Yahoo extends deadline for opening bids: report

SAN FRANCISCO, California – Yahoo has given prospective buyers an added week to make preliminary bids for the company’s core assets, tech news website Re/Code reported on Friday.

The struggling Internet pioneer has been briefing prospective buyers, according to US media reports that indicated the list of suitors included telecommunications titan Verizon, Google-parent Alphabet, and Time Inc.

The deadline for initial offers was reportedly extended from Monday to April 18, a day before California-based Yahoo releases earnings figures for the first three months of this year.

Re/Code attributed the information to unnamed sources close to the situation and “blabby bankers they talk to.”

Yahoo declined to comment on the report.

In letters to potential suitors, the troubled Internet company asked them what assets they were interested in, how they would finance such acquisitions and what terms would have to be met on their end, the Wall Street Journal reported last month, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The paper said some buyers might be interested in Yahoo’s core web business or parts of it, while others might bid for stakes in Alibaba or Yahoo Japan.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who took over in 2012 with the mission of boosting growth, is in an increasingly difficult position.

Although Yahoo is one of the best-known names on the Internet and is used by around one billion people, it has fallen behind Google in Internet searches and has been steadily losing ground in online advertising.

Ironically, Mayer joined Yahoo as chief executive from Google a result of a proxy war launched by an activist investor group.

While Mayer has injected some energy and glamor into the company, Yahoo’s finances have failed to improve and its core operations are valued in the market as worthless, with the company’s valuation propped up by its stakes in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan.

In February, Yahoo said it was cutting 15 percent of its workforce and narrowing its focus as it explores “strategic alternatives.”

The California company reported a loss of $4.43 billion in the final three months of last year, due mostly to lowering the value of its US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Tumblr units.

source: interaksyon.com

Jim Ayson, PH Internet champion, logs off at 53

MANILA, Philippines — Local Internet pioneer, startup advocate, and prolific chronicler of the Philippine IT history Jim Ayson has succumbed to heart attack evening of November 9, at age 53.

His wife Chette Soriano-Ayson confirmed on Tuesday morning the news on her Facebook page saying: “My husband, my best friend and love of my life Jim Ayson joined our creator last night.”

Local social media communities lit up up with shock and grief after news spread of the unexpected passing of Ayson, who is an active and outspoken voice online and has forged various digital partnerships, both local and foreign, in his work for Smart DevNet.

Ayson’s record of the pivotal moments in local IT history, such as the time when the Philippines first went online, is often cited in various publications as key source material.

A man of many hats, Ayson also championed the cause of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and was partial in particular to Pinoy Rock and alternative independent musicians. To this end, he founded PhilMusic.com, a website devoted to articles about emerging and established OPM acts.

PhilMusic was a strong online presence in the pre-social media days and later embraced social media network sites like Facebook and Twitter which Ayson tirelessly maintained until his death.

Ayson personally covered several musical events armed with his laptop and handheld cameras as he immediately uploaded photos to PhilMusic just shortly after taking them. A musician himself who played drums, Jim was also invited to write about both music and technology for several online and print publications, most notably the now defunct, The Reviewer where he was a columnist and music editor.

Ayson is survived by his wife Chette and their baby daughter Gabby.

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source: interaksyon.com

Apple TV aims to capture ‘cord cutters’

SAN FRANCICO — The new Apple TV unveiled this week has the potential to do for television what iPhone did to mobile phones, while claiming a starring role in home entertainment.

Updated Apple TV hardware set for release in late October wasn’t expected to revolutionize the television industry, but it could strike a blow to cable companies that have been in a power seat when it comes to delivering shows and other content.

“It turns out fears surrounding the long-term prospects of the cable industry were well warranted,” said Yahoo senior vice president Simon Khalaf, whose mobile analytics company Flurry was bought last year by the Internet pioneer.

“We believe that the industry is facing a perfect storm: apps, app stores and Apple.”

While the unveiling of a new Apple TV on Wednesday did not come with word of deals to stream shows or films from networks or studios, it will have a version of the App Store that has been a hit on iPhones.

“We believe the future of television is apps,” chief executive Tim Cook said.

