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538 'Google Apps' stories May 2011 - July 2014

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Google Play Developer API now available to all developers

9to5 Staff Jul 29 2014 - 11:51 am PT

Google announced on Tuesday that it has made the Google Play Developer Publishing API available to all developers, allowing for various publishing and management tasks for apps. The API can be used for managing in-app products and subscriptions, products purchase status, subscriptions purchase management, uploading new versions of an app, releasing apps by assigning APKs to various tracks, and creating and modifying Play Store listings.
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Google Web Designer updated with Publish to Drive, HTML with Pages and several other features

9to5 Staff Jul 28 2014 - 10:12 am PT

Google Web Designer has received an update this afternoon with several new features, including publishing to Google Drive and DoubleClick Studio, a new events system and timeline, rewritten web components and CodeMirror3 integration. The latest release also contains 22 bug fixes related to the shell, user interface, publishing, text, components and other miscellaneous issues.
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Google is developing an interactive timeline search feature powered by data from Wikipedia

Mark Hearn Jul 28 2014 - 7:56 am PT

Despite having its hand in things like wearables and robotics, web search is arguably still Google’s mainstay and it looks like the company is working on a new tool that will help people point and click their way through historical events. Discovered by code tinkerer Florian Kiersch, Mountain View appears to be working on a new Knowledge Graph tool that pulls data from Wikipedia to create interactive timelines based on the item being searched.

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Google Docs now imports tracked changes from Word as Suggested Edits

Mark Hearn Jul 25 2014 - 2:52 pm PT

Google recently introduced Suggested Edits, which is pretty much the company’s take on Word’s Track Changes feature for Word that lets editors collaborate with each other when composing a document. Aware the some people still use Microsoft’s word processing software , Mountain View has given Docs the ability to convert tracked changes from .docx to it’s Suggested Edits.

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Google launches new community site to help make Google Translate better

Mark Hearn Jul 25 2014 - 1:11 pm PT

Today, Google announced the launch of Translate Community, a site that will focus on improving translation quality for the 80 languages that the company’s software supports. In addition to making translation results better, the search giant hopes that its new group of dialect aficionados will help it develop support for more languages.

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Google Voice now features calling from Hangouts on the web

Zac Hall Jul 24 2014 - 6:53 am PT

We reported earlier this year that Google has plans to eventually roll Google Voice’s features into its Hangouts service and retire the former product, and we’re slowly seeing that transition play out now. Google’s Alex Weisen, who works on Google Voice, shared last night in a Google+ post that they’re making calling via Hangouts an option from the Google Voice website. Furthermore, the functionality will not require a Google+ account to work either. The option appears to be live on the Google Voice web interface now.
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Sprint partners with Google to sell Google Apps for Business w/ free support, training

Jordan Kahn Jul 23 2014 - 12:52 pm PT

Sprint and Google announced a partnership today that will see the carrier sell Apps for Business, Google’s productivity suite of products for enterprise, while offering deployment and support as a complete solution. Sprint is essentially becoming a reseller as part of the Google Apps Partner Program.

“Google Apps helps businesses work better together with familiar tools they can trust,” said Murali Sitaram, director of strategic partnerships for Google Enterprise. “Our partners are critical in this effort, providing valuable cloud and mobility solutions to customers of all sizes and across diverse industries. We are pleased to welcome Sprint to the Google Apps Partner Program, where they will provide Google Apps and added services to help customers work the way they live.”

In its press release, Sprint said its offering of Google Apps for Business will include “24/7 support and online training included at no charge … all with a mobile-centric approach that enables the use of Google Apps on mobile devices.”

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Hangouts in Chrome without plugin rolling out to Google Apps users today

Jordan Kahn Jul 23 2014 - 7:14 am PT

After announcing late last month that video calls for its Hangouts service in Chrome no longer require a plugin, Google is today rolling out the change to Google Apps users as well.

The change means that users attempting to make a video call from Hangouts using their Google Apps account will no longer be prompted to install a browser plug-in for Chrome. Now, users will only have to grant permission to their computer’s mic and camera to initiate the call (as pictured above).

Following this update, when users try to start a video call for the first time, they’ll see a message underneath the address bar asking for permission to access their computer’s mic and camera. If they want to change their choice later, they can change it from the address bar in Chrome… We recommend users familiarize themselves with this change before seeing the prompt.

The change first launched in the Canary and Developer builds of Chrome and later to all users in the public, stable release of Chrome, but today arrives for Google Apps users.

