Google

Google is funding a project designed to promote languages in danger of falling into disuse. The search giant is producing a series of tools, including specialist social network tools, designed to revive interest in the languages. The Endangered ... Language Project springs from the fact that about half of the 6,000 human languages spoken today are "on the verge of extinction," with few native speakers left alive. Researchers predict there will be no one able to speak these languages by the year 2100, unless special efforts are made to preserve them. (Source: endangeredlanguages.com ) Expansion of ... (view more)

A new report from Google indicates the US government is currently requesting more information about the online activity of its citizens than ever before. In the second half of 2011, it received 6,321 requests for Internet user data, compared with ... 4,601 in the same period in 2010. That's a 37 per cent increase. The figures were revealed in Google's latest Transparency Report. The US requests cover a total of 12,243 Internet users. (Source: google.com) However, the increase in demands for user data isn't necessarily a sign that the US government is snooping more. Google said the increase could ... (view more)

Google's legal problems surrounding its unintentional gathering of personal data from home WiFi networks now seem likely to linger longer than previously expected. After the publication of an internal email that some consider a 'smoking gun,' ... British authorities are reportedly near a decision to reopen their investigation of the search giant's activities. The long-running case involves the vehicles carrying Google's roof-mounted cameras taking "Street View" photos for the company's map service. These vehicles housed computers that scanned for nearby wireless networks. According to Google, the ... (view more)

Google's Chrome has become the most widely used web browser in the world. Although its lead is probably temporary, the surge in popularity ends a 14-year-reign by Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The figures come from StatCounter's weekly usage ... charts. For the week ending May 20, the company estimates that 32.76 per cent of people across the world were using some version of Chrome, compared with only 31.94 per cent using Internet Explorer. Mozilla'a Firefox took third place with 25.47 per cent of all usage, while Apple's Safari lagged behind the other three browsers at just 7.08 per cent. ( ... (view more)

Google has added to its search results a new feature designed to make the search function act "more human". The feature, called "Knowledge Graph", may make the site behave more like rival Microsoft's Bing. The main aim of Knowledge Graph is to deal ... with the shortcomings of using typical search terms, which frequently denote a range of very different meanings. Google gives the example of a search for 'Taj Mahal.' Someone using this term could be looking for the Indian landmark, a musician, a casino, or a restaurant specializing in Indian food. There's no way to know. At the moment, this search ... (view more)

Under investigation for abusing its domination of the search market, Google has floated a new argument: that the way it chooses and arranges its search results qualifies as protected free speech under the U.S. First Amendment. The new approach is ... part of an attempt to stave off government investigations that could seriously hamper Google's ability to operate, as well as its profits and its reputation. The investigation is based upon two related issues: first, that Google has a dominant position in the search engine market, and second, that Google uses this position to support its own ... (view more)

A San Francisco jury has decided that Google did copy Java code when creating its Android system. However, the jury said it couldn't decide if this copying was 'fair use' or not, leading Google to demand a mistrial. The complex case involves Java, a ... computer language used in creating applications that can run on many platforms. The rights to the language currently belong to the software firm Oracle. Google stood accused of directly copying code from Java and using it when creating Android, its operating system for mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers. Oracle launched a lawsuit ... (view more)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has hired a high-profile lawyer to work on its antitrust investigation into Google's search activity. The hiring may signal FTC expectations the probe will result in a major court case. The FTC has its own in-house ... legal team, and rarely hires an outside lawyer for such work. It has reportedly happened just twice in the past decade. Ironically, one of the more memorable times the FTC hired outside legal help was in the late 1990s, when the agency took legal action against Microsoft over claims it exploited its dominance of the PC market. The new hire this ... (view more)

A recent report concerning Google's unauthorized collection of data from wireless networks has raised new questions about the company's behavior. Curiously, though, Google itself has released the report. Google had been accused of foul play after ... inadvertently collecting personal data from people's home WiFi networks. The problem stems from the company's vehicles which, busy taking photographs for its Street View maps system, also scanned for local networks. The networks were to be part of a database intended to aid Google's navigational offerings to consumers. A year-long investigation by ... (view more)

In a recent blog post, Google gives interested users a glimpse into some of the tools it uses to make sure ads for bogus products and services don't show up on its sites. The company is also trying to direct more attention toward genuine advertisers ... who have proven to be trustworthy and reliable. These revelations came after a company blog post was written by David Baker, who is in charge of the engineering side of Google's advertising business. Google: Three-Pronged Approach Highly Effective Baker's post explained that Google looks for signs of bad advertisements on three levels. (Source: ... (view more)