Calan blog

Google Maps Nears First Deadline on China Requirement

s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping said in an e-mail that as of March 28, it has not received an application from Google. The bureau has said that companies operating an online mapping service without a license will be exposed to the public after the March 31 deadline.

If a license is still not obtained by July 1, the bureau willthe companies according to the law.

It is unclear what penalties Google would face, but China often blocks websites that do not conform to regulations.

Two Google products, YouTube and Blogger, are already blocked by the Chinese government, and earlier this month, Google said itsin China.

Google could not be reached for comment. But in the past, the company has said it is examining the regulations to understand their impact on its maps products in China.

China introduced the new mapping regulations last year in order to ensure none of the online maps would reveal national security information. In order to be granted a license, companies must store all mapping data in servers located in China.

This month the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping also issued a statement, saying the bureau along with other government ministries wouldagainst illegal online maps. Online maps penalized with many violations will be closed, the statement said.

Google is the second largest search engine in China, with a 19.6 percent market share, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. Experts say the search giant's market share and its products have struggled in China partly due to the country's Internet censorship.

All the Also-Rans for President

Why do pols like Rick Santorum with no real shot at the White House keep running? The lure of TV celebrity makes even the most unlikely prospect press ahead for a while, writes Jack W. Germond.

You may or may not have noticed thatis running for president. He has been to New Hampshire 12 times in the last few months and has been similarly attentive to Iowa and South Carolina. He is telling his fellow Republicans he is the real goods if they want a true believer on issues like abortion and gay marriage.

So far, however, the most you can say about Santorum is that he is a contributor to the candidate clutter that now seems to plague presidential campaigns every four yearsan abundance of self-motivated candidates with no visible rationale for their ambitions or constituency for their campaign. In many cases, all they have is money.

There is ample precedent for Santorum, even a case from his home state of Pennsylvania, which Santorum represented briefly in the Senate without leaving any lasting mark. In the1970s, a Democratic governor, Milton Shapp, tried to run for president. Although he kept telling reporters he was running, he was widely ignored by the mainstream press when there was no evidence of any support in the partyignored to the point that reporters who covered Harrisburg were pleading with their colleagues in Washington to, as one put it, "write the damned presidential story so we can forget about it." When Shapp finished fourth of five candidates in the Pennsylvania primary, his 89-day campaign folded.

What is different today, of course, is the mediaand particularly the cable television networks that have such huge news holes to fill. Even a Rick Santorum or Herman Cain ororcan get some TV coverage from appearing at candidate forums or debates. And a candidate with some verve comes to mindis catnip for the cameras.already has the celebrity but what else he's got is a mystery.

For the Santorums of the field, the lure of TV celebrity, no matter how brief, inevitably will persuade even the most unlikely prospect to press ahead for a while. It's nice having people tell you how wonderful you are. It's nice to have a few points in an opinion poll. And candidates with money as well as dreams will find themselves being importuned by hired guns who will promise to make them famous and successful for, let's say, $50,000 a month to start.

These long-shot (or no-shot) pretenders all know that the first rule of politics is never say never.

These long-shot (or no-shot) pretenders all know that the first rule of politics is never say never. And they are all aware that Jimmy Carter captured the White House after a single term as governor of Georgia. So they can nourish dreams, while showering, of political lightning like whatever it was that moved John McCain to puton his ticket last time out. Vice President doesn't sound bad if you're nobody.

Meanwhile, the clutter is growing each four years in the party out of power. And the picture of so many candidates contributes to a perception of a party without strong leadership or a coherent message.

In 1988 the Democrats were "the seven dwarfs;" today the Republicans are the 15or morepolitical pygmies. That's not fair to the candidates with valid credentials. No one who knew him thought Michael Dukakis was a dwarf in 1988. Nor are all this cycle's Republicans pygmies. But politics is not always fair.

The problem with thinning out this clutter lies in the fact that any American citizen 35 or older can be president. Too many leaders of both parties and too many sponsors of political debates seem to think this means anyone who qualifies is constitutionally entitled to the opportunities of all the big guys.

As far back as 1972, sponsors of a televised debate in New Hampshire allowed one Ned Coll, a self-described activist from Hartford, to join other Democratic candidates on a panel. He proved his seriousness of purpose by pulling out a large rubber rat and waving it at the cameras to emphasize his commitment to slum clearance. In 1992 Ron Brown, a Democratic national chairman with a well-earned reputation for political smarts, allowed Larry Agran, a one-term mayor of Irvine, to be treated on terms equal to the contenders in a California debate.

