Google rebuffs German request for evidence

In today's podcast: Google rebuffs German request for evidence; Palm VP for user interface joins Google; and OLPC won't use Windows for XO-3.

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Google rebuffed a request from German data protection officials to hand over data it mistakenly collected as part of Street View imagery. Google had until midnight Wednesday to turn over a hard drive from one the vehicles collecting the data to Hamburg's Data Protection Agency. Google could potentially face a [euro]50,000 fine (or US$61,000) fine, for not turning over the hard drive. But the agency plans to have continuing discussions with Google over the next week.

Matias Duarte, formerly vice president of human interface and user experience at Palm, has left to take a job with Google, marking one of the first defections since Hewlett-Packard announced plans to buy the struggling phone maker. Duarte will serve as user experience director for Android, Google said. The All Things Digital blog first reported on Duarte's move. Prior to Palm, Duarte worked for Helio, a mobile virtual network operator, and before that Danger. Danger's co-founder, Andy Rubin, now heads development of Android for Google.

One Laptop Per Child won't use Microsoft's Windows OS on its upcoming XO-3 tablet, which will run Linux, OLPC's CTO Ed McNierney said Thursday. OLPC's chairman Nicholas Negroponte last year said that the organization was "urging" Microsoft to make a full version of Windows available for the earlier XO-2, which was also based on the Arm processor. The XO-2 was later canceled. The XO-3 will also use an Arm processor, but OLPC is ruling out loading multiple versions of Windows on the tablet.

Google has closed its acquisition of AdMob, following news less than a week ago that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission would not block the deal. . The acquisition raises "serious antitrust concerns," the FTC said in a statement, but Apple's announcement earlier this year that it would launch its own ad network ultimately led the agency to approve the deal, it said. Apple acquired mobile advertising provider Quattro Wireless in January.

...And those are the top stories from the IDG Global IT News Update, brought to you by the IDG News Service. I'm Sumner Lemon in Singapore. Join us again later for more news from the world of technology.