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Bits Blog: Major Redesign of Google Maps Is Unveiled

May 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Google is introducing more personalized maps that will recommend places to go based on their preferences and those of people with similar tastes. Google is introducing more personalized maps that will recommend places to go based on their preferences and those of people with similar tastes.

Google is taking on a new challenge in mapping — creating real-time, personalized maps for everyone on the planet.

At its annual I/O developers conference on Wednesday, Google announced a new Google Maps, rebuilt from the ground up, by far the biggest redesign since it introduced Maps eight years ago.

When users who are logged in to Google visit Maps, they will see highlighted the places they frequently visit, like restaurants, museums and their home and office. Google learns the places they go by drawing information from all of Google’s services — including search and Maps history, Google Plus posts and information in their Gmail in-box. (A search on the new Maps revealed, for instance, that Larry Page, Google’s chief executive, likes State Bird Provisions, a restaurant in San Francisco.)

When users visit a new city, Google will recommend places to go based on their preferences and those of people with similar tastes.

The maps will change in real-time, so if you click on a museum, the other museums in the city will pop up. Choose a museum, and the map will shift so that the small roads and landmarks needed to navigate to that museum appear, and other street names fade away.

“Everybody gets their own map, every time,” said Jonah Jones, the lead designer for the new Google Maps, in an interview before the conference.

The new Google Maps looks different in other ways. The maps now fill more of the screen, including space on the top and sides. If you search for cafes nearby, for instance, results are labeled on the map (they are not in the old version) and cards with relevant information appear on the map. These can include ads, which are labeled in purple, and offers like a coupon for a local business.

Google Earth, which shows satellite 3-D imagery, was previously available only as an app to download. Now, it will be incorporated in the online version of Google Maps, so users can zoom in and explore a city’s landmarks in 3-D. They can zoom out and see the planet, with real-time weather, and the Milky Way.

While Google engineers were testing the maps in recent weeks, they noticed a black smudge on the Earth and the sun. At first, they thought it was a problem with the map, but then discovered that they were seeing an eclipse on the other side of the world, off Australia, in real time.

Google can do this because of a technology called WebGL that renders graphics inside a browser, as opposed to downloading images from a server, a process that takes longer and does not allow graphics to be as complex.

People can also view users’ photos from various places and see inside hundreds of thousands of local businesses. And the new Maps has improved public transit directions, including a schedule of departure times, a comparison with driving times and personalized directions from a user’s home.

Google plans to slowly introduce the new Maps to users, starting with conference attendees and then people who sign up online. It is only for desktop computers to start, but Google will also be updating its iPhone and Android Maps apps soon.

Article source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/major-redesign-of-google-maps-is-unveiled/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: , ,

Google Faces More Inquiries in Europe Over Privacy Policy

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Data protection agencies in Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands said on Tuesday that they were moving to take action against Google over the policy, which the company introduced last year. They joined the French regulator, which had initiated a European Union inquiry on behalf of its counterparts across the 27-nation bloc.

While the regulators have repeatedly threatened the company with tough talk of a united front, the news on Tuesday reflects the reality that privacy laws are fragmented across the European Union, giving Google little incentive to yield.

Enforcement is a matter for national agencies, rather than Brussels. But the French data protection agency, which is known by the initials C.N.I.L., said it would cooperate with the other countries as they step up their scrutiny.

The C.N.I.L. said it had “notified Google of the initiation of an inspection procedure,” the latest step in a drawn-out investigation that began more than a year ago, when the agency said it thought the company’s privacy policy violated European Union law. Other agencies said they would conduct their own inquiries, building on the work of the C.N.I.L.

The Google privacy policy streamlined the individual practices that had been in place across more than 60 Google services, from its search engine to its online mapping operation to YouTube.

The company said at the time that this was necessary to provide clarity to users, and to improve its services.

But European regulators, led by the C.N.I.L., said that the company had been insufficiently forthcoming about its use of personal data, especially when the information was used across different services for purposes like advertising.

Last October, the heads of the 27 regulatory agencies wrote to Google’s chief executive, Larry Page, demanding changes in the policy. They asked the company to do so within four months or risk sanctions.

“After this period has expired, Google has not implemented any significant compliance measures,” the C.N.I.L. said in a statement.

Google has insisted that its use of data complies with European Union law, and it stood by that position Tuesday. “We have engaged fully with the data protection authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward,” the company said.

Each of the national regulators now investigating Google has different procedures and enforcement powers.

In France, for example, the C.N.I.L. can fine privacy violators up to 300,000 euros, or about $385,000 — a drop in the bucket for a global giant like Google. In some countries, regulators can bring criminal complaints; in others, they cannot.

