Yahoo's free mail service to offer 1GB of storage, InfoWorld, 23 Mar 2005
“Yahoo will increase the inbox capacity of its free Web mail service for the third time in the past nine months, now raising storage to 1GB, exceeding Microsoft's (Profile, Products, Articles) Hotmail and matching Google's (Profile, Products, Articles) Gmail. Yahoo Mail users all over the world will begin to see the larger inboxes between late April and early May, said Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo's vice president of communications products.�
Yahoo Ups Free E-Mail Storage to 1 GB, Reuters, 23 Mar 2005
“Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) said on Wednesday it will soon begin giving users of its free Web e-mail service 1 gigabyte of storage, four times more than it now offers, amid intense competition. Consumers are increasingly using their Web e-mail inboxes as a repository for e-mail as well as digital photos and documents. Web e-mail providers have been responding with offers of ever more free storage.�
“Yahoo!'s free email subscribers will get a bigger inbox from late April with storage limits increasing from 250MB to 1GB - the same amount as Google's Gmail subscribers get. The move will take about two weeks to roll out to all users. Yahoo! denied it was a Google-beating move but said it reflected the changing way subscribers are using email.�
ISPs Block 22 Percent of Permission-Based Email, Believing it to be Spam, Business Wire, 23 Mar 2005
“Twenty-two percent of permission-based email was blocked by the top ISPs during 2004, according to a Return Path study. Corporate email being considered spam by ISPs is a growing problem, up 3.3 percentage points over the second half of 2003. Return Path conducted the deliverability study by monitoring 50,000 marketing and transactional campaigns sent using Return Path's Mailbox Monitor service between January and December 2004. Blocking for each campaign varied from a low of 1 percent to a high of 57 percent.�
Bad e-mail habits sustains spam, BBC News, 23 Mar 2005
“The 'bad behaviour' of e-mail users is helping to sustain the spam industry, a new study has found. According to a survey conducted by security firm Mirapoint and market research company the Radicati Group, nearly a third of e-mail users have clicked on links in spam messages.�
China expects 120m netizens by year end, People’s Daily Online, 23 Mar 2005
“The country's Internet has evolved from a professional one into a mass network deeply rooted in the society, said a person in charge with the Internet Society of China, at a forum discussing Internet trends on March 22. The number of people surfing the Net continued to increase, which reached 94 million in 2004 and is expected to hit 120 million this year.�
ICANN approval moves .eu domain forward, ComputerWorld, 23 Mar 2005
“After seven and a half years, the domain-name suffix .eu is about to come to life. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that oversees technical matters related to the Internet, this week approved the application from the European Registry of Internet Domain Names (EurID) to take the new top-level domain (TLD) into ICANN's root files, the group said today.�
The end of e-mail as we know it, ZDNet, 22 Mar 2005
“The world's e-mail network is no longer the friendly place it once was. The booming trade in spam and the looming threat of e-mail fraud, in the form of spoofing and phishing, have seriously dented our confidence in e-mail. Despite a multimillion-dollar industry surrounding antispam software, and several attempts to banish the problem with regulation, spammers and fraudsters continue to stay one step ahead.�
AOL Latin America may cease operations, Cnet News.com, 22 Mar 2005
“America Online Latin America, the beleaguered provider of Internet services in South America, said Tuesday that it is running out of cash and may shut down or file for bankruptcy protection.�
AOL LatAm Running Out of Cash, May Cease Operations, Reuters, 22 Mar 2005
“America Online Latin America Inc. (Nasdaq:AOLA - news), the beleaguered provider of Internet services in South America, said on Tuesday that it was running out of cash and may shut down or file for bankruptcy protection.�
FuseMail Announces Innovative Webmail Application, Business Wire, 22 Mar 2005
“FuseMail®, LLC (www.fusemail.com), a leading e-mail service provider, announced today the release of their 2.0 Webmail Application (www.fusemail.com/splash.html), the second generation of their unique webmail client. The new version bridges the gap between the functionality of a desktop e-mail client and the typical webmail interface by introducing desktop-based e-mail features at the web level. Such innovative features include right click, drag n' drop, task bar, windows support, and instant messaging all on the web. "We believe this release dramatically enhances the webmail experience," commented Bryan Heitman, President of FuseMail.�
Stalker Software and Sophos Partner to Provide Total Virus Protection, Stalker Software Inc., 22 Mar 2005
