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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iCkYw3cRwLo#!]

YouTube is once again doing its annual “YouTube Rewind” to shed some light on the top-trending videos of 2012. Google updated its YouTube Rewind Channel to include the last year’s worth of the most popular YouTube videos alongside some stats for each. For instance, Google noted the KONY 2012 30-minute documentary was the most shared video in the world during March, but PSYs’ Gangnam Style was able to top the majority of lists after approaching 1 billion views and becoming the most viewed YouTube video of all time in less than half the year.

YouTube’s top trending list globally is below, followed by the list for Canada, but you can head over to the YouTube Rewind Channel to see the top-trending videos for your country.

Top Trending YouTube Videos:  

1. PSY – GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V 
2. Somebody That I Used to Know – Walk off the Earth (Gotye – Cover) 
3. KONY 2012 
4. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen – Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE! 
5. Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2. 
6. A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE 
7. WHY YOU ASKING ALL THEM QUESTIONS? .. #FCHW 
8. Dubstep Violin- Lindsey Stirling- Crystallize 
9. Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen.
10. Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from 128k’ – Mission Highlights 

Top Trending YouTube Videos in Canada:
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Google United Kingdom and Ireland Managing Director Dan Cobley wrote on his Google+ page this weekend (via AndroidCentral) to explain the situation with the LG Nexus 4’s long shipping delays many customers have experienced since launch day. According to the exec, supplies from manufacturer LG have been “scarce and erratic,” which has caused shipping times of up to eight weeks in some cases. The Nexus 4 has certainly been a popular device, and one could wonder how it would affect Google’s holiday sales if the company could get it out by the holidays for the majority of customers.

The exec also said that customers who were notified with a “3-5 day” shipping estimate initially should expect their handset soon, as those orders are now in the fulfillment process. The shipping charge will be waved and an email notification will be sent to customers this week with tracking information. Additionally, customers who received pre-Christmas shipping times should see their handset delivered by then, but unavailability still lingers for most customers.

Saturday’s comments are certainly welcomed from the top and give us the first real insight on what is causing delays—other than the company is working to catch up with the high demand. You can find the exec’s full comments below:

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Google announced on its official blog today that it would do some “winter cleaning” by discontinuing a number of services in the near future. Among the services shutting down as of Jan. 30 is Google Sync, which allowed users to get access to Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts using the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol. As an alternative, Google recommended IMAP for mail and the recently launched CardDAV and CalDAV protocols. Google also confirmed it would continue offering the service to existing consumers and Google Apps for Business, Government, and Education customers.

Google also said it would shut down some of its less-popular Calendar features starting Jan. 4:

You’ll be unable to create new reservable times on your Calendar through Appointment slots, but existing Appointment slots will continue working for one year. In addition, we’ll discontinue two Calendar Labs—Smart Rescheduler (we recommend Find a time view or Suggested times as alternatives) and Add gadget by URL. Finally, Check your calendar via smsand Create event via sms (GVENT)—U.S.-only features for creating and checking meetings by texting information to Google—will be discontinued today, as most users prefer mobile Calendar apps.

Another victim of the winter cleaning is the Punchd app for Android and iOS that will officially shut down on June 7, 2013. At that time, retailers will no longer accept the service’s loyalty cards. Google’s full list of apps and features on the way out is below:
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Google announced today on the YouTube Creator blog that it is today rolling out new features for sharing videos on YouTube, Google+, and elsewhere. Now, when uploading a video to YouTube and sharing it directly with social networks, YouTube will allow you to customize the message displayed alongside your video, as highlighted in the image above. Google explained:

Now, when you upload your videos to YouTube, you can write your own post to your fans… Where will this post appear? In YouTube feeds, the text will be merged into the upload feed item (exactly the same as if you were to upload a video, then make a channel post about the same video, but without the extra effort).  This also works with the scheduled publishing feature, offering you even greater convenience… As the video and post will be shared to your other connected social accounts as well, you no longer have go to each site to manually customize a post for each video.

Google also noted that it would add users’ public YouTube videos to the Videos tab on their Google+ page if they have opted in to connect the two accounts:
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As noticed by TNW, Google appears to be testing a new flight search service that differs from its Google Flights offering launched in September of last year. In our tests, the service, dubbed “Flight Explorer”, is fully accessible through www.google.com/flights/explorer, indicating this might be an upcoming refresh of the Google Flights service. Upon navigating to the Flight Explorer page, Google automatically detects your location for the “From” category and selects what appears to be the next closest country in the “To” section.

The service also provides some improvements over Google’s old flights search, allowing users to select the trip length with a slider under their destination, as well as a number of filters along the top, including: Stops, Airline, Duration, Outbound time, and Return Time. While the service appears to be ready to go, clicking links for any flights that show up in the results takes you to a familiar Google Flights page currently. We expect to hear more about Google’s new Flight Explorer service soon.

Google has announced an update for its Google Currents for Android app this afternoon, adding a slew of features that will make it easier for users to consume news. Currents will now group similar publications into specific categories, like Sports and Lifestyle, so users can easily view headlines with just a swipe of their finger. The categories will be accessible via the sidebar, and editions (a.k.a. publications) can be organized into each category. Much like specific categories, users can also swipe their finger horizontally through a specific edition, like 9to5Google, to read the latest headlines and find a story of interest. The last update included a new breaking news section that uses Google Search technologies to deliver the hottest, most relevant news that is happening in the world. Grab the update from the source link below.

Source: Google Currents, Google Play
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The Chrome team has announced a new addition to the Chromium (beta version of Chrome) browser this afternoon, changing the way many users will search for content online via Google and other search engines. Google is testing/experimenting with an added search box to the new tab page, a page that has historically just listed recently viewed websites, and the new search box will not only include Google search but will also be accompanied by Yahoo, Bing and others. Google said the reasoning behind the change is: “we’ve found that many people still navigate to their search engine’s home page to initiate a search instead.”

Google is also allowing search engines to display what a user has searched for right in the omnibox, potentially doing away with a second search box on the actual search page. Additionally, Google has made a new Embedded Search API available so other search engines can implement what’s new. The features outlined today are available for testing from the Chrome Developer Channel that includes a select few Chrome OS and Windows users (Mac will be coming soon). Sadly, Mountain View gave no word on when the features will hit an official build.

Source: Chromium Blog

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[ooyala code=”dvandrNzr5e2Qtp2rNGoVpazhG8dO4j8″]

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt sat down with Bloomberg to talk Android vs. Apple, and the former CEO seems to think Android is leading over Apple at a rate similar to Microsoft’s growth in desktop software during the 90s.

“This is a huge platform change; this is of the scale of 20 years ago — Microsoft versus Apple,” said Schmidt to Bloomberg. “We’re winning that war pretty clearly now.”

Google cofounder Larry Page succeeded Schmidt as Google’s chief executive officer in April 2011, and now Schmidt, among many other tasks, acts as a kind of executive spokesperson for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company. During the last year alone, Schmidt talked publicly and candidly about Google’s position on free speech and privacy, the fearful repercussions of the Internet, and even robots and holographic telepresence.

During Schmidt’s hour-long interview with Bloomberg (see video above), he discussed—aside from Apple—everything from economic growth in the United States and China and tax shelters to Google+ and spectrum sharing. Schmidt is a member of a White House advisory group and supports a proposal that urges federal agencies and commercial users to share airwaves.

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I (and, to be honest, more my kids) have used the Kindle Fire HD for over a month, and I thought I’d share some thoughts from an iPad/Android user’s perspective.

