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Google+ is dead, but its legacy lives on
Following the revelation of a security vulnerability that exposed the private data of up to 500,000 Google+ users, Google is finally ready to pull the plug on the consumer version of its troubled social network. Simply put, the company said Monday, Google+ has not achieved the broad consumer or developer adoption it had hoped for. Google even said that 90 percent of Google+ user sessions were lasting less than five seconds. This sums up the sad state of a service that, when it launched in 2011, Google dreamed of turning into a serious Facebook competitor.
Starting in 2020, it’s going to be much easier to buy an EV
For the first time ever, buying an electric or hybrid car from most of the big automakers is a viable option. But these electrified vehicles are still a small part of the entire automotive world. At the Frankfurt auto show in Germany, many car companies either finally pledged or reiterated earlier promises to increase the number of electrified cars to their lineups by 2030.
Volkswagen's electric Crozz SUV gets closer to reality
Volkswagen continues to push its electric road map. At the Frankfurt auto show, it dropped a newer version of the pure electric ID Crozz Crossover. Initially unveiled in Shanghai, the crossover is the third vehicle with the ID brand, along with the microbus Buzz and the four-door ID. All three vehicles will be built on the company's upcoming Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB).
VW's first ID electric car for the US may be a crossover
Are you champing at the bit waiting for Volkswagen's ID electric cars to hit the market? You might not want to be picky about the choice of body style. Sources speaking to our Autoblog colleagues say that the while the regular, hatchback-style EV will launch first, it won't reach the US -- at least, not initially. Instead, the ID Crozz would be the first of the lineup on American shores, arriving in late 2020 or in 2021. It's not clear why VW would make this move, but it's likely to accommodate a recent American taste for crossovers and target an EV audience that has gone relatively untapped. The Bolt is really more of a hatchback despite Chevy's marketing, and the Tesla Model X is both closer to a pure SUV and priced well beyond the budget of most drivers.
Google's 'last step' in Buzz shutdown: moving all data to Google Drive
Google's social networking effort Buzz shut its doors last year but has popped up yet again, for what may be the last time. In an email that just went out to former users, Google noted it's packaging Buzz data into two files which will be stored on their Drive accounts. One is private, which will hold all of their posts both public and private, and another is public, which will contain a copy of any of their public Buzz posts, accessible to anyone who has a direct link (old Buzz links will redirect here.) One important note, is that your comments on others posts will be saved to their Drive files, and you won't be able to delete them once the shift happens "on or after July 17th." Need to do a total wipe / some selective editing? Check the link below to see your profile or the text of the message for a more thorough explanation after the break.
Google's Bradley Horowitz: 'we're throwing fewer things against the wall'
And with that, a dream dies. Well, maybe that's a bit sensational, but we aren't going to lie -- we wept inside upon hearing Google's Bradley Horowitz (Vice President of Product Management) contritely state that his company is "doing less of throwing things against the wall." In fact, he proclaimed that Google+ was morphing into a platform that would absolutely, without question become a pillar across the company in some form or fashion. In other words, it's too big to fail. He stated that the idea of using the general public as a test bed for products (hello, Buzz!) was fading quickly, and that this "transformation" would be "very healthy" for Google. He did affirm that engineers are still given their token "20 percent time" in order to innovate on whatever they darn well please, but we seriously got the impression that the culture under Larry Page isn't focusing nearly as intently on that kind of frivolous, outlandish and absolutely marvelous behavior. Bradley noted that while "20 percent time" isn't going away, there are changes taking place. There's a "higher bar on what gets put to market, and more of an editing function than before." Continuing on, he stated the following: "Instead of making these decisions in the market... we're doubling-down on ones that are more important across the company." If you're a hardcore, orthodox businessperson, this sounds totally logical. The whole "stop being childish, start being responsible" thing sure sounds appropriate on paper, but c'mon -- this is Google! A huge part of the company's mystique, charm and spontaneous nature came in its "we'll try anything once" persona, and if that truly is dying in even a small way, we can't help but have a heavy heart. The further Google strays from its startup roots (and the more it tries to act like every other bureaucratic mega-corp), the less likely we are to get flops like Google TV. But on the same token, the less likely we are to have that one-in-a-million hit (and oddballs like this) that would've never proved viable in any "research group." Here's one final quote from Bradley when asked to elaborate on this corporate shift: "We would rather do fewer things well -- we're now on a path to remedy prior sins of omissions. I think it's a tradeoff [with losing some of the freewheeling autonomy]. I still think there's a tremendous part of Google culture that'll never change, but what's exciting is that the company is rallying around this, and [the employees] see the benefits of alignment. We've won the hearts of employees, and there's tremendous momentum on what we're doing. My experience is that Larry is a consummate product leader -- it's thrilling, it feels like the company is coordinated in a way that I've never seen. I don't know that it's just Larry, but I couldn't be more impressed with him as CEO. I didn't expect this level of change in company culture when that announcement was made."
Google finally pulls the plug on Buzz amid 'fall sweep'
Before there was Google+ there was Google Buzz, the company's big effort to stake a claim in the social networking space. That, of course, didn't exactly work out for the search giant, and it even managed to spark some lawsuits and attract the eye of the FTC. Now Google has finally swept it under the rug in a bit of fall cleaning, stating in a blog post today that Google Buzz and the Buzz API will be shut down "in a few weeks," and that it will now focus solely on Google+ instead. Also getting the axe is Jaiku, a social networking service that Google acquired in 2007, as well some of the social features on iGoogle, and the company's Code Search service, which will officially be shut down along with its API on January 15th of next year. And, if that wasn't enough, Google also confirmed that today's the day that the Google Labs site will be shut down (its demise was announced this summer).
iPhone 4S was top online buzz generator yesterday
Online marketing and analytics firm Webtrends kept a close eye on the Apple event and announcements yesterday. Not surprisingly, the iPhone 4S was a huge buzz generator for the day, with almost half (585,306 out of 1,223,060) of the total online mentions made about Apple. Excitement or curiosity about Siri followed the iPhone 4S at a distant second place with just 77,220 mentions, followed by the iPod touch announcements. The improved camera in the iPhone 4S also garnered a good amount of buzz -- after seeing the beautiful gallery of photos from the iPhone 4S on the Apple website, I can see why. What got the least amount of interest from the announcements? Newsstand. That seems to mirror the widespread malaise of online newspapers and magazines that will be readable through Apple's portal beginning with the availability of iOS 5 on October 12.
Google to receive regular privacy audits following FTC ruling on Buzz
Well, it looks like the spectre of Buzz will be looming large over Google for some time to come -- the company has just reached an agreement with the FTC that will see it receive independent privacy audits every two years for the next twenty years following a ruling that found Google violated its own privacy policy with the service. In a blog post today, Google also says that it will now "ask users to give us affirmative consent" before it makes any changes in how it shares their personal information, and it adds that it would like to "apologize again for the mistakes we made with Buzz." As for the FTC, chairman Jon Leibowitz describes the settlement as a "tough" one, and says simply that "when companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them."
iPad 2: The rumor buzz
As Apple's March 2 iPad announcement draws near, the interwebs are alive with rumors. In no particular order, here's the buzz that we're seeing flick across our in-boxes today. Will Apple produce a White iPad? That's what the 9 to 5 Mac blog thinks might happen, based on iPad parts they "acquired" early. The Wall Street Journal suggests that the iPad 2 will be more streamlined than its big brother, with a thinner and lighter build. They're also expecting models for both AT&T and Verizon data plans. iLounge is predicting dual-cameras. MacRumors has evidence that supports the much anticipated iPad camera scenario. If you're looking for a louder iPad, Gizmodo believes the iPad 2 may deliver a larger speaker system along with a more streamlined iPod-styled back face. PC Magazine notes that retail channels for the original iPad have begun to dry up, which may indicate an earlier shipping date than the more generally accepted early April timeframe, the anniversary of the original iPad. Numerous websites including Cult of Mac are considering the possibility that tomorrow's iPad will be a "disappointing spec bump" with a major redesign happening later this year, perhaps six months down the line. Bringing the iPad into refresh synchrony with the iPod (and maybe the iPhone) could be a valuable change on Apple's part. The Business Insider wonders if Apple will introduce a new Social App, perhaps linked to the iPad, and thinks that an iOS 5 announcement is very likely. What other rumors are you reading about? Let us know in the comments.
