Microsoft Corp is considering a bid for Yahoo Inc, resurfacing as a potential buyer after a bitter and unsuccessful fight to take over the Internet company in 2008, sources close to the situation said on Wednesday.

Microsoft joins a host of other companies looking at Yahoo, which has a market value of about $20 billion and is readying financial pitch books for potential buyers, they said.

Those companies include buyout shops Providence Equity Partners, Hellman & Friedman and Silver Lake Partners, as well as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Russian technology investment firm DST Global, the sources said.

Yahoo shares jumped 10.1 percent on the news to close at $15.92 on Nasdaq, but fell back to $15.34 in after-hours trading. Microsoft shares ended 2.2 percent higher at $25.89.

Microsoft may seek a partner to go after Yahoo, one of the sources said, without identifying any parties.

No decision has been made and a bid may not materialize as there are internal divisions at the software company on whether it should pursue Yahoo again, a high-ranking Microsoft executive said.

One camp inside Microsoft is hot for the deal, believing that it would obliterate AOL Inc as a competitor and create a strong Web portal that can offer better products to audiences, advertisers and end users, the executive said.

However, another camp is against the deal, feeling that if Microsoft is going to invest billions of dollars in an acquisition it should be one that has more growth potential. Microsoft last tried buying Yahoo in 2008, offering to pay as much as $47.5 billion, or $33 per share.

“Yahoo’s value hasn’t grown in years, and some executives feel we should buy something that is more forward-looking,” said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yahoo, Microsoft and the other potential buyers declined to comment.

Any auction process for Yahoo is still in the early stages, and the company’s financial advisers — Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co — are preparing to send financial information to potential bidders, sources have said previously.

BIG BITE

Shortly after ousting Carol Bartz as CEO in early September, Yahoo said it was exploring strategic alternatives after receiving “inbound interest” from a number of parties.

The once-dominant Internet pioneer is pursuing parallel tracks, sounding out deal options as well as engaging in a search for a new CEO.

Yahoo would be a big bite for any single private equity firm, especially at a time when financing markets for leveraged buyouts have dried up.

Industry sources said private equity firms could take over the U.S. operations and sell Yahoo’s Asian assets to a buyer such as Alibaba.

“There are many reasons why this thing probably makes sense,” said Sid Parakh, analyst at fund firm McAdams Wright Ragen. “If you strip out the variety of assets Yahoo owns, you are pretty much paying nothing for the core business.”

One Wall Street analyst recently valued Yahoo at just over $20 billion, with its core search and display advertising business worth $7.7 billion, its Asian assets worth $9.2 billion, plus $3.2 billion in cash.

Yahoo owns about 40 percent of Alibaba as well as about 35 percent of Yahoo Japan.

If Microsoft fully combined its Bing Internet search business with Yahoo’s, it would give it more than 30 percent of the U.S. search market and make it a credible competitor to Google, said Parakh.

Under a 10-year deal struck in 2009, Microsoft’s Bing already powers Yahoo search, but it cedes 88 percent of resulting advertising revenue back to Yahoo.

Microsoft, with a cash pile of $53 billion, could certainly afford a deal, but some doubted the world’s largest software company would actually pursue it, given its previously failed bid and the existing Yahoo agreement.

“I think it’s unlikely because they (Microsoft) have been down this path before,” said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Macquarie Research.

“In a lot of ways they’ve gotten what they want out of it already, with the (Yahoo) search deal. I could make a case for a lot of synergies. But it’s certainly not a strategic priority in any way.”

Silicon Valley sources said Jack Ma, the founder and CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba — who last month expressed interest in buying Yahoo — could team up with private equity to make a deal.

Or it may make more sense for Ma to team up with Microsoft, said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung.

“If Microsoft gets involved, then you don’t need private equity,” said Leung. “The problem for Jack Ma is capital. Microsoft has $53 billion in cash. Why have to deal with bondholders and all this stuff when Microsoft can make that all happen for you?”

CULTURE CLASH

Some also have expressed concerns about cultural fit and Microsoft’s ability to manage such a large deal.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has had an antagonistic relationship with Yahoo, and the company has never successfully integrated a large acquisition.

Microsoft’s 2007 deal to buy online ad firm aQuantive for $6 billion was a flat-out failure. Its $8.5 billion deal to buy Internet phone service Skype has not yet been completed, so integration efforts have not yet begun.

