Wow, Microsoft paid $1.2 billion for a Facebook-style social networking

Software giant Microsoft has agreed to acquire Yammer, a social network service for businesses, for US$1.2 billion in cash, a deal rumored to be in the works for the past week-and-a-half.

Yammer, which is four years old, allows companies to build their private social networks, where workers can chat, shares files and collaborate on projects, away from the prying eyes of outsiders. It has co-opted many of the basic concepts familiar through Facebook to create a more business-friendly social networking service. It can improve the way employees communicate and collaborate, leading to increased productivity and efficiency, by complementing traditional applications like instant messaging and email.

The area of internal networking for companies has attracted other big tech companies such as Cisco Systems Inc, which has a similar offering to Yammer called WebEx Social, and International Business Machine Corp with a rival product called Connections.

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New York City mayor wants smoking ban for public places, American Airlines wants to cut another 1,200 jobs

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made it his mission to ban smoking from public places, including beaches, parks, restaurants, bars, and even Times Square. Apartments will be his next smoke-free target. Bloomberg gave his assurance in a press conference that he has no intention of an outright ban, saying, "We're not trying to ban anything. I've always believed, as you know, that if you want to smoke I think you should have a right to do so. But it kills you."

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American, the nation's third-biggest airline, has about 73,000 workers. And now the company wants to eliminate 1,200 nonunion jobs as it cuts costs while under bankruptcy protection. It announced plans in February to cut 13,000 union pilots, flight attendants and ground workers. Obama definitely doesn't want to hear about this news.

Gavin DeGraw exits from Dancing With The Stars, Angelina Jolie named special UN refugee envoy

Singer Gavin DeGraw and his professional partner, Karina Smirnoff, were bounced from the ABC show Tuesday after the judges' scores were combined with viewers' votes. Gavin DeGraw’s soulful voice didn’t help with his clumsy footwork on this season of the dancing competition and the “Chariot” singer was sent packing just five weeks into the competition.

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The United Nations refugee agency has elevated Hollywood star Angelina Jolie from being a goodwill ambassador to a special envoy, a role that will see her represent the organization to governments and diplomats. The "Wanted" actress is expected to deal with complex emergencies and protracted crises including Afghanistan and Somalia that have driven millions of refugees into neighboring countries where they remain for years due to the lack of a political solution.

Business News: Alcoa surprises Wall Street, February job openings rise

Alcoa, which makes aluminum for aircraft, cars and beverage cans, raised its 2012 global growth forecast for the aerospace market by 3 percentage points to 13-14 percent and said it expects global growth in the auto industry of 3-7 percent. The company surprised Wall Street with a first-quarter profit after a loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 as global markets improved, especially in the aerospace and automobile sectors.

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The U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday the number of U.S. jobs waiting to be filled rose by 21,000 in February to 3.498 million. The number of unemployed American workers for every job opening fell in February to its lowest since late 2008, pointing to ongoing healing in the still-weak labor market.

Demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court Monday

Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court Monday to be seen and heard on the question of whether President Barack Obama’s overhaul of the nation’s health care system is constitutional. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was among the crowd. Organizers from groups that favor the law staged a rally while a few stray opponents milled around in front of the Court. Meanwhile, Santorum pressed his own argument that he’s the best candidate - and rival Mitt Romney is the worst - to challenge Obama on the health care issue in the fall. Obama's health care reforms are the first major federal attempts to deal with health care and the uninsured in decades, but a majority of the public has never favored the law.

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Inside Google Play

With Google Play, users can store up to 20,000 music tracks or purchase new songs from a catalog now north of 8 million tracks. Google Play, which the the search giant calls a “digital entertainment destination,” brings together Google’s apps, books, music and movies all in one place, making them available anywhere because they reside in the cloud. The management of media across devices is definitely easier with Google Play.

Technology news Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Google‘s announcement today that it would rename the Android Market to Google Play is the equivalent of Target renaming itself Toys R’ Us. The name is being introduced three and a half years after Google launched its Android Market as a central outlet for consumers to download the mobile apps created for the growing number of Android-based smartphones. Google is trying to establish a one-stop shop that can satisfy everyone's digital desires, whether they are on a mobile device or a desktop computer's Web browser.