Valentin's Blog: Google Base Starting To Make Sense?

Valentin's Blog: Google Base Starting To Make Sense?: "Google Base Starting To Make Sense?

Let's face it: while this Google Base thing sounded exciting at first, it turned out to be kind of dull. Google Base seemed poised to organize all the worlds data in a structured format - but then all but ignored the problems that make this a hard task. Multiple schemas for the same class of items? (Not our problem) Interface to extremely heterogenous data? (Just expose the underlaying data model) Trust? (T.. what?) Linking and reuse? Any kind of access control?
At the same time Google did not offer any decent API that would have enabled people to easily build applications on top of the Google Base data. I was really starting to wonder ....

But then, this announcement and even more this article by TechCrunch explained everything (well, something): Google is now offering a payment service, specifically it allows Google Base items to be sold, facilitating the transaction through Google Payments.

So Google Base is meant to be an internal infrastructure on top of which Google will continue to add other applications. In Addition, now with Google Payments in place, the Google Base + Payments combination will become a major competitor for Ebay and Amazon. And while I'm still not a fan of handing Google a monopoly on too much data, I very much welcome this develo"

Google's Safe Browsing for Firefox Has Issues

Two Things That Bother Me About Google’s New Firefox Extension

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Nitesh Dhanjani
Dec. 15, 2005 03:26 AM
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Google just released a new Firefox extension called “Safe Browsing for Firefox”. From the "Introduction" section of the plug-in website, here is what it does:

"Google Safe Browsing is an extension to Firefox that alerts you if a web page that you visit appears to be asking for your personal or financial information under false pretences. This type of attack, known as phishing or spoofing, is becoming more sophisticated, widespread and dangerous. That's why it's important to browse safely with Google Safe Browsing. By combining advanced algorithms with reports about misleading pages from a number of sources, Safe Browsing is often able to automatically warn you when you encounter a page that's trying to trick you into disclosing personal information."

Good enough. I clicked on the FAQ section of the web-site to learn how the extension works, and here is the explanation given:


"6. How does Google know a page is bogus?
We use several techniques to determine whether a page is genuine, including the use of a blacklist containing pages that have been identified as suspicious and/or misleading based on automated detection or user reports. Our software also examines pages' content and structure in order to catch potentially misleading pages. Google Safe Browsing can't offer perfect protection, so you should always be on the lookout for indications that a site isn't what it appears to be. But Google Safe Browsing can help identify and protect you against many of the sites designed to trick users."


Great – but what information does the extension send to Google? To find out, I intercepted the traffic between my Firefox browser and google.com. For every request you make, the extension invokes /safebrowsing/lookup on http://www.google.com. So, if you were to goto cnn.com with the extension enabled, here is the HTTP GET request that will be sent to http://www.google.com:

COMING SOON: Google Page Creator

Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO » Google Page Creator

Google Page Creator

February 23, 2006 @ 12:02 am · Filed under Google/SEO

Oh, and by the way, it looks like Google has released a tool to make mini-websites. The Google Page Creator at http://pages.google.com/ lets you throw up a quick set of pages without a ton of hassle. Looks like a bunch of different look ‘n’ feel choices:

I only showed a few templates; there’s a couple cool retro ones. It’s late, but I’ll play around with this some and be ready to talk about it at SES NYC next week. If you’re planning on doing a ton of pages or regularly updating content, you’d be better off with Blogger/WordPress/TypePad/etc. But if you just want to put up some relatively static pages or a small site, this could fit the bill. I like that you don’t have to fiddle around with FTP/scp to upload images or change a page.

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AppleInsider | New Apple filing details virtual input touch-screen interface

AppleInsider | New Apple filing details virtual input touch-screen interface: "New Apple filing details virtual input touch-screen interface

By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 12:00 PM EST

Apple Computer in its research and development labs is experimenting with a variety of touch-screen technologies, recent patent filings have revealed.

