Google Base has added a payment feature which could make it eBay’s next competitor. The post Google Base blog states that Google is planning to add a payment feature into Google Base which would make it easier for people to purchase items on Google Base.

It stated that the steps to setting up an account are very similar to the process of purchasing videos from Google Video. A form is filled in with your credit card information that is linked to your account. The image on the right shows a part of that form.

This means that buyers can now easily buy the things they see on Google Base. Sellers will be able to stipulate what payment they would like to receive for the item being sold. As of now, only a few sellers have this payment function working for them. Over the months ahead Google expects to allow all sellers to have this functionality.

Google has made a very interesting move. I would expect that if Google Base does become big, eBay could take a hit. It will be interesting to watch how Google Base will evolve and how eBay reacts to the new competition.

Junk e-mail is such a pain in the bum. As a webmaster we usually put our e-mails out on sites and sometimes these can receive a lot of junk e-mail. Now, there are many ways to solve this problem, but China has taken a very tough approach.

China will soon be putting a new law into place whereby it would make mailing someone for the purpose of advertising against the law and would have these e-mails labeled as:”AD” or “advertisement”. China has 111 million Internet users and a survey done in China claims that 60% of e-mail received by the average person is junk mail.

China has been recently in the news with its release of Google in China. China agreed to allow Google to run in China if they agreed to its censoring practices.

Read more…

Are you one of those people that just can’t get enough of commercials? Well, Google video has the ticket for you. You can now pay to watch your favorite commercial over and over. No this isn’t the cool commercials that we rushed to our computers to view online after the superbowl, these are “Vintage” commercials.
Read on …

A questionable patent has been granted to design company Balthaser covering design and creation of rich-media services.
“The present invention relates to the method of providing users with the ability to create rich-media applications via the Internet.”

This patent is giving Microsoft, Adobe, Google, Yahoo and countless others a lot of opportunity to fight for their rights, or should I say, it demands some serious responses and challenges.

Let’s also remember that the patent has been filed on Feb. 9, 2001.
Could it be that the process of patenting web based applications has simply become too slow for our day and age?
Read more …

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Many webmaster’s know that when you register a domain name that contains a trademark one could get sued. And many widely avoid the murky and rough waters that come with such a decision. For example, the owner of googlesearchengine.com could face legal action from Google, because it directly relates to Google’s business, but also uses a term that is trademarked (Google).

It was very interesting to hear the story of Paul Dell. Who is he? He is not related to or an employee of Dell Corperation in any way. He is a web designer who started dellwebsites.com to showcase his web design portfolio. Now Dell (the company) is seeking damages from Paul Dell and has sued him.

At what cost? It isn’t cheap. Dell America wants $119 120 US (100 000 euros), Dell France is seeking $59 560 US (50 000 euros) and $595.6 (500 euros) for each mention of the word “Dell” on his website. Apparently, this isn’t a new story. Dell Corperation tried to stop him back in 2002 but failed once they realized that he wasn’t giving in to their demands. He is now looking for any donations that will help him in this legal battle.

I think this case is an odd one. Dell has trademarked that term, but could they honestly argue that Paul Dell caused them to lose money on their computer sales because he made money designing websites for people? Secondly, that term is part of his name. Would anything change if he registered pauldellwebsites.com instead? It would be argued that the trademarked term is in the domain name and so shouldn’t be used. And in most cases this would occur. So does a name go above a trademark? For example would a man with the last name “Nike” (just humour me here) couldn’t open up a store called, “Nike’s Shoes” or sell a line of “Nike’s Shoes”.

Unfortunately, the website in question didn’t use a disclaimer telling visitors that they weren’t affiliated with Dell Corperation. They also opened up after Dell.com came into being and got the term “Dell” trademarked. So, let this be a lesson to all webmasters. For those who don’t know, registering a domain name with a trademarked term or phrase could cost you big bucks fromg lawsuits further down the road.

It will be interesting to see if David can beat Goliath in this rare situation, but I think Goliath might have the legality of the situation on his side.

Get the news story here.

Pew Internet recently released a report indicating that on any given day, there are approximately 40 million American internet users hanging out on the Web for fun and to pass time. Yes, folks, we are talking about 40 plus trailing 6 zeros.

Wait, there is more good news. The same survey was done in November 2004 and the number stood at 25 million. Now, compare that to the 40 million for December 2005 and you will realise that a 60% jump has happened over a one year duration.

The increase in number of internet users hanging out on the web is largely attributed to higher broadband penetration and larger amount of applications and contents.

Here’s some analysis from Pew Internet: Read on …

I know you all love to indulge in a little Microsoft bashing. But for those of you who have been a little curious of what new powers a visit to the other side might add to your programming prowess, Microsoft has created a little enticement. And in true used car salesman style it is “For a limited Time Only”.
Read on …

A couple of days ago I bought an issue of Time Magazine with an exclusive story on Google called, Can We Trust Google with Our Secrets. The article goes in detail on the behind the scenes of the Google empire and the exuberant owners, discussing the future and possible let downs of the large web empire.

Some of the nice points that the article brought up about Google’s present situation and near future included an apprehensive feeling of their dependence on a primarily one dimensional revenue stream, AdSense, and it’s presumably volatile nature. Another point that was brought up was the apparently nonexistent coherent plan of the projects that are being released and promoted, which I really disagree with except for the whole Google Earth thing but I could see that also being incorporated in as some sort of navigation service provider maybe with some simple search functionalities. But the best point I believe they made, was that Google investors themselves believe that the stock is overvalued, which is directly responsible for the somewhat slow decline of the once $500 plus share.

The exclusive article also discusses the up and coming of Google from their rented garage space in Menlo Park, California in 1998 to their current billion dollar empire and their more then pampered “work” headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Other than all the cool insight into Google, what I enjoyed most was this cool picture of Google’s whiteboard, covered with plans for world dominations; everything from “AdSense for Sheep” to a “Killer Robot Research Center” in the middle of the Atlantic. Not to mention a giant mirror to reflect sunlight to the dark side of the earth to keep people up at night so they can use Google more, and to “imprison Bill Gates in 2-D parallel universe” – kind of ironic considering their motto; “Don’t be evil.”

I would strongly recommend getting this article it is a great read, informative and entertaining, in the mean time enjoy reading the white board (full size).

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