To celebrate the 10th anniversary of iTunes, Apple has put together an entertaining multimedia timeline of the digital music store.
The iTunes’ formal birthday isn’t until Sunday, but the timeline, which is called “A Decade of iTunes,” is online now in the music section of the store.
The timeline marks the period from the time iTunes was first launched on April 28 2003 right up to the release of Justin Timberlake’s new album on March 19 this year. Peppered along with the milestones are the best selling song and album on the day of the milestone (for e.g. on 10 May 2005 when the iTunes store was officially launched in European countries like Denmarak, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, ‘Speed of Sound’ from Coldplay’s X & Y was the best selling song, while Morcheeba’s ‘The Antidote’ was the best selling album).
“The sky was falling, and iTunes provided a place where we were going to monetize music and in theory stem the tide of piracy. So, it was certainly a solution for the time,” said Michael McDonald, who co-founded ATO Records with Dave Matthews and whose Mick Management roster includes John Mayer and Ray LaMontagne.
The iTunes music store became much more than a solution; it changed how we consume music and access entertainment. It’s not only music’s biggest retailer, it also dominates the digital video market, capturing 67 percent of the TV show sale market and 65 percent of the movie sale market, according to information company NPD group. Its apps are the most profitable, it has expanded to books and magazines, and it is now available in 119 countries. This week, iTunes posted a record $2.4 billion in revenue in first-quarter earnings.
The app store now reaches 90 percent of the world’s population, Oppenheimer said, and is available in 155 countries. There are now over 850,000 iOS apps in the store, 350,000 of which are tailored for iPad.
As of the second fiscal quarter of 2013, iTunes now offers 35 million songs in 119 countries, 60,000 movies in 109 countries and 1.7 million iBook titles.
Apple also said that payouts to app developers has reached $9 billion since the App Store initiative launched in 2008, and the company is currently meting out some $1 billion per quarter to app makers.
LG announced their Q1 2013 results yesterday and declared smartphone shipments of 10.3 million units. Executives said these results were “healthy” and mainly from the global success of the flagship devices like the Optimus G and Nexus 4. By the end of the year LG estimates their smartphone shipments will reach 45 million units.
If everything works out the way they intend, LG will be come to market this year with a smartphone that has a flexible display. This is something Samsung wanted to accomplish, but has reportedly met with technology delays. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yoon Bu-hyun, vice president at LG’s mobile business, said they’re currently working closely with the LG Display Company and will produce a smartphone that has a flexible OLED screen.
No other details on specs or timing, but will be great to finally see this technology come to market. Hopefully it’s priced reasonable and made available globally. Perhaps the go-to-market name will be the LG Optimus “Flex.”
LG is among several mobile companies, including one of its chief competitors, Samsung, eyeing flexible OLED display technology. The companies envision devices featuring fully flexible screens, allowing for more leniency in product design. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Samsung showed off a 5-inch demo unit with a flexible screen. Nokia has also shown off similar prototypes.
A year ago, LG trotted out a design for a flexible display for e-book readers.
Next to their impressive collaboration with Monster on new luxury headphones, Hublot has presented another highlight today at Baselworld – the Masterpiece MP-05 LaFerrari. Paying tribute to the new flagship Ferrari super car, the LaFerrari, the brand has developed a watch from the future.
Hublot’s MP-05 “LaFerrari” has been designed, developed and manufactured entirely by the Swiss firm and features a 50-day power reserve–a world record power reserve for a hand-wound tourbillon watch. It has a unique in-house crafted mechanical movement principle, that can keep it ticking as far as two months after you stopped wearing it.
It has a special microblasted black PVD-coated titanium case, which encases 637 individual components and thanks to the tour billion movement system, they are arranged to look like a Ferrari engine bay, hinting to the red cylinder banks with the admission manifold in the middle.
With carbon fiber on the case, there are some light design cues in the watch from the Ferrari car. The top crystal is one, and the entire case design is meant to mimic the shape of the beautiful car, though it is a light connection. The Ferrari relationship allows Hublot to experiment in new areas and work with the famous automaker to produce rather original timepieces such as this one.
The hour and minute are displayed to the right of the barrels, also indicated by means of one anodized black aluminum cylinder each. On their left is the cylinder indicating the power reserve. Reinforcing bars either side, made from anodized red aluminum, also bring to mind Ferrari’s signature exteriors.
