Google

Google, a noted supporter of open-source software, has pledged not to sue anyone developing, distributing, or using open-source software that uses any of a specified number of Google patents unless attacked first.

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Google announced an update today to Google Translate for Android that brings an extremely useful feature for those who are traveling or in need of translations when without an Internet connection. Starting today, the updated Android app will now allow users running devices on Android 2.3 and up to access the service using downloadable offline language packages.

Google noted that there are currently around 50 languages available for offline use and detailed how to download the necessary packages through the app:

You can select [Offline Languages] in the app menu to see all the offline language packages available for download. To enable offline translation between any two languages, you just need to select them in the offline languages menu. Once the packages are downloaded, you’re good to go.

While the languages packages provide everything you need to get quick translations when offline, Google warned that the offline modes are “less comprehensive than their online equivalents” without explaining in detail.

Users of the updated app will also now be able to translate vertical text for Japanese, Chinese, and Korean—using their device’s camera.

The updated Google Translate app for Android is available now through Google Play.

We have been hearing a lot about the much rumored Motorola X phone. Motorola’s new advisor Guy Kawasaki has been hinting at some big customization options for upcoming Motorola devices, and previously Google CEO Larry Page said Motorola was working on some advanced new features for future smartphones. Some sketchy reports of specs first leaked earlier this month, but a new report today would seem to make sense given Page’s previous comments.

While they don’t exactly match the rumored specs from earlier this month, PhoneArena is reporting a tipster has provided some information on specs for the Motorola X device. Most notable is the mention of a 4.8-inch made of sapphire glass and a 4,000mAh battery, two things that would seem to line up with Page’s comments related to better batteries and impact-resistant designs.

Other specs in the report include corners “made with rubber bumpers”, a carbon fiber back case, and a quad-core 2Ghz Quallcomm Snapdragon 800. The rubber bumpers could also be related to Page’s comments about devices that are more resistant to impact. PhoneArena is also claiming that the device will be water resistant and launch in November in time for the holiday shopping season.

No word on potential hardware customization options as speculated by many following Kawasaki’s comments.
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From 9to5Toys.com:

After joining Motorola as an advisor late last month, former long-time Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki appears to be dropping some big hints about the company’s upcoming plans in the smartphone space. In a post to his Google+ account (via DroidLife), Kawasaki posted a link to a video detailing customization options offered by Porsche and posing the question, “Wouldn’t it be great if you could personalize your phone like this?”

This has of course lead to speculation that Kawasaki is referring to the ability customize an upcoming Motorola device at the time of purchase, something that recent reports indicate could be in the plans for Motorola’s much rumored X Phone. AndroidandMe and other blogs have reported that the Motorola’s X Phone could include hardware customization options, but also the ability to preload apps, ringtone, wallpapers, etc, features that other devices have offered versions of in the past.

The latest rumors claim X Phone could see an official release by June and its possible we could get our first look at the device in May during Google I/O.

It looks like Google might be repairing a new section in the Google Play store specifically for news content in subscription and issue form. While Google already has a dedicated Magazine section on the Play store, AndroidPolice first noticed clues in code for the web version of Google Play that hint Google could be preparing to launch a new service dubbed “Google Play News.”

While we don’t get much information about the service, we do learn Google Play News could offer “issues” and “subscriptions”. This makes us think the company could be preparing a subscription news service that rivals Apple’s Newsstand on iOS. Apple currently offers both issues of newspapers and magazines in subscription form through its Newsstand app.

It’s not clear how exactly the Play News section would differ from the existing Magazine section, but AndroidPolice noted that the Google Play code points to the section having its own heading color. This suggests it will indeed be a dedicated category on the store.

As I’m sure you know, the Play Store is color themed – Books are blue, Music is orange, etc. So the most important question a discovery like this raises is “What color will the News section be?” It turns out we can actually answer this one thanks to the Play Store CSS (mirror). It’s yellow. The News section will be yellow.

It’s a possibility Google will eventually merge this new newspaper feature with magazines like how Apple’s Newsstand app works, but we’ll have to wait to find out for sure what Google officially has planned for the service.

