U.S. judge tells Google to work through Justice Deptartment
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The federal judge overseeing  Microsoft Corp.'s  antitrust compliance said on Tuesday  that she will rely on the Justice Department and state  attorneys general in deciding how to handle Google Inc.'s   concerns about Microsoft's Vista operating system.
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As Google tells it, the company wanted to hire two engineers who lived in Seattle. The engineers didn&#39;t want to move to Mountain View, California, Google&#39;s headquarters, so the company opened up a Seattle office.That was four years ago, and now Google employs around 400 people in the Seattle area. Google has two offices, one in the suburb of Kirkland and another recently opened in the much-hipper Fremont neighborhood of the city, locally known as the center of the universe. Fremont is so laid-back that it has its own time zone: A welcome sign in the neighborhood instructs visitors to set their clocks back five minutes.Whether or not the story about the two engineers is true, Google was also likely drawn to Seattle because of the University of Washington, long a breeding ground for computer scientists who naturally slid into jobs at Microsoft.Google executives speaking at a press open house at the company&#39;s Fremont offices said they didn&#39;t know if engineers they hire from the university also entertained jobs at Microsoft. But Shiva Shivakumar, vice president of engineering at Google, said this: &quot;We haven&#39;t lost to too many other companies in the area.&quot; Google currently employs 35 engineers with doctorates from the university.For its part, the university seems happy to supply graduates to either company. As an example of its openness, Ed Lazowska, who holds the title of Bill and Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington, attended the event at Google on Tuesday.Engineers in the Seattle office, which just barely slips into third place behind Google offices in New York and Mountain View in terms of size, have worked on a number of products, including terrain maps on Google Maps; tools for Web site developers, such as Website Optimizer; and Google&#39;s instant messaging service.In the future, the Seattle engineers will increasingly focus on systems, said Brian Bershad, an engineering director and the Seattle site director. He was hired in late October after serving as a professor of computer science at the University of Washington.By systems, Bershad means that his engineers will work on developing technology that helps the search engine very quickly sort through the mountains of data in the company&#39;s data centers in order to present results back to users. &quot;It&#39;s not enough to just organize the world&#39;s information, we have to be able to answer questions quickly,&quot; Bershad said.Engineers working out of the Fremont office, which just opened in October, have plenty of inspiration to help them solve this problem. The offices overlook a picturesque canal. Workers can clear their heads by hopping in company-supplied kayaks for a trip up the canal, where they can float by the houseboats that line Lake Union, made famous in the movie &quot;Sleepless in Seattle.&quot;When they return to the office, they can sooth their aching muscles by either sitting in a massage chair or getting the services of a real massage therapist. Later, they can grab a free lunch in the cafeteria overlooking the canal.The rivalry between Google and Microsoft must only run so deep, as evidenced by the Xbox 360 in the employee game room. Employees relax and let off steam playing Halo 3, said Greta Cook, a software engineer who works in the Fremont office.Google executives wouldn&#39;t be drawn on expectations for how many people they might hire in the Seattle region in the years to come. But clearly the city welcomes the search giant. &quot;We know you call another part of the country your headquarters... for now,&quot; Seattle&#39;s Mayor Greg Nickels joked at the event on Tuesday. &quot;But we think you&#39;ll find this a great place to do business.&quot;
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The top antitrust official at the U.S. Justice Department last month backed Microsoft Corp. by urging state prosecutors to reject a confidential complaint filed by Google Inc., The New York Times reported on Sunday.
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Google Inc. appealed on Thursday a federal judge's order to turn over information on users of the company's Orkut social-networking service.
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WASHINGTON _ Slowly but surely, the government is getting Googled.  Two years ago, the Google staff in Washington was one person _ Alan Davidson, an expert in technology law.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft will make changes to its desktop search program following a complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) by Google. Google suggested in a white paper submitted to the DOJ earlier this year that Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system puts other search software companies at a disadvantage, making it difficult for users to utilize non-Microsoft desktop-search software. Microsoft has reached an agreement with the DOJ to make it easier for end users to employ desktop search programs made by rival software developers, The Wall Street Journal reported. Microsoft will also provide more documentation and information to developers about how to make those search programs run smoothly, it said. The changes will be included in Microsoft's first Vista update, called Service Pack 1, slated to be released later this year, the report said. California Attorney General Jerry Brown said Microsoft had agreed to make the "significant changes" in Vista operating system to stay in compliance with a U.S. court agreement in Microsoft's antitrust case. Brown's office intervened in the wake of reports that Microsoft's new operating system included a desktop search function called "Instant Search" that violated terms of its agreement to open its products to more competition. Google Inc. which offers the most popular search engine on the Internet, said "Instant Search" is a "Microsoft middleware product," which is subject to the federal agreement in the antitrust case. The State of California contended that Vistaâs desktop search feature is a functionality that did not exist in prior Windows operating systems and is therefore covered under the agreement. Brown said Microsoft will provide users and computer manufacturers, such as Hewlett-Packard and Dell with greater flexibility to choose and access competing desktop search products. The agreement was included in a joint status report that was filed Wednesday with federal District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., who presided over the 2002 agreement in the case. "This agreement - while not perfect - is a positive step towards greater competition in the software industry," said Brown. "It will enhance the ability of consumers to select the desktop search tool of their choice." Microsoft was found to be operating an illegal monopoly in software by another U.S. District Judge in Washington. Microsoft entered into a settlement agreement with the federal government and attorneys general for several U.S. states to abide by certain rules to allow more competition. Microsoft had originally denied that its own desktop search interfered with non-Microsoft indexing software, noting that its search indexing could be turned off, although with some difficulty. The Redmond company also seemed to have the DOJ, its former antitrust foe, on its side: Thomas O. Barnett, now the DOJ's top-ranking antitrust official, recommended in May that the DOJ and state attorneys general reject Google's complaint, according to a New York Times report earlier this month.
