Google and the Wi Fi Mess
June 24, 2010
I have been trying to avoid writing any more about the Wi Fi harvesting mess. I am working on my for fee columns, and I am avoiding legal hassles. I feel obligated to document that although I am ignoring the dust up, others are not. I read in PCWorld “Google Under Multistate Privacy Microscope: How We Got Here” that now there is an alleged mutli state investigation gaining steam. That’s a big deal in my opinion. I am going to have to insert a reference in my columns to the issue. The problem continues to grow and seems to have taken on a life of its own. Here’s the passage in the PCWorld write up that caught my attention:
Google’s Wi-Fi data snooping brouhaha just got worse. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Monday announced his office is leading a multistate investigation into Google’s Wi-Fi data snooping gaffe. More than thirty U.S. states have already indicated interest in Blumenthal’s investigation.
With Google pushing aggressively into the enterprise, challenging Apple and Microsoft, and expanding its presence in mobile computing, this Wi Fi mess strikes me as Google’s oil spill. Instead of sea turtles, how many deals will die? As this Wi Fi spill spreads to multiple countries and now states in America, I thought about those Greek tragedies. I never understood how those at the top could find themselves in circumstances beyond their control.
Ah, lives of men! When prosperous they glitter – Like a fair picture; when misfortune comes – A wet sponge at one blow has blurred the painting. – Aeschylus
Remarkable turn of events.
Stephen E Arnold, June 24, 2010
Mashable Seems to Highlight Weaknesses in Google Search
June 19, 2010
Short honk: I have a twitch in my goose brain that says, Mashable wanted to help Android phone users find applications. The write up spoke to me a different way. I read “7 Ways to Find Amazing New Android Apps” and realized that Google’s own search system is not delivering the goods. Maybe Google is distracted? Maybe Google’s Math Club perceives native Android app search as the omega. Read the Mashable story and decide for yourself. Excellent search, it seems, requires one to use multiple services. How about a metasearch system?
Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2010
Freebie
EasyAsk eCommerce Mobile
June 18, 2010
“EasyAsk Introduces Easy Ask eCommerce Mobile Edition” revealed that the search vendor has gone mobile. EasyAsk describes itself as an industry leading provider of natural language search and analysis software for ecommerce Web sites. The Mobile Edition delivers such key features as:
- Customized mobile web pages, integrating ecommerce search, navigation and merchandising directly into these pages. Mobile visitors are automatically detected and routed to the mobile version of the site, delivering a unique experience.
- An optimized experience to the specific handset by detecting the model of the phone, matching it with a database of thousands of handsets, and uniquely optimizing the user experience to the capability of the consumer handset.
- Integration with the services from the main website for cross promotions, such as finding specific items in the brick-and-mortar store where customers can touch and feel products. It also enables delivery of discount or cross-sell offers to the phone, enticing immediate, and even larger, in-store purchases.
The Mobile Edition taps the EasyAsk Commerce Studio so licensees can tailor product presentation, offers and other merchandising attributes. The Mobile Edition provides analytics to provide insight into customer behavior.
You can get more information about EasyAsk at www.easyask.com. A quick search of the Progress Software Web site did not return information about EasyAsk eCommerce Mobile Edition. Interesting.
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2010
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Google Logic and Authorities
June 14, 2010
I chuckled when I read “Google Seeks Consolidation of Wi-Fi Snooping Cases.” The story said:
Seeking consolidation is a logical move that the plaintiffs and courts would likely also welcome, said Eric Goldman, associate professor of law at Santa Clara University’s School of Law. A less clear but more interesting issue will be in which court the consolidated case gets heard, he said. It’s no surprise that Google is requesting California’s Northern District. Judges there are comfortable with technology matters and familiar with the company and the importance of its services, Goldman said. “It’s very favorable for Google to be in a place where the judges understand what’s at stake,” he said.
I wonder if the legal eagles involved in this unhappy situation will take kindly to a “logical” request. Probably not.
On a related matter, I found “Google Tells Lawmakers It Never Used Wi-Fi Data” intriguing. The article said:
“Google now confesses it has been collecting people’s information for years, yet claims they still do not know exactly what they collected and who was vulnerable,” [Rep Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee] said in a statement. “This is deeply troubling for a company that bases its business model on gathering consumer data.”
