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News Texas Attorney General Investigating Google for Antitrust Behavior

Posted 09/03/10 at 03:09:12pm

We all knew it was a distinct possibility that at some point that Google could be looking at a viable antitrust investigation. It's not clear if this is the day for it, but we do know that the Texas Attorney General is investigating the search giant to see if they are violating antitrust laws. At issue here is the accusation from some companies that Google is manipulating its paid search results in a way designed to disadvantage competitors.

Google has confirmed that the official investigation started in July, and more information would be coming soon. The companies known to have filed the complaint are three vertical search engines (meaning they provide categories to click through to filter results). They allege that Google is keeping them down because they perceive a threat. 

None of the complaining companies are large enough for Google to pay attention to, let alone discriminate against. Still, you never know what an AG investigation will turn up.

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News Google to Simplify Privacy Policy

Posted 09/03/10 at 02:50:29pm

As Google puts it, their privacy policies are, "long, complicated and lawyerly." We'd say that's probably accurate. Have you ever tried to read one of those things? Google is looking to change that by updating their privacy policies with less jargon, less volume, and more clear language. The Google blog post does go to great pains to point out that this is not an excuse to sneak less favorable policies into the mix, this is just about making things more readable.

Google will first be reducing the total number of privacy documents they maintain. Most products are covered by the main Google privacy policy, but some products have their own. So 12 of these sub-documents will be going away. For example, Gmail, Docs, Talk, and Calendar will use the same policy, since they are all governed by Google Contacts.

The Big G will also be rewriting the more legalistic parts of the main policy so average people can read and follow more of it. There is also a lot of repetition that is currently in it for the lawyers' sakes. That should all go away. Google expects all the changes to be done by October 3. Then at least you'll be able to figure out just how Google is spying on you. Have you ever read the Google privacy policy? Will you now?

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Home, News "Hurt Locker" File-sharing Suits Moving Ahead with Subpoenas

Posted 09/03/10 at 02:33:24pm

A few months back, Voltage Studios (the indie studio that made "The Hurt Locker") began legal proceedings against those seen illegally sharing the movie online. 5,000 "John Doe" lawsuits were filed by the film's producers. Voltage Pictures has now started moving ahead with the next phase of the legal process. Several ISP customers have received notices that their provider has been subpoenaed, and must turn over their names to Voltage's lawyers. 

A number of small movie studios have been working with the law firm of Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver. This firm is managing the cases in exchange for a portion of any settlements of judgments that result. The ACLU and EFF have both strongly opposed this action. Some ISPs have even objected due to the huge number of subpoenas they are likely to get.

Some alleged infringers have already been offered settlement offers of several thousand dollars. When faced with the possibility of huge legal fees, many individuals may choose to settle. This strategy didn't work out so well for the RIAA, do you think the producers of The Hurt Locker have a better chance of success?

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Image Credit: Voltage Pictures

 

News Rumor: Google Music to Launch by Holiday Season

Posted 09/02/10 at 03:11:44pm

Sources are reporting today that Google is deep in talks to get music labels on board for a Google competitor to iTunes. The service would offer digital downloads, as well as a digital locker that users could stream music from. This is a feature Apple has yet to implement despite buying music streaming startup Lala several months ago. 

The man behind Google's Android operating system, Andy Rubin, is supposedly leading the talks with music labels. Rubin is the driving force for getting the service up and running this year, say sources. The labels meanwhile, see this an opportunity to take some of the wind out of iTunes' sails. 

Google will have a steep hill to climb if they can get Google Music off the ground. Amazon has thus far been able to capture only 12% of the US digital music market. Google's ace in the hole will be Android. If this streaming is integrated with Android handsets via a downloadable app, it could make the service very desirable.

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Image via Gadget Reviews

 

News Facebook Adds Remote Log-out Feature

Posted 09/02/10 at 02:52:02pm

Facebook has just announced a new security feature to users that allows an account to log themselves out from a remote device. Users will find this in the Account Security section of the account settings. There will be a menu showing "Most Recently Active" and "Also Active". Also Active will only be displayed if your account is logged into multiple locations. 

From this interface, you will see the login time, browser, location based on IP address, and operating system. Any of the sessions listed there can be ended with a single click. This might be of use in case you accidentally leave yourself logged into a friends computer, or (for some reason) a public computer.

This feature isn't available for everyone just yet. Remote logout is being rolled out slowly to Facebook's massive user base. Have you ever accidentally left yourself logged in to another computer?

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News Google Being Sued Over Nexus One 3G Issues

Posted 09/02/10 at 02:35:31pm

A Florida man has filed suit against Google in response to the Nexus One's 3G signal issues. Nathan Nabors is seeking unspecified damages and class action status for the suit. Manufacturer HTC and original carrier T-Mobile are not listed in the filing. The allegation is that Google  made misleading claims about the Nexus One's capabilities, then failed to adequately resolve issues when they cropped up.

Google started selling the Nexus One direct to consumers in early 2010. At the time, the phone had only T-Mobile US 3G bands. Consumers reported issues in getting, or holding on to, 3G frequencies in areas that other phones had no problem. After a software update, Google declared the problems fixed, saying that any further issues were on T-Mobile's end. 

It's unclear if a judge will eventually grant class action status to the suit. If so, Nexus users might get a check for $10 in 2-3 years. The lawyers managing the case however, will probably do much better. If you have  a Nexus One, let us know how your 3G is these days.

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Posted Comments
All Posted Comments for Ryan Whitwam
Multiple monitors is fine on
Six Monitors, One Video Card. Hands-On with AMD's Eyefinity

Posted 09/10/2009 - 2:33pm

Multiple monitors is fine for regular use in Windows.  Not so much for gaming.  I just keep the games to one monitor. I don't really want to whip my head around in games anyway.

Can you really call them on
Microsoft Tries its Hand at Open-Source Philanthropy

Posted 09/11/2009 - 10:04pm

Can you really call them profits if it's a nonprofit? ;)

Hopefully HTML5 by itself on
Webkit's WebGL Arrives, Poised to Revolutionize Browser-based Gaming

Posted 09/14/2009 - 8:37pm

Hopefully HTML5 by itself can help take Flash off its pedestal. If this technology does prove useful, it could be a big boost to Chrome as you indicated. I just hope for more standards compliance in general.

Bunk on
US Researchers Ask for Cell Phone Safety Tax

Posted 09/16/2009 - 6:50pm

So my personal feelings on this are that cell phones aren't going to kill you. It's just pointless hysteria. A Danish study followed over 400,000 people over the course of years. Some people in the study have been using cell phones since the 80s. There's no correlation between cell phone use and tumors.

He'll just skip the chairs on
Google Says it Wants Yahoo Talent on Board

Posted 09/16/2009 - 7:06pm

He'll just skip the chairs and whip engineers around the room. God help them if he finds an iPhone on any of them.

Ehhhhhh... on
Microsoft Believes it Has What it Takes to Upstage Netbooks and Macs

Posted 09/18/2009 - 10:30pm

Dude, just stop. No one cares about your ramblings.

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