Further evidence this week that almost any player that can will enter the search fray.

Ugggh. It's tax day. I just signed off on my return--at the last second, of course. Earlier this week, MediaDailyNews reported on the numbers of American taxpayers visiting online tax preparation sites. Apparently, the number of taxpayers filing electronic returns is hitting a record number.

Call me psychic. Yesterday, the Minute shared a sliver of a conversation with a source. Said source hinted that the Securities & Exchange Commission probe into the methods by which Time Warner's America Online unit booked ad revenue would be settled quickly, that a spinoff of the company's Time Warner Cable unit would come first, followed by a spinoff of AOL.

The Minute is spun frequently. The Minute hates to be spun.

Claria, the company formerly known as Gator, has filed for an initial public offering. Ordinarily, such a move might not be newsworthy because unless you're Google--well, no one actually cares, though the fact that there are any IPOs in the pipeline is proof that market conditions are improving.

It was inevitable. America Online eventually had to join the modern age and move to a HTML-based publishing technology. This year, each of AOL's content channels will gradually segue onto the HTML platform. AOL's Sports and Personal Finance channels are among the content areas that have already shifted to HTML. The move to HTML underscores AOL's desire to drive content sampling among non-members and ultimately, conversions.

A rising tide lifts all boats, right? The adage appears to hold true, at least in the case of Yahoo!, which yesterday posted spectacular first quarter earnings. Shares of the Internet giant climbed 13 percent to $55 on its news. Yahoo! racked up $758 million in sales for the first quarter, up from less than $300 million in the year-ago quarter. My, what a difference a year makes

Strategy Analytics, a global research and consulting company, reported an interesting finding today in a study of broadband consumers in seven European countries. In the study of 800 European broadband users, 56 percent reported spending less time watching TV since subscribing to a high-speed connection.

Online advertising bellwether Yahoo! reports its first quarter earnings tomorrow and the Street is expecting good news.

Blogging is going mainstream, in case you hadn't already realized it.