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Google’s homepage today features an animated video for the first drive-in theatre coupled with a notice below the search field that informs folks of the IPv6 protocol rollout.

So, lets discuss the cool animation first: Double click on the video for aggregated search results on the “opening of the first drive-in theater.” A quick perusal details how R.M. Hollingshead Corporation debuted the drive-in theater 79 years ago today in New Jersey. The original lot on Admiral Wilson Boulevard at the Airport Circle in Pennsauken squeezed in 400 cars, but it eventually inspired thousands of locations to pop-up around the country. Eventually the phenomena of watching a movie from within a car became a favorite American pastime.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=STXaUI67pyA]

Go below for more information on IPv6.

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Google sought consumer feedback on its highly anticipated Google Glasses product today while set up in a street fair booth in the San Francisco area.

According to GottaBeMobile’s Xavier Lanier, who also posted the picture above, the Google Research booth on Union Street screened “qualified” passerbys with an insights survey:

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OnLive showcased its cloud-based gaming platform on LG’s G2 Google TV sets today during the E3 conference in Los Angeles.

The company highlighted its Universal OnLive Wireless Controller with the LG G2 TV, and then detailed its “growing library of hundreds of top-tier, console-class video games on-demand” with demos available for every title. The sneak peaks allow up to 30 minutes of free gameplay, so players can give any title a complete test-drive. From there, gamers can buy “a la carte” or subscribe to OnLive’s PlayPack subscription service for unlimited on-demand play. Of course, OnLive games are also accessible on almost any Android, iOS, etc., tablet or smartphone with a broadband or Wi-Fi connection thanks to its cloud service.

“It’s always been our mission to make top-quality gaming accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said OnLive’s founder and CEO Steve Perlman in a press release. “OnLive adds no cost to LG Smart TVs, but delivers a full console-class experience. We’re excited to make on-demand top-tier gaming an integral part of the living room entertainment system on LG’s state-of-the-art TVs.”

Perlman previously announced on the official Google TV Blog in January that his cloud-gaming platform would launch on Google TV as an application.

OnLive revealed its social features for Google TV called “OnLive Viewer” at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show, but it elaborated today and said account holders can watch millions of gamers play live, capture videos of their gameplay, and share exploits with Facebook friends. Additional social functions enable OnLive users to exclusively watch, interact, and chat with friends in the new MultiView mode.

The LG G2 Series comes equipped with the Google TV platform, the L9 dual-core chipset, and full HD 3D. LG’s Google TV model is the first smart TV set to integrate OnLive on-demand gameplay.

The full press release is below.

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This red version above is a 9to5Google rendering.

AT&T just announced that its customers can begin placing preorders for the Samsung Galaxy S III on June 6 in both company-owned stores and online.

The company made sure to clarify in the official press release that only its 4G LTE-powered version is able to access “the nation’s largest 4G network.” Moreover, AT&T customers are privy to an exclusive red Galaxy S III that is due to launch this summer, where as the other U.S. carriers are limited to the standard pebble blue and white flavors.

The smartphone’s price tag starts at $199.99 for the 16 GB model after a two-year service agreement.

The full press release is below.

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Reports circulated last month that Google wanted to buy social messaging service Meebo for roughly $100 million, and now those stories have finally received official confirmation.

Meebo verified the news today in a post on the company blog (above):

Meebo began in 2005 as a browser-based instant messaging program with support for Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Facebook Chat, Google Talk, and others. The service now boasts mobile apps, and it features multi-user chat rooms, a content aggregator, and the ability for users to check-in and share media across popular social networks. It even offers APIs for developers.

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According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Google is preparing to launch a new ad service and tools aimed at small businesses as soon as July. Noting that the new service was once called “Business Builder” internally, the report claimed it will consist of various products that have been developed by Google and technologies/services acquired through the purchases of over six companies at a cost of roughly half a billion dollars since last year. The source claimed Google is hoping the new service will bring in billions in new revenue each year.

A few of the acquisitions mentioned in the report include in-store loyalty program Punchd and SMS customer interaction serviceTalkBin. The service would also include aspects of AdWords Express, Google Offers, Google Wallet, and several new products.

