Category: Google

Google Forms An Alliance With Top Companies For Affordable Internet Worldwide

Google has kick-started an initiative to bring the Internet to third world countries with the help of its peers in the technology sector as well as a handful of American, British and other organizations.

Called the Alliance for Affordable Internet, group aims to steer countries toward policy and regulatory change that will encourage better wireless and wired Internet access, CNet reported.

Google says that A4AI will work with countries around the world to influence policy changes that will make Internet more affordable. How affordable? Google says that ISPs in developing countries charge up to 30 percent of a person’s monthly income for basic broadband services. With effective policy change, Google says it can bring down costs to the UN Broadband Commission’s recommended target of 5 percent of a person’s monthly income.

“A4AI has a specific goal in mind: to reach the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband access priced at less than 5 percent of monthly income worldwide,” Jennifer Haroon, principal executive of Google’s access program, wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Cisco and Intel are just a few of the more than 30 members drawn from technology firms, public sector groups and foundations around the world.

If A4AI achieves its goal, the two-thirds of the world that is not currently online will be able to connect to the Internet for a reasonable price.

October 7, 2013
Nexus 5 full details emerge in Leaked LG Service Manual

In a twist of events Google has not been able to keep the upcoming device under wraps. The first images of the Nexus 5 came thanks to Google’s own Android Kit Kat unveil video, post which a barrage of images started to pop over on to the inter webs.

Now a leaked LG service manual with the model number LG D821 has emerged which gives of the complete low down on the new Nexus 5 and its design. According to the leaked resource the handset will have 4.95-inch display, a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, inductive charging and NFC. This particular model’s LTE bands (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 20) are optimized for Asia and Europe.

On the optics front there’s an eight-megapixel camera with OIS on back and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for selfies. Storage is a steady 32GB and is powered by a 2300 mAh juice pack. The LCD IPS display has a 1080p resolution and screen tethering is supported via a Slimport (just like the Nexus 4).

The Hardware will have the usual array of sensors, but one unique one which measures pressure, there is also a notification light and a microSim Slot.

LG D821

[VIA]

October 6, 2013
BlackBerry Looking To Rope In Google, Cisco, SAP For Potential Sale

Another round of big name organizations are reportedly interested in BlackBerry. According to a report in Reuters today, Cisco Systems, Google and SAP are all ‘in talks’ with BlackBerry and considering purchasing the companies assets, specifically its secure server network and patent portfolio.

In addition, the report also notes that BlackBerry ‘has asked for preliminary expressions of interest from potential strategic buyers, which also include Intel Corp and Asian companies LG and Samsung.’ This is particularly interesting as Samsung has repeatedly declared they have no interest in the Waterloo-based company.

A week ago BlackBerry announced a $4.7 billion bid from Toronto-based Fairfax Financial, but the clause still ‘entitled to go-shop’ for other potential offers. New York-based Cerberus, who apparently specializes in investing in troubled organizations, is nowhere close to closing a deal and ‘is aiming to sign a confidentiality agreement that would allow it to access BlackBerry’s private financial information.’

The WSJ also reports that there’s another ‘distressed-investing firm’ interested in snatching up BlackBerry, but the ‘person familiar with the matter’ didn’t want to disclose the name. In addition, as previously rumoured, BlackBerry co-founder, Mike Lazaridis is considering a bid for the business.

BlackBerry declined to comment on the potential investor, stating “We do not intend to disclose further developments with the respect to the process until we approve a specific transaction or otherwise conclude the review of strategic alternatives.”

October 5, 2013
Google Acquires ‘Flutter’ the Company Which Builds Gesture Recognition Technology

Google acquires Flutter, a company which builds gesture recognition technology for computers. This came up an year back as Flutter started to build software allowing users to control their computers by making gestures in front of their webcams.

This technology can be used in the company’s Chromebook line of laptops. This is what the company says after being acquired by Google:

When we started three years ago, our dream to build a ubiquitous and power-efficient gesture recognition technology was considered by many as just “a dream”, not a real possibility. Since then, we have strived to build the best machine vision algorithms and a delightful user experience.

