Google Intros Refreshed Email App For iPad

Google has rolled out a new version of its browser-based Gmail product for the Apple iPad.


One of the best applications available for the Apple iPad isn't made by Apple. It's made by Google. I'm talking about the version of Gmail that Google has cooked up for the iPad's Safari browser. It has lots of baked in HTML5 goodness, and is nearly as powerful as the full Web version of the application. Today it got a little bit better.
This isn't the huge leap forward, but the Safari version of Gmail now has an improved email composition screen. Before today, the email composition screen was split between the inbox and compose view. (See the difference here.) It worked, but it was a little bit cramped. Now, a new window appears letting users compose emails in a much bigger screen with more text visible.
Google also says it made some minor bug fixes, including a truly annoying bug that prevented scrolling up and down in longer email messages. They now scroll up and down without a hiccup. Google says the changes are only available for the English version of Gmail in Safari.
These are nice and appreciated changes, but I am waiting for Google to pay attention to the mobile version of Google Docs. Google Docs users are still unable to edit Google Docs from the browser of the iPad. Where's the HTML5 love for Google Docs? This is a serious drawback and one I am hoping Google is able/willing to correct in the short term.

Come to think of it, Google Calendar could use a little help, too. It wants to default to the mobile version when used on the iPad. The mobile version works, but isn't as full-featured as the normal desktop version. The desktop version has obviously not been optimized for touch, and can be flighty. These are three services (Gmail, Calendar, Docs) that Google pitches to the enterprise, so I am little surprised that Google hasn't ramped up efforts to improve them sooner.

How about it, Google?
Source Taken From: Google

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Connecticut AG Investigating Google WiFi Incident

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said on Monday that his office will helm an investigation into the unauthorized collection of wireless network traffic by Google's Street View cars on behalf of an undisclosed number of states.
"My office will lead a multistate investigation -- expected to involve a significant number of states -- into Google's deeply disturbing invasion of personal privacy," Blumenthal said in a statement. "Street View cannot mean Complete View -- invading home and business computer networks and vacuuming up personal information and communications."
Over 30 states participated in a conference call about the status of Connecticut's investigation, but it's not immediately clear how many of those will participate in Blumenthal's inquiry.
Last month, Google revealed that it had inadvertently included experimental code that gathered unprotected WiFi network traffic in the software it used to capture images for its Street View service. The disclosure, which Google executives have apologized for and acknowledged as a screw-up, has prompted multiple lawsuits and Congressional scrutiny in the U.S. and widespread indignation in Europe.

Google has gathered Street View images in over 30 countries. Some countries have asked Google to delete the WiFi data it gathered while taking pictures; other countries have asked Google to retain the WiFi data to facilitate investigations.
Acknowledging its error, Google nonetheless maintains that it broke no U.S. laws. "It was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we didn't break any U.S. laws," said a company spokesperson in an e-mailed statement. "We’re working with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns."
The statement by Blumenthal appears to anticipate the possibility that Google may not have violated any laws. "Our investigation will consider whether laws may have been broken and whether changes to state and federal statutes may be necessary," he said.
Last week, the French National Commission on Computing and Liberty (CNIL) released the findings of its Google Street View investigation in France. The group found that Google had captured e-mail account passwords as it grabbed data from unprotected WiFi networks.
A Google-translated version of CNIL's statement about its finding claims that Google "posted excerpts of content of electronic messages," but a Google spokesperson said this appears to be a bad translation because Google has not posted any captured e-mail content.

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China Strikes Back At Google

Google had characterized the Chinese government's Internet restrictions as a trade barrier.


Proxies for the Chinese government are criticizing Google's efforts to characterize China's Internet restrictions as a trade barrier.
The public rhetoric is China's first reaction to Google's move earlier in June to enlist the help of American and European governments to urge the communist nation to lift Internet censorship restrictions, saying such rules violate China's obligations under the World Trade Organization.
"Censorship, in addition to being a human rights problem, is a trade barrier. If you look at what China does -- the censorship, of course, is for political purposes but it is also used as a way of keeping multinational companies disadvantaged in the market," said Google's chief legal officer David Drummond during a press conference earlier this month that set up the confrontation.
Over the weekend, leading Internet and trade experts in China fired back.

