Google To Buy Waze For $1.3 Billion 153
An anonymous reader writes "Google and Israeli start-up Waze have agreed in principle on a deal in which the search engine giant will buy the road traffic information sharing application for $1.3 billion. Waze, which claims more than 40 million users, describes itself as an app bringing together 'the world's largest community of drivers who work together to fight traffic, and save time and gas money on their daily commute.' There have been previous reports that first Apple and then Facebook wanted to acquire the Israeli start-up."
Time for Google to confess (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nfgAa2Hu-o
"President Obama defended the two programs that exploded into public view". In other words he confirmed both leaks as true.
Google have denied their involvement in Prism.
http://www.wate.com/story/22534581/google-ceo-denies-companys-involvement-in-prism
"SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg are denying reports that depict two of the Internet's most influential companies as willing participants in a secret government program that gives the National Security Agency unfettered access to email and other personal information transmitted on various online services."
Really it's time to confess. If people use this traffic tracking system, then that data will go straight into the NSA computer, and be used against them. The President has confirmed the existence of these programs, its time for Google to tell the truth and admit their part in this mass surveillance. Same with Microsoft, same with Apple, same with Facebook.
Not happy (Score:5, Informative)
I'm not too happy about this. Waze was the only alternative that could go toe-to-toe with Google Maps Navigation in terms of doing real-time crowdsourcing aggregation of driving data.
I know there are others like Nokia (which purchased Navteq, currently the leader in maps), Microsoft, and Tom Tom, but those others don't work nearly as well mostly because they haven't done anything new in the last ten years.
At least, there is Open Street Maps now, but that still doesn't have good turn-by-turn navigation (nor good real-time up-to-the-second information).
Re:Geotarding? (Score:5, Informative)
For those who think "What on earth is geotarding?", http://www.shootingatbubbles.com/archives/geotarding-is-as-useful-as-llama-spit/ [shootingatbubbles.com] has an explanation:
When combined it means locking out potential users of your web service because their geographical location conflicts with licensing and copyright agreements.
Re:Geotarding? (Score:5, Informative)
Google best?
Try telling that to the HGV drivers from a well known trucking company (No Eddie S) who get lost where I live due to Google telling them that
1) my road is a through road (I was 30+ years ago)
2) it is suitable for 32+Tonne vehicles (It is not).
Despite several people telling Google that their maps are wrong they never get changed.
The HGV's get to the end of my road and find it is a dead end despite the signs saying that it is a no through road.
Then they get stuck because reversing 1.5 miles back up a narrow lane is impossible.
My neighbor comes to their rescue and only charges them £300 to tow them back up the lane with his mega tractor.
As for streetview, Google never got down my end of the lane so we are some of the great un-googled of this world. Hurrah!