Even after we launched our first app, we didn’t stop our research; your enthusiasm and support pushed us to continue to do better. We’re inspired everyday when we hear, for example, that Flutter makes you feel like a superhero — because any sufficiently advanced technology should be indistinguishable from magic, right?

Today, we are thrilled to announce that we will be continuing our research at Google. We share Google’s passion for 10x thinking, and we’re excited to add their rocket fuel to our journey.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to all of our users; your feedback and evangelism inspire us every day. Flutter users will be able to continue to use the app, and stay tuned for future updates.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the deal to the media, “We’re really impressed by the Flutter team’s ability to design new technology based on cutting-edge research. We look forward to supporting and collaborating on their research efforts at Google.”

This deal might bring up the Gmail motion live, the company released a video long back in 2011 showing this technology:

[youtube id=”Bu927_ul_X0″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

October 3, 2013
Upcoming Nexus 5 Poses In Latest Leak

The Nexus 5 release date should be sometime next month as pictures of the device hit the internet this week.

The photos were taken by a MacRumors user who happened to encounter the device while out and about. He released a brief report detailing his experience with the Nexus 5.

“Got to handle the Nexus 5,” he said. “It is smaller than the G2. Didn’t actually measure it, but holding it in the hand it is smaller. It does feel good holding it. The black back cover feels like my Nexus 7. The screen was ok, didn’t wow me like the Note 3. The bezel is very small.”

This is another solid and somewhat clear view of the back plate, albeit partially obstructed by another device at the bottom (likely to cover up any identifying information), that shows off the vertical “Nexus” logo and large camera pod in the top left corner. The back seems to be of a similar material as what we’ve seen before, but giving the lighting we can’t be sure.

The device that appears in the new pictures closely resembles the handset seen in the Android 4.4, KitKat software unveiling photos. This enhances the possibility of the Nexus 5 sporting this same design seen in both pictures when it launches later this year.

Documents at the FCC confirmed a few specs: display of 4.96-inches, 2,300mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16-32GB of internal storage, LTE connectivity, 13MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera.

[Via]

October 1, 2013
Apple is Worlds Top Brand, Coca-Cola Left Behind

The Best Global Brands report is coming up since 2000, the previous brand which was at the top most position was Coca-Cola which now fell to number 3. For the first time in its 13-year history, Best Global Brands have a new leader of its annual study of the most valuable brand names, which is Apple.

Not only has Apple replaced Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance as well. Apple came over Coca-Cola, which had led the study since it began in 2000, with a brand value Interbrand assessed at $98.3 billion. However, Google came in at second place with a brand value of $93.3 billion, ahead of the soft drink maker’s $79.2 billion value.

Other positions of different brands can be seen below:

September 30, 2013
Google Improves Search Accuracy Via Hummingbird Update

Marking Google’s 15th birthday, the Hummingbird update was release which is the biggest change to the inner workings of the world’s most popular search engine since Google’s “Caffeine” update in 2010, which sped up Google’s indexing of sites and delivery of search results.

The Hummingbird update focuses more on Google’s Knowledge Graph – an encyclopaedia of about 570m concepts and relationships that allows Google to anticipate facts and figures you might want to know about your search term.

When you search Google it no longer just searches for individual keywords; it can now respond to questions and statements in the same way a human might, by looking at the whole query – even if it doesn’t have an exact answer.

Apart from ‘Hummingbird’, several other updates have been announced, with most aiming at providing the data more concisely to allow people not to navigate to another website to find out more – which can prove difficult on small smart phone screens.

“Remember what it was like to search in 1998? You’d sit down and boot up your bulky computer, dial up on your squawky modem, type in some keywords, and get 10 blue links to websites that had those words,” Senior vice president Amit Singhal wrote in a separate blog post.

“The world has changed so much since then: billions of people have come online, the web has grown exponentially, and now you can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket.”

