Google Guys Get Another Jet

But the company executives do have four planes now, the latest addition a Boeing 757 parked amid a luxuriously remodeled Boeing 767 and two Gulfstream Vs, according to the New York Times, who had to file a Freedom of Information Act request to confirm a Valleywag rumor.

NASA, you see, is still a government body, and lets Sergey, Larry, and Eric use Moffet Field as their own little hub. Ah, billionaires.

So why do three men need four planes – especially two large remodeled passenger planes? Well, Valleywag’s initial theories don’t sound too far off; either they want to be certain there’s a jet available when they need one or their insurers didn’t like the idea of all three company heads simultaneously dying fiery deaths should they be on the same plane at the same time.

Or maybe Sergey and Larry just couldn’t stop arguing over who got the bigger bed. 

Proving that if there was a video of Larry or Sergey picking their nose, it would be the most popular video on YouTube, is the media frenzy over news that Google is parking the company plane at a NASA runway.

For $1.3 million a year, Larry Page and Sergey Brin get to park their customized wide-body Boeing 767-200, as well as two other jets used by top Google executives, on Moffett Field, an airport run by NASA that is generally closed to private aircraft.

The runway is just 1.7 miles from the Googleplex, so you can understand why Page and Brin coughed-up the money in return for landing privileges. NASA is trying to placate protestors–the ones who now have a jumbo-jet flying over their homes–by claiming Google will help with official NASA experiments.

The agreement gives Nasa the right to place instruments or scientists on some of the Google jets to collect scientific data ? and in fact Nasa had already used one of the Gulfstreams to observe a meteor shower on August 31.

“It was an opportunity for us to defray some of the fixed costs we have to maintain the airfield as well as to have flights of opportunity for our science missions,” Steven Zornetzer, a Nasa official, told the newspaper. “It seemed like a win-win situation.”

While that may seem like a fair deal, few people are buying that story. Raise your hand if you believe this is about Google helping NASA? Now raise your hand if you believe this is about Google helping themselves? Thought so.

PS. I wonder if there’s a LandingRank algo to determine if Google’s plane gets to land first? And don’t try to tail the Google jet, they have a “nofollow” in place.

View Larger Map – It’s a long journey from the Googleplex to Moffet Field

Comments

In a statement attributable to Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith, Microsoft attacked the EU’s threat vigorously . Smith slammed the EU’s logic, "US and European patent offices have awarded Microsoft more than 36 patents for the technology in these protocols, which took millions of dollars to develop, and another 37 patents are pending, so it’s hard to see how the Commission can argue that even patented innovation must be made available for free."

I would go further than that and challenge the EU’s motivation and honesty in its approach toward Microsoft. I don’t even believe this is part of the underhanded trade war the EU is playing with the U.S. (as in Boeing vs. Airbus). In this case the EU is simply trying to rip off one of America’s largest companies with flimsy inconsistent and illogical rulings. The United States government should be standing by Microsoft’s side in this battle.

No U.S. company should be paying a fine to the EU . There is an underlying principal here that goes to the heart of international trade which requires the U.S. to respond to these actions. If Microsoft has to pay fines and give away its intellectual property in order to sell products in Europe then the U.S. should reciprocate.

Clearly this is a trade battle. Microsoft is not harming companies in Europe and the EU knows it. It’s really a large scale hustle to extract dollars … that is their only motivation.

Rich Ord
CEO, iEntry, Inc.
Publisher of WebProNews

Cellular technology represented a cheaper way to accomplish what Boeing wanted to do with Connexion. Thus the airline maker will shut down Connexion, the BBC reported while noting Boeing will take a $320 million hit as one-time charges to its financials.

The service has been a money-loser as it could not compete with cellular networks on price. Besides airlines, Connexion’s shut down will also affect Teekay Shipping, whose cargo ships use the service.

The shutdown also means one less partnership for Yahoo. In July 2005, Yahoo and Boeing inked a deal that would make Yahoo the exclusive search engine for the Connexion portal. That did not debut for Connexion users until January 2006.

Last August, Intel announced it would help promote and enhance the Connexion service through Intel’s Wireless Verification Program.

The biggest problem for Connexion and Boeing came from US regulators. Although Connexion could be offered on international flights, domestic flights in the US were forbidden to use Connexion. The company had expressed confidence in July 2005 that it could overcome what Connexion president Laurette Koellner called “regulatory issues and the social issues” facing the service.

Snakes on a plane, man.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

I used the Boeing service on an SAS flight to Copenhagen and loved it. The problem wasn’t with the Wifi. But there was a major problem elsewhere that’ll keep people from using it: power.

My batteries in my laptop (and in most laptops I see on planes) last about two hours. Yeah, some models last four to eight, if you have additional “big” batteries. But most last about two hours the way you buy them out of the store.

So, how do you get power on the SAS flight? You have to buy a $250 upgrade each way. Prohibitive for most people. I actually tried to upgrade cause I wanted to do some work. Turned out those seats were sold out in both directions.

Long and short of it is that we aren’t going to see Wifi in most planes anytime soon.

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Robert Scoble is the founder of the Scobleizer blog. He works as PodTech.net’s Vice President of Media Development.

