DOJ, EC approve Microsoft-Yahoo search deal

In today's podcast: DOJ, EC approve Microsoft-Yahoo search deal; Google gets approval to trade energy; and Amazon.com puts Kindle on U.S. BlackBerries.

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The U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission on Thursday both unconditionally approved Microsoft and Yahoo's plan to work together in the field of Internet search. Microsoft will acquire a 10-year exclusive license to Yahoo's search technologies. Microsoft will also hire Yahoo Internet search and search advertising staff. Microsoft will become the exclusive Internet search and search advertising provider used by Yahoo. In exchange, Microsoft will retain 12 percent of the search revenues generated on Yahoo's and its partners' Web sites during the first five years of the agreement, paying 88 percent to Yahoo as a traffic acquisition cost.

Google has received federal approval to buy and sell energy on the open market, giving it more options for the way it powers its data centers and opening the door to a potential move into the energy-trading business. Google applied for the authorization last December through a wholly owned subsidiary called Google Energy. The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved its application Thursday, granting Google "market-based rate authorization," or the authority to buy and sell energy on a wholesale basis.

Amazon.com has released a version of its Kindle application for BlackBerry users, giving them access to their e-books without a Kindle device. However, while the Kindle device and service is now available internationally, the free Kindle for BlackBerry application is only available for users in the U.S. The company didn't say whether it plans to offer a similar application for BlackBerry users outside the U.S. The release of the Kindle for BlackBerry application follows the release of a similar iPhone application in March 2009.

Dell on Thursday reported a drop in profits during the fourth quarter of the company's 2010 fiscal year, but growth in revenue, fueled by strong sales of laptops and servers to the consumer and enterprise markets. The company's revenue increased to $14.9 billion, compared to $13.4 billion in the previous year's fourth fiscal quarter. The r increase was partly driven by strength in commercial business, the company said. Revenue for the large enterprise unit was $4.2 billion, up 8 percent year over year. Revenue from the small and medium-size business segment was up 10 percent to $3.3 billion, driven by sales of mobile products and servers.

...And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I'm Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.