It's All About Internet

Microsoft CEO jokes about Yahoo bid, search users

2008-04-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Steve Ballmer may be experiencing a case of bidder's remorse after making an unsolicited $42.3 billion offer to buy Yahoo Inc

Speaking to a group of nearly 2,000 Microsoft enthusiasts at a technology conference in Seattle, Ballmer asked how many people use Yahoo as their primary Web search engine.

Only a handful of arms went up -- fewer than for Microsoft's Windows Live search. The overwhelming majority raised their hands for Google Inc, which Microsoft is seeking to challenge as an online advertising powerhouse. Read More...

(Reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi, editing by Richard Chang)

Google CEO says "Nice to be working with Yahoo"

2008-04-18T03:05:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's top executive said on Thursday the company was excited to be testing out a partnership to run at least some of rival Yahoo Inc's Web search advertising sales.

But Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt stopped short of characterizing how far negotiations with Yahoo had gone or how likely they were to lead to an actual business partnership.

Instead, Schimdt had nothing but kind words to say about Yahoo -- Google's erstwhile rival recently turned potential business partner -- during a conference call with investors following the company's first-quarter results.

"It's nice working with Yahoo and we like them very much," Schmidt said of Google's feelings towards its crosstown rival. Read More.....

(Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Braden Reddall)

Google tops profit target, stock jumps

2008-04-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

By Eric Auchard,
Thu Apr 17, 8:36 PM ET

San Francisco - Google posted solid growth in its revenue and profit during 2008's first quarter and exceeded Wall Street expectations in both categories amid widespread concern that the search engine giant's results would be weak.

Google's hard-hit shares surged 18 percent above $500 -- a level last seen in February -- as the company showed signs of better cost control and earned more revenue abroad than at home for the first time, partly because of the weak dollar.

"It's clear to us that we're well positioned for 2008 and beyond, regardless of the business environment that we find ourselves surrounded by," Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt told investors on a conference call. Read More......

Google sagging stock soars after strong 1Q showing

2008-04-18T02:52:00.000-07:00

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Investors appear ready to embrace Google Inc. again after weeks of hand wringing over whether the faltering U.S. economy would bog down the Internet search leader's moneymaking machine.

Google won back Wall Street with first-quarter earnings and revenue growth that surpassed analysts' predictions, propelled by an aggressive push outside the United States.

The pleasant surprise delivered late Thursday lifted Google's recently sagging shares by $76.42, or 17 percent, in after-hours trading. If the stock surges to a similar gain during Friday's regular session, it will be the largest one-day increase in Google's shares since the Mountain View-based company went public in August 2004. Read More....

Will Mobile Browsers Catch On?

2008-04-18T02:33:00.000-07:00

Despite "booming" browser development, the viable mobile Web may be a long way off. Posted on April 17, 2008, By Judy Mottl:

The News is as Follows:

A new ABI research report claims that the mobile browser market is booming and will hit 1.5 billion mobile units by 2013. But the boom might not necessarily translate to a larger and more active mobile Web user base.

The study "The Mobile Browser Market" states that while smartphones currently have"very limited Web browsing capabilities," handset makers are hungry for browsers with new features, such as RSS feeds, and want Web sites better optimized for mobile display.

The big question, though, is whether mobile device users want all that too, and whether users would browse more if devices had better Web capabilities.

ABI Research predicts that the mobile open-Internet browser (OIB) segment will grow from this year's 76 million to nearly 700 million browsers by 2013. Read More....

Google Makes Good

2008-04-18T02:23:00.000-07:00

Despite concerns over sagging click rates and economic worries, the Internet titan posts another bang-up quarter. Posted on April 17, 2008, By Christopher Saunders:

News is As Followed :

Online search leader Google delivered on high expectations today, posting solid quarterly results and signaling confidence in the year ahead, while spiting nagging concerns about economic conditions or sagging ad sales rates.