“Stalker Software, the technology leader in email, collaboration, and real-time communication solutions, today announced a formal partnership with Sophos, a global leader in network security. With this agreement, Stalker Software offers CommuniGate Pro messaging users a sophisticated and comprehensive anti-virus solution. Stalker Software and Sophos joined forces in response to demand in the Japanese market from partners as well as to the needs of customers running on HP Tru64 and OpenVMS, platforms that have historically been neglected by the anti-virus software industry.�
Yahoo's game of photo tag, Cnet News.com, 22 Mar 2005
“Yahoo's buyout of community photo site Flickr goes well beyond sharing pictures. The deal, made public Sunday, is the latest in a string of acquisitions in the red-hot online photo-sharing space. But, more importantly, Flickr is a pioneer in a new method for cataloging the Internet that some believe could revolutionize Web search. As a result, Flickr could give Yahoo new competitive tools to take on Google, if it can put Flickr's community-based technology to broader use.�
Are Socialites Still Networking?, Wired News, 21 Mar 2005
“More than a year after "social networking" became the leading buzzword in internet startup circles, companies in the sector haven't gained the traction early enthusiasts predicted. Still, many of the bigger networking services say the number of users is growing steadily, and if they're not profitable already, they soon will be…The attractiveness of social networking as a business model was underscored this week when Yahoo announced that it will launch a new service, Yahoo 360, that includes elements of blogging and social networking. The planned launch follows last year's entry by Google into the social-networking market with its own service, Orkut.�
IBM Gets Into E-Mail Authentication, internetnews.com, 22 Mar 2005
“IBM (Quote, Chart) is taking the matter of fighting spam into its own hands. Officials started marketing an e-mail authentication technology currently underway at its alphaWorks developer site, called the Fair use of Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (FairUCE). Launched on the site in November 2004, FairUCE checks incoming e-mails to ensure they are indeed coming from the person it claims. In that regard, it is very similar to some other popular authentication schemes in use today, notably Microsoft's (Quote, Chart) Sender Policy Framework (SPF).�
Yahoo Buying Photo-Sharing Service Flickr, Associated Press, 21 Mar 2005
“Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) is acquiring a Canadian photo-sharing company that lets people share digital images with select groups or the whole world, expanding its portfolio of self-publishing and "social networking" services. The startup, Flickr Inc., lets people upload digital photos from computers and camera phones, publish photos in their blogs, share digital photo albums with anyone else who uses the service and alert other users whenever they upload a new photo or album.�
HP Hooks Online Photo Site Snapfish, internetnews.com, 21 Mar 2005
“HP (Quote, Chart) said it plans to acquire Snapfish, an online photo service, for an undisclosed amount. San Francisco-based Snapfish is an independent business unit of District Photo, a massive mail-order film processor with operations in the United States, U.K. and Canada.. The company boasts more than 13 million registered members and is growing at a rate of more than 500,000 members per month.�
HP Says Agrees to Buy Closely Held Snapfish, Reuters, 21 Mar 2005
“Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - news) on Monday agreed to buy closely held online photo service company Snapfish as the computer and printer maker aims to capitalize on the fast-growing online photo printing market. Financial terms of the proposed acquisition of Snapfish, which claims more than 13 million registered users, weren't disclosed. HP said that Snapfish is the largest online photo service firm, leading Eastman Kodak Co.'s (NYSE:EK - news) Ofoto, closely held Shutterfly Inc., dotPhoto Inc. and others.�
Webmail.us Releases Webmail 3.1, Adding Dozens of New Features & System Improvements, Webhostdirectory, 21 Mar 2005
“Webmail.us, the premier provider of on-demand email hosting backed by its industry-leading customer service and support, announced today that the company has successfully launched Version 3.1 of its webmail interface, adding dozens of new features and system improvements. The latest version provides new security features, additional browser support and a number of webmail client user interface improvements.�
Hongkong.com switches name and focus, South China Morning Post, 22 Mar 2005
“Hongkong.com has proposed to change its name to China.com to be more focused on mobile value-added services, internet and online gaming offerings.�
Hongkong.com plans name change, move to main board, The Standard, 22 Mar 2005
“Hongkong.com, a mainland mobile applications, Internet and online games provider, plans to switch the listing of its shares to Hong Kong's main board to lure more investors. It also proposes a change of name to China.com Inc.�
Ask Jeeves to be sold for $1.85bn, BBC News, 21 Mar 2005
