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Times are tight. Heck, college professors are having to sell ad space on exam pages to make up for budget cuts. It would make sense that Google would increase the number of ads on its search pages, too, except it’s hard to forget certain executive speeches about fewer ads with better targeting.

The best of China will be put on display during the Olympics - the most beautiful landscapes, the cleanest streets, and the happiest citizens.  Don't be surprised if a Sohu banner turns up, too, as the search company's second-quarter results were quite impressive.

While that Microsoft-Yahoo business stole the show for a while, Baidu's found its way into the spotlight again.  The Chinese search engine company had an admirable second quarter, beating analysts' estimates in some important respects.

eBay's second-quarter earning report was respectable, all in all, with increases occurring in most measurable categories.  Many of those increases didn't meet investors' expectations, though, and the company seems to have adopted a cautious outlook for the future.

Got a couple of links on one page to another page? Google only has love for the first one, no matter what you do with it.

The 30-second spot isn’t dead, just our patience with being interrupted by them. Those “America’s Favorite Commercials” specials in prime-time television draw strong enough ratings to prove that people—at least, some people—are willing to sit and watch half-minute tales used by advertisers to pitch their wares.

 Before the end of this sentence you will have to make a choice between the blue pill and the red pill, for as soon as we step over the period we will enter an alternate reality and it will not be easy. Lawyers are looking into virtual worlds like Second Life, studying whether the environment is suitable for regulation and asking who has "metaphysical jurisdiction."

This is one of two Google rumors that surfaced over the weekend–the other one is here. Apparently Arizona State University sent out invitations to students that mention a super-secret, sign-an-NDA-or-else, social networking project.