Science and technology news blog

Google Apps may not be the be-all, end-all answer to enterprise groupware that some analysts believe it will be, according to a new report by the Burton Group. The consulting firm has released a 55-page smackdown detailing what it sees as the pitfalls of trying to replace more robust enterprise software with Google’s set of stripped-down web applications. It cautions IT managers not to be tempted by Google’s siren call of low price and low maintenence, going so far as to say that switching to Google Apps could be a “career-limiting move.”

Read the full article here.

There has been plenty of talk for quite some time about Google releasing its own mobile phone. While there is plenty of speculation on what type of service Google would introduce, one thing seems to be pretty clear, Google WILL launch something in the next couple of years. Most likely it is going to be a mobile phone, with Linux based OS, and loads of Google software. Google’s gPhone would be the most likely product that should arrive within the next 12-18 months:

Not only was Google instrumental in winning concessions in the rules of an upcoming auction in the US of radio spectrum that will guarantee that any device or service can be used on that spectrum, but Google has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into developing mobile phone designs.

This should be sending all sorts of mobile players into planning mode, including Nokia, Apple (with its recently launched iPhone) and Motorola. Google may end up getting LG to make the hardware. But one thing is sure, if and when Google does launch its own mobile, it is going to be very aggressive with its pricing, quite unlike what Apple’s iPhone is charging consumers.

Following its mass popularity, Youtube’s Presidential Debates page has received almost 3000 replies from people who want to put their questions to the presidential candidates. Will Wrigley, a 17-year-old who will turn 18 in time to vote in November 2008, asked the candidates for their views on stem cell research. There are many more like him. Have a look at the following page:

http://www.youtube.com/contest/DemocraticDebate

Makes for some interesting watching.

Microsoft claimed yesterday that they would be making changes to how Vista users search for files. After an official complaint from Google that disabling Vista’s built-in search is next to impossible, Microsoft has made an announcement that when Vista SP 1 is released by end of this year, it will be much more easier for users to switch to a third-party desktop search engine such as Google’s Desktop Search.

This from an article on Ars Technica:

Microsoft here is splitting the difference, somewhat, as the company will retain Vista’s built-in search results in the upper right hand corner search box present on most explorer windows. The document explains, “Microsoft has agreed, however, to add a link that, if clicked, will launch the default desktop search program and display search results from that program.” 

Does this sound like the first nail in Google’s coffin? Microsoft and Yahoo execs must be desperately praying for exactly that. However, eBay’s pulling off its ads from Google may not be as bad as it sounds. Agreed that eBay is Google’s number one client for ads and they must really be feeling like idiots for pulling off that party stunt.

What goes to be seen is if eBay will come back to Google later on. eBay also needs to understand that it is going to lose a significant amount of traffic as a lot of users do come from Google searches. Its also possible that eBay may strike a deal with either Yahoo or Microsoft, or even both. And that would be a real blow for Google.

Both Google and Intel have joined a bunch of other IT companies in what could be a major boost to the effort to reduce carbon emissions by computers. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 per cent efficiency target for power supplies which, if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54m tonnes per year – and save more than $5.5bn in energy costs.

They are joined by major companies like IBM, Microsoft, Dell, HP to name a few. If this group is able to reach their target then they would have, atleast theoretically, have removed the equivalent of 11 million cars’ worth of emissions. This move also improves the brand image of these companies as global warming is a hot topic these days.

As other media companies continue to look daggers at YouTube, CBS has been singing a very different tune.

In recent months, YouTube, the embattled Google subsidiary, has had to contend with a massive request from Viacom to take down more than 100,000 unauthorized video clips, as well as subpoenas from News Corp.’s Twentieth Century Fox and a smaller film studio owned by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

But from CBS, it’s been mostly peace, love and understanding.

“There’s unauthorized content on YouTube,’’ CBS Interactive Chief Operating Officer Stephen Snyder acknowledged in an interview this week. “Do we have a problem with it? I wouldn’t call it a problem. Do we have an awareness of it, and is YouTube a good-faith partner in the process right now? Yes.”

