UPDATED 16:15 EDT / MAY 08 2013

Microsoft & Yahoo Double Teams Google | Spotify Gets Downloadified – SiliconANGLE News Roundup

Microsoft and Yahoo have agreed to extend the search partnership they started in twenty-ten. Under the terms of the unusual deal, Microsoft guarantees the revenue per search for ads that appear on Yahoo sites. Many analysts expected Yahoo to cancel the arrangement under the leadership of new CEO Marissa Mayer. Yahoo earns less income now, with Microsoft’s guarantee, than it did prior to their joint effort. Mayer expressed dissatisfaction with the partnerships, saying, “We need to see monetization working better because we know that it can and we’ve seen other competitors in the space illustrate how well it can work.” The struggling search companies thought they could present a more formidable opposition to Google by joining forces. In the three years since coming together, little has changed in the search landscape. Google remains the dominant search engine with nearly two-thirds of the U.S. market share.

Yahoo Isn’t Done Expanding Yet

 

After several months of consideration, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer finally met with top execs at Hulu to discuss the possibility of buying the premium video service.  Though there hasn’t been any formal bid, a visit by the media giant’s buyout-happy chief executive was a good indicator that Yahoo is in the process of purchasing all, or at least a big chunk of Hulu.   Along with mobile efforts, Marissa Mayer explicitly told investors that video was key to Yahoo’s strategy during her tenure. Despite being one of the largest video players on the internet, Yahoo never quite established the major audience numbers Hulu has. Though officials at Hulu have declined to comment on the meeting, it’s likely that a deal will be struck sooner, rather than later for Yahoo to finally acquire Hulu’s paying customer base, estimated to be at least four million strong.

Leaked images suggest that Google is overhauling its Google Maps application. The new Maps interface focuses on the map itself, doing away with many elements that could be seen as distractions. The sidebar has been removed, along with the navigational arrows, and zoom buttons. When necessary, information is displayed on top of the full screen map. Other enhancements include updated map colors, icons, and text styles. New social features are expected to be a part of the update as well. It’s been reported that individuals will be able to limit local search results to places recommended by people in the user’s Google Plus circles. It’s unknown when the update will go live. Analysts believe that Google will unveil the changes next week at the Google I/O conference.

Nokia’s Microsoft Double-Down

 

Ever since Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s decision to switch to Microsoft on their devices, Nokia’s business has nearly fallen apart. Shareholders for the Finnish mobile company have expressed a great deal of criticism for the decision.  While Nokia’s Lumia smartphone has seen growth in their sales, their numbers still pale in comparison to major competitors Samsung and Apple.  The slow adoption of the Windows Phone by consumers has been seriously affecting the company’s overall health.  Since its peak in the year two-thousand, Nokia’s shares have dropped from sixty-five euro all the way down to under three, where it’s valued today. Despite the dwindling numbers, Elop reiterated yesterday that Nokia is committed to Windows Phone software. The position isn’t likely to win him any popularity, but for Nokia, it appears that doubling down is the only option they have left.

T-Mobile released its first quarter financial statement late Tuesday evening. The fourth largest mobile phone carrier reported a seven percent drop in revenue from the previous year. Adjusted earnings were also down about seven percent from the same period last year. The first quarter decline will likely be a sharp contrast to what many analysts suspect will be a remarkable second quarter. T-Mobile has made several significant changes that are expected to be beneficial to the company’s bottom line. Referring to itself as the “Uncarrier”, the communications firm did away with long term customer contracts and phone subsidies. It also began carrying the iPhone, selling over five-hundred thousand handsets since its early April launch. T-Mobile extended its market share with the acquisition of MetroPCS. CEO John Leger believes that things will only get more exciting from here.

Syrian Leaders Cut Off the Net

 

Yesterday, in an apparent effort to stifle communication with the outside world, the Syrian government has taken the entire country offline.  So far, there has been no official word on what prompted the cutoff, but given recent reports of massacres, the actual reasons for cutting outside access appear to be grim. Ever since the Arab Spring three years ago, several middle-eastern countries have seen massive political changes, but for Syria, the struggle has led to an ongoing and increasingly bloody civil war. Leading up to yesterday’s blackout, images and videos leaked showing the massacres of hundreds of people, including children, by supporters of President Al-Assad. While both US and Russian officials have attempted to broker peace, it’s believed that the latest atrocities may have included the use of chemical weapons, which could be extremely damaging to the regime.  Unfortunately, until the internet comes back online, the outside world will have no way to know what’s happened for sure.

The world’s most intelligent thermostat is about to get even smarter. Nest, the aesthetically pleasing, learning thermostat maker, has acquired energy data startup MyEnergy. MyEnergy has developed algorithms that collect, analyze, and provide recommendations around energy consumption data. The acquired analytics are in the process of being added to the Nest’s IQ. Future versions of the thermostat might offer recommendations for how to reduce energy consumption. The new features put the firm in closer competition with utility data companies like Opower. Partnerships with utility companies, like Reliant, have helped the young startup grow tremendously since its launch in two-thousand-ten.

A Torrent of Bits

 

BitTorrent is trying to shed its bad boy image with a new type of file format. BitTorrent Bundles are files that can be freely distributed, but that need a specific action to take place before they can be downloaded. BitTorrent accounts for about three percent of worldwide bandwidth, and many of the torrents contain pirated material. Content providers have been wary of using BitTorrent as a distribution channel. BitTorrent Bundles could change that. Users might be required to provide an email address, or complete a transaction through PayPal, before gaining access to a bundled file. The bundle could include additional, complimentary files, beyond just the media. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for example, could be released as a BitTorrent Bundle, with additional files, like the original screenplay, or a coupon for the console game version of the film. BitTorrent isn’t the first company to try to abandon its piracy roots. Kazaa, LimeWire, and Napster were unsuccessful in their efforts. BitTorrent has had moderate success with some of its experimental approaches to becoming a legitimate media distribution channel. It may very well succeed, where others have failed.

Non-Bittorrent Piracy Using WebApps

 

The popular music streaming service Spotify got quite a scare this week. The culprit: a Chrome web-browser extension called “downloadify”. When added to your toolbar, this sneaky plugin let users download complete mp3 files from the catalog of more than twenty million songs. “Downloadify” worked by taking advantage of the lack of encryption in Spotify’s new web player. Within a matter of hours, the extension had been removed from the Chrome Web Store. Spotify users can already store music files locally simply by paying a small monthly subscription fee. With such easy and affordable ways to get access to their favorite artists, it’s amazing how far people will still go to save a buck.

If you want to continue to follow these stories and get your daily dose of tech news, don’t forget to watch us live and online on the Morning NewsDesk Show with Kristin Feledy.

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