“The internet investment firm headed by US media mogul Barry Diller is to buy web search engine Ask Jeeves for $1.85bn (£970m). Ask Jeeves is the fifth most-queried search engine in the US and has a market value of $1.43bn, one tenth the size of Mr Diller's IAC/InterActive. Mr Diller said Ask Jeeves "has the potential to become one of the great brands on the internet".�
InterActiveCorp buys Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion, Cnet News.com, 21 Mar 2005
“InterActiveCorp has agreed to a $1.85 billion buyout of Ask Jeeves, a search engine that has long been overshadowed by Google and Yahoo. The Internet conglomerate, which is headed by media entrepreneur Barry Diller, said Monday it is hoping to move aggressively into the Web search market through the deal and pointed to growth in the online advertising market as another major incentive in making the acquisition.�
Study: Internet use in U.S. homes dips, Cnet News.com, 18 Mar 2005
“Americans are spending slightly less time online that they did a year ago, while some of their counterparts in Asia and Europe are logging longer hours on the Net. A study released Friday by Nielsen/NetRatings looked at how much time, on average, people spend online at home. Average usage time for U.S. citizens dipped by 2 percent from a year ago, to 13 hours and 44 minutes a month, the study showed. Hong Kong, conversely, topped the list with its per-person average almost reaching 22 hours a month. The year-over-year growth for Hong Kong was 25 percent.�
Report: U.S. Internet Usage Thins Out, internetnews.com, 18 Mar 2005
“Fewer Americans spend time online now compared to the same time last year, prompting calls by one research firm to make the Web more "stimulating." Newly published results from Nielsen//NetRatings' NetView audience measurement panel shows that the number of monthly user sessions in the United States declined by two percent in February 2005 when compared to February 2004. The negative growth rate places the United States at the bottom of a twelve nation listing (Hong Kong, France, Italy, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil, Spain and Germany) in terms of percentage growth of online traffic.�
Yahoo buys photo-sharing site Flickr, Cnet News.com, 20 Mar 2005
“Yahoo has purchased online photo-sharing service Flickr, less than a week after the Internet giant launched a beta test of a new blogging tool. Vancouver, British Columbia-based Flickr lets users upload digital photos from computers and camera phones, put together photo albums, and post photos to blogs, among other things. Joanna Stevens, a spokeswoman for Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo, confirmed the deal Sunday but did not disclose the terms.�
snom and Stalker Software – speech meets email, Stalker Software Inc., 17 Mar 2005
“Stalker Software, the technology leader in email, collaboration and real-time communication solutions, and snom, the manufacturer of VoIP systems, are to announce their partnership at CeBIT. Both companies will work closely together in the VoIP solutions segment for medium-sized companies. Both voice and messaging specialists deliver a common solution that offers a central platform for voice and email.�
Tom Online changes tack on games, South China Morning Post, 21 Mar 2005
“Tom Online plans to replace its 15-month-old internet game offering with a portal for casual games to encourage customer loyalty and boost online advertising revenue. The Beijing-based company would phase out its poorly performing Karma Online title, a single-player shooting game it licensed from a South Korean company in December 2003, said chief executive Wang Leilei.�
Quarter of Cell Customers Use Messaging, Associated Press, 18 Mar 2005
“A quarter of American adults who have cell phones have used the devices' text-messaging features within the past month, a new study finds. Usage correlates with age: 63 percent of cell phone users ages 18-27 have used text messaging compared with 31 percent for ages 28-39 and 7 percent for those over 60…Also known as SMS, for Short Message Service, "texting" is highly popular in Europe and Asia but only starting to catch on in the United States.�
Phishing by phone--VoIP raises security concerns, ZDNet, 20 Mar 2005
“Internet phone services have drawn millions of users looking for rock-bottom rates. Now they're also attracting identity thieves looking to turn stolen credit cards into cash.�
Scammers Snag Money on Net Phones, Wired News, 20 Mar 2005
“Internet phone services have drawn millions of users looking for rock-bottom rates. Now they're attracting identity thieves who want to turn stolen credit cards into cash. Some internet phone services allow scam artists to make it appear that they are calling from another phone number -- a useful trick that enables them to drain credit accounts and pose as banks or other trusted authorities, online fraud experts say.�
Eu domain jumps final hurdle, The Register, 19 Mar 2005
“The .eu domain may finally come alive, five years after its conception, following a meeting this coming Monday. ICANN will discuss "Delegation of .EU and EURid-ICANN Agreement" at a special board meeting on 21 March and if it gives it the green light then, well, then you might be able to actually buy an .eu domain by April 2006.�
