Ben Charny

Google says it has nearly settled a class action lawsuit alleging that the search engine charges inflated advertising rates because of rampant click fraud. The search engine Ask, formerly known as Ask Jeeves, believes it, too, is covered under the proposed settlement, a spokesperson said. Lawsuit defendant Yahoo plans to continue battling the accusations. “We […]

A crackdown is a novel way to find a new business partner. But entertainment behemoth NBC Universals recent investigation of viral video Web sites may end up doing just that. Going after a supposed crook and then going into business together isnt unique, rather its the fabric of life online. The Internets history is dotted […]

Microsoft said it will soon offer a better, faster, more curious search engine. A beta version of the search engine debuts at Live.com in a few hours. It, and a revision in a few months, will be a serious challenge to market leader Google Inc., said MSN Search Senior Product Manager Justin Osmer. The new […]

Google’s software developers tools are ranked as “popular” at Downloads.com, which began offering them on Feb. 23. Then again, at the same site Google’s toolbar release, at 3-million plus downloads, is “popular.”

Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Ray Ozzie’s big idea is a clip board. His idea is rooted in really simple syndication (RSS) as a means of “wiring-the-web,” he wrote on his blog, and spoke of during a presentation at the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference on March 7. In simple terms, Ozzie’s got a way for Web […]

Microsofts chief technologist Ray Ozzie on March 7 showed off his next great big idea: a virtual clipboard to “wire-the-Web.” What he proposes he calls a “Live Clipboard” for copying all the information from a Web site, then pasting it onto another site, or feeding all that data to a software program for processing. This […]

Independent software developers are Googles eager new soldiers, just as Google had hoped. It appears Google got what it wanted in August after first letting developers graft their features onto Googles online goods. There are now hundreds tinkering away, according to various estimates. Some developers take Googles mapping and directions facets to new places for […]

It’s a tough time to be an online book publisher in Europe. On March 6, major European book publishers took a swipe at Amazon Inc. during a publishing conference panel. One participant said Amazon was a bigger threat than Google. Meanwhile, Google faces a possible legal showdown in France. Publishers there are expected to decide […]

New evidence emerges of Google building a virtual hard drive where consumers and enterprises can store an unlimited amount of Google mail, instant messages, searches, downloads and other kinds of data. The hints were part of a Google Analyst Day presentation that appeared briefly online, but disappeared soon after the new wrinkles started resonating in […]

Google watchers may want to tune into an address on March 7 by Microsoft’s Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie at the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in San Diego. At the conference, Ozzie plans to unveil some of his recent ideas about bridging computer desktops and RSS feeds. RSS is a popular method of describing how […]

Google is building a new feature that provides consumers and enterprises with an unlimited amount of online storage for their data, according to various sources. The projects details were part of a slide presentation that appeared briefly online during Googles analyst day meeting March 3. But the slides disappeared soon after buzz began in the […]

The “Saturday Night Live” rap video sendoff starring “Star Wars” heroine Natalie Portman recently found its way onto video search engine YouTube before being taken down several hours later. The video, no longer available, was broadcast March 4 on NBC. It was taken down about 10 a.m. PDT March 6. In between, nearly 250,000 people […]