Google

At one time, the Internet was targeted by the Motion Picture Association of America as a serious threat to the industry. For most of the last decade, file-sharing protocols and Torrents have been home to many free, pirated flicks for greedy movie ... fans with the tech-savvyness to download and burn them for free. However, it looks like that cynical attitude towards the world wide web is about to change -- primarily because the movie industry now recognizes that big bucks can be made online. According to reports, Hollywood is seriously considering posting full-length movies on YouTube, the home ... (view more)

Just as we reported yesterday, it seems the Yahoo and Google web advertising deal has been rejected by the Department of Justice. The decision came early Wednesday morning when the Justice Department announced to the two top search engines that if ... they went ahead with their planned agreement (which would see Google ads on Yahoo's web pages), a lawsuit would be filed to block it. According to reports, over the last few weeks federal antitrust regulators steadily became more and more critical of the deal. Although there's still a chance the deal could be made with significant changes to its ... (view more)

Not long ago, Google agreed to pay $125 million to the book industry to settle claims of copyright infringement over its BookSearch scheme. The agreement means Google can now legally scan copyrighted books and put them online as long as they are no ... longer in print. The cash will go towards setting up a registry of books involved, compensating authors and publishers affected by Google's violations, and paying the legal fees of the case. The agreement will have to get the backing of a New York court (where the case was brought) before it takes effect. (Source: google.com) The case involved a ... (view more)

It looks as if the download service for Google's new Android smartphone operating system has had a successful launch. While figures are too hazy to make a firm comparison, first-day figures appear to have beaten the launch day of the Apple iPhone ... Apps store. While the Android system launched with around 10% the number of applications available as the iPhone, a media research firm says nine applications had between 10,000 and 50,000 downloads in the first day. That's compared with just two applications doing in the same range on the iPhone Apps launch. Before you conclude that this marks a ... (view more)

Google has come up with yet another new feature for its Gmail system. This one allows users to store a range of 'standard' responses and even have them sent automatically to emails based on their content. The 'Canned Responses' feature lets you set ... up a range of replies for particular situations that you experience commonly. It's the same kind of idea as an 'out of office' message but lets you tailor the response to different types of correspondence. For example, as a tech writer, I receive emails from computer-related organisations with story ideas. When I'm pressed for time, I'll usually ... (view more)

YouTube is about to legally broadcast full-length television shows complete with a commercial break. However, for now the programs being featured will be reruns. The video site has previously experimented with commercials before clips, but the ... strategy has not been effective. That's mainly because the commercials seemed too obtrusive in a short clip that may only be a minute or so long. The hope is that online viewers will tolerate commercial breaks in full TV episodes in the same way as watching on a TV set. There is a major drawback, however: TV rights restrictions mean the content is only ... (view more)

Google is to introduce one-click links to buy products associated with video clips on its YouTube site. The move will be the first step towards recouping the $1.65 billion it spent acquiring the company two years ago. The new links allow viewers to ... automatically buy songs through iTunes or the Amazon digital download service. The links will appear next to videos of the relevant songs. There will also be appropriate links to buy the popular video game "Spore." At the moment the music links are restricted to songs produced by EMI or Universal, two of the four major record labels. However, given ... (view more)

"Mail Goggles" is now part of Google's free Gmail service. The feature is simple really, but could serve as an effective deterrent against very bad email-based decisions while in an 'altered state'. Just answer a few basic math questions in a ... specified period of time before sending out your email. You shhhaid wha...? After a grueling work week, you decide to accept an invitation from some friends to meet at a local bar for a beer. While reminiscing about the "good old days", you realize that one beer has become two, two beers have become four and in no time at all you have surpassed your ... (view more)

A pact between two of America's most popular search engines has been delayed. A controversial advertising deal between Google Inc and Yahoo Inc was pushed back, according to reports from Yahoo on Friday. The delay is closely tied to controversy ... surrounding the agreement. Yahoo openly admitted that its deal with Google -- which would allow Google to sell advertising for some of Yahoo's online advertising space -- is being closely scrutinized by the United States Department of Justice. "We have had discussions with regulators and look forward to responding to their questions about this ... (view more)

Ten years ago, Google filed its business incorporation papers. In the decade since, the search company has changed the planet. Without any doubt, it is the most successful business on the Internet landscape and is well-poised to continue in that ... vein. To fully appreciate Google's achievement, one needs only to examine its history in comparison major competitor Microsoft. A decade down the road, Google boasts revenues of just under $20 billion. Microsoft is 33 years old and has revenues of approximately $60 billion. At age 10, Microsoft had revenues of only $140 million. Google's market value ... (view more)