These changes mainly affect the ‘Knowledge Graph’, a box that appears on top or alongside other search results. In particular, its new version will be able to compare the attributes of two different things. ‘Google Now’, a virtual assistant that provides for the user the information about his interests and location, will start flagging new developments – for example, in the life of a celebrity – that interest the user.

September 28, 2013
Google To Pay €300,000 Fine for Privacy Violations to a French Agency

France’s National Commission on Computing and Freedom (CNIL) threatened Google with a €300,000 fine due to the company’s lack of compliance with a June decision aimed at protecting users’ private data. The French agency that regulates information technology says Google had not satisfactorily responded to its June decision giving the company three months to be more upfront about the data it collects from users.

In a statement Friday, France’s National Commission on Computing and Freedom, known as CNIL, said:

Google hasn’t made requested changes, including specifying to users what it uses personal data for, and how long it’s held. CNIL said it will now launch formal sanction proceedings, a process that could take months.

On the other hand, Google spokesman Al Verney said:

Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with CNIL throughout this process and will continue to do so going forward.”

The National Commission on Computing and Freedom said five other European countries are also taking similar steps in a staggered offensive against Google’s privacy policy between now and the end of July. It said Google has largely ignored earlier recommendations from European regulators. Similar actions are underway in Spain, Germany, Britain, Italy and Netherlands.

September 28, 2013
Google Introduces The Most Addictive Doodle Ever

Google, the search engine giant, was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, students of Stanford University. Although the company was founded a few weeks earlier but September 27 is celebrated as its birthday.

Google has always been famous for some interactive doodles, today Google is celebrating its 15th birthday with yet another amazing doodle game.

Google has featured an addictive playful doodle which shows the popular Mexican birthday game pinata, it is a addictive game as you get some tries to make the highest score.

Did you try your hands-on it yet ?

September 27, 2013
Google Unveils Upgrade to Search Algorithm: ‘Hummingbird’

Google said it has updated the way its search engine functions so that it can respond better to more complicated and human-like queries, as it faces competition from services like Apple’s Siri, that seek to simplify searching for information.

The new algorithm which is codenamed as Hummingbird, is the first major upgrade in the last three years. It has already been in use for about a month, and affects about 90% of Google searches.

Google stressed that a new algorithm is important as users expect more natural and conversational interactions with a search engine, Hummingbird is focused on ranking information based on a more intelligent understanding of search requests, unlike its predecessor, Caffeine, which was targeted at better indexing of websites.

It is more capable of understanding concepts and the relationships between them rather than simply words, which can lead to more fluid interactions. It is an extension of Google’s “Knowledge Graph” concept introduced last year aimed at making interactions more human.

In an example, shown at the presentation, a Google executive showed off a voice search through her mobile phone, asking for pictures of the Eiffel Tower. After the pictures appeared, she then asked how tall it was. After Google correctly spoke back the correct answer, she then asked “show me pictures of the construction” and then a list of images appeared.

Google said in a blog post that it is expanding the results users get for questions without simple answers like “Tell me about Impressionist artists.” Such a search will yield links to sites with information about the artists and their paintings.

At the event, Google also announced an updated search app on Apple’s iOS, as well as a more visible presence for voice search on its home page.

September 27, 2013
Google Updates Navigation Bar and other Products as well

Google introduced a new navigation bar, which will be rolling out across most Google properties over the next few weeks, Manager(Google), Eddie Kessler wrote in a blog post.

“Getting around Google should be seamless, and once you’re inside an app, you don’t want any distractions,” Kessler wrote. “So we’re introducing an updated Google bar that streamlines your experience across products and devices.”

There will also be a new app launcher from which you can easily access all your Google apps, like Gmail, Maps, Search, YouTube, News etc. The new app launcher is located at the top right of the screen and will also be present on Android devices and Chromebooks.

Google also released a new version of its Chrome Web browser for Apple’s iOS 7. The updated mobile browser sports a new design and makes it easier to switch between Chrome and other Google apps on your iOS device.

September 21, 2013
Google ‘Freeing Quickoffice for Everyone’, With 10 GB Google Drive Storage

Google is adding 10 GB of free storage to your Google Drive account when you log into your Google account with the new Google Quickoffice before September 26, 2013.

