AOL plans to buy Yahoo

The U.S. internet group and investment firms, Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group, among others, are preparing a joint bid to take control of the popular portal, according to the newspaper 'The Wall Street Journal. For now, the talks are "preliminary" and even could be concluded "without any approach to Yahoo," Selan the newspaper, citing sources close to the possible operation.
It would also have at least two or three firms of investment that would be interested in participating in the tender and AOL plans to buy Yahoo . Two scenarios are envisaged for "the complex deal" that would buy the Internet portal.

AOL will buy Yahoo Yahoo expected first dispose of several of its assets, as 40% equity holding in the Chinese group Alibaba, valued by experts in a range of between 15,000 and 25,000 million dollars. Therefore, the percentage that could be sold, it would be up to 10,000 million. The divestiture will reduce the market value of Yahoo and facilitate the purchase and AOL plans to buy Yahoo . The second scenario is referred to a possible merger transaction between AOL and Yahoo, the latter also would get rid of its assets in Alibaba, although it is unclear, the newspaper said, if the combined company or the stock exchange would be made only by private capital. AOL Time Warner spun off the group in 2009 and has a market capitalization of about U.S. $ 2,680 million, well below the 20,560 million dollars for Yahoo.
AOL and Yahoo
While this site has been overshadowed by Google, whose capitalization is eight times higher. Yahoo shares rose 5.68% on Nasdaq in New York, where they finished the day at $ 15.25 each, which have depreciated by 9.12 so far this year, while up 10 , 49% for electronic transactions that were made after the close of the regular session AOL plans to buy Yahoo . Shares of AOL, meanwhile, rose to 3.25 on the New York Stock Exchange, where they finished the session at $ 25.12 each, which have risen 7.9% so far this year, while in electronic trading depreciated 0.48%.

China partially blocks the Google search service

A Google search feature was blocked in China on Thursday said the company while waiting for Beijing's decision on whether to renew its operating license amid tensions over censorship.

The mainland Chinese users were unable to use the feature "suggestions" of the online search giant, which offers possible results as you begin typing a question, the company said.

"It seems the search requests produced by Tips Google are being blocked for users in mainland China," Google spokeswoman Jessica Powell in an email. "Searches that do not use normal query suggestions are not affected."

Google's relations with Beijing have been strained since the search giant based in the United States said in January that it no longer wanted to cooperate with the Chinese Internet filtering after it was discovered that several hacker attacks came from China.

Google Inc. closed its search engine based in China on March 22 and began to prosecute users to your site in Hong Kong unfiltered, but the company said this week it would suspend the automatic change because Beijing objected and threatened to withdraw its license.

The deadline expired on Wednesday, Powell said that Google did not receive any notice from the Chinese regulators. She said that the license is valid until 2012, but must be renewed annually. He refused to say what is the status of Google while you wait for a response.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, did not answer directly when asked if Google would be allowed to operate in China.

"Companies operating on the internet, while doing business in China must comply with Chinese laws and regulations," Qin said. "We hope that all foreign companies, including Internet companies, obey the laws and regulations of China."

Andalusian Institute of Technology will open two new branches in Brazil and Granada

The Andalusian Institute of Technology (AIT) forecasts a turnover of EUR 50 million over the next four years, increase by about 8 percent of its workforce, currently comprised of 129 employees, and open two new branches in Brazil and Grenada, which added to which is in Seville, Malaga and Guadalajara (Mexico).

These are some of the main objectives in the Strategic Plan 2010-13 of the IAT, presented today at a press conference by its president, José Luis Calvo, and its general director, Miguel Angel Luque, who have agreed that their goal this period is to "grow little but share everything we can" with client entities.

In addition, the IAT has until 2013 to set up two new technology-based companies (EBT), invest some fourteen million euros in R + D and add to your template fifteen new doctors specializing in engineering and technology.

Among the weaknesses identified in the activity of this institution, Luque has pointed to its shortcomings in the field of marketing and communication, so it was stressed that the Strategic Plan includes a strengthening of the Department of Communication and training policies in the template so that "everyone has commercial orientation in their work.

