GOOGLE MARS 3D

NASA and Google Inc., have teamed up to build the ultimate atlas for Mars fans eager to explore the red planet in three-dimensional detail while keeping their feet firmly on Earth.

Google Mars 3D, a new mode included in Google's latest version of Google Earth software, allows users to tap into high-resolution and three-dimensional views of Martian terrain from the comfort of their own personal computer.

The mode, which relies on NASA data and imagery from the agency's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and other spacecraft, is designed so users can "fly" through Martian canyons in a virtual mode and see the red planet's surface through the camera eyes of those long-lived NASA rovers Spirit and Opportunity, as well as other Mars missions.

The new Mars mode also includes a sharing feature so users can add their own 3D content to the Mars map for all to see.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., collaborated with Google to build the new Google Mars 3D mode. In addition to NASA data, the software includes data produced by researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University, SETI Institute and other organizations.

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MICROSOFT TO START CLOUD

Microsoft has unveiled a cloud computing service, in which data and applications will not be stored on individuals' computers.

The new platform, dubbed Windows Azure, was announced at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.

The platform was described by Microsoft's chief software architect Ray Ozzie as "Windows for the cloud".

The framework will be offered alongside the next Windows release, Windows 7.

The move sees Microsoft taking on established players like Google and Amazon in the rapidly growing business of online software.

The aim is to allow developers to build new applications which will live on the internet, rather than on their own computers.

Microsoft believes consumers will also want to store far more of their data - from letters to photos to videos - on the servers in its "cloud" of giant data centres around the world, so that it can be accessed anywhere, from any device.

Microsoft software architect Ray Ozzie on the new "Windows for the cloud"
The move, which Microsoft sees as a major shift in its corporate strategy, was unveiled in front of 6,000 software developers from around the world.

The term cloud computing has become increasingly fashionable, as companies with large data centres start renting out space to businesses wanting to build rapidly growing online applications without needing to invest in more servers as traffic grows.

For consumers, there is the prospect of a future where much of their data and many of the applications they use could be stored online "in the cloud".

Microsoft, which still reaps huge profits from its Windows and Office products, is now moving into territory where it has so far struggled to make an impact.

Google, dominant in search and in online advertising, already has a suite of online applications living in the "cloud".

Amazon, with big data centres handling millions of e-commerce transactions, has been another pioneer in this field, with its Elastic Cloud Service.

Using the spare capacity on its servers, it allows a range of customers big and small - from Facebook application developers to the Washington Post - to build applications which can cope with a sudden rush of demand.

Microsoft is taking a different approach from some of its rivals, insisting that its customers still want to be able to choose to have their software offline, on their own computers, as well as online in the web cloud.

It's a strategy which rivals will say is designed to protect the profits from its existing software products. But the scene is set for a battle in the clouds between the few big companies wealthy enough to be able to build the huge data centres on which this new form of computing will depend.
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GOOGLE LAUNCHES INTERNET BROWSER

Google is launching an open source web browser to compete with Internet Explorer and Firefox.

The browser is designed to be lightweight and fast, and to cope with the next generation of web applications that rely on graphics and multimedia.

Called Chrome, it will launch as a beta for Windows machines in 100 countries, with Mac and Linux versions to come.
The new browser will help Google take advantage of developments it is pushing online in rich web applications that are challenging traditional desktop programs.

Google has a suite of web apps, such as Documents, Picasa and Maps which offer functionality that is beginning to replace offline software.

The launch of a beta version of Chrome on Tuesday will be Google's latest assault on Microsoft's dominance of the PC business. The firm's Internet Explorer program dominates the browser landscape, with 80% of the market.

Writing in his blog, John Lilly, chief executive of Mozilla was sanguine about the new rival.

"It should come as no real surprise that Google has done something here — their business is the web, and they’ve got clear opinions on how things should be, and smart people thinking about how to make things better."

Chrome will be a browser optimized for the things that they see as important, and it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves," he wrote.

He welcomed the competition and said collaboration between Mozilla and Google on certain projects would continue.

Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of Internet Explorer, was more bullish.

"The browser landscape is highly competitive, but people will choose Internet Explorer 8 for the way it puts the services they want right at their fingertips, respects their personal choices about how they want to browse and, more than any other browsing technology, puts them in control of their personal data online," he said in a statement.

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read post at Officaial Google Blog
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DIGG TO BE ACQUIRED BY GOOGLE

Google’s on and off negotiations with Digg have been back on in a big way for the last six weeks, according to Techcrunch.com's multiple sources inside and outside of Google.

The two companies have reportedly signed a letter of intent and are close to a deal that will bring Digg under the Google News property. The acquisition price is in the $200 million range.

The companies are now in final negotiations according to sources, although it could be a couple of weeks before it closes. And while the major deal points have been agreed on, the acquisition could still fall apart. Microsoft, which was previously interested in the company, may be willing to step back in at a much lower price.

Most of Digg’s revenue comes from a three year ad deal with Microsoft, which will be terminated on a sale to Google. Digg has raised $11.3 million in venture capital.

read more at Techcrunch.com
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Google to Retire AdSense Referrals

Google has announced that it will be closing down it's AdSense Referrals program during the last week of August.

Here is a statement from a post on its Blog:

"

We're retiring AdSense Referrals
We're constantly looking for ways to improve AdSense by developing and supporting features which drive the best monetization results for our publishers.
Sometimes, this requires retiring existing features so we can focus our efforts on the ones that will be most effective in the long term.

For this reason, we will be retiring the AdSense Referrals program during the last week of August. We appreciate your patience during this transition and here are some alternative options to consider:

Google Affiliate Network:
As part of the integration of DoubleClick, the DoubleClick Performics Affiliate Network will now operate as the Google Affiliate Network for advertisers targeting users located in the United States. Similar to the AdSense Referrals program, the Google Affiliate Network enables publishers to apply for advertiser programs and get paid based on advertiser-defined actions instead of clicks or impressions. For further details, please visit: http://www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork/.

AdSense for content ads:
If you have less than three AdSense for content ad units on a page, you may wish to replace the referral ad units with standard AdSense for content ad units."

Similary, Google will soon require all publishers who use Adsense to have a Google Account. if you haven't updated yet, you will have to because its going to be requirement. read more

go to the AdSense Blog
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