Tech Industry

Google’s annual I/O conference is only two days away but leaks and rumors leading up to this year’s show have been going strong for quite a while. In an effort to brace ourselves for Mountain View’s latest contributions to the tech world, we’ve decided to discuss what we might be seeing in the next couple of days. While some of these items are a given, others are a mix of rumors and speculation. There’s no guarantee that everything listed here will be announced during I/O, but we eventually expect to see these projects from Google at some point in time. That being said, here are some things that we might see this year in San Francisco.

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When Google acquired Nest, the company also picked up the talents of the its CEO, former Apple executive Tony Fadell. Getting settled in at Mountain View, the man who once oversaw the development of the iPod is reportedly making moves at the search giant. According to The Information, Fadell is now is now top dog at Google’s hardware division.

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0VUOfrycw]

Video gia GigaOm

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser, is working on a stream stick set to directly compete with Google’s Chromecast and other similar products, according to GigaOm. The device runs Mozilla’s own Firefox OS, originally designed for smartphones, and is apparently referred to as “Netcast” within the Firefox browser.

Unlike Google’s current offering, the Netcast would allow developers to integrate the technology into applications on a wide variety of operating systems and hardware devices, including many platforms not currently supported by the Chromecast. In a statement to GigaOm, Mozilla noted that anyone is welcome to work with Firefox OS and that hardware running that system does not necessarily have to come from that company.

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Whether you’re an average Joe backing up pictures of your family or a huge mega-corporation that regularly moves terabytes of data, cloud storage migration can be a bit of a pain. Aware of your plight, Google is developing a solution that will help enterprise customers move their precious information with less of a fuss. Today, the company announced a limited preview of its new cloud import tool, which makes it “faster, easier and cheaper” to import your cloud storage buckets through Google’s “high performance network.”

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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo11JJgj1cU]

Google today announced that it’s launching a new initiative dubbed Made with Code that hopes to inspire girls to learn code and support computer science programs. While announcing the new program, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki noted in a blog post today that “fewer than one percent of high school girls express interest in majoring in computer science.” Here’s what girls that sign-up to participate will get through the program:
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A recent ruling by the European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) ordered Google to remove old web search results that could possibly have a negative impact on a person’s reputation. Often referred to as “the right to be forgotten,” individuals are able to request that “outdated or irrelevant” information about them be purged from the web, but what about non-living entities? Taking its cues from this controversial ruling, a Canadian court has ruled that Google must remove search results for a company’s rival — not only in Canada but around the world.

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Google has donated $100,000 to a program that allows children to build their own game consoles. A partnership between Technology Will Save Us and Code Club, the program offers do-it-yourself gamer kits that retail for £60 and helps participants develop early skills for a potential career in the tech industry. Now available to order, the funding from Google will provide 900 kits for the cause, along with free sessions with Code Club that will teach the kids how to assemble the system and program games for it.

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Amazon is expected to announce its first smartphone tomorrow, but the outfit seems to have a lot more in its pipeline. The folks at Lab126, the company’s secretive hardware division are reportedly busy working on several unannounced projects. According to Bloomberg, one group is rumored to be working on a gadget that projects a computer image onto any surface. Another team within the company’s R&D fold is laboring away on a wireless speaker that responds to voice commands and a third crew is working on a payment accepting device said to be in the vein of Square.

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Google Glass may not have the best reputation in the workplace, but Mountain View is trying to change that. Today, the company announced its first wave of Glass at Work Certified Partners. This daring new brood looking to push Google’s wearable computer into the enterprise market include partners like APX Labs, Augmedix, CrowdOptic, GuidiGO and Wearable Intelligence.

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Starbucks, in partnership with Duracell, is starting a nationwide rollout of a wireless charging system for smartphones. The system is powered by Duracell’s Powermat technology, which we reviewed last July. The program will place 100,000 of the Duracell chargers at specially-marked tables in each Starbucks location. Users would then be able to charge any phone using a compatible wireless charging system.

So far the program has only rolled out in a few stores, but it’s scheduled to reach more markets by next year. There’s not a timetable yet for when the rollout will be complete.

While the program is only available in a few stores right now, a page on the website for the initiative lists locations where the service is currently offered.

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Venkat Panchapakesan has been named YouTube’s new head of engineering, according to Re/code. An internal hire, Panchapakesan is shifting from his role as head engineer at Google’s apps division. He’ll be taking over for former product head, Shishir Mehrotra who vacated his position earlier in year and went on to become an adviser for the company.

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The US isn’t the only country making preparations for self-driving cars, the UK is in the process of revamping its laws to allow driverless vehicles to cruise its roads. Science minister David Willetts recently told Mail Online that he has started talking with the Department for Transport to help British companies develop their own self-driving cars, with efforts currently underway in Oxford.

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After June 30th, Yahoo will completely remove Google and Facebook sign-in options from Flickr. As the company transitions towards its own login system, it’s sending out emails to users of its photo sharing service offering them a chance to make the switch before it closes these two doorways. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a major company attempt to cut its ties with Google and it probably won’t be the last. A few weeks ago, Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer was reportedly trying to persuade Apple to drop Google search in favor of Yahoo’s engine for the company’s iOS platform. So Yahoo distancing its own products from Mountain View’s reach definitely to make sense.

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Although T-Mobile is rumored to be betrothed to Sprint, the magenta-hued carrier appears to have some prenuptial activities going on. Today, the company teased a new program called The Underground aimed at “true enthusiasts” looking for the latest and greatest the wireless world has to offer. As suggested by its name, this new initiative isn’t for any and everyone, but the carrier has yet to disclose what it takes to get in on the action.

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CEOs from massive tech companies like AOL, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google recently issued an open letter to the US Senate regarding the growing concerns about internet surveillance. Normally competitors, this unusual alliance agrees that change is needed and that the version of the USA Freedom Act that recently passed through the US House of Representatives needs some work.

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After several months of rumors, Sprint is reportedly finally nearing a deal to acquire T-Mobile USA. The two have reportedly been in negotiations for awhile now, but they have apparently finally reached an agreeable number. The deal, as it stands now, would have Sprint acquiring the Uncarrier for $31.3 billion. T-Mobile currently has about $15 billion in debt and $5 billion in cash. Sprint is valuing the company at roughly $40 a share.

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Google Shopping Express is now overnighting purchases in Northern California. Starting today, East Bay residents in Berkeley, Concord, Danville, Dublin, Fremont, Oakland, Pleasanton, Richmond and Walnut Creek can take advantage of the search giant’s slick delivery service. Further expanding its operations, the company says that in the next few months it plans to bring Google Shopping Express’ overnight service to the California-Oregon border, Fresno and Visalia.

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Google is pulling the plug on its online coupon cutting business known as Zavers. If you’re unfamiliar with this platform, don’t feel too bad, it’s only been around for a little over a year and a half. In its heyday, the soon to be defunct platform would let shoppers use online coupons at brick and mortar locations from participating retailers.

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