Apple released a software kit for outside developers, and showed off early versions of Apple TV applications being crafted by streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and HBO.

Siri searches shows

The product launch “sent a warning shot at the cable industry in particular and the media industry in general,” Khalaf said in a blog post.

“Now rather than having dozens of channels to watch, US consumers will have thousands of apps to enjoy on their flat panel TVs ranging from games, to e-sport apps, to live entertainment apps, and to whatever these developers will cook up over the next year.”

Siri virtual assistant software built in Apple TV allowed for natural language searches for shows, such as asking for something funny or a certain actor by name.

Analysts keyed in on the fact that Siri will search across applications on Apple TV, meaning that where shows or films come from should be unimportant to viewers.

People should also be able to see what they want on-demand instead of being at the mercy of cable broadcast schedules.

These options can spur a trend of “cord cutting” or ending the subscription “bundles” offered by cable and satellite TV firms.

Apps trump TV

A Flurry report found that for the first time ever, people in the US in the second quarter of this year spent more each day using mobile applications than they did watching television: a daily average of 198 minutes versus 168 minutes

“Just as they did on the iPhone and iPads, consumers will download these apps and spend plenty of time on them, leaving the dozen or so cable channels lost in a sea of apps,” Khalaf said.

By letting media companies keep control of their content in apps, Apple could find new money-making models while sidestepping worries studios might have about distribution rights.

Since games consistently rank as the most popular apps on mobile devices, the genre is expected to be thrive on Apple TV.

An Apple TV remote control features a touchpad along with sensors that allow it to act as a motion controller similar to those that transformed video game play as part of the original Nintendo Wii console.

Apple TV lacked the kind of computing power and storage capacity found in hard-core video game consoles but was fine for the kinds of “casual” game apps that have rocketed to success on mobile devices, according to analysts.

“I think Apple TV will usher in an era of casual games in the living room,” said Gartner analyst Brian Blau.

The new Apple TV will launch in late October at a starting price of $149.

Apple TV has lagged rivals with similar devices. According to the research firm Parks Associates: Roku leads the US market with a 37 percent market share, to 19 percent for Google Chromecast and 17 percent for Apple TV. Amazon’s Fire TV devices have 14 percent.

Apple shares rebounded a day after a lukewarm market reaction to the US tech giant’s launch of upgraded iPhones and other devices.

Shares rallied 2.2 percent to end at $112.57.

Analysts say Apple is seeking to diversify its product line amid a competitive global smartphone market, and that its new iPad Pro, Apple TV streaming device and Apple Watch may help.

“The new offerings are welcomed additions to the portfolio that will strengthen not only the competitiveness of each product category, but also the wider ecosystem and the increasing developer effort behind this platform,” said analyst Kulbinder Garcha at Credit Suisse in a note to clients.

Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said that while the iPhone accounts for most Apple revenue, the upgraded Apple TV device “one of the biggest and most important things announced” and “should drive significant new revenue for Apple and for developers.”

source: interaksyon.com

New Yahoo! logo debuts

SAN FRANCISCO--Yahoo late Wednesday updated its logo with slimmer letters but kept the trademark purple color and exclamation point.

"We wanted a logo that stayed true to our roots (whimsical, purple, with an exclamation point) yet embraced the evolution of our products," Yahoo chief marketing officer Kathy Savitt said in a Tumblr blog post.



The updated logo comes as the Internet pioneer continues a quest to re-invent itself after being eclipsed by Google in the world of online search.

The faded Internet star's new symbol has been redesigned to better reflect what the company aims to be under chief executive Marissa Mayer, according to Savitt.

She said that Yahoo will also be keeping its "famous yodel."

Since former Google executive Mayer became boss at Yahoo early last year, the California company has snapped up more than 20 startups including the billion-dollar buy of blog platform Tumblr.

Mayer's plan for reviving Yahoo's fortunes includes making priorities of mobile devices, video, personalized digital content, and elevating the company's popularity outside the United States.

"While the company is rapidly evolving, our logo - the essence of our brand - should too," Savitt said.

To build excitement about the change of the well-known purple logo, Yahoo will tease US visitors with variations on the theme daily leading up to the unveiling.

source: interaksyon.com