AT&T said Thursday that it will cut about 12,000 jobs, or 4 percent of its workforce, due largely to “economic pressures.”

The layoffs are beginning to sound like a broken record (or MP3). AT&T said it wants to streamline its operations as its business morphs to one that’s largely dependent on wireless service (statement). AT&T added that it will add jobs in growth areas such as wireless, video and broadband. For many quarters, AT&T’s wireless and U-verse broadband service have shown growth as its once-core wireline business erodes.

AT&T also said that it will cut its 2009 capital spending budget from 2008 levels, but didn’t give specific guidance. In any case, AT&T’s cutbacks are likely to ding telecommunication equipment vendors. According to Morgan Stanley analyst Simon Flannery, AT&T is likely to spend $20 billion, or 16.1 percent of revenue, on capital expenses (click to enlarge chart).

In 2008, AT&T spent heavily to build out its 3G network to prepare for the iPhone and also faced expenses to restore service following hurricane season. Meanwhile, the cost cutting wasn’t a surprise to many analysts. Flannery wrote in October:

We expect AT&T to announce material cost cutting in coming weeks as an offshoot of the recent management reorganization. We believe there is still significant scope to trim opex and capex to deal with a tough macro-economic environment. About 40% of capex is related to growth initiatives.

The telecom giant said it will take a charge of $600 million in the fourth quarter for severance.

YAHOO! SITE MAP: A USEFUL INTERNET MARKETING TOOL

A website refers to a compilation of Web pages that can be typically accessed through a software package, commonly known as a Web browser (one example is the HTTP on the Internet). These pages, which are essentially documents that are in the HTML or XHTML format (HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language), are accessed from a ‘common root URL’ - or the website’s homepage (as most people know it). From this homepage, the visitor/Internet user can browse or look through the entire website either with the use of the hyperlinks or the URLs of the different web pages.

Viewed on computers and other devices that are capable of connecting with the Internet (such as PDAs and cellular phones), websites can be grouped into numerous types, depending on their use or the services that they offer. Some of them include the following:

· Archive site - maintains and protects electronic contents that are valuable to the point of extinction.

· Business site - promotes a business or a service.

· Commerce or eCommerce site - offers goods for sale.

· Community site - allows people with related and similar interests to communicate with each other (either through chat or message boards).

· Database site - searches and displays a particular database’s content.

· Development site - provides data and sources that are related to software development and web design, among others.

· Directory site - contains wide-ranging contents that are usually divided into categories and subcategories.

· Download site - allows users to download electronic contents, such as game demos and software.

· Game site - provides a ‘playground’ where people meet and play.

· Information site - contains data or content that have the sole purpose of informing visitors (not for commercial purposes).

· News site - dispenses or distributes news and commentaries (similar to an information site).

· Pornography site - shows pornographic videos and images.

· Search engine site - provides general information and serves as a ‘gateway’ for other sites and resources (can also be a web portal site).

· Shock site - shows images and other materials that aim to offend viewers.

· Vanity site - a personal site that is run or maintained by an individual or a small group, the contents of which can be of any information that the site owner wishes to include.

· Blog site or blogs - registers online readings and posts online diaries or discussion forums.

· Wiki site - allows users to collaboratively edit the contents.

Yahoo! is perhaps the most famous example of a very large website. The most popular and widely-used website, Yahoo! is a mixture of the different types of sites - it is a directory site and a search engine site, among others.

Because of the enormous (and diverse) amount of information that it contains, the Yahoo! site map is an extremely useful feature in the Yahoo! website.

A site map is a web page that lists the entire pages on a web site. Organized in a hierarchical fashion, site maps can be in textual or visual form (a diagram or an image).

The Yahoo! site map serves as a blueprint for the Yahoo! website. Similar to a book’s Table of Contents, the Yahoo! sitemap makes it easier for visitors or users to find specific information or pages on the Yahoo! web site without having to browse many pages, because the site map gives an overview or a visual outline of the Yahoo! web site, with each location provided with active links to enable the user to directly move to a specific location.

In addition, the Yahoo! site map allows web developers to put out links from across their sites, making it easier for search engine robots (or engine spiders) to find these pages.

Because the Yahoo! site map improves the search engine optimization of a site, this feature can be considered a valuable tool for online marketers, whose aim is to stimulate and direct traffic to their web sites.

Note, however, that the Yahoo! site map can only give you the ‘basics’. Because it is important for web marketers to ‘rank high’ on main search engines, an effective web marketing strategy that promotes your web site is also very much needed. Listed below are some search engine strategies to consider:

1. Write a descriptive page title at the top of your webpage that avoids ‘filler’ words like “the” or “and”.

2. Incorporate descriptive keywords on your home page, along with your business name. This is called “keyword prominence”.

3. Include a Description Meta Tag at the top of the web page. This refers to the sentences (1 or 2 lines, with a maximum of around 255 characters) that describe the content of your web page.