Hublot will make only 50 of these stunning watches, so only one in ten LaFerrari buyers will be able to have one.
Price or the Hublot Masterpiece MP-05 LaFerrari watch will be about 300,000 Swiss Francs (or Rs 17234400.00). When are you getting yours?
Airtel and Microsoft have tied up to deliver a unique set of offers to prospective buyers of Airtel connections and Xbox 360 consoles, or even owners of both or either. In the form of Airtel broadband and free Xbox LIVE gold memberships. The offer is valid in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore till June 30.
Up for grabs for new owners is a Xbox 360 4GB Kinect model with an Airtel Broadband connection for Rs 15,500. The new buyers will get 10 free Xbox 360 games, a 12 month membership of Xbox LIVE gold and up to Rs 4,888 off on the Airtel broadband connection.
Consumers can now enjoy a smooth Xbox LIVE entertainment experience which includes the best multi-player action that Xbox is so well known for on an Airtel broadband” – Microsoft Corporation India Business Group Lead (Interactive Entertainment Business) Anshu Mor said.
Interestingly, Existing Xbox 360 owners who buy a new Airtel broadband connection will get Rs 4,888 off and a three month membership for Xbox LIVE gold. But if you already have an Airtel connection and buy a new Xbox 360 you will get 10 free games and a 12 month membership for Xbox LIVE gold worth Rs 10,699, along with savings of Rs 4,888 on an Airtel Broadband upgrade.
We are confident that our-tie up with Microsoft… deliver a much-awaited and enhanced experience for gaming lovers”- Bharti Airtel CEO (Homes and Office) Najib Khan said.
The Mars Rovers, obviously bored out of their robotic minds traversing the red planet, are now whiling away the time like immature students everywhere: by drawing dirty pictures.
A keen-eyed person spotted a photo of Rover tracks on NASA’s site that looks remarkably like a penis. The pic was posted to Reddit with the caption “Mars Rover = $800M, Team to Operate = $1B. Drawing a penis on the surface of another planet = Priceless.”
As the Huffington Post reports, the twin exploration vehicles Spirit and Opportunity were launched nine years ago, in an effort to search the surface of Mars for signs of water erosion and possibly even life.
According to Nasa, since then the rovers have driven over more than 10km of Martian land, directed by teams back on Earth combined with autonomous cameras designed to avoid potential problems with the terrain.
It’s not clear which of the rovers drew the shape, or even when it was made. It’s been suggested the rude drawing came as a result of the Rover turning in tight circles to find a new route.
Nasa lost communication with the Spirit rover in 2009 after it became stuck in some sand. Meanwhile the Opportunity is still traversing the surface on its way to the Endeavour crater.
Last year they were joined on the Red Planet by Nasa’s $1.5billion rover Curiosity, which has so far not stooped to the immature levels of its rover cousins.
Google has joined a consortium of tech companies including PayPal and Lenovo attempting to stop passwords being the sole protector of personal accounts.
The group, the FIDO Alliance, is working on technology that would give the device a person was using a role in authenticating them so that a password alone is not enough to unlock an account. That approach can make it impossible to compromise accounts just by stealing passwords, as hackers did in order to break into Twitter this year and LinkedIn last year.
There have been some rumors about Google working on an authentication device, something like a USB stick for example, and this is what FIDO, which stands for Fast IDentity Online, specializes in.
FIDO is working on a standard way of providing authentication online. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with the device or method used for the authentication, but with the way in which websites can request authentication and in which users can provide it.
“Joining the FIDO Alliance is a great way to increase industry momentum around open standards for strong authentication,” Sam Srinivas, who leads information security at Google, said. “We look forward to continuing our current development work on strong, universal second-factor tokens as part of a new FIDO Alliance working group,” he added.
In practice, users would have an authentication device, which could be a USB device with a key or a fingerprint scanner or anything else of the sort.
The unique key provided by the device would be used by websites to provide access. This key would be hard to spoof and harder to obtain.
Nokia teased those interested in a physical QWERTY the other day and promised they’ll show the world their latest handset today. Well, it’s the S40 Asha 210. A lightweight entry-level phone that has a full QWERTY keyboard and a dedicated WhatsApp button. The 210 is targeting the uber cost conscious crowd and has priced this at a measly $72 USD (Rs 4000/-) outright, aiming “to go on sale in the second quarter of 2013.
