j2 Global Reports 2004 Financial Results - Exceeds Revenue and EPS Guidance
“For the fiscal year 2004, total revenues increased 48% to $106.3 million compared to $71.6 million in fiscal 2003. Earnings before income taxes for 2004 grew to $47.2 million from $27.7 million for fiscal 2003, a 71% increase. Net earnings for 2004 were $31.6 million compared with $35.8 million for fiscal 2003. Earnings before income taxes per diluted share for 2004 increased to $1.86 from $1.10 in 2003. Net earnings per diluted share for 2004 were $1.24 compared to $1.42 in 2003. Net earnings in 2004 are based upon a 33% tax rate compared to a tax rate of (29%) in 2003.�
Webmail.us Experiences Significant Growth in the Fourth Quarter Of 2004, PRWeb, 3 Feb 2005
“Webmail.us, the proven provider of on-demand email hosting services for small and geographically dispersed businesses, experienced significant growth in the fourth quarter of 2004. Its reported 179% revenue growth over Q4 of 2003 further demonstrates the company’s growing strength and industry leadership. The fourth quarter expansion is primarily attributed to retail sales increases and the addition of more than 20 private-label reseller partners – serving a wide variety of industry segments.�
Email Hosting Service Launched by Premium Email Pioneer Runbox.com., PRWeb, 3 Feb 2005
“By moving their email to hosting by runbox.com, small and mid-size businesses can offer their employees premium email under their own domain. Businesses can offer their employees virtually unlimited online storage space for their email and files. Premium email also includes access to email on any email protocol (such as POP3 and IMAP), so that users have total flexibility in how, and on what client, they want to use their email.�
China Telecom looks to enter wireless market, 3 Feb 2005
“China Telecom, the country's biggest fixed-line operator, has announced it wants to team up with a smaller rival to buy a national wireless network run by the second biggest mobile phone operator, China Unicom. The announcement by Wang Xiaochu, China Telecom's new chairman, marked a dramatic intervention into debate about the future structure of the world's biggest telecom market in terms of subscribers.�
Whose job is it to fix the spam problem?, NetworkWorldFusion, 1 Feb 2005
“We ran a survey in January asking technical and non-technical e-mail users their opinions about several issues related to e-mail use, spam and other topics. One of the key issues we investigated was e-mail users’ perceptions about the level of responsibility various groups have in solving the spam problem, as well as how well each group is living up to this responsibility.�
ISPs Need To Keep Moving Against Spam, eWeek, 3 Feb 2005
“ISPs have to do more than just pass traffic on to the Internet or they're going to be sorry. The blacklisting wars are on their way…I've been looking further into AOL's claims of success in fighting spam, and I find I'm believing the claims more and more. I've been asking AOL users I know, and they agree that spam through to their inboxes has gone down dramatically over the last year or so, to 1 or 2 messages a day. How does AOL do it? Every way they can.�
Chinese Internet users expected to reach 134 mln by late 2005, AFP, 3 Feb 2005
“The number of Internet users in China will hit 134 million by the end of 2005, consolidating its position as the second largest market in the world after the United States, a research firm said.�
Yahoo launches 'contextual' search, Cnet News.com, 3 Feb 2005
“Yahoo is offering a new search service designed to help people find more-relevant content online. The Y!Q service offers "contextual" search that analyzes the page being read and gives a list of related search results. Instead of starting a search from a text box, a person would search while reading a specific page. For instance, a reader looking at a news story about the State of the Union address might highlight the phrase "Social Security" to get a listing of pages that deal with that topic.�
India widens access to telecoms, BBC News, 2 Feb 2005
“India has raised the limit for foreign direct investment in telecoms companies from 49% to 74%. Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran said that there is a need to fund the fast-growing mobile market. The government hopes to increase the number of mobile users from 95 million to between 200 and 250 million by 2007.�
Zombie trick expected to send spam sky-high, Cnet News.com, 2 Feb 2005
“According to the SpamHaus Project--a U.K.-based antispam compiler of blacklists that block 8 billion messages a day--a new piece of malicious software has been created that takes over a PC. This "zombie" computer is then used to send spam via the mail server of that PC's Internet service provider. This means the junk mail appears to come from the ISP, making it very hard for an antispam blacklist to block it.�
Spam fighter has a Honey Pot of an idea, SiliconValley.com, 2 Feb 2005
“…It makes more sense, however, to stop spam before someone presses the ``send'' button, and that's what Prince hopes to do. He's going after those who harvest e-mail addresses -- a practice that carries criminal penalties under a slew of anti-spam laws, including the federal CAN-SPAM Act. To do so, Prince launched Project Honey Pot, a service that relies on anti-spam volunteers all over the world to upload phantom Web pages on their sites. The pages are invisible to Web surfers, but not to software that crawls the Web to collect e-mail addresses. When a crawler visits one of those pages, the page will generate a unique e-mail address that contains information about the time it was harvested and the IP address, or identity, of the computer that harvested it.�
What's Next for E-Mail?, Contact Centre Today, 2 Feb 2005
“E-mail systems are moving toward integration with CRM systems and business intelligence applications. The holy grail of such integration would provide the user with an e-mail system combined with instant messaging, conferencing and presence management capabilities.�
Mirapoint's Unrivaled Email Security Appliances Secure University of Massachusetts Computer Science Department Email, Mirapoint Inc., 2 Feb 2005
“Mirapoint, the messaging experts, announced today that the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Computer Science department has selected the Mirapoint RazorGate appliance to protect and secure their message network. The department chose the RazorGate appliance for its ease-of-use, flexibility, and comprehensive, multi-layered email security capabilities, including the unique MailHurdle(TM) technology that stops spam and viruses at the network edge.�
j2 Global to Host Q4 and Year-End 2004 Earnings Conference. j2 Global Communications, Inc., 2 Feb 2005
“j2 Global Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: JCOM), the provider of outsourced, value-added messaging and communications services, invites the public, members of the press, the financial community, stockholders and other interested parties to listen to a live audio Webcast of its fourth quarter and year-end 2004 earnings conference call over the Internet at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 3, 2005.�
More women turn to net security, BBC News, 2 Feb 2005
“Older people and women are increasingly taking charge of protecting home computers against malicious net attacks, according to a two-year study. The number of women buying programs to protect PCs from virus, spam and spyware attacks rose by 11.2% each year between 2002 and 2004. The study, for net security firm Preventon, shows that security messages are reaching a diversity of surfers.�
Tung faces Cyberport pressure, South China Morning Post, 3 Feb 2005
“Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa is under pressure to explain how a decision to award the controversial Cyberport project to Richard Li Tzar-kai's Pacific Century Group was made soon after a top official queried five key issues.�
Google sees profits surge, Cnet News.com, 1 Feb 2005
“Search giant Google reported on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 101 percent year over year, exceeding analyst expectations, as revenue from advertising soared. Net earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $204 million, or 71 cents per share, on revenue of $1.03 billion. That compares with earnings of $27 million, or 10 cents per share, on revenue of $512.2 million in the same period in 2003.�
Google Targets Internet Domains, eWeek, 1 Feb 2005
“Google Inc. is continuing to expand its Internet aspiration, this time by adding the title "domain-name registrar" to its list of roles…So far, Google appears to be less interested in registering new domain names and more interested in using its domain-name role to help its Web search…Google also is testing its own e-mail service, Gmail. While Web-based e-mail providers typically use a single domain, such as gmail.com, for e-mail addresses, others also offer premium services that use specific domain names.�
Study: 2004 was 'turnaround' year for telecom industry, InfoWorld, 1 Feb 2005
“The U.S. telecommunications industry appears to have come out of its slump from earlier this decade, with spending projected to grow 9.5 percent a year from 2004 to 2008, according to a study released Tuesday by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).�
Skype creeps under phone giants' radar, Cnet News.com, 31 Jan 2005
“New renditions of Skype software for Linux and Macintosh operating systems are expected to become available on Tuesday. The new releases are a significant expansion for 17-month-old Skype. Since its debut, Skype's free software only worked on Microsoft devices, though test versions of the Linux and Macintosh software have been available since last year.�
Yahoo Japan launches blog beta, Cnet News.com, 1 Feb 2005
“Yahoo Japan, owned mostly by Softbank and partly by Yahoo, on Tuesday launched a test, or "beta," version of Yahoo Japan Blogs, a free service that lets users post blogs and up to 2GB of images, comment on other blogs, and associate their blogs with animated representations of users known as avatars.�
Law Barring Junk E-Mail Allows a Flood Instead, The New York Times, 1 Feb 2005
“A year after a sweeping federal antispam law went into effect, there is more junk e-mail on the Internet than ever, and Levon Gillespie, according to Microsoft, is one reason…A survey from Stanford University in December showed that a typical Internet user now spends about 10 working days a year dealing with incoming spam. Industry analysts estimate that the global cost of spam to businesses in 2005, in terms of lost productivity and network maintenance, will be about $50 billion ($17 billion in the United States alone). And the Postini report concluded that most legislative measures - in the United States, Europe and Australia - have had little impact on the problem.�
Postini Reports Spam Percentage Holding Steady, Viruses Down, Other Email Attacks on the Rise, Postini, 1 Feb 2005
“Postini, the industry's leading provider of email security and management for the enterprise, today announced that unwanted email has remained virtually unchanged at 88 percent while only 12 percent of all email is legitimate. Postini’s findings are based on the 14.7 billion messages it processed in January.�
Japan's NTT DoCoMo offers SMS exchanges with other Asian countries, AFP, 1 Feb 2005
“Japan's top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo (news - web sites) said it will offer text-messaging with five other Asian countries and advanced sound systems on phones, after predicting tough times ahead for the market.�
Microsoft Launches Web Search Engine, eWeek, 1 Feb 2005
“Microsoft has reached its first major milestone in Web search with the release of its algorithmic search engine, which will compete against Google and Yahoo. The company on Tuesday completed its transition away from Yahoo's search results with the introduction of its own search technology on the MSN Search site, MSN executives said.�
Time Warner packages AOL with Road Runner, Cnet News.com, 31 Jan 2005
“Time Warner said Monday that it will begin offering free America Online accounts to customers of its Road Runner broadband Internet service in an effort to attract new subscribers and garner more advertising dollars.�
Google Is Now A Domain Registrar, Netcraft, 31 Jan 2005
“Google is now an ICANN-accredited registrar of domain names, providing it with yet another potential line of expansion. The fast-growing search provider is approved to sell names in seven top-level domains (TLDs) including .com, .net, .org, .biz., info, .name and .pro.�
Spam gets trendy with lifestyle offers, South China Morning Post, 1 Feb 2005
“Spam and mass-mailing viruses, long known for stifling the productive use of e-mail systems, are threatening to put a damper on people's lifestyles. Internet security experts have over the past two months noted the emergence of e-mails purporting to sell Apple Computer's popular iPod MP3 players, as well as malicious programs that steal usernames and passwords from players of online role-playing games.�
Critical Path Appoints CEO Mark Ferrer as Chairman, Business Wire, 31 Jan 2005
“Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH - News), a global provider of messaging solutions for mobile, broadband and fixed-line service providers, today announced that effective immediately, CEO Mark Ferrer will become chairman of the board, replacing current chairman William McGlashan, Jr., who is stepping down to focus on other responsibilities. Edmond Ip Tak Chuen, executive director of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited is joining the board. Additionally, current board member Tom Tinsley, a partner at General Atlantic Partners, is named lead director and will represent and guide the board's independent directors.�
Critical Path to Announce Fourth Quarter 2004 Financial Results, Business Wire, 31 Jan 2005
“Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPTH - News), a global provider of messaging solutions for mobile, broadband and fixed-line service providers, today announced that it expects to release its financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2004, after the close of market on February 24, 2005. The results will be announced later than in prior years due to additional requirements and resources committed to the Company's Sarbanes-Oxley Rule 404 compliance efforts. The 2004 financial results will be discussed on the Company's quarterly conference call, currently scheduled for 5:00 PM Eastern time, February 24.�
The Rise Of Business Blogging, webpronews.com, 31 Jan 2005
“Most importantly, however, Microsoft's corporate blogging army has in a short time opened a transparent window onto the most financially successful company that ever existed. They have accomplished the impossible by putting a human face on a gigantic monolithic company - a giant with a bad rap. At the same time, they strengthened the company's position as a thought leader and generated incalculable online word-of-mouth. Blogging can do the same for you - no matter your target audience or your goal. The key is to listen, learn, and then get started.�
“Big trends have a way of sneaking past us. Consider the Web. In 2005 it may seem like an old story, but let's pause to remember that as a commercial product the World Wide Web is just a mere decade old. (And if you lay claim to having surfed the Web during its beta years of 1990-94, either you're an HTML geek or you're fibbing.) In just ten years the Web has altered the way we grab information, manage our firms and organize our lives. China likely will surpass the U.S. this year in the number of Web surfers, a development few saw in 1995. Still, the day is young! The Web in 2005 is like the airplane in 1913 or the television in 1954, when Edward R. Murrow fricasseed a sweating Senator Joe McCarthy before the cameras. (In 2004 bloggers gang-tackled Dan Rather.)�
“Many large anti-spam companies report the spam percentage is flattening out. But are they really that far behind AOL, which shows rapid declines?�
Syria Restriction Narrows Broadband Internet, 29 Jan 2005
“High-speed Internet connections or "broadband" was offered to Syrian consumers for the first time last year -- years behind other tech-savvy Middle East countries -- but even then, the fast Internet service was decidedly old fashioned. The state-run telecommunications banned web voice and video communication, key benefits of the broadband service…Hundreds of thousands of Syria's 17 million people live abroad for work or study. Thousands used to communicate with loved ones through the Internet.
The broadband ban was imposed after the removal of restrictions on popular e-mail services such as Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.�
Adobe Looks Ahead to Video, Devices, eWeek, 28 Jan 2005
“Video is a very compelling media and we think that over the next couple of years, all the creative professionals will look to extend their information to video. So video is one area that is of a lot of interest to us. Another area of interest is also what happens to all these alternative devices. The number of devices that connect to the Internet other than PCs is going to exceed the number of PC devices connected to the Internet. So, how are people going to consume information on that? How are people going to create information for these devices? That is an area that we continue to spend a lot of our time and effort on.�
Reports of plan to break up Unicom denied, FT.com, 28 Jan 2005
“The body that controls China's biggest companies on Friday denied widespread reports of a plan to break up the country's number two mobile phone operator, saying no decision had been made on how to restructure the state-controlled telecoms sector. The unusual statement by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) offered a boost to Hong Kong and US-listed China Unicom, which has in recent weeks become the focus of heated speculation about a possible impending telecoms shake-up.�
Digital evidence: Today's fingerprints, CNN.com, 28 Jan 2005
“Police and prosecutors are fashioning a new weapon in their arsenal against criminals: digital evidence. The sight of hard drives, Internet files and e-mails as courtroom evidence is increasingly common.�
Yahoo to Offer Financial Data Feeds, Reuters, 30 Jan 2005
“Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) has agreed to take in data directly from stock exchanges to offer financial data to its users as well as other Web sites, the Internet media company said on Sunday. Yahoo's new service puts the Sunnyvale, California, company into more direct competition against other financial data providers such as Dow Jones & Co Inc. (NYSE:DJ - news) and Reuters Group Plc (RTR.L), which also license data directly from exchanges such as the Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites).�
