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FINALLY, there's a way to gamble on whether or not Florida pastor/crazy-person Terry Jones will go ahead with his big Koran burning event this weekend.

InTrade, which creates futures markets for elections and other current events, has set up a market on whether or not the event will take place as scheduled. It's currently trading at around $0.60, a fairly lukewarm show of confidence in Jones.

Definitely a market to watch:

The contract ID of this contract is: 736490

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See Also:

• Fox News Won't Cover The Koran Burning
• Koran-Burning Church Gets Its Website Taken Down By Rackspace
• How The Koran Burning Could Spur A Debt Crisis In America

Web hosting company Rackspace has taken down two websites run by Terry Jones, the Florida pastor staging a massive Koran-burning this weekend, CNN reports.

Jones has protested, calling the move "an indirect attack on our freedom of speech." That doesn't make a whole lot of sense -- Rackspace is a private company, not a government organization, and can do business with whomever it likes.

That said, what is Rackspace thinking?

There is absolutely no reason for web hosts to have an editorial policy, and this only gives Jones more attention, and makes him look more persecuted. Which, after all, is exactly what the lunatic is after.

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See Also:

• How The Koran Burning Could Spur A Debt Crisis In America
• Why Are Obama And Petraeus Condemning The Guy Who Wants To Burn Korans?

If Google wasn't already scared of Facebook, this ought to do the trick.

Time spent on Facebook was greater than time spent on Google sites in the U.S. in August for the first time in history, according to fresh data from comScore.

Meanwhile, Yahoo continues its slide from the top of the heap to the bottom.

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Google made huge waves yesterday with its announcement of streaming search results as you type.

While Google Instant, as it's called, is an excellent new feature, it's worth pointing out that this isn't quite as futuristic and new as Google is making it out to be.

Yahoo-owned AlltheWeb introduced a similar feature back in 2006. Check it out:

(via Stephen Hood)

See also: Here's What People Are Saying About Google Instant

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• Here's Everything You Need To Know About Google Instant
• The ABCs According To Google Instant
• Here's What People Are Saying About Google Instant

When we first heard about AOL's latest inspirational slogan -- "beat the Internet" -- we called it "cringe-worthy and embarrassing." And that was before we saw this at AOL HQ.

This would be great inspiration for kindergarteners, but we imagine AOLiens find it a little odd.

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See Also:

• AOL Mantra "Beat The Internet" Actually Means Legal Needs To Do Its Paperwork Faster
• AOL Wants To 'Beat The Internet'

The tablet era is upon us, playing out as maybe the last big chance for newspaper companies. By mid-2011, tens of Americans will be tabletizing, as some ready themselves to move to tablet reading of news — and newspapers — and away from that old habit of print.

But are those readers, once again, ahead of publishers? Behind the scenes, I see increasing urgency among daily news publishers to get their products on the tablet, though the movement is less urgent and less creative than it needs to be. For the moment, though, put aside product and platform issues. Let’s consider something more basic: knowing customers.

Read the rest at Newsonomics >>

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See Also:

• USA Today's "Radical" Restructuring Will Ramp Up Digital, Give 130 Staffers The Axe
• Local News Rivals Will Kill Newspaper Pay Walls
• With Paywall Months Away, NYTimes.com Adds Facebook Login Feature

Microsoft will have Bing installed as the default search engine on a number of Verizon Android-based smartphones in the future, but it will not be the exclusive search engine for Verizon's Android phones.

Earlier today, we wrote about a rumor that was kicking up on a few Android blogs that Bing would be the default search engine on ALL Android smartphones for Verizon in the future.

Microsoft finally got back to us and shot down the rumor saying through a spokesperson, "Over the coming months, Verizon will announce the launch of new Android devices, which will be pre-loaded with Bing. The deal for Verizon Android devices is not exclusive."

We called to get clarity on the matter. Bing will be on a many Android phones, but not all, as part of a 5 year mobile search pact signed by Verizon and Microsoft in the first half of 2009.

So, that's that. If Verizon had granted Microsoft exclusivity it would have really damaged Google's plan to make money from mobile search ads.

In this scenario, Google is still somewhat hurt, because its search engine isn't always the default, even when it's mobile operating system is being used by a carrier. But, that's the risk of being "open."

See Also: 10 Reasons You Should Love Microsoft

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See Also:

• Verizon Screwing Google, Makes Bing Default On Some Android Phones
• 10 Reasons You Should Love Microsoft
• Samsung Uses Google's Free Android Software, Blocks Google Search

We reported yesterday on Yahoo! Shine editor Brandon Holley leaving the company to head back to her old stomping ground at Conde Nast, where she was the editor-in-chief of Jane magazine until it folded in 2007. She now takes the reigns of Lucky, whose longtime founding editor, Kim France, who appears to have been let go. (Though the official line is that Conde and France "came to this decision together."

