Google has said that it used the workaround to attach a temporary cookie to users’ machines to see whether users were signed in to its services. If so, the cookie allowed Google to serve them personal ads or gain the ability to use its “+1” button. Google said that it was unaware that that further cookies were being attached to users’ machines.
Google’s tactics were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Rachel Whetstone, a Google spokeswoman, said, “The Journal mischaracterizes what happened and why. We used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled. It’s important to stress that these advertising cookies do not collect personal information.”
In other Google news, the search engine behemoth received a bit of good news yesterday when Nevada approved regulations for driverless cars. The Verge reports:
Nevada is becoming the first US state to approve and regulate rules for self-driving cars on its roadways. Nevada's Legislative Commission approved regulations on Wednesday that will allow for the testing of autonomous vehicles, with a red license plate, on the streets of Las Vegas and other cities. Nevada state was originally lobbied by Google last year to introduce the regulations, although it's not clear why the search giant is throwing money at automated cars throughout Nevada instead of its home state of California. Nevertheless, Nevada has partnered with Google, insurance companies, universities, automobile manufacturers, and law enforcement to create the regulations that will introduce the future of automobiles.
Google originally unveiled its self-driving cars in 2010, after testing them over 140,000 miles on the roads of California. The cars use video cameras, radar sensors, and a laser range finder to navigate roads, with the aim of reducing road traffic accidents. BMW, Audi, and Toyota are also working on their own computer-controlled driving systems, with Alan Taub, vice president of research and development for General Motors, predicting the technology will be a standard feature by 2020. Once the cars are tested and ready for the general public, Nevada will issue green license plates to identify vehicles equipped with autonomous technology.
Want to know what’s been going on with Google’s cloud storage service? Well, apparently there’s been a sighting. VentureBeat.com reports:
Google’s long-rumored cloud storage solution, Drive, has been spotted on one user’s account — and not surprisingly, it looks about the same as Google Docs and the company’s other online services.
A reader forwarded the above screenshot to Geekwire, which also managed to dig up Google’s planned logo for the service (see right). Google refused to comment on the news, which is par for the course when it comes to rumors.
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