Buzz! developer lays off 20 in rebuilding phase; ex-staff form Full Moon studio
Within in the past two weeks, approximately 20 employees of Relentless Software -- makers of quiz game franchise Buzz! and charming puzzler The Blue Toad Murder Files -- were let go. The developer announced as much this week, with director and co-founder Andrew Eades telling GamesIndustry.biz, "We have recently restructured the company to work on a variety of different projects and different platforms." According to Eades, the layoffs are part of the studio's previously revealed plans to reshape itself into a multiplatform developer. In fact, Relentless is actually hiring new staff as part of its rebuilding effort. "Our real strategy going forward is to change the company from a disc-based, console games company only -- which is what we were; we were only PlayStation 3; we were only console; we were only quiz, in fact. We wanted to change the company to have much more breadth and embrace the new digital platforms we saw coming in," Eades reiterated. Thankfully, just as quickly as the layoffs took place, a new studio was born out of the bad news: Full Moon. Representative Kalvin Lyle told GI.biz that "no animosity" is felt towards Relentless, and that some of the Full Moon staff are even looking forward to working with their old coworkers in the future. "I can't speak for everyone, but I think we're trying to make the best of it," Lyle said. Full Moon will focus on "casual gaming and digital distribution," though no projects are in the works just yet. Beyond news of the restructuring, Relentless announced its next project, an iPhone quiz title (shock!) named Quiz Climber. The game has players answering questions in order to advance up friends' leaderboards, represented by a tree in the game. EA-owned Chillingo will publish the title and says the game will arrive sometime this spring. [Image credit: jaygooby]
'Buzz' dev Relentless expands digital strategy as PlayStation exclusivity deal ends
Relentless Software, the UK-based creator of the Buzz! trivia games for PlayStation platforms, is now free from an exclusivity deal with Sony and looking to pursue a digital distribution strategy that would bring its games to a wide range of internet-connected devices. "That's my aim," co-founder Andrew Eades told GamesIndustry.biz, "to make games for anyone who has a TV." "The whole retail market is becoming very much about pillar titles for a hardcore audience," said Eades, citing Activision's perennial standout Call of Duty and its difficult to match, multimillion dollar budget as good reason to move away form the disc-based business, "so we have to find a new way to get to our audience, and that is digital, episodic, various different platforms, including PlayStation -- that remains our main platform." The platform-exclusivity deal with Sony ended on good terms last year, and Relentless will continue to look to PlayStation Network for long-term revenue in its new, fremium-based Buzz!: Quiz Player iteration, along with ongoing sales of its self-published episodic mystery game, Blue Toad Murder Files, which debuted on PSN in late 2009. (It was released for PC in November.) "The interesting thing we've found out with Blue Toad is that, almost a year after its first launch, we're still selling it in different ways," Eades explained. "We've had a sixty percent uplift in sales through the Advent Calendar Theme Bundle pack. You can't do this on disc." This realization appears to be the guiding light in the studio's new focus to expand its digital distribution efforts to more platforms. Relentless is at work on a new game for next year, to be followed by the launch of a new IP. "PlayStations and Xboxes have a place under many people's TVs, but there's also satellite boxes, Apple TVs, Google TVs, internet-connected TVs," Eades observed. "They all have more and more computational power, and that's all we need -- that processor power to deliver our games and the internet connection to distribute them -- and we're in the living room just as any broadcast TV is." [Image source: Relentless]
Freemium 'Buzz!: Quiz Player' comes to PSN today, with DualShock support
You know that one team at the pub quiz nights that just crushes it every week? Well, we'd like to see you get even, and today's announcement and (free) release of Buzz!: Quiz Player, previously outed by the ESRB, seems like a good start. Quiz Player features 90 sample questions in the free base app launching on PSN today, plus classic Buzz! staples like Point Builder, Fastest Finger, Point Stealer and Final Countdown. The game supports the traditional Buzz! controllers and DualShock 3s -- which is most welcome, since it allows everyone a chance at those those quiz night know-it-alls. Honestly, they have it coming. Vendettas aside, other question packs will be available through in-game purchase, covering such topics as Comedy, Rock Legends, Space and U.S. Sports, according to associate producer Jenny Barbour, who also confirmed Facebook integration. Though, the feature questionably involves publishing your game details online. You wouldn't want your Facebook friends to find out you had no idea which volcano leveled Pompeii in 74 AD, would you? Psst, it was "Mount Suvius."
Google agrees to pay $8.5 million to make Buzz privacy lawsuits go away
Remember back when Google's Buzz social networking app shared user's private information without their consent? Heck, do you remember Buzz at all? Suffice it to say that some unhappy folks sued, and it looks like they're about to accept a hefty settlement in place of their day in court. Though no money's exchanged hands quite yet and a judge has yet to approve, Google's agreed to drop $8.5 million and "disseminate wider public education about the privacy aspects of Google Buzz" as part of a class-action settlement, according to court documents. While there's certainly a chunk of dough potentially being doled out here, we have to imagine individual Gmail users won't be seeing much -- most will go to "organizations focused on Internet privacy policy or privacy education" -- which makes us wonder if $8.5 million isn't a small price to pay to get Buzz back into the national news feeds. In related (or possibly completely coincidental) news, Google took the opportunity today to revamp its master Privacy Policy. Read all about it at our more coverage link, if you're into that kind of stuff.
