Google has some success bringing cheap Virtual Reality to the intrigued masses last year with the DIY Google Cardboard but now it seems that the company wants to take the next step with a proper VR headset of its own set to launch sometime this year. Much like Cardboard and …
Read More »Google’s self-driving cars may be coming to London
Google has been testing its self-driving cars on public roads in California for quite some time and while the company does seem to be focussed on the US right now, things may soon spread to other countries, including the UK. According to London's deputy mayor for transport, Google is currently in …
Read More »Google to go after fake ‘Download’ and ‘Play’ buttons
Google has announced that it is targeting one of the internet's more irritating trends, fake buttons. Launched as part of its “safe browsing,” scheme, Google will warn people away from sites that employ phony buttons by giving them a warning message before visiting, much like when it thinks an attempt …
Read More »Google removed Samsung’s Android ad blocker from Play Store
Just a few days after its release, Google has gone ahead and booted Samsung's own Android ad blocker from the Play Store for violating the developer guidelines. The app was called Adblock Fast and it was designed to work with Samsung's mobile browser thanks to a partnership with a third-party …
Read More »Google Engineer loses Chromebook Pixel after using bad USB-C cables
Over the last few months, Google engineer Benson Leung has been testing out USB Type-C cables and rating them in an effort to stop consumers from buying dodgy cables that don't meet the recommended specification for USB Type-C. Now, that mission has ended in one cable frying his Chromebook Pixel, …
Read More »Google to discourage radicalism through opposite search results
If you try searching for terrorist related, extremist material in the near future, you could find yourself instead being served links to sites designed to combat such ideas. Although Google claimed that it would still serve relevant content to those searching for terms that could be considered ‘damaging,' offering a …
Read More »France will not strike back-tax deal with Google, says minister
France has made it quite clear that it will not be striking a back-tax deal with Google, ruling out finding a middle ground with the American search company. This is counter to what happened in the UK most recently, where Google was asked to pay just £130 million, despite having …
Read More »Google still planning to begin building its own Nexus phones
Back in November last year, word began to spread that Google was considering building its own Nexus smartphones going forward and while some rumours point towards HTC building the 2016 Nexus devices, Google may take the reins next year in a move to challenge Apple more directly in the high-end …
Read More »Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is now worth more than Apple
For a while, it look liked Apple might be the first company to ever break through the trillion dollar threshold, but now perhaps it will be Google's parent company, Alphabet. The recently launched initiative to separate Google's profitable businesses from its more experimental ones has paid off, with the latest …
Read More »Google Chrome is set to get a redesign
Ever since Android Lollipop, Google has been moving towards a new ‘material design' with its software and now, it looks like Google Chrome will be following in that same direction over on the desktop. Screenshots of the redesigned version of Chrome began popping up over the weekend, showing off little …
Read More »Google wants lawyer that leaked financial numbers to face sanctions
Google is fighting off a lawsuit from Oracle right now and recently, some interesting bits of information came to light as a direct result. One of Oracle's lawyers made information regarding Android and Google's financial deal with Apple public and as you can imagine- Google isn't too happy about that. …
Read More »Downing street too close to tech-firms claim critics
Criticism of the recent government deal struck with Google over back-tax that saw it pay just £130 million of an estimated £2 billion in missing payments, is growing. Now several politicians and industry heads are claiming that Google and other tech firms enjoy far too cosy a relationship with the …
Read More »Google shuts down Glass social media accounts
While we do know that Google is still working on its Glass concept behind closed doors and plans to bring its smart glasses to enterprise customers this year, it seems that Glass name could be no more. This week, Google finally shut down all of the Google Glass social media …
Read More »Google to be quizzed over HMRC back-tax deal
Google is set to be questioned by a parliamentary committee about a back-tax deal it struck with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), where it agreed to pay £130 million to cover claims of under-taxation from the past 10 years. Several MPs have since called the deal “cosy,” and want …
Read More »Google now allows app installations from search on Android
Google has given Android users a way to bypass the Play Store by allowing you to install an app directly from the Google Search results page. This feature began rolling out this week, so from now on when you Google search for an app, you will see an install icon …
