Google posts

The Google home page today celebrates the World Cup all across the planet, except (strangely) in the US, where the search giant is celebrating the birthday of the great Jacques-Yves Cousteau. That pretty much tells us the US has no chance winning the cup in the global “soccer” game this time around, and completes Google’s preparation for the football event, which is destined to dominate everything for the rest of the month. Thousands of expectant fans have already gathered at Soccer City in Johannesburg to mark the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, though great statesman, Nelson…

No one ever knocked Google for not keeping up to date. Despite only indexing, like, one a month, I’ve always been pretty impressed with how well Google organizes the web. But what do I know? Apparently, that’s not nearly fast enough. To keep up with the modern tide of user content (I guess ‘tsunami’ is more appropriate), Google has rolled out Caffeine, a new indexing system which updates layers of content continually, resulting in an up-to-the-minute web. “Our old index had several layers, some of which were refreshed at a faster rate than others; the main layer would update every couple of weeks,”…

Though it may now be hard to remember, there was a time that Sony was the company that led the tech world. Sony, after all, were the people who helped bring us the Walkman and the CD player. For years, the Sony brand was synonymous with cutting edge technology and sophisticated design. But while Sony are still a powerhouse in the world of tech, it’s now common knowledge they are no longer its leaders. We all know why: their commitment to closed, proprietary technology hurt them immensely in the internet age and now, other more web-savvy companies dominate our  new media world. Apple are now the go-to…

A new feature for iGoogle has been implemented allowing users to change the background of their homepage and Google’s iconic white background into anything they want. Google’s Official Blog announced yesterday that they have added this new level of personalization. The uploading system will allow you to upload your photos from your computer, Picasa Web Album or a public gallery hosted by Picasa. Or if you have those days where you enjoy the white screen, you can switch back and forth between it and your personalized background with the click of a button. Google is getting this feature out…

Yesterday, the net was abuzz with rumours that Google was dropping Microsoft’s Windows in favour of OSX and Linux, claiming security issues. Whether or not the legend is true, Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc has already issued a response, calling the situation ‘ironic’ and claiming that it’s doing ‘a better job’ at security than the others. When it comes to security, even hackers admit we’re doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else. And it’s not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our focus and investment…

Looks like Google’s mythic operating system Chrome OS will be out this fall. “It’s something which we are very excited by … We expect it to reach millions of users on day one,” says Google’s vice president of product management, Sundar Pichai. Hey, Sundar, anything with the Google logo on it and available for free is gonna be big – no need to be modest or anything, now. Questions are flying around such as what devices will feature Chrome OS, or whether the OS even poses a minor threat to Windows, but I’m not sure the latter is even a question – while it’s shaping up to look like a great little OS, hardcore…

There was a time when it was trendy to be a switcher, but it’s old news these days. Unless a huge organization like Google announces it is trying to limit the amount of new Windows installations within its company walls. After the Chinese hacking incident in January Google is tightening up security in a number of areas, one of which is the operating system of choice. New hires are now offered the choice of either Mac or Linux, with any request to use a Windows system having to be cleared through the company’s Chief Information Officer. Google’s announcement is sure to shake up the security debate again,…

Steve Jobs has been called many things – a visionary, a criminal, an entrepreneur extra-ordinary, and Santa Claus. But it appears Google Autocomplete has something to say about Jobs, too. Typing ‘Steve Jobs is’ into Google’s search field will net the curious viewer some equally curious commentary about Apple’s CEO before even slamming the search button, attacking and insulting Jobs from all angles, including race, religion, and… punctuality? Heavens, no! While it’s every bit as likely that these are just the honest-to-goodness most oft-aggregated search terms, it’s interesting nonetheless,…

After a slew of loud criticism, Facebook have rolled out new, more understandable privacy controls. At the core of the changes is what Facebook calls a more simple approach to privacy and a universal setting that will control access to data across the platform. Now, change your settings to ‘friends of friends’ and it will apply to all your interactions with Facebook. Also, applications and external websites will now have to ask permission for access to any sort of private data. The only problem? It won’t matter. Your Data Is Like Crack To Facebook Facebook makes the bulk of its money in much the same…

I can’t bring myself to use Google Latitude – the fact that my phone is not a smartphone is besides the point. It just has always felt a little Big Brothery to me, even as an opt-in service. Doing nothing to quell my concern, Google has just released the Location History Dashboard, an extension of Latitude that tracks where you’ve been in the last few months, and can show you where you’ve been. This is a double edged sword, I guess. While I can no longer hide from my friends, I can totally recall which back alley I saw that awesome graffiti in. All in all, it really only makes sense that this data become available…