Google Chrome

BrowserFame spotted a feature in the Canary (development) version of Chrome that would allow parents and schools to created ‘supervised user’ accounts whose access to the web can be controlled by a master account.

The approach is an extension of the standard accounts available in Chrome, allowing different users to have different settings and to be automatically signed-in to Google services … 
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Last month we reported that Google’s slick new “Google+ Photos” app that launched exclusively on the Chromebook Pixel could possibly be making its way to Mac & PC. The proof came from a newly posted listing on the Chrome Web Store that made references to auto-uploading features specifically for OS X and Windows. Unfortunately, launching the app would give users a “not supported on this platform” error message. While Google has yet to officially launch the Mac and PC versions of the Chrome app, there is a way to bypass the error message and enable the app now.
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The sub-$250 Chromebooks were a huge hit for both Samsung and Acer last year, and according to a new report out of DigiTimes, ASUS is also planning to enter the growing Chrome OS market. The site claims that ASUS is planning to make a foray into the Chromebook market as soon as the fourth quarter of this year. After experiencing low-demand for the back-to-school season, the company is looking to boost its shipment numbers, notably to education customers. ASUS recently reduced its notebook shipment predictions for 2013 from 22-24 million units to 17-19 million units.

With its entry in the Chromebook business, Asustek is hoping to gain orders from the education industry. Although order volumes are likely to be limited, they will still help the company.

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Photo: chromespot.com

When Google announced (and later began rolling out) conversational search back in May, the company saw that as only the start. The company’s plans for the feature take us all the way into the realms of a true virtual personal assistant.

If you haven’t yet tried conversational search in Chrome, the feature as it stands is useful but basic. Speak a search like “How old is Barack Obama?” and Chrome will speak the answer. With a person, you could then ask a series of follow-up questions like “How tall is he?”, “Who is his wife?” and “How old is she?” and they would know who you were referring to in each question. That’s the functionality Google is rolling out, remembering who or what you just asked about and interpreting pronouns appropriately.

But Google’s long-term plans are far more ambitious. In an interview with TechFlash, Google Research Fellow Jeff Dean talked to Jon Xavier about his team’s work on machine learning and neural nets to expand Google’s abilities in conversational search … 
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Image: thehayden.org

The Guardian reports that a security flaw in Chrome allows anyone with access to a computer to view all of the saved logins without requiring any form of authentication.

A serious flaw in the security of Google’s Chrome browser lets anyone with access to a user’s computer see all the passwords stored for email, social media and other sites, directly from the settings panel. No password is needed to view them.

Besides personal accounts, sensitive company login details would be compromised if someone who used Chrome left their computer unattended with the screen active … 
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That $35 stick is looking less and less like a novelty item and more and more like a serious option for those looking to view content on their TV as developer Koushik Dutta has created an Android app to allow both photos and video to be streamed from a smartphone … 
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Update: HBO confirmed to GigaOM that its in talks regrading offering support for Chromecast in the near future.

When Google announced the Chromecast last week, it revealed handful of content providers that are available to ‘cast’ to your TV. GigaOm is now reporting, however, that both Vimeo and Redbox Instant will soon be making their way to the new $35 streaming stick.

In a statement to the blog, Vimeo’s VP of mobile, Nick Alt had the following to say about Chromecast:

“We’re excited about the emerging opportunities bridging mobile to Connected TV and we look forward to offering Chromecast support in our products.”

The report also states that Redbox will also be bringing its Instant streaming service to Chromecast. Plex, a service that focuses mainly on brining local files to your big screen, also says that it is “actively investigating and optimistic” for Chromecast support.

Wow, lots of interest in Chromecast and Plex. Yes, we've ordered a few of them :-)

— Plex (@plex) July 24, 2013

Finally, GTV Hacker has also uncovered some configuration files that hint at tests for HBO Go as well as the services that Chromecast already supports.

While none of these services have specific time frames for release, it looks like Google will be moving a pretty quickly to beef up the streaming services it supports. 
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Just a few days after its announcement, Google’s new Chromecast stick has already been rooted. The rooting process, as detailed by GTV Hacker, is similar to almost every Android phone. During the announcement last week, Google said that the Chromecast was powered by Chrome OS, but GTV Hacker has found something different.

The blog says that after rooting and doing a little digging around within the software, it looks like the Chromecast is running software closer to Android or Google TV, not Chrome OS as Google implied. While this doesn’t mean all that much for the end user, it does leave the door open for an eventual port of the full Google TV operating to the tiny HDMI stick or the ability to install standalone apps at some point.

We had a lot of internal discussion on this, and have concluded that it’s more Android than ChromeOS. To be specific, it’s actually a modified Google TV release, but with all of the Bionic / Dalvik stripped out and replaced with a single binary for Chromecast. Since the Marvell DE3005 SOC running this is a single core variant of the 88DE3100, most of the Google TV code was reused. So, although it’s not going to let you install an APK or anything, its origins: the bootloader, kernel, init scripts, binaries, are all from the Google TV.

We are not ruling out the ability for this to become a Google TV “stick”.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google has been working on an Android-powered set-top box, so it’s possible that it the device may be some sort of advanced variation of the Chromecast. 
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We already got a brief look inside Google’s new Chromecast device that revealed 4GB of flash memory and a Marvell DE3005 system-on-a-chip, but today iFixit performed its ritual tear down of the device giving us specifics on everything packed into the HDMI streaming solution.

