From the New York Times News Service | The Consumer Electronics Show next month in Las Vegas was meant to be the great coming-out party for Google’s new software for televisions, which adds Web video and other computer smarts to TV sets. Although Google already has a deal with Sony for its Internet TVs, other television makers — Toshiba, LG Electronics and Sharp — were prepared to flaunt their versions of the systems.
But Google has asked the TV makers to delay their introductions, according to people familiar with the company’s plans, so that it can refine the software, which has received a lukewarm reception. The late request caught some of the manufacturers off guard. And it illustrates the struggles Google faces as it tries to expand into the tricky, unfamiliar realm of consumer electronics, and drum up broad interest in a Web-based TV product that consumers want. Get the full story »
Dec. 16, 2010 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Internet
By Associated Press
The Commerce Department is calling for the creation of a “privacy bill of rights” for Internet users to set ground rules for companies that collect consumer data online and use that information for marketing and other purposes.
The proposal, outlined in a Commerce Department report Thursday, is intended to address growing unease about the vast amounts of personal information that companies are scooping up on the Net — from Web browsing habits to smart phone locations to Facebook preferences. That data is often mined to target advertising. Get the full story »
Dec. 16, 2010 at 6:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet
From Bloomberg News | Chicago-based Groupon Inc. is seeking funding after rejecting a takeover offer from Google Inc., said three people familiar with the matter. The daily social media coupon Web site is looking to raise several hundred million dollars, one of the people said. Groupon may use the money to hire sales staff and retain its lead over coupon-site rivals. Get the full story>>
Dec. 16, 2010 at 6:10 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Travel
By Associated Press
Microsoft Corp. is hoping its Bing search engine can gain more ground on Google with a little more help from Facebook and its other Internet friends. As part of an extensive upgrade, Bing will feature more recommendations and other information from people’s social circles on Facebook to help distinguish its results from Google’s. Get the full story »
Dec. 15, 2010 at 4:15 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Technology
By Associated Press
Google Inc. said it is not quite ready to decide where it will build an experimental, ultra-high-speed broadband network that will provide Internet connections that are 100 times faster than the connections most Americans get from their phone and cable companies. Get the full story »
Dec. 14, 2010 at 5:13 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Small business,
Startups
By Reuters
A small team has toiled since early October in a quiet corner of Google Inc.’s sprawling campus in Mountain View, Calif., on a project related to the discovery of human antibodies.
The group is not part of Google and has nothing to do with Google’s flagship Internet search business. Get the full story »
Dec. 14, 2010 at 10:54 a.m.
Filed under:
International,
Internet,
Investigations,
Technology
By Reuters
France’s antitrust regulator on Tuesday put Google on notice not to abuse what it said was its dominant position in online search advertising.
In the latest sign of growing regulatory scrutiny of Google in Europe, the watchdog said Google’s market power was not necessarily bad or illegal but its practices needed to be monitored to avoid anticompetitive impact. Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 5:21 p.m.
Filed under:
Investigations,
Technology
By Associated Press
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Friday demanded that Google provide access to data the company said it accidentally collected from public Wi-Fi networks.
Dec. 9, 2010 at 11:16 a.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Technology
By Wailin Wong
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Education-related Web sites ranked among the most popular Google searches for Chicagoans in 2010, according to the search giant’s newly released “Zeitgeist” list.
Google compiled lists of the hottest search items for individual U.S. cities, ranking searches based on their uniqueness to that city. A search query is considered unique if it is “disproportionately popular” in a certain city versus the rest of the country, Google said.
In Chicago, the top search was the bulky “student.cps.k12.il.us,” which is a Web portal for Chicago Public School students to manage grades and assignments. Jim Lecinski, Google’s Chicago-based managing director of U.S. sales, said students were likely bringing home flyers or notes from teachers with the URL printed on it. Their parents would then type the address into a Google search bar instead of their browser’s address bar. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 5:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Policy,
Politics,
Technology
By Reuters
Google won a share of a federal government contract last week that the company hopes will give it a boost over rival Microsoft as they race to convert government agencies to cloud computing. Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 3:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Internet,
Technology,
Updated
By Reuters
The first laptops powered by Google Inc’s Chrome system will hit store shelves later than expected, as the Internet company works out bugs in a family of Web-centric computers intended to take on Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc . Get the full story »
Dec. 7, 2010 at 5:59 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Internet
By Associated Press
The head of Google’s Android mobile operating software says the search company “bit off a little more than we could chew” with the sale of the Nexus One, a smart phone Google began selling online early this year but then stopped offering after similar devices powered by Android hit the market. Get the full story »
Dec. 3, 2010 at 6:04 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
IPOs,
Internet,
M&A,
Startups,
Technology
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason speaks at the company's headquarters on Aug. 31, 2010. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
By Melissa Harris and Wailin Wong
The deal didn’t tip after all.
Chicago-based Groupon Inc. has turned down an acquisition offer from Google Inc. and is staying independent, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said Friday.
The two companies had been engaged in talks, with speculation about the marriage reaching a fever pitch over the last week. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google reportedly had offered between $5 billion and $6 billion for the daily deal start-up. Get the full story »
Dec. 3, 2010 at 4:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Commercial real estate,
Real estate
By Reuters
Google has signed a deal to buy a huge Manhattan building, where it is a tenant, for $1.8 billion in one of the largest sales of a single building this year, according to a person close to the transaction. Get the full story »
Dec. 3, 2010 at 1:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Privacy issues,
Technology
By Reuters
Google admitted to trespassing, but will pay just $1 to resolve a lawsuit over its use of photos of a couple’s Pennsylvania home for its Street View mapping service.
The agreement ends a case brought by Aaron and Christine Boring, who said the Internet search company violated their privacy by photographing their Pittsburgh home and swimming pool without their permission. They said the home sits on a street clearly marked “Private Road.”
“Google could have just sent us an apology letter in the very beginning, but chose to try to prove they had a legal right to be on our land,” the couple said in a statement. “We are glad they finally gave up.” Get the full story »
