Google

Google brings Desktop to the Mac

Macintosh users can now use Google Desktop to search the full text of all the data on their hard drive. Google Desktop for the Mac, which is in beta, also lets users search Gmail, Web history and the Web simultaneously, as well as find prior versions of files and recover files that have been accidentally deleted.

According to a post Wednesday morning on the Google Mac Blog: "We know that simply 'porting' to the Mac is not a good idea. So we took the time to develop a product that deeply integrates into Mac OS X and maintains its … Read more

Snake off a Googleplex

Kaiser, the 3-foot python reported missing in Google's New York office this weekend, was found by janitors on Monday night, according to tech gossip site Valleywag.

"The gray-and-brown reptile, smuggled in by a snake-obsessed techie called Adam who couldn't bear to be away from his pet during the workday, was still on the fourth floor, where it went missing from its tank," the site said. "According to our correspondent: 'His distraught owner was called and he officially vacated the premises around 10:15 p.m.'"

A Google spokesman confirmed that the python had been … Read more

Snake slithering through Googleplex

It's been confirmed by Google. There is indeed a python on the loose at the company's New York City office.

"What you have heard is in fact true and not an April Fools' Day joke," a Google spokesman wrote in an e-mail to CNET News.com. "We are confident that we have the appropriate resources in place to resolve this issue as quickly as possible in the best interests of both the Googlers in our NYC office and Kaiser the snake."

That the 3-foot snake was AWOL was first reported by tech gossip site Valleywag.… Read more

Google flush with laughs after porcelain prank

Google was apparently trying to bowl over Web surfers with its April Fools' Day prank Sunday by offering a service that lets people stay online when they are on the john.

The Web search giant launched a gag offer on its home page called "Dark Porcelain" that that offered high-speed wireless Internet access via consumers' toilets.

Google said its "Toilet Internet Service Provider" (TiSP) would be available in three speeds: Trickle, The No. 2, and Royal Flush. Google's prank included an online installation guide, an FAQ and a press release quoting Google co-founder and President … Read more

Google's bonus bonanza

Forget the $460 per share stock price. Google's executive officers can expect to reap a whopping $4.5 million bonus if they hit certain milestones for fiscal year 2007, according to Google's recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Internet giant's board of directors approved an Executive Bonus Plan, which calls for all executive officers - except Eric Schmidt, CEO, and founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin ?? to receive a maximum bonus of $4.5 million each, should they meet the plan's milestones. The plan is based on a formula linked to Google's … Read more

Google offers bikes for pedaling commuters

Google is offering free bikes and helmets to 2,000 of its permanent employees who bike to work in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, according to reports.

Both the bikes, made by Raleigh Europe, and the helmets will sport the Google logo.

Google employees will have a choice of which bike model they would like to use. Options include gender-specific bikes and hybrids. There is also a folding bike option, according to the MediaGuardian's report.

Holger Meyer, a German Google employee, is credited with the idea.

Maybe it'll help stave off the " Google 15" from … Read more

Analyst: Google doing mobile phone software, not hardware

Despite all the rumors and speculation about a Google Phone, the Web search company is working on software to run services on mobile phones rather than building its own phone, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray says.

The Google mobile phone software would work with, not compete with, Apple's iPhone and other mobile phones, Munster wrote in a research note on Thursday reported on by Reuters.

The head of Google in Spain and Portugal confirmed last week that Google is working on a mobile phone, but she gave no details. Google spokespeople in the U.S have refused to provide … Read more

Google will buy TV ad company, Blodget predicts

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--Google should and probably will buy Spot Runner, a company that automates the creation and buying of television commercials, former securities analyst and blogger Henry Blodget predicted Tuesday at the Online Media, Marketing and Advertising conference here.

"I imagine Google will run down here with truckloads of cash to buy Spot Runner because it's right up their alley," he said during a panel presentation. "And if they don't, Microsoft or Yahoo should."

In a session earlier, Spot Runner Chief Executive Nick Grouf showed off his company's automated TV ad system, which … Read more

Judge favors Google in 'frivolous' suit

A federal judge has ordered a parenting Web site to compensate Google for certain legal fees resulting from a lawsuit that accused the search giant of discriminating in its search rankings.

In a written order dated Friday, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose sided with Google in two of its three arguments that KinderStart, a directory and search engine focused on parenting information, should face monetary sanctions on the grounds that its allegations were "frivolous." The court plans to determine the amount of the fees after receiving a report from Google identifying its costs.

KinderStart … Read more