bool2 writes “Google has been awarded a patent for displaying search results based on how you move your mouse cursor on the screen… Google’s plans are to monitor the movements of the cursor, such as when a user hovers over a certain ad or link to read a tooltip, and then provide relevant search results, and ads, based on that behaviour. It means that it does not require users to actually click a link to know that they were interested in it, opening (more…)

snydeq writes “Google distinguished engineer Rob Pike ripped the use of Java and C++ during his keynote at OSCON, saying that these ‘industrial programming languages’ are way too complex and not adequately suited for today’s computing environments. ‘I think these languages are too hard to use, too subtle, too intricate. They’re far too verbose and their subtlety, intricacy and verbosity seem to be increasing over time. They’re oversold, and used far (more…)

bonch writes “Attorneys General from 37 states have joined the probe into Google’s Street View data collection. The investigation seeks more information behind Google’s software testing and data archiving practices after it was discovered that their Street View vans scanned private WLANs and recorded users’ MAC addresses. Attorney general Richard Blumenthal said, ‘Google’s responses continue to generate more questions than they answer. Now the question (more…)

A Microsoft identity guru bit Apple and smacked Google over mobile privacy policies. In fact, Microsoft’s Chief Identity Architect accused Apple and Google of trying to bury privacy alive.

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eldavojohn writes “Back in May, China rolled out new laws requiring online mapping services to be ‘certified’ by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. The laws appear to go into effect this month. Today an AFP article outlines Google’s consideration of these rules and notes that it’s unlikely Google will meet the qualifications to become certified as all of its servers holding the mapping data are outside of China. The AFP also reported that (more…)

An anonymous reader passes along a DMCA takedown notice directed at Google and authored by the British Phonographic Industry, Britain’s equivalent of the RIAA. P2pnet identifies the BPI as the outfit that “contributed to the British government’s Digital Economy bill, complete with its ACTA Three Strikes and you’re Off The Net element, with hardly a murmur from the UK lamescream media.” Are there any precedents for a UK trade organization attempting (more…)

itwbennett writes “Having previously denied demands from Germany that the company turn over hard drives with data it secretly collected from open wireless networks over the past three years, Google has reversed course. A Google representative said that it will hand over the data to German, French and Spanish authorities within a matter of days, according to the Financial Times, which first reported this latest development on Wednesday. ‘We screwed (more…)

Hugh Pickens writes “The Toronto Star reports that a Utah woman is suing Google for more than $100,000 in damages, claiming its maps function gave her walking directions that led her onto a major highway, where she was struck by a car. Lauren Rosenberg sought directions between two addresses in Utah about 3 kilometers apart and the top result suggested that she follow a busy rural highway for several hundred meters. The highway did not have sidewalks (more…)

ddfall writes “Four months after the release of version 4.0 for Windows, Google has announced the availability of Chrome 5.0 for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux — the first stable release to be available on all three major platforms. Chrome 5.0.375.55 is available to download from google.com/chrome. Users who currently have Chrome installed can use the built-in update function.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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It’s one of the fastest-growing health issues that doctors now face: “Google-itis.” Everyone from concerned mothers to businessmen on their lunch break are typing in symptoms and coming up with rare diseases or just plain wrong information. Many doctors are bringing computers into examination rooms now so they can search along with patients to alleviate their fears. “I’m not looking for a relationship where the patient accepts my word as the gospel (more…)