Google

Fortune‘s annual survey of the 100 best companies to work for found that Google topped the list for the third year running, and the fifth time in all.

Google tops Fortune’s 17th annual ranking of the best workplaces in corporate America once again, marking its eighth appearance on the list and fifth time as No. 1.

Software company SAS took second place, with The Boston Consulting Group number three … 
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There have been indications for a long time that Google Now was eventually coming to the Chrome browser on the desktop. Via the Google Operating System Blog, the service has finally surfaced in the most recent release of Chrome Canary (Google’s name for the app’s ‘alpha’ channel builds).

As expected, Google Now in Chrome closely mirrors Google Now on Android. The contextually-relevant cards (which show information such as weather, news or upcoming flights) appear in Chrome’s Notification Center on the desktop. This area be found in the Window’s taskbar or the Mac’s menubar, represented by a bell icon.

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Exploring cities in Google Maps or Google Earth can be a great way to get a sense of a place leading up to a planned trip, as well as a way to enjoy a vicarious visit to places you’re never likely to visit in person. Exploring Tokyo in Google Maps just got a whole lot more interesting thanks to 3D imagery just added by Google … 
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Cybersecurity software company Impermium has “joined Google,” according to a notice on the company’s website (via TechCrunch). Google’s Bradley Horowitz has indicated on his Google+ page that the Impermium employees will be added to to Google’s anti-spam and abuse team.

Impermim has said that it will stop offering its services to third-parties. The full notice from Impermium is below:

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Following its announcement last August and rollout in the US, the Google-owned Motorola announced today via Twitter a timeline for Moto X availability in select European countries. Motorola is taking its Moto X smartphone to the United Kingdom, France, and Germany beginning sometime next month.

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While wearing a heads-up display and driving might not be the best idea, or even legal in some locations, the developers behind DriveSafe are doing their part to counter that.

Using the sensors available on Google Glass, the Glass app will present a prompt to you if it determines you could be nodding off at the wheel. Of course driving while on the verge of falling asleep is extremely dangerous on its own, so DriveSafe goes a step further and uses voice input to help you find a safe place to stop and refresh yourself before getting back on the road.
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If you’ve ever cringed as you’ve watched someone type facebook.com into the Google searchbar, you’ll likely enjoy this two-minute video depicting how a human version of google might react to some common searches …

[protected-iframe id=”7d1b6c2c7bbc2a2d9319b5adafb8a7cf-22427743-13611283″ info=”http://www.collegehumor.com/e/6947898″ width=”600″ height=”369″ frameborder=”0″ webkitallowfullscreen=”” allowfullscreen=””]

No Flash? talk to College Humor and check out a classic, below in YouTube:

Bloomberg reports that a recent meeting between Google’s secretive Google X team and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raises “the possibility of a new product that may involve biosensors.” While it’s not that surprising that the Google X team behind Glass would meet with FDA staff that regulate eye devices, it’s also said to have met with those in charge of diagnostics for heart conditions. Bloomberg adds that four of the Google employees in attendance “have done research on sensors, including contact lenses that help wearers monitor their biological data.”
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Google last updated its Play Services app back in October when KitKat and the Nexus 5 launched with a plethora of improvements. Today via the official Android Developers Blog, the company has announced another rather significant update to the app, brining it to version 4.1.

First off, the update will allow for developers to start implementing turn-based multiplayer capabilities into games entirely with Play Services. This will allow for improved asynchronous games with friends and opponents. The update also adds a developer preview of a new Google Drive API that lets users read and write Google Drive files from any device, with or without a data connection, and have their changes synced across other devices and platforms.

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Although Google TV has not been the company’s most successful venture by any means, that hasn’t stopped several other companies from trying-out the concept. At CES 2014, Hisense is showing off its new set top box, the Pulse Pro. From the outside, it looks very similar to any other set-top box, but what’s interesting is that it’s running what Hisense calls “Android TV v4.” It’s not technically Google TV, although it’s built off of the same foundation. It is capable of running Google TV apps and also features the same PrimeTime Guide (via CNET).

One noticeable difference between the Pulse Pro and other Google TV devices is the home screen design. Everything is laid out in a very image-focused design, with the ability to quickly access Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Video, and more.

