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The advertising arms race

In a statement released to reporters yesterday, Google explained that the company is currently "in tests to determine the best approach to in-game advertising." According to the search giant, it believes video games have become the "perfect medium to deliver relevant, targeted advertising that ultimately benefits the user, the video game publisher and the advertiser."

Does Google honestly believe this garbage? After it bought AdScape for $23 million earlier this year, I think most of us knew this day was coming, but why? This relatively new medium of in-game advertising, when done poorly, ruins any good game.… Read more

The top global technology brand for 2007 is ...

The top global technology brand for 2007 is (drum roll, please) ... um, I'm not sure. One market research firm says Google, the other says Microsoft. This is embarrassing.

How about this: you're the tie-breaker. You're all buyers of technology products and services; which do you think is the better brand? Which one commands your loyalty and recurring business? I hear so much admiration for Google and so much vitriol toward Microsoft, it's hard to believe there's even a question here. But still, the question remains. Which one is it going to be?… Read more

Google Earth adds weather to its repertoire

As of today, Google Earth can finally tell you what the weather is like while you zoom around the 3D representation of our planet. The app has a new layer that lets you toggle cloud cover, Doppler radar, and conditions and forecasts, which will show you what's on tap in each region using information aggregated from Weather.com. There's also an "information" link that has more background about each of the services and links to download the 6- and 24-hour cloud animations, which can be controlled using playback buttons in the top right of your screen. It looks just like you've seen on any TV weather report, except you have complete control on the playback slider, and can drag is backward and forward ad nauseum to bend the clouds to your will (it's great fun).

I couldn't manage to get the "conditions and forecasts" sublayer to activate with the latest build for Windows, but maybe that's just me. Everything else works marvelously, including the Doppler radar that Google claims is "near real-time," which is a reasonable considering it's updated every 15 minutes--about what you'd find at most weather sites. The data for Doppler comes from Weather.com and is limited to the contiguous United States, with plans to roll it out to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Europe "shortly." All other regions of the globe are limited to cloud cover and forecasts, which Google pins at somewhere around 50,000 cities worldwide.… Read more

Is Ballmer living in an alternate universe?

Spending some time in Tokyo to participate in the launch of new Windows Live services, the Microsoft mouthpiece proved once again that not only is the company headed in the wrong direction, it has no idea what is really going on.

Speaking to reporters, Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, had the following to say about his company's war with Google on multiple fronts: "Google is not ahead of us. In the area of search specifically, Google would lead."

Wow. Is this guy living in an alternate universe that somehow forgets the truth? Google is only winning in the search space? I'm not so sure I agree with that, Steve.

But, for the sake of argument, why don't we take a look to see if your summary of the current state of affairs is truly accurate.… Read more

Why are Republicans in Congress targeting Google? Two reasons

An odd thing happened in Washington this week. A dozen Republicans demanded a public hearing into Google's proposed $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick because, they claim, "the privacy implications of such a merger are enormous."

This demand came in a letter from those politicians (PDF), including Rep. Dennis Hastert, to their Democratic counterparts, who now have the power to decide whether to haul Google in for questioning.

What's odd is that these are the same Republicans who have spent their political careers extolling the virtues of mergers when telecommunications giants are vying to acquire one … Read more

What an app on Google's Android might look like

Valleywag is reporting that start-up WhatsOpen.com has written the first wireless app for Google's new Android mobile platform.

It's still under wraps, but the report says WhatsOpen.com offers a Web application that shows people nearby stores that are open for business.

Valleywag has screenshots that show that the application appears to use a Google map mashup to display stores that are open in your area. It also looks like it includes user written reviews.

Looks like a no-brainer to me; who wouldn't want to get that kind of information on a phone based on your … Read more

Google overhauls Gmail under the hood

Google is making major structural code changes to Gmail and rolling them out slowly. The user interface changes are pretty subtle and you might not even notice them. But the code modifications likely presage more significant design and function improvements to come.

To tell if your account has been affected, a hyperlink at the top of the screen will say "older version" or "newer version," allowing you to choose which version to use.

One thing you might notice is that mail browsing is faster. Google pre-fetches messages in the current view, so when you open an … Read more

Microsoft's Bach not afraid of Google's Android

While much of my conversation with Microsoft's Robbie Bach on Wednesday morning dealt with new parental controls for the Xbox, I did get a chance to get his thoughts on Google's phone plans.

"There's a ton of innovation going on in this space," said Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices unit. "They've made an announcement, now they have a product that they need to come and deliver."

But nothing in Google's plans was a surprise, Bach insisted. "It's a different direction than we are going, but it'… Read more