Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Looking for Alternate to Adsense ?
If you are serious of earning more ofcourse Google - Adsense is the worlds leader and no doubt about it. But there are other sources where you can earn closer to adsense
Try the following sites
1.ADSENSE
To the best of my knowledge we can earn upto $1000 monthly from Adsense with little more efforts by thinking and getting good traffic.
In my experience if you get around 60000 traffic in a month you can earn around $1000
2.Nautanki TV
This is the best site you can earn around Rs.10000/- per month. This is my personal experience for the last three months constantly i am earning Rs.12000/- nearly.
3.ADBRITE
By this site also you can earn upto $150 monthly with little efforts and settings.Try it out
4.KONTERA
Kontera is currently giving around $0.5 per click and good clicking rate also we can observe for this site. All the problem is you can't use Adbrite Ads for the site where you are using Kontera. In text advertiser
I am giving out this information all with my personal experience and not copied from any source
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Google to sell display ads in Web videos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Web search leader Google Inc. plans to start selling ads to appear in Web videos after it agreed a partnership with YuMe, an online video advertising network.
YuMe, a Redwood City, California-based start-up, said on Thursday, it will serve InVideo overlay adverts as part of Google's AdSense for video beta advertising program.
Google has traditionally used AdSense for text-only advertising but said the video program extends its offer to targeted, contextually-relevant video graphical ads and text overlays.
Google has been working on ways of developing advertising revenue for online video since it bought YouTube, the video-sharing site, in November 2006.
As Internet access speeds become faster around the world more television and Hollywood-produced video content is moving to the Web on sites like Hulu.com, owned by News Corp and NBC Universal, and Fancast.com, owned by Comcast Corp.
YuMe said Google is one of the third-party feeds accepted by YuMe's Adaptive Campaign Engine, which helps Web publishers in its network match each video ad impression with the best money-making ad placement in realtime.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Yahoo Rejects Microsoft Bid
Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid left investors guessing the next move in a tense mating dance that may hatch a more imposing challenger to Google or disintegrate into a bruising brawl.
The rebuff, formally announced early Monday, wasn't a surprise because Yahoo had leaked its intention over the weekend.
As expected, Yahoo's board unanimously decided to spurn Microsoft after concluding the offer — originally worth $44.6 billion or $31 per share — "substantially undervalues" one of the Internet's prized franchises. The cash-and stock deal is now valued at about $40 billion, or $28.91 per share, because of a drop in Microsoft's market value.
But Yahoo didn't raise antitrust concerns about the proposed deal and included language that seemed to invite a higher offer from Microsoft, the world's largest software maker.
"The board of directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders," Yahoo said in a statement.
Microsoft, though, didn't seem inclined to raise the bid Monday, releasing a statement describing its current bid as "full and fair."
Calling Yahoo's decision "unfortunate," Microsoft didn't back off from its quest either. "Based on conversations with stakeholders of both companies, we are confident that moving forward promptly to consummate a transaction is in the best interests of all parties," the Redmond,wash-based company said.
Microsoft also emphasized it's prepared to "pursue all necessary steps" to get the deal done, raising the prospect that it could take the bid directly to Yahoo shareholders with a so-called "exchange offer" or escalate the acrimony even further by trying to oust Yahoo's 10-member board later this year.
While assessing its response to Microsoft, Yahoo's board also examined a wide range of alternatives that included forging an ad partnership with Google, which paid nearly $5 billion in marketing commissions to thousands of Web sites last year.
Without identifying its sources, the Times of London also reported Yahoo is exploring a merger with Time warner's AOL, another popular Internet property that has been struggling in recent years. A Yahoo spokesman declined to comment on the report.
Investors appear convinced Microsoft's bid remains Yahoo's best bet, given the Sunnyvale-based company's profits have been steadily declining despite a management shake up eight months ago and repeated promises of a turnaround extending back to 2006.
