Yahoo is an American public corporation headquartered in Sunnyval, Californiathat provides Internet services worldwide. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine, Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, news, and social media websites and services. Yahoo! was founded by Jerry Yag and David Filo in January 1994.
According to Web traffic analysis companies (including Compete.com, ComScore, Alexa Internet, Netcraft, and Nielsen Ratings), the domain “yahoo.com” attracted at least 1.575 billion visitors annually by 2008.
The global network of Yahoo! websites receives 3.4 billion page views per day on average as of October 2007. It is the second most visited website in the US and in the world
Recently Yahoo has been cutting the fat of its employee base, becoming the first since Yahoo appointed Carol Bartz, former executive chairman of Autodesk, as its new chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors.
Much of the media related with yahoo and its advertisers, will also take a large hit. Also with its slow recovery to the layoffs, Yahoo has lost many battles for prominent and successful sites like YouTube and Facebook.
The layoffs could affect several hundred employees and may be announced as early as Tuesday when Yahoo reports first-quarter financial results, says an anonymous group in the yahoo field.
The cuts would be the third round of layoffs at Yahoo in little more than a year. The Internet Company, which has been struggling for more than two years, laid off about 1,000 workers early in 2008. It cut 1,400 or so in the fourth quarter of last year, in continuing efforts to prune its sprawling online business and bring down expenses. It ended the year with 13,600 employees.
Under Ms. Bartz, Yahoo has also been trying to sell some business units that it doesn’t consider core to its mission, including Hotjobs, the online recruiting service, according to several people familiar with the plans.
Ms. Bartz has been reviewing Yahoo’s businesses. In recent weeks, she renewed discussions with Microsoft, which attempted to buy Yahoo early last year, and later tried to acquire the company’s search business.
The new round of talk centers on a possible advertising partnership, whether than a more reasonable, acquisition or a sale of Yahoo’s search business.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
More than confetti falling Monday
The game ending buzzer went off, the confetti fell, and North Carolina’s head coach’s eyes watered. The NCAA basketball tournament was nothing less of a fun ride for Coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar heels. “They took me for a beautiful ride,” he said about his players.
This victory was Williams’ second NCAA Championship and he is currently in third place for the most winning programs in college history behind Kentucky and UCLA.
The pro-Spartans crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan was taken out of the game early and never proved a significant factor.
“The best team won,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “That’s an easy statement to make. They played well.”
North Carolina blasted Michigan State, 89-72, to win its fifth national championship for the University. Michigan State’s run of hope ended as the Tar Heels jumped to a 20-point lead in the first 10 minutes.
“It was a perfect storm,” Izzo said.
Williams’ two national titles equal the total of the North Carolina Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith, which is a great honor and privilege said Williams. With tears in his eyes Williams said, “I’m the luckiest coach in America, I can tell you that.”
This victory was Williams’ second NCAA Championship and he is currently in third place for the most winning programs in college history behind Kentucky and UCLA.
The pro-Spartans crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan was taken out of the game early and never proved a significant factor.
“The best team won,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said. “That’s an easy statement to make. They played well.”
North Carolina blasted Michigan State, 89-72, to win its fifth national championship for the University. Michigan State’s run of hope ended as the Tar Heels jumped to a 20-point lead in the first 10 minutes.
“It was a perfect storm,” Izzo said.
Williams’ two national titles equal the total of the North Carolina Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith, which is a great honor and privilege said Williams. With tears in his eyes Williams said, “I’m the luckiest coach in America, I can tell you that.”
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Red faces lead to deeper looks into alcohol flush
For many college students, drinking is a way to relax or to sometimes loosen up. But for a certain group of people, there's nothing relaxing or exciting about grabbing unwanted attention and physical discomfort with the redness that comes with the consumption of a beer. These people have been made fun of, being called “Tomato” or “Cherry-face.” This redness is called ‘alchohol flush reaction.’
The flushing response may follow symptoms like nausea, and a rapid heart beat that scientists think is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2. ALDH2 is an enzyme that belongs to the aldehyde dehydrogenase family of enzymes which catalyze the chemical transformation from acetaldehyde to acetic acid. ALDH2 is the second enzyme of the major oxidative pathway of alcohol metabolism
As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction. It is also commonly referred to as "Asian flush syndrome" or "the Asian glow" because it occurs frequently in certain Asian populations. The flushing may indicate an increased risk for a deadly throat cancer, researchers report.