The Andalusian Institute under Technology is a private foundation declared of public interest and non-profit that provides knowledge-intensive and generates its own technology in order to enhance R & D on their customers.

Its principal businesses include the aerospace, energy efficiency, food and tourism.

Google changes its strategy in China just prior to expiration of license

The U.S. internet group Google announced Tuesday it will no longer divert Internet users to its site of Hong Kong, a day before the expiration of the government license.

After a long dispute with the Chinese government, Google, fed up with Chinese censors and cyber attacks from that country, decided in March not to censor its website in Chinese more and move to Hong Hong, diverting Internet users were connected to Chinese portal Chinese google.com.hk Google.cn to the portal.

"In the coming days, we will stop completely deflect (the Internet) and will welcome our Chinese customers on a new page," said Google vice president David Drummong, the official company blog, without specifying whether the group again be subject to censorship in China.

This new page Google.cn, which proposes a link to the Google portal Hong Kong, will allow "those who use it to search or continue to use Internet services like music Google.cn or translation without filters," said Drummond.

"This approach allows us to remain faithful to our commitment not to censor the results obtained in Google.cn and gives users access to all our services from a page," said Drummond.

This is due to end on 30 June agreed to Google's license to operate in mainland China, he said, stressing that the decision to direct Internet users to the former British colony was considered "unacceptable" for Chinese leaders.

"If we continue to divert users, our license ICP (Internet Content Provider) will not be renewed without this license (...) ICP, we can not operate a commercial site as Google.ch, which means that Google would keep the lights on in China "he added.

Contacted by AFP, a spokesman for Google China said the difference was that in future the Internet would no longer be automatically diverted to Hong Kong, but should do it manually.

"We hope to obtain renewal of the license, but we are awaiting the final decision," said Marsha Wang

"As mentioned in the blog, we resubmitted our request on the ground of this new approach," he added.

For his part, the Chinese Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Foreign Affairs was not aware of Google's decision and reaffirmed the U.S. position in this case.

"I would stress that the Chinese government encourages foreign companies to operate in China under the law," the spokesman said during a regular news briefing.

Great Britain: Implement a cat bionic legs

Oscar the cat may have lost one of its nine lives but their new artificial legs make it the world first bionic cat.

After losing their hind legs in a nasty encounter with a lawn mower in October, the green-eyed cat was black metal implants that connect with the new ankle artificial leg and emulate the way skin grows on the horns of the deer. Oscar is back up and plays with rolls of paper like any normal cat.

After Oscar accident, which occurred when he was 2 ½ years while basking in the islands of Channel, its owners, Kate and Mike Nolan, was taken to a local veterinarian. In turn, the vet sent Oscar with Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a surgeon in Eashing neuroortopédico, 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of London.

Together with experts in biomedical engineering, Fitzpatrick gave him two Oscar metal lugs artificial implants. These prostheses joined tailored legs and wobbles a bit to mimic the natural step of a cat.

Fitzpatrick said he and biomedical engineers designed the prosthesis to join with the bone and skin. "That allows this device to function as a rocker in the tip of the legs to give the cat a normal walking," he said. "Oscar can run and jump like any cat."

Veterinarians implants inserted in the ankle bones of Oscar. Metallic implants are covered later with a substance that helps the bone cells grow on them. Then the cat's skin grew over the tip of the implant to form a natural seal that prevents infection.

Mexico Is drowning in electronic waste?

The TV you just throw a Mexican, after buying a better one to see his selection in South Africa, is part of the 170,000 tons of televisions that are discarded annually in Mexico.
Business According to a report by international monitors, Mexico is behind Brazil, the main market of electronic products in Latin America. The organization estimates that by 2013 the consumption of electronic devices per person in that country, would rise 20% to U.S. $ 119.

The consumption pattern of Mexicans has been influenced by lower prices of some consumer electronics and reducing the lifespan of these devices. "Everyone here has more than one cell, which they use and the other who knows where he is," he told BBC Esmeralda Rios, a young woman who lives in Mexico City.
The volume of e-waste can be a risk factor for the environment. Experts agree that the growth of branded e-waste a global trend.

