“Google Inc., trying to extend its dominance of Internet search into the market for videos, said it made a mistake with the design of an online store,” Bloomberg News reports. “Shows for sale weren’t well promoted on the home page of Google Video, which was introduced earlier this month, Vice President Marissa Mayer said in an interview in Munich, Germany. That left customers unable to tap easily into hits such as CBS’ top-rated ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ and reality show ‘Survivor.'”
“‘We made a big mistake,’ Mayer, who oversees all of Google’s search products, said Tuesday. ‘You can’t come out and launch a product like Google Video and say ‘CSI’ and ‘Survivor’ are there if they’re not on the home page.’ The video service has ‘fallen far short’ of competitors such as Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes music and video offering, said Allen Weiner, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc. ‘What Apple has done with the iTunes store sets the bar really high,'” Bloomberg News reports. “Google video won’t let consumers play copy-protected shows on portable video devices, including the iPod or laptops that aren’t connected to the Internet, Pogue said. That means they can’t be viewed on long plane or car journeys. He also said the site’s design is ‘incredibly bare-bones and empty-looking.’ Google changed the home page Tuesday to make it easier to find clips, Mayer said.”
Full article here.
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Related articles:
AP: Google Video Store not ready for prime time, doesn’t compare well to Apple’s iTunes Store – January 21, 2006
Review: ‘Google and CBS release embarrassment of a video store’ – January 12, 2006
Analyst: Google Video Store’s proprietary DRM a sign of Google’s ‘arrogance’ – January 07, 2006
You think???
Peace.
What is CBS waiting for? Why aren’t they putting CSI and Survivor on iTMS? Do they think they have a better mousetrap?
It still looks like a page out of “HTML for Dummies.”
Of course… what else is new… Apple putting the smack down on google its great
FSCK!
I wanted to buy the kobe bryant game, but i can’t cuz i’m not on Windows!
DAMNIT
btw.. there’s a cheesy clip of a girl showing off her thong.. it’s on the ‘popular’ list…don’t you guys screen for shit like that? lol
The update looks better than the old one, but it still looks like a high school class project. (Or am I being too kind?-high school was a looong time ago)
Give credit where credit is due, at least they’re not in denial and admit they’ve gone and made a terrible GOOFLE.
Yep, that’s a winner, alright…
“Funny Cats” and “CSI” on the same page…
Classy site…
Since_llci:
That is a very good point. I was thinking that when I first read the article. At least they didn’t defend the lousy interface by saying it was a “feature” or an “alternative” to iTunes.
Thank you oh great MacDailyNews spin doctor. Did anyone else notice how the writer jumped around with his quotes like it was all coming from Google? Yeah, I agree Googles video store is crap, but I don’t need quotes from completely other sources taken out of context to figure that out.
I read this site 3 to 4 times a day because I love Apple and I love hearing news about current Apple events. However, this blatant spinning of news is just getting ridiculous and very annoying.
Could anyone please recommend a more NUETRAL Apple news source?
Thanks.
I’m a ball hog, a whiner, a cheater and a loser.
There I said it, now I can get back to more important things….like ME.
What´s real dumb is if you are not in the US you can´t even use it.
“Thanks for your interest in Google Video.
Currently, the playback feature of Google Video isn’t available in your country.
We hope to make this feature available more widely in the future, and we really appreciate your patience. “
I believe that Google made a really big moral mistake caving into China.
“day pass” ?????
they’ve got to be kidding…..
Try http://macsurfer.com/
it’s my first of many mac site news spots
but MDN always has me 2 or 3 times a day.
MDN updates more often through out the day.
“Google video won’t let consumers play copy-protected shows on portable video devices, including the iPod or laptops that aren’t connected to the Internet”
Maybe that is is the mistake.
The Google guys are a bunch of Geeks and PHds who have no clue what looks good or is useful.
A reda and blue checked shirt together green and pink striped pants is high fashion at Google.
Has anyone looked at the quality of these videos? They suck big time!
deedubya – even better:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=apple&btnG=Search+News
News MDN won´t print:
-Apple refuses to fix 10 year old bugs
-Apple Powerbooks have sound defect, claim
-Even more Postal Service/Apple Intel Ad drama: Apple ‘censors’ …
Matthew wrote…
“Could anyone please recommend a more NUETRAL Apple news source? “
Like ANY news source, there is always an editorial bend. I tend to agree with you not only with the spin from the editors but the inane dribble that usually ensues after a posting. Gotta just read between the lines, peruse the posts for something of interest and value and let the rest fall away. BTW, listen to Steve Jobs commencement speech given to Stanford graduates http://itunes.stanford.edu/ for some Apple-esque perspective. And give MDN their credit as well, this mush take some effort to keep up.
That is teh ‘no duh’ quote of the day.
Perhaps the mistake is in not separating the professional, for-purchase video content from the teenage-boys-with-a-camcorder content.
Saying they made a mistake with the design implies that they actually had one. Just slapping some stuff onto an existing template isn’t really design.
The update seems much better than the old. I actual found and saw two totaally funny videos. The video with the biker guy dancing to My Humps here is hilarious. I can’t say I’m encouraged to buy anything from them, but the free videos are cool. Though I’ll admit, I’d probably never get past the what’s popular or random section, too much trash.
With the MTV/Nick additions, it seems that at least half of the folks over at Viacom can see the value opportunity. If those shows prove to be popular, than it should only be a matter of time before a water cooler conversation at Viacom’s HQ between staffers of MTV and CBS leads to CBS content being offered on iTunes, as well.