Posts Tagged ‘google’

Pics of the new Google Phone

Posted in Tech on December 14th, 2009 by admin – Be the first to comment

Finally, all the speculations about a phone, that will be fully manufactured and branded by Google, is coming true. Earlier, many rumors about the Google Phone had surfaced. The products that fueled these speculations were Android, Google voice etc. But now we definitely know that the Google Phone is real and it is coming very soon, maybe in 2010.

On December 11, 2009 some Google employees started tweeting about the Android powered Google Phone, that they are getting from Google. Google has also confirmed the news, that it is testing a new Android powered device with employees around the world. Google is saying, it is doing this for the employees, as a part of Christmas celebrations. But why cannot we believe that it will start selling the Phone to customers? In fact Google’s decision to release a phone shows its fear that, the Android platform, which it had built by itself, will be commercialized by other hardware vendors like HTC, Samsung etc.

Update: According to PC World, the phone on the right could very well be the Google Phone.

For now, no official news has come from Google, but we have some very specific and interesting details about this Google Phone:

Leaked Pictures [via: theunlockr]

UPDATE: The Google phone is confirmed: it’s called the Nexus One.

A Google product manager has responded to the Google Phone tweets leaking out with a vague non-denial. Google’s Mario Queiroz calls the new handsets a “mobile lab” being used to test “new mobile features and capabilities.”

What he doesn’t say: Is this handset set to become a flagship “Google Phone” to challenge the iPhone? Will it carry Google branding and be distributed by Google? Or is this merely an expanded test for new features in AndroidAndroid?

His non-denial implies at least some of this is true: Google is set to be more involved with this HTC phone (almost certainly the rumored HTC Passion) than previous devices.

Queiroz writes:

“At GoogleGoogle, we are constantly experimenting with new products and technologies, and often ask employees to test these products for quick feedback and suggestions for improvements in a process we call dogfooding (from ‘eating your own dogfood’). Well this holiday season, we are taking dogfooding to a new level.

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.

Unfortunately, because dogfooding is a process exclusively for Google employees, we cannot share specific product details. We hope to share more after our dogfood diet.”

What do you think? Could a Google Phone be imminent?

Posted on 14 December 2009

By Thomas Ricker & Daniel Spelzmann posted Dec 13th 2009 11:18AM
google-phone

// Look familiar? For a story that broke on Twitter it’s only fitting that the first reported picture of the mythical, magical “Google Phone” (AKA, Nexus One) would appear there as well. The tweeted image above appears courtesy of one Cory O’Brien, an account manager at a San Francisco Bay Area marketing agency that does not list Google as a client. That note of caution aside, the image above is an exact match to that leaked HTC Passion / Bravo image from October, only this time lacking the HTC logo on the top-side bezel. Besides the pic, O’Brien tweets that the “Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android.” Granted, none of this is confirmed yet, but with Google releasing so many of the devices as part of its “mobile lab” concept, well, we expect to see plenty more sightings in the run up to the rumored January launch.

Update: A quick search for “nexus one” on Google’s Picasa photo service reveals several pictures taken with a camera pegged as the HTC Nexus One in the EXIF data. The very first of these geotagged 2592×1944 pixel (that’s a 5 megapixel sensor folks, hardly “weirdly large” as described by TechCrunch) images were taken by user Bradley (who just happens to be a Picasa friend to Sergey… hint) in the SF Bay Area on November 27th. A few are clearly lit by an onboard flash as well. In fact, many of the pics appear to be taken from within Google’s offices and at Google sponsored events. The quality is not exactly spectacular and that won’t likely change in the final product because even Google’s bound by the laws of physics when it comes to tiny cellphone sensors.

Update 2: The device seems to have been around earlier with an EXIF identifier of “Phone88.” Fortunately, Google’s own employees have uploaded pics of the device, by the device, for us to marvel at — so meta. Check the gallery for the images or a quickie close-up posted after the break.

If it takes you 99 weeks to find a job then perhaps you're doing it wrong?

Posted in Politics on December 9th, 2009 by admin – Be the first to comment

He repeatedly called out the company web-services divisions for failing to pull their own weight, and suggested that fixing them may require running them as though the profits from the dial-up business didn't exist. “Healthy companies throw off cash,” he said. “What you should be focusing on is, how does the web services business throw off cash?”

Two important businesses, AOL Mail and MapQuest, have both been mismanaged, though in different ways, he said. The former was “overrun by monetization,” driving users away. “”The first day I started, I logged into AOL email and I got 15 to 20 ads, some of them pop-ups,” he said. “When you sent a nice message to your friend, you usually sent them a nice ad as well, and that's not really a nice user experience.” He added, “It's kind of product hygiene.”

MapQuest, meanwhile, was the victim of technological neglect, which, in turn, relates to a failure by AOL to recruit top engineers. That issue, he said, is being addressed aggressively. “Engineers love to solve big problems, and AOL is a big problem on that side,” he said. “If anyone in this room has relatives who are engineers and who are good, send them to AOL. We'll make them very happy.”

But while it may be looking to hire geeks, AOL is also in the midst of a huge workforce reduction, one that will shrink the company's payroll by 2,500 employees. That downsizing, Armstrong said, is the reason he declined to accept a bonus of between $1.5 million and $4 million he was due for 2009. “I don't think I should've gotten paid for laying off a third of my employees,” he said.

“We are running the company in a very rigorous way,” Armstrong added. “I think the morale at the company has turned around a lot, even with the reductions.”

Error 403

We're sorry, but we could not fulfill your request for
/2009/12/09/putting-trust-on-the-menu/ on this server.

An invalid request was received. You claimed to be a major search engine, but you do not appear to actually be a major search engine.

Your technical support key is: ae78-aeb4-f118-2195

You can use this key to fix this problem yourself.

If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, please contact libby at gracelinks.org and be sure to provide the technical support key shown above.

Is 99 weeks of unemployment checks enough? Or should it be extended? If extended, where will the money come from?

How can they extend the benefits when they have no money? Eventually these people getting unemployment are going to have to get off their ass and take a job that they may think is “beneath them”.Getting unemployment for 99 weeks is MORE than enough time to find a job, even if it's a crappy job at Walmart. Enough is enough.

 

(12-08) 16:28 PST — Nearly 600,000 jobless Californians could run out of unemployment benefits by April unless Congress extends a series of special assistance measures that expire at the end of December, says the National Employment Law Project.

The 65 percent federal subsidy for Cobra benefits will also expire at year's end, said the Law Project and allied groups at a press conference Monday in Washington.

Law Project chief Christine Owens said that nearly half of those now enrolled in the health insurance program could lose coverage unless the Cobra subsidy is reauthorized and extended.

Unemployment benefits normally last a maximum of 26 weeks and laid-off workers typically pay for continuing their old employment-based health insurance under Cobra.

But under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or the Obama stimulus plan, Congress allocated $40 billion to make unemployment benefits available for up to 79 weeks, and another $25 billion to subsidize Cobra.

Lawmakers recently added up to 20 weeks of unemployment checks, for a total of 99 weeks of benefits in California.

But those provisions expire at the end of December, and the groups holding Monday's press conference said that by the end of March, about 3 million Americans are projected to exhaust their benefits as the unemployment coverage maximum reverts to 26 weeks.

Making 99 weeks of unemployment benefits available throughout 2010 would cost about $85 billion, and extending the Cobra subsidy could be another $25 billion decision, said a Capitol Hill source.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to extend both programs before the end of the year. New bills H.R. 4183 and S. 2381 would address jobless benefits.

  • Missed me last time?

    Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Project Syndicate

    • Tito Boeri: Saving Europe’s Lost Generation of Workers
    • Edmund S. Phelps: The Road to Prosperity and Sound Markets
    • Sylvester Eijffinger and Edin Mujagic: The Return of Monetarism

  • Oh My Valve

    • Dayton's Heroes? Try Dayton's Zeros

  • Dandelion Salad

    • Bernie Sanders: If you believe in unfettered free trade, don’t be hypocrites!
    • Dennis Kucinich Circulating Privileged Resolutions to End Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
    • Larry Summers is Steering the Economy Towards “Structural Adjustment” By Mike Whitney

  • Alternet.org

    • Real Rich: Banks Blame Homeowners for Failure of Mortgage-Relief Plan
    • Andrew Breitbart Raves: ACORN Pseudo-Scandal the "Abu Ghraib of Great Society"

  • FDA – Recalls

    • Bayer Consumer Care Voluntarily Recalls One Lot of Combination Package of Alka-Seltzer Plus® Day & Night Cold Formula Liquid Gels

  • UPI

    • UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News
    • Legislators quizzed in lobbying probe
    • Gay teenager guilty of murdering classmate
  • Whoo, three finals down, one left! :D Yaaayyyy. I think I made A's on all of them, and I should have two A's for final grades, at least. Woot woot.