Microsoft is making slow progress in combating Google’s dominance in search advertising. According to the latest figures from research firm comScore, Google has 64.8 percent of the U.S. search market, Yahoo has 16.3 pct and Microsoft 14.7 percent.

But even with traffic from Yahoo, Microsoft still has not attracted enough advertising dollars and profitability in search is a long way off.

Last quarter, Microsoft’s online services unit — which includes Bing and the MSN web portal — lost $728 million. It has lost almost $6.5 billion over last three fiscal years.

TAIPEI/HELSINKI (Reuters) – Rival smartphone makers could exploit a rare letdown by Apple in the launch of its new iPhone 4S model, which failed to wow fans, and grab a bigger share of the most lucrative part of the phone market.

However, analysts also noted that Apple’s decision to keep older iPhone models and slash their prices, would help the U.S. firm to reach the bigger, mass market, where it will be in more direct competition with phones using Google’s Android software.

The iPhone, introduced in 2007 with the touchscreen template since adopted by rivals, has proved to be the gold standard in the booming smartphone market, and its surging sales have hit the ambitious plans of many competitors.

But shares in Apple’s closest rivals, Samsung Electronics, HTC and Nokia, gained on Wednesday after Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S overnight at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The new iPhone 4S is identical in form to the previous model, disappointing fans who had hoped for a thinner, bigger-screened design of a product that had not been updated for more than a year.

“Apple no longer has a leading edge; its cloud service is even behind Android; it can only sell on brand loyalty now,” said Gartner analyst C.K. Lu in Taipei.

“Users may wait to buy the next iPhone; if they can’t wait, they may shift to brands with more advanced specs.”

In Europe shares in Nokia and Ericsson, half-owner of the Sony Ericsson smartphone venture, were both more than 3 percent higher by 1115 GMT on Wednesday.

“Nokia should benefit from the fact that Apple chose not to play the design card this time around and that unlike some rumors, there will not be anything new aimed at the key mid-range market,” analysts from Nordea said in a note.

Nordea said the lack of more significant upgrade to the iPhone would also help Microsoft to gain ground with its Windows Phone platform, which so far controls just 2-3 percent of the market.

Earlier this year Nokia decided to switch to use Microsoft software in its smartphones, and it will introduce its first models using the software later this quarter.

GOING FOR BIGGER MARKETS

While the new iPhone’s high-tech wizardry such as voice commands — for sending messages, searching for stock prices and other applications — caught the attention of many analysts, it might not be enough to make it a must-have for consumers.

“Apple’s decision not to launch new hardware offers rivals Samsung and HTC a window of opportunity to narrow the gap with their high-end devices before the iPhone 5 arrives,” said Ben Wood, head of research at mobile industry consultancy CCS Insight.

“That said, the dramatic price cuts for 3GS and 4G gives Apple a new competitive edge in the mid-tier segment, particularly in the U.S. market,” Wood said.

Apple revealed on Tuesday that it was cutting the price of the previous iPhone 4 model to $99 on a network service contract, and said the even older 3GS model will be available for free on contract. This allows Apple to hit the low-end smartphone market it had once eschewed.

Even before the low-cost phone, Apple was set to exponentially grow its China business as it stitches deals with operators in the world’s largest mobile phone market, home to more than 900 million subscribers.

TOP SELLING SMARTPHONE

Phones based on Google’s Android, which is available for free to handset vendors such as Samsung, HTC, LG and Motorola, have a greater combined market share than Apple’s iPhone, which is still the world’s biggest-selling smartphone.

“There are still many consumers who don’t have the iPhone experience, and Apple still has a lot of markets and carriers to enter, so when there’s a new model with better specs, it helps to lift shipments,” said Ming-chi Kuo, analyst at Concord Securities in Taipei.

“The iPhone 4S targets users who are expiring on their two-year 3GS contract.”

Apple sold a record 20.3 million iPhones in the April-June quarter, with analysts estimating Samsung smartphone sales at 19 million handsets, well ahead of Nokia’s 16.7 million.

On Wednesday Samsung also said it would file for a sales ban on the new iPhone with courts in France and Italy, alleging that the phone infringed its mobile technology patents, widening an already extensive legal battle with its arch rival.

The lukewarm reception given for the new phone also hit shares in Apple’s suppliers.

Taiwan’s Hon Hai, Apple’s biggest supplier, was down 1.9 percent, while casing company Foxconn Technology fell 6.9 percent. Camera module maker Largan Precision shed 6.6 percent.