The European Commission, led by its vice president, Viviane Reding, has been pushing for an overhaul of the bloc’s privacy laws, under which data protection would be centrally regulated. But the idea faces opposition from some member states.

The announcement on Tuesday means the investigations into the privacy policy could continue for months, during which time Google could continue to keep the system in place.

“It is essential regulators find a sanction that is not just a slap on the wrists and will make Google think twice before it ignores consumer rights again,” said Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, a privacy advocacy group in Britain.

Separately, Google this week announced plans to replace its director of privacy for product and engineering, Alma Whitten, who helped create the privacy policy. Lawrence You, who helped start the team, will take over.

The privacy team at Google, which has 350 employees, was started in 2010 after two privacy blunders at the company involving improper data collection by Street View cars and Buzz, an ill-fated social networking tool.

The privacy team does things like coach Google engineers on adding more privacy-friendly features to products, building tools like dashboards for Google users to control how their information is shared and making it more difficult for hackers to break into Gmail accounts.

The company said that the retirement of Ms. Whitten, who is in her 40s, had been planned and was unrelated to the European Union news.

“Alma has done so much to improve our products and protect our users,” Chris Gaither, a Google spokesman, said in a statement. “The privacy and security teams, and everyone else at Google, will continue this hard work to ensure that our users’ data is kept safe and secure.”

Claire Cain Miller contributed reporting.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/technology/google-to-face-national-regulators-over-privacy-policy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: , ,

Google to Face National Regulators Over Privacy Policy

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Data protection agencies in Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands said Tuesday that they were moving to take action against Google over the policy, which the company introduced last year. They joined the French regulator, which had initiated a European Union inquiry on behalf of its counterparts across the 27-nation bloc.

While the regulators have repeatedly threatened the company with tough talk of a united front, the news Tuesday reflects the reality that privacy laws are fragmented across the Union, giving Google little incentive to yield.

Enforcement is a matter for national agencies, rather than Brussels, though the French data protection agency, — which is known by its French initials, C.N.I.L., said it would cooperate with the other countries as they step up their scrutiny.

The C.N.I.L., said it had “notified Google of the initiation of an inspection procedure,” the latest step in a drawn-out investigation that began more than a year ago, when the agency said it thought the company’s privacy policy violated E.U. law. Other agencies said they would conduct their own inquiries, building on the work of the C.N.I.L.

The Google privacy policy streamlined the individual practices that had been in place across more than 60 Google services, from its search engine to its online mapping operation to YouTube.

The company said at the time that this was necessary to provide clarity to users, and to improve its services.

But European regulators, led by the C.N.I.L., which was empowered to investigate on behalf of 27 individual E.U. regulators, complained that the company had been insufficiently forthcoming about its use of personal data, especially when the information was used across different services for purposes like advertising.

Last October, the heads of the 27 agencies wrote to Google’s chief executive, Larry Page, demanding changes in the policy. They asked the company to do so within four months or risk sanctions.

“After this period has expired, Google has not implemented any significant compliance measures,” the C.N.I.L. said in a statement.

Google has insisted that its use of data complied with E.U. law, and it stood by that position Tuesday. “We have engaged fully with the data protection authorities involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward,” the company said.

Each of the national regulators now investigating Google has different procedures and enforcement powers.

In France, for example, the C.N.I.L. can fine privacy violators up to €300,000, or about $390,000 — a drop in the bucket for a global giant like Google. In some countries, regulators can bring criminal complaints; in others they cannot.

The European Commission, led by its vice president, Viviane Reding, has been pushing for an overhaul of the bloc’s privacy laws, under which data protection would be centrally regulated across the 27 countries. But the idea faces opposition from some member states.

The announcement Tuesday means the investigations into the privacy policy could continue for months, during which time Google could continue to keep the system in place.

“It is essential regulators find a sanction that is not just a slap on the wrists and will make Google think twice before it ignores consumer rights again,” Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch, a privacy advocacy group in Britain.

Meanwhile, Google this week announced plans to replace its director of privacy for product and engineering, Alma Whitten, who helped create the privacy policy. Lawrence You, who helped start the team, will take over.

The privacy team at Google, which has 350 employees, was started in 2010 after two major privacy blunders at the company involving improper data collection by Street View cars and Buzz, an ill-fated social networking tool.

The employees do things like coach Google engineers on adding more privacy-friendly features to products, build tools like dashboards for Google users to control how their information is shared and make it more difficult for hackers to break into Gmail accounts.

