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The celebrated openness of the Internet -- network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic -- is quietly losing powerful defenders. Google Inc. has approached major cable and phone companies that carry Internet traffic with a proposal to create a fast lane for its own content, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Google has traditionally been one of the loudest advocates of equal network access for all content providers. At risk is a principle known as network neutrality: Cable and phone companies that operate the data pipelines are supposed to treat all traffic...

Google's CEO is *still* funding Obama, even after the election. What does he expect in return?

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In a speech Tuesday at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., Google CEO Eric Schmidt called for an innovation bailout, a bold government-funded effort to create jobs by rebooting America's energy infrastructure, and a reformation that restores trust in government by using technology to increase openness and civic participation. "This may be the toughest economic time that most of us will face in our lifetimes," said Schmidt, who also serves as chairman of the board for the New America Foundation and as a member of President-elect Barack Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board. Nonetheless, Schmidt proclaimed his optimism. "I'm an...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Analysts who follow Google Inc. cut their estimates for the Internet giant's fourth-quarter financial results Wednesday, as the company's shares dipped below the $300 mark for the first time in more than three years

Google Inc. chief executive officer Eric Schmidt won’t take a technology post in President-elect Barack Obama’s cabinet, according to news reports. Reuters reported that Schmidt declined such a post. Obama said during his campaign for the presidency that he would create a cabinet post similar to a chief technology officer to advise on tech issues. Schmidt, a strong supporter of Obama, was seen by some watchers as likely to be tapped for that post. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is based in Mountain View, Calif. Last week, Obama picked Julius Genachowski, who has links to Ask.com parent IAC/InterActiveCorp and to New Resource...

Citing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s technological savvy and technology policies, Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt expressed his support for the Illinois senator yesterday at the Law School. Schmidt and Obama’s technology advisor Julius Genachowski made a stop in Charlottesville yesterday in an effort to garner support for the presidential candidate and his technology policies. The pair spoke on a wide variety of issues from income disparity to using the Internet as a means for civic engagement, but the primary focus was Obama’s technology policies.

This week is turning out pretty good for Barack Obama in terms of endorsements. First, Colin Powell. Next, Google. Well, actually, Google the search engine didn’t endorse Barack Obama. But Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, is going out on the stump for the Democratic nominee. No surprise His support shouldn’t come as any surprise to political observers. Schmidt has been an informal advisor to Obama for months and is an active supporter of Democratic candidates. The company itself remains neutral. “Eric is actively campaigning for Barack Obama because he believes that it is time for a change in America. In addition,...

As a long time employee at a very large software company, this news gave me more than pause. PEOPLE MUST know about the dangerous territory into which Obama will lead this nation. I can't imagine what I'd do if my company started working for the government. But it could happen, especially if the economy tanks to such an extent that only a deal with the devil will ensure survival AND especially since Obama plans to increasingly involve areas of the private sector in government, for government. So the main - but largely ignored - news is that Google's CEO, Eric...

Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt will hit the campaign trail this week on behalf of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, signaling Mr. Schmidt's push for a greater voice in politics while giving the Obama campaign a boost from a highly desirable constituency.

It’s bad enough that most media outlets are falling over silly for Obama, but now it seems Google has joined the fast moving train of Obama supporters. Initially, I didn’t believe the reports that the Obama campaign was intentionally shutting down blogs because these blogs were questioning the validity of Obama’s birth certificate. That was until I received an email from Dr. Mitchell Langbert last night, a blogger and Professor at Brooklyn College, who advised that Google had placed a temporary hold on future posts at his website.

NET NEUTRALITY (sic) "This is how poisonous it's gotten in Washington," says consulting lobbyist for a broadcast network. "You have Republicans taking money from companies and firms working to end their control of Congress, and even worse, working with outfits like MoveOn.org. And they are taking this money to not only help groups dedicated to defeating Republicans, but also for legislation that would regulate the Internet." The highest profile Republican among those the lobbyist is referring to is Vin Weber, former House member and close ally to both former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Americans for Tax Reform leader Grover...

BEIJING: China's Internet start-ups are primed to keep growing, nourished by plentiful capital and a huge pool of engineering talent, leaders of top U.S. Web companies said Tuesday. Top China executives from Google and Microsoft Corp. said Chinese Internet companies were undergoing the sort of development enjoyed by their U.S. rivals in the 1990s. "For many Chinese young people and young students, they have a very strong desire for innovation, for being successful, for starting their own businesses," Kai-Fu Lee, vice president of Google Inc. and president of Google Greater China, told participants in an industry conference in Beijing. While...

