Now an Online Calendar!

Screenshots have been leaked (I can't recall a single Google product that hasn't been leaked....). Two parts of the online office are now in place, since this week's announcement of Google purchasing Writely

Kosmix - a new Google with category limits (this is good!)

Kosmix is a new breed of search engine. We already have meta-search engines that split results into categories, and hardly anyone used them.

Kosmix appears to pre-determine the categories of indexed sites, and then when you search using that category, only those sites are included in the results. So far they have Health, Travel and Politics categories.

Supposedly the categories are determined by software, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a human element involved....

I believe the Google-beater will be similar to this, and will work one of two ways (or both):

1) The searches drills down through categories, then searches
2) The search starts off ths same as Google, but the results are split into very broad categories

Easy profits from nude pic searches

Google make a lot of money from folk who search for nude pics. And they do so because Google helps them find nude pics for free - which means Google profits while the copyright holder loses out. Intelligent article about all this at CNN

KinderStart sues Google

It's common situation, a web site relies on Google for traffic, and when they drop in rankings they feel cheated. Google's system is automated, so sometimes sites will lose their rank when they shouldn't, as KinderStart is saying. They need to prove that Google has become an “essential facility”, whereas Google need to prove that their system is a trade secret. More...

Google Print Ads Flop

CoffeeCup Software got three half-page ads in Martha Stewart Living for only $4,000 each, instead of the list price of $59,000. This indicates a huge lack of interest in Google's product. More...

Google News dumps I-Newswire

I-Newswire is a free press-release distribution service. Free typically means "open to abuse":

This prompted 16 year-old blogger Tom Vendetta to send out a fake press release announcing that he was hired by Google to fix a security vulnerability in the Gmail service. The spoof received wide attention in the blogosphere. Vendetta has since apologised.

More...

Google Finance

Remembeer when Google said they would never become a portal? The latest portalesque move is Google Finance, a less comprehensive clone of the 10-year-old Yahoo Finance. But it does have the very neat "ability to view financial news alongside historical price charts over various time frames. As the user zooms back in time, the news results change with the date." More...

Google purchases Writely

Pre-empting Microsoft Office Live, Google now offer an online word processor, Writely. AND, Google have a revenue model - they'll just stick ads alongside the document you are working on, and the ads will match the content you are writing (I presume).

Just imagine it - stream of conciousness shopping. Just type whatever comes to mind, and buy whatever is advertised by Google!

Google Adwords: Starter Edition

Less options, less flexibility, easier to get going - new Adwords customers can now choose the "Starter Edition". More...

Google Trusted Tester Program

What it is: employees and the friends/relatives get to test-drive new Google applications that have yet to be announced. Cool! More...

Time Magazine: Inside Google HQ

24 Hr Tech Repairs
Swimming Pools
Cut-Rate Haircuts / Massages
Bring Your Dog to Work

11 pics from inside what would be called a "cult" if they didn't pay so well

Google cuts deal with DoJ

In a 90-minute court hearing in San Jose, a Judge has said that Google must hand over some search data to the Department of Justice, but less than Federal lawyers had originally wanted. Judge James Ware said he'd produce a definitive written list shortly.

More...

Google visits Mars

The Mars Map Explorer has been launched. I can't tell why this needs to be a Google-branded product, but I guess it gives it more exposure and gives them an extra story today (as if they need more media mentions...). More...

Google: Worst Order Conversion Rate

For the month of January, AOL Search generated the best conversion rate at business-to consumer e-commerce sites (6.17 percent), followed by MSN (6.03 percent), Yahoo (4.07 percent) and Google (3.83 percent), according to the WebSideStory Index

More...

Google & Firefox building anti-phishing technology

It will be a part of FireFox 2.0, and very welcomed!

It will most likely be similar to the extension Google has already created

$90 Million set aside for Click Fraud

Google are about to settle a click fraud case, and Google say at their blog:

Google currently allows advertisers to apply for reimbursement for clicks they believe are invalid. They can do this for clicks that happen during the 60 days prior to notifying Google. Under the agreement with the plaintiffs, we are going to open up that window for all advertisers, regardless of when the questionable clicks occurred. For all eligible invalid clicks, we will offer credits which can be used to purchase new advertising with Google. We do not know how many will apply and receive credits, but under the agreement, the total amount of credits, plus attorneys fees, will not exceed $90 million.

Google Desktop fails to track moved files

MercuryNews.com reports on a problem in Google Desktop software. When you move a file from a location on your computer to a different location, Google Desktop reportedly does not track that move. So if you search on a file that was moved, after installing Google Desktop, the file will not be correctly presented to you. The problem is, Google Desktop indexes all your files when it is first installed, then it indexes any new files added, but it does not update the index for files that are moved from location to location. The only solution I am aware of is to delete Google Desktop and then reinstall it from scratch - this way Google Desktop indexes your files all over again.

Found at SEW

Google Leaks Future Hope for Free Storage Service

Using 3rd party utilities, it is possible to map your GMail account as a psuedo-drive in Windows and use the account as a drag-and-drop file system. With these tools, some users have even sent themselves invites to chain together accounts for an effectively unlimited amount of network storage space.

According to reports however, sometime in the near future this activity may no longer be limited to 3rd party utilities. On Google's anlaysis day, a document presented contained information about a possible service called GDrive.

Fidelity now owns 11% of Google

Fidelity Investments reportedly purchased 2.4 million shares of Google last quarter, giving it 22.6 million shares total, an 11 percent stake. Unfortunately they bought them before they dropped dramatically in price.

You'd think an 11% shareholder might have had more clues about Google's financials?

Google grabs greater share of searches in 2005

Google had 43.1 percent of search share in December 2004, which grew to 48.8 percent in December 2005, a 5.7 point increase.

Yahoo Search dropped 0.3 points from a 21.7 percent share in December 2004 to 21.4 percent December 2005. MSN Search lost 3.1 points from 14.0 percent share in to 10.9 for the same months. More...

Google stock plunges again

GOOG stocks cropped more than 10 percent Tuesday morning after Chief Financial Officer George Reyes told investors that growth at the online search leader was slowing. More...