Gawker: valleywag, germany

Germans urge Californian independence with Cebit invitation

Jackson West — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:20:00 EDT

As a born Californio who proudly packs my "U.S. out of California" tee from Mule Design whenever I leave the state, it comes as no surprise that Cebit conference organizers have, for the first time, selected a state instead of a nation as a partner in the world's largest information technology conference and trade show. Like many Americans, I could use a few euros and some free healthcare right about now. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped by Intel yesterday to promote the relationship with his deutsche sprechen comrades. And while the conference is held in Hanover, I recommend stopping by Berlin, which I hear is cheap, kinky and open for business. The state and conference are even offering financial assistance for first-time attendees. California uber alles, indeed.

German government tells citizens not to use Google Chrome

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security says that Google's new browser Chrome "should not be used for surfing the Internet." The problem, according to a translation from Blogoscoped, is that joined with email and search, Chrome gives Google too much data about its users. The government also said Chrome should be avoided because its still in beta. Here's the real deal, though: Germans hate Google because like Microsoft with Windows and Apple with iTunes, its a big American company that's so popular it seems like a monopoly. For those keeping score at home — or trying to use the Web in Germany — that rules out Chrome, Apple's Safari, Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox because it runs on Google money. What's left? The Opera browser, conveniently built in Europe.

Interview with Konrad Zuse, inventor of first functional computer

Jackson West — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:20:00 EDT

In the 1930s, Konrad Zuse, a German scientist, invented the first functional computing device, an electromechanical beast that used relays as logic gates. In this interview from The Machine That Changed the World, a 1992 documentary digitized and posted by Upcoming founder Andy Baio at Waxy.org, Zuse spoke about his role in history.

"You could say I was too lazy to calculate, so I invented the computer." The whole documentary is a lot of fun to watch — famed British thespian David Jacobi even makes an appearance in a dramatization as the legendary Alan Turing. Zuse and Turing were on opposite sides of World War II, with Zuse's machine mostly used to crunch numbers for the Nazis' rocket projects. Helping to keep track of the undesirables intended for slaughter in the concentration camps? That was IBM's job.

Private phone snooping now big in Germany

Jackson West — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Deutsche Telekom, the dominant telephone and communications provider in Germany, has been caught using private phone records in a scandal reminiscent of Hewlett-Packard's industrial espionage. During a spell of layoffs in 2005 and 2006, the company hired a data-mining firm to scan the records of supervisory board members in the hopes of matching the numbers to those of journalists as it looked for the source of leaks about the company's downsizing. New CEO René: Obermann wasn't there at the time, but is stuck cleaning up the mess. [NY Times] (Photo by AP/Frank Augstein)

German police struggle to tap Skype calls

Jordan Golson — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:06:56 EST

Joerg Ziercke, president of Germany's Federal Police Office, told reporters that Skype "creates grave difficulties for us" because of its strong encryption. A traditional land-line phone can be tapped very easily, as can a cell phone — but voice-over-IP calls are routed over countless paths across the Internet, making them difficult to intercept. Ziercke said they were not asking eBay to leave "back doors open" to Skype for law-enforcement authorities. Of course, it's likely the National Security Agency has already done that and passes along any significant intercepted calls to U.S. allies. The other theory? That this is merely a headfake to criminals. If the Polizei does have Skype wiretapping abilities, they'll want to encourage evildoers to speak freely. That's it: I'm switching my secret communications back to smoke signals.

It's Official: BMW Gets Google Local Search And It's Available Now...In Germany

Ray Wert — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:58:28 EDT

It's official, there's a press release and everything. As part of their "ConnectedDrive" theory on in-car information systems, BMW is now the first auto manufacturer to offer Google local search straight from the in-dash nav system. You can look for Yellow Pages-type information like names and addresses of restaurants, hotels — locate service stations, banks, supermarkets, cinemas and Apple genius bars — and all of it right from your car. One catch — you've got to be in Germany. Well, it's a start and hopefully it's a preview of what we'll be able to see here stateside. This isn't the first pair-up between the two companies — Google and BMW had been offering the "Send to Car" function for a while now — that's the system that let's you transfer search results from the Google Maps website directly to the car. This new Google local search system now gives you access to the Internet from the car. Full release after the jump.

World first
BMW is the only automobile manufacturer to offer the Google local search in the car - available now. For the first time, you can use this search function to look for local information everywhere in Germany with the world's most famous online search engine. When you find what you want, the details are transferred to the navigation system and car phone at the touch of a button. The system identifies the location and destination of the vehicle automatically and displays the results in the vicinity with details of address, phone number and distance. For example, you can look for Yellow Pages information like names and addresses of restaurants and hotels and locate service stations, banks, supermarkets, cinemas and public bodies. In a nutshell: The automobile Google local search service saves time and stops your nerves getting frayed.

Google local search in the vehicle is a logical development of the intelligent link between automobile and Internet. Google and BMW have been offering the function "Send to Car" for transferring search results from the Google Maps website directly to the car for some time. Google local search now gives access to the Internet from the car. This is another building block in BMW "ConnectedDrive" which combines all individual online, assistance and service systems in the car. Apart from BMW Online, this includes BMW Assist, which offers the emergency call function, as well as an information and breakdown service and the latest traffic information. Depending on the navigation system selected, all services from BMW ConnectedDrive can be procured and used free of charge for up to three years.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Tim Faulkner — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:25:54 EDT

Look familiar? Frazr, a new German blogging service, is a complete rip-off of Twitter, right down to the design and pitch, as Venture Beat notes. "What are you doing?" Frazr asks. I've heard that question before. Foreign clones of US internet concepts are nothing new, but their nimbleness is.

Ricardo, one of the most obvious followers of Ebay, launched its online auctions company four years after Pierre Omidyar's original. Twitter's emulators, Germany's shameless Samwer brothers, took only eight months. Blame globalization, and international access to news sites such as Techcrunch.

Twitter's Evan Williams may have every right to be angry, but he should be flattered, too, by the imitation. Pirates, whether they're replicating Hollywood movies, or internet startups, only pick the big hits. Ebay, despite annoying foreign copies, dominates the online auctions business; and the concept the Samwer brothers last stole, Facebook, isn't doing badly, either.