Google

Google, Sun to finally take on Microsoft?

Nearly two years after they were expected to announce a Microsoft Office killer, Sun Microsystems and Google may finally be planning to do it. Or not.

By way of background, following much hype about a partnership in October 2005, Sun and Google held an anticlimactic news conference in which all they announced was that they were collaborating on work on Sun's OpenOffice.org, Java and OpenSolaris and Google's Toolbar.

But now Mary Jo Foley, in her ZDNet blog, has reported that she got confirmation from a Sun representative that the company plans to make a StarOffice-related announcement on … Read more

Going door-to-door for Google

So, you want to work for Google but you don't have a graduate degree in computer science from an Ivy League school. How about being a Google local search ads sales rep contractor? As such you can earn up to $10 for each business listing that is approved by Google and verified by the business.

According to the FAQ on Google's Web site:

"As a Google Business Referral Representative, you'll visit local businesses to collect information (such as hours of operation, types of payment accepted, etc.) for Google Maps, and tell them about Google Maps and … Read more

Adding a Google Map to your blog

Google will be releasing a new feature next week that will enable people to easily embed a Google Map into their Web site or blog, just like you can do with a YouTube video. No coding or programming required; just copying and pasting a snippet of HTML, a Google spokeswoman says.

"To embed a Google Map, users will simply pull up the map they want to embed--it can be a location, a business, series of driving directions, or a My Map they have created--and then click 'Link to this page' and copy and paste the HTML into their Web … Read more

Yahoo beats Google in customer satisfaction survey

Good news for Yahoo: a new survey finds that customers are more satisfied with Yahoo than the other search engines and portals.

According to the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, Yahoo's score in the index rose 3.9 percent over the past year to 79 while Google's score fell 3.7 percent to 78.

But it's hard to really get a read on things because the survey combines two different categories: search engines and portals. No question, Google by far leads the pack when it comes to search and it is not a portal. … Read more

Google shutting off your purchased videos?

Got this lovely e-mail from the fine folks at Google Video today. The one Deep Space Nine video I bought from them isn't really mine after all. It turns out they're shutting off all Google Videos after August 15. That's right, if you bought a video from Google Video store, looks like you won't be able to watch it after that date. Yep, even though you paid for it. Ain't DRM lovely? They were nice enough to give me a credit I can use at Google Checkout, but no actual refund.

Here's the e-mail:… Read more

Google offers shared storage on Gmail and Picasa

Are you the kind of person who posts a ton of photos and videos online but uses very little e-mail storage?

Well, Google is now offering consumers the ability to buy additional, or overflow, storage when they reach the free limit in Gmail or in Picasa Web Albums (2.8GB and 1GB, respectively), instead of having to pay for more storage in each program separately. Eventually, other applications like Google Docs & Spreadsheets will be included.

Prices range from $20 per year for 6GB of overflow storage to $500 a year for 250GB.

The news was released by Google after … Read more

Google News adds unique commenting feature

For anyone who's ever been quoted in a newspaper, you've likely read over the article with great anticipation only to conclude that the reporter completely missed the mark, or at least neglected something you feel is important to your story. It's human nature. Unfortunately, there isn't much you or the news agency can do to clarify and remedy the miscommunication. Sure, newspapers can, and do, print corrections, but only when there is a factual error in the story, and they hardly rectify the situation. While not a perfect solution, the folks at Google News have recently begun soliciting comments from participants and subjects covered by the news report.

… Read more

Google disables own blog as spam

Google may be getting a little overly zealous in its antispam efforts. The company says it accidentally disabled one of its own corporate blogs after mistaking it for spam.

Google Blogoscoped first reported the problem with Google's Custom Search blog. Apparently, the blog had an odd message full of misspellings and incorrect grammar that said:

"Google Custom Search, is the wonderful product from Google which many webmasters have been looking and dream for. It allows webmasters to create their own custom search engines to search only the sites he/she wants. ? I?ll cover up more on this … Read more

Google News rolling out expert user comments

Google News is getting an interesting feature this week, and by interesting I mean it's downright peculiar. Users of the U.S. version of Google News will now be able to comment on a story, that is assuming they're somehow involved in it. The process is not for everyone, and in fact requires a lengthy verification process of sending off your comment and credentials to a special Google e-mail address, and later verifying your identity via domain name and an e-mail follow-up from Google staff. If you pass the test, your comment will show up alongside the article.… Read more