    I finally got my first unemployment check yesterday! :D That means I can pay for stuff! And buy DVDs like Harry Potter, and Glee! :D And also Christmas presents!

    You guys should tell me if you want Christmas cards. I need to get on that. Leave me your address if you want one – comments are obvs screened. And also if you did the Christmas list meme thing, link me! I might be able to send you a pressie! ^_^

    You know what's really annoying? My older sister owes me $560, 'cause last year she got into a lot of trouble for driving with expired tags and without insurance, so she had to pay like, $640 in fines and stuff. I lent her the money because I had it from my refund check and she didn't have any money, so I did the nice thing and helped her out. It's been nearly a year and she has paid me like, $80. She works at a costume shop, like dancewear and Halloween stuff, and I kind of expected her to give me a little in October when they were staying open later and she was working more days… but no. And every time I ask her for money ('cause I don't even have a job, and I have to pay my cell phone and help James with everything else) she makes a big deal and is like "Well, I JUST BARELY have enough for rent, so I GUESS I can spare like, $20. YAYYYY." And then she goes out and drinks every night and buys really stupidly expensive things for no reason… grrr.

    So yeah. We went to a burlesque show the other night (which was awesome, btw – I want to be a burlesque girl! I'm too shy and too fat, though.) and it was $8 to get in, which Kelly paid for both her and her boyfriend, and then started drinking as soon as we walked in and didn't stop till after we left. She was all "Want a ride home?!" and I was like "…. NO." -_- But yeah, so she spent at least $25 that night, which she could have been giving to me so I could pay my overdue phone bill. >_< Sometimes she really annoys me.

    Sorry. I'm just annoyed at a lot of people right now. But GLEEEEEE tonight you guys! :D GLEEEEE! <3 I love it, omg. I have to go do laundry so I can be done before Glee comes on. -_- Bah.

Fox takes on Google

Posted in Tech on November 23rd, 2009 by admin – Be the first to comment

Rupert Murdoch is pointing a gun to Google’s head, and Microsoft is helping him pull back the trigger. For the past few weeks, Murdoch and his officers at News Corp. have been very vocal about their distaste for Google and their desire to lead other media companies in a boycott of sorts.

Murdoch keeps threatening to stop letting Google index the WSJ.com and his other media sites, and wants other news sites to join him in this self-imposed silence. The folks at Microsoft’s Bing think this is a great idea. Not only that, but the FT reports that Microsoft is in fact in discussions with News Corp. and other publishers about the possibility of paying them to remove their sites from Google’s search index. This report comes on the heels of a meeting in Europe where Bing dangled the prospect of premium spots in search results to publishers and outright money for search R&D.

Microsoft is not afraid to buy search market share, which is what it’s doing with the Yahoo search deal and even its Cashback program. But with these latest talks, it is literally trying to buy the news, or at least exclusive access to the news.

Bing can’t buy all the news, it can only buy certain brands. If Bing can somehow become the only place you can find news results and working links to the Wall Street Journal and other top papers such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times, for instance, that would be a big reason to switch for a lot of folks. But it’s not clear how much Bing would have to pay the news companies of the world for them to give up all the traffic Google sends them in return for a fraction of that traffic and some cash.

Even Google couldn’t afford to strike such deals. Says Murdoch, of Google, “If they were to pay everybody for everything they took from every newspaper in the world, and every magazine, they wouldn’t have any profits left.”

In order to actually make a dent in Google’s market share, Bing would have to pay such exorbitant sums to so many different news companies that it would be difficult to recoup its investment. Bing certainly get some marketing buzz out of any such move, but that’s about it.

The big problem with a search engine trying to buy market share by buying parts of the news is that information spreads so quickly these days, exclusives last about 30 seconds. That information will end up on a site that is indexed by Google. Or the same news will be broken by someone else on the Web before the WSJ.com even gets to it.

Exclusive indexing goes against the Web’s inherent openness. Companies that try to curtail that openness don’t last long on the Web.

