Google takes its advertising campaign overseas

Google is taking its currently US-only "Gone Google" advertising campaign overseas to countries including Britain, France, Canada, Japan, Australia and Singapore, as the company seeks to lure businesses away from traditional software to their cloud-based services.

Through the "Gone Google" campaign, the company tells the stories of corporate customers who have switched to Google Apps, meaning that they "no longer have to deal with the hassles of managing e-mail servers or rolling out software updates."

It represents a rare move by Google into the world of mass-market advertising; demonstrating the level of competition in the market to provide businesses with email and office software. With Microsoft and IBM dominating the enterprise email market, Google is hoping companies will be convinced by the lower maintenance costs of using their cloud-based services.

However, questions have been raised over the reliability of such services for business users due to recent high-profile outages, including a few outages of Gmail this year alone.

More than 2 million businesses and 20 million active users now use the California-based company's online office software. The figure includes both large businesses that pay $50 a year per user, as well as small companies which can get the software for free.

Windows 7 copies shipping early for some

Windows 7 pre-orders are arriving early for many in the UK.

Neowin reader dancedar let us know his copy arrived yesterday morning by a postman reliably delivering parcels instead of striking. According to a Microsoft spokesperson "Microsoft is aware of the planned postal strike and has taken action to minimise impact on those customers who pre-ordered their copies of Windows 7. As a result, some customers may receive their copy of Windows 7 a day or two early."

According to The Register, both PC World and Currys in the UK have begun shipping copies early. Royal Mail are currently planning strike action on Thursday in the UK which would cripple the ability for people to receive their Windows 7 copies on the day. Many retailers have opted for other means of delivery including DHL and UPS.

Now Track India Speed Post And Money-Orders via SMS

Few months ago Indian Railways started offering railway inquiry and PNR status updates via SMS, now India Post has also jumped onto the tech-bandwagon offering Speed Post and eMoneyOrder status tracking from mobile phones using SMS.

To track the current status of your speed-post or eMoneyOrder all you need to do is to use the following short-codes and send them to 55352.

For Speed Post:

SP[space]Speed Post Tracking Number
OR
EMS[space]Speed Post Tracking Number

For eMO:

MO[space]eMO PNR No
OR
EMO[space]eMO PNR No

The service is not case-sensitive so no messing with capitalization on your mobile, applicable SMS rates will be charged by your mobile service provider for sending text-messages.

BlackBerry watch to be released

CrackBerry.com reports the rumours regarding a Bluetooth BlackBerry Watch accessory have finally come to fruition.

Named the inPulse, the watch is not being made by RIM, and instead by a company specializing in BlackBerry accessories. According to CrackBerry an official annoucement is just around the corner.

Crackberry reports the watch features an OLED screen making the screen bright and easily readable. The OLED display also increases battery life over the more traditional LCD displays used in other mobile devices. The watch is designed to show notifications, incoming calls, and previews of messages arriving on your BlackBerry.

The inPulse clearly was designed for a specific demographic in mind, a user on the go. It is not designed to replace the BlackBerry entirely. Instead, it can be used for occasions where the BlackBerry is tucked away - driving, meetings, or perhaps wherever else it is not appropriate to use your phone. Instead of having to stop and check their BlackBerry, one can quickly glance over at the inPulse and decide whether the call or message is important enough to pick up.

Crackberry also suggests that eventually API's may become available, enough to where app developers can ultlize the watch to display notifications from third party apps.


Image credit: Crackberry.com

If you keep up with latest tech-news you must have heard about the Palm Pre and Apple tussle regarding support for non-apple devices in iTunes, If you are also looking for an iTunes replacement for syncing your music collection with non-apple devices or simply don't like using iTunes we had shared free iTunes alternatives which got the job done easily like WinAmp iPod Plugin and iTunes Agent; but all new utilityDoubleTwist takes this to a whole new level by providing syncing support for wider range of devices and comes equipped with music purchasing facility via Amazon® MP3 Store(coming soon) posing a direct competition to Apple iTunes music store.

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Will the Pre Bask in a Verizon Ad Blitz?

Palm’s App Catalog took another step toward maturity as the company opened an online version of the store, allowing consumers (and, just as importantly, potential users) to browse through webOS offerings on PCs in addition to their handsets. While the move was entirely expected, it is sure to raise awareness of the platform among both consumers and developers. But the real test for webOS — and for Palm as a company — will come early next year when Verizon Wireless launches the Pre.

The Pre’s momentum has dissipated since its June launch on Sprint’s network, and Palm last month had to raise roughly $313 million for working capital and general corporate purposes with a public offering of 20 million common shares of its stock. But while the company could get a boost from the Pixi — an affordable webOS handset aimed at younger users and scheduled to hit the market in time for the holidays — Verizon could play the role of Palm’s redeemer. The nation’s largest carrier operates arguably the best network around, and Verizon has consistently demonstrated its acumen at marketing smartphones.

But it’s that latest factor — marketing — that’s a concern. Verizon is already promoting the Droid with an impressive ad blitz, and it’s likely to back the upcoming Storm 2 with some serious marketing muscle as well. It’s possible the Pre could get lost in Verizon’s suddenly impressive smartphone portfolio. If Verizon chooses to invest heavily to promote the Pre, the handset could be a huge hit. If not, Palm’s days may be numbered.

Linux Prospects, Post-Windows 7

With the release of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system slated for tomorrow, several Linux releases and announcements are arriving. Paula Rooney at ZDNet suggests that the Linux flurry may represent wave-making in reaction to the release of the much discussed new version of Windows. Does Windows 7 threaten to stifle Linux, and what are the prospects for Linux as Windows 7 rolls out?

As Rooney notes, this week IBM and Canonical announced the launch of the IBM Cliet for Smart Work package. It allows cloud- and Linux-based online work via Ubuntu and IBM's Lotus Symphony suite of productivity applications. Novell has also introduced SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 3, which brings many software upgrades and more support for hardware. Meanwhile, Red Hat is out with a new beta release of its Fedora Linux dubbed "Constantine." Is the timing of all of this meant to make waves as Windows 7 approaches?

As we noted here, Microsoft was very shrewd to open its beta and release candidate testing for its new operating system to anyone, and the company got a slew of pre-orders for Windows 7 through the effort, as well as good early reviews. The company has also already delivered the new OS to Microsoft's volume licensees. The actual Windows 7 rollout has been a multi-step process and doesn't just consist of fanfare to take place tomorrow.

Microsoft has stated that it is aiming Windows 7 squarely at the hot netbook market, and it's there that I'm hoping Linux and Linux-based platforms can maintain some entrenchment. Large computer makers such as Acer and Dell have continued with efforts to keep Linux and Linux-based operating systems alive on netbooks. Acer is even going to offer a dual-boot version of its Aspire One netbook that runs Windows as well as Android.

The netbook market has largely been driven by rock-bottom pricing, and open source operating systems and applications can continue to usher in impressive prices. That's the stated goal with netbooks that will run the Moblin operating system, for example.

But Windows 7 is also likely to gain strong market share as a desktop operating system, partly because there hasn't been a completely trustworthy version of Windows for businesses to bank on in many years. Microsoft hopes to reverse that trend with Windows 7. Large players on the Linux front continue to fail to market Linux with the same fervor that Microsoft markets Windows, and the marketing blitz that will surround Windows 7 could be a blow to desktop Linux. We'll see how this all plays out soon, but I'm especially watching the prospects for Linux and variants on mobile devices. There, where cost and choice have been so important, Linux has a chance to make a difference.