Top Tech News
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• Death Knell Sounds for Wikipedia, About.com
  In relatively quiet fashion, search engine giant Google announced the testing of a new tool for organizing and disseminating knowledge on the Web. The new tool is built around the concept of a "knol," which the company says stands for "a unit of knowledge."

  "A knol on a particular topic," wrote Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, "is meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read."

  Manber said that, unlike Wikipedia, which relies on the collective and relatively anonymous contributions of many different editors, Google's knols will be primarily written by a single, identified author whose credentials will be displayed at the top of each knol.

  "Google will not serve as an editor in any way, and will not bless any content," Manber emphasized. "All editorial responsibilities and control will rest with the authors. We hope that knols will include the opinions and points of view of the authors who will put their reputation on the line."

  More About.com Than Wikipedia

  The common consensus in the media is that Google's knols are aimed squarely at Wikipedia, and in fact, the sample Web page on display in Manber's blog post does bear some passing resemblance to a typical Wikipedia page. At the top of the page is a brief summary, beside which is a table of contents with links to various sections of the page.

  But Google is considering several different features, the most provocative of which is a ranking system that will affect how high the knols appear in Google search results. Manber said that Google anticipates that there will be competing knols for some topic, and rankings will help readers decide which knols are the most reliable and useful.

  Google anticipates that some writers will choose to include Google Ads on their...

• FTC Chair Declines To Recuse Herself in Google Deal
  The chair of the Federal Trade Commission announced Friday that she will not recuse herself from considering a proposed merger between Google and DoubleClick.

  Two privacy groups -- the Center for Digital Democracy and the Electronic Privacy Information Center -- had petitioned for Chair Deborah Platt Majoras to recuse herself because, they said, the Washington law firm of Jones Day -- of which Majoras' husband is a partner -- is representing DoubleClick before the FTC and the European Union.

  Majoras said the groups' complaint is factually inaccurate. First, she said, Jones Day is not representing DoubleClick before the FTC but is focused on the European Union's review of the merger.

  In addition, because her husband, John M. Majoras, is a "fixed participation partner," without an equity interest in the firm, his involvement with Jones Day does not present a conflict of interest.

  No 'Imputed' Financial Interest

  "Jones Day does not represent DoubleClick before the FTC and, indeed, in dozens of meetings and submissions, has never appeared or even been mentioned," Majoras wrote in a statement posted to the FTC's Web site. Only the firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett represents DoubleClick before the FTC, she said, adding that no one at the FTC knew of Jones Day's involvement in the matter until Tuesday, December 11, 2007, "at which time staff learned and contacted me."

  As a non-equity partner in Jones Day, John Majoras' compensation is not affected by changes in the firm's income. "All benefits my husband receives from Jones Day are the same as those earned by other similarly situated non-equity partners in the firm," she wrote. "Therefore, my husband does not have a financial interest in the firm's income, and thus I do not have an imputed financial interest."

  Under federal law, Majoras would not be able to participate if her determinations in...

• Microsoft Fires Back at Opera Software
  Microsoft fired back at Opera Friday, after the maker of a for-pay browser known for its strict compliance with Web standards filed a complaint with the European Commission.

  "We believe the inclusion of the (IE) browser into the operating system benefits consumers, and that consumers and PC manufacturers are already free to choose to use any browsers they wish," Microsoft said in a statement.

  "Internet Explorer has been an integral part of the Windows operating system for over a decade," the company said, "and supports a wide range of Web standards."

  For Consumer Tired of 'Monopolist'

  Opera filed a complaint Thursday with the Commission, claiming that Microsoft had engaged in anticompetitive behavior by bundling Internet Explorer with Windows, putting other browser makers at a disadvantage.

  Opera also claimed that Microsoft's weak support for Web standards puts more compliant browsers at a disadvantage because Web developers will focus on the browser with the greatest market share.

  "We are filing this complaint on behalf of all consumers who are tired of having a monopolist make choices for them," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Opera. "In addition to promoting the free choice of individual consumers, we are a champion of open Web standards and cross-platform innovation."

  Microsoft "only recently begun to offer some of the innovative features that other browsers have offered for years," he added.

  Earlier Decision Provides Context

  The European Commission acted against Microsoft 2004, but the remedy the Commission came up with was seen as ineffective. The issue at the time was whether Microsoft's bundling of Windows Media Player was anticompetitive. The EC ruled that it was and ordered Microsoft to offer a version of Windows free of the Media Player.

  The problem was that the two versions of Windows cost the same, few PC makers opted to preinstall the version without Windows Media Player,...

• OpenSocial Faces Off with Facebook
  Following the announcement by Facebook that it would make its platform available to other sites, the application-sharing environment for social networking is moving quickly and picking up steam.

  Bebo, a popular social-networking site based in the UK, also announced its own Open Application Platform, with an application programming interface (API) for third-party developers. Bebo has partnerships with more than three dozen developers -- including NBC Universal, NBA, The Gap, and Yahoo -- who are creating music-, movie-, and photo-sharing applications for the site's 40 million users worldwide.

  In a statement, Bebo noted it would "be the first in the industry to implement the standards defined by the Faceook Platform." But it also said that it will be compatible with the other major platform for social-networking sites, OpenSocial, and thus become the first to support both.

  Facebook and OpenSocial

  OpenSocial is a Google-led effort to provide open APIs for social-networking sites, and is now positioned as the main alternative to an open Facebook platform. Other sites that have said they will support OpenSocial include MySpace, Hi5, Plaxo, Ning, and Friendster.

  But "there are concerns that OpenSocial is behind the ball" as an alternative to Facebook, according to Forrester senior analyst Jeremiah Owyang. The latest word, he noted, is that OpenSocial will release proofs of concept in early 2008.

  He described the current situation as having "a lot of fragmentation," given that many of the announcements are relatively recent. But, he noted, even with widely available standards for distributing third-party applications, developers likely will need to tweak their products for each site because there will be some technical interface or social differences among different sites.

  "The expectation that every application will work similarly on every site is over-optimistic," Owyang said.

  Into the Enterprise?

  If interoperable social-networking applications become widespread, consumers could have their own expectations about what widgets they can use...

• Sprint Gets First Dibs on MySpace Mobile
  Sprint has won first dibs on MySpace's mobile social-networking efforts. The wireless operator announced a deal with the company to link to MySpace Mobile once it officially launches in early 2008.

  "Our partnership empowers Sprint data subscribers with easy access to their MySpace community at no additional charge," Amit Kapur, vice president of business development for MySpace, said in a statement. "We're also in the process of redesigning the mobile site to provide an updated look and feel and enhanced functionality."

  Easy Online Access

  The new version of MySpace Mobile, currently in beta, will offer a revamped e-mail interface and other new features. The beta has seen over one million unique visitors since its release in September.

  The MySpace Mobile beta launch complements the social-networking platform's current mobile offerings, which include mobile alerts and premium applications on devices offered in the U.S. by Sprint and other carriers.

  From the user's point of view, the Sprint-MySpace deal means Sprint customers won't have to type a URL to access MySpace Mobile on their phones. Sprin