In-flight internet:
an oldie but a goodie

Biz Buzz:

• Mobile firm Nokia bought Plazes, which lets people show others where they are and plan to be. Nokia plans to integrate Plazes in its mobile devices.
• Movie ticket service Fandango.com bought Movies.com from Disney.
• Ad-supported VOIP service Jaxtr raised $10 million in additional funding and plans to offer out-of-network calls for a small fee.
• The release of Google Trends for Websites drove shares of comScore down, betraying fears that the free product will push paid traffic-measurement services out of favor.

Broadband:

• NBC enables users to download coverage of the Olympic Games to their computers, so they can keep track of the festivities even while offline.
• YouTube wound up paying for the first batch of films uploaded to Screening Room after its debut sponsor pulled out at the last minute.

E-Commerce:

• EBay and PayPal are partnering on a number of ventures to protect both buyers and sellers on the site from fraud.
  Bango is introducing online bill pay options for mobile users in South Africa. The system includes analytics options that help identify consumers.

Legal, Government and Regulation:

• Microsoft was ordered to pay Alcatel-Lucent $511.6 million in a patent infringement case filed by A-L. The company plans to appeal the ruling.

Measurement and Analytics:

• Nielsen enlisted Sony Pictures Television to test NielsenConnections, which measured how consumers view Sony's content across platforms.
• Quantcast is rolling out its measurement platform, which will use both panel- and cookie-driven data to fill in gaps from services that only use one or the other.

Mobile:

• Affiliates for Google's Android-powered phones are delaying their launches, due in part to carriers wanting to change product specs at the last minute.

Online Ad Market:

• Publishers and digital sales teams are frustrated and puzzled over why the election season hasn't resulted in higher online ad spend from the candidates.
• Technology was a major point of discussion at the Cannes ad awards event. Talk ranged from wariness over the Google/Yahoo search ad deal, to how targeting systems could be improved.
• WPP Group's Sir Martin Sorrell had harsh words for Google, asserting it is failing at its promise not to shaft agencies in attempts to find advertisers.
• Yahoo video exec Rebecca Paoletti says CPM prices will likely be flat or lower by the end of this year, due to the combination of lower ad budgets and expanded inventory options.

People:

• The exodus from Yahoo continues: three more high ranking executives leave the company in the wake of both the failed Microsoft deal and the signed search ad deal with Google.
• Technorati made Dave White its VP of Publishing.
• James E. Murphy of Murphy & Company was given the John W. Hill Award for outstanding work in PR. The award was presented by the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
• Chris Gupton was hired by Howard, Merrell & Partners as an art director in the Interactive Department.

Publishing:

• Former Yahoo GM Ian Rogers launched TopSpin Media, a site that will help bands connect with fans and get discovered.
• The New York Times is working on merging its site with that of the International Herald Tribune to give both papers more global reach and scale.
• Google News seems to be struggling from lack of dedicated resources within the company.

Research and Stats:

• According to the new Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient report, Google is the most reputable company in America, beating out major consumer brands that spend a fortune on hard-sell advertising.
• A report by an analyst from Citi says if Google wants to continue its online ad market domination, it must move into display ad sales and delivery — and do it quickly.

User Experience:

• Airlines are again exploring in-flight internet options.