Google has once again created an entertaining home page for us all! Happy 4th of July!
Google is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Its almost frightening that whenever a new market is discovered or an opportunity arises Google has already been there for months. My theory? Google hires Psychics. More probable theory: Google hires unique minds!
Google will be revamping the way users search for flights and airfares in the next year with the recent acquisition of ITA Software. Marissa Mayer (VP of User Experiences and Search Products) reports, “Searches for travel-related information are among the highest-volume queries we receive at Google.” Although the purchase may point to a new form of income for Google through selling tickets to flights, the company says, “we have no plans to sell flights ourselves” and their new product will “refer people quickly to a site where they can actually purchase flights.”
In other news, Google has made a move to show their support of the LGBT community and potentially attract many homosexual employees from other companies! In the current health care system, there is a tax which same sex couples have to pay (roughly over a thousand dollars a year) that straight couples do not have to pay. Google has shown that they disagree by providing their LGBT employees (who have a partner) with the extra thousand dollars to cover the tax.
On the 4th of July, India formally asked Google, Skype, and RIM, for access to email and other data information. The Indian Department of Telecommunications has stated that, “If a company fails to meet this deadline, it risks being banned or blocked by the government of India.” This could mean the end of internet anonymity! Is nothing sacred!? None of the companies have yet to respond, but India is the largest telecommunications market in the world at the time, just the thought makes me sick! They have 14 days remaining to respond to this request.
Other Cool Stuff!
Remember the inconvenience of having to figured out which ways the batteries to your flashlight go, but since you dont have a flashlight, you cant figure it out? Well not anymore! Thanks to Microsofts innovative invention, you may now put batteries in either direction! Negative and Positive contacts (shown below) will sense which way the current of energy should be flowing, and adapt accordingly. Microsoft is sure to make a killing off of this fantastic invention, named InstaLoad, by providing it manufacturers. Microsoft has chosen to be the good guys and offer InstaLoad free to manufacturers who work with hearing, vision, and other technologies helping those with disabilities.
“There’s an app for that” has become quite the catchphrase with Apple products, but now… there really is. In an effort (i assume) to end the need for bank tellers everywhere, you may now deposit checks into your Chase account using your iPhone. Simply take a picture of the front and back of the check, enter the amount, and hit send! How easy is that!? Along with QuickDeposit comes a new function called QuickPay. QuickPay enables you to send money to anyone, so long as you have their e-mail address! Bankers can now transfer up to $3,000 a week on mobile, saving many trips to the bank! Thanks Chase!