“The casing companies should be the most hit, correcting from the previous rise, because the market has expected a metal case for the new iPhone,” said Mike Fang, a fund manager of Paradigm Asset Management.

(Additional reporting by Miyoung Kim in Seoul, Argin Chang in Taipei and Devidutta Tripathy in New Delhi; Writing by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Alex Richardson, Greg Mahlich and Will Waterman)

Last week, Apple Inc. e-mailed invitations to a media event at its headquarters in Cupertino on Tuesday morning. The invite says “let’s talk iPhone,” implying the secretive company intends to show off the latest version of the device.

The first iPhone came out in 2007, and the phone’s signature slick looks, high-resolution screen and intuitive software has gained millions of fans over the years. There were 39 million iPhones sold just between January and the end of June.

Beyond the iPhone itself, the Tuesday event is anticipated as Apple’s first major product unveiling in years that won’t be led by Steve Jobs, who resigned from the CEO post in August after being out on indefinite medical leave since January. The Apple co-founder is now its executive chairman. And though Jobs did emerge from medical leave twice this year to present Apple’s innovations — most recently in June to show off its new mobile software and iCloud content storage service — his successor, Tim Cook, is expected to take the lead this time.

Though not nearly as recognizable as Jobs, Cook, formerly Apple’s chief operating officer, has been running Apple since January. For years, he has been in charge of Apple’s day-to-day operations, and he has long been seen as the natural successor. He also served as Apple’s leader for two months in 2004 while Jobs battled cancer and again for five-and-a-half months in 2009 when Jobs received a liver transplant.

Perhaps more important to Apple fans than who is presenting is what the company will reveal on Tuesday. A new iPhone is expected to have a number of changes, the biggest of which will likely be under the hood: the inclusion of Apple’s latest iOS mobile software, iOS 5, which has been slated for release this fall.

IOS 5 will include things such as wireless device setup and content syncing, and beefed-up camera, email and Web-browsing apps. A new service called iMessage will allow iOS 5 users to send text messages to each other over Wi-Fi or wireless carriers’ data networks, while a folder called Newsstand will corral newspaper and magazine app subscriptions in one place to make it easier to find them. When it comes out, the software will also be available for Apple’s iPad, iPhone 4 and 3GS and the two most recent generations of the iPod Touch.

A new iPhone is also expected to include Apple’s forthcoming iCloud service, which will store content such as music, documents, apps and photos on Apple’s servers and let you access them wirelessly on numerous devices.

As for hardware, a new iPhone isn’t expected to look that much different from the iPhone 4, though it could be thinner and have a bigger screen. The existing iPhone is 0.37 inches thick and has a display measuring 3.5 inches at the diagonal.

An improved rear camera is anticipated, too. The existing iPhone has a 5-megapixel camera on its rear. A number of recently released smartphones have moved to 8-megapixel cameras.

One of the most notable hardware changes many industry watchers are predicting is the inclusion of a more powerful chip: Apple’s dual-core A5 processor, which is the same chip it uses in its current iPad. The iPhone 4 runs on Apple’s older A4 chip, and the move to a more capable chip should improve things such as multitasking, opening apps and gaming.

Analysts also believe Apple could also use the event to trot out new iPods and updates to its iTunes music software, which it usually does in the fall anyway. Last September, Apple announced updates to iTunes and a line of revamped iPods, which included a version of the iPod Nano with a touch screen.

Handset maker Sony Ericsson has said that they probably should have taken Apple’s iPhone more seriously when it was first released in 2007. The comments from CEO Bert Nordberg come just a day before Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 5 or a cheaper version of their current iPhone 4.

Apples iPhone 4 (image: Apple)

‘It’s safe to say that Sony Ericsson should have taken the iPhone more seriously when it arrived in 2007,’ Nordberg told The Wall Street Journal. But even though he feels strongly about the iPhone, he added that he is extremely happy with their Android platform.

‘Our Android strategy has been successful and the best choice we could have made. I wouldn’t feel comfortable investing in a platform that isn’t as good as the one that we currently use.’

Apple’s iPhone 5 has been in the rumour mill for some time, and this has been the longest period between new models in the iPhone’s history.

The cheaper version of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S has also been rumoured, but many punters believe the announcement today will be regarding the iPhone 5.

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor

Dell has launched a new Vostro, the thin and sleek Vostro V131, to its award-winning Vostro laptop line.