Electronic wastes are not considered hazardous waste in Mexico. They are classified as "special handling" and its treatment is for each state.

"Our legal framework does not provide a specific law for electronic waste management, but does have a mechanism to have to implement large private generators at home (electronic waste), said Arturo Gavilán García, director of Studies on Chemical National Ecology Institute of the Ministry of Environment of Mexico.
However, according to a report compiled by the United Nations Program for Environment (UNEP), the majority of Mexico's 2443 municipalities lack the infrastructure and economic resources to solve the problem of solid waste.

Lethal combination

In some electronic devices can be extracted precious metals like gold, copper, tin and palladium. According to Guillermo Román, engineer specialist hazardous waste electronic equipment in landfills come Mexicans with 30% less than its original value, because its parts are separated into collection trucks.
But what is thrown away can pose a risk to health and the environment, because it contains metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and nickel.

"The problem, when you make an improper disposal of electronic waste, is that due to phenomena such as rain, potentially toxic elements such as metals, can dissolve and disperse in different ways. When mixed with leachate generated trash may contaminate soil, "said Hawk.

Some recyclers in Mexico receive equipment that companies do not use anymore. In addition, incineration of garbage, a common practice in some landfills, makes the covers of several artifacts from becoming dangerous as they are substances that prevent teams catch fire if overheated.

If burning flame retardants are released highly toxic gases that can affect people who are close ", said Roman.

Another point of concern is the treatment specialist who should receive the rechargeable batteries of mobile phones and computers when they are disposed. Do you have Nickel and cadmium, "highly toxic metals.

What are you doing?

For some analysts, one of Mexico's challenges is to get pass a specific law on electronic waste management, without losing sight of the international debate over its classification as a hazardous waste and the responsibility that producers have to bear in management.

Hawk says the government is working towards concluding the specifications of the legal framework governing the states and municipalities in the management of electronic waste.

For its part, environmental and business groups believe the challenge is to see the recycling of electronic devices from the perspective of resource development and employment generation.

The process of disassembly of electronic devices is also an employment generator, according to experts. In Mexico, there are nearly 100 disassembled electronics companies to recover precious metals like gold, copper, tin and palladium.

In REMSA, a recycling plant in Queretaro electronics in the north of the country, the aim is also plastic, glass and postcards to re-integrate as raw materials at a chain.

Between 2009 and 2010 so far this company has recycled over 300 tons of electronic gadgets. In a day we can disassemble 400 phones and 60 laptops "said Maria del Rosario Moreno, head of operations for REMSA.

Cisco 1000 million dollars promised in a meeting with Medvedev

Cisco Systems Inc. said Wednesday it will invest 1,000 million dollars to boost technological innovation in Russia.

The CEO of Cisco, John Chambers, made the commitment during a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the company headquarters in San Jose.

Medvedev, visited the manufacturer of computer networks as part of his tour of Silicon Valley.

Medvedev said that he wants more innovation in technology for the Russian economy, which depends on oil, to create their own Silicon Valley Russian outside Moscow, in Skolkovo.

"We are honored to engage in his dream," Chambers said while the Russian president signed a memorandum of recognition before California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other guests.

Cisco said it plans to have a physical presence in the center of new technologies and to establish the second international offices for emerging group of technologies in Skolkovo. The 1,000 million dollars in investment covered by the agreement will be disbursed over the next 10 years.

Medvedev did not make many statements after signing the commitment, but said this was the first to have achieved so far. Cisco issued a statement in remarks prepared in advance, in which Medvedev expressed his satisfaction with the significant commitment to Cisco on the future of Russia.

"In the next decade Russia will become a country in which the welfare and good living are insured by their intellectual resources rather than by their natural resources for their innovative economy," Medvedev said. 'The draft Skolkovo Project embodies the attention that we are putting so much on innovation as well as public and private partnerships.

