Google Chrome loses market share for the first time in two years

According to data released by analytics firm Net Applications yesterday, Google Chrome lost market share between December 2011 and January 2012 for the first time in nearly two years. This news comes just one month after Google revealed its plans to punish itself amidst a backlinking campaign that backfired against the web giant. While nothing can confirm that this punishment is the reason for the drop in market share, it's certainly something to consider. 

Early last month, Google discovered that it was going against its own terms of service by paying blogs to display links to the Chrome download webpage. This essentially improved where links to download Google Chrome appeared on search results. As a result, the company lowered the PageRank of the Chrome download webpage, which in turn lowers where the link appears on search results. The punishment is set to last for 60 days, meaning that there's still one month of pain to be endured by Google. 

In December 2011, Chrome controlled 19.11% of the total web browser market. In January 2012, this dipped to 18.94%, representing a 0.17% loss. 

Android “Bouncer” service revealed – scans Android Market for malicious content

Google today announced a new service that it will be rolling out dubbed "Bouncer." Bouncer is a feature that will automatically scan the Android Market for any possible malicious content, without interrupting a user's normal experience on the store. 

The service performs a set of analyses on new applications, applications already in Android Market, and developer accounts. Here’s how it works: once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags. We actually run every application on Google’s cloud infrastructure and simulate how it will run on an Android device to look for hidden, malicious behavior. We also analyze new developer accounts to help prevent malicious and repeat-offending developers from coming back.

Google responds to Congress’ concern about privacy policy changes

Earlier this month, Google announced its plans to consolidate over sixty (60) of its privacy policies from different products and services that it operates into one, easy-to-understand policy. The move, however, was quickly met with concern from the U.S. Congress and Google Account holders that the web giant may begin collecting more information about users than before. Google then published an explanation of the changes on its blog, clarifying that no major changes would be occurring and privacy for the end-user will still be taken seriously. 

Today, Google has posted a 13-page letter to its blog in response to several members of the U.S. Congress, namely the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The company reiterates that the change in privacy policy is an attempt to make reading it easier for the end-user and so that information can be shared between Google's different products and services. 

Some important things aren’t changing:

• We’re still keeping your private information private -- we’re not changing the visibility of any information you have stored with Google.
• We’re still allowing you to do searches, watch videos on YouTube, get driving directions on Google Maps, and perform other tasks without signing into a Google Account.
• We’re still offering you choice and control through privacy tools like Google Dashboard and Ads Preferences Manager that help you understand and manage your data.
• We still won’t sell your personal information to advertisers.
• We’re still offering data liberation if you’d prefer to close your Google Account and take your data elsewhere.

Google's new privacy policy will be in effect beginning March 1, 2012. 

Google celebrates 125th anniversary of the largest snowflake ever with Doodle

Today, January 28, Google is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the world's largest observed snowflake ever with a Doodle on their homepage. The snowflake in question was measured at 15 inches in diameter. The Doodle on the web giant's homepage, currently seen in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, shows a giant snowflake falling from the sky and a (pretty random) cow looking confused at the size of the flake. 

The Google text, as usual, is integrated into the special logo. 

Judge rules that Apple, Google and others are still involved in antitrust lawsuit

According to a report from Bloomberg yesterday, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh has ruled that Apple, Google, Intel, Adobe, Walt Disney, and Intuit are all still involved and responsible for an antitrust lawsuit dating back nearly five years. The lawsuit claims that these technology companies entered into agreements not to recruit each other's employees. "They still have an antitrust claim that’s going forward so I don’t want to see any obstruction on discovery," the Judge told lawyers. 

The case is a private lawsuit brought on behalf of employees that mirrors claims the companies settled with the U.S. Justice Department in 2010 following a probe. The companies agreed to refrain from placing “cold calls” to lure workers from competitors, the government said at the time.

Koh didn’t take issue with the allegations about the agreements between individual companies, Joseph Saveri, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an interview after the hearing. Instead, Koh has questions about “how it ties together,” or claims of an over-arching conspiracy between all the companies, he said.

The next step in the lawsuit is for the defendants to produce documents that describe the supposed agreements. 

Google clears up some confusion regarding new privacy policy

Earlier this week, Google announced a major overhaul to its privacy policy that will go into effect on March 1, 2012. The change eliminates 60 privacy policies that Google currently uses across it's services for one, easy-to-understand policy covering a majority of its products. However, just as always, the change was met with criticism and many questioned whether Google would be accessing too much information with the new policy.  