Snyder observed that YouTube is “growing like crazy, and when you’re growing that fast, you’re just trying to keep up with the tidal wave of consumer activity. ... They’re running as fast as they possibly can.”

Synder declined to comment on reports that the network recently backed away from a multi-year deal with YouTube that would have expanded the CBS content available on the video portal. He also declined to comment on reported efforts late last year among the major TV networks to band together for a video portal site to rival YouTube.

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Microsoft has accused Google of violating copyright law, and called its business model ‘troubling’.

Thomas Rubin, Associate General Counsel of Microsoft, said that Google systematically violates copyright law, as its move into newer media markets comes at the expense of publishers of books, videos, and software.

Rubin calls Google’s attitude towards copyright protection “weak at best” and cites the many accusations leveled against Google-owned YouTube for its failure to remove copyrighted material. Rubin says Google has a ‘cavalier’ approach to copyright law.

Earlier, in October 2005, the Association of American Publishers filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging the search giant violated copyright by scanning and distributing books protected under copyright law.

Rubin said in his view, Google has chosen the wrong way for the long term, because it violates copyright, and deprives authors and publishers of an important avenue for monetizing their works. By scanning copies of published works without first seeking copyright holders’ permission, Google opens the door to massive infringement.

Denying such allegations, David Drummond, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, and Chief Legal Officer of Google, said that Google works with more than 10,000 publishing partners to make books searchable online, and has recently added the BBC and NBA basketball league as YouTube video partners. They do this by complying with international copyright laws, and the result has been more exposure, and in many cases, more revenue for authors, publishers, and producers of content.

It is learnt that Google has won support from the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which argued that Microsoft has given an “unfortunate mischaracterization” of copyright law that is outdated in the digital age.

Microsoft launched an unusually caustic public broadside yesterday against Google, accusing its archrival of running roughshod over copyrights as it creates an online service for searching books.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association of Publishers in New York, Thomas C. Rubin, Microsoft’s associate general counsel, devoted much of his remarks to an attack on Google’s practice of copying entire books into its database, often without the permission of copyright holders.

“It systematically violates copyright and deprives authors and publishers of an important avenue for monetizing their works,” Rubin said, according to prepared remarks. “In doing so, it undermines critical incentives to create.”

Microsoft’s salvo came as the software giant faces mounting pressure from Google, which is increasingly extending its reach beyond the Web search that made it the darling of the technology industry.

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A court in Istanbul has issued an order denying access to the video-sharing website YouTube. The state owned Turk Telecom implemented the ban today after an escalating dispute between Greek and Turkish users of the site.

The court order was issued yesterday and most internet users logging onto the site in Turkey are met with a holding page with a Turkish message, which translates as: “Access to this site has been denied by court order ! ...”.

Greek and Turkish YouTube users have been trading video insults over the past few months, attracting much coverage in the Turkish press. Greek videos reportedly accused the founding president of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, of homosexuality; a Turkish user responded by calling Greece the birthplace of homosexuality.

It is illegal to criticise either Ataturk or Turkishness in Turkey and the prosecutor’s office in Istanbul acted despite YouTube’s agreement to take down the offending videos.

Turkey wishes to join the EU in the next round of enlargement and has been criticised for its failure to safeguard freedom of expression. The country’s most famous author, Orhan Pamuk, faced up to three years in jail after being charged with “insulting Turkishness” after talking to a Swiss newspaper about Turkey’s human rights record. The case was dropped in January after international condemnation.

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Google issued several fixes at the beginning of February for a flaw that affected one of its most popular desktop applications called Desktop Search, but the problems are not over.

The flaw was discovered by security firm Watchfire and it could have allowed a hacker to access private information remotely and even take control of the entire system.

According to the three authors of the report, the vulnerability is the “outcome [of] both the integration between the Google.com Web site and Google Desktop, and Google Desktop’s failure to properly encode output containing malicious or unexpected characters. Unlike traditional computer penetration attacks, there is no need for binary code to be injected.”

