Techachino

BlackBerry Pearl users can test voice input for Google Maps

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:39:07 +0000

As Google expands its product line for mobile services, the Mountain View-based company announced BlackBerry Pearl users now have the ability to use voice search.

Specifically, users will be able to use Google Maps, getting directions or locations by voice instead of text searching.

Pearl owners can go to m.google.com/maps, press 0 to center the view of the map, press a side key and say a business name or location, and then release the button so the voice recognition software can begin to pull in results.Google designed the software for use when typing is not possible, a user isn’t sure of the exact spelling of a name, or the name is too long.

For now, the service is available only for the BlackBerry Pearl — models 8110, 8210, and 8120 — but could be expanded to other BlackBerry devices, including the Curve. It’s currently described as “experimental,” which means the results will not always be flawless.

“Like many of Google’s experimental features, we released this on a subset of phones in order to learn more about usage patterns and optimize the technology,” a Google spokesperson told Techachino Thursday. “We chose the Blackberry Pearl as it does not have a full QWERTY keyboard, making voice an even more appealing feature for users. We are always looking for ways to expand our offerings to more devices and to more users, but have nothing to announce at this time.”

Several new phones have Google Maps integrated, though similar direction services are available from mobile phone providers. AT&T and Verizon Wireless both have GPS-based services available for a few dollars per month, but voice with Google Maps is free.

Nielsen research indicates mobile phone owners use Google Mobile for 9 searches per month on average, and Yahoo for 6.7, but mobile answers service ChaCha receives more than 40 searches per month. Utilizing a voice-in, text-out platform, ChaCha users are able to search for something by voice and get a response via text.

Google already uses speech recognition with its free Goog 411 service.

Next Patch Tuesday has few security updates, big Vista reliability fix

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:37:51 +0000

In its monthly advance notice the weekend before the second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft said it will only be addressing four security issues this time around, two dealing with Windows. But a surprisingly big Vista bug fix is under way.

If you think about it, the relative security of Windows Vista hasn’t been the subject of much debate recently. If there’s any problem consumers have with it, whether it’s born out of market perception or real-world experience, it’s a feeling that it’s not all that reliable.

So perhaps it’s not such a bad thing that next week’s Patch Tuesday round of fixes from Microsoft will focus less on security — with only four issues in that category to be addressed there — and more on Vista’s overall reliability. A single performance update announced by Microsoft on June 24 will tackle some real-world problems that Vista users have been facing, according to automated feedback the company’s servers receive when Internet-connected Vista users crash.Here’s a little annoyance: Have you ever tried to delete a user account from Vista’s Control Panel, only to be responded to by your system sitting there in an endless loop, doing nothing? Then when you reboot, the account’s not gone? That’s one of the issues this performance update will address.

And what is it about Vista, after you leave your computer on for an “extended period of time” (A day? Two days?) makes it decide that Excel is no longer a valid application for you to run? How many times has this happened to you, to paraphrase a TV infomercial? That’s another bug Vista users should find gone, hopefully.

There’s also interesting little problems such as certain builds of NVidia drivers that cause high-definition audio streams to sound like they’ve been fed through a chipper-shredder, and Windows Mail (the replacement for Outlook Express) triggering a crash when traffic monitoring is enabled through Windows, and e-mail security through ZoneAlarm is active at the same time. These are the little, everyday affairs that some people really look forward to seeing gone. Quite possibly, they impact more users than the average newly discovered vulnerability.

It’ll be nice to see how well this latest round of patches addresses these and a host of other Vista-related issues.

US Justice Dept. sued for info on cellular tracking practices

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:36:05 +0000

In purported efforts to help the public “understand the privacy risks of carrying a mobile phone,” the ACLU and the EFF are suing the Justice Dept. for “documents, memos, and guides” about procedures used to track individuals through cell phones.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation aren’t looking for money — except to cover their own costs — in their most recent lawsuit against the US Department of Justice. Instead, the two civil liberty advocacy groups want information about whether and how the government might be using the location capabilities in cell phones to find out where people are.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans — over 200 million people — carry mobile phones. This large number is steadily increasing. The information the ACLU seeks therefore bears on the privacy of a vast segment of the United States population,” according to the complaint, which was submitted this week under the Freedom of Information Act.”Recent court decisions and media reports reveal that US Attorneys Offices (USAOs) are assisting law enforcement officers in obtaining information from mobile carriers that enables officers to track the location of individuals’ mobile phones,” the document says.

“Court decisions indicate that USAOs claim not to need probable cause to obtain real-time tracking information. News reports further suggest that some field offices are violating a Department of Justice ‘internal recomendation’ that ‘federal procecutors seek warrants based on probable cause to obtain precise location data in private areas.’”

Filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., the lawsuit asks the DOJ to search several specific federal offices within the agency — including US Attorneys’ Offices in six states and the District of Columbia — for records related to cell phone tracking.

