By Kelly Faircloth 5/15 5:20pm

Planet GOOG

(Photo: Screencap)

Hello, Computer! At I/O, Google Debuts Upgraded Maps and ‘Now’ for Desktops

Google made no attempt to top last year’s I/O keynote, featuring skydivers. Instead, viewers were treated to a long, rambling meditation on progress from Google CEO Larry Page, who seemed none too keen on talking about Google Glass.

“Technology should do the hard work,” Mr. Page informed us all, “so that people can get on with doing the things that make them happiest in life.” He also suggested that, “being negative is not how we make progress.” Somehow we doubt that outlook inspires Mr. Page to let his underlings off lightly when they screw something up.

The closest thing to a skydiver was when Robert Scoble popped up at the front of the line for Q&A, announcing himself as ”one of the first glassholes.” “Robert, I didn’t appreciate the shower picture,” Mr. Page replied.

But there were a few big announcements. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 2/22 1:59pm

Schmidt Happens

Mr. Schmidt, laying some knowledge on us. (Screencap)

After Eric Schmidt’s North Korean Jaunt, Foreigners Get 3G But Locals Still Out of Luck

Hard on the heels of Google chairman Eric Schmidt’s jaunt to North Korea, the World’s Most Isolated Country™ is letting a bit of Internet breeze in. The AP reports that foreigners in the country will soon have access to 3G connections, meaning they’ll now be able to fact-check anything their government-assigned tour guides tell them. Be warned, however, that your surroundings are probably bugged six ways to Sunday.  Read More

By Jessica Roy 1/30 3:12pm

Planet GOOG

(Screencap: Google Maps, via Tor.com)

Hunger Games Superfans Uncover the Catching Fire Set on Google Maps

It’s not easy to find a giant patch of land that can be used as a cornucopia set for the upcoming film Catching Fire, part of the young adult sci fi trilogy The Hunger Games. The set, which requires a circular beach with thick jungle encircling it to stay true to the novel, also isn’t easy to replicate in a stuffy Hollywood studio. So the producers headed to a location with more space, with the cornucopia used for the games rumored to be in the Atlanta area. Read More

By Myles Tanzer 11/05/12 11:19am

Apple in Your Eye

Ex-Apple VP Scott Forstall (Photo: Wikipedia.org)

Jealous Apple Might Not Approve a Google Maps App for iOS 6

All teenagers know that the best way to dethrone the popular kid is to not invite him/her to your party. Anyone needing proof of this needs only to look at the climax of Mean Girls, when Cady Haron doesn’t invite Regina George to her house party. Following that principle, it comes as no surprise that Apple, the akward new kid, might not give app store approvalto a new Google Maps app that works with iOS 6. Apple Maps is the newer and less popular kid at school and it wouldn’t want the homecoming king to come back anytime soon.

iPhone users can still bookmark the Safari page for Google Maps, but a standalone app would be better than any mobile web version, and definitely better than Apple’s flawed offering.

Keeping Google out might be good for Apple’s popularity, but is its inferiority complex hurting users? Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 9/24/12 7:00am

Linkages

Serial numbers, plz. (Photo: flickr.com/lynxman)

Booting Up: Be Smartphone Smart Edition

Apple is reportedly attempting to poach members of the Google Maps team. You know what they say: If you can’t beat ‘em, steal ‘em. [TechCrunch]

The latest boat lifted by the rising tide of the New York tech boom: accounting firms. [Crain's New York]

Apparently NYPD officers were stationed outside Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship, asking new iPhone 5 owners to register their serial numbers in case of theft. [Yahoo]

Meanwhile, in New Zealand: A court has ordered an investigation into whether Kim Dotcom was the victim of “unlawful spying.” [BBC News]

By Steve Huff 1:15pm

There's a Map for That

(Original here.)

iOS6 Maps are So Bad They Inspired Their Own Mocking Tumblr

A few days ago Waze CEO Noam Bardin kvetched that Apple’s native mapping app would stink up iOS 6. If The Amazing iOS 6 Maps Tumblr is any indication, he was right.

The screengrabs posted on the site come from iPhones and iPads. While many are self-explanatory, some come with pithy commentary, like this image, captioned, “Freiburg, Germany. Seem to be authentic World War II sattelite  (sic) images”: Read More