Microsoft offers enterprises incentives for search ... WebEx buy makes Cisco a collaboration player

HIGHLIGHTS
News: Japanese Internet icon found guilty
News: Microsoft offers enterprises incentives for search
News: WebEx buy makes Cisco a collaboration player
News: Ballmer questions business strategy of Google
Opinion: Is Google Book Search fair to authors?
Podcast: Today's IT news audio update
ITwhirled: Meteorite bombardment in Illinois


NEWS UPDATES

Japanese Internet icon found guilty
The founder and former CEO of Japanese Internet portal Livedoor Co. was found guilty of violating securities laws on Friday and sentenced to two and a half years in prison in one of the biggest cases of corporate abuse for Japan in recent years.

Microsoft offers enterprises incentives for search
In an apparent attempt to boost its disappointing Web search market share, Microsoft Corp. is giving financial incentives to large enterprise customers whose employees use Microsoft's Live Search engine.

WebEx buy makes Cisco a collaboration player
Cisco Systems Inc. is entering new territory with its planned $3.2 billion acquisition of WebEx Communications Inc., with plans to deliver collaboration tools as an online service and possibly integrate the company's business-related offerings with consumer social networking technology.

Ballmer questions business strategy of Google
Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer criticized rival Google Inc., saying it is devoted primarily to ad-supported search while Microsoft has reinvented itself many times over.

Vodafone takes hybrid approach to mobile VOIP
Vodafone Group PLC is demonstrating a service at the Cebit trade show that allows mobile phone customers to call and exchange presence information with users of Internet phone services such as Skype.

Wall Street Beat: M&A heats up market
With Cisco Systems Inc. and Pitney Bowes Inc. announcing big acquisitions Thursday, buyout activity is giving nervous IT investors something to think about besides the volatility that has hit stock markets -- and tech companies -- since the big selloff two weeks ago.

Skype gains business reviews, expertise marketplace
Skype Ltd. has released a new version of its Internet telephony and instant messaging software that adds a feature to let users create business reviews, and another one to sell expertise, as the eBay Inc. subsidiary promotes interaction among its users.


OPINION

Is Google Book Search fair to authors?
By Dan Blacharski

I admit, when I first heard about the Google Book Search, I was afraid they were digitizing and posting entire libraries online - a practice that would be disastrous for the publishing industry, blatantly unfair to authors, and outright illegal. Fortunately, they're not doing that.

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PODCAST

Daily IT News Audio Update
Cisco buying WebEx for $3.2 billion ... Microsoft offers credits for enterprise Web search ... Livedoor's Horie found guilty

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ITWHIRLED

Meteorite bombardment in Illinois
A central Illinois woman had her window broken by a piece of metal the size of a deck of cards. A university professor tentatively identified the projectile as a meteorite. No further strikes have been reported, which means that the Earth is safe from the planet-killing meteorite swarms ... for now.

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