Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P)
Facebook Joins Twitter Unveiling Software Tools for Google Glass (BusinessWeek)
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter Inc. introduced tools to integrate their services with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Glass, the computerized eyewear touted by the search provider as an alternative for smartphones. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) created software that uploads photos taken on Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Glass to its social-network service. Twitter users will also be able to share pictures and keep up with people they follow via an application for Glass, the microblogging service said in a blog.
UK lawmakers challenge Google’s ‘smoke and mirrors’ on tax (Business-Standard)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) faced angry questions on Thursday from British lawmakers investigating its tax affairs and whether it had misled Parliament in testimony last year, adding fuel to a debate on taxation that has risen to the top of the UK political agenda. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Northern Europe boss, Matt Brittin, was called back to testify to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after a Reuters investigation showed the company employed staff in sales roles in London, even though he had told the committee in November its British staff were not “selling” to UK clients.
Google rises as Page updates Music to Maps services (Business-Standard)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares rose to a record after the company unveiled a subscription music-streaming service and overhauled its online maps, part of several product updates aimed at attracting more users and advertisers. The world’s most popular search provider also showed off enhancements to the search engine, the Android mobile operating system, Glass computing spectacles and other initiatives at the I/O conference in San Francisco yesterday. By getting developers to write software for such products, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is seeking to broaden the appeal of its services.
Google Bets $10.7 Million On Drone Intelligence (PopSci)
Echoing a company belief in autonomous systems, clever algorithms, and replacing fallible humans with smart machines, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s venture capital arm announced yesterday that it is investing $10.7 million in a company that makes drone brains. The company, Airware, builds autopilots for unmanned aerial systems. Because space and weight are at a premium on drones, especially small ones, Airware’s systems can get pretty tiny—one model weighs 32 grams, or about the same as a pocketful of coins.
Google joining NASA Ames supercomputing project (BizJournals)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will help create a new supercomputing laboratory at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Ames Research Center near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, the Wall Street Journal reports. The quantum computing system will be built by Vancouver, British Columbia-based D-Wave Systems Inc. and operated by the nonprofit Universities Space Research Association. Researchers from Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and other institutions will be able to use the system for different types of problems. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and others have conducted research in the quantum computing field, though their approaches differ from D-Wave’s.
Copyright owners can’t sue Google’s YouTube as a group, judge rules (Saratogian)
A U.S. judge on Wednesday denied class-action status to copyright owners suing Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) over the use of material posted on YouTube without their permission. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan denied a motion to certify a worldwide class of copyright owners in a long-running lawsuit over videos and music posted to the popular website. “The suggestion that a class action of these dimensions can be managed with judicial resourcefulness is flattering, but unrealistic,” Stanton wrote.
Google, Larry Page offer surprises at I/O conference (BizJournals)
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Chief Executive Officer Larry Page made a surprise appearance at the company’s annual I/O developers conference in San Francisco, a day after he disclosed he had a rare vocal cord condition. The Wall Street Journal reports Page spoke for nearly an hour about how technology will be able to improve people’s lives. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) used the conference to showcase its latest services and enhancements, which include new features for online games, maps and search, as well as a new music-streaming service that will go up against the likes of Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P) and Spotify.
Google enables mobile checkout in two clicks (InternetRetailer)
Two clicks is all it takes. That’s how quickly Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) says shoppers can now checkout in an Android app with the Instant Buy Application Programming Interface, or API, it has added to its Google Wallet payments service. Consumers who have signed up for Google Wallet can now check out in Android apps without having to manually enter their billing or shipping information, whittling the checkout process in many cases to as little as two clicks, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) says on its blog. Google Wallet stores the consumer’s payment data and sends it to the app developer with the consumer’s permission at checkout.
