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Google’s ‘Patent Starter Program’ is giving away non-organic patents to startups

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 23 2015 - 5:24 pm PT
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Google today has started a program for startups to gain two non-organic patent families from Google, as well as the opportunity buy more patents from the company at some point down the line. To be eligible however, the interested startup must also join the LOT Network, which includes companies like Dropbox and Canon and focuses on stopping patent trolls (via TechCrunch).


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Popular apps like Monument Valley & Hitman GO discounted in huge Google Play sale

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 23 2015 - 4:34 pm PT
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On the same day that Apple launched a massive iOS app sale, Google has also joined the fun. The company has discounted a plethora of apps on the Play Store to celebrate summer. The discounted apps aren’t unpopular by any stretch of the imagination and include a variety of popular games.


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Honda announces the 2016 Accord will be its first car to ship with Android Auto support

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 23 2015 - 3:44 pm PT
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When Android Auto was debuted in June of 2014, a variety of automobile manufacturers signed on to support Google’s in-car offering. One of those launch partners was Honda and despite the manufacturer having promised to support the platform from the beginning, it has yet to release any car model with support for Android Auto. Today, however, Honda announced at an event in Silicon Valley that it will begin shipping cars with support for Android Auto in 2016.


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Google Play Store carrier billing added in Denmark, Saudi Arabia, & 2 more countries

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 23 2015 - 12:55 pm PT
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Carrier billing, also known as direct billing, is a way through which customers of Google Play can pay for premium downloads without ever manually inputting a credit, debit or gift card – by having new charges billed directly to the carrier service plan they pay monthly. Now it’s available for Play Store customers on a few more select carriers in several countries – only on select carriers, though. The change was initially spotted by Android Police.

Here are the carriers and countries where Play Store carrier billing is now available:

  • 3 in Denmark
  • Sun in Philippines
  • Mobily in Saudi Arabia
  • Avea in Turkey
  • du in UAE

Typing on mobile devices can be a frustrating, mistake-prone experience that takes longer than typing on a full-sized desktop keyboard, so it’s no surprise to see app developers quickly bringing to fruition changes that reduce the amount of finger-pecking necessary to take action – making password input a fallback to fingerprint scanning being one example. The full list of carriers and countries that have support for Play Store carrier billing is available on Google’s support site.

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Galaxy S6 (unlocked) $500, S6 Edge (unlocked) $600, GoPro HERO4 Black $399, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 23 2015 - 12:43 pm PT
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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: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone 32GB (unlocked): $500 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 32GB (factory unlocked): $600 shipped (Reg. $1,000) | eBay

GoPro HERO4 Black 4K Action Camera for $399 shipped (Reg. $500)

Sony Mobile Sony SmartWatch 3 SWR50: $148 shipped (Reg. $160+) | Amazon

Refurbished Acer White 11.6″ CB3-111-C8UB Chromebook: $130 shipped (Reg. $140)

LG ChromeBase 22-Inch All-in-One Cloud Desktop: $284 shipped (Reg. $325) | Amazon

Acer’s LiquidLeap+ wearable now available: $80 (Reg. $100)

Review: Bang & Olufsen Beolit 15 Bluetooth speaker

Review: DODOcase Apple Watch Charging Stand

Review: SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick

Giveaway: Grain Audio OEHP.01 Over-Ear Headphones are an ideal daily set of cans, $199 value

More new gear from today:

Sennheiser Urbanite on-ears for $75 or XL over-ears for $130 (Orig. up to $250), more

More deals still alive:

VIZIO 43-inch 4K 120Hz Smart LED UHDTV: $500 shipped (Reg. $600)

Jabra SOLEMATE Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker in black $60 shipped (Reg. $90+), more

New products & more:

Stary Board cuts the weight to become the “world’s lightest” electric vehicle

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9to5Toys Lunch Break: MEElectronics headphones $35, Jabra SOLEMATE $60, Sony SmartWatch 3 $148, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 22 2015 - 12:47 pm PT
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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: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Amazon Gold Box – MEElectronics Air Fi Runaway Bluetooth Headphones in multiple colors: $35 Prime shipped (Reg. $60)

Beats by Dr. Dre Studio Wireless On-Ear Headphones in Titanium: $209 shipped (Orig. $380)