The tear down confirmed the Marvell system-on-a-chip and 4GB of flash memory, but also found 512 MB DDR3L SDRAM, and an AzureWave AW-NH387 802.11 b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth and FM Combo chip. It’s isn’t, however, assigning a repairability score to the Chromecast, as there isn’t much inside to repair. Here’s the break down of internal components: 
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At its breakfast event this morning, Google officially confirmed the Chromecast, which is a device that lets you “cast” content from your computer, smartphone, and tablet to your big screen TV. While most people don’t have their hands on the device yet, Google has just released the official Cast extension for Chrome.

The Google Cast extension enables you to find and play content on your Chromecast device from your Chrome browser. When on Cast optimized sites like YouTube and Netflix, you’ll see new options that let you play video on your TV via Chromecast – using your computer as a remote to browse for videos and to control playback. You can also cast any of your tabs in Chrome to your TV, letting you enjoy sites, photos, or even video from the best screen in your home.

The Chromecast itself is available from a variety of retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon.

Google just seemingly ‘cast’ its Google TV project to the curb.  As a much simpler version of GoogleTV, the leaked Chromecast allows you to do what you can now do on Google TV: pushing content from both Netflix and Youtube to your TV.  Unlike Airplay, the Chromecast stick allows the original device to turn off or go to sleep. It functions as a standalone streaming device, awaiting orders from an iOS device, Android device, or Chrome browser on a PC, Mac or Chromebook Pixel (strangely, other Chromebooks need not apply). 

Google has also baked in iOS support, which will allow users of both platforms to control Netflix or Youtube. You can also broadcast a tab in the Chrome Browser.

Google Play music and movies can also ‘cast’ to the best speakers in your house as long as those are connected to your TV. Pandora is coming soon.

It will be available from Google Play, Amazon and Best Buy as well as other retailers. We’ll have a review up as soon as possible. 
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Live from Google’s Android and Chrome event this morning, Google’s Sundar Pichai just provided an update on some of the company’s stats for tablet activations and Google Play content downloads. While noting that revenue per user on Google Play has increased 2.5X over the last year, Google announced that it now has 70 million tablet activations, up from around 10 million last year. It also announced it is now at 1 million apps on Google Play with over 50 billion app downloads.

A run-down of the announced statistics:

-70M tablet activations

-1 in 2 tablets is android

-now 50B+ app downloads, up from 20B last year

-Revenue per user up 2.5x over last year

-1 million apps in Google Play

-revenue increased by 2.5X for devs in last 12 months

-Nexus 7 is over 10% of Android tablets

-in Japan during holidays 45% of Android tablets in Japan were Nexus 7

Earlier this afternoon, several eagle-eyed people noticed that an odd device dubbed “Chromecast” was listed on Google Play’s device list (via Droid-Life). Many people have since speculated that the device, which has now been removed from Google’s support site, is some sort of Chrome dongle for your TV. 

Droid-Life reported on something like this a few weeks ago, though that device was called the Chromekey. It’s unclear how, or if, the two devices are related, but it seems likely that they are in some fashion. Droid-Life’s source told it that the Chromekey could “cast” your Chrome browser from another device (computer, smartphone) to your big screen TV. 

Several people also interrogated Google support live chat with questions about the Chromecast device and were told that it’s a TV service that’s available “only in a few areas.” When asked how and where the device could be purchased, the Google support representative simply said that she is not sure. 

More than likely, we’ll hear something about the Chromecast and/or Chromekey at tomorrow’s Breakfast with Sundar event, as he is the head of Chrome and Android for Google.  
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Since the iPad was announced, we’ve seen PC sales fall every year due to people discovering that they can do anything they need on a laptop on the more affordable iPad and Android tablets. Chromebooks, however, have become much more affordable over the last year, which has led to some people going with the Samsung and Acer models instead of tablets. According to the latest data from NPD Group Inc. (via Bloomberg), Chromebooks have accounted for between 20 and 25 percent of all laptop sales under $300 over the last eight months. Overall, according to IDC data, PC shipments fell 4 percent in 2012 and will fall 7.8 percent this year.

Overall,  Chromebooks still make up a small percentage of the entire laptop market. In the first quarter of 2013, Chromebooks accounted for 4 to 5 percent of laptop market. When you compare that to the 1 to percent in 2012, however, it’s pretty tremendous growth.

“We’re seeing tremendous growth, without a doubt — massive, massive growth,” said Caesar Sengupta, head of product development for Chromebooks.

This shows that affordable, entry-level Chromebooks are not buggy and inconsistent like many people expected them to be, but are rather decent alternatives to tablets for people who still want a keyboard. 
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Just a day after Chrome 28 was released to Mac and Windows with rich notifications, the update is now available to Android devices with a its own feature set. With the update, Chrome for Android now offers built-in Google Translate support, meaning that if you visit a site in a different language, a bar will appear at the bottom asking if you wish to translate it. The update also adds fullscreen support for tablets, as well as a new interface for languages that are read right-to-left.

The full change log from Google follows:

• Fullscreen on tablets – Scroll to hide the toolbar
• Google Translate – Look for translation bar when reading web pages in other languages
• New user interface for right-to-left (RTL) languages, including Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew

The update is available on the Play Store now. 
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