Venture Is Part of Cable Programmer’s Effort to Branch Out From TV Discovery Communications Inc. recently announced the availability of Discovery’s world-class video clips of historic sites and other spots around the world through Google Earth, Google’s satellite imagery-based mapping product that combines 3D buildings and terrain with mapping capability and Google search. One of […]

Google has launched a free version of the 3D modeling software it acquired when it bought @Last Software last month. SketchUp, a 3D drawing application which Google released recently, is the latest example of a happy, booming software trend: Google or Yahoo buys an innovative small company which makes a for-pay product, and quickly releases […]

Users of the Internet phone application can buy more ring-tones Users of Skype’s popular VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) application can buy a greater selection of ring-tones under a deal the company has reached with four music publishers, it said this week.

The online auctioneer is aiming to curb Google’s power eBay Inc., the world’s largest online auctioneer, has had talks with both Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to determine whether one of them might be a suitable ally over plans for a "mega-merger" aimed at thwarting the ever-increasing dominance of Google. The talks, which are certain […]

News Corp is buying a stake in online job search engine SimplyHired.com. The media giant is investing in online job search engine Simply Hired. Deal is the latest addition to Rupert Murdoch’s growing Internet Empire. News Corp., the media giant which owns the popular social networking site, recently announced that it is making a strategic […]

Offering a potential peek into the company plans, Google Inc. posted job openings for software engineers with knowledge of television technology. The company’s online help-wanted ad says Google is looking for software experts who know how to create and deploy "robust, high-volume applications for consumer devices." The ad is creating a lot of buzz about […]

Yahoo has introduced an upgraded travel service that blends the breadth of its search engine with travel-specific features in further challenging dedicated travel sites. Using Yahoo’s central search site, consumers can receive instant airfare and hotel price comparisons, satellite overview maps and user reviews of restaurants and tourist destinations, features that previously existed in different […]

With a half-million smartphones on order by the Census Bureau, Microsoft’s John Starkweather thinks the mobile division has turned a major corner Microsoft’s mobile division has landed a big coup. The software giant said on Apr. 4 that the U.S. Census Bureau will order 500,000 devices powered by Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems. The […]

Research In Motion (RIM) is adding a selection of mobile services from Internet portal Yahoo to the popular BlackBerry handheld, including search, e-mail, and instant-messaging capabilities, and will start rolling out the service in 60 countries in about two weeks, the two companies said in a statement. The deal greatly expands RIM’s relationship with Yahoo, […]

After just over a year in business, SiteAdvisor Inc. is being acquired by McAfee Inc. Security Company McAfee has acquired Boston-based SiteAdvisor in a move to fortify defenses for people before they browse potentially malicious Web sites for an undisclosed amount. Early last month, the privately-held SiteAdvisor launched free Internet Explorer and Firefox plug-ins that […]