Steve Bryant

Last Update: See this post for a follow-up on the Comcast situation. Users of Comcast’s Internet services in Massachusetts are unable to access Google sites, Google Watch has learned. Internet users woke up this morning to find that Internet access worked fine for all sites except Google and Google’s services, such as Google Calendar and […]

Google is asking the computer industry to create a simpler and more efficient power supply standard. According to an articlein today’s New York Times, two Google data center designers will present a paper at the Intel Developer Forum today that calls for an industry shift away from multivoltage power supplies to a single 12-volt standard. […]

Is that headline joke old yet? Just in time for the holiday season, Google plans to extend its product search capabilities by helping users refine their product queries with a second search box. Refined queries will lead users to product listings on Google Base, which Google will promote over its old shopping service, Froogle, according […]

In a speech studded with references to Web 2.0, long tail economics and media critic Marshall McLuhan, NBC President Jeff Zucker said today that Google has a compelling business model, but that it doesn’t compare to the business models of the big media companies. “Google was built on the power of math and algorithms. NBC […]

Several print publisher groups have announced plans to test an online content management systemthat would control what search engines index on their sites. They’re hoping the system, which they’re calling an “Automated Content Access Protocol,” will help them avoid conflicts with companies like Google. The publishers include the WAN (World Association of Newspapers), the EPC […]

Microsoft is mulling putting Microsoft Works online in an attempt to compete with Google, says Reuters, but that’s actually old news. According to Microsoft’s annual 10-K filing, Microsoft is not only worried about Google, but also: AjaxWrite gOffice iNetOffice SimDesk ThinkFree WikiCalc Google Should Microsoft be worried that an online version of Works would cannibalize […]

A few days ago I snuck inside Google’s new office in Manhattan. I didn’t exactly infiltrate the janitorial staff, nothing so devious or illegal. I had some help from the locals. It was all very Hudson Hawk. As I’ve reported here before, Google’s new office is located in 111 8th Avenue, a “carrier hotel” that […]

A few weeks after opening Writely to new customers, Google will be moving the online word processor over to Google Accounts so you can use the same logon you use for other Google services. To make things simple, they say, they will create a new Google Account for you based on the e-mail address you […]

Google moved to take advantage of 111 8th Avenue’s fiber optic connections. But advertising execs say the move makes cultural sense, too. In the midst of its biggest expansion into advertising markets yet, the world’s most popular search engine recently decamped from the pedestrian confines of its Time Square office into 311,000 square feet of […]

CurrentTV’s hipper-than-thou moxie doesn’t jive with Google’s nerdier-than-thou presentation. Google’s presentation philosophy is via search. Yahoo’s presentation philosophy is via brands. The day after Yahoo’s stock hit the floor, Yahoo announced a partnership with Current and the release of four co-branded broadband channels. The four channels in the Yahoo Current Network cover current events, travel, […]

Google has long been known for its spartan design sensibility. But sometimes, that sensibility errs too much on the “everything in one font size” side of things. Google corrected that problem this week when it redesigned the homepage of Google Base. The redesign adds a few noteworthy elements, such as icons for upload options and […]

Nielsen/Netratings released their search share numbers for August today, and there’s AOL blood all over it. Year over year, 20% fewer search queries have been made on the portal formerly known as relevant. AOL lost .8% search share July to August, sliding from from 6.3% to 5.5%, and are still ranked 4th. Google, meanwhile, rose […]