The report explained the Google+ angle:

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In its bi-monthly report, Google posted some impressive numbers on Ice Cream Sandwich and bragged its latest mobile operating system was installed on 7.1-percent of all Android handsets. Ice Cream Sandwich was released on the Galaxy Nexus last fall, and the Roboto-filled OS now seems to be making some headway on the charts. Google’s second oldest version of Android, Gingerbread, still leads the way, however, with 65 percent of Android’s user base. It is worth noting that Gingerbread also saw a bit of growth during the last few weeks. We cannot wait to see where Ice Cream Sandwich heads before the release of Jelly Bean. Hopefully, we will hear more information on Jelly Bean at this year’s Google I/O happening from June 27 to June 29. In the mean time, you can check out the graphs after the break for the full breakdown.

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Mega-agent Ari Emanuel (you know—the conceited big shot who Jeremy Piven played in the hit HBO show “Entourage“) just wrote an open response to Google asking for the company, along with Silicon Valley and Hollywood, to join forces and develop a solution to the country’s piracy and copyright issues.

Emanuel appeared at the AllThingsD D10 Conference with hosts Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher on Wednesday, where he called out Google and YouTube during the interview for filtering child pornography, but allowing pirated media content.

In lieu of Emanuel’s assertions, Mossberg asked Google’s advertising head Susan Wojcicki today why the search engine does not find and filter copyrighted material. She called Emanuel “very misinformed,” and then said the problem with filtering content is not technical, but rather a complicated business problem.

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Two Google senior vice presidents appeared on stage at the AllThingsD D10 Conference yesterday to discuss all things YouTube and Chrome with co-host Walt Mossberg.

Mossberg asked Google’s ad wizard Susan Wojcicki why the search engine does not find and filter copyrighted material. The topic came in leiu of Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel’s assertions from Wednesday, while at the conference, when he claimed YouTube filtered child pornography, but allowed pirated media content.

“The problem is identifying which copyright belongs to who… is very complicated,” said Wojcicki, while mentioning that filtering copyrighted content is not technical, but rather a complicated business issue. “At the end of the day, in order to know what to do with that content, we need to hear from the copyright owner.”

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(via <a href="http://phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nokia-Event-Elop-Ballmer-10_web1-550x369.jpg" target="_blank">Phandroid</a>)

Google claimed in a formal complaint with the European Commission recently that Microsoft and Nokia conspired to use their patents against competitors.

“Nokia and Microsoft are colluding to raise the costs of mobile devices for consumers, creating patent trolls that side-step promises both companies have made,” said Google in a statement to The Wall Street Journal, while Microsoft deemed the search engine’s filing as a “desperate tactic.”

According to the filing, Microsoft and Nokia entered agreements that allow Mosaid Technologies Inc. to legally enforce patents and share the outcome’s revenue. Reuters further specified that the two collaborating companies moved 1,200 patents to Mosaid.

Google called Mosaid a “patent troll” for holding patents and litigating hawkishly, and then it described its filing as a “pre-emptive measure against a developing legal hazard for Android partners.” In a nutshell: Google’s “legal hazard” concerns if smartphone manufacturers begin to view Android as a legal danger, they may decide to do business with Microsoft and Nokia instead.

“Google is complaining about antitrust in the smartphone industry when it controls more than 95 percent of mobile search and advertising,” added Microsoft in an emailed statement to The Wall Street Journal.

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And war has begun: Facebook slammed Google’s Chrome browser today with the above unsupported web browser message [cache], which recommended Opera, among others, as a better alternative for viewing the social network.

FavBrowser first discovered the change and noted Facebook’s rumored plans to acquire Opera. This is noteworthy, because Google+ is Facebook’s direct competitor. The infant Google service is tackling Facebook head-on with its executives consistently criticizing Facebook, like when CEO Larry Page accused Facebook of holding users hostage last week. Only now it appears the back-talking has turned into actions, because Facebook no longer recommends Chrome to its nearly 1 billion active users.

According to StatCounter, Chrome passed Internet Explorer during the week of May 14 to May 20 to become the most popular browser in the world. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer still has a commanding lead in the United States, but growth for Chrome is steadily increasing in regions like South America, India, and Europe. The browser also surpassed Internet Explorer, although for just a day, in March. These statistics indicate that Chrome is too large for Facebook to ignore.

Meanwhile, Google’s CEO Larry Page said in a statement to investors in April that the company’s own social network Google+ now has more than 100 million active users, which is up from 90 million total users in January. To him, the network is an integral product that will help Google bring the next generation of search to life. Despite these bold goals, Facebook still reins king in the social network market with its nearly 10 times larger userbase.

