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Google Buys Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 Billion

Monday, August 15, 2011 at 11:29 PM Article by Unknown 1 Comment


Google has entered into an agreement to acquire the mobile phone maker Motorola Mobility for about US$12.5 billion, the company said on Monday.
Google has offered about $40 per share in cash, a premium of 63 percent over the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday.

google motorola mobility acqusition


Motorola Mobility exclusively ships phones and its Xoom tablet with Google's Android operating system. The deal will mean that Google now has a hardware manufacturer to work with closely to develop Android, said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.
Google will also have control of Motorola's impressive patent portfolio, Milanesi said. Motorola Mobility said earlier this year that it owns about 24,500 patents.

Conflict with Partners?

But the deal may also create tension with other mobile phone manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung, which also ship Android devices, she said. Since creating Android, Google has rotated manufacturers with which to release new Android code, releasing the code to others about six months later.

Google may risk alienating those other manufacturers, but Milanesi said "all these vendors have invested so much in the platform, they won't quickly walk away from it."

Google may also want to speed up the development of its Android operating system on tablet computers, where it has been slower to catch on than on mobile phones, Milanesi said. The next release for Android, code-named "Ice Cream Sandwich," will be an operating system designed for tablets and mobile devices.

The acquisition of Motorola Mobility will enable Google to "supercharge the Android ecosystem and enhance competition in mobile computing," according to a news release. Google said the deal will not affect how Android is developed, and the operating system will remain open, Google said.

The company will run Motorola Mobility, which has about 20,000 employees, as a separate business, Google said. The transaction is expected to close at the end of this year or early next year.

Motorola Mobility, which was spun off from its parent company in early January, is composed of two groups: Mobile Devices, which makes phones, and Home, which makes set-top boxes and other IPTV equipment.


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Google Just Started A Price War With Facebook With Google+ Games

Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 12:08 AM Article by Unknown 0 Comments



Google added games to its Google+ social network yesterday, and then Facebook updated its gaming platform with a new Game Ticker, full screen support, and the ability to favorite games later the same day. Google+ has only 16 games right now, made by 10 game developers, while Facebook has developers from more than 190 countries building apps and games on its platform. That’s not where the ultimate comparison should be though. You see, Google has just started a social games price war with Facebook.

Wait, what do you mean? Social games on Facebook and Google+ are free! Well, that’s true, at least for most games. There is one huge aspect of online games that many often forget about: in-game transactions. Virtual items are not going to necessarily cost less for you on Google+, but they will for the developer. Google knows it needs to win over developers to get games on its new social network, and it’s starting by significantly undercutting Facebook on the commission price.

Facebook charges a 30 percent commission on any transactions that use its Facebook Credits virtual currency, which is now required in all games on the company’s platform. Google has decided to start off with a 5 percent commission for Google+ Games.

Sure, Google+’s 5 percent commission is just promotional, or at least, that’s what Google+ games product manager Punit Soni told VentureBeat. Soni claims Google doesn’t yet know when the promotion will end or what the company will charge developers on a regular basis, but I’m willing to bet that Google will keep its price significantly under the 30 percent mark.

The 30 percent number may seem high, but it’s actually a standard in the industry. Both Apple and Google take 30 percent of the revenue app developers make on the companies’ respective mobile app stores.
This social games price war is nothing new for Google: when the company launches a new platform, it often makes a point to undercut its competitor. After all, Mountain View gives Android away for free. The search giant makes enough money from Google AdSense (97 percent of its revenue comes from ads) that it doesn’t necessarily need to make sure that many of its products, be it Android or Google+, are profitable by themselves.

Palo Alto will definitely try to hold on to the 30 percent commission number for as long as possible. If Facebook ever feels threatened by Google+ in the social games market – meaning if social game developers ever start leaving Facebook for Google+ en masse – that number will probably be slashed. In the meantime, the social networking giant will simply boast about how much game developers actually make, despite the higher commission to Facebook, mainly because the platform has 750 million users and counting.

Summary: Google has started a price war with Facebook: the search giant is charging developers a 5 percent commission for in-game transactions, compared to social networking giant’s 30 percent.

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Merge Google+, Facebook & Twitter Using G++ (Chrome & Firefox)

Friday, August 12, 2011 at 12:17 AM Article by Unknown 0 Comments


Google+. It’s still very young, but the user growth is amazing. The latest data says that there are already more than 18 million Google+ users out there.
While most people are busy comparing Google+ with Facebook, and trying to figure out which one they should choose and use, there are those who have built tools to combine all of these social networks together and have the best of all worlds. One of these tools is G++, a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox which will help you put your Facebook and Twitter stream into your Google+ interface.

