Clint Boulton

Google’s $700 million acquisition bid for travel search software maker ITA Software passed muster with the Justice Department April 8, which is a big win for the search engine. Google will use ITA’s flight fare and scheduling software to improve travel search results on Google.com, similar to the way Microsoft’s Bing search engine does on […]

ComputerWorld compiled the type of list people gobble up: a list of smartphones getting the bump to Gingerbread, or Google’s latest Android 2.3 operating system. Gingerbread is best known for offering native support for near field communications (NFC), a gyroscope for improved gaming, Internet (VoIP/SIP) calling, multitasking and a refreshed user interface with a better […]

A tablet computer based on Google’s Chrome operating system is wending its way through the search engine’s open-source pipeline, the company confirmed. Chrome OS is Google’s lightweight, Web-based operating system, a departure from Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac platforms. Google gave away a CR-48 test notebook last winter, and the company said Chrome OS would […]

Google CEO Larry Page reorganized his senior management team April 7, promoting high-level executives to head business lines and report directly to him. The move is telling considering Jonathan Rosenberg, senior vice president of product management under former CEO Eric Schmidt, stepped down a few days ago. Rosenberg’s role, according to sources at the company, […]

YouTube officially turned on YouTube Live, the Google video-sharing unit’s bid to stream concerts, sporting events and interviews with local celebrities and the like. Consumers will access YouTube Live on its own Web page, and can subscribe to YouTube live-streaming partners to be notified of upcoming live streams on a customized homepage. YouTube partners in […]

Google April 8 said it is launching its Latitude check-in deals across thousands of businesses across the United States, less than one month after testing them in local shops in Austin, Texas. The search engine, with an eye on moving into mobile and social commerce predicated on location, also integrated its Hotpot recommendation engine directly […]

The Department of Justice April 8 blessed Google’s $700 million acquisition bid as long as the search engine agreed to conditions geared to foster fair competition in the online travel space. Google must develop and license travel software to existing ITA customers at reasonable terms, create internal firewall procedures and continue software research and development […]

The LinkedIn for Android 1.0 mobile application is finished, allowing users to search and connect with more than 100 million members while on the go, the professional social-networking site said April 7. LinkedIn launched the beta for its Android application in December, culling plenty of feedback and bug reports for the highly anticipated application. Just […]

Google moved to fortify security and management for Android smartphones and tablets used in businesses, with three new software updates designed to improve productivity for workers using Google Apps for Business and Google Apps for Education. While Research in Motion Blackberry smartphones have dominated the enterprise for the last decade, more businesses are allowing employees […]

Sometime you read things that are just, well, head scratchers. Take for example, Nicholas Carlson’s scoop in Business Insider that Google CEO Larry Page sent out a memo April 1 to tell employees that 25 percent of their annual bonus will be tied to the success or failure of Google’s social strategy in 2011. Page […]

Facebook April 7 launched its Open Compute Project, an unprecedented play to open source the specifications it employs for its hardware and data center to efficiently power a social network comprising 600 million-plus people. For the Open Compute Project, Facebook is publishing specs and mechanical designs used to construct its motherboards, power supply, server chassis, […]

Android creator Andy Rubin lashed out at media April 6 for suggesting that Google is increasingly putting the clamps in its open source mobile operating system, and promised the platform will continue to be open for modification. Responding to a March 30 article from Bloomberg BusinessWeek that claimed Google is instilling tighter controls on Android […]