Mozilla’s director of community development is not at all happy with Google. Following an eyebrow-raising comment from CEO Eric Schmidt on the subject of privacy, Asa Dotzler has, in fact, pretty much suggested that everyone use Bing instead.
Here’s what set Dotzler (along with a whole lot of other people) off: on the subject of whether or not folks can trust Google, Schmidt told Maria Bartiromo, "If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place."
Schmidt also said, "We are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities."
That represents a fairly significant departure from the spirit of past statements (and new tools) out of Mountain View. It may (or may not) indicate that Google’s becoming more likely to turn over users’ search histories upon request.
So Dotzler wrote, "That was Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, telling you exactly what he thinks about your privacy. There is no ambiguity, no ‘out of context’ here. . . . And here’s how you can easily switch Firefox’s search from Google to Bing. (Yes, Bing does have a better privacy policy than Google.)"
Firefox controls a 24.72 percent share of the browser market, by the way, according to Net Applications.
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Google CEO Eric Schmidt while appearing on Fox Business made some interesting comments about Google’s emergence as a huge Microsoft-like business power. I thought most interesting was Schmidt’s statement about Google becoming like Microsoft, "Hopefully, we won’t repeat the mistakes that Microsot made ten years ago that ultimately led to all these things that happened with them".
Schmidt elaborated:
"In our case we see ourselves as a disruptor, and a disruptor because we are using new technology to solve real consumer problems, that in some cases people didn’t even realize could be solved. We are also a company that operates at scale using computers globally. And of course, we are in the information business and people have a lot of opinions on how information should be organized."
Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto asked Schmidt in reference to Google’s new Dashboard product how we really knew if Google deleted our personal data when we pressed delete via Dashboard. Schmidt’s response:
"Because we say so and we would be sued (if we didn’t)."
Cavuto joked: "It’s like … come in peace to serve man."
Watch the whole interview below:
The City of Angels has shown a great deal of faith in Google. Late yesterday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a $7.25 million contract that’ll have all branches of the city’s government adopting Google Apps over the next eight or so months.
If Google’s able to pull off the implementation in a smooth manner (there will be a slow rollout, with law enforcement agencies hanging back), this development could set the stage for all sorts of cities to follow suit. L.A. might, in fact, represent a key point in relation to Eric Schmidt’s recent "billion-dollar opportunity" comment about enterprise.
Of course, if Google in some way fails, things won’t go so well. And the L.A. City Council doesn’t have complete confidence in the search giant’s cloud.
David Sarno reported, "The contract was approved pending an amendment that would require Google to compensate the city in the event that the Google system was breached and city data exposed or stolen."
Also, Councilman Paul Koretz said, "It’s unclear if this is cutting edge, or the edge of a cliff and we’re about to step off."
Google’s no doubt putting some of its best people on the job to make sure L.A.’s gamble is rewarded.
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At the moment, the Dow’s down 0.24 percent and the Nasdaq’s down 0.14 percent – it’s not a great day for the market. One company’s stock is doing more than all right, however, as there’s a rumor that Google might acquire it.
Akamai, which deals in content delivery networks, is the organization that might be in Google’s good graces. Some investors have accepted the idea to the point that they’ve sent Akamai’s stock up 3.38 percent so far today.
That’s not an inconsiderable amount, and there are some potential synergies between Google and Akamai. Akamai is a believer in cloud computing, for one thing (which could tie to Google Apps), and it’s also interested in delivering HD video (which could benefit YouTube).
Doubters might want to consider what Eric Schmidt said 20 days ago regarding once-per-month acquisitions, as well. If he intends to stick to that estimate, the clock is sort of ticking.
However, it’s far from certain that a takeover will occur. Eric Savitz and Dan Rayburn don’t think it’ll go through. Fil Zucchi added that he’s heard a lot of Akamai acquisition rumors before. We’ll see what happens, then.
