Smile, you’re now on Google Street View camera

MANILA, Philippines — The online search giant Google will now deploy its vehicles to the country to capture street-level imagery as well as panoramic views of different streets and destinations in the Philippines.

The initiative, which is being undertaken with support from the Department of Tourism (DO)T, will kickoff in Manila where the colorful Street View cars, which has a crystal ball-like special camera perched on top, will roam to collect panoramic imagery. The collected images may then be viewed at Google’s Street View, which allows users to explore cities through 360-degree images at street level.

As a start, Google has published Street View panoramas of four key sites in Intramuros, namely San Agustin Church, Baluarte de San Diego, Plaza San Luis Complex, and Fort Santiago. The initial panoramas were collected using Google’s Street View Trekker, which is a wearable backpack with a camera mounted atop the gear. Google said that they are planning to use the Street View Trekker in conjunction with the Street View Trolley, a pushcart camera system, to capture more of the country’s off-road locations.

DOT is hoping that the technology will help showcase the country’s beauty to the world.

“Our partnership with Google to bring Street View to the Philippines will allow us to create a digital experience of our landscapes, which we hope will entice more people around the world to learn about our diverse offerings,” DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez said in a press release.

“For us here at home, Street View can also help make the maps of our country even ‘more fun’ and interesting, as well as enable Filipinos to explore their country more, which in turn can help boost domestic travel and tourism,” Jimenez added.

Ryan Morales, Google Philippines marketing manager, said that they are “delighted to work with the DOT.”

“The Philippines is a diverse archipelago with heritage and beauty to be found within and in between every island. By providing people and businesses alike with more useful map information, Street View can also help celebrate Filipino culture and even create lasting economic impact,” Morales said.

Addressing concerns that the Street View invades privacy, Google said that they use technology to blur human faces and license plates of vehicles. The company said that they are also open to requests from users to further blur any image that features them.

source: interaksyon.com

Google shares top $800 despite Microsoft challenge

NEW YORK — Internet search king Google’s shares pushed past $800 for the first time Tuesday despite a tough new challenge from Microsoft and looming European Union action over alleged privacy violations.

Google’s closed at $806.85 on the Nasdaq exchange, up 1.8 percent from Friday’s close, after having hit $807 during the day.

That pushed the company’s market valuation to $266 billion. The shares were up 14 percent from the beginning of 2013 and 33 percent over the past 52 weeks.

On January 22, Google reported firm 2012 fourth-quarter gains, with profit up 6.7 percent from a year earlier at $2.89 billion. For the full year, Google’s earnings grew 10 percent to $10.74 billion, on revenues topping $50 billion.

Several analysts strengthened their recommendations for the shares with price targets ranging from $800 to $900, the latter from Cantor Fitzgerald.

But the company faces fresh challenges.

In a new push for its Outlook email service, Microsoft has launched a negative ad campaign against Google, asking readers if they have been “Scroogled” by Google’s use of personal data from users of its Gmail service.

“Think Google respects your privacy? Think again,” the Microsoft ads say.

“Google goes through every Gmail that’s sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads.”

Microsoft says its Outlook service will not scan emails to target online ads.

On Monday France’s CNIL data protection agency said that European data privacy regulators intend to take action against Google after it failed to follow their orders to comply with EU privacy laws.

“At the end of a four-month delay accorded to Google to comply with the European data protection directive and to implement effectively (our) recommendations, no answer has been given,” said CNIL.

National authorities responsible for enforcing data protection laws in the EU said they plan to set up a working group to “coordinate their coercive actions which should be implemented before the summer.”

source: interaksyon.com

Google’s Schmidt to sell roughly 42 percent of stake

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is selling roughly 42 percent of his stake in the Internet search company, a move that could potentially net the former chief executive a $2.51 billion windfall.

Schmidt, 57, will sell 3.2 million shares of Class A common stock through a stock trading plan, Google said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

The plan, which Google said would give Schmidt “individual asset diversification and liquidity,” allows Schmidt to spread trades out over a period of one year to reduce the market impact.

Shares of Google were down $4.11 at $781.26 in after-hours trading on Friday.GOogle Stock

A Google spokeswoman would not comment on why Schmidt is selling the shares at this time.

Wedbush Securities analyst James Dix said Schmidt’s stock sales did not worry him or signal a loss of confidence in the company by Schmidt.

“I’d be more worried if the current CEO or CFO sold a lot of their stake,” said Dix.

Schmidt, who served as Google’s chief executive until 2011, currently owns roughly 7.6 million shares of Class A and Class B common stock. The shares represent 2.3 percent of Google’s outstanding stock and roughly 8.2 percent of the voting power of Google’s stock.

The fact that Schmidt will still own a significant amount of shares after the sales means he’ll have a good deal of “skin in the Google game,” said Needham & Co analyst Kerry Rice. But he said it could hint at Schmidt playing a less central role within the company going forward.

