Author

Avatar for Stephen Hall

Stephen Hall

stephenjhall

Stephen is Growth Director at 9to5. You can find his current work at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google 9to5ToysElectrek, and more. If you want to get in touch, follow me on Twitter. Or, email at stephen (at) 9to5mac (dot) com, or an encrypted email at hallstephenj (at) protonmail (dot) com.

Connect with Stephen Hall

The ‘soul of Google’ Omid Kordestani is now Twitter’s executive chairman

x-2-e1432756194577-1940x1090

Image: Forbes

As unsurprising as it may be, an early Twitter investor came out several months to say that Google still doesn’t understand social and should buy struggling Twitter. And while that hasn’t quite happened (and we don’t really have any hard evidence that it will), it appears that ties between the two companies are strengthening. Twitter’s once-again-CEO Jack Dorsey has today announced that Google’s previous chief business officer Omid Kordestani has been appointed as the social network’s executive chairman.
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Nexus 6 (unlocked) $270, Toshiba 2TB Portable HDD $65, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

motorola-nexus-6-unlocked-32gb-in-midnight-blue

Motorola Nexus 6 Unlocked 32GB in Midnight Blue (refurb): $270 shipped (Orig. $330)

toshiba-canvio-2tb-deal-best

Toshiba Canvio Connect 2TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive: $65 shipped (Reg. $85, Tax in NY)

s-l1600

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ 32 GB LTE GSM (unlocked): $600 shipped (Reg. $815) | eBay

s-l500

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 32 GB LTE GSM (unlocked): $570 shipped (Reg. $740) | eBay

s6 edge

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 32 GB on Verizon (w/ two year contract): $50 shipped | Best Buy

htc-one-m9-global-sketchfab-gunmetal

HTC One M9 32 GB flash on Sprint (w/ two year contract): $1 shipped | Best Buy

More new gear from today:

brother-color-wireless-printer

Brother Color Duplex Laser Wireless Printer w/ AirPrint: $150 shipped (Reg. $200), more

More deals still alive:

 

aukey-usb-c-to-3-port-usb-3-0-hub-with-a-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

USB-C roundup: Aukey 3-Port USB Hub w/ Gigabit Ethernet $17, Aukey USB Adapter $7, more

New products & more:

high-tech-diy-costume

Turn heads at any Halloween party with one of these high-tech DIY costumes

koto-sensors-smart-home

Koto’s smart sensors track your home’s health and can even forecast storms

Google launches Cloud Datalab, Cloud Shell for Cloud Platform customers

GoogleCloud1

Google has today launched a couple of new products for Google Cloud Platform customers: Google Cloud Datalab, and Google Cloud Shell. Both of them are available via the web today in beta form…

Here’s the scoop on Cloud Datalab:

Google Cloud Datalab, available today in Beta is a web-based interactive developer tool that allows you to get insights from your raw data and explore, share, and publish reports in a fast, simple and cost-effective way. Cloud Datalab combines the power of Google BigQuery and Google Cloud Storage with familiar data science ecosystems built around IPython, removing the need for complex integration between products.

And here’s the gist on Cloud Shell:

Our customers want to be able to easily manage their infrastructure and applications when running on Google Cloud Platform no matter where they are.  Building on the ability to SSH from the browser we released for Google Compute Engine VM instances last year, today we’re launching Google Cloud Shell Beta, which extends from just VMs to all aspects of the platform.

These announcements are certainly irrelevant for the vast majority of regular users, but for those of you out there that are running apps on Google’s Cloud Platform, you have a couple of new tools. On a somewhat related note, an Amazon Web Services VP accidentally showed a picture of Google’s data centers at re:Invent last week.

 

VLC for Android updated to version 1.6 w/ more Material, improved performance, more

Screenshot_20151013-123340

VLC is your go-to all-around media player no matter which platform you’re using, and today the app’s Android counterpart got a pretty decently-sized update. Along with the usual performance improvements that ship with pretty much every app update since apps have existed, version 1.6 also comes with improvements to internal decoding speed, more Material design, and more…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google has registered two delivery drones with the FAA for testing over US soil [Updated]

google-x-project-wing-prototypes

Update: A report out of Re/code says that these drones aren’t actually Project Wing drones. They’re rather being registered for the company’s other drone project, Project Titan, which intends to provide internet access to remote or disaster-stricken locations. Google’s Project Titan is not to be confused with Apple’s Project Titan.

A couple of months ago, a report surfaced suggesting that Google was sidestepping FAA regulations by getting special approval from NASA to test its Project Wing delivery drones in the US. Now, it looks like the company (via Engadget) is actually getting approval for at least a couple of drones, as evidenced by a couple of entries in the FAA’s official registry…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Amazon Web Services VP accidentally showed a picture of Google’s data centers at re:Invent

videothumb_reinvent_keynote_2014_01_v2

This is kind of humorous. At Amazon’s AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas last week, Amazon Web Services Vice President of Infrastructure Jerry Hunter accidentally showed a generic picture of one of Google’s data centers. This is the kind of minor mishap that usually goes completely unnoticed, but not this time. Google’s Urs Hölzle came out on Google+ late yesterday to point out the mistake, taking the opportunity to brag about Google Cloud Platform as “the world’s best infrastructure”…
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (unlocked) $570, Galaxy S6 Edge for Verizon $50, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

s-l500

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 32 GB LTE GSM (unlocked): $570 shipped (Reg. $1,000) | eBay

s6 edge

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 32 GB on Verizon (w/ two year contract): $50 shipped | Best Buy

htc-one-m9-global-sketchfab-gunmetal

HTC One M9 32 GB flash on Sprint (w/ two year contract): $1 shipped | Best Buy

microsoft-universal-mobile-keyboard-for-ipad-iphone-android-devices-and-windows-tablets-black

Daily Deals: Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard $40, Lifeproof FRĒ Power Waterproof Battery Case for iPhone 6 $100, more

More new gear from today:

crucial-mx200-ssd

Amazon Gold Box – Crucial & Lexar storage up to 65% off: Solid-State Drives 1TB $270, 500GB $140, 250GB $64, more

More deals still alive:

 

aukey-usb-c-to-3-port-usb-3-0-hub-with-a-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

USB-C roundup: Aukey 3-Port USB Hub w/ Gigabit Ethernet $17, Aukey USB Adapter $7, more

New products & more:

light-l16-camera (1)

The new Light digital camera uses 16 lenses (!!!) to craft the perfect picture

laundroid-washing-machine

This clothes-folding washing machine brings first-world laziness to defcon zero

TAG Heuer teases its upcoming ‘Connected’ Android Wear smartwatch in new image

CRIcqazWwAIcUvw

Mentions of TAG Heuer’s entry into the Android Wear market have been tossed around for a really long time now, but — as we learned just a couple of weeks ago — the device’s launch is finally right around the corner. We haven’t up to this point had any kind of peek at what the watch will actually look like, but a new teaser image tweeted today by the company itself gives us a little bit of a glimpse at this beast in the flesh…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Cardboard expands to 39 languages in 100 countries as SDKs get updates

fold

Google is going global with its affordable Virtual Reality platform. The Mountain View company has announced today that its Google Cardboard app is now available in 39 languages across 100 countries, and that the Cardboard developer documentation is also now published in 10 languages to help even more developers build Cardboard experiences…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google releases Hangouts 5.0 w/ splash screen, performance improvements, more

hangouts-logo

The well-connected Derek Ross took to Google+ last week to tease the latest update to Hangouts, version number 5.0. And while 4.0 — the update that brought a long-awaited visual overhaul — hasn’t even been around that long, this version makes a lot of improvements to the app’s performance, brings full-working GIFs, a splash screen, and more…
Expand
Expanding
Close

YouTube continues global expansion w/ versions of its site in 7 new locales

flat_youtube_wallpaper_by_oscagapotes-d6o637w

Google has announced today that the number of countries with local versions of YouTube is growing to 85, with the additional of 7 new territories and countries. As of today, there is now a localized version of the web’s most popular video streaming site in the Adriatics, the Baltics, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus…

The news comes from Google’s official YouTube blog:

We want to make sure the videos you see when you fire up YouTube are relevant to you, wherever you’re watching. That’s why we’re launching even more local country versions of YouTube, connecting fans with creators in their home countries and giving those creators a way to earn money from their popularity. With the addition of the Adriatics, Baltics, Bulgaria, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Belarus, YouTube now has local versions in 85 countries.

