This morning Google announced a new Blue Dot feature on the mobile version of Google Product Search that shows whether a product is in-stock at nearby stores. This seems to pose a threat to startup Milo, which highlights local inventory in product search results both on the web and mobile devices. Milo’s co-founder Ted Dziuba subsequently responded to our post with a Tweet that read “Google Product Search has availability for 5 retailers vs. Milo’s 49. Super cool web service, bro.” At launch Google only has partnerships with Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and West Elm. Milo’s list of merchants includes a range of retailers, from BestBuy and Nordstrom to Midwestern regional department store Blain’s Farm and Fleet.

When we asked for an additional response, Milo sent us this amazing set of pictures below. Milo’s Palo Alto office’s are located at 165 University Avenue, in the same space as Google’s first office back in 1999. Look closely at the picture and you may even see a few of the famous faces from Google’s original team. The building itself is legendary in Silicon Valley and has also housed PayPal. Here’s a 2007 New York Times article detailing the building’s history and apparent lucky karma. The picture of the Google employees was given to Milo by one of its investors.

Milo CEO and co-founder Jack Abraham was quick to respond that they are not implying that Milo is the next Google, but just meant to inject some light-hearted humor into the situation. In all seriousness, Abraham said that Milo has a tremendous amount of respect for Google and its Product Search but aren’t scared of the search giant entering the market and actually welcomes the competition. Abraham and his team have been working for the past two years to scale their product and feel that their offering is more comprehensive than Google’s Blue Dot specials. While Milo is steadily expanding its merchants both regionally and nationally, the startup is also looking to partner with mom and pop shops in cities. Currently, Milo indexes 2 million products.

And Forrester reports that the “online research, offline buying” consumer market represents $917 billion in consumer spending, which is 30 percent of all U.S. retail sales. Online, e-commerce spending accounts for less than 5 percent of U.S. sales. With those numbers, it comes of no surprise that Google wants a piece of the pie. But perhaps there’s enough room for a number of players to monetize from this space.

Milo’s Response To Google’s Blue Dot Specials: A Picture via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/HXTq393Tbes/ TechCrunch

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Opera has announced its Mini 5 web browser is now available for Google Android in beta form.

The browser was recently announced for Windows Mobile and BlackBerry handsets but now Android users can download it from Market, with Opera saying it offers “a fast and cost-efficient Web experience”.

The fast part is because Opera nicely compresses data from the web by up to 90 per cent before sending it to you – giving you a speedier mobile web experience.

Fast and cost-efficient

Opera boasts that it has over 50 million users worldwide and it also notes that its “easy-to-use interface offers a desktop-like web browsing experience on a mobile phone.”

Other features Mini 5 offers include Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, password manager and bookmarks.

“Android users should not have to compromise when it comes to surfing the web on their phones.” Says Dag Olav Norem, Vice President of Products, Opera Software.

“Opera Mini will give Android users a fast and cost-efficient access to their favourite websites and services.”

This announcement means that Android users have pipped iPhone users to the Opera post.

Although Mini 5 was announced for the iPhone at Mobile World Congress, the browser has so far yet to appear.

Opera launches Mini 5 browser for Android via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techradar/phone-and-communications-news/~3/Io5FdYrGyoE/story01.htm TechRadar Mobile

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Fondly remembered computer games television show GamesMaster could be set for a return to the small screen, with Future Publishing confirming that it is currently exploring its option for bringing back the programme.

Future Publishing, also TechRadar’s publisher, owns the rights to GamesMaster and is set to unveil its redesigned GamesMaster magazine in May, but the revival doesn’t stop there with confirmation that the brand could move back onto TVs.

“Future is also looking at ways to extend the brand into new formats,” said Future.

“GamesMaster remains the UK’s most successful videogames TV show of all-time, running from 1991 until 1998 on Channel 4, and the team are exploring the potential for reviving the brand on TV screens.”

Moore Diamond

The original GamesMaster programme featured Dominik Diamond and Sir Patrick Moore as the brilliantly grumpy GamesMaster.

Simon Maxwell, Group Publisher of Future’s Console and Online portfolio, added: “GamesMaster is a key gaming brand for Future and there are some fantastic opportunities to expand its reach and influence beyond the magazine.

“This year, we’ll bring a comprehensively redesigned GamesMaster magazine to market, develop an online presence through our existing sites, and explore the appetite for bringing the show back to TV.”

GamesMaster TV return being considered via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techradar/gaming-news/~3/-FiL9_bnXok/story01.htm TechRadar Games

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One of Cafe World’s newest features is also one of the best things we’ve seen so far — it was smoothly launched, well-received, and done to no fanfare or prior announcement. That last bit is somewhat strange, given that a lot of hype was vested in their newborn, week-old Spice Rack system, a feature that was saddled with glitches and delays. It still hasn’t really caught on among players. In light of that, maybe the quiet launch makes perfect sense, because excitement over the previous one peaked too soon.

So how do you get the “Scratch Lotto”, and what does it do? Right now, every time you gain a level, it’ll trigger a window prompt offering you a Lotto card. Scratch any of the three images to win something random. Prizes can be coins to decorations, and even valuable CAFE CASH! You’ll also get the option to send a stack of cards to your friends.

