Google refocuses under Larry Page; Eric Schmidt says Microsoft is bigger competition than Facebook
January 27, 2011 No Comment
Now that the dust has settled from the Google CEO shuffle that will see Larry Page take the top spot from Eric Schmidt in April, it’s time for the profiles of the company to hit — and Bloomberg BusinessWeek is up first with a piece that examines the company’s past and future challenges, as well the key leaders of what it calls “Google 3.0″: Vic Gundotra, who’s heading up a now-not-so-secret social networking initiative called Google +1, Android chief Andy Rubin, YouTube head Salar Kamangar, advertising lead Susan Wojcicki, Chrome head Sundar Pichai, and search leads Udi Manber and Amit Singhal. It’s all very fascinating, and it includes some great anecdotes, like Vic Gundotra and Phil Schiller getting into an argument about user location-tracking so heated that Eric Schmidt and Steve Jobs had to intervene. Yeah, it’s like that. Speaking of Eric Schmidt, he was in Davos this week, and he had some choice words for reporters on Google’s competition — and it’s not Facebook. “Microsoft has more cash, more engineers, more global reach. We see competition from Microsoft every day,” says Eric, while Facebook “has clearly stated they don’t want to get into the search business. Facebook users tend to use Google search.” As for Apple, he gave the usual line about both partnering with and competing with Cupertino, while taking a moment to laud Steve Jobs as “the most successful CEO in the world anywhere,” who’s built an “elegant, scalable, closed system” while “Google is attempting to do something with a completely different approach.” Spoken like a true frenemy, we suppose. Check out the source links to read both pieces. Google refocuses under Larry Page; Eric Schmidt says Microsoft is bigger competition than Facebook originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Claire Shipman’s Husband Named New Obama Press Secretary; Conflict of Interest for ABC?
January 27, 2011 No Comment
The White House on Thursday named Jay Carney, the husband of ABC News reporter Claire Shipman, to be the new White House Press secretary. Carney is also an ex-journalist, formally of Time magazine. Will this appointment prove to be a conflict of interest for Shipman? Will she continue to report on the Obama administration?
Continue reading …
The baby grand piano that turned up on a Miami sandbar was burned to tatters by New Year’s revelers, then brought to its new home by a teen hoping the idea might get him into a prestigious art school. (Jan. 27)
Continue reading …
After a rough few years General Motors is hiring again, producing vehicles and basking in a better reputation for quality. The AP’s Robert Ray reports. (Jan. 27)
Continue reading …Breast implants have been linked to an extremely rare but treatable cancer, the New York Times reports. It’s called anaplastic large-cell lymphoma, and in these cases, it usually forms in the scar tissue around the implant. The link was seen in saline and silicone implants, and in both reconstructive implants…
Continue reading …
Photo: BeloMonte.org After decades of demonstrations and protests against the building of an enormous hydroelectric dam at Belo Monte in the lush Brazilian rainforest, the government has finally given approval to begin construction. The first stages of development of the controversial project calls for the clearing of nearly 600 acres of forest, to be followed by the flooding of 121,600 more acres once the dam is finished. This important approval not only marks the early stages of its immense environmental impact, but a social one as well. For the nearly 50,000 mostly indigeno… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
Chairman Phil Angelides and the five other Democrats on the 10-person Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission have released their devastating report, which blames former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, current Treasury boss and former New York Fed Chair Timothy Geithner and the financial gimmick marketers of Goldman Sachs, among others, for the economic meltdown. Read the full report here . BBC: Its report highlighted excessive risk-taking by banks and neglect by financial regulators. Only the six Democrat members of the 10-strong commission, set up in May 2009, endorsed the report’s findings. “The crisis was the result of human action and inaction, not of Mother Nature or models gone haywire,” the report said. Read more Related Entries January 26, 2011 America’s Freshmen Are Really Stressed Out January 24, 2011 Japan Killing 410,000 Chickens Over Bird Flu Fears
Continue reading …
Photo: NextGen Cap and trade really isn’t the most complicated concept on the planet. But let’s be honest — it’s not the simplest, either. There are plenty of folks who don’t understand exactly how it works; at one point, that was true of the vast majority of Americans (and probably still is). And this is exactly why cap and trade’s political opponents were able to convince many that it was really an ‘energy tax’ though it was really nothing of … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Olympus E-PL2 camera gets reviewed, deemed worthy to carry on the E-PL1′s torch
January 27, 2011 No Comment
Olympus’s E-PL2 only surfaced on the public radar just last month , and already reviews are rolling in indicating The Schwartz is quite strong with this latest Micro Four Thirds entrant. Interestingly enough, both Photography Blog and Popular Mechanics saw the improved MSC 14 to 42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens as the most important change to the new rig. That’s because it’s been retooled to be lighter, slimmer, and shorter, adding to the overall compact feel of the camera. A new internal focus is also apparently much faster and nearly silent — making it more appealing for video shooting. Outside of the lens changes, both saw the camera’s new 3-inch, 460,000-dot LCD, faster max shutter speeds, and greater ISO sensitivity as welcomed additions to the solid foundations laid by the E-PL1 , resulting in a highly recommended rating from PB . Reviewers at Popular Mechanics also futzed around with the new Bluetooth-enabled photo sharing PENPal accessory and found it great for transferring photos to a phone — but lamented how it blocked the camera’s hot shoe in the process. To dive into all the juicy review details for yourself hit up the source links below. Olympus E-PL2 camera gets reviewed, deemed worthy to carry on the E-PL1′s torch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …