As I touched on very briefly in my post about the Google X Lab, Google has been designing, developing, and recently even testing a driverless car. The car is designed to actually be able to sense other cars on the road, turns, signs, and other important factors and drive itself, with human supervision. Google's self-driving Toyota Prius actually went through even more testing last month. It was able to successfully drive a blind man to a local Taco Bell. There were of course supervisors from Google present, making sure everything went smoothly and there were no major problems.
This is obviously a huge step in the development of these cars. I don't doubt at all that after enough designing and testing, Google would be able to successfully create a reliable driverless car. What I think would take longer would be to gain society's acceptance. I highly doubt that people would just accept that a driverless car has been invented and trust it to take them from A to B. With the exponential growth of technology, it sometimes takes a while for society to trust it. I imagine people would be extremely skeptical, and some would even completely refuse to trust it. I imagine they would originally be used for people with handicaps although most likely end up as a consumer project. It seems Google is making legitimate steps towards this completed product so it will be very interesting to follow the progress.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Appeals court rules against Google's YouTube
In 2006, as YouTube was becoming hugely popular in the online video department, Google knew that it would continue to grow and decided to purchase YouTube for $1.65 billion. Compared to recent deals and purchases Google has made, this seems like a minor transaction. At the time however, YouTube was under a great deal of scrutiny and pressure because of many copyright issues they were encountering over many videos on their site. Google decided that either these issues would work themselves out and not be a problem, or that the potential damages were far less than the rewards YouTube would bring. All in all, I would say they were correct and that acquiring YouTube was an excellent transaction for them.
These suits have been going on ever since then, and perhaps Google thought they would never pick up real traction. However, a US Appeals Court ruled today that YouTube, and consequently Google, knowingly broadcasted copyrighted videos on their website. In 2010 a lower court had originally ruled in favor of YouTube, allowing companies to have videos uploaded by users on their site. Viacom Inc. is the company that filed this $1 billion lawsuit, claiming there were thousands of videos on YouTube of different television shows that broke copyrights laws. They are definitely not the only company claiming this though. After the original ruling in 2010, Judge Jose Cabranes ruled again YouTube, claiming that "a reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website." This could be a huge event in the overall timeline of online videos. The debate about whether or not these websites are liable for copyright infringing material has been going on for quite some time. I wonder if this ruling against a major company in Google could be a catalyst for major changes online.
These suits have been going on ever since then, and perhaps Google thought they would never pick up real traction. However, a US Appeals Court ruled today that YouTube, and consequently Google, knowingly broadcasted copyrighted videos on their website. In 2010 a lower court had originally ruled in favor of YouTube, allowing companies to have videos uploaded by users on their site. Viacom Inc. is the company that filed this $1 billion lawsuit, claiming there were thousands of videos on YouTube of different television shows that broke copyrights laws. They are definitely not the only company claiming this though. After the original ruling in 2010, Judge Jose Cabranes ruled again YouTube, claiming that "a reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website." This could be a huge event in the overall timeline of online videos. The debate about whether or not these websites are liable for copyright infringing material has been going on for quite some time. I wonder if this ruling against a major company in Google could be a catalyst for major changes online.
Stempel, Jonathon, and Yinka Adegoke. "Appeals Court Reinstates Viacom Lawsuit against Google's YouTube." The Christian Science Monitor. 05 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2012. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0405/Appeals-court-reinstates-Viacom-lawsuit-against-Google-s-YouTube>.
Google Acquires TxVia To Fuel Google Wallet Ambitions
Google wallet was introduced last year and is basically what it sounds like. It is a virtual wallet that you can have on your mobile phone, facilitating many different types of payments you may need to make. According to Google Wallet's information page, if you have Google wallet and the online store you are shopping with accepts Google Wallet, you can check out much quicker. The reason for this is that Google saves your credit cards on the cloud, very securely they insist, so that you just click a few buttons and can pay in no time. Users can also pay at physical stores using Google Wallet and redeem different offers the stores may offer.
Google Wallet, unlike countless other apps Google releases, did not gain popularity as quickly as hoped after last year's release. TxVia is a mobile payments technology company, similar to the type of service Google Wallet provides. This past week Google purchased TxVia and with it came their over 100 million accounts and part of their team. This acquisition will help Google compete with some of the bigger mobile payment companies such as PayPal, owned by eBay. If Google Wallet can get a decent user base, hopefully this service can grow and both make them money and improve their overall mobile technology department.
Similar to my last blog, this is a situation where Google uses the money it has to purchase a smaller company in an attempt to keep up with a bigger competitor. They use the money they have to make more money. Goes along with the old saying, "You need money to make money." The rich get richer, not that I have any problem with it. I don't blame Google at all. They refuse to fall behind in nearly any category which to me is actually pretty respectable.
