■ Internet
Yahoo answers top 5 million
An online information-sharing forum operated by Yahoo Taiwan Inc has gathered more than 5 million resolved answers since it was established 18 months ago, company officials said yesterday. The "Knowledge+" search service -- the Yahoo Taiwan equivalent for the English-language "Yahoo! Answers" -- has seen an average 12,000 questions being answered per day over the past 18 months, the officials said. The single-month non-repeated visits amounted to more than 6.7 million, they said. In February, the top three question categories that received the most responses from users were "science and health," with 210,000 responses; "computer and Internet," with 170,000 responses; and "video and audio entertainment," with 150,000 responses, according to the officials.
■ Trade
EU, Asian ministers to meet
EU finance ministers were to talk about Europe's efforts to cope with globalization in Vienna yesterday, before they start a two-day meeting with Asian ministers. Chief executives from Nestle SA, Volkswagen AG and Telefonica Moviles SA were to meet ministers to explain how they believe the EU can remain an attractive business location as Europe tries to capitalize on the current upswing in export demand and create more jobs. Responding to global changes by trying to protect national economies could damage growth, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Friday. The world response to high oil prices were to dominate talks yesterday between the EU and 13 Asian countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
■ Internet
Touts snatch up .eu domains
Internet touts have used a legal loophole to buy thousands of Europe's new Internet addresses, thwarting attempts to crack down on cybersquatters and unscrupulous traders. The new addresses, ending in .eu, went on sale on Friday. Existing trademark owners were given four months to apply for their name before domains were opened up to the public, but thanks to a confusing clash of trademark laws across Europe, some dealers were able to claim ownership of words such as "green" and "student" and buy them privately. In Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, trademarks can be registered for as little as US$199 and approved within 24 hours. Dealers are then able to sell the domain on the open market, often for more than US$12,000.
■ Media
Time Inc cuts 250 jobs
Time Inc, the magazine unit of Time Warner Inc, cut 250 jobs on Friday as part of an ongoing shakeup at the publisher of Sports Illustrated and People. Including the latest layoffs, Time has cut more than 450 of its 12,000 jobs since December. That's when the unit's chief executive, Ann Moore, appointed Nora McAniff and John Squires as co-chief operating officers, in an effort to cut costs, speed decision-making and accelerate its expansion beyond print. "This is not just about cost-cutting. We are reallocating our assets as we continue to evolve from a magazine publisher to a multi-platform media company," said Ali Zelenko, a Time spokeswoman. The latest round of job cuts chiefly affects mid-level to junior-level business personnel across most of the company's more than 150 titles.
RSS