As we noted earlier, the move makes sense for Conde, which is ramping up its digital efforts with new websites, mobile apps and a business model that's moving away from the company's long-standing reliance on advertising revenue.

Holley clearly has sharpened her digital chops over the past few years. She grew Shine's traffic to more than 25 million monthly uniques, according to comScore.

Yahoo declined to comment. But we emailed Holley to ask her about how she would bring those skills to her new role at Lucky as part of Conde's larger digital expansion, and also to talk about how she's gone from old media to new media to old media once again.

We didn't hear back. But The Observer's Zeke Turner did. Here's what Holley had to say:

"I feel like I went to school for three years and now I can bring that back," Ms. Holley said. She compared Yahoo to MIT. "You have all these crazy, brainy geeks."

She said she is excited to bring her freshly minted web degree to Lucky.

"Lucky is an amazing magazine and perfect for what women are doing online," she said. "If you look at what women are doing a lot, what they're doing is looking at clothes and shopping and beauty."

We suggested that Ms. Holley is the first editor-in-chief at the Condé Nast with extensive web experience — a new breed. She agreed.

Conde Nast editorial director Tom Wallce spoke highly of her, telling The Observer:

Brandon also knows, because of her Shine experience, as much as anybody knows about building a success on the web ... Our hope here is that the combination of her experiences will make her ideal for helping, enriching and strengthening the Lucky brand across many platforms.

Meanwhile, in a New York Times piece yesterday, Wallace also praised France, who "invented Lucky magazine in 2000," and who had previously worked at Sassy, New York and Spin, among other glossy publications:

She worked ingeniously over 10 years, in good times and bad, to nurture a magazine and a Web site. Condé Nast owes her dearly, and we wish her the best.

A Conde rep stopped just short of saying France was fired, but it seems like the company felt she didn't have what it takes to steer the magazine out of the recession and into the digital world.

The Times points out:

As the recession deepened and shopping became less of a sport than a guilty pleasure, Lucky suffered a significant loss in advertising pages. While the weak recovery has brought other magazines part of the way back, Lucky has continued to languish.

In the most recent statistics from the Publishers Information Bureau, advertising pages in Lucky were down 7.3 percent from April to June, compared with the same months in 2009; many other magazines directed at female readers recovered.

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See Also:

• Brandon Holley Leaves Yahoo, Heads Back To Conde Nast As Editor Of Lucky
• Big Moves At Conde Nast: Bob Sauerberg Named President, Will Focus On "Digital Connectivity And "Technology Development"
• Peter Kaplan Named Editorial Director Of Fairchild Fashion Group

YouTube STILL not profitable, says Eric Schmidt.

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The Microsoft Investor is a daily report from SAI. Sign up here to receive it by email.

MSFT Up Slightly As Market Rises
Shares of MSFT are up today as the market gets a boost from reports indicating a modest gain in the job market. Upcoming catalysts include upgrade cycles of Office 2010 and Windows 7; any entrance into the tablet market; the launch of Windows 7 mobile; any adoption of Azure (cloud computing); and gamer reaction to Kinect. The stock currently trades at 8x Enterprise Value / TTM Free Cash Flow, inexpensive compared to historical trading multiples.

Verizon Dropping Google Search For Bing For Entire Droid Line? (Android Guys)
After the recent news and related gossip about Verizon's decision to drop Google Search in favor of Bing, Android Guys have heard that the Bing deal might go beyond the Samsung Fascinate. Unconfirmed reports say that Verizon may possibly be ditching Google Search for their entire Droid lineup as well. If that's the case, it's great news for Microsoft. Licensing software and exclusive partnerships are what help differentiate handsets.

Google's Instant Search A Thorn In Microsoft's Side (The Street)
Google's new and improved search functionality showing results as users type is bad news for Microsoft. Bing desperately needs to compete on equal footing with Google. With Instant, Microsoft isn't on equal ground anymore. The threat being that users will leave Bing for Google meaning that advertising dollars will leave Bing as well. And that's bad for investors. Microsoft is going to have to play catch up once again.

Too Little Too Late; Microsoft Continues To Lose Search War (The Motley Fool)
No matter how you slice the search share numbers, the game is already over in favor of Google. Advertisers can bypass Bing and still reach a majority of the Internet's curious browsers. Three years ago, Microsoft executive Kevin Johnson was targeting roughly 35% market share in search and 40% in online advertising within three to five years. Microsoft isn't remotely close to those numbers.

Microsoft Introduces Kinect To Japan In Game Of Catch Up (ABC News)
Microsoft debuted its controller-free Kinect in Japan yesterday in hopes of attracting gamers in that market. Microsoft has some catching up to do in Japan. As of last week, it had sold some 150,000 Xbox 360 console this calendar year. Nintendo sold about a million Wii units during the same period, while Sony sold just under a million.

