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On Tuesday's edition of Daily Debrief, our Microsoft-Yahoo watcher Dawn Kawamoto talks with me about what has happened since Yahoo's well-documented August 1 shareholder meeting. Yahoo's stock price is nearing a 52-week low this week, but the herd of press and analysts covering the company are either on summer vacation or allowing Jerry Yang and his somewhat new board of directors a respite from their attention. Like other public companies, Yahoo lives by the financial quarter, so the watchers will be hovering as the quarter ends in September, speculating on how Yang and company perform now that … Read more

Nielsen yesterday released a study it conducted on the popularity of the top 10 search engines for July. As expected, Google sat atop the list, commanding more than 60 percent of the market after enjoying 16 percent year-over-year growth. Trailing behind, Yahoo and Microsoft captured 17.4 percent and 11.9 percent of the market, respectively. More importantly, both companies lost ground to Google--Yahoo witnessed an 11 percent decline, while Microsoft suffered through a 10 percent decline.

And although countless tech pundits will chime in and discuss exactly why Google has been able to run roughshod over its competition, few will point out one basic fact that is too often overlooked: Google search is designed to get rid of you as quickly as possible.

Surely, some will attribute Google's success to its better search results or Yahoo's management troubles or Microsoft's poor offering, but it goes far beyond that. Search isn't simply about relevant results or the competition. Instead, search is all about getting you to your destination as quickly as possible.

And so far, it's quite apparent that only Google understands that basic premise.… Read more

It should come as no surprise, but Google sites officially continued to dominate the Web landscape in July, drawing more than 141 million unique visitors and placing Yahoo and Microsoft at second and third place, according to analyst group ComScore Media Metrix.

AOL took fourth behind the top sites, all of which were enveloped in discussions about acquisitions or partnerships this summer.

Fox Interactive Media, parent company of MySpace, was the fifth most visited group of sites, with a registered 88 million unique visitors. Facebook, on the other hand, landed at No. 16 with 39 million visitors. However, ComScore reported … Read more

Early reports had it that the war between Russia and Georgia had spilled over into cyberspace. But after looking more closely at the Internet traffic, a noted security researcher offers a more nuanced conclusion.

Bill Gates took time out from his new role as full-time philanthropist to talk technology on a visit to China.

And for the man who has everything: the Goatee Saver. I don't know about you, but this has me more excited than the iPhone ever did. (Could also be that's because I never trim my "goat" without making a mess.)

Just days before the Olympic torch will reach Beijing, Internet leaders Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft say they are close to an agreement on a code of conduct for doing business in China and other countries that censor the Internet.

Sen. Dick Durbin on Monday released separate letters from the companies, stating they have "reached agreement on the core components of the principles" of the code, as Google put it.

Those components, the letters say, include principles for promoting freedom of expression and privacy, implementation guidelines, and an accountability framework. The specifics of the code are now being reviewed … Read more

Facebook might be neutral on the subject, but it is fair to say that Scrabulous was an enormous success for its business. And, while Wordscraper may have a chance of some success, the company has found something it believes could be even bigger.

"When your goal is to get long-term usage and engagement, it's hard to find new and imaginative ways to secure people's attention," said an insider.

In short, you can't just copy something that's been around for a while and has illuminated lifeless dinner parties since people started experimenting with pre-marital sex.… Read more

Inspired by photosynthesis, MIT researchers have devised a catalyst to capture the sun's energy by unyoking hydrogen and oxygen. They're calling it a breakthrough in solar-energy storage. CNET News' Leslie Katz asks reporter Martin LaMonica to explain.

NBC is gearing up for its exclusive broadcast of the Olympic Games in Beijing, and it has teamed up with Microsoft's Silverlight for online video viewing.

Also, Scrabulous' creators have made a new word game for Facebook that bears even less resemblance to Hasbro's Scrabble.

Today's stories:

De Vere's Olympic iPhone has more bling than a medal… Read more

Barring some unlikely bolt of inspiration at Microsoft, Google should continue to pad its already formidable lead in search advertising. And now that Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the company intends to turn its attention to display ads, who of sane mind would bet against its chances?

We're still quite a way from the point where regulators conclude that Google is too big for its britches, but just for fun, I typed the question, "Is Google a monopoly?" into my search engine. (Wanna guess which search engine I use?) My query brought back 461,000 responses. Clearly, … Read more

This wasn't the sort of reaction Carl Icahn was expecting from his former buddies on Wall Street.

Legg Mason Capital Management, which controls about 4.4 percent of outstanding Yahoo stock, plans to back management at the company's shareholders meeting next month. Could it be that Legg Mason thinks he's as clueless as Yahoo claims he is when it comes to managing a complex technology company?

Bill Miller, chairman and chief investment officer of Legg Mason, said Friday in a statement that Legg Mason would prefer the feuding sides reach a settlement and "end this disruptive … Read more