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Google Wallet for Android updated w/ Maps integration & new transaction search tools

Avatar for Chance Miller Apr 3 2015 - 1:56 pm PT
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Google announced today that it has started rolling out an update to Google Wallet on Android with a couple of notable new features. First off, Wallet on Android now packs Google Maps integration. With this integration, you can see exactly where you performed any given transaction on an embedded map. This feature, Google says, will make it easier to notice any sort of suspicious activity that occurs.


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Google+ Stories now showing up as a Google Now card for some users

Avatar for Stephen Hall Apr 3 2015 - 9:00 am PT
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Google+ has long had an interesting feature called “Stories” that creates a fun timeline out of your uploaded photos, but now users are reporting that these are now showing up in Google Now. The card that’s appearing in some users’ feeds shows a photo preview of the story, an associated date, the number of moments—and tapping this card takes you to the Google+ app to view it in its full form or share it with your followers.

There are a lot of things you need to make sure are in order before you might see one of these cards, but it’s not all too complicated. The hardest part for most tech enthusiasts would probably be going out and taking enough photos for Google+ Stories to have something to work with. If you’ve never used Google+ Stories before, this is how you get started (according to Google’s support page):

Make a story

Stories are automatically created and you’ll be notified when one is made for you. Stories will work best if you:

After you’ve done all of these things, it probably won’t be long before you see the above card in your Google Now feed. On the other hand, if you are receiving this card and you don’t want to or you simply have no interest in Google+ stories at all, Google says you can turn the feature off completely by disabling Auto Awesome.

(via Thomas Tenkely)

9to5Toys Last Call: Galaxy S5 (unlocked) $315, Amazon free app – Splashtop, Galaxy Alpha $260, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Apr 2 2015 - 10:42 am 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 SM-G900V Galaxy S5 16 GB 4G LTE unlocked: $315 shipped (Reg. $500)

Amazon free app of the day: Splashtop (Reg. $5)

Samsung Galaxy ALPHA 32GB 4G LTE: $260 shipped (Reg. $400)

This no fuss cover makes it stupid easy to add USB power to any outlet

Small States Review: TM1985’s Weekend Duffel is the perfect companion for any excursion, $371 giveaway

More new gear from today:

Seagate Central 3TB Personal Cloud Storage External Hard Drive $80 shipped (orig. $180)

More deals still alive:

Beam a 300″ 1080p projection w/ this $500 Acer projector (Reg. $800)

Outsource your house chores to Amazon and get a free $20 gift card

New products & more:

Onkyo’s new portable headphone digital-to-analog converter uses a Lightning cable to boost your iPhone’s sound

Comcast combats Google Fiber w/ new 2Gbps Gigabit Pro service coming to Atlanta

Avatar for Stephen Hall Apr 2 2015 - 8:53 am PT
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Comcast has come out today to announce that they’re prepping to beat Google Fiber to Atlanta—but they’re not just going for par; the company wants to one-up the offerings of Google and AT&T by introducing previously unheard-of 2Gbps residential Internet service. It will be “the fastest residential Internet speed in the country,” the infamous media conglomerate says.
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Next version of Chrome will stop trusting many Chinese websites as Google responds to security breach

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Apr 2 2015 - 7:52 am PT
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Users trying to connect to many websites in China through Chrome will soon see a message that the website’s security certificate is not trusted, advising against proceeding.

In a far-reaching response to a recently security breach, Google plans to cease recognizing all web security certificates issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) – which includes many government, banking and ecommerce sites in the country … 
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Report: EU preparing to file antitrust charges against Google

Avatar for Chance Miller Apr 1 2015 - 7:47 pm PT
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According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the European Commission is preparing to file antitrust charges against Google. The charges come after a five-year long investigation that’s stalled three times and caused strong political divides in Europe.

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9to5Toys Last Call: Moto X 2014 (unlocked) $360, Moto 360 $200, Amazon free app – Quell Reflect, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Apr 1 2015 - 12:19 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:

Moto X (2nd gen) Pure Edition: $360 shipped (Reg. $500)

Moto 360 in various configurations: $50 off

Amazon free app of the day: Quell Reflect (Reg. $2)

Google Play has Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon for $1 (Reg. $3)

SanDisk 64GB Ultra microSDHC UHS-I Card w/ Adapter $29.99 (orig. $64.99)

Small States Review: TM1985’s Weekend Duffel is the perfect companion for any excursion, $371 giveaway

More new gear from today:

Get your dunk on w/ this mini indoor Basketball hoop for $15 Prime shipped (50% off)

More deals still alive:

Home theater upgrade: Bose Acoustimass 6 speaker set $369 shipped (Reg. $400+)

Outsource your house chores to Amazon and get a free $20 gift card

New products & more:

Amazon’s Dash Service brings push button ordering to your washing machine

Google’s two-year time limit on mobile R&D projects before they are killed, adopted or sold

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Apr 1 2015 - 4:28 am PT
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ATP head Regina Dugan with some of her 100-strong team

Google’s mobile-focused research group, Advanced Technology and Projects (ATP), gives projects a maximum of two years’ work before they are killed, adopted as official Google products or sold to outside companies, reports the WSJ.

