Adobe releases Flash upgrade that helps Google "see" Flash content

NEW YORK (AP) — Internet users will now have an easier time finding sites that rely heavily on the popular Flash video format.

Adobe Systems Inc., the format's developer, has released a customized version of its Flash Player software that allows Google Inc.'s search engine and others to see the elements of Web pages embedded with Flash content the same way a human would.

Search crawlers, the programs that find and index content for search engines, currently have a difficult time "seeing" non-text formats.

Although they can often index static text and links within basic Flash files, many Web pages associated with Flash video are dynamically generated on the fly as visitors are ready to view them. And some Web pages are now designed almost entirely in Flash, with menus and other features embedded within the Flash video.

Adobe's new tools help search crawlers navigate dynamic Flash pages more easily. Google's crawlers, for instance, will be able to click buttons along the way and remember the information for the index.

"Improving how we crawl dynamic content will ultimately enhance the search experience for our users," Bill Coughran, Google's senior vice president of engineering, said in a statement.

Google already is using the new tools and Yahoo Inc. plans to soon. Adobe plans to extend support to other search engines.

Web designers don't need change the way they do anything to accommodate the upgrade.

There are limits, however. Google is indexing only actual text within Flash files — not text presented as images such as the words on a street sign. So Google's YouTube video clips still aren't covered because they don't contain embedded text.

—Anick Jesdanun, AP Internet Writer

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Tax break persuades Tesla Motors to keep building vehicles in Calif.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The company that built the first mass-produced, all-electric car will keep its manufacturing plant in California, thanks to a new state tax break.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer worked out the deal for Tesla Motors Inc. after learning that the Silicon Valley-based company intended to build its second-generation vehicle in New Mexico.

The financial break, announced Monday, allows Tesla to avoid paying state sales tax on equipment it buys to build its Model S. That will save the company 7 percent to 9 percent on each purchase.

The five-passenger sedan is expected to cost about $60,000 and will be able to travel 225 miles between charges to its electric engine.

Schwarzenegger says it drove him "absolutely insane" to learn Tesla planned to take its environmentally friendly technology to another state.

The governor is among several celebrities who have ordered Tesla's first-generation electric sports car, the Roadster, which has a base price of $109,000.

The car goes from a dead stop to 60 mph in just under four seconds and tops out at 125 mph. The roadster takes 3 1/2 hours to recharge when its batteries are depleted.

The cars started arriving this spring at Tesla's first dealership, in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Schwarzenegger is awaiting delivery.

Tesla's decision to remain in California is unfortunate, said Fred Mondragon, secretary of New Mexico's Economic Development Department. He said several European companies are eager to take advantage of New Mexico's economic incentives for companies that develop clean energy.

—Juliet Williams, Associated Press Writer

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Report: Fiber Internet adds more subscribers worldwide than cable

NEW YORK (AP) — For the first time, more people around the world are signing up for fiber-optic broadband service than for cable Internet service, according to a British research firm.

Fiber providers added 4.2 million customers in the first quarter, while 2.5 million customers signed up for cable modems, according to a report released Wednesday by Point Topic.

The bulk of the new fiber subscribers are in China, where 2.5 million signed up, for a total of 16.7 million. The U.S. is in fourth place after Japan and Korea. Point Topic counted 303,000 new U.S. fiber customers, for a total of 2.6 million.

Fiber-optic Internet connections provide faster speeds, but the cost of the buildout is daunting. In deregulated telecommunications markets like those of the U.S. and Western Europe, carriers are unsure if fiber is worth the investment because they are competing there with cheaper technologies like cable and DSL, and it's unclear how much regulators will let them profit.

"It's difficult to persuade operators to make the sort of commitment needed when they can't guarantee their returns," said Oliver Johnson, chief executive of Point Topic. Without government funding, it will be a long time before fiber connections are widespread, he said.

Verizon Communications Inc. is the only major U.S. telecommunications company to pull fiber all the way to subscriber homes. Verizon accounts for slightly more than two-thirds of total U.S. fiber hookups. The rest of the fiber-to-the-home, or FTTH, deployments are by small phone companies and by municipalities.

Cable modems are far more common, at 79.6 million worldwide, according to Point Topic, compared to 42.1 million fiber connections. More than half, or 40.1 million, of all cable subscribers are in the U.S., which has a comparatively extensive cable infrastructure.

Broadband over phone lines remains the most common means of Internet access. Globally, 238.1 million households had DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, an increase of 9.3 million over the quarter, Point Topic said.

—Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer

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On the Net:

http://point-topic.com/