The company said that Ms. Whitten’s retirement, though she is in her 40s, had been planned and was unrelated to the E.U. news.

“Alma has done so much to improve our products and protect our users,” Chris Gaither, a Google spokesman, said in a statement. “The privacy and security teams, and everyone else at Google, will continue this hard work to ensure that our users’ data is kept safe and secure.”

Claire Cain Miller contributed reporting from San Francisco.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/03/technology/google-to-face-national-regulators-over-privacy-policy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: ,

DealBook: Google to Buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion

August 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Jin Lee/Bloomberg NewsThe Motorola Droid X.

9:16 a.m. | Updated

In a bid to strengthen its mobile business, Google announced on Monday that it would acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings, the cellphone business that was split from Motorola, for $40 a share in cash, or $12.5 billion.

The offer — by far Google’s largest ever for an acquisition — is 63 percent above the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday. Motorola manufactures phones that run on Google’s Android software.

Android has become an increasingly important platform for Google, as global smartphone adoption accelerates. The platform, launched in 2007, is now used in more than 150 million devices, with 39 manufacturers.

The acquisition would turn Google, which makes the Android mobile operating system, into a full-fledged cellphone manufacturer, in direct competition with Apple.

“This is an emphatic exclamation point that Google is a mobile company,” said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Macquarie Capital. “This is clearly a defensive deal, they were backed in a corner and they had to protect the Android platform.”

The deal answers a big question about Google’s next strategic step in wireless. Google has been battling with Apple and Microsoft over patents.

Last month, Apple and Microsoft led a consortium of technology companies in a $4.5 billion purchase of roughly 6,000 patents from Nortel Networks, the Canadian telecommunications maker that filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Google, which lost out in the bidding, criticized the deal as an anticompetitive strategy. Several weeks later, Google acquired more than 1,000 patents from I.B.M.

Motorola holds more than 17,000 patents.

While the acquisition will move Google directly into the telecommunications hardware business, Larry Page, Google’s chief executive, said in a blog post that “this acquisition will not change our commitment to run Android as an open platform. Motorola will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. We will run Motorola as a separate business.”

Still, the deal is certain to attract significant antitrust scrutiny. The Federal Trade Commission is already investigating Google’s dominance in several areas of its business. The company has agreed to pay a $2.5 billion reverse termination fee, if it walks away, and Motorola will pay a $375 million break-up fee if it takes another offer, according to a person close to the transaction, who was not authorized to speak.

In a conference call on Monday morning, Google said it was confident that it will be able to win regulatory approval, since the deal will ultimately improve competition in the smart phone market.

“We think this is a competitive transaction,” David Drummond, the company’s chief legal officer said. “This is not a horizontal transaction, Google has not materially been in the handset business.”

The acquisition of a major handset maker may still pose a significant challenge to the search giant, which has not specialized in manufacturing or marketing of smartphones. Last year, it closed down the online store for its first Google-branded phone, the Nexus One, citing the store’s underwhelming performance. A Motorola tie-up may also irk other phone manufacturers, like Samsung and HTC, which will now be competing directly with Google.

“Can they convince their competitors that Motorola will truly operate as a standalone business?” Mr. Schachter said.

And while Google has made dozens of acquisitions in recent years, most of them have been for less than $1 billion — despite a current war chest of some $40 billion in cash. On the company’s official blog, Mr. Page said Google was purchasing the handset maker to bolster its Android mobile operating system and increase the number of patents it owned.

Android accounted for 43.4 percent of smartphone sales in the second quarter, according to Gartner Research, a major increase from the year ago period, when it made up about 17 percent of sales.

“Our acquisition of Motorola will increase competition by strengthening Google’s patent portfolio, which will enable us to better protect Android from anticompetitive threats from Microsoft, Apple and other companies,” Mr. Page said.

Carl C. Icahn, Motorola Mobility’s second-largest shareholder, had urged the company last month to “explore alternatives regarding its patent portfolio to enhance shareholder value.” Mr. Icahn owns 9.03 percent of Motorola Mobility.

On Monday, he applauded the transaction, calling it “a great outcome for all shareholders of Motorola Mobility, especially in light of today’s markets.”

Lazard and the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen Hamilton advised Google. Frank Quattrone’s investment bank, Qatalyst Partners, Centerview Partners and the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen Katz advised Motorola Mobility.

The acquisition has been approved by both boards.

Michael J. de la Merced contributed reporting.

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: August 15, 2011

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to Google’s acquisition of patents from I.B.M. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/google-to-buy-motorola-mobility/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Global Business Tagged With: ,