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06 Dec 2011 11:23

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Tech: Verizon blocks Google Wallet on “security” concerns

  • Read: Google’s product is competing with our product. Google Wallet has drawn a lot of attention in recent months for its end-to-end reinvention of the paying experience — one that, if it takes off, could make carrying around credit cards a thing of the past. However… the first phone on Verizon’s network that could support the technology behind Google Wallet, the Galaxy Nexus, has the software disabled. The company says they’ve blocked it in an effort to provide “the best security and user experience.” However… Verizon is working with AT&T and T-Mobile on a competing service, Isis, which has yet to launch. Perhaps that’s it? Yeah, we think so. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Dec 2011 18:00

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Tech: Could Mozilla’s Firefox lose its biggest funding source: Google?

  • growth Over the years, Mozilla’s open-source Firefox browser grew from nothing to provide a solid secondary option to Microsoft’s once-dominant Internet Explorer. It funded itself in large part from a multi-year deal it made with Google to make their search the default, allowing Mozilla to grow quickly.
  • hindrance However, since they made the last deal in 2008, a strange thing started happening — Google created a browser of its own, Chrome, that quickly ate its own share of the market. It’s now tied with or ahead of Firefox. So … will Google renew the deal with Mozilla? Do they need to? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2011 23:42

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Tech: Playing favorites with search: Who’s more biased, Bing or Google?

  • pro-Google So, let’s say you wanted to find out if there was any bias from what search engines spit out at you. For example, a recent study not done by Google, said that Bing searches would promote Microsoft-related results twice as many times that Google would promote Google.
  • pro-Bing Don’t get too comfortable with those facts, though. A different study, performed by a paid Microsoft consultant, showed claims that Google put itself first most of the time. Do you already know who to trust? Or are you feeling lucky? source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Oct 2011 20:07

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Politics: SF + M.C. Hammer + Brian Wilson + will.i.am + Ed Lee = Insane ad

  • San Francisco’s mayor gets uh, diverse support: M.C. Hammer’s music isn’t exactly setting the charts ablaze anymore (he’s moved on to search engines), but it works well in political ads, apparently, as this bizarre concoction above proves. Ed Lee, the current mayor of the city, was appointed after Gavin Newsom took over as California’s lieutenant governor, but the tech-friendly Lee hopes to get a full term. So do all the folks in this clip, ranging from top brass at Google to Twitter co-founders to insane pitcher Brian Wilson to M.C. FREAKING HAMMER, donning the parachute pants again to offer his support to the mayor. Gotta give the funders of this ad (tech entrepreneurs Ron Conway and Justin Timberlake Sean Parker) credit — it’s 2 Legit 2 Quit. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2011 17:55

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Tech: Google may swoop in to save Yahoo — for antitrust reasons

  • what Google is reportedly in talks to help with an acquisition of Yahoo, which is kind of looking like a rudderless ship these days after Carol Bartz’s departure. They have tens of billions of dollars in the bank; they can do this pretty easily.
  • why If Google were to help — it’s not a sure thing — it would effectively allow them to prop up a competitor in the market, which would help them fend off antitrust claims. Think Microsoft swooping in to help Apple back in 1997. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 01:01

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Biz, Tech: Could Bank of America’s debit card charge push us to digital wallets?

  • It may be too early now to talk about the Law of Unintended Consequences, but years from now, we may owe a debt to reforms like Dodd-Frank for finally weaning us off the physical wallet and encouraging us to experiment with the new technologies helping to create the Digital Wallet.
  • The Washington Post’s Dominic Basulto • Arguing that Dodd-Frank’s side effects — such as Bank of America‘s decision to start charging people for the right to use a debit card — will be great in the long run, because it will push consumers and businesses to stop relying on banks for these sorts of services, instead going for phone-based options, provided by companies such as Google or Square, instead. Basuito compares Bank of America’s controversial move to Netflix‘s price-raising scheme, and suggests it will hurt them long-term. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 15:35

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Politics, Tech: Eric Schmidt on Google’s antitrust case: We’re not that bad, really

  • So we get hauled in front of the Congress for developing a product that’s free, that serves a billion people. Okay? I mean, I don’t know how to say it any clearer. I mean, it’s fine. It’s their job. But it’s not like we raised prices. We could lower prices from free to…lower than free? You see what I’m saying?
  • Google Chairman Eric Schmidt • Proving to be a bit cagey in an interview after taking questions at a Senate hearing a week ago. Google is facing antitrust questions that they’re abusing their power in the search market, and Schmidt claims that there’s a disconnect at play between Washington and the tech culture of Silicon Valley. “The press is so young, they don’t understand the history here,” he said. “We’re still a small component of what a whole bunch of other companies have done, and certainly most other industries. So I reject all such charges.” Think he’s right about all this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

21 Sep 2011 17:14

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Politics: Rick Santorum wants Google to help clean up his search results

  • I suspect if something was up there like that about Joe Biden, they’d get rid of it. If you’re a responsible business, you don’t let things like that happen in your business that have an impact on the country. To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website or through their system is something that they say they can’t handle, but I suspect that’s not true.
  • Rick Santorum • Decrying the fact that, as you quite possibly already know, typing “Santorum” into Google yields a pretty surprising first search result. This has been true for some time, but it’s now become a renewed thorn in Santorum’s side because of his bid for the GOP presidential nomination. His answer? Call on Google to censor the offending definition, it seems. What we like most about this quote, though, is the “have an impact on the country” part. Confidence can be admirable, but what odds would you put on Rick Santorum really believing he has a chance to be President? This guy is campaigning hard, and for no apparent reason. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Sep 2011 20:03

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Tech: Google Wallet opens, but the odds you can actually use it are slim

  • good Google has both Visa and MasterCard on board for its next-generation digital payments system, meaning they have a built-in infrastructure.
  • bad While that infrastructure — in the hundreds of thousands of retail outlets — is pretty big, Visa and MasterCard reach tens of millions of retail outlets.
  • worse In the short-term, only one network — Sprint — sells a device that’s actually compatible with Google Wallet. Own a Sprint Nexus S 4G? You’re in luck. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Sep 2011 10:49

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Tech: Have a problem with Google’s service? Contact The New York Times.

  • closed In what’s proven to be a fairly sketchy marketing tactic, some users of Google Places have taken to marking places run by their competitors as “closed,” causing much frustration among business owners who rely on that to let people know that they’re still open.
  • open In the past, Google has taken a hands-off approach to the issue, which has rankled business owners. In fact, it took a New York Times article for the company to take the situation seriously. You know, pretty much like this particular situation. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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