As for specs, the Asha 210 has a physical QWERTY keyboard, a 2.4-inch QVGA display (320×240 resolution and 169ppi), 2MP camera and no front-facing camera, “offers an astonishing battery life” that will garner you “up to 46 days standby with the Single SIM model; up to 24 days with Dual SIM.” The Asha 210 weighs 99.5 grams and will be available in yellow, cyan, black, magenta, white.
The highlights of the 210, apart from the physical keyboard, is the dedicated WhatsApp button for quick access to your conversations.
Not the biggest deal dealbreaker, but WhatsApp has also promised that they’ll waive the $0.99 yearly subscription fee for the Nokia Asha 210 user.
Pricing and availability for Indian customers has not been revealed yet. More to come soon!
Samsung is all set to launch the Galaxy S4 in India on the 26th of April 2013. It is believed that the flagship smartphone for the Korean company will come for Rs. 42,900/- and the device will be launched in two colors namely the Black Mist and the Frost White.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 in India will be available initially in a bundled offer which will include a flip case and some accessories. The Smartphone has received many a critical acclaim globally thanks to its many features and software enhancements.
Galaxy S4 Front
Galaxy S4 White Rear 13 MP Camera
Galaxy S4 Bottom
Galaxy S4 Right Side
Galaxy S4 Top
In the hand the Samsung Galaxy S4 seems a lot more robust than its predecessor, however the feel is still plasticky. The device does end up looking a lot more elegant thanks to the brushed aluminum “look” bezel and the nicely pattered back panel which is better visible in the black mist color. Although the Galaxy S4 sports a larger 5 inch display, it does not look a lot bigger than the S3, in fact the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a lot more rounded and fits well in the hand as well as in the pocket.
Galaxy S4 Camera UI
Galaxy S4 Screen Visibility
Galaxy S4 Front 2 MP camera
Galaxy S4 Hardware Button
Galaxy S4 Rear Camera
Galaxy S4 Black Bezel Front
The interface on the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a lot more refined than on other Android phones, including other Samsung Phones. The devices we saw were prototypes, however they ran wonderfully well, with no lag, gestures were great too as you will see in the video.
[pullquote_left] The phone does magic![/pullquote_left]The TouchWiz/Nature UI is now easily recognizable and does not have a lot of differentiation from previous editions, the built in features from the past like multi window, pop up play along with some new UI elements like, finger hover and retina sensors make using the device magical. From a consumer point of view the phone does magic, which in a sense of the word sets it apart from devices that don’t do “magic”.
With just a limited time spent with the two Galaxy S4’s I can safely say that the white color is much better and looks a lot more nicer than the Black, however the black is a lot more elegant and with that a finger print magnet.
With the launch just around the corner, the Samsung Galaxy S4 may just as well be the biggest hype this quarter from Samsung and with the details of the Note 3 leaking out, we can safely assume that its not the last hype for 2013.
The main requirements are strong health, good people and survival skills, being 18 or older, and having a reasonable grasp of the English language.
The non-profit company, called “Mars One,” aims to land its first four astronauts in 2023 for a televised reality show that would follow the exploits of the first humans to attempt to establish a colony on Mars.
At a press conference in New York City, the company’s CEO Bas Lansdorp announced an open call for anyone to apply for the flight.
The mission will be one-way only, since there currently is no technology that would enable a return trip from Mars to Earth.
“Today, the Mars One foundation starts the search for Mars inhabitants. The search for people from all nations who want to settle on Mars,” he said. “Mars One is a non profit organisation that is working on landing the first crew on Mars in 2023 and another crew every two years after that.”
The goal is to establish a permanent human colony, he said.
The biggest obstacles, he said, are financial. The company has revealed some of its sponsors and hopes to gain more via media coverage. It’s not clear whether enough money will be collected in time.
There are also practical issues: Can the kinks in having a sustainable system for people to survive in such a harsh environment be worked out by 2023?
The Netherlands-based non-profit plans to send new missions thereafter every two years, with the second crew joining in 2025.
Each flight will carry two males and two females, but Lansdorp said Mars One was not requiring anyone to take fertility tests.
