In blaming Google for everything it links to, media mogul Rupert Murdoch is not just against piracy. He has failed to grasp the fundamental architecture of the internet and see past old models of owning content, says Jeff Jarvis, professor of journalism at the City University of New York
A quick burst of 5 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
Tim Anderson: “One of the features, which failed in the CES demo, is that a PC which is in hibernation can be woken up through wi-fi to deliver your content on demand: “As long as the main PC is in sleep (standby/hibernation) mode, Acer Always Connect technology can wake it up through Wi-Fi® so media can be retrieved via a mobile device. “This whole thing would work better if the cloud, rather than the home PC, were the central repository of data. A PC or notebook sitting at home is unreliable. It has a frail hard drive. It might be a laptop on battery power, and the battery might expire. The home broadband connection might fail – and most home connections are much slower uploading to the internet than downloading from it. “Another question: if you one of the professionals Acer refers to, will you want to put your faith in AcerCloud for showing documents at your business meeting?”
“The smartphone will become the portal to other devices and appliances in the home, which will all work together seamlessly and allow access to whatever type of information you want anywhere in the house. It’s already happening, with Wi-Fi being used now to control lights in houses. “Google’s strategy is to move the focus from mobile devices to a more encompassing utilitarian function that shares information and intelligence much like peer-to-peer devices do. ‘You want to be able to walk into your house and have all the appliances adjust, know it’s you,’ Schmidt said. ‘A text message goes to the TV because that’s your preference’ and it all syncs together.” So will we have to choose to live in Android or Apple or Microsoft houses too?
Cook’s basic salary was an agreeable $900,000 last year. He was awarded $376m in restricted stock units which, according to Fortune, depend on Cook’s continued employment at Apple over the next 10 years.
“This partnership means Verified Twitter Accounts can be distributed into a wide range of products and brands – from smart TVs and automotive infotainment systems to cloud music services and smartphones,” says Gracenote president Stephen White. Got that? Verified accounts only.
Google is going to have a painstaking time explaining this one.
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Google + has just spilled over to Google search results. Launched today, Google’s new search option integrates results pulled from Google+ social network connections into Google search queries, a major step into providing relevant social content into the company’s main search product. As the Official Google blog adds:
We’re transforming Google into a search engine that understands not only content, but also people and relationships. We began this transformation with Social Search, and today we’re taking another big step in this direction by introducing three new features:
Personal Results, which enable you to find information just for you, such as Google+ photos and posts—both your own and those shared specifically with you, that only you will be able to see on your results page;
Profiles in Search, both in autocomplete and results, which enable you to immediately find people you’re close to or might be interested in following; and,
People and Pages, which help you find people profiles and Google+ pages related to a specific topic or area of interest, and enable you to follow them with just a few clicks. Because behind most every query is a community.
“They’re creepy and they’re kooky, Mysterious and spooky, They’re altogether oozy, The Addams Family…”
The folks at Google are celebrating Charles Addams’ 100th birthday with a Google doodle. When you visit the Google home page today, you’ll see the doodle paying homage to Addams’ most famous creation, the Addams Family.
Addams, who was born in Westfield, New Jersey in 1912, had a fondness from a young age for coffins, skeletons and tombstones and went on to become known for the black humour of his cartoons, many of which regularly appeared in the New Yorker.
His first cartoon was published in the magazine in 1935, long before his particular take on macabre fun went mainstream.
The Addams Family, including Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing, were recurring characters who originally appeared separately.
Addams died of a heart attack in 1988.
“They’re creepy and they’re kooky, Mysterious and spooky, They’re altogether oozy, The Addams Family…”
The folks at Google are celebrating Charles Addams’ 100th birthday with a Google doodle. When you visit the Google home page today, you’ll see the doodle paying homage to Addams’ most famous creation, the Addams Family.
Addams, who was born in Westfield, New Jersey in 1912, had a fondness from a young age for coffins, skeletons and tombstones and went on to become known for the black humour of his cartoons, many of which regularly appeared in the New Yorker.
His first cartoon was published in the magazine in 1935, long before his particular take on macabre fun went mainstream.
The Addams Family, including Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday, Pugsley, and Thing, were recurring characters who originally appeared separately.
Addams died of a heart attack in 1988.
Apple is going to win this next war in the battle of smart TVs. By creating an all-in-one simple TV experience that “just works” — powered by Siri — Apple will be the leader. In Walter Isaacson’s biography of the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs stated: “‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ Jobs told Isaacson. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. ‘It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.’”
Google and Apple are preparing a rematch of the battle they fought for dominance of the smartphone market, but this time the contest between them will be for control of our television sets.
