The Financial Times online has posted a response to my NYTimes op-ed about the breakdown in Toyota’s management culture. I say the Toyota Production System has problems. Stefan Stern counters:

So it's true: Google is diving into the world of social media, aiming to create a rival to Facebook and Twitter, and they're doing it by enhancing Gmail in some pretty significant ways. Let's go through it.

The new Gmail service, dubbed "Google Buzz," is similar to Facebook and Twitter, but offers some new and eye-opening features. There are five major products for Gmail in general, and three geared specifically around mobile Internet devices. First the five Gmail products:

Apple )AAPL) sends out a survey to app developers asking how happy they are with the App Store. (TechCrunch)

App verification services on the rise as malicious apps become a concern. (ZDNet)

However, spyware in apps isn’t much of a threat to Blackberry users - at least not yet. (CIO/SFGate)

Google (GOOG) is hosting a major press conference that just started, after a 15-minute technical glitch. The company is reportedly announcing that it's planning to use Gmail to roll out a new social media product to rival Facebook and Twitter. As usual, Google's execs are stringing along the intro ("Let's take a walk through time and space"), but you can watch it live here. We'll update you with more details as they unfold.

As First Lady Michelle Obama was announcing the creation of a task force to fight childhood obesity, the American Bevarage Association was announcing that beverage makers will start displaying calorie counts on package fronts, vending machines, and restaurant fountains.

A new feature from Google (GOOG), which could be announced as soon as this afternoon, may have the potential to dent Facebook's popularity. The Wall Street Journal says, “Google Inc. is taking a swipe at Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc.

It's no secret that Google's (GOOG) new Nexus One smartphone has been something of a bust. Not least to the embarrassed engineers at Google, who were reeling from a chorus of customer complaints just days after the January launch. Now the company's trying, however belatedly, to do something about it.

Clyde Bentley at the Reynolds Journalism Institute takes a practical approach to the migration of news from print to mobile devices by creating a timeline. He bases his scenario on Gartner Research's prediction that mobile devices will surpass computers as the entry point for news in just three years: