Privacy Group: Gmail Critics Overreacting

The Electronic Frontier Foundation blog put together a rundown of analyses of the Gmail privacy concerns and ongoing legislative efforts to address them. The upshot is that the critics are overreacting, creating legislation far worse than the theoretical problems. If... continue reading »

PR Biz in Big Slump

Companies have been slashing PR budgets and staff, according to a USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center study. While ad budgets increased about six percent, PR budgets declined about the same amount. The biggest cuts seemed to come not so... continue reading »

Google Engineering Blossoming Outside U.S.

Google, the search engine company that seems to place research and new product development as its highest priority, will open up a Tokyo research center. "Not all great engineers live in Palo Alto," noted a Google official. The company also... continue reading »

Google IPO Rumors Beget Stories of Internal Debate

A new round of Google IPO rumors flew around in recent days, as Google is expected to be required to make SEC filings due to its increased number of shareholders, even before going public. The most interesting tidbits falling out... continue reading »

Monster Gobbles Germany's JobPilot

Monster.com bought major German employment site JobPilot for about $86 million in cash and stock and also agreed to provide it additional financing of about $19 million. The company did almost $30 million of business last year with many major... continue reading »

Messenger Intros Head-to-Head Gaming

Microsoft released a new version of its Messenger system that allows users to subscribe to gaming features. U.S. users can play all four new games for free for a two-week trial. Included are Upwords, chess, Wheel of Fortune and billiards.... continue reading »

Onion Moves from Free to Fee

Satire news journal The Onion, publisher of headlines such as "Libertarian Reluctantly Calls Fire Department," will offer a premium level of service for "less than the price of a $30 cup of coffee." The new service will ditch online ads,... continue reading »

French Amazon Inquiry Confirmed

Amazon's quarterly SEC disclosures confirmed an earlier reported story that France has an open investigation into the e-commerce giant's sales of French DVDs. A French news article indicated the authorities may suspect Amazon is falling afoul of quaint rules that... continue reading »

McCain Seeks Tax Ban Extension

Arizona Senator John McCain revived last year's failed bill to extend a moratorium on taxing Internet access. A temporary version passed in 1998, but that law expired last November. State and local government oppose the bill. McCain's extension would last... continue reading »

Unfriendly French Courts Used Against Google

Only days after Google announced a more aggressive strategy in challenging the rights of trademark holders to prevent words, phrases and brand names from being sold as advertising triggers, European insurance company AXA is suing the search giant in France... continue reading »