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Web App of the Week: Groupon

David Murphy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:15:00 -0600

If war movies, zombies hordes, or stormtroopers have taught us anything, it's that there's power to be had in numbers-well, maybe not the stormstroopers. Regardless, a number of Web apps take advantage of this philosophy to offer increased functionality, awesome services, or cheap deals for those who are part of a herd. Kickstarter, for example, allows groups of people to team up and pledge funding for a number of independent projects. If a project meets its funding goal, then everyone who pledge an amount has to pay. If not, nobody pays a dime.

But you don't want to pay money. No, you want to save money. For that, turn to a Web site called Groupon. This community-driven site is like a combination of Costco (or your favorite local warehouse for purchasing oversized amounts of products), Kickstarter, and Woot. Instead of offering to pledge money, you're offering to purchase a product at lesser, group-discount rate. If enough people agree to buy, then everyone's commitments go through to their credit cards. If not, your hard-earned money stays right where it is.

Cool as it sounds, the service's biggest drawback is that it's designed with a city-based focus in mind. Thus, if you don't actually live in one of the major cities where, say, the restaurant or spa discount would apply... you're out of luck. On the plus side, there are more than 30 major cities to choose from, so odds are good that you'll have a good shot at hitting it big on one of the site's daily deals. Integrated social networking functionality allows you to easily share deals with your friends-who knows, maybe you'll be able to convince them to pony up and bring you one step closer to your huge discount.

Every Thursday, Maximum PC picks a new Web App as its favorite of the week. Have a Web App that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

Deal Alert: Save $10 on Full Season of Tales of Monkey Island

Paul Lilly — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:45:18 -0500

To celebrate "Talk Like a Pirate Day," Telltale Games gave away free copies of Tales of Monkey Island: Episode One to gamers and scurvy landlubbers alike. But don't worry if you missed out on your chance to reap all the rewards of piracy without crossing moral (and legal) lines, because Telltale is giving you another chance to become a swashbuckler without spending all of your grog money.

The freebie offer has come and gone, but from now until midnight (Pacific Time) on Sunday, October 25, Telltale Games is slashing the price on the full first season of Tales of Monkey Island by $10. For 25 bucks, you'll have access to all five episodes, which breaks down to $5 a pop. As a bonus, Telltale says season purchases are eligible to receive a collector's CD, made available at the end of the season, for the cost of shipping

Chapters One through Three are available to play now, with the remaining episodes "coming soon."

Offer Link

Skype Founders File Copyright Suit Against eBay

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:50:38 -0500

A couple of weeks after eBay agreed to sell 65% of Skype to a group of investors, the founders of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, contrived to gatecrash eBay’s party. Joltid, a company in which the two Skype founders are stakeholders, filed a copyright lawsuit on Wednesday against Skype. Skype's founders retained control over the peer-to-peer technology at the VoIP client’s core even after selling Skype to eBay for $2.6 billion. They had agreed to license the source code to eBay.

Joltid has accused eBay of unlawfully modifying and sharing the source code. An adverse decision could even force eBay to shut down Skype until it can come up with an alternative version. The San Jose-based internet company has said that it is making arrangements to face any such eventuality. However, the presence of a contingency plan should not be construed as a lack of confidence on its part. “We remain on track to close the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2009,” an eBay spokesperson said.

Analyst Jeffrey Lindsay of Sanford C. Bernstein believes he has pinned down Joltid’s real motive behind the lawsuit. According to Jeffrey, Joltid is still smarting from its failed bid to buy back Skype earlier this year. And that it now wants to preclude the sale of Skype until it is presented with “a financial settlement or the opportunity to buy the business back themselves at a lower price than Silver Lake, et al are offering."

This lawsuit is an extension of Joltid’s legal onslaught against eBay – and Skype’s potential buyers. It fired the first salvo in March, when it filed a similar case against eBay in a London court.

Microsoft, Yahoo, and Amazon Join the Open Book Alliances Fight Against Google

Justin Kerr — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:30:39 -0500

Google is the company that is world famous for its motto “Do No Evil”, but in the world of online book scanning, the Open Book Alliance isn’t ready to take them at their word. The OBA, founded by the Internet Archive, has become a united voice for those who feel Google was handed a monopoly with its $125 million settlement with publishers. The primary argument is that competitors such as the Internet Archive, are forced to negotiate individual contracts with rights holders, while Google can simply scan now, and pay later when the author makes a claim.

“If this deal goes ahead, they’re making a real shot at being the library, and the only library” claims Internet Archives founder Brewster Kahle. Until recently the Open Book Alliance has been lacking any real corporate muscle, but with the recent inclusion of Microsoft, Yahoo, and Amazon into the alliance, they definitely will be taken much more seriously. With the outcome of the Department of Justice investigation into the matter still pending, Google is quickly finding itself in a very public battle over digital book rights, and they seem to be making many more enemies than friends these days.

