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YouTube Red is Google’s new $10/month ad-free subscription video streaming service

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Oct 21 2015 - 10:21 am PT
5 Comments

Not to be confused with (Red) Youtube or RedTube, Google announced a new streaming Netflix competitor today dubbed YouTube Red.  The service will also include YouTube streaming music which is also Google Play Music all access which currently carries a $9.99/month price tag so the effective upgrade is $0 for streaming videos and much more…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G3 (unlocked) $240, Seagate 4TB Portable HDD $150, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 20 2015 - 1:44 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 D850 32 GB unlocked new 32 GB: $240 shipped (Reg. $400+) | eBay

Seagate 4TB Portable USB 3 Hard Drive w/ 200GB Cloud: $150 shipped

Aukey 15,000mAh Quick Charge 2.0 power bank: $22 Prime shipped (Reg. $35)

LG G4 brand new smartphone 32GB (unlocked): $380 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

21:9 Displays: Dell UltraSharp 34″ Curved $650, LG 34″ Curved $720, more

Save $20 on select Kindle e-Readers, deals start at just $59 with free shipping

More new gear from today:

Games/Apps: PS4 Nathan Drake bundle w/ Guitar Hero Live $399, The Witcher 3 $32, R.B.I. Baseball 15 $2, freebies, more

More deals still alive:

Free MP3 Downloads: Greatest Hits from TLC, Muddy Waters, more plus Shakira Deluxe Edition

New products & more:

This mini Segway hopes to take-off with its affordable price tag and compact design

You’ll have to hurry to grab one of these limited edition Fallout 4 Xbox One controllers

 

HTC almost announces a GPE One A9 without the name — but does it smell as sweet?

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 20 2015 - 12:53 pm PT
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Google Play Edition (GPE) devices are a thing of the past, but that’s not keeping HTC from tackling that very same segment of the market — the one that GPE devices failed to capture — with the “unlocked edition” of the HTC One A9.

In what feels like last-ditch effort to appeal to Android handset buyers that are usually targeted by Google itself with the Nexus line, the “unlocked edition” HTC One A9 offers updates within 15 days of Google’s Nexus line receiving them, less bloatware and pre-installed apps (no carrier software), and freedom to use the device on the carrier you choose…
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Management material? This 23-year old Google employee sleeps in a 128 sq ft truck in the parking lot

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 20 2015 - 9:50 am PT
2 Comments

Business Insider profiled 23-year-old Googler Brandon S. who decided to forgo the usual high-priced San Francisco apartment and instead move into the back of a 128 square foot truck in the company’s parking lot.

The idea started to formulate while Brandon — who asked to withhold his last name and photo to maintain his privacy on campus — was interning at Google last summer and living in the cheapest corporate housing offered: two bedrooms and four people for about $65 a night (roughly $2,000 a month), he explains to Business Insider.

He didn’t do much to pimp out the back of the $10,000, 16FT Ford truck with a modest setup consisting mostly of a bed and storage (and no power), but it has enabled Brandon to save around 90% of his income, while Google and security apparently have no issues with the living arrangements:

“I don’t actually own anything that needs to be plugged in,” he explains on his blog. “The truck has a few built-in overhead lights, and I have a motion-sensitive, battery-powered lamp I use at night. I have a small battery pack that I charge up at work every few days, and I use that to charge my headphones and cell phone at night. My work laptop will last the night on a charge, and then I charge it at work.”

Here’s a look at the inside of the truck:

Brandon is blogging about the experience on his site Thoughts from Inside the Box.

Google takes minor stake in Mobvoi, a Chinese artificial intelligence company

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 20 2015 - 8:49 am PT
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Google’s focus on building its presence the Chinese market shows no sign of letting up. Mobvoi, a Chinese company which develops advanced, natural voice detection and AI-based technology, announced this morning that Google has taken a minority stake in the company. Although the exact amount Google invested wasn’t disclosed, Mobvoi will retain a controlling stake…
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Stanford researchers using Google Glass to help diagnose and treat autism

Avatar for Chance Miller Oct 19 2015 - 4:33 pm PT
1 Comment

Google, as we’ve reported several times, has been redirecting its Glass efforts to have more of a focus on the enterprise market and a large part of that comes in the health field. TechCrunch today reports that researchers at Stanford University are using Google Glass to aid children with autism. Specifically, they are using the platform to help them recognize and classify the emotions they feel and see around them.


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Google posts Android 6.0 Marshmallow factory images for the Nexus 5X

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 19 2015 - 2:44 pm PT
1 Comment

Google has today, on the press review embargo lift day and available-to-buy-outright day, posted factory images for the Nexus 5X, otherwise known as “bullhead.” They’re all for version 6.0.0, but there’s currently three different builds available. It’s not clear what the differences are between them, but it’s likely that they’re minuscule at most.

You can find the three 6.0.0 images over at Google’s Developers website, or you can find quick links below (clicking them will pull straight from Google’s servers):

If you’re on the fence about buying the Nexus 5X (or you’re considering going with the Nexus 6P instead), be sure to head over and read our review roundups for both devices from earlier today: Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6P.  The general consensus, for those that are out of the loop, is that the Nexus 6P is pretty much the Android handset to beat.

If you need help flashing one of these images (it’s pretty sad if you need this already, considering the device has only started showing up on doorsteps today), you can head over to our Android Marshmallow factory image install guide.

Google picks up 360° photography startup Digisfera to bolster Street View

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 19 2015 - 2:00 pm PT
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Digisfera, a startup that prides itself in “photography, design, and development services for projects involving 360° images,” has been acquired by Google. Financial details of the deal haven’t been revealed, but Digisfera’s website has been updated to reflect the acquisition and states that the group is joining the Street View team at Google to “continue building great experiences using 360° photography.”

Here’s the full statement from the team:

We’re excited to share that Digisfera is joining Google. We started Digisfera almost five years ago and have had the opportunity to work in many interesting projects involving 360º photography over the years. We’re excited to join the Street View team at Google to continue building great experiences using 360° photography.

As we move on to our next adventure, it will no longer be possible for us to keep developing PanoTag, so it is being discontinued. We are planning to open-source our Marzipano viewer in the coming weeks and hope this will benefit the panoramic photography community.

The Portugal-based startup, according to reports, has been part of capturing many significant moments in panoramic photography, including Barack Obama’s inauguration, landmarks in Rio de Janeiro during the 2014 World Cup, and parts of the 2014 Winter Olympics. These skills are going to hopefully translate to making Street View a better product and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that Digisfera could contribute to Cardboard technology as well.

The company says it plans to open-source its Marzipano panorama viewing software.

 

 

9to5Toys Lunch Break: LG G4 (unlocked) $380, JBL Charge 2 Bluetooth speaker $80, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 19 2015 - 1:25 pm PT
0 Comments

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 G4 brand new smartphone 32GB (unlocked): $380 shipped (Reg. $800) | eBay

JBL Charge 2 Bluetooth speaker, 9to5mac’s ‘2014 Bluetooth speaker of the year’: $80 shipped, (or 3 for $70/ea)

This mini Segway hopes to take-off with its affordable price tag and compact design

USB Roundup: Lumsing 6700mAh Power bank $12, 2-Pack of RAVPower 3-ft MFi Lightning cables $8, more

Save $20 on select Kindle e-Readers, deals start at just $59 with free shipping

More new gear from today:

Ditch the cable modem rental fees w/ these refurb deals: Motorola SB6121 $45 shipped (Orig. $100), more

More deals still alive:

Free MP3 Downloads: Greatest Hits from TLC, Muddy Waters, more plus Shakira Deluxe Edition

New products & more:

It took about 500,000 LEGO bricks to put this life-size Batmobile together

Google now eats Google Apps fees for switchers w/ previous enterprise agreements

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 19 2015 - 11:00 am PT
0 Comments

According to a post made on the Google for Work blog this morning, Google is now giving enterprises a new opportunity to try Google Docs. Google knows that many enterprises likely have previous enterprise agreements with other companies that would make trying out Docs for their organizations difficult, so the company is now offering to pay the usual Google Apps fees until those contracts run out:

In fact, we’re so confident that Docs has all the features you need, without the ones you don’t, that we’re making it even easier to give it a try. If you’re worried about switching to Docs because you still have an enterprise agreement (EA) with another provider, we’ll cover the fees of Google Apps until your contract runs out. We’ll even chip in on some of the deployment costs and set you up for success with one of our Google for Work Partners.