The company reported first-quarter 2008 revenues of $5.19 billion -- a staggering 42 percent greater than Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) revenue a year earlier, and even 7 percent higher than its fourth-quarter 2007 revenue.

Net income topped $1.31 billion, or $4.12 per share -- up slightly from last quarter's $1.21 billion, or $3.79 per share. Read More...

Economic Woes Not an Issue For Google

2008-04-18T02:09:00.000-07:00

I found a news titled as "Economic Woes Not an Issue For Google" on http://www.internetnews.com/ while surfing on internet which was posted on April 17, 2008
By David Needle:.

The news is as follows:

It was another bang-up quarter for Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) as the search giant reported first quarter revenues of $5.19 billion and net income over $1.31 billion.

As reported earlier today, Google's first quarter revenue is 42 percent great than a year earlier and seven percent higher than the prior quarter. Also, for the first, time international sales accounted for more than half (51 percent) of Google's overall revenue.

In a conference call with financial analysts, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the 51 percent figure was a turning point, marking Google's ascension as a "truly international company."

Google's success, even in the face of a struggling U.S. economy, is good news for the company and perhaps the online advertising sector as a whole. "During the last recession in 2001, advertisers pulled back more from the Internet than more traditional advertising outlets, IDC analyst Karsten Weide told.....Read More.....

Swift 3D: Vector Animation for the Web

2008-04-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

Nathan Segal. has posted a good article titled "Swift 3D: Vector Animation for the Web" on July 9, 2003 as the following:

Over the past few years, Electric Rainhas been building plug-ins that allow 3D users to render files into a variety of vector file formats, including Flash SWF. Swift 3D creates scalable vector artwork for the web. Currently, the Swift 3D plug-in is available for 3D Studio Max and Lightwave and is also available as a standalone application.

There are many companies that allow the user to create 3D models and animation. Typically, the end product is a raster animation, a frame by frame rendering process. To export this animation, you would need to use an MPEG or AVI raster based format. Raster images vary in size and the amount of processing to create those frames can be considerable. The end product can create amazing results with film and video, but on the web, you�??ll run into all sorts of bandwidth limitations.

If your output is a small AVI movie, that could suit your purpose, but for larger animations and effects, raster imagery is not the best approach. This where Flash and Shockwave come into play. While both are plug-ins run in your web browser, it�??s important to understand the differences.

The Shockwave player has a built-in 3D rendering engine. When you build an object in 3D Studio Max or Lightwave, you can export that 3D geometry to the Shockwave format. From there, the Shockwave player interprets the data and allows you to interact with it.

Flash, on the other hand, was originally designed as a vector animation player. When you look at a cartoon in Flash, it�??s composed of lines and fills, not raster imagery. These days, Macromedia has upgraded the capabilities of Flash to incorporate bitmaps, along with video and sound. But there is no 3D rendering component in the Flash Player, so you can�??t sent 3D geometry to it.

To maximize the use of Flash, one approach is to convert the 3D geometry to vector imagery up front, which is where the Swift 3D plug-in comes in. Another approach is to create your entire animation within the standalone application Swift 3D.

As an example, if you built a 3D model of a film reel in 3D Studio Max, you can move it in 3D space, and create an animation of that. Once you have the animation, you would then export that to Flash, which turns the 3D image into a 2D image over a given number of frames. The animation will be redrawn as a vector animation of lines and fills. The completed animation will play sequentially in Flash, simulating 3D movement. And with vector imagery you have the advantages of file sizes and scalability, unlike an AVI file. Read Entire Article Here

3D Scene with Maya and Photoshop. Pt. 1

2008-04-18T01:28:00.000-07:00

Nathan Segal has posted an excellent article, how to create a 3D Scene with Maya and Photoshop. Title as "Create a 3D Scene with Maya and Photoshop. Pt. 1"

The article is as follows:

Alias Software�??s Maya is well known as a cutting edge 3D application. Early in March of 2003, Alias Software won an Oscar for Scientific and Technical Achievement for the development of Maya. Among its many credits, Maya was used to create visual effects in several Oscar winning and nominated movies, including The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Spider-Man, and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. According to one of my sources, Maya is used for up to half of the available 3D work opportunities.