According the OBA, anti-trust and anti-competitive concerns are an important focus, but they also worry about Google’s commitment to privacy. The American Libraries Association claims “When it comes to privacy, the agreement is silent on the issue with regards to what Google intends to do with the data it collects”.

Will the addition of Microsoft, Yahoo, and Amazon into the alliance help ensure equality in the book scanning industry?

Microsoft, Yahoo Officially Team Up on Search, Advertising

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:50:47 -0500

The saga that began with Microsoft’s failed attempt to acquire Yahoo has finally culminated in a unique partnership, which puts Microsoft in charge of Yahoo’s search engine business and hands over the reigns of Microsoft’s online ads business to Yahoo. However, the 10-year deal will not have any impact on the two companies’ respective display ads businesses. The partnership is expected to triple Bing’s U.S. market share to 28%.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is currently on cloud nine. "This is what I have basically been saying for the past 18 months: The world will be better served for consumers, advertisers and publishers, and there will be more competition for Google, if we can somehow figure out how to get Microsoft and Yahoo together in search,” he said in an interview.

It won’t be easy to figure out an effective way to merge Bing and Yahoo! Search into a single search solution. The two companies expect the deal to be fully implemented in the next 24 months. Though Yahoo hasn’t been promised any money upfront, it expects its annual operating profit to swell by $500 million due to this arrangement, as it won’t have to spend much on improving its search technology.

“Nobody gets it,” Ballmer remarked in a meeting with Wall Street analysts. He reckons people are confused as the deal does not involve any acquisition or merger. “Nothing got bought and nothing got sold. But there is a magical way to create revenue synergy and cost synergy by putting these two things together.”

Image Credit: SearchEngineWatch

Rumor: Yahoo Search Deal With Microsoft “Down to the Short Strokes”

Justin Kerr — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:58:10 -0500

Rumors that Microsoft and Yahoo were back at the negotiation table have been floating around since April, but nobody held out much hope that a deal would ever be reached. After enduring nearly a year of roller coaster negotiations, even we started to lose interest in the back and forth chest thumping between the two tech giants.

When the acquisition deal fell through last November Microsoft stockholders let out a collective sigh of relief, while Yahoo shareholders watched their fortunes fade rather quickly. Now that the reality of the situation has finally sunk in, it would seem even Carl Icahn is eager to make a deal with Microsoft. This time however, only the search engine is on the table. "I've been a strong advocate of getting a search deal done with Microsoft," Icahn, who owns about 5 percent of Yahoo and sits on its board, told Reuters in a phone interview Friday. "It would enhance value if a deal got done, because of the synergies involved."

The deal is said to be “Down to the short Strokes” and According to a separate posting made by All Things Digital, several key Microsoft online executives are in Silicon Valley attempting to iron out the details. Microsoft is likely hoping the deal will allow them to tap into Yahoo’s lucrative search advertising network, but with all the recent success Bing has enjoyed recently, do you think they would phase out Yahoo search as a brand?

Let us know what you think.

DOJ Launches a Formal Investigation into the Google Book Search Settlement

Justin Kerr — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 12:45:35 -0500

The U.S. Department of Justice officially confirmed on Thursday that it has launched a formal investigation into the settlement between Google Book Search and publishers over digital publishing rights. The primary focus of the case is antitrust concerns which allege that Google may have engaged in anticompetitive practices involving intellectual property rights and their distribution.

Google’s foray into the world of digital books has been a turbulent one, and though their troubles appeared to be coming to a close last November with a $125 million settlement, the DOJ appears to be less than satisfied. The concern is that following the settlement, Google was effectively given a monopoly over copyright on out of print works. Anyone outside of Google who wished to pursue publishing of these titles online would need to negotiate with the individual authors, many of whom are difficult, if not impossible to find.

Google’s counter argument has always been that the digital book market is still wide open. They claim that any potential competitor who wanted to enter the book scanning market could simply negotiate a deal with the Books Rights Registry. The Registry is a nonprofit organization that was established during the settlement to represent the interests of the authors. Critics argue that Google’s head start makes competing difficult, and many worry about having so much information in the hands of one company. Google continues to shrug off concerns, and likes to remind everyone that competition “is just a click away”.

Do you agree? See below to review the official letter from the DOJ and leave your thoughts.

Google Books -- Department of Justice Investigation Letter

Rumor: Microsoft, Yahoo Return to the Negotiation Table

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:16:33 -0500

After Yahoo turned down Microsoft’s proposal to roll in the hay and have an offspring that could take on Google’s might in the online search market, it appeared the two would maintain a distance from each other. However, a luncheon meeting between Ballmer and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock earlier this year again revived hopes of a deal.

The New York Times reports that the two companies have returned to the negotiation table, though for a slightly different purpose. A source close to the discussions told the NYT that the two companies are discussing an advertising deal. The source revealed that Microsoft could assume control of Yahoo’s search ads and leave Yahoo in control of display ads under one arrangement being deliberated. Steve Ballmer is also said to have met with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz last week. There is no official word on the matter as yet.