Plus Plus Plus

People have put time and effort into building their Facebook universe, so most Facebook users might reject the thought of switching to another social network and rebuilding their universe from scratch. Keeping and updating two social networks simultaneously might also be a tedious effort for some. With G++, you don’t have to make the choice.
To put your Facebook and Twitter streams in your Google+, visit the G++ site using either Chrome or Firefox (or both), and click the “Add” button to download and install the extension.
merge facebook and google plus

Your browser will ask for your permission to do the installation, click “Install” to confirm it. Then sign in to your Google+ account to see the extension in action.


merge google facebook

After your Google+ stream page is loaded, you will see three checkboxes at the top of the page: Google+, Facebook and Twitter. All you have to do to enable or disable the stream is to check or uncheck the boxes according to your preferences. You can even disable Google+ and view only the Facebook or Twitter stream via the Google+ interface if you want to.
merge google facebook

The first time you enable Facebook and Twitter, you will be asked to authorize G++ to access your accounts. First time users have to go through one activation process before they can continue with the second account.
merge google facebook

To activate Facebook, you have to disable the pop-up window blocker. To allow the pop-up window only for this one time activation process, click the “Log In | Facebook” link in the warning window.
google plus twitter integration

After the authorization process, you will be brought back to the stream page. Make sure the boxes are checked, then click the “Refresh Stream” button to fetch your streams from Facebook and Twitter.
google plus twitter integration

You can quickly distinguish the entries by the color and the small logo at the top right corner of every entry. Aside from viewing the streams, G++ also allows users to retweet Twitter entries, as well as Like and comment on entries from Facebook.
google plus twitter integration

The advantage of combining Google+ with Facebook and Twitter is the ability to post to all these accounts at once. All you have to do is type what you want to share (along with images, videos, links, and location tags), check the Facebook and Twitter boxes next to the “Click to Post to FB/Twitter” button, then click the button.
03a post2all2

To check whether the extension is functional or not, I immediately went to my Facebook wall and I saw that the post was already sitting there.
03c fb update

The post also appeared in my Google+ stream page – both the Twitter and Facebook version. I saw a comment to my post from one of my friends. I clicked the “Comment” link, typed my reply, then clicked the “Submit” button. A moment later, my reply appeared under the comment, as if I was using Facebook in its native environment.
03h comment

You can easily disable G++ if you want to by checking one of the on/off boxes at the top right corner of the web interface.
merge facebook and google plus

After playing with G++ for a while, I think that this is a very useful tool. But, if I could request one thing to the developer, it would be the ability to connect to other popular social networks.
Are you a social network freak? Do you think you need G++ to help you keep up with your Google+, Facebook, and Twitter account? Do you know of other similar alternatives? If so, please share your thoughts using the comments below.

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Facebook Reorganizes Chat List Again!

Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 10:08 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments







Facebook‘s chat bar has gone through multiple iterations recently, and today you may have noticed a new format. Friends whose profiles you interact with most often are listed in one section at the top of your list, followed by a section of “more online friends” below.
The changes were implemented Thursday morning in response to user feedback from a redesign of chat in July, says a Facebook spokesperson. About 28,000 people had “liked” a Facebook Page entitled “I hate the new Facebook sidebar chat.”
The redesigned chat now stretches from the top of the browser to the bottom instead of being contained to its previous pop-up box, and until today it showed only a selection of friends instead of everyone who was online.
Prior to July, all online friends appeared in the same bar in alphabetical order. One of the major criticisms of the most recent iteration of the chat bar was that it didn’t show all friends who were online. Today’s update rectifies that by adding the “more online friends” category beneath the friends you interact with the most.
The Facebook spokesperson said this most recent change is not a test.


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Hacker Group Anonymous Vows To Take Down Facebook On November 5th

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 11:16 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments

According to a statement issued by Hacktivist group Anonymous, which previously had been responsible for hacking Sony’s Playstation Network, Pentagon etc., it has planned to “destroy” the social media giant Facebook on November 5th.

anonymous Hacker Group Anonymous Vows To Take Down Facebook On November 5

In the statement, Anonymous claims that Facebook has been selling ‘sensitive’ user information to government agencies and giving secret access to security firms so that they can spy on Facebook users — as all data is stored on Facebook’s servers and can be accessed at anytime.
Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.
Earlier, there were some doubts whether this statement is real or fake, but Anonymous has now confirmed via their Twitter account that some of its members are planning an operation against Facebook, but not all of Anonymous agrees with it.
#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it.
Let’s wait and see what lies ahead for Facebook…. The countdown has already begun.
The full text of the announcement, made by Anonymous on YouTube:
Attention citizens of the world,
We wish to get your attention, hoping you heed the warnings as follows:
Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed. If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world. Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria.
Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your “privacy” settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you “delete” your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time. Changing the privacy settings to make your Facebook account more “private” is also a delusion. Facebook knows more about you than your family.
You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in. Facebook is the opposite of the Antisec cause. You are not safe from them nor from any government. One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
The riots are underway. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent. It’s unfolding because people are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don’t understand the consequences. Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them “for their own good” while they then make millions off of you. When a service is “free,” it really means they’re making money off of you and your information.
Think for a while and prepare for a day that will go down in history. November 5 2011, #opfacebook . Engaged.
This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias. We have the right to not be surveilled, not be stalked, and not be used for profit. We have the right to not live as slaves.
We are anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

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