Technology news in brief

— Google testing entertainment device

Google Inc., owner of the world’s largest search engine, is developing an entertainment device that will use wireless home networks, according to a recent filing at the Federal Communications Commission.

The company will carry out the testing in Mountain View, Calif., the city where Google is based, along with three other cities, according to the filing. Google’s testing of 252 devices was scheduled to begin in January and will continue to July.

“Google is developing an entertainment device that requires testing outside the laboratory environment,” according to the filing. “The device is in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing.”

Google is weighing a deeper push into consumer electronics as a way to lessen its dependence on search-related advertising for growth. The company expanded into mobile software with its Android operating system, which runs on smart phones and tablets. It unveiled an initiative in May called “Android Home” that lets Android applications “discover, connect and communicate” with devices in the home.

Google is also trying to broaden its horizons through the $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., a maker of handsets and set-top box devices that work with televisions. The deal has not yet closed.

Microsoft to preview Windows 8

Microsoft Corp. will unveil the first broadly available test version of the Windows 8 operating system on Feb. 29 in Barcelona, Spain, at a mobile industry show.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company sent invitations via e-mail for an event to show the test product, called the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Microsoft is relying on the newest version of Windows to make headway in the tablet computer market.

The two-hour session is to take place during the Mobile World Congress trade show.

Revenue from Windows software, which runs most of the world’s personal computers, has missed analysts’ estimates in four of the past five quarters, in part because some consumers are defecting from laptops with Windows to tablets like Apple Inc.’s iPad. Microsoft probably won’t be able to significantly change that trend until Windows 8 goes on sale, Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said in an interview last month.

The company has declined to say when Windows 8 will be officially released.

Climate agency to switch to iPhones

Research In Motion Ltd. was dealt another setback as the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it would supply employees with iPhones, the latest organization to drop the BlackBerry.

The agency, which leads research into weather, oceans and fisheries, will use BlackBerrys until May, and then introduce Apple Inc. iPhones and iPads, Joe Klimavicz, NOAA’s chief information officer, said last week. The Washington based agency has about 3,000 BlackBerrys issued among its 13,000 full-time employees and 7,000 contractors, he said.

Klimavicz said iPhones could be securely integrated into the agency’s information systems for cheaper than the current BlackBerry server that NOAA pays for.

The shift comes days after Halliburton Co., the world’s second-largest oil field services provider, said it will phase out 4,500 BlackBerrys and switch to the iPhone because the Apple device does a better job of supporting internal company applications. RIM’s share of the global smart-phone market slid to 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter from 14 percent a year earlier, while Apple’s share rose to 24 percent from 16 percent in the same period, according to research firm IDC.

Marisa Conway, a spokesman for Waterloo, Ontario based RIM, didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

Google pulls content on India domain

Google Inc. has removed content from its India domains that was deemed objectionable by a New Delhi district court after a civil lawsuit against the owner of the world’s largest search engine.

The material was blocked from India search results, YouTube, Blogger and the social-networking site Orkut, said Gaurav Bhaskar, a spokesman for Google India. The content was deleted from domains .in and .co.in, while remaining accessible from other countries, Bhaskar said last week.

Google can’t take down content that appears on websites owned by other companies and individuals, he said.

India is stepping up scrutiny of Internet postings and mobile communications as it tries to eliminate provocative comments and curb discord between religious groups.

The Hindu-majority South Asian country is home to more than 138 million Muslims, making up about 13 percent of the world’s second-most populous country.

“This step is in accordance with Google’s long-standing policy of responding to court orders,” the company said in an e-mailed statement last week.

The statement didn’t provide details about the lawsuit or the content that was removed, and Bhaskar didn’t elaborate.

The order follows a civil complaint filed by an Indian activist who seeks the removal of videos and images that could be seen as offensive to Muslims.

Business, Pages 20 on 02/13/2012

Upcoming Events