It looks like Google is moseying into another market with the launch of Google Dictionary -- but this time it appears as though potential rivals were more prepared. Alex Zudin, the owner of Paragon Software -- which works with Merriam-Webster, Oxford and others to build applications based on their data -- tells the Los Angeles Times that Google's service might serve a low-level consumer market, but higher-ed students and professionals will still buy unabridged versions. The company with the most to lose, according to Zudin, is Answers.com, whose definition button has, until now, …

What's in store for 2010? Apple will finally bless the world with an "iPad" digital tablet; netbooks will move upscale; and I.B.M. will buy Juniper Networks. That according to an amalgam of analysts, visionaries, and various other soothsayers brought together by technology research firm IDC. According to IDC, there will be 300,000 iPhone applications by the end of next year -- nearly triple the current number -- along with 50,000 to 75,000 Google Android applications -- up from about 10,000. Also, expect 20 million digital electric meters -- the home devices crucial for energy-saving smart electric grids -- to be …

Is a Comcast-led NBC Universal destined to thrive or take an AOL/Time Warner-sized dive? Comcast just shelled out $30 billion for a controlling interest in the media company on the premise that it can successfully leverage its content with its arsenal of cable channels, movie studio, and Top 10 Web presence. "If anyone can make a media merger work it's [Comcast CEO Brian] Roberts, who has a lot of experience with large acquisitions and isn't ego driven," argues ZDNet. Also, "NBCU employees will be stoked to go to Comcast relative to GE ... There's a better match with …

Google is introducing its own public domain name system, or DNS, named Google Public DNS. What the heck is DNS? The Internet service that converts a web address, i.e., publications.mediapost.com, to an IP address of a server. Often, according to the search giant, DNS is slow, so it hopes that its own DNS service will alternatively offer a faster experience. "As people begin to use Google Public DNS, we plan to share what we learn with the broader web community and other DNS providers, to improve the browsing experience for Internet users globally," explains the Google Code Blog. …

Barry Diller has a problem. The IAC/InterActiveCorp head apparently has too much cash on hand -- nearly $2 billion -- and doesn't know what to do with all of it. The consummate media dealmaker just doesn't think there are any good acquisition targets out there. "It's a looming problem," Diller said at the Reuters Global Media Summit in New York on Wednesday. "The only thing worse than spending cash stupidly is essentially not to put it down at all." In the meantime, IAC has continued to build its cash reserve and used some of it to buy back …

Josh Lovison, Interpublic Emerging Media Lab Mobile and Gaming Practice Lead, argues that email marketers are unknowingly in a dire situation. Why? A major activity for smartphone users involves checking email, and, while current best practices dictate formatting emails to support both text-only and HTML email clients, HTML versions don't scale well to smaller devices. Text only is one solution, but, says Lovison, just removing horizontal width fixed elements can improve things dramatically without compromising aesthetics too greatly. More clever marketers, meanwhile, may want to look into detecting "User-Agents" for hosted images and, based off those, assign "lowest …

Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt has an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal, which -- in case you've been hibernating under a rock -- is owned by News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch, who professes to hate Google, and has sworn to soon deprive it of the ability to index The Journal's content. In the column -- which Around The Net was able to access without a Journal subscription -- Schmidt writes, "With dwindling revenue and diminished resources, frustrated newspaper executives are looking for someone to blame. Much of their anger is currently directed at Google, …

According to Forbes, social news site Digg.com is betting big with its new application programming interface, or API. The changes are aimed at simplifying the way application developers interact with the Digg platform, and will provide a new way for application programmers to authorize Digg users, and remotely allow them to take action on stories. The idea, according to Digg's lead developer on the project Jeff Hodsdon, was to make it easier and more clear for developers working with the Digg platform. For users, however, the new writable API will likely mean easier content sharing. Users will be …

The New York Times has released a new application for its Web site that provides online readers with the layout and experience of paging through a newspaper. Times Skimmer, so-called, displays a collection of headlines and short summaries of articles in a grid layout, and is therefore meant to make it easy to browse through headlines and find stories deep within sections of the Web site. The application is designed to fit and move for better viewing on different screen sizes and browsers, while readers can select from seven different display options and choose the layout that best meets their …

Chicago-based Groupon, which offers local deal online, has raised a Series B financing of $30 million from new investor Accel Partners, along with existing investor New Enterprise Associates. The company offers deep discounts on local deals on everything from spas and sky diving lessons to hotels and restaurants. Discounts range from 40%-90% of the normal price. If enough people buy into the offer, everyone gets the deal. If there aren't enough people, no one gets the deal. Groupon collects payment and passes it on, minus their fee, to the business. What makes the service so compelling, according to …