Yahoo Gives In to Microsoft, Gives Up on Search

Posted in News on July 29th, 2009 by admin – Be the first to comment

yahoo-bing-google

In a long-awaited pairing aimed at taking on Google, Yahoo will handle ad sales while Microsoft gets the real prize: data on who’s doing what online

By Peter Burrows and Daniel Saltman

Ever since Microsoft (MSFT) made its $45 billion bid for Yahoo (YHOO) in early 2008, it was clear the software giant was serious about taking on arch-rival Google (GOOG) in the lucrative Internet search business. And now, after years of talks with Yahoo, it seems Microsoft has achieved its goal. In a 10-year deal announced in the early hours of July 29, Microsoft became the clear No. 2 in a market long dominated by arch-rival Google.

In a deal that presages its departure from a market it helped pioneer, Yahoo will scrap its own efforts to best Google in search and instead rely on Microsoft’s recently debuted Bing search engine. Ads placed next to those search results would be served up not by Yahoo’s ad platform, dubbed Panama, but by a Microsoft technology called AdCenter. Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz “is essentially giving up on search,” says Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land.

Yahoo salespeople will continue to sell search ads that appear on both Yahoo sites and on Bing, and Microsoft agreed to let Yahoo keep 88% of the revenue on ads that appear on Yahoo sites. But Microsoft will nevertheless reap a reward that’s more valuable in the long run. The data on computer users’ online search and buying habits would ultimately reside on Microsoft’s computers, thereby improving its ability to automatically serve up the most relevant ads. “If Microsoft is running the underlying ad technology, it doesn’t matter who is selling the ads,” Sullivan says. “In the end, Microsoft will hold all the cards.”

He adds that most advertisers place ads by filling out online forms, with no involvement from salespeople. Maintaining control of sales makes the deal “sound rosier for Yahoo than it really is, because in the end Yahoo won’t have the technology needed to compete.”

Insurance for Microsoft and Bing

msbuysyahoo_180

Microsoft wins in other ways. The deal gives a big boost to Bing. The combined search market share of Yahoo and Microsoft would approach 30%. That’s still far below Google’s 65%, but analysts say it may provide enough of a critical mass at least to stave off further Google advances and help the enlarged search engine gain some ground. At a minimum, the deal doubles as a kind of insurance policy for Microsoft, in case all

of the positive buzz about the Bing search engine doesn’t translate into actual market share. By adding Yahoo’s 20% market share, Bing assures its place as the only search engine provider other than Google with size that really matters.

Advertisements –> Naples Remodeling | Business Card Printing | Naples Body Shop

166871-microsoft-bing_180So what’s in it for Bartz? For starters, Yahoo will slice $200 million in technology development costs, while continuing to bring in or even grow its search ad revenue. That’s because its salespeople will sell not only ads running on Yahoo sites, but also on Bing. Once it’s fully implemented, about two years after regulators sign off, the deal is expected to add an annual $500 million in operating income for Yahoo. The recently appointed CEO also buys time to hone Yahoo’s strategy and improve other moneymakers, such as placing banner-style display ads that appear on Yahoo’s highly trafficked portal and e-mail pages. And by continuing to sell search ads, she maintains relationships with key advertisers rather than let Microsoft walk away with them. “Yahoo doesn’t want to look like they’ve sold off their crown jewel for short-term gain,” Sullivan says. “This creates the illusion that they have more control of the situation than they probably do.”

It’s an illusion that will likely work with Yahoo’s long-suffering shareholders. Indeed, the deal will probably be welcomed by investors in both companies, since it lets each play to its respective strengths. Yahoo is most successful as a media company—and that includes selling advertising.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is a technology powerhouse, with vast software development capabilities and the cash to build the billion-dollar data centers needed to run search engines and ad platforms. The roles represent a stark reversal from half a decade ago, when Microsoft used both Yahoo’s search technology and its search-ad system. “It’s good for both of the companies,” says Sandeep Aggarwal, an analyst with Collins Stewart (CLST.L).

An Antitrust O.K. Is Needed

The arrangement will also have to get a nod from antitrust officials. It probably will, given both companies’ relatively small market share next to Google’s, and advertisers generally are likely to be in favor of the deal since it bolsters a competitor to the market leader. But Google no doubt will raise objections, which could at least slow down the approval of the deal.

Moreover, the complexity of the deal means it will take the two companies longer to integrate operations than if Yahoo simply outsourced search and search ads to Microsoft, as Microsoft originally proposed. “It’s certainly a deal with a bunch of moving pieces,” says Tim Cadogan, CEO of the online ad technology and services firm OpenX and a former Yahoo ad sales and search executive.

But if and when those pieces fall into place, it will become abundantly clear which party gained the upper hand in the arrangement, and which one has a fighting chance against Google.