Google says that once your enterprise agreement is runs out, companies can sign up on a simple contract “with no traps or gotchas,” and that many businesses find that Google Apps is cheaper, as well. The company, additionally, points out that many of the features that businesses think are missing from Google Docs are actually present, and that more and more useful tools are being added constantly.

Businesses can head over to the Google Apps‘ website to learn more.

Google giving out instant invites for Project Fi today to celebrate Nexus 5X launch

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 19 2015 - 9:59 am PT
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Before today, signing up for Project Fi meant waiting several weeks in most cases before being about to sign up for the Mountain View company’s MVNO.  At least for today, you can sign up without a waiting period. To celebrate the shipment of the Nexus 5X, Google says it is today giving out instant Project Fi invites to those that sign up for one…
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Google invites school pupils to submit their own Doodles, $30k college scholarship and other prizes up for grabs

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 19 2015 - 7:35 am PT
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Google has launched its Doodle 4 Google campaign for 2015 and is inviting US school pupils of all ages to submit their entries. The winner will get their artwork shown on the Google homepage for one day, and one winner will also get a $30,000 college scholarship. The theme of this year’s contest is “What makes me…me”, and artists are encouraged to use any material they like to create their doodle…


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Report: YouTube will place some content behind paywall when subscription service launches

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 19 2015 - 6:52 am PT
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We’ve read many times over the past months that YouTube is planning to launch a subscription service. The company itself has announced as such, and is already nearly all the way to getting enough partners onboard with the new monetization method. In return for a low monthly fee, likely $10, YouTube wants to give you access to all the videos and music you can manage, and without showing any ads of any kind. Google is planning announce this new service at an event this Wednesday, October 21st.

What Google has said all along, however, is that customers who don’t pay can still watch all their favorite videos, but with the ads (as normal). What it hasn’t stated publicly, is that it may be holding some exclusive content back, for the eyes of subscribers only. In a report from Re/code, it’s rumored that when YouTube kicks off its new paid service, the streaming site will also place content that it funds behind a paywall. Regular non-payers won’t be able to watch it.

It’s unclear when you’ll be able to see the new programming YouTube is announcing. Sources say some of the stuff YouTube is paying for hasn’t been created yet, and won’t be available until 2016. In September, I reported that industry sources expected YouTube to launch its subscription service near the end of this month, though it could slip past 2015.

The timing of YouTube’s planned subscription service launch is still, clearly, up in the air. But it will be interesting see how the streaming platform delivers the service, and how many long-time YT users sign up. Will YouTube be able to tempt enough people to subscribe with its own funded and exclusive content? Those questions remain unanswered for now. Let’s just hope the launch happens sooner rather than later, if only to satisfy my curiosity.

Calendar illustrations now in 30 languages as Google introduces 12+ new designs

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 16 2015 - 3:07 pm PT
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Google has today announced that its Google Calendar illustrations, which show up as little piece of art reflecting the events that you create, now appear is as many as 30 languages. Additionally, Google says that is adding over a dozen more of these illustrations for new kinds of events, specifically naming weddings and Halloween parties as a couple of them…

Today we’re improving these illustrations in two ways. First, you’ll find over a dozen more of them for events like weddings and Halloween parties. Second, illustrations will now appear in 30 languages–from Dutch and Finnish to Catalan and Korean–giving our global community of users a new way to celebrate their day.

Finally, Google is inviting you to send off some images that could be inspiration for the next round of Google Calendar illustrations. All you have to do is head over to the social network of your choice and tweet a photo of you doing something less mundane than watching YouTube or browsing Reddit, and attach the hashtag #makethemost.

You can grab Google Calendar on the Play Store for free.

