IT News
Download Firefox 3 on Dday
Dday, also known as “Download Day” is an attempt to set a world record for the most software downloads in 24 hours and will occur on Firefox 3 launch day. Download Day will coincide with the general availability of Firefox 3. The clock will start ticking when Firefox 3 goes out the door! There isn’t a definitive date for the launch of Firefox 3 yet, but it should be in June.
Some sources say this day will be June 17th. When exactly it is only the folks @ Mozilla know. Anyway you can help this attempt by pledging to download Firefox 3 the day it’s released by Mozilla.
All you have to do is go to the Spread Firefox 3 website and pledge (over 1.2 million pledges were already submitted by the time this article was written), and when Firefox will be released you will be noticed by email that Firefox 3 is available for download.
You can find out everything about this initiative on the Spread Firefox 3 website.
You can also spread the word about this initiative by visiting the “Get involved” section of the website.
If you don’t own a website / blog, sharing (Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, Reddit etc) this article would also constitute as “getting involved”.
MTV Engine Room is recruiting designers
MTV and HP are recruiting designers from all over the world to join the Engine Room (reality show), a creative space where four teams (Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America) compete for a chance to win a top prize of $400,000 US Dollars (that’s right 400k) in cash plus a load of HP gear.
The show films in New York starting 17th of July, and lasts for four weeks. Although it’s a reality show, it’s also a great chance for new talent to stand out from the crowd - and $400,000 is a decent kick start to any career!
The briefing about the show :
- “Engine Room” is a new MTV series which will be seen around the world.
- MTV and HP are seeking digital artists (at least 18 years of age) from around the globe to compete in a series of creative challenges utilizing HP computers.
- Once selected, 16 people will be flown to New York City commencing on or about July 18, 2008 through on or about August 16, 2008 (collectively, the “Filming Dates”). They will compete in teams of 4 participants each for prizes by creating animations, websites, short films, sound mixes and more in the “Engine Room“.
- MTV and HP will cover incidental expenses (including flight and hotel) for those selected to participate in the “Engine Room” show.
- The winning team will get $400,000 USD in cash and HP gear to be divided equally among the 4 teammates.
- The casting ends June 30th.
- For more information visit the MTV Engine Room Website.
Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo! for $44.6 Billion
Microsoft has made an official proposal to acquire Yahoo! for the sum of $44.6 Billion in cash and stock at a price of $31 per share which represents a 62 percent premium for shareholders.
Here’s a quote from the official Microsoft press release :
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced that it has made a proposal to the Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) Board of Directors to acquire all the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 representing a total equity value of approximately $44.6 billion. Microsoft’s proposal would allow the Yahoo! shareholders to elect to receive cash or a fixed number of shares of Microsoft common stock, with the total consideration payable to Yahoo! shareholders consisting of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock. The offer represents a 62 percent premium above the closing price of Yahoo! common stock on Jan. 31, 2008.
“We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.
Interesting? … Continue reading »
Google Knol - Wikipedia watch out
Knol is a new service being developed by Google and it will serve as a storehouse of knowledge on the internet, much as Wikipedia. In fact many industry experts see this new Google service as a direct competitor for Wikipedia and similar types of websites.
While the two websites have many similarities, the main difference between Google Knol and Wikipedia is that Wikipedia allows virtually anyone to edit an entry while Knol only allows the author of each particular “knol,” – which is what the individual pages in the service will be called – to do so. This means that the same topics could have many different authors with sometimes contrasting – or even competing – points of view.
Knol – the name of which is derived from the word “knowledge” – is being developed to allow people to create Web pages on virtually any topic. When completed, it will include several features that will allow its users the ability to perform a number of tasks, such as submitting comments, rating individual web pages and suggesting changes.
At this time Google Knol is accessible only by invitation but you can take a look at it here.
Aditional resources can be found here :
Jonathan Harris: The Web’s secret stories
The web’s newest trends illustrated at a TED conference.
If you can’t see this video click here.
