Google has said this weekend that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a second request for information in regards to the search giant’s bid to purchase ITA Software for $700 million.
ITA software is the company behind flight information software used by Bing, Kayak and Orbitz among others.
The software helps users search for flights, compare flight options and prices, and ultimately purchase tickets.
Google has no such software built-in to its search engine, and in that respect, Microsoft’s Bing has the advantage.
Kayak and Orbitz voiced concerns that after the purchase, Google could shut off ITA information to them. Google has said it will not do anything of the sort.
Google responded to the second request: “While we think this acquisition will benefit travelers as well as those seeking their business, we know that closer scrutiny has been one consequence of Google’s success, and we said that we wouldn’t be surprised if there were a regulatory review before the deal closes. This week we received what’s called a “second request,” which means that the U.S. Department of Justice is asking for more information so that they can continue to review the deal.”
Past “second requests” have historically meant that the DOJ is concerned about the impact the deal will have on an industry.
Result for: surprise
In January, Eastman Kodak said it was suing smartphone makers RIM and Apple for patent violations relating to the cameras used in BlackBerrys and the iPhone.
In April, Apple countersued Kodak , accusing the film pioneer of violating two digital photography patents that Apple owns.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) has said this week that it will investigate into the countersuit, after agreeing to investigate into Kodak’s claims earlier this year.
The two patents specifically noted in the suit are patents 6,031,964 and RE38,911, which are “a system and method for using a unified memory architecture to implement a digital camera device,” and a “modular digital image processing via an image processing chain with modifiable parameter controls.”
The decision by the ITC is not a surprise as it, in most cases, accepts complaints from major corporations. The dispute can take up to years to be resolved, however.
Apple is currently in patent lawsuit disputes with Kodak, Nokia and HTC.
Result for: surprise
According to the AP, a new survey of Americans showed that about half of those polled believed the word “whatever” was the most annoying English conversation word and hated when it was used during a conversation.
The poll was conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion and shows that “whatever” received 47 percent of the votes. Second and third place went respectively to “you know” and “it is what it is.”
The word was made popular in the early 90s by the movie “Clueless” and by the band Nirvana and has not left the everyday English vocabulary since.
“It doesn’t surprise me because ‘whatever’ is in a special class, probably,” added Michael Adams, author of “Slang: The People’s Poetry.” “It’s a word that — and it depends how a speaker uses it — can suggest dismissiveness.”
The poll used 938 U.S. adults from around the States.
