Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'google'.
Found 18 results
-
Google game : pony express https://www.google.com/logos/2015/ponyexpress/ponyexpress15.html
-
From the album: Helper Pics
demonstrate Google Translate with "select all" -
. Allegedly, Google started manipulating search results in some European markets as early as January 2008, and the European Commission is not happy about it. Now, Google has until August 17th to respond to the commission’s claims. Reports have surfaced that the original deadline was July 7th, but an extension was granted to allow Google to properly review the issue at hand. And unless Google can pull out some seriously compelling arguments by the middle of August, it could be facing some non-trivial fines. Orange is the new Black Of course, all of this antitrust discussion immediately brings back memories of the Microsoft antitrust debacles in the US and EU. It didn’t end well for Microsoft in the aughts, and there’s a decent chance that Google could face a similar fate. Microsoft easily survived the repercussions, and it’s pretty obvious that Google wouldn’t shut its doors either. However, the threat of fees, negative press, and added scrutiny will probably be enough to make the Mountain View company stay on the straight and narrow. A few days ago, a Yelp-backed study was released publicly, and it provides evidence that Google may be purposefully manipulating its search results to increase the reach of its own products. Yelp seems to have an axe to grind with Google, but this study is just another log on the fire. Many people have been suspicious of Google’s monopolistic tendencies for years now, so it’s no surprise that the EU is getting in on the fun. The European Commission’s initial complaint was filed back in April of this year, and our own Joel Hruska gave us a breakdown of the issue. We all know that only the first handful of results really matter, so the idea that Google is pushing the competition below the fold is worrisome. And since Google has moved into the OS and hardware space in the last decade, the potential for abuse is strong. Are you being manipulated by Google every time you use your Android phone? Frankly, I’m more than a little scared that the answer might be “Yes.” If this ordeal bothers you as much as it does me, you’re probably considering giving Google the boot. For search, you can give DuckDuckGo a try. They beat the privacy drum pretty hard, so it’s nice to know you’re not being tracked by your search provider. You can swap out Chrome for Opera, and keep pretty much all of your extensions. Replacing Android and ChromeOS is a little bit trickier, but there are plenty of third-party solutions for the adventurous among us. Source http://www.extremetech.com/
-
You can now swim with the whales without getting wet, thanks to Google's new Street View tours of the ocean's depths. As described in a new blog posted Thursday, Google has posted new Street View imagery of more than 40 underwater spots around the world, including the American Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean and Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, as well as deep sea dives in Bali, the Bahamas and the Great Barrier Reef. The views reveal the beauty of whales, fish and other creatures under the sea as well as corral reefs, shipwrecks and other areas to explore. The new images are a change of pace for Google, which usually keeps its Street View tours above the water. But the virtual tours are more than just a guide to marvel at the wonders under the sea. Posted in time for World Oceans Day on June 8, the images are also a way to focus on the harm being done to our oceans and the attempts to preserve the undersea world. "Home to the majority of life on Earth, the ocean acts as its life support system, controlling everything from our weather and rainfall to the oxygen we breathe," Google said in its blog. "Yet despite the ocean's vital importance, the ocean is changing at a rapid rate due to climate change, pollution, and overfishing, making it one of the most serious environmental issues we face today." To foster a greater awareness of the sea, Google created the images in partnership with the XL Catlin Seaview Survey, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Chagos Conservation Trust, all of which are dedicated to studying the oceans and educating people about the hazards they face. "Mapping the ocean is key to preserving it, Google said. "Each image in Google Maps is a GPS-located digital record of these underwater and coastal environments, which can be used as a baseline to monitor change over time." As one example cited, the Great Barrier Reef faces such threats as an increase in storms and rising water temperatures, causing the reefs to bleach white. The imagery collected and displayed by Google can track the ongoing color changes to the reefs. As with all Street View images, you can zoom in or out and move the cursor in any direction to get a panoramic view of your subject. Some of the most fascinating images give us up-close views of the magnificent creatures that call the ocean their home. One image shows us a sea turtle swimming near the Solomon Islands. Another brings us to a humpback whale in the Cook Islands. A third image offers a peek at great white sharks in Australia. And a fourth shows us a huge sunfish (Mola mola) swimming in Bali. Ultimately, Google plans to publish more Street View images of the ocean's depths as a way for people to explore it and understand the changes that the undersea world is undergoing and will undergo over the coming years. Source http://www.cnet.com/