In Maya, there are many different ways to create a scene thanks to an overflowing toolbox of options. But even the most durable of 3D applications can benefit from the use of Photoshop, which can be used to build scene components, create textures, retouch existing backgrounds etc. Here, you�??ll learn how to create a flying saucer in Maya, a Nebula in Photoshop and bring the two together in Maya to complete the image.

So let�??s get started.

Your first task will be to create a NURBS Flying Saucer. First, start up Maya and on the default screen, select Modeling from the drop down menu selector at the upper left of your screen. Next, make sure the Perspective View is selected and tap the spacebar, which lets you see multiple views of a scene. Click on the Front view and tap on the spacebar again to make the Front view fill the screen. If the Channel Box is not active, go to the top right of your screen and click on the third icon (the channel box is displayed on the right of the front screen). Now, you�??ll use the CV curve tool to create half of the outline of a flying saucer. Choose Create> CV Curve Tool and begin clicking with your mouse to define a path similar to the one below. Read More........

Graduation Day for Urchin Software!

2008-04-18T00:17:00.000-07:00

Urchin now out of beta! According to Google Analytics.

Also announced at ad:tech -- Urchin Software from Google, aka Urchin 6, has graduated from Beta and is available to everyone as of today, April 16th.

For the moment, Urchin is only available in English. That will change though, so stay tuned for info on soon-to-be released international versions.

Urchin formed the basis of Google Analytics, released in 2005. But, while Google Analytics is a Google-hosted service, Urchin is software that you run on your own servers. This makes Urchin ideal for certain applications. You might use it if you:

want to analyze your firewall-protected content, such as an intranet
have 5 years' worth of old server log data to analyze
need to know if your site's visitors are getting "Page Not Found" (404) errors
need to have your site's traffic data audited by a third party
need to create custom reports or integrate with other tools, like a CRM system
need to integrate your e-commerce logs directly with Urchin Read More......

Graduation Day for Website Optimizer!

2008-04-17T23:57:00.000-07:00

Website Optimizer now available as a standalone product! According to Google Analytics Blog

Google Website Optimizer is all grown up. Formerly a feature within Google AdWords only, this free website-testing tool is now accessible to anyone worldwide through its own website. You can now use your Google Analytics login to access Website Optimizer and test which designs, headlines, and graphics lead to the highest conversion rates on your site. Also, we've officially dropped the Beta label. They grow up so quickly these days. :-) Take it for a spin!

The Website Optimizer team has also launched a product blog where you can get the latest product news, industry insights, and testing recipes straight from team members. Head over there now for more details about the launch, but not before toasting another launch.... Read More..

Want To Create Flash Animation With CSS?

2008-04-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

I have found a great article about "How to Create Flash Animation With CSS" at http://www.webreference.com by Stu Nicholls. If anyone interested to create flash animation with css, they can visit How to Create Flick Animations with CSS

The article is like the following:

This is a method of animation that requires some interaction with your visitors, making a visit to your web site a more enjoyable experience for them, and maybe tempting them to come back for more.
The animations normally appear as static images on the page but they will spring into life when you move your mouse across them. This can be used in many serious applications as well as just for fun.
With this article I will show you how to style a basic animation (and also an enhanced version which comprises the same animation with associated text). This could be used on an educational site to explain the various stages of the animation (such as the internal combustion engine).

FLICK ANIMATION is 100% CSS and DOES NOT use javascript

Step 1

The images

For this article I thought that it would be apt to use a series of still images taken by Eadweard Muybridge, a pioneer photographer of the moving image, 1830-1904.

The initial set of images is freely available on the web and can be seen here IMAGE and is a 69kB jpg file. The first thing I need to do is divide this composite image into it's individual frames and ensure that each image is the same size.

Read Entire Article Here.