Google and Its Global Street View Experiences
August 30, 2010
Special to Beyond Search
Technological innovative ideas have transformed our societies and lifestyles for better since time immemorial, also affecting the social norms and values. Such changes, as all changes do by default, go through a period of resistance, before they are finally embraced. The recent Google Street View controversy in Germany is a perfect example, and it has set out people and political parties to philosophize and finally polarize themselves in two opposite camps.
Source for this great illustration: textually.org
The Spiegel.de article “Google Knows More about Us than the KGB, Stasi or Gestapo” delineates the various ideologies of the politicians, institutional leaders, thinkers and commentators of Germany, when Google is just a few weeks away from launching the street views of the 20 German cities on the Internet. The German government, criticized for its slow reaction, now wants to take a cautious approach, rejecting the proposed legislation against Google’s Street View, and instead wants to address geographically based Internet services in general.
Oracle and Google: More on This Dust Up
August 24, 2010
In “Oracle v Google: Why” the author gives an in depth analysis of the reasons for Oracle’s bold legal move against Google and ultimately what is at stake for both parties, the Java platform and more importantly the technology world. The following quote describes the outcome “As for predictions, I’ll make only one: whoever wins will also lose. Because this suit is going to negatively impact – probably substantially – Java adoption.”
The enterprise technology landscape is more fragmented by the day, as it transitions from Dot NET or Java orthodoxy to multi-language heterogeneity. Oracle’s suit will accelerate this process as it introduces for the first time legal uncertainty around the Java platform. Apple and Microsoft will be thrilled by this development, and scores of competitive languages and platforms are likely to see improved traction as a result of Java defections. Though Google is an easy financial target it seems Oracle’s battle with open source has just begun. The immediate issue may seem to be Google, but the real target may be open source and its threat to Oracle’s traditional business model.
April Holmes, August 24, 2010
Freebie
ChaCha and KGB: Seeing Eye to Eye
August 23, 2010
Who offers the most trusted search system for the Web and mobile. Is Google still the most trusted “go to” Internet search engine and with the advancement of mobile technology many mobile users can now conduct Google search from their mobile device.
“ChaCha, KGB See Text Messages as Alternative to Search Engines on Cell Phones” the companies ChaCha and KGB offer customers a simpler way to get answers. Users can send a question to ChaCha through a text or voice message and simply wait for a prompt reply from an agent. This is a free service but users should be prepared to receive advertisements from various providers. KGB service guides also can be contacted in a similar fashion except users must pay 99 cents and will not receive outside advertisements. Each is responsible for scouting out the latest information and delivering the most accurate up to date information possible. It’s not likely they are going to overtake Google fans but they could be a helpful addition.
Worth watching.
April Holmes, August 24, 2010
Research in Motion and Aggressive Mobile BlackPad
August 21, 2010
I struggle to locate emails on my BlackBerry. I struggled to buy a working app on the BlackBerry store. I now struggle with a news story that links Research in Motion to Crusher Tank software and luxury car maker BMW. I rented a BMW once, and I gave up trying to get the radio to work and set the air conditioning. I cannot wait to see a table with a combination of BMW technology and Crusher Tank software.
What do you make of “RIM Said to Plan Crusher Tank Technology for Tablet Computer”? As you can see from the photo on the splash page of this blog, even my Microsoft SharePoint engineer, Tess the Boxer, can use the Apple iPad. Will she be able to handle RIM’s forthcoming tablet?
Will the BlackPad have the durability of this Crusher tank? Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_swGyNR8UhGg/SBoduyYjJPI/AAAAAAAAAI8/jBff0KtcnFQ/s1600-h/crusher2.jpg
Here’s the passage from the Bloomberg story which I hope is deadly accurate like the Crusher tank’s armaments:
The yet-to-be-announced tablet will run on software developed by QNX Software Systems, which RIM bought from Harman International Industries Inc. for $200 million in April, said the people, who didn’t want to be named because the plans haven’t been made public. QNX’s software is used in products from companies including Cisco Systems Inc., General Electric Co. and Caterpillar Inc. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is racing to introduce its tablet as rivals debut similar devices that fill the gap between smartphones and laptops. By using QNX technology, RIM could take advantage of the independent software developers who already create applications for QNX and build on the popularity of its BlackBerry smartphone with corporate customers.
I have no opinion about the issues related to access to BlackBerry email. I would imagine that Crusher tank technology can deal with almost any unpleasantness. If the technology won’t do it, maybe RIM could drive a Crusher tank over the issue, flattening it in no time.
The iDrive control device that baffled this addled goose.
I am more interested in the BMW technology.
