Yahoo is closing the door on several of its less successful products as the company continues to pare down its business model. The first to go was Yahoo Photos, replaced last week by Flickr, the photo-sharing site it acquired two years ago. On Wednesday, the Web portal added Yahoo Auctions to that list, terminating service in the U.S. and Canada, while maintaining overseas operations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. "We are making great strides in our ongoing efforts to align Yahoo's resources and focus on core strategic priorities," Jeff Weiner, executive vice president of Yahoo's Network Division, said …

Spring is in the air, and so are mergers and acquisitions. StumbleUpon, the Web site that helps consumers stumble upon content they might like on a variety of Web sites, is in "advanced talks" to become a part of the eBay empire. Unnamed sources said the company's fetching price is around $75 million, but that a deal was far from certain. EBay's interest in the company raise an interesting about where the online auctioneer thinks its going. StumbleUpon is in the content business, while eBay is in the e-commerce/communications business. Following its $292 million purchase of the online ticket-seller …

Google on Tuesday unveiled a more boardroom friendly version of its analytics product, in an attempt to make it even more accessible to non-technical users. The program has received a major overhaul, including a new design and a richer, more varied performance report. "It's not just one lonely number sitting on the page, telling you if your traffic went up or down," Brett Crosby, senior manager of Google Analytics, explained. "We present it with other data, so you can see if the data show that things are good or bad. Maybe your visits are down, but your conversions …

After Google acquired DoubleClick, Kevin Johnson, Microsoft's president of platforms and services, felt compelled to pen a letter to the software giant's long and varied list clients, reassuring them of the company's commitment to Web services and online advertising. The GoogleClick announcement wasn't the best timing for Microsoft, coming a few weeks before the company's annual client summit. "While we share your concerns, we maintain our sharp focus on this industry and we will continue to invest heavily in innovation and partnerships in this area," Johnson wrote. For Johnson and co., there are big questions to be answered. As …

Blog Maverick's Mark Cuban poses an interesting question about the future of YouTube, now that the Google video site has begun rewarding its higher-traffic generating content producers with a cut of ad revenue. How long before YouTube "corporates" itself out to become the next Clear Channel for the Web? A good question, because now that YouTube is also paying for good content, it behooves Google to promote the best stuff it has to offer. If a video gains traction fast, don't be surprised if it starts popping up on the YouTube home page or in promotions on pages …

Photobucket has concluded the terms of a sale to MySpace, News Corporation's social network. The deal is not done, though the major points had been agreed upon. It's only a matter of time before MySpace completes a purchase for nearly $300 million. Sources told Reuters the price would be closer to $250 million. A squabbling couple? Indeed, since 2005, when Photobucket-hosted videos and images became a major force on MySpace, the companies have found themselves inextricably linked. Photobucket is a free, big, storage bank for users to dump their media files and upload them to social networks like MySpace, …

In response to the news that MySpace may be acquiring Photobucket for close to $300 million, reports across the Web weigh in on the extent to which the two companies are linked. The short answer: to a very great extent, which should give the photo storage site the upper hand in negotiations. Nevertheless, it's MySpace that's bullied Photobucket into accepting an offer, as Internet biggies like Google, Yahoo and MSN showed no interest. Last month, after Photobucket hired Lehman Brothers to negotiate a sale, MySpace started blocking media files stored on Photobucket. The News Corp. site soon relented, …

Telecom giant AT&T is so huge, its investors simply yawned when the company announced that its long-delayed Web-based TV system is costing $1.4 billion more than promised. Why? AT&T's capital spending budget won't move, even as it spends a grand total of $6.5 billion to move into the space dominated by cable companies. AT&T shares rose 12 cents following the news, closing at $39.60 yesterday. With its new TV service, called U-Verse, the telecom industry king plans to reach 18 million consumers in 13 states by 2008. Analysts were mixed on U-Verse's prospects. Regardless, Rick Franklin, an analyst …

The Silicon Valley incubator is back, a sure sign that the cavalier optimism of the late '90s has returned. But remember how that all ended? So-called "incubators" quickly turned into "incinerators," as more than 80 percent of the startups that built their way toward an exit strategy burst, along with the larger Web ad bubble. But don't tell that to today's startup farmers, who shy away from the word "incubator." Naval Ravikant, a venture capitalist, funded a series of success stories, including Epinions and Technorati. He says his latest venture, called Hit Forge, represents the next level in startup …

Thanks in large part to the lobbying power of the nation's fat-pocketed casino and horse-racing companies, Internet gambling services will remain illegal in the U.S, the country's Trade Representatives office said Friday. The decision comes in defiance of a World Trade Organization ruling that its ban on Internet gambling is contradictory to the country's policy on gambling offline. WTO members from Antigua to Barbuda to the 27-nation European Union are now seeking compensation from the organization as a result of the U.S. ban. Deputy Trade Representative John Veroneau said the case brought forth by Antigua and Barbuda several years …