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Geek culture is once again showing its influence over the mainstream lexicon in the latest version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, which includes word additions such as webinar, malware, netroots, pretexting (thank you Hewlett-Packard), and fanboy (thank you Apple).

Webinar is "one more example of the significant ongoing trend for electronic technologies to add words to the language," Merriam-Webster publisher John Morse said in a Monday press release about the 100 or so new words in the 2008 edition of the influential reference guide.

That's in line with Merriam-Webster's choice of the term "wOOt"… Read more

For more than a decade, the Internet has suffered from multiple incompatible communication standards for instant messaging. Now it looks like Yahoo, one of the major IM players, is open to breaking the logjam.

I'm a power user of IM who struggles to find software that supports chatting with people on the four main IM networks: AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google. Today's situation, for me at least, is like having to own four e-mail programs for different networks or four telephones for incompatible phone systems.

So I was encouraged by words from Scott Dietzen, Yahoo's new head of communications products including Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Mail. … Read more

At first glance, Kevin Connolly's photographs simply capture random people on random streets around the world. But look again, and it becomes clear his photos tell a much more complex story--the split-second shock and curiosity on strangers' faces when they encounter a man with no legs, gliding past on a skateboard, propelling himself with his hands.

Connolly, 22, was born legless. He has gone from award-winning skier who tears down slopes in his custom-built mono-ski to professional photographer probably best-known for "The Rolling Exhibition," his series of digital photos that show strangers looking at him with expressions … Read more

Yahoo has signed up 3 UK, a mobile-phone network operator in the United Kingdom, to sell banner ads and sponsored links on the company's Planet 3 portal site for mobile Internet use.

Yahoo will begin supplying ads from its partners later this month, the company said Wednesday.

"We believe Yahoo has the experience to help us take full advantage of our advanced portal and unique all-3G subscriber base," Neil Andrews, 3 UK's head of on-portal advertising, said in a statement.

Yahoo already is the exclusive mobile-advertising partner for 3 UK competitor Vodafone.

Google, which has a 5 percent stake in Time Warner's AOL division, has the option to sell it beginning Tuesday.

Google got the stake in AOL through a 2005 deal with Time Warner under which Google invested $1 billion.

According to a Time Warner regulatory filing, Google can sell that stake if it wants, with Time Warner, which owns the remaining 95 percent of AOL, getting first crack at buying the shares.

"Beginning on July 1, 2008, Google will have the right to require AOL to register Google's 5 percent equity interest for sale in an initial … Read more

There are signs Picasa Web Albums could be renamed Google Photos.

Google Operating System noticed several references to the term in the code that powers the Web site.

Among the examples: "This photo will be available to view and share in Google Photos, Google's free photo hosting service." And: "By submitting this form, you're alerting the Google Photos team to inappropriate content on this page."

Poring through a source code may sound like a dodgy way to predict the future, but programming code snippets can be revealing. Some wording in the Apple iPhone developer kit … Read more

AOL is raising the subscription fee by 20 percent for its low-cost dial-up service plan, a move that illuminates an awkward phase of its transition from an Internet service provider to an online media and advertising company.

The Time Warner division told subscribers last week that beginning July 27, it would raise its monthly dial-up rate from $9.99 to $11.99 per month. Subscribers who specifically sign up for a plan with limited technical support can keep the $9.99 rate, though, but they won't get phone-based help unless dealing with an Internet connection issue.

The move obviously … Read more

A correction was made to this story. See details below.

RealNetworks on Sunday announced several improvements to its Rhapsody music service, including a new online music store and integration with Verizon's V Cast mobile phone music service.

Taking a cue from competitors such as Amazon and Napster, Rhapsody's new Web-based music store sells a catalog of universally compatible (DRM-free) MP3 files from all four major music labels (Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner, and EMI), as well as a selection of independents.

The new Rhapsody store represents a departure from the strictly software-based music subscription model on which … Read more