 

Jabra SOLEMATE Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker in black $60 shipped (Reg. $90+), more

Bluetooth speakers: Urge Basics Soundbrick $18 shipped, Liger waterproof shower speaker $10 shipped, more

Sony Mobile Sony SmartWatch 3 SWR50: $148 shipped (Reg. $160+) | Amazon

Refurbished Acer White 11.6″ CB3-111-C8UB Chromebook: $130 shipped (Reg. $140)

LG ChromeBase 22-Inch All-in-One Cloud Desktop: $284 shipped (Reg. $325) | Amazon

Acer’s LiquidLeap+ wearable now available: $80 (Reg. $100)

Review: Bang & Olufsen Beolit 15 Bluetooth speaker

Review: DODOcase Apple Watch Charging Stand

Review: SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick

Giveaway: Grain Audio OEHP.01 Over-Ear Headphones are an ideal daily set of cans, $199 value

More new gear from today:

VIZIO 43-inch 4K 120Hz Smart LED UHDTV: $500 shipped (Reg. $600)

More deals still alive:

ASUS ZenWatch now just $130 from the Google Store (Reg. $200)

New products & more:

Cusby adapters work like LEGO to let you build a custom USB-C hub

Dreamscope web app lets you create your own trippy Google-powered nightmares

Avatar for Cam Bunton Jul 22 2015 - 6:15 am PT
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UPDATE – If you want a native app on your Mac to do the same job, using Google’s available Deep Dream code, you can download RealMac’s beta software.

Deep Dream has caused something of a stir online in recent weeks. Google’s neural imaging network has an uncanny ability of taking ordinary images and turning them in to something you’d normally only see if you were sleeping, or under the influence of banned substances. Now, creating your own trippy images is as easy as uploading an image to a web app.

Dreamscope lets you upload any photo or picture and run it through one of its many Deep Dream patterns. The end results is normally weird, scary, or both. There are 20 filters to choose from in total, some scarier than others. Depending on the size of your image, the time it takes to process your nightmare varies. I experienced anything from a few seconds to around half a minute. For extra-trippy effects, re-upload your Dreamscope’d image several times and see what happens.

Take a look at our gallery below and you’ll see some of the virtual hallucinations it conjured up for us.

If you want to create your own, head on over to DreamScopeApp.com and start uploading. There’s also a gallery to look through of images created by others. Some might be NSFW, so be careful where you view them and who you view them in front of. You have been warned.

Google may face yet another European antitrust prove, this time over ad products

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 22 2015 - 5:58 am PT
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Just as one European antitrust case against Google reached its conclusion, with a second one underway, it may be facing a third, reports the Financial Times.

The first antitrust case found that Google abused its dominant position in search to promote its own products over that of competitors. with the company told to expect large fines. A second one is underway, to determine whether Google forced smartphone manufacturers to favor its own apps over competitor ones in return for permission to use Android.

The FT now reports that a number of companies selling online advertising have asked the European Commission to consider a third case, to investigate Google’s dominance of the web advertising business … 
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Google promoting Flights product in city Knowledge Graph search cards

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 21 2015 - 2:17 pm PT
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Google’s Knowledge Graph attempts to surface relevant, actionable information to the search page so you don’t have to do as much clicking. As one example, Google presents population and other census data front and center when you search for a city. It looks like this card in particular, the one for cities and towns, has been updated with a new actionable snippet for flights…


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Google acquires Pixate, makes its mobile app prototyping app free

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 21 2015 - 2:04 pm PT
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Pixate has been acquired by Google, according to an announcement on Pixate’s blog. The company, which made software for prototyping and designing mobile applications, has also decided to make Pixate Studio completely free — and is reducing the cost of its Pixate cloud service.

Here’s the full announcement from Pixate:

Today, I am very proud to announce that Pixate has joined Google’s design team.

Pixate was started three years ago with the goal to make designing and prototyping native mobile applications easy and more accessible. Our early adopters helped guide us along the path of making tools and services that best fit the needs of designers struggling to turn their ideas into reality. Today, we have companies of all sizes, from single-person startups to global corporations, using Pixate to bring their app ideas to life.

