The Youth Blog

Google

Google on Wednesday finally removed a racially offensive image of US First Lady Michelle Obama from its search engine on Wednesday.

This image, which had created quite a furore, was on a blog called Hot Girls, which is hosted by Google’s blog service, Blogger. It’s a caricature of Michelle Obama with features of a monkey. This image appeared on top of Google’s list when someone typed in the keywords ‘Michelle Obama’. Later on, Hot Girls put up an apology in Chinese, with a shoddy English translation.

“I am very sorry for this article, and that this is the program automatically issued a document from the article. Do not the subject of race and politics make the discussion too radical and sincere hope that the world is very peaceful,” is what the blog said.

 The whole episode definitely serves as a reminder to the supposedly bravehearted exercisers of freedom of speech, reminding them that there is a certain code and certain ethics to be followed while expressing something on the internet.

 Initially, Google had said, on the image of Michelle Obama, that it wasn’t its policy to remove offensive material.

 “Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google,” the search engine had said.

Best Buy

Google and Best Buy Mobile have got together to promote Google Mobile Applications (Apps) for Smartphones. Smartphones are phones like Blackberry, S60 devices and Windows Mobile.

Best Buy will support the Google Mobile App through its speciality retail outlets. Best Buy will facilitate downloading of the Google App and provide free installation on the devices of the users.

Google Apps are programs that users can install in their Blackberry sets and use for better user experience, such as apps for gaming or browsing the internet.

This is the statement that Best Buy V-P Scott Moore said,

“We know that consumers want smart phones and, increasingly, they want to use applications. The challenge is that people still need help understanding what is available to them and how they can bring it to life on their device.”

The subtle point Scott Moore is pointing out that most people are not as tech-savvy yet to use their smart phones optimally. Many people buy it but are hardly conversant with using Apps and enhancing user experience.

Personally, this latest deal by Google and Best Buy should break this ice barrier of high-end technology and normal humans.

Google Wave Logo

Google is as busy as a bee when it comes to innovation. Google has almost dried up the competition against rivals Yahoo, Microsoft and other big companies. The main reason is that Google has provided innovation in conventional services that are so futuristic and convenient for the internet user. Here is a list of the latest innovation in services provided by Google.

1. Google recently launched Google Wave. Wave is a next generation messenger service from Google. It shows words as you type and can be an asset for sharing and uploading resources. As well as to link to databases of your interest. Google Wave is a rage with high-profile scientists working within top institutions including MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Cambridge and the University of Michigan. Google Wave is a next generation messenger launched by Google – and its free.
2. Google also launched OneBox. This is a music service with a big difference. Google actually lets you hear out the whole song before you decide to purchase it. Along with the search result will be add-on results such as concerts scheduled by the artist, music videos etc. Another awesome innovation by Google.
   

   OneBox

3. Google has also started a very ambitious project of indexing and archiving all books that it can get in the search results. In return, Google will compensate monetarily to the author, publisher etc. This project has run into legal tangles and still under proceedings.