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After the Cyber Monday madness surrounding the $349 Moto X, Motorola officially dropped the device’s off-contract price to just $399 last week, looking to get the device into even more consumer’s hands. Today, the company has announced another special offer for the Moto X. Starting today, January 8th, and running through January 14th, anyone who purchases an off-contract Moto X from Motorola’s website will also get a free Google Chromecast. The Chromecast costs $35 normally, so this is a great deal for anyone looking for the two devices.

The deal is live now on Motorola’s site. Simply use the promo “STREAM” to obtain the offer. The Moto X runs $399 for 16GB and $449 for 32GB.

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The story of the Nokia Normandy project to get Android on low cost smartphones got some more real today with yet another leak of the phones, this time with some OS shots on them. If what we’re seeing is legit, and most evleaks are, this one has two SIM card slots and very thick custom overlay.  I can’t wait to see if these are released so I can not buy one. 
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Since the initial release of Google Glass at Google I/O last May, people have been calling for the ability to attach prescription lenses to the product. Over the last month, talk of this has heated up with images of Glass with prescription lenses being leaked and much more. Today, however, Glasses company Wetley has released its prescription frames and lenses for Google Glass and they are available for ordering now, dubbed GGRX.

• Easily mounted, no tools required – takes seconds to mount/dismount
• Frame is stainless steel – 30% lighter than typical frame materials – extremely durable
• Lens are polycarbonate – highly impact resistant and durabl
• Comes with Crizal Premium Anti-Reflective coating at no additional cost – reduces eye fatigue and strain
• Made decision early to eschew cheaper materials (plastic frame, CR-39 lenses.)
• Can accommodate almost any prescription
• Also offer lens upgrades, tinting options, and anti-fog coating (some units, not all)

The frames are made of stainless steel and the company touts that the mounting process is incredibly simply and requires no tools whatsoever. There are a variety of options available for purchase and they start at $99. The first option is the frame only. In order to get lenses, you would have to take the frame to your local optometrist. The next option are single vision prescription lenses, which start at $149.99. Next up are progressive prescription lenses at $249.99. Sunglasses with a gray tint and no prescription are available for $139.99, while sunglasses with prescription capabilities are also available.  

GGRX frames are available now at OpticsPlanet.com. Full press release after the jump:

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In an announcement shared on Google’s Enterprise blog by Boston’s chief information officer, the city has announced it will officially migrate some 76,000 city employees, police officers, teachers, and students to using Google Apps and email services from a variety of alternative systems including Microsoft Exchange.

The Boston official noted the city’s success in adopting Google Apps, particularly for boston.gov email addresses for every city official, due to the minimal effort in maintaining the system thanks to Google’s existing and scaling infrastructure.
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In a Blogpost today, Google announced the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). The move seems to indicate that Google is hoping to repeat its Open Handset Alliance but with cars. It currently has Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai and Nvidia signed up but is open to anyone who wants to join.

The OAA would bring open source Android to cars and a common platform that could go from tablets to phones to cars and back again. For Google, it gets to spread its influence to yet more places and in turn gather more data for advertising and other purposes. 
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In a surprising weekend announcement, Bitspin has announced that it has been acquired by Google (via Android Police). Bitspin is the company behind the Timely alarm clock app, which has become one of the most popular and well designed apps on the Play Store. It has received between 1 million and 5 million downloads since it’s release and has an overall rating of 4.4 stars out of 5. The developers are also the minds behind the Tasks to-do app, although it’s published under a different name on the Play Store.

We’re thrilled to announce that Bitspin is joining Google, where we’ll continue to do what we love: building great products that are delightful to use.

For new and existing users, Timely will continue to work as it always has. Thanks to everyone who has downloaded our app and provided feedback along the way; we truly appreciate all your support.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FwJ9QlXwVSU

After teasing the app for what seemed like years, BlackBerry finally released its BBM client to Android last October, to a somewhat surprising number of downloads. Today, the company has released a private beta of the app that includes the promised Channels feature, as well as voice chat support (via Engadget).

Channels is BlackBerry’s stab at a social network. The company describes it as something similar to Tumblr. Voice chat is exactly what it sounds like. It’s essentially Skype, but baked right in to the BBM app. Users can call each other, for free, over WiFi networks. This is something that Android users have been wanting for a while now in Google’s Hangouts app, so it’s surprising to see BlackBerry beat Google to the punch.

The update is available via the BlackBerry Beta Zone now. There’s no word on public availability, or when/if the update will come to iOS.

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