During his visit, the Russian president noted some Cisco technology as the devices for video conferencing. Chambers participants communicated with offices in London, Bangalore and others in different parts of Silicon Valley. He also created his own video with an external camera to computer.

Medvedev began his tour of the computer firms in the Bay area of San Francisco in the offices of microblogs Twitter site, from where he sent his first "tweet."

The Russian president will end his visit to the United States in Washington, where he will meet with President Barack Obama Thursday.

Apple sells three million iPads

Apple said Tuesday it has sold three million iPads, when they have spent less than three months that the new tablet-type device was released.

The computer with touchscreen was launched on April 3 in the U.S. and went on sale last month in Asia and Europe. The company has not revealed sales by region.

Apple Inc. plans to market the device in nine other countries in July.

Latin America needs "more and better broadband

In Latin America need more than 20 million broadband lines to keep pace with economic growth rates, says a study on information technology.
Furthermore, research from the University of Columbia, United States, says that giving more attention to information technologies and communication technologies (ICTs) could become a factor giving impetus to the progress of the region.
"There is a structural link between economic growth and the adoption of ICT, as they meet the challenges posed by the increasing complexity of production processes," said Raul Katz, author of "The role of ICT in development. Proposal Latin America's current economic challenges. "
In presenting their research in Washington, Katz, professor at the School of Business at Columbia University, said the gap between broadband penetration and economic expansion is "alarming."

The digital divide

According to the study, the largest gap is in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, where it requires double the current deployment of infrastructure to keep pace of growth of economies.

However, the biggest obstacle to improve the situation is the cost of accessibility in the region.

Late last year, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) demanded access to broadband internet for the whole region to fairer prices.
ECLAC noted that, while in rich countries the service costs about $ 19 a month, in developing countries exceeds $ 35.

Taxes "go fast"

Another of the obstacles to the full integration of broadband is the tax levied in Latin America.

In Brazil, the study notes, the charge may be up to 25%.In Mexico, the attempt by Congress to increase the tax internet access considered a "luxury service" sparked a protest earlier this year through the Twitter social network that prevented the tax hike.

The ICT study claims that in 2008 the broadband penetration in Latin America (4.5%) was well behind other regions and only surpassed Africa (1.15%).

Solutions

For Katz, Latin America requires governments to promote public policies and incentive programs to encourage investment in information technology and communication.

In addition, the study recommends increasing the supply of goods and services related to these sectors.

In practice, investment should be directed to "build" the network, deploy broadband, improve the quality of provision and access speed.

Finally, Katz urged to follow the example of South Korea, Malaysia and India, where public policies arise in the medium term to meet future demand.

U.S. has no power to protect computer networks

 The federal agency charged with ensuring the security of government computer systems are unable to monitor and analyze network threats in real time, and lacks the authority and staff necessary for its role according to an internal report.
Federal Team Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT, for its acronym in English) should share information, more speed and greater detail on threats and trends with other federal departments to better protect themselves, according to the document.

The report issued Wednesday by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security described the criticisms long voiced by authorities and outside experts that the U.S. government computer systems are vulnerable to attack, are consistently observed and lack of administration and rules necessary security.
The document highlights many of the shortcomings that the Congress has tried to correct by a number of initiatives to create a more effective governance structure to improve and reinforce safety rules.

Cyber security has become a top priority for the government, following the impulse that gave the president Barack Obama in 2009 when he described it as "one of the economic and national security that we face more serious."
Authorities say federal networks are scrutinized and discussed a million times a day and in some cases penetrated by hackers and cyber criminals as well as other nations.
According to the 35-page report, the CERT, part of the Department of Homeland Security has made progress in assisting agencies to protect themselves against cyber threats, including the creation of a cyber center.
According to the text, the team lacks the authority it needs to force other federal agencies take the necessary measures to ensure the security of their computer systems.

Orders stagnate new iPhone Web

Some buyers reported problems on Tuesday to process your orders the latest model of the iPhone on the Internet.
Tuesday was the first day that Apple and AT & T began to receive these requests, but the buyers said they were met with error messages on Web sites of the company. They formed lines in stores, while the clerks were trying to process their orders through their computers.

