First we had Google buying DoubleClick for $3 Billion and now Microsoft is buying aQuantive (the company that operates Avenue A/Razorfish) for double t

The second largest ad agency worldwide wanted more online marketing expertise.

This is the biggest price for a .de domain and really helps cement domain extensions other than .com as a viable investment market.

Another Digg buried Ron Paul Story.. and this is pretty interesting.. A GOP Leader wants Ron Paul out of the debates, story picks up nearly 200 diggs and counting.. and then it vanishes from the upcoming stories, and the story comes from a respected source.

This is a huge threat to the parasite companies (and patches some embedded spam/security issues):

http://profileedit.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=profile.editor

Porn.com was sold by Moniker for 9 and a half million dollars. With these big news domain sales newcomers are sure to hop in the market. Is there really room for them?

You would be wise to listen to the customers you're threatening to sue - they can leave you, especially if you give them motivation. Remember, they wouldn't be motivated unless your products were somehow missing the mark.

Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants royalties from distributors and users. Users like you, maybe. Fortune's Roger Parloff reports.

These guys are getting scarier by the moment.

MySpace has launched a new copyright protection software that prevents users from reposting videos that have been already been removed at the request of the copyright holder.

The Economist asks a question that seems to be on the mind of many Yahoo!

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Leading media executives took a combative tone against Internet companies on Tuesday, suggesting that Big Media increasingly considers new content distributors like Google Inc. to be more foe than friend.

Danny Sullivan, founder and former editor of Search Engine Watch, and now a Web consultant, agrees that small-business owners don't need to hire an SEO consultant--as long as they are willing to do the work on their own. "Many people can and do learn the basics of SEO and do well with just that," he said. "But many people find it easier to find outside help, just as they might want outside help to write press releases or do other types of marketing."

US television giant NBC Universal sided with Viacom in a legal campaign to force YouTube to vigilantly filter copyrighted material from its popular video-sharing website.

After a few years of Myspace calling Photobucket a 'parasite' they bit the bullet and bought them. Full Story

Alarm:Clock reports that Google is in talks to acquire SimplyHired which allows bloggers to create job widgets and job board

Soccernet are reporting that the FA Premier League is to sue YouTube for allowing highlights of games to be shown.

Talks between Microsoft Corp. Microsoft and Yahoo! Inc over a possible combination are no longer active

Exploit to make some money out of youtube or just have some fun having everyone subscribe to your channel etc

http://www.onlinehoster.com/blog/youtube-fun/

The dispute between Google and the Belgian newspapers (previous coverage here and here) has taken a new