The latest filing surfaced late last week, describing a virtual input device placement on a touch-screen user interface. Based on the visual diagrams associated with the filing, Apple appears to be working on several methods of displaying a virtual keyboard as part of the Mac OS X interface, which would allow users to type and input data without the use of a physical keyboard.

Virtual keyboard

In the filing, made Sept. 16, 2005, Apple said the technology includes 'an application display, associated with an application executing on the computer, and a virtual input device display for a user to provide input to the application executing on the computer via the touch screen.'

'In response to a virtual input device initiation event, initial characteristics of the virtual input device display are determined,' the filing goes on to read. 'Based on characteristics of the application display and the characteristics of the virtual input device display, initial characteristics of a composite display image are determined including the application display and"

The Dead Parrot Society: Music sharing limits in iTunes 4.7.1

The Dead Parrot Society: Music sharing limits in iTunes 4.7.1: "Music sharing limits in iTunes 4.7.1
Posted by Ryan to category: Music & Technology
01:25 PM Apr 20 | TrackBack (29)

[or: Dear Apple, don't be sneaky]

This news isn't new, but I just found out about it this morning: The latest iTunes upgrade (version 4.7.1) severely limits your ability to share your music library over a local network. Previously, up to five users could connect to your library at any one time. Now, only five users are allowed to connect in any 24-hour period. (George Hotelling has a list of other useful iTunes abilities that have been 'upgraded' out of existence.)

These new limits on library sharing royally screw the college-dorm community, of course, and on a much smaller scale it's tweaked us here where I work. We have an informal network lovingly referred to as 'Radio Free Spokesman,' where 8-10 newsroom employees share their libraries, sample new music, create playlists for each other, etc. We're one of who knows how many groups like this, in office buildings all over the world. In my case, this sharing has exposed me to plenty of music I'd have never listened to otherwise, which in turn has translated into money for artists, via concert tickets and album sales.

All of the sudden, though, we've got brand-new hurdles in tr"

Tip of Day: Beware of Upgrading

I ran across this old post about a dorm getting hosed after upgrading to a new version of iTunes and wanted to share it. The idea of it is that corporations have gotten into the nasty habit of hiding downgrades and marketing them as upgrades. Essentially taking away functionality to protect or placate some regulatory body or to maximize profits and not telling the user. The case below points to iTunes, which I have stopped upgrading. And I warn other iTunes users to stop upgrading - boycott it altogether. The same of course holds true for Microsoft. Don't upgrade Microsoft. Let's see who else we can think of. It becomes especially annoying by the way when you get these popups that say, X app is ready for a new application.

Here's the start of my boycott upgrade list:
iTunes (imposes newminor to major secret DRM barbs each time the upgrade happens)
AOL InstantMessenger (AIM) - now has advertisements all over it and that popup thing that comes up in IE somehow that is like the AIM homepage or something.

Others I suspect:
Adobe Reader (though I have not any proof yet)
GoogleTalk
Google Desktop
Gmail or Google in general (just wait!)
Loyalty cards (imposing more junkmail - not exactly the same issue but let's boycott them anyway?

Non dot-com examples:
Any insurance company!

Who else can we think of??

The Dead Parrot Society: Music sharing limits in iTunes 4.7.1: "Music sharing limits in iTunes 4.7.1
Posted by Ryan to category: Music & Technology
01:25 PM Apr 20 | TrackBack (29)

[or: Dear Apple, don't be sneaky]

This news isn't new, but I just found out about it this morning: The latest iTunes upgrade (version 4.7.1) severely limits your ability to share your music library over a local network. Previously, up to five users could connect to your library at any one time. Now, only five users are allowed to connect in any 24-hour period. (George Hotelling has a list of other useful iTunes abilities that have been 'upgraded' out of existence.)