LG Electronics, the South Korean manufacturer, will next week unveil its first internet-connected or “smart” TVs to run on the Android interface, while Samsung will produce its first set using Google software later this year. Sony and Vizio already have Android models, and Google has announced more are planned.
In attempting to assemble a similar coalition with manufacturers to the partnerships which brought Android to smartphones, Google is hoping to steal a march on Apple, which is expected to launch an iTV set, complete with screen and internet connection, later this year.
Apple has already transformed the music and mobile phone industries, and it seems the revolution will now be televised, as the maker of the iPhone vies with Google to shake up the way we watch TV.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman, forecast in December that “by the summer of 2012, the majority of the televisions you see in stores will have Google TV embedded”. At stake is a growing world market for internet-connected TVs forecast to nearly double from $68bn in 2011 to $122bn in 2016, according to IMS Research.
LG’s Android set, to be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, will allow its owners to simultaneously watch a programme, search the internet and communicate with friends over a social network such as Facebook.
For those who want further extras, the set will also come with a pair of 3D glasses. It will launch in the US this year, before arriving in the UK in 2013. Pay-TV subscribers or those with a Freeview box will be able to plug those services into their new machines.
With an interface similar to the look of Android on smartphones, viewers will see a series of apps on their screen from a range of content providers. Google said it had 150 apps specifically built for its TV service – still a tiny number compared with the hundreds of thousands already available for phones.
“Google TV is about bringing new entertainment and innovation from the web to TV and our team along with our partners are pleased to bring more Google-TV -powered products to more people, across more devices in more countries in 2012,” Mickey Kim, Google’s TV partnerships head, announced on the company’s blog.
The service has had a slow start. Google TV can be used to buy programmes to download from stores such as Amazon, but television stations have boycotted it.
It is blocked by America’s main internet TV website, Hulu, which is owned by NBCUniversal, News Corporation and the Walt Disney Company and features content from more than 260 production companies including Aardman and Endemol. Broadcasters fear Google has designs on the billions of dollars in advertising income generated by its sales houses.
Last year Logitech, the Swiss maker of webcams and computer mice, revealed it had sunk more than $100m in operating profits into making Google TV settop boxes that failed to sell. Its chief executive, Guerrino De Luca, described the venture as “a mistake of implementation of a gigantic nature”.
Android smart sets have done little to transform the fortunes of Sony’s television division, which remains loss making. LG is hedging its bets: its previous smart TVs have, until now, used NetCast software, and more than 60% of new models will continue to use it.
But industry observers believe Apple’s intervention could mark a fresh start for internet television. A former Apple employee claimed to have seen a slick 50in set inside the heavily guarded studio of Apple’s head of industrial design Sir Jonathan Ive, the newspaper USA Today said earlier this week.
The suggestion is that Apple’s set will have a liquid crystal display (LCD) flatscreen and a built-in Wi-Fi connection. It could be voice controlled, using the Siri voice-recognition technology already installed on the iPhone 4GS. Apple patents also suggest the company is working on devices that can be controlled by gestures, such as waves of the hand.
The sets would have access to the iTunes shop, which already carries a selection of films and television shows. But key to the success of such a service will be negotiating access to the latest hits from the very broadcasters whose businesses the iTV threatens to disrupt.
Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes estimates that an entry into TV in 2013 could bring Apple an additional $19bn in revenues.
“There will be better products on the market this year,” said Enders Analysis TV digital expert Benedict Evans, “but disrupting the global TV industry is quite different to disrupting the music business. We don’t yet have the right device or the right content.”
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A royal wedding, a briefly-wedded celebrity, a Twilight film and a TV series arguably in the twilight of its existence all topped the list of “fast-rising” searches in the UK, according to Googlelatest “Zeitgeist” lists.
Thus the royal wedding – and its principal star Kate Middleton (though not her sister Pippa) – rank highest in the new searches for this year collected by the search engine, which dominates search in this country. Second on the list was an object that didn’t exist: Apple’s fabled “iPhone 5″, expected all year long to be unveiled in June, then July, then August, then September, until the company finally in October unveiled … the iPhone 4S. The company also appears for its iPad 2 product, after the first version appeared in the top 10 last year.
The impact of video games on our lives is also clear: Fifa 12 and the online game Minecraft both appear in the new “rising searches”. Meanwhile Ryan Dunn, the Jackass star who died in a car crash, and the singers Adele, Rebecca Black and Ed Sheeran all appear – compared with the lone human appearance of Justin Bieber as a name among the new searches last year. (Bieber can rest easy: he has now crossed over to become one of the most searched-for news terms.)
