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First search results removed as Google acts on ‘Right to be forgotten’ requests

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The WSJ is reporting that Google has begun removing search results following a European court decision that individuals have a right to require Google to remove links to information which is “outdated or irrelevant.”

Following the ruling – known as the ‘right to be forgotten’ – Google created a webpage application and announced that each would be evaluated by hand on a case-by-case basis, balancing the right to privacy against legitimate public interest. The company now says that it has begun acting on these requests … 
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Google tells the SEC it could soon be serving ads on thermostats and other devices (Update: Google says no ad-based Nest)

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Those who expressed concern about Google’s acquisition of Nest may have have been right: the company has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may choose to serve ads on “refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities.”

The WSJ reports that Google made the statement in support of its contention that it shouldn’t have to break out ad revenue from mobile devices … 
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Google offers fully-automated (but basic) digital photo albums & movies

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26A6-RO5MoI]

If you’ve ever been on a trip, taken tons of photos and then done nothing with them afterwards, or shot a bunch of video that is still just sitting on your phone, Google has launched a couple of new services aimed at you: Google+ Stories and Google+ Movies.

No more sifting through photos for your best shots, racking your brain for the sights you saw, or letting your videos collect virtual dust. We’ll just gift you a story after you get home. This way you can relive your favorite moments, share them with others, and remember why you traveled in the first place.

Stories will be available this week on Android and the web, with iOS coming soon …


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100 billion searches a month, but a million miles to go, say Google founders

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In Google’s annual Founders Letter, Larry Page revealed that Google was handling more than 100 billion searches a month, but said that the service was still “a million miles” from the service he’d like to see Google become.

In many ways, we’re a million miles away from creating the search engine of my dreams, one that gets you just the right information at the exact moment you need it with almost no effort.  That’s partly because understanding information in a deep way is a hard problem to solve …


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Google’s modular Ara phones to go on public sale in Jan 2015 via configurator tool

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If you’re keen to get your hands on one of Google’s modular Ara phones, the bad news is you’re going to be waiting a while: the company has said at its first developer’s conference they won’t go on public sale until January of next year. You will, though, be able to configure your own phone using a Moto Maker style tool that will allow you to not only select your components but add customized colors and designs to them as you do … 
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Google improving performance of Cloud Platform with Andromeda virtualization stack

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On the Google Cloud Platform blog, Google has announced that it has now publicly released its ‘Andromeda’ virtualization stack to all Platform users. Users on its US central and western European servers should see ‘major’ performance gains automatically. Google is rolling out the same changes to its other zones in the coming months, so all users will benefit from the same efficiency gains.

Andromeda’s goal is to expose the raw performance of the underlying network while simultaneously exposing network function virtualization (NFV). We expose the same in-network processing that enables our internal services to scale while remaining extensible and isolated to end users. This functionality includes distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection, transparent service load balancing, access control lists, and firewalls. We do this all while improving performance, with more enhancements coming.

Hence, Andromeda itself is not a Cloud Platform networking product; rather, it is the basis for delivering Cloud Platform networking services with high performance, availability, isolation, and security. For example, Cloud Platform firewalls, routing, and forwarding rules all leverage the underlying internal Andromeda APIs and infrastructure. Our site presents the details of these and other advanced network capabilities.

Full technical details of the Andromeda changes can be found in the blog post.

Google+ now shows view counts on profiles and pages

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A new Google+ addition, rolled out (confusingly) in the midst of April Fool’s season, makes view counts optionally visible on your profile. Both profiles and pages can now show the number of times content on your Google+ has been viewed. The view count applies to all content, totalling the number of views across your profile, posts and photos.

The stat can be optionally hidden. To change the visibility, go to your Google+ settings (plus.google.com/settings) and toggle the checkbox labelled ‘Show how many times your profile and content have been viewed’.

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Confused by Chromecast? Struggling with streaming? Google adds official support forum

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With Chromecast supported by an increasing number of apps, Google has created an official support forum for the $35 device.

Judging by the number of posts made on the first day (assuming they’re not all made by Google employees), it looks like it could prove a popular resource. Though a good starting-point for anyone new to the dongle is our own how-to setup guide.

HTC tries to woo U.S. customers with free screen damage cover in HTC Advantage program

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Image: ggpht.com

Image: ggpht.com

For those who may be waiting to choose between the Samsung S5 and the new HTC flagship handset code-named the M8, HTC has a little sweetener for you: a free, one-time replacement of the screen if you break it within the first six months of ownership. The company is also promising to offer Android updates for two years.

