Warum der Google Reader vom Netz geht

Mit dem Google Reader stellt der Suchmaschinen-Monopolist aus Mountain View einen seiner klassischen Services in diesem Sommer ein und hat dafuer auch ganz rationale Gruende. Gegenueber All Things D packte ein Insider aus und nannte die Beweggruende fuer Googles Entscheidung, den Reader nicht mehr fortzufuehren.

Ich weiss ehrlich gar nicht mehr wie lange ich den Google Reader bereits nutze, aber wenn ich mal wieder meine RSS-Abos aufraeume und dort Blogs und Seiten drin finde, die schon gar nicht mehr existieren, dann muss es wohl eine halbe Ewigkeit sein.
Mit kleinen Unterbrechungen (2009 habe ich mal versucht ein halbes Jahr lang nur Twitter als Nachrichtenquelle zu verwenden) war der Google Reader der von mir am haeufigsten genutzte Service im Web. Der Reader war einfach immer irgendwo in einem meiner offenen Browsertabs zu finden und das wird wohl schon seine Gruende gehabt haben.
Jetzt will Google dem Reader also den Saft abdrehen, was nach Angaben von All Things D vor allen Dingen einen mehr als profanen Grund hat: Google Reader erzielt keine Umsaetze! Wenn wir mal ehrlich sind brauchte es fuer diese Aussage nicht wirklich einen  Insider wie Nick Baum (einer der ersten Produktmanager fuer den Reader), der dann auch noch nachlegt und orakelt, dass der Reader bei einer Nutzerzahl von 100 Millionen sicherlich nicht sein oeffentliches Begraebnis erfahren wuerde…
Da wird wohl auch keine Online Petition mehr helfen, die Nummer ist durch.und es heisst sich nach Google Reader Alternativen umzusehen, denn so einfach verkaufen kann man den Service auch nicht. Dazu ist der Reader viel zu stark mit weiteren Google Services verknuepft.
P.S. Was sind eigentlich eure Alternativen zum Google Reader? Ich setze wohl wieder voll auf Feedly

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Google is Losing Top Talent; Twitter is Growing It

Quick, think of a major tech company where top talent has been heading for the exits over the last year or more. Time's up.

Chances are you thought of Yahoo, right? Well, you're not wrong. Add up all the executives who arrived and those who left the troubled search and media site in 2012 so far -- those notable enough to make it into the tech news -- and you get minus 11.

But here's the surprising thing: Google's brain drain number is exactly the same, minus 11. There's one executive who features in both counts, of course. Tipping the scales here: Marissa Mayer, former Googler and new Yahoo CEO.

keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the high Tech Road Show Blog inventions of today.

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"Google TV" Televisions Blu Ray and PVR

Web TV how it should be, from the masters of search

http://www.google.com/tv

Logitech, the only company that's currently selling the Google TV, has cut the price of the device by more than half following disappointing sales.

Originally launched at $300 last October, now the "Revue" Google TV can be yours for just $99. This is not a response in preparation to launch a new Google TV, reports the FT, as all Revue boxes will be eligible for upgrades when a new version of the software is launched at the end of the summer. At this point, all existing customers will receive an upgrade.

Logitech has said the price cut is intended to boost product uptake, but the group admitted that in spite of a price cut to $250 back in May, demand failed to materialise. It now seems stronger measures are needed. The new price puts the Google TV at the same level as the Apple TV, which has fewer functions. The Google product gives you a wireless keyboard, allows web browsing and lets you stream content from computers located around the house.

The upgraded version of the Revue, due at the end of the summer, will be built on Android 3.1. It will offer a simplified user experience and access to the Android Market - two elements for which Google has received criticism.

UK consumers cannot yet buy the Google TV, but the progress of the technology is of interest as it affects how soon we can expect an international launch. The initial launch of the Apple TV many years ago proved the world was not yet ready for what was in essence a good idea, and from the first stumbles of the Google TV it could seem not much has changed.

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Google launches an online database of Android phones

If you’re in the market for an Android phone, but find the sheer number of devices, carriers, and plans overwhelming, then you’re not alone. Android has exploded, and there are more smartphones available now than ever before. So, what can you do?

Google have heard your cries, and have now launched their Google Phone Gallery, which offers a near-complete list of all the Android devices available to you. Best of all (at least for me as an Australian) is that it also covers carriers outside of the US.

The phones can be ordered alphabetically or by release date, and you can compare prices and specs between different carriers and phones.

The gallery only lists phones that have Google services installed (Market, GMail, Maps, Search), and doesn’t currently show any tablets.

If you’re keen to check it out, you can follow the link above, or else go directly to the URL atwww.google.com/phone.

[via Android and Me]

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Google to Launch Google Games with “FarmVille”-Maker Zynga [RUMOR]

Image via Wikipedia

Google is reportedly partnering with FarmVille and Mafia Wars game-maker Zynga to launch a hub where you’ll be able to play social online games. The source of the rumor is the tech blog TechCrunch, which claims to have confirmed the story with multiple sources. The search giant has allegedly invested between 100 and 200 million dollars in the massive game company, which already sits with Google () in the small club of web companies that are valued at much more than $1 billion.

Details on the new portal (which TechCrunch calls “Google Games”) are few and far between. The best hints you’ll find are in a job posting for position at the top of Google’s Games division. The “Project Management Leader, Games” would develop a “games commerce product strategy” through both partnerships and in-house projects of one kind or another. The job posting also specifies that both web-based and mobile games are part of the plan.

We’ve contacted both Google and Zynga seeking more details about the deal and what to expect from both companies in the future.

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The Lingering Question: What’s In It For You?

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MySpace (), Facebook () and Yahoo () also host Zynga games, so any web game player is going to wonder what Google will offer that they can’t already get at the company’s three big competitors. We don’t know yet and to be frank, Google is very late to the game — excuse the pun!

The term “games commerce product” would seem to imply that Google is considering making money not just through ads but through microtransactions — small purchases of virtual goods made within games. Those are common in today’s web-based games, Zynga’s titles included.

Google’s partnership with Zynga might involve Google Checkout, a PayPal-like online transactions tool that was launched four years ago. You might recall that Zynga and Facebook announced a similar deal that expanded the use of Facebook’s own microtransactions system, called Facebook Credits.

Rumor has it that Google is also planning another user profiles push to challenge Facebook, and popular online games could help drive adoption of that network, so it’s easy to see why Google is interested in entering this space. However, none of this explains why we’ll want to play at Google’s portal instead of Facebook’s.

We’ll just have to wait to find out how Google plans to woo online gamers. Do you have any guesses? Let us know in the comments.

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