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Travelers on Asian or European airlines that carry the Connexion service will soon have a few extra content choices on board those flights. Personal Tech Pipeline said new options are on tap for January 23rd.

Live channels carrying the BBC, EuroNews, Eurosportnews, MSNBC, and CNBC can be accessed through Connexion. Users pay $9.95 for one hour of connectivity, or higher for longer blocks of connection time.

Also, Yahoo’s run as exclusive search engine for the Connexion portal begins January 15th, the company also announced. That’s taken a while to happen, as the original announcement of the partnership went public in July 2005.

North American carriers have not finished hammering out issues with the FCC over in-flight Internet access. Also, the Department of Justice had previously asked the FCC in July for quick access to in-flight communications, Internet and otherwise, in order to thwart terrorist attacks in the skies. That issue has not been resolved.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

Google got their Doctor, while Microsoft got some limitations imposed on the Doctor by King County Superior Court in Washington. Though both tech powers have described the court’s decision on Dr. Lee and his noncompete agreement to be a win, it appears Google has come out ahead.

The San Francisco Chronicle describes Dr. Lee as a “a rock star among computer scientists” in China. His presence as Google’s top talent recruiter there will be a huge win for Google.

Perhaps Dr. Lee will be the first to enjoy the comforts of the new Boeing 767 Google Jet after its completion, and take a trip on it to China. Previous reports on court records have shown how Google described Dr. Lee’s availability for recruiting before the end of the year was both necessary and not a violation of his noncompete agreement.

The judge in the case will permit Dr. Lee to recruit, but he cannot work on search or on his doctoral specialty, speech recognition, during the remaining time on his one-year noncompete agreement. Though he can’t work on those technologies directly, Dr. Lee can certainly appeal to college graduates in China with aptitude in those areas, and steer them to Google China.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

Intel Inside your laptop? Excellent. You’re one step closer to surfing the web at 35,000 feet. Intel announced yesterday it will help promote and enhance the Connexion by Boeing service, an in-flight Internet initiative.

According to a press release, the two companies have been testing the service and its compatibility with laptops equipped with Intel’s Centrino mobile chipset. This testing, which Intel calls the Wireless Verification Program, indicates a particular hotspot should work with Intel-based laptops.

Intel says it works with wireless hot-spot providers to improve quality of service, site coverage, and downtime issues. Currently, the Connexion by Boeing service may be found on international flights. US approval of the service for domestic flights has not been granted yet.

While the Intel verification program sounds nice, it should be noted that the service works with any Windows based machine running 95 or later, or Apple hardware with OS 9 or OS X and OpenTransport 2.6, along with a wireless card capable of 802.11b.

And that includes machines with AMD processors. 802.11b doesn’t care if a laptop has an Intel Inside sticker on it or not.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

The deal makes Yahoo the exclusive search engine on the Connexion by Boeing in-flight Internet service. Right now, Connexion has a portal site setup for travelers who like to surf and fly at the same time. This will put Yahoo search box on the portal.

“We are pleased to be partnering with a market leader like Yahoo! in order to provide our customers with the highest quality in-flight Internet experience available today,” explained David Friedman, vice president of marketing and direct sales, Connexion by Boeing. “We know our customers place a high value on being able to stay connected to the information and people that are important to them while on the go, and this agreement ensures that our customers can easily find what they are looking for — even at 30,000 feet.”

The access is real-time high-speed Internet. The users simply use their laptops to connect to the net and watch online TV or go through email or do whatever the want to do when they’re flying.

The multi-year distribution agreement will give in-flight users access to all of Yahoo’s regular search features, just like from their own desktop.

“We live in an age of connectivity where information should be easily accessible regardless of time, location or device,” said Bill Demas, Senior Vice President, Partner Solutions, Yahoo! Search Marketing. “This agreement highlights just one of the many exciting opportunities Yahoo! and Connexion by Boeing are exploring together to not only provide users with a world-class Internet experience no matter where they are, but to also enable marketers to reach potential customers who are searching for their products and services online.”

John Stith is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

Boeing’s earnings for the second quarter were $566 million, or 70 cents per share compared to $607 million, or 75 cents a share for the same quarter last year. Part of last year’s earnings included a 23 cents-a-share tax-refund benefit.

The company’s inspiration for raising its outlook comes at least in part from seeing improvement in overseas demand, and strong U.S. defense spending. AP reports:

Excluding a 9-cent charge related to the sale of commercial airplane facilities in Wichita, Kan., and Tulsa, Okla., earnings from continuing operations in the latest quarter were 79 cents per share. The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial was 61 cents a share.

Boeing upped its financial outlook for 2005 from a range of $2.40 to $2.60 a share to $2.75 to $2.85 a share, reflecting “stronger operating margins across Boeing’s core businesses.”

Boeing’s second-quarter sales jumped 15% as it delivered more expensive aircrafts. This is the biggest jump in sales that the company has had in nearly four years.

“They’ve been recording a large number of orders,” said Paul Nisbet, president of JSA Research. “They are really on a tear and will probably set a record.”

Boeing shares, which are a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, went up 30 cents yesterday reaching $66.35 according to MarketWatch. They are up 28% for the year.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.