Google

T-Mobile G1 smartphone, sliced and diced

It's been a little more than a year since Google Android was announced and rumors of a little device called the HTC Dream started to leak onto the Web. We think it's fair to say that the Dream stirred up as much anticipation and hype as the Apple iPhone, not only because it would be the first smartphone to run Google's mobile platform but also because of the potential to overtake Apple's darling. (Hey, like it or not, the iPhone set a new bar for handset design and convergence, and serves as a sort of benchmark … Read more

IMDB turns 18

You may have heard me say this before, but it's worth repeating: I love the Internet.

From my first forays onto Yahoo in the mid-1990s, to my slow, methodical construction of a perfect rating on eBay to the dozens of times I use Google every day, there is simply no question about it: I am head over heels gaga for the medium.

But no matter how many times I laugh at a YouTube video, read something interesting on NYTimes.com or consult Wikipedia, I think my true favorite online hangout is the Internet Movie Database, or IMDB.

What can … Read more

Vint Cerf backs Obama for U.S. president

Vint Cerf has come out in support of Barack Obama for United States president.

In a YouTube video he recorded, Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist, said he was supporting Obama primarily because of the Democratic candidate's position on Net neutrality.

Cerf commands wide influence throughout the technology world due to the role he played in the development of the Internet. Cerf co-designed the TCP/IP protocol with Robert E. Kahn. While at MCI, he oversaw the development of the world's first commercial e-mail service to be connected to the Internet.

Here's a transcription of what he … Read more

Poptub: Google tries best-of-YouTube TV show

In its latest move to bring some commercial order to the YouTube chaos, Google has begun showing a brief video show called Poptub with perky hosts, amusing videos, promotional interviews, and a prominent Pepsi sponsorship.

The show, called Poptub, is produced by Embassy Row, which is run by Who Wants to Be a Millionaire creator Michael Davies, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The shows will be distributed not just through YouTube but also through the Google Content Network, which can distribute video to Google advertising partners.

Poptub has promised advertisers 3 million views of Poptub by the end of the … Read more

The Digital Home 37: Apple impressed me for once

In this episode, Don explains why Apple impressed him in its latest announcement and why Windows 7 should be named Windows 7. After that, he talks with TomTom. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 37 … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 831: Marginalized whackjob fringe

Tom couldn't decide whether to go with the "marginalized whackjob" wall paint, or just get a marginalized whackjob fringe. Vote? In other news of the day, the McCain campaign discovers that the DMCA can be ANNOYING! Maybe they'll do something about it once they're back in politics-land! Also, EA says no one cares about DRM except an organized online cabal. We know how well that attitude worked out for the music industry.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

EPISODE 831

McCain campaign complains about takedown notice procedure http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1795 http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081014-mccainpalin-campaign-angry-over-bogus-dmca-takedowns.html … Read more

Who loves an economic crisis? Yahoo Finance

Yahoo is falling victim to the current economic woes, with analysts lowering forecasts for the company's financial future and layoffs in the works. But one part of the company is all but chortling with glee: Yahoo Finance.

According to ComScore's latest statistics, Yahoo is king of the heap, with 19.9 million unique users in the month of September, an all-time high for the site, according to Yahoo. I'm guessing that's going to look small once we see the October statistics, too.

Nowhere in the top 10 is Google Finance. Disclosure: No. 8, though, is BNET, … Read more

Dark times for Web ads: Analysts cut forecasts

Given the day-to-day changes in the world's economic fortunes, it's surprising that analysts are willing to make any forecasts at all, but among those who do, the news isn't sunny.

In the Internet sector, nobody is backing away from predictions that online sales and advertising will fare relatively well. But larger economic factors are inescapable, according to some new reports.

"We are lowering our estimates on Google, Yahoo, Amazon, VistaPrint, eHealth, Blue Nile, and Gmarket to reflect: (1) a weaker macro outlook exacerbated by the bank crisis; (2) the rapid rise in the dollar over the … Read more

Google's Street View arrives in France

Google has begun expanding its Street View feature of Google Maps to several major cities in France, the first European country to get the Internet giant's driver's-eye view.

"We've added coverage for six major cities in France: Paris, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Marseille, and Nice," Luc Vincent, engineering director of Street View and a native of France, said Wednesday in a blog. "France is the first country in Europe to benefit from Street View imagery, and I'm delighted that many of my favorite places are included in the new coverage, including the street where … Read more