Sundar Pichai just became the second-most-powerful man within Google, and is now overseeing search, infrastructure, maps, commerce, ads and more as well as Chrome and Android.…
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EU regulators remind Google what compliance with privacy law means (again)
A group of European privacy regulators has sent Google suggestions for complying with EU data protection rules. As Reuters reported Friday, the…
Read MoreYou may own shares in Google and Facebook, but you have virtually no say in what they do — and that’s wrong
Google has issued new non-voting shares that help consolidate power in the hands of its co-founders, in the same way Mark Zuckerberg controls Facebook. But just because you happen to like the dictator doesn't mean you aren't living in a dictatorship…
Read MoreWith Motorola sale and Samsung peace, Google finds practical exit to an unconventional (and expensive) deal
Motorola wasn't the albatross many feared (or hoped) it would become for Google, but it was a wedge issue between Google and Samsung, its most important Android partner. Soon, that will be resolved.…
Read MoreTo live and die in public: That’s Twitter
Twitter is making its debut on the public markets and with that the fortunes of its founders, employees and many of its investors will change. As it crosses into adulthood, Twitter and its new owners need to remember this one thing -- Twitter is us!…
Read MoreGoogle’s latest ‘moonshot’: improving health and extending your life with Calico
Led by the former CEO of biotech company Genentech and Apple chairman Arthur Levinson, Google's latest venture, Calico, wants to tackle aging and related illnesses.…
Read MoreWhy Google should be sweating about Europe’s privacy policy crackdown
The UK's data protection authority has ordered Google to change its privacy policy, while action is also being taken in Germany and Spain. The company faces an increasingly co-ordinated regulatory adversary.…
Read MorePrivacy is the biggest of several speed bumps for Google Glass
Google Glass won't support apps that leverage facial recognition technology due to privacy concerns, the company recently said. And privacy is one of several major challenges the cutting-edge spectacles will face as they hit the consumer market next year.…
Read MoreThe week in cloud: Google and Microsoft spar while IBM and SAP play hot hands
Google and Microsoft slapfest continues; IBM pushes Watson for third-party apps; SAP bets big on HANA for ERP.…
Read MoreGoogle CEO Larry Page: Do as I say, not as I do
Google CEO Larry Page, who has been suffering from vocal cord issues, showed up at the end of the Google I/O keynote and spent some time talking about his vision of technology and took questions from the audience. And that's when the fun started.…
Read MoreThe web giants are rising above humans and their petty rules, and that worries me
The titans of the web are rebels, playing by their own rules. That is to be applauded at times, but we should also be thinking about the wider, long-term implications for society and fair competition.…
Read MoreWhy the snap of a photo changed my mind about Google Glass
Until I tried them on, I had no interest in wearing Google Glass around town. But the simple snap of a photo with Google Glass on Wednesday without moving my head or hands gave me a new understanding of Glass.…
Read MoreWhat Google was thinking when redesigning the new Google+
Google's reworking of its social network, Google+ shows that the company has started to marry data with design and craft new experiences. Will that be enough to turn you and I into active participants? Who, knows, I am just happy it doesn't look like Facebook.…
Read MoreStruggling Google Wallet reportedly abandons the idea of plastic cards
Google has reportedly abandoned plans to launch a physical Google Wallet card. The company's mobile payment system has been slow to take off.…
Read MoreGigaOM Reads: A look back at the week in tech
First the New York Times rankles Facebook and then they release a new feed redesign; technology is making people richer, though not as many billionaires; Time runs out for Time Inc.; some VCs have problems & Spotify has more new competition; and a few stories we recommend.…
Read MoreThe technological imperative: An excerpt from The Battle for the Books
In the latest GigaOM Book, Jeff John Roberts provides an in-depth look at the twists and turns behind Google's attempt to digitize the world's books. This excerpt examines why the company took on the project, which promised minimal financial benefit but plenty of legal headaches.…
Read MoreGoogle has $8 billion in mobile revenue: is that good or bad?
Google disclosed that it's on pace to pull in an impressive $8 billion from the mobile environment -- but its refusal to provide details about the nature of that revenue means it's still not possible to tell whether the company can thrive without desktop computers.…
Read MoreReport: Apple, Google CEOs’ talk could mean possible patent truce
The impetus for these talks was reportedly Apple's landmark victory in its Samsung patent case last Friday. Apple hasn't sued Google directly for infringing on iOS patents with Android, but a jury found very easily that Google's most important and most successful Android customer did.…
Read MoreBoth Google — and CEO Page — still quiet on mobile ad specifics
Google offered few details about search advertising on cell phones even while noting that 400 million people are now using mobile devices that use its Android software. Meanwhile, Google's CEO was unable to speak about the topic at all.…
Read MoreApplying The Muppet Theory to tech — who are the Chaos Muppets?
The Muppet Theory making the rounds of late holds that everyone is either either a Chaos Muppet -- volatile, energetic, perhaps brilliant -- or an Order Muppet, surprise-averse, and hyper-organized. The late Steve Jobs? Order Muppet extraordinaire. Steve Ballmer? Hmmmm. Larry Page?…
Read MoreSo Google owns Motorola. What happens now?
After waiting months and finally gaining approval from China on the deal, Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola closed on Tuesday. While the deal is still about patents to protect Android partners, Google finally has a vehicle to gain control of Android over the long term.…
Read MoreHow Google is growing up into a real IT company
Of the dozens of meeting requests I received for this year's Interop conference, the one I least expected came from Google. Interop is all about enterprise IT -- networks, security, servers, stuff with gravitas. But in its own way, Google is becoming a serious IT company.…
Read MoreHow tech’s giants want to re-invent journalism
Some of Silicon Valley’s biggest technology companies keep rejecting comparisons with news organisations. But they nevertheless think they have the prescription for what news media must do next...…
Read MoreAsteroids: a future source of energy materials
Here is a wild idea: mining energy materials for batteries, fuel cells and other electronic devices from asteroids. Except that is exactly the plan announced by a startup on Tuesday that counts Larry Page and Eric Schmidt as investors.…
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