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Oracle’s final damage claim against Google well under $100 million — Engadget

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:33:00 +0000

Another Java ROI case study

My, my, my, how the mighty have fallen. In this case, the mighty is the roughly $6 billion Oracle initially sought in its suit against Google. By September of last year that number had dropped to a comparatively paltry $2 billion, which was still too high for presiding Judge William Alsup. Now that has plummeted precipitously, with Oracle's new starting figure sitting at $32.3 million.

Oracle's final damage claim against Google well under $100 million -- Engadget

Continue reading: Oracle’s final damage claim against Google well under $100 million — Engadget

The Encyclopedia Britannica was expensive, useless, and exploitative. I’m glad it’s gone. – Slate Magazine

Peter O'Kelly — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:58:00 +0000

I have happy memories of flipping through (Britannica and World Book) encyclopedias as a child, but I also agree with the perspectives in this Slate article

My advice is to make the wiser, cheaper choice, one that will prove more helpful to your kids in the long run: Pay nothing to Britannica and teach your young ones to use Google and Wikipedia. While there are many legitimate complaints to be leveled at Wikipedia (rarely, it gets things wrong; sometimes, its entries are vandalized), the free, crowdsourced encyclopedia is better than Britannica in every way. It’s cheaper, it’s bigger, it’s more accessible, it’s more inclusive of differing viewpoints and subjects beyond traditional academic scholarship, its entries tend to include more references, and it is more up to date.

Most importantly, learning to navigate Google and Wikipedia prepares you for the real world, while learning to use Britannica teaches you nothing beyond whatever subject you’re investigating at the moment.

The Encyclopedia Britannica was expensive, useless, and exploitative. I’m glad it’s gone. - Slate Magazine

Google Gives Search a Refresh – WSJ.com

Peter O'Kelly — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:54:00 +0000

Concluding paragraphs of an article about Google’s impending semantic shift; also see WSJ Says Big Google Search Changes Coming? Reality Check Time! (Search Engine Land)

But the newest change is expected to go much further, coming as a result of Google's acquisition in 2010 start-up Metaweb Technologies, which had an index of 12 million entities, such as movies, books, companies and celebrities. By comparison, online encyclopedia Wikipedia has 3.5 million English entries, though they include more detailed information.

Mr. Singhal said Google and the Metaweb team, which then numbered around 50 software engineers, have since expanded the size of the index to more than 200 million entities, partly by developing "extraction algorithms," or mathematical formulas that can organize data scattered across the Web. It also approached organizations and government agencies to obtain access to databases, including the CIA World Factbook, which houses up-to-date encyclopedic information about countries worldwide.

Google Gives Search a Refresh - WSJ.com

Inside Search: Video! The search quality meeting, uncut (annotated)

Peter O'Kelly — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:26:00 +0000

An annotated snapshot of how decisions are made in the Googleplex

It took eight video cameras and 16 microphones, but we’ve done something new and special to give you another inside look at how search works. Today we’ve published, for the first time, a video with the uncut discussion of a proposed algorithm change (in this case, an upcoming change to our spell correction system). The language can be technical, so we've included annotations to provide some context for the discussion (and have a little fun!).

Inside Search: Video! The search quality meeting, uncut (annotated)

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Google+ Executive to Critic: ‘Make Sure You’re Using It Correctly’ [Mashable]

Peter O'Kelly — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Check the comment thread on the source post for a case study in cyber-polarization

Still he was not satisfied and asked why Google+ sometimes seems like a ghost town. Gundotra’s response — “Make sure you’re using it correctly” — drew some chuckles as it brought to mind how Apple CEO Steve Jobs responded to criticism of Apple’s antenna attenuation problem, telling users they were holding the phone wrong. Undaunted, Gundotra told Kawasaki that sometimes users post to empty circles without realizing it.

Gundotra said that what people do not understand is that with Google+, Google is actually building 2.0, in other words this is the next generation of Google as a broad-based service.

Google+ Executive to Critic: 'Make Sure You’re Using It Correctly'

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Siri’s big brother from Google – Cringely on technology

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:03:00 +0000

tbd if Microsoft has quietly hired a bunch of CALO alumni (see the full post for more context-setting)

With today’s introduction of Apple’s iPad 3 or iPad HD or whatever the hell they end up calling it, I think we’ll be entering a pretty Siri-ous phase when it comes to mobile Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Apple has a winner in Siri, its iOS digital assistant app, and knows it, so we’ll soon be seeing all-Siri, all the time in Apple products to come this year including, no doubt, Cupertino’s own big-screen TV. But this is not to say that Google’s Android will be far behind. There are stories popping-up about Google doing its own Siri-like app. But I expect Google to go significantly beyond Siri capability and I base that belief on the fact that Google has been working in this area since at least 2008, when they hired one of the scientists who did the basic research behind this category-shaping product.

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Siri’s big brother from Google - Cringely on technology

Countering the Google Plus Image Problem – NYTimes.com

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:30:00 +0000

If you have used a Google service lately and/or own an Android smartphone, I’m guessing Google considers you a member of both the Google+ and Google Play user communities

But Nate Elliott, a vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research, said the numbers just are not adding up correctly.

“I don’t know how you can have a social layer without having a social network that people use,” Mr. Elliott said in a phone interview. “If Google is saying that someone who once signed up for Google Plus makes them an active user, then that’s not entirely convincing.”

Mr. Elliott said that although there were pockets of people using Google’s social network, its use did not come close to that of Facebook or Twitter. Google Plus “looks like Facebook from one year ago,” he said.

Countering the Google Plus Image Problem - NYTimes.com

Microsoft and Apple should hit Amazon, not Google • The Register

Peter O'Kelly — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:59:00 +0000

A timely Amazon reality check

Open ... and Shut Amazon is on a roll, and it's no longer just a question of dominating online retailing or public cloud computing. According to a Business Insider article, Amazon is already clearing more than $1bn each year in advertising revenue. This has Google scared. But it probably should have Apple scared, too.

Amazon, after all, is the anti-Apple. Whereas Apple only knows how to do high-margin businesses, Amazon only knows how to do low-margin businesses. Guess which one tends to dominate markets over time?

Microsoft and Apple should hit Amazon, not Google • The Register

Exclusive: Yahoo Labs Head Raghavan Departing to Google – Kara Swisher – News – AllThingsD

Peter O'Kelly — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:56:00 +0000

Small world

Prabhakar Raghavan, the well-respected head of Yahoo’s Labs unit and also recently its head of strategy, is leaving the company to take a job at Google.

The departure comes ahead of possibly deep cuts in his division, which is in charge of long-term research at the Silicon Valley Internet giant, said sources.

Exclusive: Yahoo Labs Head Raghavan Departing to Google - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

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Google privacy: A user’s guide – Business – The Boston Globe

Peter O'Kelly — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Final paragraph of a Hiawatha Bray privacy reality check; check the source for useful tips on Google and Facebook privacy options

We are not facing a privacy apocalypse, despite changes in privacy policies, because every service offers some control for the informed user. Google, Facebook, and other giant companies would track our shoe sizes and what we eat for breakfast if we let them. So don’t let them.

Google privacy: A user’s guide - Business - The Boston Globe

Continue reading: Google privacy: A user’s guide – Business – The Boston Globe