-
If you find yourself in Mountain View, California, in the coming months, keep an eye out for Google's newest self-driving cars. There may not be many of them, but with their distinctive bubble shape, they'll be easy to spot. The purpose-built prototype vehicles this summer will leave their initial test phase in the rear-view mirror and take to the public roadways of Google's hometown, Chris Urmson, director of the company's self-driving car program, said in a blog post Friday. He didn't give a precise number, saying just that it would be "a few of the prototype vehicles." The cars will be driving themselves, but they will also have "safety drivers" aboard who can take over the wheel if necessary. That will be key to allaying worries among pedestrians and drivers of other vehicles that the robo-cars won't be ready for every situation. Google was dinged at the start of this week over reports that some of its self-driving Lexus vehicles, which have already been on the roads, had gotten into accidents. The company acknowledged that over the past six years its self-driving cars had been involved in 11 "minor" accidents, but countered that there were no injuries, that the self-driving vehicles were not at fault and that certain accidents simply can't be avoided. "Even when our software and sensors can detect a sticky situation and take action earlier and faster than an alert human driver, sometimes we won't be able to overcome the realities of speed and distance; sometimes we'll get hit just waiting for a light to change," Urmson wrote on Monday. "And that's important context for communities with self-driving cars on their streets; although we wish we could avoid all accidents, some will be unavoidable." Self-driving cars are still a rarity and have largely been limited to testing facilities and other controlled conditions. But they are a seemingly inevitable next wave of technology that consumers and businesses will have to reckon with. Major automakers from Ford to Audi to Nissan have all been experimenting with autonomous vehicles, and many standard-issue models are now equipped with robotic skills including lane control and collision control and the ability to parallel-park themselves. In March, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Nissan-Renault Alliance, said he expects the autonomous-driving revolution to have three phases -- a first wave emerging next year, followed by self-driving cars that can handle themselves on a highway by 2018 and then cars that can negotiate city driving by 2020. Elon Musk, CEO of electric-car maker Tesla Motors, said that same month that he expects self-driving cars to be the norm within 20 years. google-lexus.jpg Google's earlier take on the robo-car was a jury-rigged Lexus RX450h SUV. Google Unlike Google's earlier self-driving Lexus models, which were standard SUVs rigged up with gear to help them get around autonomously, the bubble-shaped cars coming to Mountain View's public roads are prototypes designed by Google from scratch. The new cars will use the same software that's installed in the Lexus vehicles. The Lexus fleet has driven around 1 million autonomous miles on the roads since the project started, Google said, and the results of all that driving have been used to tune up the driving skills of the new fleet. All safety drivers in the new prototypes will have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal and brake pedal that will allow them to take control if needed. The speed of the cars will be capped at 25 miles per hour. Google has been running these particular cars through the paces at its test facilities to make sure the software and sensors work properly. Their debut in Mountain View will mark the first time this fleet will venture out onto public roads. Google spokeswoman Jacquelyn Miller told CNET that over the past year, the team working on the new self-driving fleet has focused on three tasks: Building the self-driving prototypes from scratch -- 25 of them to date. Google will roll out a few at a time starting this summer. Continuing to refine the software by self-driving around 10,000 miles of city streets every week. Developing the software's ability to handle "rare and weird situations" on the road -- what it refers to as the 0.001 percent of things that Google needs to be prepared for even if