WebProNews

Microsoft And EU Close To Agreement On Browser Choice

The European Commission said Wednesday it will invite comments from consumers and software companies about an improved proposal by Microsoft to allow users to choose other Web browsers. The improved proposal by Microsoft comes after the Commission expressed concerns that the company may have infringed EC Treaty rules on abuse of a dominant position by tying its web browser to its Windows operating system.  

Microsoft Launches H1N1 Flu Website

Microsoft has launched a new website, "H1N1 Response Center," which provides people with up to date relevant content and allows them to monitor symptoms and get advice using an H1N1 self-service tool. The H1N1 Response Center's self-assessment tool is licensed from medical and public health experts at Emory University. The service helps people determine if their symptoms could be caused by the H1N1 flu virus and provides recommendations about what they can do next.  

MLB.com To Offer Entire Playoffs Online

MLB.com has partnered with Fox Sports and Turner Sports, the rights holders to postseason baseball games, to allow fans to watch all of the playoffs online at Postseason.TV. Postseason.TV will launch Wednesday, October 7, when the Division Series begins on TBS. It will be accessible from MLB.com, FoxSports.com, MSN and MLB.com/TBSHotCorner.

Mobile Subscriptions To Reach 4.6 Billion

Global mobile subscriptions are on track to reach 4.6 billion by the end of the year, and mobile broadband subscriptions are set to surpass 600 million in 2009, according to a new report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). More than a quarter of the world's population is online and using the Internet, as of 2009. Increasing numbers are opting for high-speed Internet access, with fixed broadband subscriber numbers more than tripling from 150 million in 2004 to a projected 500 million by the end of 2009.

Four U.S. States Receive Broadband Mapping Grants

Four U.S. states are among the first to receive grants from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to map broadband use in homes. California received $2.8 million, Indiana $1.3 million, North Carolina $2.035 million and Vermont $1.2 milliamp.

Majority Of Consumers Will Shop Online During The Holidays

More than half (62.8%) of consumers plans to spend the same or cut back on their holiday purchases compared to 2008, according to a new survey by Burst Media. Although consumers plan to be thrifty with their spending this holiday season, the majority (85.3%) will shop online. With the current economic concerns, the survey found only 14.6 percent of respondents plan to spend more this holiday season than they did in 2008, while one third (32.7%) expect to spend less and 30.1 percent plan to spend about the same as they did last year.

Amazon Introduces Mobile Payment Service

Amazon.com has launched Amazon Mobile Payments Service (MPS) which provides developers, merchants and distributors of mobile applications a way to process payments from mobile devices. Amazon MPS allows customers to use their current payment and shipping information from their accounts to make purchases from their mobile device.

Grateful Dead Archive To Move Online

UC Santa Cruz has received a major grant to help digitize the Grateful Dead Archive at the university library. The university was awarded a National Leadership Grant of $615,175 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant will allow the UCSC Library to digitize materials from its Grateful Dead Archive spanning from 1965 to 1995. The project will include a new website titled, "The Virtual Terrapin Station."

Mobile Web Usage Up 34%

Web visitors using a mobile device increased 34 percent year-over-year, from 42.5 million visitors in July 2008 to 56.9 million in July 2009, according to a new report from Nielsen. Overall, year-over-year growth among the 13-17 and 65+ age groups outpaced the growth of the total mobile Web audience, with a youth increase of 45 percent and seniors climbing 67 percent in July.

Global Broadband Continues Solid Growth

The number of household broadband connections continues to experience solid growth and one in five households globally will have a fixed broadband connection by the end of 2009, according to a new report from Gartner. A total of 422 million households will have a fixed broadband connection in 2009, up from 382 million households in 2008, and the market will continue to grow with nearly 580 million connections by 2013.