While it’s easy to have a biased perspective on the world when you live in the US, Google says that more than 80% of YouTube’s views come from people outside the US. And with content creators and consumers speaking dozens of languages and creating an unthinkable amount of content, it makes sense to be able to connect to the community in your physical vicinity.

Google takes part in $100 million funding round for secure messaging startup Symphony

symphony

Reports surfaced last week suggesting that Google was in talks to invest in secure messaging startup Symphony, and a new report out Monday morning (via Re/code) suggests that the company is about to announce $100 million in funding raised in a recent round from several investors including — as was reported — the Mountain View company…
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Sony Bluetooth headphones $135, USB-C accessories for your new Nexus phone, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

sony-mdrxb950bt

Over-Ear Headphones: Sony Bluetooth/NFC $135 (Reg. $199), Beyerdynamic from $170 (Reg. up to $270), more

aukey-usb-c-to-3-port-usb-3-0-hub-with-a-gigabit-ethernet-adapter

USB-C roundup: Aukey 3-Port USB Hub w/ Gigabit Ethernet $17, Aukey USB Adapter $7more

50188132bdc4c17fa00b3a647e1a29ce4925b887_main_hero_image

Moto E & 1-Yr FreedomPop unlimited talk-and-text: $50 shipped (Reg. $70 + plan) | FreedomPop

M8_PerLeft_GunMetal_27_01_2014_GLBL_678x452

HTC One (M8) w/ 32 GB flash storage, 4G LTE, GSM (unlocked): $165 shipped (Reg. $300+) | eBay

amazon-student-days

Amazon Student Days: free $5 credit w/ Gift Card purchase, Kindle Paperwhite $100, Halloween costumes extra 25% off, more

lg-g3-fan

Refurb LG G3 32 GB for Verizon 32 GB: $160 shipped (Reg. $300+) | eBay

nexus-6-midnight-blue

Motorola Nexus 6 Unlocked 32GB: $300 shipped (Orig. $650)

trinity-headphones-giveaway

Giveaway: Trinity Delta aluminum earbuds feature a unique design and top-notch sound ($135 value), 20% discount

More new gear from today:

bloodborne-sale-01

Games/Apps: Bloodborne from $25, Kirby Rainbow Curse $32, Shades Puzzle Game free, more iOS freebies

More deals still alive:

UNCHARTED- The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Bundle-sale-01

Sony announces official PlayStation 4 price drop, bundles now start at just $349

New products & more:

dji-osmo-remote-control

DJI’s new Osmo 4K camera is one expensive selfie stick

littlebits-gadgets-gizmos

The latest littleBits DIY electronics kit turns any kid into an inventor

The guy who managed to buy Google.com got a huge reward from Google, but he gave it all to charity

Google Building 44 Lobby - Google Maps 2015-10-09 13-47-27

Last week, we told you that a former Google employee managed to buy the Google.com domain name via Google’s own Domains service. While Sanmay Ved may have only owned the world’s most-visited domain for just a minute or two before the Mountain View company caught on and cancelled the transaction, it appears at least some good came of this story.

