Aug. 18, 2010 at 5:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Policy,
Technology,
Telecommunications
By Reuters
Lobbyists for phone, cable and Internet companies including Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. met Wednesday to again try to agree on how to manage Internet traffic, three sources familiar with the meeting said.
The sources said the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Google Inc were not involved in the latest industry effort to agree on “net neutrality”, the concept that high-speed Internet providers should not block or slow selected information or make websites pay for faster ways to reach users. Get the full story »
Aug. 17, 2010 at 3:52 p.m.
Filed under:
International,
Internet,
M&A
By Wailin Wong
Daily deal site Groupon is continuing its international expansion with acquisitions of similar companies in Japan and Russia.
Chicago-based Groupon said it has bought Qpod of Japan and Darberry of Russia. Terms were not disclosed. Both sites were launched this year, and their founders will stay on, with the sites being redesigned to be consistent with Groupon’s brand name over the next several months, Groupon said in a release. Get the full story »
By Problem Solver
The FTC on Monday announced a court-ordered temporary injunction against Central Coast Nutraceuticals Inc., the maker of Acai Advanced, and four affiliated companies which market a variety of acai berry supplements and “colon cleansers.” The court order halts the allegedly illegal conduct of the company, freezes its assets, and appoints a temporary receiver over the company’s several related companies, the FTC said.
A permanent injunction is to be heard Friday in federal district court in Chicago. The FTC also accused Central Coast and two individuals associated with the company of engaging in deceptive advertising and unfair billing practices.
The FTC claims the marketers deceptively claimed the acai berry supplements will lead to rapid and substantial weight loss and the colon cleansers help prevent colon cancer. Some advertisements falsely claim product endorsements by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey or Rachael Ray. Get the full story »
Aug. 16, 2010 at 12:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Food,
Internet,
Media,
Retail,
Wireless
By Los Angeles Times
Starbucks Inc., hoping to leverage its recent decision to offer free Wi-Fi at its stores, is working with Yahoo Inc. to create a Web site customized by location.
In addition to The New York Times, USA Today, Yahoo and Zagat, Starbucks announced last week that publisher Rodale, Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. Boost and online charity DonorsChoose.org also will contribute content providers for its Starbucks Digital Network. The Web site is expected to go live this fall.
Customers who access the Internet at Starbucks will encounter the site before they can surf the web.
By Associated Press
The company behind the Internet phone gadget magicJack has another trick up its sleeve: free phone calls from computers, smartphones and iPads.
The cost of phone calls routed over the Internet has been on a long slide. Many programs allow free calling between computers, and some allow free, but short, calls to regular phone numbers. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 2:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Media,
Newspapers,
Personnel moves,
TV
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Maureen Ryan, a 13-year veteran of the Chicago Tribune and its television critic, announced Friday that she has left the newspaper to join AOL Television as its TV critic.
Before joining the Tribune, she worked for the magazines Chicago Enterprise and Cinescape, and she freelanced for Crain’s Chicago Business, RollingStone.com, the Chicago Reader, NewCity, Request and other publications.
Aug. 13, 2010 at 10:33 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet
By Associated Press
The online payment service PayPal wants to make it easier to buy low-cost digital goods online, whether it’s a single article on a news website or virtual items in a video game. Scott Thompson, PayPal’s president, said Thursday that the service plans to roll out a payment product by the end of the year that helps businesses collect “micropayments” on the Web.
Aug. 12, 2010 at 4:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Internet,
Restaurants
By Wailin Wong
Zagat Survey, the popular restaurant and city guide, is jumping into the group-buying space with a new program that launches next month.
Zagat Exclusives, as the feature is called, will be introduced first in New York City and then “rapidly roll out” to cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the company said in a press release. Zagat did not provide a more specific time frame on when its Exclusives program would be available in Chicago.
Chicago is home to Groupon, the leading daily deal site that has inspired dozens of competitors. Zagat Exclusives is powered by DealOn, a New Jersey-based rival to Groupon. Other established names have added group-buying features to their core offerings, including online review site Yelp and restaurant reservation site OpenTable. Get the full story »
By Los Angeles Times
Twitter made it official Thursday when it rolled out its own “Tweet” button.
This is one in a series of moves to assume control of features that could help further propel the popularity of the service.
TweetMeme built the popular “Retweet” button, which Web sites install to encourage visitors to share links with one click. The button had generated 750 million impressions a day, according to TweetMeme founder Nick Halstead. Twitter is licensing some of the technology TweetMeme developed and TweetMeme will shift to a new product called Datasift.
By Reuters
The majority of Americans do not favor making affordable high-speed Internet access a government priority, according to a study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on Wednesday. Get the full story »
Aug. 11, 2010 at 5:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Design,
Internet
By Associated Press
The once-dominant social network MySpace is revamping its home page. It’s looking a little more like its more popular and populous rival, Facebook, even as it attempts to set itself apart.
In simplifying its user home page, MySpace is making users’ stream wider and more prominent. The stream is the constantly updated flow of status updates and shared content, much like the news feed that is front and center in Facebook. Get the full story »
Aug. 11, 2010 at 11:56 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Technology
By Associated Press
Satellite television provider DirecTV Inc. said Wednesday it has signed up Google Inc. to sell commercial time on some of the channels it carries.
Aug. 10, 2010 at 2:37 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Investing,
Small business,
Startups
By Wailin Wong
TransFS, a Chicago-based start-up that helps small businesses compare credit-card processors, has raised $510,000 in its first round of funding.
TransFS was launched in the spring of 2009 by Sean Harper and Joshua Krall, classmates at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. The company provides a comparison shopping Web site for credit-card processors, including ratings, reviews and explanations of how contracts work. Get the full story »
Aug. 9, 2010 at 2:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Entertainment,
Internet,
Video,
Wireless
From Bloomberg News | AT&T is making its U-verse television service available to users of the Apple iPhone and Reasearch in Motion BlackBerry.
Aug. 9, 2010 at 1:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Technology,
Telecommunications
By Dow Jones Newswires
Google Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. on Monday jointly agreed that wireline broadband providers should not be able to discriminate against lawful Internet content providers and that the regulators should have authority to stop offenders.
But the proposal, which takes the form of a suggested legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers, also left room for broadband providers to offer new “differentiated online services,” in addition to the Internet access and video services available today. Get the full story »
