Atlas

After months of speculation, Facebook today agreed to buy Microsoft's Atlas online-advertising platform, boosting the social-networking giant's ability to compete against Google in the display ad business.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies also didn't disclose the number of employees the deal affects, but Facebook noted that Atlas' employees will remain in Seattle.

Facebook and Microsoft, already partners in several businesses, began talking about a deal for Atlas, which helps advertisers buy and manage ads, late last year. The deal could help Facebook develop its own one-stop shop for advertisers and agencies to buy, … Read more

The long-rumored sale of Microsoft's Atlas online advertising platform to Facebook is scheduled to close tomorrow, according to AdAge.

The trade publication reported on its Web site that "two people briefed on the plans" said the companies will likely announce the deal tomorrow, though it acknowledged some chance for delay.

Microsoft and Facebook both declined to comment on the report.

Microsoft acquired Atlas as part of its $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive in 2007. The software giant wrote off most of the costs of that deal last July. And it's reportedly been trying to sell Atlas … Read more

Just as in Greek mythology, Atlas, the ad-serving product reportedly headed soon to Facebook, is tasked with an enormous burden: upholding the social network's advertising empire. Don't shrug off Atlas; it will be the vehicle that Facebook uses as it tries to unseat Google, the current ruler of display advertising.

Rumors began swirling in December that Facebook was preparing to buy Atlas, the advertising platform that Microsoft picked up when it purchased aQuantive in 2007. The deal, according to Ad Age, is now nearing its close, and Facebook will pick up the property for less than $100 million.… Read more

Facebook, always looking for ways to help advertisers get more out of the social network, is reportedly getting close to inking a deal to buy Microsoft's Atlas advertising platform. News of the discussions surfaced in December, but according to a report in Ad Age, the agreement could come as early as next week.

The price, according to the report, is expected to be less than $100 million. Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment.

Microsoft's Atlas Solutions is an ad-serving product that helps advertisers buy and manage ads. The software giant acquired the business as part of its… Read more

Facebook, looking for ways to bolster its advertising capabilities, is in talks to buy Microsoft's Atlas advertising platform, according to reports.

Microsoft's Atlas Solutions is an ad-serving product that helps advertisers buy and manage ads. The software giant acquired the business as part of its $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive in 2007, which was Microsoft's largest acquisition to date. News of the talks was first reported by All Things Digital.

Spokespeople for Facebook and Microsoft both declined to comment.

Microsoft, which ended up writing off most of the acquisition cost, has reportedly been trying to sell Atlas … Read more

Prepare to witness a tantalizing glimpse at our future robot overlords.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency yesterday released a stunning video showing how an autonomous robot can navigate and jump over obstacles with great ease.

In the clip, the Pet-Proto robot -- a predecessor to DARPA's Atlas robot -- traverses a simulated hallway containing a very tall step and a thin walkway. Pet-Proto easily uses its strong arms to balance itself as it climbs a step, then perfectly leaps down with a thud. The highly agile walker stretches its legs to continue its journey along the thin edges of a gutted hallway floor. … Read more

If you're a Windows Phone 8 fan on Verizon, listen up. A leaked image of what reportedly is a Verizon-branded Nokia Lumia 820 has surfaced. … Read more

While outdoor navigation has been mastered with GPS satellites and cell phone triangulation, indoor navigation has proven more tricky.

Now, a group of researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland has tapped the Earth's magnetic field to create an indoor positioning system (IPS). The researchers say their approach was inspired by studying the way homing pigeons and lobsters use anomalies in the magnetic field to navigate their travels.

Researchers explain in a paper (PDF) -- titled "Ambient magnetic field-based indoor location technology / Bringing the compass to the next level" -- that the same magnetic field that … Read more

Think of Google Earth as a sort of souped-up version of Google Maps, but with more of a focus on life-like renderings of locations, rather than typical roadmaps. With google Earth, you can virtually fly to pretty much anywhere on the planet, zooming in and out of cities and streets to your heart's desire.

While Google Earth lets you manually navigate to an area of interest (via zoom and swipe), the more precise method is to use the search bar. Here, you can type in a full address, just a city name, business name, or even a keyword (like &… Read more