The computer systems at Apple Inc., maker of phone and AT & T Inc., the operator offering the device exclusively, have had more trouble meeting demand for the iPhone every year since 2007, when it launched the first model .

Neither Apple nor AT & T issued comments on the most recent. The iPhone goes on sale April 24 June at a starting price of $ 199.

Starbucks offers free Wi-Fi local U.S. 6700

Starbucks Corp. will offer its unlimited wireless Internet network to all customers of its branches in the United States starting next month, part of an effort to attract more customers, the company said Monday.

The Free Wi-Fi will be available from 1 July at 6700 local.

The coffee chain, which this year had its first quarterly increase in referrals after 13 quarters without success, had offered two hours of free internet per day for registered users.

After this period customers of the chain, founded in Seattle, had to pay a small fee.

Access will be offered through AT & T, but to use it not necessary to have a Starbucks loyalty card, according to an announcement made by the CEO Howard Schultz at a conference in New York.

The move comes six months after the rival of Starbucks, McDonald's Corp., to offer free Wi-Fi in 11 500 U.S. stores.

Launch new video game "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park"

The company Telltale Games decided to travel to the past to a new series of video games: episodic titles based on franchises "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park."

The popular Universal Studios film trilogy spawned several games during its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s but have been absent from the interactive world. The untitled game for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC and Mac go on sale later this year.

"I think it is a perfect time to reintroduce these properties in the digital world," said Dan Connors, CEO of Telltale Games.

"Telltale Games has always wanted to be a great company of narrative. We have been refining our tools over the past six years, and we're ready to take on these two iconic properties and further mainstream narrative games," he added.

Telltale Games episodic previously created games based on the Oscar-winning animated series "Wallace and Gromit, Aardman Animations, the comic series of Steve Purcell's" Sam and Max "and his story on the Internet by Matt Chapman" Homestar Runner. " The company, based in San Rafael, California, went to Universal Studios while looking for inspiration for their next game.

"'Jurassic Park' and 'Back to the Future' are two of our larger properties and dear," said Bill Kispert, vice president of Universal Interactive Studios. "We were very interested in bringing them to the interactive space, but not exactly the type of properties that lend themselves to the stereotypical style of gaming."

Connors said the games, in the early stages of development, would tell new stories derived from "Back to the Future" and "Jurassic Park." He joked that the games of "Back to the Future" DeLorean include a trip to the 1970s, while those in "Jurassic Park" would be intense and would incorporate new parallel stories of the mythology of man against the dinosaur in the series.

Google widens its multilingual search maps

Google announced the launch in 11 countries in its "Navigation Maps," which includes the voice guidance and allows users to speak Spanish, French, German and Italian advantage of the help in the search for directions.
According to the announcement, users in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland can copy the version 4.2 of Google Maps Navigation, already available in the U.S. and the UK.

In so doing, provide instructions for guidance "to each change of direction" as long as they have a smart phone with Android 1.6 or higher.Google initially said guidance instructions to its operating system for smart mobile phone last October and the decision has had some lasting impact on the field of guided navigation.

For example, in January followed in the footsteps of Nokia and Google announced its own set of guidance instructions Ovi Maps.According to Google, voice communication has always been the natural way to interact with Google Search phone and voice users can say what they want, instead of typing a text.

This facility was initially developed for English and then to Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. The goal, Google said, is to bring "Search" (search) voice users in all languages.

In addition to work with Android phones, "Search" voice phones can run on iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia S60, the firm added.

Moreover, the firm announced a new indexing system, called "Caffeine", according to Google search substantially accelerates data over the network.

Matt Cutts, head of Google's webspam team explained that before the firm explored a fraction of the network every night, indexed and added content to its results, and now, thanks to "Caffeine", the search engine scans the network, find new information and the index immediately.

"We process the information immediately so that we can offer it seconds later," said Cutts.

