eric Schmidt. “As Google’s CFO, George successfully navigated our innovative IPO, the regulatory demands of Sarbanes-Oxley, and the management challenges of scaling a global finance organization. Though we fully appreciate his decision to step back from active management, we’ll miss his thoughtfulness, good humor and wisdom.”
“Working at Google these past 5 and a half years has been an extraordinary ride,” said George Reyes. “I’m honored and flattered to have been a part of this great management team. I know I’m leaving the company in good hands with a remarkable team of professionals that will continue to build on Google’s tremendous achievements.”
“George has been a full partner in Google’s global growth and development,” added Google co-founder, Larry Page. “He has done an excellent job in keeping us financially disciplined while protecting the best of our entrepreneurial culture.”
August 29th, 2007
CNN.com and Google announced an agreement today that enlists Google’s AdSense™ advertising program to deliver site targeted advertising to CNN.com.
Through this collaboration, the AdSense service places contextually relevant ads alongside CNN.com content, allowing both small and large advertisers to target CNN.com specifically and connect with high quality content and traffic. Under the terms of the deal, Google will serve as the exclusive provider of auction-based text advertisements throughout CNN.com.
“At CNN.com, our mission is laser-focused on providing up-to-the-minute news and information to our users,” said David Payne, senior vice president and general manager of CNN.com. “Our new relationship with Google will deliver relevant ads to our users, enhancing their overall experience on CNN.com. We look forward to a successful partnership.”
“CNN.com is an important and respected news source, and we’re pleased to enhance the reader experience through the targeted placement of relevant ads,” said Marc Leibowitz, Google’s director of strategic partnerships. “By connecting CNN.com to our valuable base of advertisers, our AdSense program provides an effective and efficient way to monetize quality online content, ultimately benefiting readers, advertisers, and CNN.com.”
Google offers publishers a simple way to monetize their content by connecting them with hundreds of thousands of advertisers. With a variety of ad formats including text, image and video, AdSense gives advertisers the ability to communicate their messages in compelling ways and allows publishers to customize the look and feel of their sites to give consumers the best possible online experience. AdSense has a number of targeting options so publishers can maximize their revenue potential and advertisers can effectively meet their campaign goals no matter their budget. Site targeting, a feature of AdSense available to all program participants, helps publishers earn even more revenue by connecting them with new advertisers who are willing to bid a higher cost-per-thousand impressions for space on their site.
August 28th, 2007
Yahoo! today announced the general availability of the new version of Yahoo! Mail, one of the world’s most popular Web mail services, providing people with more ways to connect to their friends and online contacts. The new service includes two real-time communication features that are the first of their kind from a leading Web mail service. These include the ability to send free text messages from Yahoo! Mail to mobile phone numbers in the US, Canada, India, and the Philippines, and the ability to send instant messages (IM) from Yahoo! Mail to members of the world’s largest combined IM community, including users of Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger2.
The new version of Yahoo! Mail also includes speed and performance enhancements as well as productivity refinements, and will begin rolling out to users worldwide today. Yahoo! will continue to offer Yahoo! Mail Classic, its award-winning, traditional Web mail interface, providing users a choice between experiences.
“We have always been focused on making it easy for people to connect to those who matter most to them, and during the beta testing period of the new Yahoo! Mail, we were able to incorporate a number of enhancements based on valuable feedback from our users,” said John Kremer, vice president, Yahoo! Mail. “Now, with the all-new Yahoo! Mail, we’re creating a more social e-mail experience. In addition, we wanted to make sure that people have the best possible Web mail experience regardless of their geographic location, preferences or system, so we’re continuing to offer our trusted Yahoo! Mail Classic interface.”
Integrated Text Messaging and Instant Messaging
The new Yahoo! Mail enables people to select how they want to communicate with their online contacts: via e-mail, instant message or text message to a mobile phone number. With the introduction of this text messaging feature, which is built on Yahoo!’s IM platform, people can now choose to send free text messages from Yahoo! Mail to mobile numbers in the US, Canada, India and the Philippines in real-time without leaving the Web mail experience. The feature is seamlessly incorporated into the new Yahoo! Mail, and is as easy as entering a mobile phone number, typing a text message and hitting send.
