Google+Facebook+iPhone: 07/30/11

Saturday, 30 July 2011

Second Wave of iPhone 5 Case Images Hits

Following reports yesterday of a leaked iPhone 5 case diagram, website 9to5Mac today published photos of what it claims to be an actual iPhone 5 case. The case’s shape suggests that the new iPhone will get a complete visual revamp, becoming thinner with a flat back that is edged with tapered curves similar in style to the iPad 2.

According to 9to5Mac, the images come from a Chinese manufacturer who previously leaked accurate images of iPad 2 case molds before the iPad 2 was released.

The images of the iPhone 5 case also indicate that the location of the iPhone’s ringer/mute switch will be switched to the opposite side of the phone from its current position of just above the iPhone’s volume buttons.

A second image published by 9to5Mac shows the case from the front:

9to5Mac claims that multiple Asian iPhone case manufacturers are actively shopping new iPhone 5 cases to potential retail outlets.

Read more at http://artoftheiphone.com/2011/07/27/second-wave-of-iphone-5-case-images-hits/

iPhone price cuts hitting Radio Shack, Target tomorrow?

Let the speculation begin! It may not be a sign of an iPhone refresh, but we've received multiple tips today about an imminent price drop for Apple's flagship smartphone. According to a pair of trusty tipsters, Radio Shack is prepping to cut the cost of AT&T's 16GB iPhone 4 to $169.99, with a two-year contract, from $199.99. The 32GB version will likewise take a $30 plunge at the Shack, ringing in at $269.99, and the price of the 8GB 3GS will drop to $19.99. Phone Arena is likewise reporting on Target slicing up the old Apple price tag, but lists varying numbers based on carrier. If all this talk turns out to be true, those prices should be ripe for the picking starting tomorrow.

Read more at http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/30/iphone-price-cuts-hitting-radio-shack-target-tomorrow/

iPhone 5 Deal Breakers On Launch Day: Do You Have Any?

The iPhone 5 frenzy is almost at full speed. The launch date has been narrowed and the actual device may have been spotted. While we’ve heard a few rumored specifications for the device, there hasn’t been anything confirmed or unconfirmed. This in itself baffles many as they try to decide whether or not to wait on the iPhone 5, or pick up one of the newer devices launching like the Samsung Galaxys S II lineup, the Motorola Photon 4G, and the Droid Bionic. With that said, is there any one thing that could eliminate the iPhone 5 on your list?

For starters I’ve always wanted the next iPhone 5 to have 4G capabilities. That’s including LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+, which opens up the possibility that we all want – an iPhone on all major U.S. carriers. The only problem with this is that many have speculated and concluded that LTE won’t come to the iPhone until 2012. AT&T’s CEO Ralph de la Vega stated earlier in the year that the iPhone would be launched on their network as LTE compatible in 2012. However, Verizon Wireless’ CEO Dan Mead (at the time) stated that we should “see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it.” Add that to Apple’s Tim Cook’s statement on how LTE would have compromise the design of the iPhone 4, and rumors of a radical design change, and you may have the recipe for LTE in the iPhone 5.

Other things that we’ve seen you many of you want include: near field communication (NFC), a larger screen, better cameras, thinner, a complete new design, etc. So far NFC has not made the roads I would have expected, but that’s where Steve Jobs comes in and tell us why it will be different. As far as the larger screen, many users would not mind a 4-inch iPhone. Whether that means a larger device or an edge-to-edge display remains a debate. Additionally, recent rumors suggest a thinner device with better cameras, and a complete new design. Personally, I liked the iPhone 4’s design, but I’m not hampered by it.

30 best iPad games

Wondering what games to buy for your new iPad? Well, this early in the product's life, it's actually pretty hard to sort the really good stuff from the just-decent stuff, particularly with the prices for many games being so much higher than their iPhone counterparts. But we took a shot at putting together a list of top titles that we feel meet the criteria for a good iPad game.

And just what does make a good iPad game? We debated it for a while and narrowed it down to these five factors:
It's gotta be fun (obviously).
Ergonomics (are the gameplay and control scheme well-suited to the iPad?)
Uniqueness (though many iPad games play well as upconverted, higher-resolution versions of their iPhone predecessors, we respect new iPad-exclusive games).
Value (some of the best iPad games currently carry high price tags, but we also tried to include titles we thought were simply a good value).<
Show-off quotient (extra points if the game flat-out looks good).

