So, like, you might assume that interviewer Hank Plante would ask about this mysterious absense from all his official events, and his unannounced, Mark Sanford-style trip to Hawaii. But Newsom just wants to grin and laugh the soulless laugh of a cornered Scientologist, and talk about the budget deficit. It is a terrible, terrible interview, with the rictus smile and the mirthless laughter. And it ends with Newsom removing his mic and bitching, off the record, about how mean it is of journalists to ask what the hell is up with him.

And then the Wall Street Journal reported that Newsom was going to quit politics and go back to his winery. Newsom called the reporter to deny it, but there's no way in hell this guy's remaining in office until 2012.

Unlike Paypal, Google Checkout never holds onto your money. It's linked to your credit card, not your bank account. For privacy, your full credit card number is never fully disclosed to the merchant.

So what happens if a store messes up your order and you want to do a chargeback? Will Google still be there for you?

Google's Michael Kirkland answers our questions, inside...

CONSUMERIST: Since Google Checkout appears to act as a of transparent middle-man between Consumer and Merchant, what are the policies that Google has in place to help the consumer mediate transaction disputes? Although Google Checkout has a mediation procedure, your FAQ says it's non-binding.

GOOGLE: With Checkout, we're trying to create a safe and convenient experience for both buyers and sellers. Buyers will always have their chargeback rights to fall back on in a dispute, but Google's mediation procedures are designed to bring both parties together before it comes to that. In our experience, nearly all disputes can be resolved if the buyer and the merchant have an opportunity to talk things out.

CONSUMERIST: Can a customer call a Merchant directly and ask for a refund on purchases made through Google Checkout?

GOOGLE: All Google Checkout merchants can process refunds for purchases made through Checkout. Just contact the merchant, let them know the purchase was made through Google Checkout, and they will be able to process the refund.

CONSUMERIST: Google Checkout says Merchants only receive Consumers last four digits of the credit card. Will this affect the Merchant's ability to resolve disputes?

GOOGLE: One of the ways Google protects shoppers is by sharing only the last four digits of their credit card number with the merchant. This does not, however, affect the merchant's ability to provide customer support or to resolve disputes.

CONSUMERIST: If a transaction dispute is unresolvable, will Consumers still be able to issue chargebacks, where they call their financial institution and instruct them to send the charges back to the merchant?

GOOGLE: The first thing you should do if something goes wrong with a transaction is contact the merchant. If the merchant isn't responsive or the dispute cannot be resolved, then you can contact Google for help. (More details on Google's mediation process can be found here: http://checkout.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=29070&query=non-binding&topic=&type=.)
If the issue still can't be resolved to your satisfaction, then you still have the safety net of your chargeback rights to fall back on. When a chargeback is issued, Google receives it and shares the detailed information with Checkout merchant. Merchants are then required to follow card association (Visa, MasterCard, etc) rules to formally resolve the dispute.

CONSUMERIST: Consumers want Google Checkout to protect their transactions. Is Google Checkout simply a more transparent overlay to online e-commerce, or will it go to bat for them?

GOOGLE: The user experience is core to what we do here at Google, and Checkout is intended to make that experience positive and safe for both buyers and merchants. On the buyer side, we work to make sure we partner with responsible merchants who adhere to specific best practices — like agreeing not to sell or rent buyer information and keeping tracking numbers for all shipments — and we reserve the right to suspend merchant accounts if they fail to do so. And if there are disputes, we'll work with buyers and merchants to resolve them. On the merchant side, we offer advanced fraud protection and a payment guarantee policy that protects merchants from unwarranted chargebacks. By offering these protections, we're trying to make the ecosystem more efficient and more secure for everyone.

— BEN POPKEN

Valleywag: Wanna do an exit interview?

Niall: Want to do it now, before I have Vietnamese noodles?

Wag: Yes.
You left Microsoft after starting in April. You say in your blog that your ability to, well, DO anything was frozen soon after you arrived. Is there any way you could have foreseen that?

Niall: Not really. Everything looked pretty good as I joined. Brand new initiative with Windows Live, the sleeping giant waking up and ready to define a few new spaces on the Internet. In the case of the feed syndication platform, it was a chance for Microsoft to establish a market leader position where many other Live properties such as Search and AdCenter were playing catch-up.

Wag: Were you part of a larger movement of hires for the Live division? How long had your team been at Microsoft?

The answer to that and more, after the jump.

Niall: When I joined my team was newly formed. My group unit manager rejoined the company in March after having left the company for a few years to work with a startup.

My group was part of a larger movement for defining new products within the Live division — I was part of Live platforms, powering multiple webapps at once — and part of the creation of new groups and products includes staffing those efforts, yes.

Wag: Microsoft seems friendly toward people returning after leaving for their own startups. I've seen a few people leave for other companies and return with no problem. Do you see yourself ever doing that?

Niall: Not really, but perhaps if the company was split up first and there was some new project I was excited about that could only be done at a company such as Microsoft.

Wag: Split up?

Niall: Splitting the company into desktop, server, online, and possibly gaming divisions. It's just too big.

Wag: Is that likely to happen?

Niall: I'm not sure. it was certainly the direction the DOJ and European Union have explored in the past

Wag: A quick question about your future ventures before you go. You said you have some startup ideas, but you can't share much while your contract with Microsoft is still winding down. Any little hint?

Are pastel boxes with rounded corners involved? Will you present at a Stirr Mixer by the year's end?

Niall: I suck at visual design. I'll have lots of outside input on that one. Although VRML in Ajax does look tempting, I'll be doing something new.

Anything else before I go eat some Vietnamese noodles?

Not one to deny a man his lunch, I let Niall go.

Leaving Microsoft [Niall Kennedy's weblog; photo by Scott Beale]