Google will cut 20% of the people of Motorola

Motorola was bought by Google for 12.5 billion dollars in May. According to the news that Google is starting to manage to make some changes to this company. The New York Times reports that Google is planning to lay off 20% of staff, or jobs, around 4,000, this is about a third of the 94 offices around the world. While Google has issued a Form 8-K (with the government of the United States) confirming the cuts and cierres.A Motorola is known as the pioneer in mobile telephony and marketing the first wireless device in 1983. 

 The main objective of the cuts is to return the unit to Motorola phones and cost effectiveness. The Form 8-K confirms that in addition to job cuts, is planning a review of large companies. About a third of 90% of Motorola facilities are closed, and mobile product portfolio "simplified" and focuses on smartphones. Google declined to comment on when jobs begin to be eliminated provision, or which areas are affected, but confirmed the layoffs as reported in The New York Times. The direction of Google says the layoffs are necessary and makes public the commitment to help those laid off find new jobs. 

 It is expected that most of the cuts is in the United States. Motorola represents 11.7% of the activity of smartphones in the United States, placing it as the fourth most widely used brand of smartphones in the country. However, that number fell by 1.1% over the previous year, this points to how sales of business units are currently in decline there too. In recent quarterly results from Google, the first to include Motorola, Google said that Motorola reported a GAAP operating loss of $ 233 million (U.S. $ 192 million for the mobile segment and $ 41 million for the segment of household), or 19 % of revenue from Motorola in the second quarter of 2012.

Read more...

Google have to pay 22,5 millions to FTC

Google has agreed to pay $ 22.5 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of cargo to be managed to avoid the privacy settings of Safari for ads aimed at consumers. Google puts the cookies on the computers of users of Safari, despite the fact that, as noted by the FTC, "Google had previously told these users that are automatically opted out of such monitoring, as a result of adjustments default Safari browser used on Macs, iPhones and Cases ". This, according to the FTC, was in direct violation of the privacy solution before between Google and the FTC. The burden of the FTC focused on the fact that Google took advantage of a loophole in Safari to place cookies on users' computers even though Safari, by default, blocks cookies from third-party sites. 

 Google agreed to pay $ 22.5 million civil penalty to settle charges the Federal Trade Commission to trick users of Apple's Safari browser would not tracking "cookies" or the publication of notices to users, violation of a privacy agreement earlier between the company and the FTC. The agreement is part of the efforts of the FTC sure companies live up to the privacy promises they make to consumers, and is the largest fine the agency has obtained for a violation of an order of the Commission. In addition to the civil penalty, the order also requires Google to disable all cookies tracking you said you would not put on the computers of consumers. "The penalty record in this case sends a clear message to all companies under an order of the FTC privacy," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC. "No matter how big or small, all companies must comply with FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or will end up paying many times what it would cost to play in the first place" . 

 In its complaint, the FTC alleged that for several months in 2011 and 2012, Google places a cookie given up advertising on the computers of users visiting Safari sites within the Google advertising network DoubleClick, despite Google had previously told the users that automatically opted out of such monitoring, as a result of the default settings of the Safari browser used on Macs, iPhones and iPads. Google violated an agreement reached with the agency in October 2011, which banned Google - among other things - misrepresenting the extent to which consumers can exercise control over the collection of information. The agreement settles FTC charges before Google used deceptive tactics and violated its privacy promises when it launched its social network, Google Buzz. Google has until February 15, 2014 to expire all cookies participating in today's agreement.

Read more...

Google acquired Wildfire

Google acquired a company that provides software service which makes a connection between various social networks such as Facebook Inc., Twitter, LinkedIn Corp., Pinterest - Wildfire, that causing customers or users can manage their online brand and presence. Google announced the acquisition of the new Wildfire marketing company to grow more strongly in social networks. 

The advertised price was 250 million dollars, as stated in a transaction source close to the worst he has asked not to be named. Wildfire provides software that connects to Facebook Inc., Twitter, LinkedIn Corp., Pinterest and other social networks, other customers are Sony Corp Wildfire and Amazon.com Inc, and more.

