google

Google is cutting the price of its very own Chromebook laptop to $299. The new $299 puts it in the same price range as netbooks, the lowest cost version of computers with a physical keyboard, designed mainly for online activity. The Chromebook runs ... the Chrome operating system (OS), which is effectively an upgraded version of the better-known Chrome web browser. The device links directly to tools such as Gmail, the Google Docs office suite, and online image editing, requiring an Internet connection. Originally, all files were stored online, though an update earlier this year added support for ... (view more)

The complaint that Facebook prioritizes its own revenue targets above user security is hardly new. However, there is something fresh about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent attempt to distract users by pointing a finger at other tech companies ... -- most notably Microsoft, Google and Yahoo -- accusing them of being far less privacy conscious than Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old billionaire founder and CEO of Facebook, recently appeared on the Charlie Rose TV show to discuss his company's growth and, as usual, ongoing concerns with the way the site handles the personal information ... (view more)

Apple CEO Steve Jobs passed away last Wednesday at the age of 56. Although Jobs had been suffering on-and-off from pancreatic cancer for seven years, the news of his death sent most people -- techies or not -- into a head spin. Virtually every media ... outlet and Apple fan have taken considerable time to remember the popular businessman and innovator. (Source: mercurynews.com ) To get an idea of how important Steve Jobs was to the tech industry, you don't necessarily need to focus on all the nice things said about him by U.S. President Barack Obama or fellow Apple founder Steve Wozniak. Just pay ... (view more)

A loophole in the way Google's business listings service works means some legitimate businesses are falsely being listed as "closed". The search company appears unable to get round the problem without changing the entire basis of the system. Google ... Places is a business directory, allowing users to find a business, store, or restaurant by searching either by name, type or location. The listings include a description written by the owner and a link to the relevant location on Google Maps. However, the New York Times has reported on a major drawback to a feature designed to keep ... (view more)

Here's a new reason to make sure you're covered up when wandering outside your house: Google Street View might just be watching. Recently, a Florida woman was caught naked outside her home and it took some time before the image was finally blurred ... out. Google's Street View was introduced about four years ago. Although originally used for just a few cities in the United States, today it offers a 3D perspective of city streets for a wide range of urban environments around the globe. Handy App or Intrusive Nuisance? Street View is extremely handy when preparing to visit an unknown locale, ... (view more)

Five universities are being sued for their part in scanning millions of copyrighted books. It's an unexpected development in the ongoing legal wrangling over Google's Book Search service. Google began scanning books and first made them available to ... the public in 2004, with the idea of making it possible to search for phrases in printed books in the same way as on web pages. However, this led to legal action from groups representing both authors and publishers who complained that Google had scanned books without permission. Deal Brought Into Question The two sides eventually reached a ... (view more)

The theft of online security certificates by hackers thought to be from Iran may be even more serious than first thought. The stolen certificates include those for security agencies from the United States, United Kingdom and Israel. The security ... breach originates with DigiNotar, a Netherlands organization that produces Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates which are used by webites. An SSL, for example, is used when home users connect to their banking web sites. Using the SSL certificate, information to and from the home PC to a bank website is encrypted and cannot be intercepted by a third ... (view more)

Last week Google was fined $500 million for carrying illegal advertising for Canadian pharmaceutical exporters. Now, the lawyer who led the probe has made the shocking claim that Google chief Larry Page explicitly knew about and ignored the ... advertisements. Google's $500 million fine not only covered the profits it made from running the ads, but also the money the advertisers are estimated to have made from selling the drugs to US customers. Those sales are illegal because of Food ... (view more)

Google has agreed to pay a penalty of $500 million for carrying advertising from Canadian pharmacies that illegally offer drugs to US customers. The fine will allow the company to avoid criminal charges over the issue. It is illegal to ship drugs ... into the US from outside the country as such medicines -- even when they are prescription drugs -- are not verified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the case of Canadian distributors, drugs shipped overseas also evade local regulation. In some cases such drugs may have been made outside of North America and have had no quality controls. ... (view more)

Mass popularity has made Facebook a target of hackers for years now. In an effort to combat this problem, those behind the social network have issued a "bug bounty" program that offers monetary compensation to those who find vulnerabilities on the ... social networking website. Many report problems with Facebook on personal blogs and other public forums anyways, in an effort to gain some semblance of prestige within the hacking community. But discussing these issues in public (and before the company has had a chance to address these concerns) puts even more users at risk. Facebook Recruits White- ... (view more)