Google Wallet, unlike countless other apps Google releases, did not gain popularity as quickly as hoped after last year's release. TxVia is a mobile payments technology company, similar to the type of service Google Wallet provides. This past week Google purchased TxVia and with it came their over 100 million accounts and part of their team. This acquisition will help Google compete with some of the bigger mobile payment companies such as PayPal, owned by eBay. If Google Wallet can get a decent user base, hopefully this service can grow and both make them money and improve their overall mobile technology department.
Similar to my last blog, this is a situation where Google uses the money it has to purchase a smaller company in an attempt to keep up with a bigger competitor. They use the money they have to make more money. Goes along with the old saying, "You need money to make money." The rich get richer, not that I have any problem with it. I don't blame Google at all. They refuse to fall behind in nearly any category which to me is actually pretty respectable.
Google Buys Motorola for Patents
Google has purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The deal still must be approved by Chinese regulators, although it has already received approval from both the United States and Europe. The reason that Google has spent so much money on purchasing Motorola is to beef up its patent portfolio, according to Allen Lo, Google's Deputy General Counsel. Lo, who previously worked for three years at the US Patent and Trademark Office, oversees the patent law group at Google.
The reason Google wants all Motorola's patents, and continues to try to increase their patent count, is to play defense in patent litigation. According to an article by CNET, Google has not once sued another company for patent infringement. Not once. This seems amazing to me, that a company so large, who probably gets infringed upon more than any other, has never been the aggressor in patent litigation. Lo was quoted as saying, "We have principles, things that we don't see ourselves doing." I guess they just do business by not worrying about what other companies are doing, and focusing their resources on bettering their company. It really seems to be working out for them.
While Google does not believe in suing other companies, they will not shy away when someone tries to sue them. This is also one of the main reasons they want a larger patent portfolio. It seems that often times when a company gets sued for patent infringement, a good defense is to have a good offense, meaning a threat of a counter suit. They show the suing company that they have a certain patent, perhaps very similar, and it may lead to both companies wishing to settle outside of court. This article was really interesting to read because not only does it deal with Google, which I have been reading so much about, but it has to do with patent laws and all the stuff we have been learning in class.
The reason Google wants all Motorola's patents, and continues to try to increase their patent count, is to play defense in patent litigation. According to an article by CNET, Google has not once sued another company for patent infringement. Not once. This seems amazing to me, that a company so large, who probably gets infringed upon more than any other, has never been the aggressor in patent litigation. Lo was quoted as saying, "We have principles, things that we don't see ourselves doing." I guess they just do business by not worrying about what other companies are doing, and focusing their resources on bettering their company. It really seems to be working out for them.
While Google does not believe in suing other companies, they will not shy away when someone tries to sue them. This is also one of the main reasons they want a larger patent portfolio. It seems that often times when a company gets sued for patent infringement, a good defense is to have a good offense, meaning a threat of a counter suit. They show the suing company that they have a certain patent, perhaps very similar, and it may lead to both companies wishing to settle outside of court. This article was really interesting to read because not only does it deal with Google, which I have been reading so much about, but it has to do with patent laws and all the stuff we have been learning in class.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Google X Lab
My last blog about the augmented-reality glasses and perhaps eventually contact lenses really got me thinking. This is the kind of stuff that interests me. So I wondered where does Google come up with this stuff. In a sense, it was an easily answered question. In another sense, I will never know. Some quick searches pointed me toward the Google X Lab, where Google, for all intents and purposes, creates the future. We have all had ideas when we were young that deep down we figured were impossible, maybe a flying car, maybe some sort of teleportation device. Well, Google is making these a reality. Ok, maybe not these two examples but you know what I mean. People that work in the Google X Lab are smart, like very smart. They come up with inventions and designs that I consider to be in the future. Such inventions include the space elevator or driverless cars (see here). The crazy thing is, many of these futuristic inventions are very near ready. Driverless cars have been tested for some time now, although who knows when they would be ready, and more importantly, when society would be able to confidently accept them onto the roads in mass.
The great thing about Google X Lab is its secrecy. It is exactly as you would expect. Nobody knows where it is, and when someone gets fired or quits, it is a big deal to keep it secret. Google's co-founders were both reportedly seriously involved in the lab until Larry Page became CEO, and he diverted his attention elsewhere.
Larry Page and his co-founder Sergey Brin have both expressed serious interest and high hopes for artificial intelligence. One main point holding AI back has been computational power, which Google has alot, I mean alot, of. Google now has eleven data centers scattered across the globe and considers their servers to all be one supercomputer. Still not enough to simulate a human brain, Google continues to grow and believes in the coming years that it will be possible. Amazing, interesting, mind-blowing, yet scary things are on the horizon, and Google seems to be behind it all.
The great thing about Google X Lab is its secrecy. It is exactly as you would expect. Nobody knows where it is, and when someone gets fired or quits, it is a big deal to keep it secret. Google's co-founders were both reportedly seriously involved in the lab until Larry Page became CEO, and he diverted his attention elsewhere.
