Google makes concessions to European book publishers
Google pledged Monday not to sell U.S. books still being distributed in Europe “without express permission of rights holders,” a first concession in the showdown that pits European publishers at American search engine. Google has launched an ambitious project to digitize books in order to develop the largest bookstore in the world via its search service books.
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The search has obtained the consent of the authors and U.S. publishers to scan and sell digital editions of books distributed in the United States, by paying out 63% of profits to the owners. The agreement, strongly criticized by competitors Google, whose online bookseller Amazon has yet to be validated by the U.S. court.
In recent months, the German publishers, Italian or French had also expressed some criticism, particularly fearing that Google claims the right to distribute online books still in circulation in Europe but unavailable in the United States. This is contrary to the Berne Convention, which requires prior approval for all uses, publishers felt.
The guarantee given by Google is “a step in the right direction but it does not allow our members to sleep quietly,” responded a representative of the association of German publishers and booksellers, Jessica Singer. The company also promised that two Europeans, a publisher and author, will be part of the executive committee of the “Register” American identify the beneficiaries.
The European Commission’s view that the scanning of books should be controlled by the public sector but requires the support of large companies for its implementation, expressed support for the “establishment of a regulatory framework promoting a rapid deployment of services similar “to those made possible by the agreement signed by Google in the United States. Viviane Reding and Charlie McCreevy, the two commissioners in charge of the case, must submit their proposals in the coming weeks the European Parliament and member states.
Google and Facebook getting famous in IRAN
Much has been said about “Twitter Revolution” taking place in Iran. Through this website in the form of platform for the exchange of short messages, the Iranian protesters were able to submit information to the world - and rumors - the situation in the country. Twitter has been, at the request of the U.S. government to delay a scheduled maintenance operation for a long time not to deprive the Iranians of that communication tool, more difficult to censor the Web. It’s now the turn of the Google search engine and social networking site Facebook to get in tune with the Iranian crisis.
Google against Microsoft: the war on all fronts
The search engine has new ambitions. This is one of the few weapons still missing from Google to expect a totally dominating the Internet. The U.S. group announced Tuesday, July 7, on his blog, he worked in an operating system for computers, a program that acts as a liaison between the machine (processor, memory, etc..) And applications ( word processing, games …). Chrome OS - is his name - will be based on open source technologies (external developers can modify it at will). Google promises that it will allow faster access to applications on a PC.
The various free services launched by Google
1999 Launch of search engine that quickly ousted the leader of the time, Altavista.
2003 Arrival of the aggregator of information Google News.
2004 The new Gmail e-mail offers for the first time a storage capacity almost unlimited and free. Launch Google Talk instant messaging.
2006 Acquisition of platform sharing of YouTube, the most visited Web. Market introduction of Google Docs, a suite of office software.
2007 Google announced the launch of work Android, an operating system for mobile phones. This team now twenty terminals.
2008 Launch Internet browser Chrome.
July 2009 Announcement of the commissioning of an operating system for notebook computers, OS chrome.
Google notes a return in strength of the spammeurs
Since the closing of the network of McColo lodging in November 2008, the volume of spams sent in the world did not cease increasing, according to Google. This upward trend should continue in 2009.
When the network of McColo lodging, considered then as at the origin of 75 % of the spams sent in the world, was closed last November, much thought that would make it possible to reduce considerably the volume of junk emails in circulation. It was the case with a fall of 70 % of the day at the following day, but the spammeurs unfortunately were not long in rebounding.
According to a message published by Postini, division of Google specialized in the safety of the SAAS, the total volume of spams indeed increased by 156 % since November 2008, at a rate of more than 2 billion e-mail per day. Worse, this volume should return on its level of before November from here a few months, time that the spammeurs find new lodgings for their messages.
In spite of the McColo operation, Postini evaluates to 25 % the increase in the number of spams sent between 2007 and 2008. A user not protected would have received on average 45 000 junk emails in 2008, against 36 000 only in 2007. For this year, the team of Postini expects that the tendency will continue with the rise, with a majority of messages containing of the viruses and trying to delude the user by imitating legitimate addresses of shippers.
