Not satisfied with simply dismissing this weekend's article in The Sunday (London) Times on the carbon footprint of a single Google search, TechCrunch's Jason Kincaid decides to interview the young physicist quoted in the Times story himself. He finds that the Times report was, at the very least, misleading. In the article, Harvard physicist Alex Wissner-Gross says "that performing two Google searches uses up as much energy as boiling the kettle for a cup of tea." In the TechCrunch report, Wissner-Gross reveals that he never actually said anything of the sort. For starters, the American says he would …

CBS is revamping its TV.com site to become a video-viewing destination. The site, which six months ago started featuring Hulu content, has now added CBS shows, and is today announcing deals for MGM, Sony, PBS, Endemol, USA and Showtime, according to various reports cited by Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee. CBS is positioning TV.com as a video portal that's already social. Gannes notes that social features have been a hard sell for competitors like Hulu, Comcast's Fancast and Joost, which are each trying to build communities around their content. Early stats show that people show up at these sites to watch …

Vertical ad networks came to the fore in a big way in 2008, as dozens of publishers began selling ads on partner sites using platforms created by companies like Adify. The vertical network provider now powers some 140 such networks, while competitors like Seevast and DoubleClick supply tools and sales support for scores more. In a way, vertical networks are publishers' way of fighting back against the massive one-stop networks being built by Google, AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft. These Web giants claim they have the targeting capabilities to deliver any audience segment, which, in theory, would negate the need for …

Last month, The New York Times profiled those YouTube users who've turned amateur video production into a lucrative, full-time gig. Of course, not everyone who seeks to do this for living is ready to quit their day job; the Los Angeles Times profiles a few who aren't having the five-figure-per-month success reported by Whatthebuckshow host Michael Buckley. For example, Tay Zonday is one such relatively famous YouTube voice who hasn't quite hit pay dirt yet. Zonday is the author of the YouTube classic "Chocolate Rain", which is the 46th most-watched clip of all time. His channel also happens to be …

Over the weekend, the most popular story on TechMeme, an aggregator of technology news, was this piece from the The (London) Sunday Times on the environmental impact of Google searches. The report quoted a Harvard physicist who said that a single search generates 7g of CO2, versus around 15g for a tea kettle. This, he said, constitutes a "definite environmental impact." While there's no doubt Google consumes a massive amount of energy, TechCrunch's Jason Kincaid tries to put a little perspective on things. He points out that a single book commands about 2,500 grams of CO2, and a …

At the Consumer Electronics Show, Yahoo unveiled a range of new televisions and other devices loaded with software developed with chipmaker Intel Corp. that allows users to call up Web pages and tools for use while watching TV. BusinessWeek notes that past attempts to marry the Web and TV have fizzled badly, but some analysts claim that Yahoo's efforts come at the right time, because consumers are finally ready to enjoy a range of media from a single device. Apple's iPhone, which users use to surf the Web as well as to make phone calls and text messages, is the …