The hardware is excellent and a significant upgrade from the original Fire. It feels extremely solid and the 1,280-by-720 HD display looks great. The speakers are better than either the iPad Mini or the Nexus 7 and not barely — by a long shot. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are “stereo speakers” (it is a 7-inch device obviously and there is little separation), but they are both louder and clearer than the competition. The HD is also noticeably thinner than the original Kindle Fire, but that comes at the expense of bigger bezels that give it a bigger footprint than the same-screened Nexus 7 and similar size to the bigger-screened iPad Mini. This is unfortunate because one of the nicest things about the size of a 7-inch tablet is either it can squeeze into a back pocket or, more likely, a coat pocket…and those inches count. Neither the iPad Mini nor the Kindle HD fit in my jacket pocket as well as the much more slender Nexus 7.

But, that’s not the biggest problem…

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Google today announced on Google+ that it is introducing a new Chrome extension that will allow users to save content from on the web directly to their Google Drive account. Using the new Chrome extension, users will be able to select which part of a webpage they want to save, such as “an image of a page, the HTML source code, or a Web archive.” Once installed, users will also get an option to save images, links, or files directly to Drive when right clicking.

Google also explained it has made enhancements to the photo viewer in Google Drive that allows users to zoom, fit to page, and comment:

We’ve also added a few new ways to work with images that are already stored in Drive. You can now zoom by scrolling or using the new fit to page and 100% buttons. And if you have something to say about a specific part of an image, you can select a region and add a comment to it.

The Google Drive Chrome extension is available from the Chrome Web Store here.

Google just revealed more than 1,000 schools have adopted Chromebooks in classrooms, and it is now working with DonorsChoose.org to “help budget-strapped classrooms across the country.”

DonorsChoose is an online charity that, as Google coined it, connects public school classroom to donors, and the Google partnership will subsequently allow teachers to request the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook at a discount price of $99. The special price is only for the holiday season and includes hardware, management, and support.

Google explained the details on the official Google blog:

If you’re a full-time public school teacher in the U.S., visit DonorsChoose.org and follow the instructions to take advantage of this opportunity by December 21, 2012. Your request will be posted on DonorsChoose.org where anyone can make a donation to support your classroom. When you reach your funding goal, you’ll receive your Chromebooks from Lakeshore Learning, DonorsChoose.org’s exclusive fulfillment partner for this program.

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[tweet https://twitter.com/vicgundotra/status/35182523650801664]

Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra, who is also known as the man behind Google+, admitted at the SMX Social Media Marketing conference last night that “his boss” asked him to stop tweeting on Twitter. 

Many reports assumed Google CEO Larry Page is the boss in question and further surmised that the above tweet is probably the reason behind his request. Gundotra’s tweet occurred around the same time Microsoft landed a strategic mobile partnership with Nokia that would replace Symbian with the Windows Phone operating system. The timing led to speculation that the tweet was a dig at both companies.

The Next Web published a transcript of Gundotra’s explanation:

No, actually I was asked not to do that by my boss. I tweeted a tweet about two companies that went viral, went very very viral and made a lot of headline news. And honestly, I didn’t anticipate that my comments would be interpreted in the way they were interpreted.

I thought I was speaking to a relatively small number of people who followed me, a developer-oriented group, and instead it went mainstream. And so, uhm, I’ve curtailed my usage since then.

Gundotra last tweeted in July 2011.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6YI1E1-M-4&feature=player_embedded]

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.

“Bad” is the main word that stands out in the latest post by Google on the official AdSense blog, and the Internet giant repeats it that exact amount of times, too. But, why? Invalid activity, that’s why.

Google wants its publishing partners to keep AdSense strong, and, as it stated, that means “keeping good publishers’ accounts in good standing, while also protecting advertisers and users from fraudulent activity.” So, Google is making changes and adding tools to pinpoint bad actors (a.k.a. inactive/fraudulent publishers), stop bad ads, prevent bad clicks, and keep bad sites and bad traffic out of the network.