These new limits on library sharing royally screw the college-dorm community, of course, and on a much smaller scale it's tweaked us here where I work. We have an informal network lovingly referred to as 'Radio Free Spokesman,' where 8-10 newsroom employees share their libraries, sample new music, create playlists for each other, etc. We're one of who knows how many groups like this, in office buildings all over the world. In my case, this sharing has exposed me to plenty of music I'd have never listened to otherwise, which in turn has translated into money for artists, via concert tickets and album sales.

All of the sudden, though, we've got brand-new hurdles in tr"

Google to feds: Back off | CNET News.com

Google to feds: Back off | CNET News.com: "Google's defense of privacy

Google has offered multiple reasons why it shouldn't have to comply with a Justice Department subpoena. One is privacy. An excerpt:

'If Google is forced to compromise its privacy principles and produce to the Government on such a flimsy request, its search query and URL data, Google will, without a doubt, suffer a loss of trust among users. Google's success can be attributed in large part to the high volume of Web users attracted to Google.com every day. The privacy and anonymity of the service are major factors in the attraction of users--that is, users trust Google to do right by their personal information and to provide them with the best search results. If users believe that the text of their search queries into Google's search engine may become public knowledge, it only logically follows that they will be less likely to use the service.'"

Microsoft and Trust | Bayosphere

Microsoft and Trust | Bayosphere: " *

Submitted by Dan Gillmor on Wed, 02/15/2006 - 2:58pm.

BBC: UK holds Microsoft security talks. UK officials are talking to Microsoft over fears the new version of Windows could make it harder for police to read suspects' computer files. Windows Vista is due to be rolled out later this year. Cambridge academic Ross Anderson told MPs it would mean more computer files being encrypted. He urged the government to look at establishing 'back door' ways of getting around encryptions. The Home Office later told the BBC News website it is in talks with Microsoft.

A backdoor for government snoops will inevitably be a backdoor for abuse -- by governments and the criminals who'll find ways to hack into it as well.

It's incredibly disappointing -- if this story is correct -- that Ross Anderson would be giving such advice. Anderson has been one of people most alert to the dangers of untrammeled spying on our lives. If he's suggesting backdoors, and if they are being created by an unholy alliance of Microsoft and governments, UK citizens are being betrayed.

Meanwhile, we have to assume that such doings are in the works in the U.S. as well. There's no doubt whatever that the Bush administration wants it, and given the coziness between Bush -- who gave Microsoft a pass on its antitrust lawbreaking -- and the"

Public Knowledge - Saving the Internet

Public Knowledge - Saving the Internet: "Saving the Internet

Recently, executives at some telephone companies have indicated that their business models for providing broadband service include not only charging their end-user customers for an Internet connection but also assessing a fee on websites for users to reach them more quickly. They claim that to offer advanced content such as multiple video-programming channels in competition with cable they need to prioritize their bits to deliver quality programs. They then propose that they will give the same priority access to other companies that pay them for it.

Essentially, what these executives are proposing is the creation of a two-lane Internet where larger, more established websites with financial resources could squeeze out smaller, emerging websites. One clear victim will be the innovation that has thrived on the open Internet. Startups simply could not afford to pay for fast-lane treatment nationwide. One must ask where the next Google or Yahoo will come from if new innovative companies can receive only inferior, slow-lane Internet access.

By: Rep. Rick Boucher, The Hill
Link"

Open Letter to Google

OK, here's my letter, ahem, really a question. This after noticing my site is now showing Google ads instead of Blog ads.

If Google Ads are appearing on my site, does Google pay me for them? If not, then Google has just invented another free way to get people to advertise. Create the tools and give them away for free, and Google will be everywhere. It's a simple model and it's working.