"China's Internet administration is not a system of trade policies; it is domestic policies formulated based on China's domestic laws and regulations. Even the WTO cannot intervene in this regard," said Tu Xinquan, VP of the WTO Research Center at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics, in an interview with state-run media Xinhua, long considered a key mouthpiece of the Communist Party leadership.
The paper also said "China's Internet administration treated domestic and foreign Internet companies equally and without discrimination, so Google's objective would fail under the WTO's anti-discrimination rules."
Other experts lined up to say China has the right to restrict Internet content that threatened state power and national unity, infringed on national "honor" and interests, or incited ethnic hatred and secession, as well as pornography and terrorism.
"Unfettered Internet freedom does not exist in any country," said Hu Yanping, general manager of the privately run data center of China Internet Research Institute.
Google's much publicized fight with Chinese government officials over censorship led to the company shutting down its local search engine and rerouting all requests to Hong Kong, which is uncensored. The company still maintains offices in Beijing, but it's under increasing pressure as the non-search parts of its business, such as Google Maps, find it harder to do business in China and may not have their business licenses renewed.
Attend an InformationWeek virtual event on creating and leveraging the private cloud and how that could affect your business' most critical systems and information. It happens June 23.


Source Taken From: InformationWeek

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France Continues Infighting, Refuse To Train, Director Quits

A training ground argument between French captain Patrice Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne had to be broken up by manager Raymond Domenech. This was followed by the team's refusal to train and the resignation of team director Jean-Louis Valentin on Sunday. This comes a day after the revelation that striker Nicolas Anelka was being sent home early because of his profane words for Domenech and Evra's public assertion that they have a traitor in the team that must be eliminated. The French are in a full-blown meltdown now. Mayhem is upon them. 

Valentin's resignation quickly followed the astonishing training ground scene. From the AP:

“It’s a scandal for the French, for the young people here. It’s a scandal for the federation and the French team,” Valentin said. “They don’t want to train. It’s unacceptable.

“As for me, it’s over. I’m leaving the federation. I’m sickened and disgusted,” said Valentin, who walked away from the training field, got into a car and drove off.

After the argument between Evra and Duverne that ended with Duverne throwing his badges to the ground and walking off (UPDATE: France Football reports that the spat began with Evra accusing Duverne of being the traitor), the team boarded their bus (pictured above). Domenech then read a letter from Evra and the players to the press saying that they were boycotting training in support of Anelka, who reportedly announced his international retirement after his dismissal on Saturday. 

[Photos: See images of disgraced player Nicolas Anelka]

Simply put, this is madness. And there's surely more to come from this French squad as they still have one more group match (will they even play it?!). Wow. 

Here's video of the argument between Evra and Duverne:

And here's video that shows an overview of the entire bizarre attempt at a training session:

Photos: Reuters, Getty

Source Taken From: Yahoo News

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Man Shoots 4, Self In Calif. Fast Food Restaurant

LOS ANGELES – A gunman attacked his stepdaughter's family as they ate lunch at a California restaurant, killing her husband and 6-year-old son, wounding the woman and another child, and then fatally shooting himself.

Jimmy Schlager, 56, arrived at the Del Taco restaurant in San Bernardino on a bike at about 1 p.m. Saturday, walked over to a table and fired several shots at his 29-year-old stepdaughter, her 33-year-old husband, and their sons, ages 5 and 6, San Bernardino police Lt. Jarrod Burguan said.

"There was a very brief exchange of words, then he opened fire on them at near point-blank range," Burguan said.

The woman's husband was declared dead at the restaurant and the 6-year-old died at a hospital, San Bernardino Fire Department spokesman Steve Tracey said.

The woman and the 5-year-old boy were in critical condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center, Tracey said. The names of the victims were not released.