The new Yahoo! Mail also enables users to connect in real-time to their contacts within Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger or Windows Live® Messenger. This instant messaging interoperability connects users of one of the world’s largest Web mail services with the world’s largest combined IM community and facilitates quick chat conversations within the Yahoo! Mail interface. People can also easily convert their e-mail messages into IM chats or switch to a text message dialogue with the click of a button, when friends come online or go mobile, and vice-versa.
Additional features of the new Yahoo! Mail
Other new productivity and personalization features in the new Yahoo! Mail include:
- Speed and performance – the new Yahoo! Mail is faster and more responsive than previous beta versions
- Search refinements – users can now refine their e-mail search results using advanced search options, including the ability to narrow results by sender, folder, date, attachment type and message status to pinpoint specific queries
- Shortcuts (U.S. only) – users are now able to right click on underlined dates, names and keywords within messages and take additional action, such as adding events directly to their Yahoo! Calendars, adding friends to their Contacts, immediately viewing a Yahoo! Map of an address, or performing a Web search on a keyword
- Color themes – users can personalize the look of their e-mail experience with six customizable color themes Overall, the new Yahoo! Mail also offers a more dynamic Web 2.0 experience, including a sleek, easy-to-use interface with the speed and responsiveness of a desktop application. In addition to integrated text messaging and instant messaging, it features other enhanced capabilities such as tabbed navigation, a reading pane, an integrated calendar and an RSS reader.
A co-branded version of the new Yahoo! Mail will also be available in the fall to customers using the following broadband Internet services: AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, Verizon Yahoo! and Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet. The new Yahoo! Mail will be available this fall to Yahoo! Small Business Mail users as well.
Both the new Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Mail Classic are free services with unlimited e-mail storage, accessible from virtually any computer or mobile device connected to the Internet, without the need for a software download.
August 27th, 2007
Google announced the launch of Sky, a new feature that enables users of Google Earth to view the sky as seen from planet Earth.
With Sky, users can now float through the skies via Google Earth. This easy-to-use tool enables all Earth users to view and navigate through 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies. High resolution imagery and informative overlays create a unique playground for visualizing and learning about space.
To access Sky, users need only click “Switch to Sky” from the “view” drop-down menu in Google Earth, or click the Sky button on the Google Earth toolbar. The interface and navigation are similar to that of standard Google Earth steering, including dragging, zooming, search, “My Places,” and layer selection.As part of the new feature, Google is introducing seven informative layers that illustrate various celestial bodies and events:
Constellations - From Cassiopeia to Andromeda, the Constellations layer connects the points of constellations through space, labeling each with its given name. Users can learn about the stars that make up their favorite constellations.
Backyard Astronomy - The Backyard Astronomy layer lets users click through a variety of placemarks and information on stars, galaxies, and nebulae visible to the eye, binoculars and small telescopes. This layer is useful for the amateur astronomer who may benefit from a comprehensive, organized way to reference fragments of the night sky.
Hubble Space Telescope Imagery - The HST layer provides users with over 120 high-resolution images provided by the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA/ESA’s renowned orbiting telescope.
Moon - The Moon layer displays animations of two months of both lunar positions and moon phases.
Planets - The Planets layer illustrates the seven official planets and their positions in the sky two months into the future.
Users Guide to Galaxies - The Users Guide to Galaxies layer enables users to go on virtual tours through different types of galaxies, from Ursa Minor Dwarf to the Milky Way.
Life of a Star - The Life of a Star layer takes the user on a tour through the different stages of a star’s life cycle.
Sky was created by Google’s Pittsburgh engineering team by stitching together imagery from numerous scientific third parties including the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the Digital Sky Survey Consortium (DSSC), CalTech’s Palomar Observatory, the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC), and the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO). The initiative was born out of the University of Washington’s participation in the Google Visiting Faculty Program, which makes it possible for leading academic researchers to visit Google for 6-12 month periods.
“We’re excited to provide users with rich astronomical imagery and enhanced content that enables them to both learn about what they’re seeing above and tell their own stories,” said Lior Ron, Google Product Manager. “By working with some of the industry’s leading experts, we’ve been able to transform Google Earth into a virtual telescope.”
“Sky is a very cool new feature for anyone who has ever looked up at the sky and wanted to know more,” said Sally Ride, former astronaut and CEO of Sally Ride Science. “I think this is a great tool for satisfying that curiosity.”