The types of records sought in the suit pertain to policies, procedures, and practices used for obtaining mobile phone location information; the DOJ’s “internal recommendation” and any violations of that recommendation; and the number of times the government has applied for a court order, based on less than probable cause, using that court order as authority to obtain mobile phone location information, “and whether such applications were successful.”

In an appendix to the court document, the plaintiffs have attached a news article that mentions a couple of location-based services already offered by mobile providers for tracking people outside the realm of criminal justice. The two examples include Verizon Wireless’ Chaperone service, aimed at helping parents to track their kids, and Sprint Nextel’s “loopt” service, for “sending an alert when a friend is near.”

It’s important to note, though, that if carriers are enabling cellular tracking — whether for parents, friends or law enforcement officials — any location data they’re obtaining really refers to the phone itself, as opposed to the mobile subscriber.

Many cell phone owners don’t carry their phones with them at all times. People also lose and temporarily misplace their phones, and loan them to family members and even casual acquaintances. Consequently, a cell phone’s location isn’t exactly a solid indicator of the actual current location of the owner of that phone. So beyond any privacy risks, there could be risks, too, of mistaken identity.

Oops: Outsourcing Firm Loses Google Staff Data

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:22:58 +0000

All the engineering acumen in the world, or at least in the Googleplex, can’t prevent an old-fashioned burglary of unencrypted employee data held by an outside firm.

A failing company also failed to adequately keep its assets protected from theft. Colt Express Outsourcing Services lost some data to a Memorial Day burglary, and it’s now come to light that the dominant search engine formerly used that company’s services.

Unfortunately for Google, and for CNET employees also affected by the theft, a report at CNET noted employees from both firms were in the same boat. “No credit card numbers were in the stolen data; just names, addresses, SSNs–all the information needed for a thief to open a credit card account under another’s name,” the report said.

An ex-Google staffer, Danny Thorpe, blew the whistle on the Google data loss. Employees hired before the end of December 2005 at Google may now have their personally identifiable information skating around places like the forums favored by identity thieves and traders.

Colt doesn’t appear to be the best managed firm in the world, either. CNET said the company is in financial trouble, with the company’s founder washing his hands of any potential assistance Colt might give affected individuals.

We’re betting Colt will be on the receiving end of more attention from Google, specifically the legal department. “We take the security of our employees very seriously and require outside vendors to meet appropriate security standards,” a Google rep told CNET.

Google Street View Glances At France

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:20:27 +0000

Until now, Google Street View never allowed anyone to see outside America. Thankfully, this year’s Tour de France seems to have provided enough of a reason for other images to be released.

Photos detailing certain parts of France - parts along the bicycle race’s route, to be exact - have become available. They allow for plenty of sightseeing, as everything from the Eiffel Tower to scenic country roads gets covered.

These new images seem to be of considerably higher quality than the usual Street View shots, as well. Granted, this isn’t necessarily a good thing for everybody, but to address privacy concerns, Google’s face-blurring software has been set to work on license plates as well as people’s heads.

Assuming no river of lawsuits results from the release, other images of France - and all of Europe, for that matter - will hopefully become available in the near future. Street View cars have been driving around different countries for some time now, so this one small step may be the start of a major move.

Hat tips go to the French blog Zorgloob, which received word straight from Google, and Philipp Lenssen, who took up the matter in English.

Viacom Wins YouTube Viewing Records In Court

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:19:01 +0000

VPPA ignored, EFF claims

As part of the discovery process in the ongoing court fight between Viacom and Google, Viacom gained access to the log data for every video viewed on YouTube.

Somewhere within the Viacom arcology, legal researchers will receive the kind of treasure trove of information that online video rivals to YouTube only dream of seeing. Every video viewed, with IP address and user details, becomes another piece of the legal challenge.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation decried the decision by the federal court for the Southern District of New York. EFF attorney Kurt Opsahl said the decision runs counter to the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).

“The Court’s erroneous ruling is a set-back to privacy rights, and will allow Viacom to see what you are watching on YouTube,” said Opsahl. He contended that providing this data to Viacom violates the VPPA where a YouTube username personally identifies the person behind it.

Viacom’s request falls in line with the company’s belief that copyrighted content, and not user-created videos, drives YouTube’s massive traffic and popularity.

In what will likely reverberate around Google HQ, a posting from February 2008 on the Google Public Policy blog argued that an IP address isn’t really a personally identifying piece of information. Judge Louis L. Stanton cited this in his decision.

Facebook Beach Party Stalled By Police

Darko — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:08:53 +0000

Night of mayhem cancelled
A beach party organized on Facebook that was expected to attract as many as 10,000 revelers has been canceled after police warned that it was illegal.

More than 7,000 people had confirmed on the social networking site that they would attend the party billed as “a night of mayhem,” in the coastal town of Torbay, England.