Read More »Google paid Apple $1 billion to remain default search on iOS
Back at the end of 2014, Apple was considering dropping Google as its default search engine provider for Safari on iOS. The company was even meeting up with the heads behind Yahoo and Bing at the time to strike a new deal but in the end, Google won out and …
Read More »Google Chrome is getting a significant speed boost soon
Google has been working on optimizing the Chrome browser for a while now. Last year the Chrome team announced that it would be trying to reduce RAM usage and now the browser is set to be up to 25 percent faster thanks to an upcoming update that targets performance improvements. …
Read More »HTC might be making both the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 this year
Google appeased old Nexus fans last year by bringing LG back to create the Nexus 5X while Huawei took the reigns on the Nexus 6P, a larger premium phablet. However, things might be quite different this year as it seems that Google may have HTC lined up to make both …
Read More »Lenovo and Google to team up for 3D mapping smartphone
Google has been working on its ‘Project Tango' smartphone for quite some time now. The device is designed to create 3D maps of its surroundings but it had just been a prototype until now, as Google is teaming up with Lenovo to implement Project Tango's features into a new smartphone …
Read More »Apple could make its iAd service free for mobile publishers
Six years ago, Steve Jobs announced the iAd service designed to allow mobile publishers to serve up unobtrusive advertisements on iOS. However, due to Apple's standard 30 percent cut on anything sold via the iOS platform, prices were quite high and the service never really took off, which means that …
Read More »Google is now getting serious about VR
Google is looking to get involved in the Virtual Reality space as well, following on from the likes of Facebook/Oculus, Sony and HTC/Valve, Google will now be stepping up its efforts with a dedicated VR division, headed by the boss behind the Google Cardboard headset, which was the company's first …
Read More »Google’s self-driving car has had some issues
Google's self-driving car technology is impressive and has been interesting to follow but it has had its fair share of problems according to Google's latest report. Between November 2014 and September 2015, Google's self-driving car experienced a total of 272 technical failures and was almost involved in 13 accidents. According …
Read More »Lenovo is going to phase out the Motorola brand name (sort of)
It has been some time since Lenovo bought Motorola's mobile division from Google, with the goal of breaking into the smartphone business. However, it looks like we could be saying goodbye to the iconic mobile brand name for good soon as Lenovo intends to phase it out and eventually replace …
Read More »First image of new Google Glass revealed
Right at the start of 2015, Google made the decision to stop selling Google Glass in its current form and put a stop to the device's open development, bringing things back behind closed doors. Since then, we've heard the odd rumour here and there but Google hasn't talked about Glass …
Read More »Google Ford partnership could mirror Baidu BMW deal
Google and Ford are said to be in talks to partner over the development of automated vehicles according to sources that are said to have been “briefed on the matter.” Although yet to be officially detailed, the partnership could well be similar to the deal struck between Chinese search giant …
Read More »YouTube to stop direct video uploads from webcams
Over the years, Google has tried out a number of features with YouTube, some of which don't necessarily take off. One of these features happens to be the ability to upload video footage to the site directly from a Webcam, though this infrequently used feature will be going away for …
Read More »Google is bringing split-screen to Android tablets
Google has gone ahead and dropped a little bit of information about future Android features along with next year's Android update, currently known as Android N. While some apps and smartphone makers, have experimented with split-screen multitasking functionality in Android, Google is going to officially implement it as a feature …
Read More »Google has quietly stopped selling the Nexus 6
Google has chosen to quietly discontinue the Motorola Nexus 6, which launched at the end of 2014 but failed to really live up to expectations both in terms of sales and acclaim. From this point forward, Google's first oversized Nexus won't be available to buy directly through the Play Store, …
Read More »Quantum computer is already 100 million times faster than PCs
As much as a quantum computer may be the holy grail for anyone looking for extreme performance, we're a long way off making them at the scale of current computer hardware and having them be the multi-functional, endlessly powerful machines we want. But early developments are still rather impressive. Take …
Read More »Google’s Eric Schmidt gets on board with hate-speech censoring
The debate on how to deal with the online interactions of those who take part in or sympathise with terrorist attacks is raging in the wake of recent events, and now Google's Eric Schmidt has weighed in. In a somewhat confusing message, he's called for tolerance and understanding, but at …
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