Search firm quietly unveils payment service

Google has added a feature to Google Base that allows merchants to handle payments through a user's Google account. The feature effectively turns Google into an e-commerce platform for retail operators.

The move could put the organisation into direct competition with eBay and the Craigslist online classifieds network by offering merchants the option of hosting product descriptions and using Google Base to handle the transactions.

"For buyers, this feature will provide a convenient and secure way to purchase Google Base items by credit card. For sellers, this feature integrates transaction processing with Google Base item management," two Google managers said in a posting on the Google Base Blog.

Read more: vnunet.com
 

Sound of sabres rattling...

The boss of Deutsche Telekom is the latest to claim that companies like Google, which take advantage of high-speed networks, should help pay for them.

DT CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke said: "Customers should not be the only ones to pay for this new world. Web companies that use this infrastructure for their business should also make a contribution."

Speaking to German news weekly WirtschaftsWoche, Ricke said: "If customers aren't willing to pay and Google and [others] aren't willing to pay, there won't be any high-speed data highways," IDG reports.

He said companies like Google have been enjoying a free lunch. Ricke is not a lone voice - US telcos AT&T and Verizon have made similar noises.

Full story: The Register
 

Widgets are mini-applications that you download and install into Dashboard to add new functionality. Have fun using these widgets!

Features

- Quick and easy blog posting

- Your Gmail inbox at a glance

- Remember the page from last week? Now you will

Download: Google Dashboard Widgets for Mac
 

Over the last two years, Google has lured some of the best and brightest minds in technology and science to join the search giant's lava lamp and snack-filled offices.

They include an award-winning physician, a pioneer of the Internet, the head of Amazon.com's A9 search unit, the former head of Microsoft's research group in China and an ex-top Windows architect.

If there's a master plan in recruiting all this top talent beyond the obvious benefit of having all that intelligence under the same figurative roof, Google isn't saying.

But the eclectic combination of world-class programmers, computer networking pioneers and even a famous epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox in India does offer insight into the strategic planning of Google's so-called leadership "triumvirate" of co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt. The new hires of Google's deepening talent pool make it apparent that they want to keep pushing the envelope on software and computer networking technology while expanding the business into China and, despite recent criticism, maintaining a laudable philanthropic attitude.

"They are basically like Microsoft was 15 years ago. People want to go there because it is the way it used to be," said Stephen Arnold, reiterating a refrain from his book "The Google Legacy." "They are identifying high-profile people who are influential centers and hiring them easily because Google is a magnet for talent."


Full article: C|net
 

Bid to provide citywide wireless...

EarthLink has teamed up with Google on a bid to offer free wireless internet access throughout the city of San Francisco and a premium service for a fee, a Google spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The Google-EarthLink bid was among six presented to the city by Tuesday, the bidding deadline, according to a statement from the office of San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. A review panel is expected to make recommendations by early April, the statement said.

The other proposals were submitted by Communication Bridge Global, MetroFi, NextWLAN, Razortooth Communications (dba RedTAP) and SF Metro Connect (a joint venture of community-computing not-for-profit SeaKay and Cisco Systems and IBM).

Google said in a statement: "In this proposal, Google will provide a free wi-fi service citywide and EarthLink will serve as the premium service provider. We have submitted this proposal because at Google we're focused on creating new technologies that make it easier for people to quickly access the world's information. It is also a way for Google to support the local community.


Full article: silicon.com
 

Most Americans get their view of history from Hollywood. This is another thing the Internet will change.

And the change begins today, with the appearance on Google Video of historic movies, documentaries and other films from the National Archives.

Google is working on a pilot program to digitize rare historic footage, and then post it on both Google Video and the National Archives Web site.

"We're excited to bring this historic footage to the world," Peter Chane, senior product manager for Google Video, told internetnews.com. "Previously, you had to go to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., to see these films. Now, you can simply sit down at your computer anywhere in the world and watch history."

The digitized films will be available free via search or browsing. Users can watch them as streaming files on the PC or download them for playback in the downloadable Google Video Player.

"This is an important step for the National Archives to achieve its goal of becoming an archive without walls," Allen Weinstein, U.S. archivist, said in a statement. "Our new strategic plan emphasizes the importance of providing access to records anytime, anywhere."