Google introduces another Udacity course called ‘Developing Scalable Apps’ for Java developers

9to5 Staff Jul 22 2014 - 12:18 pm PT

Google has expanded its catalog of online training courses offered in partnership with educational website Udacity with a new course called “Developing Scalable Apps,” teaching Java developers how to build apps using the Google App Engine. The course costs $150 per month to enroll, providing projects with ongoing feedback, guidance from coaches and verified certificates.
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Google Drive updated with Filter Views for spreadsheets and more

9to5 Staff Jul 22 2014 - 11:59 am PT

Google Drive has been updated with a new Filter Views feature that makes it easier to sort and filter data on view-only spreadsheets. Google Sheets users can now turn on a “temporary filter view” from the toolbar or Data menu to make adjustments that appear on their screen, but do not permanently apply to the shared spreadsheet.
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Liberio launches new Google Drive-based eBook publishing platform

Mark Hearn Jul 22 2014 - 9:30 am PT

Liberio, an online eBook publishing platform the based on Google Drive went from beta to official today. Designed to connect to Drive, this new tool lets you import just about any text-based document and convert it into an eBook that is compliant with industry standards, making it compatible with most major online stores like Amazon, Google Play Books or the iBooks Store.

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Google Views updated with +1 and comment support

Mark Hearn Jul 22 2014 - 8:03 am PT

Google recently updated its Views platform with comments and +1 support. This lets people reach out to photographers about their photo spheres and opens up conversations for subjects like technique and travel. Packed with awesome images, some of the community produced photo spheres have already racked up millions of views, according to Google Maps product manager, Evan Rapoport.

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Amazon’s unlimited ebook and audiobook subscription service finally goes live in the U.S., try it free

Jul 18 2014 - 5:33 am PT

Amazon’s worst kept secret, an all-you-can-read Kindle eBook service, is now live. Dubbed Kindle Unlimited, this $10 per month subscription service grants its members unlimited access to over 600,000 ebooks and thousands of audiobooks. Highlights of the library include:

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, Water for Elephants, Oh Myyy! – There Goes The Internet, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People… plus thousands of classics such as Animal Farm, To the Lighthouse and 2001: A Space Odyssey…

Kindle Unlimited members will also get free access to Audible’s library of over 150,000 audiobooks for 3-months. After which, you’ll presumably need to pay the standard rate of $14.95 per month.

Anyone in the U.S. can try Kindle Unlimited for free for 30 days by signing up for a free trial. All of this content is available on Android, iOS, Windows phone, and of course all Kindle hardware.

Full press release follows:

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Google continues enterprise push for Google apps with delegated contacts search

Ben Lovejoy Jul 16 2014 - 6:26 am PT

Google has announced a new feature for enterprise users of Google Apps: the ability for assistants and other team members to search for particular people in their boss’s contacts list.

Contacts delegation allows enterprise users to delegate full access to the contacts in their “My Contacts” group without granting access to their mail or anything else in their accounts. […]

To save users time when locating specific delegated contacts, we’ve now added search functionality. Delegates can search delegator contacts by selecting the delegator contact group in the navigation pane, and then searching.

It’s not the most exciting of new features, but is one of those small things that can make a worthwhile difference to a PA who might have to contact a dozen or more people a day – and every improvement like that helps Google build its case for broader enterprise adoption of Google Apps.

Google starts incorporating ‘Material Design’ on Docs web pages

Stephen Hall Jul 11 2014 - 1:51 pm PT

Google showed off its new “Material” design language alongside Android “L” at Google I/O 2014. And while you can follow our guide to get a glimpse at Android L in its full glory on your Nexus device, you can also simply load up a few new web pages that Google has redesigned in Google Docs.

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Google launches YouTube Creator Studio app for iOS

Dom Esposito Jul 10 2014 - 8:42 am PT

Following the release of YouTube Creator Studio for Android, Google has now made the app available for iOS devices. What’s the Creator Studio, you ask? Well, Google has finally created an all-in-one app hub for YouTube creators to access channel/video-specific information. Basically, it’s only helpful if you actually make (or plan to make) YouTube videos.

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The first Royal Google Hangout: Princes William and Harry chat live from Buckingham Palace

9to5 Staff Jul 9 2014 - 1:11 pm PT

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry became part of Royal history on Wednesday afternoon by hosting the first Google Hangout from Buckingham Palace. According to The Telegraph, the princes appeared live on webcam around 3:35 PM local time to participate in a question and answer session with five young leaders from five Commonwealth countries around the world.