In 2008, many users already received false alarms of safety with bonds leading to Web sites lodging a virus. According to Amanda Kleha de Postini, “the spammeurs should continue to develop their platforms by using viruses and other malicious software [...] in order to rebuild what they lost with the closing of the McColo network.”
The spam remaining a subject of topicality, the users of the Web must remain vigilant, abstain from visiting sites whose URL seems doubtful and especially not to open the attached files of email whose shipper is not known.
Will the Chromium OS arrival start again the war of the operating systems?
By announcing a new operating system for 2010, Google does not hide any more its competing inclinations against Microsoft Windows.
Whereas Microsoft continues échiner (in vain apparently) to want to be to counter Google on the ground of the online search (with Live Search then Bing while passing by the attempt of the repurchase of Yahoo), the strategy of Google to encroach on the plat bands of Redmond seems to bear its fruits. After the intrusion of Mountain View in the transport with Gmail, supplemented thereafter office automation in Docs line (French Documents), two products in particular joined together in the offer Google Apps, after the unloading more recently of Android on the smartphone, Google announced to work with the development of an operating system.
Chromium plate OS will not have the role, at the beginning at least, to frontally tackle Windows on its ground: desktop PC and portables (even if OS will be also to be installed on the desktop). With Chromium, Google aims at the netbooks, these portable ultra machines with limited resources equipped with processors x86 (Intel Atom most of the time) and ARM. Chromium plate OS will be adapted perfectly to this last platform while Microsoft (beyond Itanium from Intel) ever did not show inclinations to carry its OS on another architecture but x86. As much to say that Windows XP, even Windows 7 when it is there, could be évincé of the market of the ultra portables if OS does not bring a real added-value to the use of the netbook.
Admittedly, Google did not detail anything of its strategy. But if it applies the same tactics of opening and free licence for the manufacturers, the company directed by Eric Schmidt could force Microsoft well to lower drastiquement its prices with the risk to destabilize the economic model of Redmond. The netbooks compose about 20 % of the portables and the cabinet iSuppli awaits 22 million sales in 2009 and 31 million units for 2010.
One is not there, far from there. And the intentions of Google are probably less to seek to make bite dust at Microsoft on the netbooks to extend its visibility and thus that of advertisers and thus of its incomes (both not being inevitably incompatible). Admittedly, Microsoft remains the Master of the software, to start with its office automation continuation Office. But Google precisely plays the chart of the application to request (SAAS) with an offer, today, sufficiently furnished to meet the principal user’s needs: communications tools, of office automation, research, video platform… It will remain to be checked that the users will be ready to be satisfied with its services in the “cloud” even if Google develops solutions (GEARs) to work in disconnected mode.
Lastly, Chrome OS is not yet available. The operating system will be built of zero starting from a Linux core with the navigator (Chromium, obviously, used by 30 million people in the world according to Google) like principal environment of execution of the Web applications. Those, specifies Google, being “traditional” applications, they will function naturally on all the other OS of the market since a navigator. A quality that Microsoft is far today, to be able to present (all while working there with versions purely Web of Office and the arrival of Online Services). But with Chromium OS, Google could succeed in its bet to make Web a applicative platform.
In addition, Google informs that Chrome OS will take nativement charges the problems with it with safety so that the users do not have to fight against the viruses and other threats of the Web. What would be the ideal (except for the solutions editors of safety). Chromium plate OS, it will not be available before the second half-year 2010. But, developed under an open licence source, its code will be available to the community with which Google hopes well to rest to develop its OS. Now remain to await the counter-attack of Microsoft.
Google updates its Chrome navigator
Correction of the security breaches, improvement of the plugins, enrichment of ergonomics… Google continue the development of Chromium in spite of a still restricted use.
One is still far from version 1.0 “finale” but the developments advance. Google updated, at the end of October, its Chrome navigator launched at the beginning of September 2008. For memory, Google stresses the Chromium capacities to carry out in a powerful and protected way the applications on line. The company of Mountain View in particular developed the engine of V8 Javascript in this direction.
