1. And you thought Google Pac-Man was time-consuming.

    And you thought Google Pac-Man was time-consuming.

  2. Hank Green, with the help of Potter know-it-all Melissa Anelli, made a Google search story, closely resembling the Google Super Bowl ad, based on the Harry Potter series.

  3. Let’s face it, Google is turning into Facebook: a company that will make anything popular, disregarding what their users want. Google does video. And photos. And email. And music. And blogging. And health records. And browsers. And operating systems. And social networking. And, now, broadband. Google shouldn’t give a damn about being a social network, or any third party device for that matter. What they should care about is being the best damn search engine around. It was what the site started as, why it got discovered, and why people come back to it. It’s the best damn search engine around, and, quite frankly, all this other bullshit they’re making to “stay in the game” is useless. Sure, a lot of it is useful; I couldn’t live without Gmail, Google Maps or YouTube, and both are major forces in the digital world. But Super Bowl ads? “Reinventing email”? Thanks, but pass. I could care less about Buzz. It’s no different than any other Twitter clone out there. Which is why it being a product of Google bothers me: If Google, the most popular search engine, and the most visited website in the world, is going to release a product, it should be revolutionary, interesting, or game-changing in some way, not just pointless. So, when Google Buzz fails, don’t be surprised. And when you sit around, wondering what ever happened to the little search engine that could, don’t be surprised, either. You have to know when too much is too much, and, right now, it looks like Google doesn’t.

    Let’s face it, Google is turning into Facebook: a company that will make anything popular, disregarding what their users want. Google does video. And photos. And email. And music. And blogging. And health records. And browsers. And operating systems. And social networking. And, now, broadband.

    Google shouldn’t give a damn about being a social network, or any third party device for that matter. What they should care about is being the best damn search engine around. It was what the site started as, why it got discovered, and why people come back to it. It’s the best damn search engine around, and, quite frankly, all this other bullshit they’re making to “stay in the game” is useless.

    Sure, a lot of it is useful; I couldn’t live without Gmail, Google Maps or YouTube, and both are major forces in the digital world. But Super Bowl ads? “Reinventing email”? Thanks, but pass. I could care less about Buzz. It’s no different than any other Twitter clone out there. Which is why it being a product of Google bothers me: If Google, the most popular search engine, and the most visited website in the world, is going to release a product, it should be revolutionary, interesting, or game-changing in some way, not just pointless.

    So, when Google Buzz fails, don’t be surprised. And when you sit around, wondering what ever happened to the little search engine that could, don’t be surprised, either. You have to know when too much is too much, and, right now, it looks like Google doesn’t.

  4. Google’s Nexus One may be a fantastic phone, but one of its “features” is just ####### pointless. Chris Matyszczyk reports for CNET: It will, dare I utter the word when referring to a product from the newly emancipated Google, censor you. You see, the pungently polite people at Reuters were playing with their Nexus One when they noticed something about its built-in voice-to-text feature. Every time they said something naughty into the phone, the naughty word came out as “####”, and not just “f—.” It even censored the “S” part of BS.

    Google’s Nexus One may be a fantastic phone, but one of its “features” is just ####### pointless. Chris Matyszczyk reports for CNET:

    It will, dare I utter the word when referring to a product from the newly emancipated Google, censor you. You see, the pungently polite people at Reuters were playing with their Nexus One when they noticed something about its built-in voice-to-text feature. Every time they said something naughty into the phone, the naughty word came out as “####”, and not just “f—.” It even censored the “S” part of BS.

  5. If you type, “Buddhism is” or “Christianity is,” Google will quickly show you suggestions for what it thinks you might be trying to type. In the former query’s case, the Google guesses “not a religion,” “wrong,” “not what you think.” Christianity gets tougher treatment with the suggestions “bullshit” and “not a religion.” But the query “Islam is”? Not a thing comes to mind for Google to suggest. (Search results are still there, of course.) It’s enough to get some to conclude Google is censoring itself, perhaps as a result of complaints for suggestions that one guesses are just as flattering as those for other faiths. (via Wired)

    If you type, “Buddhism is” or “Christianity is,” Google will quickly show you suggestions for what it thinks you might be trying to type. In the former query’s case, the Google guesses “not a religion,” “wrong,” “not what you think.” Christianity gets tougher treatment with the suggestions “bullshit” and “not a religion.”

