Recession hits Google

The recession has finally hit Google, even though the search firm is still doing better than most other advertising-dependent companies, reports The Register.

Google's first-quarter earnings showed the slowest revenue growth year-over-year since the company went public in 2004 - but it was growth nonetheless. The company's chief exec Eric Schmidt called it a "good" quarter given the depth of the recession, saying the results show the resilience of their business model and ongoing potential of the Web as advertisers shift their cash online.

Income for the quarter ended 31 March 2009 was $1.42 billion, up from $1.31 billion a year earlier. Profits were boosted largely by cutting research and marketing costs, eliminating jobs, and shutting its newspaper and radio ad units.

A study into spam has blamed it for the production of more than 33 billion kilowatt-hours of energy every year, enough to power more than 2.4 million homes, says the BBC.

“The Carbon Footprint of E-mail Spam” report estimated 62 trillion spam e-mails are sent globally every year.

This amounted to emissions of more than 17 million tons of CO2, the research by climate consultant ICF International and anti-virus firm McAfee found.

Verizon Communications is trying to keep customers tied to the old idea of a home phone with updates to its new Verizon Hub, reports CNet.

The Verizon Hub, which was introduced earlier this year, is essentially a souped-up VOIP handset. It's designed to be the main phone and communication "hub" for the household, providing not only phone service, but also sports, weather and other news.

But given the device's hefty price tag of $199 with a two-year contract, it seems a bit steep for consumers who can already get that information and functionality from their cellphones.