^^CBS pulled out of iTunes as well, i think they're just trying to be greedy... nothing to do with Google.

2/2/2006 7:12:41 PM

^ummmm...cbs has never been IN itunes.

2/2/2006 7:34:16 PM

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-2023600,00.html
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/03/1715243&from=rss

Quote :

"Rumours mount over Google's internet plan By Benjamin Cohen Google is working on a project to create its own global internet protocol (IP) network, a private alternative to the internet controlled by the search giant, according to sources who are in commercial negotiation with the company. Last month, Google placed job advertisements in America and the British national press for "Strategic Negotiator candidates with experience in...identification, selection, and negotiation of dark fibre contracts both in metropolitan areas and over long distances as part of development of a global backbone network". Dark fibre is the remnants of late 1990s internet boom where American web companies laid down fibre optic cables in preparation for high speed internet delivery. Following the downturn in the technology sector during the early 2000s, the installation process for many of these networks was left incomplete. This has resulted in a usable network of cables spread across the United States that have never been switched on. By purchasing the dark fibre, Google would in effect be able to acquire a ready made internet network that they could control. Late last year, Google purchased a 270,000sq ft telecom interconnection facilities in New York. It is believed that from here, Google plans to link up and power the dark fibre system and turn it into a working internet network of its own. It was also reported in November that Google was buying shipping containers and building data centres within them, possibly with the aim of using them at significant nodes within the worldwide cable network. "Google hired a pair of very bright industrial designers to figure out how to cram the greatest number of CPUs, the most storage, memory and power support into a 20- or 40-foot box<" Robert Cringely wrote. "The idea is to plant one of these puppies anywhere Google owns access to fiber, basically turning the entire Internet into a giant processing and storage grid." Google has long been rumoured to be planning to launch a PC to retail for less than $100. The Google computers are likely to be low-grade machines that require a connection to Google to be able to perform functions such as word processing and spreadsheet manipulations. While using the computers, it is understood that consumers will be shown personalised advertising from the company's AdWords network. The various reports prompted analysts Bear Stearns to note last year: "We think Google could be experimenting with new hardware endeavours that could significantly change potential future applications by Google, creating another advantage for Google over its competitors. Investors may currently under appreciate Google as a potential hardware company." The technology industry has also been alive with talk that the Google $100 machines will be less like a standard home PC and more like a television: in effect, one of the first convergent devices betweem the internet and television. While offering the standard PC applications, the "Google Cube" will also offer interactive content from a variety of sources while retaining Google branding and displaying Google advertising. A leading content provider, who did not wish to be named, told Times Online: "We are in discussions with Google to provide content for their alternative internet service, to be distributed through their Google Cube product. As far as I'm aware they have been conducting negotiations with a number of other players in our marketplace to provide quality content to their users." However, industry insiders fear that the development of a network of Google Cubes powered over a Google-owned internet network will greatly increase the power that Google wields over online publishers and internet users. Should Google successfully launch an alternative network, it is is theoretically possible for them to block out competitor websites and only allow users to access websites that have paid Google to be shown to their users. However, the moves towards providing equipment for as little as £60 will prove popular with home users and even governments, who will welcome the spread of the internet to homes that could not previously afford the intital costs of purchasing PCs. Contacted by Times Online today, a spokesperson for Google denied that it had any such plans, before adding its customary rider: "It's Google's policy not to comment on speculation concerning products before they are launched.""

2/3/2006 3:50:56 PM

Quote :

"Google has long been rumoured to be planning to launch a PC to retail for less than $100. The Google computers are likely to be low-grade machines that require a connection to Google to be able to perform functions such as word processing and spreadsheet manipulations. While using the computers, it is understood that consumers will be shown personalised advertising from the company's AdWords network."

I wonder if they are planning to ship these with Goobuntu or if that is ever gonna go public.

2/3/2006 8:23:39 PM

hopefully they create an IP that doesnt suck balls.

2/3/2006 8:36:06 PM

German BMW Banned From Google
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-02-04-n60.html

haha sucks for them

2/4/2006 3:58:01 PM

this is a great idea - http://video.google.com/superbowl.html
all the superbowl commericals

2/6/2006 4:10:55 AM

ah man, this is hot
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060203/bs_nm/google_vw_dc

Volkswagen + Google + Nvidia are working on a specialized version of Google Earth for onboard navigation systems.

