Google-Bot

Google-Bot. a photo by m_petruziello on Flickr.

Google has the ability to change whenever it feels like. However, why would they want to change? The answer is, because they can. Like almost any business owner, the main goal is to make the most money possible and with some business owner’s, they will do whatever it takes to make more money. Therefore, companies like Google have the ability weaken smaller businesses so they (Google) can make more money. With a simple tweaking of their search algorithm, small businesses get affected because Google changed the way their “bots” search for websites. “Because Google has become the source of so much traffic for so many, any burp or shudder in the company’s indexes has exponential implications through the young world of search-dependent on-line businesses” (The Search, pg. 158). Therefore, our Internet Technicians (me being one of them) have to update the website and keep an eye on Google everyday to maintain our placement in their search listings.

Linkedin Social Network IPO

The debut of the social network for professionals founded by ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman values the nine-year-old firm at $3 billion. At about 12 times 2010 sales, its IPO is cheap compared to 78 times for Renren, the Chinese site often likened to Facebook.

Companies including Twitter, Groupon and Zynga have stoked heavy interest from investors betting on social media only getting hotter. Their shares, traded in markets for private investors, are commanding multibillion-dollar valuations.


Last week, Renren Inc, one of China's biggest social networking companies, rose 29 percent in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.


LinkedIn is valued at a discount to peers, but as a social network, it is priced several times more than the likes of Google's and Yahoo's 4 to 5 times sales.


"In terms of the potential of how profitable LinkedIn can be, that's where most people feel that its upside potential is a lot more limited than some of the others," said Jay Ritter, a professor of finance at the University of Florida.


Sources say that even Facebook's seemingly inexorable climb in valuation may be peaking. In recent weeks, a group of investors looking to sell its shares showed a willingness to settle for a lower price than they wanted.


LinkedIn, which caters to professionals and job seekers, may not enjoy the same growth prospects as Facebook.


"LinkedIn is a subset of Facebook," said IPOdesktop.com President Francis Gaskins, who was disappointed by its revenue. "It's limited by its targeted market relative to Facebook."


The company earned $15.4 million in 2010 on net revenue of $243 million from roughly 100 million users, implying a multiple of roughly more than 12 times 2010 revenue.


In contrast, Renren's shares are trading at slightly more than 78 times the estimated annualized sales for the six months that ended December 31, 2010. Facebook is valued at 35 times last year's sales.


Gaskins said LinkedIn's valuation is rich considering its price to earnings ratio of 200 times 2010 earnings.


"LinkedIn is going to try and catapult off Renren's numbers," he said. "Uninformed investors will go after it."


There's little doubt among analysts and investors that LinkedIn will do well in its public debut. "I think we're far from a bubble bursting, and these kinds of events are just going to be a fuel to help the party continue for a couple more years at least," said Eric Jackson, managing member at Ironfire Capital, which owns stock in Yahoo and Renren.


LIMITED GROWTH POTENTIAL


LinkedIn said on Monday it would offer 7.84 million shares priced between $32 and $35 apiece, valuing the company at more than $3 billion.


In a government filing, LinkedIn warned that it expects its revenue growth rate to decline and its costs to rise as it ramps up hiring and re-invests in the business, and that it will lose money this year.


It cautioned that it "may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to sustain our profitability over the long term." LinkedIn makes money selling members premium subscription services, and hiring and marketing services.


LinkedIn is offering 4.8 million shares, and the rest will be sold by some of its stockholders.


Shares owned by co-founder and LinkedIn board Chairman Hoffman, who is among those stockholders selling shares in the IPO, would represent about 21.7 percent of voting power after the offering.


Other big stakeholders offering shares include Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc and Bain Capital Venture Integral Investors LLC.


Investors Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, which together own about two-fifths of the company, will not participate in the IPO.


The company expects to receive net proceeds of about $146.6 million from the IPO, based on an assumed offer price of $33.50 a share. It plans to use the proceeds toward product expansion, hiring and acquisitions.


Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the bookrunners for the LinkedIn offering. It has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "LNKD."


Original Post : http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/09/us-linkedin-idUSTRE7481NS20110509

What is kiosk machine ?

An Interactive kiosk is a computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and software designed within a public exhibit that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment, and education.

Early underarms kiosks sometimes resembled telephone booths, but can also be used while sitting on a bench or chair. Interactive kiosks are typically placed in high foot traffic settings such as hotel lobbies or airports.

Integration of technology allows kiosks to perform a wide range of functions, evolving into self-service kiosks. For example, kiosks may enable users to enter a public utility bill account number in order to perform an online transaction, or collect cash in exchange for merchandise. Customised components such as coin hoppers, bill acceptors, card readers and thermal printers enable kiosks to meet the owner's specialised needs.

What is Samurize ?

Serious Samurize (or simply "Samurize") is a freeware system monitoring and desktop enhancement engine for Microsoft Windows.

The core of Samurize is the desktop client that displays a "config" (similar to a widget/gadget) anywhere on the screen. There is also a taskbar client, a clock client, a server, and a screensaver. The client's main purpose is to display information about the computer, such as CPU usage, available RAM/HD space, network conditions, uptime, etc..

It can also be extended by using VBScript, JScript, Perl, Python, Ruby scripts and DLL plugins, which provide virtually unlimited possibilities. There are scripts/plugins which can get weather reports, news headlines, music controllers, etc.. Samurize includes a WYSIWYG config editor used to create the configs. A "config" consists of a collection of "meters", and is saved into a INI file in the "configs" folder of the Samurize installation path. "Configs" can be packed to be shared with other users by using an included tool.