Ajax Girl

YouTube has quietly launch a new layout on video pages with a new tab focused layout and video statistics (pic above).

The first change in the consolidation of Share, Favorites, Playlists and Flag into a dedicated tab driven box. The share tab expands out to give a more extensive range of sharing options which includes social bookmarking and voting sites (notably including Mixx), the ability to post a video to a blog, and send to the friend via email.

Commentary (comments and video responses) is now offered in a tab next to “Statistics and Info.” Statistics provided are video honors (YouTube awards) and video referrals. It would appear that users can hide site referral statistics but they are turned on by default, at least for existing videos hosted on YouTube.

There’s nothing to not like about the new layout and features and most will welcome the change.

(thanks to Rahul Kumar for the tip)

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267461200/

Things are moving fast in the Yahoo-Microsoft drama. All the different forces are aligning for an endgame. The latest twist: The WSJ is reporting that Yahoo is close to signing a deal to combine with AOL.

This at the same time that Yahoo is doing a limited test to place Google ads in its search results. Meanwhile, News Corp, which Yahoo once hoped would be its white knight, is said to be turning on Yahoo and talking to Microsoft about joining its bid. Obviously a lot of balls are up in the air right now, and anything is possible.

Here is how the AOL-Yahoo combination is shaping up, according to the WSJ:

Under the terms being discussed, Time Warner would fold its AOL unit into Yahoo and make a cash investment in return for about 20% of the combined entity, the people said. The deal, which wouldn’t include AOL’s dial-up access business, would value AOL at about $10 billion. As part of the deal, Yahoo would use the Time Warner cash and additional funds to buy back several billion dollars worth of its own stock at a price somewhere in the middle of the range between $30 and $40 a share

Tellingly, that $10 billion valuation is half of what AOL’s business was pegged at when Google invested $1 billion for its 5 percent stake in AOL a little over two years ago. (But that does not include the dial-up business). What we are witnessing is all sorts of contortions on both sides to make the numbers work. We’ve believed all along that Time Warner will put an offer on the table, but it will be difficult to make it pencil out, especially if an AOL-Yahoo combo is up against a three-way Microsoft-MySpace-Yahoo deal.

Each of these potential deals would create integration nightmares, but a three-way tie between Microsoft, MySpace, and Yahoo would create an entity with so much traffic and advertising inventory that it might not matter. The chances of such a complicated deal going through, though, are small. The most likely outcome is still Microsoft buying Yahoo, and this is all just fodder for the negotiations.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267388073/

Web chat startup Meebo has been working with investment bank Montgomery & Co. for the last few months to either find a buyer or raise a big new round of financing. The rumor was they were looking for a $250 million valuation.

A couple of sources have told us that eBay, Fox/MySpace and AOL all took a long look at the company, but ultimately passed based on the price and the fact that the company has done aggregate revenues since launching of only $1 million or so.

So instead of selling, Meebo is closing a financing round valuing the company at $175 - $200 million. The company wants strategic investors as well as the inevitable private equity funds that would be willing to pay this kind of valuation (traditional VCs won’t touch a deal like this). The rumor is that Fox and/or AOL may be investing in the round.

Meebo’s big selling point is the success of Meebo Rooms, which essentially turns chat rooms into a web service. Also, Facebook just jumped into the chat space; other social networks can quickly add the feature via a partnership with Meebo.

The deal has not yet closed, according to our sources, although we hear Meebo has a big announcement scheduled for Thursday morning, Our guess is that it isn’t the financing, but we’ll see.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267383972/

News Corp is said to be in talks with Microsoft about joining its bid for Yahoo, according to sources quoted by the New York Times.

News Corp entering the mix may allow Microsoft to raise its bid, putting even more pressure on Yahoo to accept it. It would also remove News Corp as a possible alternate bidder for Yahoo.

A combined Microsoft/ News Corp/ Yahoo would marry Fox Interactive Media and most notably MySpace with Yahoo’s web properties and Microsoft Live and MSN services, creating an even bigger challenger to Google.

According to the Times, the talks between Microsoft and News Corporation are at a sensitive stage, with their source stating that “there’s a long way to go before anything is definite.”

The news comes after another colorful day in the Microsoft/ Yahoo standoff with Yahoo announcing a trial of Google ads against its search results, and Microsoft responding by saying that any Yahoo/ Google tie-up lessened competition.

Update: The WSJ is reporting that Yahoo is close to signing a deal to combine with AOL.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267381460/

As rumored earlier this week, live mobile video streaming service Qik has raised $3 million in Series B funding from Marc Benioff, Arjun Gupta, and George Garrick.

Qik allows users to stream video from their camera-enabled phones to a number of platforms including TV, gaming consoles, and the web itself. Currently only a subset of Nokia phones work with Qik, although the company has plans to support all smart and Java-enabled phones.

Competitors include Mogulus and Kyte. Qik has raised a total of $4M to date. The company recently joined up with Justin.tv to provide that lifecasting service with mobile capabilities.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267363180/

Geek chic celebrity Veronic Belmont has signed to co-host Revision3’s Tekzilla show.

