google

Google Maps art magnifies our impact on Earth

Earth -- unlike perhaps any other planet out there -- provides a mostly hospitable home for humankind. Yet we seem to have opted for unsustainable growth instead of preservation.

At least that's the message in photographer David Thomas Smith's "Anthropocene" exhibition, which Smith describes as a visual examination of global landscapes transformed by the actions and activities of humanity. Each of the 12 prints in the collection derives from thousands of screenshots, which Smith captured from Google Maps and metamorphosed in Photoshop.… Read more

Google lobbies against patent privateering

Google has banded together with BlackBerry, EarthLink, and Red Hat in an effort to expose the deleterious, industrywide consequences of patent privateering, or the practice of companies outsourcing patent enforcement to independent legal-happy entities with no technologies of their own.

The Mountain View, Calif., company, in conjunction with the others, submitted its comments -- more like grave concerns -- on the practice in a note to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. The companies assert that patent transfers to patent assertion entities (PAEs), aka patent trolls, undermine patent peace, and Google et al are pushing the government … Read more

Judge nixes class action suit in employee poaching case for now

A federal judge has decided not to elevate an antitrust lawsuit over non-poaching agreements to class action status. But the ruling is far from final.

In a decision announced today, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh said there was not yet enough evidence to turn a present civil suit against seven technology companies into a class action lawsuit, according to Reuters.

The case refers to a civil suit filed in 2011 by five workers against Google, Intuit, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, claiming that the companies tried to keep down wages through non-poaching agreements.

Six of the companies … Read more

Google releases full Google Glass explainer video

Google developer advocate Timothy Jordan envisions Google Glass, pardon the pun, as a way for people to distance themselves from technology. This seems a bit oxymoronic, however, considering it's a device people would wear on their face.

Jordan expounds on this idea and explains more about Google's wearable augmented reality project in a new video released today (see below). The video is a recording of Jordan's presentation at last month's South by Southwest Interactive conference.

"Project glass is about our relationship to technology. It's about technology that's there when you want it but … Read more

Google boosts customer access, functionality of Compute Engine

Google introduced somewhat of an overhaul for its Compute Engine virtual machine today, making the cloud service more readily available to more users.

Marc Cohen, a software manager on the Google Cloud Platform team, outlined in a blog post that today's update essentially boils down to three things: lower costs, more functionality and access for more customers.

Cohen also cited a recent review by Scalr founder Sebastian Stadil published on GigaOm, highlighting the speed of the cloud infrastructure against competitors.

Starting today, the Infrastructure-as-a-Service is being made available to all customers who sign up for Google's Gold Support … Read more

Microsoft Monocles? Redmond to make its own Google Glass?

The world is moving very quickly.

And where it's moving very quickly to is a place where we'll all look quite ridiculous and talk seemingly to ourselves as we walk down the street.

This is the heaven envisioned by Google, with its fascinating Google Glass. Yes, the glasses that make people look like no one's idea of a dinner date on the subway.

Many questions have emerged since these glasses invaded the public gaze. "Should one ban people wearing them while driving?" was one question. "How will Newt Gingrich look when wearing them?" … Read more

Facebook wrestles Google for control of your phone

Facebook doesn't want anything to come between you and your friends, not even Google or Android.

Facebook today unveiled a new downloadable user interface that takes over your smartphone's home screen, lock screen, and wallpaper. Instead of the regular Android features, you're treated to a slideshow of updates, photos, and shared links.

Facebook wants to take direct control of its user base, and it's going about it in a smart way. Home, which will be available for download on April 12 on select Android phones, isn't a new phone or operating system, or even a … Read more

Google TV Remote app for Android gains voice search

The official Google TV Remote app for Android has received its first software update in years, adding in a number of new features.

Perhaps most notable in the change log is the addition of voice search support, which provides a more robust user experience.

With the update, users can now search for movies, television shows, and other content across the platform.

Previously, hardware limitations prevented users from being able to use voice as an input method.

The latest version of the Google TV Remote includes a new D-Pad navigation as well, which allows you to navigate more naturally.

Prior to … Read more

Chrome beta gets just a bit faster

The latest update to Chrome beta refocuses its attention on speed through better memory management, as well as making numerous HTML5 and offline improvements in today's release.

Google reports that Web site content loaded in Chrome 27 beta for Windows, Mac, and Linux, should appear about 5 percent faster because of how the browser manages its resources. Basically, the browser's resource scheduler gives more priority to critical resources, over preloaded content.

Calendar forms should look a bit cleaner in the beta because it now uses HTML5 date and time < input > code. WebReal-Time Communication (WebRTC) also gets … Read more