it has never seen that before in real-world driving. The company will document the progress of its new self-driving public phase through the project's Google+ page. People who want to comment or ask questions about the project can share their thoughts on that page as well. "We've had 20+ Lexus vehicles driving on Mountain View city streets for the last few years, but the arrival of our new self-driving vehicle prototypes marks the start of a new phase of our project," Miller told . "We're proud of our driving record and development so far, and this new stage will help us understand what it really means to have self-driving vehicles in the world -- both how people in the community perceive and interact with them, and what the practical realities are for us in operating and maintaining them. Source http://www.cnet.com/news
-
Google on Monday released an update to Android Wear -- just the second significant feature refresh for its wearable device software since its introduction more than a year ago. "This update is overdue," said Ian Fogg, senior director and head of the mobile and telecoms team at IHS Technology. "With other products, Google adds features fairly continuously," . "Android Wear hasn't had as much focus from Google over the last year as some of its other products." The new features of Android Wear, announced just days before the scheduled delivery of the first Apple Watches, include the following: Hands-free operation -- with a wrist flick, you can shuffle between virtual cards of information. Watch-to-phone connection over WiFi -- as long as your phone is online and your watch is connected to a WiFi network, they'll be able to talk to each other. Always-on extended to apps -- apps can remain visible on the watch face without the device dozing off. Fancy Emoji search -- you can draw an emoji on the watch face and Android Wear will display the closest match to what you've drawn. The new features initially will be rolled out on the LG Watch Urbane. They will become available for the other six Android watches -- Moto 360, LG G Watch, Asus Zenwatch, Samsung Gear Live, SmartWatch 3 and LG G Watch R -- in the coming weeks. Row, Row, Row Your Cards Even with its new wrist-flick navigation features, it will still be difficult to navigate on Android watches, maintained John Feland, CEO of Argus insights. That's because Android Wear is built on cards containing information, unlike the application-centered interface used by Apple Watch. "Rather than navigating in two-dimensional space, as you do with the Apple Watch, with Android you move linearly -- so you have to swipe and swipe and swipe," Felund told TechNewsWorld. "It's a row, row, row your boat problem, because you're constantly rowing through options on the device." Hands-free operation of smartwatches is a challenge facing their designers, and the Android wrist flick is unlikely to solve that problem, said Calanys analyst Daniel Matte. "I doubt that it will be useful," . "I think there'll be too many false positives to make it work well for consumers." Always-on apps is another feature that can deliver both benefits and bumps. "The always-on thing can be very useful because one complaint about the Apple Watch by reviewers is that there's a pause before the screen comes on," said Bob O'Donnell, founder and chief analyst with Technalysis Research. "No one wants a pause when you glance at your watch," . "When you glance at your watch, it's got be there." Power Drain Always-on has its drawbacks, though, argued Canalys' Matte. "Anything that's always-on is a waste of battery life. When you're not looking at the watch, it should be off." With the addition of hand-drawn emojis, Android is keeping pace with Apple in the fun department. "It's a nice novel thing, but that novelty won't drive the utility you need for long-term consumer adoption. There's only so many custom emojis you can do before you're bored," said Argus' Feland. "It's like putting a Union Jack on the top of your Mini Cooper," he continued. "It's fun, but it won't increase your gas mileage. Fun drives those first few sales, but utility drives long-term adoption." However, when it comes to the long term, Android Wear may be in a better position to respond to market change than Apple Watch, suggested James Moar, a research analyst with Juniper Research. "Android Wear has a much more flexible platform than Apple, both in terms of software and hardware," "While this means that at present quality control will be an issue for Android Wear, it will allow successful apps to show and lead much more easily than Apple's tightly regulated system," Moar pointed out. "This adaptability is key to Android Wear and is a core advantage for Google," he added. In addition, it allows Google to produce more varied form factors than the Apple Watch. "Fashion elements are easier to emphasize with more possible varieties," Moar said."It also makes it more amenable to branded partnerships which can drive fashion-based interest."
