TechCrunch & Google Blogoscoped are reporting that Google China has now switched their design from the Google look to a Yahoo-like look.
Google Blogoscoped also have some notes, like the animated icons like the one in South Korea. They have also provided a English translation to it. TechCrunch says that Google faces a huge problem in China, as it struggles to get a market share against homegrown (but is listed in the NASDAQ) Baidu.
Yes, I know. OpenSocial, Google’s API for making applications on the web, has been hacked… again. Shows how lazy Google are. And it’s the same guy who bought you the hacking of the RockYou application on Plaxo.
Prince, one of those singers from the 80s (or was it the 70s), has now decided to do what most rich and successful people/companies do best… sue YouTube.
“YouTube … are clearly able (to) filter porn and paedophile material but appear to choose not to filter out the unauthorised music and film content which is core to their business success,” he said in a statement released today.
Yes, I officially hate Google Adsense. I went to apply reawakennetworks for a Google Adsense account, but was told that my site was not suited under their so-called credentials! WTF! Apparently, they allow spam blogs to rake the money; on BlogSpot!
Hosts of Comedy Central’s two late-night comedy shows, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report (broadcast on The Comedy Channel in Australia), Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are listed as three and four of 32 people called to testify to a court about the lawsuit against Google and Youtube by Viacom, owners of Comedy Central.
Google has shut down it’s paid version of it’s Google Video service. The marketplace was closed today, with e-mails being given to all the users who had tried the product. Currently, Google has extended its video service into a search engine, with searches from it’s other site YouTube.
According to BoingBoing, Thailand has no longer banned YouTube. Speculation is that Thailand unblocked it as YouTube was willing to block specific access to some clips. The videos in question contained material offensive to the King, Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Google has announced that it has acquired ImageAmerica, a company that builds high resolution images from aerial imagery.
The Clayton, Missouri based company has previously provided images for both Google Maps and Earth, including the black and white images of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian equivalent to the Federal Trade Commission in the US, has now launched legal action on Google and the Trading Post, which is owned by Telstra under the Sensis brand.
A German court has ruled that Google cannot use the name “Gmail” in Germany, upholding a claim by 33-year old Daniel Giersch’s e-mail service, called “G-mail”, that was launched 4 years before the search giant started “Gmail”.
Since Microsoft changed the way of how the Vista Search engine runs, after Google complained that it was anti-competitive. Now, Google is now complaining that it was not enough, saying that the new changes doesn’t allow users (or them) disable the search.
The Washington Post has a news piece saying that Google’s Privacy practices are the worst among the world. This comes from a report released London-based Privacy International, whom assigned Google with the lowest grade. Interesting, 22 other companies surveyed; including Microsoft, Yahoo! and AOL, didn’t sink to that level.
Google has announced Google Gears, an open source platform that will allow GMail or any web application offline. ZDNet Australia is reporting that Adobe is working with Google to help it become a global standard. However, an analyst from IBRS says that this new plan, even if it allows other applications, will not dent the global stranglehold of Microsoft Office.
No, don’t call the RSPCA… Google has launched it’s Google Hot Trends, using Google Zeitgeist but go as far of providing ‘hot’ stuff in each city, state or country. But most of them had couple of hiccups, like on May 21st’s hot trend was a legless chihuahua… WTF?
If you haven’t noticed it, Google.com has had a small redesign. No more are the little names above the search box, they are all at the top. Plus, the ‘More’ Tab now reveals most of their services, YouTube is not listed; and the blue top thing with your search query has been replaced with a gradient of white and grey. It’s really annoying, but also it’s no longer the usual blue. It’s just, well, weird that Google changed their colours.