“These people will be living on Mars in a very small environment with just four people. It will be a dangerous environment and any prospective parent should always ask themselves is this the right time and place for me to have children,” he said. “These are responsible people that we are sending to Mars.”
A range of potential pitfalls might prevent the project from becoming a reality, including the inability to return to Earth, the small living quarters and the lack of food and water on Mars.
Iron Man fever is currently sweeping the globe, with fans of the Marvel series naturally stoked about the prospect of Iron Man 3 hitting cinemas very, very soon. If you’re anxiously waiting for the film to reach your local cinema and need your fix this instant, you may want to check out this uber-cool Iron Man mouse. While it doesn’t do anything particularly groundbreaking, it does look rather awesome, and although it only ships in certain parts of Asia, we thought some of you die-hard fans would want to check it out.
The Iron Man Mouse has been designed to look like the helmet from Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit and is the first limited edition Iron Man 3 wireless mouse of its kind, complete with an arc reactor display case.
The E-Blue Iron Man mouse is powered by dual AAA batteries and is equipped with a 1000 dpi sensor for tracking and the eyes within the mask light up when in use.
The new Iron Man mouse is now available in Chins for 699 yuan approximately $113, however no information on worldwide availability or pricing has been released as yet.
Sure, ergonomics weren’t really considered paramount in this design, but it’s a small price to pay for this collector’s desktop accessory. Did we mention its eyes illuminate red?
The idea of using a robot to go where a human wouldn’t has been a popular one in science fiction, and to a lesser degree, in reality as well. Robots capable of performing such feats haven’t been around all that long, but the concept of sending in the robots has just been made a bit more credible thanks to plans to send in a robot to the Teotihuacan archaeological site in Mexico to finish off the exploration, where humans would have a much tougher time reaching.
The tunnel, discovered under the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, or Quetzalcoatl, is believed to lead to a chamber almost 2,000 years old, probably a place where dignitaries of the pre-Columbian city received their investiture or were buried, the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, said.
Experts expected to find just one ancient chamber at the end of a stretch of the 2,000-year-old unexplored tunnel at the site. Instead, the remote-controlled vehicle has beamed back images of three mysterious caverns.
The three-foot-long investigator, named Tlaloc II-TC after the Aztec god of rain, was first lowered into the depths of the pyramid to check it was safe for human entry.
This is only the “third time anywhere in the world that such an automaton [has been] used to design excavation strategies,” adds HispanicallySpeakingNews.com.
The Tlaloc II-TC looks almost like a robotic version of a “rat rod,” except with tracks instead of wheels, sloped downward to almost look like a wedge. That makes it well-suited for operating in small, tight spaces like the last part of a tunnel in the Teotihuacan site.
Tlaloc II-TC is equipped with a video cameras and a mechanical arm to clear obstacles out of its way as it maneuvers through the tight passageway.
Nissan realised the gamble they had made by discontinuing one of their most successful cars, and thus did not want to hurry the GT-R back simply to pacify enthusiasts. Carlos Ghosn, who became Nissan’s CEO in 2001, along with chief designer Shiro Nakamura made sure that no stone was left unturned in its development. Their brutal attention to detail was the reason that between 6 and 8 years were spent on the GT-R and the production model wasn’t unveiled until 2007.
2005 GT-R Proto Concept
The first GT-R prototype was displayed at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, further pushing the case that Nissan had been planning for this since before the R34’s discontinuation. At the 2005 edition, Nissan said that the production GT-R would be almost entirely like the on-display GT-R Proto and the 2007 edition finally witnessed the much anticipated unveiling of the production version of the GT-R. Nissan’s first supercar, the new Godzilla, had created a ton of hype over the previous half decade. Has it lived up to it?
That would be a resounding ‘yes’.
The well-balanced and extremely capable powertrain of the GT-R
Powered by a twin-turbo 3.8-litre V6 engine, the R35 (as the GT-R’s chassis is encoded, succeeding the Skyline GT-R R34) models manufactured between 2007 and 2010 produced 478 bhp and 588 Nm of torque. With a 0-97 kmph time of 3.5 seconds, the sub $70,000 (costing half that much in Japan), 4-seater was thrown well into supercar territory. Over the years the powertrain has been regularly upgraded, producing an incredible 545 bhp and 628 Nm of torque in the 2014 model.
