The search engine giant is apparently not thrilled over who will control the future outlook of the world wide web.
While Google does not have a problem with a committee or group having a large amount of influence regarding the internet, they are taking issue over the requirements of exactly who will be sitting at the table.
But last week the UN Committee on Science and Technology announced that only governments would be able to sit on a working group set up to examine improvements to the IGF—one of the Internet’s most important discussion forums. This move has been condemned by the Internet Governance Caucus, the Internet Society (ISOC), the International Chamber of Commerce and numerous other organizations—who have published a joint letter (PDF) and launched an online petition to mobilize opposition. Today, I have signed that petition on Google’s behalf because we don’t believe governments should be allowed to grant themselves a monopoly on Internet governance. The current bottoms-up, open approach works—protecting users from vested interests and enabling rapid innovation. (Google Public Policy Blog)
In a post written by Vint Cerf (one of the founding fathers of the Internet), Google seems to be advocating that corporations also have a voice at the table in order to ensure that the internet remains a free place for all.
While it does seem strange for the global governments to lock out corporate entities from joining the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), it could have something to do with Wikileaks whose presence seems to have infuriated the US government (who has been unable to shut them down).
Although having the IGF being composed of just corporations would not be smart (as they would always vote what’s best for their stock holders), one held only by governments could help pave the way towards an Internet with less freedom (especially when it comes to exposing corruption).
After dethroning Safari earlier this year, Google has been steadily stealing market share away from its rivals by building a browser that is not only fast and stable, but extremely secure as well.
Now it looks like the search engine giant is going the extra distance by ensuring that your privacy information within Chrome is not only protected from malicious flash sites, but also your computer as well.
As one of the engineers working on Chrome’s sandbox, I’m happy to announce that we’re bringing Chrome’s existing sandboxing technology for web pages to the Flash Player plug-in in Chrome for Windows. The sandbox adds an additional layer of protection to further guard against malicious pages that try to hijack your computer or steal private information from your hard drive. Based on this groundwork in the beta, we’ll be bringing the sandboxed Flash Player to Chrome for Mac and Linux in future releases as well. (Google Chrome Blog)
Google also included a few extra features like Google Instant within the omnibox (which doubles as a url box and search box) as well as support for WebGL as a bonus (a key ingredient for specific 3D hardware acceleration technology that will probably benefit Chrome OS netbooks).
These additional security features may help Google to convince even more users to switch away from their current browsers, as well as make it harder for Internet Explorer to curb the defections.
After many months of anticipation in hopes that Google would finally bless a city with Google Fiber by the end of this year, the search engine giant has announced that they are pushing the decision back until next year.
Earlier this year we announced an experiment we hope will help make Internet access better and faster for everyone: to provide a community with ultra high-speed broadband, 100 times faster than what most people have access to today. [...]
We had planned to announce our selected community or communities by the end of this year, but the level of interest was incredible—nearly 1,100 communities across the country responded to our announcement—and exceeded our expectations. While we’re moving ahead full steam on this project, we’re not quite ready to make that announcement.
We’re sorry for this delay, but we want to make sure we get this right. To be clear, we’re not re-opening our selection process—we simply need more time to decide than we’d anticipated. (Official Google Blog)
This honestly is dissappointing due to the fact that I was hoping Google would select my city as the winner right before Christmas (or at least pick a winner so I could decide whether to upgrade my DSL account).
Google is planning to announce the winner in “early 2011,” which could mean March of this year (note: coincidently Google is timing their announcement around the same time Apple will unveil their Verizon iPhone).
With speeds up to 100 times faster than their rivals, Google is promising to shake up the telecom industry by forcing them to provide faster access in order to benefit everyone in the long run.
Amazon is the oldest and largest online retailer in the US. It initially started life in the mid 90′s selling books but now sells a variety of products from DVD’s to toys and even furniture. Below is a graphical representation of their growth and success over the last 15 years.
Enjoy this great Infographic from our friends at Infographiclabs
As any geek worth their page rank already knows, the search engine giant’s Google Latitude app has survived Apple’s tribunal and is now apart of the iOS family.
Starting today, you’ll never again have to answer (or ask) that question when you’re on the go with your iPhone. With the new Google Latitude app for iPhone, you can see where your friends are and now, continuously share where you are – even in the background once you’ve closed the app.
Since launching last year, Latitude’s focus has always been on one goal: make it simple to stay in touch with friends and family by sharing where you are with each other. Simple setup. Simple sharing without fumbling for your phone. Now, you can use Latitude on your iPhone just like the more than 9 million people actively using it from Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile smartphones. (Google Mobile Blog)
While it’s not surprising to see Google Latitdude’s appearance (especially in light of Google Voice being approved) it’s entrance could signal that Google is about to invade the iPhone with a slew of official iOS apps.