When most people drink alcohol, enzymes in their guts break it down and turn it into things that the body can eliminate as waste or store for energy. But some people have genetic mutations that keep the enzymes from doing their job, causing acetaldehyde - a toxic substance - to build up in their blood when they drink. People with two copies of the gene have such unpleasant reactions that they are unable to consume large amounts of alcohol. This aversion actually protects them against the increased risk for cancer. But those with only one copy can develop a tolerance to acetaldehyde and become heavy drinkers.
“What we’re trying to do here is raise awareness of this risk factor among doctors and their ALDH2-deficient patients," said Dr. Philip J. Brooks, an investigator with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and an author of the report published on Monday in the journal PLoS Medicine. “It’s a pretty serious risk."
“I'm actually hoping for an answer to this one too..., I've heard pepcid works, little before you drink, and on a full stomach. But it’s an extremely annoying problem. People will tell you, well just don't drink. But first, you want to have a good time once in a while, and sometimes you don't have a choice. I'm a waitress and every week in a class, we have to try out new kinds of alcohol for the first hand experience of a buzz on it. I cannot skip this because it helps me familiarize with all the drinks very effectively, yet I can't get up from the class after one or two drinks looking totally blown, and the worst part is my tolerance is the same as most people my size, i just get beet red after one drink and maybe the slightest buzz…please help” says Nicole Tangie of Sudbury, ON in response to a ‘Health Message Board’ article.
The flushing response may follow symptoms like nausea, and a rapid heart beat that scientists think is caused mainly by an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called ALDH2. ALDH2 is an enzyme that belongs to the aldehyde dehydrogenase family of enzymes which catalyze the chemical transformation from acetaldehyde to acetic acid. ALDH2 is the second enzyme of the major oxidative pathway of alcohol metabolism
As little as half a bottle of beer can trigger the reaction. It is also commonly referred to as "Asian flush syndrome" or "the Asian glow" because it occurs frequently in certain Asian populations. The flushing may indicate an increased risk for a deadly throat cancer, researchers report.
When most people drink alcohol, enzymes in their guts break it down and turn it into things that the body can eliminate as waste or store for energy. But some people have genetic mutations that keep the enzymes from doing their job, causing acetaldehyde - a toxic substance - to build up in their blood when they drink. People with two copies of the gene have such unpleasant reactions that they are unable to consume large amounts of alcohol. This aversion actually protects them against the increased risk for cancer. But those with only one copy can develop a tolerance to acetaldehyde and become heavy drinkers.
“What we’re trying to do here is raise awareness of this risk factor among doctors and their ALDH2-deficient patients," said Dr. Philip J. Brooks, an investigator with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and an author of the report published on Monday in the journal PLoS Medicine. “It’s a pretty serious risk."
“I'm actually hoping for an answer to this one too..., I've heard pepcid works, little before you drink, and on a full stomach. But it’s an extremely annoying problem. People will tell you, well just don't drink. But first, you want to have a good time once in a while, and sometimes you don't have a choice. I'm a waitress and every week in a class, we have to try out new kinds of alcohol for the first hand experience of a buzz on it. I cannot skip this because it helps me familiarize with all the drinks very effectively, yet I can't get up from the class after one or two drinks looking totally blown, and the worst part is my tolerance is the same as most people my size, i just get beet red after one drink and maybe the slightest buzz…please help” says Nicole Tangie of Sudbury, ON in response to a ‘Health Message Board’ article.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Missing fingers add up to low expectations of housing authorities
A young “home health aide” had the end of her finger cut off because of a mishap in an electrical elevator, on April 30th. Indira Abreu, 23, was working as a tenant in New York City in public housing at the Sedgwick Houses in Bronx, and stepped into an elevator to see a patient on the fifth floor.
The elevator was an old-fashioned model, with an outer door that swung out and an inner door that slid shut. When another passenger stepped out on the third floor, the outer door stopped short of closing, leaving Ms. Abreu stranded. Her storyline of the incident begins with her grabbing the edge of the door to pull it closed because it did not have an inside handle.
The door slammed into her right hand, catching her middle finger between the door and the frame. The tip of her finger up to the end joint was sliced off. “I immediately felt pain, and then I saw the blood and I just grabbed onto my hand,” said Ms. Abreu. “I held my hand. I still didn’t realize part of my finger was missing.”
Tenants who live in New York City public housing have been complaining almost everyday on the inconvenience that the elevators in the building have been giving. More than 170 injuries have occurred in elevators of the public housing in New York City including injuries to hands, arms, feet, backs, heads, legs and knees, according to the agency and to the records.
The Housing Authority, the City’s biggest landlord, help with poor families by giving them a lower rent. As a result of Ms. Abreu’s accident, and other complaints, the authority pledged last year to spend $107 million to replace about 550 elevators in the next five years.
“We care about our residents,” Mr. Morales said. “We care about our elevator situation and are working at it. Any injury to us is one too many. If anybody gets hurt, it’s a concern for us.”
From 2001 to 2007, the agency paid $3.5 million in settlements and judgments in elevator-related personal injury lawsuits, according to the documents. The agency has an operating budget deficit of $177 million in fiscal year 2009 and has closed underused community centers, eliminated hundreds of jobs and raised rents on its highest-income households to cut costs.
After Ms. Abreu’s accident, an inspector issued a violation to the agency for failing to maintain the elevator, in part because the outer door needed adjustment. Ms. Abreu is suing the agency and hiring Herbert Subin as her lawyer, and says she still has pain in her right hand, which she keeps covered with gloves.
“I was a happy person before this accident, and that happy person no longer exists,” she said
The elevator was an old-fashioned model, with an outer door that swung out and an inner door that slid shut. When another passenger stepped out on the third floor, the outer door stopped short of closing, leaving Ms. Abreu stranded. Her storyline of the incident begins with her grabbing the edge of the door to pull it closed because it did not have an inside handle.
The door slammed into her right hand, catching her middle finger between the door and the frame. The tip of her finger up to the end joint was sliced off. “I immediately felt pain, and then I saw the blood and I just grabbed onto my hand,” said Ms. Abreu. “I held my hand. I still didn’t realize part of my finger was missing.”
Tenants who live in New York City public housing have been complaining almost everyday on the inconvenience that the elevators in the building have been giving. More than 170 injuries have occurred in elevators of the public housing in New York City including injuries to hands, arms, feet, backs, heads, legs and knees, according to the agency and to the records.
The Housing Authority, the City’s biggest landlord, help with poor families by giving them a lower rent. As a result of Ms. Abreu’s accident, and other complaints, the authority pledged last year to spend $107 million to replace about 550 elevators in the next five years.
“We care about our residents,” Mr. Morales said. “We care about our elevator situation and are working at it. Any injury to us is one too many. If anybody gets hurt, it’s a concern for us.”
From 2001 to 2007, the agency paid $3.5 million in settlements and judgments in elevator-related personal injury lawsuits, according to the documents. The agency has an operating budget deficit of $177 million in fiscal year 2009 and has closed underused community centers, eliminated hundreds of jobs and raised rents on its highest-income households to cut costs.
After Ms. Abreu’s accident, an inspector issued a violation to the agency for failing to maintain the elevator, in part because the outer door needed adjustment. Ms. Abreu is suing the agency and hiring Herbert Subin as her lawyer, and says she still has pain in her right hand, which she keeps covered with gloves.
“I was a happy person before this accident, and that happy person no longer exists,” she said
Monday, March 9, 2009
FACEBOOK’S private policies turn public
“Facebook,” one of the world’s largest social networks, has a chief privacy officer that has been predicted to diminish in the next few years because of its enormous growth and the building of relationships with other competing and social networks leading to a smaller gap between the private and the public. The main issue is that many of Facebook’s members consisting of mostly high school students, college students, and graduates, all seem to have no problem with sharing their personal information, but also have the concern of having their privacy withdrawn. Among members, a Law of Amiable Inclusiveness seems to be revealing itself: over time, many are deciding that the easiest path is to routinely accept “friend requests,” completing a sequence begun when one member seeks to designate another as a Facebook friend. In other words, they are defining “friend” simply as any Facebook member who communicates a wish to be one. Facebook provides many different types of privacy policies and options, where many of these members do not take advantage of. They ignore the opportunity to change their privacy settings and then blame the network for revealing such private data. But many of these private settings can be easily “tweaked” by users who need or want to find out more about an individual. Facebook does let members create customized subsets of friends. Members can selectively restrict access to some items, such as photo albums and videos. But because of the amount of time and/or amount of clicks a user must go through to create a custom permission account, many of these users are shying away from the advantages that Facebook offers. For many members, “friends” now means a mish-mash of real friends, former friends, friends of friends, and non-friends; younger and older relatives; colleagues and, if cursed, a nosy boss or two. Everyone accepted as a “friend” gets the same access. When the distinction blurs between one’s few close friends and the many that are not, it seems pointless to distinguish between private and public.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
here comes square root day
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/wireStory?id=6993354
A rare holiday only occurring nine times each century was a huge hit to math teacher Tuesday with the addition of a little competition. The day is none other than 3/3/09, obviously because the square root of nine is three times three. “We have but nine of these days in a century, and hope all can enjoy a little math fun on Tuesday (Today),” said Ron Gordon, a Redwood City Oklahoma math teacher.
