Google posts

Remember when Google created Buzz to compete with Twitter and Facebook and um, other social tools? Remember how it basically fell flat, with Google forcing some people to use Buzz against their will, and a generally lukewarm reception all round? Well, Google has decided to wander into yet another company’s territory, this time – Facebook. Digg CEO Kevin Rose tweeted that Google might be launching a Facebook killer called Google Me, although one Twitterer mentions it might simply be an upgrade to the existing Google Profiles service. Google’s tried and tested “fling stuff at the wall and see…

The question on lips across the techi-world this morning has to be “Who is horse-boy?” This image was captured by a Street View car driving through Aberdeen’s Hardgate area. In the absence of anybody claiming any crime reports featuring a horse-disguised miscreant, the identity of the horsey chap remains a mystery. Millions of Google Street View users have seen the image of the man, dressed in black trousers, a purple shirt and a brown and white horse’s head. Equally his existence could be a Google joke. The BBC reports horse-boy features in other parts of Google’s street view service….

Many of you will no doubt remember the heady, early days of YouTube. The promising new site that simplified video sharing was (and still is) all the rage, mainly because it allowed people to share the bits of video they were watching and liked with others. Of course, that also meant that you couldn’t go two clicks without stumbling on a short snippet of The Daily Show, a music video or part of a movie uploaded to the site without the owner’s consent. Seemingly overnight (but not really), the web was awash with things that used to be limited to TVs, cinemas or the radio. Unsurprisingly, content owners…

Google. It is unquestionably one of the most well-known companies in the world. It has empowered everyday people with information and given online businesses reasons to exist. Most importantly, it has proven that free can be profitable. But all this has to make you wonder — what would have become of the world if Google didn’t exist? There are so many potential questions that could be asked. Could Microsoft have actually ended up in a worse position than it is today? Would Apple have gone bankrupt? Perhaps Yahoo! could have ended up as the most powerful company in the world? Would the Internet be…

Adobe has (at last) introduced a version of Flash it swears is suitable for mobile devices, Flash Player 10.1, and in an attempt to prove it isn’t sitting alone whistling its multimedia software’s song, claims HBO, Sony Pictures, Turner, USA Network, Viacom, Warner Brothers and others are already creating Flash Content for MObile. Adobe promises the software — which we all know has been heavily-criticized by Apple CEO Steve Jobs — offers performance and mobile specific features. If you’re on a Windows Mobile, Symbian, Palm or Research In Motion smartphone, I’m afraid you’ll…

Google seems set to stick it to iTunes in an attempt to carve out its own slice of the music market, hoping that by linking music sales up with its dominant search engine it will be able to achieve a content ecosystem designed to support sales of devices powered by its browser-based Android-one-day-Chrome OS. The company is thought to be closing in on launching a music download service, offering tracks for sale and download. This will be followed by the introduction of a subscription-based music service next year (2011), at least, that is what the Wall Street Journal claims. Negotiations aren’t…

I’ve written about the problems with maintaining Google accounts before. A lot. Sometimes on my bedroom wall, late at night in my own blood. To describe Google’s account systems as massively, time consumingly problematic would be unfair to massively time consuming problems. But help may be on the way. PC World reports that they received a tip that next week Google may provide some relief from account madness. Back in May they announced that changes coming soon will allow Google Apps users to access more services not currently accessible from within Google Apps, with the changeover starting…

We all recall Steve Ballmer’s famed ‘Monkeyboy’ chant as he ran round a stage yelling, “Developers, developers, developers,” and despite leaving himself open for a lifetime of ridicule with the move, he was right. A platform is nothing without a strong developer community. And that’s why Google’s Chrome OS will let you run your old Windows and Mac desktop apps from your shiny new Chrome laptop, at least, that’s what people are saying… These rumors began with The Register. That august journal first told us about a process called Chromoting, citing an email from Google software…

Now this is more like it. Assuming you exist, you’re by now doubtlessly familiar with Google’s imminent push into the frontier of your living room. But while we’ve all been made intimate with the idea of Google TV, I for one could go for a taste of the user experience, couldn’t you? Lucky us; Google has obliged by throwing us denizens of the net a reasonably meaty preview of what beef is. ‘Beef’ will hereupon be referred to as ‘Google TV’. Make sure you beatbox a wicked drum n’ bass beat while you click the hell out of this play button, because the internet is just more fun that way. “Watch videos on the web,…

As the big boys in tech continue to eat into each others business models, is it really that surprising to hear Google is considering getting into the music distribution business? Apple’s iTunes Music Store has been the poster child for showing the music industry that suing and harassing its customers might not be the only way to make money in the 21st century. But the record labels have been nervous about putting all their eggs into Apple’s basket, always looking to spread the risk amongst digital distribution services, such as Napster, Coke’s iMusic effort and a number of other largely unsuccessful…