Articles about Google

Quality virtual reality content is starting to come fast and furious. Earlier today, I was was watching an amazing video of YouTube sensation, Barnacules, playing VR horror game, Brookhaven Experiment, with the HTC Vive. The immersive experience made me start to salivate for HTC's VR offering.

Today, Google announces another intriguing program that takes advantage of the Vive. Called "Tilt Brush", the software lets the user virtually "paint" in a 3D environment. While it may seem like nothing more than a cool demo, I see it as much more than that -- the potential future of art.

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A calendar offering reminders might seem like a fairly obvious feature, but here we're talking about Reminders (note the initial cap). Towards the end of last year, Google Calendar on iOS and Android gained support for Reminders -- and, as a result, to-do lists -- and now the same feature is coming to Google Calendar on the web.

Unlike standard calendar appointments, Reminders stick around until you tick them off. There's no need to keep changing the due date on something you don't get round to doing, as it will automatically roll over to the next day and appear on your calendar until you take the appropriate action.

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There have been occasional complaints with the IoT. Things don't always work as planned – lights that fail to come on or go off, a door that won't unlock and other minor annoyances. A bigger concern has been security, as these systems continue to display vulnerability. But, what if a device just suddenly stops working, and not through mechanical error, but because the company just chose to reach into your home and kill it?

Well, that's exactly what's about to happen with Revolv, an IoT hub that was purchased by Nest, which in turn is owned by Google. Officially, Revolv is considered a Nest company, though.

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While some folks may think icons are nothing more than fluff, they actually have huge significance. Your brain uses them for recall purposes, enabling you to quickly access your favorite apps. This is why I am not a fan of Microsoft's Live Tiles -- they are counter-intuitive, but I digress.

Today, Google announces new icons for all of its Play apps. Curiously, they are all triangular -- somebody in Mountain View, CA suddenly has a huge love for the three-sided shape.

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As a tech enthusiast, I dread the stupid April Fool's Day every year. What should probably be a fun day for children to pull safe and respectful pranks, has evolved into a day when companies announce fake products. Is it all in good fun? Yes, but some of these companies are publicly traded and worth billions of dollars. It's time to grow up. Some of us are interested in legit news.

One such company, Google, provides services to billions of people -- including some for business use. And so it has a responsibility to its users, and shareholders, to not cause harm with goofy jokes. Today, the search giant does exactly that, however, with a prank called "Mic Drop". In fact, the prank was so misguided, that Google has since pulled it.

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While many people view Chrome OS as nothing more than a basic operating system for home users, it is actually much more. In fact, the Linux-based machines can work beautifully for businesses too -- depending on needs, of course. As more and more solutions become web-based, a traditional Windows/Office solution from Microsoft becomes less of a necessity.

One way that Chrome OS shines in business environments, is videoconferencing and collaboration with Hangouts. Google's 'Chromebox for meetings' has proven to be a great option in this regard for some companies, thanks to low cost and ease of use. Today, business decision-makers that prefer all-in-one solutions to diminutive desktops gain a new option -- Acer's Chromebase for meetings. With an integrated display, this all-in-one is inexpensive, attractive, and extremely easy to setup and deploy.

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Google has its tentacles wrapped around many things. Not only does it dominate search, and provide the most popular mobile operating system with Android, but it is also an ISP with Fiber and a cellular provider with Project Fi. If it involves the movement, collection, or analysis of data, the search giant seems interested.

With so many people owning smartphones nowadays, you'd expect landline service to be going the way of the dodo bird, but there are many reasons to have it, such as dependability in an emergency. Today, Google is surprisingly entering the landline business with the VoIP-powered Fiber Phone. No, it is not an early April Fool's Day joke, folks -- it is the real McCoy.

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Some say Bing is the best search engine for adult-themed image searches -- I wouldn't know. What I do know, however, is that Bing is the new integrated image search for Microsoft Office -- it works very well for that. With that said, Google is what I use most often. Since it is the search engine I use for text, I just go to it for images too -- it works brilliantly.