The deadline was created by former DARPA head Regina Dugan in an attempt to counter the normal tendency of companies to grow less nimble and more bureaucratic as they grow in size, said Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Product cycles slow down as a company gets larger. All of us believe we could execute faster […] 

We like this model because it puts pressure on people to perform and do relevant things or stop. I’ve spent an awful lot of time on projects that never end and products that would never ship.

The company is ruthless about killing off projects which don’t deliver notable results, said Dugan, who was hired by Google in 2012, and it doesn’t always let them run as long as two years … 
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Roundup: Best April Fools’ pranks yet including Google Panda & Moto Selfie Stick

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 31 2015 - 8:09 pm PT
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April Fools’ Day is often one of the more eventual days of the year for Google and other tech companies. This year appears to be no different as a variety of pranks have already appeared around the web. We’ve been analyzing them all, right as they come in, and have listed some of our favorites below. We’ll keep this list updated as more April Fools’ Day gags continue to roll in. We have feeling there will be no shortage of them either…


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Google’s April Fools’ gag encourages you to take reaction selfies while browsing the web

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 31 2015 - 7:03 pm PT
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After adding an April Fools’ Easter egg to Maps this morning, Google has since added another gem to its mobile version of Chrome. First noticed by the Google Operating System blog, there’s now a menu in Chrome mobile that lets you “share a reaction” from any webpage you visit.


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Inbox by Gmail gets custom morning, afternoon, and evening snooze times in latest update

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 31 2015 - 12:38 pm PT
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Google has announced today that a useful new feature is coming to Inbox by Gmail, namely the ability to customize morning, afternoon and evening “Snooze” times. Once you have the update, all you have to do is open the app, slide left on an email, tap “Pick date & time,” and select the time you’d like to snooze to. You should see a prompt at the bottom of the app asking you if you want to make this your morning, afternoon, or evening time.


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9to5Toys Last Call: LG G3 (unlocked) $320, QNAP 2-Bay NAS $149, Galaxy Note 3 (unlocked) $294, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 31 2015 - 12:03 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:

LG G3 16GB unlocked GSM 4G LTE: $320 shipped (Reg. $450)

Amazon Gold Box – up to 50% off Hard Drives & Networking: 2-Bay NAS $149, 1TB Wi-Fi HDD $120, more

Samsung N9000 Galaxy Note 3 32 GB unlocked: $294 shipped (Reg. $500)

Samsung Galaxy ALPHA 32GB 4G LTE: $260 shipped (Reg. $400)

Amazon free app of the day: Riptide GP2 (Reg. $1)

Crucial M500 960GB 2.5-inch Internal Solid State Drive $293 shipped (Reg. $360)

Gold Box: OontZ Angle Bluetooth speaker by Cambridge SoundWorks: $20 Prime shipped (Orig. $80), waterproof: $35 (orig: $130)

Outsource your house chores to Amazon and get a free $20 gift card

Small States Review: TM1985’s Weekend Duffel is the perfect companion for any excursion, $371 giveaway

More new gear from today:

This Limited Edition Batman: Arkham Knight PlayStation 4 is one of the best looking consoles ever, pre-order today

More deals still alive:

Media: Hobbit – Battle of the Five Armies BR/DVD/Digital $13, much more

New products & more:

Neo smartpen N2 instantaneously sends handwritten words and doodles to its iOS/Android app

Google Drive for Work and Apps for Education getting plethora of new security features

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 31 2015 - 10:46 am PT
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Google has today announced that it’s bringing new sharing controls, alerts and “audit events” to both Google Drive for Work and Google for Education over the coming weeks. Security is one of the biggest concerns that companies have about moving their data to the cloud, and Google hopes these new features will help make the transition just a little bit easier…


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Chair of Senate antitrust panel looking into conversations between Google and FTC

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 31 2015 - 6:50 am PT
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Senator Mike Lee, who chairs the Senate’s antitrust panel, will conduct a “preliminary inquiry” into whether conversations Google had with FTC investigators influenced the commission’s decision to clear the company of anti-competitive behavior, reports the WSJ.

