Google's encrypted search, AdMob acquisition, and... socks

24/05/10 posted by Annie

Google is now offering the option to search over SSL, which means your search queries will be encrypted and protected from other people's prying eyes on the network. You can access this version of the search engine at https://www.google.com. It will have the same look and feel as the Google we know and love, and will bring the same search results. Users will be able to identify the encrypted version of Google by the small lock icon in Google's logo and in their browsers. Google already had encrypted versions of Gmail and Google Docs, making this new release beta version the obvious next step (particularly in the wake of Google's data-collection mishap). For now however, you won't be able to perform encrypted searches on images or maps. It's great to see that Google is working hard to restore people's faith in their services, and it might help people think twice about what and where they search on the internet.

Google's $750 million plan to acquire AdMob has finally been approved by the United States Federal Trade Commission, after six months of deliberation. The search giant trumped Apple with a superior bid for the advertising network company, and it seems that the years of competition between Google and AdMob were laid to rest as soon as it became apparent that Apple would also become a strong competitor in the mobile advertising market, with their March release of the iAd. Google's acquisition of AdMob heralds the expansion of turf which Google and Apple must now compete for.

More on Google: we told you about Google TV - but we didn't tell you about the socks! Yes, Google gave everyone leaving the keynote at Google I/O conference a free pair of Google TV socks. They also gave everyone in the audience an EVO 4G phone, making this Google's second "Oprah moment" since last year's conference giveaway of a HTC Magic (G2). But forget the phones for now, think about the ingenious socks. How better to curl up and watch some Google TV than with a pair of snuggly Google TV socks on your feet?