Googles Click to Call tests - The Unofficial Google Weblog

Googles Click to Call tests - The Unofficial Google Weblog: "Googles Click to Call tests

Posted Feb 14th 2006 10:00PM by Chris Gilmer
Google's Click-to-Call feature has some test running right now in the search engine. When 'Artisan Hotel' was searched for, the little green phone icon came up beside the ad, when clicked on, it opened an Ajax window with a text field to enter your phone number. "

Tibetans protest Google - The Unofficial Google Weblog

Tibetans protest Google - The Unofficial Google Weblog: "Tibetans protest Google

Posted Feb 14th 2006 2:14PM by Chris Gilmer
Angry Tibetans protested Google's launch of the the censored China Google search engine today. The Google China version of the engine adheres to the Chinese governments restrictions on free speech.

Not only did the protestors sent out email blasts to 30,000 people across the world urging them to not search google today, but the protestors also assembled in the Dharmsala square by the Indian headquarters of the exiled Tibetan government. They carried signs reading 'Google, Don't be Evil', and 'Gulag, Censoring Search by Search.'
"

Google Beating Microsoft on all Fronts

NOSE: Innovation, eLearning, Educational Technology, OpenSource : Microsoft's Press vs Google's Press: "Microsoft's Press vs Google's Press

Robert Scoble, a Microsoft blogger, complains that Google's private-domain Gmail service has generated buzz among the digerati while Microsoft's launch of a similar service went completely unnoticed:

'Case in point: looks like Google is in some sort of closed beta for a domains service and the digerati are all a-buzz. Hmmm... turns out some of my colleagues in Redmond launched a new domains service for Windows Live way back in November, it's open to the public AND we have a bunch of folks using it including a slew of universities around the world. '

I did some checking and there appear to be some important differences. First, Microsoft's 'Custom Domains' program caps the email accounts to 60 per domain and 250 MB storage per user. There is no information on Google's program but I will bet that they won't be as miserly. Second, Microsoft's Windows Live @ edu program for universities requires --it's buried in an obscure footnote at the bottom of the page---installing Microsoft's Identity infrastructure and hefty license fees I am sure! Unless the university is already a Microsoft shop, particularly at the infrastructure level, Microsoft's offering is not in the least bit attractive.


Here's the footnote:

'1The "

Google + My Data = Crazy Conspicuous at FactoryCity

Here is a great rant on privacy concerns on Google. This is really interesting.

Google + My Data = Crazy Conspicuous at FactoryCity: "gle + My Data = Crazy Conspicuous
Published by FactoryJoe 3 days, 21 hours ago in Civil liberties, Society & economy, Technology, Life online, Open source.
Tags: google, googlenet, privacy, surveillance, takebackmydata.

Crazy ConspicuousSee? This is what I was talking about. This is the slow steady systematic decline that I was talking about.

Don’t believe me yet, tha’s coo.

Coz see, now that Google can track your email, your search history, your chats, what comes next? Gee, let’s see. Would be nice if you could go back and grab your cell phone convos right? Oh wait, Gtalk and FON will help there… And where you’ve been? Dodgeball’s got that covered. Hell, you can even map that stuff on Gmaps—or one step bigger—Earth.

So what happens when Google rolls out wifi or flips the switch on all that dark fiber it’s got?

Tell you what, yeah, you’ll be able to get movies downloaded hella fast, but Google will also have the most lucrative person-database ever assembled. That Google credit card you just applied for? Ho ho ho. MAN I wish that kind of information about myself."

AppleInsider | Analyst predicts iBooks, touch-screen iPod at event in April

AppleInsider | Analyst predicts iBooks, touch-screen iPod at event in April: "Analyst predicts iBooks, touch-screen iPod at event in April

By Kasper Jade
Published: 09:00 AM EST

Analysts for Needham & Co this week said they believe Apple will hold a special media event sometime in April to unveil Intel-based iBooks and a touch-screen video iPod.

'At the end of his Macworld keynote address in January, Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, noted that the company will celebrate its 30th birthday on April 1, 2006,' analyst Charles Wolf wrote in a research note released to clients on Thursday. 'While it’s possible that Jobs’ was simply pointing out the longevity of Apple, we interpret it as a signal that Apple will hold a major birthday party in the form of new product event around that date, most likely in early April.'