ESRB outs 'Buzz! Quiz Player' for PS3
The ESRB has a listing for a potential new Buzz! game for the PS3, dubbed Buzz! Quiz Player. We can't seem to find any mention of it anywhere, so it would seem this is a new game. And, according to our research, this would be the 1,472nd Buzz! game to be released across PlayStation consoles -- trust us, our research is most thorough. "This is a trivia game in which players compete to answer questions on a variety of topics, including sports, TV shows, movies, and music," the listing states. "Players can choose a character (e.g., cheerleader, super hero) and a sound effect that will be heard when attempting to answer questions. One sound choice sounds like a belch, and another is called 'tequila.'" Honestly, we can't imagine the kinda sound tequila itself makes -- just so long as it's nothing like that scene from Poltergeist 2. We had nightmares for weeks!
Google launches social networking initiative, more Farmville than Facebook
It looks like there is a social networking initiative in the works at Google, which will presumably start with social gaming (think Farmville) and move outward from there. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company's been in talks with game developers, including Playdom, EA's Playfish, and Zynga (which Google's recently invested in). While sure to incorporate Buzz (remember that?), one thing Google does not want to do is come across as just another Facebook, with Schmidt addressing the possibility thusly: "the world doesn't need a copy of the same thing." OK, then. How about Google Match? We already have an idea for your homepage design. One thing is certain, however: expect the service to be in beta until early 2037.
iPad apps: Twitter and social networking essentials
As you might've notice, either here on the site or likely elsewhere on the internet, we at Engadget have somewhat of an affinity to social networking. With a new screen sitting here saving us some screen real estate, we decided to give a number of Twitter and other pro-social apps a go for perennially staying connected to our online friends -- so long as there's a decent WiFi connection nearby. Here's the highlights from what we've toyed with, and stay tuned for even more roundups on the horizon. Twitterific for iPad (free; $4.99 for Pro account) - Definitely the best Twitter app on the iPad so far (pictured above). It works great in portrait and landscape, contextual links conveniently pop out and photos even get special format treatment. No option to upload photos when tweeting, but we're guessing with a lack of a camera, it didn't seem as necessary an addition -- we like to show off our screen captures and saved browsing images, but hey, that's just us. The only deterrent for power users is that you can only view one column at a time, but with lists, saved searches, and all other thread options easily accessible from the leftmost column, we didn't find it too inconvenient whatsoever. [See in iTunes]
PS3 expands Facebook functionality with Buzz! Quiz World
Not to be beaten by Kick-Ass: The Game, Sony Computer Entertainment will be the first publisher to expand PS3's built-in Facebook functionality with a new patch to Buzz! Quiz World (available today). The patch will allow players to publish various updates from within the game, such as high scores and end game results. As with Facebook connectivity with the PlayStation Store, all updates will be optional, giving players the choice of whether to publish these items to their walls. Don't go too crazy with that big red button on the Buzz! controller.
Toy Story 3 and the Mac
One of the things I missed in the news last week due to being so busy at Macworld (along with most of the Olympics, though we did get to watch the opening ceremony at a post-show dinner) was the brand new Toy Story 3 trailer -- Pixar's latest movie has Buzz and Woody in a third adventure, and while I won't spoil the details, it does appear that Apple plays a big part in the movie. Macenstein has a quick breakdown of all of the places that Macs appear in the new trailer, with cameos by both Safari and iTunes, and director Lee Unkrich actually tweeted a picture of his editing session for the movie on a MacBook Pro (in Avid Media Composer) at 36,000 feet! Of course, Steve Jobs was the owner and CEO of Pixar for twenty years, and he now is the largest individual Disney shareholder with a seat on the company's board of directors. Pixar always produces excellent films -- Toy Story was the studio's first big feature as a studio, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with the franchise after moving on to more mature pictures like Finding Nemo and Up. As always, when the movie comes out on June 18th, we'll have to keep an eye out for nods in Apple's direction.
Google Buzz now available on iPhone web app
Google revealed its new social communications feature Buzz yesterday while we were all traveling to Macworld, and the new service is now up and running in the Mobile Safari web app, as well as in your Gmail account everywhere else. The mobile app has all the features of the main service (it's kind of like a mix between Twitter and Google Wave, where you can post status updates and media in an ongoing conversation) with some interesting mobile features, including the option to see "buzz" nearby while out and about, as well as comment on or 'like' other people's "buzz." The whole thing is still pretty new, and as you've probably seen around the rest of the 'net, there's lots and lots of people discussing how this might work alongside (or in spite of) Twitter and all of the other growing social networks out there. Time will tell whether or not the system will be a hit (or fizzle like Wave apparently did), but Google definitely made sure that the iPhone has full capability up and running right away, even if the Apple/Google relationship isn't what it used to be.
