Posted 03/12/10 at 08:02:28 PM by Ryan Whitwam

In January 2009 Vodafone made what seemed like a good investment buying mapping software maker Wayfinder for about $30 million. A year later it’s looking like a pretty awful deal in the wake of free navigation solutions from both Google and Nokia. Facing the inevitable, Vodafone is closing Wayfinder saying, “We could not charge for something that others gave away for free.”

Vodafone has also invested several million additional dollars in Wayfinder, so it can’t be easy to walk away. It’s unlikely they’d do so without being sure they could not compete with Nokia’s Ovi Maps. This really isn’t much of a surprise, especially considering Nokia’s huge presence in Europe. Google Navigation isn’t even available yet in Europe, but clearly Vodafone wasn’t going to sit around and wait for two free solutions to start eating their lunch.

This may be the eventual fate of all the carrier branded navigation apps. Considering the poor quality of many of them, that might not be a bad thing. Would access to a free navigation app from Google or Nokia sway you in your next phone purchase?

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Posted 03/12/10 at 07:02:24 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Ever since its release, Google has tagged Chrome installs with a unique ID. The search giant is now reportedly abandoning that practice. Future versions of the browser will still install with a unique ID that will be used to check for the first automatic update. After that task is complete, the ID will be deleted.

It has always been Google’s position that the client ID was only used to determine when users update, and in the event of a crash (but only if crash reporting is turned on). Some privacy advocates have long held that the unique identifier could lessen browser privacy. However, no one has ever been able to show that to be the case.

As Chrome continues to gain market share, Google appears to be tweaking it to keep it palatable to users. There is a certain amount of Google fatigue out there, and if privacy concerns become too pervasive, Google could lose public trust.  Even though there was no confirmed privacy breach caused by this feature, does its removal make you feel more comfortable using Chrome?

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Posted 03/12/10 at 09:19:10 AM by Gina Trapani

Remember that old maxim that says we use only about 10 percent of our brain’s capacity? It’s been proven as hokum by modern neuroscience, but we think we can safely apply the same basic analogy to Google: The vast, vast, vast majority of computer users—even those practiced in hardcore nerdery—are almost certainly using a pitiful fraction of all the applications and features intrinsic to Google’s ever-expanding matrix of software code.

Sure, a Maximum PC reader may be well-versed in Google’s advanced search operators (Google allintext: “advanced search operators” if you missed that chapter), but we’re willing to wager that even the most curious among you haven’t taken the time to play with more than a few Google applications, let alone explore all their advanced features. Indeed, Google HQ is a fan-friggin’-amazing hotbed of R&D, but its developers are relatively quiet about the tools they’ve released. And that’s a shame, because Google’s constant innovation should get more press.

To address your inevitable Google knowledge deficit, we commissioned Gina Trapani to share her favorite tips. Gina launched Lifehacker.com, writes about Google for a bazillion media outlets, co-hosts the “This Week In Google” netcast, and pretty much makes it her job to know as much as possible about Google’s sundry apps and features.

Continue reading after the jump.

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Posted 03/11/10 at 04:04:51 PM by Bart Salisbury

Connecting people to what they want (or alternately helping people more easily spend their money), just got a bit easier with Google’s new “in stock” notifications.

The process is simple. If you do a search for a product that is sold by participating retailers, and one of those retailers is nearby, and has that item in stock, the search results will be displayed with a blue dot. With “My Location” enabled, you’ll even know how far you have to drive to acquire your coveted item. Google’s partners in this venture include Best Buy, Sears, Williams-Sonoma, and Pottery Barn.

According to Google’s Mobile Blog: “If you have an iPhone, Palm WebOS phone, or any Android-powered device, and you're in the US, just go to Google.com in your mobile browser, tap on the "more" link, and then select "Shopping." Or look for the "Shopping results" section in Universal Search results when you search on Google.com.”

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Posted 03/10/10 at 05:46:14 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has hinted that the company's negotiations with the Chinese government may be drawing to a close. The parleys began in January after the search engine giant announced it was no longer willing to censor its search results in China.

