Yahoo Offices

Google has announced they will no longer go ahead with the advertising partnership with Yahoo that they were negotiating on.

The discussions started this June, after Microsoft had announced they do not want to buy Yahoo anymore.

As consequence, Yahoo went to Google with the proposal of an advertising partnership, which meant that Yahoo would be displaying Google’s ads.

This deal was only available for the US and Canada, for a period of 4 years, and it would have brought Yahoo approximately 800 million dollars every year.

The competition authorities have said they would be analyzing this deal very thoroughly; and they did. In October, they had already imposed a temporary delay of the deal, and this week they have changed the terms under which they would accept it.

The deal could only last maximum two years, Yahoo could only receive from Google a 25% of the profits obtained as consequence of the deal; moreover, the customers who advertised in Google could ask not to appear in search lists made in Yahoo searches.

Google have announced that they cannot accept these terms and regret this could not happen, as they think it would have been a good thing for all those involved.

Ryanair Aircraft

Low-cost airline Ryanair is setting up a major cheap seat campaign: US flights for only 10 euros (£8) each.

On Monday, the company will announce its financial situation for the third quarter and will also give more details on their latest campaign.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair Chief Executive, has told the press that they will compensate the low cost economy tickets with very expensive business class ones.

This cheap seat sale for the US will be possible due to the company’s intention of buying approximately 50 aircraft from its competitors, and of opening more new routes, thus attracting a larger number of customers in the future.

The US flights will most likely be available at the end of next year for earl bookers who want to travel from London Stansted and Dublin to New York, Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.

The customer will pay the 10 euros for the ticket and the airport taxes, which are not included in the advertised price.

Sinowal Trojan

The Sinowal Trojan is a virus that is amongst the most advanced inventions of cyber crime. It infects your computer and you don’t even know it is there.

Hackers used it to steal crucial information about approximately 500,000 online bank accounts and cards (credit and debit).

The RSA first detected the Windows Sinowal in 2006, and since then it has continued infecting computers in countries such as the US, UK, Australia and Poland.

The Trojan virus uses an infection method that is known under the name of “drive-by downloads”, and your computer will be affected even if you access a website that has been coded with a Sinowal code.

The main problem with this virus is that, although it has been discovered two years ago, there is no way of stopping it, since its creators are constantly releasing new variants to stay ahead of time.

The issue is now under law enforcement agencies jurisdiction, but they are also having a hard time finding out information about who is behind Sinowal.

Since May of 2008, Sinowal has infected over 100,000 web pages and it is estimated that it keeps infecting a few thousands a day, which means one every few seconds.

Chandraayan 1

The first Indian space mission is off to a good start. The Chandrayaan 1 has successfully taken off this morning, from a launch pad in Andhra Pradesh.

The Moon mission will last two years, during which the spacecraft will orbit the Moon in order to obtain various sets of images, and analysis of the surface and of the soil composition.

The $78 million mission has several purposes: to detect the water-ice sub-surface, and the Helium 3 deposits – a rare isotope believed to be useful in nuclear power production.

This programme is of extreme importance to India, as it will bring the country at level of other Asian countries. The country’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has expressed his joy and excitement about the event and has brought official thanks to the team of scientists who have made this possible.

The launch was broadcast on national television in order to make everyone aware of this major event, and Indian citizens are pleased with the programme.

Max Planck Institute, Germany

One of the latest and most revolutionary TV related gadgets is the pocket-size TV screen. The scientists who have created it say it is a very thin and flexible screen that you can fold and keep in your pocket.

The screen is less than one millimeter thick and has an amazing elasticity, as it can be bent to any desired size. You can use it as a replacement for your TV screen, your computer LCD monitor and even for your phone display, but scientists dream it may become the next digital portable newspaper.  The authors of this design are the Sony Company along in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in Germany.
Amongst all the original features of this screen, the researchers emphasize its transparency, flexibility, the low energy consumption, and the possibility to produce a 3D effect by using several screens at the same time. Also, the production costs are sensibly lower than that of a normal flat screen, which does tend to attract even more fans and buyers.

They also declared that the screen can come in absolutely any size and that its uses are numerous: from large advertising posters, to small animated pictures on products like cereal and milk boxes.

Soyuz TMA-13

Space tourism is the last trend in millionaire holidays; after all, what can be more exciting and original than going on a several day tip to an international space station?

Nothing! Texas computer game millionaire, Richard Garriott apparently reached the same conclusion when he decided to take off in a Russian Soyuz TMA-13 capsule, along with two other persons, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The other two on board were U.S. astronaut Michael Fincke and Russian Yuri Lonchakov.

The family of the latest civilian space traveler watched from a platform as the rocket lifted off and then entered the orbit approximately 10 minutes later.

Owen Garriott, Richard’s father, is a former U.S. astronaut and he was deeply moved by his son’s journey, as he was fully aware of everything that was going on in the capsule.

The space traveller will reach the space station on Tuesday and will remain there for about 10 days, spending his time participating to all sorts of experiments and taking photos of the Earth seen from space, so as to compare them with the ones his father took in 1973.

Bluetooth Bracelet

We all know the advantages of memory sticks…..but for many of us, they also have a great disadvantage…they do not „stick” with us….or do they?
For those who tend to forget their USB stick at home or for those who want to be „gadget-trendy” there now is a solution – the bracelet shaped memory stick.
Apart from the fact that it is fashionable, it has a 1GB capacity, it does not need an installation kit and it is compatible with many USB types.

Another crucial element in our lives are our keys, which seem to vanish into thin air just when we need them most. Well, they have even found a cure for that – the key detector.
It consists of a radio receiver attached to the keys and a remote that turns on an alarm when pressed, as long as you remember where you put it, of course.

