Hasta La Gadget!

Almost two years after it updated its privacy policy, Google is still facing the wrath of European watchdogs. The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has just ended a seven-month investigation into the search giant’s practices and, similar to rulings in the UK and France, has deduced that Google isn’t doing enough to inform users about the data it “collects and combines.” The DPA accuses Google of spinning an “invisible web of our personal data without our consent” with its Search, Gmail and YouTube services, which it states in no uncertain terms “is forbidden by law.” It’s another knock for Google, which has found itself under investigation by a total of six European privacy authorities after French privacy regulator CNIL initiated action on their behalf last year. Google has said that it “respects European law,” but its commitment will be tested at the Dutch DPA’s upcoming hearing, after which the authority will decide it wants to take “enforcement measures” against the company.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: Techie News

Source: Dutch DPA

This article was written on June 01, 2006 by CyberNet.

Philipp Lenssen, author of Google Blogoscoped, has put together a book entitled “55 Ways To Have Fun With Google”. He covers a lot of interesting Google topics and there have been many people that have said they can’t put the book down! It will cost you $16.50 if you want to get a copy for yourself, but it sounds like it will be worth it. Here is the description of the book:

You probably use Google everyday, but do you know… the Google Snake Game? Googledromes? Memecodes? Googlesport? The Google Calculator? Googlepark and Google Weddings? Google hacking, fighting and rhyming? In this book, you’ll find Google-related games, oddities, cartoons, tips, stories and everything else that’s fun. Reading it, you won’t be the same searcher as before! No programming skills needed. (From the author of Google Blogoscoped.)

I haven’t gotten a copy for myself but I probably will shortly. There is finally some fun reading for all of you geeks out there (including myself).

Preview or Order “55 Ways To Have Fun With Google”

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Back in 2012, Google updated their policy in which they decided to share user data across Google’s own range of services that it provided to the public. Unfortunately it seems that over in the Netherlands, the Dutch authorities have deemed that this act of sharing user data is illegal, with the Dutch Data Protection Authority claiming that Google does not “properly inform users which personal data the company collects and combines, and for what purposes,” as stated in their press release. The authorities are claiming that Google is in the wrong but at the same time don’t have any immediate plans to punish Google over this.

Google however does not seem to think that they are in the wrong, stating that their privacy policy actually respects the European law, with Google releasing a statement to Computer World saying, “We have engaged fully with the Dutch DPA throughout this process and will continue to do so going forward.” Google is expected to attend a hearing in which they will face the DPA’s decision and also possibly collaborate on how better to proceed with these issues. This is not the first time that Google has been under fire for these new policies, as the French data protection authority have also launched a similar investigation of their own in which Google could possibly be fined €150,000.

Dutch Authorities Finds That Google Violated Its Data Protection Act original content from Ubergizmo.

When researching reviews on a particular restaurant or shop, or when looking for hotels to stay overseas, typically these websites will have Google Maps (or Bing Maps) embedded there which allows visitors to get a better idea of where the establishment is located. However the look and feel of these embedded maps are considered to be somewhat outdated, especially compared to the new look of Google Maps available from its website. Well the good news is that Google has announced that they will be rolling out a new Google Maps embed that webmasters will be able to embed into their websites in the future.

Unlike the older Google Maps, these new maps will take advantage of several of the new features Google has implemented since then. This includes the ability to sign into those maps where you will be able to see saved places, perhaps use that as a gauge to determine how far a certain place is from your home, and users will also be able to save those locations and view it from their mobile device as well. As it stands the new Google Maps is still in preview mode but Google expects to begin rolling it out on a wider scale in the upcoming weeks.

Google Announces New And Personalized Map Embed original content from Ubergizmo.

When it comes to Google’s support for their very own Chromecast, you can more or less say that that it still remains rather limited, although there is always the bright promise of additional apps being worked on for the future. Still, the apps that play nice with Chromecast right now happen to be widely used by many, including the likes of YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, and of course as recently as last week, HBO GO. Well, we have good news for you – Google is working on rolling out the official Chromecast SDK which will hopefully see a deeper level of integration of apps.

Apart from that, Google’s Chromecast promotion also involves kicking off the holiday season with a new promotion, “For a limited time we’re giving you an HD movie rental from Google Play with every purchase of a Chromecast device. It’s the perfect treat to add to that special someone’s stocking. At just $35 each, why not pick one up for both of you?” according to the Google Play’s site. Do bear in mind that this promotion will be valid for “any movie rental or other content on Google Play valued at $6 or less”. Are you pleased with this development?

Google Introduces Chromecast-Specific App Segment To Play Store App original content from Ubergizmo.