With that in mind, here are our current favorites, displayed in alphabetical order. Feel free to sound off with your own picks (or criticize our choices). With new games coming out almost daily, we will be updating this list frequently and taking your suggestions to heart. As more games are released, we may also expand the list to include more titles and, hopefully, discover some hidden gems.

Click on any image to start the slideshow.

Read more at http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-20003275-243/30-best-ipad-games/#ixzz1TeyWGQt2

Apple iPhone 4S Prototype Leaked, Plus iPod Generating Buzz

Rumors of a light weight and cheaper iPhone sparked some life after a leaked photo reveals aniPhone 4S prototype. The prototype was encased with a white plastic backing rather than glass.

According to Tinhte, a Vietnamese website providing leaked tech information, the iPhone 4S looks almost identical to the current iPhone 4. But performance wise, it is supposedly faster than the iPhone 4. No additional information was given about processor or RAM specifications.

Buzz has been growing around photos showing a front and rear view of the white iPhone 4S prototype with an operational 'reloading data' screen displayed. The rear view photo shows crossed out model and serial code numbers printed on the white plastic case backing.

The prototype's latest appearance could indicate a lower cost lineup of iPhones Apple will introduce alongside the iPhone 5 release. The lowest priced version starts from the iPhone 3GS moving up into the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, and then finishing at the highest tier with the iPhone 5.

Customers seeking for a lower priced Apple mobile device can turn to the iPod product lineup. The iPods have also generated some buzz after an iPod Touch photo was accidently posted on the iTunes website. Apple typically plans to revamp the iPod devices as the holiday season nears and this fall's release may prove to be an exciting one alongside the iPhone 5.

Though the iPod lineup still produces profitable income for Apple and represents a 70% hold of the MP3 player market, its steady decline in sales over the past years may signal a curtain call for the once dominant product line.

Pent up iPhone 5 demand makes Droid Bionic, X2 bystanders in late 2011

Twitter users are aware of the popular lead-in “that awkward moment” which often surfaces as users share their own. With the pent up demand for the late arriving iPhone 5 at stratospheric levels according to multiple independent surveys, the smartphone equivalent for the second half of 2011 could end up reading “That awkward moment when Verizon brings the Droid Bionic and Droid X2 to market as mere bystanders and no one cares, not even Verizon itself.” The carrier’s CEO is on record as stating that its growth hopes are tied to the iPhone 5 launch, with no mention of its own in-house Droid phones in the same breath. That’s because Verizon appears to already know what has been confirmed independently: the public wants the iPhone 5, before it even knows what the iPhone 5 is.

“But wait,” you say. “How can people know they want the iPhone 5 when they don’t know what it looks like or a single new feature it’ll offer?” Simple: Apple laid down a baseline for what the iPhone is all about back in 2007. It’s a consumer oriented phone, straightforward and universally understandable with very few concessions to the kind of geeks who like things to be complicated. Since then, each new iPhone has taken a step forward from the one before it, offering better hardware in a smaller package with even more ease of use factors built in. The iPhone 5, then, can safely be assumed to follow the same path. Plus Apple has already shown off big chunks of iOS 5, the official operating system of the iPhone 5, without explicitly stating that they’re iPhone 5 features. That’s why, according to one survey from ChangeWave and another from PriceGrabber, anywhere from thirty-four to forty-six percent (respectively) of the general public says they want the iPhone 5 once it hits the market. That level of pent-up demand is nearly unfathomable considering that the majority of the U.S. population doesn’t even yet own a smartphone of any kind. And it explains a lot about sales of Android based phones up to this point.

When combined, sales of all types of Android phones have been collectively phenomenal. But break it down to individual models and you’ll see that it’s the carrier-based Android phones like the Verizon Droid which have been the successful ones, while Android phones like the Nexus, which wasn’t promoted by any specific carrier, have boomed. That suggests that Android sales are more a result of carriers telling their customers what to buy and those customers sheepishly going along with it; combined with the fact that the first four iPhones launched only on AT&T with no presence on Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile, and it’s easy to understand how those three carriers were able to steer their customers toward Android and why they were motivated to do so. And if Verizon still gave a damn about the Droid, it could probably help breathe life into the X2 and the Bionic. But instead those phones will now only cater to the kind of geeks who like needlessly complicated interfaces so using their smartphone can feel like a challenge, and value hackability over practical usability. So why is Verizon not even bothering to try on the Droid side anymore?

