Roundup: EBay looks shaky, NPR’s API, the Spoken Web, and more
EBay revenue rises, but stock price sinks — Despite a 22 percent increase in second-quarter profit, eBay is failing to convince investors that it knows what it’s doing. EBay’s earnings were buoyed by its online payments and advertising divisions, but its auction business is faltering as the company battles sellers, buyers, brand names and just about everyone else around. New CEO John Donahoe is working toward a solution, according to the NYT, but if it fails,… Continue Reading
Feds add fuel to fire of cellulosic ethanol trend
Range Fuels, the Broomfield Colo., company racing to build the first commercial plant for producing a more efficient form of ethanol, got closer to that goal after being awarded a $76 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy.
This is significant because cellulosic ethanol, made from crop waste, switchgrass, woodchips, and other bio refuse, is much more efficient and cleaner than regular corn ethanol, and could help the nation in its quest for alternative energy… Continue Reading