In about 74 hours’ time, Google is supposed to announce its third quarter financial results. Holding a sort of countdown seems appropriate, too, as a lot of analysts and onlookers expect that the figures will be worth celebrating.
There’s something to be said for precedent, first of all; since Google’s IPO in 2004, it’s been very rare for the search giant to not make a positive quarterly report. A quick glance at how Google’s stock has performed over the past three months also proves that the company has done all right in recent days.
Then, it’s important to consider the mood of Google’s CEO. In reference to the recession, Eric Schmidt recently said, "It’s clear that the worst is behind us." He expressed an interest in making acquisitions on a regular basis, as well.
Finally, if you’d like to get more precise and objective about it, Eric Savitz identified six different analysts who raised their targets today. The analysts aren’t random folks with access to Google Finance, either, as they represent Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Kaufman Bros., Thomas Weisel Partners, and UBS.
Google fans and shareholders may want to have their party hats and confetti at hand Thursday afternoon.
Eric Schmidt has laid out a good news/bad news scenario for people who would like to become part of Google. On the one hand, he intends to acquire about one small company per month. On the other, it sounds like most of Google’s "now hiring" signs are going to remain in storage.
According to Reuters, Schmidt said, "Acquisitions are turned on again at Google and we are doing our normal maneuvers, which is small companies. My estimate would be one-a-month acquisitions and these are largely in lieu of hiring."
It’s difficult to read too far into that decision. Before the recession, Google would both buy companies on a regular basis and hire employees left and right. So Schmidt might holding back because he’s still concerned about the economy’s health. (Side note: Nasdaq dropped 0.69 percent today, while Google slipped 0.12 percent.)
But since Google’s habit of taking on thousands of new workers sometimes drew criticism, he may just be reacting to that.
Anyway, Schmidt did claim in reference to the recession, "It’s clear that the worst is behind us."
Also, don’t be shocked if Google decides to spend more than a couple million dollars now and then, as Schmidt said, "There may be larger acquisitions, but they really are unpredictable."
Google CEO, Eric Schmidt has added his voice to the debate about charging for online news content.
Speaking via video link with British broadcasting executives, Schmidt said there is so much free content online that many publishers would not succeed if they put their content behind a pay- wall.
Eric Schmidt, Google CEO
He did say niche news providers of content such as business news could be successful with charging for access to online content.
Schmidt was responding to an announcement made by News Corp that it would start charging for content online.
"In general these models have not worked for general public consumption because there are enough free sources that the marginal value of paying is not justified based on the incremental value of quantity," he said.
"So my guess is for niche and specialist markets … it will be possible to do it but I think it is unlikely that you will be able to do it for all news."
News Corp’s The Wall Street Journal has announced it will begin charging mobile users to access its content beginning on October 24.
"Our new mobile subscription model will enable us to continue to invest in the world’s most essential news content and deliver it to our subscribers wherever and whenever they want it," said Gordon McLeod, president of The Wall Street Journal Digital Network.
"This transition also reinforces the value of our content on mobile, just as we’ve done online for more than a decade."
About a month ago – and after a longish period of quiet – Google arranged to acquire video compression specialist On2 for $106.5 million. More deals may be on the way, as well, since Eric Schmidt implied this week that the search and advertising giant’s only getting started.
Google has "begun seriously looking at acquisitions again," Schmidt told The Nikkei. The cloud computing sector is of particular interest to Schmidt’s corporation, as you might have guessed due to its ever-increasing focus on Google Apps and Google Chrome OS.
Then, with respect to the locations of acquisition targets, it doesn’t look like Google’s limiting itself to America. Or even its market share strongholds of America and Europe. Schmidt said, "We think there’s a pretty big investment opportunity in Japan."
You can be sure that a lot of emails will make their way from Japan to Mountain View, California as a result of that statement.
Anyway, Google should have plenty of cash as it goes shopping; the corporation’s stock is currently trading at 454.95 per share, up almost 84 percent from its 52-week low of 247.30. Google has a market cap of about $144 billion right now.
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