WebProNews

Google Doesn't Know if Your Site is in the Cloud

Google's Matt Cutts discussed how the search engine handles sites that that are "in the cloud" with regards to how listings are affected. Matt's explanation was a response to the following user-submitted question:

Google Makes the Cloud Cheaper

Gmail used to offer a gigabyte of storage to new users, but now it offers at least seven gigs. Picasa comes with a gig. Sometimes that's not enough. While Google has offered the ability to pay for additional storage, the company has now reduced the prices for it.

Google: IT Departments Moving Toward the Cloud

Google has been pushing Google Apps use big time this year. They took out billboard space, and they recently sponsored a survey about IT departments and cloud computing. The poll covered 1,125 IT decision-makers. Google has prepared an entire report based on the findings, which is available for perusal here (pdf).

Government Embraces Cloud Computing With Store Launch

The concept of cloud computing received a big pat on the back this afternoon.  Vivek Kundra, the CIO of the USA, announced the launch of Apps.gov, a storefront designed to help federal agencies research and buy cloud-based solutions.

Schmidt: Google Serious About Acquisitions Again

About a month ago - and after a longish period of quiet - Google arranged to acquire video compression specialist On2 for $106.5 million.  More deals may be on the way, as well, since Eric Schmidt implied this week that the search and advertising giant's only getting started.

Microsoft Should Avoid Branding Issue for Office Web Version

Update: Office.com is now live under Microsoft's operation. Original Article: Microsoft is reportedly now the owner of the domain Office.com. This could be a key component of Microsoft staying competitive with Google as they amp up their quest to get businesses and consumers to use Google Apps.

Google Adds Bookmark Sync to Chrome Browser

Google has added a bookmark sync feature to its Chrome browser. Essentially, this lets users sync their bookmarks between their Chrome browser on different machines. "This new feature makes it easy to keep the same set of bookmarks on all your machines, and stores them alongside your Google Docs for easy web access," says Google's Tim Steele.

Gmail Out of Beta After All These Years

Today is a landmark day for Google. The company has finally announced that Google Apps is no longer in beta. I suspect this is more of a way to increase the adoption of its services, particularly among businesses, than any new accomplishment being met, but it is what it is. No more beta label on Gmail and other products that fall into Google's cloud offerings category.

Salesforce Gives Force.com Users Free Sites

Salesforce has announced the general availability of Force.com Sites, which was demoed last year at the Dreamforce event. With it, companies can build and run any website on Salesforce's cloud platform Force.com, the same platform that runs the company's sales and service apps.

Opera to Reinvent the Web Next Tuesday

Next Tuesday at 9:00 am Opera is going to reinvent the web. Sigh. How many times has the web been "reinvented" now? I've lost count... but could this time be different? What does Opera have up their sleeve? Tell us what you think.