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Google is ready to unveil a suite of software for mobile phones based on open-source technology, backed by some of the largest wireless industry companies in the world.

The company is expected to hold a press conference on Monday to unveil the project, which is expected to incorporate software from the Linux world into a mobile platform code-named Android that's designed to run on phones, according to sources familiar with Google's plans. A software development kit for what's being called "a complete mobile-phone software stack" is believed to be in the works and will be … Read more

WASHINGTON--Ever tried giving your mother a primer on cookies--the Web, not chocolate chip, variety, of course?

It's not easy, but a user-generated video contest chiefly bankrolled by Google wants to help.

The competition began accepting entries about a month ago from about two dozen filmmakers interested in helping to demystify the tiny, widely used text files for a general audience. It concluded here Friday, at the second day of a Federal Trade Commission workshop on behavioral advertising, with the announcement of the victor, who was set to receive a $5,000 grand prize. (Click here to view all the entries that made the final cut … Read more

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google will make a big announcement on Monday that will detail the company's partnerships with various handset makers and carriers for its much-ballyhooed "open" mobile OS. Apparently U.S. carriers T-Mobile and Sprint are slated to be in on it, while Taiwan's HTC is a safe bet for a handset manufacturer.

Other manufacturers are also possible (Samsung, LG , and Sony Ericsson, to name a few), but we won't know until Monday. As we've previously theorized, these Google-powered phones could have a Linux-based OS, along with a few Google-branded … Read more

Silicon Alley Insider editor Peter Kafka had the opportunity for some cocktail conversation with Facebook investor and board member Jim Breyer of Accel Partners on Thursday night, and he had some interesting news to report.

Most intriguing is the fact that Breyer refused to outlaw a Facebook partnership with OpenSocial, the Google-created social networking platform that's managed to steal a whole lot of Valley buzz from Facebook right as it gears up to make a major advertising announcement.

"Jim said that the company isn't philosophically opposed to what Google is trying to do, and that its business … Read more

Social-networking site Bebo, which has made its most significant inroads among young people in the United Kingdom, is set to announce that it has joined Google's OpenSocial project, joining the ranks of MySpace.com, Imeem, LinkedIn, Six Apart, and a laundry list of other participants that seems to encompass any social-networking site that isn't Facebook.

Additionally, Bebo plans to soon release an application programming interface (API) later this year that will "enable Facebook developers to easily bring their applications to the Bebo community," a Bebo representative said Thursday. It's not yet clear what this really … Read more

MySpace and Google have issued a press release that, confirming rumors, announces that the News Corp.-owned social networking site will be part of Google's new OpenSocial developer initiative.

MySpace was not initially announced as a part of OpenSocial, leading many to believe that it was absent from the project despite the fact that it already has a search and advertising contract with Google. In an interview with CNET News.com on Wednesday, Google's director of product management, Joe Kraus, said "We would love MySpace to be a part of it," which technically neither confirmed nor … Read more

The Silicon Alley Insider's Peter Kafka reported Thursday morning that he heard MySpace will be announcing a partnership with Google's new social-networking project, OpenSocial--potentially before the end of the day.

MySpace, which already has its search and advertising functions powered by Google, has not yet responded to requests for comment.

If true, this would probably be a good thing for MySpace, which has lost its place in the social media spotlight to Facebook (though it still leads in traffic and membership) and is struggling to play catch-up by working on a developer platform strategy that may not see … Read more