-
Google Inc has agreed to refund at least $19 million to parents who were unfairly billed for charges racked up by children playing video games such as Ice Age Village and Air Penguins on smartphones and tablets. Children sometimes put hundreds of dollars on their parents' credit cards without permission and thousands of complaints were made, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Thursday in announcing the settlement. The agreement was similar to a $32.5 million settlement reached with Apple Inc in January. The FTC said Google had also agreed to change its billing practices to ensure that parents know, and agree to, purchases that their children make. Google said that it implemented changes in March 2014 that made it clearer when real - as opposed to virtual - money was being spent. And it said that it allowed consumers to choose whether they wanted to be prompted to enter a password with each purchase, as a way to head off unauthorized charges by children. "We're glad to put this matter behind us so we can focus on creating more ways for people to enjoy all the entertainment they love," said a Google spokeswoman. In the Apple settlement, it agreed to refund to customers at least $32.5 million in unauthorized charges made by children and to change its billing practices to require consent from parents for in-app spending. The commission sued Amazon.com AMZN.O in July on the same issue. The FTC has alleged that the companies were too lax in allowing children playing some app games to ring up charges on their parents' credit cards to buy pricey digital goods. In the game Air Penguins, for example, children can buy virtual fish costing $49.99 to feed virtual penguins living on virtual melting ice caps. "Children could rack up charges just by tapping on pop-up boxes," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, adding that Google's staff pointed to what they called "family fraud" or "friendly fraud" as a leading source of refund requests. Google first began offering in-app charges, as the virtual purchases are known, in 2011 without requiring any password or taking other steps to ensure that the parent approved of the child's charges, the FTC said. In 2012, Google began asking for the credit card holder's password before allowing the purchase. But, granting permission for one purchase would open a 30-minute window where children could make purchases without re-entering a password, the FTC said. Initially, Google urged unhappy parents to take up the issue with the app developer, the FTC said. source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/09/04/usa-google-ftc-idINKBN0GZ25T20140904 -
Google just acquired the team behind Jetpac, an app that utilizes public Instagram data to determine things like the happiest or drunkest city. Jetpac launched in 2012 as a social travel guide on iPad but later shifted focus to its Instagram-driven data on its iphone app, “Jetpac City Guides.” Google will most likely use the Jetpac team to improve search around location information using photo data. Google already announced that it uses computer vision and machine learning to let you search your own photos for things like sunsets, food and flowers. Jetpac’s CTO Pete Warden is a computer vision expert and a natural fit for a Google acquisition here. Jetpac’s system looks for visual cues like the amount of pictures with mustaches in them to determine the fashion style or how many hipsters are in a certain location. This provides unique contextual information about an area where the photo was taken. It can tell you whether a coffee shop is actually chill like the reviews say or help you find bars women in their 30’s love, for instance. This goes beyond just a Yelp or Google Maps review to visual information about what is actually happening in a given location. Jetpac has also achieved real-time local object recognition on video from a phone’s camera. This technology could possibly enhance Google Goggles. Jetpac will be pulling the app from the App Store in the next few days and ending support on September 15. Details behind the acquisition and the amount are not being released at this time. Source: http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/15/google-buys-jetpac-to-give-context-to-visual-searches/
-
Thinking about using google dns to help my browsing a bit. I noticed here lately with my at&t uverse internet that my speeds will be fine but I have had problems loading facebook stuff and videos. I ran namebench https://code.google.com/p/namebench/ and it said google dns is 49.5% faster and Open Dns would be 21.5% faster. I guess my only worry is that the google dns collects information... which from their statement they don't keep personal records long term. Anyways just looking to see if anyone uses it or recommends it or another dns. thanks! Also I was wondering if these results have anything to do with maybe why some things on facebook don't load very well? |------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | WinMTR statistics | | Host - % | Sent | Recv | Best | Avrg | Wrst | Last | |------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------| | dsldevice.att.net - 0 | 131 | 131 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | No response from host - 100 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 99.133.13.24 - 57 | 41 | 18 | 0 | 29 | 31 | 30 | | 99.133.13.14 - 90 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 31 | 28 | | No response from host - 100 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 12.83.101.137 - 0 | 131 | 131 | 27 | 30 | 80 | 28 | | gar3.rcmva.ip.att.net - 0 | 131 | 131 | 50 | 68 | 208 | 58 | | No response from host - 100 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | be2.bb02.iad3.tfbnw.net - 1 | 127 | 126 | 0 | 69 | 75 | 69 | | be14.bb01.frc3.tfbnw.net - 2 | 123 | 121 | 53 | 62 | 70 | 65 | | ae87.dr01.frc1.tfbnw.net - 0 | 131 | 131 | 62 | 70 | 121 | 71 | | No response from host - 100 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | No response from host - 100 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | edge-star-shv-13-frc1.facebook.com - 0 | 131 | 131 | 61 | 69 | 122 | 69 | |________________________________________________|______|______|______|______|______|______| WinMTR v0.92 GPL V2 by Appnor MSP - Fully Managed Hosting & Cloud Provider
-
Feeling extra festive the year, and want to spread that holiday cheer? Well why not let your phone give you a helping hand, and have some fun while you're at it? Link to article: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2428543,00.asp I'll admit that I'm not big on singing, and especially not caroling- but I'm sure I'll be using this to have some fun at otherwise dull Christmas parties. Happy holidays all!