Dells thin and sleek Vostro V131 (image: Dell)

As one of the lightest and thinnest products in the Vostro portfolio, the Vostro V131 is designed specifically for highly mobile business customers. An ultrathin, ultra-stylish chassis houses the Intel Core i5 processor, making the Vostro V131 a portable powerhouse engineered to maximise business productivity.

‘We designed the Vostro V131 to deliver fast, uninterrupted multitasking for today’s business challenges,’ said Dion Visagie, Dell South Africa channel manager.

‘The result is a feature-rich laptop for mobile professionals who want full performance to support their technology demands without sacrificing design and portability. In addition, the V131 offers services and software solutions that improve productivity and data security.’

Understanding the challenge of connectivity for on-the-go small businesses, the Vostro V131 offers a wide variety of options including WWAN, WLAN and Bluetooth 3.0 andthe standard fingerprint reader to provide exceptional security for anywhere, anytime peace of mind.

The Vostro V131 is perfect for everyday office operations like document editing, presentations and email, and also provides stellar collaboration options including a full HD camera, SRS Premium Voice Pro, digital array mics and built-in Skype. In addition, the laptop offers two USB 3.0 ports, a chiclet keyboard with a backlit option, and quick launch keys.

Staff writer

After Deep Blue, unbeatable at chess, IBM designed Watson. Developed over more than four years, this supercomputer is capable of quickly understanding and analysing questions put to it in natural language. It demonstrated its impressive abilities last February, when it won the TV quiz show “Jeopardy!”.

The next step for Watson: to make medical diagnoses! Being able to turn this supercomputer into an able assistant still remains a distant dream for doctors. For the moment, researchers at IBM are making it memorise tons to data from scientific texts, but also from specialist blogs.

Watson is made up of 90 “Power 750″ servers. Its power is equivalent to 360 “Power7″ processors running at 3.5 GHz. Will patients trust an automated doctor? It’s time to ask the question…YC/ATC-TCL.com

It’s unbelievable: the United States have become the football champions of the world! You really aren’t dreaming. Except that the players in question are not made of flesh and blood… And they have proved to be much more skillful than Messi, the genius with the soccer ball.

The Americans dominated the RoboCup, a football world championship specifically for humanoids, in two categories. The American competitors won the tournament for “adult” size (1.40 metres) participants (metal) hands down, as well as the class for “Kid Size” humanoids, no bigger than 18 inches.

What do the initiators of the RoboCup expect to achieve? They hope that in 2050, a team of humanoids will be able to compete against human players. It is worth seeing their current level online in videos of the event; we doubt that it will ever be possible… But who knows?Provided by YC/ATC-TCL.com

In the not so distant future, it is quite likely that a great many human-machine interactions will be possible through thought alone! Researchers around the world are pulling out all the stops to design prototype helmets capable of capturing, and above all correctly interpreting, the nerve impulses in our brains.

The Japanese manufacturer Toyota, conscious of the potential of such interactions in the field of transport, has come up with a way of using this futuristic technology on its cycle project “Prius”, currently in development. Its teams of scientists are working on the design of a system for changing gear using only the power of thought. Enough to avoid getting blistered fingers!Provided by YC/ATC-TCL.com

In “Splice”, a film starring Adrien Brody released in 2010, a couple of mad 21st century scientists succeed in creating an entirely artificial creature in a laboratory. Is it just purely science fiction fantasy? Not quite… Since this feature length movie echoes research that is actually taking place.

At the Scripps Research Institute (USA), scientists are dreaming of creating life forms from a simple molecule of RNA. They have already developed a cell capable of self-replicating and evolving autonomously.

“We really would hope for more from our molecules than just replicating”, admitted Professor Gerald F. Joyce to the “New York Times”, he is a modern-day Frankenstein who manages the work of the Scripps Research Institute. The first aliens seen by humans may not come from outer space, but out of a test-tube!Provided by YC/ATC-TCL.com

Clearly, advances in robotic engineering will soon adversely impact the careers of artists in all sorts of fields! We remember the robot able to draw portraits, recently developed by Goldsmiths University in London. A gadget endowed with equally impressive abilities has been built by McGill University in Canada.

Dreamt up within the framework of a computer assisted architectural programme, FAB@HOME has the ability to create beautiful ice sculptures in a variety of shapes and sizes. The system could ultimately be used to decorate ice hotels, a new concept in tourism for adventurous souls who aren’t afraid of the cold!