Reflecting Wall Street's belief that Microsoft will raise its bid, Yahoo shares climbed 67 cents Monday to close at $29.87. On the flip side, Microsoft's shares dropped 35 cents to finish at $28.21 as its shareholders continued to fret that a Yahoo acquisition could turn into more trouble than its worth.
Microsoft's advisers are believed to be working behind the scenes to rally support among Yahoo shareholders and determine how much more the bid needs to be increased to force Yahoo's board to negotiate a friendly deal.
"You would assume that their first offer isn't the best and final offer," said Morton Pierce, an attorney who advises on mergers and acquisitions for the law firm Dewey & LeBouef. "The question now is how do you get to the end game?"
To further complicate matters, some of Yahoo's major shareholders might not want Microsoft to bid much more because they also own large stakes in Microsoft. The overlapping holdings mean any gain that these big shareholders might realize from a sweetened Microsoft offer might be erased if a higher bid diminishes Microsoft's market value, which has already slid about $40 billion, or 13 percent, since the takeover saga began.
Capital Research and Management Company., Barclays Global investors, Vanguard Group Inc. and State Street Global Advisers rank among the five largest shareholders for both Yahoo and Microsoft, according to Factset Research System Inc.
Most analysts still seem to think Microsoft will raise its bid because it needs to buy Yahoo quickly to close Google's widening lead in the lucrative online search and advertising markets that are rapidly reshaping the technology and media industries.
Meanwhile, Yahoo finds itself in a bind because its stock was near a four-year low before the Microsoft bid surfaced and its management already has said things are unlikely to get significantly better until 2009.
"Both companies seem to have limited options to achieve their goals, so it appears they really do need each other," said Standford Group Campany. analyst Clayton Moran.
Although its profits have been dwindling during the past two years, Yahoo still possesses one of the Internet's biggest audiences and largest ad networks.
Still, those assets haven't been compelling enough to persuade other potential suits to counter Microsoft's bid, despite Yahoo's best efforts to drum up interest in the past week.
That could lessen the incentive for Microsoft to raise its bid. But Yahoo wouldn't have had any chance of extracting more money unless its board spurned the initial offer.
"This was a logical move by Yahoo's board, but I still think this deal is going to get done," said Ryan Jacob, a money manager who owns Yahoo shares in an Internet investment fund bearing his name. "I think most shareholders will be ready to accept if the bid is raised to the mid-$30 (per share)."
Yahoo's stock price had dropped by more than 40 percent in the three months leading up to Microsoft's bid, which was announced Feb. 1. The offer was 62 percent above Yahoo's market value at the time.
Microsoft was prepared to pay at least $40 per share for Yahoo a year ago, according to a person familiar with the earlier talks between the two companies. Yahoo wasn't interested then because it was confident in its own strategy, said the person, who didn't want to be identified because Microsoft's 2007 offer was never publicly disclosed.
If Microsoft doesn't want to pay more money, it will probably have to assume a more hostile stance that risks creating hard feelings at Yahoo and making it more difficult to cobble the two businesses together if a deal is consummated.
Analysts doubt either side wants to become locked into a divisive struggle that could distract both management teams for months while Google tried to capitalize on the impasse.
If Yahoo isn't sold, Chief Executive Jerry Yang assured employees in a Monday e-mail that the company is poised to rebound on its own and become a "must buy" in the $45 billion online advertising market.
"We have accomplished a great deal in a very short time," wrote Yang, a company co-founder and board member who promised better times after he became CEO eight months ago. "Yahoo is a faster-moving, better organized, more nimble company well on its way to transforming the experiences of its users, advertisers, publishers and developers."
Just two days before Microsoft made its bid, Yang warned Yahoo faced "headwinds" in 2008 and laid out plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of the company's work force, to boost profits.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Google Introducing New Software - Makes Sharing Easier
Google Inc. is introducing an online business software package designed to make it easier for people in the same organization to share documents and information.
The free 'Team Edition' software, scheduled to debut Thursday, represents Google's latest attempt to attract more users to free applications, which poses a potential threat to rival Microsoft's highly profitable Office programs.
The launch marks the second time Google has upgraded a business program this week – a week when Microsoft awaits a response to its bid to buy Yahoo Inc. in an attempt to undermine Google's dominance of Internet search and advertising.
Microsoft's unsolicited bid, initially valued at $44.6 billion, is backed largely by money the company has made selling software.
Google has been giving consumers, students and businesses free access to competing software hosted over the web in a concept known as 'cloud computing'.
More than 500,000 businesses have signed up to use Google's applications, claims the company. However, the fees so far account for only a sliver of Google's $16.6 billion in annual revenue.
Google last year collected $181 million for software sales and other services besides online advertising.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
AT&T Plans New High Speed Mobile markets in 08
AT&T Inc said on Wednesday it would expand its high-speed wireless service to 80 additional markets in 2008, increasing the number of markets where it offers the service to 350 big U.S. markets.
AT&T, the biggest U.S. mobile service, has been behind rivals in building a network with high-speed wireless Web access for cell phones.
Why MSN Wants Yahoo!!!
Internet Giant Yahoo has just triggered war in the tech world by hinting at a tie-up with Google, to resist Microsoft's hostile take over bid.
Yahoo management is considering revisiting talks it held with Google several months ago on an alliance as an alternative to Microsoft's bid, a source told a news agency.
Combined, Microsoft and Yahoo will together control just 16 per cent of the world's online search market, far less than Google's 62 per cent share. However, they would own a lion's share of the world's email and instant messaging market, which is Google’s main concern
While Microsoft claims that with Yahoo, they can break Google's stranglehold and serve consumers better, Google warns Microsoft could unfairly use its Windows OS, that runs most computers worldwide, to automatically divert users to its new search engine.
At $31 a share, Yahoo believes the bid undervalues the company, two sources said. A second source close to Yahoo said it had received a procession of preliminary contacts by media, technology, telephone and financial companies. But the source said they were unaware whether any alternative bid was in the offing.
In a memo to Yahoo employees on Friday, which was obtained by Reuters on Sunday, Yahoo leaders wrote: "We want to emphasize that absolutely no decisions have been made -- and, despite what some people have tried to suggest, there's certainly no integration process underway." Few natural bidders exist besides Google that could engage in a bidding war, and Google would be unlikely to win approval from antitrust regulators, some Wall Street analysts said on Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Sunday that Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt called Yahoo's chief executive Jerry Yang to offer his company's help in any effort to thwart Microsoft's bid. Spokesmen for Yahoo and Google declined comment. Google was not immediately available for comment on the WSJ story. Yahoo's efforts to find an alternative bidder could simply be a measure to pressure Microsoft to boost its bid, which valued Yahoo at $44.6 billion when first announced on Friday.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Apple doubles Storage on IPhone and IPod Touch
Macworld 2008 came and went, but no changes in the lineup of iPods or iPhone. Almost three weeks later, Apple has unveiled a new iPhone and a iPod Touch with twofold of storage compared to their previous model, which means iPhone now comes in 16GB flavor and iPod Touch in 32GB.
The double storage iPhone comes with a price tag of $499, while the existing 8GB model remains $399. The new 16GB iPhone costs just as much as the old 4GB iPhone, which was discontinued after the initial launch.
New 32GB iPod Touch is also priced at $499, making it the most expensive iPod ever sold. It’ll join its 8GB and 16GB sibs priced at $299 and $399 respectively. Those who own older models of iPhone or iPod Touch shouldn’t really be bothered because their prices have remained as it is. Remember the debacle when Apple dropped the price of an 8GB iPhone and discontinued 4GB model? Apple won’t be doing the same mistake over again.
Both 16GB iPhone and 32GB iPod Touch are available at Apple’s online store. You also purchase 32GB iPhone from AT&T’s retail outlet.