Once Google acknowledged the mistake, they rewarded Ved with some unknown sum of cash — but the company decided to double the reward when Ved generously suggested it go to charity instead…
Expand
Expanding
Close

OnePlus’ rumored ‘X’ budget handset leaks again, this time pictured by the FCC

oneplusone

The OnePlus One

OnePlus has a budget handset on the way, and just this morning, Pete Lau, the company’s co-founder, came out on Weibo to tease the device. We don’t know much about the phone yet, but we do know that OnePlus has an announcement to make in India on October 12th. We’ll probably see the company’s third phone announced at this event, and if these FCC images are to be believed as credible, we might now have our first look at the device in the flesh…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Report: Samsung pushing Marshmallow to most Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 4, and Note 5 variants

samsung-s6

According to a report this morning out of the well-sourced SamMobile, the South Korea-based Android OEM is planing to push Android 6.0 Marshmallow to a whole slew of its most popular handsets. Among those making the initial list are most variants of the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note 5. For good measure, Samsung threw in the Verizon variant of the Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S5 Neo. Why not?..
Expand
Expanding
Close

Work on Marshmallow-based CyanogenMod 13 begins

Cid_Cyanogenmod_09_1920x1200

CyanogenMod is arguably the most popular custom build of Android, and now Cyanogen has begun work on CyanogenMod 13. If you’ve been running any of the nightlies on your phone, you’re probably using version 12.1 (based on Lollipop). Version 13, which will probably take some time before it becomes a build you can actually run on your device, is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and is now in the earliest stages of development…
Expand
Expanding
Close

YouTube now uses deep neural networks to pick better video thumbnails

flat_youtube_wallpaper_by_oscagapotes-d6o637w

When you upload a video to YouTube, the site processes each frame individually and passes them through an algorithm to try and find a few of the best to be your video’s thumbnail. You get to pick between the ones it chooses, or you can upload your own. And while many YouTube creators opt for the latter option, those who aren’t as dedicated usually just go with whatever frame the site chooses.

Now, thanks to deep neural networks, the algorithm that picks the best frames is much more powerful…
Expand
Expanding
Close

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Moto E w/ 1-yr FreedomPop unlimited talk-and-text $50, HTC One M8 (unlocked) $165, more

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: TwitterRSS FeedFacebookGoogle+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

50188132bdc4c17fa00b3a647e1a29ce4925b887_main_hero_image

Moto E & 1-Yr FreedomPop unlimited talk-and-text: $50 shipped (Reg. $70 + plan) | FreedomPop

M8_PerLeft_GunMetal_27_01_2014_GLBL_678x452

HTC One (M8) w/ 32 GB flash storage, 4G LTE, GSM (unlocked): $165 shipped (Reg. $300+) | eBay

amazon-student-days

Amazon Student Days: free $5 credit w/ Gift Card purchase, SanDisk 64GB Wi-Fi Flash Drive $45, Microsoft Universal Bluetooth Keyboard $45, more

lg-g3-fan

Refurb LG G3 32 GB for Verizon 32 GB: $160 shipped (Reg. $300+) | eBay

nexus-6-midnight-blue

Motorola Nexus 6 Unlocked 32GB: $300 shipped (Orig. $650)

UNCHARTED- The Nathan Drake Collection PS4 Bundle-sale-01

Sony announces official PlayStation 4 price drop, bundles now start at just $349

trinity-headphones-giveaway

Giveaway: Trinity Delta aluminum earbuds feature a unique design and top-notch sound ($135 value), 20% discount

More new gear from today:

handmade-at-amazon

Handmade at Amazon launches with an eye on knocking off Etsy

  • Daily Deals: Belkin NetCam HD Camera (Refurb) $60, Epson Pro Wireless Projector $450, more
  • Prime Members: Free 4-month subscription for 3 print magazines – GQ, Wired, Health, Reader’s Digest, more
  • Games/Apps: Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster $30, Power A Moga Android controller $32, iOS freebies, more
  • The absolute best (All-Clad Master Chef) 7-Piece Stainless Cookware Set: $300 shipped
  • Retro Toys 40% off: Pictionary $13, Lincoln Logs set $18, Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots $12, more
  • Canon Refurbished DSLR Sale: T5 w/ 18-55mm/50mm Lens Kit $241 shipped (Orig. $540), much more

More deals still alive:

bose-soundtrue-on-ear-headphones-sale-02

Headphones: Bose SoundTrue Over-Ear $100 (Reg. $120), Bluetooth Earbuds from $20, more

JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Sweat Proof Headphones $90 shipped (Reg. $130), more

[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/651126504156368896 align=’center’]

