Computerworld Google News

Google releases Chrome 19, adds tab sync and patches 20 bugs

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:29:00 GMT

Google released Chrome 19, patched 20 vulnerabilities in the browser and doled out $16,500 in bug bounties and rewards to independent researchers.

About 600,000 L.A. Community College students to get Microsoft Live@EDU

(Juan Carlos Perez) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:48:00 GMT

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) will provide email and collaboration applications to about 600,000 students via Microsoft's Live@EDU cloud suite, a project for which it also considered Google Apps for Education.

Twitter will deliver weekly highlights via email

(Cameron Scott) — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:41:00 GMT

Twitter will begin delivering a weekly email digest to highlight for users the tweets they are most likely to be interested in, the company said on Monday.

Yahoo launches big data analytics tool for online advertisers

jvijayan@computerworld.com (Jaikumar Vijayan) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:52:00 GMT

Yahoo today launched Genome, a new tool that allows online advertisers take advantage of the company's extensive experience with big data analytics.

With another CEO out, Yahoo's turnaround stalled

sgaudin@computerworld.com (Sharon Gaudin) — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:19:00 GMT

For the second time in eight months, Yahoo is without a permanent CEO. The latest development brings more trouble to a company struggling to regain its stature in the industry.

Elgan: How I publish from Google+

(Mike Elgan) — Sat, 12 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT

Columnist Mike Elgan offers tips on how to post to Twitter and Facebook, send a newsletter and more all from a Google+ account.

Microsoft Bing goes social in search war with Google

sgaudin@computerworld.com (Sharon Gaudin) — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:02:00 GMT

Microsoft's move to boost Bing's social networking feaures could finally give it an opportunity to truly take on Google's dominant search engine, analysts say.

Facebook IPO's elephant in the room -- mobile

sgaudin@computerworld.com (Sharon Gaudin) — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:52:00 GMT

While Facebook executives talk to the country's top investors about its 900 million users and its powerful global reach, analysts say they need to explain how they're going to fix one glaring problem -- mobile.

Mozilla on new browser brouhaha: Microsoft, Apple different cases

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:46:00 GMT

Two wrongs don't make a right, Mozilla's chief counsel said Thursday when asked why his company hasn't lambasted Apple, as it did Microsoft, for blocking rival browsers from its mobile operating system.

C keeps lead over Java in poll; PHP developer questions results

(Paul Krill) — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:25:00 GMT

An important PHP developer dismissed the validity of Tiobe's language survey, which has C continuing to displace Java as the most popular language

Mozilla accuses Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior with Windows RT

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:24:00 GMT

Mozilla yesterday accused Microsoft of withholding APIs necessary to build a competitive browser for Windows RT, and said the behavior "may have antitrust implications."

Inside the Google v. Oracle courtroom drama

(Ryan Francis) — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:04:00 GMT

The trial pitting Google vs. Oracle on the claim of intellectual property infringement by Google in Android has reached almost a tabloid like feel. Outside the courtroom feels like the red carpet as tech giant after tech giant emerge from limos and town cars to testify. Insider (regisration required)

What the summer portends in new tablets

mhamblen@computerworld.com (Matt Hamblen) — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Summer 2012 promises to be the season of tablet experimentation. Just about every tablet maker is expected to announce a new product in the next four months. The devices are likely to be smaller in the case of Apple, bigger in the case of Amazon.

Judge declines to eject Google's 'fair use' defense from Android trial

(James Niccolai) — Thu, 10 May 2012 00:40:00 GMT

Oracle was dealt a minor setback in its lawsuit against Google on Wednesday when a judge denied its motion to toss out one of Google's key defenses against copyright infringement.

Google simplifies use of Analytics API

(Juan Carlos Perez) — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:27:00 GMT

Google has developed a tool to automate the creation of custom-reporting dashboards for its Analytics website-usage tracking service, the company said on Wednesday.

Android developers ignored Sun patents, Google exec testifies

(James Niccolai) — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:51:00 GMT

Google's engineers never studied other companies' patents while developing Android for fear of allowing those patents to influence their design decisions, Google's Android chief Andy Rubin testified on the stand Wednesday.

Pogoplug service turns your computers into private cloud

lmearian@computerworld.com (Lucas Mearian) — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:42:00 GMT

Pogoplug launched a service today that allows small and medium-sized businesses, as well as home users, to turn their PCs and servers into pools of storage accessible from the Web.