We don’t want to stop there. Our small team at Pixate has some really big ideas, and with the help of Google we’ll be able to bring those ideas to the design community at scale. We’ve become an essential part of the workflow for tens of thousands of designers, and are excited about expanding our mission at Google to reach millions of product teams worldwide.

Starting today we’re making Pixate Studio free and dramatically reducing the cost of the Pixate cloud service. You can read all about that in our FAQ. I sincerely want to thank all of you for your invaluable feedback and the endlessly inspiring prototypes you’ve created with Pixate. The landscape of design tooling is changing rapidly, and Pixate is committed to staying at the forefront.

9to5Toys Lunch Break: Sony SmartWatch 3 $148, Acer 11-inch Chromebook $130, ASUS ZenWatch $130, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 21 2015 - 12:49 pm PT
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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: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Sony Mobile Sony SmartWatch 3 SWR50: $148 shipped (Reg. $160+) | Amazon

Refurbished Acer White 11.6″ CB3-111-C8UB Chromebook: $130 shipped (Reg. $140)

ASUS ZenWatch now just $130 from the Google Store (Reg. $200)

LG ChromeBase 22-Inch All-in-One Cloud Desktop: $284 shipped (Reg. $325) | Amazon

Acer’s LiquidLeap+ wearable now available: $80 (Reg. $100)

Amazon Gold Box – up to 60% off Logitech gear: M320 wireless mouse $10 Prime shipped, UE MINI BOOM $55 shipped, more

Giveaway: Grain Audio OEHP.01 Over-Ear Headphones are an ideal daily set of cans, $199 value

More new gear from today:

Complete this Chipotle trivia game & receive a buy one, get one free coupon

More deals still alive:

Kmashi 10,000mAh Dual-USB Power Bank: $9.39 Prime shipped (Orig. $50)

New products & more:

A-Bike Electric has powered assistance in the “lightest” package in the world

OnePlus 2 hits AnTuTu once again, scores a modest 63,719

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 21 2015 - 9:57 am PT
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The details of the OnePlus 2 have slowly been making their way out thanks to OnePlus’ ingenious — and annoying — marketing tactics. We know so far that it’s going to have a Snapdragon 810 V2.1 SoC, 4 GB of RAM, a 3,300 mAh battery, and a sweet new 13-megapixel camera. And while all of these specifications are nice to know, there’s still something we won’t know until we actually get to test the phone out for ourselves: how it performs. AnTuTu scores have typically been a good indicator of this, however, and now the OnePlus 2 has been spotted hitting the benchmark app once again, scoring a modest 63,719.
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Don’t expect your fancy new top-level domain to give you an SEO boost, says Google

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 21 2015 - 7:14 am PT
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With companies now able to apply to use their own brand as a top-level domain (TLD), there have been suggestions that doing this might be an easy way to get a boost in search-engine rankings. For example, that Samsung using something like www.phones.samsung might get more hits than the usual samsung.com domain. Not so, says Google … 
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Leaked 3rd gen Moto G dummy unit confirms IPX7 certification, 2470 mAh battery, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 20 2015 - 9:15 pm PT
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As Motorola’s July 28th event draws near, more and more leaked images and renders of the upcoming Motorola handset refreshes continue to hit the Internet. This time we’re getting a look at leaked images (via MobileSyrup) of what is assumably a 3rd gen Moto G display dummy unit, and there just so happens to be a sticker affixed that confirms some previously rumored specifications of the device…
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Google’s productivity apps receive minor updates for paid and unpaid users

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 20 2015 - 1:57 pm PT
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Google’s productivity apps have received two small updates today, one specifically for paid customers of Google Apps, the enterprise-grade version of Google’s online productivity suite for those who want to use Google products with their own domain, and the other for all users of the products. Let’s take a look.

First off, a couple products which tend to fall under the “Docs” brand have received a new UI button (pictured above) for all users which makes it clearer want kind of access you have to a document you’re viewing, and easier to request greater access. If you’re viewing a spreadsheet and have only been granted the ability to view it but not edit or add comments, for example, you’ll see a blue button which says “View only.” Clicking the downward facing arrow reveals the option to request greater access, in this case the ability to edit. Viewers with the ability to comment will see a similar button in the color green. The blue “View only” button will appear across Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Drawings, while the “Comment only” button will only appear across Slides, Sheets, and Drawings.