Eric Schmidt told reporters at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit that “something will happen soon.” However, Google has chosen to remain mum until it concludes negotiations with the Chinese. Schmidt also revealed that the company is working alone on resolving this issue and hasn't “coordinated with the U.S. government except post-facto.”

But the company does want the U.S government to take a strong stand against internet censorship. "Internet censorship is a growing global problem that not only raises important human rights concerns, but also creates significant barriers for U.S. companies doing business abroad," Google's deputy general counsel, Nicole Wong, told a congressional hearing Wednesday.

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Posted 03/10/10 at 07:47:03 AM by Paul Lilly

According to the League of American Bicyclists, there are some 57 million Americans who ride a bike, all of which will now be able to map their daily commute, check out side trails, or any other biking activities without getting lost. Why is that? Google this morning announced it has added biking directions in the U.S. to Google Maps.

And not just a handful of trails in select cities, either, but a whole new biking layer that differentiates between bike trails, bike lanes, and bike friendly roads. By partnering with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Google said it was able to provide information on bike trails in more than 150 cities, including thousands of miles of trails.

"The demand for trail maps and information has never been higher, especially as more people recognize biking as a viable, inexpensive, and healthy alternative to driving," says Rails-to-Trails President Keith Laughlin. "Sharing our trail data is an exceptional way to introduce the world to what 150,000 RTC members and supports already know -- biking is the ideal way to ge where you're going. The addition of biking directions to Google Maps makes life easier for bikers, whether they are commuting to work or biking for fun, and it can introduce our network of trails to a whole new audience of cyclists-to-be."

If you want to try it out for yourself, hit up http://maps.google.com/biking. You can access the biking layer via the "More..." drop down menu, which will then display an overlay of the different biking areas. Dark green indicates a biking-only trail, light green means is a dedicated bike lane along a road, while a dotted green line means it's not an official bike lane or trail, but is probably suitable for biking based on terrain, traffic, and intersections.

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Posted 03/09/10 at 05:31:08 PM by David Murphy

Alright, geeks--this week's feature Chrome extension is calling out your name.  While most net-savvy individuals can always surf on over to Google to run most any calculations they need to run (quick: 12 cups is how much of a gallon!), there's an easier way to go about solving the answers to life's tougher mathematical issues.  In fact, you can do it straight from your Chrome browser without having to surf on over to a secondary page. 

The genius behind this functionality is a little extension called Chromey Calculator. Don't let the cute alliteration fool you--this little wonder is akin to packing Einstein's brain into a tiny little button next to your address bar.  Clicking on said button pulls up a little pop-up window with a simple, console-style prompt.  Type in a common equation you need solved (1+1), and the extension will spit out an answer in a running field that keeps track of the last few commands you've entered.  Not only does this beat the one-equation, one-answer style of Windows' default calculator program, but Chromey Calculator also taps into the power of the Web to fuel more complex commands.

Click the jump to get the gritty, super-user details!

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Posted 03/09/10 at 08:37:35 AM by Paul Lilly

One of the questions surrounding Google Buzz for mobile was whether or not the search giant planned on using the app to replace Google Latitude. That isn't the case, and instead Google will try different points of integration between Google Latitude and the new Google Buzz for mobile application, eWeek.com claims to have heard from a Google product manager.

"Latitude is a friend-finding app. It's about a user continuously sharing location," said Steve Lee, product manager for Google Maps for mobile and Google Latitude. "Google Buzz is about creating conversations, and keeping up to date with friends and keeping your friends up to date about you. It lets you share photos of places where you're at. If I'm at this restaurant, I can take a photo of a meal, post it in a click, and friends can see it in Gmail and comment on it."

In other words, they're different apps with different goals, and according to Lee, Google is still investing in Latitude. But that's not all Google is doing.

"Down the road, there might be points of integration between Buzz and Latitude, but they are separate products, and have different use cases," Lee said.

Lee didn't get into details, but did note that Google is thinking of what apps it can build that have certain compelling use cases and how they might location enhance those apps.

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