Google is simply, it seems, trying to broaden the choices for travelers. As detailed in the press release for the acquisition, too few companies offer too few choices, and Google would like to change that. Profitably, of course.In April of this year,we reported onGoogle’s $700 million acquisition of ITA, a Boston based airfare software company. While the acquisition was controversial (Will Google Search now own the skies?), the DOJ approved it and Google promised to honor all previous agreements with ITA customers such as Kayak, Orbitz, Hotwire and TripAdvisor....

Google announcedGoogle Offers, a service that allows for special offers and deals to be delivered to your inbox, Thursday morning at an event in NYC. Google Offers will launch in Portland to start then spread outwards to other cities. It integrates with Google’s newly announcedGoogle Wallet servicealthough Google says that the service is open to other partners. Once you sign up for offers, deals will be delivered to your email inbox as well as to mobile phones using location information....

Google has todaylaunchedan updated version of its Apps Status Dashboard that will give Google Apps users much more detailed information about what is going on with the status of various apps. Thepreviousdashboard simply gave an ‘up-or-down’ status, but the new one is much more information rich. The new design gives you a timeline setup that makes it much easier to track the status of apps from day to day. This way you can track how long an app is down over the course of several days....

Google has today launchedOne Pass, a new payment system that enables publishers to charge consumers for news, articles and other content. The service will allow publishers to set their own prices and state different terms for their digital content, a move that looks to be the opposite of what Applerecently announcedwith its new in-app publishing system. Under Apple’s terms, 30% of all new subscriptions made via an iOS app, with the publisher only able to set the pricing for each subscription period....

Google has announced the launch ofGetting Kenyan Businesses Online Program (G.K.B.O), an initiative targeted at thousands of Kenya SMEs, including sole traders, who do not have a website or online presence. According to Google, together with its partners, “GKBO will provide free or subsidized services to help businesses to use web and internet technologies. This includes supporting organizations that provide assistance for small and medium businesses, as well as other industry organizations that are aligned with the aims of the initiative....