Was yesterday’s hurried Google Chrome OS announcement designed to steal some of Microsoft’s thunder ahead of a big launch on Monday? Robert Scoble certainly thinks so, and although he can’t say what that big news is, Long Zheng speculates that it might be the launch of the Microsoft Office web app. The timing is right: The Office 2010 Technical Preview ships this month to invitation-only testers and close integration of a new web app with the next version of Office is a logical move. Continue »

How would you like to help determine which projects will receive some of the $4.7 billion in federal funds allocated for broadband improvement around the country? Well, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has the job for you — as a volunteer grant reviewer. That’s right, when the government wants to give out $4.7 billion (only $1.6 billion in this first round) in 14 months it has to cut some corners to make sure it can handle the load. That means bringing on citizens to review grant applications. From the letter calling for volunteers: Continue »

Without realizing it, you are a guinea pig for Google’s engineers. Gmail uses a slightly different shade of blue for its links — this one, #2A5DB0 — than the main Google search page, which uses #2200CC. Google’s engineers wondered if the difference in link color would alter the rate of clickthroughs — is there an ideal shade of blue that encourages people to click links?

To find out, Gmail’s users were randomly tested with 40 different link colors, ranging from blue-with-greenish to blue-with-blue-ish. Google discovered that blue-ish links encouraged more clicking than greenish — so the search giant stuck with blue-ish. It’s only natural for Google to want you to click more: The more links you hit, the more time you spend online, hopefully looking at Google’s ads. As for why people prefer bluer links? I suspect they’ve come to expect them to be blue. So, when confronted with a greener link, they are less likely to click it. That’s just my unscientific theory, though — what do you think? And which color would make you click more?

The folks over at MySpace sure have a lot on their plate, and the pressure is mounting. It’s no secret that the News Corp.-owned social network is playing catch-up with Facebook’s rising traffic, and the expiration date on its advertising deal with Google is looming. Now, in addition, U.S. advertising spending on MySpace is expected to fall 15 percent in 2009 to $495 million, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a study from research firm eMarketer.

News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta, and the rest of the MySpace team better start making headway with their turnaround strategy for the social network — and fast, or falling behind in traffic won’t be its only Facebook-related worry. U.S. ad spending on Facebook is expected to rise 9 percent to $230 million in 2009, and the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is on track to exceed MySpace in advertising dollars by 2011, according to the Journal. Though Van Natta has been shaking things up at MySpace with a series of layoffs in the U.S. and abroad, it’s going to take more than downsizing to help the floundering social network regain the status it once held — if it can at all. Continue »

Want to know what’s going on right this second? Real-time search engine OneRiot is launching (right now!) an API that widget and app makers can use to tap into its stream of real-time content. The search engine, which is focusing heavily on real-time content — social networks, freshly uploaded videos, and newly created blog articles — helps users find what’s happening right now on the web. It’s a booming business. Continue »

Wireless dealmaking has remained a fairly bright spot during the recession, according to an overview of venture investment and M&A in the industry released today by Rutberg & Co. The boutique investment bank focuses on digital media and wireless deals, and says it’s seen the dollar amount of deals in the wireless industry fall to $1.2 billion, a 43 percent drop from the first half of 2008. The number of deals, meanwhile, fell 31 percent, to 121. The most active investors in the space?  Qualcomm and Intel.

Qualcomm is defending its mobile turf against Intel’s encroachment, and strategic investments appear to be a weapon both are deploying in an attempt to get an edge. Continue »