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Avatar for Jonathan Kizer

Low-quality content aggregators are the big losers in Google’s Panda update

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google panda

Earlier this week, Google rolled out Panda 4.0 and Pay Day 2.0. These updates to the search algorithm were touted as being designed to further reduce the ranking of low-quality and spammy content. According to analysis by Searchmetrics, Panda and Pay Day did just this, with websites that offer undifferentiated content suffering in terms of overall ranking.

However, Panda did not just punish websites: various major websites actually increased their rank in Google Search as a result of the change in algorithm. From the study:
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LG teases the laser-focus camera, design, and display of the G3 (Video)

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGR34U76QiU]

We’ve seen its unofficially official specs. We’ve seen its updated UI. We’ve even known about its announcement date (May 27th) for some time now. And now, LG is teasing its upcoming G3 flagship device with three new videos posted this morning to YouTube. The “Design” video below also gives us the best look yet of the device’s metallic-looking back, as the camera slowly pans around it.
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Report: Samsung creating competitor to Oculus Rift, will be compatible with Galaxy smartphones and tablets

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oculus rift

Samsung is reportedly developing its own VR headset, a device that will be similar in many ways to the Oculus Rift, for use with its flagship Galaxy smartphones and tablets (via Engadget). This headset is apparently separate from the “Galaxy Glass” project that is slated to be unveiled later this year.

The VR headset is being described as a peripheral, as opposed to a stand-alone product, and will require a connection to a Samsung device in order to function.
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Google’s latest updates to its search algorithm continue the crusade against spam, low-quality content

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google panda

Google has made two notable changes to its search algorithm in the past 24 hours, both of which continue Google’s crusade to keep its search results relevant. The 4.0 release of the Google Panda algorithm is intended to make it more difficult for websites with poor quality to rank highly in search results (via SearchEngineLand).

Payday Loan Algorithm 2.0 was also released yesterday, and it targets “very spammy queries,” and is unrelated to Panda’s rollout:
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Android 4.4 update brings some sweet new features to the Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR, and Tablet Z

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Sony today released Android 4.4 KitKat for some of its Xperia line of devices, including the Z, ZL, ZR, and Tablet Z. The update is rolling out based on location, as well as by carrier, so it may still be some time before you see the update notification on your particular device.

The release includes the performance optimizations and tweaks found in stock Android 4.4, but also carries various Sony enhancements.
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HTC One M8 Prime leaked in a full 360-degree render, shows off colorful design

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prime

There’s leaks, and then there’s this. @evleaks has posted a full, rotating render of the HTC M8 Prime. The Prime is rumored to have updated specs and a larger design in order to better compete with the LG G3, rumored Galaxy S5 Prime, and a larger iPhone later this year. The full render is included after the break.
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FCC chairman praises Google Fiber, wants to model future rules after it

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Tom Wheeler — the Chairman of the FCC, the federal commission currently in the middle of a firestorm surrounding net neutrality — today praised Google for its checklist of requirements for cities to meet that are interested in working with Google to roll out fiber networking.

Google’s checklist includes various measures and decisions that help enable the company to quickly add their fiber services to a city or municipality. Wheeler specifically cites this as something that the FCC should look into, as it effectively cuts through red tape and speeds up deployment of faster service:
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Tom Coburn’s Let Me Google That For You Act of 2014 will help stop federal money from being wasted in the US

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Screen Shot 2014-05-19 at 11.39.30 AM

There is a United States federal agency that specializes in collecting and cataloguing scientific research papers of all kinds. The NTIS — National Technical Information Service — will serve up files or paper copies of these records for $25 or $73, respectively. The issue, as pointed out by NPR, is that most of these records are available for free elsewhere, and are easier to find with Google than with the NTIS’ outdated website. And so, ever the enemy of a wasteful budget, Tom Coburn has introduced the Let Me Google That For You Act of 2014 to abolish the NTIS.
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LG G3 landscape homescreen leak shows off floating widget, tweaked layout

lg g3 homescreen leak

With less than two weeks left to go until the rumored G3 announcement, we won’t have to wait long until we see the device in all of its glory. However, until then, more details continue to leak.

The latest involves the homescreen in landscape orientation. Since the device is expected to have a 5.5″ display, the screen will be closer to that of smaller tablets than that of a small phone. As such, it appears that LG will have certain features reserved for the display when it is in landscape. The above screenshot depicts the incoming call notification acting like a floating widget above the screen.

Samsung’s devices have a similar feature, though it’s unclear how useful this feature may be. Since floating widgets aren’t natively supported in Android, these types of features tend to receive very limited third-party support. Still — we’ll find out the full plan on May 27th!

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Popular iOS game Monument Valley arrives on Google Play for $3.99

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC1jHHF_Wjo?list=UUadEYJR8MgdLjzmFDuMuzeQ]

Monument Valley, a popular and critically-acclaimed game that was released recently on iOS, is now available for Android devices. The game, available today for $3.99, features beautiful graphics and an interesting storyline.

In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world.

Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.

While somewhat expensive for an Android game, Monument Valley is well worth the cost. It’s one of the best games I”ve played on a mobile device in the past year. My only complaint is that it’s relatively short — hopefully now that the game is available on both major platforms, the developers can start adding additional levels.

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Verizon Galaxy Note 3 KitKat update rolling out to a device near you

galaxy note 3 kitkat verizon

Five months after Google released Android 4.4 KitKat, Galaxy Note 3 users on Verizon are beginning to see the update being pushed out over the air. Various people are reporting that they have received the the update on their devices. The update includes various changes and small tweaks to the user interface, as well as enhancements to the software stack to make the device more stable and perform better.

If you’d like to grab the update, start pressing that “check for updates” button, or connect your device to the nearest computer with Kies installed on it, and get downloading.