Today, Chrome thus passes from version 0.2 into 0.3 (0.3.154.9 precisely). Normally, the update is carried out in an automatic way to the opening of the navigator (as with the majority of the Google products). The majority of the innovations were tested through the Chromium version for the developers. The “public” Chromium version thus profits from the principal corrections and improvements from the version “developers”.
To start with an update of safety. The corrective measure corrects before all important a bug which allowed the posting of an erroneous address Web in pop-up whose posting was started while clicking on a bond. Exploited at end of phishing and, therefore, flight of personal data, this situation according to Google is not allowed more with new Chromium. In addition, the navigator does not store any more from now on in memory the data exchanged through the protected sites.
Number of bugs were in addition corrected: the scroll on a portable PC functions from now on; the performances of the plugins were improved, and particularly of the readers of video Flash, Silverlight, Quick Time and Windows Media, which tended to solidify Chrome when it video did not take care; finally, to close a page posting a pdf under Acrobat Reader 9 will not plant any more the navigator.
Cosmetic and functional improvements are also proposed: options of opening of the moved windows of the menu of control of the page to that of control of the navigator; the orthographical inspector who functions from now on with the terms seized in the forms; and as a mode of confirmation of the programs downloaded in order to make sure as their execution is well called by the user (not confirmed remote loadings being destroyed by defect).
Chromium plate sorrow today to convince more than 1 % of the Net surfers, according to the analyses of Xiti Monitor. Let us recall however that it is only about one beta release which will be seen regularly enriched and stabilized to its final version. In addition, the development of the solutions on line (to be started with the advertisement of Microsoft Office in Web mode) would tend to give reason to the strategy of Google to make of Chromium a super environment of Javascript execution. But Google will have to prove the relevance of its navigator vis-a-vis the heavy lorries Microsoft Internet Explorer (which arrives in version 
and Mozilla Firefox (of which the 3.1 will also concentrate on the execution of applications on line).
Wave: the “communication unified” according to Google?
To communicate textually on line and to divide also instantaneously contents and flow of information, such is the ambition of the new headlight project of Google.
Texts, photographs, vidéos, charts, gadgets and other media joined together in the same interface which makes it possible to communicate with the whole of its contacts. This electronic white table with the capacities multi-media takes life under the name of Wave at Google after two years of development under the direction of the creators of Maps: Jens and Lars Rasmussen.
“Here how it goes”, explains Lars Rasmussen, “in Google Wave you create a “wave” and to add contacts to it. All those present your vague can use texts, photographs, gadgets enriched, and even of flows resulting from other sources on the Web. They can answer or publish a wave directly. The text-editing grows rich simultaneously, thus you see quasi on line what your collaborators seize your vague. That means that Google Wave is cut for the instantaneous messages as well as for persistent contents. It allows at the same time collaboration and the communication. You can also return behind and see how the wave evolves/moves.” It misses only the word, one would be tempted to write.
For the moment, Wave is not publicly available. Google wishes to make floor the developers on its project before opening it in all the world. Like Chromium or Android, Wave will be thus open source. The company of Mountain View specifies that Wave is a project on three levels: the product, the platform and protocol.
The product is the applicative interface in itself based on the HTML 5 and built starting from the toolkit Ajax Google Web Toolkit. It integrates a powerful editor and practical functionalities such as slip-depositing it. This interface fits in the platform whose API (application program interfaces of applications the) open ones will make it possible to integrate Wave in other online services and to create new extensions. Lastly, the protocol makes it possible to ensure the communication of all shapes of contents. Obviously, it is about a protocol owner, Google not specifying the possible standards of communication used. But the leader of research intends well to open his protocol to make it available and, especially, to generalize it. “To encourage the adoption of the protocol, we intend to open the code of Google Wave”, confirms the person in charge of the project.
It is thus a project of great scale which takes shape behind Wave. Google awaits obviously many the developers before putting between all the hands its new project which it does not envisage to make public before several months. Remain to be seen which will be the uses that have it will be able to make this kind of super instant messaging. To communicate? Admittedly. But obviously, it will be a question of currently communicating in a way rather different from the means of exchange between our hands. Any remainder thus to be invented.
Wave is not besides without making think of Aurora, a project for the moment at the fictitious stage of the Mozilla foundation (more exactly of its laboratories) which describes a navigator interfaced with the system in order to communicate vocally while sharing information dynamically between Net surfers. The race with a new generation of communications tools on line seems indeed launched.
Google leaves Gmail its statute of beta release
Gmail, the webmail of Google, is not any more in beta. Like Apps, its continuation of tools in line intended for the professionals. Remain to be seen which Google strategy it will use to accelerate the expansion of its application.
Five years after its setting on line, Gmail leaves its statute of beta release. “Beta is combined from now on with the past”, confirms Keith Coleman, director of the Gmail developments in Gmail Blog.
Nothing very significant nor any major function lately appeared justifies the choice of Google to leave its webmail its beta release. The product simply sufficiently became ripe so that the engineers decides to leave it its statute of product of test. What should bring to Gmail a legitimacy until waited perhaps certain organization to use it in a professional environment. Because Gmail is not the only concerned one: Google Apps (applicative continuation which joins together GMail, Docs and Calendar) profits from the same mature evolution.
In five years, Gmail profited from many developments. Let us quote, in the disorder, the efficient filter anti spam, the cat integrated then its evolutions with the video interface and the communication of group (for the American version), the support of the POP protocols and IMAP, the mobile version of Gmail, the key words or the wording which make it possible to qualify the emails and the recent function slip-to deposit, the many proposed services since the access to the “Labs”, the mode disconnected Gear, without forgetting the giga storage space (more than 7 Go today) in permanent evolution and which had made the success of Gmail to its launching whereas Google invited its users with “ never to remove email”.
Beta or not, the swing with the “normal” mode of the application will not remove anything with the continuation of its development, on the contrary. “We evolve to a world of fast development cycles where the products as Gmail continue to change constantly”, justifies Keith Coleman. The recent presentation of Wave, left solution of unified communication, shows the search for permanent innovation of Google. So much so that some announce prematurely the death of the email such as one knows it today.
Translated into 53 languages, Gmail is used today by million people in the world. Its progression would be of 48 % over one year and approximately 1,75 million companies would have adopted Google Apps. To tear off the label “beta” with Gmail and Apps shows the intentions of Google to want “professionnaliser” the products. For better selling them?
While waiting to discover the new strategy of Mountain View, Google pushes the perfection until futility while proposing with nostalgic to find the initials “BETA” (and jokes which go with) which appeared in grayed under the logo of Gmail. “Post the Parameters, click on Labs, choose “Return to Beta” and it will be as if Gmail had never left its beta release”, Keith Coleman proposes.
Google releases an atomic bomb on Microsoft: Chromium plate OS
The rumours ran… that for a certain time have been just confirmed and that will make noise: Google will launch to mid the 2010 its own operating system Google Chrome OS. A system conceived to function on the netbooks above all.” It is for us an attempt to reconsider what an operating system should be “, Google announced yesterday evening on its blog.
Let us be clear: this advertisement is a genuine atomic bomb released directly on the head of Microsoft. A master stroke even with a diabolic timing; more and more of people buy of Netbooks who turn under Windows XP; this same 8 years already old XP and which was conceived to function perfectly with Pentium 3 and 4. Google Chrome OS is built to turn on the chips x86 and ARM, those increasingly frequent on Netbooks. It seems obvious that this system will be very light and as rapid as the navigator Web and….” Open source”.
Google written: We have much work and we will need all the Open Source community “.
Google affirms in addition that the software architecture will be in fact” the navigator Web who will turn inside a system of windows over Linux Kernel “. In other words it is at the same time a navigator Web and an operating system. And the developers will be able to develop as they would do it for the Web. What is not yet well clearly this is why to create a new OS in addition to Android?
Chromium plate OS will be turned towards the applications Web and there is no doubt that HTML 5 will have a choice place. Google for publishing the code for Chromium OS with the end of the year for launching envisaged the next year. Do not be surprised if this publication arrives at the moment of the exit of Window 7. The ball is in the camp of Microsoft.