It’s still unclear as to which iOS apps Google will release upon the iPhone, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Google launch these apps early next year (if not by next summer). More →
After exposing government secrets to the world and inspiring an army of hackers to their defense, the future of Wikileaks should have been all but certain.
Unfortunately public opinion has turned against the organization thanks in part to the Wikileaks exposure of weak security spots in the US as well as the death of an individual by the hands of the Taliban (who used Wikileaks to identify an informant against them).
With their leader arrested on “questionable” sex charges, Wikileaks brand may never recover in the public. However the trend they started may survive underneath a new organization with close connections with Wikileaks founder. More →
Unless you lived in a house lacking a television as well as an internet connection, you are probably aware of the Wikileaks war that has been raging recently.
Yesterday a hacker group called Anonymous was able to successfully launch DDoS attacks against Mastercard, Visa and Paypal, temporarily forcing all of those sites offline.
The Hacktivists (as some call them) then set their sites upon Amazon for refusing to host Wikileaks earlier in the organization’s time of need.
However, unlike their previous attempts, Amazon seemed to hold their own as indicated by an message sent by someone claiming to represent the group.
With the Amazon attack, they are simply toooo big for us right now. Maybe at a later time we can try again with them.
Whether or not you agree with the Hacktivists DDoS attacks, the fact that Amazon was able to easily withstand the attacks is impressive (technologically wise) and will probably help bolster their image among the masses as a superior hosting platform.
With DDoS attacks sadly becoming the norm for supporters and haters of Wikileaks, this whole drama could end up benefiting Amazon financially as the company might be able to use these attacks to convince companies to host with them instead of the competition.
Thanks in part to smart phones like the iPhone and Android, carriers across Europe are straining to meet demands.
Despite the fact that they are charging smartphone users more money than the average feature phone (aka dumb phone), apparently it isn’t enough to sustain their networks.
Unfortunately it seems as if they’ve set their sites upon two tech giants with plenty of cash to spare.
As mobile and Web companies add videos, music and games, operators including France Telecom SA, Telecom Italia SpA and Vodafone Group Plc want a new deal that would require content providers like Apple and Google to pay fees linked to usage. [...]
Richard, who addressed the issue at the “Le Web†conference in Paris today, has joined Telecom Italia CEO Franco Bernabe and Telefonica SA CEO Cesar Alierta in what could turn into a cold war with Web companies. As more consumers access the Internet on mobile devices, the cost of building bigger networks may outstrip revenue growth for wireless operators, slicing their return on investment. (Bloomberg)
Forcing Google and Apple to pay would obviously be bad business as it would only drive up the costs of the devices themselves as Apple will pass on the costs to the customer (forcing Google to pay would be harder since they give Android away for free).
What’s worrisome is that if carriers are able to force tech giants to pay for infrastructure improvements, then it might inspire American carriers to do something similar now that net neutrality is dead in all but name only.
If supporting data hogging users is expensive, carriers need to simply charge those data hogging users more money instead of collectively punishing everyone else instead.
After bribing developers with the chance to win a free Blackberry Playbook, RIM is finally allowing them to submit their apps for approval upon the Blackberry App World.
We’re excited to announce that starting today, you can now submit your BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet apps to the BlackBerry App World™ vendor portal!
As announced at the Adobe® MAX conference earlier this year, developers who create an application for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet that is approved for distribution through BlackBerry App World prior to the tablet’s initial release are eligible for a free BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. you’re submitting a brand new app, just submit like you would any new app. (Blackberry Developer’s Blog)
After less than thrilling sales of the Blackberry Torch, RIM has been making a huge deal regarding the Blackberry Playbook which they see as their answer to the mighty iPad.
Despite the fact that the Playbook is Flash friendly (unlike the iPad), Blackberry is going to need an army of developers in order to make their brand relevant to consumers as well as the corporate world.
RIM is planning on launching the Playbook “early 2011″ (which ironically is around the same time as the rumored iPad 2.0) although the company has yet to announce a price point aside from the corporate sub-$500 mantra.
Note: I suspect the price will fall between $450-$499, but RIM has yet to confirm anything.
After debuting Nexus One many months ago, the boys and girls at Google have unveiled Nexus S, which was created with the help of Samsung.
Despite the variety of Android devices available, it looks like Google is publicly frowning upon the custom UI screens that made HTC Android devices famous and is instead pushing for something more uniform.
Nexus S is the lead device for the Gingerbread/Android 2.3 release; it’s the first Android device to ship with the new version of the Android platform. We co-developed this product with Samsung—ensuring tight integration of hardware and software to highlight the latest advancements of the Android platform. As part of the Nexus brand, Nexus S delivers what we call a “pure Google†experience: unlocked, unfiltered access to the best Google mobile services and the latest and greatest Android releases and updates. (Google Mobile Blog) More →
The search engine giant is apparently not thrilled over who will control the future outlook of the world wide web.
