Q4 Google-palooza
|
Written By Reprise Media | January 31, 2006 | Share This
|
|
Google’s Q4 earnings hit the Street later today (see Justin Hibbard’s Businessweek analysis), and as usual the company’s provided no shortage of reasons to have the internet buzzing. Take a deep breath…and let’s begin.
Yesterday Google launched an update of their Toolbar feature, which boasts custom buttons, bookmark integration, and the ability to send web sites via SMS to mobile phones or email. Alacra blog points out that you can use the custom buttons to command Google Toolbar to utilize Yahoo!, MSN, or any other search site. Some, like the folks at Search Engine Roundtable, are concerned that the central bookmarking feature (allowing users to access theirs from any PC) could raise privacy issues. Noting the streamlined SMS feature, The Pondering Primate jumps to conclude that we’ll soon see Google Toolbar on cellphones.
This Newsfactor story is more interested in Google’s ‘enterprise’ toolbar update, also released yesterday, since it indicates the engine’s willingness to make itself friendlier to the corporate environment:
“…An added incentive to adopt the enterprise version is that Google has included a group-policy management feature for administrative control, as well as a Microsoft System Installer for faster corporate deployment.”
Quick Google hits:
Desktop Linux Is Google trying to outflank Microsoft on its own turf? The Register reports that they’re working up their own version of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution for the desktop.
Google Sees All, Knows All
John Battelle recently asked Google if they had the capability of determining an IP address given a list of terms searched, and vice versa. Since the answers to both were “yes,” you might check MIT’s Technology Review for ways to search incognito.
Rumor Mill: Grind It Up
The Google rumor du jour has the engine looking to pick itself up a slightly used Napster, rather than configure its own (also rumored) music download service from scratch. For the record, Google says they weren’t planning on it. More at Search Engine Journal.
Topics: Search: News |
Do you think that desktop linux was what Google was referring to when it talked about “really big bets” on its conference call? I’ve typed the link to the full conf call transcript in the URL box for this comment, so you should be able to check it out by clicking on my name below.