Now when customers buy any HTC One they can rest assured their device will be future proofed, with major Android updates for 2 years from launch. And it’s nearly accident proof too, because we will replace a broken screen for free once within the first 6 months you own it—let’s face it accidents do happen and we want to keep your device in great condition … 
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Google completes Nest acquisition, promises more innovative home devices to follow

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Google has confirmed in a regulatory filing with the SEC that it has completed its $3.2B acquisition of Nest Labs after the deal was officially cleared by the FTC. The company revealed that it had previously held a 12 percent stake in Nest.

It has been rumored that the Nest team will form Google’s core hardware design group, with an unlimited budget. Google has issued only a brief statement on the reason for the buy-out, promising more home devices to follow.

We expect that the acquisition will enhance Google’s suite of products and services and allow Nest to continue to innovate upon devices in the home, making them more useful, intuitive, and thoughtful, and to reach more users in more countries.

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Storage space on your Android phone just got less problematic, thanks to Google Drive API

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If you’re finding that app data is using up more and more of the storage capacity on your Android phone, Google has just rolled out something that is likely to help: an API that allows developers to store app data on Google Drive instead of in your phone’s flash memory.

It will also mean that data created by apps using the API will be automatically synced between device. 

The change will be completely invisible to users – it will Just Work. When an Internet connection isn’t available, data will be cached locally until it can again reach Google Drive. There will be some impact on data usage, but for most apps this is likely to be trivial.

Editorial: 2013 – A year (mostly) with(out) Google Glass

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I’m not always in full agreement with Wired’s Mat Honan, but his I, Glasshole piece definitely struck a chord with me and my mostly similar experiences with Google Glass.  I can agree with almost everything he’s said on the experience of owning and operating them, at least to an extent.

The biggest point to bring home is the outward awkwardness, but I wouldn’t characterize it as 100% negative across the board like Honan’s experience. He said that even in a room full of Wired writers he’s still ostracized for wearing them. That may be true, but at certain events like his Google event image, they felt pretty normal. I wasn’t at the one pictured, but at Google I/O every 4-5 people at the show were wearing them, even if Google’s own presenters weren’t.  No one was uncomfortable in that environment. I imagine it isn’t uncomfortable at Google or any number of the places that are beta testing the Glass in large numbers relative to the population.

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At home or in the general public, I agree – it is definitely jarring wearing them around. You get the same kind of attention that you’d get if you had a massive headwound at the grocery store or if you were waving a light saber around on the way to the coffee shop.  The attention isn’t entirely negative, but it is certainly one of discomfort and curiosity.  Some people ask about them and want to find out what the experience is like. I’ve let tons of people wear mine, and those who’ve tried have usually thought they were ‘cool’.

I’ve found a good way to mitigate the attention is to wear a low lying baseball cap coupled with the Oakley Blades wrap around shades attachment. With this setup, about 90% of the people don’t notice the Glass and just think you are some dork wearing Oakley Blades from 1987. Clearly, Google could innovate here – getting them on normal glasses hides the appearance. They’ve already promised a prescription lens attachement and even shown off some demos.

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The 2014 model Glass, as I am now calling them, won’t do much for the appearance.  The inclusion of a mono or stereo headset is just going to complicate the setup rather than simplify it.  Note the left stereo earpiece  comes out of the same right side hole as the right side ear piece.

I feel a little claustrophobic looking at them, and I imagine the final consumer version will have the earpiece coming out of either the back or the other side of the glasses.

Appearances aside, how does it work?
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Google releases Zeitgeist year-in-review showing top trends of 2013

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv-sY_z8MNs]

Google does a lot well during the year, but perhaps one of the things Google does best is its year-end Zeitgeist. For the unfamiliar, Google’s Zeitgeist wraps up all the top searches for various categories during the 2013 calendar year in combination with a video, dedicated set of web pages and enough information to keep you interested for hours.


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Google’s Play Store adds Google+ integration to show app recommendations

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The world called for another aspect of our Google lives to be invaded by Google+ and voila…Google+ inside Google Play. Google just announced via…where else…Google+ that a new version of the Play Store is rolling out to “make it easier for you to find and share recommendations with your friends and family.”