Some of these candidates-without-portfolio make a career out of running. , an African American from Maryland, is unchallenged in his talent for finding an opening. He also-ran for president twice and for the Senate three times, capturing Republican nominations in hopeless cases in Maryland in 1988 and 1992 and in Illinois in 2004. He gave spellbinding speeches that party audiences often greeted with wild shows of enthusiasm. But his share of the Senate vote declined from 38 to 29 to 27 percent. He would be a natural for the Republicans today.

Likeandfor updates all day long.

For inquiries, please contact The Daily Beast at .

EBay to buy GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion

Online marketplace operator EBay said Monday that it will pay $2.4 billion for GSI Commerce, which operates websites for retailers like Toys R Us and Bath & Body Works.

EBay Inc., which runs its namesake site where users buy and sell items through auctions and fixed-price "Buy it Now" formats as well as online payments service PayPal, hopes the acquisition will bolster its ability to connect buyers and sellers around the world. It could also help it become more of a threat to Amazon.com Inc.

GSI runs websites, packs and ships products and offers interactive marketing services to a variety of retailers. It has long-term contracts with 180 retailers, including Radio Shack, Ace Hardware and American Eagle Outfitters.

Shares of GSI, which is based in King of Prussia, Pa., surged 51 percent, or $9.82, to $29.20.

EBay has been working on improving its eBay.com website by doing things such as revamping its home page, cutting upfront listing fees it charges sellers and bolstering its search engine. In an interview, eBay CEO John Donahoe said the GSI deal fits in with his company's efforts to help retailers grow.

"Commerce is at an inflection point where the lines between online and offline commerce are blurring," he said. "We see retailers of all sizes, merchants of all sizes, looking for partners that can help them grow their businesses."

Lots of businesses need help doing things like generating demand for products, running their websites, delivering goods to customers, and growing their mobile sales, Donahoe said. GSI does this for large companies, and eBay and PayPal do this for small- and medium-sized companies, he said, which makes the acquisition a natural fit.

The purchase might also help eBay compete with Seattle-based Amazon, which, in addition to selling many items directly, allows merchants to sell their products through its site and offers product fulfillment services, too.

EBay is already involved with GSI through PayPal, which was integrated with GSI customers' sites last year, Donahoe said. He hopes that the purchase will also result in some of the companies GSI works with selling their goods on eBay.com.

Forrester Research analyst Brian Walker said the acquisition is a good move for eBay since it adds diversity to its business and gives the company access to larger merchants and merchant services that have traditionally shied away from selling on its site.

"It makes them a solution for large, regular-price retailers and consumer brands who would not see eBay or PayPal as solutions," he said.

The price seems high, he said, but it reflects the growing importance of the Web and mobile commerce.

San Jose-based eBay said it will pay $29.25 per share, a 51 percent premium to GSI's closing stock price on Friday. The $2.4 billion total is the second-largest amount eBay has paid for another company thus far — in 2005 eBay paid at least $2.6 billion for Internet calling and messaging service Skype, which it has since sold.

As part of the acquisition, eBay plans to sell GSI's licensed sports merchandise business and 70 percent of shopping sites RueLaLa.com and ShopRunner.com.

EBay hopes to complete the deal in the third quarter. It says its 2011 net income per share will be 30 cents to 34 cents lower than its earlier outlook. In January, it had forecast earnings of $1.56 to $1.61 per share. Its adjusted earnings won't be affected. The company had forecast adjusted earnings of $1.90 to $1.95 per share in January.

The company expects the acquisition of GSI to add to its earnings per share in 2012.

Shares of eBay fell $1.36, or 4.3 percent, to $30.34.

___

AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this report.

Inter's Italian title hopes hit by inspired Juve

ROME (AFP) – Alessandro Matri was the hero as Juventus stunned an out-of-sorts Inter Milan 1-0 in Turin on Sunday to dent the champions' title hopes.

Inter now trail leaders AC Milan by eight points, with a game in hand, after falling to only their second defeat under Leonardo.

The champions produced a limp display against a dogged Juve, who breathed new life into their own Champions League hopes, moving up to sixth.