To clear up some confusion, Google answered some frequently asked questions via a blog post yesterday. The company reminds its users that Search, Maps, YouTube, and several other products can continue to be used without logging in. If you do choose to login to your Google Account, then you will still have the choice to customize "Search history, switch Gmail chat to 'off the record,' control the way Google tailors ads to your interests, use Incognito mode on Chrome."

The web giant is also making it very clear to users that this new privacy policy doesn't mean any new information will be collected about you. It's simplify a re-write for easier reading. "We’re making things simpler and we’re trying to be upfront about it. Period," Google says. 

Finally, the company reminds people that they have the choice of using Google products and services, whether that be some of them, all of them, or none of them. 

Google introduces ability to download tracks from Music Manager

Yesterday, Google announced that it is rolling out a new version of its Music Manager application, adding in two new major features - the ability to download tracks and the ability to share YouTube videos of tracks on Google+. The web giant says that any song currently uploaded to Google's Music Manager program, including ones you bought and uploaded, can be downloaded. Tracks will also remain in the cloud as well. 

The second new feature is outlined below:

YouTube updates “Browse” page, video editor and video manager

Today, YouTube rolled out a number of updates to several parts of the video upload and sharing website, including the "Browse" page, the video editor, and the video manager. All of the updates focus on adding the same design as the major redesign YouTube received last month to these features. 

New Browse page details:

Today we're giving the Browse page a fresh look-and-feel, to help you find even more great Channels on YouTube. Alongside the top lists like Most Viewed Today, you can now discover and subscribe to more YouTube Channels on browse pages, which will then regularly update on your homepage. You can also discover more content under categories including Entertainment, People & Blogs, Science & Technology and more. You’ll find it all onYouTube.com/browse.

The new video editor features a design overhaul, as well as the following new features: new timeline, easier clip trimming and a moving playhead. 

Following an update to the video manager last month, YouTube also slightly updated the design of the feature, and added the following new features: search history, an improved display of scheduled uploads and claimed videos, displaying "likes" and "dislikes" and new sorting options. 

Teenagers can now begin using Google+ with enhanced security features

In a status update on Google+, Bradley Horowitz announced that the social network can now be used by teenagers who are older than 13. However, to improve safety with teens using Google+, the web giant will display a notification on the user's account before they share something publicly, making sure that they would indeed like to share the content with the whole world. 

In addition, be default, only people in teen's "Circles" are able to interact with the person, and users can now block someone easily. Finally, when in a Hangout on the social network, and a stranger who is not in a teen's Circle joins the video call, the teen is automatically removed from the Hangout and has the ability to rejoin. 

Google Earth 6.2 released with improved imagery

Today, Google Earth version 6.2 was released to the public. The update brings a number of improvements to the virtual globe application, namely "seamless imagery" and a new search interface. In addition, the web giant added a new feature to Google Earth that allows users to share pictures directly from the app to Google+. 

Today, we’re introducing a new way of rendering imagery that smoothes out this quilt of images. The end result is a beautiful new Earth-viewing experience that preserves the unique textures of the world’s most defining geographic landscapes—without the quilt effect. This change is being made on both mobile and desktop versions of Google Earth. While this change will appear on all versions of Google Earth, the 6.2 release provides the best viewing experience for this new data.

The latest Google Earth is available for download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux here.

Google introduces “Public Alerts” feature for Maps

Today, Google announced "Google Public Alerts," a service intended to provide users with important information regarding things such as inclement weather, public safety, and earthquakes. The service is integrated into Google Maps and gathers important, emergency information based on your current location. 

Whether you see an alert depends on which alerts are active at a given location, their severity, and your search query. If you’re interested in seeing all of the active alerts in one place, visit our homepage at www.google.org/publicalerts. This page also provides a link to more information on our new platform and gives instructions to interested organizations who want to make their emergency data available through this tool.

This feature is available worldwide and was built by the Google.org project team. 

Google announces plans to overhaul privacy policies and terms of service

Earlier today, Google announced its plans to overhaul its current privacy policy and terms of service system in one month to a more simplified, central policy.