Read more...

Google just acquired Sparrow for Gmail

Google just acquired Sparrow for Gmail, the company behind the popular iOS and OS X email client. The team of the company, says CEO Don Sparrow Leca, will join Google's Gmail team "to achieve a larger view - which we think is the best you can achieve with Google." Sparrow raised a small seed round of funding from French VC firm Ventures, Kima in 2011, but took no other investments outside since. Google and Sparrow have released the financial details of the acquisition. Google buys Sparrow for Gmail, while Sparrow says that their applications will remain available at the moment, but according to an email to the company just send their users, the Sparrow, announces no updates on their applications in the short term. The company statement expresses explicitly ... 

 We’re excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!

 While we’ll be working on new things at Google, we will continue to make Sparrow available and provide support for our users. We had an amazing ride and can’t thank you enough. 

Dom Leca 
CEO Sparrow 
 We also want to thank our advisors and investors — Loren Brichter, Dave Morin, John Maeda, Xavier Niel, Jérémie Berrebi — as well as our friends and family: Simon Istolainen, Jérémie Kanza, Sacha Cayre, Cedric Gepner, Laurent Merlinot, Didier Kuhn, Christophe Baillon, Laurent Cerveau, Christophe Giaume, Sebastien Maury, Manuel Colom, Bertrand Guiheneuf and all of you who have helped us along the way.

We care a lot about how people communicate, and we did our best to provide you with the most intuitive and pleasurable mailing experience. Now we’re joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google. We’d like to extend a special thanks to all of our users who have supported us, advised us, given us priceless feedback and allowed us to build a better mail application.

Full speed ahead! 

Remains to be seen how long Google plans to support the Mac client Sparrow. Until now, Google does not offer its own native email client for any operating system and considering Google's approach on the web, it seems unlikely that the company will continue to fund the development of an e-mail client desktop. It is also unclear if Google charged for applications Sparrow. The Mac application currently costs $ 9.99 and the IOS client costs $ 2.99. Although the team is locked into the Sparrow Gmail, expects his client and continue to provide services normally. IOS users and Mac OS will be able to enjoy their implementation is expected that soon the rest of Gmail users benefit from the knowledge and the work of this small business.

Read more...

Yahoo's new CEO Marissa Meyer

Yahoo at his pressroom has announced that Marissa Mayer will be the new CEO of Yahoo. Marisa Meyer was a technology executive who has worked at Google since the early days of it. Mayer received his B.S. in symbolic systems and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, specializing in artificial intelligence for both degrees. 

The new was first reported by The New York Times and later became known in the press releases of Yahoo. Yahoo announce his appointment to Marissa Mayer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors will be effective July 17, 2012. Coming off a run of bad times for Yahoo, its last CEO Scott Thompson came in less time than ideal for the appointment of Mayer is expected a new beginning for the long-term company in Silicon Valley. 

The appointment of Ms. Mayer, an executive with leading Internet consumers, says a new focus on product innovation to drive the user experience and advertising revenue from a major consumer Internet brands in the world , whose major properties including Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Mobile, Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Search. To which Mayer said:  

"I feel very honored and thrilled to be in Yahoo!, a leading online destinations for over 700 million users. I look forward to working with the dedicated employees of the company to offer innovative, customized content and experiences for users and advertisers around the world."

And she also express her motivation by using her own account of Twitter.

Marissa Mayer was responsible for local maps and location services from Google, the company's suite of local and geographically and Google Maps, Google Earth, Zagat, Street View, local search, desktop and phones. Mayer joined Google in 1999 as its employee no. 20 and led the efforts of many of the most recognized of Google, including the development of its search product and the main insignia emblematic of more than 10 years. Mayer did some of the most successful innovations of Google, launching more than 100 features and products, including the image, the book and search for products, tools, iGoogle, Google News and Gmail - the creation of most of the "look and feel" of user experience at Google.

Read more...