In recent weeks, sources have told AppleInsider that Apple is preparing for a special event to introduce new products, but were short on specifics and did not provide a precise time-frame.

'The one sure-fire product Apple has to introduce is an iBook running on the Intel single core Yonah processor,' wrote Wolf. The analyst notes that the K-12 school-buying season begins in May; and the iBook represents an increasing fraction of Apple sales in this market. 'Failure to have an Intel iBook ready for the school-buying season could sig"

My Love and Fear of Google - The Conundrum

EFF: Breaking News: "Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation

I am personally struggling with this, as I obviously love Google to death, but all these issues are very big. There are people like me who have given up my privacy in things like blogging and by obviously using Google, but other people like my parents will definitely not be thinking this or reading these things. So how will they know.

So anyway, this user is in a bind - love-fear relationship with Google. I imagine there are going to be millions of articles on this subject and it's going to be a miserable PR campaign for Google. It's ironic because their whole deal is that they will be good and do no evil and here all these groups are saying, yes, but maybe they are evil, or at least be careful with them because you shouldn't trust them, particularly because of the government's interest in them as this article below states.

Consumers Should Not Use New Google Desktop

San Francisco - Google today announced a new 'feature' of its Google Desktop software that greatly increases the risk to consumer privacy. If a consumer chooses to use it, the new 'Search Across Computers' feature will store copies of the user's Word documents, PDFs, spreadsheets and other text-based documents on Google's own servers, to enable searching from any one of the user's computers. EFF urges consumers not to use this feature, because it will make their personal data more vulnerable to subpoenas from the government and possibly private litigants, while providing a convenient one-stop-shop for hackers who've obtained a user's Google password.

'Coming on the heels of serious consumer concern about government snooping into Google's search logs, it's shocking that Google expects its users to now trust it with the contents of their personal computers,' said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. 'If you use the Search Across Computers feature and don't configure Google Desktop very carefully—and most people won't—Google will have copies of your tax returns, love letters, business records, financial and medical files, and whatever other text-based documents the Desktop software can index. The government could then demand these personal files with only a s"

Lunch over IP: In Google we trust?

Lunch over IP: In Google we trust?: "In Google we trust?

This used to be Google's privacy policy concerning its desktop search tool - a popular local version of the Google engine that you can download and which searches your own computer:

These combined results can be seen only from your own computer; your computer's content is never sent to Google (or anyone else). (full)

Googledesktoplogo Then yesterday Google released a new version of the desktop tool (3.0) and it includes a new feature, Search Across Computers. This allows you to search your own files (Word, Excel, PPT, PDF and Web history) from other computers. This looks like a quite useful feature: you're travelling without your laptop and something comes up and you absolutely need that spreadsheet. You can call up someone, give her/him your password and access to your computer, guide her through your files tree, and so on. Or you can borrow the first connected computer, log onto your Google account, and retrieve it.
In order to do this however, copies of your files must be first uploaded to the Google servers:

We first copy this content to Google Desktop servers located at Google (...) your data is never accessible by anyone doing a Google search. (full)

That's a big, big difference from the previous privacy language. There is a lot of embedded 'trust me' here."

Official Google Blog: New on your Desktop

Official Google Blog: New on your Desktop: "Googler insights into product and technology news and our culture.
New on your Desktop

2/09/2006 07:05:00 AM
Posted by Posted by Kan Liu, Product Manager, Google Desktop

In v.1 of Google Desktop, we focused on helping you quickly find existing information on your own computer. In v. 2, it became easier to organize and find new personalized information from all over the web via the Sidebar. Now there's v.3, in which you can also search across multiple computers to find your information. You don't have to worry about where it lives; it's available anywhere you are. If you've ever created a document but forgot whether it's on your laptop or desktop, then you can appreciate why we built this feature.