Today, Google is improving its desktop image search with a new cloud-based saving system. This mirrors the functionality found on mobile and enables a more robust way to "save" images you want to look at later. Rather than save the files locally, they are kept in the cloud -- sort of like a bookmark.

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Google is making its collection of image-editing plugins -- the Nik Collection -- available free of charge. Previously sold for $149, the Nik Collection came into Google's hands when it acquired Nik Software three years ago. If you recently shelled out on the plugins, you needn't feel like you're getting a bad deal; Google says that anyone who purchased the collection this year is eligible for a full refund.

Comprising seven plugins -- Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine -- Google says that the Nik Collection brings "powerful photo editing tools once only used by professionals to even more people".

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If you are an email user, there is a very good chance you use Google's ubiquitous Gmail service. While there are countless other options, such as Outlook, AOL, Yahoo and more, the search giant's offering is quite popular. It is easy to see why -- it is easy to use, secure, and can double as a Google account for things such as Play access on the wildly popular Android.

Today, Google announces that it is making Gmail even more secure. With so much talk about enryption in the news nowadays, the search giant is enhancing its email service with improved TLS encryption. How is it doing this? By working with other email providers, such as Microsoft to make sure encrypted emails remain that way in transmission.

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Ready to compete with the already-established Apple Pay, Google's Android Pay is due to make its first foray into Europe when it launches in the UK in the coming months. To make things easy for retailers, Android Pay can be accepted anywhere that already supports contactless payments.

In addition to places such as Starbucks, Costa, KFC and Waitrose, Android Pay can also be used to pay for Tube, bus and train journey with Transport for London. The UK debt will follow a successful US launch and growth into Australia, but Google has not yet revealed whether the reward schemes enjoyed by those in the US will also make their way to the UK.

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During the Windows 8 era, I was very worried about that operating system -- the UI and design choices were troubling. Luckily, as a longtime Linux user, I was not tied to any Microsoft OS. Unfortunately for some consumers, Linux-based operating systems can be difficult to install and use, while Mac computers are very expensive. Chrome OS and the inexpensive Chromebooks swooped in to save the day.

For those that stuck it out with Windows, or used other desktop operating systems, Google introduced a Chrome OS-like launcher -- the unimaginatively named Chrome app launcher. It allows Windows, Mac, and Linux users to launch Chrome apps from within their OS' native UI -- it sort of felt like Chrome OS running inside of them. Today, Google kills this project.

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While smart televisions and displays are becoming more commonplace, it is becoming increasingly clear that they are not created equal. In other words, there are varying degrees of "smart", meaning some TVs have features that others don't.

I recently purchased a curved Samsung 4K display for my living room, and while it is amazing, it doesn't have a feature that I would really appreciate -- the ability to use Google Cast. Sure, I can connect a Chromecast dongle, but that is not elegant. Today, VIZIO announces its new P-series 4K displays, which have Google's technology built in. In addition, the company is integrating this casting feature into some of its speakers and soundbars.

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It's hard to turn on the news these days without seeing something about Syria and its leader Bashar Assad. The nation has been in disarray for sometime now as rebels try to overthrow the dictator, while ISIS controls some of the country.

While Russia has tried to fight back the rebels with air strikes in an effort to prop up Assad, the US has been more interested in striking Islamic Nation targets, and the one thing seemingly forgotten are the citizens of this war torn nation, who are attempting to flee in boatloads -- literally, making a treacherous journey across the sea to Turkey and Greece.

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Shortly after hacking into Donald Trump's voicemails and leaking messages, Anonymous declared all-out war on the presidential candidate. Earlier this week, the hacktivist group launched #OpWhiteRose and doxxed the republican candidate.

Personal information about Trump -- his cell phone number, social security number and other details -- were released last week, with the group saying they were provided on the understanding that "you alone are responsible for your actions, as always". But rather than being the fruit of an elaborate hacking operation, anyone with the nous to use Google and Wikipedia could have gathered exactly the same information for themselves.

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