The authors underline the potential danger represented by the integration between Web-based applications and desktop applications, which opens doors for future attacks, based on the model offered by Google Desktop Search. They say a hacker could escalate his/her privileges by crossing from the Web environment to the desktop application environment: “These attacks take advantage of Web application vulnerabilities and the increasing power of the Web browser. Their purpose is to remotely access private information.”

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There was supposed to be a major announcement from Google yesterday and as expected it was announced in Wall Street Journal that they have launched Google Apps Premier, it subscriptions package of premium of hosted applications, such as G-Mail, Google Calendar, Google Talk, as well as Google Docs Applications all in one package. The Google Apps site has already been updated.

Webmail will come with 10 GB of storage and Apps Premier includes service level agreements that promise 99.9% uptime and 24/7 tech support. A full comparison of the standard and Premier services can be found here.

The service costs $50 per user per year, dramatically undercutting Microsoft’s offerings.

Previously they offered this Google Apps free, they still have that option besides this Premier version. It will be an excellent package for Small business and even business owners. The e-mail will be provided under their own domain name not only for the main owner but also for all of its employees. A 10GB storage is more than adequate. Google Apps doesn’t include PowerPresentation tool or CRM, but I am sure they will add them soon to the package. General Electric and Proctor and Gamble are cited as among the first Google Apps Premier customers.

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Upstart search engine Powerset has just secured an exclusive license for natural language processing technology from Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center. It’s a move that some are claiming will allow the small firm to someday challenge Google.

Steve Newcomb, one of Powerset’s founders, characterizes the PARC technology as “the most sophisticated natural language technology known to man” and claims that it will give his company a major advantage over keyword-based search engines like Google.

The company has been operating quietly so far, but has recently been profiled twice in the New York Times and other major media outlets as it gears up for a private beta release of its flagship search engine. The company has not yet made details of the deal available, but the Times is reporting that PARC gets an equity stake in Powerset, while Powerset gets access to its technology and to researcher Ronald Kaplan, a leader in the field of natural language processing.

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New Internet TV services such as YouTube and Joost may bring the global network to its knees, Internet companies said today, adding that they are already investing heavily just to keep data flowing.

Google Inc., which acquired online video-sharing site YouTube last year, said the Internet was not designed for TV. It even issued a warning to companies that think they can start distributing mainstream TV shows and movies on a global scale at broadcast quality over the public Internet.

“The Web infrastructure, and even Google’s [infrastructure], doesn’t scale. It’s not going to offer the quality of service that consumers expect,” Vincent Dureau, Google’s head of TV technology, said at the Cable Europe Congress. The company instead offered to work with cable operators to combine its technology for searching for video and TV footage and its tailored advertising with the cable networks’ high-quality delivery of shows.

One cable chief executive, Duco Sickinghe from Belgian operator Telenet Group Holding NV, said it was “the best news of the day” to hear that Google could not scale for video.

Google was welcomed with a mix of fear and awe by the cable TV companies, which are concerned that Web companies will try to steal their lucrative TV business. The Internet on the whole is a mixed blessing, cable carriers said.

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About 1 million books in Princeton University’s collection will be made available online through Google Inc.’s book-scanning project, the school announced Monday.

The university library will work with the Google’s Book Search Library Project over the next six years to digitize books that are a part of the public domain and no longer under copyright, according to a school news release.

“Generations of Princeton librarians have devoted themselves to building a remarkable collection of books in thousands of subjects and dozens of languages,” Princeton librarian Karin Trainer said. “Joining the Google partnership allows us to share our collection with researchers worldwide.”

Princeton is the 12th institution to make its books available through Google Book Search, joining schools like Harvard University, University of Texas-Austin and Oxford University. Internet users will be able to use key words to search the full texts of the books, which can then be downloaded.

“We will be working with Google in the next several months to choose the subject areas to be digitized and the timetable for the work,” Trainer said, adding that library staff, faculty and students will be able to suggest what should be digitized.

The Google project also includes Stanford University, the University of California, the University of Michigan, the University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the New York Public Library, the University Complutense of Madrid and the National Library of Catalonia.