And if you find something interesting in the Sidebar (an interesting newsbit, weekend weather, a hot stock), now you can right-click on the item and send it directly to your friend's Sidebar. Or hey, just play Tic-Tac-Toe with your pal (another Sidebar newbie). And speaking of pals, we're keen to see what other collaborative panels the developers among us can come up with (I'd love to see a chess game!). Anyone who can write a web page can write a panel, so head to the developer site to try your hand.

The only catch with having desktop tools is that they take up valuable screen real estate. Now you ca"

Techdirt:The Potential Of Google Sync To Be Used For Both Good And Evil

Techdirt:The Potential Of Google Sync To Be Used For Both Good And Evil: "The Potential Of Google Sync To Be Used For Both Good And Evil
(Mis)Uses of Technology Contributed by Mike on Thursday, February 9th, 2006 @ 09:24AM
from the linking-up dept.
When Google first launched its desktop search product over a year ago, some wondered if it would end up being a gateway to accessing data on your desktop from other devices, such as mobile phones. While Google hadn't said much about it, it now looks like they may be moving in that general direction. The company has launched a new product that turns the Google desktop product into a tool for linking and syncing data on different machines. Right now, it appears to just be computer to computer, but it's not hard to see how this could expand much further as well. What's interesting, though, and perhaps a bit problematic, is that Google is storing data on its own servers for about 30 days in order to do this -- rather than doing direct peer-to-peer. This has the advantage of allowing people to sync, even when a machine is offline. However, it also raises some questions. While some think that makes it compelling, as it will allow a number of new applications to be developed, others worry about it, in light of the recent attempt by the government to get access to Google data. This might be a case where they're both right."

AOL and Yahoo put price on e-mail - Technology - International Herald Tribune

AOL and Yahoo put price on e-mail - Technology - International Herald Tribune: "AOL and Yahoo put price on e-mail
By Saul Hansell The New York Times

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2006
NEW YORK Companies will soon have to buy the electronic equivalent of a postage stamp if they want to be certain that their e-mail will be delivered to many of their customers.

America Online and Yahoo, two of the world's largest providers of e-mail accounts, are about to start using a system that gives preferential treatment to messages from companies that pay from a quarter of a cent to 1 cent each to have them delivered. The Internet companies say this will help them identify legitimate mail and cut down on junk e-mail, identity-theft scams and other scourges of users of their services.

The two companies also stand to earn millions of dollars a year from the system if it is widely adopted.

AOL and Yahoo will still accept e-mail from senders who have not paid, but the paid messages will be given special treatment. On AOL, for example, they will go straight to users' main mailboxes and will not have to pass the gauntlet of spam filters that could divert them to a special bulk e-mail box or strip them of images and Web links.

Yahoo and AOL say the new system is a way to restore some order to e-mail, which, because of spam and online scams, has becom"

» Google Toolbar SMS May Log Your Text Messages » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel

» Google Toolbar SMS May Log Your Text Messages » InsideGoogle » part of the Blog News Channel: "Google Toolbar SMS May Log Your Text Messages
By Nathan Weinberg

Devin Reams notices that Google’s Firefox Send To SMS extension reserves the right to log all of your text messages, and I’ve checked, and the same policy applies to a similar feature in Toolbar 4.

From the Firefox Send to Phone FAQ:

When you send a message using Google Send to Phone, Google will receive and log the IP address [?] and one or more cookies from the computer you are using, as well as information about the mobile phone you are sending to, including the phone’s telephone number and carrier. In addition, we might also log the text of the message you send, in order to investigate and correct technical problems with the service.

In the Privacy Practices entry of the Send To feature on the new Toolbar:

If you send text through SMS using Send To feature of the Google Toolbar, Google logs the number and carrier the message is sent to, and in some cases may record the text sent for debugging purposes.

I can understand logging the carrier number and a few details of random text messages for debugging purposes, but I can’t imagine what is accomplished by logging whole"