Tag - Yahoo
Yahoo quarterly results show net loss of $99M, down $122M year on year
Yahoo is continuing to find life difficult, reporting weak earnings in its first quarter results while being scrutinized for a possible acquisition by a number of parties. The former web giant's CEO Marissa Mayer claims the quarterly financials are "in line with our expectations," despite the company managing to endure a net loss of $99 million, a year-on-year swing of $122 million from the same quarter last year.
Yahoo plans mass layoffs, office closures, hints at asset sale
Yahoo may be putting parts of itself up for sale, the company has seemingly suggested in its latest quarterly results. Among major changes in the web property's structure, including a 15-percent reduction in workforce and the closure of five offices, CEO Marissa Mayer and the board at the troubled company are apparently "exploring additional strategic alternatives" to its ongoing turnaround attempts, which could lead to others acquiring parts of the business.
Apple in talks with NFL to stream London exhibition games
The NFL will host three exhibition games in London in 2016 -- a country that associates the world "football" with something quite different -- and the league plans to stream on the web, and technology companies -- including Apple, Google, Amazon, and presumably the firm that streamed last year's sole exhibition match, Yahoo -- are in talks with the NFL to buy the rights to the streaming. Live-streaming of sports events is seen as key to encouraging more people to "cut the cord" of traditional cable TV, which would benefit companies that can bridge the gap in sports coverage.
Yahoo Livetext brings audio-free video text chats to iOS, Android
Yahoo today announced Yahoo Livetext, a new app for one-to-one live video texting on iPhone and Android phones. Yahoo Livetext blends texting with the immediacy of live video -- but without the audio. The service allows chatters to watch each other on live video, while entering the responses back and forth. Yahoo calls the service "non-intrusive, quick and real-time -- yet also fleeting, just like real-life conversations."
European carriers reportedly plan mass blocking of online advertising
European carriers are allegedly working on blocking mobile advertising from major advertising networks, including those from Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. A report claims the current plans to remove the online advertising from smartphone browsers in order to save on bandwidth costs, though it will also apparently have the ulterior motive of trying to force the advertising networks to share some of their revenue with the carriers themselves.
Yahoo barely misses market estimates, reveals Alibaba spin-off plan
Yahoo's quarterly financial results reveal it has marginally missed market estimates, but it still managed to improve on the last quarter, bringing in $1.18 billion in revenue after traffic acquisition costs (TAC), with a $0.30 non-GAAP earnings per share. The company also revealed it's intentions to spin out the last of its Alibaba stake, a move designed to prevent it from paying out a large amount of tax.
Firefox 34 adds Yahoo as default search option, Hello chat
Mozilla has released Firefox 34, the latest version of its multi-platform web browser. As promised last month, the update makes Yahoo the default search engine. People upgrading from a previous version, however, are only being prompted to switch engines in a pop-up message; clicking "Later" leaves Google search in place.
Bing, Yahoo start 'right to be forgotten' removals, EC issues guidance
This week has been a busy one for Europe's "right to be forgotten" stricture. Not only have Yahoo and Microsoft's Bing launched the mandated efforts for users, but the European Commission has also issued guidance to the search engines on how to handle requests. The guidance is similar to what Google has implemented, but there may be some issues ahead, as the document published by the commission takes issues to search engines warning site operators when a page with information is delisted, potentially stirring up old issues and bringing more attention to the deleted content.
Yahoo, Microsoft vying to become default search option in Safari
Yahoo and Microsoft are courting Apple in hopes of becoming the default search provider for the Safari web browser next year, a report says. Apple renewed a mapping and search partnership with Google in 2010, but that contract is set to expire next year, which could give other companies an entry point. Both Yahoo and Microsoft executives are said to have approached Eddy Cue -- Apple's senior VP for Internet Software and Services -- about a potential deal. So far, though, there's no sign that Apple has made a decision, and indeed it could choose to remain with Google.
