New vulnerabilities kick off 2015
There's always that tiny glimmer of hope that in some way a new year is going to be somehow different from and better than the one that went before.
Usually it's extinguished quite quickly and it seems that, in software terms at least, 2015 is no exception according to the latest vulnerability report from Secunia released today.
Google brings Android One to the Philippines, two smartphones coming soon
Google today announces the arrival of Android One in the Philippines, bringing the number of countries where the program is offered to six. The first Android One smartphones to launch in the Philippines are called Cherry One and MyPhone Uno, and they'll both come with Android 5.1 Lollipop out-of-the-box.
Google says that both smartphones will be available to local consumers in the coming weeks, featuring hardware specifications that are on par with those of other Android One devices. Let's take a look at what One and Uno have to offer.
Google relaxes Project Zero bug disclosure policy after Microsoft complaints
Google managed to ruffle a few feathers recently by disclosing bugs and security problems in widely used software. Project Zero is used to encourage companies to fix issues that have been detected by imposing a 90-day deadline before details of the vulnerabilities are made public.
Microsoft was angered a month ago when Google published details of a security issue in Windows 8.1 just a few days before a patch was due to be released. A few days later, two more bugs were revealed leading to complaints not just from Microsoft but from software users. Now Google has backed down and announced a slight relaxing of its previously strict 90-day disclosure policy.
Are we really in danger of losing our history to the cloud?
If Google's vice president is to be believed, we are in danger of losing an entire generation of information to the digital realm. Look to the history books, and you do just that -- look in a real, physical book. Pictorial histories can be found in photo albums. The works of Oscar Wilde, Samuel Pepys, and Charles Dickens are stored in real, tangible formats.
But now just about everything is stored digitally. Photos are rarely, if ever printed; millions of words are published online each day on blogs, online newspapers, and message boards. These are all important social, political, literary, and historical records. There's no guarantee that the sites, apps and technology needed to access all of these records will still be available in 50 years or more. Could our history be lost to the cloud?
How Google and Facebook are breaking net neutrality to game their way into emerging markets
After proving their dominance in developed nations, technology giants are now eyeing emerging markets -- regions where a vast majority of people are yet to access the internet. Earlier this week, Facebook partnered with RCom to launch Internet.org in India to bring free internet access to millions of people who weren’t previously connected to the internet, and now we’re learning of a similar plan by Google. As The Information reports, the Mountain View-based company is working with carriers and developers to lower or eliminate the data usage and data charges in emerging markets like India.
Known in the industry as zero-rating, Google is essentially trying to act as a middleman between carriers and app developers to reduce the data charges as well as other expenses sought by app developers to ensure that the price of using these services by users is minimal. The company would be closely monitoring data usage when a person uses any of the app partner’s app and would pay the carrier the fee.
Google Helpouts to be consigned to history
Google is shutting the door on its Helpouts service. Just two and a half years after launching the help and support extension to Hangouts, it has been decided that there just is not enough interest to warrant keeping it running.
Designed as a platform for experts to offer their paid service to people, Helpouts failed to gain the traction needed to make it viable. The shutdown will not take immediate effect, but there's quite a short deadline for users to seek out an alternative.
Google sticks to its guns, will continue to publicly disclose security vulnerabilities
Google risks incurring the wrath of its competitors after announcing it will continue to disclose any security vulnerabilities that are not fixed within 90 days.
The search engine giant’s "Project Zero" identifies high-profile bugs with the aim of creating more secure products for customers everywhere. However, recently the scheme has been criticized as a way for Google to embarrass its technology rivals.
The kill switch works! Smartphone theft drops in major US, UK cities
Smartphone theft in some of the major cities in the US and the UK has declined dramatically, so say the authorities.
But it's not because of improved law enforcement, it's actually down to manufacturers implementing a kill switch option, allowing smartphones to be deactivated remotely.
Google's PerfKit Benchmarker tests the performance of cloud services
For both software and data, there is a relentless move to the cloud. But with so many different cloud services to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which one is best. To help make things a little easier, Google today launches PerfKit Benchmarker.
The open-source tool makes it possible to run benchmarks across a variety of cloud platforms, and a dedicated visualization tool, Perfkit Explorer, has been created to help with the interpretation of results. The tool provides essential data to developers who are creating applications in the cloud.
Safer Internet Day Google giveaway -- 2GB of free Drive storage
As it's Safer Internet Day today, lots of companies are getting in on the action and doing their bit to encourage people to be a little safer online. One such company is Google, and if you spend a few moments performing a quick security check, you can bag yourself 2GB of Drive storage for free.
There are no trick questions -- it's nothing more than ensuring that your Google account recovery information is up to date. You don’t get the extra space straight away, but you only have to wait until the end of the month for the start of the rollout.
Google turns virtual doctor with health advice through the Knowledge Graph
We're a global nation of hypochondriacs; Google has revealed that 5 percent of search traffic comes from people looking for health and well-being information. To help with any queries you might have about your body and different conditions, the search giant has furnished Knowledge Graph with a raft of medical data.
Got a funny looking rash? Google could help you to determine whether you have something to worry about, or whether it's something that's likely to clear up on its own. Knowledge is power, and medical knowledge is what Google is trying to arm people with to avoid the worry that comes with uncertainty.
Is evolution rather than innovation the best focus for Apple's iOS 9?
Asking someone to switch from their operating system of choice is akin to asking them to switch partners when they’re in a happy relationship. But time and time again, Apple, Google and Microsoft try to attract new users with redesigns, killer features, and headline-grabbing excitement. It's an approach that Microsoft is using for Windows 10, but Apple could use a different tactic with the release of iOS 9.
If you've got an iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, the next version of iOS could be slightly lacking in the 'new' department. Reports suggest that rather than taking the wraps off a raft of new features, Apple is instead focusing firmly on improving stability and performance of its mobile OS.
Google Chrome to ditch SPDY -- implementing HTTP/2
The web is unnecessarily complicated. Competing web browsers support differing technologies and standards, leading to varying performance and compatibility issues. The problem is, it may be naïve to think there are truly open standards. True, there are standards that can be pointed to, but stop and think for a moment -- who decided on the standards? In other words, if the web is truly open, why does it seem like big companies are steering the ship when it comes to the major decisions?
Google is one such company that is making decisions that will form the future of the web, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. The thing to take issue with is that the company could arguably have a conflict of interest when contributing to web standards. Why? It develops its own web browser (Chrome) and associated operating system (Chrome OS). Today, Google announces that it is abandoning SPDY for the HTTP/2 protocol in Chrome.
Time to switch to Google Hangouts as Gtalk dies in a week
The writing has been on the wall for quite some time now, but the deadline is finally here. Google's Gtalk service is set to be discontinued as of 16 February, and from this time users will have to use Google Hangouts or seek out an alternative.
This is not the first online service that Google has killed, and it certainly won't be the last. While Hangouts is generally regarded as a superior service, there are still diehards who will hold out until the very last minute to switch -- or they might jump ship completely in favor of something like WhatsApp.
Google snaps up photo backup app Odysee in latest acquisition
The latest service to be gobbled up by Google is Odysee. Available as an app for iOS and Android devices, Odysee enables users to privately backup and share both photos and videos. In some ways the service is similar to the automatic backup feature provided by Google+, so it is perhaps unsurprising that the Odysee team will be joining forces with the Google+ team.
The mobile apps have been pulled from the App Store and Google Play by developer Nimbuzz Inc, but the service remains in operation for the time being. It's likely that the Odysee API is what sparked Google's interest, and it will be interesting to see how things move forward.
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