-
Don't have passwords like "12345", etc. (these links are for the same recent incident) http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/12/found-hacker-server-storing-two-million-pilfered-paswords/ http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/two-million-passwords-stolen-from-facebook-twitter-and-google-8984893.html http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/04/technology/security/passwords-stolen/ http://www.pcworld.com/article/2069260/passwords-reset-after-pony-botnet-stole-2-million-credentials.html
-
Galaxy Nexus now on sale in Google Play We started shipping Nexus phones more than two years ago to give you a pure Google experience and access to the latest Android updates. Today, we've started selling Galaxy Nexus (HSPA +) from a new Devices section in the Google web store play, so you can quickly and easily purchase of unlocked version of the phone. We want to give you a place to purchase Nexus devices that work really well with your digital entertainment. Galaxy by Samsung Nexus runs the latest Android software, Ice Cream Sandwich, with Google mobile services, and new features like Google gives Android and Google Beam + mobile hangouts. It also offers a 4.65 "HD Super AMOLED display that's perfect for watching movies, playing games or reading books on the go. First available in the U.S., Galaxy Nexus costs $ 399 and arrives at your door unlocked, without a commitment or contract carrier. You can use it on the GSM network of your choice, including T-Mobile and AT & T. It also comes pre-installed with the Google Wallet App which lets you easily make purchases and redeem offers with a tap of your phone. Best of all, we'll give you a $ 10 credit to get you started with your new mobile wallet. We've come a long way since the first Android devices started hitting shelves three and a half years ago and since the launch of the first Nexus device. More than 300 million Android devices have been activated globally. We've worked with developers and content partners to launch Google play, offering more than 500 000 apps, millions of songs and books, and thousands of movies. And we've implemented new customer support services to improve the purchasing experience on Google play. We've taken all of this into consideration in designing devices on Google play. We hope to bring it to more countries soon. source
-
Go to www.google.com and try to type in: do a barrel roll It seems Google are pranking us Bwahahahaha
-
Google search 'let it snow' or click below for Googles latest publicity stunt xD http://www.google.co...h?q=let+it+snow And wait.. It doesn't just 'snow' it frosts up, and after a while you can't see anything and have to 'defrost' your screen xD PS: Clicking + dragging your cursor clears frost with your 'finger' or you can click 'defrost' once it's totally frosted..