The pilot program features 103 films from the audiovisual collections, including "Carmencita -- Spanish Dance" from 1984, the earliest film preserved in the National Archives; a sampling of documentaries produced by NASA on the history of the spaceflight program; and films from the 1930s documenting the establishment of the national and state park systems.

Google launched video searching last June, following a January rollout limited to stills and information about TV programming.


Full article: internetnews.com
 

Google Toolbar
is a popular browser add-on for Internet Explorer that makes it possible to quickly perform Google Web searches, prevent annoying pop-up ads from appearing, and fill in Web forms with one simple click.

The toolbar's 'browse by name' feature also makes it possible to type searches directly into the browser address bar.

• SpellCheck
Check your spelling whenever you type in web forms

• WordTranslator
Translate English words into other languages

• AutoLink (US only)
Turn street addresses into links to online maps

Now you can make your Toolbar as unique as you are. You can add buttons and bookmarks; get instant search suggestions; share web pages with friends; and enjoy the Toolbar's pop-up blocker, web form filler, and spellchecker.

System requirements: Windows XP/2000 & IE 6.0
(IE7 support coming soon)

Download: Google Toolbar 4.0.513.2948 Beta
 

Create your own web pages, quickly and easily.

Google Page Creator is a free online tool that makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes.

• No technical knowledge required.
Build high-quality web pages without having to learn HTML or use complex software.

• What you see is what you'll get.
Edit your pages right in your browser, seeing exactly how your finished product will look every step along the way.

• Don't worry about hosting.
Your web pages will live on your own site at http://yourgmailusername.googlepages.com

Google Page Creator Beta
 

Google on Tuesday released the beta version of its latest desktop search application, Google Desktop 3 for Enterprise, which the company recommends for corporations worried about security risks.

The enterprise version has all the functionality of the consumer version, which was released last week. But it allows network administrators to completely disable features, such as Search Across Computer. That feature, disabled by default, automatically stores copies of data on multiple computers.

Because the data travels through Google servers and is stored there for up to a month, privacy groups, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and network administrators have complained that it could lead to the compromise of sensitive data.

Research firm Gartner called the feature an "unacceptable security risk" and urged corporations to turn it off. Even Google officials in Europe have admitted that the feature is a risk for some corporations.


Full story: CNET News.com
 

Google Desktop 3 Beta contains a security risk for businesses, says Gartner, and Google agrees

Businesses have been warned by research company Gartner that the latest Google Desktop Beta has an "unacceptable security risk".


Google Desktop allows indexing and searching of PCs' hard drives, and sharing of information through a feature called Search Across Computers. This enables users to search for information within a network such as an intranet.


The risk to enterprises, according to Gartner, lies in how this shared information is pooled by Google. The data is transferred to a remote server, where it is stored and can then be shared between users for up to 30 days.


Gartner said in a report on Thursday that the "mere transport [of data] outside the enterprise will represent an unacceptable security risk to many enterprises", as intellectual property could be transported out of the business.


Google told ZDNet UK on Monday that it recognised the risk, and recommended that companies take action. "We recognise that this is a big issue for enterprise. Yes, it's a risk, and we understand that businesses may be concerned," said Andy Ku, European marketing manager for Google.

Full article: ZDNet UK
 

Google Web Accelerator is an application that uses the power of Google's global computer network to make web pages load faster. Google Web Accelerator is easy to use; all you have to do is download and install it, and from then on many web pages will automatically load faster than before.

Google Web Accelerator uses various strategies to make your web pages load faster, including:
- Sending your page requests through Google machines dedicated to handling Google Web Accelerator traffic.
- Storing copies of frequently looked at pages to make them quickly accessible.
- Downloading only the updates if a web page has changed slightly since you last viewed it.
- Prefetching certain pages onto your computer in advance.
- Managing your Internet connection to reduce delays.
- Compressing data before sending it to your computer.

System Requirements
Operating System: Win XP or Win 2000 SP3+
Browser: IE 5.5+ or Firefox 1.0+
Availability: For users in North America and Europe (during beta testing phase)

Download: Google Web Accelerator 0.2.63.81 Beta
 

Google has acquired Measure Map, a site that lets people see how much traffic their blogs are getting, according to a post on the Google Blog on Tuesday.


Read more: News.blog Google
 

Google live!

