Alphabet Inc. (formerly: Google)

[KopiKat]

I like Kit-Kat, which provided needed energy during busy days...

Google dubs new Android system ‘KitKat’

I wonder if they'll call it Kvikk Lunsj in Norway.... I was very surprised at the similarity to Kit Kat when someone gave me a bar some time back...

[CityFarmer]

I like Kit-Kat, which provided needed energy during busy days...

Google dubs new Android system ‘KitKat’

I wonder if they'll call it Kvikk Lunsj in Norway.... I was very surprised at the similarity to Kit Kat when someone gave me a bar some time back...

The appearance is diff from Kit-Kat. Kit-Kat is all red in color.

Maybe the similarity in taste, was the surprise...

[CityFarmer]

I always admire the gut of Google in its e-book initiative. It is a meaningful, yet very challenging task.

Google Play Books lands in Singapore

SINGAPORE — E-book service Google Play Books has confirmed its expansion into Singapore and seven other Asia-Pacific countries, offering localised content in some markets.

Google said that customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand can expect localised content. For Singaporeans, local titles such as Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew from Marshall Cavendish will be available.

The service is also debuting in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. This brings the total number of supported countries to 36, as Google continues to expand its Play store services to more customers around the world.

Google Play Books says it offers millions of e-book titles from new releases and international bestsellers, such as Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games trilogy and Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, as well as classics which can be purchased and read on any smartphone device or tablet.
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/google-p...-singapore

[CityFarmer]

On top of legally right, it is expected to be morally right.

Robert Kuok (Sugar King of M'sia), is one admired businessman that follow the principle for life...

Google billed over S$70m in UK tax

LONDON — Google, which has been grilled twice in the past year by a United Kingdom parliamentary committee over its tax practices, had a UK tax bill of US$55 million (S$69 million) last year, on sales of US$4.9 billion to British customers, its accounts showed.

The Internet search giant paid a tax rate of 2.6 per cent on US$8.1 billion in non-US income last year, because it channelled almost all of its overseas profits to a subsidiary in Bermuda which levies no corporate income tax, the group’s accounts show.

Corporate tax avoidance has risen to the top of the international agenda in the past year with the G20 and G8 groups of leading economies promising to get to grips with the growing practice of companies diverting profits from where they are earned and into tax havens.

Google said it follows all tax rules in every country where it operates and that it does not pay much tax in Britain because its profits are not generated by its UK employees.
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http://www.todayonline.com/business/goog...70m-uk-tax

[CityFarmer]

Google remains the leader in online advertising business...

Google Internet revenue rises 23% in Q3

SAN FRANCISCO — Google beat Wall Street’s revenue and profit expectations as its advertising business expanded, while losses deepened at its Motorola mobile phone business.

Shares of Google rose six per cent to US$941.25 (S$1,166.49) in after-hours trading yesterday (Oct 17).

The world’s No 1 Web search engine said that its Internet business delivered net revenue, which excludes fees paid to partners, of US$10.8 billion in the third quarter, up 23 per cent from US$8.76 billion in the year-ago period.

“They were able to grow their revenue pretty substantially, particularly in their own websites, in spite of having lower overall ad prices,” said JMP Securities analyst Ronald Josey.

Google said that paid clicks increased 26 per cent year-on-year during the three months ended Sept 30, while the average cost-per-click — the price that marketers pay Google when consumers click on their ads — decreased 8 per cent.

“That’s the key story, their ad volume growth is outpacing the decline cost per clicks,” Mr Josey said.
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http://www.todayonline.com/business/goog...ises-23-q3

[CityFarmer]

The driverless technology is more mature than we thought...

Google’s driverless cars are ‘safer’ than human drivers

LONDON — Google’s self-driving Prius and Lexus cars are safer and smoother than humans driving cars, according to the leader of its autonomous-car project.

“We’re spending less time in near-collision states. Our car is driving more smoothly and more safely than our trained professional drivers,” Mr Urmson was quoted saying during a robotics conference in California, according to Mashable.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Urmson presented results from two studies that looked at data from Google’s cars on public roads in California and Nevada. The studies showed that when a human was behind the wheel, Google’s cars accelerated and braked significantly more sharply than they did when piloting themselves.