“My speculation is that Eric’s relationship with Google is evolving,” said Rice. “I would assume that as he decides he wants to diversify away from Google – both his career and financially – he’s got ideas of what he would like to do with some of his funds.”

Schmidt, who helped turn Google into the world’s No.1 search engine during his decade as CEO, handed the reins to Google co-founder Larry Page in April 2011.

As executive chairman, Schmidt has been particularly involved in government relations, taking a leading role in the company’s discussions with antitrust regulators in the United States and the European Union. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ended its investigation into Google last month without any action. Google has offered to change some of its business practices to appease European competition regulators.

“As Google moves to maybe more tactical battles, as opposed to the strategic battles it’s been waging with the government, once those are concluded, maybe his role can be lessened,” said Needham & Co’s Rice.

Schmidt has also made headlines apart from Google. In January, Schmidt traveled to North Korea with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for a “personal” trip. The trip was criticized by the U.S. State Department as ill-timed – coming weeks after North Korea conducted a rocket launch in violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

Shares of Google are trading at all-time highs, finishing Friday’s regular session at a record closing price of $785.37. At that price, Schmidt’s share sales would be worth $2.51 billion.

Google said that Schmidt entered into the stock trading plan in November
Schmidt was ranked 138 on the Forbes list of global billionaires with a net worth of $6.9 billion in March 2012.

Given Schmidt’s changed role at the company and the amount of his wealth tied up in Google’s stock, it was not unreasonable for him to diversify his holdings, said Wedbush Securities analyst Dix.

“As good as Google stock is, it isn’t as good as cash if you actually want to buy something,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Google wins Australian sponsored links case

SYDNEY — Internet titan Google was cleared Wednesday of allegations it hosted deceptive advertisements, with Australia’s highest court saying it was not responsible for companies who diverted users from their competitors’ sites.

Australia’s competition regulator had taken Google to court, alleging that adverts using keywords for Honda, Harvey World Travel, Alpha Dog Training and Just 4X4 Magazine published by Google had led consumers to rival firms.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) lost the initial case but won an appeal in the Federal Court, which ruled that Google’s technology created its search results.

Google had argued that it should not be held responsible for the content of ads on its platform because it was paid for and submitted by the advertisers under the highly profitable Google AdWords programme.

AdWords allows firms to create their own ads and bid for keywords linked to their products. In the Australian case, travel, automotive and pet-care companies successfully bid on the names of their rivals as keywords.

The High Court of Australia overturned the appeal decision on Wednesday, agreeing that the advertisers, not Google, were responsible for the content of so-called sponsored links.

“Google did not create the sponsored links that it published or displayed,” the court said.

“Ordinary and reasonable users of the Google search engine would have understood that the representations conveyed by the sponsored links were those of the advertisers, and would not have concluded that Google adopted or endorsed the representations,” it added.

“Accordingly, Google did not engage in conduct that was misleading or deceptive.”

The Internet giant welcomed the judgment, which brings to an end a six-year legal battle.

“We welcome the High Court’s unanimous decision that Google cannot be held responsible for the ads that advertisers create for Google’s search engine,” Google said.

The ACCC had seen the case as an important precedent on the accountability of search engine providers as publishers of paid content, and said it will review the decision carefully for any broader ramifications.

“The ACCC took these proceedings to clarify the law relating to advertising practices in the Internet age,” said ACCC chairman Rod Sims.

“Specifically, we considered that providers of online content should be accountable for misleading or deceptive conduct when they have significant control over what is delivered.”

Sims said the High Court had focused solely “on Google’s conduct” and it had not been disputed that the “representations made in the sponsored links by advertisers were misleading or deceptive”.

“In the facts and circumstances of this case the High Court has determined that Google did not itself engage in misleading or deceptive conduct,” he said.

“It remains the case that all businesses involved in placing advertisements on search engines must take care not to mislead or deceive consumers.”

It is not the first time Google has landed in legal strife in Australia — the firm was ordered to pay US$208,000 last year to an entertainment promoter after publishing material linking him to mobsters which was ruled to be defamatory.

Google also attracted the ire of authorities in 2010 after breaching privacy laws by collecting private wireless data with its “Street View” mapping ca

source: interaksyon.com

Happy 14th Birthday, Google, And Thanks For All the Doodles

Google, the world’s biggest Internet company, celebrated its 14th birthday Thursday.

Google’s birth date is the subject of some controversy. According to some accounts, the company was created on Sept. 4; but in the last couple of years, Google itself has been celebrating its birthday on Sept. 27, which lands on a Thursday this year.

Since 2002, Google has been celebrating with special birthday doodles. Today’s doodle is an obvious one: an animated cake with 14 candles for you to “blow” out.

source: mashable.com

Google Tests Showing Gmail Results in Search Queries

Google is looking for a few good beta testers — well, a million of them.

