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YouTube Makes the News. Literally.


Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2009 - 1:29pm

It's been a banner year for YouTube, at least so far. While it's not clear if the site will ever turn a profit, there's no denying that it has become more ubiquitous than ever. And the rise of video-enabled smartphones has only exacerbated the situation. According to a recent YouTube blog post, video uploads from mobile phones has risen 1,700 percent since the start of the year. Since the iPhone 3G S was released last week, mobile video uploads has jumped by 400 percent a day.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Meet Google's Lobbyist—Again


Posted Monday, June 29, 2009 - 11:42am

New York Times reporter Miguel Helft profiles Dana Wagner, the lobbyist in charge of convincing the world that Google (GOOG) isn't a monopoly, despite whatever your lying eyes might tell you.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Jacko Makes Google Wacko


Posted Friday, June 26, 2009 - 12:32pm

Looks like there's something tougher than Google (GOOG) after all. The search engine has so many servers and data centers gobbling up juice to maintain its site that it seemed impossible anything could crash it. Once again, Michael Jackson defied expectations.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Jacko Makes Google Wacko


Posted Friday, June 26, 2009 - 12:32pm

Looks like there's something tougher than Google (GOOG) after all. The search engine has so many servers and data centers gobbling up juice to maintain its site that it seemed impossible anything could crash it. Once again, Michael Jackson defied expectations.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

China's Latest Google Slap


Posted Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 10:03am

Yo, China, what's a brotha gotta do to run an international search engine up here? When last we checked in with the mandarins of the Forbidden City, they were once again denouncing Google (GOOG) for allowing Chinese citizens access to pornographic Web sites, as well as insisting that computer importers include a customized anti-porn software program in every machine.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

More Android Rollouts


Posted Wednesday, June 24, 2009 - 12:12pm

It's been a while since we revisited the army of new Google (GOOG) smartphones hitting the streets, so let's check in with the latest batch to challenge Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and the BlackBerry. To wit:

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Facebook: The "Second Internet"


Posted Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 3:12pm

Wired contributing editor Fred Vogelstein has penned another excellent story about the future of the Internet—this time about Facebook founder Mark "I'm CEO ... bitch" Zuckerberg's confidence that he can unseat Google (GOOG) as the dominant force in Web navigation, search advertising, and online activity. "Google is not representative of the future of technology in any way," one Facebook honcho told him. "It almost doesn't make sense to compare them."

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Google Solves Another Crime


Posted Monday, June 22, 2009 - 2:53pm

Google's (GOOG) don't-be-evil motto gets another boost today, courtesy of its "street view" service. Last September, a young Dutch teenager was toodling down the street on his bike when two men grabbed him, acquainted him with the cobblestones, and relieved him of the bike, his cell phone, and some $250 in cash. The boy got ahold of the police, but the men were long gone, seemingly scot-free.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

China's Google Porn Crackdown


Posted Friday, June 19, 2009 - 10:42am

For the third time this year, the Chinese government has denounced Google (GOOG) for enabling users of its Chinese Web site to access pornographic Web sites.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Is Bing Really Biting Into Google?


Posted Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 10:23am

Everyone's buzzed about Bing, of course, and at first glance, the news from Reuters that Bing has pushed Microsoft's (MSFT) share of the search market to 12.1 percent should have Larry and Sergey a little spooked.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Google Mucks Up Outlook


Posted Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 9:53am

Last week, when Google (GOOG) launched a plug-in that allowed business customers to switch to Google Apps while retaining the Microsoft Outlook interface, industry watchers regarded it as Google's most aggressive effort yet to challenge Microsoft (MSFT) in the enterprise market. After all, Google Apps is cheaper and easier to run, and Microsoft's clients only seem to stick with the company because change is scary.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Sergey Brin's Panicking! Unless He's Not


Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 3:24pm

Your nonstory of the day has got to be rumors that Google (GOOG) cofounder Sergey Brin is panicking at the thought of Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing overtaking his search engine.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Artists Give Google the Finger


Posted Monday, June 15, 2009 - 7:31am

The New York Times gives freelancers a little morale boost with its latest Google (GOOG) story, in which Toronto artist Gary Taxali tells the search giant to take this pro bono assignment and shove it. While promoting its new search engine Chrome, Google recently "invited" prominent artists to create original works to showcase its speed and power, but offered no money for the opportunity.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Google Gets Going on Enterprise Apps