The cars’ software was also proven to be better at keeping a safe distance between vehicles than human drivers could.

In one test, a Google car was hit by another driver. The car’s data was used to create an annotated map of the surroundings, proving what happened.

Mr Urmson added: “We don’t have to rely on eyewitnesses that can’t act be trusted as to what happened — we actually have the data.

“The guy around us wasn’t paying enough attention. The data will set you free.”

Since 2010, Google has been testing its cars on public roads, at the same time ensuring there is a human in the driver’s seat who can take over if necessary.

Plans for a new dashboard display are in the works, with a feature that could help people understand what the autonomous car is doing and when they might want to take over, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Google said it is thinking about different ways of bringing the cars to the market. AGENCIES
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/googles-...an-drivers

[CityFarmer]

What a innovation... I will try it once available, albeit tattoo doesn't seem fitting my age group...

Motorola wants to patent microphone skin tattoo

NEW YORK - Google-owned Motorola has applied for a patent for a microphone tattoo.

The ‘tattoo’ sticker is electronic and would be placed onto a person’s throat and pick sounds created by their voice.

If the user is making a phone call, the tattoo would then send these sounds wirelessly to the smartphone and the caller.

The patent states the tattoo will have a microphone embedded into it, a transceiver that enables wireless communication with the user’s smartphone, a battery and controller.

It would be used for “acoustic noise for a mobile communication device and more particularly to reducing acoustic noise with an auxiliary voice input”, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Motorola said in its application: “Mobile communication devices are often operated in noisy environments. For example, large stadiums, busy streets, restaurants, and emergency situations can be extremely loud and include varying frequencies of acoustic noise.

“Communication can reasonably be improved and even enhanced with a method and system for reducing the acoustic noise in such environments and contexts.”

The electronic microphone could pick up the sounds made by a person’s voice by reading vibrations and fluctuations of muscle or tissue from their voicebox.

The tattoos would then send these sounds wirelessly over Bluetooth or NFC to a smartphone
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http://www.todayonline.com/tech/motorola...kin-tattoo

[specuvestor]

I'm not sure if people want the potential of what they say to be easily transmitted or recorded. At least for a phone you consciously want to be heard.

[CityFarmer]

I'm not sure if people want the potential of what they say to be easily transmitted or recorded. At least for a phone you consciously want to be heard.

The "tattoo" is used similar as wireless BT headset now. I don't think it is an issue.

[CityFarmer]

I am a supporter of the Google initiative. It is a risky and challenging venture but meaningful ...

Google beats authors in book-scanning lawsuit

NEW YORK — Google yesterday (Nov 14) won dismissal of a long-running lawsuit by authors who accused the Internet search company of digitally copying millions of books for an online library without permission.

United States Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan accepted Google’s argument that its scanning of more than 20 million books, and making “snippets” of text available online, constituted “fair use” under American copyright law.

The decision, if it survives an expected appeal, would let Google continue expanding the library, which it said helps readers find books they might not otherwise locate.

It is also turning point for litigation that began in 2005, when authors and publishers sued. Google has estimated it could owe more than US$3 billion (S$3.7 billion) if the Authors Guild, an advocacy group that demanded US$750 for each scanned book, prevailed.

“This is a big win for Google, and it blesses other search results that Google displays, such as news or images,” said Prof James Grimmelmann, a University of Maryland intellectual property law professor who has followed the case.

“It is also a good ruling for libraries and researchers, because the opinion recognises the public benefit of making books available,” he added.

Mr Chin wrote that the scanning makes it easier for students, teachers, researchers and the public to find books, while maintaining “respectful consideration” for authors’ rights.

He also said Google’s digitisation was “transformative”, meaning it gave the books a new purpose or character, and could be expected to boost rather than reduce book sales.

The judge noted that Google takes steps to keep people from viewing complete copies of books online, including by keeping some snippets from being shown.

“In my view, Google Books provide significant public benefits,” Mr Chin wrote. “Indeed, all society benefits.”
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http://www.todayonline.com/business/goog...ng-lawsuit