The 2014 Nissan GT-R has a special launch control called ‘R-Mode Start’ and Nissan claimed that this could get the GT-R from 0-97 kmph in 2.9 seconds. However, they were slightly mistaken. Comparison tests have now proven that it can get there in an unbelievable 2.7 seconds. That’s faster in terms of acceleration than the $1.7 million Koenigsegg Agera R hypercar, as well as almost every production car in the world. Even though the 2014 model now starts at $100,000, it still costs a fraction of its very fast, yet slower accelerating peers. It also managed an astonishing time of 7:24.22 at the Nürburgring, making it one of the fastest production cars in the world around the famous racetrack.
2012 GT-R Track Pack
The GT-R is all about grip, grip and then some more grip. The reason for its brutal acceleration is because of the very intelligent ‘ATTESA E-TS’ all wheel drive system designed by Nissan. Used in conjunction with a rear mounted six-speed dual clutch semi-automatic transmission, it puts the GT-R’s power to the road with as much efficiency as the extremely skilled workers who build it by hand. For this reason, Nissan confidently encourages its customers to drive the GT-R in snowy or wet conditions, claiming it will perform just as well as in dry conditions. The stiff suspension may mean decreased ride quality in everyday usage, but is crucial in making the tyres cling to the asphalt at all times, and allow the GT-R to produce the figures that it does.
2009 GT-R SpecV
2009 saw the arrival of the even higher performance Nissan GT-R SpecV. Powered by the same engine as the base GT-R, the SpecV produces the same horsepower, however larger turbos, a reworked suspension, carbon ceramic brakes as well as a weight reduction of 60 kg allow it to accelerate faster and corner harder than the base GT-R. Because 3.5 seconds just wasn’t quick enough.
Visible changes include a carbon fibre spoiler, grille, brake ducts and an exclusive paint job called the ‘Ultimate Black Opal’. The rear seats were completely removed, the front seats were replaced with carbon fiber Recaro seats, and most of the interior trim was covered in carbon fiber for further weight reduction.
Brimming with more state of the art technology than Tokyo, the GT-R is a tech geek’s dream come true. Its body construction has a ‘Premium Midship (PM)’ platform, which is a hybrid unibody assembled using high-precision, ultra-low-tolerance jigs. The PM platform allows the transaxle to be placed at the rear, which is connected to the lightweight V6 engine at the front through a carbon composite prop shaft. This results in near perfect weight distribution making the GT-R very balanced improving vehicle dynamics significantly. The tyres are filled with nitrogen instead of air to ensure pressure retention for longer periods, reducing drag and creating more stability. Another stand out feature is the customisable multifunction display in the dash, developed by the creators of the Gran Turismo video game series. The amazingly functional display shows all kinds of information like cornering forces, oil pressures, brake pedal positions and steering angles among many others. Nobody knows who Nissan really had in mind when they chose to include the Playstation like display, but the inner nerd in me definitely likes the idea of knowing how many g’s I’m cornering at.
The GT-R’s lines are inspired by Gundam Robots from Japanese Anime, the rear three quarters were shaped by Nissan’s American designers whereas the roofline was taken care of by their European designers.
According to Shiro Nakamura,
The GT-R is unique because it is not simply a copy of a European-designed supercar; it had to really reflect Japanese culture.
Very modern looking, the GT-R is quite large for a supercar, but considering it can seat 4 people, comes with a lot of kit and offers a sizable boot, the curb weight of 1,740 kg is reasonably low. It doesn’t retain a lot from the Skyline GT-R save for its signature four round taillights and although featuring a contemporary design, it may not turn every head on the street. But its aggressive front end, flared wheel arches, rear spoiler and large wheels give it tons of character. The designers at Nissan have really managed to strike the right balance between a supercar, and a daily driver, getting the GT-R’s proportions uncannily spot on.
A large number of petrolheads claim that a $100,000 supercar should look the part and that the GT-R simply doesn’t. “It’s too bulky, look at that rear end. Wouldn’t you much rather spend a 100 grand on a 911 Turbo? Atleast you’ll be driving a Porsche, not a Nissan.” And that’s the dilemma this car creates everywhere it goes. Its a $100,000 Nissan. Some people claim that the computers are too intelligent, that they don’t feel like they have any control over the car themselves. The GT-R is faulted simply because its not an Audi, or a BMW or a Porsche.
