In a bold move to counter Google’s online pre-eminence, Microsoft said Friday that it had made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for about $44.6 billion in a mix of cash and stock.
If consummated, the deal would redraw the competitive landscape in Internet consumer services, where both Microsoft and Yahoo have both struggled to compete with Google.

The offer of $31 a share represents a 62 percent premium over Yahoo’s closing stock price of $19.18 on Thursday. It would be Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever.

Yahoo said in a news release Friday that its board would evaluate Microsoft bid “carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo’s strategic plans.”

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Dell reported Tuesday that it will sell Google’s Search Appliance and the Google Mini. Dell has been manufacturing both devices for Google for several months. Both devices are aimed at IT users. The $30,000 Search Appliance is targeted at IT enterprise users and the $1,995 Google Mini at smaller operations.

Dell noted that its OEM Industry Solutions Group has worked with Google to customize Dell PowerEdge 2950 servers upon which the foundation of the Google Search Appliance is based. “Dell’s OEM division,” Dell said in a release, “supports Google’s Enterprise division with an end-to-end appliance program providing sales and technical expertise, worldwide regulatory compliance, and order fulfillment.”

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Tags: laptops, Media Pc, Business, Technology, Dell, Google Mini, Google Search, Google Search Appliance, Micro Computer, Super Micro Computer, google | No Comments »

Google says the new domain name, which is one of the shortest in the world, is more friendly to Google’s fans in China as it is easier to type and easier to remember.

Google has purchased the shortest possible domain name to make it easier for Chinese users to find Google: g.cn. Interestingly, “g.com,” along with most other single-letter and single-digit domain names are reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. The IANA is the master arbiter of domain names and addresses on the Internet.

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  Google Inc. is in advanced talks with two top U.S. cellphone operators, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp., about selling handsets tailored to its new mobile-phone operating system, people familiar with the matter said.

Deals with the carriers would represent a major breakthrough for the Internet search giant, which until now has encountered wariness from some quarters of the wireless industry about its mobile-phone plans. Google shares crossed $700 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The milestone is a fresh intraday high for the company, after it passed $600 for the first time only three weeks ago.

Tags: Phone, Business, 3GSM, Mobile, Cell Phone, Google Mobile Phone, Google Phone, Mobile Phone, cellphone, cellphone industry, google, google mobile, gphone | 1 Comment »

  Google has bought exclusive rights to use an advanced text search algorithm, Orion, invented by Ori Allon, a 26 year old UNSW PhD student. The University earlier held talks with Google, Yahoo and MSN but finally Google managed to clinch the deal. Google also hired the algorithm developer.

It’s been a big few weeks for Ori Allon, the University of NSW student behind the advanced text search algorithm that Google has secured the rights to develop.

Just over a year ago, having completed his master’s degree at Melbourne’s Monash University, he headed north for Sydney to work on a research project at the University of New South Wales under the guidance of Eric Martin.

While Ori Allon is the key person behind Orion, the university retains ownership of the intellectual property as it was developed within the university’s research facilities. That could mean a steady flow of royalty payments if the process is eventually integrated into Google’s search engine.

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Tags: internet, Business, Education, webmasters, Algorithm, Google Search Engine, Google Search Engine Algorithm, Google-s search engine, New Google Search Engine Algorithm, Orion, Orion Algorithm, UNSW PhD, UNSW PhD student, google, msn, new Page rank, yahoo | 1 Comment »