Google's business customers, specifically users of Google Apps, have to wait a bit longer to try Google+. The Google Profiles service, a required component of Google+, has not been compatible with Google Apps for several months. Google engineers are working to remedy the situation but there are significant hurdles to overcome
Google hopes that its slow rollout will encourage a steady momentum, and in the early stages Google+ will provide enough value to keep the early adopters engaged, and that it will motivate them to invite their contacts.
No one expects an instant success. But even if this week's launch evokes snark or yawns, Google will keep at it. Google+ is not a product like Buzz or Wave where the company's leaders can chalk off a failure to laudable ambition and then move on. "We're in this for the long run," says Ben-Yair. "This isn't like an experiment. We're betting on this, so if obstacles arise, we'll adapt."
"I don't really see what Google's alternative is," says Smarr. "People are going to be a fundamental layer of the internet. There's no going back."
At least it does if you live in one of the six cities Google has so far partnered with. Boston, Portland, San Diego, and San Francisco, as well as Madrid and Turin across the pond, have all worked with Google to include a real-time schedule of their public transit systems in the latest version of Google Maps.
At Google IO today, Google announced the availability of the Android Open Accessory Development Kit, a new way to extend the Android platform so that other devices can be controlled via phones or tablets. Similar to the SDK, the ADK will allow hardware developers to take advantage of Android so that the OS can control or monitor external devices.