Larry Page and his co-founder Sergey Brin have both expressed serious interest and high hopes for artificial intelligence. One main point holding AI back has been computational power, which Google has alot, I mean alot, of. Google now has eleven data centers scattered across the globe and considers their servers to all be one supercomputer. Still not enough to simulate a human brain, Google continues to grow and believes in the coming years that it will be possible. Amazing, interesting, mind-blowing, yet scary things are on the horizon, and Google seems to be behind it all.
Google Begins Testing Its Augmented-Reality Glasses
Not only is Google developing applications to keep up with competition, they are also designing and developing augmented-reality glasses. What are those, you ask? Well they look pretty much what they sound like; they are futuristic and sit lightly around your head with a small lens just above one eye, but low enough they you can look into it. Yea, but what do they do? Everything, it seems. They are designed to be your smart phone and camera in one, among other things. You walk around the city with these on, receive a phone call, and click a small button or give a voice command and you are on the phone. You want some information or a map of your location? Just give it the command and it pops right in front of your eye. This is all part of Google's Project Glass (quite fitting) and Google has recently allowed people to wear the glasses around in public to test them out.
Oh, you still aren't impressed. Well listen to this. Babak Parviz, an Associate Professor at the University of Washington and specializes in Bionanotechnology, has recently built a contact lens with pixels in it that can display images and information to the wearer. So if this futuristic, Star Trek-esque pair of glasses is maybe too bulky for you, or not quite fashionable enough, maybe you should just wait until these contacts come out. Granted, the glasses are still being tested and have a while before they will be sold, but think about how fast this technology is moving. These glasses haven't yet been released and already are similar contact lenses being invented. I can't imagine the contact lenses will have all the same capabilities as the glasses, but I know I would prefer not wear glasses all the time. I've never had to wear contact lenses but I am pretty sure I would break my streak if it meant I could basically wear information inside my eyelid.
Oh, you still aren't impressed. Well listen to this. Babak Parviz, an Associate Professor at the University of Washington and specializes in Bionanotechnology, has recently built a contact lens with pixels in it that can display images and information to the wearer. So if this futuristic, Star Trek-esque pair of glasses is maybe too bulky for you, or not quite fashionable enough, maybe you should just wait until these contacts come out. Granted, the glasses are still being tested and have a while before they will be sold, but think about how fast this technology is moving. These glasses haven't yet been released and already are similar contact lenses being invented. I can't imagine the contact lenses will have all the same capabilities as the glasses, but I know I would prefer not wear glasses all the time. I've never had to wear contact lenses but I am pretty sure I would break my streak if it meant I could basically wear information inside my eyelid.
Google and YouTube pair up with Paramount
Google Play is going to have an even greater impact than what was originally expected. In an article from this morning, The Washington Post reports that Google has added over 500 more movies to its already extensive list of movies available to rent on Google Play or YouTube. These movies will apparently be available in both the United States and Canada. These 500 movies are a result of an agreement with Paramount Pictures, which now makes it five of the major six studios working with Google on this project. Paramount joins Warner Bros. Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures, and Universal Pictures, with 20th Century Fox being the last one to not have a deal in place with Google. To rent one of these movies for a 48 hour period, it would cost a customer $3.99 for new releases, and $2.99 for older movies. There will also be a $1 charge for HD.
Google refuses to get left behind when it comes to any form of technological innovation or idea. Whether it be keeping up with Apple, Amazon, or Netflix, they always seems to at least be able to match the competitor. I am very interested to see how well Google Play does, in particular with this movie rental idea. I read an article a little while back about how Wal-Mart is now entering the movie rental business, offering to transfer a movie from the hard copy you own to the cloud, allowing you to view it anywhere you like. It costs the customers only $2 to make this transfer. We all know about Netflix and their streaming or movie delivery options. And now there is Google. The $3.99 is certainly a lower price than going to the movies, but seems to be a little more than perhaps stopping at a RedBox and renting a movie for $1 per night. I think the ability to view it from your computer, phone, tablet, or maybe even TV will help make Google Play a real player in the growing movie rental industry.
Google refuses to get left behind when it comes to any form of technological innovation or idea. Whether it be keeping up with Apple, Amazon, or Netflix, they always seems to at least be able to match the competitor. I am very interested to see how well Google Play does, in particular with this movie rental idea. I read an article a little while back about how Wal-Mart is now entering the movie rental business, offering to transfer a movie from the hard copy you own to the cloud, allowing you to view it anywhere you like. It costs the customers only $2 to make this transfer. We all know about Netflix and their streaming or movie delivery options. And now there is Google. The $3.99 is certainly a lower price than going to the movies, but seems to be a little more than perhaps stopping at a RedBox and renting a movie for $1 per night. I think the ability to view it from your computer, phone, tablet, or maybe even TV will help make Google Play a real player in the growing movie rental industry.
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