2/6/2006 2:12:25 PM

^omg i want that

2/6/2006 2:13:29 PM

http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2006/02/07/google-talk-and-gmail-become-buddies/

Quote :

"Thanks to Chat, you can now use Google’s IM anywhere you can get Gmail to work, in IE6+ and Firefox 1.0+. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google tries to integrate this into other versions of Gmail, like a mobile version. For now, Chat won’t work in secure mode (https://), but only in http://. One cool feature: If you’re chatting with someone, and you don’t want the conversation logged, you can click an option to go “off the record”, which, for that chat, disables logging both in your system and on the other person’s. Smart! Google says Chat will be activated in Gmail as of an hour ago, but will take several weeks to reach all accounts. Chat logging should be available to all, however."

meh google chat might be cool and integrated but not many people are making the switch on my contact list so it's not worth it for me. i would actually LOVE to be rid of AIM and it's retardedness.

2/7/2006 1:23:38 AM

http://toolbar.google.com/send/sms/index.php

Google has a new service that will allow you to send an SMS message from your browser to a cellular phone.

2/8/2006 11:07:33 AM

it has a firefox extension too - http://toolbar.google.com/firefox/extensions/sendtophone/

2/8/2006 11:10:12 AM

hahahah google made the vaporware 2005 list for all its shit in endless beta.

2/8/2006 11:10:43 AM

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/chat.html

has this been mentioned? anyone using it yet?

I mean the talk to other people through gmail thing, not google chat software.

2/8/2006 12:15:17 PM

erm, yeah, there's a screenshot 4 posts up.
but i suppose it's worth mentioning.

I also appreciate that the chat logging is opt-in - you have to go to the settings and turn logging on. When that's on, your Google Talk sessions will be logged, even if you use 3rd party clients like Gaim or Audium.
I don't have the "in-page" chatting yet - that will be pretty cool. Gives a good way to chat from any computer you can check your gmail in if you don't have a client installed (or don't want to fire it up).

2/8/2006 1:20:31 PM

^^ Yeah, about 5 posts up

[Edited on February 8, 2006 at 1:21 PM. Reason : Too Slow]

2/8/2006 1:20:49 PM

this came out last week. THere have been lots of people who have done fake Google.com redisigns around certain themes, but this redesign is for the google front page that actually makes it functional and look much much better, i think.
He goes through the problems with the sparse front page, and makes suggested changes with a very good result.
http://www.andyrutledge.com/google-redux.php

straight to the redesign - http://www.andyrutledge.com/googleredux_example.html

2/8/2006 4:54:06 PM

while he makes good points, i'm not a fan of his example at all

2/8/2006 5:20:05 PM

google should let users customize their front page completely - with server-side CSS and something like platypus for greasemonkey that let's you add JavaScript and links visually.

their google.com/ig sucks, at best.

that's what's "in" now and since they're the bleeding edge of the web, they should be the first to deploy it.

2/8/2006 5:33:17 PM

Quote :

"I don't have the "in-page" chatting yet - that will be pretty cool. Gives a good way to chat from any computer you can check your gmail in if you don't have a client installed (or don't want to fire it up)."

That's what I'm curious to hear about. Will it show all gmail users in your contacts that are online and allow you to message them?

2/8/2006 6:15:51 PM

i think it'll only show people on your google talk list

because even in google talk, you have to invite people in your contact list to join if you want to talk to them.

but i guess if someone is on GMail, it could be like tdub's chatterbox feature - that'd be different.

2/8/2006 6:29:09 PM

2/8/2006 7:20:16 PM

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=95
GMail code hints at coming domain feature

Quote :

"Their next big move will likely be GMail for domains — a powerful way for anybody who owns a domain to utilize GMail as a mail server, not just a client. Yahoo has their own small business mail product which does precisely this, and now evidence suggests Google is planning the same. In a line just before this, you can see some code which references "Caribou" — some suggest this is the code name for future versions of GMail before they are released. Assuming a new feature for domains is in the making, this is how I see it working. After deciding to use GMail as a mail server, the first step would be to add an MX record pointing to mail.google.com in the DNS for a domain — effectively routing email directly to Google for it. GMail will not automatically put this incoming mail into your inbox as there is no link between that domain and yourself. In your settings, there will be a tab to manage your domains — giving you the ability to link domain(s) to your account. I would guess an authorization email is sent to the administrative or technical contact before it's officially added to prevent random people from adding domains they don't own. Once a domain is linked, you can then manage email addresses for it by clicking the "Manage this domain" link (as seen in the javascript) when you are logged in as the administrator. It is likely that the domain email administrator could even set up quotas to best manage the 2GB of space given to them — unless they are willing to pay for extra of course. Besides the obvious account management, there are also advantages to a service like this. Companies can use it as a replacement to Microsoft Exchange as it has the potential to have shared contact lists, shared calendars, instant communication (the new talk feature), etc. Imagine also the possibility of Google allowing companies to skin their own GMail service — colors, layout, and even the logo could be customizable. Of course, even if Google allow this, ads will likely be delivered regardless. It will be interesting to see if they release a corporate email service soon. Google has not yet responded to requests for more information — if anything turns up I will update this post."

2/8/2006 7:49:19 PM

about google talk integration: http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-02-08-n54.html

screenshots: http://cocaman.ch/wp/2006/02/gmail-talk
http://slamich.free.fr/Capture.png

reviews: http://google.weblogsinc.com/2006/02/08/review-google-gmail-chat/
http://google.weblogsinc.com/2006/02/08/review-gmail-chat/

2/8/2006 8:09:57 PM

print ads: http://google.blognewschannel.com/index.php/archives/2006/02/08/google-unveils-print-ad-program/

google's selling adwords in 28 magazines and publications

they've already started appearing in the chicago sun times: http://google.weblogsinc.com/2006/02/08/google-classified-style-ads-appear-in-chicago-sun-times-newspape/

2/8/2006 8:13:25 PM

some more google redesigns:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.03/google.html?pg=12

pretty ugly though

2/8/2006 8:16:07 PM

Google Desktop 3 beta: http://googledesktop.blogspot.com/2006/02/desktop-reloaded.html

http://desktop.google.com/

Quote :

"As a Sidebar user, you can now customize and view personalized information anywhere on the the desktop by clicking and dragging your favorite panels wherever you like. Furthermore, you can now easily share information from your Sidebar panels with your contacts by sending it to them through email, chat or directly to their Sidebar. As an added bonus you and your contacts can also play online games through the Sidebar. We also provided the means to access your data no matter where it resides. The Search Across Computers feature makes it seamless to search the content of your documents and web history from any of your computers. For developers we have packed the Google Desktop SDK with new APIs and tools to enable the development of applications that leverage the product's new indexing, display and communication capabilities. These include a Query API, a Communication API, improved Script API support, plug-in logging support, and new code samples. Other new features include the addition of a Search Lock, an advanced search form, spelling suggestions, zip file indexing, and an improved preferences page."

2/9/2006 1:41:30 AM

be careful what you give google...

they store your files on their computers for 30 days if you want gds to index another computer's files than your own.

2/9/2006 2:08:49 PM

just found this site-- it's probably really old

http://pack.google.com/

2/9/2006 9:14:44 PM

yeah, came out last month. it's worthless though. prolly just a trial experiment for google when they release something bigger later

2/9/2006 9:27:51 PM

^ google pack is most likely a precursor for bundling google products together to put on Retail machines like Dells
http://google.weblogsinc.com/2006/02/08/google-is-testing-on-dell-machines/


But check this out - Google has provided an excellent KMZ file for the Winter Olympics in Italy.
All the events are labeled, and the "Terrain" view looks awesome.

Also, they've populated Google Maps/Local with full street maps around Torino. Hopefully that means they are getting close to blanketing the rest of Europe with street maps.....
http://local.google.com/local?q=torino&t=k%22

And there's already some other mash-ups using the Torino maps
http://www.remmaps.it/torino2006/

Direct link to KMZ
http://services.google.com/earth/kmz/OlympicVenues.kmz

2/10/2006 10:47:17 AM

so is anyone going to use GBuy
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113918924045565647-jtBYW5A_4ZI6WZiwUaUJNSbVAQI_20070206.html?mod=blogs

2/10/2006 10:23:29 PM

"Gmail for your domain" (what a terrible name....) is here -
https://www.google.com/hosted/

i'm not clear on exactly how it works, but i think it basically turns gmail into your mail server for your domain. I don't know how you access your email, if it's redirected to your normal account or what. It's only available for certain businesses now on a case-by-case basis.
I was hoping this would be the announcemnt where they said they were going to be a domain registrar - that would be cool. I'd like to be able to manage all my domains on google, linked to my gmail account.

2/11/2006 4:35:07 AM

my gmail has chat now and the font in the my labels box seems bigger than before. anyone else notice this?

2/13/2006 2:50:14 PM

notice the font or the chat? The chat has been discussed a few times earlier in this page

2/13/2006 2:59:21 PM

font

2/13/2006 3:22:40 PM

yeah they are bigger

i don't have chat in mine yet - maybe because i'm on https but even if i type in http manually it redirects to https - how do you get around that?