The search giant announced Wednesday it is beta-testing a new feature — one that will show results from your Gmail when you search in Google; the results will appear in a separate box down the right-hand side.

Want to sign up? Click here. The first million sign-ups will see Gmail results on their search pages, rolling out over the next week or so.

The trial represents a massive increase in the amount of data Google is searching — a doubling, in fact. “The total Gmail data is about the same size as our search corpus,” says Google’s Sagar Kamdar, Director of Product Management for ‘Universal Search.’

And if your co-workers are looking over your shoulder and you don’t want to display your Gmail search results? That’s fine. Google has added a button above the test area, marked “hide personal results.”

source: mashable.com

Google tech conference, developer fest set for August in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — For the first time, search giant Google is bringing its massive technology conference to the Philippines with the announcement of g|Philippines, an offshoot of Google Day held before in other countries, slated to be staged from August 3 to 4 in Manila.

The annual event, to be held at the Asian Institute of Management Conference in Makati, is geared towards introducing Google technologies to Filipino users. Day one of the conference will cater to businesses and government, while the second day will focus on university offerings of the technology company.

Topics would tentatively include Google Enterprise for Government, YouTube for Content Partners, MapMaker for Businesses, and Google Internships for Students.

Google said it is bringing the conference to the country as “part of [its] ongoing efforts to support innovation in the Philippines.” Aside from key technology seminars, the conference will also feature unique Pinoy creations based on Google’s vast array of software and online products.

Coinciding with the conference is Google Developers Group’s (GDG) DevFest Philippines on the second day, a networking opportunity for local software developers to connect with Google executives and engineers.

“There will be introductory and medium-level sessions on best practices for using Google technologies like App Engine, Web Services, HTML5 and Android,” the company said in a statement.

As a means to boost developer participation in the country, Google has also announced the launch of the Google Apps Developer Challenge, a competition that will seek out the best new applications using Google’s Apps and Drive APIs.

The contest will run from today until August 24, Google said, and winners stand to take home a $20,000 prize during the awarding ceremonies set on November 12.

“Google Apps adoption is growing in emerging markets, and people are asking for extended functionality,” the company said. “It is hoped that this competition will not only generate locally-relevant apps, but also recognize and reward the hard work of the most talented Pinoy developers.”

Interested participants for g|Philippines can register through this link: https://sites.google.com/site/gphilippines2012, while developers can participate at DevFest Philippines by signing up here: http://gdgdevfestph.blogspot.com.

The technology conference is just the latest in the search company’s attempts to broaden its reach and increase its presence in developing countries like the Philippines.

Last year, Google chose the country as the launchpad for its localized YouTube offering in Southeast Asia, topping it off with a YouTube World View interview with President Benigno Aquino, the first Asian head of state to be featured in the series.

Just recently, rumors were rife online that Google will soon establish an official presence in the Philippines following the posting of various job openings for the country, although Google has yet to confirm anything final.

Aside from its regional headquarters in Singapore, Google operates in Southeast Asia in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

source: interaksyon.com

Google downs fake Rovio games from Android Market

Search giant Google has removed a number of fake games claiming to be from the company behind the immensely successful game "Angry Birds."

The scammers impersonated Rovio Mobile, the company behind the "Angry Birds" franchise, news site TheGadgets.net reported.

"Several new apps, including 'Angry Birds 3D' have gone up for sale today, but don’t be fooled! These scammers are impersonating Rovio Mobile, the creators of the Angry Birds franchise, with a host of apps that are designed to steal your dollars. Customers who have been taken in by these apps have reported that the apps do not work, and the developers have refused to give refunds," it said.

It said it alerted Google to the problem.

TheGadgets.com reported Google has moved quickly, and the offending apps have been removed from the market.

A list of the fake games drawn up by the site included:


Alive 4 Ever
Call of Duty Zombies
Angry Birds 3D
Zombieville
Zombie Highway
Tiny Wings
Catch the Candy
Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift
Rat on a Skateboard
Zombie Gunship
Resident Evil 4
Siege Hero


"The developers of these apps have stolen the app descriptions of legitimate apps, pasted them into the fakes, and hoped that you won’t know the difference. Visiting the developer’s website links also takes you to a number of different sites, all of them dead links and variations on Rovio.com, the official site of Rovio Mobile," it said.

On the other hand, the site suggested that app permissions should also be considered carefully.

It also suggested that users see how many times an app has been downloaded.

"If the app has been around a while, but no one is downloading it, there’s probably a reason," it said.

"If the developer’s description is terribly written with a lot of mistakes, and words don’t make sense, it’s a good clue that the developer is probably a scammer. If the app description is copied from another popular app, this should also clue you in that something has been altered or stolen," it added. — TJD, GMA News

source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/239996/scitech/gaming/google-downs-fake-rovio-games-from-android-market