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Google has expanded its licensing agreement with digital map provider Tele Atlas under undisclosed financial terms. The new license covers the entire range of Google's map-related services, from Google Maps and Google Earth services to newer applications that are expected to play lead roles on Google's Android mobile platform.

The five-year agreement also gives Tele Atlas access to edits for its maps from Google's community of users, whose suggested changes can help the company further increase the quality and richness of Tele Atlas maps. Tele Atlas CEO Bill Henry said the deal was important because it would give Tele Atlas "access to input from a significant online community of map users, whose feedback can help us keep our maps fresh and accurate."

Pause For Thought

From Google's perspective, the new licensing agreement will provide the search-engine giant with guaranteed access to Tele Atlas maps and dynamic content in more than 200 countries around the world. And it will no longer have to rely on getting data from digital mapmaker Navteq, which is in the process of being acquired by rival Nokia.

Nokia's recent relaunch of the Symbian mobile operating system as a free open-source rival to Google Android must have given the search-engine giant pause for thought, noted IDC Mobility Research Director Shiv Bakhshi. "It makes perfect sense for Google to sign on with a competing source, because it doesn't want its future to be circumscribed by a competitor," Bakhshi said.

By repositioning Symbian, Nokia will also be able compete for free, Bakhshi noted. "So it is a fight in a marketplace where Android no longer has any price advantage."

Mapping data is without doubt a major part of Google's plans for Android, Bakhshi noted. Following the launch of Google's first Android Developer Challenge last May, Android team member Eric Chu noted...

In a move that should send "cold chills down the necks of broadcast network executives," Google will unveil this fall an Internet-only animation show from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.

The new program, to be released in September, is called Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy, and it will appear exclusively on the Internet. But it won't be exclusive to Google. Rather, the search giant will exploit its AdSense advertising network to distribute MacFarlane's work across thousands of Web sites that attract the kinds of audiences likely to be interested in the show -- in a word, young audiences.

"The Internet is on track to become the dominant way video will eventually be distributed, and with it will come the ability for content creators like Mr. MacFarlane to take his shows directly to the customer and reap the benefits directly, without sharing any of his profits with traditional broadcasters," said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, in an e-mail.

Cutting Hollywood Out

Unlike previous Internet efforts to enter the entertainment business -- notably former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel's many agreements with Hollywood studios -- Google's deal cuts out the movie studios and television networks that have to date controlled top-quality content.

By going directly to a creative leader with an established reputation and a built-in audience comfortable with computers, Google is defining a future of entertainment that doesn't include the age-old "suits," producers and moneymen. Entertainment Hollywood-style could be replaced by Silicon Valley project managers.

The New York Times reports that the MacFarlane program will run as 50 two-minute episodes (possibly the optimum viewing time for the Internet), supported by a range of advertising formats, including "preroll" ads that run before the program, banner ads and text messages. MacFarlane describes the episodes as "animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see...

In a move to compete with Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony is set to release the PlayStation 3 software update 2.40 on Wednesday.

New features aim to beef up the way PS3 users play and interact with one another. Perhaps the biggest in-game experience additions are the XrossMediaBar (XMB) and Trophies. These were two of the most requested new features, according to Sony.

XMB lets PS3 users connect and communicate with other gamers and use other XMB features while playing most games. Trophies lets gamers tout their accomplishments via profiles, which also lets users compare their skills.

"Today's PlayStation 3 experience has evolved significantly from what we debuted at launch, and the 2.40 firmware update will drive the PS3 community experience forward at a time when the platform's momentum is stronger than ever, with the launches of several recent blockbuster titles and other exclusive content on the way," said Peter Dille, Sony's senior vice president of marketing.

Zooming in on XMB

XMB access allows gamers to interact through messaging. Gamers can view others' online status and profiles without interrupting game play. By pushing the PS button on the PS3 controller, the Home menu takes center stage over a game in progress.

Depending on the game, XMB access will either automatically pause the game or continue to run in the background. With these enhanced communications features for the PlayStation Network community -- which has more than 9.8 million registered accounts -- the Friends list capacity has doubled to 100.

With XMB access in a game, users can sign in to the PlayStation Network, manage PlayStation Store downloads, quit a game, and access options within the Settings category. PS3 users can also end their game and navigate directly to other PS3 system features by selecting to view content such as photos or videos stored on the system's hard...