Ask Jeeves, Flickr Flip
Ask Jeeves–the fourth most popular U.S. search engine after Google, Yahoo!, and MSN Search–will be acquired by Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp for $1.85 billion, IAC announced today. The acquisition is a huge and presumably happy milestone for Ask Jeeves. The company has struggled for years to find its place in the search-engine market, at times coming close to bankruptcy, but has experienced a marked resurgence over the past two years since scrapping its old search technology in favor of the Teoma search engine. IAC also owns other major Web destinations such as Ticketmaster, the Home Shopping Network, and Expedia.
Meanwhile, weeks of rumors ended yesterday as Vancouver, BC-based Ludicorp, creator of a community photo-sharing site called Flickr that has become an underground sensation in alpha-geek and blogger circles, confirmed on its blog that it will be acquired by Yahoo!. Many of Flickr’s social-networking features will be added to Yahoo! Photos, but Flickr itself will continue as an independent site, according to the blog. Anticipating wails of discontent among loyal users, Flickr’s management emphasized that “We’re going to stay true to our vision and to the people who made us what we are– that’s you, the Flickr pioneers.”
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.