How to Enable NFC Payments On Your Current iPhone 4

Nexus S users think they're so cool with their built-in NFC chips, but now there's an easy hack that anyone can do to enable NFC Payments on an iPhone 4 (among others).

Most of you have probably encountered an NFC-enabled credit card. Most major US banks employ this tech in their credit/debit cards. There may even be one in your pocket without you knowing it! (Just look for the little sideways Wi-Fi signal sign in the corner). The hack involves taking one of these cards and cutting it to fit into an iPhone between the rear casing and the battery. Unplggd has the full instructions.

Facebook group boycotting Toys "R" Us

TYLER (KYTX) - The location of a controversial new business is causing a stir in Tyler, but now, the attention is being drawn to another company involved.

Toys "R" Us has joined many East Texans in an effort to keep Double D's doors closed.

They've filed a restraining order on Double D's, causing a temporary shut down, and forcing it to cover its signs.

Amber Danner Kirk says, "There is another side of the story."

She has helped start a Facebook page, asking other East Texans to boycott Toys "R" Us.

"We had 50 to 100 people in less than 12 hours join the Facebook page."

She says the common thread is keeping the Tyler economy as strong as possible.

"Not everybody on that page says they're going to go eat there. They just agree with the opportunity for them to open up business which is really our concern."

Jennifer Alden is part of a group against Double D's, and spoke to Toys "R" Us about her concerns.

"What toy store wants to be affiliated with, next to, sharing property with such a sexually oriented business?"

Emmanuel Brown shops there for his son and says the controversy is about the location.

"They have a right to have their business, but this, across the street from a school, next door to Toys "R" Us, next door to a neighborhood, its really just not a good location."

Mark Lankford, who did not want to be seen on camera, says he would join the Facebook group trying to keep Double D's running.

"I think its great because I will boycott Toys "R" Us if they decide that they're going to be out moral barometer in Tyler, Texas.

Kirk says this battle stretches far beyond personal opinions.

"When you're closing down opportunities for these people to make a living, whatever that may be, you're closing down hope for a town or a country that's looking at times that are difficult."

West Asheville fighting crime through Facebook

Folks are locking some doors in West Asheville these days — and writing about it on Facebook.

A mini-crime wave of sorts has rocked the neighborhood, including some home robberies in which the hoodlums displayed guns and generally scared the daylights out of people.

A couple of things struck me about this:

• Instead of taking to the streets or storming the Police Department, residents took to a social networking site.

• The police may need to tighten up their crime analysis a bit.

West Asheville resident Drew Findley started the Facebook page, West Asheville Watch, on July 23 after talking with some friends “about the uncertainty of our safety in our community.” By late Saturday, it had mushroomed to some 660 members.

“It has been pretty incredible to see the growth of this group in a matter of a week, which leads me to believe that members of our West Asheville community were in need of an outlet,” Findley told me via email. “I really just want this group to give people knowledge of criminal activity that may or may not make it to mainstream media and for it to be a platform where people can discuss their feelings and ideas on how to make our neighborhoods safer and in result create a closer, empowered community.”

Amy Winehouse scams jump from Facebook to email

Singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her North London home last week. Hours later, scammers used it to promote shocking videos on Facebook. Now, exactly one week after her death, the same fake videos are showing up as email attachments. This time however, it isn’t a survey. The attachments are Malware.

On Facebook, the scams started July 23. Users were greeted with wall posts promising shocking video taken just before the singer’s death, which actually delivered nothing more than links to various survey scams.

It’s a common tactic used to make fast money, as the data collected is often sold. Not to mention, the affiliate promoting the survey is paid per person each time it is completed. As these junk posts are accessed, users end up spamming their friends with the same message, causing the scam to spread.

On Saturday, The Tech Herald noticed an email using the same subject as one of the Facebook scams reported last week by Sophos. [Source]

Missouri law bans teachers, students from being Facebook pals

In what could be a legal precedent, students and teachers living in Missouri in the United States may be barred from being friends on Facebook, Google+, or any social networking sites.

Senate Bill 54, which goes into effect on August 28, seeks to “more clearly define teacher-student boundaries," tech site Mashable reported over the weekend.