The woman's mother who was married to Schlager died several years ago, and investigators were trying to determine how well Schlager and his stepdaughter got along as police sought a motive for the shooting, Burguan said.

Police said between five and seven employees and several other customers were in the fast food restaurant, but the gunman clearly walked in seeking the four victims and no one else was injured.

Bullet holes marked the walls and glass covered the floor.

Owners of nearby businesses said horrified patrons streamed out of the restaurant after the shots were fired.

"I saw some people yelling and all of a sudden I heard 'boom, boom, boom, boom'," Jorge Garcia, who works at a recycling trailer in the same parking lot as the restaurant, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "I saw two employees run out of the employee door and then I saw eight or 10 people run out of the restaurant and across the street."

Schlager, who is from Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County, had an extensive criminal record dating back to 1972 that included assault with a deadly weapon and a restraining order taken out by a co-worker.

Despite living an hour's drive away, Schlager had many ties to San Bernardino and once lived just a few blocks from the restaurant, Burguan said.

Burguan said the attack on the family was one of the worst crime scenes he could remember in San Bernardino, a city of about 200,000 people some 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

"This was something else," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Jackie Quinn contributed to this report.

Source Taken From: Yahoo News

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Woods Makes Move, Johnson Takes Lead

Tiger Woods In Third At U.S. Open

Highlights from the third round at Pebble Beach

VIDEO PLAYLIST 

• Tiger Woods In Third At U.S. Open
• Woods Roaring Back
• Phil Mickelson Looking To Bounce Back

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Tiger Woods poured in one birdie after another, more than he had ever made in one round of the U.S. Open, each of them followed by cheers that could be heard down the Pacific coastline at Pebble Beach.

Dustin Johnson didn't realize they were for Woods. He played like he didn't care.

Johnson turned in a prime-time performance of his own Saturday in the U.S. Open, overpowering Pebble Beach and closing with two birdies for a 5-under 66 to build a three-shot lead over Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland.

More from the U.S. Open

There's plenty of things to look forward to and hope for entering Sunday's final round of the U.S. Open, writes ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski. Story

---

Tiger Woods showed he still has the talent and flair, but are other golfers still afraid? That's the story to watch Sunday, writes ESPN.com's Bob Harig. Story

"If I keep hitting like I've been hitting ... then I'm going to be tough to beat," Johnson said.

He usually is at Pebble Beach.

Johnson is the two-time defending champion at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and he looks just as tough when the conditions are fast and scary and a U.S. Open trophy is on the line.

All he lacks is the experience of 14 majors that Woods brings to the final round on Sunday.

Nine shots out of the lead after a pair of sloppy bogeys early in his round, Woods came to life by making the clutch putts and hitting the extraordinary shots that have been missing since he returned to competition two months ago.

Woods finally looked like the Woods of old, closing out his round with three straight birdies, none more Tiger-like than the par-5 18th. Blocked by a cypress tree from about 260 yards away with the ocean breeze in his face, Woods sent his 3-wood around the left side of the tree, out toward the Pacific and onto the green 15 feet from the pin for his eighth birdie of the round.

He shot a 66, his best score of the year, and his 31 on the back nine was eight shots better than the course average.

"It's been a while," Woods said. "I hadn't played good enough for anyone to cheer anything. So it was nice to actually put it together on the back nine and put myself right back in the championship."

U.S. Open Leaderboard

1. Johnson (-6)
2. McDowell (-3)
3. Woods (-1)
T-4. Els (E)
T-4. Havret (E)
• Scores

It was a brilliant display that gave him a shot at his 15th major championship and fourth U.S. Open, the second at Pebble.

Then along came Johnson, who made it more of a long shot for Woods with two final birdies that put him at 6-under 207, five shots clear of the world's No. 1 player.

In between them was McDowell, who struggled down the stretch, fell out of the lead on the 17th and finished with a 71. McDowell will play in the final group with Johnson, neither of them with experience contending in a major.

Ahead of them will be a familiar red shirt, with a game that is starting to look familiar, too.

"All the Opens that I've won, I've had one stretch of nine holes ... were you put it together," Woods said. "That's what most Open champions have done. And I did it today."

