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Google will change this industry forever

Now that Google has officially announced that it will bid on the 700MHz spectrum, most of us are speculating about the possibilities. And while I have my own beliefs about where Google will go with the spectrum, I'm sure many of you have your own.

But regardless of where you stand on this issue, one thing remains certain: the future of the technology industry is currently being shaped by high-paid Google lawyers and accountants who are working out the details of this auction.

Simply put, we're on the precipice of something groundbreaking that will change this industry forever. Whether it will be good or bad is unknown, but regardless of the long-term effect, Google has its sights firmly planted on this 700MHz spectrum and if you ask me, we won't even know what hit us.… Read more

Googling clean energy: Green tech week in review

Google to enter clean-energy business. It's a search engine, it's a $700 stock, it's a clean energy investor. Google surprised many this week with plans to get into the renewable energy business. Skeptics and fans await results. Roundup.

Can baking soda curb global warming? A start-up in Texas says it can turn the carbon dioxide emitted by power plants into baking soda. CNET News.com.

Ethanol Craze Cools As Doubts Multiply. Corn-based ethanol is considered renewable energy but it continues to draw fire from environmentalists, locations that host refineries, and, increasingly, investors. The Wall Street Journal.

Cleaning … Read more

Google and a beginning to a new era of enterprise software innovation

The Wall Street Journal reports that Google will definitely be bidding for US wireless spectrum in January.

If it wins a wireless license, Google would be in a position to become a provider of mobile phone and Internet services, to partner with others interested in doing so or to lease the spectrum to them. The company has said it wants to make mobile networks more open, so that consumers can use any Internet service and application and move their handsets between carriers without onerous restrictions.

Let's hope it wins. I've been critical of Google in the past, but one thing is clear: Google is an innovative company that builds useful things. Google continues to push the envelope on what we can do with our computers and with our phones. Look around and count how many truly innovative companies there are among the big software and telco companies. Not many.

In fact, Google may be the first of the next generation of software companies.… Read more

3G iPhone coming in 2008 says AT&T

Bloomberg reports that AT&T will be giving the iPhone a real broadband connection in 2008. Randall Stephenson, AT&T's CEO, told a Churchill Club gathering. This may be due to improved battery life for the iPhone that Apple cites as the primary reason for keeping the iPhone on a 2.5G network for now.

"You'll have it next year," Stephenson said in response to a question about when the 3G iPhone would debut. He said he didn't know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs "will dictate what the price of the phone is,'' he said....… Read more

Google test lets you influence your search results

Update 10:45 a.m. PT with Google comment.

Google is experimenting with a new Web search interface that allows people to influence the results they get by indicating whether or not they like particular results.

According to a page of instructions for a test feature on Google Experimental Labs clicking on a blue up arrow icon to the right of the result will move the item to the top of the page. Clicking on an orange asterisk will mark the result so you can easily see it in the list. And clicking on a blue "X" icon … Read more

Google dangles open-source prizes at young coders

Hook 'em while they're young and impressionable.

Such is the general idea behind a contest Google announced Wednesday designed to get students who haven't yet begun college or university interested in open-source programming. Contest tasks will focus not just on programming, but also on documentation, research, outreach, quality assurance, training, translation, and user interface work, Google said.

Various open-source organizations, including the Apache Software Foundation, GNOME, Joomla, and Mono, are providing the tasks. "We hope that students who participate will be long-term contributors to these and other open source projects in the future," Google said in … Read more

Gspace, Gmail Drive, and those Gdrive rumors

The Gdrive, the mythical, hypothetical Google-provided and free Web-based storage drive, took a giant step toward reality earlier this week. As most of America waddled out of its tryptophan-induced haze on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the myth could become real within a few months.

However, you don't have to wait that long to get free storage from Google. Thanks to Gspace and Gmail Drive, you can start using your five-gigabyte-plus of Gmail storage as a virtual drive right now. This second, even.

Led Zeppelin landmarks on Google Maps

When old rockers go digital, they go all the way. Led Zeppelin was one of the longtime holdouts from iTunes and other digital music stores, but in 2007 they relented and released a greatest-hits collection, Mothership, simultaneously online and on CD. (A good business move: the physical album charted charted at #7, but the digital album came in at #2.) Since the album's Nov. 13 release, the band has also launched a new Web site, the coolest feature of which is a timeline with the setlist of every single Zeppelin concert. This Seattle show looks particularly astounding, with about … Read more

Nailing down the model for online video ads

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--What is the best way to make money with ads tied to online video? And how can traditional advertising models benefit from new methods pioneered online?

Those were major topics of discussion during the morning keynote today at the Dow Jones Consumer Technology Innovations conference here. And while panelists--representatives from Google, Verizon and Polaris Venture Partners--made some interesting points, they also made it quite clear that there are not yet obvious answers to the questions.

To Michael Hirshland, a general partner at Polaris, one encouraging developing trend is the continued emergence of what he termed "prosumer&… Read more