But the report said teachers are allowed to create Facebook Pages where students have direct access to the teacher in a more public setting.

However, Mashable said questions may arise on how the policy will be enforced.

"Will the state be allowed access to Facebook accounts, personal computers or Internet service provider records to see who’s befriending teachers or students? Inappropriate relationships will be hard to detect, especially since teachers and students engaged in such relationships would probably be concealing their communications, electronic or otherwise," it said.

"The question now is, will this new law pass a constitutional test? And who would step forward to challenge it?" it added.

The report said Senate Bill 54 aims to protect children from sexual misconduct by teachers, compelling school districts to adopt written policies between teachers and students on electronic media, social networking and other forms of communication.

Facebook Needs Customer Service to Woo Businesses

I had to laugh when I read about Facebook's latest effort to woo businesses . While Facebook wants to look like its well ahead of Google+ in the commercial uses of social networking, its track record of dealing with users suggests that businesses should not rely on it.

Of course, when you rely on a free service, you should expect to get what you pay for. But when the free service is provided by a highly profitable company like Facebook, you have to think that at least a modicum of customer service and responsiveness would be in its best interests, especially when it wants to convince people to choose its service over a fast-rising competitor.

I have run into the stone wall of Facebook "customer service" in the past , but that doesn't make it any less frustrating this time around. The current problem arose when I was asked to assist the administrator of a Facebook group for users of a home fitness program that I belong to. The group has more than 30,000 members.

It seems that Facebook is going to shut down groups that were formed under an "old" format. What is this old format and why is it so bad? The old, original format differs from the new format in look and feel, and it lacks an enhanced chat function. That's it. Some groups will be allowed to migrate, while others will not. The criteria used for this decision have not been disclosed. I was informed that the group will be "archived." This gives the admin two choices; 1) let the group be archived, and then "unarchive" the group, for lack of a better term, which reloads the thousands of pictures, discussion strings, posts, etc., but lose all of the 30,000 members, who will have to find the "new" group and rejoin, or 2) start a new group, notify all group members that they need to join the new group, and lose all of the hundreds of thousands of contributions that make the group so valuable.

I tried contacting Facebook, but couldn't find out how to do that as a group admin. Instead, I contacted Facebook through its press e-mail as a Computerworld columnist. The response, when it finally came, was that they would not answer any questions on the matter. The PR person did, however, provide me with a link for contacting Facebook as a regular user, but I never received a response, and neither did the many other people who tried to contact Facebook to support the group. Facebook's attitude appears to be that it can do whatever it wants with anything on its site and not have to explain itself to anyone. I suppose it has that right, but we all have the right in return to say, good luck with that attitude, we'll be going elsewhere.

5 things Google+ does better than Facebook and Twitter

Google+ has only been active for a month, and tech enthusiasts can’t seem to get enough of it. While Google is still trying to figure out exactly how to approach social correctly, the network has built enough buzz toattract a reported 20 million users. While this doesn’t compare to Facebook’s staggering 750 million users or Twitter’s sizable 200 million users, those networks have been around much longer.

Several of us on the VentureBeat staff have immersed ourselves into the Google+ ecosystem to see what it has to offer. Thus far we’ve come to generally enjoy the service and noticed a few strengths it has over Facebook and Twitter, especially in the realms of privacy and video chat.

Here are five features we’ve seen that we like in Google+ more than Facebook and Twitter:

1. Circles

One of the most talked about Google+ features (and for good reason) is Circles, the feature that allows you manage the people you follow and want to share updates with. With Circles, you can send status updates to groups it is relevant to only, rather than blasting it out to everyone. For example, I created a Circle for just friends of mine that love music so I could share music videos that I have created or really enjoyed.

Facebook and Twitter do offer ways to share updates selectively but it’s not as fine-tuned. I can block updates from certain groups on Facebook but to actually configure that takes time. For Twitter, it’s all or nothing with your updates as you can make your profile private or public.

2. Hangouts

Another often cited feature for Google+ is Hangouts, which let you video chat with up to 25 people at the same time for free. Every person you’re chatting with appears in a small box and whoever is speaking is in a large window on top.

While Facebook recently partnered with Skype to bring video chat to Facebook users, it only supports one-on-one video chat. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted that more features were coming down the pipeline, but right now Google+ is the champion of video chat. Twitter, unfortunately, does not have a video chat option.