2/13/2006 4:19:37 PM

i just logged in to gmail now and there it is........ my 1 google talk contact is afk right now though.

2/13/2006 8:01:57 PM

Google just bought MeasureMap, a pretty new Blog analytics tool.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/here-comes-measure-map.html
http://www.measuremap.com/

I suspect they will integrate this for free into Blogger, but I also hope they will merge it into their Google Analytics/Urchin package and allow people to install it in their own blogs.

2/15/2006 6:11:23 AM

it looks like google is getting more involved in customized solutions for home pages, info portals, email, yada yada yada.

here are a couple custom google portals
http://www.google.com/ig/current
http://www.google.com/ig/lenovo.ilounge2

and when I mentioned the "Gmail for Domains" a few posts up, here it is provided for San Jose City College already -
https://www.google.com/hosted/jaguars.sjcc.edu/Dashboard

That looks like a hell of an idea. You still get a school email address, but you can log in through a gmail-like interface. Google takes care of all the hosting and services, and the school doesn't have to do any of it themselves.

2/16/2006 10:54:54 AM

Does nayone here use Google Talk on a regular basis? How is it? Is it as good as AIM? ...

2/16/2006 11:57:21 AM

depends on what you want.
It's a sparce interface with no flashy ads, but could be considered so simple it's ugly. The chat part works fine though. But the big thing is the one button Talk feature, kind of like Skype

.... of course I use Audium, so i'm no expert.

2/16/2006 12:02:25 PM

yeah i busted trillian out of the attic when i had to add google talk to the list of connections

i don't fully use those video and chat features of any client so i guess it's just another wasted medium but people show up on it exclusively that i have to communicate with.

oh and let me quote

Quote :

"google should let users customize their front page completely - with server-side CSS and something like platypus for greasemonkey that let's you add JavaScript and links visually. their google.com/ig sucks, at best. that's what's "in" now and since they're the bleeding edge of the web, they should be the first to deploy it."

2/16/2006 1:28:06 PM

http://gmailskins.mozdev.org/installation.html
GMail skins

2/16/2006 2:08:40 PM

2/19/2006 9:09:18 PM

the same guy who found early indications of "Gmail for Domains" by looking trough the JS code has found what looks to be some kind of Google Voicemail and integration with eVites
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=108

2/20/2006 5:19:03 AM

and again, the same guy as ^ has found another "hidden" (non-announced or public) program that Google runs - http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=109
The "Trusted Tester Program". Apparently friends and family of Google employees can get in on secret product betas. sounds pretty cool.
http://www.google.com/tester/faq

come to think of it, I just found out a couple weeks ago that an old high-school friend works at Google now - maybe it's about time to send him a note!

2/20/2006 7:23:24 AM

the big Google news today is the release of GooglePages - http://pages.google.com/

Sign in using yoru gmail account and you can create webpages using a slick AJAX interface - think Geocities circa 1997 * 100

It looks to be pretty simplistic, and it's not a CMS or anything, but works pretty good for quickly getting some content online. They explicitly point out this is for making webpages, not websites. There are 40+ pre-installed themes and 5 or so layouts. The picture support is quite good (at least for an online tool). And you get your own subdomain - <gmail name>.googlepages.com.
Threw this together in about 3 minutes - http://joelion.googlepages.com/

The source code of that page looks quite good. It's all CSS and div'ed up, no table layout. And it looks like they've gone to painstaking detail to compensate for all the various browser layout bugs.

Some more commentary/mini-reviews
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3586916
http://tinyurl.com/j5jmv
http://www.scripting.com/2006/02/23.html#googlePageCreator

The early reception is not too hot. More of the "too little, too late" attitude. i.e. Google is reinventing something that has been around for 10 years, and they're falling behind more impressive initiatives like MS Live Office.


and on unrelated news, here's a new list of emoticons you can use in Gmail
https://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=34056

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 5:22 AM. Reason : .]

2/23/2006 5:17:02 AM

wondering if you can hotlink to pictures hosted on google pages...

edited to say you can but that picture was freakin huge so I took it out.

I wonder how long it will take before google disallows hotlinking.

[Edited on February 23, 2006 at 7:16 AM. Reason : big ass pic...]

2/23/2006 7:15:10 AM

Sweet! you can upload any type of file, not just pictures. There's a 100 MB limit, but that's not too bad for a small file repository. I'm always looking for a decent place to store files.

2/23/2006 7:53:30 AM