The web giant notes that it currently has over 70 privacy policies for all of its products, making it difficult to keep track of and follow for end-users. To solve the problem, Google will soon begin using a new main privacy policy that covers a majority of its products and explains how information is stored and collected. More than sixty (60) of the current policies will be consolidated into one. 

Google explains:

What does this mean in practice? The main change is for users with Google Accounts. Our new Privacy Policy makes clear that, if you’re signed in, we may combine information you've provided from one service with information from other services. In short, we’ll treat you as a single user across all our products, which will mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience.

On the terms of service side of things, Google is also consolidating and simplifying into one giant Terms of Service that covers a majority of its products.  

Finally, the web giant notes that it won't be changing the ability for users to pick up their information and leave Google, as well as not selling personal information to third party companies. 

These changes will be in effect on March 1, 2012. 

YouTube seeing 4 billion views per day, 60 hours of playback every minute

Yesterday, YouTube announced via its official blog that the video uploading and sharing website is now seeing 60 hours of playback every minute and four billion views per day. To simplify these numbers even further, it means that users of YouTube are uploading an hour of video every minute. 

For all the hours of video you’re uploading—you’re watching more as well; we’ve now exceeded four billion video views globally every day. That’s up 25 percent in the last eight months and the equivalent of more than half the world’s population watching a video every day, the same number as there are US $1 bills in circulation, the same as number of years since there was water on Mars...it’s a big number, and you’re making it bigger every day. 

Rollout of Google’s 1Gbps high-speed Internet in Kansas City delayed

According to a report from The Kansas City Star, Google has delayed the initial rollout of its high-speed, 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps) Internet service in Kansas City, Missouri. The report claims that Google and local government are in a dispute on where and how to hang the fiber optic cables on utility poles that are required for the network. In addition, installation costs can be blamed for the delayed rollout. 

Google's original agreement with the city apparently discussed how this would be done in about 60 words, but lawyers from both sides are still working out the exact details.

That hiccup in what figures to be a historic digital-age infrastructure upgrade in the city suggests that Google and Wyandotte County officials failed to mind the devilish details of their pact. The deal was hailed last spring as critical to landing Google. The California company said one reason it came to Kansas was because local officials could move quickly to make the project work.

Google has declined to comment on whether this setback will pushback a release date by several months. 

Google alters search algorithm to rank websites based on number of advertisements initially visible

Yesterday, Google announced a change to its search algorithm that will begin ranking websites based on how many advertisements the site has before content begins appearing. "We’ve heard complaints from users that if they click on a result and it’s difficult to find the actual content, they aren’t happy with the experience," the web giant said. 

Websites that have an excessive amount of ads "above-the-fold," the initial section of the site that you see, will be ranked below sites that have more content easily visible to readers. This change won't affect sites that have one or two ads, which is common, Google says. 

This algorithmic change noticeably affects less than 1% of searches globally. That means that in less than one in 100 searches, a typical user might notice a reordering of results on the search page. If you believe that your website has been affected by the page layout algorithm change, consider how your web pages use the area above-the-fold and whether the content on the page is obscured or otherwise hard for users to discern quickly. You can use our Browser Size tool, amongmany others, to see how your website would look under different screen resolutions.

Google announces next round of product shutdowns, includes Picnik

Today, Google announced its next round of product shutdowns in an attempt to combine some of its services and features, as well as simplify focuses across the board. Among these product shutdowns include Picnik, the photo-editing service that Google acquired in 2010. The web giant says that Picnik will be integrated into Google products, including Google+.

The full list of shutdowns is below:

• Google Message Continuity (GMC): In December 2010 we launched an email disaster recovery product for enterprise customers that use Google's cloud to back up emails originally sent or received in an on-premise, Microsoft Exchange system. In the time since we launched, we've seen hundreds of businesses sign up for it. By comparison, in that same time, we've seen millions of businesses move entirely to the cloud with Google Apps, benefitting from disaster recovery capabilities built directly into Apps. Going forward we've decided to focus our efforts on Google Apps and end support for GMC. Current GMC customers will be able to use GMC for the duration of their contract and are encouraged to consider using Google Apps as their primary messaging and collaboration platform.
• Google Sky Map: This app was created by half a dozen Googlers at the Pittsburgh office in their 20 percent time to show off the amazing capabilities of the sensors in the first-generation Android phones and offer a window into the sky. Since we launched the tool in 2009, we have managed to share our passion with more than 20 million Android users. We will be open-sourcing Sky Map and are collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University in a partnership that will see further development of Sky Map as a series of student projects.
• Needlebase: We are retiring this data management platform, which we acquired from ITA Software, on June 1, 2012. The technology is being evaluated for integration into Google's other data-related initiatives.
• Picnik: We acquired this online photo editor in 2010. We’re retiring the service on April 19, 2012 so the Picnik team can continue creating photo-editing magic across Google products. You can download a zip file of your creations through Picnik Takeout or copy them to Google+. As of now, the premium service is free to everyone. Premium members will receive a full refund in the coming weeks.
• Social Graph API: This API makes information about the public connections between people on the web available for developers. The API isn’t experiencing the kind of adoption we’d like, and is being deprecated as of today. It will be fully retired on April 20, 2012.
• Urchin: In 2005 we acquired Urchin, whose online web analytics product became the foundation for Google Analytics, helping businesses of all sizes measure their websites and online marketing. We’re fully committed to building an industry-leading online analytics product, so we’re saying goodbye to the client-hosted version, known as Urchin Software. New Urchin Software licenses will no longer be available after March 2012.

Google reports Q4 2011 financial results – $10.58 billion in revenue, but lower than analyst expectations

Today, Google reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011, which ended December 31. The web giant reported $10.58 billion in revenue and $8.13 billion in net revenue, well below the $8.4 billion that was predicted by analysts. Despite missing expectations, Google's full-year revenue grew by 29% and this is the company's first quarter where revenues are above $10 billion. 

Google's operating expenses increased to 32%, compared to the 30% from the year-ago quarter. The amount of clicks on advertisements in Google searches increased in the last three months of the year, but the amount of money Google charges advertisers actually decreased by 8% from Q3 2011. Google reported a net income of $2.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. 

Finally, Google CEO Larry Page confirmed that Google+ now has over 90 million users. 

Google's stock (trading under the symbol "GOOG") was up about 1% on the day, but is down nearly 9% in after-hours trading. 

Call of Duty Elite Android app finally released, but with a slew of bugs

As expected, the official Call of Duty Elite app was released to the Android Market earlier today, one week after the iOS version of the app was released. Call of Duty Elite on an Android device allows gamers to manage their Modern Warfare 3 classes on-the-go (and immediately push any changes made to the game), as well as view a wide array of statistics. It is free to download from the Market.

The Call of Duty Elite service was initially expected to begin operations around the same time Modern Warfare 3 launched to the public this past November, but several technical issues delayed the launch until December. Mobile apps had been planned for release around the same time as well, but they were also delayed because of issues. 

A number of early downloaders of the Call of Duty ELITE app for Android have been complaining of many different issues with the app, including denied login and issues with display formatting. At the time of writing, the app has a 2.9 star average rating on the Android Market, with 128 one-star rating (out of five stars). 

Google to participate in tomorrow’s Internet-wide SOPA protest, but won’t take homepage down

A number of the Internet's most popular websites will be shutting down tonight at midnight to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (a.k.a. "SOPA"), which will be voted on by the United States House of Representatives in the near future. The bill attempts to combat Internet copyright infringement and piracy, but sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit (both of which will be going dark tonight to protest) believe that SOPA gives corporate companies too many rights to control the Internet and search engines. 

Google today confirmed to Mashable that it also plans to take part in the Internet-wide SOPA protest tomorrow, but it won't be taking its homepage down or changing its logo. Instead, the web giant plans to place a link on the U.S. Google homepage where users can read more about SOPA. 

“Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the Internet,” the spokesperson said in an e-mail statement. “So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our U.S. home page.”

Due to the recent opposition SOPA has received, the House and Senate may be planning to delay the bill's vote to a later date. 

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today's Google Doodle celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a holiday in the United States that remembers the famous leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

The Doodle, which is featured on the homepage of Google.com, depicts Martin Luther King with several different faces integrated into the "Google" text of the logo. Around the drawing is a quote from King's most famous speech, his "I Have a Dream" speech. "I have a dream that my four little children will not be judged by their color of their skin … I have a dream today ... We shall overcome someday."

King's "I Have a Dream Speech" was 17 minutes long and presented on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC on August 28, 1963 to about 250,000 civil rights protestors.