Kim Kardashian, whose short-lived wedding made her news fodder everywhere, was the most searched-for celebrity in the UK. She was followed by Victoria Beckham, Harry Potter star Emma Watson, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, the ever-present Britney Spears, Megan Fox, Ricky Gervais (the only male on the list, apparently on the strength of his Golden Globes presenter spot), Jessica Jane and Angelina Jolie.
Among films, Breaking Dawn – one of the Twilight saga – set the pattern in which remakes ruled. It was the most searched-for new film, followed by a rash of franchise films: Final Destination 5, Mean Girls 2, True Grit (a remake), Conan The Barbarian (another remake), Scream 4, The Inbetweeners (an original UK film), Little Fockers (third in the franchise), Transformers 3, and Unstoppable – the only other original film on the list.
Meanwhile “X Factor 2011″ was the fastest-rising search, despite its sliding TV ratings compared with last year. After that came the Apprentice 2011, X Factor USA, and then NCIS, House, Glee, Thundercats, Big Brother, Supernatural and Smallville. It’s unclear if people searching for the US series names are trying to find download links or information about them; Google said it doesn’t have any insight into that.
For deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, the news that the top “what is…?” search was “what is AV” (answer: the alternative vote system the Liberal Democrats were proposing to replace first-past-the-post elections) will confirm why the referendum was lost: too few people could understand it without resorting to the internet. But they’re also – judging by the other “what is?” search terms – puzzled by sauteed shrimp (“what is scampi?”), underground fungus and/or chocolates (“what is truffle” [sic]), while also seeking to do some medical self-help (“what is piles”).
The squeeze on UK living standards is also apparent from the food searches, which this year are headed by Asda, recipes, Tesco, Sainsburys and pizza. Close behind those budget-conscious choices, and pointing to even tighter times ahead, are chicken, chocolate, Dominos (the pizza delivery company), Morrisons (supermarket chain) and Argos. Those compare with the same category for last year, which Google’s press release then showed as starting with Tesco and recipes, and then Asda, pizza, wine, Sainsburys, Jamie Oliver, Morrisons, cakes and curry.
Meanwhile the new “How to…” category indicates that the nation’s youth increasingly turns to the internet for advice on key tasks, some of which may be worrying in their naivete: the searches, in order, try to find out how to revise, snog, reference (as in learned papers), wallpaper, draw, sleep, flirt, geek (which turns out to be instructions on computer maintenance), pronounce and shuffle.
1. Royal wedding
2. iPhone 5
3. Fifa 12
4. Groupon
5. iPad 2
6. Ryan Dunn
7. Adele
8. Minecraft
9. Rebecca Black
10. Ed Sheeran
1. Ryan Dunn
2. Adele
3. Rebecca Black
4. Ed Sheeran
5. Amy Winehouse
6. Charlie Sheen
7. Steve Jobs
8. Kate Middleton
9. Nicki Minaj
10. Darren Criss
1. How to revise
2. How to snog
3. How to reference
4. How to wallpaper
5. How to draw
6. How to sleep
7. How to flirt
8. How to geek
9. How to pronounce
10. How to shuffle
1. What is AV
2. What is scampi
3. What are truffles
4. What are piles
5. What is 4D
6. What are cookies
7. What is copyright
8. What is zumba
9. What is iCloud
10. What is probate
1. Breaking Dawn
2. Final Destination 5
3. Mean Girls 2
4. True Grit
5. Conan the Barbarian
6. Scream 4
7. The Inbetweeners
8. Little Fockers
9. Transformers 3
10. Unstoppable
1. Haye vs Klitschko
2. Olympic tickets 2012
3. Arsenal transfer
4. Six Nations 2011
5. Wimbledon 2011
6. Grand National 2011
7. Wrestlemania 27
8. Copa America 2011
9. Randy Savage
10. Dan Wheldon
1. Asda
2. Recipes
3. Tesco
4. Sainsburys
5. Pizza
6. Chicken
7. Chocolate
8. Dominos
9. Morrisons
10. Argos
1. Las Vegas
2. New York
3. Disneyland Paris
4. Jamaica
5. Orlando
6. Barbados
7. Hawaii
8. Caribbean
9. Florida
10. Cuba
1. Facebook
2. YouTube
3. Hotmail
4. eBay
6. Google
7. BBC
8. Amazon
9. Argos
10. Yahoo
1. BBC News
2. Arsenal
3. Facebook
4. YouTube
5. Cheryl Cole
6. iPhone 5
7. Liverpool
8. Kate Middleton
9. Manchester United
10. Justin Bieber
1. Anzhi Makhachkala
2. Arsenal transfer
3. Liverpool rumours
4. Joey Barton Twitter
5. Sky Sports transfer
6. Fifa ultimate team
7. Eric Abidal
8. Copa America 2011
9. Billy Sharp
10. Demba Ba
1. Kim Kardashian
2. Victoria Beckham
3. Emma Watson
4. Scarlett Johansson
5. Jennifer Aniston
6. Britney Spears
7. Megan Fox
8. Ricky Gervais
9. Jessica Jane
10. Angelina Jolie
1. X Factor 2011
2. Apprentice 2011
3. X Factor USA
4. NCIS season 9
5. House season 8
6. Glee season 3
7. Thundercats 2011
8. Big Brother 13
9. Supernatural season 7
10. Smallville season 10
1. Train tickets
2. Cheap tickets
3. 2012 tickets
4. Theatre tickets
5. Ticketmaster
6. BBC tickets
7. Concert tickets
8. O2
9. Liverpool tickets
10. Leeds tickets
1. Cheap flights
2. Cheap holidays
3. Cheap hotels
4. Cheap tickets
5. Cheap insurance
6. Cheap cars
7. Cheap breaks
8. Cheap shoes
9. Cheap dresses
10. Cheap clothes
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Google’s has opening their new French headquarters. The new Google office is located on 8, rue de Londres, Paris — in a “new 10,000-square meter office in a refurbished 19th century Second Empire building near the St. Lazare Train Station,” according to the Google Blog.