There were hints late last month that Google was planning on adding new features to Google Translate and today the company announced a new feature for the service called Phrasebook. Rather than having to translate the same words and phrases time and time again, Phrasebook allows users to save a set of translations for quick and easy access. Google explained how the features works:

It’s easy to start using Phrasebook. Simply click the star under the translated text to save the translation in your Phrasebook. To view your Phrasebook, simply click the Phrasebook icon above the upper-right corner of the box containing the translation.

Click any phrase in your Phrasebook to load it back in the translation area. Using the Phrasebook controls, you can filter your phrases by language pair or search for a specific phrase. You can also easily listen to each phrase by hovering over the entry and selecting the text-to-speech icons.

Google could soon be adding more features to Translate as last month hints were discovered that Google is working on an option to select a dialect for certain languages in its text-to-speech feature within Google Translate. There were also additional dictionary features that have yet to be implemented.

There have been many people who wear prescription glasses wondering whether they too would be able to wear Google Glass with prescription frames. Today, Google confirmed that the Glass’ modular design will indeed allow users to add frames and lenses that match their prescription. Google also showed off one of the prototypes currently in testing. The image above is of Glass team member +Greg Priest-Dorman sporting prescription frames with Google Glass.

One of the questions we hear the most is whether there will be a prescription solution for Glass. The short answer is: yes! The Glass design is modular, so you will be able to add frames and lenses that match your prescription. We understand how important this is and we’ve been working hard on it

Unfortunately, the ability to wear prescription frames and lenses won’t be available to those lucky enough to get their hands on the Explorer Edition when it’s eventually released. Google said you could expect to see the frames for Glass later this year.

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Google is taking on Amazon Prime with a shopping service later this year. You know this. TechCrunch is filling in some of the blanks today with more details like pricing (free for Googlers, $4.99 for beta testers, and a final target a little below Amazon’s) and some more beta stores like BabysRUs, Targét, and Nob Hill Foods. Also, don’t tell anyone about it because it’s a total secret! Google HR e-mail below:

Hi,

As you may have seen, there was a leak last night about Google Shopping Express, including several very specific product details. Our PR team is working to quiet this down, but we need your help — please don’t add fuel to the fire by discussing or even confirming Google Shopping Express. If you are contacted by a member of the press, please follow normal procedures and refer them to press@google.com.

But wait, you asked me to ship to my home to help you test … so what about spouses and roommates? We trust your judgement. If your roommate writes a tech blog or works for a company in this space, please don’t ship it home. But if you feel it’s safe, then by all means, we still really need your help dogfooding this.

Get free same day delivery with Google Shopping Express

After weeks of testing, we’re now excited to open Google Shopping Express to every Googler in the bay area including temps, vendors and contractors.

Save yourself a trip to the store and stock up at places like Target, Nob Hill Foods, Babies “R” Us and more. Googlers who sign up early for a free membership will receive free same day delivery for one year! Non-members pay $4.99 per delivery per store.

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Google announced today that it updated the mobile web app for Gmail and the Gmail Offline Chrome app with a refreshed UI and new features similar to recent enhancements to its iOS apps. On top of the redesigned visuals, Google also included improvements to search and Google Calendar integration:

Today we’re rolling out a similar refreshed look to the Gmail mobile web app as well as Gmail Offline (http://goo.gl/0f1ae) that includes many of these same changes. Try it out at gmail.com in the browser of your Android, iOS, Blackberry or Kindle Fire device.

Google noted it decided to implement a design for its web apps similar to its iOS offerings after receiving positive feedback since first launching the new iOS design in December.

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After recently posting its I/O registration page to announce that registration for its annual I/O developers conference will open on March 13, Google today posted some more information about the upcoming event. In a blog post on the Google Developers Blog, Google noted that it has updated the I/O 2013 site with new info on registering, travel, events, and FAQs. It is has also posted information about the addition of subsidized childcare options at this year’s event.