Well, they’re all wrong. The GT-R is a celebration, of the legacy of the legendary Skyline, and of the sheer brilliance that is Nissan. All of us haven’t owned or driven or even seen Skyline GT-R’s, but we’ve all watched the Fast and Furious films, played Need for Speed and seen YouTube videos of a tuned 700 bhp GT-R obliterating a Lamborghini Gallardo. The GT-R is an amazing feat of engineering and a prime example of what mankind is capable of producing, given the right amount of dedication, and attention to detail. It’s the perennial underdog, the David among many Goliaths.
If I had $100,000 to spend on a car, I know exactly what I’d get myself.
Nokia has released a teaser image today for an upcoming announcement, potentially revealing a new QWERTY smartphone, although all the signs point to this device falling under the Asha range of low-end quasi-smartphones, as opposed to their flagship Windows Phone Lumia line-up.
The teaser reveals rounded corners for the prospective device, showing a Z key and contoured Shift key.
The phone is apparently decked out in the vibrant primary colours that are the signature of Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered Lumia smart phone range. But a Qwerty Lumia is unlikely, and with Nokia’s mobile devices making the announcement it appears this will be a feature phone, perhaps an Asha phone.
You won’t have to wait long to find out.
On Wednesday morning at 7am GMT we will be announcing something new, followed by a Q&A session with Neil Broadley from our Mobile Phones team and a special guest.
Other than a yellow color option and a seemingly thin bezel, there’s nothing we know about the upcoming device. There should be more teasers until Wednesday, maybe even a leak so stay tuned!
There have been Windows Phone devices with QWERTY keyboards in the past, like the now- extinct Dell Venue Pro. It would be nice to have that option again.
Nokia’s new teaser ad comes close on the heels of the company’s 2013 Q1 results which reported a steep decline in Asha sales. “Asha full touch smartphones Q1 volumes decreased 46% quarter-on-quarter to 5.0 million units, reflecting intense competitive industry dynamics as well as lower seasonal demand,” said the company.
Google Now is arguably the single best feature found in Android Jelly Bean, and soon, it seems, it will also be added to Google’s homepage. Some code from a page that’s tested by Google offers more information about this feature.
Google Now brings you search results before you even go looking for them. Just swipe up, inside of Google’s search app, and Google Now activates. From there, the Google search app delivers today’s weather, your Google Calendar appointments, directions to home or work (depending on what time of day it is), a heads up to nearby events, the score from your favorite sports team’s latest game, boarding passes, package tracking, dinner reservations and a lot more.
Source code for the page in testing encourages you to, “get started with Google Now,” because it provides, “just the right information at just the right time.” It has the option to change your home and work locations as, “Google Now uses your Home location to show relevant information like weather, traffic conditions, and nearby places.”
As TechCrunch reports, previous discoveries have indicated that Google Now is probably being worked on for Chrome desktop browser integration, and for inclusion in Google’s iOS search app. But bringing it to the Google homepage means it’ll be broadly accessible. It also means Google will have an opportunity to deliver more via its homepage, sort of like an iGoogle, but hopefully better at its job of providing you with relevant, personalized content.
There are also plenty of references to “now_card.”
A German privacy regulator fined Google €145,000 on Monday for its systematic, illegal collection of personal data while it was creating its Street View mapping service, and it called on European lawmakers to significantly raise fines for violations of data protection laws.
It found that while specially equipped Google vehicles took city snapshots between 2008 and 2010 for its Street View function, which supplements its standard map service, they had also picked up data from unsecured wireless networks.
“Among the information gathered in the drive-bys were significant amounts of personal data of varying quality. For example emails, passwords, photos and chat protocols were collected,” the Hamburg authorities said in a statement.
Hamburg data regulator Johannes Caspar explained: “In my view, this is one of the biggest data protection rules violations known,” said Caspar. Google’s “internal control mechanisms must have severely failed.”
It not the first time Google as been fined for such a breach of data protection, with the French privacy regulator levying a €100,000 penalty on Google in 2011. However Google has now tightened up its policy with using the Google Street View car systems to address issues raised in the latest data protection violation, Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel, said in a statement.
The commissioner also ordered Google to delete all the data it had gathered. A third party verified that Google indeed deleted the data.