The second minor change up on the block is specifically for Apps administrators, and alerts company employees to when a document they’ve shared with someone cannot be viewed by that person for one reason or another. Oftentimes to prevent sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands, Google Apps administrators will restrict their employees from sharing files with any user of Google’s apps other than those on the same domain (i.e. tom@corpemail.com). This is what it may look like if you attempt to share a document with someone outside your corporation and sharing outside your own domain is disabled:

More information on both updates is available on the Google Apps Updates blog, here for the new Docs UI buttons, and here for the new invalid sharing settings alerts.

Google+ Photos being discontinued August 1st following standalone Photos service debut

Avatar for Tom Maxwell Jul 20 2015 - 1:05 pm PT
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Au revoir, Google+ Photos. In a post to Google+, ironically enough, Google has (unsurprisingly) announced that starting on August 1st, it will be sunsetting its Google+ Photos app in favor of the recently launched Google Photos. First the Android version of the app will stop working, followed by the iOS and web apps shortly thereafter. The company says the move to axe Google+ Photos is being made in an “effort to ensure everyone has the best photos experience we can deliver.”


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: ASUS ZenWatch $130, LG ChromeBase $284, Acer LiquidLeap+ $80, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 20 2015 - 12:38 pm PT
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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: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

ASUS ZenWatch now just $130 from the Google Store (Reg. $200)

LG ChromeBase 22-Inch All-in-One Cloud Desktop: $284 shipped (Reg. $325) | Amazon

Acer’s LiquidLeap+ wearable now available: $80 (Reg. $100)

Kmashi 10,000mAh Dual-USB Power Bank: $9.39 Prime shipped (Orig. $50)

Pay what you want for the 7-course Web Hacker Bundle ($1,043 value, currently $6)

Giveaway: Grain Audio OEHP.01 Over-Ear Headphones are an ideal daily set of cans, $199 value

More new gear from today:

Discounted gift cards up to 20% off: Staples, JCPenney, Gamestop, Toys R Us, iTunes, and more

More deals still alive:

Nordstrom’s massive Anniversary Sale: Nike DRI-FIT t-shirt $16, Michael Kors non-iron dress shirt $39, more

Women’s fashion: Nordstrom Sale – Topshop sweater $33, Vince Camuto bag $99, more

3200mAh Battery/Flashlight with MFi Lightning cable: $10 shipped

New products & more:

A-Bike Electric has powered assistance in the “lightest” package in the world

Pebble

Pebble Time now available at Best Buy, coming to Target next month

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 20 2015 - 11:45 am PT
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Pebble Time - Awesome Smartwatch, No Compromises by Pebble Technology — Kickstarter 2015-02-24 08-58-47

The original Pebble Time renders…

Update: It looks like you can also snag the Pebble Time from Amazon now, too.

If you’re not a huge fan of platform-segregated accessories, you’re probably also the kind of person that would go for a Pebble smartwatch over the likes of the Android-only Moto 360 or the iOS-only Apple Watch. And if you’re that kind of person and haven’t yet grabbed the new smartwatch-with-a-color-ePaper-display, you now have a couple more retail outlets to pick from.
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First Look at the Microsoft Cortana beta on Android (Video)

Avatar for Cam Bunton Jul 17 2015 - 2:41 pm PT
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Microsoft recently released its Cortana digital assistant as a beta app, and we’ve been able to get our hands on the preview. Apart from its Material-like design, the app looks, performs, and acts just like the Cortana on Windows Phone. You can ask it to set reminders, give you directions and weather information, or do simple arithmetic. It has its limitations and doesn’t feel quite as intuitive or in-depth as Google Now or Siri, but it has its uses.