    But the query “Islam is”? Not a thing comes to mind for Google to suggest. (Search results are still there, of course.)

    It’s enough to get some to conclude Google is censoring itself, perhaps as a result of complaints for suggestions that one guesses are just as flattering as those for other faiths. (via Wired)

  6. Google’s Chrome browser overtook Apple’s Safari in the final month of 2009 to become the 3rd place browser behind Internet Explorer and Firefox. Web metrics provider Net Applications has released its full month of December stats, confirming that Chrome (Chrome) had 4.63% of the browser market that month, versus 4.46% for Apple’s Safari.

    — Mashable

  7. From the same folks at Whirled Interactive who brought us the excellently funny “Pulp Wave Fiction” comes another intelligent use of Google Wave as a video production medium — this time it’s used to encapsulate the year in news and social media.

    In “Waving Goodbye to 2009,” we see a Google Wave rendition of the year’s most memorable moments. From the Obama inauguration to the Iran elections, from Susan Boyle to Kanye West, the video highlights the best — and worst — moments of 2009. (via Mashable)

  8. Ryan Kelley: How to Try the New Google Search The rumors about Google’s redesign are true, and you can try it for yourself with a very simple method. Click through to see how.

    Ryan Kelley:

    How to Try the New Google Search

    The rumors about Google’s redesign are true, and you can try it for yourself with a very simple method. Click through to see how.

  9. Accurate.

    Accurate.

  10. “The Google Logo Designer Is Having Marital Problems” by David Young

    “The Google Logo Designer Is Having Marital Problems” by David Young

  11. Today, Google is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street with a special Big Bird logo in the US. But, in the UK, Google is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Wallace and Gromit, the main characters in a series of beautiful British animated films. The pair appear on Google’s homepage with Wallace looking through a magnifying glass, which forms an “o” and Gromit drinking a cup of tea while holding a spanner, which forms the “l” in Google. (via The Guardian)

    Today, Google is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street with a special Big Bird logo in the US. But, in the UK, Google is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Wallace and Gromit, the main characters in a series of beautiful British animated films. The pair appear on Google’s homepage with Wallace looking through a magnifying glass, which forms an “o” and Gromit drinking a cup of tea while holding a spanner, which forms the “l” in Google. (via The Guardian)

  12. Why Facebook Should Clone Google Wave →

    History is littered with good ideas that didn’t work out because they were ahead of their time. Tablet PCs didn’t work out a decade ago, but with technology advances, they’re poised to make a comeback. Microsoft’s local information web site Sidewalk.com was a bust in 1997, but now sites like Yelp and Google Maps offer local information that many people couldn’t fathom living without. Virtual currency sites like Beenz and Flooz never took off, but the idea is making a comeback on social networks.

    This week we saw the release of the highly anticipated Google Wave. Wave is an innovative communications platform that combines asynchronous communication (like email) with real-time communication (like chat), an application platform, and discovery tools. It’s been touted as both an email killer and a Facebook killer. In short, there’s a lot of hype, and while Wave may prove to be a huge success, I think one thing it potentially represents is a great opportunity for Facebook.

  13. Oh really now?

    Oh really now?

  14. Everyone seems to be really excited about Google Wave and its potential to change the web. Still, understanding what Wave is all about — and why you should use it — can be difficult to grasp. Thanks to Epipheo Studios, you can now understand how Google Wave works in a way that even your grandma can understand.

  15. The Apple/Google divorce continues to come into focus: Apple quietly bought Placebase, a mapping service company, back in July. Apple doesn’t buy companies it’s not going to use. Meaning, Apple’s getting into making their own maps. Peace out, Google.

    — Gizmodo