Google’s updated I/O site includes a “Travel” section with a Google map for navigating to Moscone West in San Francisco, an “About” section with info on events such as the keynote and developer sessions, and a help page with FAQs. Something new at Google I/O this year is childcare:

We are excited to announce that this year Google I/O will offer nearby child care to conference attendees at a subsidized cost. When completing your registration form, please indicate if you are interested in child care services and, if so, tell us the number of children you want to have cared for. Once registration closes, we will contact you to gather more information and provide specific details on child care.

Google once again provided some tips for registration and outlined details specific to academic and international attendees:
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Google just announced on Google+ that it will roll out a few changes to the desktop version of the service starting today. Some of the updates include a new tab for local reviews for easy access to restaurant reviews from the sidebar, updates to the ‘About’ tab that making editing easier, and larger cover photos up to 2,120-by-1,192-pixel:

– A new tab for your Local reviews. In addition to your photos, +1’s and YouTube videos, there’s now a place for all your Local reviews. Highlight your favorite restaurants, or hide the tab completely via settings — it’s completely up to you.

– An easier way to edit your info. The ‘About’ tab now consists of separate cards (like Story, Places, and Links) — each with its own prominent edit link. As always: you can share specific fields with specific circles, or keep them just for you.

– Bigger cover photos, with a better aspect ratio. Cover photos are much larger than before (up to 2120px by 1192px), and they display in 16×9 when fully expanded. This way more images can be used as cover photos, and there’s more room for your selection to shine.

Google said it would roll out the new features gradually to all users.

Vint Cerf, “father of the internet” and Google’s chief internet evangelist, is speaking out about Google’s decision to push users toward using their real names across services. In a recent interview with Reuters, the Google executive said the initiative to get users using their real names across profiles on various services such as Google+ and YouTube has “sparked intense debate” at the company:

Over the past year, the company has strongly encouraged users to merge their accounts on YouTube, Gmail and other Google properties into a single Google+ identity, the company’s social network offering that asks users to use the “common name” they are known by in the real world.

“Using real names is useful,” Cerf said. “But I don’t think it should be forced on people, and I don’t think we do.”

Vint said not using real names is “perfectly reasonable” in certain situations, especially in countries with governments seeking to ban anonymity:
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Google has been accused today of having too much power with the Android operating system in China, according to a white paper published by a group from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Reuters reported today that the technology ministry said “Google had discriminated against some Chinese companies developing their operating systems by delaying the sharing of codes.”

The white paper also claimed the country’s R&D in the mobile operating space is “too dependent on Android” and that there is an opportunity for China to develop its own operating systems.

The paper pointed to Baidu Inc., Alibaba Group, and Huawei Technologies as companies developing their own operating systems and claimed that Google has deals in place that “restrain the business development of mobile devices of these companies.”

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Long before the Chromebook Pixel was released, I, and surely many other Chromebook users, begged Google to create a high-end laptop that would allow technology professionals to use the Chrome OS to its fullest. To really give it a run against our high-end MacBook Pros and PC workstations, Google would have to throw more than the repurposed netbook hardware that OEMs like Samsung, Acer, HP, and others were giving this operating system.

Google’s Pixel is that high-end machine, but does it stack up where it needs to? First, the good:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=63u-RG-31B0&list=UUal1Fb7cnd1bE9sMKdFcJcg

Microsoft’s latest smear campaign against Google services kicked into full gear earlier this month with the launch of several online video and print ads as part of its “Scroogled” campaign. Privacy is at the heart of the issues with Gmail depicted in the commercials, with the majority highlighting how Google scans the bodies of emails to serve up relevant ads in Gmail. According to a report from Datamation, Google executives commented on the claims during a panel discussion yesterday with heads from Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla at the RSA Security conference.

Challenging Microsoft’s claims, Google’s Senior Privacy Counsel Keith Enright said the following:

Microsoft alleges that Google’s contextual ads, which show up alongside user email, is a violation of user privacy. Google does not agree. Enright noted that the use of automated algorithms is commonplace across multiple facets of technology and is not an issue of privacy. He added that automated algorithms are used to make the contextual ads more relevant. “The idea that doing that (contextual advertising) is in any way detrimental to privacy, or is antithetical to the interests of our users, I think is misleading and intellectually dishonest,” Enright said.

Enright continued:
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