Guest commentary: Facebook, Why Can't I Quit You?

I deleted my Facebook page this week.

I gave my friends and family fair warning, via a Wall post, that I would leave within a week. One -- yes, one -- of my 200-plus “friends” openly objected in a comment. Otherwise, the post was met with silence. My friends probably didn’t think I was serious, or they weren’t paying attention. Who could blame them? I had been on Facebook for years and had a habit of posting at least once a day -- as a means to keep in touch.

My friends had other reasons not to take me seriously. It wasn’t as if last year’s “Quit Facebook Day” was a resounding success. And there are numerous “I hate Facebook” pages -- on Facebook.

But the launch of Google+, which attracted more than 10 million users in its first two weeks, has given Facebook haters -- or people like me who are suffering Facebook fatigue -- a new space in which to park their social graphs. And much has been written about the appeal of starting one’s social network from scratch. (Full disclosure: The Washington Post Co.’s chairman and chief executive, Donald E. Graham, is a member of Facebook’s board of directors. And my brother works as a programmer for Google. He has not worked on Google+.)

Users like me who put up high privacy walls in Facebook early on may be eager to delete the content on those pages and have a more public social-media presence. After all, people change. The posts I made on Facebook in 2008 don’t speak for me in 2011. Do yours? I’m talking to those of you who didn’t get the only-post-what-you-want-the-world-to-see memo until after four years of late-night, college rants on Facebook. (Thankfully, I was just finishing college when Mark Zuckerberg was churning out Facebook’s building blocks in his Harvard dorm room.)

Missouri Forbids Teachers and Students To Be Facebook Friends

If you’re a student living in Missouri, you’d better not be Facebook friends with any of your teachers – that will soon be illegal.

According to Missouri Senate Bill 54 that goes into effect on August 28, any social networking — not just Facebook — is prohibited between teachers and students. It’s all part of an effort to “more clearly define teacher-student boundaries.” However, KSPR reports that It’s only direct social media contact that’s prohibited; teachers are allowed to create Facebook Pages where all students have direct access to the teacher in a more public setting.

Inappropriate contact between students and teachers is at the root of the legislation. Senate Bill 54 is designed to protect children from sexual misconduct by teachers, compelling school districts to adopt written policies between teachers and students on electronic media, social networking and other forms of communication.

Teachers and students usually shouldn’t be friends, anyway, so on the surface this sounds like a good idea. However, we wonder how this will be policed. Will the state be allowed access to Facebook accounts, personal computers or Internet service provider records to see who’s befriending teachers or students? Inappropriate relationships will be hard to detect, especially since teachers and students engaged in such relationships would probably be concealing their communications, electronic or otherwise.

Google and Facebook get personal in battle for social networking rewards

It is one month since the launch of Google+, a belated attempt at a social networking tool that invites users to follow friends' activities in their news feed and share favourite content by marking it "+1". If this sounds familiar, it shows the extent to which Google is playing catchup with Facebook, which is brewing a public offering next year that could value the firm at $100bn and, critically, has positioned itself as the gateway to the web for many of its 750 million users.

Much of this pressure is down to the abrasive ambition of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Even Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, has conceded that Google has been late to the social networking space, with identity and personalisation now critical to the social experience for consumers, and the lucrative commercial opportunities that advertisers expect. But with Google's proven commercial success nudging its market value towards $200bn, and data vaults that hold the browsing histories of most of the online population, is Google really on a downward trajectory, and is the era of search really ending?

Ben Gomes has worked on every aspect of Google's core search product and is leading exploration into the social navigation of search. Despite Google's forays into everything from video communities to mobile operating systems, he insists that at its heart Google is still a search company. It was search, he said, that fuelled the explosion of web content and, unsurprisingly, Gomes doesn't see social data as a replacement for search but as a layer that accesses the information in a different way.

Google, OK Go collaborate on interactive online dance video

Now, you can have your personal message interpreted online by a famous band via dance, thanks to an HTML5-based video dance "messenger" —a collaboration between Google and one of the Net's most viral acts to date.

The project, dubbed “All Is Not Lost", is a collaboration among Google, the band OK Go, and the dance troupe and choreographers Pilobolus.

