Google

Google steps up and fixes Verizon data plan gaffe

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ComputerWorld:

The LTE Chromebook Pixel was originally sold with a free two-year mobile broadband plan from Verizon — 100MB per month, with the option to purchase more data on a pay-as-you-go basis as needed. But as I reported yesterday, Verizon stopped honoring the plans halfway through that two-year term. Customer support agents for the carrier have been telling Pixel owners they weren’t aware of any two-year commitment, despite clear online documentation to the contrary.

Google fixed the problem with a $150 gift card.

The Daily Show crushes Google Glass

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[VIDEO] Kyle Russell writes for Tech Crunch and covers Google Glass, among other things. Worlds collide as Kyle appears on a crushingly satirical Daily Show piece (embedded in the original post) on Glass.

The linked article gives an insider’s view on the making of the video.

Rather than respond to the show’s criticisms of Glass (because, let’s face it, they have a point), I thought it would be fun to shed light on what it’s actually like to film a segment on The Daily Show.

First off, we all knew exactly what we were getting into. I was contacted by a producer of the show who identified himself as such. There were no attempts made to trick any of us with claims that they were a news team from out of town.

An entertaining read. Watch the video first.

Review of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S

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The kicker:

More than three years after Google first got serious about tablets with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, it’s not even the league next door to the league inhabited by the iPad, which now has more than a half-million apps designed especially for it.

Google in talks to take stake in Virgin’s space tourism business

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Why would Google make a deal with Virgin’s space tourism arm?

Google is in talks with Virgin Galactic about a deal that will hand it crucial access to satellite-launch technology and an equity stake in Sir Richard Branson’s $2bn (£1.2bn) space tourism venture.

The key is satellite launch technology, something Google needs.

Apple unleashes a second major threat to Google

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Earlier this week, Samsung announced their first Tizen smartphone, sending a shot across Google’s bow, from the Android side. Apple then followed up with their announcement that Bing would be the default search engine in Spotlight searches. This change in Apple’s search defaults is much more subtle, but no less important.

On eve of WWDC, Samsung announces their first Tizen smartphone

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CNET:

Samsung is the world’s biggest Android device maker by a wide margin, but it has been developing Tizen as an alternative to Google’s operating system for quite some time. Tizen gives Samsung more control over its own future, allowing it to rely less on Google and more on its homegrown software. That becomes increasingly important as Google works to support other Android vendors and as Samsung tries to set itself apart from all the other handset makers in the market.

Google to announce Android TV at Google I/O in June

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Not to be confused with Google TV:

Android TV won’t be another device, but rather a platform that manufacturers of TVs and set-top boxes can use to bring streaming services to the television. In that way, it is similar to Google TV, the platform the company unveiled at its 2010 Google I/O conference. But while Google TV was focused on marrying existing pay TV services with apps, Android TV will at least initially be all about online media services and Android-based video games.

Test drive of Google’s self-driving car

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[VIDEO] Last week, we wrote about driverless car testing coming to California’s public roads this September 16th. Part of the approved legislation is this language:

A manufacturer shall not permit any of its autonomous vehicles to be operated on public roads in California when the operator is not seated in the vehicle’s driver seat and either: monitoring its operations and able to take over physical control of the vehicle; or, in physical control of the vehicle.

Google just released a video (see the original post) of their driverless car concept, tested for the first time with people outside of Google.

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo face big challenge in “right to be forgotten” EU ruling

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When the top European court ruled that users have a right to be forgotten by search engines, they opened the door to a disruptive wave of possibilities.

“It’s just such a mind-bogglingly impossible decision,” said Fred Cate, distinguished professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. “Courts aren’t responsible for the practical implications of rulings but this really staggers the imagination.”

Jury foreman in Samsung case questions how Google affects Apple’s motivation

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Tom Dunham was the jury foreman in the case.

Mr. Dunham said the jury was curious about how Google affected Apple’s motivation in this case. Samsung’s smartphones and tablets use Google’s Android operating system. Apple hasn’t sued Google directly, but has sued Samsung and other device makers that use Android.

“If you really feel that Google is the cause behind this, as I think everybody has observed, then don’t beat around the bush,” said Mr. Dunham, whose job at IBM was to oversee developers expected to file patents. “Let the courts decide. But a more direct approach may be something to think about.”

His comments suggest that Samsung lawyers succeeded with arguments that Samsung was merely a proxy for Apple’s real target: Google and its Android operating system. Apple’s lawyers insisted that Samsung—and not Google—was the defendant in this case.

To support its point, Samsung presented evidence of an email sent by former Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs saying that Apple should wage a “holy war” on Google.

Straight from the horse’s mouth. I don’t pretend to understand all the complexities of this case, but didn’t this start out to be about wholesale copying of a groundbreaking user interface?

Larry Page and Google: The Untold Story

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Not sure this is the untold story as much as it is a collection of anecdotes from a variety of sources, but I did find it interesting, if a bit scattered.

There’s coverage of Page, Brin, and Schmidt of course. But there are stories about Andy Rubin and Android, Steve Jobs, Tesla (a big influence on Larry Page), Paul Buchheit and gmail, Marissa Meyer, and a lot more.

Definitely an enjoyable read.

Google pilot program tracks online clicks all the way to brick and mortar purchases

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Wall Street Journal:

The company’s new pilot program involves AdWords, its biggest advertising program, in which advertisers place links next to Internet-search results. Google gets paid when users click on an ad and visit the advertiser’s website.

But while tracking clicks is an effective way to measure a Web ad’s impact on online sales, the system breaks down when shoppers enter a physical store, where their behavior is harder to monitor.

“Clicks are just the beginning, and everyone knows that there’s more value to tying ads to purchases,” said Benny Arbel, chief executive of myThings, an advertising-technology company that works with Google but isn’t involved in the pilot program. “If Google can demonstrate that people did not just click on an ad but that they actually bought something, that is the Holy Grail.”

This will mean a big new source of revenue for Google and a wealth of new data they will be able to collect about their users’ habits.

Microsoft to compete with Amazon and Netflix with their own original programming

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Bloomberg:

Microsoft Corp. is going Hollywood with a cast including comedians Sarah Silverman and Seth Green, aspiring World Cup players and eerily human robots.

All are involved in shows that Microsoft’s new Xbox television studio plans to roll out globally starting in June. Helmed by former CBS Corp. honcho Nancy Tellem, who Microsoft hired 19 months ago to build a TV powerhouse from the ground up, the studio now has six series lined up — including a science-fiction thriller called “Humans” about humanoid robot workers — and more than a dozen projects in development.

This is Microsoft’s not-so-Trojan horse into the living room, building dependence on the Xbox One for accessing web-based programming on your TV, competing with Apple TV, Fire TV, and Google’s evolving TV solution.

Gmail has a mute button

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I did not know this. Gmail makes it easy to drop out of a reply all email thread. Great idea.

Exploring and erasing your Google search history

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Molly Wood, of the New York Times, talking about your search history:

YOUR search history contains some of the most personal information you will ever reveal online: your health, mental state, interests, travel locations, fears and shopping habits.

And that is information most people would want to keep private. Unfortunately, your web searches are carefully tracked and saved in databases, where the information can be used for almost anything, including highly targeted advertising and price discrimination based on your data profile.

She suggests that you visit this page to visit your history and, if you choose, erase it.

Treasure trove of data on app and book sales from Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft

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Follow the headline link for a wealth of data on app sales from the iOS and Mac App Stores, Google Play, Amazon, Windows Phone and PC. For eBooks, there are numbers for Apple iBooks and Kindle. This data has been available for years and is well known in the developer community, but not so well known in the general tech community.