New search engine 'revolutionary'

A 26-year-old PhD student from the University of New South Wales has patented a new way of exploring the web that could revolutionise existing search engines. Search engines find pages on which keywords occur. Sometimes these pages are important to the topic. Other times they are not. Orion© finds pages where the content is about a topic strongly related to the key word. It then returns a section of the page, and lists other topics related to the key word so the user can pick the most relevant." The results to the query are displayed immediately in the form of expanded text extracts, giving you the relevant information without having to go to the website.
By displaying results to other associated key words directly related to your search topic, you gain additional pertinent information that you might not have originally conceived, thus offering an expert search without having an expert's knowledge."Take a search such as the American Revolution as an example of how the system works. Orion© would bring up results with extracts containing this phrase. But it would also give results for American History, George Washington, American Revolutionary War, Declaration of Independence, Boston Tea Party and more. You obtain much more valuable information from every search."

A closer look at Skype acquisition

A few years ago, Skype co-founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis were persona non grata in the United States, scared to enter the country in case they were arrested for unleashing file-swapping Kazaa on the Internet. This week, they were glowing in the limelight as they sold their second venture to eBay. Now, instead of having to base themselves in Luxembourg to avoid legal threats, Zennstrom and Friis were fêted by eBay CEO Meg Whitman.
Skype already has 54 million members (2 million who make paid-for calls to traditional land lines using SkypeOut) in 225 countries, adding 150,000 users a day. The company generated $7 million in revenues in 2004, and anticipates more than $200 million in 2006. For the full year 2006, eBay expects the transaction to be dilutive to pro forma and GAAP earnings per share by $0.04 and $0.12 respectively. On a long-term basis, eBay expects Skype operating margins could be in the range of 20% to 25%.
eBay buyers and sellers email each other before concluding transactions, with eBay estimating five million such messages are exchanged every day. Skype can increase the velocity of trade on eBay, especially in categories that require more involved communications such as used cars, business and industrial equipment, and high-end collectibles. Skype offers a growth opportunity for eBay, which is nearing saturation in the United States where most of its customers are based; while half of Skype’s users are in Europe and only a quarter in the US. The acquisition also enables eBay and Skype to pursue entirely new lines of business. For example, in addition to eBay’s current transaction-based fees, ecommerce communications could be monetized on a pay-per-call basis through Skype. Pay-per-call communications opens up new categories of ecommerce, especially for those sectors that depend on a lead-generation model such as travel, cars and real estate.
The Skype business complements the eBay and PayPal platforms. The three services can also reinforce and accelerate the growth of one another, thereby increasing the value of the combined businesses. The Skype Journal predicts that the acquisition could invert the eBay model, with Skype technology allowing eBay to match up auctioneers with interested buyers. Skype down the road will enable eBay to aggregate consumer demand and auction it in the same way they currently auction consumer goods. All of us should come to recognize today's announced acquisition of Skype by eBay, as one of the great indicators of the historic transformation in telecommunications industry. It turns the entire telecom industry picture on its head, and demonstrates that voice, presence and text messaging will be essential for the company of the future.

How video mobile can be integrated into the recruitment process

Arranging and conducting interviews can be very expensive and time-consuming. Recognising the power of video technology, In2Vista has developed a unique streaming video facility, which brings the delivery of multimedia content to within reach of every broadband enabled business.In an industry-leading initiative, 3, the UK’s first video mobile network, is now applying these innovative applications to its human resources recruitment. 3 has employed In2Vista’s video interviewing service (In2View™) into the recruitment process as a means of reviewing candidates in the early stages of selection, by organizing a serie of video interviews, which significantly accelerates the recruitment. This is particularly good for long-distance interviews, where face to face meetings are not possible.Using video mobile in this way is highly innovative and truly brings to life the business and its people!

Making Art out of sms

For this year's diploma exhibition of the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden (Dresden's High School of art), Matthias Haase has presented a project using a special version of the SMS Chatwall event software. Haase installed the GSM-module, a computer and beamer equipment on a table with a projection screen, calling the installation "Bote" (messenger). Exhibition visitors can send short messages to the number shown on the screen. As a take-away gift for the visitor, the sculpture replies with an artist's "thank you" SMS, mentioning the art exhibition at the HfBK 2005. People who want to take part, but can't attend the exhibition can send an SMS to +4915204912748.

Mauritius envisions wi-fi from coast to coast

This tropical island off the east coast of Africa is best-known for its white-sand beaches, its designer clothing outlets and its spicy curries. But tiny Mauritius is about to stake a new claim to fame. By year's end, it is expected to become the world's first nation with coast-to-coast wireless Internet coverage, the first country to become one big hot spot. ADB Networks is the company installing the wireless radio network across the 40-mile-long island to cover up to 90 percent of the mountainous island. Like many African nations, this modest country has struggled economically. Looking for alternatives, the government has settled on a new and ambitious vision: Turning sleepy Mauritius with its endless sugar cane fields and tourist beaches into a high-tech computer and telecommunications center. Remote Mauritius is in many respects well-placed to win the high-tech investment it wants. Despite the government's effort to provide an inviting investment climate, regulation also remains a problem.The government holds a substantial share in Mauritius Telecom, the island's only fixed-line telephone operator, as well as one of its Internet providers and the company that controls the submarine broadband fiber-optic cable that provides all of the country's phone and Internet bandwidth. Still, Mauritius' courts have shown signs of holding the government to its competitiveness policies, which may ease the way for future investors.
Via Laurie Goering