The report claims that, with the help of Google and Twitter, a “state of the art social media hub” has been setup at the Palace to help launch the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme. The princes spoke for twelve minutes with several possible award nominees from Australia, India, Jamaica, South Africa and United Kingdom. Ultimately, there will be 240 people aged 18 to 29 from all 53 Commonwealth countries honored.

The program is also about awarding leaders within the Commonwealth:

“We are looking for the most exceptional leaders from around the Commonwealth, we are looking for this generation’s Nelson Mandela,” said Dr Astrid Bonfield, chief executive of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. “Who are the people who are going to inspire a whole generation? We want to find in every single Commonwealth country the young people who are already making a difference in their country. The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust was set up by the Commonwealth leaders as a gift to the Queen to thank her for her 60 years’ service, and the fund stands at more than £100 million. Our task is to spend it in a five-year programme to create change across the Commonwealth.”

The princes are searching for nominees using the hashtag #TheSearchIsOn on Twitter.

Gmail for Android update adds Insert from Drive for attaching Google Drive files to emails

9to5 Staff Jul 9 2014 - 11:59 am PT

Following updates to Chromecast, Google Maps and Google Camera this afternoon, Google has updated Gmail for Android with a new Insert from Drive feature that allows for Google Drive attachments to be inserted into emails directly from Android smartphones and tablets. If the file is not shared with the person you are sending it to, an option will pop up to change the sharing settings.

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Google testing voice controls for media playback

Mark Hearn Jul 8 2014 - 1:38 pm PT

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWJaGrv5zy4]

Google appears to be testing new voice command controls for media playback. Available to some, this new feature adds commands like “Ok Google, next song” when listening to music. Based on the company’s big push for wearables, Android in the car and on your TV, this hands-free approach seems like a natural progression.

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Google Search app can now fix its voice recognition mishaps with a quick command

Stephen Hall Jul 8 2014 - 1:15 pm PT

If you’ve ever been using any form of Google voice recognition and gotten frustrated that the friendly female on the other side just can’t understand you, you may be happy to know that a quick command can now fix misheard words. Previously, you would have to start the query over completely, but the Google Search app can now fix its blunders on the fly using a natural corrective voice command.

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NASA launching Google’s Project Tango smartphones into space on July 11th

Mark Hearn Jul 7 2014 - 12:29 pm PT

Robots aboard the International Space Station will soon be equipped with depth sensing smartphones courtesy of Google. The space-ready handsets will be from the search giant’s Project Tango initiative that uses 3D image tracking technology to map their surroundings. The phones with hitch a ride on a cargo spacecraft scheduled to launch on July 11th and will be the eyes and ears of NASA’s Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES).

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MAKE teams up with Google to send your kids to virtual summer camp

Mark Hearn Jul 7 2014 - 10:57 am PT

Google may be keeping an eye on your summer vacation plans, however if your net worth doesn’t allot room for excursions like Caribbean cruises, Mountain View has something to help keep your recently released kids’ creative juices flowing. The search giant has partnered with MAKE to announce this year’s Maker Camp, a free online summer camp for teenagers powered by Google+. Starting today, campers from around the world can join each other for daily projects like soda bottle rocket fireworks, glowing bikes and LED shoe clips.

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Royal Caribbean International brings Street View tours to its cruise ships

Mark Hearn Jul 7 2014 - 9:51 am PT

It’s summertime in these here United States and while taking your family on a cross-country road trip to Walley World sounds like a great time, Royal Caribbean International would like you to reconsider. The company recently entered a partnership with Google’s Business View to provide would-be customers with virtual tours of its cruise ships. Loaded with blurred out pictures of guests, this panoramic sales pitch lets you check out activities like simulated surfing, zip lining, rock climbing and fine dining, all without the risk of contracting a mystery illness or being hijacked by pirates.

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Attention compulsive gamblers: Google’s cloud platform is 8 for 8 in World Cup predictions

Mark Hearn Jul 2 2014 - 1:05 pm PT

Whether you’re an avid soccer fan or a compulsive gambler looking for an edge, Google’s cloud platform could be your best friend or worst enemy, depending on who you’re rooting for in this year’s World Cup. In a blog post today, product marketing manager, Benjamin Bechtolsheim revealed that so far the company’s system has managed to correctly predict winners for each match in the tournament’s Round of 16.

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