Yahoo acquires photo-aggregation application developer Cooliris
Another acquisition by Yahoo was announced late last week, building on a long string of pick-ups under the leadership of CEO Marissa Mayer. The newest company coming into the Yahoo fold is Cooliris, a developer known for its mobile photo-aggregator application Cooliris for Mobile and the recently launched BeamIt Messenger.
Now AAPL Stock: 159.98 ( + 0.2 )
Cirrus creates Lightning-headphone dev kit
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has introduced a MFi-compliant new development kit for companies interested in using Cirrus' chips to create Lightning-based headphones, which -- regardless of whether rumors about Apple dropping the analog headphone jack in its iPhone this fall -- can offer advantages to music-loving iOS device users. The kit mentions some of the advantages of an all-digital headset or headphone connector, including higher-bitrate support, a more customizable experience, and support for power and data transfer into headphone hardware. Several companies already make Lightning headphones, and Apple has supported the concept since June 2014. http://bit.ly/29giiZj
Apple Store app offers Procreate Pocket
The Apple Store app for iPhone, which periodically rewards users with free app gifts, is now offering the iPhone "Pocket" version of drawing app Procreate for those who have the free Apple Store app until July 28. Users who have redeemed the offer by navigating to the "Stores" tab of the app and swiping past the "iPhone Upgrade Program" banner to the "Procreate" banner have noted that only the limited Pocket (iPhone) version of the app is available free, even if the Apple Store app is installed and the offer redeemed on an iPad. The Pocket version currently sells for $3 on the iOS App Store. [32.4MB]
Porsche adds CarPlay to 2017 Panamera
Porsche has added a fifth model of vehicle to its CarPlay-supported lineup, announcing that the 2017 Panamera -- which will arrive in the US in January -- will include Apple's infotainment technology, and be seen on a giant 12.3-inch touchscreen as part of an all-new Porsche Communication Management system. The luxury sedan starts at $99,900 for the 4S model, and scales up to the Panamera Turbo, which sells for $146,900. Other vehicles that currently support CarPlay include the 2016 911 and the 2017 models of Macan, 718 Boxster, and 718 Cayman. The company did not mention support for Google's corresponding Android Auto in its announcement. http://bit.ly/295ZQ94
Apple employees testing wheelchair features
New features included in the forthcoming watchOS 3 are being tested by Apple retail store employees, including a new activity-tracking feature that has been designed with wheelchair users in mind. The move is slightly unusual in that, while retail employees have previously been used to test pre-release versions of OS X and iOS, this marks the first time they've been included in the otherwise developer-only watchOS betas. The company is said to have gone to great lengths to modify the activity tracker for wheelchair users, including changing the "time to stand" notification to "time to roll" and including two wheelchair-centric workout apps. http://bit.ly/2955JDa
SanDisk reveals two 256GB microSDXC cards
SanDisk has introduced two 256GB microSDXC cards. Arriving in August for $150, the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s for reading data. The Extreme microSDXC UHS-I card can read at a fast 100MB/s and write at up to 90MB/s, and will be shipping sometime in the fourth quarter for $200. http://bit.ly/294Q1If
Apple's third-quarter results due July 26
Apple has advised it will be issuing its third-quarter results on July 26, with a conference call to answer investor and analyst queries about the earnings set to take place later that day. The stream of the call will go live at 2pm PT (5pm ET) via Apple's investor site, with the results themselves expected to be released roughly 30 minutes before the call commences. Apple's guidance for the quarter put revenue at between $41 billion and $43 billion. http://apple.co/1oi1Pbm
Twitter stickers slowly roll out to users
Twitter has introduced "stickers," allowing users to add extra graphical elements to their photos before uploading them to the micro-blogging service. A library of hundreds of accessories, props, and emoji will be available to use as stickers, which can be resized, rotated, and placed anywhere on the photograph. Images with stickers will also become searchable with viewers able to select a sticker to see how others use the same graphic in their own posts. Twitter advises stickers will be rolling out to users over the next few weeks, and will work on both the mobile apps and through the browser. http://bit.ly/29bbwUE
