July 3 - 9:10am EDT   Yahoo is still entertaining the prospect of a full deal with AOL even in the wake of ending talks with Microsoft, alleged sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Those claimed to be aware of negotiations say AOL's parent company Time Warner is still interested in handing AOL to Yahoo in exchange for a minority stake in the search engine company. The talks aren't said to be as in-depth as when Yahoo still faced the threat of a hostile Microsoft takeover. [full story]

July 2 - 8:45am EDT   Microsoft is actively exploring bringing other companies into a deal that would dismantle Yahoo as it's known today, says the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cites anonymous sources aware of discussions who say Microsoft is still interested in buying just Yahoo's search business but has asked both News Corp. and Time Warner about merging what would be left of Yahoo into one of their respective properties, such as MySpace or AOL. A meeting between Microsoft and Yahoo was scheduled for Monday but canceled because Microsoft has so far been unsuccessful in lining up a partner, according to the report. [full story]

June 4 - 6:50am EDT   Pure Digital on Wednesday is launching its anticipated Flip Mino, its newest entry into its unusually popular simple camcorders. The Mino shrinks the design of the original Flip camera by 40 percent to where it's smaller than a typical cellphone while adding features that aren't present on the originals: the updated software bundled with the Mino lets it upload directly to MySpace as well as providing existing hooks for AOL and YouTube. Pure keeps the concept simple by preserving the 2X digital zoom lens that limits the camera but concentrates on the shot itself. [full story]

May 9 - 6:30pm EDT   Facebook is preparing to launch Facebook Connect within the next few weeks, a service designed to compete with MySpace Data Availability. According to TechCrunch, this is Facebook's first attempt at creating a new version of its API for third party websites, allowing users to link to their Facebook profile, friends, and privacy to a website. The website can also use features from the Facebook Platform to enhance functionality and personalization. [full story]

May 8 - 4:05pm EDT   MySpace today introduced a new initiative that will see its users' data shared outside of the social network. The Data Availability framework will let any member of the MySpace service opt in to share profile info, friend networks, photos and videos to sites that will support the approach on their networks: MySpace users will have the option of posting their biography and latest blog updates to their Twitter profiles, for example, or bring images to Photobucket. eBay and Yahoo will also allow portability, with Yahoo's new Open Strategy allowing users to automatically fill in a profile that is viewable across much of the site's network. [full story]

May 5 - 2:00pm EDT   Smaller music labels may soon get better deals and rights for their content at iTunes and other online stores through moves being made in recent weeks by indie music collective group Merlin. The organization has recently opened signups and says it has already received the support of more than 12,000 labels that will unite to press for better conditions for their artists. [full story]

April 8 - 11:10am EDT   Research firm Ipsos has released a new study on the digital music industry, the results of which position Apple as the leader. Some 82 percent of American music downloaders are familiar with iTunes, versus a next-best figure of 76 percent for Napster. Some 38 percent of downloaders think of iTunes first when it comes to digital music, and while most major online outlets have had their name recognition increase during 2007, only iTunes showed a substantial growth in use past the first 30 days, up to 24 percent last year from 18 percent in 2006. Services such as Rhapsody and Walmart.com saw their 30-day-plus use decrease. [full story]

April 7 - 3:05pm EDT   Everex in conjunction with gOS on Monday introduced a limited-edition MyMiniPC that runs on gOS Space 2.9, a Linux-based operating system made for MySpace users with brand new MySpace Apps. Basically a special edition of the Everex gPC mini, the computer is unique thanks to the OS and a new icon dock made up of the newest MySpace Apps and Web 2.0 entertainment media sites. The mission of MyMiniPC is to offer quicker, more efficient and user-friendly access to MySpace and its numerous offerings, all the while bringing Linux more mainstream. [full story]

April 3 - 12:40pm EDT   MySpace and three major record labels -- Warner, Universal and Sony BMG -- have confirmed earlier reports by announcing the creation of MySpace Music, a new online store. Visitors will have at least two options in visiting: streaming music for free, with the costs covered by advertising, or paid downloads, making MySpace the latest rival to outlets such as Amazon or Apple's iTunes Store. Also possible may be some form of subscription service, but this is still under consideration. No launch date has been announced. [full story]

April 3 - 11:00am EDT   MySpace's frequently rumored music download store could launch as early as today, according to a rumor put forward by CNET. The publication claims to know sources who say that an initial announcement is planned that will expand the site's currently hands-off music section into a service that offers a combination of downloads and streams. Mirroring past stories, the feature would allegedly let users either pay to download full MP3 songs and ringtones or else stream songs for free on the web. Users could also buy their concert tickets directly from the site. [full story]

March 25 - 12:00pm EDT   Yahoo today said it would both join Google's OpenSocial and that it would help found the OpenSocial Foundation, a new collaboration that involves Google as well as MySpace. The move would see Yahoo ensure that any social networking elements it develops can be ported between any OpenSocial-based social network and that the platform will be protected in the future. The Foundation will ensure that OpenSocial remains neutral and dictated by the public rather than controlled by any one company, according to its launch partners. [full story]

March 24 - 1:25pm EDT   Two major music labels are close to signing a deal for the rumored MySpace Music online store, say sources talking to the New York Post. Both Sony BMG and Warner Music are reportedly near the end of talks that would make their catalogs available the service, which is still expected to offer paid MP3 downloads as well as ad-subsidized free streams of music and videos. The feature is also now said to have downloadable ringtones through a deal with News Corp.-owned (and MySpace sister company) Jamba. [full story]

March 14 - 4:15pm EDT   Google-owned YouTube accounted for the majority of the more than one-third of all 9.8 billion videos watched online in January, as measured by comScore Video Metrix service and reported on Friday. More accurately, the 3.36 billion video views amounted to 34.3 percent of the total, far outpacing the next-highest, Fox Interactive Media’s MySpace, at 6.0 percent. This marks a 1.7 percent improvement over December 2007 results, where a record 10.1 billion videos were viewed. [full story]

March 13 - 3:55pm EDT   MySpace has officially entered the public beta for its Developer Platform, a framework that lets coders produce applications using Google's OpenSocial standard. Because of OpenSocial, some creations may eventually migrate to other social networking sites, such as Friendster. Both OpenSocial and the Developer Platform are seen as a challenge to Facebook, whose popularity has been attributed to web apps such as iLike and Scrabulous. [full story]

March 5 - 8:35am EST   Facebook is investigating the possibility of its own music store, say reported insiders. While the social network recently launched its Music on Facebook service for following artists and buying their music through iTunes, the company is reportedly in talks with major labels to offer content of its own. While no aspects of the deal have been finalized, label officials reportedly say that a deal would most likely include free, ad-backed streaming audio similar to MySpace's profile pages but allow paid MP3 downloads usable on any operating system and portable player. [full story]