As per Google blog, you can get the new, free Quickoffice app for Android and iOS phones and tablets on Google Play and in the App Store. Simply sign in with your Google Account to start editing Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations on mobile. You will also notice a number of new features, including a refreshed icon, the ability to create .ZIP folders, and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files.

As per the blog by Alan Warren(Engineering VP, Google), the free 10 GB will be available for two years and Google has discontinued previous versions of Quickoffice apps from play store as well as app store.

September 20, 2013
Now Get Handwriting Support in Google Translate for iOS devices

Google Translate app for iOS has got a slow but useful update today, which added a new look and gave handwriting support. This feature was already available on the Android app two years ago, and also to its web app earlier this year, but after this update your iOS device will also be able to recognize what you have written on the screen.

The user interface and icons have been changed and now fit in with the newly available iOS 7’s landscape and now the app supports more than 70 languages, which includes seven new languages.(including Marathi)

Google says handwriting is now supported in 49 languages, which should be a boon for the world’s travelers, and at the low price of free is worth throwing on your phone on the off chance you’ll need it. It’s available to download now on iPhones and iPads running iOS 5.1 or later, or if you’re running iOS 7, you can just lie back and let the background update do its thing.

September 20, 2013
Google Announces Calico, a New Company Focused on Health and Well-being

Google today announced Calico, a new company that will focus on health and well-being, in particular the challenge of aging and associated diseases. Arthur D. Levinson, Chairman and former CEO of Genentech and Chairman of Apple, will be Chief Executive Officer and a founding investor.

Announcing this new investment, Larry Page, Google CEO said:

Illness and aging affect all our families. With some longer term, moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives. It’s impossible to imagine anyone better than Art—one of the leading scientists, entrepreneurs and CEOs of our generation—to take this new venture forward.”

Arthur Levinson will remain Chairman of Genentech and a director of Hoffmann-La Roche, as well as Chairman of Apple. “ I’ve devoted much of my life to science and technology, with the goal of improving human health. Larry’s focus on outsized improvements has inspired me, and I’m tremendously excited about what’s next.”

Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, said:

For too many of our friends and family, life has been cut short or the quality of their life is too often lacking. Art(Arthur) is one of the crazy ones who thinks it doesn’t have to be this way. There is no one better suited to lead this mission and I am excited to see the results.”

Larry Page further mentioned on his Google+ post, This is a lot different from what Google does today. But as we explained in our first letter to shareholders, there’s tremendous potential for technology more generally to improve people’s lives. So don’t be surprised if we invest in projects that seem strange or speculative compared with our existing Internet businesses. And please remember that new investments like this are very small by comparison to our core business.

Calcio is California Life Company!

September 19, 2013
Now Indian Doctor Uses Google Glass in Surgery

Not very long ago, Doctors used Google Glass for a surgery at Ohio State University, which helped medical students to see from the Doctors prospective. Now, in India a surgeon operated upon two persons wearing Google glass, allowing people across the globe to see the procedure live.

Chennai based Dr JS Rajkumar, laparoscopy surgeon and chairman of Lifeline Hospital, became the second surgeon in the world to operate using the Glass on Tuesday.

Dr JS Rajkumar

“We at Lifeline have always been ahead technologically and this was just another such attempt,” said Dr Rajkumar.

“As a surgeon I could access whatever information was available on the surgery right inside the operation theater, and it is also a boon for medical students who can watch the surgery live on their computer screens anywhere in the world. Expert surgeons can guide surgeons during difficult surgeries from any part of the world,” he said.

Dr Rajkumar admitted to being a bit nervous at the start of the surgery.

I was a wee bit nervous initially, which was obvious, considering I was aware the whole world was watching. But it was a trial run and there will be more surgeries happening in the coming weeks, this is going to be a game changer as it will give you tremendous transparency, and I am proud to be the first person to introduce it in India,” said Dr Rajkumar.

September 18, 2013