“Never before has a roadmap of the entire sky been made so readily available. Anyone interested in exploring the wonders of our universe can quickly see where the stunning objects photographed by Hubble actually dwell in the heavens. Sky in Google Earth will foster and initiate new understanding of the universe by bringing it to everyone’s home computer,” said Dr. Carol Christian of STScI, who co-led the organization’s Sky team with Dr. Alberto Conti. The announcement follows last month’s inclusion of the NASA layer group in Google Earth, showcasing NASA’s Earth exploration. The group has three main components, including Astronaut Photography of Earth, Satellite Imagery, and Earth City Lights. Astronaut Photography of Earth showcases photographs of the Earth as seen from space from the early 1960s on, while Satellite Imagery highlights Earth images taken by NASA satellites over the years and Earth City Lights traces well-lit cities across the globe.
To access Sky in Google Earth, users need to download the newest version of Google Earth, available at: http://earth.google.com. The feature will be available on all Google Earth domains, in 13 languages.
August 24th, 2007
Microsoft today posted an announcement for their new Webmaster Portal on the Live Search Blog:
“Shortly after that day in March when we had to take the “link:†operator offline, a small team was formed in Redmond. Its singular focus: to build the next-generation set of tools, content and resources for SEO professionals and webmasters (and get “link:†back in your hands). Creatively named Webmaster Portal (we’re really good at marketing), it will be a single, friendly place to find all tools and information relating to Live Search SEO. Initially we’ll support these scenarios:
- Troubleshooting tools to ensure MSNBot is effectively crawling and indexing your site
- Sitemap creation, submission and ping tools
- Statistics about your website
- Consolidation of content submission resources
- New content and community resources
While we expect the tools to be available publicly in late Fall, we still have some polishing to do. In the meantime we’ve created a private beta program to let adventuresome folks get their hands on the tools sooner – and help polish things by providing feedback. If you’re interested in participating in the beta program over the next few months, please send a mail to lswmp@microsoft.com to apply!”
August 23rd, 2007
Starting today, Google Maps users can add a map to their website or blog just by copying & pasting a snippet of HTML. This new functionality enables Google Maps users to share and disseminate geographic information in the same way that YouTube users share videos. Bloggers and webmasters no longer need an API key or knowledge of Java Script to put a Google Map on their website or blog.
To embed a Google Map, users simply pull up the map they want to embed - it can be a location, a business, driving directions, or a My Map they have created - and then click “Link to this page” and copy & paste the HTML into their website or blog. The embedded map is fully interactive, like the Google Maps API, but creating one does not require any programming skills. Users can drag and click or zoom in on a location, and view it in map, satellite, and hybrid modes.
Users will find this feature helpful in many ways. For example,
- business owners can now add a map of their business location to its website, with links to directions and more information on Google Maps.
- bloggers can now write about a restaurant or a place they have visited and embed a map of the location in the blog post itself.
- individuals can update their personal websites by publishing maps of geotagged vacation photos or creating sophisticated maps mashups using the simple tools available in the My Maps tab.
The ability to embed maps is available for Google Maps users in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. It is available in the following languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, Japanese, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Welsh, Faroese and Chinese (TW).
August 22nd, 2007
Yahoo! today announced the Beta launch of ‘Dynamic URL Rewriting’ in Site Explorer. The new feature provides the ability for site owners to alert Yahoo! of the dynamic parameters in URLs that they’d like Yahoo! to ignore, which Yahoo! will then automatically rewrite accordingly. Try this out for all the cases where you’d want to use parameters in your URLs that don’t affect the content of your page, but that have other important uses.
Utilizing the ‘Dynamic URL Rewriting’ feature enables:
- A more efficient crawl of your site, with fewer duplicate URLs being crawled.
- Better and deeper site coverage, as Yahoo! will be able to use their crawler capacity to find and index more new content on your site.
- More unique content discovered, as Yahoo! will handle more dynamic parameters in your URLs (if you remove the content-neutral dynamic parameters).
- Fewer chances of crawler traps.
- Cleaner and easier-to-read URLs displayed in the search results.
- Better aggregation of link juice to your sites, which can help your pages rank better.
Looking for more details on when to use URL parameters? Visit the Site Explorer Help page for additional background on the Beta feature to help define and omit what dynamic URLs Yahoo! should ignore.
August 21st, 2007
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