These are just some of the many techniques that you can employ to get more users to visit your website. The important thing is to focus on keywords - and let Yahoo! site map do the rest.

Sitemap taxonomy - To classify web content

Sitemap taxonomy is a way to classify the tremendous amount of information available on the World Wide Web. Organizing web content is a lot of work that requires manpower and money. But creating sitemap taxonomy is a process that must be done in order to make information readily available to users.

Often times the information is there but users are unable to access it. With the sitemap taxonomy, web content is arranged in such a way that the user will be able to use it effectively. As it is more and more users are flooded with information that is useless to them thus creating frustration.

Impact of sitemap taxonomy to Internet marketing

Sitemap taxonomy can be a big boost to Internet marketing. The whole purpose of being on the web is to get exposure to a wider audience of potential customers. Unfortunately, the overflow of information often makes it impossible for searchers or browsers to find what they need.

Most of the time online users form searches that often turn up useless or non-relevant results. This is not only frustrating for users but also for any company advertised on the web. Users are left guessing the right keyword they need to use in order to get the information they need off the web.

Unfortunately not all users have the patience to keep guessing until they find the right keyword. More often than not, users will give up their search and go on with another search. This can mean lost sales for any company on the web that doesn’t have a sitemap taxonomy.

Building a sitemap taxonomy

Many people may think that building sitemap taxonomy is an easy simple process of putting together keywords. Sorry to say, sitemap taxonomy is a demanding task however it does have its rewards. With an effective sitemap taxonomy in place, a website is more likely to get more traffic that would translate into profits.

Working out a sitemap taxonomy is often a trial and error process. It requires using the right terms that users are better acquainted with, in order for them to find their way through the site. At the same time, using the wrong terms may make it impossible for users to find what they need within the site.

There are generally two sets of online users that should benefit from the sitemap taxonomy, browsers and searchers. Browsers often use the sitemap taxonomy to find their way within a site while searchers use online search engines to find the information they need. No matter what type of user is involved, the sitemap taxonomy should address the needs of both users. Enabling either user to find the content they need.

Do-it-yourself sitemap taxonomy

The best candidate for creating the sitemap taxonomy of a site is the company itself or the individual behind the website content. Although hiring a professional to create the sitemap taxonomy of the site is an option, it is best that someone with firsthand knowledge of the website’s content do it. There are a number of important aspects to consider before doing the sitemap taxonomy.

Keep in mind that in general the sitemap taxonomy should be extensive not profound. Putting together profound sitemap taxonomy may only make matters worse as the user will have a difficult time finding the subject matter they need. It is also best to use basic terms instead of advertising jargon that can be easily understood by all.

When structuring the sitemap taxonomy, it is important to maintain some exactness at the highest levels. This helps make it easier for users to navigate the site and find the information they need. It is also a good idea to limit the number of items under each level from two to seven subject matters. If not then it is best to combine subject matters for a more efficient sitemap taxonomy.

Take into account that sitemap taxonomy is not an exact science. It requires constant fine-tuning in order to produce an effective sitemap taxonomy. However the entire process will pay off big in the long run as users who are more likely to find what they need are those more likely to spend money.

A Russian physicist has successfully hacked an emergency patch designed to fix a recently discovered DNS vulnerability.

A Russian physicist has successfully hacked an emergency patch designed to fix a recently discovered DNS vulnerability.

Evgeniy Polyakov reportedly used two desktop computers and a high-speed network link to fool the patch into returning a spoofed address in just 10 hours.

According to Polyakov, a typical attack server generates approximately 40,000-50,000 fake replies before hitting on the right one. Polyakov also noted that if the port is matched “the probability of successful poisoning is more than 60 per cent”.

Alarmed insecurity experts warned the patch could be exploited to redirect Internet traffic and collect user passwords.

The hacker appears to state on a Russian Blog, “DJBDNS does not suffer from this attack. It does. Everyone does. With some tweaks it can take longer than BIND, but overall problem is there.”

If you send headers to a domain that does not match the domain where the SWF is hosted, you need update your crossdomain.xml file to allow them to continue to work with Flash Player 9.0.124.0. While this is discussed in the ADC pre-announcement, it could use a bit more detail. Flash Player support wrote a great technote on details of how to set up <allow-http-request-headers-from>.

http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb403185

One of the examples from the article is:

<?xml version=”1.0″?>
<!DOCTYPE cross-domain-policy SYSTEM “http://www.adobe.com/xml/dtds/cross-domain-policy.dtd”>
<cross-domain-policy>

<!– This domain can accept a MyHeader header from a SWF file on www.example.com –>
<allow-http-request-headers-from domain=”www.example.com” headers=”MyHeader”/>

</cross-domain-policy>

Also, it is worth reiterating that the new header crossdomain syntax is required for both send and sendAndLoad network APIs. For network requests without additional headers, traditional crossdomain syntax and behavior continues.