“You can embed your message in a music video and have the band dance it out. The band and Pilobolus dancers are filmed through a clear floor, making increasingly complex shapes and eventually words—and messages you can write yourself," Google Tokyo senior marketing manager Keiko Hirayama said in a blog post.

Hirayama added the project has a special significance for the team at Google Japan, who worked on this collaboration alongside OK Go.

She said the OK Go band had also suggested using “All is Not Lost" as a message of support to the Japanese people during this difficult time, in the wake of the March 11 quake and tsunami.

“This project also has a special significance for the team here at Google Japan, who worked on this collaboration alongside OK Go. In the wake of the devastating Tōhoku earthquake, the band suggested using ‘All is Not Lost’ as a message of support to the Japanese people during this difficult time," she said.

Read more at http://www.gmanews.tv/story/227906/technology/google-ok-go-collaborate-on-interactive-online-dance-video

Google Aims To Improve Search Experience For Tablet Users With Changes

Google is working to improve the search experience for tablet users. Recently, the company rolled out changes that were made with tablet users in mind. First up, the company simplified the layout of search result pages and increased the size of the contents on a page. Most notably, text, buttons and other touch targets are now larger. Google believes these changes should make it faster and easier to browse on a tablet.

Google added a pull-down menu to the search button underneath of the search box. From this menu, you'll be able to tell Google if you want to search Images, Videos, Places, Shopping, or another area of Google.

If you're looking for images using the Google search engine, you'll now see bigger image previews and get the ability to scroll continuously. The image thumbnails should also load more quickly thanks to some of the changes.

iPad and Android 3.1+ tablet users should be able to take advantage of this improved search experience right away. To try it for yourself, simply visit Google.com from your tablet.

Google launches hotel finder

GOOGLE has launched a new tool for finding hotels in the US.

Hotel Finder is an "experimental search tool" designed to help users locate and book hotels, Google software engineer Andrew McCarthy said in a blog post.

Hotel Finder, which is restricted to the United States for now, lets a user refine their choice by geographic area using Google Maps and select hotels using various criteria including price, the number of stars and user ratings.

Users can create a "shortlist" of options before deciding to book a hotel directly or through online companies such as Priceline, Travelocity, Expedia or Hotels.com.

Hotel Finder is the latest foray by the Mountain View, California-based Google into the travel sector.

In April, the US Justice Department gave the green light to Google's $US700 million ($A638 million) purchase of flight data company ITA Software.

The Justice Department's anti-trust division extracted a number of concessions from Google and imposed conditions on the internet search giant to allow the acquisition to go ahead.

Several online travel sites, including Expedia, Kayak and Travelocity, had sought to block the Google-ITA deal, claiming it would give Google too much control over the lucrative online travel market and lead to higher prices.

Under the settlement with the US Justice Department, Google notably agreed to let ITA customers extend their contracts into 2016.

Google has said the ITA acquisition will help it create new tools that will make it easier for consumers to search for travel, compare flight options and prices and drive more customers to online travel agencies.

Google Page Speed Service Raises Eyebrows

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) July 28 moved to extend its sphere of influence by offering Websites the opportunity to accelerate the loading of their Web pages by 25 percent to 60 percent.

Web page loading speed is a huge deal for publishers because their visitors won't stick around if a Website stutters while rendering content. However, some industry watchers believe this new Page Speed Service is geared to give Google more control over Websites.

Here's how Page Speed Service works. Publishers will sign in and point their Website's DNS (domain name system) entry to Google. Page Speed Service pulls content from publishers' servers, rewrites the pages to make them faster and serves them to users via Google's servers.

"Your users will continue to access your site just as they did before, only with faster load times," explained Ram Ramani, a Google engineering manager. Ramani added that publishers don't have to worry about compressing images, caching and other tedious Website optimization factors.

He also said Google tests revealed on several Websites boosted site speeds by 25 percent to 60 percent.

Some industry watchers were suspicious of Google's bid to circumvent publishers' servers by using their own, noting that it puts Google in the Web host or content delivery network category reserved for companies such as Akamai.

Search Engine Watch blogger Thom Craver said Google is actually offering "tricked out hosting, not a page optimizer."

Google Stages Email Intervention After Microsoft Gmail Man Strikes

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have just completed another salvo in their ongoing Web-based email war.

