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Google Health's New Year's Resolution is to cease to exist, countdown begins to save your data
Back in June, Google announced that it would be 'retiring' Health effective January 1, 2012. Now, everything appears to be on-track for the shutdown, with Google sending out a final reminder to Health customers earlier today. You have until the stroke of midnight to access the service or port your data to a competitor -- after which point you'll no longer be able to view information saved to your account, though it'll remain available to download in .zip format for another year. Want to know more? Hit up the source link for the Google Health FAQ.
Google 'retires' Health and PowerMeter, lets you save your vitals through 2012
Remember that Withings blood pressure monitor for iOS that we went hands-on with last week? It integrated with Google Health. The search giant's health management portal also paired with dozens of other services (a heaping handful can be seen in the image above) to aggregate and track all of your data, and share it with family members, friends, and doctors. The service didn't have the widespread impact that Google expected, however, so it's taking Health offline after the clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2012. You'll have another year to download your info, or send it directly to competing services. Also on the chopping block is PowerMeter, a free energy monitoring tool that pairs with smart power meters and other energy monitoring devices to help users better understand consumption habits and ultimately reduce costs. That project will get the boot from Mountain View on September 16th, but you'll be able to log in to your account to download a CSV file. We imagine Health and PowerMeter are already plotting their trip down south, to get in a few thousand rounds of golf with Video Store at Pebble Beach. Perhaps to be joined by Buzz and Wave, in the not-so-distant future?
Google closing down Video Store
Welp, that didn't take too long. Around 1.5 years after it was first announced, Google has decided to "shut down its premium video service." Nevertheless, the most intriguing aspect of the whole shebang is that customers who purchased DRM-laden files will reportedly no longer be able to view them once the Video Store closes up shop, and rather than refunding customers with, you know, real money, it sounds like Google plans to offer "fixed credit on the firm's online payment system, Google Checkout, instead." Interestingly, another report noted that the search giant would "provide refunds or online shopping vouchers for previously purchased videos that won't be viewable," so it looks like the final verdict remains to be seen.[Via BBC, thanks Steffen]
