BUSINESSWEEK - Techbeat on August 19

Short answer: No. Not even close. Not for a long time, anyway.

Posted by: Rob Hof

Short answer: No. Not even close. Not for a long time, anyway.

But it’s sure trying hard, and it would be dangerous for anyone to write off Microsoft. Its determination was on display today at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s senior VP of search, portal, and advertising platform group, told the crowd that he sees searchers moving from merely typing keywords into Google to getting tasks done.

Not coincidentally, getting tasks done is essentially Microsoft’s main business, so that sounds a little too convenient. But in fact, searchers are already doing that to varying degrees. Nardella cited an interesting figure: About half the queries on Microsoft’s Live Search site are part of search sessions that extend over 30 minutes.

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CNNMoney - Environment + Technology, August 19, 2008, 2:42 pm

By Todd Woody

Google on Tuesday took the drilling debate in a different direction - announcing that Google.org is investing nearly $11 million in technology to expand the nation’s geothermal reserves. That’s more than the U.S. government is spending on geothermal projects this year.

Traditional geothermal power plants, like those built by Calpine (CPN) in Northern California, sit atop reserves of naturally occurring steam or hot water that can be tapped to drive electricity-generating turbines. So-called Enhanced Geothermal Systems, or EGS,  hope to tap geothermal energy in any location by drilling deep underground to fracture “hot rocks” and then pump them with water to create steam that can be used in a power plant. The great potential, of course, would be to liberate the Midwest and South from their dependence on coal-fired power plants.

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BUSINESSWEEK - Auto News August 18, 2008, 4:57PM EST

by Sam Livingstone

The Lexus IS-F is a significant new design for one core reason: it introduces a performance sub-brand parallel to that of the M-cars from BMW, AMG from Mercedes-Benz, and the S and RS sub-brands from Audi. This then is Lexus making a logical next step to further encroach on the established German premium brands.

BMW originated the premium brands’ performance sub-brand with the ‘M for Motorsport’ M3 of 1986 (the M1 supercar of 1978 preceded that, but was a singular model, not a performance derivative). Now they are on their fourth generation M3 and M5. Though the ‘M for Motorsport’ moniker is now perhaps more ‘M for marketing’, M-cars still have a focus on lightweight track-orientated performance.

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InformationWeek , Aug 18, 2008 12:12 PM

Posted by Eric Zeman

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has been working hard to get a mobile version of YouTube onto as many handsets as possible over the past year or so. If you thought you were going to be able to watch those videos on your phone without having to watch advertisements, think again.

Today in the Official Google Mobile Blog, Google laid it all on the line:
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Sillicon Alley Insider - Michael Learmonth | August 18, 2008 10:22 AM

Microsoft’s defense of its ad-targeting practices, laid out  in a response to a House inquiry: Sure, we collect data on our Web users. But we’ve been more responsible about it than other guys. And we’re not nearly as bad as the cable operators using spying services like NebuAd.

Microsoft says it began collecting data outside its own Web sites in 2006, when it launched a third-party ad network, and that activity accelerated after the acquisition of aQuantive in 2007. In its defense, Microsoft says it started offering an “opt-out” option on all pages on which it serves ads starting in the Spring. But it says a mere 1,800 users had taken advantage of it. (Our challenge for SAI readers: Please show us where where the “opt-out” option is on these pages. We’d love a screenshot.)

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InformationWeek , Aug 18, 2008 10:38 PM

Posted by Dave Methvin

I like XP, I really do. It’s got a lot of life in it, and runs on systems where Vista can’t even fit. But Taiwan’s announcement of an antitrust investigation into Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)’s retirement of XP is just crazy.

Let’s review where XP stands. Although you can’t buy a retail license of XP as of June 30, you can buy Vista Business or Vista Ultimate licenses and exercise the XP downgrade rights. Some major OEMs likeDell ( Dell) are are even listening to their customers and doing the downgrade at the factory. So although XP isn’t as easy to get or as cheap as it once was, it’s still available.

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