At the end of a 19 month investigation into Google’s search business by the US Federal Trade Commission, many commentators declared that Google had “dodged a bullet”. In other words, the journalists believed…
A visit to North Korea by Google chairman EricSchmidt and American ambassador to the UN, Bill Richardson has raised diplomatic concerns.
Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico and American ambassador to the United Nations and Google chairman Eric Schmidt have recently arrived in North Korea on a well-publicised private mission to…
Google’s tax-minimisation strategy is causing problems for the Australian Taxation Office.
AAP
It might well have been a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day, but on the very day I had an article in The Conversation called Giant profits, tiny tax bills: time to close loopholes on corporate…
Google Ingress turns walking the city streets into a game of territorial control.
Google
Don’t read technology blogs? Then a new innovation in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMPORGs) may be passing you by. Perhaps, like me, such games have never been of much interest to you…
The imperative to remember information has been replaced with the imperative to remember where information is located.
parkieblues
When Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” hit newsstands in the July/August 2008 edition of The Atlantic, the reaction was predictably vociferous. The essay itself – a 4,175 word editorial…
Despite earning $201 million in revenue, Google Australia paid $74,000 in tax last year.
AAP
For many companies, tax is a cost of business rather than the price we pay for civilised society. The driver for tax minimisation or even avoidance is clear: the less tax business pays, the more profit…
Social media has become more important to political candidates.
AAP
Google “bombs”, Twitter “spam bots” and astroturfing have become tools of the trade during the US election campaign, and are likely to feature in the run-up to next year’s Australian election say experts…
European data protection law and Google seem to be at odds.
Vermin Inc
We all know the basics: when you sign up for a Google account you provide valuable personal information that allows hardworking people at the company to build a profile of you. This will include your age…
Google has attracted 20 million users in its race to capture the education sector.
AAP
After six years targeting the education sector, Google says it has more than 20 million students, faculty and staff around the world using Google Apps for Education. The search engine giant made the announcement…
Replacing Google Maps with Apple Maps has not been without its hiccups.
Bert Kaufmann
Mapping and navigation is at the heart of how we use smartphones today. By extension, the Apple Maps app is at the heart of iOS 6. And so Apple’s decision to swap Google Maps for Apple Maps in its new…
Mark Zuckerberg rings the Nasdaq’s opening bell from the Facebook Headquarters in California.
EPA/Zef Nikolla
With almost a billion accounts and growing, Facebook still has as strong a lock on the concept of sharing as Google does on the concept of search. As such, while no company is immune to failure, the current…
Google could face fines if it doesn’t address alleged anti-competitive practices.
mark knol
The European Commission (EC) has given Google “a matter of weeks” to address concerns the American search giant has “abused a dominant market position”. The announcement overnight (AEST) follows an 18-month…
Semantic search is about recognising the meaning of words, not just the words themselves.
Chris P Jobling
Late last week, Google representatives unveiled a significant enhancement to the company’s ubiquitous search engine. They’re calling it the “Knowledge Graph” and claiming it will support “more intelligent…
We can already control computers with our thoughts, but how deep does the rabbit hole go?
Warner Bros. Pictures
The growth of augmented reality (AR) will almost certainly change the way we visually experience the everyday world. And, as discussed previously on The Conversation, it’s likely to be Google’s Project…
Google Drive has been launched in an already clouded marketplace.
kilokon.tw
In late April, Google announced, in a relatively low-key post on the official company blog, the existence of Google Drive. The service, which has been the subject of rumours and enthusiastic chatter in…
Managing Director of Google Australia and New Zealand Nick Leeder.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The annual $27-billion boost to Australia’s productivity from internet innovation is at threat from policymakers who would rather restrict online access than embrace it, Google’s Australia boss has warned…
Is the search giant’s foray into augmented reality an exciting or daunting vision of the future?
Google
Earlier this month, Google released a video (see below) announcing Project Glass: the development of a pair of glasses with a real difference. Google’s augmented reality eyewear (or “eyeware”) will provide…
Internet surfers will soon be able to go below the surface to immerse themselves in the spectacular coral and marine life of the Great Barrier Reef, under a joint venture between global technology giant…
We all know Google has a history of privacy-related misdemeanors but a report in the Wall Street Journal last week suggests the search giant hasn’t learn from its mistakes. The report, about the findings…