-
Court tells Google how to avoid liability for blog posts
DJ aka GDR DJ posted a topic in Report News
Court tells Google how to avoid liability for blog posts Germany’s highest civil court has set out a process by which web hosts can avoid liability for libellous blog posts, in a decision which Google described as striking a blow for freedom of expression and information in the internet. The Federal Court of Justice ruled on a case concerning a man who attempted to sue Google for a libellous blog post made by an anonymous blogger who accused him of using a business credit card to purchase sex club services. An initial court hearing went in his favour, but this has now been overruled by the Federal Court in Karlsruhe which said Google had to make more checks and try harder to get in touch with the blogger. However, the Court also set out a process which web hosts should follow to avoid any liability. Someone who believes a blog entry violates the law must inform the hosting company – but allegations of illegality must be “concrete” enough that they can be affirmed “without detailed legal and factual review,” the court ruled. The allegations must be passed onto the blogger who must respond within a reasonable period – or the blog can simply be deleted. If the blogger decides to defend their entry, the complainant must prove that it is illegal, and if this cannot be done, the entry must remain. Google’s company lawyer Arnd Haller said the firm was relieved by the decision as it removed the potential duty of having to screen every blog entry for libel before publication. He said the judgement also meant Google would not have to remove blogs on demand from anyone who felt insulted. Google had argued that the lawsuit against it should be moved to US courts because the company is based in California – generally companies prefer to argue court cases under US law because liability rules are not as strong as in Germany. But the court ruled that it could be held liable under German law if a blog was clearly meant for a German audience, for instance by being written in German. The case has been remanded to an appeals panel to determine if Google met its legal obligations. The plaintiff had previously demanded that Google prevent the libellous content from reappearing on its hosted sites. Source DJ -
Google's revenue climbs while G+ grows! Google reported third-quarter earnings that handily beat estimates, and announced that its three-month-old Google+ social network now has 40 million users. That's a big increase from the 10 million users Google+ had at the end of Google's last quarter, when it remained in a "limited" trial phase. The network opened to the public in late September. In an earnings release late Thursday, Google said it earned $9.72 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of $8.74 per share. Advertising and profit: Investors are looking to Google's advertising figures as a barometer of the overall economy, and the numbers were good -- though the cost-per-click increase was not as high as it was last quarter. Profit rose as both the number of clicks on Google's ads and the amount that advertising partners pay per click increased. Paid clicks rose 28% and cost per click ticked up 5% compared to last year. Sales for the Mountain View, Calif., company rose 33% over the year to $9.7 billion. Excluding advertising sales that Google shares with partners, known as "traffic acquisition costs," the company reported revenue of $7.5 billion, which beat analysts' forecasts of $7.2 billion. Shares of Google rose 6% after just hours. Spending and hiring: Google is continuing to spend at a quick clip. Capital expenditures totalled $680 million in the third quarter, including investments in Google's massive data centers. But Google has plenty of cash to back up its shopping spree. As of September 30, the company had $42.6 billion on hand. Google is also continuing to ramp up its hiring. Full-time staffers totaled 31,353 as of September 30, up 9% from the previous quarter. Motorola: On Google'searnings call, analysts asked about Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. The deal was announced in August and, once finalized, will score Google some valuable Motorola patents. Intellectual property is turning into a battlefield among tech giants including Apple and Microsoft. When an analyst asked whether Google will license Motorola software to other companies, Google CEO Larry Page said "it would be premature" to discuss details before the deal is approved. "We're very excited about Android, and we see that ecosystem growing," Page said, adding that the strategy is "getting stronger" -- and the Motorola deal is part of that. Browsers and search: Page also revealed that the Google Chrome browser now has more than 200 million users worldwide. Susan Wojcicki, Google's senior vice president of advertising, talked up the Flight Search that Google launched last month. She also said Google data shows that "ads that are socially annotated are more useful for users." Google execs did not talk specifically about recent antitrust concerns. The Federal Trade Commission has been investigating the company for evidence of abusive practices, and a federal judge recently rejected Google's planned settlement deal in its attempt to create a universal online book library. Page instead offered up a "view of the future" sentiment that echoes some of his past statements: "We are still at the very early stage of what technology can deliver. These tools will look very different in five years." Source: CNN
-
