Doodle 4 Google contest launches

Google said today it is holding its fourth annual Doodle 4 Google contest, which is open to K-12 students in the U.S. for a chance to design the company’s homepage. (more…)

Community selection process taking longer than expected

Ten months ago, Google volunteered to build experimental fiber networks in “a small number of trial locations.”  People in about 1,100 communities then proved what a great idea this was by applying for the program.  Unfortunately, the response was more than Google could handle, and so the next step has been delayed. (more…)

Google Instant on the Way for Chrome

Google announced today that Google Instant for mobile is now available globally – in 28 languages and in 40 countries. You have to have an Android 2.2+ or iOS4 device to use it though.  (more…)

40,000-square-foot space will house 150+ employees

People who enjoy gawking at Google’s “creative” workspaces now have on more area to look over.  This morning, Google officially opened an office in Pittsburgh, and the 40,000-square-foot environment is hard to mistake for any other company’s property. (more…)

How Will Google Penetrate the Local Deals Market?

As you probably know, Groupon recently turned down Google’s $6 billion acquisition offer. CEO Andrew Mason was reportedly concerned about the direction Google may have taken it in, as well as what would happen to its employees. (more…)

Google Acquires Voice Output Technology Firm

Google has acquired Phonetic Arts, a speech synthesis company based in Cambridge, England. The company works on technology that generates natural computer speech from samples of recorded voice. (more…)

Facebook and Google don’t much acknowledge that they’re direct competitors, though there’s no question that in many ways they are. Eric Schmidt recently said Bing was it’s main competitor, and Mark Zuckerberg said its new messaging system isn’t an email killer and that “Gmail is a really good product.” (more…)

Links Shared in Social Media Matter in Search (Despite Nofllow)

Search and social go well together, and the search engines are finding more and more ways to use them together. In fact, the right combinations of these two elements could eventually dictate who has the most useful tools for users. (more…)

Mapping license may cause new dispute

Seven months from now, another confrontation between Google and the Chinese government may well occur.  The government’s indicated that it intends to take legal action against Google if the company doesn’t seek (and obtain) official approval of its mapping program. (more…)

Tim Berners-Lee Calls Out Facebook, Google, Apple, Wireless/Cable Carriers, and More

The inventor of the web is not thrilled with the current state of his creation or the direction it’s taking. Tim Berners-Lee has released a new report at Scientific American, entitled Long Live the Web: A Call for Continued Open Standards and Neutrality, with the subtitle: “The Web is critical not merely to the digital revolution but to our continued prosperity—and even our liberty. Like democracy itself, it needs defending.” (more…)