Elon Musk says that the LIDAR Google uses in its self-driving car ‘doesn’t make sense in a car context’

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 16 2015 - 12:52 pm PT
5 Comments

Tesla CEO Elon Musk held a press conference a couple of days ago to explain the Autopilot features included in the company’s 7.0 software update, but LIDAR, one of the remote sensing technologies that Google uses in its self-driving car, also came up briefly. Elon Musk had some bold comments about to use of LIDAR in autonomous vehicles, in response to one inquiry from a WSJ reporter, which questioned whether the Model S would need more sensors for greater levels autonomy…
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Hacked Android Marshmallow build available for Nexus 7 (2012), here’s how to install it

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 16 2015 - 7:45 am PT
1 Comment

There are several Nexus devices that just don’t support Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and that fact has left some owners of ancient technology very unhappy. But this is Android, of course, and there’s nothing keeping developers from tinkering with Google’s open source OS. Specifically, owners of the 2012 Nexus 7 should rejoice in this case: It’s definitely at your own risk, but you can now install an early and hacky unofficial build of Google’s latest version of Android on your phone. Here’s how to do it…
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Niantic Inc. has raised $20 million from Google & Nintendo, could raise $10 million more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 15 2015 - 3:07 pm PT
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Niantic Labs isn’t part of Google anymore (it’s actually Niantic, Inc. as of this past summer), but it does look like Google still has a marked amount of interest in the famed Ingress maker. According to a report from TechCrunch, Niantic, Inc. is about to secure $20 million in investments from Google, Nintendo, and The Pokémon Company. This comes just a month after the group came out to announce an upcoming mobile game called Pokémon Go that ties in a real-world social aspect much like Ingress…
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There’s a hidden puzzle on Google’s Android Marshmallow site, and no one has solved it yet

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 15 2015 - 2:02 pm PT
12 Comments

This is really important. Google, a company that is definitely no stranger to Easter eggs, is at it again. This time, in the recently launched Marshmallow landing page, the company has hidden a curious chemical equation on an otherwise-blank chalkboard. Usually, these kind of Easter eggs are figured out pretty quick, but as far as I can tell, no one has solved this one yet…
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9to5Toys Lunch Break: Galaxy S6 (unlocked) $430, Anker USB Solar Panel $50, more

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 15 2015 - 12:19 pm PT
0 Comments

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 Galaxy S6 smartphone 32GB (unlocked): $430 shipped (Reg. $600+) | eBay

Daily Deals: Anker Charger w/ 2-Port USB Solar Panel $50, Misfit Shine Activity and Sleep Monitor $50, more

Free MP3 Downloads: Greatest Hits from TLC, Muddy Waters, more plus Shakira Deluxe Edition

Turn your old system into a Bluetooth speaker with the Mpow Streambot for $16 Prime shipped (Orig. $36)

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 32 GB LTE GSM (unlocked): $570 shipped (Reg. $740) | eBay

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 32 GB on Verizon (w/ two year contract): $50 shipped | Best Buy

HTC One M9 32 GB flash on Sprint (w/ two year contract): $1 shipped | Best Buy

More new gear from today:

Amazon and Toys R Us give a peek at this year’s must-have holiday gifts

More deals still alive:

Storage: Samsung 500GB 2.5-inch Internal SSD $150 (Reg. $170), WD My Passport 2TB USB 3.0 Portable HDD $70 (Reg. $85)

New products & more:

Electric Jukebox doesn’t want to be Spotify or Chromecast, so what is it?

Ontario opens its roads to self-driving car testing, Google an obvious candidate

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 15 2015 - 7:28 am PT
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Starting on January 1st, Ontario will become the first province in Canada to open its roads to testing of automated vehicles, according to a recent report (via CBC). The province will allow testing of self-driving cars (Google has been a pioneer in the space with both its Lexus models and its smaller, prototype EVs), as well as “related technologies,” starting on January 1st 2016…
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Google is removing the Chrome notification center because no one uses it

Avatar for Stephen Hall Oct 14 2015 - 10:55 am PT
5 Comments

You probably know about this little notification center, but it’s very unlikely that you ever use it. That fact is according to data that Google itself has compiled, and — as is definitely not unusual — low usage means cutting features in the name of simplicity…

In some cases, these desktop notifications would appear while users were gone, so in 2013 Chrome launched the notification center, a place for users to find notifications from Chrome apps and extensions that they’d missed.

However, in practice, few users visit the notification center. To keep Chrome simple, it will be removed from Windows, Mac, and Linux in the upcoming release. The notification center on Chrome OS will remain unchanged.


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