Items tagged with GOOG
Although Apple in the past has relied on Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure to host its iCloud storage solution, but change is afoot. The first indications are now surfacing that Apple has moved [at least in part] to Google's Cloud Platform. It's not clear if Apple is exclusively on Google's platform or if it's using a mixture of competing solutions for the storage needed for all the images and other data that Apple users upload to iCloud. The move might seem rather surprising considering that Apple and Google are rivals in the smartphone realm, with each representing one of the most popular mobile operating systems out there. An update to the iOS Security Guide made last...
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We applaud companies willing to push the envelope with innovative new design approaches. Sometimes their efforts aren't rewarded with complete market acceptance, but unique features and hardware that attempt to blaze new trails in existing markets, are always interesting to say the least. In a way, the Galaxy Note Edge fits this description. Similar to 4K curved televisions, one has to wonder if the world truly needs a flagship smartphone with 160 extra pixels along its right edge with an additional curved display. But, as was the case when the original Note launched and many experts shook their heads in disapproval, the Note Edge could strike a chord with consumers and usher in...
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Chinese smartphone OEM Xiaomi has been kicking ass and taking names during the past year. In the Chinese market, Xiaomi displaced Samsung to become the country’s top-selling smartphone vendor during Q2. And thanks to some combo blows from both Xiaomi and Huawei, Samsung has been sent running for cover as it attempts to reinvent its smartphone lineup and cut costs across the board. “I believe that no one thought the Xiaomi from three years ago, which just made its first phone, would later rank as the third largest player,” said Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun at China’s World Internet Conference last month. “Within five or 10 years, we have the opportunity to become the number one smartphone company in the...
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Following the initial leaks against the NSA by Edward Snowden this past summer, there was speculation that what was being exposed would end up hurting the business of US-based tech companies overseas. It's easy to understand why - when it's discovered that a country has been literally spying on those in friendly countries, no one is going to forget about it that quickly. But despite that, it seems that there's been no harm so far, and if anything, it's actually improved the business of some fortunate companies. Where Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon are concerned, the companies claim that there's been no visible reduction in overseas business. Interestingly enough, US-based companies specializing...
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Even the best, most finely-constructed plans can go wrong, it seems. And sometimes, having a good problem is still having a problem. Earlier in the week, Google introduced a $35 HDMI dongle known as Chromecast, which was meant to bring some elements of Chrome and other elements of alternative TV viewing to anyone's HDTV. For cheap. And perhaps the best deal of all was the fact that three months of Netflix service was included for free, and that even extended to existing users. In other words, the Netflix service alone was nearly worth the price of admission, netting you the Chromecast dongle for free. Welp, evidently too many people noticed the deal, and now what was largely too good to be true...
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Well, what do we have here? According to Google's own Eric Schmidt, it could very well be the famed Motorola X. A few months ago, we learned that Motorola, now fully under Google's stewardship, would be launching its first flagship Android phone since the acquisition. The company has a lot riding on this device. With a new iPhone anticipated for the fall and the Galaxy S4 selling like hotcakes globally, the mobile market is as competitive as it has ever been at the top end. The Motorola X, presumably shown here as Schmidt visits other tech moguls at the Sun Valley conference in Idaho, will also be made in the United States and be customizable to some degree once it goes on sale to the public...
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When it comes to Street View, Google has created something special. The company has provided ground-level imagery of highways and byways across a huge portion of the motorized world, enabling anyone with a Web browser and an Internet connection to see what the locals see while driving. It's an impressive feat, and a daunting task to map out. But in some areas, Google has longed to provide Street View imagery in places where motorcars aren't allowed. For those scenarios, it has used a backpack-type apparatus that straps onto a human test subject. At the top is an array of cameras and a logging device, which takes imagery as the person walks, stiches it all together, and readies it for publishing....
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It's easy to take broadband Internet access for granted when you live in a city or the suburbs. Companies like Charter, Comcast, and other ISPs have done a good job making sure densely populated areas can receive fast Internet service, but once you venture off the beaten path, broadband is a bit more difficult to come by. The situation is even worse on a worldwide scale -- according to Google, 2 out every 3 people on the planet are without fast, affordable Internet options. The solution? Maybe balloons. Yes, balloons, which would serve as the backbone to an ambitious effort to expand affordable Internet access to rural areas and other destinations with limited options. Google's calling the "crazy"...
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NORAD may have decided to power their Santa Tracker engine with Bing maps this year but Google is stepping up to the mistletoe, with yuletide vigor, to help those on the "nice" list keep track of Santa's activities and of course that magical journey on Christmas eve. Google's Santa Tracker page is loaded with goodies for good girls and boys. And heck, maybe if you've been a tad naughty this year (who hasn't?), you can hop on the Santa HOT line and instant chat with the big man in an effort to get in his good graces. Think about it. The office Christmas party this year was a bit of a blow-out. You remember that, right? Mum's the word... On December 24th, you...
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While Google's new version of its Mobile App for the iPhone has been warmly received, it appears, according to a report, that it uses an undocumented API, which would be a no-no in Apple's book. However, the use of the API results in a great user experience, so one has to wonder: did Apple let the app into the App Store because it was great, because Google is so powerful, because the NY Times pimped the app, or because Apple just missed it? As you probably know, the new version of the app uses voice recognition: no more typing in search queries unless you speak with a British accent, and the app is smart enough to realize when you are raising the phone to your ear to speak, and prompt you. But...
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In the almost seventy years that the photojournalism magazine LIFE magazine was published, the publication amassed a huge collection of images. Some of the images in this collection even date back to eighteenth-century etchings and nineteenth-century photographic glass plates. The total collection of images in the LIFE archive numbers approximately 10 million--the vast majority of which have never been published before. With Google's help, that is all about to change. Google and LIFE have already digitized about 2 million of these images; starting today, Google is making all the images publicly available online. Google promises that it will be bringing the entire library of 10 million images...
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Searching for useful information on a mobile phone isn't always easy or convenient. To help, Google's Mobile team released the Google Mobile App for the iPhone, complete with Voice Search and My Location features. With the app's voice search capabilities, you can perform a Google Web search using--you guessed it--your voice. To use this feature, you simply hold the phone to your ear, wait for a beep to tell you the app is listening, and then say what you are looking for. The application senses when you want to start speaking based on the phone's motion.In combination with the application's My Location feature, you can also search for information relative to your...
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There's a lot more to history and archeology than just uncovering the past. Sometimes recreating the past in our present time is the best way to understand how people lived thousands of years ago. One such project, the Rome Reborn project of the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, seeks to digitally rebuild the city of Rome "as it might have appeared at the height of its urban development in the time of Constantine the Great in A.D. 320."The first version of the Rome Reborn project was ten years in the making and was completed only last year. It included digital models of the terrain and over 7,000 structures--250 of which were highly detailed. The source...
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Google will roll out its new voice and video chat inside Gmail over the course of the next two days for both Windows and Mac OSX. The new service was created in a joint effort between the Google Sweden and Google US teams, and hopes to promote and assist global collaboration for businesses while also providing an easy to use interface that will allow even the most computer illiterate to get chatting.How easy is it? Let the developers at Google show you: Unlike Skype, by incorporating the chat directly into Gmail, all that is needed is a simple plug-in and you're ready to go. This plug-in keeps the size of the application down to approximately 2 mb and uses a proprietary format rather than flash,...
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