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Yahoo underperformers may see pay cuts, pink slips

Here's some holiday news sure to cheer up the folks at Yahoo: CEO Marissa Mayer is canceling the company's annual "rest week," when everything shuts down between Christmas and New Year's. Also, she is putting the final touches on a plan which basically grades employees on a curve. The bottom fifth will find their pay getting cut and some may wind up getting pink slips. The news, first reported by AllThingsD would be the follow-up to a September company meeting when Mayer said that employees would be judged on a new set of metrics.

How to add Gmail and Yahoo accounts in Windows 8 Mail

The Windows 8 Mail e-mail app has a nice, clean interface and works with a variety of e-mail accounts, including Gmail and Yahoo! Mail. Here's how to add them to Windows 8 Mail:

Step 1: Make sure you're logged in to Mail with a Microsoft account. If you're using a local account to log in to Windows 8, you'll need to log in to Mail with a Microsoft account before you can add other e-mail accounts.

Step 2: From within Mail, use the Win+I shortcut to quickly get to Mail settings, then click on Accounts.… Read more

'Age of Marissa' to kick in with Yahoo Mail overhaul?

After months waiting for Yahoo's CEO Marissa Mayer to put her stamp on the company, we may be getting close. A report out late today from All Things D suggests that Yahoo is readying "a major overhaul" of Yahoo Mail for December that will sport "a cleaner, 'more Gmail-like' design."

Not much more is known. Even the original rumor was unclear what this might translate into when it came to the look of the redesign. Given all the attention Mayer devoted to mobile during the course of the company's recent quarterly earnings call, that … Read more

Outcry as Yahoo's Fantasy Football goes down on game day

As I keep telling my engineer friend George, becoming hooked on fantasy sports is like obsessively frequenting lap-dancing clubs.

It's not real, and yet some people think it's a little more real than the real thing.

Imagine, then, how real the pain was among the throng of Yahoo Sports' Fantasy Football players yesterday, as they tightened their fists, girded their loins and bolstered their bravado -- only to discover that the site has not turned up for work.… Read more

Yahoo tests new Windows 8-like home page

Yahoo may be drawing some inspiration from Microsoft in its latest home page redesign.

The Internet search and media company is testing out a new version of its home page that uses larger tiles similar to Microsoft's Windows 8, according to AllThingsD.

The redesign seems better suited for touch-screen devices, a smart move with the increasing proliferation of tablets and other touch-friendly "hybrid" devices coming from the launch of Windows 8, alongside iPads and smartphones with increasingly larger displays.

The approach uses large photos stacked at the top of the page, similar to both Windows 8's … Read more

Friday Poll: Which e-mail service do you use?

Selecting an e-mail provider is a very personal choice, like picking out a deodorant or a mobile operating system or pledging your allegiance to a particular king in "Game of Thrones." You may be a longtime Gmailer or an old school Hotmailer or a dedicated Yahooer.

New numbers from ComScore show Gmail has topped Hotmail as the most popular e-mail service in the world with 287.9 million unique worldwide visitors in October. Hotmail edged in just under that at 286.2 million unique visitors. Yahoo Mail took top honors in the United States with 76.7 million visitors.… Read more

Netflix readily accepts Icahn's business advice

After Carl Icahn snapped up a 10 percent stake in Netflix, which caused a 15 percent jump in the company's stock shares yesterday, the streaming-video company announced that it's ready to listen to Icahn's business advice.

"We have many shareholders, now including Mr. Icahn, and we're always open to their perspective on how to build on our success," a Netflix representative told CNET in an e-mailed statement.

Icahn's history as an investor is full of high-profile proxy fights and tussles with management. In recent years, he has fashioned himself as an investor activist. … Read more

Ross Levinsohn: Marissa Mayer needed 'clean slate' at Yahoo

Ross Levinsohn, in his first interview since departing Yahoo, told Bloomberg he left the company in part because CEO Marissa Mayer needed a "clean slate" and the ability to choose her own team:

In talking to Marissa I think we agreed that you need a clear path, and I think I was pretty well entrenched with the guard that was there. I felt like it was right for her to have a clean slate going forward and if I stayed it probably wasn't the right thing to do. I took a good run at trying to be … Read more

Gmail edges Hotmail as world's top e-mail service

Google's Gmail is top dog in e-mail, according to ComScore, which tracks Web site traffic.

In data for October released by ComScore, Gmail saw 287.9 million unique worldwide visitors during the period, edging out Microsoft's Hotmail, which finished with 286.2 million unique visitors. The findings were first reported by GigaOm.

In third place was Yahoo, the once mighty e-mail power, with 281.7 million, according to ComScore. Yahoo, however, holds a comfortable lead in the United States with 76.7 million, compared to second-place Gmail with 69.1 million and third-place Hotmail with 35.5 million. … Read more