Google and Microsoft: The Battle Over College E-Mail

College students used to complain about dining-hall mystery meat. Their new gripe? Puny e-mail inboxes.

Students have been howling that school e-mail accounts are too small to handle their daily deluge of mail and attachments. To address that problem, a growing number of colleges and universities are outsourcing their e-mail. The companies swooping in to manage student accounts for free? Google and Microsoft. Like search, software and operating systems, campuses are a burgeoning battleground for the tech titans.

Google now manages e-mail for more than 2,000 colleges and universities, enabling students to transform accounts capped at 100 mb into Google-managed inboxes that allow for 70 times as much mail. Microsoft also provides free Web-based mail for thousands of schools, including colleges in 86 countries. Once colleges switch systems, students keep their .edu e-mail address while upgrading from stodgy campus access pages to speedier, sleeker Google (or Microsoft) log-ins.
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The Pink Recovery: Why Women Are Doing Better

A week ago, President Obama touted a newly published report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that showed the country had lost 247,000 jobs in July. It seemed an odd thing to boast about, but you have to consider the context. The economy was losing jobs at three times that clip when Obama took office in January. So it is possible that we are emerging from the most frightening economic downturn since the Depression. We won’t be the same country when we do.

One thing that seems bound to change is the relationship between the sexes. Since the recession began in December 2007, the vast majority of the lost jobs have belonged to men. About half are in the heavily male domains of construction and manufacturing. At one point last winter, there were four men being laid off for every woman. The male unemployment rate is 9.8%, the female rate 7.5%. What constitutes “women’s work” today? Well, health care, for one; 81% of the workers are female. According to the report Obama cited, 20,000 health-care jobs were gained in July, while 76,000 construction jobs and 52,000 manufacturing positions were lost.
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Microsoft, Nokia, and Google Take Aim at RIM

Three giant names in mobile technology are making moves to challenge the BlackBerry’s dominance among business users of smartphones

Some of the biggest names in mobile technology are girding for battle against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIMM) and iPhone creator Apple (AAPL).

Later this year, Google (GOOG) and partners that include handset maker Motorola (MOT) plan devices and features aimed at business users of mobile phones. Meantime, Nokia (NOK) and Microsoft (MSFT) are joining forces in their effort to take share in the lucrative market for company-friendly smartphones.

The moves are aimed mainly at RIM, the U.S. leader in smartphones for businesses, and defending against a rising threat from Apple and Palm (PALM). In July, RIM accounted for 34% of smartphone sales in the stores of the largest U.S. wireless service providers, and it boasted the most popular smartphone on the market, the BlackBerry Curve, according to research by Avian Securities.
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AIG Unloads Businesses in Hong Kong and India

Beleaguered insurance firm American Insurance Group announced this week the sale of a Hong Kong business to China Construction Bank and an India business to MphasiS, as well as a further unwinding of AIG Financial Products.

China Construction Bank will buy the Hong Kong-based consumer finance business of AIG, AIG Finance, for $70 million in cash, plus the repayment of intra-group indebtedness and deposits of approximately $557 million.

AIG Finance has a credit card business as well as a restricted-licence bank in Hong Kong. As of June 30, AIG Finance had more than 500,000 customers, total net loan receivables of HK$4.8 billion ($619 million) and HK$1 billion of retail deposits.
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Musicians pay tribute to Les Paul

Guns N’ Roses star Slash has paid tribute to guitar pioneer Les Paul, who has died aged 94, calling him “vibrant and full of positive energy”.

Paul died from complications of pneumonia in New York, according to Gibson, the firm that sold his guitars.

In a statement Slash said: “He was an exceptionally brilliant man, musician, inventor, mentor and friend.”

U2′s The Edge, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Billy Gibbons of band ZZ Top have also paid tribute to the musician.
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Wembley record ‘broken by U2 gig’

U2′s first UK gig in their current tour is expected to have broken the attendance record for a Wembley Stadium concert, organisers have said.

About 88,000 people were expected at the Irish group’s concert on Friday – 5,000 more than what is thought to have been the stadium’s previous record.

U2′s radical “claw” stage has enabled tour organisers Live Nation to increase the capacity for the sold-out show.

A similar-sized crowd is expected at a second concert later.

Wembley’s previous biggest crowd is believed to have been the 83,000 who saw Rod Stewart perform there in 1995.
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Mexico prison riot leaves 19 dead

At least 19 inmates have been killed and more than 20 injured in a riot in a prison in the northern Mexican state of Durango, security officials say.

Smoke was seen rising from the prison in the town of Gomez Palacio, and gunshots were heard.

Officials said the violence resulted from rivalry between gangs in the jail.

State official Jorge Torres said that while the situation was now calm the overall atmosphere was tense. He described the prison as a “time bomb”.

He told Mexican TV the fighting was a “dispute for dominance” and suggested that inmates being held on federal drug and organised crime-related charges might be behind the violence.
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Taiwan leader in typhoon apology

President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan has apologised for the slow official response to Typhoon Morakot.

“We could have done better and we could have been faster,” he told reporters one week after the typhoon struck.

Hundreds of people are still trapped by mudslides and floods. Thousands of troops have been sent to help rescue them and provide shelter.

The official death toll has is now above 120. Mr Ma said earlier in the week that it could exceed 500.
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George Michael quizzed over crash

Singer George Michael was arrested and questioned by police after his Land Rover was in collision with a lorry on the A34 in Berkshire.

The 46-year-old was held on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink or drugs but released after five hours.

He was taken to Loddon Valley police station near Reading following the incident in the early hours of Friday.

A Thames Valley Police spokeswoman said the singer was later released without charge.
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Deadly blast by Nato’s Kabul base

A suicide car bomb has exploded outside the Nato headquarters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing up to seven people, the defence ministry says.

The presidential palace and several embassies are also located in the area.

The attack comes ahead of presidential and provincial elections due on Thursday which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt.

The BBC’s Martin Patience says a group affiliated to the Taliban is likely to be responsible for the attack.
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