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The Google Voice Command trivia challenge: how many of these 50 things did you know it could do?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vT0AWDq3DE]

PhoneBuff has put together an interesting video showcasing fifty things Google Voice Command can do, and we think there’s a pretty high chance you won’t be aware of all of them. It’s getting on for eight minutes long, but well worth a look if you want to make sure you’re getting the most out of Google’s virtual assistant.

The video includes examples of linked queries, where Google knows who or what you are referring to based on your previous question.

PhoneBuff did a similar thing with Apple’s Siri, and although they don’t use the same questions – each video designed to illustrate their respective capabilities rather than a head-to-head challenge – it does make for an interesting comparison. Siri video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtwVQhEXCcc]
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Want Google Glass? Know an Explorer? Go buy them a drink …

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If a Glass Explorer friend has been making you jealous while you wait impatiently for your chance to get hold of the gadget, now would be a good time to buy them a drink. Selected Glass Explorers have been given the opportunity to purchase a second headset for a friend in an email from Google, reports Glass Almanac.

Explorers were given the opportunity to invite up to three friends in September, but this is the first time Google has allowed them to actually purchase a second Glass. Explorers will also be given the chance to trade in their own units for the second generation model, but it’s not yet known what – if anything – this will cost.

There’s still no news on when Glass may go on public sale, beyond a widespread assumption that it will be sometime next year.

Via TNW

Google Glass can now officially play music – app available in MyGlass

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Google has now added the Play Music app to the MyGlass page, allowing Glass users to use voice controls to play music through the device. The announcement was made by Google engineer Stephen Lau on Google+.

The Play Music APK was first spotted in the Glass XE11 update last month, and users were able to side load the app, but it was not officially listed by Google at the time. Now it is. As we explained then:

Once the app is loaded, simply say “OK Glass, listen to,” then the name of a song, artist, album, or playlist. A card will then pop up with results and allow you to specify what to play. A new card also stays pinned for further music control, including Play, Stop, Skip, Rewind, and volume control … 
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Selected developers now receiving Glass Explorer invitations from Google

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Engadget reports that some developers who had registered their interest in the Glass Explorers program are now receiving emailed invitations from Google.

Although third-party developers have been able to develop Glass apps using a cloud-based API, this approached imposed limitations on what those apps could do. Google recently removed these limitations by offering developers an SDK, or in this case a GDK (Glass Development Kit), previewed here … 
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Google marks 50th anniversary of Doctor Who with multi-level game doodle

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In one of the coolest doodles yet, Google is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the British TV series Doctor Who? with a multi-level game in which you can play any of the eleven doctors.

This particular doodle delivers rather more than Google’s description of them as “10 seconds of homepage happiness.”

Clearly Google’s staff are fans of the series, as Street View includes the ability to enter the Doctor’s TARDIS.

Google Glass will get stereo headphones and lots of new music features demonstrated by Young Guru

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5XoAkOuWdM

In its Explorer Story: Young Guru [through Google Glass], Google shows a lot of new features of the Google Glass upgrade and expected upgrades including the hardware addition of the stereo headphones.

We discussed Google Music hidden in the XE11 update yesterday but we’re seeing the Shazam type of song recognition, and some nice translation work as well.

Can’t wait! via


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Microsoft’s sleazy “Scroogled” campaign continues with “email privacy” microsite

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Microsoft’s continued attempts to make itself look like the good guy against Google continue with a microsite called keepyouremailprivate.com.

In a blatant attempt to liken Google’s automated scanning of email keywords to generate targeted advertising to the NSA scandal, Microsoft refers to it as an ‘invasion of your privacy.’

Google goes through every Gmail that’s sent or received, looking for keywords so they can target Gmail users with paid ads. And there’s no way to opt out of this invasion of your privacy.

Microsoft has reportedly spent a seven-figure sum on its Scroogled campaign. Perhaps if it had invested a bit more cash on modernizing its offerings a few years ago, it wouldn’t need to be spending so much on this embarrassing nonsense today …

Google Glass still needs personal talk-through, but now via Hangout chat

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If an existing Google Glass Explorer has sent one of their three invitations to you, the good news is you no longer have to travel to Google’s offices in NY or LA to collect your gadget in person.

For the first round of Explorers, Google had insisted on personal collection so that a member of staff could talk them through the product and assist them with setup. Those accepting invitations now are being offered a 45-minute one-to-one on Google Hangouts … 
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