Webware

Google unleashed the Chrome OS on the world today, shipping it in a limited-edition prototype laptop outfitted with the kind of hardware and specs that it expects manufacturers to use with the browser-based operating system. Chrome OS represents a major step forward for cloud computing, with single-serving Web sites getting rebranded as easy-access apps and the nascent HTML5 underpinning the whole show.

It's far from perfect, though. Not all of Chrome-the-browser's extensions run on Chrome-the-OS, and although it boots and wakes fast, it lags in other areas. At the end of the day, it's a souped-up Netbook, … Read more

Google's Priority Inbox for Gmail has evidently been successful enough on the desktop that it's now moved to the Android smartphone. The new Gmail for Android 2.3.2 (compatible with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and 2.3 (Gingerbread) better supports the "Priority Inbox" e-mail filtering tool by showing off tagged e-mails in a view dedicated to the feature.

If you don't currently use it, you can activate and try Priority Inbox in the Gmail.com Settings from your desktop or mobile browser.

This version of the Gmail app provides some management options, including marking … Read more

While we can't call it "instant," Google's expansion of Google Instant to mobile phones around the globe has been relatively snappy.

Google Instant, the company's implementation of real-time Web search results as you type, first debuted in beta form in the U.S. last month, for iOS 4.0 devices like iPhone and iPod Touch and for Android smartphones running operating system 2.2 or higher.

Today, Google Instant ushers in compatibility for 28 languages in 40 countries, according to a Google press release. (See below for supported countries.)

Google Instant will only work on … Read more

Google's annual Zeitgeist, which delivers the top searches of the year, once again provides an interesting look into what the world was thinking about.

According to Google, "Chatroulette" was the "fastest rising" search term around the world in 2010, beating out Apple's iPad and Justin Bieber, which took the second- and third-place spots, respectively. Recording artist Nicki Minaj came on the scene in a big way in 2010, capturing the fourth spot on Google's list. Twitter and Facebook also made a showing in the top 10 list, taking the No. 8 and 10 … Read more

The bad guys have created yet another online scam, this one involving fake Amazon receipts.

Targeting Amazon and its retail partners, cybercriminals are using a phony Amazon receipt generator to print bogus receipts, and then are asking for refunds from the retailer, claiming that the items they ordered were never received.

Reportedly discovered by security vendor GFI Software, this scam comes at an especially bad time, as online retailers are dealing with the onslaught of the holiday season.

"The free program available online allows scammers to create an HTML 'receipt' for phantom Amazon.com purchases," Christopher Boyd, senior … Read more

While the dollar figure and partnership details of Microsoft's investment in Facebook back in 2007 were made public, one detail that had not been discussed by either company was that Microsoft had made a valiant effort to acquire the social network outright.

That much was confirmed this morning at the Le Web conference in Paris by Fritz Lanman, Microsoft's senior director or corporate strategy and acquisitions, TechCrunch reports. Speaking to Le Web conference organizer Loic Le Meur as part of a panel on "how to get acquired," Lanman shared details on how the deal had gotten … Read more

Wall Street might have another China-based winner on its hands.

Chinese video site Youku made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday, and after all the trading was said and done, the stock price was up 161 percent over its initial per-share price of $12.80. It closed the day at $33.44. That momentum is helping to carry the stock to even greater heights today. As of this writing, Youku shares are up nearly $5 to $38.36. The company's market cap is now at over $2.6 billion.

Youku's IPO success is following in … Read more

Twitter is now being used by 8 percent of online adults in the United States, according to a report out today from Pew Internet.

Based on survey results, the study found that among the Twitter users interviewed, 24 percent check their tweets several times a day, while 12 percent check in once a day.

Breaking down the demographics, adults ages 18-29 are much more likely to use Twitter than are older adults, minority users (African-Americans and Latinos) are twice as likely to use the service as are white users, and city dwellers are twice as likely to hop onto Twitter … Read more

Google is claiming that it was not given a chance to bid on a cloud-computing project for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for which the contract was awarded to rival Microsoft.

Announced yesterday, Microsoft's winning bid will kick off a project to move 120,000 USDA employees to the company's cloud-based Business Productivity Online Suite, a collection of applications that includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Office Communications Online.

Though Microsoft already counts more than 500 state and local agencies among its cloud-computing customers, the new project marks its first with a cabinet-level federal agency.

But the … Read more