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See Also:

• THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: More Bulls Pound The Table On Microsoft; Dividend Increase Could Be Coming
• THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Microsoft Thinks It Can Catch Up To Apple's iPhone In China
• THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Despite Intel's Warning, Hedge Fund Managers Pound The Table On MSFT

"Dear Google, Apple, (and Xbox), if you want premium video content quickly, bring cash to LA or hold your peace/piece." -- Tweet from Quincy Smith.

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The Google Investor is a daily report from SAI. Sign up here to receive it by email.

GOOG Soars In Up Market
After another report indicating modest improvements in employment, the market is up with shares of GOOG soaring nearly 2%. Stock specific catalysts for GOOG include continued Android and mobile traction; the release of Chrome operating system this fall; regained momentum in China (if that's possible); as well as progress in other newer initiatives (Google Me, gaming, social, etc.) The stock trades at approximately 13x Enterprise Value / EBIT, inexpensive relative to historical trading levels and the broader Internet group.

Mobile Search Queries Have Increased 4x In A Single Year (All Things Digital)
Mobile search is coming into its own. Nick Fox, Google’s director of product management, spoke at the 2010 Citi Technology Conference Wednesday and told the investor audience that mobile queries have increased by a factor of four in the past year. Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimates that Google's mobile revenue will end the year at a $500 million net revenue run rate.

Google’s New Search Won’t Instantly Increase Revenues (All Things Digital)
Google's new instant search is cool, however it won’t make any significant impact on Google’s income statement in the near-term according to JP Morgan analyst Imran Khan. He believes the new product will have little to no impact on monetization rates and is purely an improvement to user functionality. That said, Google expects the impact on costs to be in line with existing search cost growth curve, which should ease investor fears of increasing costs.

The Smartphone Race Has Only Begun (Market Watch)
Google and Apple both stand to win the smartphone race according to Cody Willard at Market Watch. As of now, only 25% of the total mobile phone business is smartphone enabled; that's a lot of upside in an expanding market. There's no reason to think that there can't be several winners. Even Nokia and Research In Motion can survive. 'Survive' being the operative word.

Google And Apple Trading At A Discount To S&P (Market Watch)
The two companies who stand to profit the most of the burgeoning applications market are trading at cheaper valuations than the S&P 500. Google trades at 12x enterprise value to earnings while Apple trades at 10x enterprise value to earnings. That compares to Exxon at 12x and Caterpillar at 15x. Time to back up the truck.

Google Needs To Start Monetizing Apps To Move The Needle On The Stock (Seeking Alpha)
Developers have been skittish about Android because of the ability to have users pay for applications. Various studies show users of the iPhone OS pony up while Android users like the freebies. So how will increasing Android users and applications affect Google's stock price? Play around with the inputs you are comfortable with and see where it shakes out.

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See Also:

• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Western Companies Like Google Will Fail In China
• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Google Voice In Gmail Accelerating, Not Good For Telcos
• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Welcome To The Pay-Per-View Party!

I'm in Silicon Valley and San Francisco this week meeting with companies. (Stay tuned for some cool office tours.)

Today, I'll be holding open office hours from 2-3 p.m. at the Starbucks on University in Palo Alto. (If it's nice, maybe even on the deck outside.)

Join me and tell me about your startup, your job at Apple, some hush-hush scandal, or whatever.

See you then!

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Microsoft is launching Windows Phone 7 October 11 at big shin dig in New York, Pocket Lint reports.

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Say what you will about Zynga CEO Mark Pincus, but the man speaks his mind.

According to an unnamed former employee in a brutal profile at SF Weekly, Mark once set his idealist employees straight by saying:

I don't fucking want innovation. You're not smarter than your competitor. Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers.

That must have been in the company's early days; it has been a long time since Zynga had a competitor with numbers better than its own.

The underlying point, however, remains very true to what Zynga is about. As the former employee put it:

Zynga's motto is 'Do Evil.' I would venture to say it is one of the most evil places I've run into, from a culture perspective and in its business approach. I've tried my best to make sure that friends don't let friends work at Zynga.

See also: Zynga's Secret To Success: Steal Great Ideas!

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See Also:

• Mark Pincus's Secrets To Success: Make Everyone A CEO Of Something
• Zynga CEO Mark Pincus: “I Did Every Horrible Thing In The Book Just To Get Revenues”
• Zynga's Secret To Success: Steal Great Ideas!

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Don't expect a Chatroulette application to appear in the App Store any time soon.

In Apple's updated guidelines on what can or can not get into the App Store, it specifically says Chatroulette will not accepted because it has too much user generated content that is pornographic.

If Chatroulette cleans up its act, then maybe it can get in. For now, it's not happening.