When Google started its work updating its index once every four months. Around 2000 he began to index every month in a process that took a week to ten days.

Now is "Caffeine" is used in all schools and, according to Cutts, "greatly increased" the ability to "enhance the indexing of documents in the order of 100 petabytes."

A computer attack from China blocks South Korean government site

One of the main sites of South Korea's government on Wednesday suffered a cyber attack from China which forced to suspend some services for hours, reported the South Korean Ministry of Interior.
Http://korea.go.kr site that offers information on services and public policy failures and delays suffered for about four hours by an attack known as distributed denial-of-Service (DDoS).

This type of computer sabotage against a server is performed through automatic orders executed en masse from multiple computers simultaneously, with the aim of the website is blocked.
According to South Korean agency Yonhap, the search was conducted after the attack has led to the conclusion that came from 120 servers in China.
Although no damage because the computer center of the South Korean government blocked access to the servers involved, the National Intelligence Agency is still investigating details of the origin and consequences of the attack.
The cyber assault has led the South Korean public to take extraordinary measures to prevent attacks, "cyber-terrorists," according to Yonhap.
In July last year, South Korea suffered a similar attack against several government websites, including the Office of the Presidency and the Ministry of Defence as well as against private Internet portals.

That attack coincided with others that were aimed at different websites U.S. state agencies, including the White House and the Pentagon, and sites like the New York Stock Exchange.

The National Intelligence Agency of South Korea said then that computer attacks were launched from 16 countries, with the possible involvement of North Korea.

Scientists create laser that detects explosives

A new technology of laser sensors can detect hidden explosives was developed by scientists in the UK.
According to researchers at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland, the device could help locate landmines and bombs hidden in the roads, as well as improving security at airports.
The team produced the laser "inflating" a type of plastic, called polifluoreno, with photons from a source of light.
As stated in the journal Advanced Functional Materials (Advanced Functional Materials), found that the laser reacted to release explosive vapors such as TNT (trinitrotoluene).

Detector molecules

Dr Graham Turnbull, one of the physicists who participated in the study, explains that created a mechanism capable of detecting TNT-like molecules that are frequently used in explosives, at extremely low concentrations of less than 10 ppb (parts per billion).

"On land mines in Iraq or Afghanistan floats a cloud of steam and very weak diluted explosive molecules which consists of the bomb," the researcher continued."A small number of these molecules similar to TNT in contact with the plastic film that is made the laser interacts with molecules that emit light on and off the laser light emission," he adds.

The scientist explains that this type TNT molecules interact with polymer chain offers a whole new way to "turn on and off" the operation of the laser.

According to Dr. Ifor Samuel, another of the scientists involved in the study once they have developed these mechanisms could detect any explosive device, including roadside bombs, called improvised explosive devices (IED, for its acronym in English ), which are a serious problem in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This technology is important because, because they are made of plastic, polymer lasers could easily occur because the laser would have a new property," says the researcher.

The technique was already used in the past but, as noted by Dr. Turnbull, this is the first time researchers used a laser plastic.

This, he says, allows detection of much lower concentrations of vapors of explosives.

Robot dog

He believes this type of laser could be used, for example, a robotic vehicle, perhaps remotely controlled, which is able to "smell" a minefield and detect clouds of steam.

"In a dusty road in Afghanistan there are relatively few things that may give a false positive and certainly the technology would have potential in this area. Essentially, we are creating an artificial nose for a robotic dog," said Dr. Turnbull.

According to Pentagon figures, in 2009 killed 3736 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan as a result caused by IED blasts.
More recent studies estimate that in four years, FDI has been responsible for 40% of the deaths of allied military forces in Iraq.
The technology, however, could also have civilian uses. Dr. Turbull believes the system could be a tool for improving security at airports, to be able to detect explosive vapors found in the luggage of travelers.

But a key factor in this type of plastic laser technology is that its production would have a relatively low cost because the polifluoreno is widely available.

Microsoft will offer debt instruments to investors

Although it is one of the richest companies in the world, Microsoft Corp. can take advantage of financial flexibility that comes from borrowing money at current rates of interest.