Last, but not least, a phone gadget. The Bluetooth bracelet is very useful to those to forget to carry their phone with them or for the women who dropped it in this season’s fashionable handbags (which are big enough for someone to live inside them).
When receiving a call the bracelet starts vibrating and even beeps if the phone is more than 5 meters away from you. After 2 hours of recharging, you will never miss your calls for the next 10 days.

LG KS360

LG’s KS360 model comes out on the market after models such as the Viewty, the KF600 or the KF510. The fact that it has a right hand sliding keypad could remind us of a smartphone, but it is far from it due to the lack of special features.

It is more likely a „trendy” phone for teenagers who send lots of text messages in order to keep in touch with friends and with their Facebook, Youtube or Flickr groups.

It is designed for those who write 50 messages a day, have a blog on the internet and want to post their every experience minutes after it happened or who cannot live without checking their mailbox every half hour.  The QWERTY keypad is easier to use, but the phone does not have Wi-Fi, so for connecting to the internet one has to use WAP.

It has a 24” screen, but a rather low quality photo camera. That could be compensated by the quality of the sound offered by the audio player.  It has a USB port and has the Mass Storage internal function of 15 MB with the possibility of adding a micro SD card.

Bottom line, it is a fashion, colourful and nice-to-look at phone, that has an average price and is designed for teenagers…..or for the teenager in us, why not?

Obama iPhone

The US candidate for the Democratic Party, Barack Obama has come up with yet another idea of how to getting the Americans’ votes.

The newest campaign gadget is the iPhone; he is thus aiming to attract the votes of the younger population. The special software was developed in just a few weeks by volunteering supporters and allows Obama’s “fans” from all over the US to interact and unite forces.

The “Call Friends” option is not only meant to attract voters, but also keep the users in closer contact with their families and fellow supporters in the remaining month until the elections.

The software also allows keeping a track on which of your contacts will be supporting Obama and sending them a reminder on the big day.

Most importantly, the iPhone makes it even easier for the supporters to be fully informed of the latest updates regarding the campaign; they will be able to access a variety of campaign materials in order to convince others of what they see as obvious and logical: that Obama must become the next US president.

This new campaign technique comes to show that Obama sees technology as very important for him and for the whole American people.

Chrysler Aspen Hybrid

Honda Fit, Honda Insight, Toyota Prius and Chrysler Aspen Hybrid…….what do all these cars have in common?

Well, they are cars designed to look good, have good performances and be “green”, all at the same time.

The Aspen Hybrid is Chrysler’s first hybrid model even though the hybrid car has appeared on the market over 10 years ago.

The Chrysler Aspen Hybrid can be considered a family car, due to its eight passenger seats but it is also a quite powerful SUV, offering 335 horsepower. Its estimated mile/gallon ratio is of 19-20/gallon. This SUV has a towing capacity of up to 6,000 pounds and a navigation system which will detect any change in the level of power needed and will automatically switch off some of the engine’s cylinders.

As for the design, Chrysler has chosen not to differentiate the hybrid model from the standard one: on both models the 300 volt battery is located under the second row seats and the only optional features are a DVD entertainment system, a sunroof and a towing package. The standard model comes equipped with a parking assistant, leather seats, traction and navigation control.

Toyota Eco-car

Eco-cars are the latest trend in eco-vehicles. The eco-cars of the new generation are based on electric energy. Toyota intends to launch a hybrid vehicle, which uses electric energy.

By the end of 2009, Toyota is planning to introduce a hybrid car, equipped with a lithium-ion battery. These new vehicles will be available in the U.S., Japan and Europe. The mass-production of Toyota eco-cars will be delivered in 2010. 

After creating an eco-car that uses a lithium-ion battery, the next challenge will be to develop long-lasting batteries. With a sale of more than 1.5 million hybrid cars worldwide, Toyota is the leader in eco-cars. The company believes that their eco-vehicle system is superior to other of the same kind, because with the Toyota system, the car charges itself while being driven.

Toyota also wants to expand its eco-car production to least one million a year by 2020. The goal of the Japanese company is to have a future without petrol cars.

Honda Insight 2008

On Thursday, 02nd of October, the Paris Motor show visitors have witnessed the official presentation of the new Honda Insight Hybrid.

Honda plans to take lead of the hybrid technology market by launching three hybrid models over the next four years. The first of this series is the Insight, which will be commercialized on the European, Japanese and North American markets starting next year. The other two models will be a hybrid sports car and a version of the Fit and Jazz existing model.

When compared to Toyota Prius, Honda scores on the amount of fuel per mile -approximately a gallon/40 miles in the city- whereas Toyota gets about 48.

Also, Honda representatives have declared that the Insight will have a lower price than Toyota, thus becoming more affordable to more categories of consumers.

The Insight and the Prius are somewhat similar in shape and size; they both have 5 doors and a hatchback configuration, but statistics show that the Honda Insight is more likely to become the best sold hybrid model in Europe.

Waterfront Media

Revolution Health Network, an online health operator, will be announcing soon that they have merged with Waterfront Media, a health websites owner.

At present, the strongest presence on the online health market is WebMD, and this merge is supposed to surpass them and ensure the leading position in this field. The deal, which is supposedly worth around 300 million dollars, will allow them to have more traffic than WebMD, especially in the USA.

Steve Case (Revolution’s founder) and Benjamin Wolin (Co-founder of Waterfront) will each continue to run their own companies, but at the same time they will coordinate the activity of the new “product”.

They will be operating with a total of 24 websites, such as HealthTalk.com, EverydayHealth.com, SouthBeachDiet.com, and the niche site dedicated to future mothers, WhattoExpect.com.