Eric Schmidt of Google and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France acted like old friends. Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer at Chanel, introduced a new fashion brand, available online only. The Ting Tings gave a private concert at the Louvre for a gathering of the global digerati. Mr. Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google…opened the U.S. Internet giant’s new headquarters for southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Google’s move, from nondescript quarters into a palatial building that once served as the headquarters for a French railroad… – read more at NYTimes
Larry Page, Google CEO, hates meetings, hates e-mail, likes bathroom breaks and wants the search giant to be a more focused, more agile and faster-moving company. And not everyone at Google is happy about it. “It’s much more of a style like Steve Jobs than the three-headed monster that Google was,” said a former Google executive who has spoken with current executives about the changes and spoke anonymously to preserve business relationships. “When Eric was there, you’d walk into a product meeting or a senior staff meeting, and everyone got to weigh in on every decision. Larry is much more willing to make an O.K. decision and make it now, rather than a perfect decision later.” Here’s New York Times’ profile of Google’s Page:
Ever since taking over as C.E.O., I have focused much of my energy on increasing Google’s velocity and execution, and we’re beginning to see results – Larry Page, Google CEO
Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google, said in statement to the Senate antitrust subcommittee that Apple’s new Siri technology is a direct competitor and a threat to Google’s core search business. And Google should be nervous. Siri is going to change how we search for what’s nearby, from restaurants, movies, shops and more.
After receiving the Apple 4S at the Pursuitist HQ, I wrote to Pursutist editor Mack, stating, “Apple upped the bar on search. Siri is a Google-killer.” Why ‘Google’ when you just need to ask Siri?
I don’t think anyone was expecting Apple to enter the search market —but this is exactly Apple’s maneuver with the beta release of Siri with the Apple 4S. With this new mobile voice search product, Steve Jobs and Apple have put Google firmly in the crosshairs.
After Google and ex-Apple board member Schmidt ripped off Apple with their Android mobile platform, Jobs said, “We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business.”
With Siri, Apple has firmly entered the search business. “I’m willing to go to thermonuclear war on this,” the late Apple CEO told author Walter Isaacson for his recently released biography. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product.”
Jobs also vowed to battle Google until “my last dying breath.” And Schmidt knows it…
“Apple has launched an entirely new approach to search technology with Siri, its voice-activated search and task-completion service built into the iPhone 4S,” Schmidt said in a written response to lawmakers on Friday.
Schmidt has backpedalled from his earlier statement in 2010, where he had denied that Apple and Facebook were a “competitive threat.” As reported by AppleInsider, Schmidt now says: “My statement was clearly wrong. Apple’s Siri is a significant development—a voice-activated means of accessing answers through iPhones that demonstrates the innovations in search.”
MG Siegler of TechCrunch agrees that Siri is the first step of Apple entering the search market, adding, “Siri is their entry point. Again, it’s a small step right now, but it has the potential to be massive.”
Jonny Evans of Computerworld also agrees, writing that “chairman Eric Schmidt has admitted his company may have bitten off more than it can chew in its war with Apple, and is running scared of the serious search threat posed by Siri.”
Search, from the minds at Apple, has just gone thermonuclear courtesy of Siri. The sleeping search giant Google has awoken and realized this…
“Google has many strong competitors,” Schmidt concluded in the statement. “So inferring that Google is in any way ‘dominant’ in search would be incorrect.”
