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In Google’s annual Founders Letter, Larry Page revealed that Google was handling more than 100 billion searches a month, but said that the service was still “a million miles” from the service he’d like to see Google become.

In many ways, we’re a million miles away from creating the search engine of my dreams, one that gets you just the right information at the exact moment you need it with almost no effort.  That’s partly because understanding information in a deep way is a hard problem to solve …

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Since the device’s release Google has been selling bumper cases and QuickCover cases for the Nexus 5. Today, the company has further expanded its accessory line-up and added a new Snap Case for the Nexus 5. The case is priced at $29.99 and available in Black, Silver, Aqua, White, and Clear.

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After a brief stint of availability last month, Google Glass is once again available to everyone for purchase. A pair will still run you $1500, but you will also get a free set of Titanium Collection frames for free. Unfortuntely, however, Google has limited the availability to the United States only for the time being.

Google announced the availability of Glass today in a post on Google+. The company says that it is looking to move the product towards a “more open beta,” although it will still carry the “Explorer” branding.

Last week we told you we’d be trying out new ways to find Explorers. Well, we weren’t kidding. We learned a lot when we opened our site a few weeks ago, so we’ve decided to move to a more open beta. We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand: google.com/glass

We’re ready to keep meeting new Explorers, and we can’t wait to hear all your experiences and feedback to continue to make Glass even better, ahead of our wider consumer release.

Head over to the Glass Store to grab your pair – and free titanium frames – today. It’s unclear how long Google will be selling Glass to the public, although it looks like as long as it has it in stock, it will be up for sale. Google sold out of several variants when it put Glass up for sale earlier this year, although it presumably has more units this time around.

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Google today has announced an update to both Glass, as well as its companion MyGlass app on Android. The update coming to Glass itself bumps the device to version XE 17.1, following the release of XE 16 and subsequent minor update last month (via Google Glass Fans).

XE 17.1 appears to be a rather minor update, but still includes some pretty critical fixes for Glass users. Most notably, the update has reportedly considerably improved general performance with the device. The speed of snapping photos has greatly been improved, as has the responsiveness of the TouchPad. The update also reintroduces the ability to share from places from your Android device with Google Maps to Glass.

The update to MyGlass on Android also appears to be minor, with the most notable changes including the ability use MyGlass to enter Wi-Fi passwords and some interface tweaks.

The XE 17.1 update is supposedly rolling out to Glass users now and will continue to do so for the next several days. The MyGlass update should begin to roll out at any time, as well.

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Coming roughly a week after the Nexus 8’s “Flounder” codename was shown off in Chromium’s source code, we now have a reference to the “Nexus 6” (via Florian Kiersch).

The Nexus 6 reference can still be seen on the Code Review page, under the new code section. There is also a reference to the Nexus 8 in the older code. The Nexus 8 is expected to be produced by HTC, as earlier leaks have suggested. The “8” is also likely a reference to the screen size, which would make the Nexus 8 larger than the ASUS-produced Nexus 7. Beyond this, very little is known about the specifications or ETA of the Nexus 8.

The Nexus 6 is also almost entirely a mystery.
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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcHzO3-QEg]
Minuum, one of the more distinctive third-party keyboards available for Android devices, is coming to Google Glass. The keyboard was shown off this morning in a video of the prototype app running on Glass. The second half of the video, however, is far more exciting.
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Photo: Associated Press

The European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that individuals have a right to require Google to remove sensitive information from search results, reports Reuters.

The ruling […] came after a Spanish man complained to the Spanish data protection agency that an auction notice of his repossessed home on Google’s search results infringed his privacy […]

Google says forcing it to remove such data amounts to censorship.