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SEATTLE _ Google, unsatisfied with changes Microsoft is making to Windows Vista's desktop search feature in response to an antitrust complaint, is pushing for further changes and more judicial oversight of Microsoft's practices.
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. judge said Tuesday she will likely defer to an agreement on desktop search forged between Microsoft and the plaintiffs in the U.S. government's antitrust lawsuit against the software vendor, instead of responding toÂ a complaint from rival Google. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said she relies on the plaintiffs, including the U.S. Department of Justice and several states, to suggest solutions for complaints related to a 2002 antitrust settlement governing Microsoft. "The plaintiffs, as far as I'm concerned, stand in the shoes of the consumer," Kollar-Kotelly said during a status hearing on Microsoft's compliance with the settlement. "Google is not a party in this case." This month, Google filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft, saying it was difficult for computer users to change the default desktop search program in Windows Vista. Google protested the proposed desktop search agreement between Microsoft and the antitrust plaintiffs, saying it didn't go far enough. Google on Monday filed a motion asking Kollar-Kotelly to extend her oversight of changes to desktop search. (More to come.)
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(InfoWorld) - Google escalated its antitrust battle with Microsoft Monday by questioning its rival's promised changes to Windows Vista search and asking a federal judge to extend oversight to make sure Microsoft follows through. In a seven-page brief, Google is asking for permission to file with a federal court in Washington, Google staked out the same position it voiced last week. "Microsoft's hardwiring of its own desktop search product into Windows Vista violates the final judgment in this case," the brief read. Microsoft responded by saying there's nothing new to Google's latest maneuver. "We believe we went the extra mile to resolve these issues in a spirit of compromise," said company spokesman Jack Evans. "The government has clearly stated that it is satisfied with the changes we're making. Google has provided no new information that should suggest otherwise in their filing." Less than a week ago, Microsoft agreed to make modifications to Vista's handling of desktop search. On Monday, however, Google again said that the changes weren't sufficient. "The remedies won by the Department of Justice and state Attorneys General from Microsoft are a positive step, but consumers will likely need further measures to ensure meaningful choice," said David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer. "Ultimately, these issues raise the need for continued judicial oversight of Microsoft's practices to ensure that consumers' interests are best served." Among several objections listed in the brief, Google said Vista would continue to call on Instant Search when users run searches from locales like Windows Explorer and that users will still not be able to easily disable Microsoft's desktop search. And while the deal struck last week would have Microsoft allow users to select a default search tool in Vista, then use that tool for searches done from the operating system's Start menu, Google hinted that Microsoft may cut off its nose to spite its -- or its rival's -- face. "Google understands that Microsoft may intend to remove these [Search] menu entries from Vista and deprive users of these access points altogether rather than provide the user choice required under III.H.1(a) of the Final Judgment," Google charged. To better monitor Microsoft's promises, Google suggested to federal district court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who oversees the 2002 antitrust decree, that she extend her oversight. Sections of the settlement, including the part that would conceivably pertain to search, are to expire Nov. 12 2007, but government regulators can unilaterally ask to extend that deadline by two years or even an additional three after that to November 2012. In any case, Google's brief may be moot; Kollar-Kotelly has a history of rejecting outsiders' efforts to join the case. In a November 2002 opinion, for instance, she wrote: "While there is no inherent flaw in giving third parties a voice in this process, as very often such third parties will be most immediately aware of Microsoft's conduct, non-parties should not be allowed direct access to the enforcement mechanisms." Chris Wolf, an attorney who chairs the Internet law practice of Proskauer Rose in Washington, said he sees no chance that the judge will start now. "There's no reason why she would change her practice of the past, especially with a brief filed by one who is so obviously a competitor of Microsoft and thus has an ax to grind. "It would be very different if one of the plaintiffs made these arguments," Wolf said. "But Google's certainly not bashful. It could have done this earlier and likely did, but it was rejected." "This would be unprecedented," added Microsoft's Evans. "This would be the first time that an operating system would require a third-party product for underlying functionality." Google filed the "friend of the court" brief a day before Kollar-Kotelly is to hear a status update. That hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:30 EDT Tuesday.
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A federal judge on Wednesday handed online search engine Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) a victory in a trademark infringement case on Wednesday, ruling
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SAO PAULO, Brazil  - A Brazilian judge has ordered the local office of Web search company Google  to disclose the data of users of Google's social networking site Orkut accused of crimes like racism or child pornography.
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The federal judge overseeing Microsoft's compliance with a 2002 antitrust settlement will allow Google to file a brief detailing its objection to a June agreement between Microsoft and government regulators regarding desktop search features in Windows Vista.
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Google Inc. is seeking user feedback as it experiments with new views of its search results.
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Google won an important test case in the US yesterday when a federal court judge cleared its practice of selling ads around internet searches conducted for trademarked terms.
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Online search engine leader Google Inc. is setting out make better sense of all the scholarly work stored on the Web.
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An Arkansas judge begins weighing objections this week to a $90 million class-action settlement between Internet search leader Google Inc. and advertisers who say they were victims of "click fraud."
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A U.S. judge said today she favors an agreement on desktop search between Microsoft and antitrust plaintiffs.