Juve coach Luigi Delneri said he hoped this win would give his team a boost.

"It was an important game against an Inter team who were in good form and have great quality but we had good chances to finish the game," he said.

"We've come through a difficult period psychologically and this win gives us security in what we're doing."

Leonardo said his team hadn't performed in the first 45 minutes.

"We struggled to create chances in the first half, Juve played a great game, they were compact and difficult to break down," he said.

"But we had a lot of the ball, we could have constructed more in the first half while the chances we conceded were when we gave away the ball.

"In the second half we did very well, after 15 minutes we made a change to put more players up front, we conceded two or three counters, Matri had clear chances but we created clear chances in the final third."

The previously in-form Inter started in confident fashion and carved Juve open after just two minutes.

However, with the option of two unmarked strikers to aim at, Wesley Sneijder tried to pick out Samuel Eto'o only to hit his pass straight at Frederik Sorensen, the ball spinning up and into the path of his other option, Giampaolo Pazzini, who scuffed his volley well off target.

In a half a few chances it was unsurprisingly a mistake that led to the opener.

Ivan Cordoba mistimed his leap to meet Sorensen's cross from the right, leaving Matri unmarked to head home from seven yards.

Inter fashioned an almost identical chance of their own on 50 minutes with Maicon centering for Pazzini but his header was straight at Gianluigi Buffon, who parried easily.

Despite having struggled throughout this season, Juve were giving as good as they got and Matri should have done better than head wide with a free header from 10 yards.

Sneijder had a sight of goal on 66 minutes but his fierce drive hit his own player, substitute Goran Pandev.

Pazzini followed that up with a volley that probably landed closer to the corner flag than the goal.

Inter's best chance came eight minutes from the end as Eto'o played a one-two with Sneijder, took the Dutch playmaker's lofted return but Buffon came out bravely to crowd the Cameroon captain's shot.

Juve almost punished Inter on the counter as Simone Pepe got down the left and crossed for Matri whose shot flashed past the near post.

A minute from time Inter knocked on the door again as Maicon surged forward and crossed from the right only for Eto'o at the back post to blast his shot from five yards onto the bar before moments later swinging at thin air when attempting a volley from an angle.

Earlier, Lazio kept their slim Serie A title hopes alive as they won 2-0 away to Brescia.

Edy Reja's team remain seven points off Milan, who thrashed Parma 4-0 on Saturday, and moved above Inter into third.

Goals from Alvaro Gonzalez on 18 minutes and Libor Kozak just before the hour mark ensured Lazio maintained their grip on a Champions Legaue place.

Udinese are not letting up in their pursuit of a top four finish as they cruised to a 3-0 win at troubled Cesena.

Antonio Di Natale scored another brace, either side of a strike by Gokhan Inler, keeping fifth placed Udinese just two points behind third-placed Lazio.

It wasn't such happy news for Palermo, whose hopes of securing a Champions League finish suffered a blow as they fell to a shock 4-2 defeat at home to Fiorentina.

Top seeds Verdasco, Monfils advance at San Jose

SAN JOSE, California (AFP) – Top seed and defending champion Fernando Verdasco of Spain and French second seed Gael Monfils breezed into the second round of 600,000-dollar SAP Open ATP hardcourt tournament.

Verdasco rolled over US wild card Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2 in 61 minutes to book a second-round match Thursday against Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who smashed 19 aces in defeating American Ryan Sweeting 6-4, 6-4.

Monfils, who has never won an ATP event outside Europe, defeated US wild card Bradley Klahn 6-3, 6-2 to book a second-round date with American Robert Kendrick, who earlier eliminated Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Lithuania's Richard Berankis won the final five games to outlast American Donald Young 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 and become the event's first quarter-finalist.

Young, a 21-year-old US southpaw ranked 146th in the world, led 5-2 in the third set and served for the match in the ninth game but surrendered the last of his six double faults and was eventually broken.

Berankis, a 20-year-old who is down one spot from his career-best ranking of 73rd set last week, broke again for a 6-5 edge and held to finish off Young after two hours and 23 minutes.

Berankis will next face Canada's Milos Raonic, who ousted US veteran James Blake 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).

Last year at San Jose, Berankis came through qualifying to become the first Lithuanian to reach an ATP quarter-final before falling to Verdasco.