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119 postsGoogle announces that it will no longer force users to use their real names on Google+. They also apologize for the policy, saying it causes unnecessary difficulty for some users who do not want to use their real name.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/101560853443212199687/posts/V5XkYQYYJqy
Google announces Project Zero, a team of researchers who searches the web for vulnerabilities and malware. When a threat is found, the software vendor is notified and it is posted on a publicly available database:
You should be able to use the web without fear that a criminal or state-sponsored actor is exploiting software bugs to infect your computer, steal secrets or monitor your communications. Yet in sophisticated attacks, we see the use of “zero-day” vulnerabilities to target, for example, human rights activists or to conduct industrial espionage. This needs to stop. We think more can be done to tackle this problem. Project Zero is our contribution, to start the ball rolling.
Google hires Novartis to develop and produce smart contact lenses, which are intended to help people with a variety of medical conditions. For example, the contacts could help people who are farsighted by focusing a camera on objects and making them clearer, or they could be used to monitor glucose levels through the tears of people with diabetes. Google co-founder Sergey Brin says:
Our dream is to use the latest technology in the miniaturization of electronics to help improve the quality of life for millions of people. We are very excited to work with Novartis to make this dream come true.
Babak Parviz, Google X director and one of the creators of Google Glass, leaves to join Amazon. Amazon and Parviz both decline to comment about his role in the company.
Google announces a new mapping tool that makes it easier to measure distances on Maps. The new feature allows the user to see how many miles a road trip covers. It is currently possible to get distance information with Maps via Directions, My Maps, or Maps Labs functions, but the new feature promises to make it easier to access the data.
Acer announces the C720-3404 and C720-3871 Chromebook models, which are the first to use the Intel Core i3 processor. The devices also have 11.6-inch displays, a 1366 x 768p screen resolution, a 32 GB solid state drive, and 2 or 4 GB of RAM. A spokesperson for Intel says:
Acer has been a leader in the Chromebook space and the new C720 based on 4th generation Intel Core i3 processors marks a new class of Chromebook with enhanced performance and battery life.
A high-end prostitute is charged with the death of Google executive, Timothy Hayes. Video taken on November 23, 2013 aboard Hayes’ yacht shows Alix Catherine Tichleman injecting Hayes with heroin and then leaving the yacht. The police statement reads:
Rather than provide first aid or call 911, Ms. Tichleman proceeds to gather her belongings including the heroin and needles.
Police say Tichleman stepped over Hayes’ body several times while preparing to leave the yacht, including stepping over him to finish a glass of wine. Hayes had an “ongoing prostitution relationship” with Tichleman.
Overland Park, Kansas, approves an agreement to bring Google Fiber to the city. The service delivers Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (that’s 100 times faster than most U.S. connections), allowing an entire album of music to download in under six seconds, or an entire movie to be downloaded in 38 seconds. Google Fiber came to Kansas City in 2012, and a limited amount of surrounding cities also have the service in place. The other two US cities with the service are Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah. The service costs $70 a month, or $120 with TV service.
Google makes a deal with Indian cellular service provider Tata DoCoMo to offer a pay-as-you-go data streaming plan for YouTube called YouTube Recharge. Users can buy 100 MB of data for 9 rupees (15 cents) or a weekly plan with 300 MB for 39 rupees (65 cents). A YouTube spokesperson says:
This is part of our efforts to make video content more affordable to a large base of mobile Internet users in the country. This is the first of its kind partnership in India.
The owner of the Serbian Crown restaurant in Great Falls, Virginia sues Google for a 75% drop in weekend sales because they are incorrectly listed as closed on weekends and Mondays on Google Places. The loss of revenue is so severe that they close down in April, 2013. Google’s lawyers dismiss the merit of the case:
The Serbian Crown should not be permitted to vex Google or this court with such meritless claims.
Royal Caribbean International becomes the first cruise line to use Google Maps Business View to give customers a virtual tour of its ship, Allure of the Seas. People can get a feel for the accommodation on the ship by touring its cabins, restaurants, and pools. A spokesperson for the company says:
Consumers go online to research their holidays and this is the closest they can get to actually being on board.
NASA announces that their Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) are being equipped with smartphones produced by Google which have a motion-tracking camera, infrared depth censors, and space-tested batteries equipped, allowing the satellites to navigate more easily:
We wanted to add communication, a camera, increase the processing capability, accelerometers and other sensors. As we were scratching our heads thinking about what to do, we realized the answer was in our hands. Let’s just use smartphones.
Google restores search result links to articles by UK news outlets like the Guardian and the Telegraph that are removed to comply with a recent EU court ruling that says people have a right to be forgotten. The publishers say they did not request the removals or receive communication from Google about why exactly the articles violate the ruling.
Page says in an interview with Vinod Khosla that people work too much and that technology could allow them to focus more on the things that make them happy:
If you really think about the things you need to make yourself happy — housing, security, opportunity for your kids … it’s not that hard for us to provide those things. The idea that everyone needs to work frantically to meet peoples’ needs is not true.
Brin and Page respond to a suggestion by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla that Google’s healthcare technology may become a bigger business than its social media or search business. Brin responds:
Generally, health is just so heavily regulated. It’s just a painful business to be in. It’s just not necessarily how I want to spend my time. Even though we do have some health projects, and we’ll be doing that to a certain extent.
Page adds:
I am really excited about the possibility of data also, to improve health. But that’s– I think what Sergey’s saying, it’s so heavily regulated.
Google notifies Google Ad Words advertisers that they will no longer show ads that contain sexual imagery including, but not limited to, hardcore pornography; graphic sexual acts including sex acts such as masturbation; genital, anal, and oral sexual activity. The company says it’s made this decision to no longer allow porn ads:
as an effort to continually improve users’ experiences with AdWords.
Google blocks a Gmail user from accessing a confidential message that was accidentally sent by a Goldman Sachs contractor, a Goldman spokesperson told Reuters Wednesday. The email contained confidential and privileged client information and was sent to “gmail.com” instead of “gs.com.” The error may have caused a “needless and massive” breach of privacy, so the company asked Google to block the message, and the company complied with the request. The email is blocked but not deleted, an action that requires a court order. The previous day, Goldman Sachs files a complaint in a New York state court in Manhattan to have the email deleted. In the court documents the firm states:
Emergency relief is necessary to avoid the risk of inflicting a needless and massive privacy violation upon Goldman Sachs’ clients, and to avoid the risk of unnecessary reputational damage to Goldman Sachs.
Google acquires Songza, a service that creates soundtracks tailored to people’s changing moods, and plans to blend Songza’s technology into its own music streaming service. This service will cost $10 per month. Financial terms of the deal are not disclosed. Songza:
We can’t think of a better company to join in our quest to provide the perfect soundtrack for everything you do.
Google announces that it plans to shut down its first social networking site, Orkut, on September 30, 2014. Google plans to dedicate its resources to Google+, Blogger, and YouTube. Users can download their posts from Google Takeout, and the site will be archived by Google:
It’s been a great 10 years, and we apologize to those still actively using the service. We hope people will find other online communities to spark more conversations and build even more connections for the next decade and beyond.
It is reported by Cuban news site 14ymedio that Google executives including Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt visit Cuba to “to promote the virtues of a free and open Internet” in the country. Only 2.6 million out of 11.2 million people in Cuba have Internet access, and it is censored in the country.