I don’t think Rep. Barton buys Math Club thinking. Much ado for something that is “no harm, no foul” in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, June 14, 2010
Freebie
Morgan Stanley Wants You to Churn Your Investments
June 13, 2010
Short honk: The excitement is back. Forget the fire fights among Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others. Forget the lousy economic outlook. Forget the oil spill. Remember the good old pre crash days. To document this moment in time, navigate to “Mary Meeker’s Amazing Internet Presentation.” You can view the great news here. Churn those holdings of your now. Yes, right now. Those data are hot, objective, and darn near as solid as anything Wall Street has to offer its partners. Amazing for sure.
Stephen E Arnold, June 13, 2010
Freebie which is a word that Morgan Stanley does not use with high frequency.
Google Wi Fi Security Audit
June 13, 2010
I am interested in naval gazing. I can’t see my naval due to the plump body I possess and its particular curvature. However, one can get a glimpse of the Google’s naval by reading its security audit. The prompt for this exercise was the dust up a “lone engineer” caused by sniffing certain Wi Fi packets. To snag the document, you need only click here. I cannot guarantee how long the document will be available, so hurry.
Stephen E Arnold, June 13, 2010
Freebie
Mobile Search and Apple
June 8, 2010
Short honk: Fascination chart. Navigate to “iPad Web Usage Passes iPod.” The chart is tough to read by 65 year old geese. The message conveyed is that Android’s owners lag iPod and iPad Web surfing usage. Google may be selling 65,000 Android devices via its partners each day, but Apple’s two million iPads are sucking Web content. The startling factoid is that the iPad accounted for more Web content than Apple’s iPod. If the data are correct, Google needs to whip its pony.
Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2010
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Google Will Publish Results of Its Google Data Audit
June 6, 2010
Short honk: I read “Google to Publish Results of Wi Fi Data Audit”. Not to be a really silly goose, but some questions flitted through my second class intellect. First, did the US government conduct oversight of the BP deep water oil drilling safety systems or did BP perform this oversight itself? Second, did Arthur Andersen’s internal audit committee perform a review of the work done for the Enron account? Third, did Tyco’s internal audit team review the activities of the firm’s senior manager? Maybe the idea of an audit has changed since I went to college in 1962. Just asking.
Stephen E Arnold, June 6, 2010
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Barcodes Go Content Crazy
June 3, 2010
With pundits predicting that search is now apps and that metadata will index apps which are really content, I turn to more mundane topics. A case in point is “StickyBits: Attach Unlimited Content to Barcodes On Any Product (iPhone + Android).” I found the write up fascinating. I don’t think too much about barcodes unless I am at the self check out trying to get the barcode reader to recognize blue codes on a blue background.
For me the core of the article was:
StickyBits allows people to attach digital content to barcodes. When those barcodes are scanned (via our iPhone or Android apps), you’ll see all the content that has been attached. What makes us unique is that all this is done in a social and fully open read/write way. Imagine putting a barcode on your business card that when scanned showed your resume. Or put a StickyBits sticker into a birthday card and record a personal video. Then when your friend scans it, they’ll see the video. Take that one step further and have all your friends attach videos to the same card. You’ll also get notified when it gets scanned. It doesn’t just stop there. Something unique and strange is happening with the barcodes all around you. People are scanning soda cans, cereal boxes, beer bottles, etc. and adding digital content to them. Since each unique product shares a barcode, little communities are popping up around each of these products.
The notion of information becoming objects has a barcode bedfellow. And about search? Another challenge it seems. More information about StickyBits is available at http://www.stickybits.com.
Stephen E Arnold, June 3, 2010
Freebie
HTML Speech Input Element
May 22, 2010
Short honk: The idea of talking to a computer and having it answer was a finding in a 1980 Booz, Allen & Hamilton research project I worked on. Over the years, the idea of talking to a computer or other device grabbed the public’s imagination. If you are working on this problem, you will want to take a look at Googler’s “HTML Speech Input Element” by Bjorn Bringert. More I/O excitement?
Stephen E Arnold, May 22, 2010
Freebie.
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