Microsoft Acquisition of Yahoo - Latest News
The Microsoft is evil meme is alive and well this week as many digest Microsoft’s $44.6 billion takeover offer for Yahoo. There’s Flickr users Protesting talk of Yahoo teaming up with Google to block Microsoft’s bid, and general Microsoft is bad sentiment everywhere, even from Google itself. While Microsoft acquiring Yahoo may not provide the ultimate in happy endings to many, it’s really not as bad as some would have you believe.
Google is Afraid.
Google’s response to the acquisition over the weekend was amazing in its veracity. Google and Microsoft have never been friends, but for Google to come out and attack the acquisition as it did can only mean one thing: Google is afraid, and that’s a very good thing. Internally Google believes that a combined Microsoft/ Yahoo will provide real competition to its dominant market position in search and text advertising, the very same position it has depended on to build its until recently huge share price and market cap. Google can preach about open access and open markets all it wants, but Google’s idea of open is only where users access it from one of its many web properties.
More Competition
One argument against the acquisition is that it lessens competition. While in terms of major players it does, a combined Microsoft/ Yahoo will actually increase competition in spaces where Google is dominant, and in some countries all but a monopolist provider. Scale is the key here: Google has it, and Yahoo and Microsoft need more of it. The combined Microsoft/ Yahoo would still have less than half of Google’s market share in text ads for example, but the combined companies would be able to provide a much more appealing product in terms of reach when competing against Google, ie: the increased reach would become more appealing to ad buyers looking to maximize their exposure.
A Stronger Tail
One argument against the deal is that there will be less opportunities for startups to be bought out with Yahoo out of the picture. That is true, but only in the short term. There always has to be a Number 3 player and positions below that, and with Microsoft/ Yahoo coming in at second, the space is now there for smaller players to step into this place. Ask comes to mind, but there’s no reason why we couldn’t see newer players step up. Essentially there will be now one less big player to compete with. The strengthening of smaller players who want to break into the top tier may well see increased flows and acquisitions. In lessening numerical competition at the top, it creates further opportunities below. This naturally rests on the presumption that there won’t be a duopoly in areas such as search, but this is unlikely: there has always been smaller players, always has been, always will be, and the dream of being the next Google will continue to live on.
Yahoo Lives On
Microsoft will actually be a great boost for the Yahoo brand and its many services. The alternatives are nearly bleak in comparison: a hedge fund or similar investment would gut Yahoo to a core rump of (hopefully profitable) services, and sell off areas such as Yahoo News. Google as a partner (either in ads or the unlikely scenario as an investor) would leave Yahoo doomed to be forever a second class player to Google. One of Yahoo’s biggest strengths is still its brand, and Microsoft will work tirelessly towards building that Yahoo brand back to its glory days as the front page of the internet. That goes for the sub-brands as well: Flickr will likely replace Microsoft’s photo sharing suite for example.
Better Service
Someone wrote in the last couple of days the days of building the best product and expecting people to use it has passed, and that’s the problem with Microsoft’s online endeavors today in the age of Google dominance. Microsoft has some great internet products; from Popfly and Silverlight, through to a solid ad platform (that is powering Digg and Facebook) and decent search. A combined Microsoft/ Yahoo would offer the best from both companies in what in theory would be a better all over package. Some may argue that getting to this stage might be difficult, but even wired notes that merging the two corporate cultures wouldn’t be that hard. Ultimately to compete with Google you must have a strong across the board multi-faceted package, and Microsoft/ Yahoo would have just that.
Conclusion
None of this is meant as Google bashing. Google has done much good and as Google loves to argue, people choose to use Google, nobody is forced to use their services. However markets where one company dominates usually end up seeing stagnation and/ or inefficient pricing and service in the long term. We need a combined Microsoft/ Yahoo if only to keep Google on its toes, to keep Google innovating and providing the best service that it can, to keep Google honest.
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T300 Review
Model Design / Appearance
As part of the T-series, Sony is specifically targeting the T300 to techno-socialites. The Sony Cyber-shot is cyber-cool. With its sleek, eye-catching thin body, the camera acts as a fashion accessory. Consumers will be proud to wear the T300 on their wrists. To co-ordinate with an outfit, the camera is offered in red, silver, and black.
