Google to kill off Blogger, Picasa brands in time for Google+ launch

Google intends to retire several non-Google name brands, such as Blogger and Picasa, in the next four to six weeks. The search giant plans to rename them as Google products, unifying the company's brand in time for the public launch of Google+, according to two sources familiar with the matter cited by Mashable.

Blogger and Picasa aren't going away – they are two very popular Google products after all – instead, Google intends to rename them as Google Photos and Google Blogs, respectively. Several other Google brands will also be likely affected by the move, but it's not yet clear which ones.

YouTube will not, however, be rebranded. The technology giant shut down Google Videos, Google's answer to YouTube before it gave up and bought the video sharing service, in May 2010.

This rebranding effort from Google is hardly the first time we're seeing such a move. Google acquired JotSpot in October 2006 and rebranded it as Google Sites in February 2008. In July 2007, Google acquired VOIP platform GrandCentral and relaunched it as Google Voice in March 2009.

Blogger and Picasa were also Google acquisitions, although both companies have owned by Google for far longer. Blogger was acquired in February 2003 and is one of the top 10 most visited websites in the world. Picasa was acquired in July 2004.

The rebranding will likely upset some existing customers, but Google wants to do it anyway so that it can completely integrate both services into Google+. The company launched the social network as a field trial last month, with an obvious attempt to take on Facebook and Twitter.

Social Wars! Google Unveils Facebook Competitor Google+

Has Google just launched its most ambitious project yet?

After years of rumors and hints, Google Tuesday launched a trial of its Facebook competitor, a social network called The Google+ Project.

And the company clearly isn't shy about it.

In a blog post announcing the launch of The Google+ Project, Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of Engineering for the company, argued that the subtlety of real world interactions are lost online due to the rigidity of today's tools. Google, he said, could succeed where other services have failed.

"Online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it," Gundotra said. The service launched in a limited beta Tuesday afternoon. And getting it live was a massive, lengthy struggle, explained Wired's Steven Levy.

"Developed under the codename Emerald Sea, it is a result of a lengthy and urgent effort involving almost all of the company’s products," Levy wrote. "Hundreds of engineers were involved in the effort. It has been a key focus for new CEO Larry Page."

To set Google+ apart from Facebook, which some recent reports have pegged at 750 million users, Google is claiming to have a better approach to privacy, taking on the hot-button issue that has burned both companies before.

"For us, privacy isn't buried six panels deep," Google vice president of product management Bradley Horowitz told Reuters.

Google's social network revolves around Circles -- long rumored to be the project's name -- which helps you segment the people you know into, well, circles: friends, family, coworkers and so on. Create as many as you want, and then drag a picture of a person into one of them to add them.

"Not all relationships are created equal," Gundotra said, adding a not-so-subtle dig at Facebook: "Today’s online services turn friendship into fast food -- wrapping everyone in “friend” paper -- and sharing really suffers."

The Google+ service consists of several linked components: a continuous news feed similar to Facebook's called “the Stream” and a second, related component called “Sparks” that reveals posts related to one’s specified interests.

Other elements of the new service include Hangouts, a video chat; Huddle, for group chats; and Sparks, a personalized recommendation service. Once logged into the Google network, nearly all Google sites will feature a special toolbar that runs across the top of the page, reminding you that you're logged into Google+.

But will it be enough to get those hundreds of millions to switch? Gundotra told Reuters that wasn't necessarily the goal.

"People today use multiple tools. I think what we're offering here offers some very distinct advantages around some basic needs," he said.

SWIPE AS YOU GO WITH GOOGLE'S MOBILE WALLET

                        

        Ever wish you can swipe as you go, literally, when it comes to paying?

       Google unveiled such a system Thursday, and this new payment method allows mobile phones to be swiped like a credit card, allowing goods to be paid for on the spot. This means your phone becomes your wallet.

      Google has partnered with Citibank and MasterCard Inc, the world's second largest credit and debit card network, for the project. Over 120,000 shops participate in this service, including giants like Macy's, Walgreens, Subway, Noah's Bagels, American Eagle, Bloomingdale's, Peet's Coffee, Toys 'R' Us and others.

     Sprint is also a partner at the launch, since it sells Google's Nexus S phone, one of the only phones in the U.S. capable of using the new Google Wallet. The Nexus S supports NFC, an open standard backed by many companies including Microsoft, Visa, Sony, Nokia and AT&T. However, Android now supports NFC technology and additional phones are expected to become available soon.

     "We're extending an open invitation to merchants and ecosystem partners like payment networks, carriers and banks to join us in creating tomorrow's best shopping experience," said Stephanie Tilenius, vice president of commerce for Google.

Google: Hundreds of Gmail accounts in U.S., Asia hacked

Hackers around the world are gaining more attention than usual in the last few months. Now Google has added another announcement to the pile that hundreds of Gmail accounts have been hacked recently.

Now, Google affirms that the problem doesn’t rest with Gmail security but rather this scheme was a result of phishing and malware.

Google spilled the details on Wednesday via its official blog: