Finally, Google stops forcing Google+ on Gmail users September 23, 2014 Could this be the beginning of the end for Google+? After years of forcing Gmail users to sign up to a G+ account, Google has finally stopped the practice – for new Gmail users, at least. Google+, Google's "Facebook killer", was launched in 2011 to lukewarm reviews. Since then, all users have been automatically signed [...]
Is News Corp right that Google’s internet dominance is damaging? September 18, 2014 Carl Miller, research director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos, says Yes. Google: Gmail, Chrome, Google+, Search, all free. It gives us a suite of brilliantly useful products that almost all of us use daily. What’s not to like? That’s the problem. Day-to-day, everything is convenient and free. We treat [...]
News Corp chief Robert Thompson calls Google a “platform for piracy” run by “cynical management” in letter to EU commissioner Joaquin Almunia September 18, 2014 News Corp has told the EU it believes Google is stifling competition and undermining the business model of “content creators” in its dominance of internet search. The Rupert Murdoch-owned company, which publishes the the Times, the Sun, the Wall Street Journal and book publisher Harpercollins lambasted Google in a letter to the EU’s competition commission [...]
How Google and Amazon workers keep their focus September 15, 2014 Harriet Green examines the Two Pizza Rule and the benefits of workplace mindfulness. Distractions can be crippling to productivity. Gloria Mark of the University of California found that, on average, office workers are distracted every 11 minutes. And worse, it takes 25 minutes to return to a task once you’ve wandered onto something else. [...]
Android One: How Google’s budget smartphone for India compares with its rivals September 15, 2014 Google has launched its first Android One smartphone in India – a budget device aimed at enticing the “next billion” smartphone users in the country and other emerging markets. Google’s initiative aims to create cheap, high-quality smartphones for those in countries where incomes are lower and devices less affordable. Android One offers a package of [...]
Google is the media brand you love to hate most September 2, 2014 The media is full of celebs, politicians and high profile figures we love to hate – and it is no different in the media industry, with that highest of profile brand Google being ranked as most loved and disliked in a recent survey. The tech giant topped a poll of nearly 800 media professionals, [...]
Why healthcare could be Google Glass’s biggest market August 22, 2014 Google Glass, the wearable tech device, may be an exciting new development – but with a $1,500 price tag (not to mention its less-than-fashionable appearance), its appeal to the consumer market has so far been limited. But during a conference yesterday, the man widely credited with creating the Glass identified what could end up being [...]
Greggs scum hack prompts Twitter team to “bribe” Google with doughnuts August 19, 2014 Greggs bakery’s cheeks were left burning as hot as the middle of its sausage rolls yesterday, when someone who Googled the firm found that its logo had been hacked to read “providing shit to scum for 70 years”. Naturally, the news went viral and Greggs was trending on Twitter. “We are aware of the [...]
Google shares up 1,000 per cent a decade after IPO August 19, 2014 A decade ago yesterday, just three years after the dot-com crash, a Silicon Valley search startup called Google debuted on the Nasdaq for $85 a share. Shares, priced at the low end of Google’s $85 to $95 range, jumped 18 per cent during the first day of trading to $100.34, valuing the company at over [...]
YouTube Music Key: Here’s what we know about Google’s music video subscription service to rival Spotify and iTunes August 19, 2014 Google is poised to launch its music streaming app to rival Spotify and Apple’s iTunes appear, according to details about the service that have apparently leaked online. Mooted for a summer release date when YouTube first announced its plans back in June, the service will be called “YouTube Music Key” and priced at $9.99 a month [...]