Johnson, who played a practice round with Woods on Monday, isn't the type to get flustered. Asked how he would feel on Sunday with a chance to win his first major, the 25-year-old from South Carolina smiled as if he knew he had a winning hand.

"I think I'm going to feel good," he said.

Woods has been raving about Johnson's power all week, having played the final round of the Memorial with him and the practice round on Monday, after which Woods called him "stupid long."

Johnson showed that Saturday.

The USGA moved the tees forward on No. 4 to make it play 284 yards up the hill and tempt players to try to drive the green. Johnson did just that -- with a 3-iron to four feet for an eagle. And on the 18th, the same hole where Woods hit 3-wood off the tee and 3-wood onto the green for the loudest cheer of the day, Johnson got there with a driver and a 6-iron.

"Length is an advantage a lot of places, but definitely here, especially if I'm hitting it in the fairway," Johnson said. "Because the ball is going a long way. I'm hitting it extra far."

Johnson, McDowell and Woods were the only three players who remained under par, whileErnie Els (72) and Gregory Havret of France (69) were at even-par 213.

Phil Mickelson stumbled at the start, nearly fell apart along the coastal holes when he had to play one shot right-handed, and had to scramble for par on the closing hole when his tee shot bounced off the rocks and rolled back down on the beach.

Mickelson, runner-up in the U.S. Open a record five times, wound up with a 73 and was seven shots out of the lead.

"I didn't hit it as well as I did yesterday, so I had to fight pretty hard to get some up-and-downs -- some ridiculous up-and-downs -- to keep it within striking distance," said Mickelson, who was at 1-over 214.

Mickelson normally would settle for 1-over par going into the last round of a U.S. Open. He just didn't expect Johnson, one of his regular practice partners, to surge so far ahead.

"But anything can happen on Sunday," Mickelson said. "And if you make a move, you can make up a lot of ground."

That's exactly what Woods did.

After bogeys on the second and third holes, he ran off birdies on the next three and made the turn in even par. Birdies on the 11th and 13th holes got him closer to the conversation, and the final three holes set off a series of cheers that could be heard from all corners of the peninsula.

He rolled in a 12-foot birdie from the 16th, then made the downhill 15-footer from the fringe of the 17th, raising his index finger in the air.

The old Tiger showed up on the 18th hole.

Blocked behind a pair of cypress trees and hitting into an ocean breeze, Woods hit a 3-wood toward the Pacific and urged it on toward the green. "C'mon! C'mon!" he screamed at it, and followed that with a "Yes!" when it stopped in easy two-putt birdie range.

"I was hitting shots like this every now and again," Woods said. "I would get into two-, three-hole stretches, but I haven't strung it out for more than that. And today, I did."

Even so, history is working against him.

Woods has never won any of his 14 majors when he wasn't at least tied for the lead going into the final round. He at least gave himself a chance. And while he won by a record 15 shots the last time the U.S. Open was played at Pebble Beach, in 2000, he rallied from a five-shot deficit earlier that year to win the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a tournament he no longer plays.

The USGA pushed back the starting times so the third round could be broadcast in prime time on the East Cost, just like two years ago at Torrey Pines. Woods delivered quite a show that day by turning a five-shot deficit into a one-shot lead.

Early Saturday, it looked like McDowell would be the one putting on a show.

He quickly built a four-shot lead with birdies on the opening two holes and looked unflappable until Johnson took over on No. 7 with a lob wedge within a foot for birdie. McDowell got the lead back with a birdie on the ninth, where Johnson missed a three-footer for par, and the two were tied on the 17th until McDowell missed the green and took bogey while Johnson was making birdie.

Another birdie to finish, and, just like that, Johnson was three shots ahead.

"He was awesome today," McDowell said. "He really just stood up and had no fear, hit the shots -- hit all the shots. He's going to go home and sleep on a three-shot lead, and we'll see how he feels tomorrow morning. If he turns up tomorrow like he did today, he's going to be tough to beat."

Source Taken From: ESPN


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