Google files for new trial on copyright claims in Android suit

(Chris Kanaracus) — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:02:00 GMT

Google is seeking a new trial on copyright claims in Oracle's intellectual-property lawsuit against it over the Android mobile OS, according to a filing made late Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Google tests 'experimental' full-text search API for App Engine

(Cameron Scott) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:31:00 GMT

Google is testing a long-awaited full-text search API (application programming interface) for the Google App Engine, the company said on Tuesday.

5 Hidden Gmail Tricks for Power Users

(Kristin Burnham) — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:58:00 GMT

Whether you use Google's Gmail service at work or for personal purposes, you probably have a good handle on the basics: organizing your contacts, sending emails, setting up folders and more.

Google gets first license for self-driving cars

sgaudin@computerworld.com (Sharon Gaudin) — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:26:00 GMT

The people of Nevada may be in for a surprise when they drive to the market or down the highway: They might encounter driverless cars.

Symantec conference puts focus on mobile security

(Ellen Messmer) — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:31:00 GMT

At its annual Symantec Vision conference attended by enterprise customers and business partners, Symantec laid out its management and security product strategy for mobile endpoint devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Google Android devices.

Google infringed Java copyrights in Android, jury finds

(James Niccolai) — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT

A jury has found that Google infringed Oracle's Java copyrights in Android but could not decide unanimously if the the infringement was protected by "fair use."

Apple patches Google 'Pwnium' bug with iOS 5.1.1 update

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:33:00 GMT

Apple today shipped iOS 5.1.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners that dealt with connectivity issues on the tablet, fixed bugs in AirPlay's video playback and patched four vulnerabilities in the mobile operating system.

Google, Oracle battle over Lindholm, Schwartz testimony

(Chris Kanaracus) — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:39:00 GMT

Oracle and Google have each tried to jettison potentially damaging testimony in their intellectual-property dispute over Android, as a jury deliberates over Oracle's copyright allegations and prepares to move on to the patents part of the case.

Adobe preps silent Flash updates for Macs

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:33:00 GMT

Adobe last week released a new beta of Flash Player that includes silent updates for Macs

Google raises bug bounties to $20,000

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Google has dramatically raised the bounties it pays independent researchers for reporting bugs in its core websites, services and online applications.

Jury nears verdict in Oracle-Google trial over Android

(James Niccolai) — Fri, 04 May 2012 23:56:00 GMT

The jury has reached a partial verdict in the copyright phase of Oracle's intellectual property dispute with Google, and the judge has given them one more day to try to resolve the remaining issue.

Office Live Small Business customers grapple with migration

(Juan Carlos Perez) — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:48:00 GMT

The deadline to migrate email domains and websites hosted on the Microsoft Office Live Small Business (OLSB) online service suite passed on Monday, but customers continue to post a steady stream of complaints and problem reports, indicating that the number of businesses that haven't made the transition is considerable.

Less than half of Facebook, Google users understand sites' privacy policies

(Cameron Scott) — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:24:00 GMT

Most users of Facebook and Google had fundamental gaps in understanding, even after reading privacy policies, about how the websites handled their information and how other Web users could discover it, according to a study released by the digital branding firm Siegel+Gale.

Will Yahoo CEO's misstep kill company momentum?

sgaudin@computerworld.com (Sharon Gaudin) — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:19:00 GMT

All the momentum and vision that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has been building for the struggling company may have been thrown off course.

Adobe patches new Flash zero-day bug with emergency update

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:19:00 GMT

Adobe today warned that hackers are exploiting a critical vulnerability in its popular Flash Player program, and issued an emergency update to patch the bug.

Oracle wants ex-Sun CEO Schwartz's testimony barred in Google suit

(Chris Kanaracus) — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:44:00 GMT

Oracle has asked a judge to bar Google from using some testimony given by former Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz in the companies' intellectual-property suit over the Android mobile OS, saying it has "no legal and factual predicate."

iPad share of tablet market jumps as Kindle Fire slumps

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:23:00 GMT

Apple's iPad reclaimed a larger share of the global tablet market last month, in part because of a more-serious-than-expected slump in sales of the hot Kindle Fire in the first quarter, IDC analysts said today.