Gordon, who started a contest meant to get people excited about the event. The winner gets, of course, $339 for having the biggest Square Root Day event. Celebrants are expected to mark the occasion by cutting root vegetables into squares or preparing other foods in the shape of the square root symbol.
"These days are like calendar comets, you wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day and poof they're gone," said Gordon. The last one occurred on February 2, 2004, and the next will occur in seven years on April 4, 2016.
Square Root Day isn't the only humorous holiday celebrated in the math world.
Pi Day is observed each March 14 (3/14), while Pi Approximation Day falls on July 22 (roughly equal to 22/7). The first Pi Day was observed in 1988 by staff at the San Francisco Exploratorium, who walked around in circles.
So as you can see these holidays may be small but do have meaning, and all include fun times. So dust off the cobwebs from the math-section of your brain, recharge your calculators, and enjoy Square root day.
A rare holiday only occurring nine times each century was a huge hit to math teacher Tuesday with the addition of a little competition. The day is none other than 3/3/09, obviously because the square root of nine is three times three. “We have but nine of these days in a century, and hope all can enjoy a little math fun on Tuesday (Today),” said Ron Gordon, a Redwood City Oklahoma math teacher.
Gordon, who started a contest meant to get people excited about the event. The winner gets, of course, $339 for having the biggest Square Root Day event. Celebrants are expected to mark the occasion by cutting root vegetables into squares or preparing other foods in the shape of the square root symbol.
"These days are like calendar comets, you wait and wait and wait for them, then they brighten up your day and poof they're gone," said Gordon. The last one occurred on February 2, 2004, and the next will occur in seven years on April 4, 2016.
Square Root Day isn't the only humorous holiday celebrated in the math world.
Pi Day is observed each March 14 (3/14), while Pi Approximation Day falls on July 22 (roughly equal to 22/7). The first Pi Day was observed in 1988 by staff at the San Francisco Exploratorium, who walked around in circles.
So as you can see these holidays may be small but do have meaning, and all include fun times. So dust off the cobwebs from the math-section of your brain, recharge your calculators, and enjoy Square root day.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Murdoch's chimp-ish apology
http://blog.newser.com/post/2009/2/19/Chimp-Cartoon-Makes-Murdoch-A-Chump.aspx
Rupert Murdoch released a statement on Tuesday saying, "I am ultimately responsible."
Murdoch was responding to the uproar after last week's controversial stimulas cartoon, for which the paper had already semi apologized.
The main point of the cartoon Murdoch claims was mainly to make a reference to the attacking chimp of the previous report on the women, who treated it like a child and family member. His approach, mainly seen as racist, was never purposely aimed as such.
With the paper’s original apology “Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today we want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted” and the official apology of Murdoch, readers should be feel that Murdoch’s attempt to be funny and point proving was irresponsible and deserves to be forgiven for his misread mistake.
Being a frequent reader of the New York Times, I believe that this actual cartoon was aimed to grab attention to an unknown writer. Basically Murdoch was looking for an attention grabber and failed, with the actual impact it had on the media and their negative outlook on him personally. It was a cartoon taken way out of context by a man who just hasn't had enough time in the spotlight. Murdoch should have either kept his mouth shut and not said anything about it or come up with a more proper approach to the issue.
Rupert Murdoch released a statement on Tuesday saying, "I am ultimately responsible."
Murdoch was responding to the uproar after last week's controversial stimulas cartoon, for which the paper had already semi apologized.
The main point of the cartoon Murdoch claims was mainly to make a reference to the attacking chimp of the previous report on the women, who treated it like a child and family member. His approach, mainly seen as racist, was never purposely aimed as such.
With the paper’s original apology “Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today we want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted” and the official apology of Murdoch, readers should be feel that Murdoch’s attempt to be funny and point proving was irresponsible and deserves to be forgiven for his misread mistake.
Being a frequent reader of the New York Times, I believe that this actual cartoon was aimed to grab attention to an unknown writer. Basically Murdoch was looking for an attention grabber and failed, with the actual impact it had on the media and their negative outlook on him personally. It was a cartoon taken way out of context by a man who just hasn't had enough time in the spotlight. Murdoch should have either kept his mouth shut and not said anything about it or come up with a more proper approach to the issue.
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