Ben Charny

Google says it will soon sell full-text versions of books online at the request of its book publishing partners. As to when books can be purchased, Google said, “This is just a preliminary release to allow U.S. and U.K. publishers to set prices and to choose which books they want to include. This feature isnt […]

Google co-founder Sergey Brin on March 7 sold Google stock with an estimated face value of $50 million, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents here and here. To consider: The deal represents less than a percentage point of the estimated 31 million shares of Google stock Brin still owns. Google Chief Financial Officer […]

Thanks to Todd Bishop and his Microsoft Blog for news that Google is seeking 15,000 more square feet of office space in Seattle, which is Microsoft’s hometown. Google already has a development center in nearby Kirkland, Wash.

These must be long days for Google’s legal department. On March 10, Google and Brazilian authorities plan to discuss what Google does to police Orkut, Google’s chat room. The same day, it’s also possible French book publishers will decide to sue Google for alleged copyright infringement. Google is also now close to settling a class […]

The Internet search engine Accoona’s last big bash was in December 2004, when its site went live. Now it’s time to party again. And for some bold predictions that it’ll be search’s next big thing. At a press event March 8 at the United Nations building in New York City, Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Pfeiffer […]

Retailer eBays Internet phone division, Skype Technologies, on March 9 introduced new features and hardware meant to capture a larger share of the enterprise phone market. /zimages/2/28571.gifClick here to read more about how search giant Google may be the next big telco. Usually associated with just consumers, Skype discovered last year that nearly a third […]

Search giant Google says it has purchased the company that makes Writely, a Web-based word processing feature. Writely is, simply put, a word processor embedded into a Web browser. Its still in a nascent beta form and is no longer freely distributed; “its far from perfect,” Jen Mazzon writes in her newly revealed role as […]

The last we saw our hero,Google Boy, he was fighting to keep the prying eyes of the Department of Justice off its users search terms. Now, our teen-aged caped crusader is settling lawsuits. Just doesn’t seem right that our freedomi-fighting wunderkind faces off with the federales, but now is writing checks to keep advertisers from […]

Google’s agreed to settle a class action, click fraud lawsuit for around $90 million. Now it’s upto the judge to approve the proposal. To settle the case, Google wants to let any advertiser since 2002 bring a click fraud complaint. Usually, they only get 60 days to do so. Total reimbursements are not to exceed […]

Here’s more from a recent interview with Justin Osmer, the guy in charge of Microsoft’s new search engine. Osmer’s under a lot of pressure. None other than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates predicted a few weeks ago that Microsoft’s new search engine is better than No. 1 Google’s. The latest MSN search engine debuted March 8 […]

Microsoft has introduced its new search engine that it says is better, faster and more curious than previous versions. The beta version debuted at Microsofts www.Live.com on March 8. The beta, and a revision expected in a few months, will challenge market leader Google, said Microsoft Search Senior Product Manager Justin Osmer. Microsoft also released […]

Google seems far behind chief rival Microsoft Corp. when it comes to getting its features off the PC and onto other personal electronic devices. Microsoft makes software for many different kinds of cell phones plus TVs, stereos, personal digital assistants, watches, and more. For now, the furthest Google’s gotten from the personal computer is a […]