Google to kick off Tech Revolution in Egypt © CNN Tech helped fuel Egypt's revolution. Now it could put the country get on the path toward a more stable democracy. At least that's the hope of Google, which is kicking off a program called Ebda2 -- Arabic for "start" -- to fund and otherwise support emerging technology companies in Egypt. "We believe technology will actually change the economics of this part of the world -- will change the culture of this part of the world -- and it will have a political impact," said Wael Fakharany, Google's country manager in Egypt. "We believe it is absolutely the right time to give people hopes and dreams -- not to be rich and famous, but hopes and dreams to be helpful." On Monday, Google employees plan to start a tour of Egypt in a bus that's emblazoned with the Google logo. They'll be searching for would-be tech entrepreneurs who might be interested in entering a 7-month competition for tech start-ups. The winner, which will be announced in May, will get a $200,000 prize from Google. Other finalists will have a chance to pitch their ideas in front of Silicon Valley investors at an event in Cairo, Fakharany said. "Google is looking for the next Google in the Middle East," said Maha Abouelenein, a Google spokeswoman. She added that Google was started by two entrepreneurs who got a check for $100,000 -- half the amount of the Egypt prize. This type of project -- where Google has invested in a start-up competition to support the tech industry of a particular country -- is a first for the Mountain View, California, company, she said. Google employees and Egyptian tech entrepreneurs will offer mentoring and advice to contestants along the way. Two independent organizations will administer the contest, in an effort to allow the start-ups to have a fair shot at the prize even if they build products using technology from Google's competitors -- like Microsoft or Facebook. Hussein El-Sheikh, managing partner at ProSeed Advisory, a consulting group based in Cairo, Egypt, said he thinks the Google program will benefit young people in the country who want to start tech-focused businesses. "I believe that very soon Egypt will become the tech hub," he wrote in an e-mail. Much has been made of the role technology played in toppling the 30-year rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a revolution that began on January 25. Some protestors used Facebook events and Twitter status updates to organize their movement in a country where public demonstrations and organizations were formally banned by the state. In the wake of that successful revolution, some people again are looking to the tech sector to bolster the country's transition to a more-open democracy and economy. Google believes it can support this transition. "There is a negative sentiment, obviously, about Egypt (after the revolution)," Fakharany said. "We want to show people that in spite of the changes and the political turmoil that there is actually hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel." But the company's plans to invest in Egypt's tech sector actually started in 2009, before the revolution, said Fakharany. At that time, Egypt paid Google $10 million for advertisements designed to better position the country online as a tourist destination, he said. As part of that deal, Google agreed to invest $2.5 million in Egypt's Internet infrastructure. The $200,000 contest for entrepreneurs is the first project that comes as part of that investment, Fakharany said. Source: CNN
-
Website Owners: Google Analytics now offers real-time tracking! Google Analytics, a widely used tracking tool for website operators, got a major upgrade Thursday with the company's first real-time traffic tracker. Google's free analytics tool offers a fairly comprehensive dive into the traffic patterns of sites on which it's installed -- but until now, it had a lag of at least an hour or so before most data would show, and a 24-hour lag on full data reporting. The new Google Analytics Real-Time tool offers an instant look at a site's active-visit count. It began rolling out Thursday to some users and will be available to all users in the next few weeks, Google said in a blog post. The tool's splashy visuals and instant updates echo another analytics service that has been gaining fans: Chartbeat, a New York-based startup that launched in early 2009. Aimed at websites with major traffic -- including news publishers, big blogs and retailers -- the company has attracted customers including Groupon, Starbucks, Billboard and The Onion. Chartbeat is a paid product, with pricing that starts at $10 a month for smaller sites. Google Analytics is a free offering. Google has typically targeted smaller sites, but some larger organizations including Costco, Yelp and AOL's Huffington Post have adopted its tools. Google seems to be scaling up its analytics ambitions: This week it also rolled out the first part of a complete user-interface overhaul and introduced Google Analytics Premium, its first paid offering for larger websites. While Google's free offering tops out its data collection at 10 million website visitors per month, its new paid plan offers more data collection, additional modeling tools and service support. Google did not reveal a price tag for its paid product. Google Analytics launched in late 2005 on the heels of Google's acquisition of analytics software maker Urchin. Google doesn't release its user statistics, but analysts estimate that the immensely popular free tool has millions of users. Chartbeat remains a gnat in comparison: On Thursday afternoon, its "total total" monitor -- a tracker of traffic to all the sites Chartbeat is installed on -- logged around 4 million concurrent users. Source: CNN Money