Here's the Apple's guide on pornography in the App Store:

18.1 Apps containing pornographic material, defined by Webster's Dictionary as "explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings", will be rejected

18.2 Apps that contain user generated content that is frequently pornographic (ex "Chat Roulette" apps) will be rejected

See Also: Apple Tells Developers, "We Don't Need Any More Fart Apps"

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See Also:

• Apple Tells Developers, "We Don't Need Any More Fart Apps"
• Apple Caves: Apps Developed With Third-Party Tools Will Be Welcome In App Store
• Apple Is A "Mutant Virus" Infecting The PC Industry, Says Acer Founder

If you use a smartphone in the U.S. today, you're most likely using it on a 3G wireless network. And you're probably wondering when the signal is going to get faster.

The good news is that the big wireless companies are at work on a new series of "4G" networks, or "fourth generation," that promise to make the mobile Internet much faster and better.

But it's not going to happen overnight. It's going to be a couple years until 4G mobile service is spread all over the country. And then we'll have to see what sorts of 4G gadgets make it to market.

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See Also:

• Phil Falcone's Huge Bet On A Pipedream 4G Wireless Network Is Worrying Investors
• Sprint Epic 4G Review: The Best 4G Phone
• WiMax Is Toast As Clearwire Plans LTE 4G Test

Apple released a simplified guide for developers to understand the rules of the App Store this morning.

One frequent complaint from developers about Apple is the opacity with which it operates the App Store. We're not sure if this document, will help clear things up, but it makes for an entertaining read.

Apple wrote the guide in very plain English, starting with a few key bullet points to guide developers.

The best bullet of them all (our emphasis added): "We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps. If your app doesn't do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted."

Here's two more good guidelines from Apple (emphasis added):

• If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps.

• If your App looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first practice App into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour.

Before launching into the full guide, Apple warns developers, "If it sounds like we're control freaks, well, maybe it's because we're so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products. Just like almost all of you are too." 

The guidelines are a "living document," and Apple says "new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your app will trigger this."

See Also: Apple Is A "Mutant Virus" Infecting The PC Industry, Says Acer Founder

App Store Guidelines

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See Also:

• Apple Caves: Apps Developed With Third-Party Tools Will Be Welcome In App Store
• Apple Is A "Mutant Virus" Infecting The PC Industry, Says Acer Founder
• Verizon Screwing Google, Makes Bing Default On Some Android Phones

Update: Microsoft is shooting down this rumor, saying that it will be on SOME Verizon Android phones, but not ALL.

Original: Verizon will remove Google search from all future Android-based smartphones, The Droid Guy reports.

Verizon Android phone users will be forced to use Microsoft's Bing, says the Droid Guy citing two Verizon "tipsters," one of which has provided reliable information in the past.

Another site, Android Guys, backs up Droid Guy, saying, "We've heard some unconfirmed reports that Verizon may possibly be ditching Google for their Droid lineup as well."

We would be shocked if Verizon did this on all phones, but if true, this would be a blow to Google's mobile business plan. The reason Google is paying for Android and giving it away for free to handset makers is to drive mobile web searches.

The plan is working so far. Google said mobile searches are up 4X in the last year, and Citi analyst Mark Mahaney estimates Google's net revenue run rate for mobile search to be $500 million by the end of the year.

If Google is MIA on the nation's largest carrier, then that could slow mobile ad growth. It won't kill it because users could still navigate to Google.com from Bing. Also, Microsoft has paid for search deals on the desktop which hasn't affected Google.

Still, if Microsoft paid a reasonable amount for the search deal, it's an smart move from Microsoft to hurt Google. Microsoft is trying to turbo charge Bing, and fend off the growth of Android, as it launches Windows Phone 7. By installing Bing as the default on all Android, phones it accomplishes both goals.

If Microsoft is paying through the nose for this, then it's not so smart. Microsoft can't lose money on search forever.

Microsoft is already paying $600 million in a multi-year deal to be the default search engine in Verizon feature phones. However, Microsoft reportedly missed an opportunity when it negotiated that deal.

Android powered phones were said to be exempt from Microsoft's deal with Verizon.

However, yesterday we learned the Verizon Samsung Fascinate phone, which runs on Google's Android software, only had Bing as a search option.

Is this the start of a trend for Verizon? If it is, it illustrates the risk of having an "open" mobile operating system. If Verizon wants to kick off Google, it can.

All that said, we would be absolutely shocked if Verizon was kicking Google off all its smartphones in the future. It would absolutely shatter the companies' relationship. Google would figure out a way to retaliate, we're certain. Maybe slower updates of Android's OS for Verizon users? Maybe something else?

We've emailed Google, Verizon, and Microsoft seeking a comment. If anybody offers any clarity, we will update the post.

See Also: The First 20 Android Apps You Need To Download

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Samsung Uses Google's Free Android Software, Blocks Google Search
• How Microsoft Blew Its Verizon Deal
• The First 20 Android Apps You Need To Download