Google has finally decided to shut down Google Wave, the much-hyped product that was too difficult to understand (it probably attracted the most ‘How to use (Google Wave)’ articles than any other product from Google).
Wave has not seen the user adoption we would have liked. We don’t plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product, but we will maintain the site at least through the end of
the year and extend the technology for use in other Google projects. The central parts of the code, as well as the protocols that have driven many of Wave’s innovations, like drag-and-drop and character-by-character live typing, are already available as open source, so customers and partners can continue the innovation we began. In addition, we will work on tools so that users can easily “liberate” their content from Wave. – blog post
What next? The much talked about Google Me?
It’s amazing how Google experiments, fails, learns and still goes with more experiments.
Facebook Mobile Privacy Settings
Facebook has rolled out privacy controls via mobile devices enabling FB users to control your information from anywhere.
You can get to privacy controls on mobile by going to m.facebook.com/privacy or by going to the Settings page and clicking the “Change” link next to the words “Privacy Settings.” Check it out for yourself to:
- Select who can see the content you post by setting the simple control for sharing on Facebook to friends, friends of friends or everyone,
- Fully customize your granular settings, if you want, and have them take effect instantly, and
- Read through our comprehensive privacy guide, formatted for mobile devices. [details here]
Fourth IE9 Platform Preview Available for Developers
The fourth Platform Preview of Internet Explorer 9, available now, shows the opportunity of fully hardware-accelerated HTML5. You can run new test drive samples that show modern SVG and native JavaScript integration in action. In March, we promised to deliver platform preview releases approximately every eight weeks. With this installment, you will find more performance and more support for same markup. You’ll also find many fixes to issues reported in previous Platform Previews. [source]
Google and Verizon in Talks on Selling Internet Priority
Google and Verizon are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.
The charges could be paid by companies, like YouTube, owned by Google, for example, to Verizon, one of the nation’s leading Internet service providers, to ensure that its content received priority as it made its way to consumers. The agreement could eventually lead to higher charges for Internet users. [source]
Net neutrality anyone?
Acquisition Roundup
LinkedIn acquires mSpoke
LinkedIn made its first-ever acquisition, mSpoke.
mSpoke is a recommendation engine that brings related/recommended content and provides services to content publishers, research analysts and individuals.
“We’re actively investing in solutions that help deliver valuable professional insights to LinkedIn members. The addition of mSpoke’s talented team of technologists make it an even more compelling opportunity for LinkedIn.” [source]
Google acquires Instantiations, the Java and Ajax development tool.
Yes it’s true. Instantiations’ award-winning Java and Ajax development tools and our incredible Eclipse team have been acquired by Google. We are all very excited about taking our technology and team to the next level – and there is no bigger step up than Google!
Rumors also mention that Google has acquired Slide for $182 million.
3. Zynga acquires Unoh
Zynga has acquired Tokyo-based startup Unoh that develops games for both cell phones and PCs. [via]