Microsoft at a recent conference aired a video denigrating Gmail as a snooping application. One week later, Google is offering to stage "email interventions" for users who need rescuing from Microsoft Live Hotmail and other older Webmail apps.

Microsoft July 20 played a humorous video of the "Gmail Man" at its Microsoft Global Exchange sales conference for 12,000 attendees, according to ZDNet.

The unflattering clip, billed as the "opposite experience" of Microsoft's new Office 365 cloud computing suite, seizes on hysteria that dates back to 2005 by depicting Gmail as a messaging front for one big user data snooping operation.

That activity is exactly what Microsoft went after with "Gmail Man," a mock mailman covered in the Gmail messaging logos who snoops users' messages. The video shows Gmail Man searching for keywords like "burning" and "sensation," in a female office worker's Gmail account.

One more memorable line from the video's jingle is: "His ads are unsolicited based on what you type, makes you want to ditch Gmail and go Office 365."

Gmail launched to beta April 1, 2004, and the company was soon accused of using the service as another excuse to deliver users ads based on their messages.

Google was cautious about rolling ads out on Gmail even though it always had the capability to do so. Now more ads than ever run in Gmail, using algorithms to match up marketing messages using keywords in users' messaging content.

Former Googler Cedric Beust commented about the Microsoft marketing message on his blog (via Google Operating System):

"It was a fascinating angle in 2005 while Gmail was still new and under all kinds of scrutiny, but today, who cares that your e-mails are automatically scanned, really? Even before Gmail, ISPs already had the ability to read all your e-mails, but it has never really stopped anyone from using the e-mail service of their choice. I predict that this ad will get people to talk more about Gmail than the product it's promoting (starting with myself)."

Speaking of getting more people talking about Gmail, Google July 27 began officially encouraging its users to stage "email interventions."

The idea is to get users to import contacts from Microsoft Live Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and other Webmail apps into Gmail. Two of the hooks include the fact that non-Gmail users can't conduct video chats or make calls, two distinct features in Gmail.

Google Buys 1,029 IBM Patents: A Bubble Brewing?

Google just bought 1,029 patents from IBM. Blog SEO by the Sea first reported the news. Google subsequently confirmed the purchase on Friday.

SEO by the Sea reported that the purchased patents span a wide range of areas, including SEO, servers, routers, relational databases, object oriented programming, and fabrication and architecture of memory and microprocessing chips.

The purchased patents are listed here. Google did not disclose how much it paid for the patents.

This development has received a storm of attention because of the escalating role of patent lawsuits in the technology world.

"Like many tech companies, at times we'll acquire patents that are relevant to our business needs. Bad software patent litigation is a wasteful war that no one will win," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Tech companies primarily compete with each other in the market place with better products and better technologies. However, a big part of their war is also waged in the courts over patent violations. If a patent battle is waged successfully, a company can deter or extract settlements from a competitor.

Google TV More Enticing after Set-Top Box Price Slash

It may be a good time to bring Chrome to your living room HDTV if you haven't already. That's because Logitech, a maker of mice, webcams and other computer peripherals, is slashing the price of its Revue Google TV set-top box to just $99, down from $249.

The Revue lets users search for things they're interested in, whether it's an actor's name, sports team, or channel name, and pulls up content from the Web as well as where it's playing on television. If you use a USB video camera, the box also turns your TV into a video-chat monitor.

While the price drop results from the fact that more Revues have been returned than sold, Christina Bonnington for Wired wrote, "It's not totally clear why users were returning the unit." Indeed, while Revue has had some problems such as TV network sites blocking the unit's Chrome browser from playing their content, when PC World reviewed the top five media streamers a few months ago the Revue fared as well as three of them, including the Apple TV.

During an earnings conference call the other day when acting Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca discussed disappointing earnings due in part to sluggish Revue sales, he said while the company should have done a few things differently, "Engaging with Google was the right thing to do," reportsZDNet. Time Techland's Jared Newman, for his part, offered a few ideas for making Google TV more palatable for consumers.

It remains to be seen whether the new price entices more people to bring Google into the living room. But it also is worth noting that Google TV will get new software at the end of September with access to the Android market.

"It's a major update to the platform. It's what the platform should always have been, particularly the addition of the App Store for Android apps for the TV. The good news is that all these beautiful new things will run on the existing box," De Luca said, according to ZDNet.