Web Tracking Firms Nix Merger
Jupiter Media Metrix said Tuesday it has ended plans to merge with Nielsen/NetRatings and has retained Robertson Stephens for strategic guidance.
NetRatings said it will cut about 15 percent of its employees, or 20 positions.
"We have sharpened our focus on our core audience measurement and analytical research services, with an array of exciting new features planned for the coming months," said Bill Pulver, president and COO of NetRatings. "By re-allocating our resources toward these principal products, we maximize the value delivered to our clients and our shareholders."
Neither firm offered an explanation for the end of the merger plans.
Sites Proves Greeting Card Fees May Not be Solution
American Greetings Corp. saw traffic to its e-greeting sites fall in December after instituting fees for sending cards online, Jupiter Media Metrix reports.
Sites such as Yahoo! Greetings and Hallmark.com saw traffic to their sites rise at least 70 percent in December, the research firm said Thursday.
The American Greetings site (www.americangreetings.com) had a 10 percent decrease in visitors, while its largest Web site (www.Bluemountain.com) had a fall of 22 percent.
Interactive TV Slow to Reach Expectations
Interactive TV is still a slow-moving evolution and some companies are even losing money as they try to introduce new technology to consumers.
A year ago, French satellite television operators TPS and CanalSatellite had great hopes for the most advanced interactive applications.
Beatrice de Clermont Tonnerre, head of interactive services at CanalSatellite, said that since then, certain expectations have been scaled down, notably in the area of "t-commerce," or teleshopping.
She said there is not a profitable business model for this activity in France.
Gambling is the main success of interactive TV. According to CanalSatellite, eighteen months after it launched its partnership with PMU, the state betting body, betting on horses has generated 122 million euros.
Feds Recover $1.2 Million from Internet Investment Fraud
Last month IGN reported on an Internet investment scheme that was operated by a 17 year-old boy.
As part of his plea agreement with the federal government, the boy, Cole Bartiromo, agreed to provide an accounting of all the money he made from his Invest Better 2001 operation. Since then the authorities have continued to investigate the child and have recovered more than $1.2 million, but are still waiting for the boys' accounting.
The California youth raised more than $1 million by selling what he described as "guaranteed" and "risk-free" investments in which he pooled investors' funds to bet on sporting events.
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Internet Copyright Case
The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to intervene in a fight over copyrights, deciding whether Congress has sided too heavily with writers and other inventors.
The outcome will determine when hundreds of thousands of books, songs and movies will be freely available on the Internet and in digital libraries.
Groups challenging copyright law argued that the justices should protect the public's right to material.
The Bush administration urged the court to reject the groups' appeals because even copyrighted material can be used under certain circumstances.
The Constitution authorizes Congress to give authors and inventors the exclusive right to their works for a limited time. In 1790 copyrights lasted 14 years. Now they last until 70 years after the death of the inventor, if the person is known.
Sabre Makes Move to Buy Travelocity
Sabre Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it would offer $345 million for the shares of Travelocity.com that it doesn't already own.
Sabre's offer of $23 per share represents a 19.8 percent premium over the online travel site's closing stock price on Friday.
In afternoon trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, Travelocity shares jumped $5.40, or 28 percent, to $24.60. Sabre shares fell $1.81, or 4 percent, to $43.47 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Sabre, the leading computerized travel-reservation system, owns about 70 percent of Travelocity but holds only about 15 percent of its voting power.
Sabre said the tender offer would begin on March 5 or soon after.
It said the offer hinged on gaining at least 90 percent of Travelocity's shares. Sabre said the offer was not conditioned on financing but said it might issue stock or sell stock-related securities to raise capital.
Nissan Teams with NTT DoCoMo
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. and the nation's largest mobile telecommunications carrier, NTT DoCoMo, will work together to enable Japanese drivers to search for a nearby restaurant, find the best deal on gasoline or take advantage of other Internet services from their cars.
The services will use the telecom's 3G mobile technology, which zips large amounts of information at high speeds and includes a videophone. NTT DoCoMo is the first in the world to offer 3G as a commercial service.
Similar types of computer services are already available from the world's major automakers, including General Motors Corp. of the United States, Nissan and its domestic rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co.
Amazon Puts Segway Units Up For Auction
Finally, the long awaited public launch of the Segway is getting closer.
Amazon.com began auctioning three of the hotly anticipated speedy scooters on Tuesday and the bidding quickly surpassed $16,100. The highly engineered scooters were known for almost a year as simply "IT'' and "Ginger'' before a December introduction.
Bids will be accepted until March 28, the companies said in a joint statement, and the winners will be able to meet inventor Dean Kamen when they receive their scooters at the end of April.
The limited-edition models also will be signed by Kamen and include such luxuries as leather-wrapped titanium grips.