Latest Chromium code carries references to the Google Nexus 6, Nexus 8

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red nexus 5

Coming roughly a week after the Nexus 8’s “Flounder” codename was shown off in Chromium’s source code, we now have a reference to the “Nexus 6” (via Florian Kiersch).

The Nexus 6 reference can still be seen on the Code Review page, under the new code section. There is also a reference to the Nexus 8 in the older code. The Nexus 8 is expected to be produced by HTC, as earlier leaks have suggested. The “8” is also likely a reference to the screen size, which would make the Nexus 8 larger than the ASUS-produced Nexus 7. Beyond this, very little is known about the specifications or ETA of the Nexus 8.

The Nexus 6 is also almost entirely a mystery.
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Minuum demoes typing on Google Glass, visualizes the future of text input

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcHzO3-QEg]
Minuum, one of the more distinctive third-party keyboards available for Android devices, is coming to Google Glass. The keyboard was shown off this morning in a video of the prototype app running on Glass. The second half of the video, however, is far more exciting.
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Latest Galaxy S5 update improves fingerprint scanner accuracy, tweaks camera performance

samsung-galaxy-s5-box

The latest update to hit the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 improves the overall accuracy of the fingerprinting system, and makes the camera open faster, as well as bringing various other small fixes (via SamMobile).

Improvements to the accuracy of the fingerprint scanner will be a welcome upgrade for many. Various early reviews found that the fingerprint scanner wasn’t as accurate as the part found in the iPhone 5s, though it’s difficult to prove that.

The other tweaks make for a faster overall experience with the device, and it seems that Samsung has improved the use of RAM with this update.

There’s no word on when this update might hit carrier versions of the device, though it likely won’t be for some time. If you have the international version of the Samsung Galaxy S5, you can grab the update now via Kies. The update is also rolling out OTA, though it may take some time before it hits your device.

Portal and Half-Life 2 come to Android, but only if you’ve got an NVIDIA Shield (currently)

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crowbar android police

Two of Valve’s most recognizable games are now available for the Android-powered NVIDIA Shield, after being teased last week to several online publications. The above crowbar — a tool that is used throughout Half-Life 2 — was sent to AndroidPolice‘s Michael Crider, depicting both an NVIDIA Shield device and the lambda, which represents the Half-Life series.

Besides Half-Life 2, Valve also released Portal for Android today. Both games are on sale at the Play Store for $9.99, though they are only compatible with the NVIDIA Shield.
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LG G3 leaks in white, black, and gold ahead of likely May 27th announcement

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lg g3 colors leak

The G3 has been at the center of various leaks over the past month, but the latest is the most complete. The above photo (via PhoneArena) reportedly shows off the back of both the black and white models, and the front of what appears to be the gold model. While the photo isn’t exactly “high quality,” it does provide for a good look at the brushed metal effect of the back.
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Updated AOSP changelog hints at new HTC Nexus tablet, “Molly” set top box

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The latest updates to the Android 4.4.3 AOSP changelog include references to two new Nexus devices (via Android Central). The first is the “Flounder” tablet, which was also recently referenced in builds of Chromium. This is likely to be a tablet or a phone, as Google has historically used fish-related codenames for such devices.

Perhaps more interesting is the mention of the “Molly” set top box.
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Moto G Cinema leaks on Motorola’s website, possibly arriving May 13?

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motog

Motorola’s website has been the source of various leaks in the last few weeks, and today we have another one. Captured in an image after the break by the @evleaks Twitter account, the website leaked only the name — no image or details are available. The device has also so far slipped by under the radar, with basically nothing being known about it.
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Samsung’s Swarovski Galaxy S5, Galaxy Gear collection launches today

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLBCACEX2k]

Samsung’s “Crystal Collection” Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Gear line are available on the company’s online store starting today, though only in Korea. The devices are also available for pre-order for the Chinese market.

The sparkly device will eventually be make its way to Samsung’s UK retail stores in the UK in the coming weeks. If you’re in the United States and hoping to get your hands on this handset, start looking into importing it. Chances are, Samsung will never officially release the device in the North American, as no plans have been shared thus far.

The “Swarovski for Samsung” collaboration comes on the heels of a successful accessory partnership between the two brands during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York this past season. The collection marks the first time in more than 100 years that Swarovski has participated in a collaboration of this scale, where it fully integrates its branding into the collection.

With technology and fashion so deeply intertwined, Samsung is more dedicated than ever to supporting self-expression through technological innovation and meaningful partnerships,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung. “Collaborating with Swarovski on this stunning collection of device accessories reflects our commitment to providing people with user-experiences that express their distinct personalities and taste.

LG announces 5.5″ 2560×1440 display, coming soon to a G3 near you

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LG-G2-Official-5

LG tonight announced its latest mobile display, which will bring about a QHD (also known as 2K, or 2560×1440 pixels) panel in a 5.5″ form factor. That brings a whopping 538 pixels per inch. As chance would have it, LG is also about to release its latest flagship device, the G3, which also just happens to be rumored to ship with a 5.5″ 2560×1440 display. Coincidence? I think not.
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Google’s latest purchase will ensure you never have to go to a restaurant’s Flash website again

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appetas google

Google’s buying spree continues today, and the latest startup to be snapped up is Appetas. Appetas specialized in providing websites for restaurants. In a blog post (via TechCrunch) published on Appetas’ site, the company states that it will be shutting down its service as the acquisition moves forward.
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Google releases Glass XE17 update, promises to fix boot loop bug

glass

While the XE16 update brought KitKat and various other enhancements to Glass Explorers everywhere, it also carried a few nasty bugs that — among other things — could force devices into a boot loop. As such, Google issued XE16.2, which was supposed to fix these issues. Apparently it didn’t quite do that, as Google has today released the Glass XE17 update.
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