Size / Portability
The pocket-sized camera is one of the tinier cameras we’ve seen. The Sony T300 measures 3.7 x 2.33 x 0.84 inches (94 x 59.3 x 21.4mm) and weighs 5.2 ounces (149 grams) without battery or memory card. It certainly is made for portability to easily fit into a pocket or attach to a wrist for nights out.
Handling Ability
The Sony T300 suffers from the curse of thin beauties – no girth to hold onto. It’s a double-edged sword. To keep the body small and sleek, Sony skimped on hand grips or rubber material for handling. The lens is poorly located. There is little room for right or left hand support, although the Sony logo and large strap eyelet provide minimal hand support. We are going to have to dock the Sony T300 points for its limited handling that would make shooting for extended periods of time difficult.
Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size
The Sony T300 has an overall minimalist design that transfers over to its button design. The LCD acts as the main control, with digital touch screen buttons that replace traditional buttons. The camera only has four real buttons, located on the top of the camera: power, display, shutter release, and zoom toggle. We almost missed the zoom toggle when reviewing this camera. The zoom toggle is pushed off to the corner edge of camera. Its small size and poor placement hinder zooming capabilities. We're very impressed by the touch screen controls, but disappointed with the zoom control.
Menu
Sony menu systems tend to deviate from that of other manufacturers. Instead of using a linear column-based system, the Cyber-shot T300 uses icon prompts and a vertical filmstrip-like interface set against a black background and live preview. The menus include white or orange text. Users can change the display setup to include all the controls or simplify it to only the key tools.
The menu system and touch screen LCD go hand-in-hand. While the monitor is very responsive, the menu system tends to be crowded because there are so many functions. There is a home key, menu key, and the initial main menu page, set up like a computer screen. When users select one function, the menu pulls up a bar of submenus. When selected, the function highlights in orange.
| Home | |
| Shooting | Photos or Movies, OK |
| View Images | Folder View, OK |
| Slideshow | Slideshow, Music Tool |
| Print | Print, Ok |
| Manage Memory | Memory Tool, Ok |
| Settings | Main Settings (Beep, Initialize, Housing, Function Guide, Calibration, Smile demo mode), Clock Settings (Date, Time, OK), Shooting Settings (AF Illuminator, AF Mode, Grid Line, Digital Zoom), Language Settings (English) |
| Main Menu | |
| Image Size | 10M, 5M, 3M, VGA, 3;2, 16:9 +, 16:9 |
| Self-timer | Off, 10-second, 2-second |
| Record | Auto, PGM, Scene (ISO, Smile Shutter, Soft Snap, Landscape, Twilight Portrait, Twilight, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Underwater, Hi-Speed Shutter Easy, Movie |
| Flash | Auto, On, Slow Syncro, Off |
| Focus | Auto, Macro |
| Display | Setup (Normal, Simple, Image Only), Histogram (Off), LCD Brightness (Normal, Bright) |
The menus, with large font and icons, are easy on the eyes, but navigation is problematic. Instead of live preview for color effects, for example, the camera displays prompts asking if you really want to change the color: Apply color effect? OK, Back. The "OK" prompts are an unnecessary step. The menu system is an adjustment, especially if you are used to other brands of cameras. It will take an hour or two to find all the functions, but users can reduce the menu to a simple setup.
| Menu | |
| Face Detection | When Touched, Auto, Child Priority, Adult Priority |
| EV | +/- 2 (1/3 steps scale) |
| White Balance | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light 1, Fluorescent Light 2, Fluorescent Light 3, Incandescent |
| SteadyShot | Shooting, Continuous, Off |
| Shooting Settings | Ok |
Ease of Use
The Cyber-shot T300 is a strange mix of really easy and really difficult. Like working at PMA itself, we know what should be done but getting there is sometimes a task. The T300 has a strong touch screen LCD and compelling design for easy portability. The physical buttons and crowded menu, however, could use some work. We hope the next generation of T-cameras will remedy these key components to make a truly successful camera.
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