Belmont resigned from the Mahalo Daily podcast last week after only 5 months, with a relatively cool send off from Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis.

Prior to working for Calacanis, Belmont worked for CNET.com, where she produced and co-hosted shows including Buzz Out Loud, MP3 Insider and Crave. She also regularly appears on programs on DL.TV, MSNBC, CNBC, the G4 Network, PC Gamer, and This Week in Tech.

Belmont featured in our list of geek chics to watch March 21.

image credit: Veronica Belmont

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Source: TechCrunch
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Microsoft has responded to news earlier today that Yahoo was testing Google Adsense ads on their search results.

From Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel:

“Any definitive agreement between Yahoo! and Google would consolidate over 90% of the search advertising market in Google’s hands. This would make the market far less competitive, in sharp contrast to our own proposal to acquire Yahoo! We will assess closely all of our options. Our proposal remains the only alternative put forward that offers Yahoo! shareholders full and fair value for their shares, gives every shareholder a vote on the future of the company, and enhances choice for content creators, advertisers, and consumers.”

The 90% market share in the first line is where the deal may well come unstuck (presuming its expanded). Will Government regulators sit back and allow Google to take a 90% market share through a deal with Yahoo?

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Source: TechCrunch
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Warning: some people may find some of the content in this post offensive.

If you are a fan of The Onion and can never seem to find just the right ecard to send to friends and family, you’re going to love Someecards. The company is announcing a seed round financing today - more details below.

The company was founded by former Onion writer Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell, and quietly launched in April 2007. It’s fairly straightforward - they create simple ecards like the one above with Onion-style humor, and let people email them to each others. Without any launch notice, press or marketing, the site has grown virally to 1.5 million unique monthly visitors, who are pretty passionate about the site. A few recent emails that the team have received:

• “I think you guys should come stay at my sorority house and do a presentation or something. If you guys are located anywhere near San Francisco by September, let me know and I will work for you guys for free.”
• “your website has got me laughing out loud and getting wet at the same time. i think you should make an ecard that says: this website has got me laughing out loud and getting wet at the same time.”
• “I really believe your site is of some sociological importance. Someecards lifts the veil of political correctness, denial and social mores.”
• “I would just like to thank you for providing what I consider to be one of the best websites of all time. Not only do you have a card tailored to everyone I know (and wish I did not know), but my productivity at work has dropped to a mere 30% during the day which is always a plus as I am constantly looking for something new to distract me. Thank you, thank you, a million times, thank you.”

• “I just found someecards today. My life is a better place to be. If this site closes
  down anytime in the next 50 years (before I die) I will shoot myself. Please
  let me live.”

To date, the team, which includes six part time writers, has created 1,900 cards. The most popular are here, but, really, you could spend a happy afternoon reading all of them. I’ve put three of them in this post.

The site was a part time project for the two founders, but the unexpected popularity of the service led to them to seek outside funding so they could quit their day jobs. Today they’re announcing a $350,000 seed round, led by Betaworks and notable angel investor Chris Sacca.

Apologies for this last one, but it definitely shows the edgy content on the site. Compare this to the American Greetings site dedicated to off-humor stuff, Kiwee (example), and you’ll understand why Someecards has a growing cult following.

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267293485/

In what can only be interpreted as a move in its extended chess match with Microsoft, Yahoo has decided to run a two-week-long trial of Google’s AdSense for Search.

The limited test will see Google placing ads alongside no more than 3% of Yahoo’s search result pages in the US. While Yahoo claims to be simply “exploring strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value”, the company is obviously trying to convince shareholders that a merger with Microsoft would be sub-optimal by showing how well an alternative partnership with Google monetizes.

Yahoo is eager to point out that the trial will not necessarily blossom into a long-term relationship with Google. And so the pushing continues…

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Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/267249048/

Billshrink, the new startup that aspires to simplify the often painful process of choosing and comparing mobile plans (and eventually other services), has launched in beta. While promising, it still needs a lot of work.

The site offers an ostensibly impressive feature-set. Upon entering a cell number and the password associated with a mobile account, the user is presented with a comprehensive usage analysis, including a listing of the user’s most-called contacts and networks. Those wary of sharing their personal information can manually enter data such as “minutes used”, though this is a somewhat more tedious process. Data is compiled and analyzed, at which point a list of comparable (and hopefully less expensive) plans is presented.

Billshrink also offers maps with visual representations of each carrier’s cell phone strength. Users can even enter their home and work locations to determine a “Commute Rating”, which analyzes connection strength over a route calculated by Google Maps.

Unfortunately, many of these features are still buggy. While the usage graphs presented after entering our bill information were impressive, the resulting phone plan comparison was anything but. Our top suggestion featured a T-mobile plan with a data charge of over $185M (obviously in error). The signal-strength map never seemed to materialize over the standard Google Maps view, though the “Commute Rating” feature worked fine.

Despite these shortcomings, the site is still useful and allows the average beta tester to save $225 annually according to company statistics.

Billshrink is headed by CEO Peter Pham, a former Photobucket executive who joined the company in February.

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