The ruling reflects a 2012 proposal by the EU known as the “right to be forgotten,” in which it was argued that even accurate information may become “outdated or irrelevant” after a period of time has elapsed … 
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Two of Valve’s most recognizable games are now available for the Android-powered NVIDIA Shield, after being teased last week to several online publications. The above crowbar — a tool that is used throughout Half-Life 2 — was sent to AndroidPolice‘s Michael Crider, depicting both an NVIDIA Shield device and the lambda, which represents the Half-Life series.

Besides Half-Life 2, Valve also released Portal for Android today. Both games are on sale at the Play Store for $9.99, though they are only compatible with the NVIDIA Shield.
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXCH9T5Nnaw]

After watching a mother’s day video shot entirely on Google Glass and designed to bring a lump to the throat of even the most hardened viewer, we noticed it followed a video posted a week or so ago celebrating the work of teachers, with some not too in-your-face plugs for Google products … 
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Android Wear has been the talk of the town since its announcement a couple of months ago. This new wearable OS will hopefully provide the perfect mix of performance and functionality. LG and Motorola have been the first to jump on-board as launch partners and both the LG G Watch and Moto 360 have been announced.

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The latest updates to the Android 4.4.3 AOSP changelog include references to two new Nexus devices (via Android Central). The first is the “Flounder” tablet, which was also recently referenced in builds of Chromium. This is likely to be a tablet or a phone, as Google has historically used fish-related codenames for such devices.

Perhaps more interesting is the mention of the “Molly” set top box.
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A seemingly drastic turn of events in the appeals court has reversed the ruling on some elements of the Google-Oracle trial.

The ruling enables Oracle to claim copyright ownership over some parts of Java. The crux of the trial was whether API names and constructs could be owned. The initial decision said that it couldn’t, giving Google a landslide victory. However, the appeal court papers now say the exact opposite:

For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the declaring code and the structure, sequence, and organiza- tion of the 37 Java API packages are entitled to copyright protection. Because there is an insufficient record as to the relevant fair use factors, we remand for further proceedings on Google’s fair use defense.

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Motorola’s website has been the source of various leaks in the last few weeks, and today we have another one. Captured in an image after the break by the @evleaks Twitter account, the website leaked only the name — no image or details are available. The device has also so far slipped by under the radar, with basically nothing being known about it.
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Historically, Google has been known to use quirky codenames when working on internal projects and Nexus devices are no exception. In the past the company’s homegrown Android products have carried in-house names patterned after aquatic animals when being under development. For example: Maguro was used for the GSM Galaxy Nexus, Mako represented the Nexus 4, Hammerhead covered the Nexus 5 and Mantaray was the moniker for the Nexus 10. When it comes to Nexus devices, Google has a thing for sea creatures.

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Following a proposal that many fear threatens net neutrality, a plethora of tech companies today have come together to support net neutrality in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission. The group is led by Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, and Twitter, as well as many others.

The letter voices disapproval of a recent proposal that would allow people to pay more in order to gain a higher priority from their internet service provider. The letter focuses on keeping the internet open, and perhaps treated as a utility. The companies make the case that with this new paid prioritization proposition, ISPs would be discriminating both technically and financially against internet companies

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Anyone who has followed Google over the past few years knows that it has had more than its fair share of privacy issues. The company’s had run ins with the UK government, US government, and others about privacy concerns, in addition to facing criticism over Google Glass. Microsoft has also mocked Google for its privacy issues as part of its “Scroogled” ad campaign. Now, a German activist group that calls themselves Peng Collective has launched a new website that parodies Google, its privacy issues, and apparent need to know everything about everyone.

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Google’s buying spree continues today, and the latest startup to be snapped up is Appetas. Appetas specialized in providing websites for restaurants. In a blog post (via TechCrunch) published on Appetas’ site, the company states that it will be shutting down its service as the acquisition moves forward.
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We’ve seen several competitors to Google Glass over the past few years, including smart glasses from Vuzix and Epson. The latter of those, in fact, beat Google to the market back in 2012 with its Moverio glasses. Today, Epson has announced its second generation smart glasses, powered by Android.

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