Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Google Drive gets a major redesign to match the look of the new Gmail

New Google Drive

Following on from the redesign of Gmail, Google has start to roll out a new interface to Google Drive. The new user interface can be found on the web version of the cloud storage service, but it's likely that mobile apps will follow suit.

Google hasn't made much of a fuss about this redesign, but keeping things in line with other G Suite products makes a lot of sense. The redesign sees the arrival of an updated material look.

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Apple clamps down on apps that share location data with third parties

iPhone X with Apple logo

Apple appears to be more vigorously enforcing App Store policies relating to the sharing of location data. Over the last few days the company has been removing apps that share location details with third parties without consent.

Developers of apps found to be exploiting user privacy in this way have received emails from Apple. These indicate that apps have undergone "re-evaluation" and found to be in violation of sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines.

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Walmart buys a controlling share in India's Flipkart

Walmart store

Rumors have circulated for a number of weeks, but now it's official: Walmart has just said it will spend $16 billion buying a controlling sharing in Flipkart, the Indian ecommerce site. The American retail giant fought off a last-minute bid from Amazon.

The deal values Flipkart at $20.8 billion, and will see Walmart taking an initial stake of 77 percent of the company. The remainder of Flipkart ownership is shared between Tencent, Tiger Global and Microsoft, as well as its co-founder Binny Bansal.

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Google launches Android Jetpack to speed up app development

Android Jetpack

Google has a new tool designed to help developers produce Android apps faster than ever. Called Android Jetpack, it builds on the Support Library and has a strong focus on backwards compatibility.

Android Jetpack also builds on Architecture Components, giving developers access to components, tools and architectural guidance split into four categories -- architecture, foundation, UI and behavior. Each component is provided as an "unbundled" library which Google says means you can "adopt each component at your own speed, at your own time".

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Microsoft to let Windows 10 users Alt-Tab between both apps and browser tabs

Pressing Alt-Tab on a keyboard

For many people, keyboard shortcuts are essential to using a computer, and over time they become hardwired into muscle memory. You've probably become used to the way Alt-Tab can be used to switch between running apps, but Microsoft plans to change the way this particular shortcut works.

At Build, the company revealed that the next Insider build of Windows 10 will not only let you Alt-Tab between running programs, but also browser tabs. It's something that's being introduced as part of Sets, and it's likely to divide opinion.

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Google News gets a major revamp and an AI injection

New Google News

Today at its I/O developer conference, Google revealed major changes for Google News. The company says that the revamp combines the best of artificial intelligence with the best of human intelligence, and it sees Google try to rebuild the trust people have in online news.

As well as a revamp of the underlying technology, there are also changes in presentation. A "For You" section in the app provides easy access to the most relevant stories that will be of personal interest, and there are also new opportunities for readers to delve deeper into stories via various news outlets, social media, videos and more via a new timeline tool.

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Apple tells developers that apps must support iPhone X notch from July

Apple has issued new guidelines for iOS apps submitted to the App Store, with the biggest change being that developers must use the iOS 11 SDK.

Devs are advised that they should "update your version of Xcode to the latest release of Xcode 9 available on the Mac App Store" as this includes the relevant SDK. Apple also says that apps should be "ready to take advantage of the Super Retina display by respecting safe areas, supporting adaptive layouts, and more".

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The best Android apps and games revealed in 2018 Google Play Awards

2018 Google Play Awards

It's not long since Google's Android Excellence program bestowed praise on apps and games on what were considered to offer a high quality experience. Now the company has used Google I/O to reveal the winners of the 2018 Google Play Awards.

Google says that the aim of the ceremony is to "recognize the best apps and games on Google Play over the past year", and it's a great way to discover something new to try.

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Facebook copies Snapchat's Bitmoji and creates personal, customizable Avatars

Facebook Avatars

Never afraid to steal an idea or two from its competitors, Facebook is at it once again, this time "borrowing" Bitmoji from Snapchat. The yet-to-be-released feature is called Facebook Avatars and it will let users create personalized cartoon images of themselves to use as stickers or emoji.

The Avatars feature has not even been announced by Facebook yet, but references to it were found hidden deep in the code of the social network's Android app. The company has, however, confirmed that the feature is in development.

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Android Things exits beta as Google jumps further into the IoT

Android Things

Google today announced the launch of Android Things 1.0, its Internet of Things platform. There have been numerous beta versions for developers to play with, but now that the operating system has been officially launched we can expect to see it popping up on a wide range of devices.

The company says that it has been working closely with a number of manufacturers to help ensure that products will be available soon. On the horizon are smart speakers from LG and iHome, as well as smart displays from Lenovo, LG, and JBL.

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Microsoft announces Your Phone, an app to view your iPhone or Android device in Windows 10

Microsoft Your Phone

Having given up on its own mobile operating system, Microsoft has a greater interest in Android and iOS than ever before. Today at its Build 2018 developer conference, the company announces a new app called Your Phone.

The purpose of the app is to enable you to connect your computer to an iPhone or Android device and access the handset's contents without having to pick it up. As well as being able to view and respond to text messages from the comfort of your PC, you'll also be able to move files to and from your phone.

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How to fix the Feedback Frequency bug in Windows 10 April 2018 Update

Feedback frequency setting

The Windows 10 April 2018 Update has started to roll out to users around the world, and it has not been without its problems. One issue that some people have noticed is that the "Feedback frequency" setting cannot be changed.

Users are complaining that the setting has a new label reading "Windows Insider Program manages this option" -- regardless of whether the computer has been part of the Insider program or not. An update is available to address the problem, but it has to be installed manually.

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Vine successor V2 is postponed for an 'indefinite amount of time'

Vine V2

It is now over a year since Vine closed down, and fans have been holding out for a follow-up to the video service. Co-founder Dom Hofmann previously said that work was underway on a successor called V2, but this has now been put on hold.

Blaming "financial and legal hurdles", Hoffmann now says that the project has been postponed "for an indefinite amount of time". He says that he had hoped to bring V2 to life as a personal project, but the realization that more money will be needed means that investors need to be brought onboard.

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Compatible handsets will get Windows 10 Mobile April 2018 Update

Square Microsoft store logo

The Windows 10 April 2018 Update rollout to PCs around the world has already started, and Microsoft says that the update will also make its way to compatible Windows 10 Mobile devices.

The number of people who will actually end up receiving this update, however, is likely to be rather limited. Microsoft says that the availability of Windows 10 Mobile April 2018 Update will vary according to "manufacturer, model, country or region, mobile operator or service provider, hardware limitations" and -- ominously -- "other factors".

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Email management service Unroll.Me to close in Europe because of GDPR

Unroll.Me logo

The new batch of privacy related legislations that's due to roll out across Europe later this month has claimed another victim -- Unroll.Me.

The email management service, which claims to help users "clean up your inbox", has announced that it is incompatible with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and will therefore close down in the EU on May 23. If you live in the EU, Unroll.Me will delete your account and you'll no longer be able to use the service.

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