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As noted by Google’s chief Internet evangelist Vint Cerf on the Official Google blog, Google has recently applied for .google, .youtube, and .lol, and other generic top-level domains. ICANN plans o publish a list of applied-for domains on June 13. Today is the deadline for submitting applications.

In 2008, ICANN announced a program to expand the number of generic TLDs (think .com, .org, .edu), developed through its bottom-up, multi-stakeholder process, in which we participate. Given this expansion process, we decided to submit applications for new TLDs, which generally fall into four categories

Cerf continued by giving examples of the domains Google is requesting:

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According to a report from The New York Post, Google’s CEO Larry Page is considering extending the company’s relationship with label-backed music-video service Vevo by possibly buying an equity stake in the venture. The report claimed that Facebook is also considering making an investment in Vevo, which is reportedly currently valued at $1 billion and run by major labels including Universal Music Group and Sony Music.

Both Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg are exploring an investment in Vevo as part of a broader partnership with the music-video service, The Post has learned.

Vevo already has a deal with Google to host its content on YouTube, but the report noted that agreement lasts only through the remainder of 2012. Vevo is reportedly negotiating with YouTube to accept lower than the two-thirds of ad-revenue it currently receives from the Vevo content that it hosts. As The Post pointed out, recent stats from comScore listed Vevo as YouTube’s top partner channel in April with 48 million unique viewers during the month.

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Google just denounced a Thai court sentence regarding an Internet forum Web master who received a one-year suspended prison sentence this morning for comments posted by users that offended the Thai royal family.

According to The New York Times, Prachatai [translated] is a popular Thailand-based forum about politics and culture, and its Web master, Chiranuch Premchaiporn, was found guilty of lèse-majesté (royal insults) under the country’s Computer Crimes Act. Interestingly, she did not write the libelous comments in question, but only managed the website that hosted them.

“Telephone companies are not penalized for things people say on the phone, and responsible Web site owners should not be punished for comments users post on their sites — but Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act is being used to do just that,” said Google spokesperson Taj Meadows to The New York Times.

Kampol Rungrat ruled that Premchaiporn was liable for at least one defamatory comment that remained visible for 20 days. The judge noted prosecutors could not prove she supported the comment, and it is unreasonable to expect a Web master to remove comments immediately, but it is still a duty under law. The judge found that leaving the contemptous comment live for such an extended period was beyond reasonable.

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Google’s much-rumored 7-inch Asus tablet surfaced in a RightWare benchmark test recently and teased those eagerly awaiting a Mountain View, Calif.-branded slate.

The outing revealed a “Google Asus Nexus 7″ that boasts a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, runs Android 4.1, and carries a 768-by-1,280 resolution. The screenshots above and below detail the full specs. 

Mum’s the word for Google and Asus, but recent rumors suggest the 7-inch device will unveil at Google’s I/O Conference next month. It is worth mentioning, however, that past reports also indicated an April and May launch. One thing is for sure, with Asus on board for this project, many believe the Nexus 7 will look similar to other offerings by the Taiwanese manufacturer.

Google’s flagship Android-powered tablet is set to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 2, so a $200 to $250 price tag is in the radar.

In related news, a Federal Communications Commission filing for the Asus MeMo Pad 370T appeared this morning. This, as one might recall, is the $249 CES device that put the rumor mill into overdrive regarding a potential Google tablet, and now it causing the blogosophere to brim with reports about a 7-inch form factor on the I/O horizon.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q0pH1mD8sRk]

It is no secret that Google touts social as important, and the search engine is reiterating that focus today by announcing a new social feature combined with local search: Google+ Local.

“Today, we’re rolling out Google+ Local, a simple way to discover and share local information featuring Zagat scores and recommendations from people you trust in Google+,” explained Google’s Director of Product Management Avni Shah on the Official Google Blog.  

Users can search for places under the “Local” tab on the left-hand side of Google+, and once they select a place, they will find a local Google+ page equipped with photos, Zagat scores and summaries, reviews from people in their circles, and other related information.

Google+ Local also integrates with Search, Maps, and mobile, so it can streamline the experience across Google. It is rolling out now, including to Android and iOS, so as Shah put it, “if you don’t have it yet feel free to begin furiously refreshing your browser.”

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