Although it has almost 40,000 million dollars in cash and investments, the software giant announced Tuesday it would raise another $ 1,150 million by selling debt instruments that may be convertible for shares.

These new funds will be used to repay debt previously contracted and give the company more flexibility to increase its dividend or buy back shares.
Analysts said Microsoft is under pressure from its investors to use its large cash reserves in the expansion of the same company and thus strengthen shareholder returns.

"They can take on more debt and reinvest in the stock buyback, which would have much more value" for investors, said Sid Parakh, an analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle.

When a company repurchases its shares and removed from the market price of remaining in increase in value because they often have a greater stake in the company. Shares of Microsoft could build on this momentum, because their actions today are worth about the same as what they were worth last October.

As of March 31, Microsoft had 40,000 million dollars in cash and short-term investments to another 6,000 million dollars in debt to the short and long term.
The debt is relatively low considering that the company generated U.S. $ 7,400 million cash transactions only in its most recent quarter.

Microsoft pulled the debt sale for the first time in May 2009, the documents provide 3,750 million dollars in papers with maturities of five, 10 and 15 years and with interest rates ranging from 2.95% to 5 2%.
Until March 31, Microsoft had debts of $ 2,300 million in instruments known as commercial paper on their books, which have expiration period from next month until the next seven months.

Barcodes proliferate and diversify trade

Before, you just felt that there was a bar code printed on the packaging of some products when purchased in a store, and the cashier slid those mysterious lines against an electronic system. But recently, these codes appear in more places and are much more advanced.
Some have seen a relative of the traditional bar code. The so-called QR code, a jumble of small tables, arranged randomly within a larger square, is appearing in various places, from posters at bus stops to the windows of a restaurant.

If a curious look at one of these codes and you take a picture with the camera phone, the mobile device may display a web page, an image or a video related to the advertiser.barco
For example, Google is giving businesses QR code stickers with passersby can "scan." Thus, to arrive at a mobile version of Google's site, where businesses can post coupons and information about themselves.
Soon, the codes could lead to other ways to connect with consumers in a way that companies can measure and control. This could help to selectively target ads to people who would be more likely to respond to a message or offer.

Previous attempts to get consumers to interact with bar codes that refer to any destination on the Web have not been very successful. In the 1990s came the CueCat, which allowed publishers to add barcodes to your printed material, so that people slip pocket a reader device to go directly to related information in their computers.

QR code (whose acronym in English means rapid response) was also released in that decade, Denso Wave, a Japanese electronics manufacturer.

But what has changed now is that consumers are more involved with their wireless devices not only to make phone calls, exchange text messages and check e-mail. In addition, the so-called superteléfonos, which can connect to the internet, also have the ability to easily download programs that allow them to "scan" product codes, to obtain further information from them.

The bar code printed for example in a box of cookies includes a series of numbers arranged horizontally, that a reader checked against information in a centralized database. Thus the "Scanner" from the supermarket identifies someone buys the product.

The new codes, like QR, can represent the data horizontally and vertically. This means that can include much more information in less space, and some of them can tell the program to "scan" of a phone all you need on what website or video display, without needing to consult a database.

It is unknown how many of these codes have been implemented, but could create billions.

Google uses QR codes since late last year to help promote hundreds of thousands of businesses in their service lists local establishments, known as Google Places. The company has sent stickers to put on the windows of establishments.

The sticker says: "We are one of the favorite places in Google", and includes a QR code at the bottom.

The idea stemmed from the desire for Google to strengthen its relationship with retailers and consumers, said Ryan Hayward, manager of "marketing" of products for Google Maps, who heads the distribution of stickers with the codes. For now, these lead the mobile version of the page of a Google Places establishment.

In the end, Google could use the technology to display videos and download applications, "said Hayward.

QR codes are not the only two-dimensional they could proliferate. Since March, Fandango, a site that sells movie tickets, allows some people who attend the rooms get their entries in their phones, code stored as "Datamatrix. This code, shown on screen, is placed in front of a TV in the room. Users do not need this kind superteléfonos to work.

Ted Hong, head of "marketing" of Fandango, said the company wanted to try the service because more and more people entering their cellular Fandango. And some cellular ticket similar initiatives have worked outside the United States.
For now, the new ticket vending option is available only in selected cinemas in the states of California, New York, Texas and Hawaii. To extend this variant, more rooms would have to invest in the "scanners", other than those currently used to read traditional bar codes printed on the tickets.

These codes are not adapted to the screens of some mobile and therefore are using Fandango Data Matrix technology, said Hong.

Chinese Government published its long list of prohibited Internet content

The Chinese government today released the White Paper on China's Internet, a document on the status of the network in the country with more Internet users in the world and highlighting the long list of content that individuals and organizations can not "produce, duplicate, advertise or disseminate. "

Information "against the principles of the Constitution, which endanger state security, divulge state secrets, subverts state power and threatens the national unity" are prohibited, the document says.
Also data that "damage the honor and interests of the state", which instigate "ethnic hatred or discrimination" or those who disseminate "heresies, superstitions, rumors, ideas that break the social order and stability" and "obscenity, pornography , illegal gambling, violence, brutality and terror. "

The White Paper notes that the Internet in China must be subject to the laws of the country, and urges the international community to understand "the concerns about the safety of the network of each country."
However, the Information Office of the State Council, author of the report, explained in the book that the Internet "has had an irreplaceable role in accelerating economic development, enhance scientific and technological progress" and transform the society or information.

According to the document, the Chinese Government continues to drive network development in the country with more Internet users in the world (about 400 million today), so that within five years the number of users in the Asian giant to reach a rate penetration of 45 percent (about 600 million users).

The White Paper provides extensive data on the development of Internet, which came into use in China on April 20, 1994 (authorizing the district Beijing's Zhongguancun technology were the first to be connected to that network).

Among the figures brings the total figure of money invested by the country for the development of Internet (629 000 million yuan), the number of Chinese Websites (3.23 million) and the widespread use of broadband (346 million users , 90 percent of the total).

The document acknowledges still a great digital divide between urban and rural Chinese (72 percent of Chinese Internet users are urban, when more than half of China's population lives in rural communities).

It also highlights the growing importance of Internet in China as a business, where the industries related to the computer network and contribute 1.6 percent to national GDP and 10 percent in foreign trade.

Online shopping (which in China go about 100 million Internet users and prompting 526 000 million in 2009) and on-line games, which last year produced 25,000 million yuan in revenue, are some of the most important examples in this regard.

The country also has 220 million a million bloggers and discussion forums (BBS), one of the main tools for information exchange in the Chinese network, used by two thirds of Chinese netizens.
Also White Paper stresses the fact on the fight against spam (according to the Government, has reduced the percentage of spam from 23 percent of the total in 2002 to 4.1 percent in 2009).
It warns against the dangers of "hackers" and says that one million computers on Chinese soil have "their IPs controlled from outside", while 18 million computers "infected with the virus Conficker every month."
In the anecdotal, the paper named among the web-based communication tools to develop more rapidly in China at the Twitter microblogging service, which since last year is locked in the Asian country.
Internet is the main vehicle of communication and exchange of ideas in Chinese society, especially young people, despite the heavy censorship in the country, which prevents users from accessing sites such as Twitter or other widely used Facebook or global YouTube.

YouTube puts a million video subtitles

YouTube is adding subtitles to millions of videos on the Internet.

The popular Web site unveiled this product with the word-recognition technology that YouTube began to be used to provide subtitles to a limited group of videos late last year.

YouTube's audience may request the subtitles with the push of a button. The producers of videos can also download the subtitles automated and improved.

For now, the tool of subtitles in the YouTube videos will only work with audio in English, also plan to include more languages.
However, the audio in English may be translated into 50 different languages.

YouTube, owned by Google is the most popular video site on the Internet. Its users join the site approximately 28,800 hours of videos daily.