|
|
|
Add free news widgets to your website and blog
|
|
Top Blogs | Art | Business | Entertainment | Health | Internet | Politics Programming | Science | Society | Sports | Technology | Top News | Video games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Blogging Digital Rights eMarketing Java Peer-to-Peer RSS / XML RSS/XML Search Engines Spam Top Stories Web Development Web Hosting Web Services |
Greenfield Online's Acquisition by Microsoft: The Value in Independent Research Kris Tuttle submits:
Greenfield Online (SRVY) is a long-suffering online survey company that has just been acquired by Microsoft for $486M. At first we were a bit surprised because in the past it’s been hard to justify high valuations for online survey companies, but in this case Greenfield was valued as much if not more for their online shopping comparison sites than for the traditional online survey business. As a research company ourselves we watch this space fairly closely, especially in terms of strategy, exits and valuation. To be sure, high quality survey research is valuable. There is a perception however that it isn’t that hard to replicate or worth paying that much for. What’s interesting about Greenfield is that they entered a fairly related field that had a better business model and created a much more favorable exit for the company than they would have ever had as an online survey company, almost no matter how well they exec The Internet Stock Blog Friday, August 29, 2008 Microsoft Acquires Greenfield Online, Bolsters European Search and eCommerce Ron Haruni submits:Software giant Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) announced on Friday that it has agreed to acquire Web-based survey company Greenfield Online Inc. (SRVY) and its subsidiary Ciao GmbH - a European based online-shopping portal with websites in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden. The transaction isvalued at approximately $486 million. Greenfield said it entered into a merger agreement to be acquired by Microsoft, via a cash tender offer for $17.50 per share, representing a premium of nearly 10% over Greenfield’s closing share price on August 25. This deal betters an earlier proposal made by Quadrangle Group to acquire the company for $15.50 a share.Complete Story » The Internet Stock Blog Friday, August 29, 2008 Priceline: More Headwinds Ahead Amit Chokshi submits:Priceline.com ("PCLN" or the "Company") reported earnings in early August, exceeding Street estimates and raising guidance for the year. On the surface, those results would usually lead to a strong rally in the stock, but PCLN shares instead fell by over 10% after earnings. Even with the stock under $100 and over 30% off its peak, shares in PCLN may still be overvalued given the headwinds currently facing the Company.Smaller "Beat" Rates: PCLN has benefited from good execution by management and management's ability to outperform not only its own expectations, but Street expectations as well. However, the Company's Q2 beat was its smallest in six quarters, beating Street estimates by just 9.9%. With the exception of the Company's Q1 08, the trend in terms of the size of the EPS beat has been declining over the past several quarters. PCLN has been a classic "beat and raise" story for the past few y The Internet Stock Blog Friday, August 29, 2008 Record Companies Starting to Shun iTunes Markham Lee submits:The following relates to my previous article on how digital music is drastically changing the economics of the music business in such a way that it's hurting profitably: (From the WSJ): "...a growing number of record companies are trying to steer clear of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) behemoth music store, because they say selling single songs on iTunes in some cases is crimping overall music sales.Complete Story » The Internet Stock Blog Friday, August 29, 2008 The Battle Over Internet Filtering Earlier this week I attended a seminar in Brussels on the "telecoms package" currently before the European Parliament [partial video]. One of the most controversial elements in the package are the prospect for mandated ISP filtering or blocking of allegedly copyright infringing materials. Those requirements would build on other national and international developments including the still-secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and the "three strikes and you're out" policies ("graduated response") in some European countries. The seminar was illuminating since all of the most vocal stakeholders were in attendance (either as part of the panel or in the audience) and most were pretty transparent about their interests in the issue. I walked away with the following scorecard: Rights holder groups - They are frustrated with the ineffectiveness of DRM and anti-circumvention legislation and so have moved to other "solutions" focu Michaelgeist.ca Friday, August 29, 2008 RCMP and Canadian Border Officials Seize Millions in Luxury Goods The CBC reports that the RCMP and Canadian border officials have seized millions in luxury counterfeit goods, demonstrating yet again that Canadian law is not as powerless as critics suggest when it comes to dealing counterfeit issues. Michaelgeist.ca Friday, August 29, 2008 Comcast: Users Who Exceed 250GB Cap Twice Face Service Termination Sam Gustin submits: It's been rumored, but now it's confirmed. Comcast (CMCSA), the nation's largest cable company, is instituting a 250GB bandwidth threshold to begin October 1, the company said yesterday. "If a customer uses more than 250 GB and is one of the top users of our service, he or she may be contacted by Comcast to notify them of excessive use," the company said in an update on its network management Web page.Complete Story » The Internet Stock Blog Friday, August 29, 2008 This long weekend, I command you all to read cDc paramedia texXxt #412 "The Screen Generation"" by elliot.pank (NSF). It's a good read, from elliot's perspective as a member of the generation that grew up with the internet. Finding meaning... cultdeadcow.com Friday, August 29, 2008 61 Reforms to C-61, Day 50: Education Harms - Lessons Contain Limited Definition of Students One of the great benefits of distance education and the internet is the power to extend our traditional notions of a "student body." MIT's Open Courseware Project provides a great example [from column here] Notwithstanding the possibilities, Bill C-61 adopts a very narrow definition of student. Section 30.01(3)(a) states that it is not an infringement: to communicate a lesson to the public by telecommunication for educational or training purposes, if that public consists only of students who are enrolled in a course of which the lesson forms a part or of other persons acting under the authority of the educational institution; By requiring enrollment in courses run under the authority of an educational institution, the bill excludes the emergence of MIT Open Courseware-like initiatives that provide terrific educational opportunities, but do so without requiring students to enroll. Considering an expanded definition is essential if the law is to provid Michaelgeist.ca Friday, August 29, 2008 Napster to Shareholders: Ignore Dissent Eric Savitz (Barron's) submits: Napster (NAPS) this morning mailed a letter to shareholders advising them not to vote for three dissident investors - Perry H. Rod, Thomas Sailors and Kavan P. Singh - who are seeking seats on the company’s board, and to instead back the three incumbents seeking to keep their seats. Not a big surprise; did you think the board was going to say otherwise? Still, the venom Napster spews in the direction of the dissident group is quite impressive. Napster notes that the dissidents have never served on a corporate board before “meaning they would require on-the-job training.” They also note that their work experiences “are irrelevant to a company in the highly competitive digital music business.” Napster says the dissidents have “selectively misrepresented facts and distorted statements.” (Grammar alert: they misrepresented distorted statements? They distorted the distortions?) The company says the dissidents have off The Internet Stock Blog Friday, August 29, 2008
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Available opinions archives.
|
Widgets -
Premium News widgets -
News widgets -
Opinions widgets -
Video Widgets -
Web Games -
News search -
News directory -
RSS feeds -
Search RSS feeds -
Opinions RSS feeds
Aggregated News:
Top news - Business - Entertainment - Health - Industry - Internet - IT - Politics - Science - Sports - Technology - USA - Video games - World news
Feedzilla's articles:
Mattresses
© 2008 Butterfly Effect SA
Aggregated News:
Top news - Business - Entertainment - Health - Industry - Internet - IT - Politics - Science - Sports - Technology - USA - Video games - World news
Feedzilla's articles:
Mattresses
© 2008 Butterfly Effect SA