Posted Friday, June 12, 2009 - 2:02pm

How many ways can Google (GOOG) and Microsoft  (MSFT) butt heads? Search? Video? Operating systems? On the enterprise-software front, Google has launched a new offensive, targeting businesses that would like to switch to the speed and ease of Google Apps, but whose employees are just too comfortable using Microsoft Outlook and Exchange.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Google Builds Golden State Bridge


Posted Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 1:34pm

Google (GOOG) execs have ramped up their project to convince journalists and government regulators that it's not a scary, unstoppable monopoly.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Eric Schmidt on Bing


Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 10:06am

Yesterday, Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt finally had something to say about Bing, Microsoft's (MSFT) latest effort to unseat Google as the search engine of choice for Americans. Speaking with Fox Business, Schmidt dismissed Bing as just the latest in a long line of also-rans and scoffed at the idea that Microsoft's $80 million to $100 million marketing campaign gives him cause for worry.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Bing And Google Get Testy


Posted Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - 1:32pm

It's round 50-something in the war between Google (GOOG) and Bing, Microsoft's new/rebranded search engine. And all around the Web, the critics are still offering their consumer reviews, trying to figure out which doohickey is the niftiest. Other folks are cooking up supposedly objective tests to ascertain the utility of each site.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Google Guru Dies


Posted Monday, June 8, 2009 - 12:19pm

Rajeev Motwani, a Stanford computer scientist, close advisor to Google (GOOG) founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and one of Silicon Valley's most important tech investors and thinkers, was found dead in his swimming pool on Friday. According to the San Jose Mercury News, Motwani threw a party to celebrate the end of the school year on Thursday night; afterwards, he wandered out to his backyard to relax with a cigar.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Bing's Big Week


Posted Friday, June 5, 2009 - 12:54pm

Well, that didn't take long. PC World reports that just one day after formally launching its new "decision engine" Bing, Microsoft (MSFT) has overtaken Yahoo (YHOO) to rank second among the most used online search engines in America.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

The World According to Google


Posted Thursday, June 4, 2009 - 11:28am

It's been quite a day so far. Barack Obama's Cairo speech has captured the attention of the world, and the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown has kept China and human rights activists on tenterhooks all day. And as usual, Google's role in both has been front and center.

First, Mr. Obama's Egyptian adventure. As is par for the course for this tech-savvy White House, the president's staff immediately posted the speech on YouTube, as well as Facebook, Myspace, and various Twitter accounts. Here's the speech from the White House's YouTube page.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Trustbusters vs. Google


Posted Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - 12:17pm

Honestly, what's an all-powerful, domineering Internet behemoth to do? What with antitrust probes into CEO Eric Schmidt's seat on the board of sometimes rival Apple and its Book Search revenue deal with publishers, Google (GOOG) just can't get no love from the Justice Department.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Who's Watching the Watchers?


Posted Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - 2:01pm

Just how closely is Google (GOOG) watching you? A new report by three UC Berkeley graduate students indicates that of 400,000 sample Web domains, the company has a Google tracker—either Google Analytics, AdSense, DoubleClick, Google Widgets, or FriendConnect—on 88 percent of them. 88 percent. Google also has trackers on 92 of the 100 most popular Web sites.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Android Gains on Microsoft


Posted Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - 12:49pm

When personal computer manufacturers Acer and Asutek Computer announced that they were getting into the smartphone business, industry watchers wondered if they would use Google's free Android operating system. It turns out that Google (GOO) won't have to wait for those smartphones after all. According to Bloomberg, both Acer and Asutek plan to introduce new, low-cost netbooks that run on Android.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

Google's New Wave


Posted Monday, June 1, 2009 - 1:51pm

Perhaps stung by complaints that it announced the arrival of its new search engine Bing days before actually letting people use it, or psyched by the enthusiastic reception in the tech press so far, Microsoft (MSFT) sped up its launch date two days early, opening Bing up to the public today instead of Wednesday.

  • Chris Thompson is a writer living in Brooklyn.

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