In a world of social gaming structured around scheduled tasks, there’s nothing as refreshing as some instant in-game gratification for a job well done!

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Cafe World offers instant free prizes with "Scratch Lotto" via http://blog.games.com/2010/03/11/cafe-world-offers-freebies-with-scratch-lotto/Games.Com

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The app will be designed specifically for the iPad’s tablet form factor, and will join B&N’s existing e-reader app family already available for Mac, PC, iPhone , iPod touch, and BlackBerry.

In other words, although the company is selling its own Nook e-reader device, it doesn’t want to lock potential book customers into a single platform or device. The company says that the goal is “providing consumers any book, anytime, anywhere.”

Like the other existing apps, the iPad app will give users access to the Barnes & Noble e-bookstore with more than one million e-books, magazines and newspapers, plus access of course to its existing digital library. The company expects to officially launch the app around the same time the iPad will be available, which should be April 3 if the existing rumor has any truth to it.

As publishers continue to flock to the iPad, what’s your current take on the e-reader versus tablet war that’s brewing? Can the two form factors coexist, or will tablets like the iPad steal the thunder from e-readers?

Barnes & Noble to Launch E-Reader App for iPad via http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/mashable/tech/~3/CLxmsVO9JjI/ Mashable

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Mark June 17 on your calendars as that would be when the OnLive ’Games-on-Demand’ service powered by cloud-servers arrives. Steve Perlman and Mike McGarvey, founders of OnLive, has taken the opportunity to announce the subscription plans for the service for both PCs and Macs, albeit only for folks living in the US, with no word on availability and their respective subscription plans for the European region at the moment. What is OnLive? It is a ‘Games on Demand’ service powered by Cloud-servers and based on subscription model. The moment you access the huge library of games, you can play them instantly over the Internet without having to worry about system compatibility and going through the whole tedious installation process. With 720p HD quality video gaming, expect to spend more time cooped up at home now. For more context, check out our hands-on of the OnLive Game Service at last year’s GDC.

Permalink: OnLive Game Service out this June 17 from Ubergizmo | RSS Sponsor: Win a Fellowes Microshred Paper Shredder!

OnLive Game Service out this June 17 via http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/03/onlive_game_service_out_this_june_17.html UberGizmo

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Newly independent Aol is still struggling with the fate of Bebo, the social network they acquired for $850 million in 2008.

No one argues that Aol overpaid for Bebo. And the social network has fallen from 22 million monthly unique visitors when it was acquired to just 14.6 million today (Comscore worldwide). But even so, Bebo clearly has some value on the open market.

Despite that value, Aol’s best financial option for Bebo will likely be to abandon it rather than sell it, say corporate tax experts we’ve spoken with.

Here’s why – complicated corporate tax rules will let Aol write off the full purchase price of Bebo if they declare it worthless and abandon the asset. With Aol’s effective tax rate of around 45%, that’s $380 million and change in their pocket in taxes that they’d be able to avoid.

A sale of Bebo would almost certainly be less attractive. If someone were to pay them $100 million for the service, which is optimistic, Aol could still offset the remaining $750 million as a tax loss. But it could only apply against long term capital gains, and Aol doesn’t have any to offset against. They’d have to carry that loss forward and hope for future gains to offset it against.

One corporate tax attorney we spoke with wouldn’t discuss Aol specifically, but did confirm the logic of the approach. Bryan Smith, a partner at Perkins Coie, says “Without getting into any specific facts or companies, it will often be more attractive for a U.S. corporation to simply shut down a subsidiary and claim a deduction for the worthlessness of the stock against ordinary income instead of selling the stock at a distressed price and taking a capital loss, which may only offset capital gains.”

If Aol were to abandon Bebo they couldn’t pull any of the assets of the company back into Aol, say the experts we’ve spoken with. Otherwise it becomes a non-taxable liquidation. If Aol had debt or preferred stock on the books with Bebo, though, they could pull out assets to offset that liability.

Why AOL May Just Abandon Bebo Rather Than Sell It via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/NonN0Cwo0JI/ TechCrunch

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MSN Video Player has been a big enough success through a pilot scheme to be launched as a major new product, and Microsoft is not ruling out offering the service to television manufacturers, on Xbox and through the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series.

A million people have already used the ad-funded and free MSN Video Player in beta to watch full-length programmes, trailers and clips, enough of an audience to convince the portal that the service has the appeal to become a key asset for Microsoft.

With users staying for an average of 25 minutes – far more than major catch-up services like ITV Player and 4OD – and advertisers champing at the bit to buy up pre-roll adverts before the features, Microsoft has now sealed deals with the likes of Endemol and Shed Media to expand their offering further.

Thousand hours

“We are expanding our catalogue to over 1,000 hours,” explained MSN’s Rob Crossen. “We’ve signed a number of new deals…we’ve gone out there and sourced content that appeals to our audience.

“The other aspect is that we are launching a new platform and it really puts content at the centre. It’s not about other brands it’s really about programmes.

