WebProNews

Bing Gets a Bunch of New Search Features

Microsoft has announced the addition of a number of new features to its Bing search engine. The company says it has been examining the trends in search and in feedback, and is working to accommodate these. Microsoft is referring to trends like the demand for faster access to knowledge, offering different user interfaces for different kinds of results, and an increased focus on "getting things done" with search.

Google Announces SPDY Application-Layer Protocol

Except, perhaps, for multitasking techies and the last few people using dialup connections, load times aren't a huge deal from a user perspective; the average page appears before most folks think to click on anything else.  Still, Google looks set to make a lot of friends with the introduction of a research project dubbed SPDY ("speedy").

HP Buys 3Com for $2.7 Billion

HP announced today that it is acquiring 3Com, makers of network switching, routing, and security solutions, for $2.7 billion in cash (at 7.90 per share). Both boards have already approved the transaction. HP says the combination of these two companies will transform the networking industry and "underscore HP's next-generation data center strategy." The company believes this will help customers simplify networks and improve IT service delivery capabilities.

Twitter Puts Retweet Roll-Out on Hold

Update 2: Twitter says on the Twitter Status blog, "We’re working on a few problems related to the ongoing rollout. These should be resolved quickly and it will be back on for those who had the Retweet feature previously. And we’ll then continue the incremental rollout of this feature to everyone."

Yahoo Launches Spanish Version of Mobile Home Page

Yahoo has launched Yahoo Mobile in Spanish. This is a Spanish-language version of the Yahoo Mobile home page, which is customized specifically for U.S. Hispanic consumers, and is available on over 1,900 devices. "By bringing together U.S. Hispanic consumers' favorite content and services from across the Internet, Yahoo! Mobile en Español enables users to create both culturally and personally relevant mobile experiences," a spokesperson for Yahoo tells WebPronews.

Emails With Coupons Achieve Higher Open Rates

The majority (80%) of emails sent with coupons received higher open rates and transaction rates than non-coupon campaigns, according to a new report from Experian Marketing Services. Seventy percent of coupons-using households get their coupons from newspapers. However, the Internet is a growing coupon resource. Over the last three years, the number of households that get their coupons online has increased by 46 percent.

Compete Builds "Twitter Down" Case

According to the latest stats from Compete, Twitter didn't fare too well in October.  In fact, rather than pull in more unique visitors compared to the previous month, Twitter may have lost some and turned a one-time anomaly into a two-time streak. As the below graph shows, Twitter's growth rate slowed quite a bit starting in June.  Compete then recorded that its unique visitor count peaked in August.  September didn't play out at all in the site's favor, and in October, both visits and unique visitors dropped by about 2.1 percent.

How Important is Archiving the Real-Time Web?

You may recall earlier this year when URL-shortening service Tr.im announced it was going to shut down and sparked a big discussion about what happens to all of these links if such a service just decides it doesn't want to exist anymore. It is an interesting discussion, and it ultimately led to Tr.im having a change of heart and deciding to remain functional.

Intel Pays AMD $1.25 Billion, Following That $1.5 Billion Fine

Update: Intel has now updated its Fourth-quarter financial expectations:

Churchill Downs Buys Youbet.com For $126 Million

Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI), home of the Kentucky Derby, has agreed to buy online horse wagering firm Youbet.com in a cash-and- stock deal valued at $126.8 million. The deal would give Churchill Downs over $700 million worth of the $1.4 billion online horse wagering market. Churchill Downs already owns online horse betting site TwinSpires.com.