Authors argue that Google's book-scanning project hurts millions

(Agam Shah) — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:42:00 GMT

A group representing authors in a copyright case slammed Google in court on Thursday, saying the company's book-scanning project has hurt millions of authors whose works have been digitized.

Mobile experts disagree on who should protect privacy

(Grant Gross) — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:46:00 GMT

Users of mobile apps need more information about the ways those apps use their personal information, a group of experts agreed Thursday, but they didn't agree on who is most responsible for protecting user privacy.

At Interior Dept., Google Apps to co-exist with Outlook, Office -- for now

(Juan Carlos Perez) — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Although the U.S. Interior Department plans to replace its on-premise email servers with Google Apps' cloud-based Gmail, the agency will retain Microsoft Outlook and Office as its standard e-mail client and desktop office productivity software for end users.

Xamarin ports Android from Java to C#

(Mikael Ricknäs) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:03:00 GMT

Xamarin has ported Android to C# in an effort to improve its own development tools and show that the OS doesn't have to be dependent on Java.

Developers fear they'll be stifled if Oracle wins copyright case

(Paul Krill) — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:11:00 GMT

Oracle's argument about copyrighting APIs would be a problem for the entire industry, observers say

Location-based services: Are they there yet?

(Brian Proffitt) — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT

Mobile apps that use your location to offer services are no longer new. But are they truly useful to businesses? We look at Facebook, Foursquare, Google Latitude and Yelp to see how they're doing.

Google Drive Begs the Question: Who Owns Your Data in the Cloud?

johnmbrandon@gmail.com (John Brandon) — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:47:00 GMT

Google Drive raises several concerns about cloud storage. Many of these consumer-level questions -- who owns your data, how data can be used and what happens if the data is lost or stolen -- are ones enterprise IT executives should be asking, too.

Java creator: Fears over consequences of possible Oracle trial win may be overblown

(Chris Kanaracus) — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:56:00 GMT

Should Oracle prevail in its intellectual-property lawsuit against Google over alleged Java patent and copyright violations in the Android mobile OS, it shouldn't result in the "industrial meltdown" some observers fear, Java creator James Gosling said in a blog post late Tuesday.

Mozilla ponders major Firefox UI refresh

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:47:00 GMT

Mozilla is working on a revamp of Firefox to synchronize its various versions -- desktop, tablet, phone and Windows 8 Metro -- into a single visual style, according to documents posted by members of its UI design team.

After legal tussle, Google beats Microsoft for large US contract

(Juan Carlos Perez) — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:38:00 GMT

The U.S. Department of the Interior has picked Google Apps to provide cloud-based email and collaboration applications to about 90,000 staffers, choosing Google's services over Microsoft's Office 365.

IE on a rebound, browser share data shows

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:21:00 GMT

Microsoft's Internet Explorer in April again gained usage share, the third time in the year's first four months, to stay well above the 50% mark and remain the world's top browser, a Web analytics company said today.

Is Google Drive ready for prime time?

(Network World Staff) — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:49:00 GMT

In summing up the experts' thoughts, Network World's Brad Reed put it rather succinctly about the emergence of Google Drive: "We like it, but couldn't it have been released two years ago?" Insider (registration required)

Flashback gang could be making $10K a day off infected Macs

gkeizer@computerworld.com (Gregg Keizer) — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:11:00 GMT

The Flashback malware that's infected hundreds of thousands of Macs may be generating more than $10,000 a day for the hackers who made the Trojan horse, Symantec said.

Jury begins deliberations after Oracle, Google attorneys debate fair use

(James Niccolai) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:48:00 GMT

The jury began its deliberations Monday in the copyright phase of Oracle's lawsuit against Google over Android.

Privacy group calls for hearings on Google StreetView snooping

(Grant Gross) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:48:00 GMT

U.S. lawmakers should reopen an investigation into the snooping on Wi-Fi networks by Google's Street View cars because of information in a U.S. Federal Communications Commission report that suggests several people at Google knew of the spying, a privacy group said Monday.

AT&T, Google among top lobbying spenders in Q1

(Grant Gross) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:13:00 GMT

AT&T spent nearly $7.1 million on lobbying Congress and President Barack Obama's administration in the first quarter of 2012, making it the leading corporate spender on lobbying, with Google, Comcast and Verizon Communications also making the top five.