Unrealistic valuations in the blogosphere haven't hurt Google shares in early morning trading on Wednesday, which continue their upward trajectory towards $600 per share. Reaching that milestone would be in line with Wall Street's thinking, as 33 of 36 analysts recommended buying Google shares. However, price forecasts indicate that Google's bull run should stop around $625--20 of 28 analysts with estimates pegged its price below that mark over the next 12 months. Google's market value is currently more than $180 billion, third among U.S. technology companies, behind Microsoft and Cisco Systems. It has the sixth-highest stock price …

Thirty-two year old Microsoft Corp. has been a software company for most of its life, but media is its future, CEO Steve Ballmer said at a media event in Paris on Tuesday. As growth in operating system and desktop software slows, Microsoft expects that within four to 10 years, 25% of its revenues will come from advertising. Part of the reason for the change is the growth of free, ad-supported Web services offered by Google; consumers no longer need desktop software to write documents and create spreadsheets, which has left the technology giant searching for new sources of revenue. …

The next Internet land grab could come from the blogging sector, as major publishers swoop in to take over the Web's big name brand blogs. Many cover the tech sector: TechCrunch, GigaOm, Boing Boing, Ars Technica. Time Warner's AOL, for example, recently bought the consumer technology blog, Engadget. Blogs have a terrific business model (the name brand ones do at least): They're cheap to set up and run, reach large, loyal audiences and make money. The political blog "The Huffington Post," which has an audience that's close to The Philadelphia Inquirer, boasts a much lower operating cost. Added to …

Silicon Valley Insider Henry Blodget, a former Wall Street analyst who was banned from the securities industry for life for giving Web companies' valuations he knew were outrageous, started a blog war on Tuesday. He outlandishly predicted that Google, nearing $600 per share, could be on its way to $2,000. According to Blodget, "$2,000 a share would mean a market cap of about $750 billion, which-given a reasonable time horizon-just isn't that far-fetched." Both Kara Swisher of D: All Things Digital and Michael Arrington of TechCrunch had strong reactions to his post. "Um, Henry, it is far-fetched, as to …

eBay's purchase of Skype for $2.6 billion in 2005 has been a bust. The Web telephony provider contributed just $90 million to eBay's total haul of $1.83 billion in the second quarter, prompting the online auctioneer to take responsibility for paying too much. As result, eBay has told investors it will take a $1.4 billion third-quarter charge related to Skype. It also announced that co-founder and chief executive Niklas Zennstrom would be stepping down--presumably to focus more on Joost, Zennstrom's online video project that came out of beta this week. He will be temporarily succeeded by former Chief …

The long-running debate over whether the over-extended Internet will one day slow to a crawl continues. Some experts say a crisis is looming and that the worldwide Web is even in need of replacing, while others, like networking giant Cisco Systems, believe their networking technology will help Internet Service Providers and others cope. Among those who believe in doom is ABI Research's Stan Schatt, who says that increasing bandwidth demands will inevitably lead to a traffic crash. "The Internet wasn't designed for people to watch television," says Web pioneer Larry Roberts. "I know because I designed it." But …

First thing's first: Yahoo's unveiled several new changes to Yahoo Search, adding video, audio and picture results to text searches, and drawing on user data collected across its sites to help refine searches. Considering that Yahoo has a larger breadth of content and a bigger overall user base (right now) than rivals Google and Ask.com, the changes could be significant. However, they're not likely to help Yahoo deliver more revenue per search. According to a Compete study, Yahoo is already more effective at getting users to click on its results, but it simply can't compete with Google when …

The exhaustive social-networking trend continues: IAC/InterActive Corp. has added social media features to its iWon online gaming portal, announcing that it will allow consumers build to profiles, chat and use Facebook widgets on the site. As part of the online gaming site's relaunch, IAC is incorporating a search toolbar that uses Ask's search technology, part of a broader push to make Ask "the glue" that brings IAC's otherwise disparate Web businesses together. IAC also owns LendingTree, Match.com, Citysearch, Ticketmaster.com, Evite, Zwinkopedia and others. The relaunch also includes more than 60 new casual games, particularly those offering sweepstakes, …

TechCrunch UK has an interesting profile on UK-based Tape it Off The Internet, which it calls "Facebook meets TV on-demand." Sort of. TIOTI indexes professionally produced TV content, but doesn't wade into the murky waters of hosting it at the site. Instead, the startup sends users who click to watch a show to the primary source. So far, the site contains 75,000-plus TV shows and more than 500,000 episodes. Each show gets its own page, allowing users to discuss, rate, recommend, and add to or edit the information about the cast and episode. It also provides gossip and trivia with …

Like the music being played at your local Starbucks? Well, starting tomorrow, you can instantly download any song you hear through iTunes, which has become free to access from Starbucks locations in New York and Seattle. The New York Times says the Apple-Starbucks partnership, announced several weeks ago, is part of a larger technological trend aimed at baiting the impulse buyer. The online impulse buy is brought to you by debit, gift and refill cards--which allow for one-click, cashless shopping. Part of the genius of iTunes is that it, too, allows for quick, one-click shopping--but many believe the Starbucks-Apple partnership …