"AWESOME!": YouTube goes live

WASHINGTON (AFP) - YouTube has broadcast its first live event, an extravaganza which was part concert and part variety show and which drew comments from viewers ranging from "AWESOME!" to "train wreck."

The popular video-sharing Internet site streamed a two-hour live broadcast at youtube.com/live featuring well- to lesser-known singers, dancers and video bloggers who became online celebrities through YouTube.

Filmed before a live audience at the Fort Mason Center near San Francisco's famed Fisherman's Wharf, the show opened with a scantily clad Katy Perry performing her song "Hot and Cold," a title which pretty much summed up the evening for the tens of thousands of users of the comments board.

"This is AWESOME! YOUTUBE RULEZ!!!" wrote twilightmaniac1901.

"GO YOUTUBE!" agreed 4yall.

"Can anyone say train wreck?" shot back tobyw87.

"Who are these guys?" asked hersheyxOxO as one of the more obscure acts took the stage.

"Why does it take so long for it to load?" complained offwithurhead, ending the question with the :( unhappy face.

DONCMG360 had a problem with the live format writing "holy crap i wish i could skip this part."

Other performers included virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani, who jammed with Funtwo, a guitarist whose YouTube video went viral in 2006 and made him into an online sensation, and hip-hop artist Soulja Boy Tell'Em.

Australia's Sick Puppies played onstage while Juan Mann, the man behind freehugscampaign.org who they immortalized in a video of their song "All the Same," did what he does, handing out free hugs to members of the audience.

Other acts included the grinding up of a broom handle in a blender by the white lab-coat wearing star of the willitblend.com videos and the firing of more than 1,000 paintballs from a cannon at a man dressed in a suit of armor.

"DO NOT ATTEMPT AT HOME" flashed up on the screen as the broom handle was noisily and spectacularly reduced to kindling in the blender.

Other moments included YouTube tributes to itself and the role it played in the presidential election, serving as a favorite platform for videos by the campaigns and co-hosting debates with the CNN television network.

The star of the show was Grammy-award winning musician will.i.am of the Black-Eyed Peas, whose song "Yes We Can" in tribute to Democratic candidate Barack Obama has been viewed nearly 14 million times on YouTube.

Will.i.am performed "It's A New Day," the song he released following Obama's victory in the November 4 presidential election over Republican John McCain.

Also making an appearance on stage was San Francisco Gavin Newsom while Queen Rania of Jordan appeared in a videotaped message to receive the first YouTube Visionary Award.

Queen Rania, the wife of King Abdullah II, launched her own YouTube channel in April "dedicated to breaking down stereotypes about the Arab and Muslim worlds and to bridging the East-West divide."

YouTube's first foray into live broadcasting comes as the Google-owned website tries to cash in on its popularity by letting advertisers "sponsor" videos and bid on key words people use for searches on the site.

Google purchased YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars in 2006 but has been moving slowly to "monetize" the site out of concern it might irk notoriously transient Web surfers who could easily switch to rival video-sharing sites. (yahoo.asia.news)

Even Google scales back on holiday fun

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Internet search giant Google Inc is known for hosting the most extravagant holiday parties in Silicon Valley, often drawing crowds of over 10,000 and prompting some employees to post ads for party dates on classifieds Website Craigslist.

But even Google has decided to scale back its holiday celebrations this year due to a global economic downturn and an ever-expanding workforce that had grown to 20,000 in October, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Silicon Valley has few reasons to celebrate this year as companies, including Hewlett Packard Co, Yahoo Inc, Sun Microsystems Inc and Applied Materials Inc, have cut over 140,000 jobs in the last few months because of the bleak economy, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas consulting group.

Google has fared better than most tech companies, but departments at the Internet company will have smaller events this year to encourage camaraderie between employees and celebrate more economically, said the source. Team holiday activities will include spending an afternoon volunteering followed by evening social activities such as dinner parties and museum outings in San Francisco.

This is a striking difference from previous years, when Google holiday parties included ice sculptures of the company's logo, virtual reality video game stations, karaoke booths, sushi buffets and burlesque dancers.

Last year a party crowd of 10,000 spread throughout the Shoreline Amphitheater, near Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, said workers -- called Googlers. A handful used the Web to find dates.

But this year only one looked for a companion in a recent search on Craigslist.

Google declined to comment on this year's change.

(Reporting by Jennifer Martinez; Editing by Ben Tan)

SKorean scientists claim to develop 'true blue' for OLED screen

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korean scientists have claimed to have developed an efficient "true blue" material that can accelerate the development of next-generation organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays.

The development was announced by Pusan National University chemistry professor Jin Sung-Ho, who has led a joint state-funded project with Seoul National University engineers.

South Korea, the world's largest producer of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), is trying hard to develop more efficient OLED screens.

OLEDs must be made to mix green, red and blue lights. Scientists have developed efficient green and red OLED materials but they have had problems making a true blue OLED material.

Jin said his discovery would allow the creation of "energy efficient" OLED displays. Compared to LCDs, OLEDs offer a greater field of vision, better colour quality and require less power. (yahoo.asia.news)

'No concrete plan' for Google server farm in Austria: spokeswoman

VIENNA (AFP) - Google has "no concrete plan" to build a new European server farm in the north of Austria, despite buying land there, the US Internet search engine giant said Saturday.

Elaborating on its announcement Thursday that it has acquired 75 hectares (185 acres) of real estate in Kronstorf village, near Linz city, a Google spokesman said the idea of a server farm was still just that -- an idea.

"We have bought a plot of land, but there is no concrete plan to build a centre," said the spokesman, Kay Oberbeck, in a statement. "We are still in the process of studying the possibilities and how they can be exploited."

Google said it picked Kronstorf over sites in a dozen European countries because it offered "very good conditions for building a centre".

Server farms house an array of powerful computers that handle requests for data from Internet users. They require a great deal of electricity to function, plus a constant supply of water to keep the computers cool.

Local officials said Google's investment would be worth tens of millions of euros. (yahoo.asia.news)

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