MySpace keeps fighting
MySpace, the once-mighty social network-turned entertainment site, is trying to stage yet another comeback with the help of Justin Timberlake.
The company posted a video last week that teases the “New Myspace” and lets people sign up for invitations to join.
Based on the video, the new site looks a like an entertainment-focused version of Pinterest, with a dash of Twitter and Facebook.
With a group of other investors, Timberlake bought MySpace last year from News Corp. for $35 million, mostly in stock. News Corp. bought it for $580 million in 2005.
Intel makes move
Intel previewed a wave of tablet computers powered by a microprocessor that the company redesigned to make a bigger dent in the rapidly growing mobile market.
An assortment of major computer vendors made the tablets that were shown Thursday in San Francisco. All the devices depend on Intel Corp.’s new processor and Windows 8, a dramatic overhaul of the widely used operating system made by Microsoft Corp.
The tablets won’t go on sale until Oct. 26 when Windows 8 is released. The prices for the various machines will be revealed during the next few weeks.
Facebook launches Gifts
Facebook is launching a new service called Gifts which, as its name suggests, lets users send chocolate, coffee, socks and other real-life presents to one another.
Facebook Gifts will be available Thursday to a subset of users in the U.S. Users will be able to click on a “gifts” link on their Facebook friends’ pages. This will display presents they can purchase, such as a Starbucks gift card, cupcakes or a teddy bear.
The recipient will be notified through Facebook to enter a shipping address for the presents. Facebook Inc. will take a cut from each item sold.
Facebook Gifts is the result of Facebook’s May acquisition of Karma, a startup based in San Francisco. Karma’s mobile app let people send gifts to their friends on the go.
Yahoo plans turnaround
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is casting aside a cost-cutting specialist and bringing in software industry veteran Ken Goldman to be chief financial officer as the Internet company’s management orchestrates a potentially expensive turnaround attempt.
The departure of CFO Tim Morse, announced Tuesday, isn’t a shock. After joining a company, new CEOs often reshuffle senior executives while trying to assemble a management team that’s better suited for a shift in direction.
But it usually takes six to nine months before an incoming CEO hires a new chief financial officer, said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis.
Mayer is replacing Morse just two months after Yahoo lured her away from Google Inc., suggesting that there may have been some friction between the two, Gillis said.
Morse, 43, will leave the company next month to make way for Goldman, who takes over as CFO on Oct. 22. Yahoo didn’t immediately disclose whether Morse will receive a severance package or reveal how much it is paying Goldman to leave his current job as CFO of Fortinet Inc., a maker of computer security software.