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Google and Apple collaborating?

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
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Elinor Mills

A posting in a forum for enthusiasts of Intel-based Macs suggests that Apple Computer and Google are collaborating on technology in secret. A Monday post by a user with the alias "Javester" purports to have uncovered evidence of a Google-Apple technology linkup hidden within iPhoto coding. The posting is fairly technical and includes screenshots.

"In the Localizable.strings file inside the iPhoto app bundle, we find several intriguing keys, including one called GPSMapURL which is preset to 'http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%f+%f'!" Javester writes. "The GPS fields in iPhoto is not exactly earth-shattering news. GPS EXIF info has been in iPhoto for a while now. But the inclusion of Google Maps and the hidden Show button certainly is. Hhhmmmm....so what is (sic) Apple and Google up to? Could geo-tagged pictures be just the tip of the iceberg?"

Spokespeople from Apple and Google were mum on the subject. "We have nothing to announce at this time," a Google spokeswoman said. "We don't comment on rumors and speculation," her counterpart at Apple said.