The fun thing about having lots of money is you can buy as many toys as you want. Over at Google it's a veritable playground. A company controlled by Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and CEO Eric Schmidt, with the strange name of H211 LLC, has an agreement to land four jets at Moffett Field, according to documents released to The New York Times after the paper filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Moffett Field, which is operated by NASA Ames Research Center, is very close to Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. So, in addition to the...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google Inc.’s stock price sailed past $600 for the first time Monday, extending a monthlong rally propelled by the lofty expectations surrounding the Internet search leader’s upcoming third-quarter earnings report. The Mountain View-based company’s shares traded as high as $610.26 before slipping back to $609.62, a gain of $15.57, or 2.6 percent. It marked the sixth time in the past 12 trading sessions that the stock has reached a new peak, indicating investors are confident Google’s third-quarter profit will be impressive. The results are scheduled to be released Oct. 18. The latest milestone served as yet...

Given that most of Google's $13 billion in revenue comes from clicks on ads, you would think the words "click fraud" would inspire fear in Shuman Ghosemajumder, the company's senior product manager and resident click-fraud czar. But the problem--publishers who inflate pay-per-click ad fees with automatic clicking software--doesn't fluster Ghosemajumder or other Googlers. In March 2006, as the company faced a class-action lawsuit from online advertisers for damages from fraudulent clicks, Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt dismissed click fraud as "immaterial." Even after paying a $90 million settlement, Google has maintained its "everything-is-just-fine" answer to click-fraud worrywarts. Not all outsiders...

SAN FRANCISCO: In the annals of perks enjoyed by American corporate executives, the founders of Google may have set a new standard: an un-crowded, federally-managed runway for their private jet that is as close as can be to being in the company's own backyard. It is a perk that is likely to turn other Silicon Valley tycoons green with envy, but one that may not sit well with a community that generally considers itself proud to have Google in its midst.

There's some buzz moving around the blogosphere that speculates on whether the left-leaning ideology behind one of the most popular search sites on the Internet may be tainting their ability to provide unbiased results through the Google News search engine and through the actual Google Web search. There's been speculation about this issue in the past, but it all started up again when the popular conservative blog Little Green Footballs claimed that it was booted due to its political content. With the Little Green Footballs blog, it turned out that there were actually some duplicate content issues at play, but...

When Dolly Parton speaks people listen. At least that's what opponents to an upcoming Federal Communications Commission vote on opening up "white space" spectrum hope. Earlier this week, country western star Dolly Parton sent a letter to the FCC asking the agency to delay its vote to open up the unused spectrum for unlicensed use. "As someone who uses the white spaces and knows the value of them for the work that I and many of my friends around the country, I ask the FCC to recognize the entertainment industry's valuable contribution to the cultural life," Parton wrote in her...

There is no better illustration of Google's corporate immorality and avarice for personal, private information than Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt's latest announcement about where he wants to take the company. He told journalists in London the company's goal is to maximize the personal information it holds on you. "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?'" I don't know about you, but I don't want any private or public entity to have that kind of private, personal information about me....

Excerpt - CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) -- Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday that Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt is joining its board, adding another well-known name to the list of high-profile directors who oversee the management of the company behind the iPod portable player and Macintosh computer. Schmidt has become a multibillionaire and emerged as one of high technology's best-known leaders since Google named him chief executive in 2002. He becomes the eighth member of Apple's board, which already consists of several prominent members. ~ snip ~

   

This story isn't over. Oh, sure, the predictable part is over: Google has apparently lifted its threatened yearlong boycott of all CNET news reporters after little more than two months, as Google CEO Eric Schmidt granted an interview last week to CNET News.com reporter Elinor Mills. She is the same writer who triggered the ruckus by Googling Schmidt and publishing the results - including Schmidt's approximate net worth, his recent sales of Google stock and a link to a document that included the executive's home address - to help illustrate a story about Google-related privacy issues. Google's public relations department...

Miffed after personal info disclosed, including CEO's support for Al Gore. Anyone who has used the popular search engine Google knows how easy it is to collect information on virtually any subject, but the company is apparently not happy about being "Googled" by a reporter getting information about a company executive. The search engine is now giving the silent treatment to CNET News, after an article featured facts about company CEO Eric Schmidt, facts that were gleaned from using Google. It started last month when CNET News reporter Elinor Mills used the search engine to find out data about Schmidt,...

Content 'unacceptable' despite search giant's 'Hate Bush' themes © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com A conservative book publisher says the search engine giant Google rejected his ad for a book critical of Bill and Hillary Clinton while continuing to accept anti-Bush themes. Eric Jackson, CEO of World Ahead, said his ads for "Their Lives: The Women Targeted by the Clinton Machine" were rejected, without futher explanation, due to "unacceptable content." Jackson says Google's online ad guidelines make no mention of political content being disallowed. He points out that while ads for the anti-Clinton book -- which featured images of the book's cover and...