New products & more:

dyson-pure-cool-hot

Dyson includes air purification in its newest hot + cool bladeless fan

vizio-reference-series

Ever wonder what a $130K VIZIO Ultra HDTV looks like? Now we know.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow now unofficially available for Nexus 4, here’s how to install it

LG-Nexus-4-add1.jpg (2000×1497) 2015-10-08 11-12-09

There are a few Nexus devices that got the boot with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and that has left some owners of ancient (just a few years old, in reality) technology very unhappy. But this is Android, guys, and there is no reason we can’t have what we want. Specifically, owners of the Nexus 4 should rejoice: It’s definitely at your own risk, but you can now install an unofficial build of Google’s latest version of Android on your phone. Here’s how to do it…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Android father Andy Rubin says AI is the next computing platform, but it’s at least 10-20 years away

Video | Technology | Re:code 2015-10-08 10-52-14

Largely heralded as the creator of Android (and as of last year, no longer at Google), Andy Rubin yesterday took to the hotseat at the Code/Mobile conference to talk the future of computing. Now founder and CEO of tech startup incubator Playground Global, his job is to know what’s coming in tech “after mobile” — and he had some very insightful comments indeed…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Google Play Movies & TV hits 1 billion installs on the Play Store

unnamed

Just a couple weeks ago, Google Play Newsstand hit the 1 billion install mark on the Play Store, and now another one of Google’s apps has achieved the same milestone: Google Play Movies & TV. As you might expect, other more-popular Google-made apps like Google Maps and Gmail, alongside Hangouts, Play Music, and others, managed to pass the 1 billion mark a while ago.

Outside of Google, however, not many apps have reached this number. There are a few third-party apps from Facebook — like Messenger, the Facebook app itself, and Whatsapp — that have accomplished this feat, but that’s about it.

Passing 1 billion installs isn’t surprising for Play Moves & TV considering the app comes pre-installed on most Android phones, but it’s worth noting that not all of Google’s stock apps have come anywhere close to this milestone. Google Docs, for example, which comes shipped on all Nexus devices and others, is only in the 50-100 million range.

Google now owns abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.com

| ICANN WHOIS 2015-10-08 08-49-50

Apparently owning abc.xyz isn’t enough for the newly-formed conglomerate headed up by Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Thanks to a recent change in DNS registrant info, we now know that Google has (via DomainInvesting) acquired abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.com, a site that was first registered all the way back in 1999…

Prior to Google’s new ownership, the domain was privately owned and wasn’t being used for anything. We don’t know yet — and probably won’t ever know — what Google paid for the name, but it’s likely to be a hefty amount if it was acquired after the Alphabet announcement. We also don’t know what Google will use the domain for, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it redirect to abc.xyz.

Google announced the major restructuring of its entire organization just a couple of months ago, starting with the creation of a brand-new company called Alphabet, Inc., which is now the parent company of Google and many other now-separate divisions of the company. Previous SVP of Android/Chrome/Google Apps Sundar Pichai now serves as CEO of Google.

PSA: First Android for Work online conference happening November 4th

google-inc-launches-android-for-work-with-a-focus-on-enterprise-security

Google isn’t just building Android for mainstream consumers — the company also wants to tackle the business sector. And to educate business owners on why they might want to take advantage of what Google has to offer, the Mountain View company is holding its first Android for Work online conference, dubbed Android for Work Live, on November 4th.

At Android for Work Live, you’ll:

  • Hear from Andrew Toy, product management director for Android for Work, who’ll discuss the broad vision of Android in the workplace and how businesses can mobilize every worker and workflow.
  • Learn how Android’s vast selection of devices – from affordable phones to locked-down hardware and customized devices – creates choice and agility for BYOD, corporate deployments and single-purpose scenarios.
  • Get an in-depth look at how companies can rely on Android’s built-in multi-layered protections to keep business data secure and managed across all devices in an overview from Adrian Ludwig, technical lead for Android security.
  • Hear insights from Android customers, including Guardian Life Insurance Company.

If this sounds interesting to you, Google says you can register for the event over at the Google for Work website.