My observations:
- The mobile heat is on for RIM from phones to tablets to far off lands which want access to email. I am not sure Apple will relate to the artistic elegance of the Crusher tank. I think the Google Math Club will find the BMW less environmentally pleasing than a Prius but well suited to speeding to meetings with various governmental entities.
- The Apple iPad seems to be a winner, and I wonder if the alleged BlackPad can capture the market segment fascinated by the tablet form factor. Apple is rumored to be readying a Mini Cooper iPad which might rain on the RIM tank parade. A flotilla of Android tablets seems to be making its way across the big blue sea with an ETA in the Fall of 2010.
- The BlackBerry application store is not quite up to Apple’s level and I think it lags the dross-riddled Android app store. BlackBerry has its consumer work cut out for itself. I still find the BlackBerry app I downloaded amusing. It would crash the mobile device. Solitaire is a tough nut to crack or BlackBerry to squish as the case may be.
To sum up, the macho positioning of the Research in Motion BlackPad is interesting. I just want to make phone calls, maybe read a book at the airport, and check some email. Do I need a BMW-infused, smart tank technology for these functions? RIM, if Bloomberg’s story is spot on, seems to hold the belief that I do indeed. (I must admit I secretly admire the Crusher tank.)
Furthermore, the word choice in this Bloomberg BlackBerry BlackPad article strikes me as somewhat ominous. The goose is frightened of the consonantal tintinnabulation.
Stephen E Arnold, August 21, 2010
Freebie
Not Net Neutrality. Maybe Haves and Have Nots?
August 18, 2010
The recent “compromise” between search king Google and wireless company Verizon suggests wireless networks should be exempt from treating all content equally. The Telegraph recently outlined the reactions to this plan in an article, “Google ‘Has Made Few Compromises’ on Net Neutrality.” The piece cited one telecom analyst as saying, “Verizon has made real concessions here…Google, on the other hand, has made few compromises, getting most of what it always said it wanted.” But, what, many are asking, does the search mammoth want? Some say they aim to, “create[s] an Internet for the haves and an Internet for the have-nots.” Others agreed the plan would: “divide the information superhighway, creating new private fast lanes for the big players while leaving the little guy stranded on a winding dirt road.” Is Google up to something or is this just an attempt at the necessary flexibility many corporations need? We don’t know, but it’ll be fun to learn.
Pat Roland, August 18, 2010
Google Street View Faces German Skepticism
August 17, 2010
Google has caught Germany by surprise with its sudden and quiet announcement to carry on with its controversial Street View service in 20 German cities. As reported in “Google Itself Is Responsible for the Massive Skepticism”, more shocking for the Germans including many of the politicians who are away on vacation, is the limited one month period given by the company to request for their homes to be blurred out from the images provided by the service.
Google has drawn skepticism by this move, which is seen by many as a deliberate attempt to reduce the number of objections to be registered against Street View. However, the public and commentators on the editorial pages are divided over the issue of digital mapping of Germany. Some call Google as setting its own rules, and a non-cooperator, compromising only under public pressure, while some hail Street View as the map of the future, and do not want to be left out!
Leena Singh, August 17, 2010
Oracle and Google: Interesting Enemies
August 16, 2010
“How Oracle Might Kill Google’s Android and Software Patents All at Once” is an interesting write up. You should read it and make your own decision about its premise. For me, I was struck by the notion that Android itself could be jeopardized. Here’s the passage that got my wheels turning:
That fact not only highlights that Oracle is just as “open source friendly” as Google, but that it’s also more responsible in developing open source software in such a way that it doesn’t recklessly expose itself to being sued the way Sun did, or the way Google did.
I am not sure I see Oracle as quite the champion of open source that Roughly Drafted suggests. The article continued:
Once the iPhone and other platforms reach Verizon over the next six months, Android’s sales will scale back down domestically, and all the platform will have to recommend itself is a lot of adware, malware, copyright violations and fraudware pushed underhanded developers looking to bilk an audience in a market with no curator. On top of all this, it will also have a top software maker seeking to eviscerate its core development platform, necessitating a significant reworking of what Android even is. Who wants to invest in development for that? Especially if all your work is just going to be pirated by all the Android freetards.
If this assertion is accurate, Google will have to scramble to find another potential money stream. My hunch is that Google may have difficulty monetizing at the scale of AdWords. After 11 years, Google still sells text ads and variations thereof for the lion’s share of its revenues. What happens if the AdWords’ money-machine throws a gear? I recall hearing or reading that Google’s management expects to make money – lots of money – from Android. No Android. Bummer. No Android and declining AdWords revenue. Will the Math Club may be working at Burger King?
