June 30, 2008
Microsoft to buy Powerset? Not just yet
TechCrunch
Michael Arrington writes that Microsoft may soon strike a deal with semantic search engine, Powerset.
“VentureBeat is reporting that Microsoft has agreed to buy semantic search engine Powerset for somewhere around $100 million…Our sources have been saying this deal is highly likely since May, but hasn’t actually been signed yet and could still be disrupted by the ongoing Microsoft-Yahoo negotiations. Dave Wehner, a Managing Director at investment bank Allen & Co. (he’s the guy who sold Bebo for $850 million to AOL), is representing Powerset in the deal.”
Yahoo announces reorg plans
Wired
Betsy Schiffman outlines the recently announced Yahoo movements.
“Yahoo…plans to create three new teams that will report to president Sue Decker, including an audience product division (led by Ash Patel); a U.S. regional division (led by Hilary Schneider); and an insights strategy team (which doesn’t have a leader yet). Technology-wise, the company says it plans to develop a ‘world-class’ cloud computing and storage infrastructure and to rewire Yahoo on common platforms. Yahoo will form a cloud computing and infrastructure group to expand its cloud computing capabilities.”
Flirting over e-mail or text in Scotland could land you in jail
Techdirt
Mike Masnick follows a bill politicians in Scotland are trying to put forward regarding e-mails and text messages with “sexual content,” that could give the sender up to 10 years of jail-time.
“The goal of the bill is to discourage sexual harassment over email or text messaging — but it appears to be worded quite broadly. The bill defines the crime as ‘committed if someone sends an unsolicited text message to someone else which a court finds was designed to give the sender sexual gratification or to humiliate, distress or alarm the receiver.’”