“The reasons we are chasing the audiences that we are is that we know there is advertiser demand for those audiences because they are very tech savvy.

“It’s not a discussion around getting thousands and thousands of hours [of content] it’s more about a targeted offering.”

The platform is optimised for Microsoft’s Silverlight – support that was notably missing from the pilot – although it also works with Flash, and some of the content is available in HD streaming at 720p on connections of 2Mbps and upwards.

Xbox, Windows Phone 7 Series and widgets

With comparisons to the iPlayer inevitable, it’s clear that Microsoft could roll out the MSN Video Player to television, its Xbox console, Windows Phone 7 Series and set-top boxes – in the same way as the BBC has puched its offering on multiple platforms from Virgin Media cable to the iPhone.

“What we’re doing here is taking MSN beyond what it has typically been known for,” added Crossen.

“An obvious place to tale MSN Video Player – given the quality of content that you are seeing on the platform – is the TV, and there are a number of ways that we could do that and in fact the challenge is prioritising so we’re looking at a number of opportunities.

“There are a number of ways… widgets on internet connected TVs, we have our own products within the Microsoft network, Xbox and Windows Media Center for instance.

“There are a number of ways that we could choose to explore.”

“We have a fantastic product coming later in the year,” said Crossen when asked if a mobile MSN Video Player was likely for the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series, “but no fixed plans that we are announcing today.

“It’s a reflection of our users telling us what they want and they also express their views how they want their content and how they consume it so it’s absolutely no mystery to any of us how it could grow.”

Xbox users already have access to long-form content through a tie up with the Sky Player and a movie download service, but the concept of a free and ad funded channel is likely to appeal.

The MSN Video Player officially launches tomorrow, go to player.uk.msn.com for more details.

Exclusive: MSN Video Player launches, sets sites on Xbox and phones via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techradar/phone-and-communications-news/~3/lBmAsNoqBI8/story01.htm TechRadar Mobile

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MSN Video Player has been a big enough success through a pilot scheme to be launched as a major new product, and Microsoft is not ruling out offering the service to television manufacturers, on Xbox and through the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series.

A million people have already used the ad-funded and free MSN Video Player in beta to watch full-length programmes, trailers and clips, enough of an audience to convince the portal that the service has the appeal to become a key asset for Microsoft.

With users staying for an average of 25 minutes – far more than major catch-up services like ITV Player and 4OD – and advertisers champing at the bit to buy up pre-roll adverts before the features, Microsoft has now sealed deals with the likes of Endemol and Shed Media to expand their offering further.

Thousand hours

“We are expanding our catalogue to over 1,000 hours,” explained MSN’s Rob Crossen. “We’ve signed a number of new deals…we’ve gone out there and sourced content that appeals to our audience.

“The other aspect is that we are launching a new platform and it really puts content at the centre. It’s not about other brands it’s really about programmes.

“The reasons we are chasing the audiences that we are is that we know there is advertiser demand for those audiences because they are very tech savvy.

“It’s not a discussion around getting thousands and thousands of hours [of content] it’s more about a targeted offering.”

The platform is optimised for Microsoft’s Silverlight – support that was notably missing from the pilot – although it also works with Flash, and some of the content is available in HD streaming at 720p on connections of 2Mbps and upwards.

Xbox, Windows Phone 7 Series and widgets

With comparisons to the iPlayer inevitable, it’s clear that Microsoft could roll out the MSN Video Player to television, its Xbox console, Windows Phone 7 Series and set-top boxes – in the same way as the BBC has puched its offering on multiple platforms from Virgin Media cable to the iPhone.

“What we’re doing here is taking MSN beyond what it has typically been known for,” added Crossen.

“An obvious place to tale MSN Video Player – given the quality of content that you are seeing on the platform – is the TV, and there are a number of ways that we could do that and in fact the challenge is prioritising so we’re looking at a number of opportunities.

“There are a number of ways… widgets on internet connected TVs, we have our own products within the Microsoft network, Xbox and Windows Media Center for instance.

“There are a number of ways that we could choose to explore.”

“We have a fantastic product coming later in the year,” said Crossen when asked if a mobile MSN Video Player was likely for the forthcoming Windows Phone 7 Series, “but no fixed plans that we are announcing today.

“It’s a reflection of our users telling us what they want and they also express their views how they want their content and how they consume it so it’s absolutely no mystery to any of us how it could grow.”

Xbox users already have access to long-form content through a tie up with the Sky Player and a movie download service, but the concept of a free and ad funded channel is likely to appeal.

The MSN Video Player officially launches tomorrow, go to player.uk.msn.com for more details.

Exclusive: MSN Video Player launches, sets sights on Xbox and phones via http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/techradar/gaming-news/~3/OlS3vW9k4zI/story01.htm TechRadar Games

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These Facebook games just keep bringing on the free stuff! Now you can get 1,000 Coins and qualify for a Gray Chinchilla by becoming a fan of SSP Ranch’s official Facebook page!

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

SSP Ranch! dares you to want a Chinchilla via http://blog.games.com/2010/03/10/free-gray-chincilla-and-1k-coins-for-fans-of-ssp-ranch/Games.Com

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