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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Bose SoundTrue headphones $80, Moto Hint Bluetooth headset $80, HTC One M9 $400, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 17 2015 - 12:12 pm PT
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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: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Bose SoundTrue On-Ear Headphones in multiple colors: $80 shipped (Reg. $140)

SoundPEATS Qy7 Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless In-Ear Headphones: $20 Prime shipped (Reg. $30)

Jabra MOVE wireless on-ear headphones $70 shipped (Reg. $100), more

Motorola’s Moto Hint Bluetooth headset: $80 shipped (Reg. $150)

Refurb HTC One M9 32GB flash 4G LTE (AT&T unlocked): $400 shipped (Reg. $500+) | eBay

Motorola Moto X 2nd generation (unlocked) 16GB: $290 shipped (Reg. $500) | Amazon

Refurb Moto X Verizon 16GB: $100 shipped (Reg. $200+) | eBay

FreedomPop LG Nexus 5 refurb w/ 500 SMS, 200 min, 500MB data: $165 shipped (Reg. $500) | Sam’s Club

3200mAh Battery/Flashlight with MFi Lightning cable: $10 shipped

Giveaway: Win one of SanDisk’s newly released massive 200GB microSD cards ($250 value)

More new gear from today:

Nordstrom’s massive Anniversary Sale: Nike DRI-FIT t-shirt $16, Michael Kors non-iron dress shirt $39, more

Media: Dexter Complete Series $85 (Reg. $125), Tarantino XX 8 Film Collection $58 (Reg. $80)

Daily Deals: Mongoose Detour Full Suspension Bike $200, Sony Cyber-shot 20.4MP Camera + $50 gift card $300, more

More deals still alive:

Charge a 12-inch MacBook on the road w/ this Anker 25600mAh 3-port Battery: $50 shipped (Reg. $80), more

New products & more:

The new slimmer MOOV NOW fitness tracker coaches you through your workouts

Grado’s new Heritage Series headphones are made from native Brooklyn trees

Google hires engineers from Homejoy as it looks to enter home services market

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 17 2015 - 12:10 pm PT
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Re/code reports that Google is hiring the technical team responsible for Homejoy, a startup that helped online users find professional cleaners. Homejoy will cease its operations at the end of this month due to multiple employee reclassification lawsuits, according to a report. The team joining Google includes about 20 people, all of which were on the product and engineering teams at Homejoy.


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Google stock set to open at record high following strong earnings

Avatar for Cam Bunton Jul 17 2015 - 6:00 am PT
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We’re just minutes until the the market opens for the day and Google has already started on a high. Following its strong Q2 financials (announced yesterday), GOOG has shot up in after-hours trading and is up around 13% on yesterday. Last night it announced revenue of $17.7 billion — up 11% YoY — and net income of $3.93 billion.

Seems Wall Street is happy with the results from Q2 leading to a surge in trading after hours, pushing its stock price up past $650. If pre-market numbers are any indication, once the market opens for trading, GOOG should be at its highest point ever. Before now, it’s previous high was set in February last year when it reached $607.

Ruth Porat, Google’s new CFO stated:

“Our strong Q2 results reflect continued growth across the breadth of our products, most notably core search, where mobile stood out, as well as YouTube and programmatic advertising. We are focused every day on developing big new opportunities across a wide range of businesses. We will do so with great care regarding resource allocation.”

With Google’s steady rise on the stock market, it’s hard to see the company failing any time soon. Let’s hope there are many more strong quarters in store.

Google autonomous cars get hit surprisingly often…but why?

Avatar for Cam Bunton Jul 17 2015 - 4:38 am PT
4 Comments

Google’s self-driving cars are drawing a lot of attention and conversation online. Perhaps one of the biggest concerns from regular people like you and I is how safe they are. But as a recent video and blog post shows, you’re seemingly infinitely far more likely to be hit by another driver not paying attention, than your car malfunctioning and crashing in to someone else. But why do Google’s cars get hit so much?

Chris Urmson posted a really interesting article about what it’s like being hit by another car, driven by a human, while taking a ride in a self-driving Googlemobile. Urmson notes that the autonomous cars are being hit “surprisingly often”, despite their fancy array of sensors, processors and algorithms.


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Google announces enhanced snooze functionality for Inbox by Gmail

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 16 2015 - 4:50 pm PT
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Google today announced a useful new feature that is now available in its Inbox email app. Starting today, when users “snooze” an email that has dates and times, they will be presented with a one-tap option to snooze to a specific time further in the future. For instance, you can snooze an event confirmation email until the day of the event. Another possible instance is snoozing a shipment confirmation email until the day of the package’s arrival.


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