An entry on Facebook notifies would be partygoers of the change in plans. “Due to an unexpected high number of people registered to attend this event a license is required for it to go ahead legally and safely. An application for such a license is a lengthy process and cannot be completed within the given time constraints.”

Police had warned they would prevent the party and that they would enforce a 2003 law, which prohibits the sale of alcohol for up to 24 hours.

Besides the threat of the police stopping the party, the post on Facebook also gave other reasons why the event was being canceled. “Such factors as traffic management, waste disposal, and sanitary conditions, have to be carefully planned. This planning cannot be satisfactorily done within time constraints.”

The post also warns, “people attending beaches in Torbay on the weekend will be asked to leave or be arrested. Do not travel to Torbay. There will be a high police presence around the coast.”

Google Being the Guy in Clothes at the Nude Beach?

Darko — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:11:17 +0000

Google recently introduced Google Trends for Websites, which has sparked some controversy around the web.

The tool allows users to view stats for any site they choose, this could mean trouble for companies like Alexa, Compete, and their competitors.

That’s not entirely where the controversy comes in however. Google seems to have no problem showing everyone else’s stats including Yahoo! for example, but when a query for google.com is entered, there is nothing to be seen.

The concept isn’t sitting too well with many site owners. “Google gave us all up without consent or prior permission,” says Michael Gray aka Graywolf.

Google has “laid everyone else bare, naked and exposed but kept their own stats locked up and private,” says Gray.

Google doesn’t seem to be keeping the stats on all of their properties hidden though. A doubleclick.com query turns up some results, but queries for youtube.com and blogger.com are MIA. Maybe Yahoo! or Microsoft will hook us up with that information eventually.

Lisa Barone at Bruce Clay points out that “there’s no way to opt out”. Even allowing sites to do just that would take the heat off of Google a little bit I would think.

It’s not very shocking that people are upset that their data is being broadcast to the public without their consent. Google had to have expected this.

In a comment on a post from Matt Cutts about the new feature, someone inevitably pointed out the lack of Google info. Cutts responded:

I asked about that myself. Personally, I’d love to get as much data as possible, even data about various Google properties. My guess is that they were worried that people would take the traffic estimates as some sort of forward-looking guidance and possibly misinterpret it. Bear in mind that it is a Google Labs launch, so consider it an early-stage feature. I passed that feedback on though.

I guess the whole thing is going to be misinterpreted from some angle no matter which way you spin it. I would expect that Google will eventually join in the party and offer some stats, whether this is the real reasoning or not.

Ad Giant Publicis Applauds Google-Yahoo Deal

Darko — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:44:09 +0000

Though some US legislators expressed concerns about Google’s growing power in online advertising, one big ad firm welcomed Yahoo’s search ad agreement with Google.

In the US, Microsoft and Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) publicly fretted about the increasing control Google possesses over contextual search advertising. High-ranking Microsoft executive Kevin Johnson complained in France about Google taking over 90 percent of the search ad market.

Another Continental concern expressed no concern about Yahoo turning to Google to possibly deliver $800 million in ad revenue in the first year of their partnership. The Guardian cited Maurice Levy, head of Publicis Group, who expressed a positive view of the deal between the former search ad rivals.

Speaking in Cannes as Johnson did, Levy put forth the idea that Google and Yahoo could share search data and come up with better ad campaign targeting for their clients. Publicis is a partner with Google on ad technology.

With Barton in the House and Herb Kohl (D-WI) in the Senate asking questions about antitrust and privacy concerns, the idea of Google and Yahoo mixing and matching user data to their heart’s content may pull sharper focus onto a deal the two companies believe has no reason to fall under regulatory scrutiny.

Google Debuts Webmaster Tools API

Darko — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:41:47 +0000

According to Google Webmaster Central Blog, after numerous requests from Webmasters to integrate Webmaster Tools for third-parties, Google has finally released Webmaster Tools API, a tool that integrates API (Application Programming Interface) into Webmaster Tools.

The debut version of the Google Webmaster Tools API supports the following features:

Managing Websites:

Retrieve a list of your sites in Webmaster Tools.
Add your sites to Webmaster Tools.
Verify your sites in Webmaster Tools.
Remove your sites from Webmaster Tools.

Working with Sitemaps:

Retrieve a list of your submitted Sitemaps.
Add Sitemaps to Webmaster Tools.
Remove Sitemaps from Webmaster Tools.

As of now, the Webmaster Tools API offers a limited subset of all the functionality that Webmaster Tools provide. However, as this is the initial phase of the Webmaster Tools API, there are going to be a lot of updates and improvements for certain.

For all those Webmasters who are interested in this tool and would like to make the best out of it, here is the link to Developer’s Guide for the Webmaster Tools Data API. Check out the guide and get on with more improvisations.