3GSM Vodafone is adding Google search capabilities to its Vodafone live! service. The deal, announced Tuesday, will allow consumers to search both Vodafone's mobile portal and the wider web.


Full story: The Register
 

Google has launched a beta for hosted e-mail accounts that feature the user's domain instead of gmail.com.

The hosted-Gmail beta, which is going head-to-head with a similar beta that Microsoft launched in November, is offering 2GB of storage, e-mail search tools and a control panel to manage user accounts, aliases and mailing lists, as part of its test version.

The beta is open to businesses, organizations and schools, according to Google's blog site. The search giant points to San Jose City College as one school that is testing hosted Gmail, offering its students e-mail accounts with the domain of jaguars.sjcc.edu.

Google's beta follows on the heels of a similar one Microsoft launched in November. The Microsoft Windows Live Custom Domains beta features hosted e-mail and instant messaging.


Read more: news.com
 

 

Google will hold special auctions to sell ad space in 28 magazines as part of a plan to expand its venture into print advertising. Advertisers would be able to bid for quarter, half, and full-page ads within several popular magazines, including Martha Stewart Living, Car and Driver, and Computerworld among others.

The Mountain View, Calif., company is looking into ways of expanding its hugely successful online advertising business into more lucrative businesses of print, radio, and television advertising. This plan is only a small part of realizing that goal.


Full article: BetaNews
 

Google Desktop gives you easy access to information on your computer and from the web. It's a desktop search application that provides full text search over your email, computer files, music, photos, chats and web pages that you've viewed. By making your computer searchable, Google Desktop puts your information easily within your reach and frees you from having to manually organize your files, emails and bookmarks. It makes searching your computer as easy as searching the web with Google.

Google Desktop doesn't just help you search your computer; it also helps you gather new information from the web with Sidebar, a new desktop feature that shows you your new email, weather and stock information, personalized news and RSS/Atom feeds, and more. Sidebar is personalized automatically, without any manual configuration required (though you can certainly make your own customizations if you want to).

We've also improved your desktop search experience. With Quick Find, you can now launch applications and see search results as you type without even opening a browser. We've also extended our Outlook integration, so you can search Google Desktop with the Outlook Toolbar and see results within Outlook itself. Finally, you can search even more stuff, including your Gmail, files on network drives, many Outlook data types (including Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Notes and Journal) and MSN Messenger chats. And if you yearn for even stronger security, you can encrypt your entire index.

Download: Google Desktop 3.0 Beta
| Plug-ins


View: Screenshots
 

Google and Dell are testing search and toolbar placement pilots that could put the search giant's software in the catbird seat with the world's number one PC maker.

A Dell spokesman confirmed to internetnews.com that the computer maker is currently running a test with Google that includes some of Google's products, including a Dell-powered home page, Google desktop search and a Google toolbar.

Beyond that, "we can't comment further because it's an unannounced product," said Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman.

Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported that if the deal goes through -- and that's still an if right now -- Google could pay Dell fees approaching $1 billion over three years, according to anonymous sources cited in the story.

Dell's Kaufman refused to comment on the fees claim.


Read more: internetnews.com
 

They say talk is cheap. Google thinks it should be free. Google Talk enables you to call or send instant messages to your friends for free–anytime, anywhere in the world. Google Talk offers you:

• Choice: Get in touch how and when you want to–over email, IM or a call

• Quality: Talk through your computer but hear your friends as if they were in the same room

• Convenience: Your Gmail contacts are pre-loaded into Google Talk so inviting or talking to your friends is just a click away

Requires Windows XP/2000, minimum 56k (broadband recommended)
Mac and Linux users can connect to Google Talk using other IM clients


Google Talk is in beta and requires a Gmail username and password.

Download: Google Talk 1.0.0.86 Beta
 

Mail and messaging to mingle...

Google on Monday was set to launch Gmail Chat, which will let users send instant messages with one click from their email account, see when contacts are online and save the chat history like an email message.

The application's Quick Contacts list is synchronised with a user's Google Talk friends list and automatically displays the people a user communicates with most frequently and shows their online status. Clicking on a contact listed as being online opens a chat window in the browser.

The application lets users save their chat history for easy searching later and click an "off the record" option so that no conversation with that person going forward is saved by either party until they choose to go back on the record.

Gmail Chat is available on Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher and Firefox 1.0 and higher and in the US English interface only.


Full article: silicon.com