The video above gives a brief summary of what Google is talking about, while it’s blog post further details all the changes, which include:

— Considering tenure more actively when responding to detected invalid activity.
— Allotting publishers tools to submit more informative appeals via a new form.
— Providing more details on invalid activity’s causes via  an email or a notification.

More changes below.

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Google updated its web experience for U.S. iPad users who search for local places, such as bars and restaurants, on Google Search. The Mountain View-based company called the new feature a “horizontal carousel” of results that will display at the top of page, while normal search results will display below. Tapping on a business in the carousel, as seen in the image above, will display quick information about the location, including: address, Zagat rating, phone number, location on a Map, and a link to the website—accompanied with pictures. There’s also a new map link in the upper-right hand corner that shows you nearby places on a map.

Google has always shown its support for tablets and smartphones on its mobile Search page, and today’s update is definitely beneficial. When calling a restaurant to place an order or make a reservation, I’ve found Google to be the quickest way to find the needed information (definitely beating apps like Yellow Pages to get the same information).

Source: Google
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Google just announced Google I/O 2013 would kick off in 162 days from May 15 to May 17 at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco. Google is not accepting registrations yet, but it will announce more details in February.

It might only be December, but Google I/O 2013 is set and is just 162 days away! We’ll be returning to Moscone Center West in San Francisco on May 15-17, 2013, and sharing the experience beyond via Google Developers Live and I/O Extended viewing parties. We’ll announce registration details in February 2013.
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TL;DR: This is the first Chromebook effort that fulfills the ChromeOS mission: good quality, excellent (MacBook Air-like) design, low cost and functional, and easy to use. It won’t replace a mid-high end machine, but, for people with basic needs or who want an inexpensive second computer, this is a no brainer at $250.

Background:

Google’s Android and ChromeOS  represent two different visions of the future of computing from inside the same company. The Android vision is a touch-enabled platform with apps that has been in vogue since the iPhone was released in 2007. The ChromeOS is the realization of the decades-old network client computer—which is just a browser as a user interface for a bunch of cloud services.

Android has clearly been popular on both phones and now tablets, but Chrome sales have been pretty lackluster until now. From my point of view, that’s due to a couple of reasons. For one, the devices, made by Samsung and Asus, were lackluster in speed compared to the Windows and Mac counterparts. ChromeOS devices should be faster than comparably equipped Macs and PCs because there is no overhead—it is just a browser. Yet the CR-48 and again with the second-generation Chromebooks weren’t noticeably faster than cheap netbooks. That’s the other problem: Chromebooks weren’t cheap – compared to similarly specced PCs, anyway. Often, you’d be able to find a cheaper Windows PC on sale that otherwise was the same or better.

So, to break it down: Chromebooks were overpriced and slow (and the design wasn’t very inspired).

Then came the third generation…

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Google Executive Chairmen Eric Schmidt and Director of Google Ideas Jared Cohen have announced a new book titled, The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business, that aims to take a look at our general future. The book is in partnership with Knopf Publishers, a division of Random House, and is set to be published April 23rd, with 150,000 copies being printed initially.

Working at Google, both Schmidt and Cohen have strong opinions about how/will technology is shaping our culture in almost all aspects. The book will tackle not only changing technology like smartphones and computers, but also government, technology’s effect on terrorism, privacy, business and more. “This is a book about the importance of a guiding human hand in the new digital age,” according to The New Digital Age’s authors. “For all the possibilities that communication technologies represent, their use for good or ill depends solely on people. Forget all the talk about machines taking over. What happens in the future is up to us.”

Serving as Google’s CEO from 2001 – 2011, Schmidt is more well known than Cohen. However, Cohen has a diverse/successful background, being an adviser in government to both Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton and has been a successful author. The group he heads at Google founded in 2010 after his government work, Ideas, aims to being technology to the developing world. He has also written a slew of books addressing poverty. Schmidt has always been known to be a talker, so his ideas combined with Cohen’s bank of knowledge should make for one interesting read.

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