The senator could later expand his inquiry to include conversations people in the White House had with the FTC and Google, people in his office said.

The FTC last week denied that its decision had been “a close call” following leaked documents suggesting that it had been. The documents also provided some fascinating insights into Google’s business model.

Google declined to comment on this latest development, but has previously said that its meetings in the White House were not related to the FTC investigation.

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Android 5.0 Lollipop to begin rolling out to HTC One M7 on AT&T starting March 31

Avatar for Chance Miller Mar 30 2015 - 6:01 pm PT
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HTC’s VP of Product Management Mo Versi announced on Twitter this evening that the AT&T HTC One M7 will finally receive Android 5.0 Lollipop beginning tomorrow, March 31st. Versi, in his tweet, confirmed that  HTC has received approval from both AT&T and Google for the update after delays early on.


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Google Drive now gives access to your photos as Google+ dismantling begins

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 30 2015 - 12:33 pm PT
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Sundar Pichai recently said in a Forbes interview that Google was going to start focusing on the core parts of Google+ (namely, Hangouts, photos, and the Google+ stream) as being three independent areas of interest. One of the first big steps towards this goal, positioning “Photos” as being its own standalone product accessible across Google services, has finally started happening today: You can now view your Google+ photos under a new “Google Photos” section in Google Drive…
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Want to work for Google in the US? Here are the five main jobs for which foreigners are hired

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 30 2015 - 5:19 am PT
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If Google’s recent job listings for Google Glass has tempted you to consider a move to the US, data from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification may provide a guide to your chances. Applications for H-1B visas–those allowing overseas workers to accept job offers in the US–reveal that top tech companies like Google mostly sponsor the visas for five main roles, reports TechCrunch.

By examining the most common professions among H-1B applicants for Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft, five consistent career paths emerged across each company. Software engineers, systems software engineers, financial analysts, computer systems analysts and marketing managers make up a large part of H-1B visa applications.

The salary data shows that the average salary paid to foreign workers employed in the USA by the five tech companies is highest at Facebook, at $135k, with Google second-placed at around $127k.

Google slams News Corp, The Wall Street Journal for ‘inaccuracies’

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Mar 27 2015 - 2:24 pm PT
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Google is no stranger to publicly responding to News Corp after the media company issued a letter last year claiming Google was engaged in unfair business practices, and today Google is once again slamming News Corp for what it’s calling inaccuracies in a recent article about the company.

In a blog post on its Public Policy blog, Google’s SVP Communications and Policy Rachel Whetstone takes apart a recent article in The Wall Street Journal profiling Google’s antitrust probe by the FTC and provides counterpoints to what she says are inaccuracies in the report:
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YouTube experimenting with 4K at 60 FPS, and you can watch a few demo videos now

Avatar for Stephen Hall Mar 27 2015 - 8:54 am PT
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YouTube has been beefing up the capabilities of its video player for quite some time now, and it first introduced 60 FPS support in June of last year. Now, some videos on the site seem to be able to play back not just at 60 FPS, but at 60 FPS in super high-def 4K resolution. It looks to be an experiment that Google is slowly introducing, as only a handful of hand picked videos are capable of this at the moment…


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Millions of British Apple users able to sue Google over secretly-dropped cookies

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Mar 27 2015 - 6:38 am PT
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Update: A class action suit has now been funded by a major US law firm, allowing any qualifying UK user to join the action at no cost. You can complete a qualifying questionnaire here.

A not-for-profit company, Google Action Group Ltd, has been set up to manage the case which is seeking to win between £400 and £4000 in compensation for each claimant who used a .  It has appointed Hausfeld, Europe’s leading claimant firm, to challenge Google on behalf of all those Apple users in England and Wales who used the Safari browser on Apple computers, iPod Touches, iPads, and iPhones during the infringing period of Summer 2011 to about 17th February 2012.
The Google Action Group is seeking more members of the public to sign up for the legal action.  The public can join the action for  free, because the costs will be met by a £2.5m pot of money being put up by a major US litigation funding firm.

UK Apple users have been given the go-ahead to sue Google for continuing to drop cookies on their devices even after they had refused permission through their Safari browser settings.

It was revealed in 2012 that Google bypassed the setting in Safari which instructed sites not to drop cookies, enabling it to deliver personalized ads. The FTC in the US fined the company $22.5M for the practice, with millions more in additional fines levied by 38 US states. There was no government action in the UK, but a group of British iPhone users took Google to court, seeking compensation for breaching their privacy.

Google had attempted to have the case dismissed, claiming that there was no case to answer as the plaintiffs had not suffered any financial harm, but the UK’s Court of Appeal has rejected this argument, allowing the case to proceed …


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