CARLSBAD, Calif.--In the field of start-ups looking to replicate the computer operating system on the Web, Ghost is just one of many.
Like others, it sees an opportunity to not just re-create Windows on the Web, but perhaps to even replace the traditional operating system. I see some interesting notions, but a lot of challenges in these models.
But what struck me most about the company is its unique workforce. Ghost has a few workers in Israel, while most of the company is located in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The idea is to show the world as well as those close to home that Israelis and Palestinians can work together.
At this week's D: All Things Digital conference, I had a chance to catch up with the company's business development head, Ori Weinroth (a former Microsoftie). In the video below, we talked about the challenges and opportunities of having such a unique workforce.
For instance, the Israeli contingent can't visit Ghost's offices in Ramallah, while it is difficult for those in the West Bank to get permission to come to the Israeli offices, near Tel Aviv. Video conferencing and a meet-up spot in a sort of no-man's-land are two of the ways that the company tries to manage that.
Microsoft has acquired Israeli ad-targeting start-up YaData.
The price tag is somewhere between $20 million and $30 million, Israeli business daily Globes reported.
Microsoft's big bid for Yahoo
The acquisition, announced Wednesday, comes as Microsoft pursues its vastly larger acquisition target, Yahoo.
Microsoft said the YaData team will be folded into the software giant's existing research and development center in Herzliya, Israel, and will operate as part of its ad unit. YaData focuses on so-called behavioral targeting, which serves up advertising based on what users are doing at their computer.
"The purchase of YaData brings the Israeli R&D center into the field of online advertising, which is undoubtedly one of Microsoft's most strategic fields," said Moshe Lichtman, president of the Microsoft Israel R&D Center. "This is a great example of how Israeli technology has considerable value that is contributing to our most important areas of development."
"YaData fully believes in the potential of behavioral targeting to enhance the value of online advertising for publishers, advertisers and users," said Amir Peleg, chief executive officer of of the Israeli company, said in a statement. "Microsoft has the resources to unlock the potential in YaData's technology."
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