The write up also includes a patent “hook”. No matter how lousy the patent system is, I think that change will be slow and litigation will be only marginally faster. Nevertheless, the write up presents an interesting argument. I suppose Oracle folks will no longer be encouraged to sell Google Search Appliances or use Google Apps to address certain issues with Oracle’s own “glue” code like Fusion.
Stephen E Arnold, August 16, 2010
Freebie
Twitter: New Monetizing Play?
August 14, 2010
Data and text mining boffins like to crunch “big data.” The idea is that the more data one has, the less slop in the wonky “scores” that fancy math slaps on certain “objects.” Individuals think that his / her actions are unique. Not exactly. The more data one has about people, the easier it is to create some conceptual pig pens and push individuals in them. If you don’t know the name and address of the people, no matter. Once a pig pen has enough piggies in it (50 is a minimum I like to use as a lower boundary), I can push anonymous “users” into those pig pens. Once in a pig pen, the piggies do some predictable things. Since I am from farm country, piggies will move toward chow. You get the idea.
When I read “Twitter Search History Dwindling, Now at Four Days”, I said to myself, “Twitter can charge for more data.” Who knows if I am right, but if I worked at Twitter, I can think of some interesting outfits who might be interested in paying for deep Twitter history. Who would want “deep Twitter history?” Good question. I have written about some outfits, and I have done some interviews in Search Wizards Speak and the Beyond Search interviews that shed some light on these folks.
What can a data or text miner do with four days’ data? Learn that he / she needs a heck of a lot more to do some not-so-fuzzy mathy stuff.
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2010
Freebie.
Alleged Police Raid on Google Korea
August 12, 2010
The BBC’s “Google Offices Raided by Korean Police” won’t make much difference to Verizon and probably not much difference to the search engine optimization gangs. However, if the story is true, a Google legal eagle will have some work in lovely South Korea.
The reason for the alleged raid is Google’s alleged WiFi sniffing for the not-do-alleged StreetView service. The math club crowd probably thinks that Korean authorities were acting irrationally. That’s okay. Points of view and differences of opinion cause people to see actions in different ways.
Here’s a snippet from the BBC story that I noted:
A police statement said they suspected Google has been collecting and storing data on “unspecified internet users from wi-fi networks”…. “[We] have been investigating Google Korea on suspicion of unauthorized collection and storage of data on unspecified Internet users from Wi-Fi networks,” the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said in a statement. Korean media reported that 19 KNPA agents raided the office, seizing hard drives and related documents. Authorities said they plan to summon Google officials for investigation once analysis on the confiscated items is complete.
The way the Korean authorities acted reminded me of Norwegian police tactics in October 2008 when the Fast Search & Transfer offices experienced what I recall was an “action”, maybe a “raid.” (Another similarity Google shares with Microsoft wonder I?)
For Google to keep those revenues flowing, one wonders if lighting up the sensors of various law enforcement and governmental professionals is a revenue plus or minus. For sure, there may be some added friction for the Googlers in countries where authorities conduct raids. Sending 19 officers is either a typographical error or an indication that the Korean authorities were not in the mood for a Google foosball game, more like rugby.
Stephen E Arnold, August 12, 2010
More Google Negativity
August 11, 2010
In a “free market” as it operates in the US, money is the object. Along with money comes other benefits; that is, the Vanderbilt effect. Corny had some rough edges, including a track record of fist fights, lousy grammar, and putting one of his relatives in a special care facility.
So what’s the big surprise that the non-iPhone Verizon and the non-iTunes Google are figuring out how to get money. The poobahs and the former English majors who analyze technology use fancy words to describe basic American business activity.
What interests me is that the glossy, unsullied Google is now described as a “carrier humping, net neutrality surrender monkey” and discussed with words like “sold out.”
Wow. These folks need to “hie thee to a nunnery” or take a class in medieval wisdom literature. This is the US of A, land of MBAs, quarterly reports, and winner-take-all products like those Mr. Jobs cranks out at healthy margins I might add.
Google is suddenly garnering bad boy headlines because it is trying to deliver to its stakeholders. The object of a public company is to increase value to stakeholders. This means taking money from a third party and putting that money in one’s pocket.
I would have preferred to read about:
- Google’s acquisition logic, which seems to me to be very similar to Yahoo’s pre-Bartz method
- Google’s new social network service
- Google’s increasingly robust security methods for the Google enterprise products and services. (I do recall hearing that Google’s security was pretty good before the new security push.)
Nope. None of this.
The negativity is surprising and unwarranted. The Math Club and the chip off the pre-Judge Green AT&T are doing what is required to thrive in today’s business climate.
From what I have heard and learned in my research, there is more to come. Much, much more.
Stephen E Arnold, August 11, 2010
Freebie, although it goes against the American capitalist method.
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